Chapter 73: An Elite Beatdown!
Ariana, Petrel, and Proton stood in the middle of an office on the highest floor of a tall building in Goldenrod City. One that wasn't anywhere near the Radio Tower, though it was easy for them to see it just out the back window. Just looking at the structure made Ariana taste bile. There were three chairs for them to sit in, but all three of them refrained from doing so, knowing the subject of discussion wasn't going to be a sit-down kind of affair. Still, the three of them were getting antsy. Proton kept eyeing the door behind him every five minutes. Ariana noticed, having crossed her arms and pressing her front teeth down on her bottom lip.
"Proton? Would it kill you not to look at the door every second?" Ariana hissed. "We're already impatient enough as it is. Giovanni will get here when he gets here. He's a busy man."
"I know, but the anticipation is killing me," Proton replied, trying to keep his composure as much as he could. But his voice adopted a childish whine that he hadn't intended to use.
Petrel noticed, and wasted no time pointing it out. "We're all impatient here, so suck it up and quit your whining," He retorted.
The door to the office finally opened, and Giovanni strode inside, with Archer flanking him. Giovanni wore his signature flashy orange suit, yellow dress shirt, red tie, and brown leather shoes. Although the four Team Rocket executives had grown used to seeing him dress in his favorite orange suit, they still couldn't help but think that it made him look more flamboyant than genuinely intimidating. Wasn't the de facto boss of an organized criminal syndicate supposed to look more serious? But they didn't dare voice these thoughts out loud. Giovanni was sure to really let them have it if they ever openly questioned him about anything. Giovanni sat down behind his desk and pulled out some papers from a manila folder he carried with him.
"Thank you all for coming today," Archer said in his usual monotone voice, standing next to Giovanni's desk with a clipboard in both hands. "Apologies for being tardy. Giovanni has something very important he'd like to discuss with all of us. Boss?"
Giovanni heard the signal and began to speak. "As I'm sure you're all aware, the events of the past few months have dealt a significant blow to Team Rocket. The Radio Tower mission was a failure, and the actions of a lowly grunt have thrown us into the public eye," He explained, voice stony and austere, leaving no room for nonsense. "More than fifty of our grunts and several other executives have been arrested and are awaiting a trial as we speak."
In that moment, Giovanni flashed an intense glare towards Ariana and Petrel. The two of them shivered upon seeing his dark eyes scrutinizing them. "You two are very lucky I was able to bail you out of jail when I did. The only reason I didn't throw you under the bus was because I can't afford to lose you two. I need people who can keep the grunts in line and handle all the work that I am unable to. But don't think I'll be so merciful the next time something like this happens."
Ariana and Petrel deflated. "We understand, sir, and we are very grateful," Ariana bowed in a 90 degree angle, hoping prostrating herself like this would convince her boss that she understood the depth of her gratitude. Giovanni paid her no heed.
On the other hand, Petrel gave Proton the stink eye. "I didn't see you getting hauled off to prison, and you were equally responsible for making sure the grunts were in their assigned positions!" Petrel hissed.
"Unlike you, I actually know how to stay out of sight and not make a complete bumbling fool out of myself!" Proton shot back. "You two should have made more of an effort to, y'know, not let the police catch you!"
"They had a Gengar phase through the walls and a bunch of Butterfree use Sleep Powder on everyone!" Petrel argued. "It's not like we can see into the future! How could we possibly have prepared for that?!"
"Both of you, stop this childish prattle!" Archer shouted, lifting his clipboard to smack the back of it with one hand. "Each and every one of us has to take accountability for what happened. Besides, the boss isn't done speaking yet."
Good point. The trio of executives fell silent, dropping the argument.
"Because of what's happened, I've decided to make a few changes to our organization," Giovanni said, folding his hands together. "First off, because the police and the FBI are looking for us, we're going to lay low for a while. I don't know for how long, but we need to dial back and keep a low profile as much as possible. The less attention we draw to ourselves, the better, and this includes holding off on any big plans."
The trio of executives exchanged looks. That was understandable. If Team Rocket tried to do something while the police were out looking for them, they were sure they'd be caught right away.
"Furthermore, in light of this, there's something else I'd like to discuss," Giovanni said, looking up at Archer. "Do you have the financial reports?"
"Here, sir," Archer handed him a stack of papers. Giovanni took them into his hands and scrutinized them for a brief minute.
"In light of the fact that we need to dial back on our schemes, this also means we have to be more financially frugal," Giovanni explained. "Since this is what led to the police coming after us in the first place, I decree that the Team Rocket breeding program be shut down, effective immediately."
Reactions were varied. Ariana actually exhaled a sigh of relief. Proton simply pulled the rim of his hat over his eyes in silence. Petrel's eyes went as wide as saucers, and he couldn't stop himself from shouting "What?! Why?!"
"Petrel, let him explain!" Ariana hissed.
Giovanni held the bridge of his nose with two fingers to compose himself before speaking again. "According to these reports, Team Rocket has spent more money on things such as baby food, diapers, clothing, and formula than on the machinery, technology, and information that is required for not just J's research, but for our expansion. We've spent over millions of dollars on basically educating and raising more children than we can feasibly handle. There's also the fact that since many of the children we have are still so young, they cannot replace all the grunts that we already lost because of the arrests. At this point in time, we can't afford to wait years and years for the children we bred to come of age when we are in dire need of new recruits right away."
Proton raised his hand. "If I may, Sir, the reason the breeding program was started was that you didn't want to come under suspicion of the police through our previous methods of manipulating people into joining us or kidnapping them off the streets. Didn't you say this was an easier way to throw off the police? Why put an end to it now?" He asked.
Once again, Giovanni pointed to the reports on his desk. "You're correct in that that was how the program was conceived in the first place, back when I was younger and less worldly than I am now. But after reading these reports and learning just how much money is used on simply raising children that we conceived ourselves over decades, I've come to realize it was a poor, impulsive investment I made. Especially now that that Harriet girl talked to the police about it. It's been nothing but a drain on our funds, and much of the money that went into it could have been used for helping J in her research, or spare parts to fix some of our broken machines, or even fixing the housing complexes I oversee."
All three executives exchanged looks. They had to admit, Giovanni did make valid points. Petrel's face in particular contorted into a pained grimace.
"As such, we're putting an end to the breeding program," Giovanni asserted. "No more siring children, no more coercing female grunts to procreate, and no spending money on infant necessities," He raised a quizzical eyebrow towards Petrel in particular. "Have I made myself clear?"
Ariana and Photon had no problem responding. "Yes, sir."
On the other hand, Petrel was internally squirming. "Yes sir…" His response was far more morose, like the one thing he had to look forward to was taken from him.
"With this in mind, I've gathered you all here to give you your assigned roles for carrying this out," Giovanni said, turning towards Ariana first. "Ariana. You will oversee the older grunts and have them drop the babies we have off at whatever hospitals, orphanages, and adoption agencies you can find. Make sure that the grunts don't try to do anything stupid like kill them. That'll just make things worse. The police already found several of our establishments and nurseries, and they're doubling down on their efforts to find any that they haven't found yet. The infants we still have will not only be a strain on our finances, but gigantic red flags for the police. Can I trust you to handle this undertaking?"
Ariana gave a sailor's salute. "Yes, sir. I'll see to its completion."
Giovanni then side eyed Proton. "Proton. You will oversee the clean-up operation. We must destroy and dispose of any items that could indicate that infants and children are present within Team Rocket. I've already mobilized a group of grunts you can utilize to speed up the process," Giovanni told him. "I know it's not the most ideal task, but it's just as important as all others."
Proton's face contorted in aggravation. Cleaning was not one of his favorite tasks, as Proton knew that was what janitors were for. But he knew better than to question his boss, so he gave a non-committal nod and shrug. "I understand, sir. Thank you for this opportunity."
With this, only Petrel was left. Giovanni turned to him and said, "As for you, Petrel...I am barring you from copulating with the female grunts for the time being."
