Well, things are getting interesting. I'm ahead at this point. Friendly reminder that I do not own Pokemon. Forgot to say that last chapter. Also, thank you Emmyyo and Animeloverdog for favoriting my story!
Damien walked out onto the practice field, surprised to see Marcus already at work with Felix. His Tyranitar was currently battling Felix's Swampert, but a final Crunch ended the match. "How did you get set up so fast?" Damien asked.
"Felix asked Marcus to pull him out of class." Pamira answered from the stands. "Not exactly the most responsible use of time, but he's more willing after our talk."
"What talk did you have?" Damien asked, walking over to Pamira and sitting down.
"We just spoke about strength and power and what it means to be a trainer." Pamira said. "I may or may not have also threatened to not take him to the track meet today."
"Oh shit!" Damien said. "That's today!"
"Yeah, it's in an hour over in Opelucid." Karek said, walking up to Damien. "Anyway, I'm going home to shower. Gym was a lot today."
"See you at the meet!" Damien said.
"Yep!" Karek said, running over to his car.
"What kept you?" Pamira asked. "You were late today. I mean, I know that practice period isn't really a part of the school day, but you're almost always here."
"Had to register for something." Damien said. He pulled out his newly acquired coordinator's license. "Lookie here!"
"You're going to be a coordinator?" Pamira asked, surprised. "I thought you didn't want to be one? Whole "parents-making-you" thing?"
"Well, Karek was right. I need a new focus." Damien said. "And I had a talk with Liara last night as well. Where'd everyone else go?"
"Jack is at detention for his latest stunt. Katie, Thomas immediately left for work and Sebastian was gone pretty quickly. I don't know where Crystal is. Felix just hopped onto the bus and Mike is..." Pamira trailed off looking off to the side and Damien looked where her gaze landed.
"Flirting with some guy?" Damien asked. Mike was, sure enough, talking to some random guy at the punching bags. Damien sighed.
"Yep." Pamira said.
"He has to battle Marcus today. Him and Jack. And you too, actually, now that I remember it." Damien said.
"I'm fully aware." Pamira said. "I was just finishing our conversation. Didn't want to leave you hanging." She got up and went over to where Marcus was waiting, pulling out a Pokeball. Damien moved to the stands so he could better see the upcoming battle.
"Alright Milotic, come on out!" Marcus said when he and Pamira went to opposite ends of the field. Out of his Pokeball appeared Milotic. Damien dug through his bag for his Pokedex.
"Milotic, the Tender Pokemon, and the evolved form of Feebas. It is said to live at the bottom of large lakes. Considered to be the most beautiful Pokemon, it has been depicted in paintings and statues."
"Serperior, let's go!" Pamira said. Out of her Pokeball appeared a second serpentine Pokemon. Damien decided to add Serperior to his Pokedex, even though he'd seen it before.
"Serperior, the Regal Pokemon, and the evolved form of Servine. It only gives its all against strong opponents who are not fazed by the glare from Serperior's noble eyes."
"Serperior, Magical Leaf!" Pamira shouted. Serperior waved her tail and a series of leaves flew over to Milotic, glowing purple.
"Milotic, Light Screen!" Marcus called. Milotic's eyes glowed for a moment before a thin film of rainbow light covered her skin. Magical Leaf still made contact, but it did almost no damage. "Now, use Ice Beam!" Milotic reared her head back before the familiar light blue beam shot out from her mouth over to Serperior.
"Dodge that and use Dragon Pulse!" Pamira said. Serperior moved quickly, ducking under the Ice Beam and moving closer to fire off Dragon Pulse. The green sphere of draconic energy crashed into Milotic, but it once again did little damage. "Calm Mind!" Serperior closed her eyes and a blue aura flared up around her for a moment before disappearing, increasing her special attack and special defense by one stage each.
"Milotic, Scald!" Marcus said. Milotic sent out a blast of boiling water over to Serperior, who didn't take much damage. But Damien was sure that he was hoping to burn Serperior and rack up damage over time.
"Serperior, Calm Mind, then use Magical Leaf again!" Pamira called. The familiar blue aura flared up again before Serperior waved her tail again. The leaves hit Milotic for a bit more damage than last time, but still not much.
"Milotic, Ice Beam!" Marcus called.
