Power

by Griff4823

Torr, a Poliwhirl, is training fanatically for the upcoming Pokeathlon swimming race. Feeling pressure from his trainer, he wants desperately to win, to the point that he's willing to evolve with a water stone to do it. However, change isn't always good.

Power

"Come on, Torr! You're doing fine! Just keep pushing for it!"

The voice continued yelling to me. I recognized it well, even through the swashing of waves and ripples that buffeted my ears and face. The clear liquid that enveloped my form would wash over my body every time my white, gloved hand would submerge in it, dragging me through the water as I raised my opposite arm out of the liquid and into the air. Then the opposite arm descended and my other arm rose in a constant, cyclical motion.

I cringed as my muscles burned with a numbing pain. My leg, arm, and body muscles all felt the same: agonized and protesting. The movements that I made in the water gradually became more sluggish. I knew that I was slowing down, but I wasn't going to give up. Instead, I tried to fight harder, doing my best to increase my speed.

"Torr! You're falling behind! You can do better than this! Push harder!" the voice yelled more fervently as its owner studied my progression in comparison to the others.

My back arched as I willed myself to raise my face from the water and look around as I swam. While I realized that this action would slow me down slightly, I felt that I had to see him. We were inside one of the large human structures. This one was a particularly big one made to accommodate all sorts of athletic competitions and pokemon. In this case it was the Pokeathlon. I was going to compete in the swimming portion.

Over the water that spouted and parted with the movements of my limbs in my front crawl, I recognized two figures standing on land ahead of me, off to the side and near the left hand corner of the pool. After a wave that distorted my view settled, I saw the familiar colours of blue and yellow that typically accompanied the body of that human. I then continued my pained, increasingly sluggish strokes forward while looking ahead.

"(No! Don't think about relaxing!)" I thought. "(I have to focus and put all I have into this.)"

My eyes darted away from the two and quickly glanced to the lane to my left. On the other side of the odd, floaty things that ran the length of the pool, I could see one of my opponents. I felt a deep sense of fear upon seeing the blue figure of a Golduck virtually cutting through the water a staggering distance ahead of me. Seeing him have such a lead on me struck panic and anger inside of me.

I needed to win this. Even though this was just a practice run against a few of the other competitors, I had to win; I had to do my best. The sight of the Golduck taking the lead invigorated me to strain even harder as I made it closer to the opposite side of the pool lane. I let out a growl of effort as I increased my lessening strokes.

"Torr! Hurry up! Come on!" I heard the voice yell to... or was it at me?

"(I'm... trying...)" I panted weakly, though my mouth was completely underwater.

I glanced upwards over the water again and saw myself getting even closer to the end of the pool. I was almost there, I just had to- Wait! The Golduck was already flip turning off of the end wall? How did I fall so far behind?

My eyes could only grimace as he passed by me, now on his final length to swim. It was gruelling how long it took me to finally reach the end wall and proceed to flip forwards and kick off the edge to even be in the same stage as the Golduck. I felt my foot contact the thing that records how long I took to swim the length – I think it's called a 'touchpad'? I tried not to look up at the panel that had all of our times on it. While I didn't fully understand the actual symbols of the numbers (while I understood numbers themselves), I had seen enough of them to know which symbols meant longer than the other symbols. I knew they would distract me, but I couldn't help but peek up to see how poorly I was doing in comparison with the others. Upon seeing the symbols, I grimaced and concentrated on the ceiling. I needed to hurry... " (Just calm down...)"

Kicking off the pool side gave me a much needed boost, but it admittedly didn't help all that much. I now swam in a backstroke. As I briefly looked backwards, above the splashing water, I could see that the duck's gigantic lead grew even further. He was already a quarter of the way back! I dug deep and swam with my all, but the water I pushed against felt like it was restraining me, holding me back. However, I knew that it was my movements that were sluggish... It wasn't the water's fault.

"How is he so much better than me? How can I possibly win against him?" I thought as I furiously struggled through the water. I could see the pokemon in the lane to my left overtake me as well, but I made sure not to look over. I was becoming too emotional; I had to focus.

I tried to clear my mind of all the negative thoughts, but it was so difficult. I am a water pokemon for Lugia's sake! This was humiliating! That Golduck was just so much stronger and faster than me!

The waves left in the Golduck's wake caused me to bob up and down in the water as I swam, even sending me off course slightly. I grunted and pushed myself back on course, continuing swimming on my back. While my determination to catch up with the Golduck was strong, there might have been a bit of fear present inside me. I had to go up against this guy in the actual competition?

Some time passed and I had personally passed the halfway point in the long pool. I continued swimming and I looked up just in time to see the Golduck touch the wall. A sense of failure struck hard inside of me. It almost caused me to stop altogether, but I pushed onwards. I still had to complete this. I swam towards the wall dejectedly. It seemed to take forever, but I finally saw the row of coloured things hanging above me that let us know when to flip while in our backstroke. Seconds later I felt my gloved fingers touch the smooth side of the touchpad.

My tensed and sore muscles were able to relax. I grabbed hold of my starting block on the edge of the pool and panted, trying to return my laboured breathing to its normal, less rapid state. Still breathing heavily, I pulled myself up on the poolside slightly so that I could see what was happening on the deck. I looked around the starting block and was stunned to see the Golduck already drying off and laughing with his trainer.

My hold around the plinth suddenly weakened and I half-heartedly allowed myself to drop back into the pool, sinking to the floor. I felt my body lightly hit the bottom, where I was hidden from the rest of the competitors and their trainers. A sigh escaped me as I balled up my hands and crouched down against the wall.

"I don't think I even scored second... Maybe not even third," I thought to myself, looking down at the submerged floor. I knew it was just a friendly training session, but... "How can I show myself in front of Ethan and Deft?"

I let out a final sigh before reluctantly swimming up towards the surface, putting pressure on my aching muscles a last time. My body resurfaced and I pulled myself up out of the pool. Down the pool deck, which was lit up by the weird, unnatural light sources that glowed from the ceiling, I saw my trainer, the human I knew as Ethan. I was able to recognize him by the blue and yellow fabric he wore over his skin; it kind of had the same texture that my white gloves do. I also saw his other unmistakable characteristics: his unnatural shock of brown fur that stuck up on his head as well as the green band of fabric that he wore across his head, below where the fur was. He was my trainer and, more importantly, my friend.

