Prepare the arena," Erika said with a wave of her hand. She turned on her heel and made her way left to another door identical to the one she had entered from.
"Yes, Erika!"
"Right away Erika!" Both older girls flew into action.
The one who had entered with Erika hurried off ahead and barged through the left door. While the one at Green's side grasped her arm and began dragging her along after Erika. Her grip was iron tight. Machoke scowled and loomed over her from behind as she dragged Green along.
"I am capable of waking myself you know," Green thought.
Ahead, between her and Erika, Mavis walked with a skip in her step. She glanced over her shoulder at Green, beaming gleefully. When her eyes met the stern gaze of the older girl, she giggled lightly and looked away. Behind them, the younger girls swarmed with their pokémon scurrying about their heels. They craned their necks, pushing and shoving each other to get a look at Green and Machoke. As they approached the door the grip around Green's arm released and a sharp clap cut through the air.
"You know the rules! Back to your stations!" The older girl beside Green barked.
Complaints filled the air along with the unhappy cries from pokémon but another clap silenced them.
"Go on, don't make me ask again!"
Green stifled a laugh as fear spread across the sea of tiny faces behind her. The girls scattered, scurrying away to their lattice stations. Up ahead, Erika opened the door and stepped inside what Green assumed was the arena room. She'd never seen Celadon's arena before, not really. There was footage online but only from the previous gym leader, some old guy whose name escaped her. It had been old and grainy like it had been recorded with a brick. As for Erika's battles, they were never televised and no footage, at least from the casual searches she'd attempted, could be found.
"Jackson probably knows where to find some," She figured.
The arena used in the old footage had been one of the standard arena's, largely used before modern technology allowed for more dynamic arenas. A simple dirt floor with only painted lines to show which side belonged to which trainer. Green imaged what the modern arena must look like. Lavish and expansive terrain, full of all sorts of plants and absolutely flooded with sunlight. An arena fit for Kanto's only Grass-Type Master. Green was ushered through the door by the older girl.
"What?" She whispered to herself.
Celadon City Gym's arena was a bare rectangle of cracked earth with a thin layer of dirt on top. The painted lines Green had seen in the old footage were still present, at least what was left of them. Just barely enough remained to sort of tell which half was hers. Craters, scorch marks and muddy puddles littered the arena. As well as a huge scar of a crack that split the arena down its diagonal. Above was a pointed, glass ceiling caked in grey dust and brown dirt. One of its glass panes was missing, with only jagged pieces of glass left in the frame. An overhead display, similar to the ones in other gyms hung from rusted steel scaffolding. The screens were far thicker than any Green had ever seen. They remained black and blank. To the right of the arena were a set of rotting, wooden stands caked in grey dust and spotted with chipped green paint. Above them, mounted on a rusted steel tripod was a camera. None of the typical manoeuvring rails were present. It too was covered in dust, although a noticeably thinner layer. To the right of the arena was the only thing that seemed to be maintained, a podium with a desk and two seats. Mavis climbed up onto it, sitting beside one of the older girls. The other older girl thrust a box into Green's hands.
"Scan your ID."
Green blinked at her as she got her bearings.
"Uh, okay yeah," She stammered.
Green swung off her bag and fished through it for her trainer card. Once she had it, she peered down at the box unsure of how to approach it. The older girl sighed and snatched the card away from her and thrust it into a slit on top. The box beeped, she pulled it out and thrust the card back at Green. Without a word, she turned away and joined the other two on the podium. She shooed Mavis out of her seat and sat beside the other older girl in purple. Meanwhile, Erika strolled across the arena, dodging craters and mud puddles. She didn't so much as glance at the disrepair around her.
"Ma…" Machoke muttered as he came up beside Green. He shot the arena a sceptical look.
"I know…" Green agreed.
