Chapter Eleven

When Friday morning rolled around, the mood in the air was one of excitement and anticipation. After much deliberation, Principal Jefferson had decided the school would hold a Halloween dance in one week, but he wasn't one to completely turn his back on the purpose of the school, and introduced a twist at the last minute that had half the student populace groaning. The students' costumes would be limited to the Pokémon that they owned. While the idea of a look-alike dance was appealing to many of the students, quite a few of the girls were less than thrilled at the prospect of going dressed as a Slowbro.

So it was that when Lan entered the cafeteria that morning, she was approached by no less that ten girls from various Pods. Their reason for coming to her, she soon learned, was that they all wanted to borrow Vulpix for the evening. After politely refusing, stating that they didn't own Vulpix and it would probably bite them, Lan settled down to breakfast and tried not to pull at the hem of her skirt.

Possessing an unusually keen eye when it came to the changing wardrobe of his friends, Conrad was the first to notice Lan's miniskirt. He went to walk past her to his normal place at the table, stopped, took three steps backwards, and stared at her.

"What?" Lan could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Just what exactly is going on here? First Erica strolls across the lawn in practically non-existent shorts, and now you're wearing a skirt I'd expect to see on one of them," he jerked his head at the White Pod section.

"That's where I got it from, actually," she mumbled. "It's miniskirt Friday."

"I see. So now you're going to act like all the other girls at school and…"

"Oh, give it a rest, Conrad." Erica sat down across from Lan, "If Lan wants to wear the skirt she can. You're not her boyfriend."

"And if you were, you probably wouldn't be complaining," Nikki put in, sitting down beside Lan and inadvertently taking Conrad's seat. "That skirt really does look nice on you, Lan."

Conrad puffed out his chest indignantly, but upon realizing he was being ignored he moved further down the table and waited impatiently for Lysander to arrive. Lysander took longer than usual, as he had to weave his way through several girls who didn't say anything but looked at him expectantly.

Conrad looked from Lysander, to Lan, to Erica, and then back again, before crunching into his toast with disgust, "This whole school's overrun with hormones."

His foul mood continued throughout morning class and lunch, and as they were stacking their trays Lysander decided to talk to him about it. He waved Erica and Lan away, then looped his arm through Conrad's and hauled him out the door. Conrad protested all the way across the lawn until Lysander let him go, at which point he tugged the wrinkles from his jacket and tried his best to recover his dignity.

"What?"

"I don't think you should be criticizing the girls like that. Why don't you like it when they wear girly clothing?"

"It's demeaning." Conrad crossed his arms and stuck his chin in the air.

Lysander frowned, "That's very considerate of you, but I don't think that's why you're taking offence."

"Oh no? And why do you think I'm taking offence?"

Lysander put his arms behind his head and linked his fingers, "Because they're your friends and as long as they dress neutrally you don't have to think about the fact that they're girls."

"What?!"

"You've never had girls as friends before, have you?"

"I'm not talking about this. Especially not with you."

"Conrad," Lysander sounded slightly hurt, "we're roommates. You don't have to bristle every time I figure something out about you. I don't even know where you're from, or anything about what you did before you came here. It's weird."

"Vermillion," Conrad confessed, guilt worming into his voice. "I worked as a guide for the Diglett cave. There was absolutely nothing exciting about my life until I came here."

"Did you ever have a Pokémon before Lickitung?"

"No, but I looked after my older sister's Pokémon and sometimes I battled with them." Conrad realized he was mimicking Lysander's pose and stopped, "It just bothers me that so many students here are starting to pay more attention to their physical appearance and dating than their Pokémon."

"I don't pay more attention to my appearance than my Pokémon," Lysander pointed out.

"No, you're just constantly surrounded by girls who want to date you. That's why I think this whole dance thing is a bad idea."

"Because you don't have any girls wanting to date you?" Lysander was only half-joking.

"Are you kidding? I could get a date if I wanted to, but I don't. I gave up dating to come here." Conrad winced, realizing he'd said too much, but Lysander respectfully pretended not to notice. "Enough of that. I don't suppose you want to do any training?"

