Just so you all know, I probably won't be answering reviews at the beginning of my chapters anymore, unless there is a question that everybody is asking. If you have any questions about the story answered, send me a private message or leave a review with your account (not as a guest).
A few things happening in this chapter. It's a long one, so sit tight. I have parts of Chapter 49 written out, so hoping to get that done soon.
Chapter 48: Into the Fire
He never had a gym battle outside before. His first pre-battle back in Tempest Valley was outside. His gym battle in Graywood took place on a battlefield with actual grass and trees, so it was sort of like it took place outside. But his gym battle at Ashlin was his first badge battle to take place outside. One of the battle plots at Ashlin was built into the side of Mt. Dagger, halfway up the dormant volcano. On his left was the rising cliff and on the right was the bleachers for the onlookers, including Brooke, Jared, and Heather, with Heather holding the camera to document the fight. The terrain was slightly rockier than your typical battle plot and there was a strong gust of wind coming from behind him. He was wearing his jacket today to counter the brisk air, but once the battle was underway, he'd probably have to take it off. Fire pokémon had a way of literally turning up the heat.
"This is a fifth tier battle for the Inferno Badge!" The referee called out. "Challenger Cody Storm vs. Ashlin City's Provisional Gym Leader Aagni Bhatia. This battle will follow standard gym rules with the challenger being allowed one mid-battle switch. Each trainer is allowed to use six pokémon."
Cody got a good look at his opponent who stood across from him on the plot, an Indian-Skitrexian girl who was only a few years older than him, wearing the customary Skitrexian league battle attire: long-sleeved gray jacket and pants with red lines running down the arms and legs.
No fire-specialist puns intended, but Aagni was hot. Dark, cocoa-colored skin, long black hair, flashing brown eyes, and a beautiful smile, she was nothing short of gorgeous. However, her resume as a trainer was a little less impressive. As the referee had stated, she was a provisional gym leader, only having seven badges herself. Sort of like the gym leaders that he fought in Graywood, she was talented enough to defend a badge at that tier, but she lacked the wisdom and knowledge that gym leaders such as Eagle, Ian, and especially Hornsby had. She wouldn't be using her strongest pokémon in this match either, and from what Cody had come to understand, younger gym trainers tended to struggle when this was the case, as some of the pokémon she would be using were hers, but others would belong to other gym trainers of different tiers. This was something that wouldn't hinder an experienced gym leader, but for Aagni, it would be the equivalent of Cody trying to battle using Heather's team; as much as he had an understanding of how they battled, he'd still lack that genuine connection of how to work with them. All in all, the battle favored him, and it looked like things might get better. Multiple dark clouds were rolling in, and although the weather wasn't calling for it, it looked like it might rain. If it did, Aagni would have an uphill battle against the likes of Bastion.
"Trainers! Ready your pokémon!... Begin!"
Like with the pre-battle, Cody opened with Mars. Lately, he had been using the Diglett as his opener, so he was confident in the mole's ability to make an opening dent in the opponent's team. However, he wasn't so sure about that strategy when his opponent's first pokémon was her Darmanitan, a hairy pokémon with large fists, jutting eyebrows, and a jagged grin. The red-haired orangutan pokémon was female, meaning that she was smaller and less bulky than her male counterparts, but much faster. She let out a large shriek and banged her fists against the ground, flames erupting from her fists. Mars would definitely have to work for this win.
"Mud Bomb!"
It was his typical opening strategy with Mars: mess with the opponent's flow and pick them apart from there. The Diglett dug underground, appeared at the far corner of the plot, and hurled a giant clot of dirt at his target. The Darmanitan was quick, though, punching the Mud Bomb into oblivion before charging at the mole, her fists burning with open flames. She tried to smack him down, but Mars was too fast. He went underground, reemerged next to where the fist hit, and threw a smaller clot of dirt into the ape's eyes. The bigger pokémon screeched in pain, and this gave Mars his set-up. He reappeared from the ground behind her and slashed at her back legs before reemerging a few yards further and rushing in with a Bulldoze. That should have been the beginning of the end for the orangutan, but after absorbing the hit, she knocked the mole backward and began banging against the ground, screeching and causing flames to soar around her. Like the Simisear the week before, she was using Work-Up.