Speaking of friends, positioned a safe distance away from the pool's edge, but still relatively close to Ethan, was the large, orange form of a Charizard, who lay comfortably on his stomach on the stone-like ground. The Charizard's name is Deftclaw, known to most just by "Deft". He is a friend of both Ethan and I. In fact, he was Ethan's first pokemon as well as my first friend. Deft kept his blazing tail away from stray splashes, but refused to allow the fear of getting wet ruin his apparent relaxation.

I didn't know how I could face either of them... Ethan was facing Deft, talking to him with his back to me. The Charizard slowly stood up and stretched, making calming gestures with his claws towards Ethan.

My eyes strayed towards the smooth, wet ground. Water trickled off of my body as I silently trudged towards the two. I couldn't bring myself to look at them at that time; I felt too much shame and guilt. I skulked towards them, slowly drawing nearer and not wanting to draw too much attention to myself.

"Trevor's Golduck beat us by eighteen seconds... I'd be the laughing stock of the competition if that were the real thing!" I heard Ethan say.

In shock, I immediately looked up towards him. His words struck my heart deep and I managed to feel even lower than I already did. I sadly looked back towards the ground, seeing only it and the back of Ethan's feet in my view.

I knew he wanted to win this competition a lot... but I couldn't believe he could be so insensitive. I mean... I tried my best out there... I just couldn't...

"(Uhh, Eth...)" I heard Deft say, apparently noticing I was standing behind Ethan. Upon seeing the Charizard's motioning with his head, Ethan turned around and looked at me.

"Oh... Hey, Torr," he said to me, trying not to sound awkward. "Uhh, good try out there." He then offered me both a smile and a white towel.

"(Thanks...)" I responded, taking the towel and holding it to my white chest. Immediately after, I slowly walked over to the pool and looked down into the water that was setting now that everyone was out of the pool. The liquid calmed and I could see the familiar reflection of a Poliwhirl staring back at me dejectedly. My round blue body ached in all places from the rigorous workout. Well... rigorous for most. The Golduck who beat me and the other swimmers so badly entered my mind.

I knew I should stop looking at my reflection soon... If I looked at the black spiral on my white chest for too long, there was a chance I'd get more tired than I already was. Admittedly, I wasn't sure if my own spiral could make me drowsy, but I wasn't in the mood to test it out.

A pair of booming footsteps resounded from behind me. I glanced to the side and saw the towering orange body of Deftclaw standing on the poolside next to me. He placed his orange claws on my shoulder and gave a grin.

"(...Should you be this close to the water?)" I asked, motioning to his tail.

"(Sure!)" he responded without care. "(No point being afraid of every little drop of water, is there?)"

"(You're a bit too relaxed sometimes, Deft...)" I said, looking back down at the water.

"(I could say the opposite about you,)" Deftclaw replied, a small grin on his face. "(Anyways, I wanted to say you did good out there, Torr.)"

"(...Are you kidding?)" I asked, looking up into his eyes, which were as blue as the water "(I did horrible!)"

"(Hey, you didn't come last, did you?)" he said, trying to make me feel better, it seemed. "(Besides, you have a week to prepare and improve.)"

"(I guess...)" I answered.

Deftclaw then unleashed a large, Charizardian yawn. "(Well,)" he grunted, "(I got tired just watching you guys. I'm not sure how tired you must be.)"

"(I'm fine...)" I said. From the look I received, he obviously didn't believe me, even though I was definitely telling the truth.

"(Then why are your legs trembling?)" he asked, bending his neck down and eyeing my short legs.

Okay, I was mostly telling the truth... a little.

"(Uhh...)" I stammered.

Deftclaw grinned and suddenly grabbed me in his arms. "(Come on,)" he said. "(I'll fly you back to the pokemon center where we're staying. I think Eth's ready to go now.)"

I tightened my hold on the towel in my hands but complied. I was far too tired to resist or anything. "(Yeah... Thanks, Deft... Let's go...)"

It was now the afternoon of the next day, six days before the competition. I sat quietly on a bed in the room of the pokemon center that we were staying in. Things had been awkward between me and Eth since yesterday. He didn't seem angry at me or anything, but...

I sighed and waited on the bed nervously. Ethan said that he wanted to talk to me about something. Did he want to apologize for yesterday? Or was he going to yell at me? Did he want to stop being my friend and find another, faster water-type pokemon?

The waiting was the worst part. I knew he was talking to Deftclaw a lot yesterday about something... and he seemed distracted a lot. In my head, I was going through what to say to him, but I wasn't sure what... it all depended on what Ethan had to say.

I finally saw him walk in from the hall, where he had been talking again with Deft. There was a deep tugging, constricting feeling inside of me upon seeing him enter. My gloved hands wrung together nervously as he walked before me. I noticed that he was concealing something in his hand and also seemed nervous.

"(Hey, Ethan...)" I greeted, bringing myself to look at him.

"Hey, Torr... Uhh... I need to talk to you about something."

I nervously nodded, moving over on the bed to allow him to sit down if he wanted. He offered a smile and sat down beside me apprehensively.

"Look, Torr... I know you tried your best yesterday. I just really want to win this athletics competition, you know? And I know you do too, pal, but... we've gotta face the facts..." he said. The moment of relief I that felt suddenly disappeared. "...That Golduck was a lot faster than you... and even if we trained day and night up until the competition, I'm still not sure you'd be able to beat him, Torr..."

I grimaced and looked down, nodding. I really wasn't sure what I could say. He wasn't wrong... That Golduck and some of the other competitors beat me like I was a Magikarp. "(Sorry...)" I whispered.

Ethan's gaze softened and he put his free hand on my head. "Torr... I have a suggestion though..." he said, seeming to be unsure of himself. "I've been thinking long and hard about it, but it's not my place to decide, only to suggest. The decision's yours..." He brought around his left, enclosed hand and opened it, revealing a small gemstone that was a deep blue all the way through.

"(A water stone...?)" I asked, recognizing it immediately. I knew for a fact that many members of my species would evolve into Poliwraths upon contact with this stone. "(...You want me to evolve?)" I asked, shocked that he thought that.

"Not if you don't want to," he assured me. "If you want to evolve... here's the opportunity. It would make you a lot stronger..."

I looked carefully at the stone. I knew why he was doing this... If I evolved into Poliwrath, I might be able to win the competition. I've seen how strong they are firsthand. However... Ethan wanted me to evolve just for that? He really did think me that weak...

