I'm back. Nothing much to say on why I haven't updated in awhile except that I've been busy at hell with school and work. On top of that, I've been working on smaller writing projects that I may or may not reveal at some point in the future. But for today, I give you chapter 28. Enjoy!
Chapter 28: Balancing Act
For a few seconds, all Cody could do was stare at the x-ray results. If the day hadn't been horrible enough, what he was staring at was just somebody emptying a saltshaker all over his wounds.
"How long?" he asked the brunette nurse, as he reached out to touch Mars's nose as the little pokemon stretched in his cot. He looked rather ridiculous with the white cone he was wearing on his neck, but obviously, recovery is never glamorous.
"Seven to fifteen days," she answered, pointing at the image of Mars's front-right leg. "He's suffered six fractures in his wrist, all near the same bone. We can heal up broken bones, but how long they'll take…"
"Ugh…" the trainer groaned, clutching his forehead. The uncertainty was killing him. Immediately after losing the battle to Martin Hornsby, Cody went to schedule his rematch, and the soonest date he could pick was nine days. In hindsight, the rush he made was stupid, since it would have been better to analyze the reasons he lost first and schedule his rematch later, but of course, he had to keep up the appearance that he had pride; that Hornsby's victory was some sort of fluke. Of course, he knew that his loss was not a fluke. The gym leader had calculated every move he made and the younger trainer had failed to adapt. And now that he learned that Mars's condition was worse than he thought, there was a possibility that he would be down a pokemon for his next fight. "Well… thank you," he finally replied. He leaned forward towards his pokemon and whispered "you're a trooper," to Mars before exiting the backroom and rejoining his friends in the common room of the pokemon center.
"How is he?" Heather questioned concernedly as soon as she spotted her friend. Jared also noticed Cody's entrance, but he said nothing. Still, Cody could practically hear all the "I told you so's" that he was ready to say.
"Lot of fractures. I don't know if he'll be ready by next week," he answered, collapsing onto the sofa across from her. Despite his down-trodden mood, he was doing well at keeping an even composure for the time being.
"Well, you could reschedule. They do-"
"If I do that… they have a lot of trainers coming in this week. If I reschedule, we could be here for a lot longer than we need to be." He looked down at the tiled floor and shook his head. "God, I feel like such a moron right now."
"Well, if you had done your homework-"
"Shut up, Jared," Cody said, his voice suddenly growing dark. To make the day even worse, the fact that Jared was right. Not that he would admit it out loud or anything.
"Well, I'm just saying," he continued in that smartass tone, "Gym Leaders have their pokemon listed on their websites, and there are a hundreds of youtube videos of Hornsby battling at any given tier level. You should have known he had a Cacturne and a six-foot tall Don-"
"Jared, enough," Heather cut in, touching his shoulder.
"What? I told him that Hornsby was-"
"Just stop," she ordered, her eyes narrowing. Jared looked at her, irritated, before shrugging his shoulders and standing up.
"Whatever, I'm gonna put on a nicer shirt. I'll be back in five." He stood up and left for the trainers' dormitories, leaving the remaining two of the trio sitting in silence.
"So…" Cody cut through the silence in curiosity, "what is he getting dressed for?"
"Oh, we're going to see that Ghost Rider movie that came out last month," she answered unenthusiastically as her gaze drifted to a space on the wall. "Jared loves that sort of thing."
"Oh fun…" Cody replied blankly.
"Look, you wanna come with us?" she asked, touching his hand. "It looks dumb, but maybe we'll get a good laugh, right?"
"Look, Heather, I appreciate the offer, but I really don't want to be a third wheel at a sequel to a movie that I never saw while you two make out the whole ti-"
"Fine," Heather cut him off, twisting a strand of her brown hair with her index finger out of frustration. She didn't sound angry, but it was obvious she thought this was a hopeless conversation. "If it makes you feel any better, I lost my badge battle too."
"Hey, at least you made it to his fifth pokemon," Cody brought up. Heather had done pretty well in her fight until Hornsby sent out that Donphan, which annihilated Somnos like he was a Surskit. How do we even fight that goddamn thing?
"Well, I'm still in the same boat with you…" she replied softly, giving him a small hug. "Don't worry, we all lose from time to time. We'll get him next week."
"Yeah…" His mind was beginning to drift again. After falling to this new low, all the fears of his mother, Darkrai, and the man in black that was following him… along with his doubts in his training… they were all piling up, and he felt like a cluttered mess. Perhaps Dr. Stall was right. He needed to clear up his mind if he wanted to focus on any of those things. "Heather," Cody murmured softly.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Tomorrow morning, I'm going to northern Rumbling Mountains to train. If it's okay, I need to be alone for a bit to… sort things out and focus, you know?"
