Chapter 3:
Tag Team Battle! Hue and Aura VS Victor and Ethel!
Hue's Current Team:
Douglas(Squirtle): Tackle, Water Gun, Withdraw, Bubble
Ace(Pidgey): Sand Attack, Gust, Quick Attack, Whirlwind
"The match between Hue and Aura, and Victor and Ethel will now start!" The referee trainer stated as Hue and Aura took their place on the far side of the outdoor battlefield.
"This will be a 2 on 2 battle. Each participating trainer will use one pokemon each. The battle is over when both of one side's pokemon are unable to battle."
"Go! Ace!" Hue called as he threw his pokeball.
"Pidgey!" Ace called as she flew about.
"I was wondering what that second pokemon of yours was…" Aura grinned. "I should have known not to get my hopes up."
She could tease all she wanted, but Hue knew that Ace was strong. Especially for a Pidgey.
Aura threw her own pokeball. "Koko, join the party!"
"Kakuna." The Kakuna said.
Hue noticed that this was not the pokemon residing in the special pokeball that Aura had kept on her this whole time...
The crowd of trainers that were watching began to laugh.
"She's trying to set you up for a loss dude!" One of them called to Hue.
What?
Hue lifted his pokedex up to scan the Kakuna.
"[Kakuna]" Dean said. "The [Cocoon] Pokemon."
"Well, yeah, I can figure out that much." Hue mumbled. "What else?"
"Kakuna, a transitional stage between [Weedle] and [Beedrill]. Kakunas remain inactive until they evolve into deadly Beedrill and hatch."
Hue's eye began to twitch.
"In...active…?"
Aura put her fist on her head and stuck her tongue out. "Sorry partner, but this is the only way Koko will ever get the experience she needs!"
"I see." Ethel said, her arms crossed, taking note of the pokemon on the field. "Butterfree, your services, please." She said calmly and nearly emotionlessly as she sent out a Butterfree.
"Freeeee." The Butterfly chimed.
"Huh." Hue moved his pokedex over to Ethel's Butterfree.
"[Butterfree], the [Butterfly] Pokemon. One week after Caterpie evolves into Metapod, it again evolves into Butterfree."
"How does that help me at all?" Hue shouted at his pokedex as Aura gave a nervous laugh.
"Hey." Victor said. "Swanson."
The way he talked...Hue felt like if he refused anything Victor said, he'd be eating a knuckle sandwich.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Why're you using that bird? I was told you had a Squirtle. Use that instead."
"Well, I would but I've already sent out Ace." Hue reasoned. "So she's the one I'm going with for this battle."
"That's a good call." Aura told Hue in a tone quiet enough that Victor or Ethel wouldn't hear.
"Even without the type advantage, that is a good call. There is something about Butterfree that I learned in my previous battle with Ethel. The scales on its wings allow it to shed water."
"In other words?" Hue asked.
"Douglas wouldn't have been able to make full use of his Water type attacks."
There was no way for Victor to know that though, so why did he want Hue to use-
"Squirtle, get in there!" Victor called as he sent out a Squirtle.
"Squirtle!" It said.
Oh you had to be kidding.
Hue didn't want to be grouped together with this assmunch. Why did Victor have to go and choose Squirtle from Professor Oak?
"Hue and Aura are using Pidgey and Kakuna." The ref said. "Victor and Ethel are using Squirtle and Butterfree. Once both pokemon on one side are unable to continue, the match will be over."
"Just one second." Victor said. "Hue, you're the one I'm after." He pointed at Hue. "Let's place 1000 pokeyen down as a bet. Most of mine came from your pal Donovan anyway."
This guy had beaten Donovan? But...how?
"Fine." Hue said through gritted teeth.
He was not fond of this Victor character, and would not allow himself to lose.
"I would like our bet to remain as is for now." Ethel informed Hue. "Should my pokemon defeat yours or yours defeat mine, I will inform you as to what the bet was about."
"Hey white hair!" Aura said. "Tell the ref your bet. We don't want you changing it if things don't go your way."
"Hmph." Ethel humphed. "Very well. You there, come here and listen to this."
She whispered some stuff into the ref's ear.
Hue took advantage of the situation to talk to Aura.
"What's the deal with sending out and immobile pokemon?" He asked. "You aren't trying to make me lose are you?"
"I told you…" Aura rolled her eyes before. "We're partners now!" She winked with a smile. "Koko and I aren't scamming you or anything, trust us!"
After the way this girl's been acting, that seemed like an impossible task,
"Pidgey and Kakuna? Those two are doomed." A trainer in the crowd said.
"That Butterfree is going to annihilate them…"
"No one has a type advantage over that Squirtle either."
