Hi, my name is Rachel Berry and from the moment I was old enough to receive my first starter Pokémon, I knew that I work hard to become the best Trainer in Johto. Fast forward seven years, to my second year in Trainer School and I realized that my dream would be a little harder to achieve than I originally thought. I watched on T.V. as Trainers such as Santana Lopez from Hoenn and Quinn Fabray from Kalos defeated their champions and entered the Hall of Fame, to forever be immortalized.
So I figured if I wanted to be the best then I needed to go to school with the best. But some things are easier said than done. Welcome to the Kalos Academy and to my story.
Episode 4: Resilience
Quinn knew she was in trouble the minute she saw Diantha's face. It was the same face her mentor had whenever she came home late after a night of partying with Brittany and Santana. "You're giving me that look, Diantha. I get it, I fucked up. Can we get this over with so I can go back to the dorm competition?"
Diantha sighed, and gestured for Quinn to get into the car. "Your father called me in a rage yesterday, something about an article?"
They pulled out of the school parking lot and headed towards the Champion's Tower. The name itself was misleading, as it wasn't really a tower. In fact, the PR headquarters of the Pokémon league was only a couple of stories tall and rather nondescript looking.
Quinn released her Glaceon and it settled happily in her lap. "You know my dad, he's always overreacting about everything. I can't count how many times he's threatened to disown me over stupid things like this."
Diantha raised her eyebrows, "It doesn't seem like his usual rage, Quinn, and I think you know that. Is the article right?"
The blonde scoffed, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "Yes and no. I'm definitely not circling the drain or suicidal, and I'd never resort to taking drugs. But…something kind of hit home for me when the piece mentioned depression."
Her mentor's face softened. She understood, she really did. A young woman becoming Champion, with all of the privilege that came from that title, was a hard thing to bear. Add in all the loss Quinn had experienced and it was no surprise she was asking about it. "Do you think you want to meet with a doctor to discuss it?"
Quinn's eyes widened, almost as if she feared the thought of going to a doctor. "Are you kidding? And have the tabloids run rampant with a story like that?"
"If you wanted the meeting to be super private, the league has plenty of physicians that have taken strict confidentiality contracts. After all, did you hear that Siebold broke his arm recently? He was performing one of his monologues for a challenger when he slipped on the wet stairs and fell."
Quinn knew the injury was nothing to laugh about but she couldn't help but chuckle. She remembered facing Siebold, monologue and all. It was one of her more memorable battles. "No, I didn't hear that he broke his arm. Oh…"
Diantha smiled. "The league has plenty of resources Quinn, you need only ask if you want to use them."
Feeling a little better about her chances, Quinn nodded. "I'll have to really think about it, but I might just check them out. Would my father hear about it?"
Diantha knew that the one person Quinn feared above all was her father and to be honest it made her sad. Russell should be a father to his daughter, not a manager and PR watchdog. "Russell would not hear about it from our people, only you would have the power to tell him."
Quinn breathed a sigh. Good. "In that case, can you get me some information today while we're at the tower?"
"Of course. Now, heart-to-heart aside, we've got to deal with this article. Buckle up Quinn, this is going to be a long day. Damage Control is never pretty."
XXX
As the day progressed and a multitude of battles went on, the scoreboards kept beeping as the dorms fought for first place. Rachel found herself watching many of them, impressed that the other two dorms were able to keep up with theirs.
For being focused on Coordinating and Breeding respectively, Dorms Two and Three were still amazing at battling. Puck was by her side for most of the day, pointing out people and Pokémon, and regaling her with his tales of being an Elite Four's son.
"So there this guy was, one Pokémon left, while my dad still had three of his team. I could see him shaking, looking at my dad's Lucario."
"I've seen your dad's Lucario on TV before, it's one of his most powerful Pokémon right?" Rachel grinned when Puck puffed out his chest proudly.
"Yeah, that Lucario is beast. My dad promised to give me one of the Riolu he's bred when I graduate," the mohawked boy said excitedly. "Anyway, the challenger was scared out of his wits and my dad just stood there. The poor bastard ran screaming from the fight, leaving his Venusaur on the field."