"Cody," she replied, clutching his hands, "normally, I wouldn't have a problem with you going out alone, but what about that Casper guy? What if he's-"
"I'll be fine," he replied, though he knew the risks. "Since this town has a cell phone tower up there, I'll have good reception. I'll call back every night."
"I still think-"
"It is stupid, I know, but so am I." The statement brought a giggle out of his friend, which made him feel a little better. Lightly insulting himself for her pleasure was totally worth it to see her pretty smile. "But I really need this alone time, okay? Just give me a few days."
For a few moments, Heather obviously still wanted to say no, as it was evident in her expression, but she finally gave in to the puppy dog eyes that Cody was giving her. "Fine. But good luck convincing Jared. You know how he is."
"Yeah, I'll figure something out," Cody answered, smiling. I doubt he'll care. If something happens to me, I'll be out of his hair forever. A gruesome thought, but it matched his sour mood.
"Okay, again!" Heeding his trainer's order, the Pupitar shot his body into the side of the mountain again. Cody and his team had traveled half-way up one of the closest mountains that wasn't popular for hiking, given the condition of the trails. Since there were few hikers and pokemon about, it was the perfect place to train alone and to think. After spending the night before reviewing the recording of his last battle, he spent all morning working with his pokemon individually, trying to help them polish up small spots of their technique that could help them improve for the rematch. For Colossal, this was improving the strength of his tackling. Being the physically strongest of all of his pokemon, Cody had made the decision that the blue-shelled pokemon would be his best bet to face that indestructible Donphan. But would a week of strength training really help him in the fight? At this point, it was doubtful, but he would keep trying.
"Skraw?" The trainer looked over to see Antonia walking downward on the trail, looking infuriated. She was probably hungry, but there were very few edible pokemon on that particular mountain. Cody had expected her to fly off and look elsewhere for food, but she hadn't taken flight all morning. Perhaps she was afraid of the height she was at? No, that couldn't be it. She was born in the mountains after all. Still…
"No luck, huh?" Cody asked as he sat down on the trail. He was answered by Antonia nudging his shoulder roughly with her iron-clad head. Before she could give him a bruise from her begging, he pulled a handful of pokechow out for her, which she gingerly picked out his hand, careful not to break his skin. The young teen's mind, however, was paying little attention as he shifted his gaze back out to the majesty that was the forested valley below. After the long morning, he had had a long time to just sit and think. It was nice to just be out by himself without Jared bothering him about something trivial. It wasn't all peaceful though.
During the midmorning, he had called home when he knew both of his parents would be there. As he expected, he was shouted at by his mother for longer than he was comfortable with, but once his father joined the conversation on another one of their home's phones, the discussion became less of a shouting match. For the time being, it was decided that there was very little that could be done to bring him home as his mother would have wanted, since he was granted permission to travel. However, he knew it would be very difficult to leave once he returned home. Not only that, but hearing his parents talk to each other… the love that used to be in the words they traded was long gone. Though he said nothing about it, it hurt him to literally hear the structure that was his family falling apart.
"Damn…" Cody muttered as he tossed a lone pebble over the cliff's edge. Even though he was thinking clearly for the first time in a while, he still worried for his rematch. From what he had heard, many trainers would often give up once they reached a gym that they couldn't beat after many tries, which for many, was typically the second or third gym. Could this gym be that gym for him? No… I will find a way to win. That Donphan has to have a weakness… I just haven't figured it out yet.
THUNK! Without Cody's permission, Colossal had launched himself into rock face again, but this time, he broke an incredibly large stone from the massive, rock wall. The big stone fell onto the path and began to slide down the trail at an alarmingly fast rate. At first, Cody's eyes lackadaisically followed the sliding stone, but then they opened wide when he saw somebody on a lower portion of the trail. Dammit, the only time somebody is on this trail is when- "Hey! Watch out!" The person had already noticed the rock, and had flattened up against the rocky mountain wall next to the trail, just narrowly avoiding the passing rock before it fell off the cliff's curved trail. Worried for the stranger's wellbeing, Cody stood up and ran down the trail, Colossal and Antonia following close behind. "Are you alright?" he asked as he skidded to a stop near to where the other person was standing.
