It was finally time. Nori could hardly believe how fast it had crept up on them. The past two days flew by uneventfully. After having breakfast on Saturday, he and his mom hopped on a bus to Veilstone Gym. It was a gaudy building adorned with neon lights, outshining the Game Corner beside it. They were welcomed and brought to the back. They took his mom somewhere while he was guided to the battlefield.
He was standing in the entry hall, waiting to be cued in. The only illumination came from the dimmed lights over the bleachers in the arena. Thankfully, it was a straight walk out, which was good because it wasn’t enough to properly see.
The Demon Nidorina was beside him, growling with displeasure at the ridiculous spectacle this was turning out to be. Nori could only pat her in sympathy and agreement. It was taking forever! How long did it take to get ready for a battle?! Maybe it was part of the theatrics. He had a general idea of what they might be in for. Even regular trainers got subjected to the fantastical presentation of battles at the Veilstone City Gym. But this was more excessive than he could have ever imagined.
Finally, after a few more minutes, the wait ended. A fanfare hit, followed by the PA system coming to life with a static and a voice.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” boomed a deep, overly dramatic man. “You are about to bear witness to a very special battle. Today, the stakes are not about a Badge. They aren’t about pride. They aren’t even about Pokemon beating each other up for the fun of it!”
The crowd roared. Nori hadn’t looked, but it sounded like a full house had gathered.
“Today is about survival! Today is about proving a point! Today is about redemption!” the announcer bellowed. “The challenger has promised to defeat Gasha Qian today in a one-on-one battle of Poison Pokemon. He has vowed to prove that the Demon Nidorina can be reformed. There will be dire consequences for the two of them if he fails to show this.”
The teal Pokemon chuckled upon hearing what they had been calling her. “You ready for this?” Nori asked.
She gave a determined snort in response. It was do or die, and she certainly didn’t intend to die here. Who would? Especially given all they’d been through up until now.
“Entering first, the young man here to challenge, and the one who made this preposterously bold claim. A resident of our fair city, Nori Carino!”
A few of the lights came on. It was time. The boy adjusted his shirt and nodded to his Pokemon. With that, the pair stepped out into the arena.
A chorus of boos serenaded them in. Nori’s bold march turned into a walk, which slowed to a crawl as the crowd unleashed their wrath on him. He had heard that the Gym Leader had fans who attended every match and booed all her challengers on the basis of being her opponent. But this was beyond that. There were all sorts of people here. A class of young children, the news media, several people who looked like authorities, big-shot trainer-looking types, the aforementioned fans of the Gym Leader, some faces he recognized from the past few days or even earlier (no sign of Claris at least), and various random spectators.
The members of Youths Against Mistaken Society had decided to make their presence felt. They were right there in the front row, three of them leering with eyes of rage and betrayal. Except the two girls who weren’t Mariko; Nariya was looking down, and Yumi averted her gaze when he looked their way.
Nori thought he was ready for this. He knew what people thought about him. But he didn’t think it was going to be this bad! All he was able to do was stare blankly at the people shouting and hissing at him.
“You suck, Carino!”
“Prepare to lose the fight and your freedom, kid!”
“I can’t believe you would support a defect like that!”
His crawl became a shuffle, and then he stopped entirely. The abhorred Pokemon actually stood in front and looked up at him. Her jaw clenched. She growled while looking him straight in the eyes, hopefully expressing concern in her own way. She was right to be. He thought he could push it all to the back of his mind. But it was too hard! All the insults, disappointed chatter, and raw hatred. It was too much.
“He should’ve given up while he could.”
“I never thought someone could be this stupid…”
“My mommy says you’re a bad kid!”
“That Pokemon is a menace.”
“He’s a menace, too!”
Nori drooped. He’d heard of gang leaders and criminal masterminds getting a warmer reception than this. He thought at least a few people would be cheering for him. The boy swept his gaze across the entire crowd. Everywhere he looked, he saw countless people glaring at him with unrelenting enmity. The ones who weren’t were few and far between.
That’s when he saw her. Prema was there, just like she promised. She was tucked away in the back right corner. A serene picture of stillness in a raging inferno. Looking his way and giving him a warm smile. She was in a violet robe with golden trim, next to a similarly dressed man (her dad?).
