His declaration ringing through the night, Derek suddenly felt an urge to cover his face and sink into the ground. As it was, he could only stand there in chagrined silence. He frowned a bit when Aewir started to chuckle.
"Is it that funny?" he asked. He tried to keep the indignant shiver out of his voice.
"Oh, it's not so much funny as it is amazing." Aewir motioned towards Derek with the Coke can he was holding. "You and Soran managed to hit Spinel, even if for no damage. Frankly, that's something I didn't expect."
Derek scowled at his tone. "You're sounding awfully condescending."
"And you're sounding awfully cocky. Don't take your eyes off the battle now—Spinel, Faint Attack!"
Derek's eyes narrowed as the Houndoom disappeared into the night. There was no reason for Aewir to be using the same move again; Soran had just proven that she could match Spinel and overcome it. It didn't make any sense, unless Aewir was throwing the match.
The boy felt the adrenaline pump through his veins. He waited for the Dark Pokémon to close in on Soran, watching as the Eevee tensed up. The spark before the flame, the calm before the storm...
"Left!"
She pounced instantly. There was no way for Spinel to avoid the attack, and both he and Aewir seemed to recognize this. Instead of trying, the Houndoom dug his feet into the ground, ready to take the full blow.
They collided, and the heavy but muffled crash of bone on bone was sent booming through the park. Derek almost cheered, but he froze upon seeing the result: Soran hit the ground heavily, her legs shaking, her breath coming in pants. Opposite her, Spinel seemed to almost smile, the streetlights casting ghastly shadows across his face. He hadn't so much as twitched a muscle, even after Soran's strongest attack.
Soran backed up a few feet, growling. Her legs barely seemed able to support her weight anymore, and Derek realized why with a pang of guilt: he had been pushing her to use Quick Attack for the entire battle now. Not to mention she had been combining it with countless other moves throughout.
Aewir took a disinterested draught from his Coke before letting out a long, content sigh. He then glanced up at Derek with a smile. "It seems the match has caught up with her. Priority moves like Quick Attack take a lot of energy, Derek."
The boy bit his lip. He knew that, but he seemed to have had forgotten over the past month. Soran's seemingly limitless energy supply had convinced him that she was an exception to exhaustion. Yet for some reason, she was getting tired so quickly this match...
"Come, now," Aewir said. "An opponent won't give you all day to recover. Spinel, Faint Attack."
Once more, Spinel faded away, leaving a battered Soran to catch her breath. Derek couldn't rely on using Quick Return this time, but there wasn't much else they could do to counter.
He cursed under his breath. He really had gotten cocky, hadn't he?
There was nothing he could do but watch as Spinel closed in on Soran. The Eevee's ears twitched in a vague recognition of the incoming threat, but even she seemed to admit that it was over. She lowered her head, eyes closed.
And then the star reappeared in a blinding light.
The night seemed to recede as their last hope unfolded itself. Spinel stopped his approach, watching as the Wish began to spin above Soran. It began to spill colors, soon becoming too bright to bear, a little fallen star on the battlefield.
Just as the shadows had fled, so, too, did the damage to Soran. The accumulated dust and bruises were gently brushed away, and the light embraced Soran warmly. Her trembling stopped, and she raised her head once more, her eyes aglow.
"Well," Aewir said. He smirked.
The star burst, showering Soran with colored sparkles. In that very instant, she lunged, leaving a rapidly fading light in her place as she charged. Spinel watched her approach, too slow to react, too surprised to even—
A sudden red-black shadow met Soran's bursting white Quick Return, knocking her back to the ground. She snarled and kindled the aura again, but the shadows reached her before she could attack. A deep blue, a shining silver, a dull gray, a sharp obsidian, a sky-blue steel—five more attacks pummeled her, forcing her down.
Her aura drifted away with the wind. She could only watch Spinel in amazement for a few moments, neither Pokémon moving.
Then she fell.
The adrenaline in Derek's veins faded, leaving him with a dull shock. He stared down at the fallen Eevee, unable to register her fall. They had used Wish—she had recovered, he had seen it—so she should have been up and kicking. She should have been winning.
So why...why had Soran lost? Why was she the one lying on the ground, unconscious? Beaten?
"Tch." Aewir clicked his tongue and returned Spinel to his Poké Ball. "Ah well."
Derek numbly walked over to Soran's side. He knelt down on the grass and put a hand on her side, feeling her ragged breaths shake her. A moment of hesitation almost made him pull away, but he couldn't.
"Soran..."
Something hit the ground and bounced to his side. Derek glanced up to Aewir, who shrugged.
