Well, the last chapter was interesting. Let's continue to some battles. As should be obvious, I do not own Pokemon.
Marcus went to one side of the practice field, and Damien went to the other. "This will be a one-on-one match, got it?" Marcus asked.
"Got it." Damien said. Bagon went onto the field.
"Krookodile, let's go!" Marcus shouted, throwing a Great Ball. From out of it appeared a Krookodile. Damien took out his Pokedex to analyze the unfamiliar Pokemon.
"Krookodile, the Intimidation Pokemon, and the evolved form of Krokorok. It can expand the focus of its eyes, enabling it to see objects in the far distance as if it were using binoculars."
"Bagon, use Dragon Claw!" Damien ordered. Bagon started running over to Krookodile.
"Krookodile, use Crunch!" Marcus ordered. The desert croc zipped over the field to Bagon.
"Jump!" Damien said. Bagon did so, easily clearing Krookodile and making it over fifteen feet into the air.
"What the-" Marcus said. "Krookodile, Dig!" Krookodile quickly dug underground. "I have to admit, I wasn't expecting a Bagon that could jump."
"Trust me, there was a lot of work put into that." Damien said as Bagon landed on the ground. "Bagon, wait until you feel it approaching, then jump again." They waited a moment, then Bagon jumped as the ground broke open, but Krookodile didn't come out. When Bagon landed however, Krookodile struck Bagon hard with his tail, sending him flying to Damien's side of the field.
"You might've surprised us with that jump, but as you saw, we've got a counter for that." Marcus said.
"Bagon, can you continue?" Damien asked.
"Bagon." The Dragon-type answered, pushing himself onto his feet before puffing up his chest.
Damien smiled. "Use Headbutt!" Damien said.
"Use Crunch!" Marcus said. The two Pokemon ran over to each other. Bagon tried to wait until Krookodile's head was over his own by going a little faster at the last moment, but Krookodile was too flexible and was able to get off his Crunch, holding Bagon's head in his mouth.
"Ember right down his gullet!" Damien said. Bagon opened his mouth and a stream of red balls went into Krookodile's throat, causing him to drop the small Dragon-type.
"Nice work." Marcus said. "A good strategy and a quick reaction. Krookodile, let's end things with Dragon Claw."
Damien got worried at this point. Bagon was too close to Krookodile for a jump to be helpful, and while Bagon was good at hiding it, he was running low on energy. "Dragon Claw, go!" He knew that Bagon wasn't nearly as powerful as Krookodile, but Bagon was the same type as Dragon Claw (which increased the move's power), so Damien had hope. The two moves actually clashed for a few seconds before Krookodile eventually won out and landed the super-effective move, knocking out Bagon. It was quiet for a moment.
"Bagon, return." Damien said. He sighed.
"Hey, don't feel down, that was a good battle." Marcus said.
"I got absolutely destroyed." Damien said flatly.
"But you still did very well." Marcus said.
"Yeah, okay." Damien said, moving over to the benches where everyone had sat down.
Karek got up. "I'll go next!" He said.
"Alright, send out your Pokemon." Marcus said.
"Blaziken, I choose you!" Karek said.
"Krookodile, return!" Marcus called. "Infernape, let's go!"
"Damien, are you okay?" Crystal asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Damien said.
"You don't look like it." She said. Damien looked away. He knew that Crystal would be giving him "the look". It was one so full of innocence and hope, underlied with deep sadness. No one was able to resist it for very long.
"It's just…" Damien trailed. "I'm tired of losing. I work so hard with them, and every time it's time to battle, I somehow always come up short. I know that Marcus won the league, but it's still so humiliating. And it all started with Drayden. Ever since him, my battling record's gotten worse and worse."
"Because you tried so many times and couldn't win, right?" Crystal asked. Damien nodded. "It's okay, Damien. Everyone falls into a rut sometimes. You'll get back out of it. And when you do, you'll be a really strong trainer. Let me see Bagon real quick." Damien let him out of his Pokeball. Now that he was out, Damien could see the scrapes and bruises that he's sustained during battle. He felt a lump in his throat.
"Bagon, I'm sorry." Damien whispered to the sleeping Dragon-type, petting his head.
"Relax, I'll fix him up. No need to go see Nurse Joy." Crystal said. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a Revive and Full Restore. She set the Revive into Bagon's mouth, and he woke up. Then she sprayed the Full Restore on his skin.
"Ba?" Bagon asked.
"You're alright." Crystal said.
"Thanks Crystal." Damien said, taking back his Bagon.
"Of course!" Crystal said. "No problem."
"I'm surprised you admitted here as a Trainer." Damien said. "You know a lot about taking care of Pokemon."
"Well, most trainers should know how to help their Pokemon." Crystal replied. "There won't always be a Pokemon Center nearby. It's best to know about how to handle it all. Better safe than sorry."
"Why didn't you enroll as a Pokemon Doctor instead?" Damien asked.
Crystal looked away for a bit before saying. "I guess I'm just not thrilled by all the work that would go into it. They've got a lot of homework that I'd rather avoid." Her words were sound, but something in her voice led Damien to believe there was more to her story than she was telling.
"I know what you mean." Katie said. "My brother knows a guy in there, and the amount of homework is rough."
"How much is there?" Damein asked.
"He said that on average, about an hour's worth. Apparently it's not hard, there's just so much of it." Katie answered.
"Remind me never to do that sort of thing." Damien muttered.
"Anyway, looks like Karek finished, so I should get out there." Crystal said quickly.
"That was awesome!" Karek yelled as he sat down where Crystal was. "Oh, I got crushed so hard but it was amazing!"
"Blaze!" his Blaziken said proudly.