"Serperior, Calm Mind!" Pamira called. Blue flared up again as Serperior reached three stages of stat boosts. The Ice Beam hit, and it didn't do much damage. "Serperior, Giga Drain!" Damien was surprised by this. He didn't know that Serperior could learn Giga Drain. Serperior shot over to Milotic and jabbed her with her tail, draining some of Milotic's energy and restoring her own.
"Recover." Marcus said. Milotic glowed white, healing all of it's previous damage. "Ice Beam!"
"Dodge that!" Pamira said. Once again, Serpior twists herself to dodge the move. A familiar rainbow film appears over Milotic, signifying the end of Light Screen. "Now, Giga Drain!" Serperior jabbed Milotic again, doing much more damage.
"Ice Beam!" Marcus called. Milotic blasted Serperior with Ice Beam, managing to freeze her. Marcus smiled. "Now, Ice Beam again, rapid fire!"
"Serperior, break out of there!" Pamira shouted. Milotic blasted Serperior with repeated Ice Beams, and after some time, she managed to break out, but was heavily damaged. "Giga Drain!"
"Scald!" Marcus called. Serperior attempted to jab Milotic again, but she was thwarted by a blast of scorching water. "Light Screen!" The rainbow film appeared over Milotic once more.
"Back off and use Magical Leaf!" Pamira said. Serperior slithered away to fire off another round of leaves.
"Recover!" Marcus shouted. "Ice Beam!"
"Calm Mind!" Pamira said. "Now, Magical Leaf!"
"Milotic, use Ice Beam!"
"Serperior, Magical Leaf!"
"Hey," a voice said behind Damien. He whirled around to see Mike.
"Don't do that." Damien said.
"Maybe don't get so involved in the battle." Mike said. "You're supposed to be learning, not watching."
"Who was that guy you were talking to?" Damien asked.
"Nobody you know." He answered. "So don't concern yourself with it. You wouldn't want to hear what we were talking about anyway." Mike was a junior, introduced to Damien by Sebastian last year. The two had developed an uneasy friendship, but their interactions were civil. Mike was arguably the person Damien knew the least, likely due to the fact that he made Damien slightly uncomfortable. Mike was not afraid to flirt with whomever, but he seemed to prefer men. While Damien was fine with that, he preferred that it didn't happen near him. The various implications made him uncomfortable, and thankfully, Mike complied. Mike was a lean man, with graceful features. He had short blonde hair and brown eyes, with clear skin. He wore mostly tight fitting clothes, and had some accessories, though not many.
"Saying that makes me want to know, but I already know I'll regret asking." Damien muttered. "How's Typhlosion? I know you were out sick yesterday, and I want to hear how badly he worried."
"He wouldn't leave me alone." Mike said. "All fretful and such. Wouldn't let me out of bed. Almost didn't let me come to school."
"Oh! Quick update," Damien said. "I've decided to start doing contests."
"I thought you hated those things." Mike said.
"I've yet to actually do one." Damien said. "So I don't know how much I'll actually like it. Here's hoping I do, because I already promised my Pokemon I'd be the best there."
"Well, what's your performance going to be?" Mike asked.
"Don't know." Damien shrugged.
"Well, when's the contest?" Mike asked.
"Tomorrow." Damien answered.
"Tomorrow!" Mike exclaimed. "And you don't know your performance yet?" He grabbed Damien's hand. "Quit watching that battle and start working!" He dragged Damien down the stairs to an open spot on the field, past Pamira and Marcus's battle.
"I also have to attend Karek's meet!" Damien said, trying to keep up.
"Don't worry about that right now!" Mike said as they stopped. Damien rubbed his wrist. "You've got a performance to make! Who are you using?"
"Eevee." Damien answered.
"Well send him out!" Mike said.
"Okay, okay, geez." Damien said, letting Eevee out of his Pokeball. The Evolution Pokemon looked at him. "We're gonna start working on our performance, okay?" Eevee nodded.
"Where's the contest at?" Mike asked.
"Nimbassa." Damien answered. "Why do you care?"
"Because I'm going with you." Mike said. "Someone has to help you, because clearly you aren't going to do well on your own. You need a rival to motivate you."
"Does that mean you're going to start competing as well?" Damien asked.
