"Aggron! Use Metal Claw!"
The said steel-plated reptile roared as its claw enshrouded itself behind a veil of glowing white, its eyes narrowing as it then lunged forward and slashed it across the calloused surface of the Machamp in front of it. The four-armed fighting type stumbled backwards, nearly falling over onto its rear as the audience gasped in suspense, the Aggron retaliating back to stand obediently in front of its trainer, who shot a look towards his partner, throwing her a quick nod.
The female teenager beside him nodded back, catching the signal to go and therefore sending her Jolteon forward, the thunder fox rushing towards the Machamp as its spiky fur radiated with electricity. Its pure-black eyes glistened in the overhead lights of the contest hall stadium, and Vivian could only allow her gaze to follow the speedy electric type, the judges doing the same as the Jolteon jumped up and came down with the shining barrier of a Volt Tackle. The Machamp had no time to dodge, still shaking the disorientation of the Aggron's Metal Claw strike from its head, though it soon gasped when it spotted the Jolteon plunging towards it, the static from its Volt Tackle already surging across its tough skin.
However, the Jolteon didn't have a chance to hit despite the Machamp's inability to avoid it – the fighting type's partner intercepted the thunder fox, breaking off its Volt Tackle as a vicious Hyper Beam tore the Jolteon away from its attack and sent it flying to land on the ground right in front of its startled trainer. The Claydol that had fired the beam, its head spinning in furiousness, came into view from the side, floating in front of the Machamp with each of its opened eyes narrowed. The trainers that owned the two Pokemon shot each other a look of pride, then returning their attention to the battlefield as their opponents sent their warriors forward.
The Aggron roared as it launched itself towards Claydol like an oversized bullet, its Jolteon partner following with another Volt Tackle – this time heading towards Machamp, who flexed its arms in preparation to defend.
As the Pokemon collided, Soledad could feel herself grimace at the painful-appearing melee that followed.
The pink-red-haired woman watched the battle beside her amethyst-haired partner, the both of them standing in the meeting room that housed the coordinators waiting to go their turn. Only minutes after reaching the contest hall at the dawn of morning, the battle round had begun, sending out two randomly paired pairs of coordinators to fight each other using power and beauty simultaneously. The stadium was as packed as before, and Soledad had to wonder if the spectators had even gone home last night. She let out a sigh, trying to relax herself as the battle continued to rage on outside, the coordinators in the waiting room, which had shrunk in number since the appeal round and thus eased the smothering capacity, viewing it from the nearby television.
She could hear Harley cross his arms beside her, narrowed eyes focused on the screen, images of a stunning formation between the Aggron and Jolteon filling the arena with light, also pushing the opposing Machamp and Claydol back from the mere force of the strike. The audience continued to cheer, Vivian narrating everything that was going on, though Soledad was too busy trying to sort out thoughts to even comprehend the status of the match anymore. The Brave Rush formation was what currently dominated her mind, its strong chance of failing causing her breath to get hitched in her throat. Regardless of that, she knew that it had to be used somewhere in the round – it was a move that would give them the victory easily; if it pulled through on them and worked, that is.
Even then, though, that wasn't the only thing that was bothering her…
She slowly began to turn her verdigris gaze to Harley, whose eyes were focused on the screen and therefore unable to notice her lingering stare. She quickly pulled away, however, not even giving him a chance of realizing it, allowing a saddened look to cover her face – and for reasons she couldn't decipher. Ever since May had teased her about a possible connection between her and her partner the night before, which had brought her to question the emotions raging throughout her chest when she felt the warmth of his bare back a few hours later, she had begun to wonder more and more about it.
But…why? Why was it affecting her? Usually such a joke would've been one she could easily push away, as May tended to do whenever she pointed out her obvious infatuation with Drew.
Why couldn't she push it away this time, though? Her body ached with the need to know.
Attempting to take her mind off of it, Soledad scanned her eyes over the crowd of coordinators that surrounded them, huddled up in front of the television, eager to see who was winning the first match of the battle round. She grunted, soon catching sight of May and Drew exiling themselves from the group, staying in the back where it was now suddenly clear and somewhat isolated. The chartreuse-haired teen had his arms crossed over his black turtleneck-covered chest, leaning against the wall with his countenance contorted into one of indefinable seriousness. May was doing the same, though her facial expression displayed curiosity as she tried to peer over the blockading cult of coordinators that enshrouded the view of the television.
Soledad sighed again, turning her attention back to the screen. Harley was right next to her, unaware of her conflicting thoughts as he usually was, and she wanted nothing but to lean into him right now – breathe in his scent, allow it to rush through her like the water liberated from a broken dam, and find comfort in his securing, warm hold. However, she forced herself to ignore her urges, as she knew that if she did put herself in his arms she wouldn't get out – she wouldn't want to.
A sudden burst of cheer from all around caused her to jump and break away from her thoughts, turning her surprised eyes to the coordinators that occupied the waiting room, each of them housing expressions of inspiration and excitement. She looked at Harley, who had arched his eyebrow towards the events shown on the screen, impressed with whatever it was. Out of curiosity to find out why, she shifted her gaze to the TV, blinking when it revealed that the pair that owned the Aggron and Jolteon had won the match, an unconscious Machamp and Claydol being returned to their Pokeballs as the audience roared with cheer and Vivian grinned in satisfied glee. The judges were smiling, too.
