Chapter 193

CHAPTER 193

Supposedly, Lauren had accosted Cecilia after finding her at her Pokemon Center and demanded to battle. She was staying at another one, but she wanted to battle her so badly that she’d waited until she got back from Slowking’s mental shielding lessons. I loved to battle, but I knew I’d never be that obsessive about it. And she could also have just sent me a text! She’d probably wasted so much time waiting...

I sighed. I was running, of course. I wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world, and it’d help to see how the two had progressed in their absence. It would be presumptuous to think that only I had improved, and I’d gotten caught with my pants down too many times after not incorporating that knowledge into my battles.

There was also the matter of Justin. Louis was waiting at the arena too now that he’d given his Pokemon to a Nurse Joy— in fact, everyone was waiting, except for Mira and Emilia, and it seemed that I was the only one that was late. I hurriedly typed a message as I ran begging for them to wait for my arrival, and I exhaled in relief when Denzel answered with an ‘alright’.

I managed to catch a taxi, but it was only then that I realized I hadn’t even known where they were. I’d just been running toward the arena that Zachary and I had battled in. I profusely apologized to the driver and waited for Denzel to send me the address. Of course, he didn’t waste any time in calling me an airhead, but I reminded him that he hadn’t sent me the address in the first place.

I arrived in ten minutes and gave the driver an extra tip to pay for his time. Thankfully, there was no large crowd yet. It didn’t seem like people knew what was going on, and trainers were just battling as normal. Lauren was leaning far away against a wall and anxiously shifted in place. Denzel and Duosion were keeping her company, but it didn’t look like she cared one bit for the former. My friends’ heads turned toward me.

“Sorry I’m late,” I announced.

“Grace!” Louis yelled. I hadn’t seen him look so anguished since he’d separated from us before we left Eterna. “You have to speak to Justin. We need to— we need to stop him.”

“Calm down and breathe,” I said. “He must be staying at a Pokemon Center. We can possibly find him that way like Lauren did. It’s a bit stalker-ish, but it’s for his own good.”

“His Pokemon were so sad...” he sighed. “I couldn’t do anything. I was too weak.”

“You tried your best, Louis,” Maeve said.

“My best wasn’t enough,” he exclaimed. “What’s the point in trying my best if it doesn’t do anything? I have to do more. I have to go beyond. I have to stop him before he decides to leave Sunyshore.”

We all grimly nodded. Victory Road wasn’t that far off.

“I didn’t know him that well, but clearly he felt something, right? He said he was disappointed,” Maeve said, much to Louis’ dismay. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry. You haven’t done anything wrong, I’m just... it’s me. Pauline, he said he was coming for you next.”

The redhead’s tired eyes ignited with passion. “I’ll show him.”

Louis spoke of Justin’s new team. Apparently, he had an Arcanine and a Toxapex now. If he’d used a Fire Stone on Growlithe, odds were he’d used a Water Stone on Lombre too. That was a team to be reckoned with, even for me. If Pauline knew more, then maybe she’d be able to win. From his short interactions with Louis, it seemed that he knew himself that he was not ready for Victory Road, so at least I knew that he wouldn’t go inside as soon as he reached the city.

His Pokemon, though? They worried me as much as he did. Krokorok especially seemed to be carrying an incredible amount of guilt.

I needed to speak to them. They were having the wrong reaction. Instead of enabling Justin, they needed to hold him back. Toxapex and the final member of his team hadn’t known him before, so it wasn’t their fault, but the rest of Justin’s team were causing him to go further into the deep end. If they opposed him, he’d be forced to at least reconsider and talk to them.

“Now, Cece,” I said, turning toward my girlfriend. “Are you ready? Isn’t Slowking tired from his lessons?”

“They don’t tire him,” she shook her head. “We’re still in the... theoretical stage of things, so he’s ready to battle. This will be difficult, but I believe in myself.”

I smiled at her and nodded. “Good. I believe in you.”

I craned my neck toward Lauren and saw that she was getting closer with Denzel. She sported new headphones, which made me wonder if her old ones were broken.

