Shedding Skins

Chapter Fifty Three

Where We Stand


Author's Note : First update in forever basically. Sorry, but real life and stuff. Anyway, here it is, finally!


Cerletti teleported Damian and I to Cianwood before departing for whereabouts unknown to me. I had dropped my Pokemon off at the Center to be healed and then headed straight to bed.

I awoke with a generally sore body and headed straight out to train in the mountains around Cianwood. It was an uncommon training destination, as the rocky terrain made it difficult to traverse, but I welcomed the challenge.

Cel had broken her leg in the riot, but had then evolved overnight, which completely healed it somehow. Not like I was complaining about it. Along with her evolution came a great deal more power. She wasn't by any means as strong as Skyler, but she was roughly on par with Ares now.

Skyler was beat up, with a broken tail and multiple gunshot wounds, but he simply torched things from a distance with dragonbreath so he didn't have to get close and risk further injury. He would have probably risked it anyway if I hadn't instructed otherwise.

Naja's wounds were healing. He had been shot a few times, but I knew his body would heal. He was also rapidly catching up to Ares and Cel. His intelligence meant that he could follow instructions to the letter, and even formulate his own plans if need be. His rapidly improving battling capabilities added to his threat level and made him almost as formidable as Ares of Cel.

River, unfortunately was not doing nearly as well. She was a nimble creature, able to dodge a wide variety of attacks, but her own offensive abilities weren't strong enough to do nearly as much damage to her opponents as was needed, unless she had a type advantage. She was also very physically frail, not able to make much in the way of physical attacks before she needed bailing out. She was temporarily unable to battle anything strong as well, due to the gash in her back, which was quite debilitating. Added to this, she wasn't particularly intelligent either.

Ares was still in Hazel's possession, which I found unsettling. Not that I didn't trust her with him or anything - I wouldn't have let her borrow him if I hadn't - but it was odd not to have Ares there. I felt vulnerable. He was my fastest Pokemon, and one of my most formidable, as well as probably my favorite. I did love all of my team dearly, but I had favorites, there was no point in denying it.

"You," I heard a voice say to me. I recognized the voice, although I had never spoken to its owner. It was a somewhat deep, but feminine voice, serious, with a tone of authority behind it. I knew that the speaker was a she, and I knew that she wasn't really that much older than I was.

"Yeah?" I replied, turning around. I confirmed that my guess was right. It was Jan. She was in her late teens, with thick, wild, shockingly white hair. She wore a plain purple long sleeved t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Overall, she was just odd looking, but I knew she was a formidable trainer.

"I'm disappointed that I never got a chance to battle you," she said, giving me a hard look.

"You know me?" I asked.

"Who doesn't?" She almost scoffed. "You're the boy that can send Allan Hawkes running," she went on.

"Trying to stay out of trouble," I informed her.

"Bit late for that," she chuckled dryly.

"Anyway, what is it? Any particular reason you came here?" I asked.

"Badges are irrelevant now, but I think you're an eight badge trainer anyway. I wouldn't usually do this, but you are exceptional, let's face it. So, would you like a chance to win your final badge?" She asked.

I grinned to myself. I wasn't sure if I could win or not, but it was worth a try. "One on one," I requested. I was planning to use only Cel, seeing as the others were all injured in some way. Her evolution, however, had restored her to full health.

"Fine by me," she complied, then let out a shrill whistle. "The battle's begun already, just so you know," she informed me. As she said this, I heard a loud crack from behind me. The ground where Cel had been only a second ago had actually been cracked, but she had managed to dash away before any damage was done to her.

"Guys," I called to the other three, returning them one by one.

I then took a minute to admire tha beast that I was currently facing. It was huge, taller than me, and was basically a mountain of muscle covered in a thick layer of fat. It's skin was of a similar hue to my own, although its arms and legs were covered in coarse, brown hair. Its head and chest were covered in white hair. It had a heavy, low slung jaw and powerful teeth designed for chewing through tough plant material, as well as an upturned nose and dark, sunken eyes.

One of the most formidable species of Pokemon in existence. Not one that was easily trained, obtained, or defeated. In the wild, they are preyed upon by very few, if any, predators. They are strong, fast, hardy and generally intelligent. Overall, powerful adversaries for most, if not all, other Pokemon species. Cel would be facing a Slaking.

"I knew that your only healthy Pokemon was your Typhlosion, but decided against giving myself a type advantage. Would be unfair, considering your other Pokemon are injured," Jan told me.

"Because a superpowered ape is so much better," I remarked dryly.