Soledad could only frown, her recent thoughts already edging their way back into her mind.
"Wow!" Vivian cried out with her own excitation, the audience reflecting her enthusiasm as her voice boomed out across the arena's echoing atmosphere. "What an amazing battle, eh?" She laughed when the crowds cheered in response, pivoting around to watch as the battle's winners waved to their supporters – a teen male and female that looked to be in a relationship with one another, if not brother and sister or best friends. Vivian shot one last grin to the judges, who were clapping, before returning her eyes to the victorious pair. "Isaac Graal and Selena Johansen of Viridian will be moving on, and, in the meanwhile, the next two pairs set to battle will be announced shortly!"
The audience cheered again as Isaac and Selena smiled to one another, then slowly backing away towards the hall and to the waiting room as their Aggron and Jolteon followed them with expressions of content. They soon reappeared in the white room where the other coordinators were residing, some, presumably allies of some sort, jumping forward to congratulate them on their win. Soledad only watched from afar, silence dominating her, though she was soon nudged in her side and therefore turned her attention to Harley, who shot her a cocky grin of assurance – one that made her chuckle slightly and slap him playfully on the shoulder. They returned their eyes to the TV, however, when Vivian's intercom-spread voice informed the residents of the room that the next pairs up were the following:
"The next two groups to battle are…Soledad Sierra and Harley Davidson versus Baxter and Jeremy Hargis!"
Cries of excitement emitted from the audience and while the coordinators let out their own cheers of support, Soledad let out a sigh. She and Harley had decided to save the Brave Rush formation for a later battle, and therefore she fingered Lapras' Pokeball since the said plesiosauruslike Pokemon and Cacturne had been chosen to handle the first brawl of the contest's battle round. The pink-red-haired woman met her partner's gaze, verdigris and metallic blue-green tensing the air in secrecy, determination leaking from irises like veils of silent vows. Harley soon smirked, nodding slightly, Soledad trying her best not to blush as she then followed him past the clapping coordinators and towards the hall that led out into the arena. Along the way they locked silent gazes with May and Drew, in which May waved in support, Drew doing nothing as he tightened his frown.
Soledad stayed close to Harley as they descended the hall, a few feet in front of them walking the pair they had been set to battle against. One was sun-baked and large, almost apelike, his bulkiness and drooping arms rivaling that of Groudon's, and his short, spiky hair looked like it hadn't been tended to in weeks. The man next to him was shorter, paler, and more civilized, his office getup and square-shaped specks hinting at his skills with computers – or anything involving observation, for that matter. It was obvious that the human Slaking was Baxter, his brother, Jeremy, being the blonde-haired genius beside him. It was hard to believe that these clashing opposites were into coordinating.
"You don't think he's going to eat us if we win, right?"
Soledad blinked, turning her attention to Harley as he whispered into her ear, purposely pulling her back somewhat from the Hargis brothers. It was evident that he was referring to the prehistoric anatomy of Baxter, as his metallic blue-green eyes shifted nervously across the said man's back. Soledad wanted to laugh at her partner's feigned grimaces, but, not wanting to get eaten either, decided to end the conversation there so the brothers wouldn't hear it. "Harley, don't be mean," she scolded firmly, trying to avoid giving into her urge to laugh.
Harley only grunted in skepticism. "Mean? I'm just being cautious."
"Harley!"
"What?"
Soledad rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help the amused smile that now covered her lips.
It wasn't long before they emerged into the arena, being greeted by its epic size as they had been before, and though Soledad was now used to it she still felt overwhelmed, eyeing the metal beams that supported the stadium's foundation. She frowned, shifting her gaze to watch Jeremy and Baxter take their places on the opposite side of the battlefield, she and Harley occupying the opposing space, Vivian jumping around beside the judges' table in the midst of it all. Soledad cleared her mind, grabbing Lapras' Pokeball from her pocket while Harley pulled Cacturne's from his belt. Soon enough, Baxter and Jeremy had their own confined Pokemon cradled in the palms of their hands, and, as Vivian's call to do so rang throughout the stadium, the coordinators' warriors were thrown forward and released.
Cacturne called his name with determination as he emerged from his circular cage and landed on the ground in a fighting stance, Lapras materializing right beside him, eyes narrowed and flippers slamming themselves against the floor with intimidation. They locked gazes with the Magmortar and Gallade that belonged to Jeremy and Baxter, the four Pokemon getting into position, aware of the situation due to the clues surrounding them.
On the overhead TV, the IDs of the two pairs showed up on the screen, below it two point bars and a timer set for five minutes. However, neither of the teams tilted their heads to look at it, as it was the usual routine for contest battle rounds, and therefore the only thing they did was jab their fingers forward and launch their Pokemon towards each other when Vivian gave the signal to go.
"Lapras! Hydro Pump at Magmortar!" Soledad called out, her Pokemon following the order as she leaned her head back and then reared it forward, in the process shooting out a beam of water towards the said fire type. Cacturne stayed in the back during the ordeal, awaiting an order, though Harley was hesitant to command anything since both the opposing Magmortar and Gallade held super-effective moves against his grass and dark type fighter. The amethyst-haired coordinator gritted his teeth.