"Hang on, the blonde one's adjusting his glasses…"
"Allow me to make the first move, then." Hue said with a smile. "Ace, Gust attack on Butterfree!"
"Confusion." Ethel countered as her Butterfree's eyes shined blue and disrupted the entire tornado that Ace had created.
Well shit, that's a powerful pokemon...
"Squirtle, use Water Gun on the Pidgey! Knock that sorry bird out of the sky!" Victor called.
"Ace, dodge it!"
Squirtle shot beams of water at Ace who managed to dodge them by rolling in the air, until the fifth shot, which grazed by her wing, causing her to go off balance.
"Keep it up Ace." Hue called reassuringly, "You're doing great!"
Aura smiled. "Oh Koko...I think it's time we help Huey out."
"How can a Kakuna help?" one of the trainers in the crowd wondered.
"Kuna.." Koko agreed with Aura.
"Alright, Koko, use String Shot on Squirtle!"
"Confusion." Ethel sighed as her Butterfree broke Koko's string shot before it could get close to Victor's Squirtle.
Aura gave Hue a nod.
Hue understood what she meant.
Butterfree was a threat, but Victor and his Squirtle were unpredictable.
The unknown enemy is always more dangerous than the known one.
They needed to be taken out first.
Hue nodded back.
"Ace, use Sand-Attack on Squirtle!"
"Pid-gey!" Ace cawed as she shot sand straight at Squirtle.
"Confus-" Ethel began to sigh.
"Koko, String Shot now!" Aura yelled before Ethel had the opportunity to disrupt Hue's Sand-Attack as Koko shot and wrapped Butterfree's foot in silk, and brought the bug down to the ground.
"What?"
"Squirtle, use Water Gun to get Butterfree out of there!" Victor called.
Squirtle shot a Water Gun, but the water missed Koko and Butterfree thanks to the Sand-Attack. "Ace, let's use Gust on that Squirtle!"
"Pid-gey!" Ace's tornado was huge, and sent Victor's Squirtle flying back into a tree.
"Squirtle is unable to battle." The ref said. "Victor is out of the battle."
The crowd seemed impressed.
Victor however seemed incredibly irritated. He stomped the ground and left to retrieve his Squirtle.
"Butterfree, Confusion." Ethel said calmly.
"Oh no you don't!" Hue countered, rather excited. "Ace, break Butterfree's concentration with G-"
The Butterfree's eyes shone blue and Ace herself became suspended in the air.
"This bird is getting rather annoying." Ethel clicked her tongue.
"Ace!" Hue called. "Hang in there!"
Damn! He had thought she was going to use Confusion on the Kakuna, but no luck there apparently.
"It's futile." Ethel said calmly. "Once Butterfree is done with your Pidgey, disposing of the Kakuna will be nothing more than aftermath. For a beginner, you're smart, but you lack the ability to set up tricks beforehand…"
"Ngh…" Hue tried to rack his brain for any possible solutions. "Ace, get out of there if you can!"
"I told you." Ethel continued lecturing. "Ace can't do anything. You need to learn to go into battles like this with a plan in mind or-"
"Oh, but we've had a plan in mind from the start!" Aura said with a smile. "Right Koko?"
"Kakuna." Koko said in agreement.
"Let's show pretty miss Ethel why calculations aren't always a good way to win, and let's save Ace while doing it!"
"Kaku...naaaaa!" Koko called as she began to glow in a bright white light.
Hue wasn't sure, but it appeared as though she was changing shape.
"Huh?" A trainer in the crowd said.
"It's…"
"So that's why…"
"An evolution mid-battle? This is awesome!"
"Beedrill!" Koko buzzed as the light cleared and a Beedrill was still holding Butterfree by a string shot.
Hue held up his pokedex to the Beedrill.
"[Beedrill], The [Poison Bee] Pokemon. This Pokemon is an evolved form of [Weedle], following its [Kakuna] stage. Its sting is highly poisonous."
So this was what Aura was talking about earlier…
This was why she used Koko, and immobile pokemon, in the battle. She'd get the experience she needed to evolve into her final stage...
"Wha-? Nevermind! Butterfree, leave the Pidgey, use Confusion on the Beedrill!" Ethel said, clearly not having anticipated an evolution mid-battle.
Of course, who would?
Well…
Apparently Aura knew it was a possibility...
"Freeee!" Butterfree let Ace go, and Ace began to fall.
"Ace!" Hue called. "Ace, can you hear me? I need you to keep going! Aura needs our help now!"
"Pid-gey!" Ace called, as it charged into Butterfree faster than Hue could even blink.
"Amazing!" A trainer said. "That's Quick Attack!"
"Quick Attack huh…" Hue said. "Way to go Ace, now pull back!"
