8: The Motives That Bind
Jonas, Reina, Daisy, and Nathan walk into the campsite with tempered expectations. 'So this is the first stop, then?" Daisy asks to no one in particular.
"You made it this far at least last time, right?" Reina presses her buttons.
"Of course we made it past this point. I just don't remember stopping to rest." Daisy admits readily. "I made it to that damned Barrier and failed to get beyond it."
Kelsie steps over between them. "So what is the Barrier anyways?"
Daisy remembers the confrontation bitterly. "It's a horde of birds that attack any person or Pokémon that dares try to cross the line in the ground they made. Trubble wasn't able to hit flying targets so we never had a chance."
"By that time your group had fallen apart, right?" Nathan reluctantly probes for answers. "But since you have a full team this time, it'll be easy as hell."
"I've already devised a plan to get past something that simple." Mark opens up his laptop and sets it down on a picnic table in the small campsite. "If we use Gulag as a lightning rod and let the birds come near it, Flyby and Torbital can blast him and take them all down."
Nathan grins like a madman. "Ah, I see. That would be the old 247 emergency relocation strategy. My dad and Surge wiped out a whole nest of Vietmon in the war with that one."
"The what?" Luke answers the real questions.
"You know, back when America involved itself in that whole Kalos-Asia business back in the sixties? My dad's squad ended up in a whole network of foxholes. Before they knew it, gunfire and hyper beams were flying. Thanks to that Pikachu Surge had, they escaped with their lives and a purple heart to boot."
"I can't believe people go to war with their partners." Reina's wanton disgust nearly bothers Nathan again. "I mean, yes, I understand your father was sent there. It's the people in charge that bother me more than the ground units."
At that, Nathan agrees heartily. "It's FUBAR in those kinds of situations. This is easy compared to that. My dad will get the belt if I can't survive at least this much."
"Nathan, you ready to clear that pesky barrier singlehandedly?" Luke offers as he motions for Torbital to follow him. "According to Mark's assessment of the area, a second camp is half a mile further in. If we can take it before the day ends, we'll be set to finish this test a few days early."
"Damn right." Nathan summons Gulag and Flyby to his side and the two trainers leave the others behind.
Mark quickly gathers his laptop and sprints after them to observe their adventure while Jonas has Baron Ember to heat up a pack he uses to press against his ankle.
As the three young men reach the edge of the Barrier, Nathan coordinates the field effectively. "Gulag, hold the line and press it until the enemy reveals itself. Flyby, you'll stay a full meter behind with your entire arsenal of power clocked. Torbital, do the same on the ground. We have to gauge the enemy's strength before we make a move."
Gulag levitates above the ground and slowly floats into range. The trees begin to rustle and the further Gulag goes, the stronger it becomes. As the line is finally crossed, hordes of Spearow, Pidove, and Starly begin to swarm in the sky.
Nathan grabs a bunch of Poké Change and fills them into a sock while Luke cracks his knuckles and stands beside Nathan and Torbital. "If this goes to shit, we'll have to extract our boys manually. Stay out of range of the soap on the rope, okay?"
"Just don't drop it when we're retreating. You'll never get that money back." Luke braces himself as he ties strong fabric to his knuckles to protect them. Gulag moves one inch too far and the bird hordes swoop in.
Nathan watches and notes the way they strike down a line toward Gulag. "Three lines, coordinating at Gulag's mass. Flyby, swoop in once they hit their target."
Flyby shouts in agreement in the sky while he prepares to do a fly by.
Nobody notices the sneaking shadow walking along the ground behind them.
As the first beaks begin to strike at Gulag, Luke screams for Torbital. "Three, my man!"
"Torb, Tor!" The presumed 'On it boss' culminates in a dazzling array of lights sparking in every direction as a mass of volts explodes like a cannon into the air. Birds struggle to redirect midair as they are shocked out of commission from the massive strike.
As the arc of lightning catches from one bird to the next due to their close proximity, the birds in the center group up and cease their descent. Just then Flyby drops down among them and unleashes its entire charge all at once. The skies turn dark as the sun's light is obscured and overpowered in the air with water vapor singed out of the sky and culminating in the darkening clouds that tower above them.
The combined might of Torbital and Flyby flatten a massive amount of birds and at the end of it, Gulag collapses to the ground. Nathan catches his Klink with a quick use of his capsule and then calls Flyby back as well once he's done discharging and the mass of surviving birds gather around them.