Meanwhile, Baxter's own expression contorted with fury, and he threw one of his apelike arms forward as a command freed itself from his clenched lips. "Dodge and use Ember!"
His Magmortar heeded his order, moving to the side right as the Hydro Pump whizzed past it, and pointed one of its cannonlike appendages towards Lapras, a smirk rising on its billed lips as a ball of fire then shot from the howitzer. The fiery orb headed towards Lapras, in which the water and ice type craned her head right as the attack would've struck the base of her long neck. The orb dissipated as it flew by, Lapras snarling slightly, Soledad doing the same since any fire strike would do moderate damage to her Pokemon.
"Close Combat, Gallade!" Jeremy suddenly ordered, his voice sly and somewhat arrogant as he pushed his slouching glasses back up his nose. His Pokemon followed with a tough grunt, heading towards Cacturne with quickened speed, arms already in position to bring the dark and grass type into a melee brawl. Harley growled as the opposing Pokemon approached, eyeing his Cacturne as he stood his ground, wondering what he could do. Soledad's Lapras was too busy fighting Magmortar to provide assistance – the two Pokemon were throwing more Hydro Pumps and Embers at each other, in which some hit while most missed – and therefore Cacturne was on his own for now.
Harley knew Cacturne couldn't just stand there, which was why he tried to improvise – even if it only helped in avoiding the deadly Close Combat. "Cacturne, Bullet Seed!"
Cacturne roared out his name as he swayed his head forward, firing small orbs of light that resembled seeds, each one heading straight towards the approaching Gallade in the form of a fragmented beam. However, the opposing fighting and psychic type dodged each one, its speed allowing it to continue onward at a blinding rate, which brought Harley to clench his teeth and snarl a quick "Damn!" before he rose his voice to yell, "Dodge it!"
His Pokemon followed, rolling to the side right as Gallade jumped up and slammed its palms against his prior position. Of course, being fast, it didn't take much for the gladiatorlike being to charge up another Close Combat in the split second it took Cacturne to recover from his sudden evade, and therefore, as if on instinct, the Gallade lunged forward with glowing blades. Cacturne squeaked, throwing his arms over his face, both of them becoming enshrouded in white as he defended himself with a Needle Arm, pushing back on the Close Combat when the Gallade struck his appendages like dual swords fighting against another pair. It began bashing, vigorously, and Cacturne wasn't able to hold it forever, his arms soon dropping from fatigue as, with a smirk, the opposing Gallade then seized the moment and slammed its blades hard across Cacturne's chest, causing the Pokemon to launch upward into the air and land harshly on the ground a few feet away.
Harley grimaced at the sight, knowing that Close Combat was a powerful move – and super-effective against Cacturne.
However, Cacturne soon slapped the ends of his arms against the ground, refusing to give up as he hoisted himself to his feet, wincing slightly from pain. Gallade got into a fighting stance, its face drooping back down into a serious one, and Harley swore he could hear Jeremy chuckle in amusement, Gallade soon joining in, provoking the amethyst-haired coordinator's next command: "Cacturne, Dark Pulse!"
Cacturne wasted no time in performing the said technique, a circular pattern of shadowy rings forming between his two arms. He shot the attack towards Gallade when it was fully charged, using the fighting and psychic type's cockiness that it got from its trainer as a distraction; thus the Dark Pulse hit straight on, pushing the gladiator being back, its expression showing pain towards the moderate hit. "Now! Faint Attack!" Harley added in, fists clenched, and Cacturne rushed forward, his body becoming hidden away beneath a faded texture – like a rogue in stealth among the shadows – and when he reached the kneeling Gallade, he slammed his arms against the side of the Pokemon's head, launching it to the left where it struck the ground in a painful heap.
Jeremy snarled, and Harley put on his own smirk.
Meanwhile, Lapras moaned out her name when a stray Ember smacked the center of her chest, pushing her back slightly. Magmortar pulled down its smoking cannon, Baxter breathing heavily like the ape he was, his expression seeming to be glued into a permanent frown since he was showing no satisfaction in his Pokemon's direct hit. Instead, he only threw his arms forward again, calling out for Magmortar to use Lava Plume, in which the fire type raised its cannons, preparing the said attack. Soledad put on a face of anxiousness, noticing that Lapras was in no position to dodge this time.
However, before Magmortar could launch the Lava Plume, it suddenly keeled forward, widened eyes hinting pain as Cacturne materialized behind it from his sneaked Faint Attack. Soledad let out a sigh of relief, though Baxter growled and convinced Cacturne to back away until he was standing in front of Lapras. In the meanwhile, Gallade got up from its fallen position, narrowed eyes focused on Cacturne as it walked over to stand beside Magmortar, who had begun to return to its feet with a vicious hiss.
Soledad took that time to shoot a look towards the overhead monitor. Their point bar, which depleted whenever attacks were taken or strikes faltered horribly, had one-fourth of its yellow filling missing, Jeremy and Baxter's reflecting the same status. If one of the bars ran out, it was game over for whoever owned it. The time limit showed four minutes to go and Soledad couldn't help but be amazed that only a minute had passed since the start of the battle – it felt like they had been fighting for hours. Lapras was slightly weakened, as was Magmortar and Gallade, while Cacturne was already beginning to limp since Gallade's Close Combat had landed a powerful hit. Harley grunted in frustration when Soledad turned her head to look at him.
