Silver Notes: Oh boy... I promised I'd take it easier on the chapter length, but I promise this time it'll be worth it. This is a pretty important chapter so I had to do it justice. Hope it won't turn people away from reading it.
Thicker Than Water
Standing up to a dazed, furious Niss was not as easy as Barry had assumed, especially when the look on her face could have easily paralyzed a Scyther. Still, he held on. Fingers strongly closing around a silver Pokeball, he puffed his chest and did not look away from his friend's eyes even as he felt them burning through him.
"What are you doing?"
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end at the sound of her voice. He had to stop himself from taking a step back.
"Already told you. I'm taking you back to the Pokemon Center. You gotta eat something and tell me what's going on."
Her reaction was barely noticeable. Draped in all her layers of clothing and with her scarf almost up to her nose, the only visible part of her face were her eyes and cheeks, both of which looked much, much paler than they should have, and that was saying something.
There was a ragged rhythm to her breathing too, though that was probably due to exhaustion. It had taken Barry a few minutes to finally convince her to stop walking and now, as they stood across each other in the middle of a large, empty park only a couple streets away from the sea, he saw only one way to convince her, and she seemed to have figured it out as well.
Niss opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself and sighed.
"I'm not in the mood for this. Move."
"Yeah, how about no," he spat back. "Come on, Niss. We just got here, you can't…"
He saw her nose crinkle up and knew he'd chosen his words poorly. "Don't… tell me what I can or can't do. Who the hell do you think you are to order me around?"
It was as if she wanted to imbue anger and heat into her voice, but couldn't. Everything, from her mannerisms to her voice to the way her face moved seemed subdued and faded, as though she couldn't muster the energy to get angry at him. As if only part of her was there.
"I'm your friend," he replied. "And I don't wanna see you like this. You're clearly not okay, Niss, so just let me help you."
"Just like always, right?" Her lips stretched into the hook of a sarcastic smile. "I break down like a useless piece of shit so you gotta help me back to my feet. Just like. Every. Fucking. Time." She practically spat those last words, cheeks turning a deep shade of red. "I'm done with that! You hear me!? I'm done!"
Barry reeled at the sudden tone of her voice. "Niss…"
"How am I supposed to become the Champion if I can't stand on my own two feet!?" she bellowed. "If I can't get through anything without your help, if I can't even beat one of my sister's Pokemon with my entire team… then what good am I!? What the fuck am I supposed to do, huh!? Tell me!"
Deranged was the only way he could've described Niss' expression at that moment, not that he would've had an opportunity to do so, considering he was focusing every ounce of his willpower not to shake under the weight of her voice.
He gulped and squeezed the Pokeball tighter before replying. "I'm not gonna let you train your Pokemon when you're like this."
"Yeah? And how are you gonna stop me?" she asked, hands curling into fists. "You're gonna use Mesprit to get me to calm down? You think just because I can't hear Uxie anymore that I'll let myself be manipulated by you!?"
"You know I'd never do that!" He yelled, tone offended. "I'm gonna convince you all by myself, even if I have to beat it into you."
As he said that he punched the air with his Pokeball still in hand, shooting her a look which only a trainer could discern. Niss' eyes went wide, and her lips parted slightly.
"A… Pokemon battle?" She blinked a couple times, then frowned. "You want to force me to come back with you?"
"If I have no choice, then yeah."
She let out a weak and incredulous laugh. "Is that what you think a friend would do?"
"Yes," he replied instantly, no hesitation in his voice. "You stopped me a million times in the past when I was about to do something stupid. Now I'm returning the favor."
Niss didn't reply right away. Her gaze went from the ball in his hand to his eyes and then down to the floor as her eyes disappeared under the shadow of her hair. She stood still for a few seconds, until Barry spoke again.
"Besides…" He did his best to form a playful smile, the same he'd shown her a million times before. "We're due for a rematch, right?"
Despite his outward demeanor, Barry was struggling immensely to ignore the waves of emotion pouring from his friend like endless, crushing waves. Even without turning his eyes gold, he could feel it. Twisting and dark and cold, much unlike the burning hot fury he was so accustomed to coming from Niss. Whatever this storm was inside her, it wasn't normal. It was wild and dangerous, and he had to take care of it.
He had to save Niss from it, no matter what.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she took a sudden step forward and lifted her chin, all the while producing a silver Pokeball on her right hand. The expression on her face was indescribable and, when she spoke, Barry felt as if the temperature around him dropped significantly.
"Is this how you wanna do this? Fine." She snarled as she raised her hand forward, both Pokeballs now facing each other. "But don't blame me for what'll happen next."
Professor Rowan's day had been quite exhausting so far, so the last thing he expected was to run into a battlefield the moment he headed for the nearest park to have his usual afternoon snack.
He was running late already, which was unusual for him. Then again, the usual rarely applied when next to Byron, Canalave's Gym Leader. The man walked alongside him while talking his ear off about a myriad of different topics, none of which were even remotely relevant to the conversation he had started only minutes before. The massive iron shovel he carried spun and swiveled from hand to hand as he absentmindedly played with it as if it didn't weigh at least a dozen pounds.
"You'll take someone's eye out if you continue doing that," Rowan warned him. "Why do you even carry it around in the first place? Do you expect to run into a situation where you will need a shovel?"
Byron formed a rough, lopsided smile and spat out air in a way which might have sounded like a chuckle.
"You're always so uncharitable, old man." His voice was deep and raspy, with a slight hint of a southern Unovan accent. "D'you really think I'd be that careless?"
His mustache twitched. "Old man?" For a moment he considered being offended by the comment, but after a second's consideration decided to let it slide. "In any case, you haven't answered my question."
Byron, who was currently busy waving at an old couple passing by, placed the weight of the shovel on his left shoulder, which didn't flinch at all at the weight.
"A man's always gotta carry some iron with him," he said. "Keeps the body strong, keeps the bad things away. The only lesson pops left me before passing through the iron gates himself, and I guess I took it to heart a little bit."
That's putting it lightly, Rowan couldn't help but think. A steel-type Gym leader, in charge of every mining operation within the Iron Islands, whom always carried iron with him and even used euphemisms so old just because they mention the iron gates…
Well, if one's good at something I suppose there's no shame in embracing it.
"You could always carry a ring or a necklace, though."
Byron scoffed. "Those aren't good for anything, unlike Evan over here."
"Ev…?" Rowan's eyebrow perched up, and a second after realization dawned on him. "You… named your shovel."
"You can't judge a miner, Rowan. It gets awfully boring down in those caves; you gotta find some way to pass the time."
"…So you named your shovel," he repeated. "You know, when you called me here to discuss town matters, this is the last information I expected to learn."
"Shit, that's right!" Byron let both arms fall, eyes widening. "Agh, I always ramble away from what I'm trying to say. I must be getting senile." He laughed at himself, shaking his head slightly. "Yeah, I was gonna say…"
He didn't get to finish his sentence, as a blurry of movement flashed between them. A young man and his Luxio pushed through them as they ran north as fast as they could, excitement clear in the boy's face. Byron was thrown to the side and only managed to avoid falling by planting his shovel against the ground and pushing himself up.
"Hey!" Byron bellowed once he hoisted himself, brow furrowed in frustration. "Watch where you're going you little shits!"
Rowan couldn't help but frown as he saw the young man disappear in the distance. Part of him wondered why he was in such a hurry, though he didn't have much time to ponder that.
Rowan shook his head as he scoffed. "Fucking brats. If I weren't the Gym Leader I'd…"
"Act like an adult and keep your composure, I hope." Rowan interrupted him. "Scoffing at teenagers for being brazen and rude is as pointless as scoffing at the sea for sinking one's ship."
At that Byron simply let out a low grumble and hoisted the shovel over his shoulder once more.