Mars tried to get in, but in her rage, the Darmanitan grabbed the mole and tossed him into the ground with such force that it looked like the impact mate a crater. Mars was up again, only to take a Fire Punch to the face. The Diglett shook off the flames of the attack, though he had a prominent scorch mark on his face. One more strong hit like that would do it for him, fragile as he was.
"Mud-Slap!"
"Taunt!"
The Darmanitan dodged the mud and began beating her chest, shrieking and what not. Mars gave into the taunt and rushed his target. Thankfully, this didn't do much to affect his battle style, as he had already adapted to a cautious-aggressive style of fighting. However, he'd probably not have the patience to use projectiles. He rushed in and slashed at the orangutan, missing. The Darmanitan swung a heavy Hammer Arm, also missing, but causing the earth where she hit to erupt in soil and went on for nearly a minute. The ape couldn't hit the tiny Diglett, but Mars was only getting in petty slashes at best. But once the Diglett seemed unaffected by the previous Taunt, he backed up and used Earth Power. The Darmanitan didn't see it coming, and that got her good. Things seemed on the up and up… and then it happened.
Letting out one last feral shriek, the orangutan pokémon curled into a ball and her body morphed. The furious fire type turned herself into what looked like a round, greyish-blue statue, it's white eyes emotionless and it's mouth fixed in a permanent frown.
Zen mode. Cody had forgotten about this, simply because not all Darmanitan could use this ability. The ape had entered a defensive form, all but halting its wild speed and physical attacks, but greatly increasing its defenses and special attacks. This was problematic, to say the least. Mars's claws would do little to penetrate the stone-like exterior and any Mud Slaps and Mud Balls he threw would probably do little to harm the foe either. But the positive was that she was super slow, making her an easy target for Mars's most powerful moves.
"Magnitude!"
Mars shook the battle plot, tossing the solidified Darmanitan around like a ball and battering her with chunks of earth. But she calmly responded by levitating ten feet above the ground to avoid the quakes.
"Earth Power!"
Blasts of earth shot from below, but the statue pokémon slowly floated between all of them. But finally, she fought back. Using her psychic powers, she forced the Diglett out the ground, lifting the squirming mole out of the ground before throwing him back into the ground. The mole was about to dig underground, but not before the stone Darmanitan shot a ball of fire at Mars, which exploded into flames on contact.
"Diglett is unable to battle! Darmanitan is the winner!"
"Good effort! Return!" Once Mars was back, Cody had a few seconds to ponder his next move. He had plenty of options to work with, but the Darmanitan would be able to endure most hits in this form. If he was going to win, he would need a pokémon that could dish out high damage and endure strong hits. Normally, that would be Antonia, but with her sitting out in that battle, he had a suitable replacement.
"Colossal, it's your turn!"
The blue-shelled pupa burst onto the field, balancing himself on the tip of his shell as he calmly faced off against the statuesque Darmanitan. Both pokémon seemed so relaxed as they stood still in their stand-off. Colossal had grown so much, reaching a strength almost at the level of Antonia. But while he was not as strong as her, he carried a far more level head on his shoulders, so to speak.
"Sandstorm!"
"Hooooooome!" With a loud hum, the Pupitar caused the sand, dirt, and small stones around him to rise and to whip up into a spinning, windy sandstorm that encompassed the battlefield. That did little to hinder the stone ape, however. Darmanitan were typically a jungle-dwelling species, but those who had adapted to living in deserts could endure the harshest conditions with their zen form. However, this Darmanitan had already taken too much damage to sustain herself against the storm. She could endure it for awhile, but she'd fall eventually if Colossal took his time. She shot another fireball at the Pupitar, but he dodged it easily, using the whipping sands for cover. She tried using a Psychic next, but Colossal kept moving fast enough through the sands to avoid it. It was no use and Aagni knew it.