He locked eyes with her, and for a moment, he felt like the room was still dark except for a spotlight shining down on her. He’d only known Prema for a very short time, but she had given nothing less than her full support throughout this ordeal. Even as just about everyone else was against him or watching neutrally, she was unafraid to express that she was silently cheering him on.
He knew he had some support from people who weren’t present. But actually seeing someone there proved invigorating. He felt a surge of energy rising within him. With a flash of a smile to Prema, he turned to the crowd.
He looked directly at Louis and the rest of the protest group as he mustered his mischievous side. He shouted as loudly as he could so his voice could be heard by all: “We’re going to win this, whether you stupid morons like it or not!”
He punctuated it with some boisterous gestures that only made the crowd madder. For a moment, it looked as though Mariko was about to leap out of her chair. However, Louis put a firm hand on her shoulder and shook his head at her.
The Demon Nidorina stood tall and grinned toothily at him, almost twistedly. Nori looked back over at Prema, who appeared bemused by his defiant, perhaps rebellious response. He nodded to her and then to Nidorina. Even if people were going to hate him for this, he came here to fight for something. And fight he –
they would. Nori stomped to his place on the battlefield with a renewed determination. The Demon crouched before him, restlessly scraping a paw along ground. He firmly put his hands on his hips as he waited.
“Well, it seems our challenger is fired up and ready to put on a spectacle!” the announcer called out. “And now introducing his opponent! She is our fair Gym Leader! The owner and proprietor of the Veilstone Game Corner! A master of Poison Pokemon! A Grandmaster coordinator! We call her the Toxic Gambling Lady! The one, the only…GAAAASHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA QIAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!”
The arena instantly turned pitch black. The roar of the crowd continued unabated, and only grew louder when the other entryway began to shimmer. Silhouetted against the intense light was a woman wearing a hat and an elaborate outfit.
With a wave of her arms, a burst of golden fireworks launched over her. Gasha stepped out into a spotlight, revealing her gaudy attire in all its glory. She was wearing a long, vibrant coat that reached to her knees. It was mostly magenta with gray accents, and adorned with technicolor decorations that seemed to leap off the fabric. Ruffles lined the bottom of the attire. Her hat’s brim was enormous, resembling something a wealthy socialite or femme fatale in the movies might have on. The front of it was lined with Poke Balls of all kinds. The strangest thing was what was wrapped around her neck. It might be considered a scarf, yet it was big and long enough to be considered a cloak as well.
The Gym Leader walked forward, her neckwear billowing behind her. She stopped partway to her spot, looking over at Nori and the Demon Nidorina. She reached into her coat pocket to retrieve a coin. With a smirk, she flipped it into the air. The crowd went silent. It sailed up, and up. If Nori hadn’t been so intensely focused, he would’ve thought he’d gone deaf. The coin glinted in the light as it reached its peak. As it came down, she snatched it out of the air with one hand and slammed it down on the back of the other.
The slap echoed through the arena. The Gym Leader dramatically drew her arm toward her face, then lifted her hand to peek at it. She chuckled, pinching the coin between her index and middle fingers, holding it up for everyone to see. “Well, well.” She pointed at them. “The coin came up tails. Looks like you’ll lose.”
At this, all the lights came back on. The crowd came back alive, with a bit of laughter interspersed with their cheering. Nori only sighed. If it was heads, she’d probably say she was going to win. Gasha removed her neckwear and stuffed it in her coat along with the coin. She continued her approach, playing to her fans along the way. The boy, for his part, looked over at Prema. The girl shrugged, unsure of what to make of it all.
He heard a barking-like sound from next to him. He turned to see Nidorina pointing straight forward. Nori blinked, but on seeing the Pokemon was pointing at the Gym Leader, he got the message and nodded.
“That’s right. Stay focused, Nori. Don’t let this get to you…” he whispered to himself.
The boy took a quick moment to survey the field. The floor was made of brick and pavement. It was mostly open space, especially in the middle. There were trees near the corners and a moat of filthy water surrounding the whole thing, half a meter deep at worst. It could easily be a street outside, if not for the large brown and gray rocks scattered about. They were most prominent on the sides, with a few around the center area.
Gasha took her position. The announcer spoke up again. “Each trainer will use one Pokemon apiece. Nori Carino will be using the Demon Nidorina. We are presently awaiting Gasha’s choice of Pokemon!”
