After dinner on Wednesday, Nori went to Pokemon Workout World (or as people called it, PWoW) for an hour to prepare for the battle with Anthony. Thursday was shopping, training in the wild, and even some battles at Mynwest Court. By the time Friday rolled around, the young official was confident they were ready for their first major battle in a while.

He went to the clubroom after class ended. Reiko and Terrance had gone home for the day, while Mitsu wasn't too interested in watching. Yumi, Adelle, and Yasmin all came with him.

Tobari Junior's arena was bog standard, able to act as either one large battlefield or three smaller ones. Spectators could observe from the auditorium-style seats. Nori had never been in the room before, but from speaking with others, he knew there were rooms to accommodate training. There was one that had exercise equipment for Pokemon and a few for humans. There was an infirmary right next to it. The dressing rooms under the stairs allowed for the battling team to get into their uniforms, and included toilets and showers. Finally, besides the pair of entrances in from the school, there were also double doors which served as an exit out of it.

Nori's gaze swept over the stands, impressed at the number of people who had shown up to watch. There were students, faculty, and people who seemed to be neither, with more piling in.

"Took you long enough!" Anthony shouted at him, already situated on the near part of the battlefield where they stepped inside. "I have been impatiently awaiting your arrival!"

Yumi's lip curled and she put a hand on her hip. Raising her chin, she asked, "And did you run over here right after class?"

"I–" the Kallisto fanboy choked. "I wasn't talking to you!" A pang of laughter echoed through the audience.

"Well, did you?" Nori asked in turn, flashing a grin at Yumi. He already had the psychological advantage thanks to her. Perfect.

"So what if I did?!" came the retort. "I have been eagerly anticipating this, and you cannot hold that against me!"

The young official shrugged, conceding that one. He gave a nod to Adelle and Yasmin as they went to find seating. "So, I'm here. What's the plan?"

"A simple, standard battle. Nothing more!" Anthony boisterously declared. He flashed a mirthless grin. "Do you think you can handle that much?"

"Wait, standard battle? As in, three-on-three?" Yumi picked up on it right away, as did part of the audience. His other clubmates paused in their tracks. Even the coach – a rather stout woman wearing a faculty uniform and her black hair tied up in a bun – sort of looked at Anthony questionably. Being famous meant your Pokemon were famous too, and everyone knew Nori had only three Pokemon.

"Correct!"

"I can't do that!" he yelled, angry yet firm.

"You have three Pokemon, so of course you can!"

Nori put a hand up. "One of them is the Blackout Killer's Pawniard! I can't fight you with that yet, and I'm NOT doing another two versus three fight like I did that one time!" He was sure he could win, but he wasn't that sure!

"I simply do not care!" countered Anthony. "I do not want a one-on-one, those are foolish and almost entirely up to Pokemon choice. I do not want any kind of two-on-two, either. I want a simple standardized three-on-three. Do you accept?"

Nori glared. This guy really was waiting until he got a third Pokemon to challenge him. "Of all the things, you–" he started, holding back his insults. He looked over at the crowd, who was watching with bated breath. Then he looked at Yumi, who was tightly pinching her lips.

"Speak up!"

He let out his frustrations with a huff. He was tempted to just walk off, but he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it if he did so. "If you're that intent, fine. I can do something to allow it, if you're willing."

"Allow what? What are you rambling on about?" the Kallisto fanboy asked, tapping a foot. "Yes or no? This should be but a simple question to answer!"

Nori calmly took off his bag. He unzipped it, reached in, and retrieved a folder. It had various papers associated with his work, such as identification and information. He'd been given a few copies of the form he was looking for, and it didn't take long to find it.

"This is a simple legal agreement." Nori held it up like he was a prosecutor presenting evidence to a judge. "By signing this, you agree to not hold myself or the Officials accountable for any injury that might incur in a battle against a Pokemon I am actively rehabilitating."

Just like that, it was like his hearing was gone. It wasn't, but with how silent it went, it sort of felt like it. Most of the crowd was watching Anthony for his answer if not his reaction, but some seemed so stunned they couldn't look away from the document Nori had whipped out.

