Good morning again people! What he's just now waking up? Yep. Wow, I got more reviews! o.o I wasn't expecting that many, that makes me excited! Annnd excitement over...it's early in the morning here and I'm not sure why I'm up. Oh that's right, I'm writing another chapter! I hope you all enjoyed the last one. This is going to be a special chapter, you'll see why. Anywho, let's get to it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon! All of its characters and content are owned by Gamefreak and Nintendo.
Chapter 7: Broken yet Beautiful
After the epic clash between fire and rock, Tadashi was still running the Gym Battle through his mind. He glanced at his now vacant shoulder and gave a happy sigh. He was glad that Fennekin evolved into Braixen, however he would miss her being fun-size and traveling on his shoulder. Oh well, can't have everything right? Tadashi and Victor sat in the Pokemon Center at a table. Jake decided not to stick with the group as he was uncomfortable around Clarice. Who wouldn't be? Tadashi just couldn't understand her.
Why was she such an egotistical witch? Calling her anything but would be an insult to those that are. He just couldn't wrap his mind around her and it bothered him. There had to be a way to figure her out. He had seen a few occasions where she could be really nice. But they were always short lived moments. She was so much more likeable when she wasn't being a total snob. She had the potential to be a great person, Tadashi could see it. She helped him out at Parfum Palace and even battled alongside him in the Glittering Cave. The two could actually work really well together when it came down to it. So why was she such an insufferable prick?
All of the insults and snide remarks ran through his mind. Tadashi may not know everything that was going on, but he could tell a front when he saw one. To him, there was absolutely no way that anyone could be that intolerable without reason.
"That's it..." Tadashi said as he stood up, a determined look on his features.
"Huh? Did I miss something?" Victor inquired, looking up at Tadashi.
"I've had it with her..." Tadashi muttered, clenching his fists as he got off of his chair and turned to walk out of the Pokemon Center.
"Dude, wait up!" Victor called out, catching up to Tadashi as he walked out.
"What are you going to do?" Victor asked, still seeing a rather frustrated expression on his friend's face.
"I'm going to get to the bottom of why she's so irritating that's what" Tadashi replied firmly.
'He's really focused on this...I've been meaning to ask Clarice the same but it seems more fitting that Tadashi do this. It looks like he has a lot to get off of his chest' Victor thought as he decided to let Tadashi go on ahead to handle it on his own.
But this didn't mean he wouldn't get a front row seat to the action. He was Victor after all right? He already knew where Tadashi was headed because it was where Clarice had gone for the rest of the day, route eight, the beach. Tadashi approached the beach and didn't need to look too far to find Clarice. She was on her back, lounging in a fold out chair she'd borrowed from the Pokemon Center. She had a glass of lemonade in her hand and a magazine on her lap. She wore a black bikini top that had Milotic designs on it. The bottoms matched of course.
Spotting Tadashi she growled low, placing her lemonade down as she stood to face him. As she glanced back at him she noticed something different about him. Determination. And not the kind he'd shown her previously, no this was something deeper.
"What?" Was all she said, waiting for him to answer her assumed question.
"You...that's what..." Tadashi said firmly, taking out a pokeball and tapping the mechanism to enlarge the ball.
Clarice didn't need to speak. Neither of them needed words to communicate at this point because they both spoke the same language; battle. It was every trainer's way of saying 'hello.' Clarice grabbed one of her Pokemon and mimicked Tadashi's actions. Victor had arrived but stayed a good distance away from them as he could see how intense this was going to get. His Quilladin was out of his pokeball for unknown reasons but Victor didn't seem to mind.
"This is going to be fun to watch isn't it buddy?" Victor asked quietly, patting Quilladin on the head lightly.
The spiny Pokemon nodded and turned to watch the match begin.
"Skiddo you're up!" Tadshi called out.
"Steelix let's do this!" Clarice belted as she threw her pokemon onto the field.
The steel snake Pokemon towered over Skiddo in an intimidating fashion. All Tadashi could do was wonder where in the world she got it.
"Surprised? It's amazing what people will trade for something so powerful" Clarice chuckled, loving the look on Tadashi's face after seeing Steelix.
'This is nuts...I thought dealing with Onyx was bad, this is worse...' Tadashi thought as he looked down at Skiddo who didn't seem to want to back down.