Lysander smiled at him, "I thought you'd never ask."

Back inside the cafeteria, Lan stood waiting by the door while Erica bought a small tea for Charmeleon. Every ten seconds or so her hands would tug on the hem of her skirt, and she found herself wishing for the twentieth time that day that she hadn't worn it. She wasn't a part of the White Pod, and all that wearing a miniskirt today would do was bring attention to herself from the Blue Pod. This fact made itself completely clear to her when Suza and a few other girls surrounded her. Even though she knew she was in for some of Suza's verbal abuse, she couldn't help but notice that Suza's posse was half as big as it had been the night she'd forced the makeover on Lan.

"What have we here? It can't possibly be that frumpy little Lan has joined the White posers, can it?" Suza sneered, "That skirt looks horrible on you. I've seen pencils that are wider than your legs."

"Leave me alone, Suza."

"Normally I would, but you see, this isn't about you. This is about the rivalry between Blue and White, which you're obviously aware of."

"If you have a problem with how I'm dressing, we can settle it over a Pokémon battle," Lan said it with a lot more confidence than she was feeling. She had no idea if Suza had a second, or even third, Pokémon, and what they might be.

"Since the problem is between groups, it's only fair we make this a group battle." Suza flicked her curls, "I pick Anna and Cheryl as my teammates, is there anyone here who'd bother backing you up?"

For once Lan didn't feel intimidated in the least, and she laughed, "Of course. All I have to do is pick two." She turned to call for Erica, who was adding a sugar to Charmeleon's tea. She was scanning the crowd for Nikki when she heard Suza's outraged gasp and felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's been a while, Lan. Could I still count for one of your two?" Jericho flashed her one of his rare smiles before letting it drop from his face and glaring at Suza.

Suza turned up her nose and proceeded out the door with the rest of her group, "I'll see you in the far field in ten minutes."

Lan and Jericho waited for Erica to return, and as soon as she caught sight of Jericho she sighed, "Do I want to know?"

Ten minutes was all the time Suza needed to spread the word around the school, and by the time Lan and the others arrived at the far field most of the Blue and White Pods were there, along with a good chunk of the Green Pod as well. Lan didn't have to say how ridiculous it was that three Green Pod students were defending the honour of the White Pod; the entire White Pod and most of the Green one already knew. Nikki had already offered to switch with Jericho, but he'd refused.

The three Green students lined up across from the three Blues, and in between them stood an unknown student from the Yellow Pod. He'd appointed himself to be the referee, and after making sure he didn't have connections to either White or Blue the other students agreed.

"Alright, this will be a three on three matchup. Each student will use two Pokémon, and the last team with a Pokémon standing wins!"

Lan withdrew her Pokéball containing Vulpix from her belt, trying to think of what Pokémon Suza had. She knew about the Machop, but other than that she didn't know. According to Erica, Suza had failed to claim a third PokéProject, so that left one mystery Pokémon. To her left Erica was already gripping her Pokéball, while to her right Jericho appeared to still be choosing between two. Like Erica, he had three Pokéballs on his belt, and Lan hoped that whatever his third Pokémon was it could pack a lot more of a punch than Paras.

"Trainers ready?" The Yellow student called, a megaphone in his hand as he sat on his Pidgeot and oversaw the battle, "Then let this Pokémon battle… begin!"

Lan threw her Pokéball, confident in her relationship with Vulpix. She only hoped that she wouldn't have to use Zubat, though that was rather optimistic.

As she'd thought, Erica had opened with Charmeleon, which was a bit of a shame considering it would leave them at a disadvantage if the other team had water or rock Pokémon. Jericho's pick was Onyx, and Lan suddenly found herself taking deep breaths. The rock Pokémon was a good twenty-five feet from her, but she couldn't help but imagine what would happen if it was to inadvertently give its tail a sweep…

"Lan, relax." Jericho rested a hand on her shoulder, "Onyx would never hurt a person."

Erica didn't bother contradicting him, knowing how important it was that Lan be focussed on the match.