"Shift forms and hit him with a Hammer Arm!"
"Hurrack!" The stone orangutan instantaneously transformed and threw itself at the pupa, slamming her heavy fist into the ground, just missing her target as the sands blinded her. Colossal had no such disadvantage, though. He began a Chip Away, leading into a Thrash. Each successive hit, combined with the sandstorm tore away at the ape. The transformation was a last ditch move at this point, but it was not paying off.
"Flare Blitz!"
"Screech!"
The high-pitched roar slowed the Darmanitan in her assault, weakening the attack before she hit. But Colossal wasn't as phased by the strike. He took advantage of the weakened ape by knocking her back with a Magnitude and followed it with a Stone Edge. A large stone jutted from the ground, colliding with the Darmanitan's back before she hit the ground and sending her skyward. When she hit the ground again, she was not getting back up.
"Darmanitan is unable to battle! Pupitar is the winner!"
Cody smile. Things were looking up now. He really should have started with Colossal, now that he thought about it. He could have easily tanked the Darmanitan and whoever came after it.
Aagni's next choice was a tactical one: a Solrock, shaped like the sun with an orange, stone exterior and jagged, yellow growths extending outwards like rays of light. Had Cody not done his research, this pick might have surprised him. The daylight counterpart of Lunatone, Solrock was not a fire-type, but a rock-psychic pokémon. However, fire specialists seemed to have a fondness for sun-shaped pokémon. This species was naturally resistant against rock moves that were fire's bane, were good at avoiding ground moves with their levitation, knew several fire-type moves naturally, and complimented fire teams well with moves like Sunny Day. But the reason Aagni had chosen a Solrock was for its Sandstorm resistance. Colossal no longer had the advantage.
"Bring it down with a Body Slam!"
The idea was simple: bring the Solrock down to the ground and pick it apart from there. Unfortunately, the plan was too simple. Solrock were smart, and this one knew to move out if the way before the Pupitar could make contact with it.
Immediately, the floating pokémon shot a ball of light into the sky, which pierced the thick, gray clouds. Where it touched, a bright beam of sun shone through onto the battlefield, lighting the plot up, even with the thick sands flying. Before Colossal could try another attack, the Solrock let loose a spiral of bright flames. Powered by the sun, the flames were hot enough to catch the whirling dirt of the sandstorm on fire, creating a firestorm of wind and soil. The Solrock then rose above the fire like a rising sun and began spinning in the sunlight.
Cody couldn't tell what it was doing now and he figured out why. Aagni wasn't calling out any moves, and it wasn't because this Solrock was trained well enough to fight without commands. No, it wAagni wasn't that skilled yet. But they must have had a telepathic channel between the two of them. Aagni Bhatia was not a registered psychic; Cody would have seen that in her profile, had it been the case, but if she had a developed connection with this pokémon, not only could the Solrock telepathically communicate with her, but it could hear her thoughts. Psychic pokémon could be very dangerous this way if their trainers could send them commands via telepathy and the opposing trainer couldn't hear what was being said.
When the Solrock stopped spinning, it looked slightly shinier. Rock Polish, Cody immediately thought. But despite its increased speed, it was not able to avoid the rock that flew at it from below, which emerged from the blazing inferno and smashed right into the pokémon's face. Before it could regain its bearings, Colossal shot from out of the flames below and crashed into the flames below. By now, the fires were dying and the Pupitar was covered in ash. He resisted fire, but the flames had taken their toll on him. Still surrounded by his Sandstorm, he shot himself like a bottle rocket at the Solrock, who avoided him easily again, following up with a Rock Slide. The small boulders smashed into the Pupitar's shell, but he wasn't slowed. Instead, he tried a Rock Slide of his own, which the speedy Solrock dodged effortlessly before spitting out another encirclement of flames. It then surrounded itself in a dark aura that Cody could only haphazard a guess about what it was doing. But he didn't want to have to find out.
