Inyssa
Junior Trainer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
- Partners
-
Hiya! I was thinking about starting to post some of my stuff over here while I work on my newer fics, and figured I could start with something more compact like this.
Story Cover:
Synopsis:
Originally this was a story told throughout nearly 40 snippets in between 500 and 1000 words, but as to not spam the thread over and over I'll be uploading it in sets of around 7 snippets each per chapter, for a total of five parts for each big 'turn' in the story. To explain further, this is a short novella written as the 'backstory' for a character in an old Pokemon tabletop campaign, which serves as a standalone tale of its own.
The campaign itself is also currently being adapted into prose by me, but I figured I'd start with this since it's much more manageable, lol. Cheers to Yuki (DM) and Sabrina (the player) for their help with this.
Content Warnings:
Two trainers stood across from each other within a large steel cage. The one on the far right was a short, black-haired girl wearing a black beanie and a hoodie, a cigarette being held by her lips.
Pinching the butt of the cig with her fingers, she began to speak.
"I suppose you know the rules, though I don't mind repeating them," she said with a cold, dispassionate voice. "Three against three; you can use your Pokemon in any way you wish as long as you don't have more than one out at the same time."
She took a slow drag of the cigarette as she backed up toward a small table inside the cage. Atop rested a handful of cardboard boxes, each filled with Pokeballs of different colors.
"The leader, that would be me, will use random Pokemon from these boxes." She pointed at them, looking bored. "They haven't been raised by me nor do I care about their well-being, so don't expect me to go easy on you."
She closed her eyes for a moment, throwing the cigarette to the ground and stomping on it.
"You can try to kill me to win, and in fact I recommend you do. I'm not allowed to kill any challengers. Too much paperwork, you see. But then again…"
Her eyes set on her opponent and the massive, rough-looking Rhydon at his side, her eyes a cold, apathetic abyss.
"Accidents do happen."
High above the arena, two men looked at the trainers from the VIP spectator booths. One of them was somewhere in his forties, smoking a pipe as he stared down with something akin to boredom.
"Is that the new Gym Leader?" he asked. "Could’ve mistaken her for a guy. Is she any good?"
The young man next to him crossed his arms and replied with a soft, chilling voice.
"Well… her physical strength is terrible, her attitude is abysmal and she urgently needs someone to take her down a peg," he listed calmly. "However… her skill in Pokemon battles is something you don't see every day. And most importantly, she doesn't ask questions."
"And what's her name?"
The young man smiled, turning to look at his associate. His features were soft and handsome, and he wore an all black uniform with a single white triangle badge on his chest. His hair was straight and soft though somewhat overgrown, mostly light brown except for the single tuft which covered his right eye, which was a deep azure. His eyes were bi-colored, the same two as his hair.
"She doesn't have a name anymore,” answered the man, the corners of his lips quirking up into the shadow of a smile. "From now on she's simply... Sabrina."
"Aaand over here we’ve got the most important part."
A handsome man in an all-black uniform and a young girl stood inside the dustiest, most dilapidated room either of them had ever seen. A room that would, today, become her new home.
As the man showed her around, he stopped next to a table full of cardboard boxes, each marked with a differently colored stroke of paint. Pokeballs of all sorts and colors were littered inside them. The girl following him stole a quick glimpse of the boxes and nodded. She didn’t look particularly imposing, almost a head shorter than the man accompanying her and just as skinny, wearing an oversized hoodie that gave her an air of plainness and indifference. The only thing of note about her appearance was the dingy wool hat resting atop her head, casting an ever-present shadow over her face.
"Red means relatively weak Pokemon, Green means Pokemon with a bit more experience," the man continued explaining. "Black means Pokemon on par with those of a Gym leader, and the ones in the Blue box are, of course, incredibly powerful. It's my favorite color after all," he smiled. "These Pokemon will be your companions for the entirety of your… stay here."
Even though the first two boxes were filled to the brim with Pokeballs, the black and especially the blue box only contained a few. Not too surprising; well-trained Pokemon were hard to come by these days.
"You'll be sleeping here, of course. All you need to do is… well, clean up a little, if you want to."
The man dragged a finger across the surface of a nearby cupboard, then made a face and wiped the filth and dust on his dress pants.
"There's a bathroom; second door on the left past the hallway, and there's also a little kitchen back there, in case you want to cook something for yourself." He turned around and let out a sigh, smiling. "Any questions?"
Just as the girl was about to speak, the metallic door leading to the dingy room opened with a creak. An older man with salt and pepper hair came in.
"S-sir…" he said, breathless. "We have a challenger."
The other man, whose long, messy hair was a light brown with the exception of a single blue tuft over his right eye, made an unpleasant face.
"I thought I'd made it pretty clear that today we wouldn't have… Ah, it doesn't matter."
He shook his head and sighed somewhat exaggeratedly, but recovered almost instantly. Turning around, he placed both hands on the girl's shoulders and shone her a smile that sent a shiver down her spine.
"Exciting, isn't it!? This will be your first fight!" He spoke so excitedly that she almost expected to see sparkles coming off him. "Here, have these."
He handed her the green box and gave her a friendly pat on the back.
"Now go, Sabrina. Good luck!"
Sabrina stumbled toward the door, clearly overwhelmed, but stopped just before crossing the sill.
"…Your name?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.
The man raised his chin slightly, that long tuft of blue hair falling to the side, and what a strange sight that was. One of his eyes was brown. The other was the same color as his dyed tuft of hair; a cold, boundless blue like winter itself.
"Who, me?" he asked innocently. "You can just call me Azure."
The young woman walked out into the arena, absentmindedly spinning a Pokeball in her hand.
That Azure guy said this would be enough , she thought, skeptical. So my opponent must not be too skilled.
A small stadium –if one could even call it that– sprawled out before her. The concrete floor was cracked and scorched and stained with blood all over, surrounded on all sides by rusty fences which were missing a few chunks here and there. Beyond them there were about a dozen spectators, waiting for the fight to begin. Steps echoed not far off as more people started coming in.
Her opponent, a middle-aged man with a horrid multicolored mullet, turned his nose up at her and chuckled derisively. He grabbed a Pokeball from his belt, opening it to a blinding flash of light. That the ground shook under the creature's weight was already bad news. The fact that it ended up being a Rhydon only exacerbated the crease of anxiousness in Sabrina's forehead.
"And who's this, eh?" scoffed the man. "This ain't a kindergarten. I came here to fight the Gym leader, not to have a tea party."
Sabrina's eye twitched with irritation. Not that she didn't expect this type of reaction. "Then how about you show me what you're made of?" she said. "If a snot-nosed brat like me gives you a beating, that'd be pretty humiliating, wouldn't it? Then again… with that hair, you must be used to the feeling."