"That's just like you to go for powerhouse Pokemon...fits your crappy personality as well!" Tadashi shot back, getting a startled look from Clarice.
First blood had been drawn on the insults and it wasn't by her this time. She definitely wasn't going to stand for that.
"Crappy personality?! How dare you, you insufferable rat!" Clarice hissed, turning to Steelix with a stern expression.
"Use autotomize!" Clarice commanded.
Steelix screeched and its body began spinning as though it were sharpening itself, sparks were flying everywhere.
"Skiddo, vine whip and grab hold, then use razor leaf!" Tadashi commanded.
Skiddo nodded and darted forwards, shooting out vines, aiming to grab hold of steelix.
"Dodge and use stealth rock" Clarice commanded.
Steelix dodged the attack with surprising speed and slammed its tail on the ground, causing sharp rocks to hover in the air.
"Now use gyro ball" Clarice commanded, causing Steelix to start spinning.
Energy gathered in its mouth and suddenly a ball of white energy burst from its mouth, slamming into Skiddo before it had time to react. The ball did quite a bit of damage, though it was reduced a little due to autotomize increasing Steelix's speed, but it was still much slower than Skiddo.
Skiddo struggled to stand and turned to face Steelix, stamping his hooves and flaring his nostrils.
"Skiddo, hang in there and use razor leaf!" Tadsahi called out.
"Evade and grab hold of Skiddo with your tail, then use dragon breath to end it!" Clarice commanded.
Steelix evaded the razor leaf and managed to round up Skiddo before it knew what happened.
"Skiddo!" Tadashi called out, knowing that it was over for the little guy.
Steelix opened its mouth and loosed a powerful dragon breath at Skiddo, knocking it out. Steelix set the Skiddo down and towered over Tadashi as he returned Skiddo to his pokeball.
Tadashi glared at Clarice who returned the favor. Their feelings were now on the surface and Victor had a feeling that this battle was just about to get way more heated.
"Tell me something Clarice" Tadashi began, "Why are you so cold?!" Tadashi demanded.
"Like I'm going to tell you. You're going to have to earn that answer! I don't let people pry into my private life so I'm going to kindly ask you to butt out and let your Pokemon speak for you!" Clarice shouted.
"Fine! But I still don't get it. What the heck is your deal?!" Tadashi stated, grabbing hold of Cubone's pokeball and releasing it. As Cubone appeared the rocks that were hovering slammed into him, damaging him a little before the fight.
"I'd ask the same of you! You don't seem to respect other people's wishes. Didn't your father ever teach you that?!" Clarice shot back, not realizing the can of worms she just opened up.
Tadashi went silent for a moment. His fists were clenched tightly and his body started to tremble. Clarice had struck a sore spot. And now she was going to pay for it.
"You...insufferable witch!" Tadashi roared, causing Clarice to recoil from the remark and the angered expression on his face.
"I have been nothing but patient with you but now you've crossed the line..." Tadashi spat.
"You dare insult me again?! That's it, I've had it up to here with you!" Clarice snarled back.
"Steelix used Gyro ball!" Clarice called out.
Steelix began to spin once again and then launched a white ball of energy towards Cubone.
"Bat it away with your bone, then use bonemerang!" Tadashi commanded.
Cubone stood his ground as the ball neared him and with a mighty swing he sent it flying off to the side. Taken aback by this action, Steelix reared back out of surprise. Cubone then fired his bone at Steelix, hitting him right on the side of the head with great force. Steelix swayed groggily and almost fell over.
"Again Cubone!" Tadashi commanded.
Cubone threw the bone again and landed another solid hit, causing the steel snake to fall forwards, unable to continue, leaving Clarice with a 'what just happened' look on her face.
She returned Steelix to his ball and called out her next Pokemon.
"Roselia, let's go!" Clarice called out.
Tadashi watched as the rather small rose wielding Pokemon came into play. He knew better than to underestimate it because it was quite a powerful grass/poison type. This pokemon also fit her. It was beautiful but poisonous.
"Use razor leaf!" Clarice demanded.
"Cubone, use your club to defend!" Tadashi ordered.
Roselia shot a burst of leaves towards Cubone who spun his club to defend himself. The attack was rather strong and he couldn't hold his defense for much longer and was eventually overcome by it. Cubone got up slowly and was now panting heavily. He avoided most of the damage but the rest of it was still strong.