Petrel's mouth fell agape. "But Giovanni, sir! I—"
The man in the orange suit held up a hand, silencing him. "Like I said, we all need to do our part and lay low so that we don't draw the attention of both the police and the FBI. I am hereby forbidding you to take women to your bedchamber," Giovanni announced, leaving no room for nonsense in his voice.
Proton leaned closer to Ariana, flashing a smirk. "Look at Petrel squirm. He looks so pathetic."
Against her better judgment, a giggle escaped Ariana's throat, though she was quick to stifle it by putting a hand to her mouth. "I know, right?" Ariana whispered back. "Petrel needs to learn to go one day without getting into a girl's pants. Think he can handle it?"
"No," Proton whispered, barely stifling giggles of his own.
Petrel was quick to give the two of them the stink eye. "You know I can hear you two giggling over there, right?!" He hissed.
"Giovanni's not finished yet," Archer reminded them. All three executives stood straight as boards, with Petrel in particular turning rigid.
The man in the orange tuxedo heaved another sigh as he continued on. "Indeed. Petrel, I'm pairing you up with Archer so you two can look over some documents that just came in the other day. I need your reports back by the end of this week."
If there was anything the executives really didn't care for, it was paperwork. Then again, who did? Knowing arguing with his boss was futile, Petrel groaned and conceded defeat. "I understand, sir."
"Alright. Your new duties will begin first thing tomorrow morning, as I still have some matters I need to attend to before then. You are dismissed," Giovanni gave the signal for them to leave.
Both Ariana and Proton smiled as they left Giovanni's office, with the latter stretching his arms out. "Pheeeew! I thought for sure he was going to roast us like Slowpoke tails!" Proton exclaimed.
"Don't remind me," Ariana groaned as she held a hand to her stomach. "Man, I could really go for some pizza right now."
"Uuuugh…" Petrel flanked them from behind, moaning the entire time. "This is awful...my one joy in life is taken from me...what am I to do now?"
Ariana clenched her teeth. Petrel was still going on about that? At this point, she couldn't bear to hear any more of this. She swiveled around and shouted, "God, you're pathetic! If you're really that desperate to get your rocks off, go to the friggin' red light district!"
The purple haired executive said nothing as he ambled right past him, with his shoulders hunched and back bent over, like he was literally dragging himself through the hall. But as much as Petrel annoyed them with his perverse ways, they had to admit, seeing him look so forlorn was pretty funny. To them, at least. Of course, they knew this wasn't the time to be laughing at someone's misery. There was work to be done...and a lunch break to partake in.
A torrent of rain fell from the sky in sheets, with every cluster of rain drops forming miniature waterfalls that seemed to drench the world. Julia, Ethan, and Caiseal watched the violent downpour from inside the Pokemon Center lobby as they ate their lunch. Water pounded against the glass window, as if threatening to break it into pieces.
"Oh wow. It's really pouring out there," Julia noted.
"I know, right?" Ethan groaned, laying his head on the cool table. "And we have to walk out there to get to the stadium for Perrine's next match, too…" None of the kids liked the idea of going out in that kind of weather for any reason, but they had resolved to watch all of Perrine's matches against the Elite Four. That wasn't going to change, rain or shine.
Footsteps pulled the trio's gaze from the window as Perrine came rushing over to them, plate of food in hand. "There you are! Had a bit of a hard time finding you guys," Perrine said as she slid into the empty space next to Caiseal.
"Is our spot really that hard to find? Sorry," Caiseal said.
"Eh, no worries," Perrine replied.
Julia did notice someone was missing. She looked around the lobby but didn't see who she was looking for. "Where's your mom, Perrine?"
"She went to a salon nearby to get her nails done," Perrine answered.
Ethan eyed the weather outside. "In this weather?"
Perrine shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know why either."
"So what time's your next match?" Julia asked.
Perrine took a minute to eat some sausages she got at the buffet before answering. "It's at one, so in about an hour. Since Bruno specializes in fighting types, I took some time to get my team in order."
"Cool!" Caiseal exclaimed. "Just think, if you beat Bruno and Karen, you'll get to fight Lance—Wha?!" Before he could finish his sentence, he felt something weigh down on his head out of nowhere.
Something purple and with a long tail. Everyone backed away when they saw what had landed on his mop of blonde hair.
"Aipom!" A lone Aipom stood on Caiseal's head, using the appendage at the end of its tail to grab a sandwich on his plate. Then the long tail Pokemon leaped into the next booth.
"Hey!" Caiseal stood up and immediately ran after it, eyes blazing. "Gimme back my sandwich, you thief!" The angry blonde kid gave chase as the thieving Aipom got down on all fours and began running. The other kids followed suit, figuring he could use some backup. Oddly enough, the chase didn't last very long, as the Aipom approached two girls who were at the buffet, looking over the dessert area.
"Pom! Pom!" The Aipom stopped in front of one girl with dark brown hair in particular, holding the stolen sandwich out to her.
"Aipom! Wha—?" The girl's eyes widened as she looked down at the gift presented before her. Then she looked up at the crowd just behind it. Her lips pursed together as she connected the dots. She looked down at the Aipom with narrowed eyebrows and she crossed her arms. "You didn't steal their food, did you?!"
"Yes, it did. Is this your Pokemon, Miss?" Perrine clarified.
The brown haired girl's palm met her face as the realization hit her. "Oh dear. I'm so sorry. My Aipom stole your food, didn't he?" She groaned before staring down her Aipom and pointing to the kids. "Aipom. Give the sandwich back and say you're sorry right now," Her voice was firm and left no room for nonsense.
Aipom's ears drooped as he manipulated his tail to show the sandwich to Caiseal. The blonde boy took it in his hands, and Aipom walked over to his trainer. "Thanks."
But the brown girl didn't see this as being enough of an apology. She walked over to the kids and bowed in a 90 degree angle. "Again, I'm so, so, so sorry about this. My Aipom is always stealing food and trying to pull pranks like this. I've been trying to make him stop, but...as you can see, I'm clearly not doing a good enough job."
The girl's friend, a heavy set girl with glasses and short black hair in a bob cut, spoke next. "Aipom, I was going to get my own sandwich! For Pete's sake!" The girl was quick to scold Aipom yet again. "Just because I said I wanted one right now doesn't mean you should go around stealing one from people!"
Aipom said nothing as he climbed up his trainer's back and settled on her shoulder.
"It's alright," Caiseal said with a smile. "Your Aipom didn't eat it, so it's all good."
It'd have been one thing if Aipom had eaten it already, but the sandwich was untouched, though parts of the bread were pressed because of the appendages on Aipom's tail.
"You should probably put Aipom back in his PokeBall, Emily," The black haired girl advised her friend.
Emily? Julia was suddenly hit with deja vu. Something about this duo seemed...familiar. But she couldn't put her finger on what. She recognized the name, but couldn't place it. Did she know someone named Emily? Where? Emily called Aipom back to his PokeBall, preventing further attempts at stealing food. It wasn't long before Julia felt someone else's gaze on her.
"Hey, wait a minute…" The black haired girl's eyes locked onto Julia, and she walked closer to get a better look.
Julia backed away two steps, cowed by how close into her personal space this girl was, blocking out everything else. Her black bob cut, her large glasses, her purple hoodie, long gray skirt, and thick, black combat boots. The quartet all exchanged confused looks. Why was this girl staring at Julia?
"Uhh, Debbie? Personal space," Emily said, but her friend ignored her.
Debbie? This time, the name rang a bell in Julia's mind. Didn't Amara used to hang out with someone named Debbie? She remembered she had three other friends besides Chanel that she hung out with.
"Now I remember you!" Debbie suddenly exclaimed. "You're Amara's little sister, aren't you?! Julia Parisa!"
Julia's hands flew to her ears, as Debbie's exclamation made her eardrums hurt, but she nodded and backed away two more steps, standing next to Perrine.