"S'pose you're right," he whispered. "Anyway… about that topic we were discussing earlier…"
"I think you'll find that my stance on the subject hasn't changed at all."
"Come on, I'm only asking for five people. It'll be a whole day at most."
Rowan shot him a firm look. "Why don't you ask the Association to lend you some personnel?"
"You really think they have anyone to spare?" Byron retorted. "Besides, the last thing I want is to owe Lucian another favor. That papery scrib's a nightmare to deal with."
"What about your workers?"
Byron dismissed that with a wave of the hand. "Love my workers, but they ain't exactly the brightest Carbink in the pile. I need someone with brains."
Rowan sighed, feeling the limits of his patience approaching. Unfortunately, his old students such as Byron rarely found him as intimidating as his younger ones tended to do. Feeling his coat and briefcase heavier than usual, he glanced to the side and caught a glimpse of the man's expression, so jovial despite his rough and hardened face. For a moment, he found himself wanting to concede.
Dear Mew, I really am getting old.
"I… might be able to lend you one of my students for the job," he said after a few seconds of consideration. "He's been residing in Canalave lately and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help."
"Just one?" Byron made a face, his shoulders dropping. "I don't think…"
"Lucas is my brightest pupil," Rowan assured him, no hints of doubt in his voice. "He will be more than enough to solve your little mystery in the Iron Islands."
Byron moved the shovel from one shoulder to the other, his weathered face crinkling up slightly.
"Mhm. S'not like I can deny the offer." He shrugged. "Guess one's better than nothi–"
"Over there at the park, come on!"
A young girl's scream startled them. A moment after they saw her and three other people running in the same direction as the young man had less than a minute before. Rowan and Byron stood still for a moment, and then looked around in unison.
Another group of trainers ran past to the north, a street away from them. Two others followed, one through the port and the other next to them. Every few seconds they would see more and more youngsters heading in the same direction, all of them with expressions full of awe and excitement.
"What in the…?" Byron whispered. "Are they all heading to the park?"
Rowan frowned. He could feel slight, erratic vibrations in the floor under him. They were unmistakable.
"It's a Pokemon battle," he declared with confidence. "Come on."
The man didn't hesitate to follow, knowing too well the dangers of clandestine battles and the effects they could have on a city at large. Rowan couldn't help but sigh as they hurried over to the nearby park. What pair of idiotic children would make their Pokemon fight in the middle of a populated city, in broad daylight no less? Surely they had to be rookies, no one besides an amateur would…
His train of thought was interrupted as they walked past the corner of the next street and the park came into view. Despite it being at least two blocks in size, the inside of it was almost empty, all the people who had come to spectate instead choosing to form a ring around the battle unfolding in the middle of the clear field.
As him and Byron made their way through the crowd, they saw it. Two young trainers stood at each side of the park, shouting orders while their Kadabra and Roserade sent wave after wave of attacks at each other.
This gave Rowan pause. Those were rather advanced Pokemon for new trainers to have, so then who…
Realization dawned on him, and for the first time in god knows how long he felt his mouth drop slightly. Next to him, Byron whispered.
"Are those…?"
Rowan nodded. He would have recognized those two anywhere.
"Barry… and Inyssa?"
Inyssa wasn't feeling quite like herself, and that terrified her.
"Magical Leaf!" she hollered, her voice weaker than usual. "Widespread!"
Planting both feet firmly on the ground –literally, as two thick vines grew around his ankles, anchoring him down–, Bret raised his hands and shot a wide cone of rainbow-colored leaves which flew forward with enough speed to reach his opponent in a second, despite being almost fifty yards away.
"Teleport, like we practiced!"
"Shoot up!" she immediately followed. "Don't let him escape!"
A sharp sound was heard as Kitsune vanished into nothing, just before the torrent of leaves fell upon him. A second after, a powerful light glowed a few feet above and he re-appeared mid-air, but Bret was ready. He grit his teeth as he threw both hands up, the power of his own attack almost toppling him backwards. Another torrent of leaves flew at the Kadabra, faster and more powerful than before.
At the other side of the park, a confident smile spread across Barry's lips.
Inyssa's eyes went wide as she saw Bret's attack completely miss his opponent. Just as it looked like the leaves were upon the Kadabra, he moved the spoon on his hand with a flick of the wrist and a solid, translucent sheet of energy formed below his feet, allowing him to jump out of the way while mid-air, positioning himself at an angle just outside the range of Bret's attack.
"Finish it with Psybeam!"
Time felt like it slowed as a cone of light exploded from Kitsune's spoon, forming a beam of light which tore the air toward a defenseless Bret.
Come on! A part of Inyssa's mind screamed at her. Tell him to dodge! Do something!
But her body wouldn't obey. That dense, heavy fog which had filled her body since the moment she'd waken up seemed to freeze her muscles and obscure her thoughts almost completely. She couldn't think of a strategy or a way out. She couldn't turn her eyes golden or call upon Uxie's power no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't feel anger or disappointment or… anything. As the beam of light fell upon her Pokemon, all she felt was a cold, all-encompassing apathy.
Tears began to well up in her eyes. Still… as terrified as she felt, there was no reason not to...
She grit her teeth and screamed the first thing that came to mind:
"Use your vines!"
Despite having no idea what she herself had meant by that, Bret somehow managed to find a way to interpret her orders. In a second the vines holding his feet curled back into the ground and two more shot up at his side, enveloping his torso and pushing him out of the way with a speed that his spongy body could never hope to achieve on its own. Kitsune's attack barely missed him, hitting the vines instead which wilted and disintegrated as soon as contact was made.
Both trainers and their Pokemon stood still for a few seconds, not quite sure of what had happened. That silence was soon replaced by the loud booms of claps and cheers all around them, which Inyssa did her best to try and ignore. The last thing she wanted was an audience, so of course she ended up getting one.
"Wow, that was amazing!" Barry's voice barely reached him from where he was. "How did you think of that, Niss!? I thought I had you there for a second."
Contempt was clear on her face as she answered. "Shut up, I didn't… that wasn't my…"
Her voice came out brittle, those few words enough to make her run out of breath. Numbness clung to her muscles, and her eyelids felt heavy. Despite having slept for more than fourteen hours, she felt more exhausted than she'd ever been.
Once more, she took a deep breath and forced herself to stand up straight. There was… no excuse…
"Like hell you're gonna beat me that easily," she snarled. "Bret, once more!"
Without hesitation both Pokemon threw themselves at each other once again. As she saw them barely miss each other with their attacks, Inyssa realized how stupid she'd been by thinking Kitsune would fight the same way as Ludwig just because they were part of the same species. Her sister's Alakazam…
A cold, sharp tinge of pain stabbed through her chest, and the image of that battle flashed through her eyes for a second. Lips quivering, she closed her eyes and took another deep breath. The sounds of battle and the audience's cheers boomed all around her, making her dizzy.
Ludwig… had been a thoughtful fighter, rarely moving a muscle since he counted with such incredible psychic power. Kitsune however, had to qualms about using his considerable speed to jump all over the place, creating a bunch of psychic barriers under his feet to push himself through the air without ever needing to touch the ground.
A frown formed on her face. Luckily, there were plenty of ways to deal with someone who focused entirely on speed.
"Use Sludge Bomb!" she yelled out. "Cover as much ground as you can!"
Still flying through the air, Bret caught himself with one of his vines as another Psybeam flew past him, and staring down at his opponent he aimed with both hands and frowned in concentration. The red and blue of his bouquets turned entirely purple as two thick balls of sludge were shot down. Kitsune avoided them easily by jumping up, but the attack wasn't aimed at him.
Both the Kadabra and his trainer squinted in disgust as the balls of sludge exploded in a circle, leaving half the field flooded with the foul, poisonous liquid. Even while several feet high, Kitsune had to cover his nose with one hand in order to ignore the horrible stench.