"Finish it with giga drain!" Clarice ordered.
Roselia's body began to glow brightly with a sunlight aura. Soon Cubone was struck with an unexpected blast and felt his energy being sapped up by Roselia. Cubone flopped over defeated and unable to continue.
That was definitely how Clarice worked. She left her opponents feeling degraded and defeated, sapped of all energy. But not today. Tadashi returned Cubone to his pokeball and brought out his next pokemon.
"Kirlia, let's go!" Tadashi called, sending out the dancing pokemon.
Kirlia balanced herself on one foot before lowering the other, keeping herself on her toes as she stepped in place. It was as if there were music constantly in her ears. Once again, the stealth rocks crashed into Tadashi's Pokemon, giving her before battle damage.
'Now this is interesting...why didn't he go with one of his fire types? That would easily overpower Roselia...wait...Roselia is part poison which means psychic types would easily do the job as well. Tadashi must have known this' Victor thought with a smirk.
"Roselia, use razor leaf!" Clarice ordered.
"Kirlia, double team and use confusion!" Tadashi countered.
Roselia fired off a volley of leaves once more, however they simply went through the double team. Clarice grunted in annoyance as she knew what was coming. Kirlia appeared behind Roselia and lifted her up with her mind, throwing her around like a rag doll before tossing her a good distance away.
Roselia struggled to get up but eventually flopped over due to the rough treatment from Kirlia's attack and her weakness to it.
"Roselia, return!" Clarice shouted, bringing her Pokemon back to its ball.
"Beedrill let's go" Clarice belted.
The overgrown bee hovered onto the field again. Tadashi remembered how strong Beedrill was and knew he needed to be on his guard.
"Kirlia use disarming voice!" Tadashi ordered.
"Beedrill, hit her with pin missile!" Clarice commanded.
As Kirlia was about to open her mouth, a ton of sharp needles rained down upon her, causing an explosion and tossing her back several feet.
"Hit her with poison sting before she can get up!" Clarice demanded.
Beedrill quickly closed in on Kirlia and stung her, causing her to cry out in pain. The move was super effective which was bad news for her. A purple aura sparked about her and shocked her, signifying that she'd been poisoned.
"Kirlia!" Tadashi called out disparingly.
"End it with another pin missile" Clarice said coldly.
Beedrill fired away and knocked Kirlia out quickly. Tadashi gritted his teeth and glared back at a smirking Clarice.
"The score is still in my favor it seems. Am I still too much for you to handle Tadashi?" Clarice said with a grin.
Tadashi said nothing as he returned Kirlia to her ball.
'You did your best...' Tadashi thought as he grabbed his next partner.
"Charmeleon, take her down!" Tadashi said as he threw Charmeleon onto the field. The stealth rocks caused a considerable amount of damage to Charmeleon due to his weakness to them. Charmeleon winced at the pain but stood strong.
"Use ember!" Tadashi called out.
Charmeleon reared his head back and fired an intense blast of flames towards Beedrill.
"Dodge it Beedrill and use pin missile!" Clarice commanded.
Beedrill managed to avoid the ember and fire a volley of missiles at Charmeleon, sending him flying backwards just like Kirlia. Charmeleon was already damaged by the stealth rocks. The damage now was an added bonus for Clarice. The match was heating up and Victor could tell that they were giving it their all. It was an intense match to watch.
"You still never answered me!" Tadashi called to her as Charmeleon stood up.
"I don't have to answer to you, didn't I just get through explaining that? Get it through your thick head!" Clarice snapped back.
"Sheesh you're difficult!" Tadashi retorted.
"Beedrill close in with twineedle!" Clarice ordered.
That was a big mistake. She seemed to be so wrapped up in winning that she forgot one of Tadashi's key strategies.
"Charmeleon, use ember!" Tadashi commanded.
"Crap!" Clarice shouted, knowing she'd messed up.
Charmeleon opened his mouth and loosed a powerful ember at point blank range on Beedrill, knocking it out due to it taking a facial. The large bee fell to the ground in a heap, fire still sizzling on its wings.
'Why does he get me so angry?' Clarice thought as she glared at Tadashi.