As I thought, I continued to study the stone. I knew I'd be stronger... I'd be able to make Ethan proud of me if I became a Poliwrath. There's nothing wrong with evolving to grow stronger, right? I mean, if I evolved, I could be more than just a mediocre runner, a mediocre swimmer, a mediocre athlete... a mediocre friend. While I knew it would make me stronger, a big part of me wasn't sure... maybe I didn't really want to after all?

"(No!)" I thought, tightening my fists. "(I should evolve. I need to. Not just for Ethan, but for myself, too.)" Even though I thought that... a part of me felt... No, there was no part of me that didn't. All of me wanted to evolve! Every little bit of me... All of it.

"(Ethan?)" I said nervously, looking from the stone up to him. "(...I ...I'll do it.)"

"...Are you sure?" he asked. "You don't have to, Torr..."

"(No...)" I said, looking back down at the stone. "(...I want to.)"

I eyed the stone in his hand carefully, inspecting its every flaw and corner as I tried to will myself to reach out and touch it. It represented change, yeah, but it also represented power. If I took the leap and evolved... the things I could do for Ethan. The things I could do for myself. I reached my hand out towards it, but found it stop short. My hand was trembling slightly, I noticed. I begun to draw it back but I forced myself to stop.

"(I want to do this,)" I told myself.

With that, I closed my eyes, took the stone from his hand and pressed it against my chest. After a few seconds, I felt its cool touch start to warm unnaturally. My eyes shot open as this feeling of what I could only call 'power' surged from the gem's surface and coursed through my body. My sore muscles were relieved and I felt myself begin to change. My body became engulfed in a bright light that forced me to shut my eyes. I could feel the power continue to pour through me like a raging river blessed by Kyogre.

The light faded and I tried to shake off the overwhelming light-headed feeling that I felt. "Torr, you..." Ethan began but trailed off in shock.

I felt... different, to say the least. My eyes went to the mirror on the wall nearby. I attempted to walk towards it, but I felt my leg buckle. Ethan shot to his feet to catch me and help me stand. With his help, I managed to walk on my shaky legs over to the mirror. Just from my steps, I knew that my legs were longer and more muscular. Upon looking in the mirror, I proved myself right. Not only were my legs lengthier and bulkier, but so were my arms and chest. My reach was improved greatly. I looked into my eyes and saw that they seemed less... cute, I guess you could say. I looked at myself in comparison with Ethan and I had grown much bigger.

"Wow... You look awesome, Torr!" Ethan said, grinning and patting my head.

In that moment, Deft entered the room and regarded me with some surprise. "(Woah...)" he said, blinking. "(I guess you decided to evolve to Poliwrath then... Not bad, Torr. Not bad at all,)" he said with a smirk.

I nodded and looked back in the mirror at my empowered form.

"With this... I now have the ability to win..."

It was now five days to the Pokeathlon. I was in the middle of a regimented exercise routine. Planning on working this form to maximize its abilities and grow even stronger.

"(Two hundred three. Two hundred four. Two hundred five...)" I muttered to myself as I performed my continuous push-ups.

Deftclaw rested in front of me, having done his share of exercise for the day. We were in a pokemon gym. It wasn't the kind that Ethan sometimes goes to in order to battle, but an actual training gym for pokemon, which is in the same place where the competition is being held. I had suggested that we stay here while Ethan went shopping for some things.

"(Planning to slow down anytime soon?)" Deft asked, lying on his side with his head rested on his hand, watching me with what seemed to be amusement.

"(No...)" I answered, continuing to build my muscles. "(Have to train...)"

I heard a yawn escape the Charizard's mouth. "(You've gotta stop sometime, don't you?)"

"(I've gotta... keep training,)" was my reply. Sweat dripped off my body as I continued my push-ups. Ever since evolving, I don't feel the same strain or pain in my muscles like I did when I was a Poliwhirl. "(Gotta get stronger... for the race...)"

"(You didn't lose that badly in the practice, Torr,)" Deft explained. "(You did fifty laps, five hundred chin-ups, and now you're at two hundred fifty push-ups. And you haven't even had a drink of water yet. I thought you water pokemon had to keep yourselves hydrated. Don't you think you're pushing yourself a bit much?)"

"(I lost by... eighteen seconds... Even though I evolved... I still gotta train,)" I explained. "(Besides, I have an internal hydration system.)"

"(Just take a drink, Torr... You're losing a lot of sweat; it could still happen. It won't cost you the competition to take a few seconds to keep from getting dehydrated or overexerted,)" he advised, holding up a water bottle and shaking it so that it's contents could be heard sloshing around.

I finished my two hundred seventy first push-up before stopping my actions and glancing up. Deft grinned and tossed the bottle in my direction. I instinctively put my weight on my left arm and used my right to quickly grab the bottle before it could hit me between the eyes. Deft arched his eyebrow. "(Your reflexes are better too, eh?)"

"(I guess... Thanks for the drink,)" I replied, squeezing the water out of the bottle so that it hit the center of the black spiral on my chest. The liquid disappeared upon contact, vanishing through the micro-pores on my chest that allowed me to eat and drink.

With a nod, I tossed the bottle back to Deftclaw, who caught it and placed it beside him. He then rolled onto his back and placed his hands behind his head, shutting his eyes as he did so. "(I sure hope Eth gets back soon. I'm starving. And don't try to act tough and say that you're not, Torr, because I can hear your stomach growling from here,)" he said, a grin forming on his face.

"(Hopefully he's buying some healthy food,)" I said, lying on my back. "(Hold my feet, if you don't mind.)"

Deft moved closer and held my feet down so that I could I wouldn't have to counter-balance my weight while doing sit-ups. "(Remind me never to touch a water stone. It seems to make pokemon really uptight,)" he joked.

"(I'm not uptight,)" I countered while bringing my upper body up towards my bent legs before lowering it again. "(I'm just focused on winning this competition... for Ethan...)"

"(...You sure it's for him?)" Deft asked, leaving the question hanging.

"(Of course it's for Ethan. Who else would it be for?)" I asked, telling the truth.

Deft rolled his blue eyes before glancing back at me. "(...Are Poliwraths even supposed to do sit-ups?)" he asked, finding it strange that someone with my body was trying such a thing.

"(It's faster than tai chi,)" I explained. "(But I'll still do some of that later.)"

"(Torr...)" Deft sighed. "(Seriously, don't push it. It's just a race.)"

Easy for him to say. "(A race that I –no- Ethan wants me to win.)"

"(Did Eth pressure you into evolving, Torr? And I want the truth,)" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

I stopped mid-action and looked into his eyes. "(No. I wanted to evolve... I needed to.)"