"Agh! Niss, why'd you do that!?" She heard Barry complain at the other side of the field. "What, you wanted to gross us out of the fight?"
"Not quite," she replied. "Bret, now!"
One of the vines cut through the air like a whip, throwing Bret up with enough force to make him hover several feet above his opponent. Kadabra tried to react; his spoon shone with a purple glow and a small barrier momentarily hid him from view, but Inyssa knew it wouldn't work.
"Petal Dance!"
Bret let out a powerful cry, and pointed both bouquets down at Kitsune. All throughout the park, hundreds upon hundreds of scattered petals rose from the ground as if pulled by invisible strings, swirling all around the Kadabra before flying toward him like bullets, half of them covered in the poisonous sludge still covering the ground.
Inyssa forced herself to smile. All throughout the fight she had Bret scatter his petals around the field without Kitsune or Barry being the wiser. And now, there was no escape.
The storm of petals closed around their target. For a single moment, Inyssa let herself breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, so suddenly that no one had time to react, Kitsune disappeared. He didn't teleport like he had done so many times before; his body simply evaporated into smoke as soon as the petals touched it. Inyssa blinked, feeling her heart in her throat, and when she parted her eyelids she saw him up above, mere inches from an unsuspecting Bret.
D-double Team!? But how did he…? When he made that barrier…?
"Use Psycho Cut!" she heard Barry cry out.
Kitsune's fingers closed tightly around his silver spoon, the psychic energy covering it growing in size and power until it looked like he was holding a dazzling, purple energy sword. A cry was heard as he brought it down on Bret. The Roserade's cry echoed through the air as the force of the slash sent him crashing down with the speed of a cannonball, raising a cloud of dust and dispersing most of the poisonous sludge as he met the ground.
Kitsune landed before his defeated foe, the look of pride on his face perfectly echoed on his trainer's.
Inyssa's arm felt made of lead as she raised Bret's Pokeball and returned him to it. She stared first at Kitsune and then at an expectant Barry, trying to force herself to send out her next Pokemon. There was no shame or disappointment in her. She couldn't even will herself to be angry at her pathetic showing.
"Niss, did you see that!?" Barry screamed. "I didn't even know you could use Psycho Cut like that! It's kinda like an energy sword, isn't it cool?"
She shook her head weakly. "Shut up. Stop… doing this. Whatever it is." She swallowed hard and took another Pokeball from her belt. "If you're gonna fight me then take it seriously!"
"Huh? I am being serious! I'm just having fun on top of it." Barry placed both hands behind his head and stuck his tongue out. "You should do the same! You're a much better trainer when it's clear that you're enjoying the battle…"
"I don't need advice from you! I know what I have to do to win!"
"Really? That's weird, 'cause from here it kinda looks like you're losing," he said. "Old Niss would've seen through my dumb strategy right away, so maybe you're the one that's not taking this serious–"
"I told you to shut up!" She stomped her foot on the ground, her voice loud but strangely lacking in anger. "I'm… I'm gonna win, just watch me!"
"You really wanna win that badly?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "Then show me."
A shiver ran through her body as she heard those words, her grip on the Pokeball loosening slightly. Something about the way he'd said them…
I… I do want to win, she told herself, biting her lower lip. I really, really want to…
However, as much as she repeated those words to herself, none of that familiar ambition and desire started burning inside her chest. In truth, she didn't care in the slightest if she won or lost. And that terrified her to her core.
As she wound back her arm to throw the Pokeball, something became clear to Inyssa: there was something seriously wrong with her.
The ball flew through the air, exploding into a blinding light which failed to reflect on the empty green of her eyes.
And… whatever it was, she was determined to fix it during this battle. No matter what.
Out of all the things Rowan expected to see that day, his two most promising pupils engaging in a clandestine Pokemon battle was not one of them.
"Huh… look at those lil' bastards." Byron let out a chuckle next to him. "Those are the two everyone's talking about, right? Your students? Didn't peg them as a couple a' goddamn idiots."
Rowan set his jaw, his mustache twitching. He hadn't either, to be honest.
"There must be some kind of mistake," he said, turning toward the man. "They… well, they're reckless, yes, but this doesn't seem like something they would do… I think."
"Wow, have a lotta faith in your students, don't you?"
He scoffed. "There's ought to be a good reason for this… which doesn't mean it's an acceptable thing to do. Don't you worry, I'll stop them right now and…"
However, as he took a step forward he found himself halted by the handle of Byron's shovel, who had extended it to the side to stop him. As he stared at the man with a clear look of befuddlement on his face, he noticed that familiar, troublemaking smile stretch across his lips.
"So those are the two twerps who've been making such a ruckus around Sinnoh, huh," he said. "You know what… I'm feeling kinda curious now. I wonder if they're as good as people say they are."
"You… can't be serious. Byron, the park…"
"Pfft. What's a park good for anyway, besides picnics and gawking at dumbass flying Pokemon?" asked Byron, shaking his head. "Don't you worry, whatever those two do to the park, I'll take responsibility for it."
"Then you really mean to…"
"Yah." Byron hoisted the shovel on his shoulders once more, grinning from ear to ear. "Let them fight. I wanna see what those twerps are made of."
A drop of sweat ran down Barry's face as he screamed out his last order to an almost defeated Razen.
"Aqua Jet! Try to hit him one last time!"
Despite how much he'd boasted, despite the fact that Niss was clearly not well and her skills as a trainer had dwindled, she was still giving him one hell of a fight. Steven had defeated Kitsune without even breaking a sweat, his superior speed and access to U-turn being more than enough to deal with the Kadabra, and now it seemed like Razen would soon fall, too.
"Dodge and use U-turn!"
The Buizel shot himself up at his opponent with a whip of his tails, his body covered in a mantle of swirling water. However, just before making contact Steven folded his wings and vaulted over him with speed and precision which should have been impossible from that angle. Now in mid air and defenseless, Razen could do little to avoid the slash of his opponent's wings on his back, sending him crashing toward the ground.
A sigh escaped his lips as he returned his friend to his Pokeball. He had underestimated Steven; whatever the Staravia had gone through in his fight against Shadi's Pokemon, it had changed him for the better. And to think just a few months ago he'd been such a shy, unassuming Starly.
Barry couldn't help but form a proud smile, one which, he noticed, was not reflected on Niss' face. Her stance and expression were firm, but disinterested. She didn't look smug or happy in the slightest that she had defeated one of his Pokemon.
His fingers tightened around his next Pokeball. That needed to change too.
"That was a really cool move, Niss!" he said. "After I win, do you think you could tell Steven to teach it to one of my Pokemon?"
A small crease formed on his friend's forehead. "Just send your next Pokemon already."
"…Tough crowd, huh?" He gulped, forcing himself to smile. "That's okay. I'm gonna get you to enjoy yourself in this fight even if it's the last thing I do!"
The ball in his hand flew through the air, and as he saw it open he heard Mesprit's voice in his head.
"Not to rain on your metaphorical parade, but I don't think your strategy is working."
Barry let out a small chuckle as the explosion of light took form.
"Don't worry, it'll work. I just need to bring out the big guns."
The ground seemed to shook as Pedri landed on the field, a slight, metallic gleam reflecting off every part of his body. Across him, Niss flinched ever so slightly. Not much, thought Barry, but it was a start.
Their audience all around the park went wild; Barry could barely hear his own thoughts over the booms of cheers and the powerful waves of excitement crashing over him. Judging by their age, most of them were probably trainers. Which meant they'd probably seen the footage of his Empoleon evolving mid-battle and defeating one of Crasher Wake's strongest Pokemon. No wonder they sounded so excited.
Now, if only Niss could show as much emotion as them…
"You think that having the type advantage is gonna win you the fight?" He barely heard Niss ask. "Did you forget that only one of them can fly? What are you going to do, try to shoot Steven out of the sky with Scald or Water Gun?"