"The chance to fight a trainer that powerful…" Karek trailed.
"So you enjoyed it?" Damien asked.
"Heck yeah!" Karek said. "You don't often get the chance to see how good you really are. Not here, at least."
"So you don't like Anville Town, hmm?" Damien asked.
"Psh, get off it." Karek said. "You know this is my home." Damien nodded.
"As it should be," he said. There was a pause.
"Are you okay Damien?" Karek asked. "You sound upset."
"I'm fine." Damien said.
"Now I know you're not." Karek said. "Look man, it's gonna be fine. Marcus is a powerful trainer. I don't think any of us are gonna win."
"That doesn't exactly help." Damien grumbled.
"Well, if you'd let me help you more often, maybe I'd be a bit better at it." Karek said, exasperated. "I think you need a new hobby. A new focus. Ever since you came back from your gym challenge three years ago, you've been so… subdued."
"You try challenging the same gym over and over again and failing every time, even when you're attempting new strategies every time." Damien said. "Try being told to just stop your career, right when you're on the last roadblock. It hurts."
"Which is why I said you need a new focus." Karek sighed. "Look, maybe do what he told you to hmm? Try a contest. Or go shiny hunting with Sebastian. Or work at the aviary with Thomas and Katie. Or focus on your studies. Or whatever."
"I don't want to try a contest, Sebastian's never found a shiny, I'm certain I'd scare the birds at the aviary, and my studies have gotten boring." Damien said.
"Why don't you like contests, Damien?" Karek asked. "I get it, your parents signed you up for the course, and that's what Drayden said to do, so you're angry at it, but maybe try it anyway? At this point I'm tempted to just shove you into a suit and drag you there myself. Just to spite you."
Damine laughed. "You'd never be able to do it. You're too scrawny."
"Then I guess I should start working on that, huh?" Karek said, grinning. "Maybe hit the gym? Pump some iron, as they say?"
"You're ridiculous." Damien said.
"Hey, you chose to be my best friend you know." Karek said.
"And I regret it every day." Damien said flatly.
"Oh, my heart!" Karek said, clutching his chest dramatically. "You wound me so!"
"Deal with it." Damien said. "Sass comes whether you like it or not."
"Remind me not to sleep with her then." Karek said.
"You're disgusting." Damien groaned.
"How could I not, you were practically asking for it." Karek said.
"I will sick Bagon on you. He's still out of his Pokeball." Damien said, holding up the Dragon-type.
"Attacking a weakened Pokemon?" Karek gasped. "You cruel, cruel man."
"I wasn't talking about Blaziken." Damien said, smiling.
"Aha! Success!" Karek said. Then he changed to his "documentary voice", which he claimed was "just like on TV", but in reality it sounded raspy and old. "And here we see Damien's smile, a rare sight due to his overwhelmingly sad attitude and serious expression. Such a joy to be able to record it on camera."
"Oh shut up." Damien said, starting to laugh.
"Oh! Is it possible? The mythical laugh has made an appearance!" Karek said. "It was said that it went extinct years ago because Damien was being a sad baby."
"Shut up." Damien said.
"Come on, you know I'm awesome." Karek said.
"If by awesome you mean boring, then yes." Damien said.
Karek sighed dramatically again. "It's nice to know where I'm wanted."
"It is indeed." Damien said.
"But seriously, you need a new focus." Karek said. "Something that isn't battling."
"I'll think about it." Damien said. He looked next to him to see Katie walking back to the group. "When did Katie battle?"
"When you two were being idiots," Crystal said. "I finished, she went, and now she's done. You really should pay attention to the battles. Anyway, I need to leave. My grandparents are expecting me back." Her Kadabra popped out of his Pokeball and grabbed onto her, waited for her to finish grabbing her things, and teleported her away.
"Damn." Karek said. "Strict parents. Using her Kadabra as a way to leash her."
"Kinda feel like telling them off, to be honest." Damien said.
"Anyway, Thomas is up next, let's watch this time." Katie said.
"Okay, fine." Damien muttered, turning his eyes to the next battle.
So, that's that. Next person to have their team shown will be Crystal. You already know three of them.
Character: Crystal Evans
Team: Froakie, Kadabra, Eevee, Swinub, Fearow, Rockruff, Alolan Vulpix, Alolan Geodude
Froakie:
Level: 14
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Mild (Up SpAtk, Down Def)
Moves: Quick Attack, Lick, Bubble, Pound
Kadabra:
Level: 35
Ability: Magic Guard
Nature: Mild (Up SpAtk, Down Def)
Moves: Teleport, Psychic, Energy Ball, Calm Mind
Item: Twisted Spoon
Swinub:
Level: 12
Ability: Oblivious
Nature: Lax (Up Def, Down SpDef)
Moves: Mud Slap, Powder Snow, Tackle, Ancient Power
Eevee:
Level: 5
Ability: Run Away
Nature: Hasty (Up Speed, Down, Def)
Moves: Growl, Tackle, Tail Whip, Sand Attack
Fearow:
Level: 30
Ability: Keen Eye
Nature: Relaxed (Up Def, Down Speed)
Moves: Drill Run, Roost, Peck, Fury Attack
Rockruff:
Level: 16
Ability: Vital Spirit
Nature: Adamant (Up Atk, Down SpAtk)
Moves: Rock Throw, Howl, Bite, Tackle
Alolan Vulpix:
Level: 13
Ability: Snow Cloak
Nature: Modest (Up SpAtk, Down Atk)
Moves: Powder Snow, Confuse Ray, Baby-Doll Eyes, Tail Whip
Alolan Geodude:
Level: 20
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Careful (Up SpDef, Down SpAtk)
Moves: Tackle, Smack Down, Spark, Charge