Yumi put a hand on his shoulder. "Nori, is this–"

"What are you trying to pull on me?!" Anthony demanded, taking a preliminary step towards him.

He looked his opponent dead in the eye, a gesture which made him stop in his tracks. "In other words, I'm telling you your Pokemon might get badly hurt – or worse – if you face this Pawniard. I'm obligated to try not to let that happen, but I can't promise you anything."

He put on the most devilish smirk he had. Finally, the overeager fanboy had taken some pause. Nori figured that would be more than enough to dissuade him. Maybe it'd even scare him off altogether, best case scenario.

"But Nori–" Yumi again tried to ask, squeezing his shoulder.

"All right, you're on!"

Nori was one of many who went, "What?!" Anthony marched up and snatched the paper out of his hands. He took a pen out of his shirt pocket, signed the thing on the floor without even reading, and handed it back to him. It nearly slipped from Nori's fingers in his bewilderment. Whether he wanted to or not, the battle was on.

"I guess that matter's settled," remarked the team coach, with a heavy sigh. "Get to your position, Mr. Carino."

He signed the paper autonomously on a clipboard, dated it, folded it up, and stowed it away. Maybe it wasn't entirely bad, he thought. These agreements existed for a reason. The only way he was going to help Pawniard would be to try to understand him. What made the Blackout Killer's Pawniard tick? So far, he had established the bladed Pokemon seemingly existed for battle and had a sadistic streak. And that he would listen to his commands. Maybe he needed to be super specific.

As he walked to his side of the battlefield, Yumi followed. There was a lost look in her eyes until the coach spoke to her.

"Battling trainers only on the battlefield, Ms. Takao. Go to the stands."

She slumped, turned on a dime, and after a moment of looking around, spotted her twin brother. "I'll be fine!" Nori assured her as she moved to sit with him. "I'll recall Pawniard if things get too dicey!"

A few people laughed. "Oh, so now you're a comedian?" Anthony snapped.

"What do you mean?" Right after saying that, he realized why they were laughing. Slice and dice. "Ah, I didn't mean to pun."

"Yeah, well, the only one getting cut down to size is you, your ego, and your Pokemon!" Anthony glared at the coach, motioning to hurry up. "Prepare to suffer complete and utter defeat, Demon Tamer!"

The coach stepped into her position as judge. "This is a battle between Anthony K. Morris and Nori Carino. Each side will have a maximum of one substitution permitted. As the one who issued the challenge, Mr. Morris, you are to send out your Pokemon first."

"I was well aware of that fact, and that disadvantage is irrelevant to my success! Carmen, the stage is ours!" he said, using a variation of Kallisto's catchphrase for sending out Pokemon.

Anthony's first Pokemon was a hovering plant. It had multiple flowing tentacles beneath it and a mouth that reminded of a flytrap. That was the Carnivine he'd heard about.

"Mr. Carino, your first Pokemon, please."

Choices. He would prefer not to use his assignment if possible. The Demon was effective here, but using her against the first Pokemon seemed excessive. Especially since he needed to save his one switch if he needed to use Pawniard. So that just left…

"Pachi!" he said as he sent him out. The little squirrel eagerly emerged, happy to hop into the fray. There was a small type disadvantage, but they'd overcome worse odds together.

The coach raised a set of flags. "Trainers, begin!"

"It is time to begin, Carmen!" declared Anthony, dramatically flipping his bangs behind his head. "Kick this battle off by using a Stockpile!"

Nori thought for a second as the flytrap started to inhale. There was an opportunity. "Thunder Wave, Pachi."

Pachi focused as air flowed into the Carnivine's maw. Just before the other Pokemon had finished and ended up with a slightly bulging throat, he emitted a weak blast of electricity. She (being named Carmen implied a female, right?) tried to dodge, but couldn't quite make it.

Anthony growled, stamping a foot. "I must admit, I was not expecting that immediately!"