"Thrash!"
In hindsight, he should have gone with Chip Away. When Colossal began his assault, Cody knew that the thrashes would be weakened by the Solrock's rock typing. But he was surprised at exactly how weak they were. Colossal was throwing all of his power behind the strikes, but the Solrock was barely phased. Was it using Harden? No, Harden usually didn't typically manifest itself in an overly visible form. Cosmic Power was more likely. If that were true, the Solrock had transformed itself into a tank with nitro boosts.
"Back up and use Chip Away!"
The blue-shelled pupa bounced backward in an attempt to bait the Solrock, but the psychic-type was smarter than that. It instantly began spinning like a top. A Rapid Spin? He had never heard of a Solrock doing that before, but it was working wonders. The star-shaped monster bashed into the Pupitar, smacking it with repeated collisions before falling back and hitting him with a Psywave. From there, the Solrock lifted the dazed Pupitar into the air with a psychic hold. The sun shining through the swirling sands hit the Solrock and it began glowing with a greenish light.
Solar Beam. Why do so many gym leaders have Solar Beam? But Cody had been biding his time. Colossal had one advantageous move to use against this Solrock, but Cody had held off on calling the move until now. With the Solrock flying around and dodging everything, he didn't know if playing his ace would be worth it until he could guarantee a hit. But now…
"Dark Pulse!"
It was the perfect situation. The Solrock was holding the Pupitar at its level in the air as it charged its Solar Beam. Colossal released a dark, aura blast that hit the Solrock head on, causing it to lose its focus, release the pupa, and completely miss with the Solar Beam. Before the sun pokémon could regain its altitude following the hit, Colossal stomped his shell against the ground and smacked the Solrock with a jutting Stone Edge before following up with a Body Slam. The tables were turning now and the Solrock was slowed following this chain of moves. It tried one last Rapid Spin, but this time, Colossal had an ace up his sleeve. He absorbed the Rapid Spin, but retaliated with a physical strike as his body was briefly pulsing with a dark aura. He wasn't sure, but it looked like Payback. Whatever it was, it did the trick.
"Solrock is unable to battle! Pupitar is the winner!"
Cody could see the distress on Aagni's face as she returned the Solrock. She had thought that she could counter Pupitar with the sun pokémon, but the match-up resulted in a net loss for her team. Sure, Colossal was tired, but he could probably get in a few moves on whoever came next.
The next opponent was another fire monkey… or ape? Cody wasn't sure, but he recognized from the burning tail that Aagni's Monferno had entered the plot, barely phased by the whipping sands of the Sandstorm. Colossal had a new reason to be worried now, as the Chimchar line was known for being fighting types. And this Monferno looked much more focused than the Darmanitan from earlier or the Simisear from the previous week.
"Break his root! Magnitude!"
"Flame Wheel!"
The Monferno didn't seem all that bothered with the Sandstorm that tore at his body or the earth that erupted around him as he ran. Hid body caught fire and he slammed with all his force against the Pupitar, setting the target ablaze. Colossal instantly retaliated with a Payback, but against a fighting-type, it did minimal damage.
"Mach Punch!"
"Harden!"
That only weakened the blow. The two pokémon began exchanging rapid blows, but the Monferno was winning the trades. To break up the hand-to-shell combat, Colossal blasted his foe away with a Stone Edge, but the Monferno landed on his feet. He used Acrobatics this time, bouncing around the pupa while peppering him with tiny hits.
"Screech!"
"Taunt!"
Before Colossal could strike, the fire-primate stepped forward and forced his palm against the Pupitar's shell as a teasing blow. The rock-type was getting frustrated, so he fell for the Taunt and that's when the Monferno really went nuts. The fire-type intercepted the sloppy approach, sweeping the Pupitar off its feet with a Low Kick before taking advantage of the prone pupa with a Close Combat. Such an attack was normally reckless, but Aagni had waited for the right time to call it, as Colossal couldn't fight back. He was finally overwhelmed by the barrage of punches, kicks, and slaps by the fiery tail.
