Ember took a soothing breath in an effort to clear her mind before the battle began. As eager as she was to test her mettle against Marcus' Lopunny, it was crucial that she put herself in the proper mindset. Although she tried to hide it, she could feel her frustration from earlier in the day still weighing on her, and she suspected that this mood would not improve while facing Laura.
The Lopunny was bouncing from leg to leg again, and doing some practice jabs at the air while she awaited her trainer's command. Her movements were so graceful and she held herself with such confidence that Ember felt frustration gnawing at her gut in spite of her conscious efforts to remain calm and focused.
No, her mood was definitely not going to improve. Now that she was standing across from Laura, and not just observing from the sidelines, she could practically feel everyone's eyes upon the two of them, and knew they were silently comparing her to the Lopunny. Laura was taller, almost the same height as a Charmeleon, with a sleek, enviable body figure that made Ember look young and child-like in comparison. The Charmander's cheeks still had a cute, slightly pudgy look to them, and the Lopunny looked graceful and beautiful. It wasn't even fair; Ember was definitely older than Laura, but she just knew everyone was thinking of her as a cute kit.
Ember clenched her jaw, her blue eyes narrowing at the opponent, and her tail flame flared up, fueled by the surge of aggression she felt towards Laura. In the very back of her mind, she knew her contempt was unfounded, as this was the first time they had even met, but she didn't even care. Laura may have embraced her evolution with grace and confidence, but Ember was fine the way she was...wasn't she?
The Charmander growled quietly, shaking her head in an effort to force those thoughts aside. Laura blinked, her brown eyes showing a hint of concern for the Charmander, and Ember took another soothing breath, reminding herself that she wanted to enjoy battling a strong opponent. There was nothing greater at stake than that, and no need to avenge lost pride.
"Be careful, Laura," Marcus warned from the sidelines. "Ember is dangerous to approach carelessly, so don't drop your guard."
"I'll leave this fight to you, Ember," Adrian told the Charmander, taking a pace backwards, as if to further isolate himself from the battlefield.
Marcus looked at his brother strangely. "You're not going to command her in battle?"
"Ember's battle style does not particularly benefit from my guidance," Adrian explained with a small smile. "I still oversee the situation as needed, but to constantly call out commands and advice is more often unwelcome than it is useful."
Marcus shrugged, still looking skeptical, but soon after, his face broke into a broad smile, his boyish enthusiasm returning. This could prove to be a true test of his ability as a trainer, to guide his Pokemon in battle against another trained Pokemon that could fight independently of her trainer.
"Ready, Laura? Use Quick Attack to get close, then strike with Return!" Marcus shouted. The Lopunny dashed towards Ember, darting from side to side so rapidly that, to the untrained eye, she appeared to be teleporting. A tiny smirk flashed across the fire lizard's muzzle, and she eagerly flexed her claws.
Once Laura was close enough, she strafed to Ember's left, and lunged at her, throwing her entire body into the attack. Purple flames erupted from Ember's left paw, and she slashed her claws in an upwards, diagonal stroke. Laura recoiled at the last moment, a look of astonishment passing over her face, but Ember wasn't finished. She stepped towards Laura swiftly, and jabbed her right paw into the bunny Pokemon's gut. The blow was enough to cause pain, but her stomach muscles were too firm for a single jab to draw blood.
"Ack! How did you hit me?" Laura cried, backpedaling hastily to get out of range, and chancing a glance downwards to confirm the lack of an open wound. "Are your reflexes just that fast?" she wondered, looking up at Ember again with a bewildered look in her eyes.
Ember snorted. She wasn't trying to sound arrogant, it just sort of came out that way. "I can follow your movements," she answered bluntly.
"Even when I'm using Quick Attack?" Laura pressed incredulously. Without waiting for a response, she kicked off the ground like a marathon runner at the sound of the gun, darting around to Ember's right side. One of her large ears drew back like a fist and lashed out at the Charmander. Without missing a beat, Ember pivoted out of the way and raked her claws across the Lopunny's ear. A shallow gash appeared along the cream colored fur, and Laura let out a yelp of surprise and pain, backpedaling with even greater urgency than before.