Nori and the Demon stood silently. Gasha was still as a statue for many long seconds. She put a finger on her chin. She looked up, humming. She adjusted her hat, before reaching for a black and gold ball on it. After musing it over for a bit, she retrieved another one. A Great Ball, just like theirs. She held one in each hand, weighing them both.
“Well?” Nori again put his hands on his hips. “Hurry up!”
The Gym Leader chuckled. She opened her coat enough to place the Great Ball in a pocket inside. “Don’t go on-tilt, now. You can’t rush to a decision straight away. That’s a ready-made formula for walking away with a loss.”
Nori grumbled as she retrieved and studied two more of her Poke Balls. He was aware enough to know this was a mind game, but that didn’t make it any less annoying. He had done as much research into Gasha Qian as he could before this fight. She was an immigrant from a region in mainland China, though he forgot the name. She specialized in Poison-types. Her signature Pokemon was a Skuntank named D’Alembert, but she owned many different species. On rare occasions, she’d use a foreign Pokemon or one of a different type, like her Sudowoodo. Even the battlefield got changed occasionally. Challengers would never know what to expect from her on any given day.
“Mmmm. I choose… Yes, this one.”
She threw her hat like a disc. There was only a sky-blue ball remaining on it, which expanded and cracked open. Out came a sinister-looking blue Pokemon with countless tendrils and two ruby-like spheres on its face. A Tentacruel. Nori tightened up. One of the three things he was expecting, alongside Dustox and Skuntank – and the worst one. For him, at least.
The jellyfish posed, smoothly batting the hat back to Gasha as it did so. She caught it and, after a moment of consideration, said, “It’s a special occasion, so! Something to remember it by!”
With this declaration, she hurled it toward the crowd. People gasped in surprise, then tripped over each other trying to be the one to get it. Ultimately, a buff teenager with dark orange hair grabbed it just before a redheaded woman could. With a smile, he handed it to a little white-haired boy before taking his seat again.
But back to their fight. Much to Nori’s surprise, the Demon was warily sizing up their opponent. She had no lack of confidence, but some of her bravado had faded. There was just a tiny bit of uncertainty he had never seen from her before, not even against that Rhydon. “Have you fought anything like this before?”
She grunted. What did that mean? Well, Nori knew one thing.
“I’m guessing she chose it because it’s unlikely you’ve fought aquatic Pokemon often.” He was hoping that was the only reason. He shuddered thinking about what it might do. This so-called sea ruby was a common sight on the water’s surface, but it rarely came onto land of its own volition. “May not be where it normally lives, but she wouldn’t use it here if it wasn’t trained for this.”
“Somebody’s left nothing to chance,” the Gym Leader replied, having overheard. Well, of course. He was inexperienced with Pokemon battling, but not stupid. It was just common sense to assume someone good at it would do something for a reason. “But how will you do when my Paroli and your Demon start exchanging hits?”
“That’s what we’re gonna find out, whenever you’re ready!”
To this, Gasha just chuckled. “I’m not sure if we are. What do you think, Paroli?” The Tentacruel mirrored its trainer’s lackadaisical attitude, leaning back and propping itself up with only half of its visible tentacles.
This was getting annoying. “Ready or not, here we come! Nidorina, move in!”
Gasha snapped her fingers as the fight was officially on. “Wrap and throw, Paroli.”
The Tentacruel lashed out with its tentacles, ensnaring the teal Pokemon. It squeezed her for a moment and hurled her back the way she came. Nidorina landed clean on her feet and charged right back into the fray.
“Doubling down isn’t the right move,” the Gym Leader smoothly dismissed. “Again, but with a slam.”
She got closer this time. She even managed to hack at one of the tendrils, which drove it away. But she was caught once more. Paroli whipped the Demon into the ground a couple of times before tossing her again. This time, she went into a roll across the paved floor.
“Come on!” Nori yelled. Luckily, his Pokemon smoothly rolled to her feet. “This is cheap!” How were you supposed to defend against that? He couldn’t think of anything, but was confident something would come to him if he really thought about it! His Pokemon was more frustrated, and seemed ready to pounce again. “Wait!”
She did not wait and went right back in, albeit more slowly and carefully. Gasha scoffed at it.