"Pupitar is unable to battle, Monferno is the winner!"
"Good work, Colossal!" Cody called his pokémon back and smiled. His Pupitar had made up the deficit, but now he had to deal with an enraged Monferno. Now that the Sandstorm had calmed down, the fire pokémon looked like he had been roughed up plenty by the sands, with scrapes and cuts covering his body. But that visible rage was being channeled. Thankfully, Cody already had a counter for this Monferno: one who was quite an evil counter if he did say so himself.
"You're up, Cortez!"
"Heh heh heh heh heh!" the golden ghost laughed as he burst from his pokeball. His unusual coloring awed the audience, but Cody could see Aagni's face go pale at his pokémon's presence. This was a cruel counter indeed, being that Lampent were immune to most fire and fighting attacks. And being that gym leaders weren't allowed to switch pokémon (save moves like Baton Pass, Volt Switch, and so on), the Monferno who still had plenty of energy was trapped in an unwinnable matchup. An Infernape might have had a better way of dealing with a Lampent, but a Monferno? Unlikely. It was unfair, but the challenger take whatever he could get.
"Mud-Slap!" Aagni ordered. It was an attempt to get some offense, but it failed. Maybe a strong ground-type could have gotten a hit off that, but before the mud could hit, Cortez's body erupted in flames, disintegrating the clot before it hit. The Monferno kept throwing dirt in a desperate attempt to get some offense, but no such luck.
"Okay, use Smog!" Cody ordered.
"HAH!" the Lampent laughed in response, choosing to charge at his foe with a flaming tackle instead. Of course, it did minimal damage and the Monferno instinctively tried to hit Cortez with a fire attack of his own, only for the golden ghost to absorb the flames and make himself more powerful. The monkey pokémon took a few odd swipes at Cortez, but his fists just phased through the Lampent's body and the ghost started laughing that raspy smoker's laugh again. Cortez was just playing with his food. He was smart enough to know that the Monferno's chances of winning were close to zero, so he kept hitting him with petty fire attacks while both the fire-monkey and his trainer were both growing increasingly frustrated.
"Back up and use Rock Throw!"
An improvised attack, but still a viable option. The Monferno strafed backward and hurled on of the stones that Colossal had uprooted earlier. Cortez easily dodged it and started laughing again as if it was the funniest thing in the world. The Monferno didn't relent, choosing to charge and tackle the ghost. Normally, Cortez could have phased through this attack, had he been paying attention. But that got him riled up and he began to take the fight seriously.
"Okay, Smog!"
Cody didn't go for this move too often. Cortez could usually get more off of burning his foes than poisoning them, but he couldn't burn a fire-type. The Smog also acted as a smokescreen as it covered the battle plot, allowing for the Lampent to sink in the shadows. The Monferno had even fewer options now. He was forced to lower the intensity of the flame on his tail, as any fire could cause an explosion that would hurt him far more than the Lampent. But he was also breathing in too much of the poisonous gas and was beginning to show symptoms of being poisoned. He knelt down into the smog as he tried to recover some energy, but Cortez would not allow that opportunity. Chanting a brief incantation, he cast Hex, damaging the foe while intensifying the poisonous effects. To keep the Monferno down even further, he used Night Shade, trapping the monkey in a dark void and slowing his labored movements even further. Finally, for the coup de grâs, Cortez rose above the poisonous gasses and used Ember. The tiny balls of fire were weak, but upon touching the smog, the air caught flame and set off a chain reaction of multiple, tiny explosions, each of which could be physically felt by the trainers and spectators alike. The ground caught fire as well, and above it all, Cortez was laughing like a lunatic. When the flames subsided, the Monferno remained, his fur singed and his body unmoving.
"Monferno is unable to battle! Lampent is the winner!"