At first, the stranger, a boy that looked a bit older than Cody, said nothing and didn't even spare the concerned trainer a glance. Rather, he just held his hands in front of his body as if to say "stop!" while looking downward at the ground at a leftward angle. The other teen's hair was blonde, but longer and with a slightly "bleachier" in color, and some of his bangs had the tips of them dyed black. In contrast with his light colored hair, the guy was wearing a lot of black. Black jeans, black boots, a grayish-black t-shirt, a black leather jacket, a black pack on his back and a slightly off-black fedora. All in all, his outfit didn't look that conducive for hiking, save the boots. He assumed the guy was traveling, given his pack. But finally, he saw the pokeballs on the guy's belt and the tiny Shuppet that was floating next to his shoulder. A trainer. But Cody didn't think much of this in the moment, since he was more concerned about the fact that he could have killed the guy if his reflexes weren't quick.
Finally, the trainer looked up at him, glaring. "Um… you mind telling me what the fuck that was?" His piercing light-blue eyes were chilling, and suddenly Cody felt a small twinge of anxiety.
Wait, what am I afraid of some scene kid for? "Yeah, um…" Cody mumbled, fidgeting some as he wore a guilty look, "I'm sorry, I just… I was training my Pupitar and it knocked a chunk of rock out of the cliffside. I'm just glad you're-"
"Look kid," the stranger continued, "I already have enough to worry about without the mountain trying to kill me, so please be more careful, or you might have a lot of explaining to do to the rangers if the next guy has slower reaction time, 'kay?"
For a few seconds, Cody just stared at the guy, trying to muster a good response, but before he could say anything, the trainer in black garb began to speak again. "Look, I know it was an accident. You don't really seem like the malicious type, but seriously, these paths aren't traveled on that much. It's dangerous for an amateur trainer to be out here alone." Those last few words perked up Cody's attention as he straightened up.
"Thanks, but I'm hardly an amateur," he replied, slightly peeved as his face reddened, but he didn't want to let his attitude get out of check in front of a stranger. At this phrase, the little ghost pokemon that was hovering above the other trainer's body began to giggle, sort of like how Cortez would laugh, but a little bit more "feminine," though he couldn't exactly explain why.
"Oh really?" the stranger asked, smirking. "How many badges?"
"Thr-" He ended his statement short. "Two."
"Two, huh?" the other teen chuckled. "Talk to me when you have four. Two is better than one, but still pretty amateurish."
"Whatever," Cody grumbled. "Says the guy who raided Hot Topic before taking a hike in the mountains."
At first, he expected the stranger to get angry, but rather, he just snickered at the comment. "Cute." He pushed a strand of his bangs from his eyes before continuing. "If you must know, I don't always wear these when I hike. I'm just gonna be on the road for an hour because I'm heading to a little party at the Pine Drop Lodge. I figured there wouldn't be much in these mountains that would threaten my wardrobe… that is until I almost got hit by a large slab of sto-"
"Okay, fair enough," Cody interrupted, "but who are you to say I'm an amateur? Do you have all twelve badges or something?"
"Not quite," the other trainer answered. "Five right now. Gonna be six soon when we're ready. But once you get four badges, that's when people will start taking you seriously. Until then, you're still probably pretty green. But that's okay. We're all new at some point."
Geeze, I can't tell if this guy is talking down to me or not. But rather than him saying anything about that, "Whatever," he finally answered. "Still, amateur? I'd like to think I'm better than that. I mean, I've been out here for…" he paused to think. "Seven, eight months almost? Something like that. I know I'm new, but I know my stuff. So again, amateur?"
"Veehehehehehehehe!" Before the other trainer could give a response, his ghost pokemon started cackling at Cody's question, but once she (he assumed it was female at least) calmed down, his question was finally answered.
"Hmm…" he hummed, his eyes closed. "Well, I have time. Prove to me that you're no amateur. Battle me and maybe I'll take it back."
"I thought you'd never ask," Cody replied, the smile returning to his face. "There's a clearing up the trail. As long as you don't have a Steelix or anything like that, it should be plenty big for a battle.
"That's fine, most of my current team is pretty small in stature, so I'm good. Take me then to this clearing."
"Alrighty then," Cody agreed before turning back to his two pokemon that had been observing the entire conversation silently, though Antonia was giving the newcomer a distrusting look. "By the way, I'm Cody Storm, but I didn't get your name. To whom do I have the pleasure of battling?"
The other trainer didn't answer right away until Cody turned around and met his icy stare. "Cedric. Cedric Gates."
"Kree?" Antonia seemed to question, cocking her head while looking at her trainer. What she received was a "no" in the form of her trainer shaking his head. It was still too early for her to fight after her armor fully came in. She'd have to wait a little longer. It was too bad however, given the state of his team. All he had left at the moment were Colossal, Elesa and Cortez since Mars was still in the pokemon center, and Bastion, while still able to do basic training, had twisted his leg in the match the day before, and his trainer didn't want to put him in harm's way against a five badge trainer.