"Wait, Julia?" Emily's eyes widened and her mouth fell agape as the name rang a bell in her mind as well. "No way! Seriously?! Oh my goodness! It's been so long!"
Caiseal shot a confused look towards Julia. "You know these girls?"
"Yeah," Julia shyly admitted with a nod. "They're Amara's friends from school."
Of all the places Julia would run into Emily Flaherty and Debbie Strongwell, the last place she expected was the Pokemon League. They never struck her as being the type to want to be Pokemon trainers. She had seen them come over to the Parisa house a few times, and they usually went into Amara's room to hang out. Amara never let her hang out with them, so Julia never got to know them all that well. From what little she could gather from the few meetings they did have, Julia thought they were just girly girls who liked to dress up and talk about things like boys, boy bands, and crushes, similar to some of her classmates. But they were nice enough.
"Are you a Pokemon trainer now or something?" Debbie asked.
Julia shuffled behind Perrine just a little bit. "Yes, I am. But I'm not in the League. I'm supporting Perrine. She's one of my friends," She stammered.
"Awesome!" Emily clasped both hands together. "We had no idea you became a Pokemon trainer! That's so great!" She exclaimed, her brown pigtails flowing with every movement she made.
It was Julia's turn for questions this time. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked.
"Well, we got our butts beat in the very first round, so we didn't get very far at all," Debbie groaned. "But my uncle's part of the Elite Four, and we thought we'd stop by to watch his battle."
The trio exchanged wide eyed looks once more. Debbie was related to a member of the Elite Four? "Your uncle?"
"Yeah! Bruno! The beefy martial artist dude!" Debbie clarified, pulling out a handbook and opening it to one page showing a muscular man in nothing but white pants. "He's my dad's older brother."
Everyone could only stare in awe. "I had no idea!" Julia exclaimed. There was so much about Debbie and Emily that Julia didn't know. Then again, since they rarely got to interact all those years ago, Julia was sure there wasn't an opportunity for her to learn that fact, and anything else about them, at that time. Julia smiled. "That's cool. Are you guys gonna watch Perrine and Bruno battle?"
Debbie balled a hand into a fist, brandishing it with confidence. "You bet! He's gonna whip your butt for sure, redhead!" Debbie shot back.
Perrine crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "We'll see about that."
"Do you guys want to have lunch with us?" Ethan offered. "We can move to a bigger table if you'd like. We'd love to hear about your adventures."
Both Debbie and Emily exchanged knowing glances before nodding and smiling. "We'd love to! Thanks! We just need to get our food first."
Once the older girls ordered their lunch, they moved from a booth to a longer table further out. Said table had more chairs, which were able to accommodate their new tablemates easily.
"So what made you guys want to be Pokemon trainers? Or battle the League?" Julia asked, figuring it'd be polite to start a conversation with them. "I have to admit, you two never struck me as being the Pokemon trainer type."
Debbie was the first to explain, adjusting her glasses as she did so. "It's understandable that you'd think that. To be honest, I want to be just like my uncle Bruno. Strong, tough, never taking crap from anyone!" She explained. "I figured maybe being a Pokemon trainer could help with that, since I wanted to be one anyway."
"That's kinda like me. I want to be just like my aunt, and she was the former Champion of Johto before Lance came into the picture," Perrine chimed in.
Julia could only smile. She wondered if Perrine and Debbie could be friends. They both wanted to be like their famous relatives, and both loved Pokemon. She remembered that Perrine didn't have many friends who were into Pokemon and the gym challenge like she was back in Goldenrod City, and here was one right in front of her. To think it wound up being one of Amara's friends.
"Whoa! Your aunt was the former Champion?! Awesome!" Debbie exclaimed, loud enough to make Julia cover her ears.
Sensing the younger girl's discomfort, Emily put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Keep your voice down," She advised.
"Oh. Sorry."
Undeterred, Perrine nodded. "No lie! Still, I can't believe you're related to Bruno! It's so rare to meet somebody else who's related to the Elite Four!" She cajoled before pulling her PokeGear from her pocket. "Wanna exchange numbers? I'd love to talk to you more!"
Debbie smirked. "Oh, absolutely! Do you even need to ask?"
Of course. Julia knew they'd become friends right away. She smiled once more as Perrine and Debbie vigorously exchanged phone numbers.
"I'm not really interested in becoming Champion, personally," Emily said, turning the conversation back to what it once was. "But I wanted to give the League a try at least once. Of course, I lost in the very first round," Emily gave an embarrassed chuckle and fiddled with one of the pigtails dangling down her shoulder. "Pretty pathetic, huh?"
Ethan shook his head. "That's not true. It's tough for trainers to even make it to the League at all," He told her reassuringly. "I think you should be proud you at least got to participate. Besides, the League isn't everything in life. Getting there is still an accomplishment in and of itself."
Julia pointed her thumb towards Ethan. "He's right, y'know."
All of a sudden, that trainer Milly O'Connell flashed into Julia's mind upon hearing Ethan's final sentence. It's true that while participating in the Pokemon League was a big deal, there was no rule that stated that trainers absolutely had to sign up for it no matter what. Milly, a trainer she didn't even know, targeted her and used her Pokemon to bully her, all because she hated the fact that Julia, who won eight badges, didn't want to participate in the League, seeing her as some layabout who didn't want to make use of a big opportunity. Of course, Julia knew for a fact that what she did with her own time was her own business, and Milly had no right to throw herself into Julia's affairs, much less judge her for it. Milly was the one who had harassed her when she should have just minded her own business.
For what it was worth, Julia was happy everyone else took pride in simply participating in the League. If only Milly could have realized that. But more than that, she just wanted to forget the whole incident altogether.
Emily finished her food before talking to Julia again. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask: Have you run into Amara on your journey? How's she been doing?"
Julia stiffened. How could she tell them about Amara's situation?
"Come on, Em," Debbie shot back before Julia could answer. The girl's voice was dripping with venom just from the thought of Amara. "We already saw her back in Mahogany Town and got into that argument. For all we know, she's probably stewing in her misery while plowing through gyms with her Pokemon."
The kids in Julia's friend group all exchanged confused, almost worried glances. Something inside Julia advised that she tell them the truth. As much as she didn't want to, as they were her friends, hearing Debbie say what she did...didn't feel right.
"...She's not traveling anymore," Julia pushed the words out, and they sounded almost robotic, coming from her. "She's...in prison."
Both Debbie and Emily stared, completely slack-jawed, for a moment. "Whoa. Hold on. Prison? You're kidding, right?" Debbie chuckled. "No way. I know Amara's been a whiny priss, and I can only imagine what she's been putting you through, but come on! There's nooooo way she'd be in jail!"
Once Emily got over her initial shock, she spoke next. "Last we checked, she was doing well. What do you mean she's in prison?"
Wait...did they not know? About what happened to Amara? Her crimes were all over the news at various points. Even in newspapers. Probably even mentioned on the radio stations on their PokeGears. How could they not know about it? They had to have seen articles about it on the internet at least once. Julia couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You...really don't know?"
Debbie narrowed her eyes. "Don't know what?"
Emily shuffled in her seat. "Is it...serious?"
There was no point in dancing around the subject now. "I should probably explain."
Julia explained everything, leaving absolutely no detail out. She told them all of Amara's crimes, from stealing a Totodile from Professor Elm all the way to her more recent crimes of trying to steal gym badges and having a Pokemon free her from a police station after she was arrested. She also told them about how Amara going rogue was the reason she herself went on her journey, in an impulsive attempt to bring her to justice herself. She also mentioned finding out the truth behind the Gyarados attack on Cherrygrove that killed Chanel, Amara's reaction to it, and Amara deciding she was done wallowing in self-pity and blaming others for her own actions. With every word that spilled out of Julia's mouth, Debbie and Emily's eyes grew wide as saucers, and their mouths fell agape, like they had seen a ghost Pokemon. Once Julia finished, both Debbie and Emily were completely silent.