There was a groan from the White and Green section of the crowd, and a triumphant cheer from the Blues, and the three Green trainers looked across the field to their opponents' Pokémon. And froze.

Anna, Suza's new roommate and the girl across from Erica, had just released a Rhyhorn onto the field. Cheryl, the one across from Jericho, had chosen a Tentacruel. And Suza, with a cold smirk directed specifically at Lan, held out her Pokéball and let loose a Golem.

"Hey!" One of the Green students shouted, "You don't have a Golem!"

The Yellow referee used his microphone to clarify, "Neither team stipulated that the Pokémon used had to be their own PokéProjects. Suza's Golem is allowed."

While the White and Green section of the crowd booed and Erica and Jericho tried to think fast about a way to win against a trio with an undisputed advantage, Lan could hear her heart thundering in her ears. There were three rock Pokémon on the field, and she simply couldn't stop thinking of what would happen to her if Golem or Rhyhorn charged at Vulpix, missed, and kept right on going into her. There were no raised platforms like in the Pokémon league, and she would be crushed.

Jericho's hand was still on her shoulder, and he gave it a slight shake, "You have to calm down. The Pokémon fight each other, not people. You'll be fine."

"You've been flaunting that Vulpix for way too long, Lan!" Suza taunted, "Now you get to see how much better a strong Pokémon is to a pretty one! Golem, use a rolling tackle on Vulpix!"

Golem gave a roar and ran forward several steps before going into a roll and approaching Vulpix at a rapid speed. Vulpix growled at it, but had the good sense to dodge the roll without Lan's command. Now Lan's fear was coming true, and she froze, her throat and knees locking in place. Golem cut dangerously close to where the three trainers were standing before turning sharply and heading for Vulpix again.

"Rhyhorn, use body slam on Charmeleon!"

"Tentacruel, hydro pump on Onyx and follow it up with a wrap attack!"

With their own Pokémon suddenly under attack, Erica and Jericho could no longer focus on Lan and turned to shout Charmeleon and Onyx orders, leaving Lan to deal with her fear alone.

"Charmeleon, you're way faster than Rhyhorn! Dodge!"

"Onyx! Defence curl!"

Charmeleon succeeded in dodging Rhyhorn, but Onyx was only halfway into a defensive curl when Tentacruel's hydro pump struck it in the side. It roared and straightened out again in an attempt to shake the water free, leaving Tentacruel with the perfect opportunity to use wrap. Vulpix dodged Golem again, facing the rock Pokémon with a snarl as it rolled away, and was therefore unprepared for Rhyhorn's abrupt change in targets. Rhyhorn's body slam connected solidly with Vulpix, as it brought its horn up into Vulpix's underbelly and sent it toppling over its ridged back.

"Charmeleon, use fire spin and give Vulpix some cover!"

"Onyx, try a bite attack!"

Charmeleon set the grass around Vulpix ablaze, hoping to buy the fox Pokémon time to recover as both Golem and Rhyhorn circled around for another attack. Onyx attempted to reach down and latch onto Tentacruel's jelly-like head with its rock jaw, but the jellyfish Pokémon hunched down to the ground and continued to squeeze tighter with its tentacles.

"Use another hydro pump, Tentacruel!"

The water struck Onyx directly in the chest, and it bellowed as the liquid began to erode its rocky body.

"Lan, you have to give Vulpix a command! It's waiting for you!" Erica took her eyes quickly from the battle to look at Lan.

It wasn't good; Lan's whole face had gone white and she was shaking, her eyes still locked on Rhyhorn and Golem. It didn't help that the two rock Pokémon seemed to have been given instructions beforehand to get as close to Lan as they could while still remaining in the battle area, and were making sure to roar or snarl each time they passed. As the crowd watched, Rhyhorn barrelled towards the flames and put its head down, passing through the blaze easily and slamming into Vulpix once more. Charmeleon gave a concerned call to Vulpix, which Golem took advantage of and rammed into the salamander Pokémon full speed. Before Charmeleon could recover, Rhyhorn body slammed it as well.

"Charmeleon!"

Anna smirked at her, "Who knew your Pokémon was so pathetic without coffee?"