Erika stepped up onto the opposite platform and turned to face Green. While she was certainly looking at her, Erika's gaze felt vacant. As if she were staring past Green, rather than at her. Her face was neutral, bordering on a frown but not quite there. While the two older girls fiddled with the scanning box, Mavis hurried across the arena and hopped up the decrepit stair of the stands. She got behind the camera and poked a few buttons. It sputtered to life and began making a low, droning sound. A red light blinked, more flickering than blinking. Mavis hurried back and re-joined the other two who had finally gotten what they wanted from the box.
"Green Isamu? From Pallet Town? Class 1 Intermediate?" One of the girls asked.
Green gave them a confused nod.
"Yeah?"
"Good, it matches up then. How many pokémon will you be using?" The girl asked.
Green considered her belt.
"Elekid's no good for this."
"Three," She said.
Green plucked off Primeape and Graveler's pokéballs then gestured to Machoke. The girl gave her a nod and began writing something down with a pencil on paper. Green watched in stunned disbelief. Once the girl was finished writing, she gave a nod to Erika. Without instruction, Erika pulled a pokéball from the sleeve of her Kimono.
"Erika will also be using three Pokémon," The girl announced.
Erika sighed and released her first Pokémon, Victreebell. A plant-based pokémon the size of a person with a yellow, bell-shaped body. The opening of the bell on top of its body was a gaping mouth with sharp, pointed teeth. Two narrowed eyes sat beneath the lips, gazing at Green venomously. It sported three huge leaves, two on either side acting as arms and the other hung above its mouth. The leaf flapped, opening and closing, shaking the long tail-like vine that grew from it. The sight of it snapped Green back into focus. She grasped Machoke's arm and gave it a light tug. He crouched down to her height, watching her attentively.
"Remember this is just scouting, don't worry about winning. Watch out for that vine, it has a longer reach than you. It'll be its main source of attack and defence. It'll have poison attacks, watch for those. If you get poisoned the fight'll be on a timer," Green grinned at him, "don't be too concerned though, you're way stronger than it. Don't be afraid to rush in."
"Machoke!" Machoke smirked and stood back up tall. He ran out onto the arena, almost tripping over a crater in the process.
As he did, Green removed Elekid's pokéball from her belt and released him beside her. She crouched down and greeted him with a smile.
"I want you to watch the battles okay?" Green said.
Elekid was too busy staring at Machoke and Victreebell to pay any attention to her. His ears were sparking wildly as he watched the two pokémon posture the other. Green snapped her fingers above his head.
"Hey, listen it's important."
Elekid grumbled but tore his eyes away, all the same, giving her his reluctant attention.
"Pay attention to how they watch each other when the fighting starts, how there is more going on than the attacks they're using."
Elekid gave a quick nod before turning his attention back to the pokémon. That nod was likely all she was going to get out of him right now, so Green decided to take it. She rose back up onto her feet and watched Erika, hoping to get an idea of her strategy by watching her pre-game with Victreebell. Erika, however, was doing nothing of the sort. While Victreebell hopped side to side, whipping his vine in Machoke's direction she made no move to talk to him. Instead, she just continued staring off into the empty space past Green without so much as a hint of emotion. Meanwhile, over on the podium both older girls and Mavis were huddled around a switch. The only electronic on the old thing. They fiddled with it, flicked it on and off, adjusted the wire and tried again. Eventually, a yellow light barrier flickered to life on both sides of the arena. Although only for a second before snapping away. The girls groaned and began fidgeting with it again until it came back, this time fading away slowly. The air before Green shimmered where the barrier was. One of the older girls adjusted her kimono, stepped forward and cleared her throat.
"Are both pokémon ready?" She asked with a shout.
Machoke and Victreebell both gave confirming cries.
"Are the trainers ready?"
Green gave her a thumbs up while Erika gave a single, small nod.
"Round one, begin!"
Mavis blew an air horn while grinning ear to ear.
"Get in close Machoke!" Green shouted immediately.