The man's eyes widened, nostrils flaring like a Tauros about to stampede. "Tsk. Just shut your mouth and open that Pokeball!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
Flaring with anger, she smiled and threw the ball up in the air. Yet what emerged from the burst of light was worryingly small, a vulpine creature with golden brown fur and thin, almost skeletal limbs folded over each other. Its head swayed back and forth, and its eyes were closed as it tried to doze back to sleep.
An Abra.
"…Ah."
A gnawing worry started rising up her body. Abra couldn't learn any offensive technique normally, but… that Azure guy wouldn't just give her a defenseless Pokemon for her first fight. The Abra surely knew a TM or two… right?
"Psychic!" she yelled, hopeful.
The Abra turned his head slowly toward her, questioning.
"…You only know Teleport, don't you?"
As the creature gave a lazy nod, their opponent's order echoed through the arena.
"Rhydon, use Megahorn!"
The ground actually shook with the monster's first step, and all Sabrina's eyes could focus on then was the brimming power exuding from its horn as it barreled toward them, too fast to dodge.
"…Shit."
The door to Sabrina's room swung open violently. And there under the sill stood none other than Azure, sporting a sickening grin from ear to ear. The girl looked up from her book –a leather volume so old it was practically disintegrating– and her eyes narrowed with pure spite.
"Well?" Azure asked excitedly. "How'd it go, how'd it go?"
It'd been almost a week since that first battle. Multiple band-aids peppered the girl's face, a splint covered her left arm and –as Azure noticed when she rose to her feet– she had a limp as well.
"How the fuck do you think it went!?" she bellowed, clutching at the collar of his suit. "Of course I lost! What did you want me to do with a Pokemon that can't even attack? There were easier ways to kill me if that's what you wanted you cretin!"
Azure stared at her, his smile frozen in place.
"…But you didn't die," he whispered.
Sabrina blinked, surprise briefly quenching her anger. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing!" Azure hummed, freeing himself from her grasp. "Anyway, it looks like you finally made this place your own, huh?"
In truth, the room looked just as dingy and dilapidated as before, large swathes of plaster painting blotches on the visible and nearly rotten bricks beneath the walls, a few rays of sunlight coming in from the holes in the ceiling Sabrina hadn't gotten to plugging up yet. Clearly, she'd only cleaned up as necessary and hadn't touched anything otherwise, with the exception of the small mountain of books around the couch and the many vinyl records scattered everywhere.
"Oh, I just remembered," said Azure, bringing her back to reality. "There's some… business I need to take care of, so I probably won't be back for a few weeks. But before that… here you go."
Sabrina instinctively opened her palm as the man deposited something on it, small and metallic. The Marsh badge. It was almost identical to the one given by the original Sabrina, only the golden circle was inserted into a black triangle. She... could only stare. The symbol, twisted and corrupted though it was...
A brief scene flashed across her eyes. A young brat with her nose practically pressed against the T.V. screen, watching a battling tournament between the various Gym leaders of Kanto and Johto. Her smile widening and her eyes sparkling with amazement as the real Sabrina brought out her ace, the unstoppable Alakazam. That day-
"I'd say you've earned it, wouldn't you?" Azure said all of a sudden. "And now… I must bid you adieu."
So entranced Sabrina was that she came back to reality a little too late. "W-wait!"
But Azure had already walked out of the room by the the time Sabrina came back to herself. She could do little but stand there, staring blankly ahead.
"What… what the hell!?"
Had he really sent her to die with a smile on his face, or would he have stopped her opponent before it came to that? It was impossible to tell. She couldn't read him at all, which meant for now she couldn't trust him as far as she could throw him.
Minutes stretched into nearly an hour as she sat there in her shithole of a room, contemplating her situation, contemplating Azure and whatever the hell his inner thoughts might be, what he wanted with her. But before she could reach any conclusion, the door opened once again. This time, it was that man with salt and pepper hair; one of the Gym's caretakers, she'd figured.
"Ah… there you are," he grumbled. "Master Azure said–"
"I know," Sabrina cut him off. "He'll be skipping town for a while."
"No, not that. He forgot to give this to you."
"Huh?"
From the pocket of his shirt, the man pulled out a folded-up piece of paper, a letter which smelled faintly of floral perfume, and handed it to her. Frowning, Sabrina grabbed it and turned it over as the man turned around and left. That signature, that fancy writing... it was Azure's, no doubt. Feeling a pit in her stomach, Sabrina opened it and started to read its contents.
Sabrina scoffed; as if there were such a thing in this shithole.
By the time she made it to the end, she'd practically crushed the note between her fingers, face red and shoulders shaking with fury.
"That… that son of a bitch…!"
An overwhelming desire to punch the wall washed over her, but after a few long, slow-breathing seconds, that fury was transformed into something more. A sudden determination flared up inside her.
"…Alright," she muttered. "It's alright. So that's how you wanna play, eh? That's fine by me. You can take away my Pokemon, you can throw me at every police officer and smelly punk in the city, it doesn't matter. I won't give you the satisfaction of seeing me fall. No matter how dirty you play, I'll play ten times as dirty! This is my Gym now, so give me your best shot you bastard!"
And that's how the weeks passed. The girl not only wore the title of Gym leader like a glove; she made a profession out of surviving, and an art out of playing dirty.
Little by little as the victories piled up, the rumors spread and both the girl's infamy and her number of challengers grew, bringing with them more and more spectators. The lowest and the highest in Saffron. All of them vile and corrupt, all of them coming to her Gym with the hope of seeing a violent, bloody spectacle.
And that is exactly what they were given, time and time again.
Without even realizing it, without it even bothering her, the girl's day to day became an endless parade of battles for survival.
Over two years had passed since Sabrina's arrival at the Gym, and as expected, she'd taken over the place in its entirety. Her word was law. Although deep down, she knew that Azure could take that power away with the snap of his fingers.
Inside the little run down shack she called home, an Abra -suspiciously similar to the one from her first fight- slept soundly next to a moldy mattress. And, above a pile of discarded books, a Mr. Mime meditated in silence.
"Cut that out," grumbled Sabrina, looking for Mew-knows where amidst the disaster that was the room. "You're a special attacker; in a real fight you'll be shoving that meditation right up your ass."
The door opened just then with an ominous screech. A familiar man with salt and pepper hair peaked through.
"This one's dangerous," he said, more hopeful than worried. "He blasted through the other five trainers with practically no effort. You better not underestimate him."
Sabrina stood up, stretching, and let out a big yawn.
"We'll see about that."
The man shoved a bunch of Pokeballs at random into a small box, and both he and the Gym leader headed out. The Gym was filled to the brim with the lowest, most depraved Saffron had to offer. Half the audience loudly cheered her opponent, while the other half clamored for his blood.
Just another day…
Sabrina entered the enormous cage, hands in her pockets, a lit cigarette in her lips. Cheers and insults rang throughout the arena. Lazily, she let her gaze fall on her opponent. A pretty unremarkable man, tall and with wild, messy black hair, a smile full of enthusiasm on his lips. She couldn't make out his age, but he must've been a couple years older than her.