“Quite the nut, going in against your orders. It seems you don’t have much control, do you?”
“That’s just how we fight,” the boy said, mostly fine with this. At least she was being more careful. “You can’t keep doing that!”
“Actually, I can. But I won’t.” The Gym Leader shrugged in concession. “Let’s up the ante. A Bubble Beam barricade, Paroli.”
The jellyfish spun around, using some of its tentacles as a swivel. As it did so, it fired off a stream of bubbles. Most of them didn’t go very far. It ended up with many around it, forming a sort of defensive barrier. As it came to a halt, the Pokemon dipped its body toward the crowd. Was that a bow?!
“A little display for my contest fans in the audience,” she said with a wave, to voracious cheers.
The Demon almost stopped, but Nori urged her on. “They’re just bubbles. Slice through!” With a nod, she did so, jumping forward and swiping vigorously. Gasha’s smug expression faded as the teal Pokemon easily carved herself a path with a Shadow Claw.
Nidorina landed and jumped again, this time right at the other Pokemon. She clung onto it with her claws and rammed her head into the jellyfish, sending it staggering back into its own bubbles. The sea ruby shook violently to get her off. And succeeded. Nidorina simply slid right off its slippery form.
“Smack it away,” Gasha said with a flick of her wrist.
It began twisting some tentacles together, right as the Demon was falling. She landed, but had no chance to avoid the swing. She went tumbling backward along the ground, much like before. Nori’s throat tightened when she didn’t stand right away, but she pushed up a second later.
Out of nowhere, the Gym Leader applauded. Genuinely, not sarcastically. “A very impressive play. I suppose I can’t just treat you like white meat.” Whatever that meant. Gasha flipped her hair. “But just so you know, keeping that up will yield negative expectation. You should already see why.”
The boy squinted. He did. Now he understood why they were up against the Tentacruel and not one of her other Pokemon. Gasha had to know how the Demon fought. So something like this was perfect to face her, with its long tentacles able to intercept if she tried to get in close. Which was most of their offense. Meanwhile, it had no trouble attacking at a distance with Water-type moves.
The Demon looked back at Nori for ideas. Okay, if she was hesitating, they were in trouble. Part of him was hoping she would think of something, now she was turning to him.
He pressed both of his index fingers to his forehead. “Okay, think about this, Nori. Can we attack at a range, too?” Actually, yes! There was something! It was worth a try! “Fire off a Poison Sting!”
She rolled her eyes. Was that not good? Nevertheless, she loosed needles and launched them at Paroli. It simply stood there and took the attack without flinching. She looked back and shook her head with a sneer. Okay, yes, it was useless.
“You tried,” said Gasha. “Return fire with Brine.”
Out came a blast of water. Nori cringed and turned away on instinct. “Relax, relax, Nori. It’s not aimed for you.” Stupid phobia.
Easily telegraphed, the Demon had no issue avoiding this. They were at a stalemate. Gasha gave no further orders, awaiting theirs instead. But what could they do here?! If he had Nidorina rush in, she’d just get caught again. Yet Poison Sting wasn’t helping at all.
“Well? What are
you waiting for, now?” Gasha asked, prompting laughter from the audience.
Nori grumbled. It wasn’t lost on him that she’d reversed the situation from before the match. “I’m thinking!” he yelled.
The woman tapped her wrist. “Could you try to think a little faster? We don’t have all day here.”
Screw it. “Fine. Charge in!” That was all they could do!
Nidorina charged. “The gambler’s fallacy,” Gasha mused.
“And slice the tentacles!” he added.
Her eyes widened for a second before narrowing. “Hmph, I call your bluff.”
It was no bluff, he was serious. They were a part of its body too! It was a risk, but also their only chance! Gasha seemed confident as the same scene as before looked about to play out.
Nidorina’s claws started to seep darkness. She raised one and swiped, cutting a piece of the approaching tentacle off. Gruesome on paper, but Nori had enough Tentacruel knowledge to know this was nothing for the species. They’d grow back and were disposable. As the cut one swiftly retracted, several more came in to take its place. One, two, three of them! Nidorina slashed away as they reached her. Once, twice, three times! Each that was struck caused the Tentacruel to wince and retract the partially severed limb. Two more emerged, coming in high. The teal Pokemon leaped, sliced both, and broke into a full sprint upon landing.