Machoke bellowed as he barrelled towards Victreebell. He hopped over craters and skirted around mud puddles. Victreebell's narrowed eyes, widened as Machoke quickly closed the distance. He twisted his body, looking back at Erika. Erika glanced down at him but said nothing. Machoke's hands and arms burst into orange flames as he charged forward, they opened up preparing to grapple. Victreebell spun around and let out a panicked cry. Vines, enveloped in shimmering veils of green light erupted from his body and flew towards Machoke. Machoke lowered his head and charged even faster, spraying orange sparks from his feet with each heavy step. The vines coiled around Machoke's arms, legs and waist. They tensed, trying to bring Machoke to a stop.
"Pull on them! Pull him in!" Green cried.
Machoke grasped the vines and gave a powerful tug, using his whole body to pull on the vines. Victreebell was sent flying through the air towards Machoke. He squirmed in the air, wriggling his body and flailing his tail-like vine. With the vines now slacked, Machoke wound back his fist and threw a punch, stepping forward as he did to get all his strength into it. The punch slammed into Victreebell with an explosion of orange flame. He was sent flying again, back towards Erika. The vines lost their green light and snapped as they tensed. Victreebell hit the light barrier hard, sending a violent shimmer out from the point of impact. He slumped down against it, limp and bruised. Green was at a loss for words. She hadn't expected that to actually work. Surely, there would have been some counter, some attack or defence Erika could have used to stop that. Regardless, Victreebell lay before Erika, defeated by a single punch. Erika moved to return him but stopped as Victreebell struggled back upright. His whole body trembled, the bell wobbled, the leaves shook and his vine pressed against the light barrier for support. Erika opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted.
"VICTREEBELL!" Victreebell cried.
Erika shut her mouth and lowered the pokéball, scowling for a brief moment. Machoke smirked and slammed his fists together, getting ready for another bout. Victreebell began swinging his vine around in circles, the leaved tip began to glow a light purple.
"Get ready to dodge!" Green cried, finding her words again.
Machoke widened his stance and watched the tip of the vine closely. It spun and spun, whipping towards Machoke with each fast rotation. Green glanced down to make sure Elekid was watching. He was pressed up against the light barrier, ears sparking wildly. Suddenly, the attack came. A thorn oozing a glowing purple poison was shot out. Machoke moved instantly, jumping and rolling to the side out of its way. Victreebell made a frustrated sound and began preparing another but Machoke was already barrelling towards him. Before he could even make one rotation, Machoke was on him. Machoke slammed his knee into Victreebell and brought both fists down against his back. He fell to the ground with a cry but Machoke didn't let up. Orange flames and sparks flew as Machoke pummelled Victreebell with an unrelenting assault of kicks and punches. Victreebell's vine flailed, desperately trying to grasp Machoke's ankle to pull him over. But, even when it did manage to coil around it didn't have the strength to topple Machoke's enormous weight. Only when the vine went limp and released its grip, did Machoke stop and step back. The air horn sounded.
"Victreebell is unable to battle, Round one goes to the challenger," One of the older girls said plainly.
While Machoke pumped his fists in the air triumphantly, Erika returned Victreebell with the same neutral face. She pulled a second pokéball from her sleeve and released a Vileplume, the final stage of the Oddish line. Vileplume stood as tall as a child on flat, digit-less feet. On the front of its round purple body were two beady red eyes and a sliver of a mouth. The purple orb that was its body supported a huge, spotted, red flower with a bulbous green bud in the centre. Vileplume sneered up at Machoke from beneath the rim of his flower and began waddling slowly around him.
"Come back, buddy!" Green waved Machoke over.
Machoke watched Vileplume with an unimpressed look before turning and jogging back across the arena to Green. Elekid hopped up and down, greeting him as he returned with a feverish wave. Machoke chuckled and flashed him a grin before addressing Green.
"Choke?" He asked.
Green got as close to the light barrier as she could.
"You did great but don't get carried away okay? Vileplume's a lot more mobile than Victreebell, he's not just gonna stand there and let you run at him."