"Yeah, about that…" He allowed himself a cocky smile as he threw his hand forward. "Pedri, use Rock Slide!"
He saw with satisfaction as a gasp escaped Niss' lips. Wasting no time, Pedri raised both of his metallic fins over his head and then slammed them with every ounce of his strength against the ground, sending a shockwave of energy through it.
"Shit! Steven, try to…!"
Her words were cut off as hundreds of small rocks were uprooted by the explosive force of Pedri's attack, shooting up toward Steven like bullets. Despite his momentary surprise, the Staravia extended his wings to their full span and did his best to avoid the storm of rubble, slipping in between the incredibly small openings between each projectile and flying at full speed to escape their range. However, even with his speed it would have been impossible to avoid all of them. As he escaped the width of the attack, Barry noticed a few dark spots on his wings and the right side of his body, where the rocks had scratched him.
"Hmph. If he knows Rock Slide then…" He saw Niss frown and bite her lip, a hint of frustration on her face. "Steven, you'll have to fight from up close!"
The Staravia did not need to be told twice. Gritting his beak to endure the pain, he shot himself toward Pedri, his wings effortlessly cutting through the air. Barry felt the anticipation coming from his starter, as he wound back one of his fins and waited for the opportunity to strike.
"Now! Feather Dance!"
Pedri slashed the air as soon as his opponent was in range, but all he hit was empty air. Steven stopped himself just in time, the enormous fin rustling his feathers, and with a flick of his wings he shot himself up and vaulted over Pedri. He didn't attack like he'd done before, however. Instead as he flew over him, Steven spun on his own body and released a small bundle of feathers which fell on his opponent's body, sticking to his arms and torso and emitting a weak glow.
Barry didn't need to be an empath to notice the effect they had on his starter. As soon as the feathers touched him, Pedri let out a pained grunt and fell to one knee, his limbs shaking and his breathing becoming harsher. Those feathers seemed to be sapping his strength, making him weaker.
Despite it being bad news for him, Barry couldn't help but smile. That was the kind of strategy he expected from Niss; little by little, even if she didn't realize it, she was starting to act more like herself.
"Come on Pedri; don't let that bring you down!" He screamed. "Hit him back with Aerial Ace!"
"Dodge and do the same!"
A deep, proud roar shook the air as Pedri threw himself at Steven, both his fins covered in a powerful gleam. He slashed at the air in an X, but the Staravia barely avoided the attack and hit him back in the face with the fortified tip of his right wing, flying a few feet away as soon as he landed the hit.
"Keep it up Pedri!"
"Don't give him an inch!"
The ensuing exchange of blows couldn't have lasted more than thirty seconds, but it was so frenetic and breathtaking that it felt like minutes to Barry. It was like a dance. Pedri's slashes tore the air in half with their power, but most of them were ultimately too slow to hit Steven, while the latter's attacks landed every single time, but did little to no damage against his opponent's fortified body.
The exchange ended when Pedri, having analyzed the way Steven dodged, slashed at the air at his right, but then stopped himself and raised his leg to kick at his left, hitting the Staravia right in the stomach and sending him tumbling a few feet back.
"Now, Scald!"
Steven was too startled to react as the torrent of boiling water fell upon him. His body was expelled with tremendous force toward the edge of the park as a scream of pain rang through the air, mostly drowned by the sounds of surprise and excitement coming from the audience.
In that short moment, Barry saw as Niss' hands curled into fists, a tinge of red tinting her cheeks. She parted her lips and screamed out an order just before Steven hit the ground.
"Fly as high as you can!"
Despite the searing pain all throughout his body, Steven forced himself to roll to the side and stopped his fall with both wings, slamming them against the ground as he took flight once more. Barry frowned; what was Niss planning? Not only was Steven badly wounded, but with his wings and body covered in scalding water there was no way he could fly at the speeds he could before.
Well… guess I should see for myself.
He swiped the air as he yelled. "Rock Slide!"
Once more Pedri hit the ground with all his strength, sending a storm of sharp stones flying up toward his opponent. Too fast to dodge, too sharp to try and endure the hit.
However, it looked like he wasn't done underestimating Steven quite yet.
"Now!" He heard Niss cry out, the smallest hint of nervousness in her voice. "Brave Bird!"
Barry couldn't help but gasp in excitement. High above, Steven narrowed his eyes and folded his wings, the water covering his body evaporating as steam rose from his every feather.
Then, he was gone. An explosion shook the air in a circle. Steven shot down with enough speed to leave a trail of sonic booms behind him, his body glowing with a powerful blue as if he were engulfed in flames. The sheer power of his descent bent the air around him, stopping every single stone in mid-air and making them swirl around him like a cyclone, avoiding all damage.
"Hit him!"
Inches from the ground, Steven swerved up and shot himself straight at Pedri, the Empoleon's own attack surrounding the Staravia's body as he approached with tremendous speed.
Barry would have swooned if he had time to, almost too impressed to act. Instead, he simply cried out:
"Don't let him throw you back!"
Pedri nodded solemnly, planting his feet firmly on the ground and raising both fins to stop his opponent. Then, a second after, the impact came.
It like a bell being hit by a missile. Barry had to cover his face as a cloud of dirt and rubble exploded in a circle around both Pokemon, covering almost the entirety of the park. The cyclone of stones soon followed, carried by the tailwind of Steven's flight. Several smaller gongs rang, until silence fell once more.
The entire park held its breath as the dust settled. In the middle, holding the wings of a now unconscious Steven, Pedri stood shakily, his entire body bruised and his eyes hidden by shadows.
His knees wobbled. For a moment, it seemed like he would fall as well. Barry grit his teeth, hearing his own heartbeat in his ears.
The Empoleon tumbled back, but he barely caught himself with his left foot. Then, taking in a deep breath, he raised his chin and formed a small, confident smile as he let his opponent fall to the ground.
Niss said something at the other side of the field, but her words were buried under the deafening boom of the audience's cheers. Though, past all the waves and waves of excitement crashing on him, he felt something else, barely. A speck of fear. Building up slowly, very slowly.
"That was, I mean… just wow!" He yelled as soon as the cheers died down, trying his best to keep his smile up. "I've never seen that move in action! That… it's the strongest flying type move, right? It was so amazing to watch!"
He got no response. Niss simply returned Steven to his Pokeball and grabbed another one from her belt, holding it in front of her stomach for a few seconds.
"Come on, you can't tell me you weren't excited too! After all the work and care you put into training Steven–"
"What are you doing?"
Barry froze, the tone with which Niss had cut him off sending a shiver down his spine.
"W-what do you mean?"
Niss barely raised her chin, the dull green of her eyes almost invisible from that distance. "This… thing you're doing. Why? What's your plan? You think you'll convince me by being all cute and cheery and acting like nothing's wrong?"
There was a second of silence, and Barry's smile dropped.
"That's not what I'm doing."
"It is." she snapped back. "You want me to ignore all that's going on and try to have a good time instead of facing it! It's all you ever do!"
"Yeah?" he asked, feeling heat rise to his face. "That's what you think?"
Mesprit's voice resounded in his mind, a hint of concern in it. "Boy, don't get carr–"
"Yes, it is!" yelled Niss. "And you know what? You're free to keep doing whatever you want, but don't drag me into it. I don't have time to play around or laugh at stupid shit anymore!"
As she said that, Barry saw a Pokeball fly through the air. He squinted at the light that came out of it, pooling on the floor below and forming the familiar shape of Johnny the Quagsire. The creature simply stood there, blinking vacantly and smiling at everyone around him.
"I'm planning on actually doing something about all this," said Niss.
Barry couldn't help but laughing derisively. "Really? That's what you're doing? That's weird, because from over here it just looked like you were being a jerk to everyone and trying to play the cool loner like you always do."