“Technique, that’s how we’ll win this!” Nori declared.
“Tut-tut.” Gasha wagged a finger. “There’s more in the bank where that came from. Your aggregate limit, Paroli.”
Out came even more tentacles, maybe over a dozen! Nidorina reacted fast and got several more, but there were way too many of them. Eventually, one managed to wrap itself around her torso.
The Gym Leader gestured. “Reel.”
“Bite down!” Nori abruptly shouted, not even sure where he got that idea from.
For a second, he wondered how she was even going to do that. But his Pokemon curled up, opened her mouth, and managed to chomp on the thing ensnaring her! Paroli dropped Nidorina right in front! His Pokemon used the opportunity to land another vicious Shadow Claw right between the eyes. It blindly shoved her away a few paces, yet did nothing more. Nori silently pumped his arms. That must’ve really hurt it!
“Well played,” Gasha smirked, completely unconcerned. “Now, let’s demonstrate some technique of our own, Paroli. Jump.”
Nidorina was going right back in another attack, only to miss cleanly when Paroli crouched and sprang several meters away. It twirled about and pointed at Gasha.
She returned the gesture before they both pointed at Nidorina in sync. “Now use Muddy Sludge Wave.”
“Huh?”
Gasha let out a haughty laugh and struck a pose. “Bear witness!”
From beneath the Tentacruel, two separate surges of fluid formed. One was made of brownish water, the other consisted of nasty-looking ooze. Nori screamed in terror. He covered himself with his arms and scrambled to the side of the battlefield as fast as his legs would carry him. He nearly curled up on instinct, yet he managed to stay standing reasonably tall. The boy shuddered as he heard the waves fusing together and washing over the battlefield.
It wasn’t anywhere near him or anyone but his Pokemon. He reacted on impulse. That definitely looked dumb. Still, that was an attack right along the ground! The Demon was going to be swept up by it no matter how fast she ran or even if she jumped!
He turned back with dread, huffing as what remained drained into the moat. His heart sank when he didn’t see his Pokemon anywhere. The crowd’s gasps of amazement made him look closer.
There was Nidorina in midair! She did it! She somehow avoided it! Actually, he knew how! She leaped from a rock! He wasn’t sure what to think, but she had handled–
“Unleash your Hidden Power, Paroli.”
Numerous translucent spheres emerged from the jellyfish. They impacted Nidorina right before she landed. She roared in pain and was sent flying back, crashing down near the center of the battlefield.
“Wh-what was that?” he asked, still shaking a little. “That hidden something?”
“An advanced move, drawing out the inner essence of a Pokemon,” Gasha was happy to elaborate with a proud grin. “A trump card for Paroli to play against Electric-types, but it works just as well against her fellow Poison-types.”
He couldn’t believe this. The Demon Nidorina was powerful – maybe even stronger than their opponents. But Gasha and her Tentacruel were just so much better. What could they do? Did they even stand a chance?
“Now, Paroli, unleash a Brine!”
He gave no commands, he barely reacted to the water. The Demon was still fighting. She avoided it.
“Sweep the board!”
Another blast. A big one across the field. Nidorina tried to jump over. It hit anyway, and she went staggering back.
“Now show them your grace, and spin like a roulette wheel!”
The Tentacruel twirled and advanced with its tendrils extended. How many of those did it have?! The Demon tried to take cover behind another one of the rocks on the battlefield, but the other Pokemon effortlessly weaved around. She took the full force of the attack. Paroli slapped her numerous times, ultimately accelerating and sending her flying. She fell down right before Nori’s feet.
Gasha posed and basked in the cheers. “And with that, it looks like it’s about time to cash in.”
The Demon’s legs shook as she slowly tried to get up. Worse, her usual confidence was gone. She was scowling in defiance, but only one eye was open. “No…” Nori couldn’t believe it. It couldn’t end like this.
Gasha smiled sympathetically. “There’s no shame in taking a loss. You’ve certainly tried your best, but–”
“No!” Nori snapped, stepping forward. “We can’t lose. We can’t lose this fight! We can’t, or we’ll both be… NO!”
The Gym Leader took a step backward. “What?” he barely heard her saying.
