~ Chapter 63 ~

Train Back to Hearthome, Rival Rematch

"Trains are a curse upon mankind; a veritable plague, a tenacious sickness, a festering wound that seeks to tear humanity asunder. They run late, they're always delayed, and they're so uncomfortable and unaccommodating. The only train I've ever liked was the Tohjo Magnet Train system. Always on time, always polite and punctual, and very comfortable seating. The Eastern Sinnoh Rail however? Ugh. It's criminal how they run the thing. We were stuck in Veilstone again, not even two weeks after the last time this happened. The first train at noon was delayed several times, until it was delayed all the way until past midnight. You can imagine how displeased we were. Stuck and unable to travel far from the rail station, we did the only thing we could think of—battle."

"Staravia! Steel Wing!" called Sam, determined to show Jeremy's Staravia who's was the stronger one.

The two had decided to bring their Pokémon out for a friendly rival rematch. It had been a while since both Pokémon had battled for supremacy—Niya mentioned it had something to do with their instincts and them both being male.

Jeremy saw no issue with it—so long as the fight didn't get out of hand.

Now the two had been locked in fierce combat outside of the Vielstone Train Station.

It was past midnight, and they had over an hour before the train was supposedly ready to depart—which is something that the ticket takers had been saying all day since noon.

Sam didn't hold out hope.

He did, however, hold out hope for his Staravia to take the win in this battle.

The moon hung high in the sky, shining its pale light down on the four friends and their Pokémon as they watched the two Bird Pokémon battle it out.

"Dodge, Staravia, then loop around get in close, the strike with Aerial Ace!" retaliated Jeremy.

Sam's Staravia was not fast enough to land the Steel Wing, while Jeremy's Staravia had managed get in close like Jeremy had asked.

But Sam wasn't ready to just let his Staravia take the hit.

"Steel Wing again! Harden your wings and defend yourself!" cried Sam.

Staravia was able to react quickly enough. Turning itself ever so slightly in flight, Jeremy's Pokémon Aerial Ace bounced off the steel-hard wings.

Staravia was then able to follow off with a proper Steel Wing, slamming its hardened wings into Jeremy's Staravia's body.

At close range it was harder for Jeremy's Pokémon to dodge so quickly.

"This really is some battle," noted Niya, "They've been at it for almost an hour and it looks evenly matched. No single Pokémon has the type advantage, and their moves are the same—save for Sam's Steel Wing."

"Pika!" agreed Pikachu.

Alyssandra watched silently, but nodded quietly in agreement with Niya's observations.

"Staravia, Double Team!" called Jeremy.

"A diversionary tactic," explained Sam's grandfather, "Not a bad one either. Fill your Pokémon's vision with a bunch of duplicates—quantity not quality is just as confusing. Then escape and regroup far from your Staravia. If I had to venture a guess—"

"—He's planning on striking my bind spot while Staravia is distracted by the duplicates," finished Sam, whispering to his grandfather under his breath, "Way ahead of you on that."

"That's what I'd expect from my blood!" laughed Aurelio, "Don't need a drop of my advice—smart as a whip you always were!"

Sam didn't respond to his grandfather, but merely scanned the skies for Staravia's coming attack.

Anticipating when Jeremy would call it.

It was a clever ruse.

Jeremy had Staravia create an almost unheard of amount of duplicates. This was something he'd been planning and working on for a while.

Was Sam his guinea pig?

Then, a small flash of movement in the throng of flapping clones!

Sam knew what it was. It was Jeremy's Staravia sneaking in close to prepare for Jeremy's coming attack. He was hoping to get in close to Sam's Staravia, so when the attack was called, Staravia would have less of a chance at dodging.

But Sam called out and attack fast before Jeremy could.

"Staravia! Behind you, to the left! Use your wings to blow away the clones and then take out the enemy!" called Sam calmly and confidently.

Sam didn't feel his grandfather's words had aided in him cheating—he wouldn't have countered Jeremy's tactics if it had been. Sam had already seen it coming. But that didn't mean Jeremy's strategy wasn't good.

Sam's Staravia did as he was told, and within minutes, cleared most of the duplicates around the charging Staravia.

Sam's had managed to slam itself into Jeremy's Staravia with a Take Down attack.