"We...we had no idea…" Emily found herself whimpering. "So that was why...she was so angry when we saw her last…"
On the other hand, Debbie clenched her teeth for a second, then slammed a fist onto the table. Everyone held onto their trays and drinks to prevent them from spilling all over the place. Thankfully, nothing did, but everyone could feel the anguish emanating from the two of them.
"What the hell?! How...how did we not know about this?!" Debbie bellowed. Not loud enough to disturb neighbors, as there weren't any, but enough to make Julia cover her ears again. "How?!"
Nobody could respond, as they didn't have the answer to that. Except for Emily, who meekly spoke up. "It wasn't like any of us contacted her, nor used our PokeGears or the internet for anything except our own journeys."
"But still!" Debbie wasn't having it. "We had to have heard about it on the news at least once!"
Again, nobody had any answers for her. Julia could tell they were having a hard time processing everything, and she didn't blame them. How could anyone take this kind of news well? The fact that someone who had once been their friend resorted to committing crimes, running from the law, and pushing everyone away out of a refusal to process her grief in a more healthy manner, nor take responsibility for their actions until now.
"Oh wow…" Even Ethan took a moment to let this new information sink in. "I remember hearing about that Gyarados attack on the news. My family and I were visiting relatives when that happened. Our house was left alone, sure, but...we all thought it was just a freak thing. To think some creep was mind controlling it…"
Julia decided to speak again. "That news certainly put a lot of things into perspective for Amara," She continued on. "She thought Pokemon in general were to blame for Chanel's death. She lashed out at the whole world...and realized everything she did was for nothing."
Emily heaved a big sigh. "Well...that certainly puts a lot of things into perspective."
"Do you…" Debbie started, but wasn't sure how to continue. "Do you know which prison she's in?"
"No," Julia replied. "All I know is that she had to go to court at the beginning of this month, and I don't know how it played out. But…" Memories of reconciling with her in the shack came flooding back. She looked right at Amara's friends with resolve in her eyes. "Now that she knows the truth, she's back to being the person she used to be. I'm sure...she's probably done a lot of bad stuff to you guys before this, and I'm not asking you to forgive her or anything. That's not my decision to make. But I want you to know...she realizes how badly she screwed up with everyone now, me included."
Yet another silence weighed down on the group like a heavy fog. Debbie could only stare at her food, leaving it untouched. Emily kept shifting in her seat, unable to find a comfortable position. Only now was the new information really sinking in. Nobody knew what to say.
Except Perrine, who had checked the time. "So...it's almost time for my match with Bruno. Do you guys...want to leave?" She suggested.
Everyone stood up from their seats in perfect unison, finished their food, threw away whatever trash they had, and went to the stadium, all with one thought on their minds: This was getting very, very awkward.
When the kids got to the stadium, Perrine's opponent Bruno was already present, along with Rocio, who was already on the bleachers. He wore nothing except long, white pants and black bracelets on both wrists and ankles. Muscles covered this man from neck to toe, and he had a prominent set of abs that Perrine assumed were the result of years of weight training and martial arts practice. Nobody she knew looked that ripped. He looked like he could be some sort of wrestler, and even several feet away, he looked as though he could tower over all the kids. An intimidating presence.
Not so for Debbie, who ran over to him squealing with delight. "Uncle Brunoooo!"
"Debbie!" Bruno held his arms outward, allowing his niece to leap right into them. He spun her around just once and the two of them broke into laughter. "How's my favorite niece? I'm so glad you came!"
"And miss watching you battle a potential new Champion? Fat chance of that happening!" Debbie fired back.
Everyone's mouths fell agape. Perrine remembered seeing pictures of Bruno in magazines and on the internet. He always had a stoic, solemn expression on his face, with a grim gleam in his eyes that was not to be underestimated. Sometimes he looked like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and he never seemed to smile. Yet here he was, smiling and laughing, just like any other person, hugging his niece and welcoming her with open arms.
Caiseal leaned closer to Perrine. "I have to admit, it's weird not seeing Bruno with his usual stone face," Caiseal whispered.
"I know, right? It's like he turned into a different person," Perrine whispered back. "But he does have a cute smile, so he's got that going for him, and clearly he and Debbie are close."
Not long after they exchanged greetings and pleasantries, Bruno put Debbie back down and rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's great you're doing so well. You'd best join your friends. My battle's about to start."
Debbie flashed a thumb's up and silently ran over to the bleachers, as did everyone else. Perrine stood on her side of the battlefield, and Bruno's jovial expression turned right back to his signature stoic one. "Greetings, Perrine Innocenti. I am Bruno Strongwell of the Elite Four," Even his voice, which was warm and friendly when talking to Debbie, hardened into a more stern, booming baritone. Perrine wondered if he was the kind of guy who tried to keep his family life separate from his Elite Four life.
He put a fist against his palm and gave a graceful bow. "Here's to a good battle."
"Likewise," Perrine muttered before sending out her first Pokemon, Florian.
"Hitmontop, I choose you!" Bruno immediately sent out his Pokemon as well, a Hitmontop. The battle began right away. "Begin with Rolling Kick!"
"Set up Reflect, Florian!" Perrine cried out.
Hitmontop landed on his head and spun around like a top, charging towards the green sauropod. Florian remained steadfast, generating a translucent wall of light. Hitmontop rammed right into it for a minute before backing away at least five feet. During that time, the wall of light dissolved into Florian's body, strengthening his muscles.
Perrine thought long and hard on potential strategies she could use against Bruno's Pokemon, especially against Hitmontop. From what she learned, Bruno always sent Hitmontop out first, and most trainers could never get past it. She thought of one potential move to use against Hitmontop, but it was a risky one. Still, a risk is better than nothing, and if one didn't take at least some risks, they'd never get anywhere in life. Perrine steeled herself. There was no going back.
"Florian! Use Grassy Terrain, and make the grass as long and thick as possible!" Perrine commanded.
Florian stood upright, and the flower circling his neck glowed green. A similarly colored light poured out from underneath his feet, spreading all across the battlefield like a rippling tide. As soon as the light formed a rectangle shape around the battlefield, stopping at the trainer boxes, grass shot up from the ground, as fresh and vibrant as if they had come from actual soil. The grass rose at an unreasonably fast pace, only stopping at Hitmontop's chest.
Rocio scratched her head reflectively. "I forget, what exactly does Grassy Terrain do again?" She asked.
Julia took it upon herself to explain. "It changes the environment so that it increases the power of grass type moves and heals the user every once in a while. But there's a drawback: It also heals the opponent as well. But it goes away after a while."
"Still, using Grassy Terrain this early?" Caiseal couldn't help but cross his arms, unable to contain his scepticism. "She either has some kind of plan or shot herself in the foot."
Bruno seemed to agree, eyeing the environmental change with scrutiny. "Hitmontop, use Quick Attack!"
On cue, the handstand Pokemon squatted before sprinting toward the green sauropod, its body glowing white as it gained speed.
"Razor Leaf!"
Florian shook his petals, firing a wave of sharp leaves in Hitmontop's direction. Some of them scraped against the handstand Pokemon's skin, but they did nothing to impede its attack. Even with leaves flying in its face, Hitmontop charged right towards Florian, slamming right into him, his horn digging into the sauropod's hide. Florian stood firm, enduring the attack with only a grimace.
Bruno flexed his arms into U shapes. "Now, Rapid Spin!"
Hitmontop landed back on the ground and tried to spin, but when his horn made contact with the grass, it couldn't keep steady. The grass was too uneven, and Hitmontop couldn't find a suitably flat spot to spin on, and flattening the grass with its feet didn't help much either. The grass stalks were long and kept getting tangled in its horn.
"Huh?" Bruno's face blanched as he realized what was happening. "Hitmontop? What's wrong?"
It was Debbie who caught on. She stood up in alarm and shouted, "I get it! She had Florian use Grassy Terrain and make the grass thick so Hitmontop wouldn't be able to spin on the ground!"