"Why don't we add a condition to the battle?" She suggested, smirking. I got a strange feeling about her. She really got a kick out of battling. Sure, every trainer did, at least to some extent, but she was over the top about it. It was really like she lived for battling.

"What have you got in mind?" I asked. Cel and the Slaking were still eyeing each other up.

"We're not allowed to give commands," she grinned. I thought this over. Cel was a clever Pokemon and a cunning creature. Not on the same kind of level as Naja, but easily the most intelligent Pokemon on my team aside from him. The odds were that the Slaking was of average intelligence. The whole no command thing would probably put Cel at an advantage.

"Yeah, why not?" I agreed.

"Get it!" Jan called straight away.

"Go!" I shouted to Cel at almost the same time.

The Slaking leaped forward and swung its massive arm downwards to wards Cel. My Typhlosion dropped and dashed to one side on all fours, then proceeded to run past the gorilla and scorch it with a stream of fire. It burned the beast's chest and arms, but it didn't so much as flinch.

Cel started running, then proceeded to climb atop a high, craggy rock outcrop. She started firing down streams of fire at the massive ape, which countered by picking up a massive chunk of rock - which it had broken free when attempting to hit Cel - and using it as a shield. It blocked a few of Cel's fire attacks and then hurled the rock at her. To evade the rock, she had to actually dive from the outcrop.

The ape was more intelligent than I had gave it credit for.

The moment she landed, the Slaking went for her on all fours. As it neared her, it rose onto two feet and grabbed at her with its massive hands. Cel weaved around its hands, being faster and more agile than the much larger and stronger primate. She attacked with quick bites and scratches while the ape made more grabs for her and she continued to evade it.

Cel had the advantage of being a predator. She had instincts, and natural weapons and abilities, all of which complimented each other. In the wild, Typhlosion killed for a living, so they had to be good at it. Slaking, on the other hand, just happened to be very large and powerful creatures. Their diet mainly consisted of plants, so killing wasn't an essential part of their lives.

She tried to go for a throat bite, but the Slaking finally managed to hit her with one of its thick forearms. It wasn't really a direct hit, but coming from something with strength, like that, it didn't really matter. Cel was sent stumbling backwards and couldn't help but falling over. The ape jumped over to her and reached for her.

I knew that if that ape managed to actually get a hold of Cel, she wouldn't be escaping. The only way she would get free would be if the gorilla decided on its own to let go. The thing had the strength to just snap a limb in two with minimal effort. I wasn't liking Cel's odds.

It grabbed one of her back legs and my hope dropped to zero. However, the thing decided then to swing and throw her into the rocky outcrop she had been standing on not long ago. My hopes soared once again. She had hit the outcrop and been injured quite badly, but she was still able to fight at least, and that meant I had a fighting chance.

She sprinted at the Slaking, teeth bared, claws at the ready, fire dripping from her mouth. I think she had realized that she had dealt barely any damage to the Slaking and knew that she had to inflict some if she was to win, even if that meant being reckless and charging the thing head on.

She threw herself at it, but it started to glow red. She phased right through the semi corporeal form of the glowing Slaking and landed on the other side of it, snarling. The ape then disappeared into its pokeball, which was being held by a smirking Jan.

"I forfeit," Jan smiled. This took me completely off guard. Not that I was complaining, it meant that I would get a badge.

"Why? You would probably have won," I replied.

"I would definitely have won," she corrected. "That wasn't an eight badge Pokemon, that was a member of my actual team. A somewhat new, inexperienced member, but a member of my real team nonetheless," she went on.

Cel had just held her own against one of Jan's actual Pokemon? I was having a hard time believing this.

"So why give up?" I queried.

"I knew it was a lost cause on your part, but I wanted to see how hard you would try anyway, how good you would be," she explained.

"And how good was I?" I asked.

"Good enough," she replied, then threw a badge to me. I didn't even take the time to inspect it, I just shoved it in my pocket.

Yes. Eight badges, finally.


Later, I had decided to try and track down Hazel. I knew I'd have to at some point because, apart from anything else, she was still in possession of Ares. I wasn't looking forward to my reunion with Hazel to be honest. I had no idea what was happening between the two of us, I was nervous and figured it would probably be awkward. That was assuming she had even made it to Cianwood.

"Hey, I heard about you," I heard a familiar voice say as I walked through the Center doors. Marnie made her way over to me on crutches, leg still bandaged up. "Then again, who hasn't?"