“A—are you ready?” She stammered. “I’m sorry if I’m being pushy, I just really want to do this. I need to let loose, you know?”

She was still as quiet as always.

“Sorry for the wait,” Cecilia said. “I’m ready.”

“I can be the referee— just tell me what Pokemon you’re sending out first. It’s five-on-five and two switches, right? That’s the usual setup for these.”

Lauren waited for Duosion to say something and then meekly nodded. While they were both talking to Denzel I tried to sneak a few words to the psychic type.

“How’s Lauren when she’s alone with you?” I whispered.

Duosion squirmed.

Laulau’s the same as always. She only changes in battle, he answered. He spoke twice as fast as other psychics and it was hard to keep track of whatever he said. I must be on, now.

I nodded.

The battle was about to begin.

——

Cecilia calmly observed Lauren get in position as she wrapped her fingers around one of her Pokeballs. The girl twitched, and Duosion ran around in its goo, clearly speaking to her in some way. In just a few dozen seconds, her personality would change. Cecilia had only seen it a few times during the Solaceon tournament, but Lauren was a completely different beast in battle than out of it.

What else did she know? Both of them prioritized power above all else, but Cecilia’s was refined while Lauren's was wild. Untamed and out of control. Four of her Pokemon were stocky and incredibly difficult to take down, while Sceptile was as quick as Talonflame was in the air and Duosion’s psychic powers no doubt rivaled Slowking’s. Plus, there was that Expanding Force move to watch out for.

Cecilia sighed and relaxed slightly. There was no use getting lost in thought, and she hadn’t been one to get nervous before or during battles ever since she started to fight for herself. Yet she knew that this was going to be difficult— as difficult as the double battle in Hearthome, if she had to guess, but she had not been idle since then. Just like the rest of her friends, her Pokemon had improved by leaps and bounds. Denzel called out for them to send their first Pokemon and Cecilia sent out Slowking. He didn’t look back at her, but a small gesture of his hand behind his back let her know that he was ready. Lauren’s Duosion floated forward and trembled in his goo. A barrier around him shimmered briefly, then turned completely transparent.

It would begin with a battle of psychics, then. Cecilia could have used one of her switches right away, but she really wanted to see the destruction that could be wrought by two competent psychics. Lauren adjusted her glasses and her innocent face turned into a mad grin.

She was the same.

“Water Cutter,” Cecilia said.

Water flowed from Slowking’s opened mouth, but it did not immediately go for Duosion like Water Gun or Water Pulse would have. Instead, the psychic type’s eyes shone, the water narrowed until it was as thin as a sheet of paper, and it exploded forward through the power of Psychic. Duosion’s eyes lit up, and he reinforced his barrier, but the jet of water cut through it like butter and divided Duosion in half. The psychic whimpered for a few seconds and his body quickly reattached itself, but neither he nor Lauren had expected this.

“Good. Good,” Lauren smiled. “Get your head in the game, Sirris. Barriers aren’t enough! Psyshock on the ground!”

“Water Cutter again,” Cecilia said.

Small multicolored orbs appeared around Duosion and rammed against the floor. Debris flew everywhere, but it snapped in place with Duosion’s Psychic. It was a clumsy thing, somewhat similar to Tangrowth’s Ancient Power, if Cecilia had to guess. Slowking spat out another Water Cutter, but Duosion slammed the rocks against each other to block most of the attack. The pressurized water cut through, but was severely weakened when it reached the barrier.

Duosion was unscathed.

“Get closer and Shadow Ball!” Lauren yelled.

Sirris squirmed at the order, but executed it without hesitation. Purple lights gathered around his mouth, but then it split into ten smaller orbs and flew toward Slowking at high speeds. The water type tried to sidestep, but eight Shadow Balls hit across his body, from his gut to his shoulder.

“Again—”

“Disable!” Cecilia ordered.

Slowking’s eyes flashed with a dull grey, and the nascent Shadow Balls winked out of existence. He slowly gathered water from the pond next to him, spun it around, and began to flood the arena with Surf. Duosion reached the middle of the battlefield, and Lauren swept her arm.

“Expanding Force!”