"Pull back? I don't think so!" Ethel said, semi-forcefully. "Butterfree, use Stun Spore!"
Ace fell to the ground.
"It's okay." Aura told Hue. "Ace is only suffering from paralysis. She can still fight if movement is restricted." Aura turned to Ethel.
"Finally stopped spamming Confusion, huh? Good. The same strategy was getting old."
"And you? first your Weedle evolves mid-battle against me, and now that same pokemon evolves mid-battle against me again?" Ethel asked, possibly legitimately curious about the circumstances.
"I never once thought you'd use the same trick twice. Of course we both know how it ended the first time."
Ethel had accomplished the impossible.
She'd riled Aura up to the point where Aura was visibly angry.
"Fury Attack!" Aura yelled.
Koko let out two jabs, the first one Butterfree managed to dodge, but the second one got Butterfree right in the chest.
"Freee…" Butterfree said as it hovered back from Koko.
"Drillll…" Koko buzzed.
"I believe it's time to end your fun." Ethel said, having showed little to no emotion the entire battle. "Butterfree...Psybeam."
"Freee!" Butterfree shot a giant psychic beam at Koko, which she took head on and fell to the ground.
"Koko!" Aura called.
"Koko is unable to battle." The ref said. "Aura is out of the battle."
"You can do it, Huey!" Aura gave him a thumbs up. "Show this chick not to mess with us!"
"Oh, I doubt that you're paralyzed bird can do anything right now." Ethel said. "Paralysis decreases speed drastically you see. Butterfree and I have already won this battle."
Hue remained silent.
Had he really lost again?
No..
Aura said that he could do it, and she didn't give meaningless support to anyone.
She certainly didn't when they first met…
That meant that there was a fundamental weakness somewhere in Ethel's strategy and assumptions.
"Butterfree…" Ethel began.
But what was that weakness or flaw?
"Use…"
Ah-ha!
"Conf-"
"Ace! Quick Attack now!" Hue yelled.
"Pid-gey!" Ace cawed as she shot past the Butterfree.
The crowd went silent.
Butterfree fell down to the ground.
"Butterfree is unable to battle! The winner is Pidgey! Which means the winning team of the match is Hue and Aura!" The ref announced.
"Great job, Koko!" Aura said as she embraced her Beedrill. " You're evolution saved our skin! I'm so proud of you!"
"Drill!" Koko buzzed cheerfully.
"Good job Butterfree." Ethel said with a small smile as she patted her Butterfree. "You fought hard and well."
"How the fuck could we lose?" Victor punched the tree that his Squirtle was resting under. "He must have cheated somehow! Yeah, that's it!"
"Hey." Hue called out to Victor as he held out his arm for Ace to perch on.
"I don't know who you are or what your beef with Donovan is, but a deal is a deal, pay up."
"Tch." Victor huffed as he handed Hue 1000 pokeyen. "Half of it is Donovan's anyways." He said before leaving.
"Aren't you going to heal your Squirtle in the pokemon center?" Hue asked.
Victor just waved goodbye.
What an ass-wipe.
"Remind me never to team up with that dense motherfucker again." Ethel said, still monotone. She smiled at her Butterfree.
"You were excellent today as always. I'll make sure you get plenty of rest."
Hue wondered how Ethel could be so stone cold in battle, and then instantly be friendly right when it's over...
"Oh yeah…" Hue said as he returned Ace, and Douglas let himself out to rest on Hue's head.
"Squirtle squirtle." He said as if to say "Don't mind me, just doing my thing."
"Ethel…" Hue held out a hand. "Great battle! We should have one again sometime. Only without outside help on either side!"
"I'd like that very much." Ethel said with a smile.
Yes! She smiled at me!
That has to be a good sign when she's the one smiling.
She looked over at the ref. "Well? Tell him the bet!"
"Right…" The ref walked up to Hue, and then pulled Hue into the bushes.
"Hue?" Aura asked.
"Ugh." Ethel shook her head. "He's fine. The ref is probably a little jealous."
"Dude, how did you do it?" The ref asked. "How did you get these two gorgeous girls to be so friendly with you? And on top of that, one of them is Ethel Ross!"
"Uhh…." Hue said nervously. He honestly wasn't sure. "So...the bet?"
"Oh right…" The ref said. "Well...she owes you a favor."
That's it?
That didn't seem like something to be getting so worked up over.
"Dude, I'm not a criminal. It doesn't need to be so low key like this when you tell me…"
"No you don't understand… This is Ethel Ross we're talking about here! You could-"
"That's enough out of you." Ethel said as she pinched the ref's ear and tossed him like a rag doll.
Physically much stronger than she looks. Noted.