"Oh… boy."
"Shut up! You don't know what I…!"
"Yeah, I think I do." He cut her off, his tone turning harsher and lower. "You're always pulling the same stunt. You think that if you just treat everyone like crap and act like you don't care for long enough then that'll turn into the truth."
His friend's eyes went wide with anger. "T-that's not…"
"But… that's okay." Barry closed his eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath, trying to center himself. Anger was not the way to do this. After a few breaths he opened his eyes and smiled at Niss. "I know you care. So you keep doing this for as long as you want until you tire yourself out and I'll stand here and keep trying to make you smile and have fun with this battle. Okay?"
There were a few seconds in which Niss said nothing, her lower lip slightly quivering and face like that of a Magikarp out of the water. All around them, people began to whisper and wonder. What were they talking about? Why weren't they fighting?
Finally, after what felt like a whole minute, Niss looked down and replied as best she could.
"Yeah well… talk is pretty cheap, right?"
Barry nodded. "Yeah, guess you're right. I'm pretty lucky, I never really had to deal with the same stuff as you and I had a really nice and caring family and stuff." He looked down, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm. "But… we've been friends for long enough that I know that this isn't you. The real Niss is super brave, and I think that the bravest thing you can do when something really bad happens… is to smile and try to be positive about it."
Niss let her shoulders fall, shaking her head slightly. "T-that's it? You think it's that easy?"
"Of course not!" he hurried to say. "I… man, I can't even imagine how hard it must be, especially for you. But like I said, you're the bravest person I know, Niss. If anyone can do it then I'm positive it's you!" Both his hands curled into fists as he raised them slightly, a confident smile on his lips. "And I can help you by convincing you to have fun and go all out against me in a Pokemon battle, then I feel like that's the least I can do. I mean… you did the same for me so many times, so…"
He let the sentence hang in the air, suddenly unsure of what else to say. As the silence swallowed the park again, Barry tried his best not to let his smile falter under the weight of how little he knew what he was doing. Maybe his words would help, or maybe they'd make everything a hundred times worse. Though…
What did you think, Mesprit? He asked inside his mind, hopeful. Did I…?
"Boy, that was by far the worst speech I've ever heard. Ever."
O-oh. Then…
Before he could complete his thought, Niss' voice rang through the park.
"So…" She took a deep breath and raised her chin, locking eyes with him. "…you want me to go all out, huh?"
Barry felt compelled to take a step back, startled by the sudden change in her tone. Her expression was still devoid of any kind of joy or excitement, but something else had appeared there.
Determination.
"…Fine, I'll humor you. Johnny…" Niss threw her arm forward, eyebrows joined over the bridge of her nose. "Use Earthquake."
A single thought ran through Barry's mind as he saw the Quagsire preparing himself to unleash his strongest attack.
Oh… crap.
He heard Mesprit laugh as the ground started to shake.
"It was a pretty terrible speech… but it seems to have worked, somehow."
Inyssa barely noticed as Pedri finally fell, the ground around him completely unturned, ragged spires of earth pressing against multiple parts of his body. Johnny's attack had been as devastating as she had hoped. And still…
With a pained sigh she placed a hand against her chest and tried to control her breathing. It was erratic, and not in a good way. Her lungs felt overwhelmed and like they didn't get enough oxygen all at once. Her temples flared, but not in a painful or uncomfortable way. Her heart felt like it alternated between beating too slow and too fast, never settling for one. It was better than the nothing from before, but not by much.
What the hell's going on? She thought. It's like… my body's fighting against itself or something.
But that didn't matter. Not now at least. Her somewhat blurry sight caught the glimpse of Barry's last Pokeball as it flew through the air, the light contained within falling to the broken patch of ground and forming a large, quadruped creature with long horns and a snout. Heat began to emanate from every pore of the Houndoom's body as she raised her gaze ever so slightly, setting it directly on her opponent. There was hint of hesitation or mercy in her eyes.
Inyssa's hand unconsciously moved to scratch her other arm. Why did she feel all weirdly itchy all of a sudden?
All right, Pedri was a little bit easier than I expected, but this is where it gets rough, she thought. There's probably no better Pokemon than Johnny to take on a fire type, but I doubt it'll be that easy. I better make this fast.
"Johnny!" she cried out. "Use Earthquake ag–!"
"Howl!"
The Quagsire didn't have time to move. At the other side of the field Wrathia leaned forward on her front legs and, from the bottom of her lungs, let out a howl loud and potent enough to make the air shake. It came at them like a shockwave; Inyssa covered her ears as fast as she could but even then it felt as if an alarm had rang right next to her.
Johnny wasn't fast enough; the sound wave knocked him off balance and for the first time since she'd met him she saw a look of discomfort reflected on his usually blank face. His chubby knees wobbled and he swayed from side to side, mouth wide open.
"Now, Smog!"
It felt distant and dull, but Barry's voice made it to Inyssa as she took the hands from her ears and looked ahead. Wrathia, her black skin fuming with heat, inhaled as deeply as she could and threw her mouth down as she spat torrent after torrent of a thick, purple smoke which began to rapidly roll forward as it gained size and girth, obscuring both Barry and his Pokemon behind it.
Inyssa grit her teeth. A small, almost unnoticeable tinge of frustration flared within her.
"You think you're gonna get me with the same stupid trick you used against Wake?" She swiped the air with her right hand, frowning. "Johnny; Surf!"
The Quagsire shook his head to dispel the dizziness, after which the semi-transparent sac under his neck began to expand rapidly until it was as big as his head. With a rather wet, unpleasant sound he spat the water against the ground with such force that it bounced up to twice his size. The enormous wave traveled forward mercilessly, crashing in the middle of the field and swallowing most of the poisonous gas, dissipating what little was left of it up into the air.
"Agh! Crap! Cold!" She heard Barry's cries of discomfort as the now ankle-deep layer of water washed over him, soaking his shoes. "Warn me before you do that! Jeez!"
For the first time since the battle had started, the edges of Inyssa's lips perked up ever so slightly.
"You wanted me to give it my all, didn't you?" she asked. "You better not start regretting it now that you're about to l–"
If the small perking of her lips had technically constituted as a smile, then it would have died as soon as she took a look at the battlefield. The ground was destroyed and upturned, water pooling everywhere, and yet…
W-Wrathia! Where's Wrathia!?
Her gaze flew all throughout the park but no hint of the Houndoom could be found anywhere. She then looked up at the sky and… no, nothing. But that meant…
She caught the glimpse of a cocky smile forming on Barry's lips, and realization dawned on her.
"Johnny, Earthquake!" she yelled. "Quick, before–"
A crack appeared in the ground just behind Johnny, and a moment after dust and dirt exploded upwards as a dark figure rose from beneath, her eyes like burning coals. Inyssa felt her heart jump. She saw in slow motion as Wrathia wound her right paw back, dark energy forming around her sharp claws.
There's no time to use water! I gotta…!
She cried out, her voice weak and wavy. "Brick Break!"
Despite his slow nature, Johnny turned around surprisingly fast, meeting face to face with his terrifying opponent. Any other Pokemon might have been too startled or intimidated to act, but Johnny was different. He took a step back and readied an attack of his own, steam rising from his right fin as he threw it forward in a devastating punch.
However, just before it connected, Barry yelled again.
"Foul Play!"
Wrathia moved like lightning, rotating mid air as the Quagsire's punch went past her. The energy of her fake attack dissipated into the air as she opened her maw and then promptly closed it hard around Johnny's torso. The moment she landed, the entirety of her body turned a dark, heavy black. Still grabbing her opponent by the neck, she used his own strength against him and threw him up before slamming him down against the ground again, raising a small cloud of dust all around.
Inyssa was too shocked to react. Before her stood an image which would have brought her to tears from laughter if it had happened at any other time. Johnny lay a few feet from her, the entirety of his upper body buried deep in the ground and his small legs moving from side to side in a fruitless attempt to free himself.