The diva gasped, "That poor Venusaur! The guy came back for it, right?"
Puck nodded. "Yeah, but he then got a pretty serious verbal beating from my dad about responsibility. I've been on the receiving end of one of those conversations and let me tell you, it is not a pretty sight."
The rest of their conversation was interrupted when the scoreboards changed, showing a direct feed to the judges platform. "Good afternoon Kalos Academy, I hope your day of battling was fun."
The students cheered. "What's going on?" Rachel muttered.
"As you can see, the dorm currently in the lead is…" The boards switched briefly back to show the numbers. "None of you. I am both extremely pleased and surprised by this. We haven't had a tie like this in seven years."
The crowd started muttering. If no one was in the lead, how were they going to announce a winner? "A tie? What happens when there's a tie?" Rachel asked Puck, but he shrugged his shoulders and mouthed no clue.
"Not to worry, we have contingencies for events like this so if you'll please all come down to the Training Forest area in the next half hour we'll get everything worked out."
The feed went dead, returning to the tied scoreboard and the crowd broke out into hushed muttering. "You know when they say the word contingency I get nervous," Rachel muttered. She had only been here a few days but she had a sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen.
XXX
"A race?" Santana asked, raising her eyebrows. She was standing with Blaine and Kurt, along with the three judges for the day, discussing the tie-breaking event.
"A marathon of sorts," Sycamore explained. "Each dorm will select one Trainer with a Pokémon that they can ride comfortably. They will then run a race to determine the winner of the first games. Attacks will be allowed, and before you can all grab a Trainer with an Arcanine, the move Extremespeed is grounds for disqualification."
Kurt swore under his breath, a second from contacting one of his coordinators. Santana stifled a snort, she should have known that he would try something like this. Sycamore went on to explain the race boundaries and expectations before Nurse Joy jumped in to explain her bit.
"Now, while attacks are allowed, I need to clarify a few things. You may not target a Trainer and their Pokémon directly. I'm sure all of you have been on the receiving end of a misdirected attack and you know how dangerous they can be."
Blaine raised his hand. "So no moves like Seed Bomb or Hydro Pump are allowed, right?"
"Correct. Moves that slightly enhance speed and stamina are allowed, like Agility and Rock Climb, but not game breaking ones like Extremespeed. We will have aerial cameras and support watching the race from above, so if we see any moves like that we will pull you out and your team will be disqualified."
All three Dorm heads nodded in understanding. Brittany jumped in. "I've sent the schematics of the course and a recap of all the rules to your tablets so you can share them with your dorms when you meet to pick a representative. Good luck guys."
The meeting dismissed, Santana immediately ran through the list of people she would pick. At the top of the list, no question, was Quinn Fabray. Her Zebstrika was blazing fast, she had seen its speed before. Oh yeah, with Quinn on our side, there's no way we can lose!
XXX
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO ONE'S SEEN QUINN ALL DAY?" Santana was breathing heavily, a murderous look in her eyes as she stared down at the gathered members of her dorm. "Well where the fuck is she?"
Rachel looked a little bit scared. She had never seen Santana angry before, and she was quite determined to never be on the receiving side of that anger. "I don't know where she could be, we talked a little this morning before I left, she said that something came up."
Santana growled, and shot off a message to the judges about needing a quick delay to find another representative. "We're fucked six ways from Sunday then. Quinn was my number one seed to run this race."
Karofsky snorted, "I don't know why you're surprised. This isn't the first time Ice Bitch has failed to show up for something."
"Quiet, Karofsky, I need to think," Santana quickly ran through her ever dwindling list of people. Not that one, Extremespeed was banned. Nor that one, their Gogoat had pulled a muscle earlier in the day. This was not looking good for their dorm, and she was starting to regret making those bets.
"Seriously though," Karofsky continued, ignoring his head of dorm's order. "Have you guys even read that article about her? I think our "Champion" is losing her touch. I wonder if she really has turned to drugs?"