Meanwhile, Baxter and Jeremy exchanged glances, nodding to one another, and by the time Soledad noticed their physical messaging it was too late.
They were starting one of their formations.
Both Magmortar and Gallade caught this, needing no words of reminder as they got into position of the formation they had created for the contest. Magmortar leaned forward so that Gallade could stand on its back, and as the gladiator Pokemon began to charge up a powerful ball of white energy between its blades – a Focus Blast, Soledad could tell – Magmortar pointed both of its cannons forward, extensive amounts of heat radiating from the tips – heat that Soledad could feel flutter across her facial skin despite the distance between them. Jeremy and Baxter exchanged another look, then grinning deviously as they jabbed their front fingers forward and combined their voices:
"Magmortar! Overheat! Gallade, fire your Focus Blast!"
The two Pokemon heeded the command, Gallade shooting its ball of white energy straight towards Cacturne and Lapras, the orange-red tunnels of an Overheat's fire soon caging it in from both sides, adding to the beauty of the attack as the colors meshed to emit a radiation of immense light. Soledad could feel her breath get hitched in her throat, though Harley quickly snapped her out of it when her called out for her: "Sol, we need to use the Giga Ice formation to counter!"
Soledad realized that he was right – the formation created for Lapras and Cacturne was the only thing that would provide at least some sort of defense. Their two Pokemon cried their names, having overheard and therefore wasting no time in getting into position, the orange-and-white waves of a Giga Impact forming in front of Cacturne as he began to charge it up. In the meanwhile, Lapras ducked her head slightly, waiting for the time to do her part.
When the Giga Impact was ready, Cacturne allowed it to enshroud him, in the midst of it jumping up and shooting forward towards the approaching Focus Blast-Overheat combo, which was when Lapras reared her head forward to unleash an Ice Beam, the ray of frosty blue striking Cacturne, sending a blanket of ice over his figure. Soon enough, he was shooting towards the opposing formation as a giant ice bullet, the waves of energy from his Giga Impact circulating throughout his frozen prison.
Jeremy and Baxter's faces fell, and Harley and Soledad only hoped it would be enough.
Cacturne made impact with the other team's formation, shooting through it and breaking it in half as his ice barrier provided temporary protection from the extensive heat. When he fully cut through the formation, his weakened shield of frozen water shattered, sending shards towards Magmortar and Gallade, who were still standing on top of each other for when they launched their collaborative move. The fragments of pointed ice struck them, sending them back, where Cacturne, who was still speeding forward with the epic force of a Giga Impact, dive-bombed towards them to finish them off.
"Flamethrower!" Baxter called out, his grudge voice now edgy with panic.
Right as Cacturne made contact, Magmortar plunged its cannon arm forward, shooting out a tunnel of flames towards the blinding ball of light that now engulfed them.
No one knew what happened next. An explosion of clashing attacks occurred, filling the battlefield with billowing smoke as Cacturne flew out from one end, smashing into the ground right in front of Lapras, his back facing up. Meanwhile, the opposing Magmortar and Gallade were launched from the other end of the colliding forces, convincing the audience to gasp as they then slammed into the wall, sliding down with speed before they hit the ground and lolled their heads downward. Everything was silent after that, though as the smoke cleared, Harley felt his soul dim as he eyed Cacturne's fallen figure, which showed no signs of rising. Gallade and Magmortar seemed to had suffered the same fate.
All eyes turned to the overhead monitor since that was the status that determined everything in a contest battle. Two minutes were left on the clock; however, the timer had stopped due to the fact that the point bar for Baxter and Jeremy had completely depleted – both Magmortar and Gallade had fainted, dropping their score to an immediate zero. Meanwhile, Cacturne's fainted state had cost Harley and Soledad most of their own points, though the still-standing position of Lapras had left them with a fourth left, which concluded the winner of the battle then and there.
Harley and Soledad.
Soledad let out a sigh of relief as the audience burst into cheer, Baxter snarling in disappointment and maintaining a feral semblance as Jeremy simply frowned and muttered something about miscalculations. They returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs, stomping off as Vivian jumped forward and expressed her excitement towards the amazing battle. Of course, Soledad only watched Harley as he walked over to his fallen Cacturne, kneeling beside him, expression displaying worry. The pink-red-haired woman soon followed, kneeling down on the opposite side of the fainted Pokemon, cooing out softly, "Is he okay?"
Harley nodded, an eased smile reaching his lips when Cacturne raised his head and looked at his master with tired, but satisfied eyes – his risky sacrifice had given them the victory. "He just needs rest," Harley stated, pulling the Pokemon's Pokeball from his belt and returning his life-long pal to his spherical haven. Then, reattaching the ball to his belt, he met Soledad's gaze, in which she nearly gasped at the saddened look that now hovered among his irises – as if he had been dearly worried for his Cacturne since the conflicting formations caused an explosion. However, the light seemed to return to his eyes when he shot her a warm smile at the fact that they had won, and she had to turn her face away before she blushed again.