"Yes," Ember confirmed, smirking. It was actually a little funny to her how often she faced opponents that relied on raw speed or confusing movements when trying to get close to her, only for their faces to change into expressions of disbelief and shock when they realized the Charmander had never lost track of them in the first place. Her eye was not infallible, but it was more difficult to disorient her with speed than her opponents expected.
"And you're ambidextrous," Laura commented, more to herself than to Ember, as she examined the scratch along her ear. When she was refocused on Ember, there was a respectful wariness in her eyes. It seemed that the Lopunny's confidence was not absolute. She was strong, and she was fast, but Ember posed a different sort of hurdle to be overcome.
The expression filled Ember with a surge of satisfaction. Many of her past sparring opponents underestimated her initially because of her species. A Charmander always seemed cute and adorable, but not much of a threat on its own. In that vein, she could definitely relate to Avis' earlier comments about how her appearance caused others to underestimate her. There was something immensely satisfying about an opponent that was able to see past her appearance to acknowledge her true strength and skill, regardless of the fact she hadn't evolved. Being an evolved Pokemon didn't automatically ensure a win, and Ember didn't need to evolve to be considered strong.
"I can only wonder what untold skill you must have to justify a lifelong handicap..."
Ember's entire body tensed, as her mother's voice echoed in her mind. She clenched her jaw, and her tail flame flared up, burning more intensely in reaction to her barely controlled ire. So many other Pokemon she knew treated evolution as something positive, a milestone in their development as an individual, or as proof of their progress and potential. Even Avis had said that staying at an earlier stage of evolution required one to restrict their natural growth and risk becoming stagnant.
"How dare you squander your potential..."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Ember snarled, speaking to the echo in her mind, and she shook her head fiercely in an effort to refocus on the battle at hand. Judging by Laura's alarmed expression, her outburst had been spoken aloud, but Ember didn't care.
She didn't give a damn what Inferna thought about her. She would grow stronger on her own terms, and one day, she would prove that she didn't need to follow her mother's example to surpass her. She didn't need to evolve, or viciously dismantle her foes to be respected for her strength.
"Low simmer, Ember," Adrian called out gently. Ember nodded impatiently, and took a deep breath, letting the brisk Sinnoh air fill her lungs, and exhaling just as deeply. Marcus cocked his head in confusion, but neither Adrian, nor Ember's behavior, offered any explanation. That was because the phrase wasn't a battle command - it was a phrase to signal her that she was losing control of her emotions. Adrian rarely bothered to use it during March, because her temper was so explosive during those weeks that she almost never telegraphed her mood shifts. During the rest of the year, the gentle reminder was more helpful.
This was supposed to be a casual battle, with nothing significant at stake. She needed to do her best to stay calm and remember to treat it as such.
"Laura, keep up an offense," Marcus suggested, and the Lopunny quickly took a battle stance, holding her paws up in front of her face almost like a boxer facing off with a rival in the ring. "Use Dizzy Punch!"
The Lopunny hopped forward with impressive agility, each of her fists glowing white, and Ember readied her own paws, her eyes watching the bunny's every movement. Laura lashed out with one of her fists, and Ember swatted her arm aside. Without missing a beat, Laura lashed out with her second fist, only to be countered in a similar manner. Laura persisted, each of the punches following some unknown rhythm, the tempo increasing or decreasing seemingly at random, forcing Ember to time her blocks and parries accordingly. She had no problem following the rapid flurry of punches and jabs, but she knew even the slightest mistiming on her part would result in-
BAM.
Stars exploded in front of Ember's vision and she toppled backwards onto the grass, her muzzle stinging from where Laura had struck her. In the back of her mind, she was scolding herself for being so short-sighted. She had been so focused on defending against Laura's fists, she had temporarily forgotten that the ears were similarly effective weapons at close range, and she lacked a third limb to adequately defend against that.
"You okay, Ember?" Adrian asked, his voice carrying a sympathetic wince to it. Ember growled in reply, rolling over and pushing herself up slowly. Her body swayed briefly, and she flailed her arms to regain her balance. Spots flared in front of her vision, but she seemed fine, apart from the slight daze.
Ember shook her head to try and clear her head. At any rate, it seemed that Laura had found a weakness of hers to exploit. She only had two paws to attack or defend with, and although she was equally proficient with either, the Lopunny had more appendages to attack with, and taking a defensive stance against her was only going to result in Ember getting clobbered.
