"Kat, we need to talk after the first round. It's dire.", Alex's text message read. The black haired beauty did not like the sound of that. Perhaps something had happened to Vee so of course Kat texted Ava for an update. This started to concern the black haired female, but she had to shake this feeling off. Kat had her first round matchup against Kaspar Haaland. Kat was meticulous about her approach to battle that she had a collection of tapes of past battles of opponents. Kat's father, Gary Oak, was one of the legendary trainers in the world. Kat had to live up to her father's reputation. Accessing these tapes and information was not a problem. So she had thrown herself into outsmarting the competition. That was how she did so well last year by outsmarting everyone which included Ava. The only reason why she lost to Kuroku was the mind games he had played. But Kat knew that she was going to get her revenge.
Kat hadn't been forthcoming with Alex about the extent Kuroku had messed with her. She had been back to the same dark place she had been in after her mom's death. When Kat was with Kuroku she had found herself doing drugs like cocaine to numb the pain of the mental games he had played. It was only after one particularly bad bender during freshman year, where Kat nearly overdosed, that Ava had contacted Kat's brother and got her into a rehab program. She then told her brother and Ava about everything she had been through with Kuroku. How she despised him. Needless to say Kat needed to finally beat Kuroku. To finally slay that bastard was her ultimate goal for Kat. This year she was prepared to do it. Her team was a lot stronger than his and so Kat knew this year there was no excuse. Kat was single minded on one thing and that was beating Kuroku. Nothing would stand in her way not even if she had to battle Alex or Ava. She would beat them both if it came down to it. She wanted to get revenge for the torment Kuroku had inflicted upon her. This wasn't just about what happened last year in the final. This was about everything that had transpired between the two of them.
But first was Kaspar. His ace was that Dusknoir that Kat knew about. He also had a Mr. Rime that was quite strong. He also had a Avanturan Beedrill which Kat had never fought before. Kat had already planned her Pokémon lineup for this battle. She had trained and trained her Pokémon to the point of Ava and Alex stepping in. But they really didn't understand how much Kat needed to win. It just wasn't because of how Kuroku had screwed with her, but because she was Gary's daughter. Growing up in Johto and Kalos, Kat had heard all about how great of a trainer her father was. Of course her older brother had not lived up to expectations so Kat knew that she had to be the one to carry on Gary's legacy. She would be the one to show that her family were still elite trainers. Gary would never come out and say that he needed his daughter to win the Institute Cup as he had, but it would go a long way. Ava didn't have that sort of pressure in her life neither did Alex. They couldn't have empathy for her and the pressure that were on her shoulders.
Kat liked to present herself as this badass trainer. One of the best trainers in the Institute and a shoe in to be an elite 4 member somewhere. She knew how she was perceived throughout the school: the girl you didn't fuck with in a Pokémon battle. But that wasn't the real Kat Kiner. The real Kat Kiner was quiet and someone who had her own doubts. In fact the real Kat liked to remain in the background and be quiet. Only three people ever got to know the real Kat: Ava, Bunny, and Alex. Those three were the closest to her. They knew the real Kat and her struggles. Ava was probably her closest and dearest friend. Kat had changed her last name to Kiner so no one knew that she was Gary Oak's daughter. She didn't want people to think she was given special treatment because of who her father was. Ava was the only one that Kat had confessed to who her father was. Gary liked to keep a low profile as did Kat, so he had never visited campus when she was there. So no one knew who her father was except Ava. Ava was special to Kat, the person she trusted with everything. They had pulled each other up through the worst moments of their lives at the Institute. That was why Kat would surprise Ava by visiting her and Vee in the hospital after her fight with Kaspar. It would be a good surprise.
Still Kat turned her attention to the competition. Being the higher seed, Kat had gotten to pick the venue for where they would battle. The junior knew the perfect spot, in fact some would call it her own home turf literally. The little practice battle field in the backyard of her house was perfect. Kat knew that Kaspar would not not this area or field. Kat also knew that Kaspar had no grass types on his team. So this area didn't benefit him at all. Sure Kaspar was a low seeded freshman, but Kat wanted all the advantages that she could get. She had been underestimated her freshman year and had made the quarterfinals, the only freshman to have done that. So she knew she needed to approach Kaspar like a tough opponent. Plus, all the talk on the university's social media page was that Ava had lost to someone named Omar. Kat losing would be even bigger news. That was why Kat had banned a crowd from this match. She did not want or need any additional distractions during the battle.
