NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 2.3 (Interlude 1): Blaine’s Hectic Day
Today has been strange. After my plane landed in Lumiose yesterday, I found out that I actually needed to find a way to get to Aquacorde before the ceremony began, since I couldn’t just walk through routes without a Pokemon. I looked around all of last night, before I dejectedly went to sleep in the pokemon center. When I was about to leave this morning, in a final attempt to find a ride however, I was immediately greeted by an absolutely beautiful older woman I didn’t recognize, who informed me that the Professors had asked her to teleport me to the town.
I immediately accepted, and when we stepped outside a Gardevoir blinked into existence, and then the world shifted around me as I was suddenly no longer in the City of Light. I was hit with a huge wave of vertigo, and I ended up emptying my stomach there on the outskirts of Aquacorde. A quick cleanup and recovery later, I nearly immediately encountered a girl having a panic attack, and in my attempt to calm her down she ended up passing out. Unsure of the correct thing to do, and with no one else around, I made the decision that letting her just lie there alone was a bad idea.
I sat there for a while reminiscing on a couple of things, and when she eventually woke up, despite looking terrible, she profusely thanked me for helping her. I did also end up slightly panicking when I saw the time, but thanks to her being friends with one of the other people chosen by the professors I was able to arrive just on time.
Of course, when I first saw Celine I sort of blanked since she looked just like someone I remembered, but it couldn’t have been her, so I shrugged it off. When the professor’s pokemon showed up and I suddenly had to make probably the most important decision of my life up until that point, I was completely petrified. When I finally reached down to touch Berry’s ball, I immediately felt a couple things. Fennekin fervently desired a connection with someone she could trust, a partner to get stronger with, a person that would love her.
I knew I fit all the marks, so I made my choice.
Hugging her warmth for the first time made my heart feel full, and I could feel that she felt the same. The other pokemon around were quite interesting as well, each had their own little connections with their trainers. Meier’s Minccino and Petilil looked up to her as their mother, but yet they also had a sense of duty. Albert’s Rookidee was a truly loyal bird, and though timid his Chespin looked at him with a burning, deep hope. Celine’s Froakie and Pikachu seemed to trust her implicitly, something I respected deeply.
In the end though, Morgan was the most surprising out of my new friends. When her Absol first appeared, my heart skipped a beat. The connection between the two was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was truly, beyond a doubt, breathtakingly beautiful. When I walked closer to look closer, the Absol’s attention moved to me, yet it’s heart seemed to stay perfectly centered on its trainer.
I was in a slight daze about it as we walked to the battlefields on the edge of town, but I did get brought out of it when Meier approached me to ask some questions about Morgan. She said Morgan had suddenly run off, so I informed her that we had met while she was having a panic attack. Meier nearly immediately bit her lip and looked at the small girl with worry, then quietly thanked me. She stepped away from the rest of the group, lost in thought until we reached the fields.
Meier recommended Morgan to be the referee, and when the small girl made a retort despite moving towards the spot anyway, I found myself spouting something I had heard my dad say a few years ago. As I watched the dramatic battle between Meier and Selene, the words that had stuck with me so deeply for so long repeated in my head each time one of their Pokemon acted seemingly on instinct.
“... Words are unnecessary.”
I watched in awe as my fellow defeated her rival, and as Meier and Morgan declared their intent to step away, I felt my gaze pulled to Albert. The moment the boy and I locked eyes, and our fate was set. We stood up in unison and moved to our places on the battlefield, our pokemon in our arms.
~
Celine clears her throat, her pretty violet eyes shifting between me and Albert.
“Okay, we’ll use the same rules as before, if that's okay with you two.”
My opponent raises his eyebrow, glancing at the raven haired girl.
“Would it not be dishonorable for me to use two pokemon while my opponent only has access to a singular combatant?”
Celine shrugs, then looks at me questioningly. I take a moment to think about it for a second, pondering the pros and cons of the situation. I’d get more valuable experience before the first gym, which would be great, but I’d also have to put a lot of strain on my partner before our first journey as well. I look down at my Fennekin, but to my surprise I see nothing but determination behind her eyes. I give her a little nod, then raise my thumb up to the sky.
“Don’t worry Alby, using all the resources you have access to is the quintessential element of battles. If I can’t surmount the difference, it’s because I am not strong enough yet.”
Albert’s eyebrows shoot up, and then he chuckles, raising his forward to let his Rookidee land upon his leather glove.
“Alby… I have to say, that’s a first. So be it then, Blaine of Viridian! Our eyes have met, so as honorable warriors, we are bound by tradition to do battle!”
I grin and shift my thumb into a fist, shifting it to match his pose.
“Let us both do our best! EN GARDE!”
Simultaneously, we toss our first pokemon into the air. Celine looks at us like we’re crazy, but manages to spout “F-FIGHT!” before they land. Albert immediately takes the initiative, placing his ungloved hand behind his back while extending two fingers forward.
“You have the advantage of flight, Lancette! Peck!”
Screeching, the bird swoops down and rushes at Berry quite quickly. Wetting my lips, I consider my best option. I know for a two on one I need to keep my pokemon relatively healthy between fights, so I couldn’t risk putting Berry into danger very much. Also, the thought of her hurting made my heart burn.