“We’re not losing! She’s not being put to death, and I’m not being banned from owning Pokemon! No way!”
The Demon’s ears twitched. Nori was unafraid to admit it. Even if Claris were to confront him, he’d still say it! He actually liked having Pokemon! Now that he’d come this far, he wasn’t going to let that be taken from him. The teal creature stood valiantly, ignoring any pain. The Nidorina let out a ferocious roar. Nori gestured to his Pokemon, and started saying whatever came to mind.
“See that?” he spat, his blood pumping hotly. “We’re not quitting. We’re seeing this through! No, we’re winning!”
“You seem to be–”
“Shut the hell up! Are you ready, partner?”
The Demon grinned wildly.
“Then do what you did to that Geodude!” If they couldn’t win with conventional tactics or finesse, there was one thing left. Guts and sheer power! This was crazy. It was also the only hope they had!
The Gym Leader wore a mixture of emotions during his spiel, but got her game face back on as the Demon ran in with renewed vigor. “All in, are we?” she slyly asked. Gasha wagged a finger at him. “You have grit, but a poor memory. Paroli, Wrap. Overwhelm this Demon.”
“You know how to avoid that! Just like with that Rhydon!”
Spend less time fighting them off and more time getting there. That was the plan, but could she execute it? She knew how they moved now, so maybe. He could only watch as the tentacles lashed out once more to capture her. She slid under one, passed under another, and slashed away a third! If she could just get close and grab an idle tentacle, the battle would be in their hands! She leaped over two, and rolled below three more. A ninth and tenth were cut away in tandem, and she evaded another. They were right there!
No, no! It grabbed her! Two tentacles swung backward and caught her front legs. Wait, they were
around her limbs! “Pull!”
Two more tentacles were coming to seize her back legs, but never got there. Right as he started to speak, like she read his mind, the Demon jumped back and yanked with all her might. The sudden motion caught the jellyfish off guard, causing it to fall over.
“Now, throw and charge!”
As if it were nothing, the Demon used the still-wrapped tentacles as leverage to hurl their foe towards one of the many large rocks decorating the arena. Nori grinned and pumped an arm at the catharsis. A taste of its own medicine! She rushed in the second the Tentacruel had left her grasp, while it was still in midair. No quarter!
“Paroli! You know what to do when against the wall!” Gasha finished her sentence just as her Pokemon landed, still overturned.
The intent of the vague order became obvious quickly. It started firing off Brines. But despite its surprisingly good aim while upside-down, the Demon sidestepped each blast, closing the distance after just two of these.
What happened next happened all at once, and so quickly that it barely registered. The Demon was aiming to land her Skull Bash attack, which would crush the Tentacruel into the rock. The sea ruby moved aside at the very last moment! In that split second, Nori thought that she was going to crash into hard stone, but she reacted and ran up it. The Tentacruel did not see this, and Gasha had no time to warn it before the Demon backflipped off and slammed her entire body down onto the jellyfish.
The woman gripped her coat. “Impossible! Paroli!”
“Once more!” Nori clasped his hands and pointed. “SKULL BASH!”
“Move!”
The teal Pokemon ran in a circle to turn and build up some momentum. She came barreling at Tentacruel, and this time, it was in no condition to dodge. With a jumping leap, the Demon collided with her foe, straight into – no, straight through the boulder! She hit so hard that a chunk of the rock shattered! The two Pokemon went down in a plume of dust and stone shards. The aftermath of the impact momentarily obfuscated the result of the vicious attack.
All was silent. Nori squinted. Both to shield his retinas from any fine particles and to get a better look. “Is that it?” he pondered aloud, leaning forward.
It took a few more seconds for his question to be answered. As the dust settled, the Demon walked backwards off what remained of the stone, wobbling slightly. Paroli, however, was lying there in a heap, its tentacles limp as cooked noodles.
“It is! We’ve won!” Nori left his feet in his elation. He raised his fists to the air in triumph, pumped them as he dropped, and raised them to chest level as he landed. The Demon roared as she regained her composure. He shadowboxed for a few seconds and asked, “How do you like that?”
His victory did not immediately register with most of the onlookers. Gasha was staring at her fallen Pokemon, her mouth in an O-shape. The crowd was fairly quiet until the announcer spoke. The man stumbled over his words, “Da… the uh, of this battle, the challenger, Nori Carino!?”