Marcus had suggested that Laura maintain a strong offense. In that case, it was sound advice that Ember could likewise make use of. Her momentary loss of balance had given her an idea. Ember allowed a small grin to manifest itself on her muzzle, and swayed her body deliberately to one side, and then back again. Normally, Ember preferred to keep the motions subtle, but she suspected that Laura would be more hesitant to attack if she thought Ember was still recovering her footing.
Energy began coursing through her body, and her grin widened. Her cerulean blue eyes gained a feral edge, and her pupils widened, the swaying motions becoming more fluid and nimble. Soon after, the flame on her tail shifted color, changing from a traditional mixture of orange and yellow to a draconic pale blue-white flame.
"Wait a minute..." Marcus murmured, and then realization struck like a bolt of lightning, and the youth's eyes widened in horror. "Laura, stop her!"
The Lopunny rushed at Ember, but it was already too late. A faint, fiery blue aura surrounded the Charmander's body, filling her with energy. With one swift motion, Ember readied her claws, blue flames erupting from each paw and engulfing them in an alluring aura. She dashed forward, meeting Laura head-on, and slashed at her, alternating her paws with each stroke. Laura raised her paws to repel the Charmander's blows, but found that Ember's claws cleaved effortlessly through her defense. Even the barrier of soft, thick fur around her wrists seemed utterly ineffective against the flaming claws that danced before her eyes.
Ember swatted Laura's arm to the side, and drove her remaining paw into the Lopunny's gut, then ducked under the Lopunny's leg when she instinctively lashed out with a kick. Ember's movements were nimble and well-practiced, and Laura's panic kept her from launching an effective counterattack, and Marcus was floundering in his attempt to guide her, shouting unhelpful warnings like 'to your left!' and 'no, behind you!', which only made Laura more disoriented.
Ember pivoted sharply, her tail sweeping behind Laura's legs and knocking them out from under her. The Lopunny let out a gasp as she toppled backwards, and Ember practically pounced the moment she landed. With a swift, decisive motion, Ember planted her foot onto Laura's chest, pinning her upper body to the ground with her weight. It was unlikely that Ember, with her smaller frame, would be able to maintain this position if Laura was hellbent on escaping, but the gesture seemed to be sufficient, because Laura immediately went limp and submissive, her eyes wide with stunned disbelief at how quickly the situation had been reversed.
"H-how did you even...?" she sputtered, and Ember grinned, flexing her claws.
"Dragon Dance," she answered. In truth, she rarely relied on the technique to win most of her battles. Sorin had taught her how to use the move several years ago, when she was still young, but made a point of warning her that it came with several risks. A younger, unevolved Pokemon like her would find the technique unexpectedly draining, but the Altaria reassured her that as she got older, or once she evolved, the toll it took on her body and energy would be dramatically reduced.
Ember couldn't recall whether Sorin had warned her from the beginning about the spike in aggressiveness, but she had figured that out for herself over the years. She didn't notice this side effect as much if she was already in an aggressive mindset, but when she was calm, the surge in aggression was particularly obvious. She was ludicrously dangerous when the effects were active, but at the same time...she privately enjoyed the feeling it gave her.
She felt energized and confident, as if there was nothing she couldn't accomplish. She moved swiftly and gracefully, and defeated most opponents with ease. Dragon Dance made her feel powerful, and even once its effects wore off, she felt happy and content, albeit very tired. But that was all the more reason for her not to overuse the technique - she didn't like feeling like she wasn't in control of herself. It was an emotional high that made her aggressive...and becoming addicted to such a feeling was a terrifying notion to consider.
A red beam of light touched Laura's body, and Ember stumbled forward as the Lopunny disappeared from under her, returning to the Pokeball in Marcus' hand. The youth seemed a bit disappointed in the outcome, but the expression did not last long.
"You've gotten so strong since I've last seen you," Marcus told the Charmander, and she snorted, expelling a wisp of smoke from her nostrils. She could still feel her body brimming with energy, intensifying her will to fight. The youth pulled another Pokeball from his pocket, and held it up for her to see. "Well, this is my last Pokemon...but I think he can take you."