She narrowed her eyes. There, hanging from his neck, resting against his chest, an iron cross gleamed against the powerful lights hanging from the ceiling.
A priest, eh? Let's see what he's capable of.
She stuck a hand inside the box and pulled out a Pokeball. Her foe did the same, never dropping that irritating smile.
"Let's have a nice, clean battle," he exclaimed, bowing respectfully.
Sabrina rolled her eyes. Around the audience, comments and bets were already being made.
"Heh, that guy's not gonna last a minute against Sabrina."
"I wouldn't be so sure. Didn't you see how his Pokemon fought before? It wasn't… normal," someone else replied.
"He has the advantage in typing, that's for sure," a third commented.
"Type advantage ain't gonna be enough against Sabrina. Just watch."
Opinions and predictions -all scandalous and arrogant- flowed freely from person to person like the bills being passed around before the battle. The bets were high this time, although it wasn't terribly unusual for this gym. For a good portion of the audience, the two trainers inside the large steel cage were little more than investments.
Pokeballs in hand, they both stared deep into each other’s eyes, gauging the level of danger.
Then, something strange happened. The young man noticed the cigarette hanging from Sabrina's lips, and frowned.
"Aren't you a little young to be smoking?" he asked disapprovingly.
"Aren't you a little old to be believing in god?" she spat back.
A placating, horribly condescending smile came to the man's lips, as though he'd expected her words. "Ah… Still in that rebellious phase I see. My little brother is just like you."
"Tsk," Sabrina spat, eyes narrowing with annoyance. "Less talk, more action, priest."
The young man chuckled. "And to think you're the famous Sabrina. The original being so striking and beautiful, I didn't expect her imitator to be a short, emaciated brat."
At that, Sabrina lifted an eyebrow, the smile going cold in her lips.
I'm going to kill him.
"Are you going to fucking start or do you want me to attack you first?" she barked.
The man simply rolled his eyes, as though he were dealing with an annoying child. "Geez, young people sure are impatient nowadays…"
The man with the silver cross threw his Pokeball toward the center of the arena, and from the burst of light emerged a tall, imposing insect-like beast, its body green and segmented, two long, sharp blades protruding out of his forearms.
A Scyther.
Sabrina studied the Scyther carefully, doing her best to conceal her worry. A swift, hard-hitting bug-type, surely with loads of combat experience… could she have gotten a worse opponent?
To make things worse, they'd agreed to a one on one duel, so this would be decided in an instant.
She threw her own Pokeball out, and from the blast of light emerged an old, frazzled Hypno wearing a pair of colorful yellow glasses. The Pokemon bristled, seemingly not bothered by his opponent's chilly glare. Sabrina knew him well, and knew that despite his frail appearance no other Pokemon from the Gym could match his smarts and experience.
Against a Scyther, though…?
After weighing all the possible options, the two of them crossed eyes, and nodded. There was only one way out of this, and it involved being smiled on by Lady Luck.
Both Pokemon stared each other down for a moment. Then, emboldened by the blood-thirsty cheers of the audience, they jumped to attack in unison.
"X-Scissor!" the man bellowed.
"Trick!" Sabrina countered.
The Scyther's speed was beyond compare. A bolt of verdant lightning, he crossed the arena in an instant and slashed upwards with both of his scythes, catching his foe just as the glasses disappeared from his face with a pop . The poor Hypno hit the ground hard, the sheer force of the impact sending him rolling until he crashed against the bars of the cage on the other side. He trembled, one hand against the floor, but could not bring himself even to his knees.
Without a doubt, the man with the cross knew what he was doing.
However, that made him and his Pokemon cocky. The both of them turned toward Sabrina, completely disregarding the Hypno as he raised a small berry and shoved it in his mouth.
Sabrina very pointedly didn't turn to look. Which was good, as the next instant the giant bug Pokemon shot toward her. He stopped within an inch of killing her, scythe raised to her neck with practiced control, barely brushing her skin. From this close, she could see that pair of yellow glasses adorning his face.
"Woah, easy there." Sabrina raised her hands in a show of surrender, earning a storm of boos from the audience.
"Nice one, Clay! You knocked it out of the park!" The man with the cross cheered with a big, dumb smile. "I'm very proud, buddy!"
Despite the danger of the situation, Sabrina couldn't help but roll her eyes again. So he wasn't even intending to kill her? A priest through and through, she supposed, and that's what'd end up sealing his fate. She had to keep up the façade. The cool, calculating Scyther with a blade to her neck. The dumb, arrogant trainer smiling like an idiot. The young Gym leader with her hands raised, far from her Pokeballs, looking nervous.
"Well? What now?" asked the man, raising both hands and shrugging. "I'm disappointed. Seems like the rumors were all exaggerated."
A smirk formed on Sabrina’s lips. "Heh."
"What's so funn–?"
"Disable."
Eyes shooting wide, the Scyther tried to turn around. But Hypno was now possessed by an abnormal speed, and barraged his foe with a sudden wave of psychic energy, throwing him off of his trainer. The priest clearly hadn't expected that. His eyes immediately darted toward the Hypno, but he wasn't there anymore, dashing through the arena toward his foe.
"Wh–Clay's Salac Berry!?" he exclaimed, a tint of panic to his voice.
Sabrina's grin widened maliciously across her face.
"Psychic."
The burst of concentrated energy blasted the Scyther in the face, sending him across the room. His trainer balled his hands into fists, eyes wide with panic.
"X-Scissor!"
But the Scyther didn't move. Couldn't. His body quivered with the bug's desire to attack, but it was as though every muscle in his arms had been paralyzed. He couldn't raise his scythes.
"Shit, Struggle!?" he cursed, realization dawning on him. "Of course, the Choice Specs…!
The rest of the fight was predictable. Unable to use his arms, the Scyther flew at Hypno in an attempt to tackle him, but slammed against the ground again and again, as the Salac berry had given Hypno more than enough speed to dodge each of his attacks. The old psychic Pokemon barraged the poor insect with burst after burst of psionic power, until finally he hit the ground like a brick, smoking from head to toe. Hypno looked down at his fallen foe and struggled a step back, heaving from pain but still very much capable of fighting.
He knew what came next.
With an expression that bordered on demonic, Sabrina pointed at the man with the cross, and the wizened Hypno obeyed without question, raising a hand aflame with purple wisps of power.
Yet, to Sabrina's disappointment, her opponent didn't look scared or worried in the slightest. Instead, he hung his head and closed his eyes, balled fists trembling.
He was pissed .
"Y-you… backstabbing, traitorous…!" He seriously looked on the verge of losing it from anger. "What kind of trainer does something like that!? You're a disgrace to all Gym leaders!"
Sabrina raised an eyebrow, and chuckled. "Right…"
Unconcerned, she took an old iron lighter from her pocket and flipped it open, lighting a cigarette as she took it to her mouth. What was she supposed to say to that? Despite not usually being the bloodthirsty one in these matches, she'd fully intended to kill her, but after that reaction... It just wasn't fun if he wasn't concerned for his life. That, and she supposed letting him live with his stupidity and naivete was punishment enough; surely someone else would do the dirty work for her eventually.