"So, how are we going to do this?" Cody questioned Cedric as the boy was fiddling with his pokeballs, probably deciding who he wanted to use first. At the question, he stared back inquisitively.
"What do you mean, we just send out our pokemon and battle. Or do you mean the wager? I'd say fifty dollars is-"
"Actually, I'd go for seventy-five dollars if it's fine with you, but that's not what I meant," he began. "See, after my last gym battle, I only have three usable pokemon right now, and if I'm only an amateur, and you have five badges, how are we going to even this up?"
"Hmm…" Cedric pondered for a moment, rubbing his stubble covered chin. "That's actually a good point. Tell you what Storm, how do you like this? Double battle, two of mine versus three of yours. Really, that's as fair as we're gonna get."
"Sure, that works," the younger trainer grinned. Let's see if I even need three.
"Veehehehehehehe!" the Shuppet laughed as she flew in front of her trainer's position, but he touched the back of her head while he shook his.
"No Snug, not this time," he whispered soothingly, only to receive a look of disappointment from the ghost pokemon before she flew back to his shoulder. "I already have my picks in mind." He made his decision, pulling a regular pokeball and a luxury ball. "Ready when you are, junior."
"Alright then…" He turned his head back to Colossal who had been standing quietly behind him and gave a quick nod. Understanding the situation, the Pupitar hopped its shelled body into the clearing and stared down Cedric down. Seconds later, Elesa was standing by her partner's side, stamping her foot into the soil. At the sight of the electric pokemon, Cedric looked a little saddened for reasons that Cody did not understand.
"Really… I thought you'd use…" his voice drifted into silence. "Never mind, I stand by my picks." He held both pokeballs up and opened them simultaneously.
"Bureeee!" The pokemon on Cody's left was a three and a half foot avian like creature with a torso covered in yellow feathers, while red feathers were growing from its chest, head, and covering its legs. The claws at the ends of its long arms matched the sharpness of its talons, both of which matched the sharpness of the bird's piercing eyes.
The pokemon on his right let out a low, guttural growl that while this cry had qualities of a normal animal cry, its voice sounded similar to that of metal plates being scraped together. Judging by its rocky hide covered in metal plating, Cody identified the beast as a Lairon, but something about this Lairon was different. As it shifted its body from side to side, the metal plating near its limbs didn't seem to constrict its movements at all. But even more noticeable was this Lairon's build. Rather than being stout and compact like most of its species, this one seemed to have a thinner, slightly elongated body. But why?
"Okay guys, stay focused but don't go all out," Cedric dictated to his pokemon in a calm but affirmative voice as they glared at their enemies. "While we don't know the extent of his team's strength, we don't want to demolish him too quickly or anything."
"Hey man, I'm right here," Cody groaned upon hearing this little speech. But the more he thought about it, the more it was probably in his favor if this opponent underestimated him.
"Alright, let's start this. Colossal, Body Slam! Elesa, Spark the bird!" Both of his pokemon barreled towards the foes who just stood there… until the last second. With swift movements, the Combusken and the Lairon both moved outward to dodge the double strike. What was truly surprising to Cody was the Lairon's speed. Such a pokemon was known for its bulkiness, but this less bulky specimen moved like a freight train in its dodge. Once both opponents were out of the way, they both made agile, physical strikes into their opponent's sides, knocking both Elesa and Colossal of balance. Following his initial strike, the Lairon aimed an Iron Head at the Pupitar, but this time, Colossal was ready. The blue-shelled behemoth shot himself in a jet-propelled slam, and the collision between the two monsters caused a resounding clang. From there, the battle of the two became a battle of pride and strength as they pushed up against each other, neither wanting to give in to the other's power.
"Berserker, don't try to fight that Zebstrika with straight force just yet," Cedric ordered, giving his first command of the match. The fighting type bird continued to dodge Elesa's electrical charges while shooting small bursts of flames at the much larger horse. However, the electric pokemon shook most of these off with ease before retaliating with her own element. With a strong blast, the horse released a Shock Wave, though the move only slightly set the Combusken off her game.
Cody quickly switched his gaze between his two pokemon, trying to figure out who needed his help the most. Colossal was still trying to overpower the Lairon, but to no true success for either side. Elesa and the Combusken were still just dancing around each other, but neither pokemon was making contact. Perhaps it would be time for the dancers to switch partners?
