Chapter Eight: Battle Lines (Part 1)
Well, this is turning out to be something of an anti-climax.
I had mentally prepared to face my would-be murderer and made a big deal about there being more than one way to win a fight and the power of words in an attempt to justify my stupid decisions. It was going to be an epic war of words, full of tension and drama and character development; it would've been fantastic.
Clearly, Dragalge didn't think the same way as he's decided to not even turn up. Even though, in this situation, alone and unprotected, I'm big, juicy bait, he's yet to so much as poke his head above the surface of the ocean, let alone warp all physics and hover above land. I've even tried provoking him by chucking rocks into the water and shouting all sorts of insults. Nothing.
Therefore, I'm left to conclude that either he only appears at night – understandable, as he's too ugly for the day – or has decided to go terrorise some other town. Either way, my plan is ruined and it's back to the drawing board.
With an exasperated sigh, I flop down on the hot sand and look out towards the ocean, watching the waves gently come in. Dragalge was my only option, not just because of his strength, but also because I wouldn't have needed to put him inside a Pokeball. With no Pokeballs, and no money to buy any, it's not like I can go out and get any other Pokemon. Even if I could, I don't have a Pokemon to weaken other Pokemon, so I'd only be able to catch something weak. Somehow, I can't see me challenging Equipe de Magikarp with a Hoppip ending in success.
So there are only two options now: team up with Fennekin or wait for the girls. In both cases, I'll be waving goodbye to my pride. Not that there's much of that left, mind you.
My ribs pick this moment to remind me that they're injured with a throb of pain. Then, as if not wanting to be left out, the ache in my head intensifies. Honestly, after that brief surge of motivation, I kind of forgot that I'm not in the best physical condition right now. Do I really want to go hiking through Route 9 and explore a cave? It's not the most sensible thing to do right now. Maybe I would be better off waiting; I'm sure Korrina and Serena will be fine.
"You look troubled, young man," says a soft male voice.
Standing next to me is a stocky figure dressed from head to toe in a heavy brown cloak. A pale, ghost like face and red tufts of hair are revealed by the opening in the hood. My first impression of him is that he looks very suspicious. My second...
"So do you. Aren't you hot in that?"
The man laughs. "Indeed, I am. However, I cannot expose my appearance right now."
"Really? That sounds shifty."
"It's nothing like that. I was merely saving someone who's unfortunately gained a reputation for being a menace around here." The man holds out a Pokeball. I have a good guess as to who's inside it. "I was worried that if the town's people saw me, I'd be swept away by their adoration," he says, humour evident in his tone.
"Gotta hate when that happens," I comment glibly.
"What about you, young man? What is bothering you?"
Undecided as to whether this guy's curiosity had sinister origins or not, I say, "Just some standard teenage angst. Me against the world. That sort of thing."
The cloaked man nods sagely. "The world is a tricky enemy. It makes you feel like you're always swimming against the tide, never getting to where you want to be, only to where the world wants you to be."
That's... eerily close to hitting the nail on the head. I have been feeling recently that things are conspiring against me; the screw ups, the injuries, the lost opportunities...
"Well, it's something like that."
"But you know, if you let the tidy carry you, you'll end up places you don't want to go. Even though going against it is tough, you're still in control of where you want to go... and little by little you can reach your destination."
"Who are you?" I ask, unable to keep the suspicion out of my voice.
"Just a friendly stranger passing by," he says with an enigmatic smile before walking past me and down the beach. I watch him go as the strangeness of the situation dawns on me. A friendly stranger who can capture that Dragalge and then offer the first random kid he finds advice in the guise of a metaphor, and who has very convenient timing. Was this supposed to be a fated encounter or something?
Dodgy source aside, I can't question what he said much. Simply going with the flow by getting comfortable on this beach may be the sensible option as far as my physical health is concerned, but I think the sense of helplessness would do far more damage than any physical strike could. How could I possibly change the world in that state?
So screw it, why don't I just go? If I need to struggle to get to where I want to be, why not struggle? I'm going to be hurting, my pride will be trampled on and things will probably not go my way, but ultimately, the reward is much greater this way.
And let's face it, I've been improvising this entire trip. A little more wouldn't hurt... much.
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of police sirens shrieking in the distance. This will make me sound like such a criminal, but I should get going before the police show up.