The gathered students started to nod in agreement.
"Would you shut up about Quinn?" Rachel snapped, whirling around to face the bully and staring him right in the eyes. "I have had enough of your snide remarks about her. Quinn's going through a very hard time right now and frankly I am ashamed of all of you! She is twice the Trainer you all could ever hope to be, and yet you're tearing her down to feed your own insecurities. It's absolutely despicable."
"Are you volunteering to take Fabray's place, Berry?" Santana asked. Rachel wasn't her first choice, but the fact was, they needed a fast team, and Rachel and her Typhlosion were their best bet. She was not about to eat at Sandy's food truck for the rest of the year.
"I am," Rachel affirmed, calling out her Typhlosion and storming off to the starting line to inform the judges about the change in roster. She could hear her dorm-mates muttering rude things behind her back.
The second she stepped foot on the starting line with her Typhlosion, she transformed into a completely different person. Rachel was always confident, but now, with a challenge in front of her, she became much more than a diva. She became a fighter. I'm taking Quinn's place to prove those assholes wrong. I know I'm good enough to win this thing.
Typhlosion huffed next to her, and knelt down so she could climb on his back. He growled menacingly at the competition, and to his credit, at least the Sawsbuck looked a little nervous.
"Rachel?" Kurt called from atop his Rapidash, "What are you doing here, I thought Quinn was racing for your dorm?"
"Something came up I guess, and no one else was willing to step up to the plate." She took a deep breath, ignoring the raucous crowd and syncing her breathing with that of her starter's.
"That's either really brave or really stupid, do you know what will happen to you when you lose this event?" The Rapidash snorted and pranced around on its back legs. Kurt effortlessly soothed his Pokémon by gently rubbing circles on the Fire Pokémon's back. "Santana will crucify you."
Fully focused now, Rachel turned to face the top-tier coordinator. "That's why I'm not losing today. See you at the finish line, Kurt."
Kurt smiled, and tightened his grip on the fire-proof reins. He could definitely see why Rachel and Quinn were having a hard time getting along. They're both stubbon as a Tauros.
A gun went off and the race began.
XXX
Rachel surged forward on her Typhlosion, quickly settling into a fast, yet comfortable pace. The Sawsbuck was behind them, and the Rapidash in front, but she was confident about her pacing. Santana had sent the schematics to her tablet and she had easily memorized the layout. It wouldn't give her a huge advantage, but anything would be helpful, especially since her Typhlosion didn't have the inherited speed that her opponents had.
She spotted one of the aerial cameras above her, and she urged Typhlosion to go a little faster. Those cameras were the student's lifeline to the race, providing live feed of the race to the gathered students and judges. They would be racing in a very large square, ending up back where they started. As long as she tried to stay in range of the cameras at all times, it would be nearly impossible for her other two opponents to break the rules and attempt to attack her.
Kurt was still ahead of her, his Rapidash's silver mane and tail waving in the wind. Of all the competitors, Rachel was worried about him the most. He was just as confident as she was and she could tell that his Rapidash had plenty of experience with working under pressure and in front of a crowd.
Unbeknownst to either of them, the Breeder on top of the Sawsbuck had a sinister plan up his sleeve. He had resigned himself to losing when he heard that Quinn Fabray would be representing Dorm One, but now that hat had changed, he was free to go after his opponents.
It didn't matter to him that he was currently in last place, he could still easily see the other two. So when Trainer and Sawsbuck passed through a particularly thick clump of trees, he stopped. Making sure the cameras wouldn't be able to see him, he whistled once. A bush rustled behind him and another Breeder walked out, leading an identical Sawsbuck on a halter.
Of course it was cheating, but technically there was nothing in the rules about substituting a Pokémon mid-race. He quickly attached the saddle and reins to this new Sawsbuck and mounted it, giving the other breeder his tired-out mount. "You know what to do?"
Blaine Anderson nodded, clipping the lead to the first Sawsbuck. "I do. I don't like this one bit, but I'm sure as hell not having our dorm lose this race. I'd rather cheat and win than lose and eat at Sandy's food truck for the rest of the year. Go. Win this for us."