His heart drummed as warmth surged through his body! Hearing it made it that much sweeter! Nori threw his arms into the air again with a huge beam. That was when the boos started.
“Oh, come on!” His voice broke a little. “You jerks won’t even let me have this moment? I beat the Gym Leader!”
“Well, yes,” Gasha spoke up, quieting the crowd. “You have indeed defeated me. Commendable. Give him a round of applause for defeating a Gym Leader in his very first official battle.”
As if she had flicked a switch, the air in the arena changed. While not universal – Louis and Mariko looked downright furious – many in the crowd started cheering. Others gave him polite applause. Nori looked around. The Demon grinned at him, snickering in delight. He then met Prema’s gaze. She gave him a warm smile and a nod of approval. He’d done it. And though Gasha had to tell people to, he was getting recognition for what he’d accomplished. It felt great. He couldn’t help but soak in the moment. Was his face damp? He wiped it. Yeah, it was. But it just made him smile more knowing where it came from!
The Gym Leader abruptly spoke up once more. “Even if it was with a very powerful Pokemon you didn’t raise yourself.”
As if she flicked another switch, the atmosphere changed again. Laughter. Ugh. Nori deflated all at once. At least it was only a short burst and not an entire crowd mocking him.
“Anyway, more importantly,” Gasha stated. Nori shuddered involuntarily. Her showmanship was gone. She had an all business look in her eyes and tone. “Don’t celebrate your victory just yet. As I was trying to tell you, your task was to show that you had managed to suppress the more violent side of the Demon Nidorina’s personality. I was sufficiently convinced at one point, but…”
She gestured to the wreckage of the stone where her Tentacruel was still splayed out. “Now we have this mess. Ordered by you, in fact.” With an irreverent sigh, she finally recalled Paroli to its ball.
Wait, what? He didn’t actually have to win the battle against her? He had wanted to. The announcer gave him that impression that he needed to. And he did win. Kind of brutally, and the real point was to stop the Demon from being so brutal in her battles. That point had completely slipped his mind in the heat of the moment.
“So…” his voice cracked. There was a sudden dryness in his throat. “What happens now?”
The leader flipped her hair and shrugged. “Not even the cards know your fate right now. But! We’ve the Officials here to deliberate this situation right now. So until they do…”
Nori caught a flash of something out of the corner of his eye. It was a jolt of electricity, aimed right for the Demon. She spotted the attack as well and easily avoided it, but two more came out. All three were fired by a different Luxio, who stood before uniformed men. She managed to escape from those as well, only to be hit by a second burst from the first before she could even move to counterattack.
“What the hell?! Nidorina–” He stopped speaking when two men in similar uniforms stepped out in front of him. They crossed their arms and scowled menacingly. Nori clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
While they obstructed his view, he was able to spot an orange mushroom Pokemon blasting his Pokemon from behind with a cloud of spores. She whipped around and viciously slashed it in the face. It staggered back. But even with a gash oozing green liquid, it was able to block her sloppily aimed second strike with its own claws and shoot another cloud at her. The Demon remained standing, leering hatefully. A third blast finally made her slump over. What was happening?!
“The Demon is to be subdued,” said Gasha. “And you’ll have to remain in custody here.”
The two men stood in front of and behind him. The one pointed to start moving, the other jabbed a finger into his back. Nori sneered and nearly elbowed him in retaliation. Much as he desperately wanted to show them, save his Pokemon, and make his escape like the characters in Crime by Starlight, he was outnumbered. For now, he had no choice but to do as they said.
##########
It was all over.
Destined for greatness, she had chosen another path and excelled.
Fate had brought her to the perfect person. He respected her and let her be herself. He battled only because of her! And she respected him. He knew how to fight and helped her improve.
Together, they had beaten a foe stronger than she had ever fought! One that even she doubted she could have beaten alone. So this was what it was like to work with humanity!
But it was all for nothing. She was about to die. If only her body would listen to her!
Was this punishment for defying her purpose? To find her own way, have it torn from her, and be killed in an ambush?
She couldn't speak. She couldn't even cry. All she was able to do before her consciousness faded was silently apologize to those she was leaving and hope they somehow heard it.