He got up, helping her up, listening to the words of congrats from the judges and Vivian before he began to lead her to the meeting room. In the midst of it, Soledad cast another look towards Harley's face, in which a ghost of anxiousness still haunted his paled skin; he really did care for his Pokemon – there was no doubt about that. But…still…she didn't like seeing him like this. She remained silent, letting out another sigh of relief before she had to attempt to smile at the bright side of everything:
They were moving on onto the next part of the battle round.
Their formations at this point had been top-notch.
And Baxter hadn't eaten them for lunch.
Things were looking good so far…
Hours passed as the battle round continued. Shortly after Harley and Soledad's victorious match against Baxter and Jeremy Hargis, May and Drew were sent out to battle a married couple, winning easily with Roserade and Venusaur's impressive combinations that stunned the audience and ended the battle before the four-minute mark was even reached. Afterwards, more pairs fought, determining the ones that would make it to the next part, where they were all sent to battle each other again. Harley and Soledad continued to advance at a steady pace, as did May and Drew, and, soon enough, after defeating more couples, including Isaac and Selena, the last battle had been reached – the one fight that would determine the winner of the contest.
As everyone had somehow predicted, it was Harley and Soledad versus May and Drew.
Soledad felt herself gulp as Vivian announced this to the crowd in the arena, then informing them that the battle would start in a few minutes. She had assumed as well that she and Harley would be fighting May and Drew towards the end of the competition if they had made it that far, and now such visions had come true, bringing the pink-red-haired woman to grow nervous again. May and Drew were tough coordinators and if victory was to be given to her and Harley, then they needed the most powerful formation they had conjured.
The Brave Rush.
She felt her muscles tense whenever the name of the risky formation surged through her mind like a memory that wouldn't leave her alone. Her stomach jolted whenever she reminded herself that this was it; the end of the contest – the battle where the Brave Rush formation would prove itself if it decided to, grasping the fate of her and Harley's victory in the palms of its bony, shaking hands. She wanted to be assured that it would work, even if the coaxer lied to her; she just needed guidance and an inch of hope or confidence – anything that would calm her darting senses right now.
"Sol?"
Soledad let out her breath, turning around to face Harley as he approached from behind. They both, along with May and Drew, were residing in the waiting room until it was time to go. To her surprise, crowds of coordinators were currently gathered in the same area, because despite that they had lost, some chose to stick around to see the 'epic' fight between the two toughest pairs of the competition; therefore the atmosphere was everything but quiet, which Soledad had needed silence to clear her pounding head. May and Drew were somewhere in the room, most likely being flocked by fans that were giving them last-minute good lucks. Pushing these thoughts away, Soledad redirected her focus to Harley, who chose then to simper, arching his eyebrow in a knowing manner. "Nervous?" he repeated, as if such a word had grown to be his official motto.
She slowly nodded. "Of course. The Brave Rush is going to be used in this battle, no?"
Harley frowned as he considered it; he couldn't help but agree with her. "We've practiced it as much as we could," he replied, tone calm, and Soledad envied to have his mellowness. "There's nothing else we can do apart from cross our fingers and hope for the best. I mean, we got this far, haven't we?"
"I wish it was that easy," she muttered, turning her stressed, verdigris gaze to the tiled floor. It wasn't that easy, and that was the problem. The Brave Rush formation had a high chance of faltering, but at the same time it was a fruitful technique that would be needed in a battle when it involved the coordinating skills of May and Drew. Sometimes she honestly thought that Drew surpassed her; he had gotten so good over time.
Harley shifted weight between his shoulders, as if trying to think up of a response. "Well, what's the worst that could happen?"
Failure. Humiliation. Embarrassment. Those were the first three words that came into Soledad's mind.
However, she pushed the thought away when she met Harley's caring gaze, and flashbacks of May's tease from last night and her raging emotions brought her to swallow her words. She tried her best to push that thought away, too – there was no way she could think about her relationship with Harley (in which, of course, there wasn't even a romantic relationship to begin with); she needed to get focused. In order to do so, she tried to think about his recent words and his question of what was the worst thing that could happen when the Brave Rush formation was up. Suddenly, images of Cacturne's state for when the final step of the Giga Ice formation faltered flashed through her head, and she had to lower her eyes at the possible aftermaths of the technique that didn't include an infliction on her and Harley's reputation. "What if something does happen?" she whispered, feeling more horrified the more she thought about a failed Brave Rush damaging Garchomp or Pidgeot. "What if someone gets hurt…like Cacturne did…?"
Harley's eyes glistened with sadness at the memory. Though his Cacturne was fine now, he hadn't thought about the possible effect a failed Brave Rush had on its composers. However, he couldn't help but find the theory somewhat extreme, too; they couldn't back out of it now, even if risks were involved – otherwise, what was the whole point of Pokemon battling to begin with? "Don't worry," he chose to add with a soft, assuring voice; "this time, I'll make sure nothing happens to the beings I care about."
Soledad wanted to smile at his obvious dedication to his Garchomp. Except, she only put on an expression of bewilderment when Harley tenderly took her hand with his, raising it to his mouth where he then planted a gentle kiss on the back of it. She felt her face heat up, the tingles left behind by his soft, warm lips crawling up through her arm and surging into her quickened heart. Her respiration stopped and Harley only smiled warmly as his fingers cradled her hand, keeping it by his mouth so that his hot breath fanned across it.
Needless to say, she was ready to faint.