The entrance to Glittering Cave is a rather unspectacular opening tucked away in one inconspicuous corner of Route 9. Though a hot-spot for scientific research, there's not much evidence of human tampering. Everything seems rather natural.
Everything except the Fennekin and Riolu waiting for me at the entrance. They couldn't look any less natural if they tried.
"So you've come to join us, after all," Fennekin says smugly.
"No, I'm only here for a stroll. I hear caves are good for concussion." I walk ahead of Fennekin and Riolu, not even sparing them a second glance. "Feel free to join me, if you'd like."
Fennekin bounds in front of me. "We're actually familiar with the layout of this cave. Maybe you could follow our lead?"
"No, that's okay, I'm sure I can find my own way around. We may end up going in the same direction, though," I say, quickening my walking pace.
"I guess it can't be helped..." he responds, doing exactly the same thing.
It's not hard to see where this cave gets its name from. Embedded on the walls, reflecting the flickering flames of the torches that have obviously been set-up by previous visitors, are gemstones of different colours; blue, red, green... each one shining dimly. You'd think that people would just mine the gems, but I read that the Pokemon here and strangely possessive of them and have a habit of attacking anyone who tries. It's a shame, since I could really do with the money.
It's only when I tear my eyes away from potential riches that I notice that Fennekin, who had been taking point, had stopped in front of something.
"This is a wall," I state. Indeed, in front of us is a flat, vertical substance known as rock that is often used to obstruct people's progress.
"Really? I thought it was the manifestation of your combined ego," Riolu says, rolling his eyes. He points in the opposite direction. "Come on, it's this way."
I wonder what's rustled his jimmies.
Now with Riolu at point, we continue to move through the cave's narrow passages. There is no conversation, and the only sounds are coming from my footsteps and the occasional Pokemon we come across. It's crazy to think that just a couple of days ago, Fennekin and I were having casual conversation with each other while travelling. Now, we're only focusing on what's ahead of us – long stretches of boring cave. So much has happened recently.
Let's return to the present. I hadn't noticed until now, probably because Fennekin and I had taken point before, but Riolu doesn't look in the best condition. His fur is ruffled and dirty, and he's walking with a slight limp. And is that sand I see?
"Riolu," I call out.
"What?" he answers without looking back.
"Where'd the injuries come from?"
He doesn't respond right away. "They were inflicted by the hands of the misguided."
"I see..."
I don't see at all.
We make our way around a few more bends and corners and then continue down a straight passage way. It's been an uneventful trip so far, which, coupled with the silence we've been walking in, has done nothing to help my tension; I feel like something's going to pop out from the shadows any second now.
As we continue walking, a sharp scraping noise reverberates around the passageway. Each of us react differently. Riolu whips around, hands up in a guard, Fennekin leaps a good foot away while I stay still, frozen on the spot.
A couple of tense seconds go by before we deem it safe to move again. Doing so, we hear the scraping noise again. I look down at the floor and notice a small, shiny object. Kneeling down, I pick it up and examine it closer. It's a silver coin with a single "1" engraved on both sides – a one Poke-Dollar coin.
"This could be useful," I state, pocketing the coin.
"How?" Fennekin asks, sounding incredulous.
"I can spend it," I say, "throw it, hit someone with it... play with it."
"So you're going to fight Equipe de Magikarp with a coin?"
"I daresay it'll be more useful than you."
We press on and eventually come across a large clearing. Not too far away from us, a group of very recognisable people are battling with each other. Upon spotting this, Fennekin, Riolu and I quickly and discreetly duck behind a conveniently nearby stalagmite.
Taking a peek over the stalagmite, I see that three individual battles are going on. Serena and Shauna - and their Pokemon, a Froakie and Chespin, respectively - are having difficulty against the rather... unorthodox battling style of their Equipe de Magikarp opponents and spending more time running around in a frantic attempt to avoid being slapped by a Magikarp than actual battling. Korrina, meanwhile, has decided to forego calling out her Pokemon and dual her opponent using her own fists and seems to be winning.
"What's the plan?" I ask, trying to keep my voice as quiet as possible so it doesn't echo off the cave walls. Unfortunately, I can only follow their lead at this moment in time.
"We wait," is Riolu's reply.