That was easy. A bit too easy. But he figured he had gotten lucky. Gym leaders had strategies for dealing with all sorts of threats. Elemental specialists were not only adept at covering their own range of strengths, but also covering their weaknesses. A fire specialist would be able to effectively deal with water, rock, and ground-types, but also fire-types who could deal with those of their element. Unfortunately, the Monferno just wasn't prepared to fight a pokémon like a Lampent. And Cody expected a counter to come out next.
Aagni's fourth pokémon was a Flareon, a pokémon that Cody had some experience battling already. The fluffy, orange and yellow eeveelution looked very cute, but a good trainer would know not to let their guard down. But he also understood why the gym leader chose this pokémon. Cortez wouldn't be able to use fire attacks, as Flareon had a similar ability to absorb flames. He had other options, sure, but Aagni must have chosen this pokémon to counter his own. No, he'd want to save Cortez for a future match-up if need be. So before the match-up even started, he raised Cortez's pokeball above his head. The ref nodded in his direction, signaling that the switch was approved.
"Return! Good work!" Cody saw that his Lampent wasn't too thrilled about being returned to his pokeball, but he accepted the return. "Alright, let's go Elesa!"
"Neeeeeeeeee!" the horse whinnied as she burst from her pokeball onto the scorched battle plot. Looking at the tiny fire-canine, she snorted and stamped her foot, unimpressed. The two charged each other and Elesa caught flame around her ankles and upper torso.
"No, don't use-"
Too late. Elesa didn't know that Flareon could absorb fire. The Flareon took the physical damage from being hit by a charging horse, but she absorbed the fire and began radiating with increased temperature. She shot a Flamethrower at the Zebstrika but the lighting horse was too quick.
"Shadow Ball!"
"Hidden Power!"
The dark orb that the Flareon shot collided with the Zebstrika's green orb, there was a small explosion that knocked both pokémon backward. The Flareon tried following up with a Quick Attack, but Elesa preemptively used Flash, blinding the fire-type before she made contact. When the flash of light subsided, Elesa kicked her with two, electric-charged, hind hooves, sending the Flareon into the barrier surrounding the plot. Once outside of the plot's border, the ref began to count, but it didn't matter, as the fire canine scurried back onto the plot, again, she went for a Quick Attack, juking a second set of kicks before sinking her fangs into the Zebrika's hide. The zebra whinnied in pain as the foe's bite inflicted the surrounding area with fire. But Elesa knew how to deal with enemies like this.
With an empowered neigh, she electrified her body, shocking the Flareon. The dog was already disoriented, but Elesa made things worse for her with another blinding Flash before knocking her back with a Spark. Temporarily blinded and sizzling with electricity, the Flareon shot out one last stream of flames that only barely hit Elesa, but the bigger pokémon powered through it, dodging the rest of the attack, pinning the canine down under her front hooves, and pumping her with one last blast of electricity. That Discharge ended the fight.
"Flareon is unable to battle! Zebstrika is the winner!"
That went far easier than Cody expected. It wasn't that the Flareon was bad, but Elesa just dominated the match from start to finish. Hell, she beat the Flareon faster than Cortez beat that Monferno, even though Cortez's match should have been easier to finish. Then again, Elesa took battling far more serious. The horse stared at Aagni, daring her to send out another pokémon. Cody could also tell that Aagni was not looking all that confident anymore. He now had a four to two advantage, and while he assumed the next two pokémon Aagni had would be tough, he was sure he could end the battle with a two pokémon left at least. He had the bet in the bag.
"You've done well so far," the provisional gym leader shouted from across the plot. "But my final two pokémon won't be so easy."
Cody smirked. Like I haven't heard that one before. He was feeling cocky, but that right amount of cocky where he still had a level head. We got this.
Aagni's next pokémon emerged from its pokeball's light in a purple cloud. This new pokémon was a quadruped covered in thick fur with a long, bushy tail that extended over its back and head. It had a cat-like face with a certain devious expression. Normally, pokémon of this species had purple fur, but this individual had charcoal-colored fur with a cream colored face, feet, and the tip of his tail.