"You wanted to win too cleanly," she said through puffs of smoke. "If you hadn't been such a good boy and actually killed me when you had the chance, you'd be leaving this place with my badge and my fame. But you didn't, because you're a loser. That your Pokemon is superior to your opponent's in all aspects doesn't guarantee your victory, priest."
She shoved the lighter back in her pocket and returned the Hypno to his Pokeball. Then she turned around and started walking away.
"You'd do well to remember that."
Fists trembling, pupils shrunken by rage, the man with the cross yelled as the Gym leader disappeared into darkness.
"I won't let this stand! I'll never accept your way of fighting! I'll be back tomorrow, and then I will beat you! You'll see!"
An annoying, singsongy voice reached Sabrina’s ears on her way to the Gym, instantly giving her a headache.
“Oh Sabrinaaa~ ”
“Ugh.”
Azure threw his hand over her shoulder, forcing her to drag him along with every step to her great irritation.
Following her previous fight, Sabrina had chosen to wake up uncharacteristically early in order to train in the outskirts of Saffron, and was in the process of returning to the Gym with slow, tired steps, ready to face any new challengers. Not that she’d gotten many lately.
She hadn’t expected to run into her boss on the way back though. It almost felt wrong, to see Azure out in the open, under the sunlight, a part of her imagining him melting under its rays like some kind of vampire
“Azure,” she greeted him with a smile like salt on a wound. “What an unfortunate coincidence.”
“I heard about yesterday’s battle,” he said. “Very impressive. Though I was surprised to hear your opponent left the Gym still walking. You’re not going soft on me, are you?”
Sabrina went silent, the hairs on her arms standing on end, as she tried to gauge whether Azure's words were something she should concern herself with. What was she supposed to say? That she didn't think he was worth killing? That his idiotic straightforwardness reminded her of how Pokemon battles were, long ago? No, she was the Gym leader here. She was...
“Tch. Don’t tell me how to do my job.”
And she threw his arm off of her brusquely. Azure stumbled back a step, making an expression as though he were about to cry.
“You’re always sooo cold,” he whimpered, lower lip shaking. “I thought after all this time, we’d finally become good friends!”
Sabrina winced. Theirs was… in all honesty, a pretty unusual relationship. The distrust she felt toward Azure was still there, somewhere in the back of her mind, but it had slowly been giving up ground, becoming little more than a memory.
Truth was, she’d become accustomed to him, to his dark sense of humor, his cryptic ways and the always-present scent of blood whenever he’d return from a mission. She couldn’t complain. After all, wasn’t she hemmed in the same scent? It would be too far to say they were friends, but still…
They finally reached the Gym, in between snide comments and bad jokes, though this time they decided to enter through the front door, since it was too early for anyone else to have arrived. Sabrina unlocked the padlock, and as she pushed against the heavy steel doors, she was surprised at what was waiting for her in the blood-soaked arena.
“Finally!” A familiar, annoying voice reached her ears. “I’d almost gotten tired of waiting! Were you planning on running away from our duel!? I wouldn’t expect any less from a coward like you.”
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the arena, Sabrina saw two gleams. First that of a Pokeball being drawn, and second that of the silver crucifix hanging from the man’s neck, swaying back and forth.
“En garde!”
“...Huh?”
There was a moment of shocked silence, and then Sabrina sighed.
“...Right, the religious nutjob from yesterday,” she said dismissively. “You really came back. So either you’re a complete idiot or you got tired of living, hm?”
“What’d you say!?” he bellowed, the spark behind his eyes lighting up like coals, though he quickly calmed himself down. “No, it’s fine… God forgives you. But that doesn’t mean I won’t wipe that smug smile off your face, brat!”
Beside her, Azure tilted his head like a curious kid, a smile attempting to lift the corners of his mouth.
“Wow, okay! I’m not sure what I’m looking at here, but it sure is interesting!” he said, cheery as usual. “It almost reminds me of the beginning of a tormentous love story, don’t you agree?”
Sabrina turned her head so fast her neck clicked. “Wh-!?”
Yet something stopped her in her tracks before she could insult Azure. The man’s eyes, one brown and one blue, were locked onto the priest’s black ones, unmoving. For a moment… For just a moment, Sabrina was overwhelmed by their presence, as though she were standing in between two wild Pokemon sizing each other up before they could strike.
“Alright!” Azure finally spoke, clapping his hands together. “I better leave you two to it, wouldn’t wanna… interrupt, hehe!”
And he walked away, humming to himself a song Sabrina was unfamiliar with. Of course, she tried her best to bore a hole into his back with her glare, but the man didn’t seem to notice.
Those two pairs of eyes crossing… Sabrina was regrettably ignorant of what it augured. She had no idea her normal life in the Gym had, with that alone, come to a sudden and complete halt.
At first Sabrina thought this would be a passing thing, that after his third or fourth loss he would finally see reason and leave, never to return. But that wasn’t the case.
Day after day the man with the cross would come to the Gym to challenge its leader, and day after day he would lose due to some dirty trick or technicality. It was clear who the stronger trainer was, who had the best Pokemon and instinct for combat; it was him. But that didn’t keep him from suffering defeat after humiliating defeat.
Yet that didn’t seem to bring down the man’s spirits who, fueled by god knows what kind of determination, always came back for more. He often ended the battle wounded. Far from his obstinate nature earning Sabrina’s compassion, it only seemed to piss her off, turning her even more violent than usual. Yet fate -or perhaps lesser powers- always made sure to pluck the man just out of the way of her Pokemon's most lethal attacks, the man's Scyther more often than not blocking said attacks with his own body. Of course, she often received her own share of injuries, though never anything too serious.
A few weeks passed after that first battle, and the challenges from the man with the cross became part of Sabrina’s daily routine. It wasn’t something that excited her, of course. Yet -though she would never admit it out loud, and despite the usual brutality of their duels- she’d eventually come to see their fights as a break of sorts, a small haven from the darkness of her life in which there was no scheming or hidden intentions, only fighting until one of them went down. Strange thing.
It was common for their duels to be silent, save for the occasional insult or order being barked at their Pokemon, but on that particular day, a conversation was struck.
Some time later, Sabrina would come to wish she’d never answered.
Story Cover:
Synopsis:
Originally this was a story told throughout nearly 40 snippets in between 500 and 1000 words, but as to not spam the thread over and over I'll be uploading it in sets of around 7 snippets each per chapter, for a total of five parts for each big 'turn' in the story. To explain further, this is a short novella written as the 'backstory' for a character in an old Pokemon tabletop campaign, which serves as a standalone tale of its own.
The campaign itself is also currently being adapted into prose by me, but I figured I'd start with this since it's much more manageable, lol. Cheers to Yuki (DM) and Sabrina (the player) for their help with this.