"Steel yourself, brother!" Nathan plants his feet into the ground and revs up his swinging arm. "If I have to die, I'd choose no one but you to fight beside me."
The flock presses their overwhelming numbers and fly low to the ground. As they do so, the Staravia leading them shakes its stupid ahoge out of the way and marks its target.
As the birds prepare to meet the young men, a voice behind them captures Nathan's attention. His eyes widen and he grabs Luke hard, wrestling him to the ground. "Dude, what the hell!?"
A massive blast of purple energy flies past them as a wave of Confusion collides with the horde of birds in the air. Several of them collapse on impact while several others peck at their own friends, earning several knockouts and some even wounding their own bodies enough to send them helpless down to the earth below.
The Staravia survives the attack and resist the effects of Confusion as it flies back up and selects a new target.
Luke stares down at Aqua as she pants heavily with her arms pressed out. She collapses to her knees and can't find it in herself to stand. "Thanks, Nathan. That might have done us in." Luke stands up and helps Nathan to his feet before sprinting over to his partner.
As Luke kneels down and presses his hand out for Aqua to hold onto, he feels a smile force itself across his face. "You know, a good soldier follows orders."
"A great soldier does what's right." Aqua's quick comeback and self-serving grin bring a tear to Luke's eye. "You'll take me seriously now, won't you?" She nearly faints and falls into Luke's grasp. As he picks his Ralts up and holds her tight, she continues panting from the exertion.
Luke decides it might be time to listen to her demands. "Alright, I'll see what I can do about training you with the others. You and Torbital have to learn not to use everything all at once, okay?"
"Look out!" Mark, who had been standing further down the road to observe them, shouts at the top of his lungs.
The Staravia is poised behind Luke and shreds his clothes in a single Wing Attack. As Staravia moves to slash at him again, a bag of coins and a man on adrenaline stop it mid strike. Nathan whips the coin sock around hard enough to indent the bird with it as it flies into the air a couple of meters and then crashes into the dirt. As the remaining conscious birds lick their wounds and fly off screaming into the void, the trio basks in their victory.
"We've penetrated the Barrier in record time." Mark finds pride within himself as Snivy and Furfrou stand at his side. "We didn't have to jump in like I thought."
Nathan grabs Luke's hand and pulls him to his feet with confidence exuding. "I see why you fight them yourself. I've never felt this hype!" Raising his hands above his head, Nathan lets out a victory shout. "Get bent, you flying assholes! Never forget the day we bent you over in front of your whole crew! Grimsley Gang!"
…
Grimsley observes the scene at the Barrier and says nothing as Caitlin, Shauntal, and Marshall watch their own teams struggle in similar attempts. His team beat the Barrier first. With a sly smile coming upon his face, he wonders if he wasn't a little too harsh on them.
"Don't be so full of yourself, Grimsley." Champion Alder stands before him in his trademark robes with a stern gaze settling on the students on the screen. "You know the hard part of the test starts after the barrier. The real games begin now."
"Allow me some joy at their progress, Alder. After all, you judged them as hopeless in the first place, didn't you?" Grimsley's bite outdoes his bark as Alder's demeanor weakens.
Alder relaxes for the moment and sluggishly approaches the window overlooking the vast forest from the highest building in Mistralton. "I wouldn't go so far as to say that I called them hopeless. It's hard to quantify what I do or don't see in them. Maybe I was wrong. Or maybe I'm just not proven correct yet."
Grimsley returns to the screen and watches as Reina, Daisy, and Kelsie follow Nathan and Mark into the woods while Luke offers Jonas his shoulder and pushes on. "I think you'll be surprised, Alder. I know I am."
…
The second camp was secluded and had seven spots. Mark predicts that the camp spots are based off of predictions and that they'll have to find multiple places to rest if they don't finish the test tomorrow.
A full four miles into the seven-mile journey left them all in a state of anxious anticipation. Marshall's test was surprisingly structured and fair.
But he did say he was the 'nice' one.
Kelsie, Reina, and Daisy set up their tents at the back of the site while the four boys took the front. In the center of the site was a makeshift field and on that field Jonas and Luke face each other from opposite sides.
Jonas has a support pack pressed against his ankle as he stands in place across from his rival. "You sure you want this?"
Kelsie, Daisy, Mark, and Nathan watch from the sidelines. Luke had surprised them all.
…
Luke set up his camp first with the help of Aqua using telekinesis to hold things in place for him while he pounded stakes into the ground and prepared his tent with a noticeable struggle.