But Jeremy's Pokémon refused to go down easy.

"Staravia! Put distance between the two of you, and Take Down Staravia! Put everything you've got into it! No more hiding in the shadows, we're going to knock them down with sheer force!" Jeremy had pulled out all the stops for a desperate final attack.

Both Pokémon were tired, and Niya had spoken truth. They had been at it, flying, dodging and attacking for almost an hour with no clear victor.

This final charge would decide it all.

Sam pulled back his Staravia and had him do the same as Jeremy's.

Time to go down in a blaze of glory, or win with all their strength—there was no in between.

As the two Pokémon closed in on each other, they began to glow, nearing one another as they shone brighter and brighter.

Finally, the light enveloped them, and they were two glowing streaks in the sky. Then, as it dispersed and they changed shape and form, the light erupted from them, revealing two proud, strong Staraptor in their place.

The two Pokémon clashed, slamming their heads and bodies into each other. They pushed each other with all their strength, until…they collapsed, landing on the ground. Exhausted, and huffing—completely out of breath—unable to continue battling.

Sam and Jeremy recalled their Staraptor, thaking their Pokémon for giving it their all.

"I guess they're evenly matched," muttered Niya, "I'm not going to lie I'm a little disappointed. All that competition just to find out they're the exact same…"

"I can't say I'm surprised," smiled Alyssandra.

"Pikaaaa," added Pikachu with a yawn.

"It's getting late," noted Niya, picking up the yawn from Pikachu, "How much longer until that train shows up?"

"Whenever that lady yells over the loudspeaker again," laughed Jeremy.

"The teller said an hour," added Alyssandra.

"Never trust the teller anymore," Sam replied grumpily, "She can't be trusted. She's with the enemy!"

"So what do we do now?" asked Jeremy.

Niya's answer was to lie down next to Pikachu and begin napping. Exhausted from the day, from the disappointment that was Eastern Sinnoh Rail, and from the lateness of the hour.

Jeremy, also tired, wasn't going to argue with that logic, and lay down under the tree near Niya, and closed his eyes for his own nap. As he padded up his backpack to become a pillow, he looked over at Sam and Alyssandra who were now chatting among themselves.

"Wake us up when the traitor lady calls us for the train?" he asked.

His friends nodded and Jeremy nodded off slowly under the moonlight.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" asked Alyssandra, once Jeremy was asleep.

"Not too far," added Sam as he stood up, "We don't know when this train will show up.

The two walked across the open field before the massive train station, to a small pond that sat near the outermost reaches of the property.

As they sat themselves by the edge of the pond, crickets and Kricketot chirping in the nearby grasses, as Illumise and Volbeat danced in the sky above, Aurelio appeared once more, sitting beside the two teens.

"Your grandfather here again?" asked Alyssandra.

Sam nodded.

Alyssandra smiled as she waved to the empty space where Aurelio sat. She couldn't see him, but it was still nice to have him around.

"So, serious question time," started Alyssandra, "What are you going to do about your battle against Fantina?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sam, fiddling around with a blade of grass.

"I think she means your Pokémon," elaborated Aurelio, "You're not exactly equipped to deal with Ghost Type Pokémon—not a full team of them."

"You've both got a point," noted Sam.

Alyssandra seemed to understand—though she couldn't hear Aurelio either—what was going on in the conversation. "Have you found a solution for that? You can't battle all of Fantina's Pokémon with Luxray's Bite and Cranidos's Assurance. That's risky."

"I've got an idea. I've been in contact with my uncle at the ranch," explained Sam, "I think I'm going to recall Weavile and Honchkrow, and use Spiritomb as well. Weavile and Honchkrow are both decently strong Dark Type Pokémon with the type advantage over Fantina's Ghost Types. Spiritomb's got the advantage being a dual Ghost-Dark Type. It has no Super Effective weaknesses, and it's Dark and Ghost Type moves have the advantage against Fantina with none of the weaknesses."

"How…how long have you been thinking this through?" asked Alyssandra, surprised by how deeply Sam had planned his strategy for Fantina despite the battle being a little under a week away.

"Since our last visit to Hearthome I'd been mulling it over," explained Sam, "I knew I was going to be able to count on Weavile and Honchkrow. I figured I'd sub in Luxray or Empoleon, but then we got our Spiritomb and everything fell perfectly into place after that."