Cecilia’s ears popped, and Duosion sucked in all of the air in the arena in an instant. Then, there was a blinding light and an explosion so loud that they began to ring. The light expanded, water evaporated and rocks were kicked up fifty feet into the sky. It ate away at everything in range until it fizzled out and died. A giant crater formed in the middle of the arena, dividing it in two and the remaining water slowly pooled inside of it.

Cecilia sighed. There went the plan to flood the arena.

“Confuse Ray, Sirris!” Lauren yelled with a childlike smile.

An ominous ray of light formed in front of Duosion and beelined toward Slowking. Cecilia didn’t know much about how the technique worked, but she knew it was incredibly hard to master. She couldn’t afford to falter. If Slowking was confused, the battle would be over and she’d be forced to switch.

“Blow it away,” she ordered.

Another jet of water, slower and thicker this time engulfed the Confuse Ray, but it had no effect. It was operating on entirely different rules. Slowking had no hope of outrunning it, so he quickly redirected Water Cutter to hit Duosion instead. The water cut through his barrier again, and the psychic type’s control faltered, but the Confuse Ray sank into Slowking’s chest. His eyes became blank— glazed over as if he had no idea what was going on, and she could hear faint whispers inside of her head. Pure madness, words without meaning and incoherent yelling relayed through her mind.

Slowking spat out a Water Pulse, aiming at nothing in particular. Sirris excitedly jumped and began assaulting his mind with Psychic now that he’d gotten close enough to do so.

There was no point in keeping this going. Cecilia recalled Slowking and sent out Scyther instead. Zweilous would have worked too, but she wanted to keep them for the heavyweight enemies that Scyther wouldn’t be able to cut through. The bug type gave Cecilia her usual glare but turned toward the battle. There was no time to waste.

“Agility, Focus Energy and Air Slash,” Cecilia said without a breath.

“Grab it with Psychic! Crumple it and grind it to dust!” Lauren grinned.

Sirris’ eyes shone, but Scyther was already gone. He blurred backward out of Duosion’s range, gradually speeding up as his body loosened with Agility. He cut across the arena and sent arcs of air flying, and the psychic type’s transparent barrier shimmered each time one of the Air Slashes hit. One hit alone wouldn’t have been enough, but he was stacking them up now. Soon, the barrier would fall.

“Psyshock! Pursue and trap him!”

Fifteen orbs of light appeared around Duosion and exploded outward in every direction. Some converged toward Scyther while others tried to cut off his path. The flying type was beating his wings so quickly that they were impossible to see with the naked eye and he sped up more than Cecilia had seen him do before, but this took energy. It was a race. Who would hit who first?

Scyther was slowly being cornered and forced to get closer.

“They’re baiting you to you get in Psychic range!” Cecilia warned.

This time, he heeded her warnings. He stopped flying and landed on the floor with a loud thud. Scyther was quick in the air, but he was only slightly slower by foot. The bug type ran across the arena, making sure to jump above the massive, water-filled crater. One of the Psyshocks hit his leg and he faltered for a second, but he did not fall.

Instead, he kept harassing Duosion from afar. On the twenty-second consecutive Air Slash, his barrier shattered and an arc of air split vertically this time instead of horizontally. Cecilia expected him to recover just as quickly, but it was slow. Sirris was simply standing there, both sides of him quaking in fear. Thin strands of goo and fluid linked the two sides together at a snail’s pace. Scyther jumped at the opportunity and flew toward the frozen Duosion, slashing down the middle again with Fury Cutter.

It dawned on Cecilia that if Duosion’s two brains were separated, he would be severely weakened. Scyther’s instincts had been faster than hers.

A neon green light covered both of Scyther’s blades, and he finished Duosion off with X-Scissor. He was a frail Pokemon, no doubt, so a few attacks had been all that was needed. Without a word, Lauren recalled Duosion and sent out her Magmar. It was as if she was so engrossed in the battle that she didn’t even want to wait a single second to relax or think.

“I don’t like the look in Scyther’s eyes, Mags,” Lauren said. “Get in that crater and burn.”

