"So, you're Delia from Cerulean, huh?"
"Yeah. And you're Flint, from Pewter."
The two of them walked to the nearest open arena, as per instructions from a competition manager. Around them, explosions and fired beams caused a ruckus in the middle of their conversation. They had both heard plenty of those in their lives.
Between battles, she changed into her favorite battling outfit- teal fleece vest over an orange t-shirt and a green cargo shorts matching yellow sneakers. A bright pink belt held her pokeballs while her dark red knapsack sat on one shoulder.
While she should have been reviewing strategy, she got distracted by his beefy arms jutting out of a beige shirt, his face covered by long locks of beautiful brown hair...
"So, Delia, which type do you specialize in?"
Delia took aback by that question.
"I don't understand..."
"Only the best trainers specialize in only one type of pokemon. I have chosen the resilient power of rock types. What about you, Delia from Cerulean?"
"Um...I specialize... in the most powerful pokemon I can get my hands on. I don't really look for a specific power, just for the best in each group. I don't settle for one."
Her strut got looser after discovering that answer.
"That sounds exhausting, no?"
She still couldn't get enough of his beefy arms...
"Nono, notat all... It's easy quite- quite easy, actually."
She coughed, in an attempt to make up for that blunder. He didn't seem to care.
The referee met them halfway and brought them to the field.
"Well, I wish you the best of luck and skill, Delia Arvaniti."
He offered his hand, and as they shook she felt his grip overpower hers. As they let go, she had to shake away the cold sweat dribbling down her face.
Her opponent stood at the far end of the platform as a sentient rock appeared and slapped the ground with its four arms.
Before she sent out her Starmie, she asked it to squirt some water on her face. She didn't even care that her shirt got dirty- her vest was water-proof anyway, which didn't say much for her opponent.
"Graveler vs. Starmie. Trainers ready?"
They both nodded. Delia shook her head to focus.
"Begin!"
Red held his hat between clenched fingers as his beloved Poliwhirl slipped through a forest of vines. At the middle of it, the frog discovered a massive pitcher plant, with a mouth dripping with poison.
"Toxic, Victreebel!"
A splash of toxin rushed towards Poliwhirl.
"Water gun to slip away!"
Instantly, Poliwhirl used a water gun to slip away. The burst of speed sent it running up the walls of vines, away from Vicreebel's grasp.
"Bubble!"
A stream of bubbles slammed into the flycatcher pokemon, sending it stumbling backward.
"Poison powder!"
Poliwhirl's momentum ended when it stumbled to the ground covered in stinging poison gas.
"Razor leaf!"
To Red's dismay, his pokemon flew backward with a barrage of leaves aimed straight at its swirling stomach.
"Don't give up, Poliwhirl! Hypnosis!"
Undaunted, Poliwhirl stood firm, blinking away any distracting poison gas. But its hypnosis beam disintegrated between the wall of vines.
"Dodge and vine whip it, Victreebel!"
In a flash, the vines from around the walls of the arena flew up with the massive flycatcher and slammed down on the frog pokemon.
Poliwhirl spun out and lay still. Red dropped his hat and raced towards his beloved pokemon.
"POLIWHIRL! Poliwhirl, are you alright?"
The referee called the pokemon unable to battle, so as Red held his pokemon, he praised it for a job well done.
"You did good, Poliwhirl. You deserve a good rest."
As the pokemon returned to its comforting ball, he turned around to see his opponent. She looked to be older than him, hidden behind a silk kimono and make-up. By all accounts, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met, let alone battled.
"Red Tajiri?"
"Yeah, Erika?"
To his surprise, she responded: "I've been enjoying this battle so far. Whatever the outcome is, I'm glad I battled someone who's given me a challenge."
He saw her eyes. She wasn't lying. He learned the hard way regarding trusting someone. Especially after living in on his own for so long.
"This next challenger might give you more of one, then!"
Out of his pokeball popped his fire-type champion with a roar from its muzzle.
"Ponyta vs Victreebel! BEGIN!"
Sweat dripped down his head as the sun leaned towards the horizon. His mantra could be heard across the fields:
"LET'S SHOW THEM HOW WE DO IN LAVENDER!"
Then, thunder struck the island. A massive storm grew around the last arena filled. Delia and Red knew exactly what was happening.
Pikachu lunged towards its opponent, undaunted by its opponent's large size and longer tail. The two rodents tackled and collided, sending bolts of lightning across the field.
"You think you do it tough in Lavender?! I'll show you what it means to be tough. Vermillion pride's what we got, right Raichu?!"
The larger mouse leaped back and nodded. Compared to Pikachu, it was a behemoth of electricity, with currents flowing across its body into its yellow cheeks.
"Let's see what you got, kid! Raichu, THUNDERBOLT!"
"Pikachu, lightning strike!"
As Raichu unleashed a torrent of electricity, Pikachu slipped around the other mouse. When safely out of Raichu's range, it channeled electricity into its leg and struck the side of Raichu's head! The pokemon hit the ground but got up almost immediately.