"Elesa, that bird is too fast for you! Use Spark on the Lairon!" At first, the electric pokemon just gave a loud, disgruntled snort at her trainer's orders, angry that he had asked her to stop the feud she had started with the fighting-bird. But stubborn as she could be, she gave in and charged towards the steel pokemon, her body crackling with electricity. But before she could make physical contact, the yellow and orange bird kicked towards her from the side, her clawed foot engulfed in flames. The blow hit the horse like a bullet knocking a bottle off of a fence, and the poor Zebstrika was knocked onto her side, letting out a loud, braying screech. After landing that move, the Combusken landed next to the Pupitar and performed a Low Kick, sweeping Colossal off his feet (so to speak,) allowing the Lairon to tackle his fallen foe.
Seeing his pokemon neutralized that quickly by the Combusken made the younger trainer question how the fire-bird even accomplished such a feat. Sure, the Torchic line was not sluggish by any stretch of the word, but this one… even after sustaining a few hits, it seemed to be moving faster every second as if its speed was being boosted.
"Shake it off and regroup! Colossal, Rock Slide! Elesa, Flame Chage the bird!" Having Elesa use Flame Charge on a fire type was usually a dumb thing to ask for, but he knew that the move would help his current situation if it helped speed the Zebstrika up.
"Hmph, too little too late," he heard Cedric mumble over the ruckus. As expected, Elesa did speed up, but by then, the Combusken had already sped up herself too much. It seemed like the bird was always one step ahead of her on every move. Meanwhile, Colossal was trying to get into an optimal position to run a Rock Slide, but the Lairon was relentless in his pursuit. But after sending the Lairon backwards with a well-placed Take Down, he followed this move up by pounding on the ground and bringing up three large boulders. Surprisingly, the Lairon did the same thing without being told to by his trainer. But while the Pupitar charged at his enemy alongside his boulders, the Lairon simply thrust its weight forward, and the boulders rolled on their own. While this form of Rock Slide caught Cody off guard, the blue-shelled pupa continued his move, unfazed. Unfortunately, his attack came up short when the two sets of boulders collided and smashed into pieces. Though he wasn't hit directly by the Lairon's boulders, the move was still enough to cause the Pupitar to flinch, and before he could shake off the impact, he was struck down by another tackle. Once again, the two of them were locked in a stand-still situation.
"Don't let up guys! Elesa, keep trying! When you get a clear shot, Spark the bird!"
"Let her come!" Cedric dared. At this statement, the Combusken stopped and just stood there as Elesa ran towards her, body crackling with electricity. But on the moment of impact, the bird, though sustaining some electric damage, seemingly reversed the situation. In a swift movement, she flipped her body into a position above Elesa's neck and struck downward with her powerful claws. Elesa shrieked and crashed into the earth, her eyes closing in exhaustion.
"Good effort Elesa," Cody called out, returning his Zebstrika. Really, he shouldn't have been so disappointed. She had put up a good fight, but the enemy Combusken simply outclassed her. But perhaps he could defeat this swift enemy with a pokemon of the same element. "Cortez, work your magic!"
"Wheeeeeee!" the floating candle zoomed out of his pokeball and immediately let loose a barrage of embers at the Lairon, careful not to hit Colossal in the process. However, this attempt, while intelligent, was blocked by Berserker as jumped in between the two and absorbed the flames taking minimal damage.
"Burreeer!" The bird aimed several kicks at the new entry, but the Litwick went insubstantial to dodge the blows.
"Wise up babe!" Cedric ordered. Even without the direct order, the Combusken knew her trainer well enough to get the message. Her claws suddenly began glowing black and with an agile leap, she sprung above Cortez and struck him down.
A Shadow Claw, Cody thought to himself. Certain elements had the potential to interrupt a ghost's insubstantialbility, and the power of the mysterious ones themselves was quite effective in doing the job. Cedric must have used a TM on his pokemon to give it an advantage against the paranormal.
"Eeeek!" Cortez was taken by surprise, and was slammed into the ground. He recovered quickly and spread a Night Shade out around him, but this hardly deterred the Combusken as she easily hacked and slashed her was through the shadowy void with her Shadow Claw and managed to get another hit on the little ghost.
"Cortez, try hindering it with a Confuse Ray!" The Litwick produced a purplish sphere that floated to the enemy, but once again, Berserker simply batted the orb away. She was about to lay out one more strike, but before she could succeed, Colossal, wisely noticing that his teammate was in trouble, tackled her with full force. The Lairon, freed from his stalemate with the Pupitar, tried to tackle Cortez, but he managed to phase though the attack just within the nick of time before blowing flames at the steel-clad lizard. Colossal was not holding well against the bird though, as she was much faster than him, peppering him with kicks at all angles.