Kat had tied her hair in a half bun as she waited for Kaspar to arrive. Kat wore a black top and low waisted Jean shorts which her typical battling attire. Scout, her trusted Herdier, stood right next to his trainer. Scout would play a big role in this round, but Kat hoped she wouldn't need him. Kat wanted to end this fight rather quickly, she wanted to use two Pokémon maximum. Scout would only be used in case of emergency. Of course Kat could have used the stone that glowed around her neck, but she wanted to wait till the later rounds to bust that out. Maybe even the finals where she would meet Kuroku again. This time she would be the one with the advantage. Kat shook her head to get those thoughts out of her head. She needed to concentrate on the opponent and task at hand. She needed to win. She needed her revenge on Kuroku and beating Kaspar was the priority now. Kat could not afford to,lose in the first round like Ava had.
"Herdier, Herd!!", Scout barked. There were footsteps that approached the field. Kaspar was a platinum blonde with pale skin. He wore a black t shirt and blue jeans with a gold chain that had a Gastly on it. He had bright blue eyes that looked utterly confused as he walked towards where he would be battling Kat Kiner. Kaspar knew that he was the big underdog in this fight. Kaspar wasn't that big into fighting Pokémon, he much preferred competitions to battling. He didn't like to see Pokémon get hurt. But he was at the Institute so that meant he had to fight . Now he was fighting Kat Kiner and this terrified him. He knew her reputation and history. Needless to say Kaspar knew he was going to lose when he saw the draw. He was just confused as to why he was going to fight in what appeared to be a back yard. This was absolutely weird at least from what Kaspar could tell. Perhaps this was Kat trying to take away Kaspar's ghost types. But Kaspar had a trick up his sleeve as well that he hoped would work.
Kat smiled as she approached Kaspar. It was clear he was nervous and didn't understand why Kat had chosen this area. "I'm Kat. I am your opponent for this round. I wanted to wish you luck today. Because you're going to need it.", she just cackled. She didn't want to come off as a bitch, but she knew this was part of her reputation. She was the bitch that could battle. She liked that and would play into it. Scout started to sniff around Kaspar who seemed to be incredibly nervous. Kat actually felt a bit of pity for Kaspar, but that went away quickly because she had to beat Kuroku. That meant that she had to beat Kaspar and quickly. Kat didn't want to spoil all her secrets as she knew that her future opponents would try to get some information on her. So hiding her secret about Gale having a mega stone was imperative. Of course she knew Alex knew about Gale having a mega, but she wasn't too worried about him. She had put a plan into place to beat him. No, her focus was on beating Kuroku and catching him by surprise. Kat whistled to Scout who quickly ran to his mother's side. "Now this is my personal battlefield. I thought it was perfect for our fight. I'll let you pick out your first Pokémon.", Kat hoped she knew which Pokémon that Kaspar would go with first.
The overwhelmed freshman nodded as he looked at his pokebelt. The students were only allowed to have three Pokémon during the first round of the tournament. He just hoped that he had picked the right Pokémon to at least do something in this tournament. He had no idea what Pokémon Kat would lead with and her wanting him to go first did not cause him to have a good feeling. The nervous freshman looked at the Herdier that was by Kat's legs. "I wonder if she is going to go with that Herdier. If that's the case then I should go with Picasso.", Kaspar was an art fan and had named all of his Pokémon after famous artists. This Pokémon would fit his name perfectly. Kaspar grabbed Picasso's pokeball and tossed out his Pokémon, out of the pokeball emerged a Mr. Rime. The ice and psychic Pokémon did his tap dancing moves as he bowed to Kat and Scout. Kaspar waited to see which Pokémon Kat would choose to do battle. He had gambled that Kat would go with that Herdier.