Green had no idea what to expect from a Vileplume, she'd never really seen one in action before. The most she'd seen was the little Red's Vileplume did but he never used her for battle, and nowadays she just sat around in Oak's garden sleeping or eating.
"Wait for him to make the first move okay?" Green told Machoke.
Machoke nodded.
"Ma-Choke!"
He turned and ran back out onto the field, shooting Elekid a wave as he did. Elekid buzzed while jumping up and down. Green crossed her arms and watched Erika closely. Again, she wasn't giving any instructions, just staring. Her eyes seemed tired, like she straining them.
"Are both Pokémon ready?" The older girl asked.
"Machoke!"
"Plume," Vileplume answered with a hushed, sharp voice.
"Are both trainers ready?" The older girl asked.
Green and Erika gave their confirmations. A thumbs up from Green and a nod from Erika.
"Round two, begin!"
Mavis blared the air horn. Immediately, both Pokémon flew into action.
"Hold!" Green cried.
Machoke crouched slightly, preparing to move in an instant as he watched for Vileplume's attack. The flower on Vileplume's head began to flap and pulse green.
"Pluuuuume!"
A swarm of glowing leaves manifested and shot through the air towards Machoke. Machoke sprang into action at once, taking off and running to the right. He arched away from the swarm of leaves while still charging across the arena. The leaves turned in the air, giving chase. They were closing in quick, zipping like bullets. Machoke kept his eyes glued to them, darting his eye back and forth.
"Try and dodge!" Green said.
Before Machoke even had a chance to think, he was suddenly falling. Vileplume had manifested a vine while Machoke was distracted and whipped it at his legs, sweeping them out from under him. He hit the ground with a heavy crash and the leaves came down on his back. They showered down on him with small puffs of green light, embedding themselves in his muscle. Machoke cried out and went to swing at them.
"No don't! Wait for it to be over!" Green warned.
"If he takes one to the eye, the fight is over."
Machoke did as he was told and grit his teeth, waiting for the swarm to finish its attack. After a few gruelling moments, it was over and he struggled back to his feet. His back was slick with blood. Vileplume began flapping his flower again, charging another attack.
"Power up and kick off towards him!" Green said.
Machoke gave a weak smirk and crouched forward. His ankles and legs burst into orange flame. He lowered his head, bellowed and kicked off the ground. The earth beneath him erupted into dirt and orange essence as he flew through the air holding out a fist blazing with orange flame ahead of him. However, the instance Machoke began his attack Vileplume began to dodge. He scurried to the side as fast as his stubby, flat feet would carry him and even leapt as Machoke kicked off. Machoke missed by a good few feet and sailed past Vileplume, crashing headfirst into the light barrier. Erika flinched back as the barrier rippled and wobbled, her face remained neutral. Miraculously, the impact didn't knock out Machoke and he began fighting to stand.
"You good buddy?" Green called out.
"Elekid?!" Elekid cried.
Machoke looked back and grinned as he stood, giving them a shaky thumbs-up. Blood gushed from a gash on his head, forcing him to keep one eye shut. Green grabbed his ball but didn't return him. Even though she'd told herself again and again that it was just a practice match, something within her just wouldn't let up. Whatever it was, it stopped her from pressing the button on the pokéball. Machoke had only been on his feet for a second when Vileplume's second attack hit. His flower flapped wildly and a cloud of glowing green spores shot at Machoke. The cloud enveloped Machoke in an instant.
"Wave it away!" Green said.
Machoke fanned the spores away with his hands as he staggered out of the cloud. Vileplume moved backwards, watching Machoke intently from beneath the brim of his flowers. Machoke's one open eye drooped as he clumsily stumbled towards Vileplume. With blazing orange fists, he swung at the air a few times before collapsing. There was a crunch as he fell forward and slammed his chin onto the ground. Blood dribbled from his mouth as he lay still, fast asleep. Mavis blew the air horn.