A Skuntank. Like the Solrock, it wasn't a fire-type, but it was a popular pokémon among fire-specialists, as the species was also well-known for having fire-type moves. Poison-Fire dual-type Skuntank did exist, but Cody had done his research and he knew that this Skuntank was Poison-Dark, and it was also relatively strong. Could Elesa take this pokémon? She had about a 50-50 shot in his estimation. But he had reasons to keep her healthy for whatever Aagni had next on her team, so he needed to switch her out. Thankfully, although he had already exhausted his free switch, his Zebstrika had was of getting around that rule.
"Flamethrower!"
"Volt Switch!"
Elesa probably wouldn't like it, but she had to go back on reserve. Charging her body with electricity, she charged the skunk, leaping over the flames and crashing into the foe before forcing her pokeball open and returning. As usual, it was legal for pokémon to return to their balls with moves like Volt Switch and Baton Pass, even without switches, so long as they were capable of channeling their pokeballs energy themselves. It was a great way to throw opponents off guard and Cody already had a switch-up in mind.
"Alright Reflet, it's time for your debut!"
The Eevee burst from her pokeball, excited for battle, but when she saw her opponent, her ears drooped and she let out a worried whine. The Skuntank dwarfed her in both size and confidence, looking down at her with a smug look. And he had all the reason to be, being one of the best pokémon on Aagni's team, facing off against an unevolved Eevee. Cody was not delusional about the situation; he knew that despite Reflet's improvement, she had a Snover's chance in Hell of winning at this level of battle. However, it was good experience that she'd need to grow.
"Quick Attack!"
"Yip!" the Eevee barked, trying to be confident. She rushed in quickly, dodging the Slash of her foe before crashing her entire weight into the Skuntank's side… and he barely flinched.
The skunk let out a grunt that almost sounded like a laugh as if the pup's attempt was more adorable than threatening. He retaliated with a swift swipe of his front paw, landing a solid Night Slash, sending her flying. The Eevee slowly stood up, already shaken up by the blow. The difference in power was already evident and the Skuntank knew it. He slowly swaggered over to the Eevee, ready to land another Slash, but he stopped when the pup looked him in the eyes with her Baby-Doll Eyes. Was he taken aback by her pitiful expression? Regardless, it was the moment she needed.
Smart! "Take Down!"
"Yip!" The cutesy gaze was broken and the Eevee spring forward, crashing her skull into the skunk's cranium. The Skuntank definitely felt that one, staggering backward. Shaking off the recoil, Reflet struck again with another Take Down. And then another. But before she could hit the fourth, the Skuntank stopped her with a surprise Sucker Punch.
Backing up from the stunned pump, the skunk aimed his tail and shot a purple fluid from the tip. When Stunky evolved into Skuntank, the gas opening shifted from their rears into their tails, providing them with better aim. The liquid he sprayed didn't seem to damage the Eevee, but she did seem slowed as the noxious ooze soaked into her fur. Drenched with venom, the smaller pokémon tried to attack, but she could barely walk. The Skuntank continued backing up, this time, spraying Reflet with a yellowish-green spray that seemed to burn the smaller pokémon even further. The Acid Spray made the tiny pup yip in pain and Cody felt that this was getting to be too cruel for her to compete. But he was willing to call out one last ditch play.
"Quick Attack!"
The Eevee exhausted the last of her energy to mount one final assault, but the Skuntank was wise enough to stop the approach. He slashed her back as she approached, and opened up with a Flamethrower. When the fire made contact, Cody immediately called her back to the pokeball, not willing to wait for the referee's call. She had been through enough and he was afraid she'd get hurt against this much stronger foe.
"The challenger has recalled his pokémon before an official decision had been made! Therefore, Eevee is disqualified!" the referee announced.