That confirmed Nori's suspicions. Anthony had grossly underestimated him, and possibly outright misunderstood him. He only smiled at his opponent, as did Pachi.

"But it is irrelevant! For it only shows your amateurishness!" he dismissed, further confirming them. He may have had a point in how it was odd to use a status move so early, but the fact was he presented the opening to make it work. "A scattered Seed Bomb, Carmen!"

Anthony's Pokemon trembled, but her head tilted upward. Nori didn't explicitly have to tell Pachi to dodge, although he was still caught indirectly by the miniature explosions. Their blast radius was larger than expected.

"You'll have to move further away if they do that again," he stated the obvious. "But for now, Swift." A handy Normal move; stars that fly around erratically and home in on their target.

The other trainer cringed. "Gah! Brace yourself, Carmen!"

The little squirrel didn't show any signs of major damage. To contrast, the flytrap had to take a second to catch her breath after the near-unavoidable attack struck.

Anthony sneered. "Get in close, Carmen! Do it again to cover your approach!"

Nori sighed and looked to Pachi. This time, the seeds were aimed around behind to cut off his escape. The squirrel answered by moving inward, completely escaping the blasts. He turned around, waving his tail tauntingly and haphazardly batting an Electro Ball. It wounded the flytrap's pride more than her body, but the battle was already taking its toll on her.

If Anthony was worried by his Pokemon weakening, he wasn't showing it. "Stockpile again, Carmen!"

Building up for an attack, or healing? "Back up and Swift again, Pachi." Evidently, their opponent had limited options at a range. Weakness scouted.

Their opponent snickered. "Okay! Seed Bomb! Launch yourself!"

To the surprise of Nori and his Pokemon, the flytrap fired some Seed Bombs directly below and behind herself. The momentum caused Carmen to careen towards Pachi, who was clipped by the makeshift tackle.

"Cut a swath!"

She lashed her vines to slice at Pachi, which he barely evaded. To contrast, Pachi was better at range, although that wasn't to say he couldn't fight up close.

"No you don't!" Anthony took notice as the squirrel tried to fall back. "Acid Spray!"

It would be problematic if Pachi was hit because of the switching limitation. Even if it wasn't in place, it would mean a bit of recovery time in his Poke Ball rather than staying out of it. Nori wasn't sure how that neutralized stat changes faster, but it did.

"Dodge inward," he told his Pokemon as Carmen started to rear back. It was aggressive, but tied into what he wanted to do next. He hoped Pachi could make it under the spit of corrosive fluids.

It turned out to be unnecessary. The Carnivine froze up before she could attack. The audience gasped.

"Crap!" Anthony clenched his fists.

Nori grinned. Time to pile on. "Sweet Kiss, Pachi."

"Stun Spore!"

The young official could only roll his eyes. As Pachi leaned in, Carmen barely managed to expel the useless golden spores out of her body. The squirrel halted and started coughing upon getting a whiff of them.

"Impudent moron!" shouted Anthony. "Now make'em pay with Power Whip!"

Carmen wound up her vines and twisted them into one big one. She put everything she had into a vicious swing. Pachi was sent rolling across the floor, taking his first serious hit of the match.

"Okay, what?" he could not help but ask. "How did that work?" If he knew Electric types, and he did because he trained at a Gym with them, he knew their abnormal nerve impulses usually prevented paralysis. What happened there?

"Why don't you try inhaling pollen?" Anthony taunted, standing on the tips of his toes in attempt to appear taller while crossing his arms.

Nori frowned, understanding at once. It wasn't about the paralysis. It was just meant as a countermeasure. "Well…still winning."

He awkwardly mumbled that sentence fragment, yet it was the truth. Pachi was a little shaken from the blow, yet Carmen's exhaustion could not be concealed. She probably wouldn't be able to take more than one or two good hits.

Anthony cackled. "Use Swallow, Carmen!"

Or that could happen. The good news was, Pachi was already on his feet and ready. After a moment to consider, Nori shrugged. "Rush in and use Super Fang."