'He's always been in my way. No matter where I went, there he was like a cockroach that refused to stay down. No matter how many times I taunted him, walked all over him and insulted him, he still manages to annoy me. I thought I'd be rid of him by now...so why...why am I feeling like this? Why is he trying to reach me? Why?...' Clarice thought, her eyes narrowing as she recalled her Beedrill.
"Arceus you're annoying..." Clarice snarled, taking Amaura's pokeball and sending it out onto the field.
"The same can be said for you..." Tadashi snapped back.
Clarice didn't respond, she simply acted at this point.
"Amaura, rock tomb!" Clarice commanded.
"Charmeleon, dodge it and use dragon rage!" Tadashi ordered.
Charmeleon evaded the oncoming rocks and fired a burst of energy towards Amaura.
"Dodge and use aurora beam!" Clarice responded.
Amaura avoided the dragon rage and fired a powerful blast of ice towards Charmeleon who took the blast head on, skidding back quite a distance.
"Finish it with rock tomb!" Clarice demanded.
Amaura fired a volley of rocks towards Charmeleon, putting the final nail in the coffin. Charmeleon was knocked out. Tadashi grimaced and returned Charmeleon to his pokeball.
"It's okay buddy...you did your best..." Tadashi muttered, putting him away and taking out Tyrunts ball.
"Go Tyrunt!" Tadashi stated, releasing him from his spherical home.
Tyrunt surged onto the field, stomping his feet and snarling before glaring at Amaura. Tyrunt was the predator, and Amaura was the prey. The rocks slammed into Tyrunt, dealing very minimal damage due to the rock typing that Tyrunt possessed to go with the dragon typing.
"Amaura use aurora beam!" Clarice commanded.
"Dodge it and use ancient power!" Tadashi ordered.
Amaura fired an icy blast but Tyrunt was able to leap up and avoid it, using his powerful legs. He landed back on the ground and began to glow with crimson energy. Rocks began to rise up from the ground and circle around him. Suddenly, the rocks were shot forward, knocking Amaura back several feet. Amaura struggled to get up from the damage that was dealt. At that moment, Tyrunt roared and a blue aura surrounded his body, signalling a stat boost. All of his stats were suddenly boosted. This was definitely trouble.
'Darn him...he just had to get lucky with the stat boost!' Clarice thought as her Pokemon barely stood up.
"End it with rock tomb!" Tadshi called out.
Tyrunt surrouned itself with more rocks and fired them off towards Amaura. Each rock hit their mark and knocked Amaura out. Tyrunt roared triumphantly as Clarice recalled her Pokemon.
'This is odd...he's gotten much stronger in such a short time. The gap between us was so big before but now it seems to have thinned...what's happening? Why am I getting so frustrated? What's wrong with me?' Clarice thought as she reached for Wartortle's pokeball.
"Wartortle, get to it!" Clarice called out.
"Tyrunt, charge in and use stomp!" Tadashi commanded.
Tyrunt rushed towards Wartortle with greatly increased speed, nearly taking the turtle by surprise.
"Wartortle, evade and use water pulse!" Clarice ordered.
Tyrunt was nearly on top of Wartortle who barely avoided the attack in time. Wartortle opened his mouth and blasted Tyrunt at close range with a water pulse, sending him skidding across the ground end over end. Tyrunt pulled itself up and threw an immediate tantrum. It was just like what happened with Grant after the psybeam hit. Tyrunt was now confused.
"Finish it with water gun!" Clarice demanded.
Wartortle shot a beam of water towards Tyrunt, hitting it square in the jaw, knocking the confused fit throwing dragon out.
This wasn't good. Wartortle was the one who defeated him last time and it looked like it was going to end up that way again.
"Now it's down to your Braixen...you know it has no chance right?" Clarice said with a smug look on her face. She knew she had the complete advantage now.
Tadashi simply returned Tyrunt to his ball and took out Braixen's ball.
"That may be so...but I've learned not to go based off of typing...Braixen is going to fight to the bitter end. I'm going to defeat you Clarice!" Tadashi said firmly with a determined expression.
"Let's do this Braixen!" Tadashi called out, sending forth his companion.
This caught Clarice off guard a little. Had he just declared victory when he was at a disadvantage? She couldn't tell if he was confident or delusional.