"(So you could win the race?)" he asked, eyeing me without the relaxed grin he often sported.

I grew silent, unsure of how to respond. Instead, I just narrowed my eyes and focused on my exercise. "(...Can we not talk? I need to focus,)" I muttered.

He exhaled softly through his nose, causing two small wafts of smoke to escape from his nostrils. "(Fine by me, Torr. Just wake me when you want to move your feet,)" he said, resting his head on one of his wings and settling in for a sleep. I felt slightly guilty for talking to him like that, but I really wasn't in the mood for conversation at that moment, especially not on that topic. I really did need to focus.

What seemed like a short amount of time passed, though I could very well have just been so focused on my sit-ups that I lost track of time. It wasn't long until I heard a familiar pair of footsteps and an upbeat voice sound out. "Hey, guys! I'm back. Sorry for keeping you," he said, grinning and holding a couple bags in his hands.

Deftclaw woke up and craned his head in Ethan's direction. I, however, kept focused, not stopping to look over. "(No problem, Eth,)" Deft said.

"How's the training goin', Torr?" he asked me. I didn't respond. I was so focused that I barely registered what he said. Well, I sort of heard what he said, but I couldn't be bothered to respond or ask him to repeat at that time. "Uhh..." he began, suddenly seeming uncomfortable for some reason. "When did you guys want to leave?"

"(Not now,)" I firmly said. "(Busy training.)"

"Yeah." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him offer a grin. "You're really going at it, Torr." I didn't respond. I still was only focused on the actions my muscles made. "...Err, how long will you take?"

"(How long can you wait?)" I asked. If I was looking at him, I might have noticed that he was put off slightly. It may not have mattered to me at the time, even if I did see him.

"Uhh... Well hopefully not long... some of the stuff I bought might melt," he explained.

"(Tell me when you're ready, then,)" I responded shortly. Deftclaw seemed to shrug at Ethan for one reason or another. I didn't pay much mind to it. As they turned, I cast a glance in Ethan's direction. After doing so, my exercising became faster and more intense. All that I knew was that I needed to get much stronger before I could think of beating that Golduck.

Much stronger indeed...

It was then the afternoon of the next day, I'm pretty sure, judging by the increase of other pokemon in the gym where I was. Only four days until the swimming competition in the Pokeathlon now. I stood before Deft, my fists at the ready. He held in front of him a large, soft mat-like thing, made for absorbing physical blows. I noticed him position his clawed feet into a defensive stance and spread out his wings.

"(Ready?)" I asked, carefully observing him.

"(Whenever you are,)" he replied, flexing his arms to help absorb the shock.

With a grunt I lunged forwards and drove my fist into the red mat that he held firmly. My gloved hand sunk deep into the soft material and I could feel Deftclaw be pushed back slightly, though he remained steadfast. I then released a flurry of punches, chops and kicks against the matt. Deft absorbed the punches well.

"(Well, you're definitely stronger.)" Deft grinned as he dug his claws into the floor mat.

"(I know. Evolving was definitely the best thing for me,)" I firmly agreed, thinking he was implying that.

I landed a solid kick to the padded piece of equipment. "(But... You've been... training since you woke up, Torr,)" he said between blows.

"(Of course,)" I said simply. There were only four days left, after all.

During my next strike, I noticed Deftclaw's cheek muscle tighten around his eye, which I assumed was a result of my punch. "(This is the first time we've talked since yesterday and we've both been out since the morning. And I don't think you've spoken to Ethan at all today,)" he said. "(All you've done is exercise and ignore us!)"

"(So what?)" I replied curtly, spinning on my heel and allowing my hand to descend on the top of the mat in a karate chop.

As I was pulling back for another punch, I briefly noted that Deft's blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "(So, we're your friends!)" he said as he pushed forwards with the mat so that I was forced to jump back and improvise my attack, keeping me on the tips of my feet.

"(I don't care,)" I replied while jumping off the floor and delivering a kick to the soft barrier. "(There's only four days to the Pokeathlon; I need to train. I don't have time for pointless conversations. Or friends,)" I told him, grunting as I landed on the floor.

For the first time in a long while, I saw a visible, teeth-bearing scowl emerge on Deftclaw's face. "(Is winning that blazing race really worth losing your friends over, Torr?)" he snarled, glaring at me for some reason.

Losing my friends? What a joke. Winning that competition was what was going to make me keep my friends! I proceeded to look up at him. "(You just don't understand, do you?)" I asked, staring coldly into his eyes. "(And if you're really that needy for attention, you should look for it somewhere else. I have more important things to do.)" I then jumped into the air to drive my kick towards the mat once more.

"(That's not it, you selfish excuse for a tadpole!)" he roared, suddenly rushing towards me with the mat in his claws. He rammed the barrier into me while I was in mid air, knocking me backwards with unexpected force. I landed hard on my back on the matted floor, knocking the air out of my body, but nothing more. I looked up at Deftclaw with surprise.

The stupid, flame-clogged salamander... Why did he suddenly hit me for no reason? I didn't do anything wrong. Deftclaw then tossed the defensive mat to the ground while a silence that took over the gym following his roar. He turned his back to me and briefly glanced over his shoulder in my direction. "(If training's all you care about, then you can do it yourself,)" he scathed before looking forwards.

I grunted, annoyed, as I got to my feet. I didn't need him anyways. Besides, there were plenty of punching bags around this gym. As I looked around to find an unoccupied one, I saw Ethan running towards us.

"What was that about, you guys?" he asked, seeming both confused and concerned.

"(Well, Torr-)" Deftclaw begun, but I cut him off, wanting to make my own point.

"(Nothing,)" I retorted simply, not bothering to look in their direction. "(Leave me alone... both of you. I need to train.)"

"Torr! But-" Ethan begun.

I swung in his direction and gave him a firm stare."(I told you to leave me alone,)" I ordered, annoyed. "(I know my way back to the pokemon center.)"

My trainer took a step back, appearing hurt for one reason or another. I turned away from him and continued looking around the gym for a punching bag.

"Torr, I just..." he started to say, but trailed off in a sigh. "Yeah... Okay. Let's go, Deft," he said, looking at the Charizard.

I cast a quick glance to Deftclaw, who responded with a stare that seemed to be of disappointment. He flicked his flame-tipped tail and followed Ethan out of the gym.

And I continued training...