Son of a… She gulped, her brow furrowing. Between Howl increasing Wrathia's power and Foul Play using both the user and the opponent's strength against the latter… no wonder that attack was so strong.
However, if those wiggly feet were any proof of it, Johnny had not been defeated yet. Inyssa centered herself and opened her mouth to order an attack, but…
"WHRRAA!"
Both trainers nearly jumped out of their skin at Wrathia's sudden roar. Completely unprompted, the Houndoom took in a deep breath as flames began licking at the edge of her snout, a shining, pulsing fireball growing and growing within her maw.
"W-Wrathia?" Barry asked, tone full of confusion. "Uh, I didn't order another attack y–"
He was interrupted by the enormous pillar of flame which exploded from Wrathia's mouth, completely engulfing Johnny along with all the ground and grass in front of him. There was a sound like that of a jet engine, and then a heat wave washed over the entirety of the park. Even covering her face wasn't enough to save Inyssa from feeling like she'd suddenly been put inside an oven.
"Son of a bitch!"
"Wrathia! Why did you do that!?"
The Houndoom simply snickered and looked away from the now toasty lower half of her defeated opponent. Another explosion of cheers shook the air. Barry gave his Pokemon a strange look, half proud and half terrified.
"Well… sorry about that, Niss."
"Why are you apologizing? Aren't you supposed to be giving it your all too?" she scoffed. With a flick of her wrist she returned Johnny to his Pokeball. "How did you get Wrathia to do that before, by the way? I didn't think Houndooms could use Dig."
At that, Barry's face lit up with excitement. "Oh yeah! They can't usually, but I thought that since the ground was all broken and messed up already that she could improvise something like that! Wasn't it amazing!?"
She didn't reply, head down and hand hovering next to her belt. She should have anticipated a trick like that, she realized. Barry had always been especially good at thinking outside the box, both in Pokemon battles and in life in general. Her failure to remember that had cost her Johnny.
Her fingers brushed the surface of Shadi's Pokeball for a moment, before they moved to close around Kuro's. Though as she raised it to her side she found it difficult to open it. It was too heavy. Or was that just her body? Every movement felt like it took way more effort than it should have and the previous spark of determination that had momentarily flared within her now dwindled and slowly extinguished itself under the vast sea of the apathy covering her from head to toe.
What was the point of all of this? What was she trying to prove, anyway? She'd come out to train her Pokemon, to make them stronger in order to prepare herself to fight Team Galactic, but instead she had gotten roped into a stupid fight just because Barry thought she wasn't acting like herself. Wouldn't it be better… wouldn't it be easier to just throw towel?
…No. A quiet, hushed voice spoke inside her mind, and it took Inyssa a moment to realize it was her own. I want… I want to win. I want to…
She felt a sudden jerk in her muscles, as if an exposed cable had touched her skin. Her hand moved forward without her willing to, throwing the Pokeball as it opened into a blinding explosion of light. Kuro entered the battlefield with a powerful roar, the air crackling as small bolts of electricity danced around him like a protective barrier.
What am I…?
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Barry's scream snapped her out of her trance. She blinked a couple times and looked ahead, her eyes clashing with his, a shining, almost solid gold. "It all comes down to this! Wrathia of the black flame against the lightning demon Kuro! One last fight to decide the match!"
The crowd went wild at his exclamation, and Inyssa wondered how a group of no more than a hundred people could be so goddamn loud. All around her cheers and screams of encouragement rang out.
"You can do it, flower girl!"
"Show us something flashy!"
"Give it your all!"
"Come on Barry!"
"Make something blow up!"
Inyssa gulped, trying her best to block the sounds. That strange discomfort in her belly came back, turning the inside of her skin itchy and hot, so incredibly bothersome.
"K-Kuro…" Her voice came out barely a whisper, and yet somehow her Pokemon heard her amidst the booms of their audience. "I'm counting on you. Let's win this."
The Luxray let out a scoff, his expression clearly spelling out I don't need you to tell me that.
"Well, if you're not gonna make the first move…" said Barry. "Use Smog!"
"You're not pulling that shit on me again," she spat back. "Kuro, get her!"
Kuro shot forward before she even finished her sentence, turning into a black and yellow blur as the air bent around him. A wall of poisonous gas rose several feet above him, ready to crash into the field. Kuro simply smiled, his eyes gleaming as they spotted the body of her opponent even through the thick, oppressive smog.
The sheer speed of his advance tore the cloud of poison in a circle, not a single particle touching his body. He was a stone throw's away from his opponent, whose stance made it clear she wasn't intending to dodge. Both trainers held their breath as their Pokemon got closer and closer, and just when Kuro was about to crash against Wrathia…
If I'm right, Barry's gonna…
"Foul Play!"
Inyssa's lips curved into an actual smile. Just as she had expected.
"Stop and use Discharge!"
Wrathia pounced at her opponent, fangs glistening as they aimed at his throat. They closed with the strength of a guillotine, though the only thing they managed to catch was a whiff of air.
Both Houndoom and her trainer had assumed that the tremendous speed of their opponent's attack meant that he couldn't stop himself as easily, but they were wrong. A gust of air crashed against Kuro's back as he planted his hind legs on the ground, slowing himself and barely getting out of the way of those fangs. Then, not a second after, his fur began to rustle and stand on end as the air around them cackled intensely.
"Crap! Wrathia, go underground again!"
Even though she felt humiliated at running away from a foe, the Houndoom didn't quite like the idea of taking an incredibly powerful electric move straight to the face, so she did as she was told and jumped down at the hole in the ground she'd previously dug out. Just in time, as a moment after Kuro let out a roar and hundreds upon hundreds of lightning bolts exploded from his body outwardly, covering almost the entirety of the field.
Inyssa stared at the spider-web of bolts as they crackled through the air, feeling a strange and sudden pit on her stomach. Why…?
"Stay where you are!" She ordered, trying to ignore the feeling. "Concentrate! Like we did… last time."
Those last two words came out too weak for Kuro to hear them, though he understood nonetheless. The Luxray closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly, concentrating on every individual bolt of electricity all around him, waiting for his opponent to pounce at him from under the ground. And when she did… he would know exactly where to strike.
Inyssa gulped. The idea wasn't a bad one. It was essentially using the electricity around him as a sort of radar to guide his movements automatically, using his reflexes alone to move his muscles instead of his brain.
It was a brilliant strategy, really. And yet… it had backfired when she used it against Shadi. Why was she using it again, then? Shouldn't she have learned by n–
Her train of thought came to a halt as she realized something. Wrathia was taking her sweet time to come out and… why was Barry smiling so widely? What was he…?
"Now! Inferno!"
A sharp gasp escaped her lips. All around Kuro the ground began to take on a wavy red tint, steam rising from every crack and crevice. There was an explosion; rocks and dirt flew off everywhere as an enormous pillar of flame erupted from beneath the ground, completely engulfing Kuro and rising at least fifty feet into the air. Orange and white and red weaved together in a cyclone of flame, the only sound louder than its powerful roar that of Kuro's pained scream.
I… gave her all the time she needed to charge that, Inyssa thought, feeling her shoulders drop heavily. Usually Kuro is so fast that she'd never get the change to get that move off, but because I told him to do nothing and wait…
There wasn't much time to lament her luck, as Kuro's body was soon expelled from the pillar of flame as it vanished into the air, sending another, even more powerful heat wave all around. The Luxray hit the ground and somehow managed to stay on his feet, but he did not look good. Black patches adorned about half of his body, smoke rising from the still burning fur. His knees shook and his eyes were partly closed from the pain.
H-he's burned. What do I…?