The flames on Magmar’s back flared and the ground under his feet burned. Cecilia’s eyes bulged as the fire type leaped into the water-filled crater. Immediately, it began to evaporate into steam. Magmar was no doubt getting hurt by this, but Scyther couldn’t really hit him either. He sent a few Air Slashes flying into the lake, but water was very good at weakening flying type attacks.

A minute passed. Then two. Cecilia felt a pang of worry. Wasn’t he drowning—

Apparently not. She saw a stream of flames through the steam and figured that all the water was gone. Apart from Scyther's initial burns from the hot vapor, Cecilia didn’t know what Lauren was planning. The water vapor would hamper Magmar’s fire type attacks.

It clicked when she switched and sent out her Seismitoard.

“You’re up, Prime. Set up Aqua Ring and finish that fucking Scyther,” she said.

Cecilia’s eyes narrowed. Did Lauren not know that Golett knew Hammer Arm? Rhydon followed her order, stomping toward Golett and clumsily snatching over his shoulder. He struggled to actually throw him. Golett was a lot heavier than he looked, but after a few barks from Lauren, he opted to just place him as high as he could to let gravity do the work for him.

So much for never listening to Lauren. He’d completely changed since she last saw him in action at the tournament and now followed her every order. Cecilia’s breaths had turned shallow and anxious, but she waited until the last possible moment to strike.

“Hammer Arm,” Cecilia said.

Gravity would assist them as well. Rhydon’s horn and Golett’s fist shone with a brilliant white as they each hit each other. For a moment, it was as if they were both frozen there. A snapshot in time that would go on forever. It ended after what felt like an eternity with Rhydon’s horn cut in half and Golett’s fist and arm completely destroyed. The ground type landed next to Rhydon with a loud crash, creating a small crater on the ground, but their opponent immediately reacted.

“Finish him with Stone Edge. Pin him!”

“Scorching Sands!” Cece screamed.

The floor under Rhydon’s feet burned as it dissolved into sand, but he bore with the pain and slammed Golett under his feet. Cecilia winced as at least five different Stone Edges stabbed Golett’s back. The life in his eyes disappeared and his rune flickered for a few seconds before turning off. She recalled him and bit her lip. Talonflame would be useless here, so she could only count on Zweilous.

The two heads snarled at their opponent, who was already relatively close to them, and they immediately hit him with a combined Dragon Pulse right off the bat. The turquoise beam of draconic energy hit Rhydon like a truck, and the rock type could only cover his face in hopes of avoiding the worst of the damage. He was pushed back slightly and was only ten feet away from the fissure.

His horn is shattered, so his horn moves are weakened, Cecilia thought. That means the biggest threat is Stone Edge.

“Calm down and Stomping Tantrum,” Cecilia exhaled.

“Rock Blast. Keep moving forward,” Lauren said.

Zweilous tapped their feet on the ground, creating tremors that were weaker than Golett’s, but they slowed Rhydon plenty. He brought a hand forward, sending out round rocks bigger than Cecilia’s head hurtling toward Zweilous. Their scales protected them from most of the damage, but they were clearly after something. Cecilia couldn’t let him get close.

“Start stepping back. Dragon Pulse.”

Zweilous roared at the idea of retreat. Zerst’s head thrashed around, but a sharp snap of her fingers brought him back under control. Rhydon bellowed and ran with a Take Down that made him impossible to stop.

“Hammer Arm.”

Cecilia’s eyes bulged. “Ice Fang! Sol, bite him in the leg!”

She was so mentally tired, but she was no mere girl. She would spit in the face of adversity and fight until she won. Rhydon’s fist slammed into Zweilous’ body, but the two heads refused to go down. One bit him in the leg, spreading frost throughout his body while Zerst aimed for the attacking arm. Rhydon blared, but they didn’t let go.

“Zerst, keep biting. Sol, Dragon Pulse. Point blank.”

Rhydon’s leg exploded in a flurry of turquoise and shards of rock. The Dragon Pulse exposed the dull, grey flesh below. Rhydon screamed, his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell back. Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew she was nowhere near done. Lauren grinned, seemingly happy with Rhydon’s performance and sent out that damn Aggron.