"You're wearing him out!" Cedric called out to his pokemon. "Try to burn it with a Blaze Kick!" But Cody responded instantaneously with a sudden idea.
"Cortez, take the kick!" He was worried that the candle would disobey him out of fear of getting hit, but the intelligent ghost pokemon seemed to pick up on what his trainer was driving at. He disappeared and then reappeared between Berserker and his attacker and stayed insubstantial as the bird passed through him. As she passed, the Combusken's flames were absorbed by Cortez, reducing her Blaze Kick to just a regular one. Not only did this interruption reduce the power of the Combusken's attack, but it also boosted his own fire power. As the flame on his head doubled inside, he let out a high pitched wail before unleashing a stream of concentrated fire onto the fighting-bird. Even with her elemental resistance, the blast was enough to knock her onto her back, and before she could get back up, Colossal finished the job by landing one powerful stomp on her chest.
The battle had no pause though, since the moment the Combusken was taken back into her pokeball, the Lairon had already tackled the Litwick and was back to his sparing with Colossal. But Cortez, while exhausted, flew back into the air and readied a fireball. Meanwhile, Colossal knocked Berserker backwards and pulled up a boulder.
"Make it quick," Cedric ordered coolly. It was a vague command, but Crawler had taken the order like he had been given specific directions. At the last second, he backed up, crouched, and leapt up and over the rock as it was being hurled at him. Once he had surpassed the boulder, he kicked it with its hind legs, and the big rock flew unto Cortez just as it released its fireball. There was a brief and startling explosion, followed by the cry of a pained Litwick. Seconds later, Cody saw his pokemon, floating a few inches above the ground, his eyes closed. Cody was stunned, but he shook off the stiffness immediately. He had never seen a Lairon move like that, but it was no time to marvel at the situation.
"Damn it, try to tire it out! Chip Away!" Cody ordered as he returned Cortez. The pupated lizard propelled himself at his much faster foe and began to jut its body at the Lairon in a specific way that could loosen or weaken its steal plating, but he barely landed a proper hit as the iron lizard kept backing up and avoiding the blows. "Okay, try being less intricate! Thrash him!" Relinquishing his polished formula of bypassing the Lairon's steel plating, the Pupitar began to wildly slam its body into the opponents head and sides. Despite his plating, Crawler would eventually grow weary if Colossal could keep up the assault.
"Time to shift into the endgame, Crawler!" Cedric stated, not seeming worried at all. "I need you to get some distance between you and the Pupitar and charge."
"Riiiiioooole!" the Lairon screamed as it escaped Colossal's barrage and ran a wide circle around him. After gaining enough distance, he made a fast speed charge at his target… while his body caught a light flame.
A Flame Charge? Unthinkable. "Colossal, get out of the way and try to slow it down with a Rock Slide!" It was too late though. Crawler collided into the Pupitar with a blazing smack before making another wide circle around his foe. This time, Colossal pulled up the boulders in time, but it didn't make any difference. The Lairon was charging so fast now that it easily flew over the boulders and planted its steel head into Colossal's chest. That was enough to end Colossal right there, as the impact of the steel against his rocky hide was too much too handle. When the dust and the flames cleared, there was only Crawler standing victorious.
"Well, that was… amusing," Cedric mused as he approached Cody, his hand outstretched, either to shake hands or collect his winnings. Maybe both.
"Amusing?" Cody asked, scowling. "Do you even realize how condescending that sounds? I at least did well, right? I mean, I beat your Combusken, didn't I?"
"True. But you did have the numbers advantage," Cedric pointed out, smirking smugly. "Still, you're right. I guess you did pretty well for an ametu-"
"Don't even say it," Cody threatened, his eyes narrowing. Even though this defeat was far less humbling than the one he suffered against Hornsby, it still pissed him off that he had to admit it to somebody who had him so clearly pegged from the start.
"Eh… I was really hoping I could win that battle," Cody muttered as he chewed on some beef jerky that he had brought with him. Cedric was sitting on a nearby stone, taking a bite out of what looked to be a lot healthier than what Cody was eating.
"Well, like you said," Cedric reiterated, "you brought me down to my last pokemon. Better than any other amateurs I've fought recent-"
"Again with that word!" Cody cut in, annoyed with this terminology that the victor kept using. "Don't you have some party to be going to or something?"
"I got time." Cedric replied, relaxed. He stood up from his seat and walked over to where Cody sat, his Shuppet still hovering above his shoulder. On his approach, Antonia gave him a sour look, but Cody reassured her with a pat on the head. "So, Cody… what are you doing out here anyway? This mountain is pretty void of trainers. If you wanted to train, you should have stayed in town. There are plenty of amateurs back there to fight with."