Once he was finished, Luke had walked over to Jonas and dropped the question. "Would you be the first actual Trainer Battle I have?"
"You're kidding… Right?" Jonas was incredulous at the request.
"We have the same amount of partners and I haven't fought someone before. Aqua demands I train her so I thought actual battle experience would be helpful."
…
"I won't hold back against you. I've been waiting years to humiliate you." Jonas flicks his wrist and unleashes his Woobat onto the field. "I'll start with this guy. Woobattle won't fall here!"
"That is the worst nickname I've heard since Pupperoni." Daisy comments while standing at the sidelines at Jonas's expense while Luke readies for battle on the far side.
Jonas and Kelsie reply in unison. "Didn't ask!"
Luke does mental gymnastics before eventually deciding on unleashing Skittle onto the field. "Skittle, this is real, my man. If you don't want the reputation of a gag character, you better destroy this!"
"Woobattle, I know you're not that good at fighting, but I trust you to get a hit in, at least." Jonas admits his weakness for once. "I didn't train you before we got here, so let's test these waters right now! Use Gust!"
Skittle flies high above the Woobat while Luke commands from below. "Quick Attack the poor thing!"
Building momentum in the air allows Skittle to blast through the Gust and connect directly with Woobat's face. As the Woobat's wings barely keep it afloat, Skittle follows with a Peck directly in its poor nose.
Woobattle crashes to the ground and closes its eyes in defeat as Jonas reluctantly calls him back. "Yeah, he never fought before. I think he hatched like last week, honestly."
Skittle shakes off the damage the Gust had managed to do and stands proudly as Jonas towers above the poor bird. "Starly!"
Aqua continues translating as she stands by Luke's side. "Easy. I'll do this myself."
"You want to get cocky, you little brat!?" Jonas reels his arm back and curses in pain as he places too much weight on his bad leg. As his second Pokémon comes out, Throh slams down onto the earth and sends the bird flying into the air.
"Skittle, you have type advantage on him. Don't be stupid." Luke warns. "Throh is definitely an ace up his sleeve."
Jonas grins as he stands proud among his fellow Rejects. "I'm glad you can recognize his magnificence. He'll give you a thorough thrashing, won't you, Judo?"
Judo seems to nod as he moves his arms out to take the stance his species is known for. Throh are defensive fighters who utilize quick counters to defeat opponents from a distance. Luke knows Aqua would be a better match but refuses to risk harming her needlessly.
"Jonas is playing mind games." Mark congratulates him as he watches the two fighters tense up. "He's trying to make Luke play a bad move."
Nathan places his glasses on his hip pouch and watches them carefully. "You can do this, my boy!"
As the battle rises in pitch, Reina finishes making a cup of tea and pours some of it into a small mug for her Purrsalot. "Are they getting that excited over an amateur bout?"
"Throh, ready yourself." Jonas analyzes Luke's body movements. The man couldn't lie to save his life and that showed in how he moved and acted. "Just play the counter game. As your teammate, I encourage you to play this as you need. I'll only interject if I sense something off."
Throh keeps his body steady as Skittle practices moving around to gauge Throh's reaction time. "Quick Attack!"
Skittle leans back and claws the dirt as he presses down as far as he can before hopping into the sky when a strong wind flies by. With all of his might he charges into Throh's melee range. Throh jumps into the air and swipes out with his rough hand. Skittle collides with it and tumbles off as Throh lands in place.
Not perturbed in the slightest, Skittle climbs on the wind for an unexpected Wing Attack and clips Throh in the face with an effective strike. Throh stumbles back but unleashes an instant Arm Thrust, sending Skittle flying into the dirt.
For a moment Luke believes it to be over. Skittle forces his damaged body to stand and chirps aggressively to announce his survival. "I won't go down until that thing is unconscious." Aqua admires his tenacity.
"Throh, good job on using counters!" Jonas applauds his teammate. "I have much to learn from you." Throh folds his arms in self-satisfaction.
"Skittle, that technique we discussed, it's time." Luke wasn't a great Trainer. He didn't know the strategies or the best ways to practice. What he knew for a fact was how other Trainers generally fought.
That was his advantage.
"Skittle, Quick Attack one last time!" As Skittle blasts off at maximum speed, he adds. "This will be our last attack, Jonas! Your Throh falls here!"
Jonas grins with his overconfidence stirring. "As if! Judo, give him a Mach punch to show him the error of his ways!"