Few were expecting that, least of all Anthony, although his reaction was far more negative compared to the audience. The little squirrel raced forward using Agility, getting into range right as the flytrap devoured the energy to restore her health. His fangs glowed with a mysterious power as he jumped up and chomped on her midsection.

The cheers from his supporters in the crowd were infectious enough to bring a smile to his face. It undid a good portion of the healing. Pachi gave a cheeky grin, as Carmen almost lost control of her levitation due to another bout of paralysis.

"Bind, Carmen!" Anthony was furious, for many reasons. "Completely foolish for you to come back into melee range! Did Volkner train you at all?!"

"Yes, let it happen and Discharge."

Anthony slapped his forehead, realizing his mistake. Nori was hoping he might try something like that. When you grab an Electric type, you invite your Pokemon to get zapped.

And Pachi put everything he had into what was his strongest attack. Carmen's entire body lit up like a light. She let go of Pachi and fell to the floor as it concluded. The move had completely overwhelmed her, type disadvantage or not.

"Carmen is unable to battle!" ruled the coach, raising a flag in the air.

Nori soaked in the cheers. It had been far too long since he'd gotten them. They felt great.

"I'm sorry, Carmen. And I…I must admit!" conceded Anthony, as he recalled his Pokemon. "I was not expecting your Pokemon to exhibit that level of power!"

A little humility? Maybe he wasn't as egotistical as Nori thought. "All that training by Volkner wasn't for nothing," he replied, beaming plainly. In the end, this was power versus strategy. Nori was used to being the former. "Of course my Pokemon are strong."

"Nevertheless, it is irrelevant!" Anthony declared. Okay, maybe his head really was swollen. "Your staunch refusal to exhibit technique shall prove your downfall! And this next Pokemon shall be the harbinger of your defeat!"

"Are you trying to be a Shakespearean actor on the side?!" shouted Yumi from the stands. She got several laughs, including from Nori. It was uncouth, but he had to admit, it felt nice having someone to stick up for him.

"Don't underestimate Tony's skill!" another girl countered. "He's just getting started!" By contrast, that got cheers.

"She is correct! Prepare yourself, Nori Carino!" Anthony brandished his second Pokemon. "Quade, the stage is ours!"

Nori tensed up at the sight of the chunky bipedal blue Pokemon with stubby feet, hand-like flippers, and a flat tail. A Water Pokemon. A Ground type too, but he wasn't too worried about that part. Anthony seemed to be worried too, for a different reason, given he was already using his best Pokemon.

"Okay," the coach said. "Restart the battle!"

Power versus strategy. It wasn't like Nori couldn't be strategic, just not super creative strategic. Sometimes, it's best to keep things simple. This was one of those times.

Anthony snickered. For someone who claimed to have studied him, he seemed unaware of the threat. "Start it off with a Mud Bomb, Quade!"

Nori nodded to his Pokemon, who seemed to have the right idea as their foe was rearing back. "Wait for it…" he said. And as soon as the Quagsire started spewing a ball of goop, Nori gave the signal. "Quick Attack!"

It was not yet time to use that move. So Pachi charged. The Ground-type move whiffed as he closed the distance in a flash and slammed his body into Quade's. However, their foe stood his ground.

"In that case, unleash your Mega Kick!"

The young official hummed. He decided to take an aggressive approach. "Pachi…" he started, watching to see how Quade was going to act. Once he saw the movement, he said, "Under the right, and Grass Knot!"

Now it was time! The squirrel used it at the perfect moment. As Quade lifted his leg, Pachi rolled beneath. His motion spun him around and was set to end with him facing down Pachi, but the squirrel tapped his feet before he could do so. Vines came up from nowhere and whipped at their foe's single grounded foot, sending him to the floor.

"You are joking!" exclaimed Anthony. Did he somehow not know Pachi knew that move? Or was he thinking he could just avoid it? "On your feet, Quade!" The Quagsire was trying, but struggling.

"Get some distance, and use it again." Pachi hustled off a few meters and raised his own foot.

"Disregard that Quade, roll away!" To Anthony's relief, Quade managed to do so, getting up in the same motion. "Return fire! Unleash Water Pulse!"