However, when Vivian's voice suddenly sprung out from the intercom, gaining the attention of everyone in the room, Harley pulled away, allowing Soledad to return her hand to her side, in which she gazed at it with widened eyes. "Are you ready, coordinators?" came the announcer's excited voice, aware that competitors who had lost tended to stick around to watch the final battle. Because of this, she wasn't surprised to hear the cheer of multiple peoples. "Well, it's finally here; the final battle that will determine the winner of the Slateport City partner contest competition - wow, that's a mouthful." She laughed. "Now, will Soledad Sierra, Harley Davidson, May Maple, and Drew Trandafir make their way to the stage, please?"
"This is it," Harley commented as he turned to Soledad. "You ready?"
Soledad forced herself to let out a sigh, her fingertips caressing the spot where he had kissed her. "As ready as I can be," she answered, sounding dazed, and Harley chuckled slightly, grabbing her hand again and leading her towards the hallway as the surrounding coordinators cheered and wished them good luck. They soon met up with May and Drew as the two teens stood by the door, nodding to one another – a physical sign that no matter what happened on the battlefield, it didn't affect anything off of it – before taking off down the hall.
It was show time.
"Absol, get ready!"
"Glaceon, take the stage!"
May and Drew tossed out the designated Pokeballs, Drew releasing his Absol as the wolfish creature then took a place on the battlefield, May's Glaceon joining his side, her tail whipping around in excitement. The audience cheered in recognition as the two Pokemon eyed the vast spectators with prideful eyes (Glaceon even flexed slightly, while Absol only shook his head at her childish antics). Meanwhile, Harley and Soledad exchanged determined glances, nodding to each other before grabbing the Pokeballs of their own Pokemon.
"Garchomp, it's time to go!"
"You too, Pidgeot!"
The said land-shark and bird materialized in front of them, getting into positions upon realizing the situation. Garchomp displayed slight intimidation since she was still new to the epic space of a contest hall stadium, but hid it well beneath her usual exterior of toughness, instead locking gazes with Drew as he grimaced upon remembering that Harley had a Garchomp. Garchomp sneered at him, still not favoring the chartreuse-haired teen, though she put her snarl away when Pidgeot scolded her with a firm squawk. Absol and Glaceon shot each other a look, confused to what was going on.
However, it was all pushed away when the coordinators' IDs, point bars, and the timer was placed on the overhead monitor, signaling the start of the match as Vivian threw her hand down and called, "Begin!"
As if on reflex, Soledad jabbed her finger forward. "Pidgeot, use Aerial Ace on Absol!"
The bird Pokemon chirped, flying into the air above the aforementioned disaster Pokemon, then retaliating by folding in her wings and speeding towards Absol like a bullet, white streaks of an Aerial Ace attack beginning to form around her. Absol gritted his teeth, jumping to the side as Pidgeot came around, immediately turning to face her when she returned for another strike from the back. "Absol, defend yourself with Night Slash!" Drew ordered and Absol followed, his scythe glowing with dark energy as, right when Pidgeot collided with him, he reared it forward and struck it against the origin point of her Aerial Ace, pushing against her figure. Pidgeot narrowed her eyes as she shoved back, their colliding attacks beginning to spark with reaction.
Meanwhile, May sent her Glaceon forward, at the same time Harley ordering Garchomp to use Flamethrower. The land-shark opened her jaw, shooting a tunnel of scarlet fire towards the approaching ice fox, who dodged it when May ordered, then jumping forward and using Ice Shard. Icicles shot from her mouth, glistening like crystals in the overhead lights as they headed towards Garchomp with speed. The land-shark snarled, moving her body in various manners as she evaded each one, even charging up a Dragon Claw to strike and shatter a shard that was close to hitting her in the chest. Harley's tensed muscles eased slightly at the sight of this – any ice type move was super deadly to Garchomp, seeing as how her two types were both weak against it.
"Dragon Rush!" Harley ordered, Garchomp shooting forward with the shielding of a Dragon Rush strike outlining her in a glowing blue texture. Glaceon stood her ground, watching the land-shark approach, then opening her jaw to release another Ice Shard attack as May instructed, the frozen arrows heading towards the opposing Pokemon. "Jump!" Harley called out, thinking as fast as he could in the unpredictable situation, and Garchomp launched herself into the air, flipping over Glaceon and landing right behind her, swiftly turning around to strike her with a Dragon Claw as Harley then commanded, the ice fox finding no time to dodge and therefore being pushed back from the hit. However, she regained her stance.
May clenched her fist. "Glaceon! Ice Beam!"
Glaceon followed, opening her jaw and firing the familiar beam of frosty blue-white straight towards Garchomp. The land-shark barely dodged it, the tips of the frozen attack clipping the edge of her dorsal fin, which made her wince and nearly stumble over. Right as Glaceon was about to seize the moment and use another Ice Beam attack, she was thrown to the side by an unexpected Whirlwind, Pidgeot coming into view, in which Soledad met Harley's surprised gaze and displayed a supporting smile. Harley smirked himself, though his face fell when he noticed that Absol was rushing towards Pidgeot with another Night Slash, and thus he ordered his Garchomp forward with a Dragon Rush.