Braixen appeared on the field and took damage from the stealth rock, causing her to wince a bit. Braixen was no pushover, but Clarice knew she had the advantage. Still, something was bothering her.
'Something's not right...why would he save Braixen for last? He could have saved Kirlia...and then used her to battle instead...so why did he leave his starter out of the match for so long? Come to think of it...why didn't I use Frogadier earlier?' Clarice thought, confused now that she ran through the battle in her mind.
'Was he setting it up this way?' Clarice wondered as her Wartortle stared down Braixen.
"Wartortle use water pulse!" Clarice commanded.
"Braixen use flame charge to avoid it and then use psybeam!" Tadashi countered.
Wartortle fired a blast of water towards Braixen only for her to dodge and retaliate with a psychic beam.
"Dodge it and use water gun!" Clarice ordered.
Wartortle evaded the blast and fired one of his own.
"Dodge and move in with flame charge!" Tadashi countered again.
Braixen powered up heated energies and rushed towards Wartortle after avoiding the water gun. She converged on Wartortle and managed to ram him, sending him backwards.
"Now use flame charge again!" Tadashi ordered.
Braixen charged in again, this time several times faster than she was previously and knocked into Wartortle who fell face first into the sand.
"Finish with psybeam!" Tadashi commanded.
"Get out of the way Wartortle!" Clarice hollered.
Her words reached Wartortle, but it was too late. The beam connected with brutal force and sent Wartortle flying backwards.
Clarice was stunned. Braixen had beaten Wartortle and she was now down to her last Pokemon. This entire journey that's never happened to her before. She couldn't make sense of it. The boy before her was inferior, for so she thought. So what changed? How did he become so strong so quick? Clarice shook her head and grabbed her Frogadier's pokeball without a word and threw it on the field.
The frog Pokemon hopped onto the field and assumed a battle stance. Braixen stared back, locking eyes with Frogadier. Both of them knew that this was going to be a tough fight.
"Braixen, use flame charge!" Tadashi ordered, prompting Braixen to rush Frogadier.
"Frogadier get in close with quick attack, then use water pulse!" Clarice commanded.
Frogadier and Braixen rushed towards each other, Braixen missing due to Frogadier leaping up and firing a water pulse from his hands.
"Counter with psybeam!" Tadashi called back.
Braixen looked up at the oncoming aquatic energy and quickly grabbed her stick firing off a beam of psychic energy towards it. Both energies collided and canceled each other out. Frogadier landed on the ground and stared back at Braixen who lowered her stick to do the same.
Clarice and Tadashi had finished exchanging insults at this point. It was as if they were speaking through their Pokemon now.
'This is the language of battle...I've never seen it so beautifully displayed...' Victor thought to himself as he watched their fight rage towards its conclusion.
"Frogadier, use water pulse!" Clarice ordered.
"Dodge and use flame charge!" Tadashi countered.
Frogadier fired another water pulse at Braixen but it was easily avoided. Braixen closed in on Frogadier faster than expected. Braixen's speed had increased dramatically by this point making her hard to catch now. Braixen rammed into Frogadier who stumbled back a ways.
"Now, use quick attack!" Clarice ordered.
Frogadier was now close enough to Braixen so that it would be difficult to avoid being hit. Frogadier landed the quick attack and knocked Braixen back as a return for what she did earlier.
"Now use water pulse!" Clarice demanded.
Frogadier fired a blast of aquatic energy towards Braixen, hitting her dead on as she was still a bit disoriented from the first attack. She struggled to get up, her stamina running low on her at this point.
"Use lick to hold her down and end it with water pulse!" Clarice commanded.
Frogadier's tongue shot out and latched onto Braixen's leg, securing her in place. Tadashi was in a fix now. He needed to think of a way out of the situation. He glanced at Frogadier's tongue and formed an idea. This was going to be painful.
"Braixen, light your stick and use it on his tongue!" Tadashi countered.
'Oh that's so mean!' Victor laughed in his mind.
Braixen, used to her trainers strange commands, did as she was told and set Frogadier's tongue ablaze, causing the frog to let go of her and fall back, using the water pulse on his tongue instead.
"Frogadier!" Clarice called out, genuine concern in her voice at this point, something Tadashi hadn't heard before.
"Finish up with psybeam!" Tadashi called out.