Everyone smiled. "That's our Perrine," Caiseal retorted, lamenting his previous scepticism. Of course his friend would have a plan. Perrine wasn't the type of person to go into something unprepared or do things completely on the fly. Or at the very least, without considering potential drawbacks.
Of course, Perrine was only just getting started. "Now, Bulldoze!"
With all the strength he could conjure, Florian leaped at least two feet into the air. Gravity took over, and the green sauropod landed on the ground with such force that the battlefield shook and rippled, almost knocking Hitmontop off balance. The handstand Pokemon was able to kneel and put one hand on the ground to keep steady, but the shock waves it couldn't see made its bones tremble.
"We're not giving up!" Bruno bellowed. "Use Aerial Ace, Hitmontop!"
Once the ground stopped shaking, Hitmontop ran across the grass, its body glowing in a light green hue, probably from both Aerial Ace and Grassy Terrain healing some of its injuries. Then, Hitmontop cried out as it gave a great leap, white streaks bursting out from behind it. Gravity came into effect as Hitmontop lowered its head, its horn facing Florian, and charged towards the green sauropod. The attack made contact, and Florian skidded across the battlefield, with his back legs pushing up some of the grass it grew. But Florian stood firm, enduring the attack even as it felt Hitmontop's horn cut through his skin.
"No way!" Debbie suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere. "Even with Reflect, that attack should have knocked Meganium out cold!"
Bruno seemed to agree, only he didn't voice it like his niece did. Instead, he just called out another attack. "Do not waver! Use Triple Kick!"
Hitmontop pulled its horn out from Florian's neck and used both legs to kick the sauropod on the head. All three kicks came in quick succession. Oddly enough, Perrine simply kept her arms crossed, observing the attacks with scrutiny. Just as the third kick landed…
"Vine Whip!"
Florian saw an opening. Two vines shot out from his neck, coiling around both of Hitmontop's legs. Everyone gasped, even Bruno.
"Throw it as hard as you can!"
Florian let out a warbling shout as he spun his vines around to gain momentum and threw Hitmontop high into the air. Just as the vines released Hitmontop, Florian used them to smack the handstand Pokemon right back onto the grass. In that moment, the grass dissipated into nothing, leaving no trace of the lush rectangular grassland that Florian created.
Bruno flashed his teeth and growled. "Fight back with Rapid Spin!"
"Use Body Slam!" Perrine shouted back.
Once again, Florian jumped in the air, higher than he did when using Bulldoze. It took a minute for Hitmontop to get its bearings, but that wasn't quick enough to start spinning. A large shadow loomed over it just as it started spinning, and before long, Florian fell right on top of the handstand Pokemon. For a minute, there was a heavy silence. The green sauropod hoisted himself off of Hitmontop, and everyone's mouths fell agape as they saw the handstand Pokemon lying on the ground, mouth open, completely out cold.
Knowing it was futile to keep Hitmontop out, Bruno simply called his fallen friend back in silence. "Great job, partner. You battled well."
"Woo! Go Perrine!" Julia, Ethan, Caiseal, and even Rocio shouted in unison, cheering jubilantly.
On the other hand, Debbie could only groan in disappointment. "Nooo! I can't believe she beat Hitmontop so easily!" She complained.
"Now now, Debbie. A defeat is a defeat," Bruno gently reminded her, looking towards Perrine with a smile. "It's rare for trainers to defeat my Hitmontop, so after seeing this, I'm now convinced that your victory at the Pokemon League was no fluke."
Perrine could only nod, a little abashed by the praise. "Well, I'm not one to give up so easily," She replied, returning Florian back to his PokeBall. "I'll be saving you for a while. Is that okay?"
The PokeBall in her hand shook up and down, as if Florian was nodding from inside it.
Bruno sent out his next Pokemon. "Hitmonchan, go forth!"
Out from the PokeBall came a tan, humanoid Pokemon wearing a purple tunic and red boxing gloves. "Hitmonchan!" The Pokemon made grunts and punching gestures as it adopted a battle stance.
Perrine smiled. She knew exactly which Pokemon she wanted to use for this one. "Baloo, you're up!" As soon as her trusty Wigglytuff materialized, the balloon Pokemon simply floated to the ground with all the grace of a feather resting after a long ride on a spring breeze.
The large martial artist flexed his arms outward. "Begin with Bullet Punch!"
Hitmonchan's gloves glowed in a bright, reddish orange light as the punching Pokemon raced over to Baloo, delivering a flurry of fast-moving punches too fast for the latter to dodge. Several hit Baloo in the face, others on her stomach. Perrine could barely conceal a grunt. Bullet Punch was a steel type move, and fairy types were weak against steel. Still, she knew what to do.
"Baloo! Fight back with Play Rough!"
Baloo's body glowed pink as she began wailing on Hitmonchan, using her short, stubby arms and legs to pound on it every which way. Then, when Baloo hit it enough to make the punches stop, the balloon Pokemon proceeded to pummel the punching Pokemon by repeatedly slapping and hitting it multiple times with both arms and feet. She gave Hitmonchan no time to reorient itself, as every slap and kick came too quickly for the punching Pokemon to find an opening.
"Knock it away with Thunder Punch!" Bruno bellowed.
"Defense Curl!"
One of Hitmonchan's gloves crackled with electricity. Just as it was ready to punch Baloo, the latter curled into a fetal position while in mid-air. The punch made contact, and it made Baloo fly in the air for a few minutes. Not long after, Baloo uncurled and landed back on her feet with a smile, like the electrified punch didn't hurt one bit.
"Now, Rollout!"
Baloo curled back into a ball, only this time she began rolling across the battlefield, charging towards Hitmonchan and moving as fast as a race car. She managed to land three hits on Hitmonchan, each hit stronger than the last.
"Hitmonchan, use Ice Punch on the ground!"
At one point, Baloo almost hit Hitmonchan again, but the punching Pokemon side-stepped before making its left fist glow light blue. Then, Hitmonchan slammed said fist on the ground. Ice grew out from the spot where Hitmonchan punched it, enveloping most of the battlefield. Baloo slipped and was unable to maintain her fetal position, so she uncurled and slid on the ice, almost running into Perrine had she not managed to stop at least five feet away from her.
"You go, Hitmonchan!" Debbie threw both fists into the air. "Beat that Wigglytuff! You can do it!" She cheered.
Even with the battlefield covered in ice, Perrine found herself...strangely relaxed. As tough as Bruno's Pokemon were, she knew her own Pokemon were tough as well. No matter how hard things seemed, she'd always find some way to come out on top. In fact, she already figured out how to make the battlefield go back to normal.
"Baloo!" Perrine swung her right arm akimbo. "Break the ice with Hyper Voice!"
Baloo took in a huge breath of air, expanded her body to three times its size, then floated in the air. Once she was high enough, she let out a piercing screech that made everyone cover their ears. Shock waves rattled the entire stadium. The camera crews were the only ones unaffected, as their heavy headphones blocked out the noise. Still, the shock waves made cracks appear in the ice. The cracks grew bigger and bigger until the icy battlefield broke completely, leaving nothing but large chunks everywhere. Some of the ice broke into pieces around Hitmonchan, and the punching Pokemon covered its face with its gloves to prevent them from getting into its eyes.
It was now or never. "Baloo! Body Slam!"
Still mid-air, Baloo stopped screaming and allowed gravity to take hold, pulling her down towards the still disoriented Hitmonchan.
"Stop it with Sky Uppercut!" Bruno shouted.
Hitmonchan uncovered its face and squatted before jumping high into the air. It thrusted one of its fists right into Baloo's midsection, punching her so hard, she was unable to keep steady. Baloo fell backward, landing so hard on the leftover ice that it broke into even smaller pieces from the impact.
"Baloo!" Perrine cried out, praying she hadn't been knocked out.