Time was growing short. Only three days were left for me to train for the Pokeathlon

"(One hundred eight, one hundred nine...)" I whispered, raising and lowering my body in the darkness of the room to continue doing push ups.

It was evening. I knew that much since the sunlight no longer shone into the sleeping quarters of the place in the pokemon center that we stayed in. To my left was the thing that Ethan sleeps on and a ways to my right was the door that leads into the main room. Ethan and Deftclaw were in there talking. Aside from a few words here and there, neither of them spoke to me since yesterday. I didn't notice or care.

I had been training all day anyways. My body was drenched in sweat and it had accumulated in a pool beneath me. I had been swimming all morning and that went into the early afternoon. After that, I took to running. When the running ended, I decided I didn't need the gym to stretch, meditate, or exercise, so I decided to do all of that here in this room. This power and strength had to be put to good use. I had to train and nothing would stop me.

"(One hundred thirty seven, one hundred thirty eight...)"

A pair of knocks sounded out from the closed door. It then opened, bringing with it unnatural light into the dark room I was in. Against the light, I could see the familiar form of Deftclaw walk in and close the door slightly with his tail as he entered.

"(Torr...)" he greeted. I acknowledged him a quick glance out of the corners of my eyes before turning my attention back to my exercise. "(Look, Torr... I'm sorry about yesterday...)"

As I lowered myself towards the floor, I gave a very brief shrug of the shoulder closest to him. I heard him exhale, but didn't bother to look over; I couldn't distract myself even for a second. Deftclaw's footsteps grew louder as he stepped towards me and sat down at my side.

"(Hey, if you keep this up, you'll flood the room with your own sweat,)" he said, grinning and offering a joke. I didn't respond. His voice soon became serious again. "(...You really have to relax, pal. ...I'm worried about you. Are you planning to exercise in the dark all night?)"

"(One hundred seventy five, one hundred seventy six,)" I thought to myself, continuing to count my push ups.

"(Torr...)" he urged, trying to get me to stop ignoring him. Hoping he would stop trying to distract me, I remained completely focused on my work out. I then heard Deftclaw sigh, stand up and storm out of the room, followed by his and Ethan's voices talking with each other.

My annoyance didn't disappear, since Ethan then walked to the doorway. This time, I didn't give a glance.

"Uhh... Hey, Torr... How's it going?" he asked, in a tactful voice.

I didn't want him there. I wanted to concentrate, not talk about whatever he and Deftclaw were yammering on about. As a result, I didn't reply. My eyes strayed in his direction for less than a second to see that he wasn't coming any closer. If I wasn't so focused, maybe I would have wondered why that was, but I wouldn't let myself be fixated from anything other than my goals.

"...What's going on with you, Torr?" he asked, his voice noticeably sadder.

He waited a few moments for my response that wasn't going to come. Maybe then he would finally leave.

I noticed him clench his fist. "Tell me what's going on! I want to help you, Torr; friends are supposed to help each other," he said with passion in his voice.

My body completely stopped halfway through one of my push-ups. My gaze strayed from the floor and slowly moved in Ethan's direction until they locked with his grey eyes.

"(...Friends are also supposed to believe in each other... Ethan...)" I replied in a cold and steady voice before looking back towards the soft floor.

He became silent and left without another word. Ethan closed the door behind him, but it still remained open a crack, evident by the sliver of light that still came in the room from the one where he and Ethan was.

"(Two hundred fifty,)" I thought, finally standing to my feet and stretching. I decided that should be enough exercise for the day and I should probably rehydrate myself now, after having lost quite a bit of water through sweating.

I walked towards the slightly opened door and reached forward by gloved hand to open it. However, I stopped upon hearing Ethan and Deft talking to each other. I peered through the open space and saw Ethan sitting down and Deftclaw standing next to him.

"(He's completely obsessed with training,)" Deft said. Already, I knew that they were talking about me.

"I know..." Ethan said, looking downwards. "He barely even looks at us anymore..."

"(What? I do so look at them! What in Lugia's name are they talking about?)" I thought angrily.

Deftclaw then nodded. "(It's that competition, I think... All he wants to do is win it.)"

"Deft..." Ethan said sorrowfully, looking up at him. "...It's all my fault."

My narrowed eyes looked at Ethan in surprise upon hearing this. "(Why is he saying that this is his fault? There's nothing even wrong!)" I reasoned. My eyes opened wide upon taking a closer look at my trainer. He had tears in his eyes.

"(...Why is he crying?)" I thought to myself, suddenly feeling a sensation of something that I hadn't felt since I was a Poliwhirl: sadness.

"Deft, when he was a Poliwhirl, Torr was so much happier... He was always really caring and he always wanted to be a great friend to us... but now..." Ethan trailed off and Deftclaw walked towards him to put his claws gently on Ethan's shoulders. "I just... I feel like I'm losing Torr as a friend... and it's all because of me and that stupid stone."

I watched sadly as my trainer embraced Deftclaw and stifled his tears. My fists clenched and I felt tears begin to sting my eyes.

It wasn't Ethan's fault... It... it was mine.

I'm the one who wanted to take the stone to become stronger. I'm the one who focused so hard on training. I'm the one who shut my friends out...

I swung the door open and ran out as fast as I could. As I went, I could feel a stray tear exit my eye and fall in my wake.

"(Torr!)" Deftclaw yelled in shock, looking up and watching me run towards the door leading out of the room. He knew just by looking at me that I had heard the whole thing. I turned my back to them and swung the door open, running out into the hallway. "(Torr, hold on! Wait!)" he shouted. I could hear him scrambling after me and soon heard his footsteps in the hallway.

Despite my vision, blurred from tears, I could see where I was going quite well. I ran down the stairs and into the front part of the pokemon center before bursting through the front doors and getting outside into the city. I looked around for a moment and saw a nearby cliff face not far outside of the city.

"(There... I can train there," I whispered. "(Now I need to win this race more than ever... You're right, friends are supposed to help each other... that's why I'm going to help you win... I'll win it for you, Ethan...)" I told myself, bolting across the flat stone below.

I sprinted as fast as I could, which was quite fast, in the direction of the tall cliff. "(Torr! Stop it! What are you doing?)" I heard Deftclaw's growling voice call from behind me. I heard him buffet his wings and take to the air, prompting me to push myself to run even faster. It wasn't long until I exited the town and ran through some plants to make my way towards the base of the cliff.

My gloved hands rubbed the remaining tears from my eyes as I ran around several tall trees. There was a chance now that Deftclaw wouldn't be able to see me from overhead, me being under the canopies of the trees.