"Machoke is unable to battle, Leader Erika, wins!" She announced gleefully.
One of the older girls shot her deadly glare and yanked her to the side. Green returned Machoke, trying not to feel too disappointed.
"It's just practice, winning doesn't matter," She muttered to herself.
Her eyes met Elekid's disappointed gaze as she returned Machoke's pokéball to her belt. She hardened her face, she needed to be strong for him.
"It's okay, we've still got Graveler and Primeape left," Green crouched down and ruffled the fuzz on top of his hair, taking care to not get zapped by his ears.
A smile flickered across Elekid's face, which quickly became a grin.
"Elekid!" He agreed and watched her belt with anticipation.
"Challenger, pick your next Pokémon," One of the older girls said while the other scolded Mavis quietly beside her.
Green stood up and instinctively went to grab Primeape's ball but stopped herself just as her fingers touched the ball.
"Those spores will definitely be an issue for Primeape's sensitive nose," She thought.
Her hand moved to Graveler's pokéball.
"He doesn't have a nose but… the typing…"
Sending a dual ground-rock type into a fight with a grass type was stupid, Green knew that all too well. Still, she plucked the ball from her belt and released Graveler before her. He beamed at her, facing away from Vileplume.
"Grav!" He said cheerfully as he turned around.
"Graveler!" He cried as he saw Vileplume and whipped back around to face Green, at least as fast he could while waddling. His eyes were wide with fear. Green knelt down before him and caressed his top curve with both hands.
"You'll be fine, I promise. If things start to go bad I'll bring you back in right away, okay?"
Graveler gave her a wary look and fumbled his lowers set of hands.
"Grav…" He gave a small nod of his body.
"Thank you, buddy. Now, roll up as soon as the fight starts. Use your speed to outrun his leaf attacks okay? Either crash into him or use a rock attack, ground attacks won't do any good," Green patted him and smiled, "can you do that?"
Graveler beamed.
"Graveler!" He said.
"Great! Now get out there!" Green grinned.
Graveler waddled forward up to the light barrier. One of the older girls flicked the lone switch on their dashboard, dropping the barrier and allowing Graveler to step down onto the field. He took his position on Green's half of the arena while the barrier flickered back to life behind him.
"Are both Pokémon ready?" The older girl said.
"Plume," Vileplume answered slyly.
Graveler gave an apprehensive nod.
"Are both trainers ready?"
Green and Erika gave their respective thumbs up and nod.
"Round three, begin."
Mavis's air horn blared and the frenzy of battle roared. Glowing, green leaves swarmed the air. Graveler tucked up into a ball. Green shouted.
"Roll out! Use your speed!"
Graveler sped away to the side as Vileplume's leaf swarm gave chase. The thin layer of dirt sprinkled on the arena's surface kicked up into a thick cloud trail behind him.
"Create a rock track, get up high!" Green called.
Graveler's curled, boulder of a body began to glow brown and the ground beneath him cracked. The earth split and a strip of rock just barely wide enough to support him, lifted from the ground before him. It expanded forward, like tape being unrolled, creating a path for him to careen along. Vileplume whipped a vine out at Graveler and missed as he was raised into the air by the track. Through the air, Graveler sped towards Vileplume in a rounded arc. The leaf swarm turned sharply, giving chase up towards Graveler. Their speed was almost matched, with the leaf swarm moving just a tad faster. Vine whipped at Graveler, slicing his track behind him. However, when the broken pieces fell they would immediately be caught by a shimmering, brown veil and fly forward to rejoin the front of the track. The spectacle captured the attention of everyone. Even Erika was looking upwards, although she still kept her face of stone. Vileplume's beady red eyes were as wide as they could be as he continued to desperately whip at the track only for it to rapidly rebuild itself. He let out a frustrated cry and whipped directly at Graveler.
"Dodge!" Green cried.