He could have called out Dugtrio and ended it. Private Surge was on his last pokemon, which also was his strongest, and he had one more pokemon left.
But he had said something about his hometown.
"You must be the first kid I've ever seen from Lavender town get out of that mangy artist alley."
Ray took that personally. No one makes fun of his hometown, not even him- even when he had all of the reasons in the world. It raised him, built him into who he was. He was carrying that- and he would when he beat this moron with a same-type, under-evolved version of his pokemon.
"Again!"
Pikachu ran back and landed another kick to Raichu's back.
It didn't take it lightly this time. Instead of letting the yellow mouse bounce off, it found Pikachu's tail.
"PIKACHU!"
The little mouse tried escaping using electric shocks, but the bigger mouse let them bounce off of its cheeks.
"THUNDER WAVE!"
Pikachu was let go after a blast of electric energy, paralyzing its body. The mouse felt a sting of pain near its legs.
"It's not over. Pikachu, quick slam!"
The little mouse out-maneuvered the Raichu, sending a combination of the powerful body slam with the agility of a quick attack.
Raichu got up slower this time. Almost done. Just maybe.
"Quickly Pikachu! Give it everything you got!"
Private Surge could only watch his mouse get pummeled into the ground by an electrified kick. Raichu could barely get up this time.
After his Voltorb and Magnemite, this was the best battle he had all day.
"Raichu is unable to battle. Ray Ketchum wins and advances to the final eight!"
Pikachu returned to the arms of its exhausted trainer. The two of them stopped the world to share a moment of bliss- of a day filled with uphill battles and climbing every single mountain in their way. He actually made it! He got so far, and...
"Excuse me, how did I get into the top eight so quickly?"
The referee was caught off guard by the question.
"You haven't seen the other battles, have you? The others were pretty bad compared to how good yours were. Some of the battles ended with both trainers being disqualified for bad language. Wouldn't be good for ratings. Congratulations, kid!"
What on Gemini were ratings?, he thought, as he turned towards the stadium, with Pikachu on Ray's head.
The nest of silver and black chrome plating could be seen from the air hundreds of feet up. Called "The Black Pearl of Kanto", it could fit entire cities in its stands. Additionally, with tremendous foresight, the stadium was built to accommodate dozens of tired and weary trainers along on their journies. Such was the case for the many trainers who returned to sleep there after such a long day of battling.
While Ray found a place to lay his head, Pikachu heard a familiar voice whistling through the corridors.
"Red?"
"RAY!"
Red peeked into the small rooms set for each trainer, almost as big as a closet.
"You made it!"
"Yeah. I'm glad you did too. Did Delia get in?"
Ray turned towards his little friend, the light in the hallway turning him into a silhouette.
"Yeah. She's in the girl's side of the dorms. She said she was going in to take a shower then eat something. Wanna come with me?"
He forgot how hungry he was. Regardless of the stares, he couldn't stand being hungry.
"Absolutely."
Delia felt dirty and smelled of seawater. She couldn't understand how Red didn't feel as disgusting when he went into the dorms to sleep more than bathe. Yet they were still completely different people, so she shrugged it off.
The bathroom on the girl's side looked warmer and friendlier, with showers separated by solid stalls instead of curtains. The changing room was open to anyone who entered, and Delia wasn't the only one there.
She undressed, slipped on her dirty bathing suit and would wash her and her clothes together- as planned.
"Well, well, well."
She turned away from the hooks to see four girls strutted like a pack of multicolor-haired lions.
"Lola, sisters, look what the Grimer dragged in."
Three of them looked identical by face only, with blue, yellow, and pink hair.
"Daisy, have some respect for the little girl. She looks frightened of all of us approaching her so quickly. Are you scared of us, little girly?"
Delia stared at them like a deer caught in headlights.
"I think you scared her, Lily. We should help our new friend a bit, no? After all,"
The blue-haired one grabbed for Delia's hair, almost pulling it out of her head, and threw her to the ground. Tears welled up in her petrified eyes.
"This little redhead won't last another round!"
The four of them laughed loud and proud. No one heard them, and no one would come to help.
"Ray, I'm nervous. She hasn't come out yet."
Her dinner tray stopped steaming. She had showered faster than the two of them at her Grandma's house.
Ray tried to keep focused on the little trainer despite the murmurs surrounding them.
"Five more minutes. Then we get help."
She tried crawling away into the showers, but they wouldn't leave her alone.
"You don't deserve to be here, redhead! How many boys did you kiss to get any place in the league? Answer us, girly!"
"Girls, maybe we should stop before someone sees..."
One of the other girls tried to pull a couple of them away but to no avail.
"Shut up, Lola! Do you want to fight your competitor tomorrow with the Hamada sisters as your support? Then you'll stay and help.
The two girls locked eyes. Delia watched her turn away.