"Indeed it does." Mike said. "After all, I am a year ahead of you in this school's contest courses. I can actually help you." Damien sighed. "You brought this upon yourself young man!"
"You complain that Typhlosion is like a mother hen, but you're just as bad." Damien said.
"In this case, it's justified." Mike said. "Now, what are Eevee's moves?"
"Quick Attack, Dig, Charm, and Swift." Damien answered.
"Okay, I've got some ideas." Mike said.
"Hang on, don't you have to battle Marcus?" Damien asked. He could see Pamira and Marcus walking over to their position.
"That can wait." Mike said. "What's important is that you actually have something prepared."
"Shouldn't you be worrying about that?" Damien asked. "Since, you know, you're apparently going to compete?"
"I've already got multiple performances I can use. Third years have to make some up for class." Mike said. "So I'm fine. It's you that I'm worrying about."
"What are you two doing?" Marcus asked.
"Damien's competing in the Nimbasa City Pokemon Contest tomorrow but he doesn't have a performance prepared so I'm attempting to help." Mike said.
"Seriously?" Pamira asked.
"Who won?" Damien asked.
"Marcus did, obviously." Pamira said. "But you need to work on your performance."
"Correct." Mike said. "Now, let me help him. I want to see how he uses the moves."
"Well we have to leave in a few minutes if we're going to catch the track meet." Pamira said.
"I'll just get this over with." Damien said. "Eevee, use Swift!" Everyone backed away to give Eevee space. Eevee jumped into the air, twisting himself around to wave his tail and sent a flurry of stars onto the ground before landing on the ground again. "Dig!" Eevee quickly dug underground, only to emerge about a dozen or so feet away. "Charm!" Eevee winked, and was covered in a sparkly pink aura. "Quick Attack!" Eevee dashed onto the ground and ran around, trailing white. Then he stopped in front of Damien. "That good?"
"I can certainly come up with something, yes. I'll see you later this evening and share my ideas. Now go see Karek and Felix compete!" Mike said, shooing them away.
"We've still got to battle." Marcus said to Mike as Damien and Pamira walked away.
"Are we taking your car?" Damien asked.
"Well, Jacob will be driving as I'm not legally allowed to yet, so he's waiting out front." Pamira said. Jacob was her and Felix's older brother who was going to inherit the Humlox railroad business. Damien had never spoken to him. "Luckily he had enough time off of college to do so."
"Where would we have been then?" Damien asked. "If he hadn't had time, I mean."
"Well, we would've had to wait for Mike to be done battling Marcus, and then we would be cutting it close for time." Pamira explained. The two walked into the parking lot and over to the front doors of the school, where Jacob was waiting. He looked like Pamira, but slightly taller and male, with shorter hair. "Hey!" She called.
"Hey!" Jacob greeted. "Get in quick!" Damien and Pamira got in the car, Eevee hopped onto Damien's lap, and Pamira called shotgun. They fastened their seatbelts and Jacob drove out of the parking lot to Opelucid City.
So that's done. Now we'll be seeing Karek and Felix competing in the track meet. How different is it in the Pokemon world? You'll see. Time for the next team!
Character: Pamira
Team: Serperior, Stoutland, Braviary, Eelektross, Klinklang, Darmanitan
Serperior:
Level: 55
Ability: Overgrowth
Nature: Timid (Up Speed, Down Atk)
Moves: Giga Drain, Magical Leaf, Calm Mind, Dragon Pulse
Stoutland:
Level: 53
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Impish (Up Def, Down SpAtk)
Moves: Crunch, Surf, Return, Shadow Ball
Braviary:
Level: 54
Ability: Keen Eye
Nature: Brave (Up Atk, Down Speed)
Moves: Sky Drop, Crush Claw, Shadow Claw, U-Turn
Eelektross:
Level: 54
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Mild (Up SpAtk, Down Def)
Moves: Thunder Bolt, Flamethrower, Brick Break, Acrobatics
Klinklang:
Level: 54
Ability: Plus
Nature: Careful (Up SpDef, Down SpAtk)
Moves: Gear Grind, Shift Gear, Discharge, Protect
Darmanitan:
Level: 57
Ability: Zen Mode
Nature: Naughty (Up Atk, Down SpDef)
Moves: Flare Blitz, Hammer Arm, Thrash, Psychic