With that enigmatic statement, Marcus lobbed the ball forward, and it burst open, and deposited a bipedal Pokemon directly in front of Ember. It stood just a little taller than her, and the first thing she saw was an orange body with a light-colored stomach, and the first thought that entered her mind was whether it was another Charmander, but the thought passed the moment she realized the Pokemon didn't have scales. She frowned and took a step backwards to get a better look at her new opponent.
The Pokemon had bright orange fur, with a pair of blue fins attached to its arms. Its face and belly had light, cream colored fur, but the most interesting feature was the strange, yellow ring adorning its neck, similar to the inflatable tubes used by human children learning how to swim. Also, it had two tails. Or possibly one tail split at the end; Ember could definitely see two tail-like appendages flicking behind the opposing Pokemon, but she didn't have the best vantage point to confirm, and she considered it incredibly rude to gawk at someone else's tail (or tails), especially if she had just met them.
That, and Marcus had used a male pronoun to refer to his Pokemon. Even if he hadn't, it had taken Ember no time at all to label the biped as male, although figuring out exactly what species it was posed more of a challenge.
"You caught a Buizel?" Adrian wondered, and the Charmander snorted in amusement. Another mystery solved within seconds, courtesy of Adrian's Pokedex, no doubt. She could almost picture her trainer nodding in approval. "Solid Pokemon, and he seems pretty confident."
That much was true. The weasel Pokemon was observing her passively, but there was something in his gaze that told her not to underestimate him. His eyes shone with confidence and experience beyond what she might have expected from a recent addition to Marcus' team.
"Got him not that long ago," Marcus confirmed eagerly, almost reveling in his brother's praise. "He was a real tough one to capture. He wore down both my other Pokemon really good before we managed it. I thought for sure he'd be a handful to try to train, but he's been settling in nicely."
"Wow, that's a pretty flame," the Buizel commented, gesturing casually towards Ember's tail, which was still burning with the pale, blue-white flame. Ember resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She agreed with the sentiment that the pale blue flame was nice to look at, but it seemed like a really weird comment to open a conversation with.
"It's from Dragon Dance," she intoned, flexing her claws impatiently. She still felt energy flowing through her body, but there was no telling how much longer it would last. Once her energy levels crashed, she wasn't going to be able to continue fighting.
"You can use Dragon Dance?" the male asked, his eyes lighting up with interest, and he grinned. "So, Marcus is pitting me against a strong, cute dragoness? I'm probably going to get my tails kicked."
Ember felt her cheeks growing hot at the Buizel's words. There was something about his casual, playful tone that just made her feel self-conscious, but at the same time, his words were flattering, rather than critical or smug, so it made her feel warm and fuzzy as opposed to tense or angry.
"Don't think I'm going to go easy on you, though," the Buizel continued with a smile, and he extended a paw towards her. "I'm Raze, by the way. What's your name?"
Ember eyed his paw skeptically, but considered the request for her name overall harmless. "Ember," she answered, waving her paw impatiently to reject the physical gesture. She didn't entirely trust herself not to dig her claws into his paw when she was still feeling so scrappy.
"Cute name, it suits you," Raze chuckled, unfazed by his paw shake being rejected. "I'm ready whenever you are," he added, assuming a ready stance. Normally, Ember might have questioned the Buizel's decision not to wait for his trainer's signal, but right now, it just didn't matter to her. She fought best without Adrian's guidance, and if Raze was as recent an addition as Marcus suggested, the two probably weren't close enough for Raze to trust Marcus' judgment unconditionally.
"Perfect," Ember murmured, flexing her claws enthusiastically. She lunged towards Raze, but the Buizel launched a powerful jet of water from his mouth, intercepting her charge with enough force to take her off her feet. She growled and clambered back to her feet, pausing only to verify that her tail flame was still blazing brightly. Getting smacked around with water jets was nothing new to Ember - she experienced that routinely whenever she sparred with Aureia, but that didn't make it any more pleasant to experience.
The grass underfoot was now glistening with water, and Ember nearly slipped before regaining her traction. The claws of her feet were not long enough to offer much of a grip on slippery surfaces, but that was the least of her worries. If anything, she found this turn of events all the more exhilarating, knowing that she couldn't just keep using the same basic strategy on all her opponents. Dragon Dance offered a considerable increase in speed, but she was not so fast as to be invincible. A lesson to keep in mind.