The rider saluted, and clicked his teeth, urging the Sawsbuck to run. "I'll see you later on in the race then. And don't worry, we got this. I'll win for us, whatever it takes."
Blaine watched his representative run off. "I hope you're right, Hunter. Whatever it takes." The Sawsbuck next to him nickered and he ran a hand down its neck. "Yeah, you're right. There's time to feel bad about this when we win."
XXX
Rachel was fairly certain that they were about ninety-five percent done with the race. And she was in first. Her strategy of running at a quick yet steady pace went over well, as she had passed Kurt and his Rapidash, who were recovering after spending a lot of energy on the first leg of the race.
She saw the finish line in front of her, past this clump of trees, and she could barely hear the crowd cheering. She smiled. We're gonna win this.
Suddenly she was falling, her Typhlosion losing his balance and skidding on the dirt. She hit the ground hard, letting out a cry as her Typhlosion fell on her right leg, pinning her to the ground.
"Nice try, loser," a voice sneered, and she saw the Breeder atop the Sawsbuck surge forward toward the finish line.
Her leg was killing her, her starter whining in pain himself. That…bastard! He had tripped up her Typhlosion. She prayed the cameras had caught the obvious foul but it then occurred to her that he wouldn't have tripped her if he thought he would get caught. And they were still far enough away from the finish line that the crowd wouldn't have caught the play.
Kurt and his Rapidash were still behind them, so Rachel decided that if they were going to lose then at least they wouldn't come in last.
Santana's gonna kill me either way. She managed to help push her starter off of her injured leg, but only managed to move a few inches before crying in pain. I can't do this.
XXX
Suddenly, Rachel was no longer in the race, but back in her old dorm room at the Johto Academy, watching the final battle between a young, accomplished Trainer and the Champion of the Kalos League. Back then, she didn't even know the name of the girl who would soon become a region-wide celebrity.
Diantha was no easy Trainer, that much was certain, but even so, the beautiful blonde with the captivating hazel eyes stood her ground without so much as blinking. The Champion had already lost five of her Pokémon and was down to her last one, a powerful Gourgeist.
The entire world held on with bated breath to see what would happen next. The challenger had also lost a fair bit of her team, and was down to her last teammate as well. She had a strange strategy though. It was as if she had tailored her team to specifically fight in a certain way, switching her Pokémon in and out if they so much as missed an attack. In fact, the audience had only seen five of the challenger's Pokémon. She held in her hand her last hope.
"I'm impressed, not many people could have come this far," Diantha told the blonde. "But you're down to your last Pokémon as well, so unless you have some sort of ace, I think we can call this battle over."
The challenger turned her head, clutching her last Pokéball in her hand. Just as the cameras focused on her face, she smirked. "It's not over until someone gives up. And I've never been a quitter."
Diantha frowned and called her Gourgeist in close. "Very well, show me what you've got."
The challenger tossed her Pokéball with a fiery energy and shouted for all the world to hear, "Dante, let's win this battle!"
And the rest was history.
It's not over until someone gives up. Rachel's vision swam in front of her, but she pushed herself up off the ground, ignoring the throbbing pain running down her right leg. Grabbing onto her Typhlosion's shoulder to steady herself, she began limping towards the finish line.
The Sawsbuck had slowed down considerably, as the Trainer on top of it was certain that they had won. Rachel saw a flash of silver behind her, which signaled the presence of the Coordinators and their Rapidash. "We can't give up, Axel. That's the reason we started training, to make something of ourselves."
Her Typhlosion growled in agreement, and his eyes began to burn bright red. He knew what to do. Using the last reserves of his strength, he lifted Rachel up over his shoulders until she rested safely on his back and let loose with a Flame Charge. Fire engulfed Trainer and Pokémon, and the crowd stood on its feet in shock as the two of them blazed across the finish line less than a second in front of the breeders and their genetically perfected Sawsbuck.