Content Warnings:
Swearing, smoking, blood and violence involving both humans and Pokemon (though not gratuitous) and death.
Chapter 1: Atheist's Peace
Prologue: Saffron's Child
Two trainers stood across from each other within a large steel cage. The one on the far right was a short, black-haired girl wearing a black beanie and a hoodie, a cigarette being held by her lips.
Pinching the butt of the cig with her fingers, she began to speak.
"I suppose you know the rules, though I don't mind repeating them," she said with a cold, dispassionate voice. "Three against three; you can use your Pokemon in any way you wish as long as you don't have more than one out at the same time."
She took a slow drag of the cigarette as she backed up toward a small table inside the cage. Atop rested a handful of cardboard boxes, each filled with Pokeballs of different colors.
"The leader, that would be me, will use random Pokemon from these boxes." She pointed at them, looking bored. "They haven't been raised by me nor do I care about their well-being, so don't expect me to go easy on you."
She closed her eyes for a moment, throwing the cigarette to the ground and stomping on it.
"You can try to kill me to win, and in fact I recommend you do. I'm not allowed to kill any challengers. Too much paperwork, you see. But then again…"
Her eyes set on her opponent and the massive, rough-looking Rhydon at his side, her eyes a cold, apathetic abyss.
"Accidents do happen."
High above the arena, two men looked at the trainers from the VIP spectator booths. One of them was somewhere in his forties, smoking a pipe as he stared down with something akin to boredom.
"Is that the new Gym Leader?" he asked. "Could’ve mistaken her for a guy. Is she any good?"
The young man next to him crossed his arms and replied with a soft, chilling voice.
"Well… her physical strength is terrible, her attitude is abysmal and she urgently needs someone to take her down a peg," he listed calmly. "However… her skill in Pokemon battles is something you don't see every day. And most importantly, she doesn't ask questions."
"And what's her name?"
The young man smiled, turning to look at his associate. His features were soft and handsome, and he wore an all black uniform with a single white triangle badge on his chest. His hair was straight and soft though somewhat overgrown, mostly light brown except for the single tuft which covered his right eye, which was a deep azure. His eyes were bi-colored, the same two as his hair.
"She doesn't have a name anymore,” answered the man, the corners of his lips quirking up into the shadow of a smile. "From now on she's simply... Sabrina."
#1: Just another tale from the streets of Saffron
"Aaand over here we’ve got the most important part."
A handsome man in an all-black uniform and a young girl stood inside the dustiest, most dilapidated room either of them had ever seen. A room that would, today, become her new home.
As the man showed her around, he stopped next to a table full of cardboard boxes, each marked with a differently colored stroke of paint. Pokeballs of all sorts and colors were littered inside them. The girl following him stole a quick glimpse of the boxes and nodded. She didn’t look particularly imposing, almost a head shorter than the man accompanying her and just as skinny, wearing an oversized hoodie that gave her an air of plainness and indifference. The only thing of note about her appearance was the dingy wool hat resting atop her head, casting an ever-present shadow over her face.
"Red means relatively weak Pokemon, Green means Pokemon with a bit more experience," the man continued explaining. "Black means Pokemon on par with those of a Gym leader, and the ones in the Blue box are, of course, incredibly powerful. It's my favorite color after all," he smiled. "These Pokemon will be your companions for the entirety of your… stay here."
Even though the first two boxes were filled to the brim with Pokeballs, the black and especially the blue box only contained a few. Not too surprising; well-trained Pokemon were hard to come by these days.
"You'll be sleeping here, of course. All you need to do is… well, clean up a little, if you want to."
The man dragged a finger across the surface of a nearby cupboard, then made a face and wiped the filth and dust on his dress pants.
"There's a bathroom; second door on the left past the hallway, and there's also a little kitchen back there, in case you want to cook something for yourself." He turned around and let out a sigh, smiling. "Any questions?"
Just as the girl was about to speak, the metallic door leading to the dingy room opened with a creak. An older man with salt and pepper hair came in.
"S-sir…" he said, breathless. "We have a challenger."
The other man, whose long, messy hair was a light brown with the exception of a single blue tuft over his right eye, made an unpleasant face.
"I thought I'd made it pretty clear that today we wouldn't have… Ah, it doesn't matter."
He shook his head and sighed somewhat exaggeratedly, but recovered almost instantly. Turning around, he placed both hands on the girl's shoulders and shone her a smile that sent a shiver down her spine.
"Exciting, isn't it!? This will be your first fight!" He spoke so excitedly that she almost expected to see sparkles coming off him. "Here, have these."
He handed her the green box and gave her a friendly pat on the back.
"Now go, Sabrina. Good luck!"
Sabrina stumbled toward the door, clearly overwhelmed, but stopped just before crossing the sill.
"…Your name?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.
The man raised his chin slightly, that long tuft of blue hair falling to the side, and what a strange sight that was. One of his eyes was brown. The other was the same color as his dyed tuft of hair; a cold, boundless blue like winter itself.
"Who, me?" he asked innocently. "You can just call me Azure."
#2: Tested
The young woman walked out into the arena, absentmindedly spinning a Pokeball in her hand.
That Azure guy said this would be enough , she thought, skeptical. So my opponent must not be too skilled.
A small stadium –if one could even call it that– sprawled out before her. The concrete floor was cracked and scorched and stained with blood all over, surrounded on all sides by rusty fences which were missing a few chunks here and there. Beyond them there were about a dozen spectators, waiting for the fight to begin. Steps echoed not far off as more people started coming in.
Her opponent, a middle-aged man with a horrid multicolored mullet, turned his nose up at her and chuckled derisively. He grabbed a Pokeball from his belt, opening it to a blinding flash of light. That the ground shook under the creature's weight was already bad news. The fact that it ended up being a Rhydon only exacerbated the crease of anxiousness in Sabrina's forehead.
"And who's this, eh?" scoffed the man. "This ain't a kindergarten. I came here to fight the Gym leader, not to have a tea party."
Sabrina's eye twitched with irritation. Not that she didn't expect this type of reaction. "Then how about you show me what you're made of?" she said. "If a snot-nosed brat like me gives you a beating, that'd be pretty humiliating, wouldn't it? Then again… with that hair, you must be used to the feeling."
The man's eyes widened, nostrils flaring like a Tauros about to stampede. "Tsk. Just shut your mouth and open that Pokeball!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
Flaring with anger, she smiled and threw the ball up in the air. Yet what emerged from the burst of light was worryingly small, a vulpine creature with golden brown fur and thin, almost skeletal limbs folded over each other. Its head swayed back and forth, and its eyes were closed as it tried to doze back to sleep.
An Abra.
"…Ah."
A gnawing worry started rising up her body. Abra couldn't learn any offensive technique normally, but… that Azure guy wouldn't just give her a defenseless Pokemon for her first fight. The Abra surely knew a TM or two… right?