I watch the battle as I try to work out why we should wait. Not a lot has changed.
"I did not sign up for this this!" Shauna cries out, narrowly avoiding a swing from the leotard clad Magikarp wielder. "Serena, help me!"
"Bit busy!" Serena responds, ducking under a swing from her opponent.
Maybe we should be helping them.
"Surely with the six of us we could take them out," I reason.
"We could," Riolu says, "but I think they'll be fine without us. Also, they've got a secret weapon that could give them the advantage. I want to confirm what it is before we do anything."
That must be one hell of a secret weapon if it can take out all six of us.
Besides that, waiting isn't a terrible strategy, I guess. The girls should be able to win without our help. They just need to stop running around and mount some form of offence. Like what Korrina's doing right now. Grabbing hold the guy's wrist, she gives it a sharp pull and he drops his Magikarp to the ground, where it flails around helplessly. She follows up with a well-placed kick to his midsection. He collapses to the ground, holding his gut and letting out pained moan.
"No, Christoph! I'm coming, brother!" the one fighting Shauna – I can't tell them apart from here – yells. Distracted, he's unable to react to Shauna's Chespin flying into his arm, causing him to fling his Magikarp a couple of metres away in a terrible display of Pokemon cruelty. "Oops."
"Benoit, you idiot! Don't take your eyes off a fight!" Albert, I'm guessing, reprimands. In the time it took him to round on his brother, Serena orders her Froakie pound his wrist, effectively disarming him. "...oops."
How did I lose to this lot again?
"This isn't over yet. We've still got our secret weapon!" says Albert with no small amount of panic.
"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it," Korrina says, cracking her knuckles. Her face is lit up with joy. "Bring it on!"
"If you insist!"
Albert tosses a Pokeball out in front of him that releases an Octillery, a Pokemon with round, red head that looks remarkably to a balloon, and red tentacles sticking out all around it. With two dull eyes and a cylindrical beak sticking out of its face, it's not a Pokemon that'll win any awards for looks.
Korrina blinks at it, unsure about how to proceed. At just under three foot, Octillery is a complete mismatch for martial artist Korrina, and I'm not sure she's in the business of kicking anything that can't kick back. Standing either side of her, Serena and Shauna look just as unsure.
But while the girls are pondering their next course of action on how to deal with this "secret weapon", Octillery, perhaps feeling a bit put-off that he's inciting any fear in his opponents, isn't wasting any time. From it's beak, it fires a glob of black ink that splatters into Shauna's Chespin's face. There's a stunned silence for a bit before Chespin collapses to the floor, defeated.
That sparks everyone into action. Korrina decides to introduce her Lucario to the battle, while Serena sends her Froakie in to confront the "secret weapon". Octillery, about as expressive as that wall we encountered earlier, shows no signs of fear and meets Froakie mid-air with a rather psychedelic ray of light, again fired from its beak. Unable to dodge, Froakie takes the full brunt of the attack and is sent flying through the air before landing a good couple of feet away.
Now would be a good time to get involved. I turn my head away from the fight to speak to Riolu, only to find he's not there. I look back out onto the battlefield. He's not there. I look behind us and he's not there, either.
"Where did Riolu go?" I whisper. Fennekin doesn't answer me, his attention fixed on the fighting instead. I weigh up whether it'd be worth pestering him or not, but a cry of distress puts the thought to the back of my mind.
Korrina's Lucario isn't looking too great. It must've taken a hit from one of Octillery's ranged attacks. For what they lack in mobility, they more than make up for in power and it seems the girls are learning that the hard way.
The problem here is that outmanoeuvring an Octillery isn't easy despite it being a completely static Pokemon. Wise trainers will use its powerful long ranged attacks to maintain distance, while it's fearsome accuracy will make trainer's reluctant to send their Pokemon charging in.
What's needed is a diversion, and I think I know who the best candidate for that is.
"Stay here," I say to Fennekin.
"What are you doing?"
Ignoring him, I boldly step onto the battlefield. "Need some help?" I ask, making sure my voice is loud and clear.
Immediately, all eyes are on me. The girls look surprised, and, with a small amount of satisfaction, I note how shocked Albert, Benoit and Christoph are. I'm not as dead as you think I am, am I, you bastards?
Only Serena speaking to me prevents me from flashing them a rude gesture. "Calem, what are you doing here?"