Quinn watched the end of her race on her tablet from the back of Diantha's car. She may have been too late to race herself, but she had seen her dorm pull out victorious. And she smiled. Nice going, Rachel.
XXX
That night, the fun was in full swing as the school celebrated the first semester games with a party that put even the hottest of clubs to shame.
There was a loud pop! as Santana opened the bottle of non-alcoholic sparkling soda and began pouring the drink in the cups of her dorm-mates. "Let me start this party off by saying just one thing! We fucking won, bitches!"
Everyone cheered and clinked their glasses together, taking a moment to revel in the celebratory atmosphere. Since Dorm One came away from the event victorious, the entire courtyard was draped in various shades of red, from the tables and glasses to the walls and the dance floor. Even the pond had been retrofitted with red pool lights to give the entire area a glowing red aura.
Santana was proud of her dorm for winning the competition, especially considering the risks she had made on their behalf. Yeah, sure, perhaps it wasn't the smartest thing to do, wagering her classmate's food privileges, but it had sure as hell paid off.
She had been so close to breaking Quinn Fabray's face when the blonde hadn't shown up to the final event. If Rachel Berry hadn't been there to save the day…
A slow cheer began building in the air as the said savior entered, flashing a mega-watt smile and overall looking very pleased with herself. Santana called her over, "Hey short stack, get over here!"
"Good evening Santana, enjoying the party?" The diva looked a little tired and was limping slightly, something that Santana didn't fail to notice.
"Hell yeah, now that everything's over and done with. How about you though? You look a little worse for the wear."
Rachel took the offered drink and settled down in one of the chairs. "Nurse said that she should just keep a bed in the office for me, but I digress. At least I didn't break my leg, just badly bruised."
"And your Typhlosion?"
"Getting a well-deserved rest along with the rest of my team."
"Good. Then you have time to celebrate with us. I should tell you what your victory this afternoon earned us in terms of privileges. Tell me, Rachel, have you ever eaten at Sandy's food truck?"
Rachel's smile quickly disappeared as Santana told her the story, to be replaced with a look of horror.
At the main stage, Professor Sycamore tapped the microphone to quiet the students. "Once again, thanks to everyone who participated in today's games, I hope they were fun. But now we have a trophy to give out."
The red students began cheering wildly.
"Yes, yes, settle down, settle down. As you can see by the color theme tonight, the winner of the first of the year's dorm competitions is….DORM ONE!"
Sycamore produced a trophy from behind him and handed it to Santana. "Miss Lopez, on behalf of the faculty, congratulations. Would you like to say a few words to your cohorts?"
Santana nodded, accepting the trophy with a grin. "I'd first like to remind the other two dorms about their newly obtained obligations. I wish you losers luck, you'll need it. I'd also like to thank all the Dorm One students who fought today, this trophy is yours as well. But most importantly I'd like to thank the one who made it all possible for us. Even though she was injured in the process, she never gave up and pulled out the win for us. Let's hear it for RACHEL BERRY!"
Rachel gasped as the crowd started chanting. "Berry! Berry! Berry!" Puck was grinning like a madman, leading the chant with gusto.
The crowd was so focused on Rachel that no one noticed a certain blonde sneaking into the party.
XXX
Quinn couldn't help but smile at the chanting going on. She had seen Rachel's spectacular finish on her tablet. Her resilience was amazing, to continue fighting after getting injured like that. It made her think. She knew now for certain that her roommate wasn't the source for the article on her, and it eased her mind. I knew Rachel wasn't a bad person.
But then who did? Who invaded her privacy in such a serious manner? She had spent all day at the Champion's Tower, doing damage control and coming up with a course of action. She would sic her father's lawyers on the unfortunate reporter and see how far they got. Quinn may not have the best relationship with her father, but he did have resources.
Still, it was enough to make her head spin. Politics were stupid. She grabbed a drink from the table, and downed it in one gulp before grabbing another couple and leaving. The party would likely go on for at least a few more hours, and she wasn't in the mood to explain to people why she hadn't been there.
As she left, she walked past a sign saying: Teacher's Beverages. Alcoholic. No Students Allowed. Student tables across the courtyard.