Thankfully, Baloo picked herself up and stood upright, but began panting from fatigue. Perrine had to admit, this Hitmonchan was not going down easy. Then again, this was the Elite Four. She knew this wasn't going to be easy from the beginning. Even so, there had to be a way to knock Hitmonchan out somehow.
Gears began turning in her head. Maybe brute force wasn't the best course of action. Now that she thought about it...didn't Baloo have other attacks she could use that didn't involve actual attacking?
"Why's she just standing there not saying anything?" Emily asked out of the blue.
Julia leaned closer to whisper, "She's got her thinking face on. She's coming up with a plan."
Perrine gave a low gasp. She knew of a way to lower Hitmonchan's guard now. "Baloo! Use Charm!"
Instead of attacking, Baloo folded her arms together in a cutesy pose, warbling and fluttering her eyelashes in Hitmonchan's direction. Perturbed by the display, Hitmonchan could only stand there, unsure of what to do.
"Now Play Nice!"
Everyone exchanged befuddled expressions. Play Nice? Bruno almost fell over from how out of nowhere Perrine's attack announcement was. Who used Play Nice in an Elite Four battle? Paying everyone's confusion little heed, Baloo hopped over to Hitmonchan, took its gloves into her own hands, and began shaking them up and down, flashing a warm, friendly smile. The atmosphere around them completely changed, and Hitmonchan could no longer bring itself to attack this nice, cute Pokemon. Hitmonchan grunted and growled kindly, shaking Baloo's stubby arms, as if thanking her for being so welcoming.
"Hitmonchan! Don't let Wigglytuff's advances fool you!" Bruno exclaimed. "Use—"
Bruno was unceremoniously cut off by another command. "Baloo! Sweet Kiss!"
The balloon Pokemon puckered her lips and pecked Hitmonchan right on the cheek. It wasn't long before Hitmonchan's vision blurred, and it began seeing double. He could no longer tell if it was seeing two Wigglytuff or one. It grew light headed, and could no longer keep steady.
"No!" Debbie screamed, standing up from her seat yet again. "Don't fall for that crap, Hitmonchan! Do something!"
"Now's our chance, Baloo!" Perrine cried out. "Use Disarming Voice!"
Once again, Baloo made another harsh screeching sound, pelting the confused Hitmonchan from the front with a barrage of pink circles and hearts.
"Finish with Body Slam!"
"Snap out of it, Hitmonchan! Use—!"
Unfortunately for Bruno, Hitmonchan was too disoriented to hear him. The punching Pokemon fell backwards, landing on its rear, giving Baloo ample time to jump and slam right down on it, just like Florian did with Hitmontop. Her whole body covered Hitmonchan from head to toe, and the force of the impact broke some ice that was nearby. Another minute of silence followed before Baloo rolled off to the side, revealing an unconscious Hitmonchan.
"Nooooo!" Debbie broke into a faux melodramatic wail, flailing her arms outward with just as much theatrical flourish.
Unlike his niece, Bruno gave a sad smile as he called Hitmonchan back to his PokeBall. "Good job, my friend. Take a good rest."
"Woohoo!" Perrine jumped up and down. "Two straight victories in a row! We're killing it here!" She exclaimed, with Baloo mimicking her movements, just as jubilant as her trainer.
She was right. This was the first Elite Four battle where she still had all of her Pokemon for the time being, while Bruno was down to his very last Pokemon already. That said a lot about how much stronger Perrine and her Pokemon became over the course of their journey.
"Bruno's been backed into a corner," Ethan pointed out. "I bet Perrine's gonna beat him for sure!"
"Fat chance, kid," Debbie retorted condescendingly. "Uncle Bruno may have lost two Pokemon, but his final one will absolutely obliterate her whole team."
Emily grimaced a little at Debbie's attitude. "Come on, Debbie. There's no need to get all argumentative," She advised.
For the first time since his battle with her started, Bruno spoke. "I must say, Miss Innocenti, out of all the challengers I've faced in my twenty years as a member of the Elite Four, you're the first to really back me in a corner like this," He told her, his booming voice a lot softer than it was previously. It was the same tone he used when greeting Debbie. "And I won't lie, I'm really enjoying myself here."
Perrine fiddled with her skirt a bit before responding. "Same here. I'm having a lot of fun, too."
In an instant, Bruno's expression hardened back into being stony and serious as he pulled his last PokeBall out. "But determination alone won't be enough to win! Machamp, I choose you!"
Out from the PokeBall came a large, humanoid Pokemon with gray skin, four arms, two toes on each foot, and wearing both a gold belt and a black speedo. Perrine knew this was going to be the Pokemon she needed to be careful around. Machamp towered over Baloo by at least three extra feet, and all four arms could easily wrap around her entire body in no time flat. Of all the Pokemon she faced so far, Machamp was the one she knew would be the hardest to try and deal with.
But she woefully underestimated just how hard.
"Baloo, use Play Rough again!"
The balloon Pokemon's body glowed pink once more as she raced over to Machamp and tried to pummel it with both arms and legs once more. But before she could land a single hit…
"Machamp! Dynamic Punch!"
Right as Baloo got close, Machamp's right fist glowed a bright green as it quickly slugged the balloon Pokemon faster than she had time to react. An explosion of light followed, and Baloo was sent flying across the battlefield, landing just ten feet from Perrine.
"Baloo! No!" Perrine cried out. This wasn't good.
Baloo tried to stand back up, but her head felt like it had cotton stuffed in it, and her vision blurred. She thought she saw two or three Machamp, and just standing up made her wobble.
"This isn't good. Dynamic Punch must have confused Baloo!" Julia exclaimed.
Bruno held one fist into the air. "Now, finish with Heavy Slam!"
Perrine blanched. There was no way Baloo could endure an attack like that after all the hits she took previously. A yellow aura emanated from Machamp's body as it jumped high into the air. Gravity took hold soon after, pulling Machamp down as it used its body weight to press down on Baloo. The force of the impact made a cloud of dust billow out from the ground. Perrine shielded her eyes with her arm as some dust rolled in her direction. It wasn't long before the dust dissipated, and Machamp stood back up, revealing an unconscious Baloo.
"Oh, Baloo…" Perrine muttered despondently, shoulders drooping from the loss.
In stark contrast, Debbie began shouting at the top of her lungs. "Woohoo! You go, Machamp! You squashed that Wigglytuff flat as a pancake!" She exclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear. Julia slid towards Ethan, and even though she covered her ears, her eardrums still throbbed from the way Debbie's voice echoed in the stadium.
As much as Perrine understood that Debbie was very supportive of her uncle, the urge to walk over there and clamp her mouth shut was tempting. Didn't she know to keep her voice down? Even from the battlefield, she could see that her inability to lower her volume was causing everyone a lot of discomfort, Julia especially. But this was not the time for that. She winced as she called Baloo back to her PokeBall.
"It's alright, girl. You did a great job," She whispered.
The battle wasn't over yet. Perrine still had two healthy Pokemon left. She didn't want to send Florian out, as doing that would drag out the battle longer than needed, and he could only do so much. Besides, she already had the perfect Pokemon to use against Machamp, and her smirk returned as soon as she pulled his PokeBall out.
"Fukuro! This one's on you!"
Fukuro materialized in mid-air, flapping his wings and giving a high pitched trill as he made his entrance.
"Dibs on the first attack this time!" Perrine exclaimed. "Air Slash! Let's go!"
Fukuro flapped his wings once, generating white sickles of air that hit Machamp right on it's abs. They didn't knock it out completely, but from the way Machamp winced upon their making contact, she could tell they did substantial damage.
Bruno held both arms upward, parallel to one another. "Machamp, use Poison Jab!" He bellowed.
Machamp's hands glowed purple as it jumped into the air, jabbing at the owl Pokemon with precise attacks. Thankfully, since Fukuro was more agile, none of them managed to hit, as the owl Pokemon dodged every attack, moving up, down, left, right, any direction he could. Once Machamp landed back on the ground, Perrine knew she had to act fast.
"Extrasensory!"
