Ch. 37: Flames of Glory
As they all stared at the sign post in front of them, none of them could discern what the strange writing meant. Suddenly, they heard a shuffling from behind them, and Malik raised his fists expecting a threat. A trainer finally managed to struggle through a thick bush, and stumble out of the thicket in front of them. He was a little shorter than Athaliah, and had a green and white striped shirt and some khakis on. Malik noticed he only had three Pokémon with him, and was staring with a puzzled look on his face.
"Oh good," the young trainer sighed in exhaustion, "Glad I'm not the only one who made it to the league this year. The name's Keiji," he said as he stuck his hand out to Malik.
"Nice...to meet you," Malik said slowly as he shook the trainer's hand, "Did you say something about the league just now?"
"yup, sure did," Keiji continued, "That there sign post is your biggest clue, it says 'Welcome to the Pokémon League entrance. May your spirits burn hot with the flames of glory!'"
"Right," Malik said with a pause, "Well, we'll be going now, we've still gotta register and we're all pretty tired from-"
"I'll go with you," Keiji interrupted bluntly, "It's not every day I make a new friend!"
"We just met, and I know next to nothing about you," Malik said dryly, "I'm sorry, but that hardly qualifies you as my friend."
Malik gestured to the others to walk away, but Malik hadn't noticed the expression on the young boy's face. He was absolutely enraged, and his face was turning more red with each step that Malik took. Malik stopped, noticing that Xenos and Athaliah were both staring at the boy, then he saw it too.
"Are you alright," Malik asked.
"You're just like everyone else," Keiji replied in a mumbled growl, "Well, mister, if you're not my friend, that makes you my enemy."
"No, that doesn't really-" Malik said but was cut off.
"You're going down, right here and now," Keiji shouted pointing at Malik, "and I'll see to it that you never reach the Pokémon League this year."
"I don't have time for this," Malik said as he noticed the sun going down.
As Keiji reached for a poke ball, Malik stepped forward, but no one saw him move. His right hand was angled up, and he was standing perfectly still behind the trainer. At first, Keiji didn't move, and his face was frozen in an empty gaze. Like a rag doll, he suddenly collapsed and dropped the poke ball out of his hand. Malik put the ball back on the trainer's belt, and walked away with the group.
"I don't get why you didn't just fight him," Xenos said, "I mean you probably would've ripped 'em apart, metaphorically speaking."
"The registry for the League closes at 7:30 pm sharp," Malik said, "and by the look of the sky, I'm guessing we may not even make it on time. I especially don't have time to battle some weirdo who thinks knowing his name makes 'em my friend."
"Couldn't you have at least been a little nicer about it," Athaliah suggested, "I mean knocking him out like that could be pretty unsettling, and now he won't be able to register..."
"He wouldn't have done anything without a fight," Malik replied as they approached the main building for the Pokémon League, "Knocking him out was the nice way."
The group fell into silence at the sight of the massive stadium. Until now, Malik hadn't realised just how big the Pokémon League was. He had read everything about it in magazines and seen it on television, but the impact of it all was crashing down on him like a tidal wave. After a moment of silence, they entered the building, and Malik immediately checked the clock: 7:25 pm.
"We made it," he said with a smile, and then ran towards the registry desk.
The woman sitting at the desk was fairly old, with pink and gray hair, and wore a white business dress. Malik's hands clasped the desk, his excitement teeming out of him wildly, and she happily looked up at him. The three of them managed to get the last available slots, but it forced Malik and Xenos to face each other for their first match, and they made their way to the stadium arenas they were designated to.
"Whatever happens," Athaliah said to both Malik and Xenos, "We're still friends after this, got it?"
"Got it," Malik and xenos both said in unison.
Malik knew this was it, and as he and Xenos made their way to the ice field, and Athaliah to the rock field, a certain energy sparked inside them all, and even Umbreon could feel the intensity of their souls. The flames of glory would indeed burn hot within them, and the battles were just around the corner.
Luckily, the contesting trainers got front row seats to the battle, allowing them to study their opponents' battling techniques and styles. Both Xenos and Malik watched as one by one, trainers won and lost, and criticised their techniques and Pokemon. Since Malik and Xenos would be the last trainers to battle in the first bout, they didn't hint at any new updates about their own Pokemon. Suddenly, Malik remembered Xenos' Espeon, and was glaring down at Umbreon without realising it.
Umbreon's ear twitched nervously as Malik glared, and finally, Umbreon angrily bit Malik's leg hard. As blood ran down Malik's leg, and Xenos laughed wildly, the tension between them was lifted, and Malik used it as an excuse to get away from Xenos for a minute. He was just outside the door to the stadium, and as he dressed his wound, he spoke to Umbreon.
"Listen buddy," Malik said calmly, "Xenos has Espeon, and I know you're in love and all, but if it comes down to it, you fight."
As Umbreon thought for a moment, and then nodded, Malik smiled. Although Umbreon was indeed infatuated with Xenos' Espeon, Umbreon's loyalty to Malik was much stronger. As they made their way back to the ice field, Malik noticed movement under the bleachers, and for a moment, was staring to try and see who it was. A man in a red usher uniform approached, and Malik was interrupted.
"Excuse me," the man said as he held the stadium door open for Malik to enter, "Your battle will begin shortly, good luck."
"Oh no," Malik said, laughing slightly, "I'm in the last bout, there's still a battle going on out there."
"Not so," the man replied stoutly, "That battle has passed, and yours is up next."
"What," Malik shouted incredulously, "It only started five minutes ago!"
He made his way to the battle field, and was filled with a sudden nauseating sensation as the reality of the situation sank in. He was either going to defeat his best friend, or lose what he had fought so hard for to him. After a moment, Malik tried to calm himself down, and proudly stepped onto his podium. Xenos was already waiting, and the crowd was still cheering incredibly loud. Malik noticed a familiar news team below them, most likely reporting the news of the final bout, but he was more concerned with the smirk that Xenos had on his face.
"Come on, Malik," the blue haired smart-alic said firmly, "I've waited a long time for this."
"I'll warn you now," Malik retorted, "I'm not going easy on you, so bring your a game!"
"Oh, I'm gonna bring it," Xenos mumbled to himself.
"Alright folks this is it," a male voice blared over the intercom, "The final bout for the first round elimination knock out! On the red post, we have the mysterious trainer, Xenos!"
the crowd roared loudly, and Malik's ears rang from the uproar. It had been some time since he had heard such loud cheering.
"And dawning the blue post is the rising star, Malik, from Pallet Town!"
Suddenly, Malik heard the sound of drums and trumpets, and looked over to see Prof. Oak standing amidst a band. He buried his face into his hand, seeing a massive sign that read 'GO MALIK GO!' and noticed people with face paint, body paint, and one little girl who had a stuffed replica of his Umbreon. Xenos jealously glared, but Malik was annoyed.
"This is the moment you've all been waiting for," the announcer continued, "This battle is sure to be hot, so lets get started!"
Xenos was the first to send out his Pokémon, and Malik wasn't surprised to see him send out Espeon. Malik looked down at Umbreon, but saw that the moonlight Pokémon was already on the battle field. As the battle began, everything around Malik seemed to go silent, and his focus increased tremendously. With both Pokémon ready to go, this intense battle was sure to set the mood for the entire League.