XXX
Kurt Hummel watched as Quinn downed her alcoholic drink and he frowned. Why on earth was she stealing drinks from the teacher's table?
Blaine noticed his boyfriend's concerned gaze and bumped shoulders with him. "What's up with you?"
"Quinn's gone and grabbed the drinks from the teacher's table. Those have alcohol in them, the students are supposed to stay away from them."
"Kurt, what is the big deal about Quinn getting a little drunk?" Blaine asked, tilting his head in confusion. He didn't see any problem whatsoever with someone getting a little tipsy now and again.
"Quinn could never hold her alcohol well," Kurt told him. "Last time we went out to a club, she had two shots and started hitting on everyone she met. She kissed Brittany and Santana wouldn't talk to her for a month. Now granted, everyone at that place was a little drunk, so nobody minded, but we're here at the Academy. If they catch her under the influence, a huge scandal could erupt. I'm sorry to cut our date short, Blaine, but I have to follow her and make sure she doesn't make an ass of herself."
Blaine waved his boyfriend off and shot him an understanding smile. "I get it Kurt. You take care of your friends, and I think it's a very honorable thing to do. Look, you know where to find me once you make sure Quinn's okay, I'll be around."
Kurt smiled, and turned tail to follow the blonde Champion as she walked down the hall, looking a little dazed. Blaine was the best boyfriend ever, and Kurt was constantly amazed at how lucky he was to have met him. Quinn, you are so gonna owe me for this. I'm not letting this boy get away.
XXX
"No Daddy, I'm having the time of my life over here," Rachel said into the phone, and twirling her fingers around the MVP medal Santana had given her. "I think I've finally found the place where I belong. Yes, Growlithe is doing great, he's getting bigger every day."
She caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye and turned around to lock eyes with Quinn Fabray. Rachel couldn't put her finger on it, put something seemed off about her roommate. "Daddy, I'll call you tomorrow, my friends are pulling me back into the party. Yeah, I love you too."
Hanging up on her father, Rachel reached out to touch Quinn's shoulder as she passed, and gasped when the Champion whirled around to face her. "Berry, fancy seeing you here," the blond slurred.
"Are you drunk?" Rachel accused her, taking the blonde's hands in hers and looking her straight in the eye. Quinn's pupils were dilated and the diva detected the faintest of tremors in her heartbeat as she grasped the Champion's wrists. "You are! Where did you even find alcohol?"
"That doesn't matter. Tell me, midget, why aren't you scared of me? I haven't exactly been the nicest person to be around, and you have to live with me."
Rachel sighed and leaned back against the wall, letting go of Quinn's hands. "Look, Quinn, despite your behavior towards me since I arrived, I can understand where you're coming from. I lost a teammate once too, and I thought I would never recover. I lashed out at everyone until I had driven everyone away. I'm not gonna let that happen to you."
Quinn trembled and suddenly rushed the shorter girl, pulling her into a tight hug. "Thank you, Rachel."
Warily, Rachel returned the hug, trying with all her might not to fangirl out at that precise moment for physically touching the Champion. She realized now that the blonde's prickly exterior and dare she say it, sometimes outwardly rude behavior, Quinn Fabray was just human.
She had all of that responsibility and power thrown at her the minute her Charizard struck the winning blow against Diantha, and then to have her anchor ripped away from her so suddenly and so painfully. Rachel understood now. "Quinn, I—"
Any question on the tip of her tongue was cut off as Quinn leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. It was hesitant at first, a feather-light touch that Rachel almost didn't register, until the blonde stepped back, uncertainty swimming in her eyes. "Shut up, Berry."
Rachel touched her lips in confusion, then pulled Quinn back in by her hips and kissing her once again, fiercely this time. I'm so gonna regret this in the morning. "Make me, Fabray."
The clock struck midnight as they touched, the fireworks going off both figuratively and literally, the cheers of the students muted in Rachel's ears as her heart beat in time with Quinn's. Neither one of them noticed the bright flash of a phone going off.