Throh takes into account his master's order and places all of his force into one singular strike. As Skittle flies near, the shout from afar throws Throh off.
"Now, Quick Wing!" Skittle lowers his beak and barely dodges the lightning fast punch and spreads its wings, using all the momentum it gathered to land a kamikaze attack. Throh is lifted off the ground as Skittle devastates him with a massive strike. As Throh falls backwards, Skittle follows with a Gust that presses Throh down.
Throh instead utilizes the pressure to flip his body entirely and land one hard chop at Skittle's head before losing consciousness and flipping once more to land hard on his rocky head.
Throh and Skittle both lay unconscious on the field and both Trainers recall their friends before their eyes meet once more. "You taught him an unregistered move?"
"It's a combination attack. Midnight used them when I caught him." Luke explains his reasoning. "Quick Attack is a move that increases the speed of the user. I just have Skittle use his wings instead of his body to amplify the attack and make it super effective as a flying move."
Mark writes notes into his laptop's battle folder as he watches the conflict unfold. "For someone who doesn't fight, he's using advanced Pokémon strategies already. If his team were stronger, he'd be someone to look out for."
"When Skittle evolves, he'll be a massive threat." Kelsie adds. "Then again, that bird has a strong spirit."
Jonas resorts to tossing out Timburrtu while Torbital takes the stage for his partner. "Boss, watch me in action! I'll end this fight in one strike!" Aqua somehow feels the need to use his accent when she relays his words to their Boss.
Torbital rolls forward and prepares a massive electric strike. "Hey, Torbital! Not all at once! Conserve your strength!"
Jonas yells out for Timburrtu to respond to the incoming strike with all of his ability. Timburrtu spins the piece of wood in his arms and simply waits. When Torbital inevitably unleashes everything in one strike, Timburrtu blocks with the wood. The concussive force is absorbed by the powerful block of wood and Timburrtu merely has to endure the actual lightning. Timburrtu finally bats away the last bits of juice Torbital could throw out and jumps forward with incredible speed despite the feeling of numbness running through him. With his wood raised high he crashes down into Torbital's face and knocks him out in one strike just as Torbital had ironically promised.
As Luke returns Torbital to his ball, he concedes. "Well, I can't beat both of your Pokémon with just one of mine…" He didn't want to. What if she got hurt? What would he do? "Aqua, you know the plan."
Aqua steps forward and uses telepathy to communicate to her opponent. "This is my first fight, Timburrtu. Luke wants me to ask you to go easy on me."
"Oh?" Timburrtu verbalizes his amusement.
"Ignore him. Come at me like you'll die if you don't." Aqua raises her head and her uncovered eye strikes fear into Timburrtu as her psychic power wells up around her.
Jonas laughs at the display, having no fear for Luke's ace. "Your darling child will pay dearly, today. I'm sorry for doing this to you!" He waves his hand and commands to the heavens above. "Timburrtu, hit it with a Low Kick and then bring that wood down!"
"If Timburrtu goes near her with that wood of his, he's dead!" Luke threatens.
Nathan can't help but laugh at the phrasing while Daisy ignores it with a reddened face and Mark writes down something about future research into his computer.
Timburrtu runs along the ground with arms at his side as he slides down and sticks his leg out for a sweeping kick.
Aqua teleports behind him and speaks to his mind. "Sorry, Timburr. This isn't personal." With her energy compelling her to act, Aqua blasts him from behind with a powerful Confusion that knocks him off of his feet. As he stares up at his wooden block above his head, Aqua grabs it with Telekinesis and skewers him with it. The wood splinters slightly from the impact as it rams into him with inhuman effort.
Timburr grabs it despite the pain and throws it. As Aqua's concentration is broken as she narrowly avoids it, Timburr's Low Kick sends her into the air. Timburr throws out another kick and knocks her further into the sky.
"Aqua!" Luke freaks out on the sidelines and nearly runs onto the field out of instinct.
"It's a shame, really." Reina says as she walks over. "That girl is doubly resistant to fighting moves. She's guaranteed to take it."
Timburr jumps high into the air to strike again but his paralysis disables him from attacking. Aqua aims down at him and unleashes a Dazzling Gleam. The powerful Fairy attack destroys Timburr's defenses and leaves him falling down to the earth.
As Timburr crashes into the dirt and struggles to get up, Aqua approaches him and presses her lips against his. He flails for a single moment before it stops as suddenly as it started and the wounds on Aqua's body recede.