The land-shark intercepted the wolfish Pokemon, pushing him back where he gritted his fangs and glared at Garchomp, then shooting forward to use his charged Night Slash on her instead. Garchomp faltered, having not expected such a thing, which was why she was struck by the hit, falling over onto her back with a squeak of her name. Absol growled, following Drew's next command of conjuring a Water Pulse, the ball of aqua energy forming at the tip of his snout, where he then launched it towards Garchomp. The land-shark slammed her feet into the ground, rocketing herself backward right as the Water Pulse struck her prior position. Returning to her stance, she shot forward with a readied Dragon Claw, Absol quickly retaliating with Night Slash, and the two Pokemon struck their glowing appendages together, creating sparks amongst each collide as if they were warriors fighting with swords.
Back with Pidgeot and Glaceon, the said ice fox fired an Ice Beam towards the bird Pokemon, who dodged it with a barrel roll, displaying slight nervousness since it was common sense for her that ice was one of her weaknesses. Following Soledad's orders, she shot forward with another Aerial Ace, nearly striking Glaceon in the side as the ice fox jumped back and retaliated with Shadow Ball, launching an orb of dark energy towards the bird. It struck her left wing and she stumbled, nearly crashing into the ground before she pivoted upward and saved herself.
"Air Slash!" Soledad ordered, Pidgeot following and raising her beak so that a ball of wind formed at its tip, shooting it towards Glaceon, where it struck and pushed her back, though the fox quickly recovered. Soledad grunted slightly, shooting a glance towards Garchomp and Absol – the two Pokemon still fighting with their bladelike appendages, more metallic clashes filling the air in response.
Soon Drew shot a look towards May, who caught his signal and nodded. Soledad noticed this and felt the color drain from her face since such a flag had grown to mean only one thing in this competition.
"Absol and Glaceon," Drew called out; "Scimitar formation – go!"
Absol broke away from his duel with Garchomp, causing the land-shark to stumble slightly as the wolfish creature met up with Glaceon, the both of them taking their positions in the said collaborative technique. Absol straightened his posture, Glaceon jumping onto his back and hanging her head right over his, which was when Absol's scythe began to glow with the shadowy energy of a Night Slash. At the same time, Glaceon began to charge up an Ice Beam, waves of power forming around her and Absol in the midst of it.
Harley and Soledad gulped. Knowing May and Drew, they were in trouble now.
Glaceon soon let out her Ice Beam, firing it in front of Absol's face, where the wolfish creature roared out his name, rearing his scythe back, then snapping it forward as he combined the Night Slash with a Razor Wind at the last second. The cutlass made contact with the Ice Beam, sending colossal blades of blackened frost straight towards Garchomp and Pidgeot, who squawked in surprise and fear at the oncoming waves of death.
"Move! Get out of the way!" Soledad panicked, her and Harley's Pokemon struggling to follow her command – the blades were both huge and wide, bringing Pidgeot to fly higher in order to avoid them and Garchomp to dance around, jumping over them when some slid across the ground and almost clipped her feet. It wasn't over there, either, as Absol kept striking Night Slash-Razor Wind combos at the Ice Beam protruding from Glaceon's mouth, more and more blades coming out at a swift pace. Garchomp nearly tripped, yelping in pain when one struck her and sent her flying backward, crashing into the ground. Pidgeot noticed this, chirping with worry, flying towards Garchomp's fallen figure, trying to avoid getting hit herself in the wake. Garchomp managed to get up, almost getting hit by another blade as she rolled out of the way, severely weakened from the super-effective attack. Harley gritted his teeth in nervousness, knowing that their Pokemon wouldn't be able to last forever if Absol and Glaceon kept launching out more blades.
So he thought of the only resort they could turn to.
He snapped his eyes to Soledad, who was watching Garchomp and Pidgeot attempt to hang on, dodging the ice blades. "We need to use it!"
She escaped from her trance, meeting his narrowed gaze, and she knew what he had meant by 'it'. But…she hesitated for a second…what would happen if they did use it? Humiliation? Failure? But…what would happen if they didn't use it? They would...lose...wouldn't they?
"It's now or never, Soledad!" Harley exclaimed and Soledad met his eyes again. This time, however, she gave it no second thought, instead forcing herself to emit the command then and there:
"Brave Rush formation! Now!"
Garchomp and Pidgeot threw away their expressions of fear, knowing that the situation was serious as they got into position. More blades approached, though they ignored them, instead focusing on getting the attack charged up before they could reach them. The audience watched in awe as Pidgeot began the technique with Gust, Garchomp adding the blue flames of a Dragon Rage into the mix before the bird Pokemon broke out into a full-fledged spin and contorted the attack into a sapphire twister by using Whirlwind. Then, Garchomp began to start up a Dragon Rush, building the energy around her, Pidgeot mirroring with Brave Bird, her body combusting into flames as the attack charged.
Soledad felt her heartbeat quicken, time slowing down around her. This is it, she thought, breathing heavily. There's no turning back now.
And she pointed her finger forward:
"Go!"
Garchomp and Pidgeot burst from the tornado, the blue winds that it consisted of following them due to Pidgeot's spinning, coating them within a blanket of azure fire. The veil hid them away, their glowing forms being located within the churning flames as shivering shadows of immense power. Everyone's jaws dropped in amazement, May and Drew's faces falling as Garchomp and Pidgeot flew straight over the blades of ice that were being shot out by Absol and Glaceon, who cut off their attack at the sight of the approaching hurricane that was the Brave Rush formation. They backed away slowly, eyeing the colossal attack, and could only squeak their names in shock.