"A Potion," the teen said. "For good measure."
"Thank you," Derek mumbled, taking the little spray bottle. Whimpers escaped the Eevee as Derek sprayed the remedy onto her bruises.
The boy stayed there for a while, even after emptying the container and watching Soran fall asleep. Aewir handed him the Coke can he had left on the park bench, but he merely held it between his palms, not sure what to do. He couldn't just drink it; that would be disrespecting Soran. That would be like celebrating over a loss.
Aewir plopped onto the ground beside the boy. Derek didn't look up, but the teen chose to speak anyway.
"So, Derek. Did this battle teach you anything?"
The boy felt ice slip into his chest. It was a familiar feeling, one that he had known since childhood: failure. He lowered his head, not wanting to answer.
Aewir shrugged to himself. "Well, I'm sure you learned a few things. The important thing is, battling is just battling. Some are more talented at it than others. Some people have tons of experience, and others are naturally gifted."
"That's a horrible way to try and cheer me up," Derek muttered.
"Well, it's true. You're ridiculously talented for your age. I simply have more experience. In a few years—maybe even by the end of this one, you'll be a better Trainer than me."
Something like a snort escaped Derek. "Yeah, maybe."
"And it's that kind of thinking that annoys me." Derek looked up to see that Aewir was glaring up at the sky, his lips pulled into a definite frown. The Gym Leader clicked his tongue again. "You battled exactly like a kid would. No strategy. Jumping straight into battle. Getting all lost in the flow. You know some people can't get into that so-called flow?"
"Flow?" Derek echoed. He recalled the term: it was what Aliana said was the reason she wasn't as good a battler as Michael.
"Exactly. Flow. It's that sort of instinctive battle knowledge that comes to a Trainer in battle. You get people who can come up with insane crap on the spot. You get people who are fast to react. You get people who can calmly strategize, even when the pressure of battle should be at the breaking point."
Derek lowered his gaze. He knew three people who fit those exact examples.
"Well, that's all Tauros crap if you ask me." Aewir patted Soran on the head. "You see, this little girl? She's pure talent here. And that's great, but she was beaten. You gotta train her properly, Derek."
"...I know."
"And that goes for you as well. A Pokémon is as only good as the Trainer. You lost because you got too sucked up in the flow. You let yourself fall to instinct rather than intelligence."
Derek blinked. He was sure he had heard Michael once tell him instinct was the only way to go in battle. He was about to put his thoughts into words when Aewir continued.
"Anyway, that's not really my point here. My point is, don't you think you're kinda like that as a person, too? Getting too focused on what's right in front of you. Think about the big picture for a second. How many times have you battled so far, Derek?"
"Er..." He had to think about that one. Backtracking through his journey, he started counting. "I guess maybe a dozen?"
Aewir snorted. "A dozen times? That's it? No wonder you're so focused on a few losses. Lemme guess, you've lost, like, a third of your matches?"
"...I guess."
"Wonderful. I'd love to have a win percentage as high as sixty-six percent. I've probably lost over half of my matches over the years."
"What!?" Derek exclaimed. He almost slapped a hand to his mouth, glancing down at Soran in concern. He turned back to Aewir in surprise, this time whispering. "How's that...I mean... What!?"
"Battles aren't that easy, Derek. Someone like...hm... Michael Drake Risque. One-hundred percent win ratio. That's not normal, obviously, and that's why he's so famous. But he didn't get a win ratio like that because he's more gifted than anyone else. Well, theoretically."
Derek frowned. "He's a genius."
"He's an idiot, if you ask me." The teen chuckled, looking up to the sky with a faint smile. "Maybe that's why I feel like helping you out, kid."
"Do I remind you of him?"
Aewir glanced at him. Derek bit his lips; he must have let more venom into his voice than he thought. Instead of commenting on this, Aewir just shrugged and said, "No, not really. You two are completely different people. What, you dislike being compared to your brother that much?"
Brother. The word hung in the air uncomfortably, watching over them uneasily like a raincloud. Derek felt a sudden drop in his heart, and even Aewir seemed a bit surprised. He put a hand to his mouth, blinking a few times.
"Oh," Aewir said. He dropped his hand. "I guess I forgot to mention. Marina told me you were a Risque, and I kinda wanted to see if you really were... Sorry about that."
"A...ah." Derek felt the cold hand once again grip at his chest. He recalled his battle with Brock as he said, "I guess that's not the first time..."
"Well... That may have been the main reason, but it's not the only one." Aewir scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Actually, I did want to battle you because you were a Risque. But there was another reason."