He was a true brick wall, and Cecilia couldn’t switch to Talonflame any longer.

“Incinerate, both of you,” Cecilia said.

The good thing about having a destroyed arena was that a Pokemon as slow as Aggron would take a while to get to them. Lauren simply ordered him forward. The two flames combined and burned, but the flame was still weak. A dull red instead of a vibrant blue or even a bright white as the most powerful fire types were able to produce. Aggron was too large to dodge, but he didn’t take the attacks lying down. Hastily erected barriers with Rock Slide protected him from the worst of the flames, but it also slowed him.

A minute and thirty seconds later, the steel type slid down the crater. Cecilia’s eyes narrowed, and she opted to wait, much to Zweilous’ anger. There was no harm in being cautious, but they were too headstrong to understand. Drool dripped out of Sol’s mouth and Zerst tried to catch it with his tongue.

Their heads snapped toward Aggron as soon as his head peaked out of the crater. He’d been slower to climb than Rhydon, and he was clumsy. An idea popped into her head.

Cecilia swept her arm. “Dragon Pulse. Push him back!”

Dragon Pulse wouldn’t do much damage, but the impact would hopefully be enough to send him tumbling back into the crater—

Her face fell when Aggron didn’t even budge. He screamed with a metallic tint and retaliated with Flash Cannon now that he’d gotten close enough. The bright light peeled off a few of Zweilous’ scales, and they instinctively combined an Incinerate that forced Aggron to keep moving. The only thing that stood in between them was the large ravine that had been formed by Golett’s Stomping Tantrum.

But then, Lauren’s permanent grin widened.

“Autotomize and jump!”

Arceus fucking damn it, she’d withheld that attack the entire battle! Aggron began to shine and each one of his steps grew until he was light enough to jump over the chasm. He inhaled and leaped.

Cecilia’s willpower wavered for an instant, but she steeled herself.

“Dragon Rush!”

Zweilous foamed at the mouth and completely let loose. From this point on, they wouldn’t hear anything she said and would just fight until they either fainted or their opponent did. Aggron landed across the ravine without difficulty, regaining his weight as soon as he did. Zweilous let loose and mighty roar and Zerst slammed his head against Aggron. A turquoise light shone after each impact, and the dragon kept hitting Aggron with no sense of self-preservation. The steel type felt the hits, grunting in pain after each one. He tried to grab at Zweilous’ throats, but flames from Incinerate made them too hot to touch.

Lauren screamed, “Iron Head, send him flying, Defiant!”

Aggron lowered his head and slammed his full weight into Zweilous. His horns raked against Sol’s throat, shredding an entire line of his scales away until he headbutted the dragon type again, this time sending him backwards a few feet. A rock shot out of the ground and hit Sol’s head, interrupting another Incinerate as Aggron kept running forward. He was determined to end this.

And so were they.

Zweilous traded blows with Aggron, using their heads to hit him with Dragon Rush. The steel type was too well-armored to take down easily, but chinks in his armor were showing. Repeated hits to the legs and gut had cracked it. Cecilia snapped her fingers, hoping to get Zweilous out of their daze. They’d never succeeded, but maybe today...

It didn’t work. Aggron finished Zweilous off with another Iron Head. Almost half of their scales had been forcefully torn away and blood soaked the ones that remained.

“You did well,” Cecilia said. She sent out her Talonflame. “You’re the last.”

There was a hint of surprise in the flying type’s eyes, but it didn’t linger.

“Fire Spin.”

“Stone Edge!”

Dodging Aggron’s attacks was a lot easier now that he was barely standing on two feet. Talonflame easily navigated around the Stone Edge, releasing flames from her wings that fell onto Aggron’s body. The steel type blinked with his tired pale blue eyes and finally collapsed. Lauren giggled as she sent out her Magmar.

“Mags. You’re the last,” she mirrored Cecilia’s words.

Surprise flashed in his eyes, but that soon turned into a vicious, anticipating smile. Both of them weren’t used to being told this while battling, and it showed. This was it. The final stretch.