"(Come back!)" he called out, from his flight above.

"(No...)" I whispered. "(Not until I've trained enough to win.)"

I ran the length of a swimming pool before finally seeing the cliff's base. Upon drawing close enough, I leapt into the air and grappled onto the rocky side of the cliff before pulling myself higher. Straining my muscles once again, I climbed higher and higher, finally making it above the tree line.

"(Torr!)" Deftclaw yelled, spotting me. He dove towards me and stopped in front of wall of rock, flapping his wings to keep himself airborne. "(Stop this, Torr. He didn't mean it. Come back with me.)"

"(No,)" I replied, continuing to pull myself up the cliff face. "(I'm doing this for him.)"

"(You're doing this for yourself!)" Deft shouted behind me as he matched my climbing pace.

I ignored him the best that I could and continued to drag myself up the rock. The beats of his wings could still be heard close behind me. I knew he wasn't going to give up, but neither was I.

"(Torr, you think you're helping Ethan, but you're only making it worse!)" he told me. "(Look, just-)"

He was cut off by a loud crashing sound from above. We both looked up to locate the noise and, to our horror, saw a large rock tumbling down the cliff face towards us. I knew that Deft could escape in time, but I...

"(Look out!)" he shouted, flapping his wings harder. Before I could protest he flew directly above my head, right into the rock's path. My eyes widened.

He was planning to shield me from the rock.

"(Deftclaw!)" I shouted in horror and protest.

Before either of us could muster a breath, the rock cracked over his back, splitting into smaller fragments upon impact that showered the ground below. Deft howled in pain and plummeted, slamming into me before ricocheting off my body and falling towards the ground far below.

"(No!)" I shouted, letting go with one of my hands.

In a desperate act, I grabbed hold of his tail and held on with all of the focus that I could summon. He growled lowly in sheer agony from the hit, but still moved. He slowly pulled his body upwards and locked his arms tightly around my waist.

"(Just hang on, Deft,)" I told him. "(There's a plateau coming up.)"

He nodded weakly and continued flapping his wings faintly, hoping to aid my climb in any way that he could. It wasn't long until I felt my hands grab hold of flat ground above me. With a heave, I pulled myself up with Deft included. I dragged him from over the edge and onto the rocky plateau. Heavy breaths sighed out from each of our mouths, but Deftclaw's were much more laboured and irregular.

My Charizard friend lay on the ground, his chest rising and declining rapidly. I scrambled over him and kneeled over his form. "(Deft...)" I said softly. I looked at his back and his orange scales were bruised and swollen, taking on a deep brown colour and there were various bloody scrapes and scratches along his back and wings.

"(You're going to be okay. I promise,)" I told him adamantly. There was no way I was letting anything happen to my friend.

Through his deep grimace, he managed to smile up at me. "(Thanks, Torr... for... catching me,)" he heaved, flinching as a wave of pain ripped through his system.

"(No... You saved me, Deftclaw,)" I answered, looking to his tail flame to see how it was doing. I felt a mixture of relief and worry. It was flickering, but it didn't show signs up dying out. "(...Even after the way I've been acting. I didn't deserve that.)"

"(Shut up,)" he hissed, narrowing his blue eyes and glaring them into mine. I did so, shocked. "(Don't talk to me about what you don't deserve. ...You're my friend. And I'm your friend. I'd take a second boulder to the spine if I had to...)"

My gaze softened and I stared at the wounded dragon pokemon apologetically. I was about to speak, but I was interrupted by a chuckling I heard nearby. My gaze travelled back upwards, towards the laughing. To my surprise, I saw the large form of a boulder with a head and limbs lumbering towards us.

"(How sweet,)" remarked the pokemon I recognized as a Golem, wearing a half-smirk, half-sneer on his face. "(I think that can be arranged though...)"

"(Who are you?)" I demanded, standing up and putting myself between him and Deftclaw.

"(The ruler of this mountain. And you're invading my turf,)" the Golem responded.

"('Ruler'? We're just climbing it,)" I answered angrily. "(We didn't even know anybody was up here. ...Were you the one who dropped the boulder on us?)"

"(Yeah, I was,)" he replied, stomping forwards.

"(Just leave us alone; my friend's hurt. We'll go...)" I answered, casting a look back to Deft.

"(Nah... You two put me in a bad mood. I think I'll have some fun with you two,)" the Golem said, grinning dangerously.

I narrowed my eyes and stepped forwards. "(We'll see how much fun you have,)" I responded, cracking my gloved knuckles.

Deftclaw growled and attempted to stand up. "(I'm helping,)" he said with determination.

"(No.)" I glanced back at him. "(You need to rest. I'll be okay.)" He gave me a grimace of reluctant agreement and lay back down, but readied himself to lash out at a moment's notice.

"(Don't worry, Charizard. I'll get to you once I'm done with your friend,)" the Golem proclaimed confidently.

I glared at him and stepped forwards. "(You're not getting near him,)" I replied, my voice scathing.

The Golem merely grinned and hopped into the air. Mid-jump, he curled up into a ball and began rolling in circles in front of me, picking up speed the more he did. "(Torr, you gotta stop him... before he picks up too much speed,)" Deft advised from behind me. I nodded.

I glowered and dashed forwards to meet him. Skidding to a stop in front of his path, I outstretched my arms and readied to stop him completely. "I need to match his strength with strength," I thought to myself.

"(Torr, no! That won't work!)" Deftclaw yelled through pained grimace.

I glanced over briefly and dug my feet into the rocky ground of the plateau. "(What? I can match his strength.)"

"(That's not the problem!)"

Before I could respond, the Golem plowed into me. I pressed my gloved hands against his body and pushed hard. However, to my horror, my grip began to slip and my hands started moved downwards due to the downwards push of his rolling body. My hold broke and the Golem slammed into me, rolling over me with his massive body and crushing me against the rocks.

He continued his rolling, getting off of me and circling around the plateau once again. Wincing in pain, I attempted to sit up, but the Golem was already upon me. A cry escaped my throat as his massive body drove over mine for a second time.

"(Torr!)" Deft yelled out, attempting to stagger to his feet.

The Golem circled around once more. I could hear the rolling of his stony body against the ground drawing nearer. He then broke from his rolling position and leapt into the air. The Golem landed feet first on my chest, squashing me against the rocks. I attempted to cry out in pain, but all I could do was exhale as all the air was squeezed out of me.