Erica gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, "That is enough. You can call me whatever you want, but don't you dare insult my Pokémon." She took one last glance and Lan before stepping in front of her, "Vulpix, listen to me! Follow Charmeleon, both of you head for Onyx's tail!"

Vulpix staggered to its feet with a whimper, but managed to pick up a trot and started to move towards Onyx. The rock Pokémon was still being doused in Tentacruel's successive hydro pumps, and by its shaking it was clear that it wouldn't last much longer. Rhyhorn and Golem rolled and ran to cut the fire Pokémon off, and it was clear that Charmeleon and Vulpix wouldn't make it in time.

Jericho called, "Onyx! Lift your tail two feet off the ground and use a tail sweep!"

It struggled to do so, its tail wavering and beginning to drip water, but it followed Jericho's command and flung its tail towards the four approaching Pokémon with impressive speed. Vulpix and Charmeleon ducked the tail easily, but both Golem and Rhyhorn were hit and knocked off their feet.

"Nice one, Jericho," Erica commented, before pointing to the top of Onyx's head. "Charmeleon, Vulpix, up!"

Charmeleon heaved Vulpix onto Onyx's now-grounded tail and shoved it until the fox Pokémon began running up the length of Onyx's body. Both of them hesitated when they reached the part being bombarded with water.

"Charmeleon, use the tentacles like a ladder and keep running! Vulpix, Onyx's body will shield you! Start biting those tentacles!"

Charmeleon obeyed instantly, but Vulpix turned and looked over its shoulder to Lan. Lan was still shaking in fear, but at the sight of her favourite Pokémon beaten and bruised she nodded as much as she was able. Vulpix began gnawing on the tentacles, and Lan was suddenly glad that she'd given the fox so many squeaky toys to chew. It was certainly proving useful now!

Charmeleon had reached Onyx's head, and Erica shouted, "Now use slash on Tentacruel!"

Cheryl gasped, "Tentacruel, dodge! Block!"

It couldn't do either, as most of its tentacles were still wrapped around Onyx. Charmeleon leapt from Onyx's head and fell towards Tentacruel, its claws gathered together into a wicked spike. After the initial hit, Charmeleon brought its claws apart and started slashing wildly at Tentacruel. By this time, however, Tentacruel was starting to come free from Onyx, and it swept a tentacle at Charmeleon, catching the fire Pokémon in the back and sending it across the field and into the dirt.

Meanwhile, Rhyhorn and Golem had been battering at Onyx's now-weakened body, and with a last weak roar Onyx fell forward, getting a tackle in against Tentacruel as it went. Vulpix tried to leap free of Onyx's back, and for a few tense seconds it appeared to be soaring through the air, but then Tentacruel reached up and wrapped a tentacle around its middle, slamming it into the ground and dousing it with yet another hydro pump.

"Oh! What a devastating round against the Green team! It appears that all three of their Pokémon are… no, wait, it looks like Charmeleon is trying to stand!"

Erica wished he hadn't said anything, as all three of the Blue Pokémon turned and rushed her Charmeleon immediately. Rhyhorn was the fastest, and was lowering its head to toss Charmeleon into the air when a jet of water knocked it off course and onto its side.

"It looks like Jericho's released his second Pokémon! A Wartortle might be just the thing Green team needs to pull off a comeback!"

"Know it all," Jericho muttered, before calling, "Wartortle! Stand in front of Charmeleon while it regains its feet!"

Erica shifted her gaze to Vulpix, who was still lying on the field, "Lan! You have to recall your Vulpix and release your second Pokémon. Come on!"

"But Zubat… it can't fight those rock Pokémon…" Lan protested weakly.

"Then use this." Erica slammed a Pokéball into Lan's protesting hands, "You have a miniskirt on, so he'll listen, and the referee said you don't have to fight with your own Pokémon!"

Lan recalled Vulpix, suddenly ashamed at her behaviour. Maybe, just maybe, with one less rock Pokémon on the field and if the other two stayed away from her, she could do this. She inhaled deeply and tossed the Pokéball into the field, "Okay, let's do this!" It would have been inspirational if it hadn't been a squeak.