“Don’t let it hit you, and look for an opening to use Hypnosis!”
Obliging the request, Berry leaps over the charging bird, landing on a front paw before rotating and gathering psychic energy within her eyes. When the Rookidee turns, their power releases, yet the bird shakes the effects off despite nearly crashing into the ground. After a quick recovery, Lancette swoops down once again, and Berry dodges once again, repeating the gathering of energy. The two repeat this song and dance one more time, and upon the fourth dodge the bird finally fails to will itself out of sleep.
“Ember!” “No! Wake up Lancette!”
Futile as it is, Albert continues to scream at his pokemon to wake up. Meanwhile my Fennekin takes a deep breath, then releases a small ball of flame, which zigzags across the battlefield until it slams into the bird. Unfortunately for the little Rookidee, it fails to wake up, and after two more quick embers, Celine calls the fight. Despite obviously being a bit frustrated, Albert kneels down and whispers something to Chespin, who nods and walks out onto the battlefield with passion in its eyes.
Berry runs over to me and demands a bit of attention in the meantime, so I oblige her whims as I give her a scratch behind her ears. She squeaks in appreciation, then nimbly runs back onto the field when the little hedgehog confidently steps up. Albert takes a deep breath, a serious look on his face.
“You can do it, Bedive, I believe in you! Now, wrap a vine whip around your arm and approach!”
Bellowing out a passionate grunt of understanding, the Chespin immediately follows the order, a vine shooting out of its left hand before curling upwards from his fist to his shoulder. With a now extremely bulbous and thick blob around his arm, Bedive crouches down and begins to slowly stalk towards Berry, who just looks at the situation with the same confusion that I share.
“Uh… Ember?”
The Fennekin’s flame forms quickly and flies through the air even quicker, but when it is about to reach the Chespin, the grass Pokemon swipes its wrapped arm through the air, dispelling the flame in its entirety. Both of us shocked, me and my partner’s eyes meet, entirely unsure of what to do now. I slightly tilt my head, my mind racing for anything that could work.
“J-Just try the hit and run with ember again?”
Celine snorts off to the side at my unsure order, but Berry doesn’t treat it so flippantly. She immediately sets the plan into action, prowling around to try and see what Chespin is going to do. Bedive continues to approach, and then when within a few feet, its unwrapped right hand suddenly swings out, a vine slashing towards my little fox. Berry’s eyes go wide, but she stays on her toes. Ducking down, she avoids the hit, then dashes beneath the hedgehog’s arm to get behind it.
Preparing her ember, instead of forcibly changing the small flame particles it created into a ball, Berry simply releases them in a stream. The small flames slightly scorch Bedive’s back, but the Chespin obviously isn’t going to let the fox get the hit for free. Its right arm flicks up and then down, sending a vertical slash towards my Pokemon. Berry is paying attention though, and sidesteps just enough to dodge the hit. Albert grimaces, then yells a new order down at his pokemon.
“Synthesis, low power! Keep your strength up, so we can outlast her!”
Grinning ear to ear, the Chespin once again bellows its acceptance, its eyes glowing green as the small burns on its back disappear. Me and Berry both grimace at our stalemate, but keep our seemingly sound strategy. Both sides circle around, occasionally taking a chance to get a hit before the other counterattacks. Beneath the orange and pink sunset, the two small warriors dance like their lives depend on it, but soon, both visibly begin to slow down, exhausted from the seemingly endless fight. Trusting in my pokemon, I bide my time until the time I had been waiting for comes as Bedive seems to see an opening and swing’s its vine again.
“Burn it’s right hand!”
Berry jumps up, sending a stream of ember into the hedgehog’s hand. The Chespin winces from the initial pain, and then when it begins to restart its healing, it visibly is not as fast as before. Celine gasps, then looks at the sky- The sun has set, and as a result, synthesis is no longer as effective. Taking the opportunity, Berry gets a small second wind as she spins around her opponent, the pokemon quickly slowing down as burns accumulate upon its body. Albert pales, his strategy failing before his eyes, yet he doesn’t give another order. Instead, he clenches his fists, then yells at the top of his lungs.
“WE FORFEIT!”
Immediately, everyone stops and looks at him in surprise. Albert runs onto the field, picking his Chespin up and hugging it to his chest with a bittersweet smile.
“You did great, buddy, that’s enough. Let’s go get you healed.”
Berry, exhausted, walks up to me panting. I sit down on the ground, allowing her to shift into my arms. I give her a kiss on the head and then stand up. Celine, obviously a bit caught off guard, walks up to us with her hands behind her head.
“Wew, that one was dragged out pretty long. You two are gonna be absolute pains to fight against soon.”
For a moment, all three of us stand there beneath the artificial light illuminating the field, nary a word said. We look between each other, thoughts refusing to be articulated. I take a deep breath, then point at them.
“That’s an understatement. Let's make a deal. Every other gym we beat, we’ll have a little tourney with our friends to see who is strongest at that point, to train and to prepare for when we’ll be fighting against each other in the Kalos league.”
Celine grins and looks at Albert, who nods. Both of them raise their fingers as well, and beneath the light of the moon, our bond is set.
Rivals, for now and ever.