Cecilia clenched a fist. If she did not believe in herself, no one would. Victory would come. Magmar wasn’t as slow as the others, but he was still confined to the ground. Still, she couldn’t get complacent.

“Tailwind and Acrobatics—”

“Confuse Ray!” Lauren yelled.

“Don’t get close!” Cecilia corrected herself.

The strange light that came out of Magmar’s snout meandered more than Duosion’s but if it got inside Talonflame, the battle was over. With the wind at her back, she easily circled around the arena, high in the sky until the light fizzled out and disappeared.

“Figured that wouldn’t work. Let’s do this the old-fashioned way, then,” Lauren licked her lips. “Burn everything up with Lava Plume.”

Cecilia and Talonflame frowned at the move. Flames flared around Magmar and lava erupted from every inch of his body. He kept burning with a twisted smile, filling the arena with noxious gases and fire. The ground under his feet melted and the air warped until Cecilia could only see a mirage. Staying far away and attacking with Heat Wave would do nothing. Magmar was fire. It would only tickle him and make him laugh. They had to get in close.

All or nothing.

“Agility and Aerial Ace!” Cecilia yelled.

“That’s what I’m talking about! Thunder Punch!”

It was too late to go back now. Talonflame blurred forward, going so quickly that Magmar had no time to actually charge up his attack. She stabbed her beak as deep as she could, and Magmar grunted. The blood boiled before it could reach the ground. It was so hot that even Talonflame was getting uncomfortable.

“Lava Plume again!”

Before she could escape, a glob of lava landed on her wing. She screeched at the burn and it made her entire body tilt right. Magmar used that single second to spit out a blue Flamethrower that enveloped her entire body. Cecilia felt a tightening feeling around her chest, but she exhaled when Talonflame emerged from the flames— harmed and with cooled lava sticking to her wing. She desperately tried to get it off, but if she slowed for too long, another Flamethrower would no doubt reach her.

“Fire Pillar!” Lauren said.

Her eyes widened. Another custom move, no doubt. Magmar’s twisted grin widened as he slammed a foot against the ground. Red, fiery cracks appeared in the ground, traveling until they got right below Talonflame before erupting into a colossal tower of flames. Talonflame’s wing was hit— the same one that had the cooled lava was clinging onto. She hadn’t been quick enough to dodge— no, it was because they hadn’t known what to expect—

Talonflame was a fire type, but she did not routinely bathe in flames as Magmar could. The attack hurt, and her wing cooked under the fire’s strain. She closed her eyes as she fell, and Magmar’s eyes twinkled with glee. Cecilia’s will did not falter for a second.

“You can do it,” she whispered.

The bird’s eyes opened, and she extended her wings. Flames fell from her wings as she danced in the sky. It was as if she was one with the wind.

“Acrobatics!” Cecilia yelled.

This time, she would attack with her talons. Talonflame blurred as she flew toward Magmar. The wind whizzed past her wings, and she angled her clawed feet toward Magmar’s face.

“Smog!”

The fire type coughed up a scorching, toxic fume.

Talonflame breathed in. Her eyes widened and she froze.

She drove her talons deep in Magmar’s shoulder.

His fist, clad in electricity, hit her chest.

She convulsed at the contact until smoke emanated from her body.

Cecilia’s shoulders sagged. She had believed in victory until the final second. The girl wiped the sweat off her forehead and recalled Talonflame. Lauren said something, but she didn’t hear it. She’d just lost for the first time.

It was bound to happen at some point, after all. Yes. In fact, it was a miracle that it’d taken this long. Losing was a normal part of being a trainer, and as Grace would say, it helped you improve. Cynthia had told her as much. Tomorrow, she’d look at the footage and see what went wrong—

——

I hadn’t been the one battling, but I felt just as tired as Cecilia and Lauren looked. The sheer amount of destruction they both brought to the table was astonishing. Even though they both had four badges, it got pretty close to what Zachary was capable of. I dreaded what they'd be able to do when they got better. I shimmied across the crowd and went to see Cecilia. It was her first loss, so she’d probably be taking it hard. I knew I did.

I broke through the crowd and froze when I saw her.

She was crying.