"Whoa! The Green team has adjusted fast to their opponents' team, and have come out with two type-advantage Pokémon!"

Ivysaur paused, casting a quizzical look between Erica and Lan, but upon seeing Lan's exposed legs it nodded and waited for a command.

"Ivysaur, use razor leaf on Tentacruel!"

Cheryl gasped, "No fair! You were supposed to use Zubat!"

Tentacruel hissed as the leaves struck it and lashed out its tentacles at Ivysaur, but Lan was suddenly feeling confident and pointed at the giant water Pokémon, "Counter those with vine whip, Ivysaur!"

"Wartortle, hydro pump on Rhyhorn!"

Suza stomped her foot, "No! This is going all wrong! Golem, don't just stand there, use rock throw on Charmeleon!"

Golem jogged to a boulder protruding from the grass and heaved it free, throwing it with all its might at Charmeleon. The fire Pokémon was just gaining its feet, and there was no way it could dodge in time.

"Ah! Charmeleon, fire blast now!"

Charmeleon sucked in the last of its air and blew, the fire colliding with the boulder mere feet from it. Though the fire slowed the boulder down, it still slammed into Charmeleon, and the crowd gasped as the whole area around Charmeleon exploded into flame. Several students were already calling out their water Pokémon to soak the grass and prevent the fire from spreading.

"What a nasty hit from Golem! Is Charmeleon finally taken out?"

Lan turned to Erica. The taller girl was clutching Charmeleon's Pokéball to her chest and muttering, "Come on, come on…"

The flames suddenly roared ten feet in the air, and the White-Green crowd cheered itself hoarse as a brilliant white light flared and dimmed, and the newly evolved Charizard rose from the flames.

Suza's pout became more pronounced, "That still doesn't change anything! Golem, rolling tackle that stupid lizard!"

Erica didn't even bother trying to contain the massive grin that spread all over her face, "You're the best, Charizard! And Ivysaur, you're amazing as well," she added hastily. Her Ivysaur gave her a nod before resuming its vine whip attack on Tentacruel, understanding her excitement at this particular moment in time. Erica's grin became more focussed, and she replaced Charizard's Pokéball on her belt, "Alright Charizard, let's test out those wings of yours!"

Charizard leapt into the air and pumped its powerful wings, soaring above the Yellow referee and easily avoiding Golem's tackle.

"Wartortle, stop that Golem with a surf attack!"

Now that its fire teammates were safely off the ground or in their Pokéball, Wartortle moved its claws in a circle and a sudden wave rose out of the nearby river, rushing for the battlefield. It was the turn of the crowd members with Psychic Pokémon to call them out and use them to keep the water in the battling area, and as they did so Lan could see why battles of this size usually only took place in an official arena, with raised bleachers.

She was worried that Ivysaur wouldn't be able to take the water pressure, but it had thought fast and was currently standing on Wartortle's shell as the turtle Pokémon floated on the waves. Rhyhorn had been close enough to Tentacruel for it to wrap its tentacles around it and lift it clear of the water, but Golem wasn't so lucky and instantly went unconscious.

"Tentacruel, set Rhyhorn down and use Acid on Wartortle!"

Feeling it was his turn to offer up a taunt, Jericho called, "Nice to see it knows more than hydro pump and wrap!"

Lan giggled, "Ivysaur, use solar beam on Rhyhorn!"

Ivysaur widened its stance and began to draw in sunlight, and Anna laughed, "Nice try, but you have to charge the move up first! Rhyhorn, trample that plant where it stands!"

Rhyhorn roared and charged Ivysaur, but far before it could connect Erica shouted, "Charizard! Grab that Rhyhorn and take it for a ride!"

Charizard swooped down and wrapped its arms around Rhyhorn before giving a mighty pump with its wings and lifting the rock Pokémon clear off the ground. It gained altitude, keeping its head clear of Rhyhorn's scything horn the whole time.

Suza replaced Golem in her belt and glared down at her own Pokéballs. She hadn't thought she'd need to use her own, "This is so unfair. Let's go, Machop!"