Kat smiled, Kaspar had fallen into her trap. She had kept Scout out on purpose. She wanted Kaspar to think that she was going to use Scout now so that he could use his Mr. Rime first. Kat had the perfect Pokémon to use on this Mr. Rime. "Phoenix, come on out my love.", Kat tossed her pokeball out as what emerged shocked Kaspar. A small and shy Vulpix took the field. The creature looked at the Mr. Rime and immediately tried to hide behind Kat. But Kat got on her knees and smiled, "beautiful, I need you to fight. We have been training for this moment for weeks now. It's your time to shine. I have full faith in you to win this fight. You're a lot stronger than you let on. It's time to show it." Kat knew how to talk to Phoenix as the Vulpix needed someone to have faith in her sort of like Kat needed someone to believe in HER. Phoenix had Kat to believe in her and Kat had Alex to believe in her. Phoenix looked at Scout who nodded. The little Vulpix would turn her attention to the Mr Rime.
Kaspar was not a battler, but he knew ice vs fire was a horrific matchup. He could not let Kat get the first move out, he had to do something. That's when it hit him, "Picasso use hail." Picasso had the ice body ability where he could recover health with hail in play. Plus when the hail melted, it turned into water. This could be used to drench the Vulpix in water. Kaspar had overheard a bit of the conversation between Kat and her Vulpix. Apparently the Vulpix really didn't like to fight or at least didn't have the experience in battle as Kat's other Pokémon had. While Kaspar did not like to battle, he had experience as did Picasso. Why Kat would use a very inexperienced Pokémon in this battle was strange, but if it worked in Kaspar's benefit why would he question it? The sky opened up as hail started to rain down on humans and Pokémon. While Picasso enjoyed it, the little Vulpix did not. She appeared to be looking for shelter just as Kaspar had hope. There was one problem: his opponent was smiling? That just sent a shiver down the freshman's spine.
Kat had expected this. Last year, when she fought Alex, she had used the tactic on him to success. So, of course, someone would use it on her. She had prepared for this. She and Phoenix had been training in evasive maneuvers for circumstances like this. The little Vulpix moved quickly to dodge the hail to avoid it hitting her warm fur which would cause her to get soaking wet. Being smaller and more agile, Phoenix was able to quickly dodge the hail as she went for a quick attack on the Mr. Rime. However, Picasso danced out of the way and then started spinning. The rapid spin attack hit Phoenix and sent the little Vulpix flying. On the outside, Kat was calm. Internally she thought that she had made a mistake of picking Phoenix. Perhaps Phoenix was not ready to battle. Kat was too cocky over the fact that she was battling a low seed. Kat reached for her pokeball until she noticed something that brought a smile to Kat's face.
Picasso had a burn. The Mr. Rime winced as flames surrounded him. He tried to rub the spot, but was still in pain. Kat's eyes widened, "flame body! Phoenix has Flame body!" The twenty one year old had completely forgotten that Phoenix had that ability. This gave Kat and Phoenix the advantage. Even Kaspar had a worried look on his face. He knew what was going on and what would happen next. Kat would try to take advantage of the weakened state of Picasso. Kaspar had to do something to stop this. But right now Picasso was a sitting duck. Kat knew when to take advantage of a hurt Pokémon and a bad situation. This was one of those times. "Phoenix, use ember!", the little Vulpix nodded as flames shot out of her mouth as the fire hit Picasso. Because of the burn, the Mr. Rime couldn't move as quickly so he was hit by the attack which caused him to be burned even more. Kat knew that she had the advantage now.
Kaspar had to try something. He wasn't just going to lay down and take it. That was when he noticed that Phoenix was standing in water. It would be perfect for the next attack perhaps it would work. "Picasso use psyschock.", sure it wasn't a full fledged electric attack, but it still had a electric component. With the psyshock attack, it would have to work if Kaspar wanted to stay competitive in this battle. The psychic energy formed around Phoenix and then struck the little Vulpix. "Vul!", Phoenix cried as Kat watched in horror. The small voltage that circulated through Phoenix's body was extremely painful. Kat could even feel it. Poor Phoenix was so worried about getting hurt badly and Kat had promised her that she wouldn't. But here Phoenix was getting electrocuted and Kat was so worried. She wanted to recall Phoenix, but the Vulpix looked at Kat and shook her head. She wanted to prove that she was strong, that she could fight. She wasn't just a little Vulpix, she was tough and could hold her own. Phoenix fought through the pain to remain conscious.