From the now steaming ground across them appeared Wrathia once more, slowly walking toward Kuro with a confident, sadistic smile on her face. Inyssa felt her knees go weak. She shouted the first thing that came to mind.
"A-attack! Don't give her the upper hand!"
Kuro threw himself at his foe, a desperate, booming roar shaking the air around him. Flame and lightning clashed and danced together as both Pokemon attacked each other mercilessly, exchanging blow after blow without backing down a inch.
Not that Inyssa would have known. Hand on her chest, she was having trouble even breathing and keeping her sight focused, let alone paying attention to the fight. Her lungs burned and millions of tiny ants crawled just under her skin, making her shudder. She felt as if her head were about to pop open.
Why was she reacting like this? Wasn't this just a pointless battle? Who cared if she…
I want to win! She screamed inside her own mind, triggering what felt like a shock of electricity all throughout her body. No matter what, I want to…
It didn't make sense. She was supposed to throw away all those selfish feelings and simply concentrate of becoming the hero Shadi would have wanted her to be. All for her, all for the people of Sinnoh. All for…
"Come on Niss!" Barry's screamed reached her. "This is it, this is where we gotta give it our all!"
She looked up slowly, her face deathly pale and her lower lip quivering. What was he saying?
"I… I don't…" She shook her head slightly. "I can't…"
"Of course you can! Come on, isn't this what we left Twinleaf for!?" A wide smile stretched across the boy's lips, his eyes still glowing golden. "Don't tell me you forgot…"
She grit her teeth, the muscles on her arms tensing. "That doesn't matter! It's child's stuff! Shadi was right; I have to stop being so selfish and…!"
"And what!? Spend all your time training? Lying to your friends and family and treating them like crap? Why are you listening to what she said!?" he yelled. "She wasn't in Veilstone or Celestic when they were attacked, so why's she acting all high and mighty like she's some kind of hero, then!? She's just a piece of shit that…!"
"You don't know that!" Inyssa felt her throat clump, tears slowly welling up in her eyes. "S-she said she's doing all she can from the shadows. That she's going to stop all the bad things…"
"And until then, what!? Just let people be scared and die!?" Barry took a step forward and Inyssa felt herself shudder. She'd never seen such a furious expression on his face. "You think people want some… some schemer promising that everything's gonna be okay while she abandons them and goes to do her own thing? Is that what you want to become!?"
"N-no! A trainer should… what people want…!"
"People want a symbol!" Barry's words echoed all throughout the park, drowning every other sound as they reached Inyssa. "Someone who'll listen to them! Who'll grab their hand and smile when things get rough! Someone kind and passionate and who doesn't see them as just chess pieces!"
Inyssa bit her lower lip, eyes narrowing.
"T-they want you, then."
Barry reeled for a moment, but then frowned and shook his head slightly. "No. They want us." He raised his hand forward toward their Pokemon. "Wrathia! Come back!"
The Houndoom barely dodged her opponent's claws as she jumped back a few feet, her chest rising up and down with the rhythm of her erratic breathing. Both her and Kuro were covered in a multitude of scratches and bite marks. Both looked on their last leg.
"You don't have to be her, Niss." His voice came out as barely a whisper, and yet Inyssa heard him perfectly. A tiny, familiar smile formed on his lips. "You can just be you, and still become everything you want to be. I..."
Everything around her came to a halt, as if the world itself had stopped. All the pain and frustration and anxiety froze inside her body, leaving Inyssa breathless as she shot her eyes wide open and felt… it.
Just a spark at first, barely a crackle within her gut, so small she would never have noticed it in any other circumstance. But then, as his words reached her…
"…I know you can."
She heard another voice on top of Barry's, a familiar voice, one she'd almost forgotten. Then, before she could remember whose it was, she felt the weight of a soft hand land on her shoulder.
"Niss…"
There was the sound of thunder, and then everything went white. Inyssa's scars flared up, millions of tiny, invisible lightning bolts running through her skin and flesh, and then to her lungs, heart and eyes, dispelling that heavy fog inside her which she had forgotten was even there. Jolting her awake, finally.
It was like a curtain had been lifted from over her. Inyssa felt that familiar spark behind her eyes as they turned a shining gold, and then…
"Greetings, Inyssa." Uxie's voice sprouted from the depths of her mind, clearer than it had ever been before. "I must say… it's good to be back."
Laughter bubbled in her stomach, rising up until she couldn't contain it anymore. She lifted her chin, a wild smile on her face, and felt as if she was seeing for the first time all over again. The dust in the air, their Pokemon, the people all around them, they were so clear and vibrant where they'd been so blurry and muffled before.
As she raised her hand forward, she felt her heart pumping, felt the blood rushing all through her body, filling her with warmth and that familiar itchy feeling under her skin, no longer bothersome or painful. On the contraire, it was exactly what she needed right now.
A wide, confident smile stretched across her face as she threw her palm forward, eyes locked with those of his friend.
"I warned you… don't blame me for what's about to happen."
Barry's smile widened as he swiped the air with his free hand. "Same goes to you! Come at me with everything you've got, Niss!"
"Kuro…!"
"Wrathia…!"
Both Pokemon leaned forward on their paws, determination burning in their eyes. Kuro threw himself forward, the last threads of his energy barely keeping him conscious as he ran faster than he'd ever done so before, coated from head to toe in a sprouting veil of electricity. Across him, Wrathia planted herself firmly and growled, steam rising from every one of her pores. The black of her skin turned a blinding red and then a light blue as flames licked at the surface of her body, waiting to be released.
Their trainer's orders rang all throughout the park:
"Wild Charge!"
"Inferno!"
Time seemed to slow as they came into contact; Kuro jumping forward and Wrathia releasing the might of her attack directly at him. There was a flash of light, full of blues and whites and yellows which for a single moment mixed together and danced into each other as a shockwave grew throughout the air and ground, shaking the world itself, silencing the cheers of the audience and obscuring everything with its light.
Inyssa smiled, satisfied, and then everything went white.
It was a miracle Barry wasn't thrown to the ground by the force of the attack.
Still, it did pretty well at throwing him off balance. He barely covered his eyes before the light could blind him, and soon after the force of the explosion crashed against him with the force of a hurricane.
Once the dust began to settle and his ears stopped ringing, he took a step forward and opened his eyes again. Dust covered every speck of the park, including the outskirts. All around him people coughed and moved out of the way. And at the center of the crash…
A sound halfway between a gasp and a chuckle left his mouth. There was a depression on the ground where the impact had occurred, earth scorched and upturned. And, at the very bottom, shaking from pain and with one paw resting on top of her opponent's unconscious body… was Wrathia.
The Houndoom formed a weak, lopsided smile of sharp teeth and, not a moment after, the entirety of her body went numb. She closed her eyes and collapsed on top of Kuro, out cold. Barry felt laughter in his stomach, but managed to contain it into a wavy smile. He would've expected people to start cheering again by now, but he figured they probably couldn't see anything yet, and even if they did they were still covered from head to toe in a layer of dust and dirt.
If Kuro hadn't been burnt before he'd probably be the one still standing. Well, at least I'm tied again with Niss…
Barry froze, eyes going wide.
Crap! Niss!
He skipped through the broken remains of the battlefield and headed directly for his friend, finding her… a few feet backwards from where he expected. She lay sideways on the ground, eyes hidden by her hair and grunting in pain.
"Niss! Are you okay!?"
He helped her sit up, not without difficulty as he only had one arm to work with. Niss stood still, her eyes back to that vibrant green and her expression lost and confused. She turned her head to look at him. Neither of them said anything for long enough that the people around them began talking and screaming again, now aware of the outcome of the match.
"Barry…" Her voice was thin and somewhat hoarse, as though she were out of breath. "I… I'm sorry."
He couldn't help but laugh. Somewhat awkwardly, he placed a hand on her shoulders and moved close enough to touch his forehead with hers.