To her credit, Machop had lost quite a lot of weight since last Lan had seen it, and it immediately began running towards Ivysaur to finish what Rhyhorn had started. Ivysaur's flower bud was glowing a bright gold, and it aimed the tip of the bud several feet below Charizard and Rhyhorn.

"Time to let go, Charizard!"

It did so instantly, and Rhyhorn fell ten feet before being hit directly by Ivysaur's solar beam.

Meanwhile, Wartortle was dodging globs of acid thrown by Tentacruel, and was frustrated that its water attacks were doing nothing.

Jericho shook his head, "Lan, switch?"

"Right." With no rock Pokémon left on the field, she felt like she was floating on air, "Ivysaur, one last razor leaf on Tentacruel should do the trick!"

"Wartortle, skull bash that Machop right back to its ball!"

Charizard landed next to Erica, and it was breathing heavily. She smiled and held up its Pokéball, "You deserve a rest if you want one."

Charizard looked across the field at the Clefable that Anna had just called out of its Pokéball, and then turned back to Erica and nodded. She recalled it, and picked up her last remaining Pokéball. If she threw it far enough, she could make this a three on two battle without even giving Gyarados a command.

Anna pointed at Wartortle, "Clefable, time to use metronome!"

Clefable wiggled its fingers back and forth, and by sheer luck razor leaves shot towards Wartortle and struck it before its skull bash could connect with Machop. Wartortle tumbled backwards, and with an alarmed "Saur!" Ivysaur snatched it out of the way of a fainting Tentacruel with its vines.

"Use it again, Clefable!"

"Gyarados, time for a trademark lard attack! Go!"

Gyarados materialized from the red energy of its Pokéball directly above Clefable, and landed on the fairy Pokémon with a heavy thud.

Suza glared at Cheryl, "What are you waiting for?! Call out your second Pokémon!"

"But… but Suza, we made the team to deal with fire Pokémon, not…"

"Just do it!"

Cheryl screwed her face up in a manner that suggested she very might well cry and threw her second Pokéball onto the field. The Onyx came out with a mighty roar that quickly turned into a gulp as it saw the Gyarados that was easily twice its size. Cheryl called, "You can do it, Onyx! Submission attack!"

"Gyarados, dragon rage!"

Onyx didn't stand a chance. It toppled over instantly at the same time Gyarados gave an indignant roar and rolled off of Clefable, which had apparently used minimize with its metronome attack and followed with thunder wave.

Erica groaned, "That'll take a while to wear off, it's super effective. Sorry guys."

"Don't worry about it. Wartortle, skull bash on Clefable."

Wartortle was only too glad to attack the Pokémon who'd interrupted it before.

"Machop, low kick on that Wartortle! Trip it up!"

Lan adjusted her glasses, "Not today, Suza. Ivysaur, vine whip that Machop and send it flying!"

Suza glared at her, "Use agility, Machop!"

Wartortle successfully made it past Machop and bashed Clefable in the side. While it was a fairly strong attack, it shouldn't have knocked Clefable out, but the fairy Pokémon immediately sat down and began to cry.

Anna gasped, "How mean can you be?!"

Jericho ignored her, "Wartortle, team up with Ivysaur and take that Machop out!"

Suza began jumping up and down, stamping her feet at the same time, "It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair! We were supposed to win!"

Ivysaur wrapped its vines around Machop and swung it into another of Wartortle's skull bashes, and the match was over. The White-Green supporters ran onto the field towards the Green team and hoisted all three of them onto their shoulders, while the Blue supporters slunk away with dark looks cast behind them. Lan gave an embarrassed squeak and tried to hold her miniskirt in place, afraid that whoever was lifting her would take a look, but upon glancing down she saw that it was Conrad and Lysander. They grinned up at her and set her on their shoulders, Conrad snapping at a few boys to stop taking advantage of Lan just because she felt like wearing a skirt.

A few feet away Erica turned to Jericho and smirked, "So, battling Pokémon isn't that bad, is it?"

Jericho shrugged, but a smile was playing around his mouth, "You've got a long way to go if you want to convert me fully."