The rock pokemon grinned triumphantly and pressed his feet on my shoulders. I couldn't move my arms. I struggled against him with all that I could. Even with all my strength, he was too heavy and had too much leverage. Even after all that training... It was just like before in that practice race. I was helpless to do anything; no matter how much I trained...

"(You can't only rely on your strength, Torr!)" Deftclaw shouted, trying his very best to stand though his knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground again. "(You have other moves, too! Look at what type of pokemon he is!)"

The Golem grinned and shifted every ounce of his weight onto his right foot, down my left shoulder. Blinding pain ripped through my entire arm as I felt it dislocate. I let out a primal, raspy roar as loud and coherent as my voice could allow. The pain was constant; it didn't leave even for a second. My vision was blurred by the sheer pain coursing through me.

"(Focus! It's the only way you'll win!)" my friend shouted desperately.

Despite the blinding pain and the circulation in my body being blocked off, I gave a hard look at him. "He's a rock type... possibly even groun- I'm a water type!" I thought to myself. I gave a shout of effort and, with all my effort focused on this one action, engulfed the Golem in a powerful geyser of a highly pressurized water gun.

He hollered in agony and was thrown off of me. I gasped and heaved, drawing in as much air as I possibly could. Pain ripped through my dislocated arm as I attempted to stand up. My knees trembled and sweat dripped down my form, but I managed to stand firmly. The Golem opposite to me also stood up, pained and dripping wet.

"(You're gonna pay for that,)" he spat. "(Maybe I'll just take down this whole part of the mountain with a little quake... I'd be okay, but you guys wouldn't.)" The rock pokemon raised his foot high and prepared to slam it down into the plateau. My eyes widened.

To my shock, Deftclaw slammed into the Golem's flank and threw him to the side before he could bring his foot down. The Golem snarled and fell on his back but curled up and rolled backwards, making the most of his momentum. He spun around and started circling around in front of us once again.

Despite my pain, I closed my eyes and focused. I concentrated on the sound he made as he moved. I was sensing his next action, and several moments later, my thoughts were confirmed. He was racing towards me head-on once again. My eyes remained closed and I patiently awaited his charge.

"(What are you doing, Torr?)" Deft shouted. "(That didn't work last time, remember?)"

"(This time is different,)" I thought, still focusing on my opponent.

"(This is too easy,)" the Golem exclaimed as he raced towards me at speeds unheard of for a boulder. I felt him get nearer and nearer. The reverberations in the ground were clear. Only seconds left now. The sound and feeling of rocks clashing reached its peak...

My eyes shot open and the Golem was right in front of me, inches from colliding. I crouched down and placed the hand of my uninjured arm right in his path. Upon feeling the tips of my fingers collide with his rocky form, I used the sheer power of his charge and redirected it. I grabbed hold of him, allowed myself to be pushed with him and then threw him up into the air. Using his own might against him, I hurled him far over my head, towards the edge of the plateau.

I then swung to face him and fired off a concentrated burst of water from my spiral, hitting him square in the face and prolonging his fight. He plummeted over the side, roaring in pain each time his body collided with the side of the cliff as he fell back to the ground below.

"(That's gonna leave a mark,)" Deft mused, grinning.

I let out a half-gasp, half-laugh as I stood there, breathing rapidly.

"(Are you okay, Torr?)" he asked, looking over.

I attempted to respond, but I was interrupted when my knees buckled and I fell limply to the rocky ground. Deft scrambled over despite his own pain and hunched over me.

"(Torr!)" he said with worry. It was then when he noticed the heavy bruises on my chest, back and arms, along with the fact that my left arm was dislocated. "(Oh crap... We have to get you back to town.)"

"(Thanks...)" I gasped quietly, locking my eyes with him. "(You... were right. I couldn't just rely on my strength... to win. I wouldn't have won without you; you made me remember his type... I was just focused on strength. I can't... just use power... My friends are just as... no... they're more impor-..."

My voice trailed off and my eyes closed. Unconsciousness overtook me.

The lids of my eyes slowly cracked open. A brilliant, white light shone into my eyes, causing me to shift and grimace in discomfort. The next thing that I noticed was that I was no longer lying on a hard, painful rock surface. Instead I was lying on something soft and relaxing. To my surprise, there was no longer a burning pain in my arm. I did still feel stiff all over, but the pain was much more subdued.

I willed myself to open my eyes to try to get used to the unnatural light. Even in my blurred vision, I knew it was one of those human things like the ones in the gym. It definitely wasn't the sun. My eyes began to focus and I was right in thinking that I was inside.

"You're awake!" a familiar voice exclaimed in relief.

I glanced over and saw Ethan standing beside me. "(...Ethan?)" I said weakly. I sat up slightly to look around before falling back down on the bed. Judging by the surroundings, I was in a Pokemon center; I knew that much. My arm was in a sling across my heavily bandaged chest, almost done so to the point that it muffled my mouth. I glanced to my right and saw Deftclaw lying on his stomach with his eyes closed. His back and wings were also bandaged.

I looked back up upon seeing a human in white clothes with pink fur on her head walk over to Ethan.

"You should really get some rest, Ethan. You've been here all night," she advised. "Anyways, Deftclaw will be okay in a few days at the most. He just needs to take it easy and rest."

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled about that," I saw Ethan say with a slight grin. I gave a barely noticeable chuckle, myself. "...And Torr?"

"His injuries are a bit more extensive... Don't get me wrong, he'll be fine, but they'll take longer to heal. He shouldn't do anything strenuous for about five days."

My eyes widened. "(Five days? No! The Pokeathlon is in two days!)"

"I see... Well, as long as he gets better," Ethan told her, seeming to notice my face turn into an agonized grimace. "Uhh, can you excuse us, please?"

The nurse smiled, nodded and walked away, leaving us. I looked off to the side, away from my human friend.

I couldn't believe it... I did all that training! I went through all that pain! I evolved for this competition! ...And now I wasn't well enough to even participate. The worst part of all was that it was my own fault... as usual. If I didn't insist on climbing that mountain to train, then I never would have crossed paths with that Golem. That made me feel all the worse.

Too miserable to look Ethan in the eyes, I continued looking away. "(...I'm sorry, Ethan... I completely ruined the competition for you,)" I muttered, looking over at Deftclaw.

"What?" he said, seeming surprised. "No, Torr. I'm just happy that you're going to be okay. Besides, I'm the one who should be saying sorry; I know how much you cared about this competition..."