Kat smiled, that was her girl. This was why Kat had picked Phoenix. Phoenix needed confidence and opportunity. This was how Phoenix would get her confidence by winning the battle. "Phoenix, if you can, use Flamethrower again!", the hurt Vulpix nodded as the flames surrounded her mouth again. The Vulpix shot off the flame towards Picasso. The slowed dancing Mr. Rime could not move as the flames engulfed the Pokémon. The Mr. Rime let out a scream, but managed to fire off a focus blast which Kaspar had whispered under his breath. The blast hit Phoenix who flew through the air. By the time she landed she was already knocked out. Kaspar did not have any time to celebrate as Picasso collapsed in front of Kaspar. The burns were just too much for the Mr. Rime to handle. Both Kaspar and Kat were down a Pokémon. Kat had to admit that she was a little shocked that she had lost Phoenix already. Perhaps she had underestimated Kaspar afterall. But now she would not do it again.
"Scout, it's your turn.", the Herdier giddily ran onto the makeshift pitch. Kat wanted to save him until the Dusknoir, but this was a break glass situation. Kat didn't want to use Scout right now. But she had to. Scout was her secret we open against ghost types. She wanted to save Scout for the Dusknoir. Kat had been working with Scout on moves to beat ghost types. It would be a surprise to Kaspar to see the moves Kat had taught Scout. The Dusknoir would be very tough to beat. Kat hated ghost types as they gave her the creeps. Dusknoir's were the worst. She didn't mind Melody's gengar as it was friendly, but growing up Kalos she knew stories about Dusknoirs. Plus just the look of the creatures were enough to send shivers up her spine. She was scared of them. That was why she had designed her whole game plan around Scout beating the Dusknoir. She didn't want to use Skye or Gale yet. They had to be saved for later. So Scout needed to win. Kat was counting on it. Scout had never let her down before and she hoped he wouldn't do it now. The Herdier stood proud and ready to battle.
Kaspar looked at his poke belt. He had declared two other Pokémon for this round. One his Dusknoir the other the ghost-bug Beedrill. Kaspar knew that Kat probably thought he would use the Dusknoir last as his anchor. So he had to change it up. Kaspar reached onto his belt and pulled out the Dusknoir's ball. "Come on out Leanardo.", what emerged from the ball made Kat cringe. Not only was Leanardo a Dusknoir, but the shiny version. Somehow the Smokey grey color of the Dusknoir made it more intimidating. Kat gulped as her legs shook. She was terrified of ghost types. This one in particular. She felt sick as she looked at the creature. Kaspar realized that Kat was scared of the Dusknoir or at least creeped out by it. Kaspar smiled, "Leo I think Ms. Kiner is scared of you. Let's give her something to be scared of. Use night shade!" It had been broad daylight, but all of a sudden the sky darkened as it seemed like the whole area was covered in night. Leonardo disappeared into the darkness as Scout let out a cry.
Kat was scared. The memories of her mom's death came flooding back to her. Those thoughts of Kat being alone as she sat by her mother's hospital bed as her mom died. The cries of pain that her mother had made still ringed in her ears. It was a sound that Kat had tried to avoid for so long, but couldn't shake. Those sounds would stay with her for Kat's whole life. Kat knew that this was not real, that the Dusknoir's nightshade attack had affected her, but Kat still shook. Her body was a mess and there were tears in her eyes as she shook her head. This was why she hated ghost types. Their attacks always brought bad memories up. Kat felt sick to her stomach as she dry heaved. "Positive thoughts, positive thoughts. Shake it off, Scout needs you.", the cries from her Herdier did not help matters. Still Kat needed to focus, her older brother had taught her how to beat ghost attacks and that was to think of something positive. The thoughts of her best friend Ava and the love of her life, Alex, popped into her head. She could always count on those two to cheer her up. That was why they were her go to memories amd thoughts They could help her shake this fear of ghost types. The fear seemed to leave her as she smirked.