Immediately, Graveler hopped and sailed over the attack. Segments of the track snapped off and flew forward to catch him. He turned to the in the air, arched around and shot straight towards Vileplume. Vileplume scurried to the side but with each panicked, waddled step Graveler turned again and again ever so slightly so he was always pointing directly at Vileplume. Noticing this, Vileplume stopped and began flapping his flower. The large red petals began glowing green.
"Pluuuuuume!" He channelled as Graveler barrelled towards him.
"Shit," Green muttered to herself, "Stop! Make a pit!" Green yelled.
Graveler screeched a halt. He uncurled and grasped the edges of the track with all four hands in an attempt to stop his momentum. A piece of the track ahead snapped upright and Graveler hit it, bringing him to a sudden stop. Without any delay, Graveler was standing on the track, all fours hands blazing with light-brown flames. The earth beneath Vileplume rumbled, cracked and then dropped out from beneath him in a large square. He fell, the glowing of his flower ceased and his stubby purple limbs flailing.
"Behind you!" Green said.
Graveler didn't take the time to turn around. Instead, he dropped the track out from beneath him and fell back to the ground. The leaf swarm shot over him, slicing through the air where he would have been otherwise. A loud thud echoed and the leaves lost their green glow. They scattered into a cloud of green as the air caught them. While they rained down around him, Graveler got to his feet, slightly dazed by the fall. A vine whipped up out of the pit and embedded itself in the ground.
"Launch him! Quick!" Green said.
Graveler's flat, stone foot burst into light-brown flames. He stomped the ground and a thunderous rumble spit the earth before him. The pit refilled, the bottom shot back up and levelled the surface of the arena once again. The sudden movement sent Vileplume soaring into the air and flailing desperately. His flower flapped, his arms waggled and spores spewed from his flower's bulb. Graveler followed up on the attack immediately. He curled up and ignited his whole body in dark-brown flames. A large slab of earth beneath him shot up like a springboard, catapulting him. He shot towards Vileplume through the air like a blazing, brown comet and smashed right into his pudgy, purple body. A ring of pulsing dark-brown energy erupted on impact and Vileplume was shot like a bullet up into the corner of the ceiling of the light barrier. While the remnants of Graveler's track broke apart and flew to catch him, nothing came for Vileplume. He hit the ground hard, bounced a good few feet back up and slammed down again. He lay still, his flower drooped in defeat. The air horn blared.
"Vileplume is unable to battle, Round three goes to the challenger," An older girl announced.
Erika returned Vileplume without so much as a frown and reached into her sleeve for her last Pokémon. Graveler rolled back down along his track, rejoined the ground, skidded to a halt and uncurled before Green.
"Grav!" He said triumphantly.
"Great job buddy!" Green almost squealed with delight, "nice rock control."
She reached for his pokéball.
"Take a rest now okay? We gotta test everyone's abilities."
Graveler frowned and looked back at Erika. She released her last pokémon and Graveler practically shrunk back into a boulder with the recoil he displayed. An enormous Tangrowth, who stood at what seemed like twice the height of person materialised into the arena. A huge, bipedal mass of tangled blue tentacle-like vines with long blue arms of twisted vines and a shrouded face with large white eyes. Tangrowth was a sight to behold. Green found herself gawking as she returned Graveler.
"Fuck…" She whispered.
The sight of him grounded her back to reality. Any fantasy of beating Erika the first time floating around in her mind was swept to the side and replaced by frantic grasping for some kind of strategy. She unclipped Primeape's ball and held it out before her.
"Fire… Fuck we have to rely on fire."
She grimaced and released Primeape just beyond the barrier. He appeared facing Tangrowth and immediately flew into an ecstatic frenzy.
"PRIIIIIME!" He bellowed as he charged towards his enemy.
"Primeape! Wait!" Green shouted as she ran up to the barrier.
Primeape's pointed ears twitched and he stopped.
"Prime…" He grumbled and trudged back over to her.