Braixen fired a powerful blast towards Frogadier who was too close to dodge the blast. The beam connected with full force sending him flying, much to the surprise of Clarice. Frogadier got up slowly and struggled to stand. He stared back at a worn out Braixen and simply smiled before passing out. Tadashi had won.
"I...I don't believe it..." Clarice said, falling to her knees, returning Frogadier to his ball.
"Feels bad doesn't it?" Tadashi said as he returned Braixen to her ball.
"Losing feels awful...now you know how I felt after our first fight..." Tadashi said sternly.
"You don't understand..." Clarice said with a tremble to her voice, something that was never there.
"What don't I understand? You berated me this entire time. You pushed me around, and insulted me, lording your superiority over me like you were some royal! You pushed my buttons for the longest time and now you got what you deserved, a hard dose of defeat!" Tadashi snapped.
"Shut up!" Clarice cried, her eyes welling up with tears at this point. She stood up and glared daggers at Tadashi.
"All my life I've been pushed around by people like you! They all took advantage of me! They all used me for their own selfish gain. Sure, I was once a happy-go-lucky idiot like you. I didn't let anything get me down, but there was only so much I could take and that's when I decided to stand up for myself!" Clarice snapped.
"I can't stand boys like you. You don't care what happens to anyone else and you don't care who you hurt as long as you get your way!" Clarice accused.
Tadashi blinked in confusion. This seemed familiar to him somehow, though he couldn't put a finger on it. She was exactly like Braixen in a way. It seemed weird comparing her to a Pokemon but it fit. She'd been pushed around a lot which drove her into being as cold and ruthless as she was now. She was worse than Braixen actually. She accused him of being like other boys, which pissed him off a bit.
"Where do you get off comparing me to everyone else?!" Tadashi snarled, glowering at her.
"I've tried to be nice to you this whole time. I tolerated your attitude, I put up with your insults for the past few days and now I've had all I can stand. Why are you like this? I don't get it! And as far as I'm concerned, all you've done is describe yourself!" Tadashi retorted.
"I was abandoned you idiot!" Clarice belted out, fuming mad by this point.
"Abandoned? By who? Imaginary friends?!" Tadashi shot back.
"No, stupid! My father!" Clarice roared.
This made Tadashi feel bad for what he'd said. It was then, that he realised that he and Clarice had way too much in common. Clarice was trembling with anger, tears spilling down her cheeks at this point.
"You have no freaking clue what it's like to be disowned by the one person you tried your hardest to please..." Clarice shot back.
"Every day there was always something he didn't like. I did my best, ALWAYS, but nothing I did was ever good enough. My mother tried to reason with him to get him to warm up to me but she never could melt that stone cold heart. He wanted a son and got me instead. Mother convinced him to try to raise me as he would a son but nothing I did ever pleased him. I always felt like I could never do anything right!" Clarice cried, glaring at Tadashi.
"He abandoned me and my mother for some tramp! He called me a failure because I never stood up for myself. People always walked all over me and I was too nice and naive to do anything about it. Well not anymore...that old me is gone!" Clarice spat.
Tadashi didn't know what to say to her story. All he knew was that she was hurting badly inside and it was spilling out. Feeling guilty for the things he said he glanced back at her calmly.
"You're not the only one with that problem...the only differnce is that you still have your father alive..." Tadashi said with a sorrowful expression.
Clarice's eyes widened a bit, tears still trickling down her visage.
"It happened six years ago. It was in the Hoenn region. My father was showing some kids around the volcano observatory when it suddenly erupted. My father never made it out alive. I guess you could call it a form of abandonment...but it wasn't intentional of course. But you don't see me sulking around because it happened now do you?!" Tadashi said firmly.
"Listen up Clarice! Your father was an moron for ditching you and your mother. Had he just tried to raise you right and give you the love you needed you wouldn't have turned out to be so irritating. My Arceus! Didn't you ever stop to think for one second that now that he's gone you don't have to worry about him pushing you around or anyone else? Or were you so caught up in how cruel he was to you that you couldn't see that you were free from his oppression?! Get yourself together Clarice!" Tadashi said firmly.
Clarice's eyes watered again, not because it hurt to hear the truth, but because it hurt that he was right. She fell to her knees and put her face in her hands. Her spirit was broken at this point. Tadashi looked at how she was now compared to before. She used to be cold and guarded, strong willed and commanding as well as intolerable. Now she was broken...vulnerable. It was as if all the hurt she felt finally caught up with her and she snapped.