"Was that Draining Kiss?" Mark reels from the display. "What a suggestive move Fairies can use…"
Daisy rolls her eyes. "You disgust me."
"Ah, so you've discussed me?" Mark's reference earns him no response. "Hey, it's a literal kiss. It's weird and you know it."
"Why…" Jonas was perturbed. Timburrtu just got absolutely destroyed not just by a Pokémon that never battled before but he got humiliated on top of it. "…Return." With Timburrtu gone, Jonas had no other recourse but to unleash his Ace. "Baron, we're doing this!"
As Baron leaps out into the field, Luke stands in awe. Ralts were the precursor to Gardevoir who, excluding legendaries, were considered the strongest Psychic in existence excluding perhaps Alakazam. That meant Ralts and Kirlia both had great potential but even then, Ralts were generally considered fragile and weak.
As Aqua curtsies to her foe before returning to his side to await his command, Luke finally recognizes her as a partner worthy of fighting by his side.
He tries to push out the images of her in the infirmary as he recalls her. "Aqua, come back. It's time for Midnight to fight."
"I suppose you have to. He won't get a chance to play if you don't call me in." Aqua's haughty response shocks Luke until she follows it up. "I'm kidding. I just think you should be happier. I won, didn't I?"
"You did indeed." As Aqua leaves the field, Midnight leaps from atop the highest tree in camp and uses its tail to create a small crater from the force it brings onto the ground with a Body Slam.
Baron lifts a paw and sweats a little as he turns back to his master. "Don't question me, Baron. This is our first true battle as partners. We need to be ready to accept victory or defeat no matter the circumstances that may come."
Baron feels the resolve in his master and faces the devilish Dark cat facing it. "This is the Full Moon Cat we heard of all the time?" Reina finally approaches the other bystanders as the last bout had garnered some interest in her. "This is the monster Amos told of in hushed whispers?"
"We'll start with a Quick Attack into Ember! Conserve your fire, Baron!" Baron barks in acknowledgement of his words and flies forward at cataclysmic speeds. Houndour were notoriously fast and were used by both criminals and soldiers alike for their relentless slaughter of weakened targets.
Luke's sadistic grin unnerves Jonas as he begins to feel he made a mistake. "Do the maneuver you did to me, Midnight. Operation Faint-hearted go!"
Midnight launches into a quick attack that Baron is smart enough not to trust. He switches to Ember early and blasts off as Midnight nears. Midnight manages to push through the fire and feints, landing a powerful Feint Attack that pushes Baron back.
"Okay, screw it! Unleash everything you have!" Baron's Flamethrower fails to stop Midnight from scratching his face and redirecting the fire into the air. The massive burns give the Glameow pause and Midnight stumbles back as the burns cause extra damage to his body.
Baron manages to keep itself standing but eventually collapses as Midnight proceeds to jump on top of the poor dog and knead it before napping on top of it.
"That's just disrespectful." Mark nods in appreciation. "I guess Luke isn't that bad off, eh?"
Nathan sits back and observes the two remaining Pokémon. "Torbital needs to learn to control himself, but the other three are pretty strong. They've definitely survived a hell of a lot."
Daisy sits in silence and silently approves of the boy's demonstration of his abilities. He wasn't a particularly effective commander yet but his partners had experience to supplement his glaring faults.
"Maybe it had a bit of bite to it for an amateur's fight." Reina stays firmly in character despite thinking she was slightly proud of the way Luke had conducted himself and his team. "You're definitely not used to commanding others to fight, though."
Luke releases Torbital and Skittle and heals them with excess Potions he had left over and tells them the good news. "We did it, guys. Our record is one to none."
Jonas sadly looks upon his defeated Ace and uses a Potion of his own. As Baron opens his eyes and perks up his ears, Jonas scratches underneath his chin. "You did great, buddy. We need to work on your physical defence but you did well."
"Enough with the after battle pleasantries. Since we've decided not to push our luck, let's gather in for the night." Mark notices the setting of the sun and rechecks his map once more. "In our direct path tomorrow we have the Bridge of Fates to cross and then we'll have one or two more tests left to overcome."
…
That night, the seven students sit around a bonfire while their assorted Pokémon play in the distance. Aqua teleports in circles as Baron chases after her like his own missing tail while Midnight clambers on to Gulag for a nap. Flyby and Skittle race in the night sky and pass each other at intervals the second the other tires a little.