"Filthy scum!"
"Undeserving little twerp!"
"Stupid redhead!"
"You think you belong in this town?!"
The blue-haired one raised Delia up by her collar until she could barely touch the ground.
"You never will. Your friends never will. No one will remember you except for being the cautionary tale of what happens to cheaters in-"
A loud roar sent the four of them shrieking backward. One of them ran out into the hall.
Despite its surroundings being water, the fire raptor stood between the five of them, with another girl standing up in the corner. Charmeleon bent low, ready to defend its beloved trainer. The other three were barely phased.
"Ooooh. Look, Delia's got a stwong pokemon! How cute!"
"You need protection, Delia?! Weak."
"I can't wait to see that little fire get put out tomorrow."
All three of them left, their laughter heard through the doors.
Five minutes sped by.
"Do we ask one of the counselors?"
"No, Red. They'll do jack for us. We go in."
"Are you crazy?! We can't do that!"
"If she's in danger, it will be worth it. Quick, while no one's looking..."
The lizard turned towards Delia, watching her massage her scalp where they pulled her hair. Heavy tears streamed down her face.
It stepped closer, reaching out a claw.
"DON'T TOUCH ME! I was fine on my own! I didn't need your help... I'm fine."
Even the pokemon knew there was clearly something wrong. She curled up near a bench and folded inward. The shadowy figure watched as the poor girl began to weep uncontrollably.
"DELIA!"
She heard them. Her friends! No...
They couldn't see her...
Not like this...
Yet the tears flowed through sobs, and her voice was the most recognizable.
They burst into the room to see Charmeleon hovering around their fallen friend, her head buried in bruised arms.
She looked up at them with red eyes. Without a moments notice, she jumped into Ray's arms, sobbing into his shoulder.
"They hate us, Ray. We can't stay here. We CAN'T!"
Ray held her close while Red could only watch- the tears streamed down her face. He had never seen her like this before- never this helpless. Never this afraid...
The two boys looked at each other.
What the hell did they do to her?
"They beat her up pretty badly. Nothing to visit the Center for. It will all heal on its own."
The shadowy figure stood up and walked towards the three trainers. Delia buried her head into Ray's shoulder as the figure removed the cloak from over her head.
She looked to be their age, with jet-black hair and purple eyes. Her stride left no footprints.
"Who are you?"
Red walked in front of them, yet felt a soft presence push him back.
"Who is that?" Delia refused to look.
"Don't worry, trainers. I'm Sabrina. My friends call me..."
An awkward pause was interrupted by a dripping showerhead.
"Sabrina."
Red's hand reached out to shake her's, yet Ray could see that Red didn't actually mean to do that.
"You seem like good people. The world looks to be hostile, but pretty soon all three of you will be greater than anyone here, including me."
Ray felt a force push Delia away from him. Without support, she fell towards the ground. Sabrina didn't move a muscle, not even on her face.
"Stand. Up. Delia."
Her voice got louder, while Delia still struggled to stand up. She had to block Ray from getting to her while Charmeleon stared, mesmerized at what was happening.
"Delia, for the good of your friends and yourself, you must get yourself together. No one else can do it for you."
It felt like ages as she sat there in a cold swimsuit, surrounded by friends in a sterile shower-room.
"Delia," Ray spoke out, to Sabrina's surprise.
The redhead looked up.
"Show us how a Pallet Girl gets up."
Never had he seen her smile that softly. Almost immediately, she gathered her legs underneath and got up.
Sabrina whisked towards her.
"If you want to be a champion, you have to be ready for any kind of opposition, even physical. But you have one edge that they'll never have."
"Friendship?" Delia smirked.
"No! Powerful pokemon. Your Charmeleon is unafraid of water! I sense your Kadabra is strong! Lola is who you're fighting next, and you will absolutely wipe the smirk off of the Hamada sisters. Once that happens, then the next barrage of attacks come from someone else. By then, you'll be ready."
"Thanks, Sabrina." Delia nodded as Sabrina rested a hand on her shoulder.
"I've been dealing with idiots like them ever since I was called a freak by everyone in Saffron. Now, I can beat the gym leader with both eyes closed. We are the ones who beat the world as its own game. I'm counting on you to win, Delia."
As she walked towards the exit, she called for the two boys to leave with her.
"I wouldn't want you two to get disqualified by trespassing. No one would let you forget that.
"Walk out with me and I'll distract everyone while you return to your seats. I'll return to check up on you," She looked back towards Delia, who grabbed a towel, returned her Charmeleon, and headed towards a shower.
"By the way, I'm actually counting on you to lose, Ray. We battle tomorrow."
"Well then, you're going to need more than fortune telling to beat me, Sabrina."
She caused a fluorescent light to flash, sending everyone looking upwards, while Ray and Red returned to their cold meals. Delia followed soon after, but not before Ray heard a final message spoken in Sabrina's voice whisper through his head:
"I'm counting on it."