Ignoring that word which he had recently grown to despise, Cody gave a vague answer. "I needed some alone time. I have some thinking to do about all I'm doing, I guess."
"Hmm…" Cedric hummed like he didn't care or he simply didn't wish to pry. "Where you from?"
"Stone Rise. You?"
"Stone Rise, huh? I've been there once," Cedric answered, but then he answered the question Cody had repeated. "Baiting Hollow up north."
Cody cocked his head and stared at the other light haired boy. "Never heard of it."
Cedric just laughed. "I wouldn't expect you to. Nobody's heard of it. It's up in the sticks. That's why I had to get away. Too much shit up there, you know?"
"Surprisingly, I think I might be able to relate," Cody replied, thinking about the problems between his parents. Absent mindedly, he pulled a handful of pokechow from the plastic bag it was in and handed it to Antonia, who greedily picked it out of his hand. "By the way, I gotta ask: what's up with that Lairon of yours? I've never seen a Lairon move that fast."
"Ha, I get that a lot," Cedic chuckled, a small smile of pride emerging on his pale lips. He reached his hand over to stroke his Lairon's head, as his pokemon had remained outside of its ball after winning the battle. "Crawler is kind of a freak in his own species. He's a long-bodied subspecies of the Aron line. Pretty rare, but as you noted, fast."
"Wow, that actually sounds pretty cool," Cody replied, his interest perking up. It was so strange to hear about such a strange subspecies. The closest thing he had to that was Cortez, but according to the doctors, being a gold-type Litwick was just an aesthetic difference.
"Yeah, it has its perks," Cedric agreed. "He's kinda fragile in comparison to the rest of the species, and he can't learn Protect. Not enough 'bulk' or whatever. But he's devastatingly fast. It's perfect for taking opponents off-guard.
"You're telling me," Cody replied, remembering the Lairon's speed and how the monster used it to trump Colossal. "Also, I gotta know: when he used Rock Slide, he didn't have to move with the boulders like my Pupitar does. How does that… how does he do that?"
"Training," the older boy answered blankly. "Pulling rocks out of the ground is easy for ground pokemon. Making them roll on their own is the tough part. You're going to have to train him to extend his 'reach' with the ground. It'll come naturally over time, but it can be learned earlier with the right training."
"Why, what did you do?" Cody curiously questioned. Suddenly, he found himself more interested in what Cedric had to say. All he needed was some common ground.
"Here's what I did: I had Crawler stand on one side of a creek and pull boulders up on the other side," Cedric replied. "It's hard for them at first to pull rocks up from a distance, but it's like a muscle memory for them. Eventually, it becomes second nature." He turned to face Cody, his grey eyes actually looking friendly for a switch. "And trust me kid, if you can teach your Pupitar how to do that, he'll learn Stone Edge at an earlier age. You'll thank me for that later."
"Alright, thanks then," Cody said, biting off another piece of jerky. At first, he expected the conversation to fall silent again, but Cedric surprised him again. "So, I answered your questions. Can you answer some of mine?"
"Sure, shoot." Cody felt slightly apprehensive though. What could this trainer possibly want to know about him?
"Alright… first, why didn't you use your Skarmory? You said you only had three usable pokemon, but you didn't use her. I'm curious?"
Cody wasn't expecting that question. Perhaps that explained Cedric's muttering before the battle began. But, no longer feeling annoyed, he was happy to answer the question. "She's not cleared for battle yet. I caught her as a chick, and her armor only just fully grew in, and she's not cleared to battle in a serious fight for another few days."
"She's still not cleared?" Cedric asked, dumbfounded. "You could have fooled me. That thing looks downright mean." At these words, the tall, steel bird turned to give Cedric a cold glare to match an even colder growl. "See what I mean? Scary stuff. I stand by my claim about you being an amateur and all, but catching and raising a Skarmory at your level? You got balls, friend."
"Ha, thanks," Cody chuckled. Getting recognition for the work he did with Antonia felt pretty great. "It was hard work, but I hope it's worth it. Still, it might be awhile longer before I can use her in an actual gym battle, given that she's still too green. She hasn't fought enough bigger foes yet, you know?"
"Huh, I see." Cedric suddenly had an insightful look. "That's why you're up here training and stuff, I bet."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Cody asked, legitimately curious as to what the other teen was getting at.
"You mentioned 'gym.' And you're up here training alone. It all makes sense: you lost to Hornsby, didn't you?"
Cody examined at Cedric's expression, plastered with a "I'm right, aren't I?" smile. He sighed and admitted, "yeah, you got me."