At once, Nori's muscles stiffened. A huge pulsating sphere of water emerged from the abyssal monster's maw. It was sizable, twice the size of his head, easily enough to envelop and drown someone. It moved forward like a massive bullet, flashing yellow as a smaller sphere impacted it and exploded into a shower of–

Nori snapped out of his reverie. Pachi had stopped it with a Electro Ball. "Thank you…" he huffed under his breath.

"Toxic!"

"Er, watch out."

The young official breathed in and out to compose himself. It never got easier. He had some bad experiences with water in the past, and seeing it in a Pokemon battle always proved distracting at the best of times. He thought he was getting better about it, but…

"Mud Bomb!"

"Focus, Nori!" he yelled at himself under his breath. He was in the middle of a battle, he could think about that stuff later!

The good news was, Pachi was understanding when it came to his phobia. Plus, he knew how to fight on his own to some extent, albeit not as much as the Demon. He escaped the blob of liquified dirt and returned fire with Swift.

"Good. Slowly, but surely." There was one good takeaway. Given how Anthony wasn't using Surf as a counter to their evasive tactics, maybe Quade didn't know it.

"I've had enough!" Anthony screamed. "Try dodging this! Quade, Earthquake!"

Oh, or there was that. Nori knew one way to actually avoid that, but Quade was too quick in carrying the command out. He leaped up and stomped down with both legs. The ground shook, ravaging Pachi as he was thrown around by the shaking floor. Nori stood strong, confident his Pokemon could handle it and Quade wouldn't be able to use it again so soon.

"You all right?" he asked for posterity. The squirrel answered by standing tall. "Okay! Quick Attack, do a hit-and-run!" Nori shouted, a little more worked up from his aquaphobia than he expected.

"Counter, Aqua Tail!"

Quade lined up like a baseball player might, yet couldn't hit Pachi before Pachi hit him and got away. The Quagsire briefly huffed, clutching where the squirrel had impacted.

"Quade!" shouted Anthony. "Use Mud Bomb, and shoot it all over the battlefield!"

Nori understood where his opponent was going at once. "Don't let them! Grass Knot!"

Quade unleashed glob after glob of mud, haphazardly all over the place. He cringed and cried out as the vines lashed out at his legs, but by the end of the attack, he was standing tall. Maybe defiantly.

The young official frowned. Pachi was quick and agile, but not both at once. They were trying to nullify their speed advantage. At least they'd gotten another big hit in the process. One more should do it!

"Ice Beam!" Anthony followed up before Nori could even open his mouth. "Sweep it across the whole battlefield!"

Nori had a split second to think of something. "Swift."

He was counting on Pachi to fire off the homing stars in time. However, Pachi instinctively went on the move to try to avoid the beam.

"Wait, no!"

The fact that Pachi actually managed to get his attack off and avoid the beam was no consolation when he slipped on some mud and tumbled to the floor. Anthony was ready to pounce.

"Gotcha! High Horsepower!"

Although straining – perhaps he was more damaged than Nori had believed – Quade cloaked himself in brownish energy and charged. He rammed right into Pachi, sending him tumbling.

Nori watched carefully as his Pokemon stumbled around in the process of trying to stand up from the vicious blow. It was going to take more than that to knock them out of the match!

"Pachi is unable to battle," the coach suddenly ruled, and the crowd cheered.

Nori could only shoot the coach a dirty look. "Pachi can still fight!" To punctuate it, Pachi got up and clapped his hands together. Wobbly, but no worse off than Quade.

"My ruling is final, Mr. Carino," she dug in her heels.

Nori growled. That was stupid, if not rigged! If they wanted him to be a part of the battling team, that just gave him another reason not to want to! Pachi whined, a mix of pain and frustration.

"Yeah! Eat it!" Nori thought that was just a taunt at first, then he noticed Quade snacking on a berry. The mud skipper stood up strong after doing so. "How do you like that? What's next out of you?!"

Nori rolled his shoulders as Pachi started sulking over. The young official approached, picking his Pokemon up and giving him a light hug.