"Really now..."
"Really. Don't be getting depressed on me here. I wanted to see if that was why you were so worried about Archer—and I guess I was right. Don't be depressed over a loss or two."
"Three," Derek mumbled.
"Three. Wonderful. That's only a fourth of your battles. Seventy-five percent. Have you even thought about what your battling for?"
Derek gazed down at Soran. Her nose twitched a bit, as if she were about to sneeze. He scratched her neck, and she let out a soft purr. Just as she would when Yuki was playing with her...
"I guess I have a goal," Derek said after a while.
"And have you been following it faithfully?"
Derek remained silent.
"Don't get caught up in the small stuff, Derek. Look at the big picture." Aewir motioned towards the sky. "Watch the moon as long as you want. But look at the stars around it, because without those, what's a moon gonna do in an empty sky?"
"That's a pretty good line."
Aewir rolled his eyes. "Just accept the advice and leave it at that. Now c'mon. Drink that Coke before it gets any warmer. Or give it to me if you don't want it."
"I already bought you a Coke!"
"Yeah, and I bought you six. Unless you forgot about that."
Derek scowled. He had forgotten about that. Aewir just smiled and said, "Don't take that seriously, moron. We've got a long day ahead of us, so we should hurry on over to the Pokémon Center."
"Are we doing something?" Derek asked, watching as Aewir stood up.
"Are you stupid? We're leaving, first thing today. You've got to go back to doing whatever you're supposed to be doing. Getting back to training so you can kick the crap out of Michael, I'd assume."
Derek shrugged at that. It was true enough, so he chose to ignore it.
He returned Soran to her Poké Ball, grabbed the Coke, and stood back up again. He turned to Aewir, who was gazing up at the now-brightening sky.
A sudden curiosity overtook him. "Hey, Aewir?"
"Mm?"
"Why do you...well, what makes me so special? Why choose to single me out?"
"Why?" Aewir asked. He turned to Derek, looking legitimately surprised. "Isn't it obvious?"
Derek shook his head. Aewir cocked his head.
"It's not 'cause you're a Risque, if that's what you're wondering. It's a much simpler reason."
The teen paused, glancing over his back to where the first few people were walking down the roads. A young Trainer was jogging alongside his Growlithe, calling out encouragement to the little dog Pokémon. Aewir smiled.
"It's 'cause you're different from those kinds of Trainers. You aren't aiming for the Indigo League, even if you are collecting Badges."
Derek stared at the Gym Leader's back. The boy was sure that he had been hiding this well enough—well, not that he had meant to hide it in the first place, but...
"You always answer as if you have no idea what you're doing," Aewir said, cutting his thoughts off. "And that's fair enough, but most Trainers would answer 'I wanna be Champion' or 'I'm gonna be the best Trainer ever.' Even a simple 'I want to battle Michael' or Lance or whatever—that's common enough. But you're going on this journey as if for the hell of it."
"I...uh..."
"So I figured you have something else to do." Aewir turned back to Derek. His black eyes seemed somewhat softer than usual. "And if you ever need help with that something, you have tons of people to ask for help. Remember that. Now come on, we have to get you some breakfast. You're freaking skinny and you need to eat."
With that, the Gym Leader started trotting back to the Pokémon Center, leaving Derek to stare dumbly at his disappearing figure. A sigh escaped Derek before he jogged to catch up, calling out, "You could at least wait a second!"
Aewir just chuckled, dropping the empty can of Coke into the trash can as he passed it.
A/N - A FALLING STAR...AT LEAST I FALL ALONE! I CAN'T EXPLAIN WHAT YOU CAN'T EXPLAIN!
Kudos to anyone who knows that song. (Don't use Google, you cheat!)
So next chapter, we're FINALLY leaving. Yes. No more distractions. It's been...a whole year since we've actually done any adventuring. Seriously. Embodiment of Lightning (the chapter against Lt. Surge) was finished like, April 30, 2012. Holy fire. Sacred fire!
Anyway. I'm a bit sentimental, since I just finished reading the last chapter of Free Spirits by Ocean-senpai. The whole weight of my writing career came crashing down on me, I suppose? Either way, I do realize that I need to work harder in my writing. I'm sucking. Horribly. And I'm gonna change that.
But for now, here's your chapter. It's June! It's time for graduation! Summer break! Happiness!
Oh, and don't worry, I didn't forget. HAPPY BIRTHDAY IKITS! (only here in Asia...but still!) Let's celebrate as soon as it's June over in 'murica!
Welp, time to do awesome stuff. See ya, everyone!