"Psychic!" she yelled, hopeful.
The Abra turned his head slowly toward her, questioning.
"…You only know Teleport, don't you?"
As the creature gave a lazy nod, their opponent's order echoed through the arena.
"Rhydon, use Megahorn!"
The ground actually shook with the monster's first step, and all Sabrina's eyes could focus on then was the brimming power exuding from its horn as it barreled toward them, too fast to dodge.
"…Shit."
#3: Along the Way
The door to Sabrina's room swung open violently. And there under the sill stood none other than Azure, sporting a sickening grin from ear to ear. The girl looked up from her book –a leather volume so old it was practically disintegrating– and her eyes narrowed with pure spite.
"Well?" Azure asked excitedly. "How'd it go, how'd it go?"
It'd been almost a week since that first battle. Multiple band-aids peppered the girl's face, a splint covered her left arm and –as Azure noticed when she rose to her feet– she had a limp as well.
"How the fuck do you think it went!?" she bellowed, clutching at the collar of his suit. "Of course I lost! What did you want me to do with a Pokemon that can't even attack? There were easier ways to kill me if that's what you wanted you cretin!"
Azure stared at her, his smile frozen in place.
"…But you didn't die," he whispered.
Sabrina blinked, surprise briefly quenching her anger. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing!" Azure hummed, freeing himself from her grasp. "Anyway, it looks like you finally made this place your own, huh?"
In truth, the room looked just as dingy and dilapidated as before, large swathes of plaster painting blotches on the visible and nearly rotten bricks beneath the walls, a few rays of sunlight coming in from the holes in the ceiling Sabrina hadn't gotten to plugging up yet. Clearly, she'd only cleaned up as necessary and hadn't touched anything otherwise, with the exception of the small mountain of books around the couch and the many vinyl records scattered everywhere.
"Oh, I just remembered," said Azure, bringing her back to reality. "There's some… business I need to take care of, so I probably won't be back for a few weeks. But before that… here you go."
Sabrina instinctively opened her palm as the man deposited something on it, small and metallic. The Marsh badge. It was almost identical to the one given by the original Sabrina, only the golden circle was inserted into a black triangle. She... could only stare. The symbol, twisted and corrupted though it was...
A brief scene flashed across her eyes. A young brat with her nose practically pressed against the T.V. screen, watching a battling tournament between the various Gym leaders of Kanto and Johto. Her smile widening and her eyes sparkling with amazement as the real Sabrina brought out her ace, the unstoppable Alakazam. That day-
"I'd say you've earned it, wouldn't you?" Azure said all of a sudden. "And now… I must bid you adieu."
So entranced Sabrina was that she came back to reality a little too late. "W-wait!"
But Azure had already walked out of the room by the the time Sabrina came back to herself. She could do little but stand there, staring blankly ahead.
"What… what the hell!?"
Had he really sent her to die with a smile on his face, or would he have stopped her opponent before it came to that? It was impossible to tell. She couldn't read him at all, which meant for now she couldn't trust him as far as she could throw him.
Minutes stretched into nearly an hour as she sat there in her shithole of a room, contemplating her situation, contemplating Azure and whatever the hell his inner thoughts might be, what he wanted with her. But before she could reach any conclusion, the door opened once again. This time, it was that man with salt and pepper hair; one of the Gym's caretakers, she'd figured.
"Ah… there you are," he grumbled. "Master Azure said–"
"I know," Sabrina cut him off. "He'll be skipping town for a while."
"No, not that. He forgot to give this to you."
"Huh?"
From the pocket of his shirt, the man pulled out a folded-up piece of paper, a letter which smelled faintly of floral perfume, and handed it to her. Frowning, Sabrina grabbed it and turned it over as the man turned around and left. That signature, that fancy writing... it was Azure's, no doubt. Feeling a pit in her stomach, Sabrina opened it and started to read its contents.
'Dear Sabrina,
How are you? Have you been sleeping well? I sure hope so!
Like I said, I'll be absent for a while, so I wanted to inform you of a few things, just to avoid confusion.
First of all, the maintenance crew–'
How are you? Have you been sleeping well? I sure hope so!
Like I said, I'll be absent for a while, so I wanted to inform you of a few things, just to avoid confusion.
First of all, the maintenance crew–'
Sabrina scoffed; as if there were such a thing in this shithole.
'–accidentally misplaced all the Pokeball boxes with the exception of the red one, so you'll have to make do with freshly-caught Pokemon until my return. Ah, how careless these brutes can be! I can't imagine who would've given them such an order. Oh, by the way, there's a good possibility the police will pass by for a routine raid today or tomorrow, or at least that's what people in the streets say. Still, I'm sure you'll be able to handle it without trouble.
Love: Azure.'
Love: Azure.'
By the time she made it to the end, she'd practically crushed the note between her fingers, face red and shoulders shaking with fury.
"That… that son of a bitch…!"
An overwhelming desire to punch the wall washed over her, but after a few long, slow-breathing seconds, that fury was transformed into something more. A sudden determination flared up inside her.
"…Alright," she muttered. "It's alright. So that's how you wanna play, eh? That's fine by me. You can take away my Pokemon, you can throw me at every police officer and smelly punk in the city, it doesn't matter. I won't give you the satisfaction of seeing me fall. No matter how dirty you play, I'll play ten times as dirty! This is my Gym now, so give me your best shot you bastard!"
And that's how the weeks passed. The girl not only wore the title of Gym leader like a glove; she made a profession out of surviving, and an art out of playing dirty.
Little by little as the victories piled up, the rumors spread and both the girl's infamy and her number of challengers grew, bringing with them more and more spectators. The lowest and the highest in Saffron. All of them vile and corrupt, all of them coming to her Gym with the hope of seeing a violent, bloody spectacle.
And that is exactly what they were given, time and time again.
Without even realizing it, without it even bothering her, the girl's day to day became an endless parade of battles for survival.
#4: Pray on me:
Over two years had passed since Sabrina's arrival at the Gym, and as expected, she'd taken over the place in its entirety. Her word was law. Although deep down, she knew that Azure could take that power away with the snap of his fingers.
Inside the little run down shack she called home, an Abra -suspiciously similar to the one from her first fight- slept soundly next to a moldy mattress. And, above a pile of discarded books, a Mr. Mime meditated in silence.
"Cut that out," grumbled Sabrina, looking for Mew-knows where amidst the disaster that was the room. "You're a special attacker; in a real fight you'll be shoving that meditation right up your ass."
The door opened just then with an ominous screech. A familiar man with salt and pepper hair peaked through.
"This one's dangerous," he said, more hopeful than worried. "He blasted through the other five trainers with practically no effort. You better not underestimate him."
Sabrina stood up, stretching, and let out a big yawn.
"We'll see about that."
The man shoved a bunch of Pokeballs at random into a small box, and both he and the Gym leader headed out. The Gym was filled to the brim with the lowest, most depraved Saffron had to offer. Half the audience loudly cheered her opponent, while the other half clamored for his blood.
