AUTHOR: justa-fangirl
21st of September, 2014 - Showdown at the Battle Chateau: Part 1
It had all started when Gilbert burst into the Pokémon Centre in Camphrier Town one evening, with a wild gleam in his deep red eyes.
"Al, you have to go to the Battle Chateau! It's totally awesome!"
"Dude, I told you this morning: no. Why would I go to somewhere called the 'Battle Chateau'? You can't have real battles in a fancy castle. I'm a serious Pokémon Trainer, and that just sounds like a joke."
"Oh, it's a joke all right, but people like you and me can make out like bandits from this thing."
Now, that had caught Alfred's attention. No travelling Pokémon Trainer could turn down an opportunity to make some easy money.
"…Go on."
Gilbert spent the rest of the night detailing his adventures at the Battle Chateau that day, which sounded just as pretentious and stupid as Alfred had always suspected.
"It's full of rich, spoiled brats who get their daddies to buy them pretty, rare Pokémon, and then get famous breeders to train their team for them," Gilbert explained. "I doubt these kids actually spend any time raising their Pokémon themselves, and they have no idea how to battle properly – but they still go around calling themselves Pokémon Trainers. I know it sounds depressing, but this is all great news for Trainers like us! These kids have no concept of the value of money. They're all from rich old families and they never have to think about how much things cost, so they just throw prize money away like it's nothing! I earned more prize money today than I have in the past four months!"
And it was that sentence alone that brought Alfred to the Battle Chateau the very next morning: an ostentatious stone castle in the middle of a small lake. The sight actually made Alfred feel a little sick, it was so ridiculous and over the top.
Alfred crossed the drawbridge over the water and marched through the grand castle doors. A butler greeted him in the entrance and Alfred showed the letter of invitation Gilbert had given him to get in. Exactly where Gilbert had gotten this exclusive letter Alfred hadn't dared ask, but it seemed to do the trick for Alfred was allowed inside and told there were currently eight other 'Trainers' inside the chateau willing to battle.
Alfred wandered around the fancy corridors, peeping into open doorways and finding nothing but empty rooms full of elaborate sofas and expensive looking artwork. It seemed this so-called "Battle Chateau" was really little more than a glorified hang out spot for the bored and elite.
Finally, in a small study lined with bookshelves, Alfred stumbled upon a potential contender. He was a boy about Alfred's age, with ash blond hair and thick dark eyebrows that scowled in the intruder's direction.
"Who are you and how did you get in the Battle Chateau?" the boy demanded in an accent that Alfred tried to ignore. He couldn't let himself go all weak-kneed over some stuck-up rich kid.
"I'm Alfred F. Jones and I have a letter of invitation," Alfred returned smugly, whipping out the paper and thrusting it in the other boy's face.
The boy looked up at Alfred over the letter with a deadpan expression. "That's clearly a forgery."
"…Well, I did not know that," Alfred countered (though inwardly he wasn't surprised at all).
The boy eyed Alfred suspiciously for a few long, silent moments, and Alfred had the distinct impression that he was being weighed up. For some reason it made him feel nervous and embarrassed, though he felt he had no reason to feel ashamed or guilty around a spoiled brat like this. This was the kind of person Alfred hated most – someone who used Pokémon as tools and status symbols instead of friends and teammates.
"So, are we battling or not?" the boy asked suddenly.
Alfred hadn't been expecting that, and he blinked in surprise for a second. "Really? Even though my letter's fake?"
"Yes, you'll get kicked out as soon as someone else catches you," the boy nodded sagely. Then he looked up and fixed Alfred with a pair of eager green eyes. "So we'd better make this quick, hadn't we?"
A smirk spread slowly across Alfred's face. "Oh, it will be."
The boy, who introduced himself as Arthur Kirkland, led Alfred outside into the pretty, manicured gardens, and found them a nice open area with ample space for a Pokémon battle.
"I only have one Pokémon with me today, so we'll just do a single battle, if that's all right with you?" Arthur asked, as he unclipped the shiny PokéBall from his belt.
"It's up to you, you're the one who's going to get thrashed," Alfred taunted from the other side of their makeshift battle arena. "Are you sure you want to go through with this, Kirkland? I'm a real Pokémon Trainer, and I won't hold back on you."
Arthur smirked at him from the other side of the pitch.
"I hope I can handle it."
The two Trainers sent their PokéBalls flying into the grassy ring, and two birds exploded out into the sky. Alfred's magnificent eagle-like Braviary soared up into the sky, stretching his wings and doing a quick spiral dive before returning to hover over Alfred's side of the pitch (he was always a bit of a show-off, much like his Trainer). On the other side, an elegant white swan-looking Pokémon was doing graceful loops above its Trainer's head. It appeared that it had a black mark over one eye, but as Alfred looked closer he realised it was an eye patch.
"A Swanna?" Alfred laughed. "I'll admit, the eye patch is a nice touch, but isn't it still kind of a girly Pokémon?"
Arthur's eyebrows furrowed into a menacing glare. "If you think being a girl is something to be ashamed of, then you can leave right now."
Alfred hung his head guiltily, shame piercing him like a knife.
"You're right. I'm really sorry."
He was embarrassed of his stupid comment, but more than that, Alfred was upset that he'd made himself look foolish in front of Arthur. For some reason, he wanted to impress the other boy – he wasn't exactly the kind of Trainer Alfred had been expecting from the Battle Chateau. Though the proof of that would be in the battle.
"After you then, Kirkland."
After only a few moves, it was obvious that the two bird Pokémon were extremely well-matched.
Swanna's water moves were fierce and accurate, striking Alfred's Braviary even as he swooped and dived cleverly, almost knocking him out of the air a few times. Their flying moves were equally strong, Swanna with the advantage of speed to escape Braviary's powerful attacks, and Braviary with a tough defence that helped him endure the other Pokémon's hits.
Alfred hadn't had such an exciting or even battle in ages, and for the first time he could remember he actually found himself enjoying the thrill of it. Usually, he was so determined to win that whenever he faced defeat he grew cold and serious, a completely different person to the excitable Alfred who battled for the sheer joy of it.
Somehow, competing with Arthur didn't feel scary. If he lost, he knew he wouldn't feel ashamed or pathetic like he usually did. He didn't know why that could be, but as he looked over at Arthur, urging on his Pokémon in the sky above them with a smile on his face and a familiar passion in his eyes, Alfred couldn't bring himself to feel any resentment towards the other Trainer. Arthur wasn't like the other Battle Chateau members – he was like Alfred.
"Stop the battle! Stop it this instant!"
The two Trainers and their Pokémon all turned as one towards the source of the shouting, and found several angry-looking guards marching towards them, led by the butler from the chateau entrance.
"That's him!" he called, pointing at Alfred. "The one with the forged letter that weirdo from yesterday was wielding around! Seize him!"
To be continued...