"A favor huh?" Hue asked. "Just out of curiosity, what would you have asked me to do as my favor to you?"
"Oh…" Ethel looked away, and began to stroke her long white ponytail. "I uh...I was juggling a few ideas around…" She glanced over at Aura.
"But it looks like someone beat me to the punch…" She mumbled.
"What was that?" Hue asked, unclear of what was just said.
"Nothing important." Ethel sighed. "You can use your pokedex to call me if you ever want to cash in my favor. As long as it's legal and moral, I don't mind doing it."
"Hue…" Aura called. "Come on, let's go check it out!"
"It looks like your partner is calling you." Ethel said with a smile. "I'll see you around Hue."
"Yeah. And we should battle when we next meet." Hue replied.
They shook hands and parted ways.
"Finally…" Aura said. "Come on partner, we ought to check it out while we're here!"
"Wait..you were serious?" Hue asked.
He had thought the entire time that Aura was just lying about traveling together in order to battle Ethel again...
"Of course I was…" Aura said, pausing. "Did you think I was joking?"
"But why did...Why choose to travel with me? You're stronger than I am!"
"Oh am I?" Aura said with a mischievous smile. "Then why question my decisions?"
"Aura…"
Hue knew there was some important reason Aura's attitude had changed so much.
"Okay, you want to know the real reason I've decided that we're traveling together from now on? It's because of your play style."
"My play style? I don't get it."
"Yeah, join the club." Aura snickered. "To be perfectly honest, I've never met someone who seems so experienced yet so inept at the same time."
"Is this praise or pity?" Hue asked.
"A little bit of both!" Aura chimed happily.
"Squirtle." Douglas laughed nervously atop Hue's head.
"In any case." Aura continued. "It really just boils down to this: You might complain, but you're a go with the flow kind of person who enjoys the challenge of adapting to new situations. People like that are hard to come by these days. My battles involving you have been so much more fun than my battles with other people, and we've only experienced two battles together. You're fun to be around for me, so we're going to travel together…"
Hue knew this wasn't the whole story but...
She suddenly seemed very sad.
"Unless...you don't want to...that'd be okay too...I can continue looking for someone else-"
"Whoa whoa whoa, no need for the water works!" Hue said, gesturing rapidly. "I'm happy to have you along. I'm happy to have almost anyone along! I was just surprised you weren't going to leave me in an alley somewhere or something!"
"That would hardly be fun." Aura winked, making Hue almost instantly regret allowing her to invite herself on his journey.
That is not a reassuring response.
"Now come on. We should check it out!"
"Check what out?" Hue asked.
"The Gym dummy." Aura said. "We should go and get badges!"
Both their stomachs growled.
"Maybe tomorrow morning." Hue said with a smile. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Come on. Dinner will be on me tonight."
"O-on you?" Aura seemed nervous.
"What? If we're a team we'll be eating together, and camping together too if we ever need to set up camp in the wilderness."
"Y-yeah." Aura said with a smile.
The Pokemon Center bedrooms were unisex and could hold up to four different trainers to a room. Hue and Aura took the one on the far end of the hallway.
"Hey…" Hue said as Aura plopped herself on the bunk below the one Hue had climbed up on.
"What is it now?" She asked. "I'm sleepy..."
"When you came by the pokemon center earlier today. You had three pokemon on you. I know one of them is Koko and one of them is Fushi, your Bulbasaur...what's your last pokemon? The one in the special pokeball, I mean."
"A...special one…" Aura said. "It's a pokemon that my brother gave to me when I was very young, and that I brought with me to Pallet Town when I went to get Fushi from Professor Oak."
Hue could tell that this wasn't something Aura wanted to talk about.
Or at the very least, something she didn't think he was ready to hear.
"Well, I'm sure I'll see the little guy or girl when the time is right." Hue said.
"Yeah." Aura yawned. "What about you? Are those the only two pokemon on you?"
"Yeah." Hue replied.
"Plan to catch any more?"
"Well, yes, but I'm not quite sure what pokemon I want to catch…What about you?"
"I have a list of pokemon I want to catch in each region." Aura said. "You might say that I, *yawn*, that I prioritize it over even the Pokemon League."
"You be sure to let me know if we ever come across a pokemon on your list then." Hue said. "I'll help you catch it."
"And you be sure to let me know if we ever come across anything that piques your interest. I'm the one following you around after all."
"But aren't you the one who suggested going to the Gym tomorrow?"
"Yeah, but you'd have gone there any-*yawwwn* anyway."
"Alright then. I guess I'll-"
Hue stopped.
Aura had fallen asleep.
"Well then." Hue said as he lay back on his own bunk.
"Goodnight, partner."