Victor continued to watch, not speaking still since he hadn't been noticed yet. Then again, he was standing in the open. Were they so focused on the fight that they didn't notice he was there?
Tadashi made his way towards Clarice and offered his hand. Clarice rubbed her eyes with her arm before staring at his hand. Every other time she'd slapped it away, not realising that he was just trying to help her, trying to be nice. She'd been completely wrong about Tadashi by the looks of things. This time she didn't bat his hand away. This time, she took it. Helping her up, Tadashi steadied her so she could stand.
"Thanks..." Clarice muttered, sniffing a bit before looking him in the eyes.
"I'm sorry..." Clarice uttered, catching Tadashi by surprise.
"For what?" Tadashi inquired, blinking in confusion.
"For everything doofus..." Clarice said in an annoyed tone.
Tadashi knew what she meant, he just wanted to hear her say it.
"Apology accepted" Tadashi said with a faint smile.
"Don't think this changes a lot Tadashi...just because you beat me and got an apology out of me doesn't mean I'll take it lying down. I'll pay you back for this defeat but until then I'm going to follow you until we meet in the Kalos League. We're still rivals Tadashi...but now...I suppose you can...call me your friend..." Clarice said quietly. Tadashi heard her and smirked.
"I knew you'd come around eventually..." Tadashi said with a smirk.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Clarice snapped.
'And she's back' Tadashi thought with a sigh.
"Tadashi Misao, you are treading on thin ice mister!" Clarice warned him.
"Okay you two love birds break it up" Victor interjected, getting a surprised look from them both.
"How long have you been there?!" Tadashi and Clarice shouted in unison.
"Long enough to see everything, that was an intense battle. If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn this was a League battle. That was epic!" Victor exclaimed.
Tadashi looked over at a visibly annoyed Clarice and simply shook his head.
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, you got a front row seat to me crying. Now, how about I return the favor?" Clarice snarled.
"Clarice, let's talk about this" Victor stated, backing up as she walked towards him.
Tadashi could only look on as Clarice took off after Victor.
"Poor guy..." Tadashi thought as he heard a pained cry come from Victor as he fell over, clutching his family jewels.
Clarice huffed and walked back over to Tadashi with a satisfied smirk. She then headed towards the Pokemon Center, looking back at Tadashi as she walked.
"Aren't you coming? Your friends need attention too don't they?" Clarice said with a faint smile.
Seeing that smile gave him a whole new impression of her. It lit up her features, making her seem more pleasant to look at. Before, although she was beautiful to behold, her attitude and personality made her uglier than sin. Tadsahi learned that the inside was what made someone beautiful not the exterior. That smile was just the beginning from what he could tell. He knew it would take baby steps to get there, but eventually she'd be a lot nicer, he was sure of it.
"Sure, though I wonder if Victor is going to be okay" Tadashi said as he looked back at Victor who struggled to get up.
"Clarice...that was lame!" Victor shouted.
"Well, you had it coming!" Clarice shouted back, actually laughing this time.
Victor couldn't help but smirk as he heard the laugh.
'Tadashi...just who are you? I don't know how you did it, but you managed to turn a witch into someone more tolerable...looks like I might stick with you two after all' Victor thought as he hobbled towards the Pokemon Center with the other two. They were a rather dysfunctional group, but when they worked together, nothing stood in their way. The sun was setting and it looked as though they would be spending an extra night in Cyllage City. After healing up their Pokemon, Tadashi and Clarice got rooms next to each other and Victor shacked up in one across from them. It had been a long day but a lot got accomplished. Tadashi had beaten his rival, but it was incredibly difficult and he nearly lost. Slowly but surely though, he was getting through to Clarice. Only time will tell how things go between the trio now.
And so ends another exciting chapter! I know, it's about time Clarice got what was coming to her right? She's still a bit tempermental...okay, she's very tempermental BUT now she will start being a little nicer to Tadashi. Victor still has to work for it. He's a bit of a laid back trainer with an attitude that irritates Clarice more than Tadashi did. Crazy right? Anyway, let me know how you liked the chapter in the reviews! Find out what happens soon on The Flames of Revolution!