Ember launched a fireball from her mouth, forcing Raze to pivot out of the way. She launched a second fireball, and then a third, each projectile aimed slightly more to the right than the previous one. Raze strafed to the right, but then ducked underneath the third fireball. Ember started forward, but her foot slipped again on the grass, and she flailed her arms in a desperate attempt to keep her balance. Although successful, the delay prevented her from capitalizing on the opening she had created.
Purple flames erupted from her claws, and she closed the remaining distance between herself and Raze. The Buizel spun on his heel, his tails swinging around to meet her attack. Twin spirals of water coursed around the Buizel's tails, bombarding the unsuspecting Charmander with a vicious wave of water that swept her completely off her feet and deposited her on the grass more than twenty feet away.
Ember coughed and retched violently, rolling over onto her stomach and gasping for breath. She stabbed her claws into the softened ground, clenching her teeth as a sudden surge of rage washed over her. She hadn't even seen the Buizel's attack coming, and she was furious with herself for being so naive. The reason Raze had ducked her third fireball was so that she would think he was vulnerable and come in close, while simultaneously hiding the fact his tails had started glowing in preparation of Aqua Tail.
What pissed her off so much about this situation was that this wasn't even the first time she had seen such a tactic! Aureia utilized Aqua Tail similarly when unable to get close to a water source, but a Vaporeon's tail was usually so large that it was nearly impossible not to notice the move being telegraphed.
Ember snarled, but as she started to push herself up, an overwhelming sense of fatigue overtook her body, and she dropped pathetically back onto the grass with a light splashing sound. Even the aggressive anger was being sapped from her body, but she couldn't even muster up the strength to confirm the status of her tail flame.
She tensed a little bit at the sound of splashing footsteps approaching, but her mind vaguely registered that they were approaching from behind, so they didn't belong to Raze, and the steps were too light to be Adrian's, either.
"I know, I know, your Dragon Dance wore off and you need a pillow higher than ground level," Aureia deadpanned, her steps coming to a halt beside Ember. "Let's get this over with."
In spite of the Vaporeon's tone suggesting this was a major liability, Ember doubted that Adrian had asked her to come over, meaning that she had done so of her own volition. Smiling gratefully, Ember pushed herself up the best she could, and Aureia leaned closer, helping to nudge Ember into a mostly upright position, and then moving over so that the Charmander could lean against her for support.
"Thanks," Ember mumbled, relaxing against the Vaporeon's shoulder. Sleep arrived to claim her conscious mind shortly afterwards, and she didn't even feel the sensation of being withdrawn into her Pokeball.
Adrian pocketed Ember's Pokeball, and smiled across the clearing at Marcus.
"All right, looks like we're both down to our last Pokemon...and they're both Water-types," Adrian said, rubbing the back of his neck, and looking over at Aureia, even as the Vaporeon walked back over to where he was standing. "Think you can wrap this one up?" he asked her.
"I'd certainly hope so," Aureia answered blandly. "I'm immune to water attacks, can take physical hits perfectly fine, and he's male, so I could use Attract...because for some baffling reason, people think my Attract is amazing."
"We normally call that 'a Vaporeon's natural beauty', and you can't turn that off," Raze commented, offering Aureia a playful wink. Blaze bristled at the comment and inched closer to Aureia, which did not go unnoticed. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you defensive," Raze added quickly, flashing the Eevee an apologetic smile. "I'm just teasing, I'm not actually trying to make a move on your mate."
"He's not my..." Aureia began, but trailed off and fixed the Eevee with the most deadpan look imaginable. "Blaze, are you growling at him?"
Raze blinked, and then burst out laughing. Like with Ember, there was nothing particularly condescending about his tone, but the sound of amusement seemed to be provoking Blaze, because his fur started to resemble Jolteon quills.
"Grooming you was clearly a huge waste of my time," Aureia noted dryly. "What's up with you? He's annoying me, too, but-"
"Guys like him just piss me off..." Blaze growled, his eyes narrowing at Raze with such intensity that the Buizel started to look unnerved.