"You did good," he encouraged, patting the squirrel on the back. "We'll get'em back for that, somehow. Just stick back and enjoy the rest."

Pachi lightly chirruped, nestling into his trainer's chest while he still could. Nori carried him over to their side of the battlefield and let him down by his feet.

"Hey!" barked Anthony, irritated at being ignored. "Do not ignore my question to you! Answer me, answer us all, what is your next Pokemon?"

Well, what next, he thought? He pulled out the capsules of his remaining two Pokemon. Pachi had nearly won before he got prematurely declared out of the match, and that berry had thrown a wrench into things. How much damage did that undo? Either of his other Pokemon was at a type disadvantage. Whatever the third was though, he'd have to rely on the Demon to either break through (or just zap) tough Skarmory scales or not get destroyed by Hitmontop. It would be for the best if she was as fresh for that as possible.

Which meant…using Pawniard next. That gave him the best chance of winning anyway, and he couldn't just roll over and lose – especially in front of everyone watching. Nori took a deep breath as he gripped the capsule of the Blackout Killer's Pokemon. It would be possible to try to just win with the Demon. Unfortunately, he only realized that after he had thrown the Poke Ball and the bladed creature was out in the open.

At once, the young official became cognizant of everything around him. He saw Yumi tense up (along with half the crowd), whispering something to her brother. There was a faint squeak from Pachi. The battling club's coach visibly forced herself to remain stoic and steely. Anthony rubbed an eyelid, yet tossed his head about, crossed his arms, and smirked. Quade growled and spat, showing no fear even as the Pawniard made a threatening motion. The bladed monster drew a listless slash across his throat.

The coach slowly raised her two flags. She shuffled her feet momentarily before saying, "All right, resu–"

"Hold on a second," Nori said with authority, waving the teacher off. He turned to his assignment, "Okay, listen up," Maybe he was going to end up looking like a tryhard, but he couldn't think of anything else. "Do everything I tell you, nothing I don't. Got it?"

No response. Nori frowned. He liked giving his Pokemon a say in strategy. It threw people off, felt more respectful, and they thought of things he didn't. Yet there was a purpose behind not doing so here; he had remembered something Volkner had once said to him. His mentor had brought up that if he left some of his assignments to their own devices, they might end up doing something he'd regret. Was this Pawniard one of those cases where Nori had to keep a tight leash? A few days ago showed he would listen to him, at least.

"Done with your heart-to-heart?" Anthony asked, twirling a finger as he dismissively looked away from him.

"I am," he sighed. "Nothing to do but do it, Nori," he whispered to himself under his breath. "You still have your swap, use it if you have to."

"Continue the battle, in that case," the coach said.

"Let's get this party started!" Anthony pointed with dramatic flair. "Unleash a Mud Bomb!"

Quade reared back. Exact orders, Nori repeated in his head. "Cleave that Mud Bomb apart vertically," he specifically stated.

It was a bold maneuver. But it was also a good chance to test the full extent of his Pokemon's abilities, especially with the floor still something of a mess. To everyone's surprise but Pawniard's, he did so, avoiding damage entirely.

"You are JOKING!" cursed Anthony.

"Use Torment on Quade."

All too happy to oblige, his Pokemon made some cruel gestures while mouthing off. Quade quivered, clutching at his head. Pawniard cackled, a wicked screeching sound.

Anthony was undeterred. "Mud Shot, then!" Well, he didn't expect that. It was the advantage of redundancy. Nori supposed their last move was of limited effectiveness because of it.

"Hit Quade with a ranged Psycho Cut," he requested. The officials had given him a list of Pawniard's moves, and was well aware of the exertion that one would take at his Pokemon's level. Maybe it wasn't the best tactical choice, but it was good to test Pawniard's potential.

The wicked Pokemon made all sorts of slashing gestures, producing violet crescent arcs which rammed into Quade. Meanwhile, the mud skipper's own ranged move impacted Pawniard right after. The bladed creature stumbled, turned back and snickered, posing and showing off the spot where it hit him. Nori remembered he didn't say to dodge.