"Well, if you like dark so much then we can play this game too. Can't we Scout? Use crunch!", the normal type Pokémon charged towards the Dusknoir. This was what Kat had meant when she had come up with a plan to beat the ghost types. They were incredibly weak to dark type moves. Scout had two of them in his arsenal. Kat would wait to use the other. Kaspar watched in shock and horror as Leo was a sitting duck. The Dusknoir could only hide for so long. He was slow and not as maneuverable as Scout was. Plus the nightshade attack left him vulnerable to attacks especially dark type attacks. Scout leapt up and but down hard on the Dusknoir. In fact the crunch was so powerful, Kat and Kaspar could hear the Herdier's teeth grab onto the Dusknoir's bones in his arm. Leonardo cried out in pain as he flinched. That flinch was a mistake from the Dusknoir. "Scout use superpower and end this!", the Herdier started to glow white as he connected with a powerful physical attack that would render the Dusknoir unconscious. Kat now had a 2 to 1 lead in this battle. Now Kat wondered what was so special about this Beedrill that had caused Kaspar to use the Dusknoir now. It was strange, but now Kat was intrigued. The sky had gone back to normal so the 21 was relieved. Now she wanted to see what this Beedrill was like.
Kaspar Haaland was down to one Pokémon. His gamble had not paid off as the Herdier was stronger than he expected. Kaspar knew that Kat had a few psychic types and he had hoped that Leo could have knocked out the Herdier to draw out one of the psychic types. But it had not worked. Now he had to use his newest ace which would be interesting. This was a special Beedrill, a big and ghost type, that was a rare find. Kaspar had found this pokemon earlier in the year when he had been painting near the bug house during dusk. This mon had terrified and intrigued him at the same time. It was a special Pokémon and Kaspar could feel it. That was why he had used a ultra ball to catch the Pokémon. All throughout the battle, the ultra ball had been shaking. Monet wanted to battle and now it was time. Kaspar reached onto his belt as he smirked, "well then Monet. It is time to make your debut." Out of the ultra ball came a all white Beedrill except for the eyes and wings. Those were blood red. The wings were also tattered. The Beedrill did not have just one tail stinger, but three. The creature was absolutely intimidating as Scout let out an audible gulp.
"Monet, use shadow sneak.", of course Kaspar was not finished with his command. What Kat didn't know was that Kaspar had a bond with Monet. Some called it battlebond, he didn't think it went that far as Kaspar didn't feel what Monet felt, but Monet could read Kaspar's thoughts. "When the Herdier tries to move to avoid the attack, use poison sting.", Kaspar communicated with Monet. He knew that Kat wouldn't be aware of this so he had outsmarted the best battler at the Institute. Monet disappeared into the shadows as Kat told Scout to sit and wait which brought a smile to Kaspar's face. She had fallen for it hook line and sinker. Kaspar watched as Scout avoided the initial shadow sneak attack, but was then impaled by the three stingers of the Ghost type Beedrill. The poison seeped into the poor creatures body as it was lifted off the ground and then tossed back down by Monet. "Well, looks like we're all even now.", Kaspar called. He usually did not like to battle, but this gave him a rush. He now understood why other students were so obsessed with battling. It was a rush and invigorating for Kaspar. The freshman liked this.
"SCOUT!", Kat rushed over to her Pokémon who had started to convulse because of the poison. Kat automatically returned the Pokémon to his pokeball. She had not expected this, not at all. She stared at the horrendous abomination that was the Avantura version of a Beedrill. This Pokémon had to be evil, Kat could feel it. There was something completely off with this mon. It oozed evil energy. But right now her concern wasn't that. Instead she held Scout's pokeball up to her lips, "I'll get you to the hospital after this. I promise.you that I will get you help. I'm so sorry Scout. I have let you down." If she hadn't been so scared by the ghost Pokémon then Kat could have stopped Scout from being severely poisoned. She didn't care that she was down to one last Pokémon. All she cared about was getting the help Scout needed. She couldn't lose Scout. But her fear had gotten the best of her. She wanted to punch herself in the face for getting her Pokémon hurt. This should not have happened, first Phoenix and now Scout. Kat, who was already low on self esteem, felt even shittier. Then the Swellite necklace started to glow as did Gale's pokeball.
The gorgeous black haired female looked over at Kaspar and the evil Beedrill. She had to laugh as she grabbed Gale's pokeball. "Well I didn't want to do this, but you left me no choice. You see Scout is very close to this next mon. And she knows what your little Beedrill just did to him. Now she wants to fight. So let me introduce you to my little surprise.", Kat pulled the glowing mega stone from her shirt as she held Gale's pokeball in her left hand. Kat tossed the pokeball out as her trusted Swellow emerged, but this wasn't Gale in her regular form. No, this was the mega version of Gale. The creature was eloquent and beautiful while she also conveyed raw power. Kat had only used Gale in her mega form once before, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "Swell!", Gale's voice seemed to shake the ground as she stared across as her opponent.