"No one, apparently," I replied dryly. I was about to ask her if she had seen Hazel, but another thought occurred to me. "Did you fight your way through the riots in crutches?"

"I did, but it's not like I actually fought the government," she smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, I did," I waved her off. I didn't see the big deal about me fighting on the side of trainers. To be honest, I would have expected far more trainers to have fought, and far less to run away. "Who else is here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Damian, but you know that already. Me, obviously, Tyson and probably Scarlett. As for high ranking trainers, most of the Gym Leaders, Elite Four Shenzi and Leon and Pauli," she listed.

"Forrest not here?" I asked.

"No one's seen him since Raynor's breakdown," Marnie informed me. "I asked Scarlett to search for him with one of her fliers, but she couldn't find him," she added.

"You remember Hazel?" I asked Marnie. I knew she didn't know Jean, and probably hadn't gotten a good look at Connie's face, but she had met Hazel I was sure.

"That brunette girl you battled a while ago? The one you've got your eye on?" She asked. Forrest, you douche.

"Forrest told you that?" I already knew the answer.

"Yeah. I would have figured it out anyway, it's not really subtle now that I think about it," she told me.

"Well, you seen her?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure I have actually. She's got a Yanmega, hasn't she? Bit of a coincidence," she remarked.

"That was Ares she was riding," I corrected her.

"Why did she have Ares?" Marnie looked puzzled.

"Ugh, bit of a long story," I waved her question away. "I'll tell you some other time."

"Okay," Marnie said. "Well, she's booked in here, not sure if she's out just now though," Marnie informed me.

"Thanks, later."

"Bye," she replied. I walked up to the desk and rang the bell to get the nurse's attention.

"Are there any Hazels booked in?" I asked.

"Surname?" My mind went blank. Oh God, I didn't even know her last name.

"Sorry, I don't know..." I admitted.

"There's only one Hazel here just now anyway," the nurse told me.

"Could you tell me what room she's in?" I requested, sighing with relief. Not being able to find her because of a lack of a second name would have been embarrassing. The nurse told me the room number and I took to the stairs, heart thudding like it never had before - well, not as far as I could remember.

There are riots? I'm stuck in a fire? People want to kill me? That's fine. Girl on the scene? Oh dear God, please help me.

I reached her door and knocked loudly, three times. I waited and waited and waited. Then...nothing. Dammit. She must be out.

"Hi," she said as she opened the door. Apparently she wasn't out then.

"Hey," I replied.

"Come in," she said, beckoning me into the room. I followed behind her. I was convinced that my heart might just stop beating. I sat on the edge of the bed while she rummaged in her bag for something.

"How are you?" I asked, trying to provoke a conversation. It was a bland, boring statement, but it was better than nothing at all.

"I'm good: I wasn't the one fighting in the riot," she responded. "Oh, and here's your Yanmega," she added, throwing Ares' pokeball to me. "He really is a well trained Pokemon by the way," she went on. "But anyway, are you okay?"

I was not okay. My entire body felt like a single giant bruise, but I had managed to more or less ignore that the rest of the day. My Pokemon - apart from Ares - were in an even worse state. My head was a bit all over the place as well, if I was being honest. I had killed a few people at least, and it did bother me a little. Not as much as it should have, but a little still.

"I'm fine," I lied casually. That was actually quite far from the truth. I knew I was not totally normal, I knew I was at least a bit sick and twisted. I was probably unstable. Wouldn't have surprised me if I'd had a mental problem or two. I was pretty sure I couldn't even be considered a decent guy anymore. It didn't bother me nearly as much as it should have.

She sat down on the bed next to me. She had chosen to sit close to me. Very close. I didn't miss this.

"Why did you stay back and fight?" She asked, a perplexed expression on her face.

"I don't even know. Because I'm stupid?" I replied. She laughed a little.

"It was brave," she opined.

"It was reckless," I scoffed. Brave? Give me a break.

"It's because you're a decent person," she said sincerely. She really didn't know me at all, but she was under the impression that she did.

"I think it's because I felt obliged to fight for the trainers," I answered honestly. I wasn't a hundred percent on why I had actually stayed, but obligation was certainly part of it.

"You're still a decent person," she told me. I disagreed.

"I've killed people," I told her. "That put you off me?" I was well aware that it could ruin my chances with her, but I wanted her to know what kind of person she was getting involved with. Being honest, it wasn't just for her sake. I didn't want to have to pretend to be a nice guy.

"I knew that already. And you know what? It doesn't really," she smiled.

She leaned in for a kiss and I did likewise.