"Hey, it's okay. It's gonna be okay."
"I'm sorry…" she repeated, voice cracking. "I just… I don't know what I was doing. I don't know why she said all those things to me, I was just trying to…"
"Niss." He squeezed her shoulder a bit. "It's okay, really. We can talk about this but… maybe someplace emptier."
Her eyes went wide and, as if pushed by a spring, she shot up and looked all around, finding more than a hundred curious and confused pair of eyes staring directly at them. Barry had never felt embarrassed enough to wish for the ground to swallow him, but the waves of shame emanating from Niss finally showed him how that felt.
"All right everyone, start scattering!"
A new voice rang throughout the park, startling them both. It was loud, rough and with a pretty heavy accent and it came from a tall, muscular man with disheveled purple hair who stepped forward from the group of people at their right. He walked forward a few steps, resting a shovel over his shoulder, and looked all around at the people gathered in the park.
"Didn't y'all hear me!?" He bellowed. "Fight's over, folks! Go back home and tell everyone about it if you wanna, but I'm taking it from here!"
The man shot them a short, heavy glance before he turned around and began yelling once more, ordering everyone to clear the park. Little by little, as Barry and Inyssa got to their feet and returned their Pokemon to their balls, the park emptied itself until only a couple people remained staring at them from afar. One of them, who walked straight toward them with a grim look on his face, made both trainer's blood run cold.
Barry felt Niss' fingers unconsciously close around his arm as Professor Rowan addressed them, his thick mustache twitching ever so slightly, like a warning from an Ursaring.
"Inyssa… Barry…"
"P-Professor!" Niss yelped, hands shaking. "I… we can explain…"
"It's… fine."
There was a pause. Both trainers blinked confusedly in unison, exchanging a glance before turning toward Rowan again.
"W-what?"
"Are we…" Niss gulped. "Are we not in trouble?"
Shockingly, Rowan's mustache twitched as a tiny smile formed underneath it, barely noticeable.
"Let's just say that you're lucky the Gym Leader and I happened to stumble into this little clandestine battle of yours," he said. "I can't promise that you're not in at least a bit of trouble, but… well, I'm sure we can discuss that tomorrow." He looked over at Niss. "Young girl, you're paler than a Frosslass and you look ready to collapse at any moment."
Niss let out a weak laugh. "I… yeah, guess I look as bad as I feel."
"Get some food, and rest," said Rowan. "And come see me tomorrow, so we may talk. Lucas knows where I am, so simply ask him."
Both of them nodded, though Niss less energetically than Barry.
"Thanks, Professor!" he said. "We'll be there tomorrow, we promise!"
"I shall expect you with gusto. Now, if you excuse me." He looked over them, toward the park, and let out a sigh. "I need to discuss with Byron just how much paperwork this will cost us. Stay safe, kids."
As they saw the man walk away toward the strange guy with the shovel, they exchanged a look and a knowing smile.
"So…" Barry whispered, placing a hand around her shoulder to help her stay steady. "…wanna go back to the Pokemon Center and get something to eat?"
Inyssa closed her eyes and nodded, letting out a sigh. "Yeah. Food sounds wonderful right now."
Night fell on Inyssa's room. The sliver of a half-moon began to form outside the window, giving just enough light to paint a blurry outline of all the objects and pieces of furniture thrown around. A single Pokeball rested atop the desk, the only one she hadn't used during the battle. Inside, Inyssa hoped, Shadi would be resting peacefully.
She let out of the breath she'd been holding, leaning the back of her head against the furthermost wall of her room. Her legs were starting to get numb from her pose. She ignored it and kept staring at the door.
Eventually, Barry walked through it, his steps so distinctive that she knew it was him even before he opened it.
"Niss, the…" The darkness of the room barely hid the puzzled look he gave her as he turned around. "…you know, there's two chairs over there. And a light switch."
She shrugged. "Floor's just fine."
"Well… if you say so."
Without another word of protest he let himself fall next to her, the bump of their shoulders sending a shiver through her cold skin.
"What'd they say?" she asked.
"Nurse told me they'll probably be all healed up tomorrow morning. Except Wrathia and Kuro, it might take another day for them." He tilted his head to the side to look at her. "We… might've pushed them a bit too far."
"Yeah…"
For the hundredth time that evening, her gaze fell on the lonely Pokeball atop the desk at the other side of the room. She gulped, and said nothing.
"Sorry for taking so long by the way," said Barry. "Had to tuck Auri into bed too. She won't fall asleep unless I'm next to her for some reason."
She smiled. "It's fine. Gave me some time to think."
"Yeah?"
She nodded, though she didn't elaborate right away. They had spent the entire evening resting and eating and helping her recover her strength, and yet Barry never once had pushed or asked what she was thinking or how she was feeling. Must've realized she'd been agonizing over how to bring it up ever since the end of their battle. And, judging by the way his eyes stayed that pretty brown the whole time, he didn't need Mesprit's power to do so.
Her fingers curled over the fabric of her jeans. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting it go after a few seconds.
"I… tomorrow we should go visit the Professor so he can give us our new Pokédex. Then we should hang out with Lucas and ask him to come with us to the library." There was a short pause. "He'll… probably know where to find what we're looking for."
Barry's eyebrows arched a bit. "You mean… about the lake trio and all that?"
"Not just that. I also… I also want to look for a certain Pokemon." She turned to look at him, lips pursed tight. "You… saw it too, right? Back in the boat, when she had her hands on my shoulders."
If he was surprised, he did a good job at hiding it. She felt the atmosphere tense around them as he frowned and slowly nodded.
That… thing, that Pokemon seemingly made from shadows… they'd both heard from it and seen illustrations in paintings and children's books, what Sinnohan kid hadn't? And yet, to actually see it in real life…
"If that was what I think it was, then… it might be influencing Shadi somewhat." She finally managed to get the words out, which had felt so cold and sharp in her throat. "I know what you think of her and I'm not gonna force you to think differently, but if there's a chance that she's not in control of her actions, that she can return to normal… then I'm gonna take it." She set her jaw and looked directly at Barry, eyes full of determination. "I'll do the same thing you did for me. I'll help her, whether she wants me to or not."
For a while Barry's face seemed blank, devoid of expression, and Inyssa feared she might've said something wrong. But finally his lips curved into a tiny, familiar smile. He placed a hand on her shoulders and nodded.
"I'll help you in whatever you need."
She smiled back, feeling a dull ache in her chest. "Thanks."
There were a few seconds of silence, and then Barry placed a hand against the floor and pushed himself to his feet, grunting as he did so.
"Alright… I think it's time to go to bed," he said, voice strained. "Tomorrow's gonna be a big day so we should get some rest."
"…Yeah. I could go for another fourteen hours of sleep."
She got to her feet as well, though not without considerable effort. The exhaustion clinging to her body was much different than the one she'd suffered through a few hours before, but it was still there. In full control of her mental faculties or not, her frail body always stayed the same. Unfortunate.
"Well… good night, Niss."
Perhaps that's why she did what she did. She found herself in a strange state, tired enough for her mind to start acting funny, but not in a bad way. Blinking confusedly, Inyssa stared up at Barry's back as he walked toward the door, and a thought sprouted in her head.
I… I haven't thanked him yet, she thought. After everything he did for me, I didn't even thank him!
"Hey, Barry."
She walked over to him as he turned around, one eyebrow raised. As she stopped mere inches from him, she once again was surprised by how much taller he looked from up close. She felt her cheeks flush slightly.
"I wanted to tell you something before you go."
Barry smiled, one hand on the doorknob. "Sure, what is it?"
Alright, here it goes, Inyssa thought. Just thank him and say good night; easy as pie.
She parted her lips, and instants before the words were formed she realized they were not the right ones.
And yet, the part of her that knew didn't stop them from coming out.
"…Can I kiss you?"