Throh and Timburrtu throw punches and block incoming attacks from the other while Purrsalot wags its tail as a flag for the different rounds. Pupperoni and Furfrou take turns catching a Frisbee that Torbital spins on his head before stopping suddenly while Bacon Bits and Nightshade climb into a network of tunnels with Bits providing light to see for the intrepid Trubble and Toadstool following into the deep.
Woobattle hangs from a tree by his nose as the remaining Pokémon rest in various points in the camp.
"We're halfway there…" Nathan starts singing halfheartedly.
Reina makes an exhausted groan as she sits across from Nathan and Mark on a table they moved closer to the fire to keep warm. "We'll need a prayer if this is the best we can do."
"We're doing fine." Kelsie reassures her. "Some people don't make it this far this quickly, you know?"
In the end, as Daisy seats herself beside Jonas at the front of the pack, he asks a question everyone was interested in to varying degrees. "Since we're all making it together, why don't we talk about why we're here?" Jonas's question is initially met with sudden silence. "Come on, it's just a simple question. Here, I'll start."
Finishing his can of soda pop, he tosses the can aside into the nearby recycling holder and presses his good foot against the table's edge as he looks out on the six fellow aspiring champions. "Ryker Alterra was my older brother."
"You mean the one from…" Daisy's eyes give away a sense of recognition that Mark picks up on and notes for later.
"My father had three children. My oldest brother Ryker was the first to try to become Elite. He went into that Mistralton Forest Massacre and never came home." Jonas's voice carries a distance to it. "I was like seven at the time and Ryker never spent any time with me."
Kelsie adds. "Sometimes people don't spend time with people they don't see pushing their own dreams ahead."
Jonas mulls that thought over. "I'd like to believe he loved me but I don't know. What I know is our middle child, Ruby; she ends up passing the test. Right now she's a junior scientist at Silph Company but she's planning to run for champion soon enough. Granted, she's barely 16 but hey, Silph will hire anyone with potential, I guess." Thinking back on how his own father got hired, Jonas decides not to amend it for that man's sake. "Father expects me to fall in line with his expectations."
"So you don't want to do this?" Luke's one question shatters the mood and leaves everyone quiet.
"I want to do this for me." Jonas replies after a minute. "Yes, I know what Father expects. I'm not stupid. I also know he looks down on me. One day I'll succeed him and I'll rise higher and farther than he ever could."
As Jonas sits back down, Nathan stands to attention. "My father has expectations for me. I once considered enlisting, but recent events have led my family to believe this would be a waste of my natural talents. I told them I was going to do this and live my own life!"
"You're here despite them?" Kelsie's attitude gives Mark and Luke the impression she never considers disobeying anyone. "What if they get mad…?"
"Oh, dad was pissed. He threw shit and threatened the belt." Nathan talks about such a horrifying moment with casual joviality. "He thinks it's a phase; that I won't try my best. I know once I make it, he'll understand. He's a tough old bastard but he's not a bad guy."
As Nathan retakes his place, Reina finally breaks her own walls down for a moment. "As I said, I wanted my run to be perfect. I'm from Sinnoh. I'm not after the wise sage title like Alder has. I admire another champion. Cynthia."
"She's a younger lady, isn't she?" Mark quickly types it into his search bar. "She's the descendant of… Oh, the Volo Family Tree? That is exceptionally interesting."
"Why's that?" Daisy mutters in between drinks from her thermos.
Mark closes the laptop momentarily and stares them down. "Sinnoh used to be called the Hisui Region. It's the birthplace of modern Pokémon study in Japan. The oldest known Pokédex was made there, penciled in with care. Volo was an associate of the famous expedition team members that explored the lands back when Jubilife was founded. In other words, this young woman here is a descendant of perhaps one of the most important families on Earth."
Reina bites her tongue on saying more than she feels she needs to. "That's my wall. I want to defeat her at any costs. And since she's so talented, so amazing, so feared, I have to push myself to my wit's end."
"Maybe set your sights a little lower then?" Kelsie offers.
"I won't settle for less than beating her. It would be a hollow victory." Reina reaffirms her own beliefs as she straightens up. "Once we're in that Elite school, I will see naught but my studies before me. Don't take it personally."
Daisy's admittance shocks the entire group. "Jackson Banks was my only real sibling." Jonas spits out his can of noodles and coughs as a stray noodle pokes out of his nose. "He was killed by that disgusting murderer in the Forest Massacre."