"Thank you," Green breathed a sigh of relief, "Now, you're gonna have to use your fire punch to win, but. You only get one shot. You know what'll happen once you activate it."
Primeape looked down at his hands.
"Primeape…" He muttered.
"I know, if it starts to spread I'll bring you right back in okay?" Green said.
Primeape huffed and beat his fist against his chest.
"Ape!"
Green giggled.
"Alright, go get 'em."
Primeape charged out onto the field, howling wildly as he spat orange sparks from his jabbing fists. Green thought it best to not tell him it was just practice, she couldn't bring herself to kill his spirit. Instead, she turned her attention to Elekid. He was perhaps even more hyped up than Primeape was. He hopped from foot to foot, ears sparking and a permanent, gleeful grin on his face.
"Watch closely, okay?" Green laughed.
"Kid!" Elekid beamed up at her.
Green giggled again and took a brief look at Tangrowth again. He was watching her, scanning her up and down with his large round eyes buried beneath his tangle of blue vines. Without a visible mouth, it was hard to get a read on his emotion. Green couldn't tell if she was seeing intrigue or hunger. She crossed her arms and waited for the round to start. Her face hardened with concentration.
"Are both Pokémon ready?" An older girl asked.
Primeape threw back his body and let out a deafening howl. Tangrowth let out a deep, soft chuckle.
"Tangrowth," He murmured.
"Are both trainers ready?"
Green and Erika gave their confirmations.
"Round four, begin."
Green went to shout a command was but drowned out by the deafening cries of both Pokémon. Tangrowth bellowed as his mass of blue vines shimmered green and snapped to attention. Primeape howled as he ignited his body in orange flames. He charged and sprinted towards Tangrowth. Tangrowth's blue vines erupted into a tall, towering mass above him. His long, twisted arms stretched and fanned out, melting into the huge tidal wave of blue vines. It surged forward and came crashing down towards Primeape. Primeape let out an ear-splitting roar that thundered above Tangrowth's cries. His fists burst into red flames.
"No! It's too early!" Green tried to call out to him but it was useless.
She couldn't even hear her own voice.
Primeape lunged forward and slammed his blazing fist into the wall of vines as it came crashing down. Flames, real hot flames erupted out around him. Primeape crashed through the vines, sending charred chunks flying out in all directions. The flames leapt up the wall as it came crashing down behind him, becoming a blanket rather than a wall. The entire arena was covered in a layer of blue vines. Tangrowth was now considerably smaller, about the same height as Erika who herself was a few inches shorter than Green. His eyes still remained the same size, although now they were wide with fear as Primeape rushed him. The flames raced towards Primeape from behind as they engulfed the arena. Through the flames, Green watched as Primeape charged forward and smashed a red flaming fist into Tangrowth's face. He didn't even the slightest move to stop it, the fear had him paralysed. Flames engulfed Tangrowth's head and Primeape's arms too. Erika immediately returned Tangrowth and raised her arms above her head in a cross. The siren blared, this time by an older girl rather than Mavis. Before Green could even process what just happened, Erika was coming back towards her around the arena past the rotting stands.
"Leader Erika forfeits, Challenger Green wins."
Green blinked and scrambled to return Primeape as he tried to beat out the flames leaping up his arms. While Elekid cheered and jumped about, Green could only stare at Erika. She felt no rush, no excitement, no joy. Instead, anger began to bubble within. She stepped to move in front of Erika as she passed by but an older girl caught her arm and spun her around. She shoved a badge into Green's hands.
"Here, congratulations you've earned your Rainbow Badge," She said through a stiff jaw.
"Bullshit, she lost on purpose!" Green shouted.
The older girl tightened her grip.
"You have earned your Rainbow Badge, now get out." She released Green's arm and marched out with Erika.
The other older girl followed, dragging a saddened looking Mavis with her. Green stood by herself, frozen by overwhelming confusion and rage. She returned Elekid and marched towards the door.
"Screw that."