Kaspar had never faced a mega evolved Pokémon before. This intimidated him as he had not expected Kat to have a mega. He looked at the Swellow, he didn't even know that the Swellow could mega evolve. This one could so it must have been extremely strong. Kaspar knew he had to act quickly in order to stop any momentum that Kat would have. "Monet use poison sting.", the ghost and bug type moved to try to sting the Mega evolved Swellow. But Gale easily dodged the attack. Monet tried it again, but again Gale moved out of the way. She was toying with Monet. Kaspar knew it as did Kat. Gale was probably on a level playing field with Monet before she mega evolved, but now she was just too strong. The normal and flying type advantages were now doubled. Kaspar knew there was nothing that he could do. Plus, he wasn't that big into battling. He didn't want to hurt anymore pokemon like he had the Herdier. Kaspar was a lover not a fighter.
He stared at Kat as he held up his hands, "I can't win. You and I both know this. You have a mega and all I have is a beedrill. I also don't want to hurt another Pokémon either. Your Vulpix got beat up pretty good. Plus your Herdier has been poisoned pretty bad. My Dusknoir and Mr. Rime are going to need medical attention. Your Herdier is really going to need help. I can't win this fight with the odds where they are now. So I surrender." Plus Kaspar knew that he would probably be eliminated in the very next round anyways. Kaspar grabbed Monet's pokeball and recalled the bug and ghost type. There were things more important things than battling. Kaspar had just realized this. He smiled at Kat and gave a nod signaling that he indeed retire from battle. Kat had won the fight.
Kat blinked as she really did not understand. He was just going to give up? There had to be more to the story. Sure her sources, mostly JJ and Nikki, had told her that Kaspar was not a battler. In fact Nikki had called Kaspar weird. He wasn't like anyone else at The Institute. He was not a battler, but a Pokémon artist. He found beauty in just looking at Pokémon and not battling them. Battling was not civilized. He found no beauty in it. Kat had to disagree with this. There was beauty in battling. Her mother had compared it to dancing. When two partners were in perfect sync, Pokémon and trainer, it was beautiful. That was why Kat had trained her Pokémon so well. Why she had worked so hard with them. They were dancing partners. There was beauty in that. The beautiful female stared at the young freshman across from her, "I accept. But allow me to tell you something. I have heard some things about you. I heard you'd or like battling. That you don't find it to be art. I disagree. Battling can be beautiful when done correctly. I will invite you to my battles so you can see how beautiful they can be." Kat didn't want a freshman to get a bad idea about battling.
Kaspar was a bit shocked. He had not expected this kindness from Katherine Kiner. He had been told that she was rude. That she was, for lack of a better word, a bitch. But that did not appear to be the case. She seemed kind not only to her Pokémon, but others as well. She didn't have to extend this invitation to him, but she had. He was intrigued by what she had said. Of course he had been told this before, but had always thought it was bullshit. But with Kat he felt as though she was being honest. That she was not being him. Plus if he studied her, Kaspar could become a better battler. She could instill that love of battling in him. Kaspar smiled and nodded. He accepted the invitation as he turned around and left. Kat looked down at Scout's pokeball, "let's get you to a Pokémon center."
Ava could not believe what she had done. She had kissed Alex. She had betrayed the trust that Kat had put into her. Sure the emotions from the day had taken its toll on Ava's mental state, but she had just kissed her best friend's boyfriend. Not only that, but she knew how much that Kat was in love with Alex. Kat had told Ava that she felt whole around Alex. That she didn't have to pretend to be something else around him. Given how much Kat had been through in her life, Ava wanted Kat to have that. To have that comfort and love. But now Ava had ruined it. That was why she was crying in the lobby as the doctors checked on Vee. But then it would get worse as Kat walked through the Pokémon hospital's doors and approached Ava.
Ooc: Hooray Kat won and we found out who her dad is! But now she is coming face to face with the person who betrayed her. But that will be a later chapter. Up next we check on how JJ and Nikki are doing.