"Daisy…" Luke tries to offer condolences but falls short.
"My mother died around that time and Dad let her run the house before then…" Daisy presses a hand against the bruise that still remained under her left arm's sleeve. "Mom pushed Jackson and I to our very limits and once she was gone, so did he. Every day was a competition, a lesson, he expected nothing but perfection. Once Jackson died, he was… inconsolable. By the time he regained his sanity, he was a shell of his former self."
"Daisy." Kelsie brings her close and gives her a hug and Daisy allows it. "Are you okay? Does he… Does he ever…?"
Daisy shakes her head. "I can't go home unless I win. I'll leave it at that. He told me I don't have one to go to."
"That's disgusting." Jonas is the first to say it. "Granted, my dad would probably make me move out and get a job too, but he never laid a hand on me."
"Don't pity me. I have to work for it just like the rest of you. I'll do anything to succeed." Daisy warns. "Kindly remove yourself from my way if you ever find yourself there."
Kelsie speaks up next. "My… parent…" Her reluctant use of the word triggers suspicion in Mark and Luke who are at this point wary of how she phrases things.
"You only have one?" Reina tries to be comforting. "Did they…?"
"Well, it's complicated." Kelsie tries to find the right phrasing for her thoughts. "My mother isn't dead; she's just not available. Father is the one who handles things and he's just doing this to make money, honestly."
Luke's blood pressure builds. "So he's using you?"
"No, no, he… Well, I guess." Kelsie's defeated tone earns her more than a little pity. Even Daisy can't help but look on with a sad stare.
Mark attempts to lighten the mood a little. "I'll be honest. I may come across as the intellectual here, but I'm here for one reason and one reason only." Mark pauses for a moment for dramatic build up. "I want to find my future wife."
Reina and Daisy press their palms to their respective faces in unison. Jonas finally rips the noodle out of his nose like he's pulling on a lawnmower and shouts out in pain. Nathan gives Mark the most serious stare down Luke has ever witnessed before raising his hand out. "My man!"
"I…" Luke can't find words to describe his response and as Aqua sits next to him, he reaches for her head.
"Aren't you here for Skyla?" Aqua asks silently over the psychic connection between them.
In his mind, Luke responds. "It's not really like that. I was just humoring her."
"Men." Reina says it with disdain to the approval of Daisy and surprisingly Jonas. Kelsie's deer-in-the-headlights expression leaves her out of the loop.
"Look, we're all looking for love." Mark reels his casual tone in and thanks his lucky stars he defused the tension within them. "My dad was a swimmer and that's how he met my mom. When I was young, he told me that if you do what you love, love will find you."
"Heh?" Kelsie is still lost.
Mark rubs his temples and cooks up a better explanation for simpler folk. "If I want to find the right girl or the right guy in your case, I should find someone with common interests, right?" Kelsie nods as she follows along. "Well, I'm interested in Pokémon from both a combative and a scientific standpoint. Therefore, I should take this test to meet other people who share those interests. Is that not the logical conclusion?"
"Okay, but you said it like a dirty old man." Reina deadpans.
"Give me a break. It's not like you girls don't gossip about the guys you meet the second we're not around. I don't need to hear that from you." Mark's savage quip wins him no affection. "Human beings were born to build connections. We do it with our family once we're born. We go to school and make friends. We go out and catch Partners to fight by our side and we find love in those with kindred spirits. Our one goal is to leave a legacy and not many of us can achieve these massive feats."
"Yeah." Jonas finds himself stunned by Mark's eloquent speech.
Mark stands tall. "But for every great Champion that lives a glorious life and burns away in the end, there are a thousand of us that leave behind our loved ones. Pokémon that outlive us and protect our children, our children who follow in our footsteps or seek a little more of that beautiful and cruel and tranquil and twisted world we call home." His emotions swell as he expresses his inner most self. "Is it wrong to want something simple like a cozy home on a hill side with the woman you love, the man you cherish, the kids you had and the memories you take with you when you finally stare into Arceus's eyes and await the next journey?"
Reina can't bear to interrupt him as he glistens in the growing moonlight.
