"... So that's it then. All of them are gone except you. We have to finish this, for them. If you can just hang on for one attack, we'll win."
My longtime partner gives me a nod as I take a deep breath.
"Earthquake, now!"
The champion merely shakes her head.
"I don't think so, kid! Garchomp, Flamethrower!"
My partner Torterra raises his foot, and the ground begins to tremble as a stream of fire pours from the Garchomp's mouth.
It's a Critical Hit!
My partner, a Torterra, stands and looks at me for just a moment before falling, defeated.
"No, not now! We were so close!"
I fall to my knees as the champion walks over. She offers me a hand and says "Come on kid. I'll heal my team up and fly you back to your house."
I take stand up, and the champion walks me back down to the pokemon center. And I get looks. I get looks from the other trainers. They all know how brutal her team is. Then, the looks change. First confusion, then recognition. They know exactly why I'm not going to the nurse. They know that those 6 pokemon that I brought with me are gone. They watched the match. They saw it all.
The fly back to Twinleaf feels much longer than it is. The champion, thank goodness, isn't very talkative on the way. The whole time, I'm thinking about what I could have done. A way to save at least one of them.
We land in front of my house, and I'm greeted by my mom. Her expression is cheery at first, but falls fast as she watches me trudge to my room. She calls after me, but I ignore her as I throw myself onto my bed. It's all my fault. All I can do is make penance for my failure.
Johanna's POV, a few hours later.
"Well, dinner's ready. I should probably call him down. ROY! DINNER!"
… No response.
"Roy?"
… Still no response.
"Maybe he's asleep. I'll just leave it on his desk."
The stairs squeak under her feet.
"I need to fix those. Roy? I brought-"
There's a gasp, then a shatter.