My eyes slowly looked up to meet Ethan's. "(I only cared about this competition because you did,)" I said, hearing my own humbleness in my words as I spoke them.

"What?" Ethan asked, looking at me in confusion.

I sighed. "(...You deserve to know why I've been acting the way I have been these days.)" He nodded and kneeled down beside me, waiting patiently. "(It sort of has to do with that practice race, but it's not just that. When I was a Poliwhirl, I just... I never felt good enough for you... or good enough for me,)" I explained, looking down. "(I wanted to be the strongest. That's why I took the water stone.)"

Ethan's gaze softened and he looked down. I could see the guilt clear in his eyes. It made me feel even worse, but he had to know the truth. "(...At first I wanted to grow stronger so that you would be proud of me. That's why I did so much training. ...But then I became obsessed with it. It wasn't about you anymore... I trained as hard as I could. I only cared about making myself stronger and stronger... not for you, but for myself.)" I averted my eyes from Ethan's saddened stare. "(...And I felt sort of betrayed when you wanted me to use water stone.)"

I saw Ethan grimace and ball his fists up. "...I'm sorry, Torr. I was selfish. I was putting the competition before your feelings... I'm so sorry," he said in a shaky voice.

I brought myself to lock eyes with him and I was shocked to see his eyes moist with tears. Guilt pierced through me and I quickly shut my eyes. "(No... I'm more to blame than you are. When I started training, I pushed you and Deftclaw out. I only cared about myself... I was selfish too. And then I ran off and got Deft and myself hurt... I'm sorry too. I messed up our chances for winning the competition,)" I said in frustration, still not opening my eyes.

"Torr..." Ethan said, trying to blink back his tears. "I don't care about that damn competition... Just as long as you can still be my friend. No competition is more important than that..." he said.

I felt tears of my own begin to enter the corners of my eyes. I looked Ethan straight in the eyes and put my right hand gently on top of his. "(I'm sorry... and I'll always be your friend, Ethan... No matter what.)"

A tear rolled down my human friend's face and he suddenly wrapped his arms gently around my body. I placed my right arm around his and returned the favour. The warmth between us was as comforting as the newfound warmth that I felt inside me. Behind him, I could have sworn I saw the 'sleeping' Deftclaw smile, but I was too distracted to address it.

Instead, I relished in the friendship that each of us had taken for granted recently. We both knew what was truly important now...

It was the day of the competition.

I ripped through the water like I never done before. The waves washed over my body and cascaded into the air from the sheer determination with which I swam. I kicked off of the end wall and began my backstroke.

I was halfway there.

Despite Ethan's objections, I insisted on participating in the competition. My arm felt healed for the most part and the bruising on my chest was dying down. I told him I thought I could compete without risking injury. I wasn't obsessed with winning this this time around... but I felt that this was something that I had to do. He reluctantly agreed and told me that he'd support my decision. That was more than enough for me.

My arms dug into the water, chopping through the liquid like it was air. One arm would exit and the other arm would enter in a fluent motion. I glanced to the side and, in the next lane, I saw my toughest competitor. The Golduck.

He and I were neck-and-neck for the lead. He was looking over at me, shocked at how much I improved. The Golduck gave me a competitive glare and strained to keep my pace. That guy was one tough competitor, I'll give him that, but I wasn't about to let him win.

I pushed harder and then felt a surge of pain course through my chest, causing me to strain and slow down. Gasping in pain, I noticed that the Golduck used the opportunity to overtake me. I grimaced and pushed myself harder, but we were at such an even speed that I couldn't seem to retake my position alongside him.

"No..." I thought to myself.

"You can do it, Torr! You're doing great!" a voice suddenly called to me. I looked over and saw Ethan standing excitedly among the other pokemon's trainers. Beside him I saw Deftclaw, grinning and giving me a thumbs up. I stared at them as they cheered me on.

I remembered I wasn't alone in this... My friends were there for me; it wasn't just my strength behind me.

As I stared at my friends, a feeling of warmth washed through me. It eased the strain in my muscles and invigorated me. I pushed harder and swam faster. I looked back up and saw the line of coloured things pass me by. I was almost there...

With a strained grunt of effort, I drove my palms through the water and increased my speed even further. The Golduck beside me fought desperately, his arms beginning to become irregular in their motion. His beak was agape with disbelief as I overtook him.

"(No! No!)" I heard him sputter, fighting with all that he had to try to take back his lead.

It was too late...

The tip of my gloved hand touched the side of the wall and my muscles relaxed. I exhaled deeply and tread to an upright position. I looked to the side just in time to see the Golduck touch the side with his claws.

"Ethan's Poliwrath takes first and Trevor's Golduck takes second, trailing Torr the Poliwrath by a mere one-point-six seconds!" the human announcer called out from some hidden location in the gym. "And David's Croconaw makes third only four-point-seven seconds after Michael's Golduck!"

I panted and saw the Golduck beside me clutching onto the side, heaving in air. He looked like I did after the practice match: devastated. After swimming over the lane divider, I outstretched my hand to him. The Golduck turned slowly and looked at me in surprise. I offered my hand again, to which he took my hand in his claw and shook it. "(You're a damn good swimmer. You almost won...)" I said, shaking his hand.

"(Uhh, thanks...)" he replied. "(...How did you get so good?)"

"(I just got the right motivation...)" I explained, grinning slightly. "(We should have a rematch sometime. Maybe I won't get lucky next time.)"

The Golduck smirked. "(Sounds good, 'Torr', was it? ...Oh, and congrats. I don't feel so bad about losing to you now..."

I chuckled slightly. "(Yeah... Same.)"

I stood at the top of the podium, proudly clasping a golden medallion in my hand. To my right was my Golduck 'rival' who stood slightly down from me, wearing a silver medallion, and to my left was the bronze medallist Croconaw, who stood lower on the podium than the Golduck.

In front of us were a crowd of spectators and other competitors, applauding as we received our medals. My eyes rested softly on Ethan and Deftclaw, who were both grinning happily. I gave them a thumbs up, since it was hard to tell when I was smiling. Even so, I think they were able to sense it.

I was overjoyed that I won, sure... but that's not the only reason why I was as happy as I was. I was reconciled with my two closest friends and their support was what drove me to victory. All that training I did did contribute to my win, but having power meant nothing if I was alone. I realize that now... Winning may feel good, but it pales in comparison to having true friends. I wouldn't have minded as much if I lost, since I knew I still had them.

And having them is the greatest victory that I could have ever asked for.