"Then close in," Nori said. "Go and use Slash on Quade."

"Stop it with Water Pulse!"

Nori jumped at mention of the move, choosing to look away from it. "Go…around? Dodge?" he meekly asked. He didn't hear the pulse hit, so…

"Run that monster down with High Horsepower!"

Nori turned back. His Pokemon had gone so far around that he wasn't anywhere close to slashing range. "Um, hit it with Iron Head when it gets close!"

A lot of people gasped at that one. No wonder, given it was a ridiculously gutsy counter. If Pawniard didn't land that move, he was going to take a huge hit. But if he did…

He timed the move perfectly, but Quade ran Pawniard down anyway. It sent his assignment rolling across the floor, although their foe was unable to follow-up, clutching a flipper to his forehead.

Pawniard was still splayed out. The coach looked at him in puzzlement, then at Nori.

"Get up," Nori quickly told his Pokemon, before she could make another hasty judgment. Pawniard got up, ready for more, cackling at him in the process. Exact orders. He sighed at his Pokemon taking it too literally.

"Are you okay?!" asked Anthony. By contrast, their opponent's Pokemon was critically weak. Quade groaned but waved a flipper. It was clear from his posture that he was not okay. "Then one last big one!" said Anthony.

Nori braced himself. "Don't let it, N–"

"Quade, RIDE THAT SURF!"

Surf?! "Why would you–" Nori started to shout, but it gave way to mere screaming as the wave started to form. No, no, no! He had to get away! He ran. All the way to the battlefield's side to get absolutely out of range. The young official fled in seconds. He almost curled up and covered himself, but stopped short, bashing his head against the wall.

"Nori, that was…" he started to whisper to himself, tensing as the wave crashed down behind him. That was embarrassing, but he couldn't help it.

Stupid panic attacks. He was expecting the laughter of his peers over his phobia being exposed before them. What he got was gasps and shrieks. The young official slowly turned around.

The scene was graphic. Pawniard's legs were shaking, yet he stood triumphant. He was pressing his hand against Quade's snout. The latter's mouth was open in a silent shout of terror. The tip of the wicked blade was jutting out of the roof of the water skipper's mouth. A light ooze was trickling down from it.

The bladed Pokemon snapped his arm back, and with that, a horrible guttural cry pierced the air.

Everything started happening all at once. There was screaming and shouting. The words were all blending together. Nori thought he heard 'disqualified' in there, his name several times, Anthony crying for Quade, the word 'recall,' and lots more. The only thing he was sure about was his profuse apologizing. There were suddenly many Pokemon on the battlefield, but Pawniard slashed his way out and hid behind Nori, cackling lowly yet madly.

The young official turned to his Pokemon. Pawniard flashed a sick grin, standing a little taller. He pointed his claws towards Nori, although he kept his arms slack at his side. Nori trembled. He couldn't sneer, or frown, or make any kind of expression. Without a further word, he retrieved the monster's Poke Ball and stowed him away.

Nori took another look at the scene unfolding before him. Pachi had rushed to his side, but his expression was nearly empty. Yumi was nowhere in sight. The fieldworkers were filming on their phones in shock. Some were gathered around Anthony, others looked like they wanted to come his way. One part of him thought about helping. But he also figured that anything he said or did was just going to make things worse. Plus, there were too many people throwing leers and insults his way. It wasn't worth sticking around.

"I'm sorry. I'll go."

Ignoring their retorts, he wasted little time in scooping up Pachi and going through the doors out of the school. He was running, even though he knew he couldn't escape. There was going to be so, so much fallout. He simply didn't want to face it right away.

Slice 6: Sword of Damocles

A/N: From here on out, expect spoilers for Memory of a Ghoul to start showing up. If it's a problem and you want to read both fics, read up through C3 of MoaG before the next chapter. That said, it's foreshadowing by design there (what it alludes to won't be dropped until after that chapter's publication). I'll have explicit WARNINGS later on for more serious instances.