"Helping."
Serena shakes her head, looking apprehensive. "You shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous."
"So's lying in bed with just my brain for company. Who knows what evil plans I could come up with?"
I approach Equipe de Magikarp, feeling anxious as Octillery's gaze locks on to me. One shot would be all that's required to take me out now, but fortunately its trainers are too stunned to issue any commands.
"You- you're alive," Albert, ever the mouthpiece for the team, stutters out.
"Sorry to disappoint you."
"No, we're not disappointed!" Albert exclaims. "We're glad, actually! Glad!"
"Of course you are."
"We mean it!" I merely raise my brow. "I didn't mean for you to nearly drown. All I wanted to do was knock you out, but then you fell into the river."
Whether they're trying to appease me or are making genuine excuses I've no idea, not that is should matter either way. The fact is that their actions put me in a life-threatening situation. Mistake or not, I'm not going to be forgive them for that. I'm not here looking for reconciliation, but to put right a few wrongs.
So, as you can understand, I want to get down to business quickly.
"Then I guess that makes us even then, doesn't it? I wronged you, you wronged me. So how about we settle things?" I offer.
"Settle things? How?"
"With a dual, of course. Just you and me." I gesture to Albert. "I'm sure a man of honour such as yourself will have no problem accepting..."
Albert turns to his two brothers, Benoit and Christoph, and speaks to them in quick, hushed whispers.
"Of course I accept. What are your terms?"
"We'll play a simple game of coin toss. If it's heads, I win. If it's tails, you win."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
He looks unsure, probably thinking that there's a catch somewhere despite my assurances otherwise. "Fine then."
I hold up the coin, flashing both sides to Albert to prove that it's a fair coin. Resting it on my thumb, I flip it as high I can. As three heads raise to watch the coin, I dart off to the side and then around them, making a mad dash towards the collection of bags resting against the cave wall.
"What the-"
Scanning the bags, I spot my own and quickly rummage through it, hoping that Bulbasaur's Pokeball is there. Luck is on my side. I grasp it, then go to throw it, but when I turn around, Equipe de Magikarp and their Octillery have already locked on to me.
"Put the Pokeball and the bag down," Albert demands.
I don't obey, instead watching for movement behind them. The three girls don't appear able to help me out, but they're not the only ones back there.
Albert sighs. "You know, if you had beaten me in a fair competition, I would have given you your possessions back with little complaints." He shakes his head ruefully. "Yet, you continue to be dishonourable."
As he speaks, a certain former partner of mine creeps up behind Octillery. Shauna opens her mouth to comment, but Serena hurriedly places her hand on top of it.
"I'm not the only dishonourable one here."
At the moment, Fennekin leaps at Octillery and scratches the back of its head with his claws. He then comes around to the other side and rams his head into Octillery's front.
This is the chance I've been waiting for.
"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!" I call out, throwing his Pokeball onto the ground. The grass type appears and extends both his vines. With two sharp, super-effective strikes to Octillery's head, the so-called secret weapon is defeated.
"Damn it, you tricked us!" Albert rages.
"What, did you actually think I'd fight you head on or something? Get real," I scoff. "After being ganged up on by you three, I think I'm entitled to fight dirty."
While Albert is seething, one of his brother's asks, "What do we do now, boss?"
"We retreat," he grounds out.
At those words, I exhale deeply. Now that the threat is gone, I can start to relax. Of course, my ribs pick this moment to inform me that they're not happy about my recent exertion.
"Yes, please do. You've embarrassed our good name enough."
Who was that?
Every head hear faces the far end of the clearing to see a bald, muscular man in a white suit and sunglasses – can he even see in this cave? - and two adults, a male and female, in bright red suits and sunglasses with, uh, interesting hair-styles emerge from another tunnel. But this isn't the most astonishing sight. No, what's more astonishing is the look of fear that has come across each of the Magikarp brother's faces.
"Our apologies, sir!" they cry as one, suddenly dropping to their knees and bowing their heads so low they're touching the ground.
"Who are they?" I ask Fennekin as the three newcomers approach, the guy in white looking down on the brothers, a scowl, as far as I can see past the sunglasses, on his face.
"They're Team Flare," Fennekin says, "the criminal organisation threatening the world."