Fukuro's red eyes glowed blue, firing two rainbow hued beams of light right towards Machamp, who defended itself by holding up all four of his arms like shields. It wasn't long before the attack dissipated.
"Machamp! Fight back with Rock Slide!" Bruno exclaimed.
The grey Pokemon gave a roar, and a white light forming a disc materialized just below the ceiling. Rocks of varying shapes and sizes came raining down from the white light. Fukuro screeched and tried to evade them, but several of them came too fast for him to avoid. Fukuro found himself pelted by rocks every which way, and the bird fell to the ground once the raining rocks disappeared.
"Fukuro! Are you okay?" Perrine's voice took on a pleading tone. Fukuro was her best hope of winning against Bruno. She couldn't lose. Not when she managed to get this far!
Much to her relief, Fukuro flapped his wings and ascended back into the air with a trill. Perrine exhaled, happy that her prayers were answered. But she knew she had to be careful. It was clear Bruno trained his Pokemon well. Even though they were up against Pokemon that had type advantages over them, they made up for it by knowing attacks that covered their weaknesses.
"Heal yourself with Roost!"
Fukuro descended to the ground gracefully, folding his wings and closing his eyes as a low, white light washed over him.
"Use Strength, Machamp!" Bruno roared.
Machamp flexed all four of its arms and began running towards the owl Pokemon. But Perrine and Fukuro simply stood there, as if waiting for it to come closer. When Machamp was almost three feet away from Fukuro, the light surrounding the owl dissipated.
"Ascend!" Perrine shouted. On cue, Fukuro flapped his wings and flew upward, causing Machamp to stumble forward, unable to keep steady as the owl flew away so suddenly. "Hit it with Moonblast!" Fukuro circled around in the air, opening its beak upon facing the bewildered Machamp. A pink orb materialized within Fukuro's beak, and with a flap of his wings, the owl fired it, sending it towards Machamp. The pink orb collided with Machamp's back just as it was able to stand back up, knocking it back onto the ground.
"No! Machamp!" Debbie exclaimed, standing up from her seat. "Don't give up, boy!"
"Go Fukuro! You can do it!" Both Rocio and Julia chanted in unison, throwing their fists in the air.
Of course, Machamp got back on his feet in no time.
Bruno could only smile. "This battle is not yet over!" He exclaimed, extending his arm outward.
"It will be if I have anything to say about it!" Perrine shot back. "Fukuro, Aerial Ace!"
Once again, Fukuro sharply ascended before making a circular turn and charged towards Machamp...who extended all of his arms out. Perrine took in a sharp breath, the realization hitting her like a truck. "Wait, no—!"
But Bruno cut her off. "Grab onto Noctowl!"
As soon as Fukuro got close, all four of Machamp's hands clamped down onto the owl Pokemon, not only preventing the attack from hitting, but stopping Fukuro dead on. Bruno pointed to the ceiling. "Now, Seismic Toss!"
With Fukuro at his mercy, Machamp jumped high into the air before spinning the owl around at least three times. Then, once that was done, Machamp let out a roar as he threw Fukuro down on the ground, with the owl hitting the battlefield with a resounding thud. A cloud of dust billowed out, and both trainers had to cover their eyes for a bit. Luckily, much to Perrine's relief, Fukuro flew out from the cloud just as Machamp hit the ground.
"Phew! I thought he was out for the count!" Perrine said out loud. But she knew she couldn't rest on her laurels just yet. She could see Fukuro panting right as the cloud dissipated. He wasn't going to last much longer if he took a few more hits, or even another Rock Slide. As she contemplated her options, something caught her eye.
Fukuro's eyebrow tufts glowed white. What was that? Perrine pulled out her PokeDex to check something. That was when she saw it. A potential way to defeat Machamp once and for all. It was a risk, but she knew she had to take it. It was now or never!
"Fukuro! Ascend into the sky!" Perrine commanded.
With a sharp trill, Fukuro's eyebrow tufts glowed brighter, and quickly ascended, almost reaching the ceiling.
Bruno clenched his teeth. "We're not done yet! Machamp, use Poison Jab!" He bellowed.
"Sky Attack! Full power!"
Fukuro let out a harsh screech as his body flashed pure white, almost illuminating the entire battlefield. The spectators and the camera crew had to cover their eyes, unable to look directly at the glowing owl. Fukuro then descended downward, letting gravity take over as the owl charged right towards Machamp. The superpower Pokemon was unable to dodge, as he was still in mid-air and couldn't quite change direction. Fukuro shot downward, ramming right into Machamp's abdomen, and the two of them fell to the ground, the force sending up another dust cloud, with this one larger than the last. A heavy silence fell on the stadium. Gradually, the dust cloud dissipated.
The owl Pokemon had flown back to Perrine's side of the battlefield, his brown fur dotted with dirt and grime, not looking any worse for wear. Meanwhile, Machamp lay in the middle of what appeared to be a small crater. However, the superpower Pokemon did open its eyes. Debbie gave an audible gasp and smiled as she watched him try to hoist himself up.
"Come on, Machamp! Get up!" Debbie exclaimed. "You can still win this!"
She was not at all prepared for what came next.
"Enough, Machamp. Don't push yourself further," Bruno said.
Everyone's mouths fell agape as they stared at him with wide eyes. Debbie could barely contain her surprise as a "Whaaaa?!" escaped her throat. Machamp gave a relieved smile as he let himself go. His limbs went limp and he closed his eyes, allowing himself to finally rest.
"Uncle! Why aren't you making Machamp continue?! He can still go on!" Debbie shouted. Emily covered her ears and scooted away from her outraged friend.
Undeterred by his niece's angry exclamations, Bruno walked over to his sleeping Machamp with a grateful smile on his face. "Striving for victory is good, but a true fighter knows not to push themselves harder than needed," Bruno said, caressing Machamp's cheek gently. "One can learn more from loss than from emerging victorious."
Loss? Did that mean...Perrine and Fukuro won? This was confirmed when Bruno called Machamp back to his PokeBall. Perrine let out a great big cheer, running over to Fukuro and pulling him into a hug. "You did it, Fukuro! You won! We beat Bruno! Woohoo!" Perrine cajoled, with Fukuro trilling right along with her.
Rocio and the kids wasted no time running off the bleachers and hugging the two of them in their own show of jubilance. In contrast, Debbie could only stare at Bruno, deflated, with furrowed eyebrows and a deep frown. She and Emily did walk off the bleachers and joined Bruno as he walked over to the cheering crowd.
"Congratulations on your victory, Miss Perrine," Bruno told her with a smile, putting a fist to his palm and giving a light bow, as though he were speaking to a master. Perrine imitated the gesture, figuring he'd appreciate it. "I'm very grateful to have battled you today."
"As am I," Perrine said before glancing towards Debbie, who averted her gaze. "Sorry I beat your uncle, Deb."
"...It's fine," Debbie grumbled. "I may not like it, but you did win fair and square."
Emily could only offer a consoling smile and a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's okay, Deb. They were both awesome."
Debbie couldn't argue with that.
Perrine extended her hand out, and Bruno shook it gently. She had to admit, Bruno's hands were much bigger and bulkier than her own. His hand completely covered her own smaller one, as though it was swallowing hers up.
"You are very much like your aunt Mao in a lot of ways, and I see a lot of potential in you," Bruno told her. In that moment, his cordial expression returned to his stern stone face, with his mouth in a line and his eyes adopting an intense sheen. "However, I must advise that you not try to completely emulate your aunt. It's ultimately up to you what kind of trainer you wish to be, but if all you do is try to imitate someone else, you won't be able to become a good Pokemon trainer. Trainers who can cultivate their own battling styles and carve out their own place in the world are the most worthy of respect."
He made valid points. Perrine did want to be like her aunt to some extent, but she knew as well as anyone that she didn't want to completely emulate her. It just wasn't possible to just copy someone else in anything. Perrine wanted one thing and one thing only: To be the Johto League Champion.