"That's my grandson, all right," smiled Aurelio, "No wonder you're odds on favourite for taking the title of Champion this circuit."

"What?" stumbled Sam, almost falling over into the pond as his grandfather laughed.

"What's going on?" asked Alyssandra, hiding her laughter as best she could.

Sam explained what his grandfather had told him, causing Alyssandra to chuckle.

"Yeah, that's what Valentina told me, too," she confirmed, "You got a lot of people placing their bets on you—sometimes literally."

Sam suddenly felt the pressure of all that on his shoulders, and shuddered at the thought.

"Hey," Alyssandra called, hoping to pull Sam from his worries. She placed her hand on his knee, looking him straight in the eyes with a calming look. "It's going to be okay. You aren't responsible for their choices. You're only responsible for your own effort."

Sam smiled. He appreciated Alyssandra's words. They weren't anything he didn't already know, but it was good to be reminded of this every so often.

Sam looked over at his grandfather, to continue talking to him, but by the time he did the old man was gone. Likely to give Sam and Alyssandra some time alone to talk and get closer.

Sam didn't know what his grandfather expected to happen, but he wasn't going to complain about some alone time with the girl he had feelings for since he was a kid.

The two sat there, talking and laughing for what felt like forever—though in truth was only about an hour—discussing anything and everything that came to mind.

These moments were something cherished by both Sam and Alyssandra. Rarely did they have the time to just be alone and talk, usually Jeremy, Niya, Pikachu or evne Aurelio were there with them.

Sam especially cherished his alone time getting to know Alyssandra even better than he already did. Just went to prove that even if he knew Alyssandra her entire life, Sam still had lots to learn about her.

As the night grew darker, colder, and quieter, even the Pokémon and bugs of the night disappearing off into their holes to sleep, Sam and Alyssandra bundled themselves side by side, staring into the stars.

Alyssandra nestled up close with Sam—something she said was normal for friends as close as the two of them—her head rested on his chest, she was wrapped up in Sam's jacket for warmth.

Personally, Sam was already warm as it was, and said he didn't need it.

There was nothing but silence between the two of them as they waited for the train to Hearthome, until Alyssandra finally opened her mouth to ask what must've been the most personal question Sam had ever heard from her mouth.

"What do you plan on doing after you've beaten my sister?" asked Alyssandra, yawning, "Do you think you'd take the title of Champion and work the job like her?"

Sam took a moment to respond. He hadn't quite thought it out—not in detail anyway. "I might, but that depends," replied Sam finally, "I don't know if I'd enjoy the job. I kind of enjoy the transient traveller's life, or the life of a Rancher."

"Say you don't take the job then, would you keep travelling the other regions?" asked Alyssandra.

"I might, or I might just settle down and go work at the Ranch for the rest of my days," admitted Sam.

Alyssandra paused. "Did…do you plan on settling down with anyone?" started Alyssandra, she stumbled on her words, quickly explaining herself, "What I mean is…did you see anyone with you in those plans?"

Sam's face turned bright red, and he struggled to keep his calm as he tried to find an answer. To be honest, he had always sort of imagined Alyssandra there in his future—though he had also seen most of his friends as being there with him.

How would he put this without making himself look creepy?

In the end, Sam didn't have to say anything, as the traitor-teller lady blared over the loudspeaker, announcing the arrival of the train to Hearthome City before he could respond.

Sam and Alyssandra quickly gathered there things, though Sam thought he could see a glint of disappointment in Alyssandra's eyes as she went to gather Jeremy, Niya and Pikachu without the answer she was looking for.

What answer was she looking for?

Sam didn't have time to think that over right now. His main focus was getting on that train before they missed it—or before it was delayed again.

So the night ended there, with a blaring voice over a speaker system in an open field in the middle of the night.

One sleepless train ride later, Sam would be in Hearthome City, and would have to start preparing for his battle with Fantina.

He was halfway to the Pokémon League—halfway to Valentina and the Elite Four—but for now, he still had three more badges to get. Of all these badges, he was most excited to defeat Fantina and finally prove himself.

He'd hoped he had learned whatever lesson she wanted him to learn, because he wasn't taking no for an answer this time.