"I want to make an impact on the world. We all do." Mark continues on as he moves through the forest and even the Pokémon gather around him. "We want to be heroes, martyrs, champions. We are human. Unlike Pokémon, we seek more at all times and by the time we learn a simple truth they understood all along, we stand alone. The richest of businessmen and the most powerful of Trainers rarely make time for the things that really matter. We don't need more and more to survive." Mark leans down as his Snivy jumps onto his arm and he holds him high. As fireflies brighten in the moonlight; Snivy's face lights up with them. Mark smiles as he returns to a calmer state. "These moments will be what we recall in our final moments. The friends we made, the bonds we forged, and the things we have to remember them by will be our reward for the work and effort we put into it. A legacy is something we can't control. The story of our life is what we have to enjoy in our golden years and I for one would rather have a good story than a mighty legacy."
Mark's unexpected show of emotion touches everyone there. Luke thinks back on the original question while Mark rejoins the tables and eventually everyone turns their attention to him.
"Well?" Jonas eggs him on. "You're an emotional guy. You got something pretty to say like him?"
Luke thought it would be harder to explain. In the end, it's delightfully easy. "I only had one friend before this all started. You all know me. I'm that guy in the back of the class that only ever talks too loudly or says too little. I stayed here for Billy. And in the end, he left me. He wants to win at any cost and I mean nothing in the wake of his dream."
"Luke, that's so sad. We'll be here." Kelsie's comforting words reach him and stir a bit of warmth within.
"It is far better I learn what drives him now than when I really need him." Luke's bitterness leaks from his lips in that moment of weakness. "Someone challenged me to try and in doing so, I found my partners. They're all a little damaged, a little hurt, touched by the evils of the world. I guess in the end I see myself in them."
"Freaky." Mark offhandedly remarks, earning an elbow from Reina.
As Torbital, Midnight, and Skittle coalesce around Luke, he holds his hand out and Aqua takes it gently into hers. Even with both of her hands she can't fully cover Luke's hand and she settles for holding it close.
Luke grins despite himself. "I probably won't settle down like my father did. I've never felt strongly about other people. I don't pine after beautiful girls I meet. I don't envision myself having a family. All I see for my future self is living in my parents' house out in the woods all alone with the memories of my youth keeping me alive. I just go through the motions other people put me through. I met my partners because I acted on the demands and whims of other people. I work for you guys because you expect my help. I don't mistake your concerns for genuine care."
"Hey!" Nathan tries to interject as Luke stands and begins to leave.
"My one friend lied to me for a whole year that I meant something. For years Jonas harassed and taunted me, reminded me how I was an only child, how not a single one of you liked me, and not once did a single person among you ever prove him wrong." Luke returns with the feelings he'd been hiding from them the whole time. "This could all just be an act and as soon as you get admitted into that school, you all do as Reina said she would. Nothing personal, right?"
"I didn't mean it like that…" Reina sounds unsure of her own complaint.
Luke makes way for his tent at the furthest point of the camp. "Look, I get it. I'm the freak, right? I'm that scary guy with torn clothes that sits at the back of the class that everyone likes to make fun of. I'm not unaware of how you all felt. I don't even live for myself. Isn't that sad?"
"Then stop living like that." Mark is the one to take the fight to Luke. "Stop living like you exist for others."
"Tell that to every other person there trying to live up to the expectations of their parents. Tell that to the ones fighting just to defy them." Luke returns in kind. "Even you quote your father when you're discussing what you want. You don't even realize."
Mark's angry side peeks out just a little. "We learn from others! We have lives you could never understand! Yeah, we may be rising to meet expectations, but we're not blindly following requests like you seem to be!"
"Then you admit that the way you treated me was a choice. It was a conscious choice on your part to treat me like a nuisance or to not even recognize me as a person in the first place. Right!?" The trap he had placed worked wonders as Mark lowers his gaze and can't find the courage to argue with that. "You all had the choice to treat me like a person and you all thought it wasn't worth your time, right? Arceus gave you free will and here's the magic at work!"
Kelsie leaves her spot and hurries after him. "Hey… Look, maybe we, maybe we did leave you alone but that doesn't mean we can't grow from those mistakes. We could be better."
Luke gives her a wistful look as he leaves with one last comment. "You know why I don't like having Pokémon? Because I see myself in them. They live to serve, to be at your convenience, to be tools for the whims of the people around them. They get told they matter, that they deserve love, and get abandoned all the same. I'll always see myself in them more than I ever identify with people like you."
Luke leaves the bonfire in stunned silence as Nathan, Daisy, Reina, and Jonas each exchange uncomfortable glances while Mark stands crestfallen and Kelsie finds the resolve to do more. As she begins to head down to follow after Luke, the chorus of screaming Zubats echoes as they fly across the sky as the night grows darker still.