"I understand. Thank you for your kind words and for battling with me," Perrine replied. "It was an honor battling you."
With that, the group dispersed, with Rocio escorting the kids out of the stadium, whereas Emily and Debbie went with Bruno. But Julia did turn to see them going through the stadium's back door and wondered if they were going to stick around. She hadn't had the chance to try and clear up the awkwardness from before the battle started.
It was around three o'clock when Debbie and Emily found themselves in the Pokemon Center lobby. Bruno promised to take them out for dinner before they were to leave tomorrow, and the two of them figured now was the time to address the Donphan in the room.
"Are you...still thinking about what Julia told us?" Emily began sheepishly, unsure of how else to begin. "About Amara, I mean?"
Debbie gave a grim nod. "Honestly, I still can't seem to really believe it. But…" She pulled out a smartphone, which showed an article about Amara's arrest. A photo showed a despondent Amara in handcuffs being escorted to a police car, and the headline read, 'Teenaged Pokemon Thief Apprehended At Last!' "I've been looking these up just now...and Julia was right. Everything she said was true."
A heavy silence fell between them. Unlike during the battle, where it was filled with anticipation, the silence that weighed on them exacerbated their guilt. "I wonder...if this is our fault in some way. Maybe if we had done more, Amara probably wouldn't have...done what she did."
"No," Debbie added sharply. "We did all that we could with the information we had back then, and I doubt there's anything that we can do to change things now. Besides...you can't deny that Amara made her choices and has to live with them."
Emily couldn't argue with that. "Yeah. I suppose. But...I wonder if we can...I don't know...go visit her. At the jail she's at, if we can find out which one she's in," She suggested. "Julia says she's remorseful for all that she did now. Why don't we go and see for ourselves? That way we can make our own judgment about it. When we get back to Cherrygrove, I mean. I'm not saying you two should go back to being friends with her again. I know I can't force you guys to make up, as that's not my decision. But…" Emily fiddled with the sleeve on her turquoise winter coat in contemplation. "Maybe she'd appreciate at least someone coming to see her at least once."
Previously, Debbie didn't want to see Amara ever again. Not after the incident in Mahogany Town. Amara had already changed so much in Debbie's eyes, it was like she had turned into a completely different person. The kind of person Debbie didn't want to associate with. Why would she want to go back to someone who preferred to sit around feeling sorry for themselves and spilled their friends' most private secrets to unscrupulous people out of pure spite? The memory of that knowledge still stung, even though the journey put a stop to the bullying Debbie herself had to endure because of Amara's actions. Not even learning the full extent of Amara's actions could change this. But she had to admit, Emily did make valid points, and even though her interactions with Julia were brief, Julia had no reason to lie to the two of them, and she knew Julia didn't tell them about it to hurt them. She wasn't that kind of person. They knew that much.
Conflicting emotions were at war in her heart. What could she do at this point?
"Debbie! Emily!" Julia came running up to them, stopping once she was just two feet away from them. "I had a feeling you'd be here!"
"What's up?" Emily asked.
"Listen…" Julia wasn't sure how to begin, but she knew it was best to get it over with. "I wanted to apologize for dropping that bombshell on you earlier. I wasn't trying to freak you guys out or anything," She said. "Or, I don't know...ruin your friendship with Amara. I just thought...you guys had a right to know about it, that's all. I was concerned."
Emily stood up from her seat. "No no! You have nothing to apologize for. We know you were just trying to help, and we do appreciate it," Emily told her reassuringly.
"Yeah. Honest people are my kind of people, so no worries," Debbie added, adjusting her glasses a bit. "I mean, you couldn't exactly ruin our friendship, as we stopped talking to her way before this, so knowing this wouldn't have changed anything."
Julia couldn't blame them. She had often heard Amara talk trash about her friends previously, and did overhear her saying that she wanted nothing more to do with them. But she figured now wasn't the time to press them for details. What went on between the three of them wasn't any of her business.
"So...what do guys plan to do now?" Julia asked.
"Well, Uncle Bruno's gonna take us out to dinner in a bit, then we're gonna head back to Cherrygrove first thing tomorrow," Debbie answered. "I mean, we're kind of done with our journeys."
"It was really nice seeing you again, though," Emily said. "I have to admit, we never expected to see you on a Pokemon journey. But we're so glad to see that you're well."
Julia could only smile. "Me too."
"Listen…" Debbie stammered, her words caught in her throat. But she did push them out shortly afterward. "We're glad we got to see you today. Even if we're not friends with Amara anymore...you're still cool in my book," Debbie crossed her arms and averted Julia's gaze, clearly embarrassed.
Was she hearing things? Julia fell silent, blinking three times, hoping Debbie's confession would make sense afterward. Gradually, it did. Their previous interactions were so brief, and Julia wasn't sure if Amara's friends would ever like her in any way. Chanel did, but she didn't think Debbie and Emily were the type to even want to associate with her, or at the very least, only exchange a few greetings here and there out of politeness. Amara rarely invited Julia to hang out with her friends before they started their journeys, and back then, Julia had long since resigned herself to the fact that nobody wanted to be friends with her. Julia mentally chastised herself for having judged them so hastily before.
"You know, we still have some time before we go out to dinner," Emily pointed out. "Hey, Jule? I bet you and your friends went on some fun adventures as well. We'd love to hear about them, if you'd like to share."
Julia suppressed the urge to squeal. They actually wanted to hear about her adventures?
Debbie sat back down and crossed her legs together pretzel style. "I'm curious, too. What kind of Pokemon did you catch? Did you see any rare Pokemon? Win any badges?"
She couldn't process the scene playing out before here. Amara's ex-friends actually wanted to listen to her tales. This was not an opportunity she wanted to let pass by. This confirmed completely that they held nothing against Julia in regards to what happened with Amara. In a way, an old dream of hers had come true.
"Sure! Why not?" Julia sat down on one of the plush seats, holding her backpack to her chest. "I'll tell you everything I can!"
A/N: Just four more chapters left! Man, I can't wait to be done with all these battle chapters. But here's some resolution for both Team Rocket and Amara's ex-friends.
I do want to give a big shout-out to one reviewer in particular, Kaiser Chris, in regards to their points about the Team Rocket subplot. They brought up some very valid criticisms about the subplot and pointed out some problems with it that I didn't even notice at the time. Granted, I still stand by the additions I made, as I wanted to make them into more of a genuine threat than have them just be a generic crime group that sells Pokemon. That said, they do make valid points, and since I won't be revisiting Team Rocket again for a long while in the story, I thought I'd at least make an effort to address their criticisms...and managed to find a good compromise! Have Team Rocket do away with the breeding program for the financial and pragmatic reasons Kaiser Chris pointed out in-story. Since it's too late for me to just flat-out delete the subplot Kaiser Chris had issues with, resolving it right here would both allow me to keep the subplot in and address the issues they pointed out, that way both me and Kaiser can be happy! I'm pretty satisfied with the resolution here, though if anyone has further ideas on how I can address Kaiser's critique, feel free to PM me about it! But yeah, thank you, Kaiser Chris, for your thoughtful and mature critique, and I hope my attempt to at least address the issues you had with it helped somewhat.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a good day! Stay safe and get the COVID vaccine! It'll save lives, yours included!
Perrine's Party:
Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)
Ability: Flash Fire
Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack
Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)
Ability: Overgrow
Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Bulldoze, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain
Luminita (Lanturn, Female, Naive Nature)
Ability: Water Absorb
Attacks: Electro Ball, Discharge, Scald, and Aqua Ring
Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)
Ability: Tinted Lens
Attacks: Extrasensory, Hypnosis, Sky Attack, and Moonblast
Baloo (Wigglytuff, Female, Docile Nature)}
Ability: Cute Charm
Attacks: Gyro Ball, Wake-Up Slap, Play Rough, and Body Slam
Chirin (Ampharos, Male, Adamant Nature)
Ability: Static
Attacks: Discharge, Cotton Guard, Power Gem, Signal Beam