"...okay, you're taking this way too seriously," Raze protested. "Yeah, I can be a bit of a flirt, but I'm just being playful. There's not a GOAL behind it, I'm too laidback to be seriously hitting on every female that crosses my path."
"That's the problem," Blaze growled, almost too quietly to even be heard. "You don't take it seriously. You're charming and good with words, but you don't care if you upset anyone because you're not taking it seriously. You're just playing around and joking, and if someone gets mad, it's their own fault for taking it too seriously."
"...okay, I'm sorry for upsetting you," Raze said, raising his paws, clearly making an effort to be diplomatic about the situation.
"You don't mean it, though," Blaze murmured. "You're only apologizing because it makes you look good to apologize."
Raze stared at Blaze for a full ten seconds of absolute silence, long enough for Adrian and Marcus to exchange bewildered looks with one another, as their Pokemon seemed to be quibbling in front of their eyes with no apparent context for it.
"Okay...I get the feeling this isn't really about me complimenting my female opponents," Raze stated finally. "Whatever, I tried to be respectful and mature about this, but that just wasn't good enough for you. Would you feel better if I told her she's NOT pretty?"
Aureia interrupted the argument by emitting a heavy sigh, drawing it out far longer than she ever might have under normal circumstances. It was remarkably effective, as Raze backed away, folding his arms across his chest, and Blaze flinched, looking at the grass guiltily.
"What's going on? Is everything okay?" Adrian wondered, looking at Aureia for explanation. The Vaporeon resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She should have realized that her noticeably prolonged sigh would attract questions from her trainer. Still worth it, seeing as it called a halt to the pointlessly stupid argument she was witnessing.
"You are enviably better off not knowing the details," she answered flatly. Adrian nodded slowly.
"That bad, huh?" he murmured and then raised an eyebrow expectantly. He didn't even need to speak for Aureia to recognize what the question was. Without a word of her own, she shook her head, and the human shrugged. "Okay, I understand."
"What's up?" Marcus wondered, his eyes darting from his brother to the other Pokemon, and back again. "Are we done battling or something?"
"Probably for the best to conclude now," Adrian agreed. "I think we got enough out of our match as it is. Today hasn't been the best day for some of us, but you've definitely been putting a solid team together. We should probably stop in on a Pokemon Center, and get the others patched up. Then we can figure out plans for the rest of the day."
"Sounds good!" Marcus said, extracting Raze's Pokeball from his pocket and recalling the Buizel. "My current plan was to check out Hearthome for a while...but Solaceon has the closer Pokemon Center..."
"It's probably less traffic to use Solaceon Town's Pokemon Center," Adrian mused. He glanced down at Aureia and Blaze. "You two are probably okay, but I was thinking that maybe I should get you registered, little guy. Temporarily, at least. That way, you won't be able to be captured by other trainers, and the traveling will be easier."
Blaze fidgeted nervously, and looked up at Aureia uncertainly. She shrugged indifferently, before it clicked that this was possibly the most unhelpful response she could have given. Blaze wasn't asking whether it was 'okay' to do something, but rather if it was 'advisable' to do something.
"You may as well," she said blandly. Blaze frowned a little bit, and Aureia sighed quietly, realizing she had to give him more of a nudge than that. "So let's go take care of that now, but afterwards, I need to have a word with you."
"H-huh? About what?" Blaze asked, his eyes widening apprehensively.
"Anything. Everything. I'll let you know when I have my thoughts organized," Aureia told him dully. Blaze still seemed a little worried, but soon realized he wasn't going to get a more detailed answer at this time. Aureia reluctantly trudged after Adrian and Marcus. Ideally, she would have liked to stay behind and spend some time swimming or even just sunbathing in the wet grass, but she doubted Blaze would go along with the two trainers if Aureia was absent.
No matter. She had a lot to think about in the meantime, though. Almost nothing this morning had played out how she expected, whether it be Avis evolving, or Blaze's peculiar reaction to several different things. That was why it was so important for her to gather her thoughts before sitting down and talking to him. Loathe as she was to initiate personal conversations, she was reaching a point where she felt this was almost unavoidable with Blaze, because some of his behavior made no sense without that background context.
And even then, it probably made no sense, because Blaze was weird in a somewhat endearing way.