"Hey, cheer up rookie," Cedric laughed out while giving the younger trainer a hardy pat on the back. "Just about everybody loses to that guy on their first try. I did too. He's no slouch, you know."
"I know, I know," Cody replied heavily. "I just thought I'd do better. I beat Eagle and that guy at the electric gym with not too much difficulty. I thought I could get Hornsby just on type advantage alone. I have two ground pokemon and a water pokemon. I thought that would be enough to win."
"Well obviously, you thought wrong, junior," Cedric said, his voice deepening with seriousness. "Element advantage doesn't necessarily win battles. You have to mix brains and brawn, but I'm sure you already knew that. The important thing here is that you learned something from your battle. What did you learn, Mr. Storm?"
A million things came to mind, but Cody pulled out one of the most frustrating aspects of the battle. "Well… he has a Cacturne. That's not even a ground pokemon. I mean, they live in the desert, but-"
"A note for you: the rules on what pokemon a gym leader can use aren't all that strict," Cedric cut in. "Besides, you should have known better. A ground type gym leader will use pokemon that work well with his team, and obviously, a Cacturne will hamper the progress of your typical water pokemon, right?" After giving that little speech, Cedric continued. "What else did you learn?"
"Well…" the younger trainer pondered, "his pokemon are diverse in themselves, I guess. He's got an indestructible, African Donphan, and a Gligar that poisoned my Zebstrika before trapping her in a Stealth Rock so she couldn't attack."
"Ah, he did that to you to?" Cedric asked, his face reflecting a memory of a similar situation. "He did the same thing to me, but with an Archen. Sucks, don't it?"
"Yeah, thanks," Cody mumbled. "It just seemed so damn unfair that Elesa couldn't even move while the poison was draining her. Cruel almost."
"Well, you learned another thing about Hornsby," Cedric stated, ready to give another speech. "He's known as one of the dirtiest players in Skitrex. Go watch his second battle in the best of five for Kaiser's title of Skitrex Champion. His Maractus faced off with Kaiser's Snorlax, you know, the one that can survive any hit?"
"Yeah, I've seen it on TV before," Cody replied.
"Yeah, anyway, if you don't remember that battle, his Maractus ended up hitting the Snorlax with a Worry Seed. Those things are devious. They cause a pokemon's sympathetic nervous system to go haywire so they can't sleep or even slow down a little bit. To a pokemon like Snorlax, that's a death sentence since they require those mini naps to stay charged. Anyway, after that, the Maractus hit it with a Leech Seed and then just spent the rest of the match-up dodging the Snorlax's attacks until it just passed out from depletion. It's a pure evil strategy, but it works, and it's legal. And while Hornsby may be the Ric Flair of pokemon battles, you better keep up with that style, because many other trainers will exploit tactics like that. Understand?"
"Yeah. I do now," Cody answered. Still, that Donphan… the thing was damn near impossible to hit effectively. It was just a straight up brutal fight."
"Well…" Cedric sighed. "I don't know what to tell you. But maybe if Hornsby is going to play dirty, you might need to play dirty too. Find a way to outsmart the elephant."
"And how would you suggest I do that?" Cody questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Elephants are pretty damn smart."
"Hey, you know your pokemon better than I do. You figure it out," the older boy replied, smiling, though he was no longer looking at Cody, but Antonia. "Also, maybe you ought to consider using your bird."
"I told you already, she's still too green, even if she is cleared," Cody tried to explained, slightly irritated that Cedric didn't hear him the first time, but that didn't stop the other boy from continuing.
"I know I said you need to balance brains and brawn, but sometimes, a little bit of pure ferocity will do the trick. Maybe you just need to come in with a pokemon that's unpredictable and reckless. Your pokemon I saw today were strong, but they all followed a structured strategy. I'm guessing your Skarmory does not, given her experience. On the topic of her battle experience though… sometimes, all we need is a little push."
"Okay… If you say so…" Cody said, doubt in his tone. He reached over and ran his hand down Antonia's neck. She looked back at him, her eyes gleaming with youth and passion that were a perfect reflection of her will to destroy. Suddenly without any sort of warning, the steel bird took off running towards the ledge, her wings outstretched. Once her feet left the ground with a running leap, she fell once she was over the edge. Cody stood up in a knee-jerk reaction at his pokemon who had just fallen off the cliff… or at least that is what he thought at first.
"SKREEE!" Out over the picturesque landscape, he saw Antonia soaring at high speeds. She had finally proven that she had no fear that he had considered at first. Perhaps she would prove him wrong in other ways sometime soon.