Just another day…
Sabrina entered the enormous cage, hands in her pockets, a lit cigarette in her lips. Cheers and insults rang throughout the arena. Lazily, she let her gaze fall on her opponent. A pretty unremarkable man, tall and with wild, messy black hair, a smile full of enthusiasm on his lips. She couldn't make out his age, but he must've been a couple years older than her.
She narrowed her eyes. There, hanging from his neck, resting against his chest, an iron cross gleamed against the powerful lights hanging from the ceiling.
A priest, eh? Let's see what he's capable of.
She stuck a hand inside the box and pulled out a Pokeball. Her foe did the same, never dropping that irritating smile.
"Let's have a nice, clean battle," he exclaimed, bowing respectfully.
Sabrina rolled her eyes. Around the audience, comments and bets were already being made.
"Heh, that guy's not gonna last a minute against Sabrina."
"I wouldn't be so sure. Didn't you see how his Pokemon fought before? It wasn't… normal," someone else replied.
"He has the advantage in typing, that's for sure," a third commented.
"Type advantage ain't gonna be enough against Sabrina. Just watch."
Opinions and predictions -all scandalous and arrogant- flowed freely from person to person like the bills being passed around before the battle. The bets were high this time, although it wasn't terribly unusual for this gym. For a good portion of the audience, the two trainers inside the large steel cage were little more than investments.
Pokeballs in hand, they both stared deep into each other’s eyes, gauging the level of danger.
Then, something strange happened. The young man noticed the cigarette hanging from Sabrina's lips, and frowned.
"Aren't you a little young to be smoking?" he asked disapprovingly.
"Aren't you a little old to be believing in god?" she spat back.
A placating, horribly condescending smile came to the man's lips, as though he'd expected her words. "Ah… Still in that rebellious phase I see. My little brother is just like you."
"Tsk," Sabrina spat, eyes narrowing with annoyance. "Less talk, more action, priest."
The young man chuckled. "And to think you're the famous Sabrina. The original being so striking and beautiful, I didn't expect her imitator to be a short, emaciated brat."
At that, Sabrina lifted an eyebrow, the smile going cold in her lips.
I'm going to kill him.
"Are you going to fucking start or do you want me to attack you first?" she barked.
The man simply rolled his eyes, as though he were dealing with an annoying child. "Geez, young people sure are impatient nowadays…"
The man with the silver cross threw his Pokeball toward the center of the arena, and from the burst of light emerged a tall, imposing insect-like beast, its body green and segmented, two long, sharp blades protruding out of his forearms.
A Scyther.
#5: It's only over once it's over.
Sabrina studied the Scyther carefully, doing her best to conceal her worry. A swift, hard-hitting bug-type, surely with loads of combat experience… could she have gotten a worse opponent?
To make things worse, they'd agreed to a one on one duel, so this would be decided in an instant.
She threw her own Pokeball out, and from the blast of light emerged an old, frazzled Hypno wearing a pair of colorful yellow glasses. The Pokemon bristled, seemingly not bothered by his opponent's chilly glare. Sabrina knew him well, and knew that despite his frail appearance no other Pokemon from the Gym could match his smarts and experience.
Against a Scyther, though…?
After weighing all the possible options, the two of them crossed eyes, and nodded. There was only one way out of this, and it involved being smiled on by Lady Luck.
Both Pokemon stared each other down for a moment. Then, emboldened by the blood-thirsty cheers of the audience, they jumped to attack in unison.
"X-Scissor!" the man bellowed.
"Trick!" Sabrina countered.
The Scyther's speed was beyond compare. A bolt of verdant lightning, he crossed the arena in an instant and slashed upwards with both of his scythes, catching his foe just as the glasses disappeared from his face with a pop . The poor Hypno hit the ground hard, the sheer force of the impact sending him rolling until he crashed against the bars of the cage on the other side. He trembled, one hand against the floor, but could not bring himself even to his knees.
Without a doubt, the man with the cross knew what he was doing.
However, that made him and his Pokemon cocky. The both of them turned toward Sabrina, completely disregarding the Hypno as he raised a small berry and shoved it in his mouth.
Sabrina very pointedly didn't turn to look. Which was good, as the next instant the giant bug Pokemon shot toward her. He stopped within an inch of killing her, scythe raised to her neck with practiced control, barely brushing her skin. From this close, she could see that pair of yellow glasses adorning his face.
"Woah, easy there." Sabrina raised her hands in a show of surrender, earning a storm of boos from the audience.
"Nice one, Clay! You knocked it out of the park!" The man with the cross cheered with a big, dumb smile. "I'm very proud, buddy!"
Despite the danger of the situation, Sabrina couldn't help but roll her eyes again. So he wasn't even intending to kill her? A priest through and through, she supposed, and that's what'd end up sealing his fate. She had to keep up the façade. The cool, calculating Scyther with a blade to her neck. The dumb, arrogant trainer smiling like an idiot. The young Gym leader with her hands raised, far from her Pokeballs, looking nervous.
"Well? What now?" asked the man, raising both hands and shrugging. "I'm disappointed. Seems like the rumors were all exaggerated."
A smirk formed on Sabrina’s lips. "Heh."
"What's so funn–?"
"Disable."
Eyes shooting wide, the Scyther tried to turn around. But Hypno was now possessed by an abnormal speed, and barraged his foe with a sudden wave of psychic energy, throwing him off of his trainer. The priest clearly hadn't expected that. His eyes immediately darted toward the Hypno, but he wasn't there anymore, dashing through the arena toward his foe.
"Wh–Clay's Salac Berry!?" he exclaimed, a tint of panic to his voice.
Sabrina's grin widened maliciously across her face.
"Psychic."
The burst of concentrated energy blasted the Scyther in the face, sending him across the room. His trainer balled his hands into fists, eyes wide with panic.
"X-Scissor!"
But the Scyther didn't move. Couldn't. His body quivered with the bug's desire to attack, but it was as though every muscle in his arms had been paralyzed. He couldn't raise his scythes.
"Shit, Struggle!?" he cursed, realization dawning on him. "Of course, the Choice Specs…!
The rest of the fight was predictable. Unable to use his arms, the Scyther flew at Hypno in an attempt to tackle him, but slammed against the ground again and again, as the Salac berry had given Hypno more than enough speed to dodge each of his attacks. The old psychic Pokemon barraged the poor insect with burst after burst of psionic power, until finally he hit the ground like a brick, smoking from head to toe. Hypno looked down at his fallen foe and struggled a step back, heaving from pain but still very much capable of fighting.
He knew what came next.
With an expression that bordered on demonic, Sabrina pointed at the man with the cross, and the wizened Hypno obeyed without question, raising a hand aflame with purple wisps of power.
Yet, to Sabrina's disappointment, her opponent didn't look scared or worried in the slightest. Instead, he hung his head and closed his eyes, balled fists trembling.