Meanwhile, as Harley watched the attack with a widened gaze, Soledad slowly found her hands clenching as she eyed the technique with determination.
Come on.
Pidgeot continued to spin, the formation heading straight towards Absol and Glaceon.
You can keep going – don't falter now.
Absol and Glaceon stepped back, their faces paling.
So close. Please, Pidgeot, you can do it. You too, Garchomp
Garchomp narrowed her eyes, as did Pidgeot.
Keep going!
The two Pokemon snarled out their names.
I believe in you!
The attack struck.
Absol and Glaceon were sucked up into the vortex of the hurricanelike formation, every inch of power that resided within striking them all over their bodies. They roared in pain, soon being launched from the back-end, where they slammed into the ground after a few ricochets across it.
The attack then passed over them, revealing their fallen figures.
It…worked…
Soledad grinned in realization.
It worked!
The audience burst into cheer, May and Drew still shocked from the powerful hit. Absol and Glaceon struggled to return to their feet, glaring at the attack as it continued onward, though they were wincing too much to even move. Garchomp and Pidgeot roared out their names in satisfaction, preparing to retaliate back and finish off Absol and Glaceon.
That is, until Pidgeot faltered.
Soledad's eyes widened, her look of relief falling into oblivion. No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
She and Harley watched in horror as Pidgeot spun out of control, the flames following her movements and thus clipping her wings, causing her to flail downward where she collided with Garchomp, the both of them then shooting forward from the land-shark's Dragon Rush attack that had, this time, survived. However, Garchomp had no control of herself, tumbling into mayhem as well as the two Pokemon were launched upward from the force of it all, heading straight towards the top part of the arena's wall. There, they crashed into one of the metallic beams that supported the stadium's foundation.
It was silent after that, as if everyone was still trying to take in what had just happened, watching the smoke that billowed from the crash site.
Only, they didn't have time to comprehend it, because a screeching noise, which cut through the atmosphere and made everyone grab their ears in pain, then followed.
The screeching noise of splitting metal.
A large crack sliced itself through the middle of the metallic beam, starting at the impact point where Garchomp and Pidgeot had crashed into it, falling to the ground in a painful heap a few seconds after. A gasp emitted from Harley, May and Drew mimicking, everyone else in the room soon doing the same as they all watched the metallic beam split in half, breaking apart from the ceiling where it then swayed downward and slammed into the wall with a thunderous stomp. Following this was the sound of metal ripping apart – like small pieces were being torn off, and when shards of spearlike fragments came showering down on the battlefield, Soledad felt her face pale.
"Move it!" she ordered, Harley heeding her words as a javelin-sized piece of torn metal impaled the ground where he once stood. Now the audience broke out into panic, trying their best to flee from the room as more pieces of the metallic beam broke from their origin point and headed towards the stage like deadly comets. May and Drew got out of the way, returning their Pokemon to their Pokeballs since they were too weak to dodge on their own. Soledad rushed forward to get Garchomp and Pidgeot, but had to pull back when a fragment of metal nearly sliced across her leg. She knew she couldn't leave her Pokemon out there, though, so she continued onward, dodging more pieces whenever they came, ignoring the rest of the mayhem that was going on around her as she struggled to get Garchomp and Pidgeot back to the safety of their Pokeballs.
"Sol, watch out!"
The pink-red-haired woman pivoted around to spot Harley coming towards her, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the collision course of a metallic spear. In the process, they managed to get their fainted Pokemon back into their Pokeballs, then making their way towards the exit, dodging more spears as they continued to rain down onto the battlefield.
They were almost there, May and Drew waiting anxiously for them by the door. Right as Soledad reached them, though, she was unaware that another spear was heading straight towards her. "Soledad!" Harley called out, catching sight of it. Soledad spun her head around, gaze widening as she noticed the approaching shard. She closed her eyes, bracing for impact; however, it never touched her – instead, she felt herself being pushed to the left by a force, and she slowly opened her eyes to notice that Harley had gotten her out of the way in time.
But at a cost.
The spear's sharp end sliced across his back, splitting the leather of his jacket and undershirt, gashing his flesh open.
The first thing she saw in his metallic blue-green eyes was disbelief towards what was going on. Then, as if finally realizing his fate, the color of his irises dimmed with pain, and as they both landed on the ground from the evade he had made them do, she immediately panicked, leaning forward and examining his figure, not caring for herself at all.
Blood gushed from his wound, dampening his attire with the scarlet liquid and metallic scent, which brought every inch of her to freeze.
No…
No.
No!
"Harley!" she cried, shaking him, but he didn't stir. His eyes had closed, his head lolling back. "Harley!"
No response.
"No…" she whimpered in disbelief, tears brimming the edges of her eyes. She continued to shake him, praying to Arceus that he would wake up.
But he didn't.
And as May and Drew finally took in what had just happened, rushing forward as they called out Harley's name, the now-empty room finally settled down, the metallic beam ceasing its shattering. However, Soledad felt no relief, the world around her unimportant as she cradled Harley's figure in her arms, feeling his blood soak her fingers and trail down to her elbows.
But she didn't care.
"HARLEY!"