He was pissed .
"Y-you… backstabbing, traitorous…!" He seriously looked on the verge of losing it from anger. "What kind of trainer does something like that!? You're a disgrace to all Gym leaders!"
Sabrina raised an eyebrow, and chuckled. "Right…"
Unconcerned, she took an old iron lighter from her pocket and flipped it open, lighting a cigarette as she took it to her mouth. What was she supposed to say to that? Despite not usually being the bloodthirsty one in these matches, she'd fully intended to kill her, but after that reaction... It just wasn't fun if he wasn't concerned for his life. That, and she supposed letting him live with his stupidity and naivete was punishment enough; surely someone else would do the dirty work for her eventually.
"You wanted to win too cleanly," she said through puffs of smoke. "If you hadn't been such a good boy and actually killed me when you had the chance, you'd be leaving this place with my badge and my fame. But you didn't, because you're a loser. That your Pokemon is superior to your opponent's in all aspects doesn't guarantee your victory, priest."
She shoved the lighter back in her pocket and returned the Hypno to his Pokeball. Then she turned around and started walking away.
"You'd do well to remember that."
Fists trembling, pupils shrunken by rage, the man with the cross yelled as the Gym leader disappeared into darkness.
"I won't let this stand! I'll never accept your way of fighting! I'll be back tomorrow, and then I will beat you! You'll see!"
#6: Bored And Extremely Dangerous
An annoying, singsongy voice reached Sabrina’s ears on her way to the Gym, instantly giving her a headache.
“Oh Sabrinaaa~ ”
“Ugh.”
Azure threw his hand over her shoulder, forcing her to drag him along with every step to her great irritation.
Following her previous fight, Sabrina had chosen to wake up uncharacteristically early in order to train in the outskirts of Saffron, and was in the process of returning to the Gym with slow, tired steps, ready to face any new challengers. Not that she’d gotten many lately.
She hadn’t expected to run into her boss on the way back though. It almost felt wrong, to see Azure out in the open, under the sunlight, a part of her imagining him melting under its rays like some kind of vampire
“Azure,” she greeted him with a smile like salt on a wound. “What an unfortunate coincidence.”
“I heard about yesterday’s battle,” he said. “Very impressive. Though I was surprised to hear your opponent left the Gym still walking. You’re not going soft on me, are you?”
Sabrina went silent, the hairs on her arms standing on end, as she tried to gauge whether Azure's words were something she should concern herself with. What was she supposed to say? That she didn't think he was worth killing? That his idiotic straightforwardness reminded her of how Pokemon battles were, long ago? No, she was the Gym leader here. She was...
“Tch. Don’t tell me how to do my job.”
And she threw his arm off of her brusquely. Azure stumbled back a step, making an expression as though he were about to cry.
“You’re always sooo cold,” he whimpered, lower lip shaking. “I thought after all this time, we’d finally become good friends!”
Sabrina winced. Theirs was… in all honesty, a pretty unusual relationship. The distrust she felt toward Azure was still there, somewhere in the back of her mind, but it had slowly been giving up ground, becoming little more than a memory.
Truth was, she’d become accustomed to him, to his dark sense of humor, his cryptic ways and the always-present scent of blood whenever he’d return from a mission. She couldn’t complain. After all, wasn’t she hemmed in the same scent? It would be too far to say they were friends, but still…
They finally reached the Gym, in between snide comments and bad jokes, though this time they decided to enter through the front door, since it was too early for anyone else to have arrived. Sabrina unlocked the padlock, and as she pushed against the heavy steel doors, she was surprised at what was waiting for her in the blood-soaked arena.
“Finally!” A familiar, annoying voice reached her ears. “I’d almost gotten tired of waiting! Were you planning on running away from our duel!? I wouldn’t expect any less from a coward like you.”
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the arena, Sabrina saw two gleams. First that of a Pokeball being drawn, and second that of the silver crucifix hanging from the man’s neck, swaying back and forth.
“En garde!”
“...Huh?”
There was a moment of shocked silence, and then Sabrina sighed.
“...Right, the religious nutjob from yesterday,” she said dismissively. “You really came back. So either you’re a complete idiot or you got tired of living, hm?”
“What’d you say!?” he bellowed, the spark behind his eyes lighting up like coals, though he quickly calmed himself down. “No, it’s fine… God forgives you. But that doesn’t mean I won’t wipe that smug smile off your face, brat!”
Beside her, Azure tilted his head like a curious kid, a smile attempting to lift the corners of his mouth.
“Wow, okay! I’m not sure what I’m looking at here, but it sure is interesting!” he said, cheery as usual. “It almost reminds me of the beginning of a tormentous love story, don’t you agree?”
Sabrina turned her head so fast her neck clicked. “Wh-!?”
Yet something stopped her in her tracks before she could insult Azure. The man’s eyes, one brown and one blue, were locked onto the priest’s black ones, unmoving. For a moment… For just a moment, Sabrina was overwhelmed by their presence, as though she were standing in between two wild Pokemon sizing each other up before they could strike.
“Alright!” Azure finally spoke, clapping his hands together. “I better leave you two to it, wouldn’t wanna… interrupt, hehe!”
And he walked away, humming to himself a song Sabrina was unfamiliar with. Of course, she tried her best to bore a hole into his back with her glare, but the man didn’t seem to notice.
Those two pairs of eyes crossing… Sabrina was regrettably ignorant of what it augured. She had no idea her normal life in the Gym had, with that alone, come to a sudden and complete halt.
#7 Fissure
At first Sabrina thought this would be a passing thing, that after his third or fourth loss he would finally see reason and leave, never to return. But that wasn’t the case.
Day after day the man with the cross would come to the Gym to challenge its leader, and day after day he would lose due to some dirty trick or technicality. It was clear who the stronger trainer was, who had the best Pokemon and instinct for combat; it was him. But that didn’t keep him from suffering defeat after humiliating defeat.
Yet that didn’t seem to bring down the man’s spirits who, fueled by god knows what kind of determination, always came back for more. He often ended the battle wounded. Far from his obstinate nature earning Sabrina’s compassion, it only seemed to piss her off, turning her even more violent than usual. Yet fate -or perhaps lesser powers- always made sure to pluck the man just out of the way of her Pokemon's most lethal attacks, the man's Scyther more often than not blocking said attacks with his own body. Of course, she often received her own share of injuries, though never anything too serious.
A few weeks passed after that first battle, and the challenges from the man with the cross became part of Sabrina’s daily routine. It wasn’t something that excited her, of course. Yet -though she would never admit it out loud, and despite the usual brutality of their duels- she’d eventually come to see their fights as a break of sorts, a small haven from the darkness of her life in which there was no scheming or hidden intentions, only fighting until one of them went down. Strange thing.
It was common for their duels to be silent, save for the occasional insult or order being barked at their Pokemon, but on that particular day, a conversation was struck.
Some time later, Sabrina would come to wish she’d never answered.
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