Not like she could have fought again in this match anyway. Cody stroked the outside of the pokeball. "You did well against such odds," he murmured. He'd make it up to her later. But for the time being, he had to defeat this Skuntank.
"Come back out, Cortez!" This was the right call. He knew that this was a bad match-up for a ghost, but he knew that the Lampent wouldn't last against Aagni's final monster. The best he could do for now was defeat the Skuntank, or at least damage it, and save Bastion's and Elesa's energy.
"Hahahaha!" The Lampent flew in and immediately opened with an Inferno, lighting the field on fire as he rose above the flames, laughing. However, this did little to slow the Skuntank, who jumped to the golden ghost's height and brought him back down to earth with a Night Slash. The skunk seemed to be taking the match far more seriously now, and once he landed on the ground, he sprayed a Smoke Screen around the battlefield before disappearing into the dark clouds. Cortez shot out a few bursts of flame into the darkness, but whether or not he hit his mark was a mystery.
"REEEEEEK!" the skunk screeched at an ear-piercing volume, leading Cortez to cringe in agony.
"Shake it off! Flameburst!"
"Night Slash!"
The Lampent exploded with flames, but the Skuntank endured the hit as he shot through the fire with a Night Slash and landed a devastating strike. Backing up, the ghost tried a Confuse Ray, but the skunk disintegrated the attempt it with an Acid Spray.
He's not going to last much longer. Luckily, Cortez always had a good self-destruct option on hand. "Night Shade into Curse!"
"Ra-hahahahaha!" The Lampent flew up and cast a Night Shade over the Skuntank. A ghost-type attack like that wouldn't slow a dark-type as much as it would others, but it did the job well enough. While the skunk tried to power through the damaging void, Cortez began his cryptic chanting. Suddenly, the illusion of a thousand pins and needles shot into his lamp-like figure. Despite the pain, he was laughing maniacally. The Skuntank finally broke through the shade and struck down the weakened ghost, it was already too late. The bigger pokémon shuddered, letting out low, labored moans as the curse took its effect.
"Lampent is unable to battle! Skuntank is the winner!"
You played your part well. Cody returned his ghost to the pokeball and took his next monster from his belt. This would be easy. "Finish it off, Bastion!"
"Raup, rup, rup!" The Wartortle stood confidently as it stared down the cursed Skuntank, who no longer looked so confident. There was a reason he chose the turtle over Elesa for this fight. At this point, both of them could easily down the foe, but after doing his research on Aagni, the young trainer knew that her Skuntank had two self-destruct options and that Bastion could deal with both of them better than his teammate.
"Aqua Jet!"
Bastion quickly strafed right, dodging a Flamethrower and powering his shell into the side of the mammal like a bottle rocket. That attack really hit hard, so the Skuntank tried to launch an Acid Spray, only to miss. The turtle was easily dodging all of the attacks, now that the skunk was cursed. Bastion could have easily waited out the skunk and let the curse end him instead, but Cody wanted to end this quickly. The longer the match-up went on, the more likely that the Skuntank would get some sort of critical offense in.
"Toxic!"
"Water Pulse!"
The water attack blasted through the poison gunk and hit the Skuntank head on. He was wavering now, shooting wild Flamethrowers that Bastion dodged with ease. After taking Bubblebeam, the Skuntank looked ready to collapse and that was when Aagni called it.
"Memento!"
"Protect!"
From watching some of Aagni's battles online, Cody knew that her Skuntank liked to end battles with either Explosion or Memento. Having been dampened by water attacks, the skunk went for Memento. Using the last of his power, the Skuntank willed all of his worst wishes into a final strike as his body was surrounded itself with a dark aura. However, when he blasted this dark aura at Bastion, the Wartortle's protective bubble blocked the shot without even cracking. Such an attack wouldn't have ended Bastion, but it would have weakened his will to battle, making him an easy target for Aagni's final monster. However, with the protect guarding him, the Skuntank fell for nothing. At least the Explosion would have destroyed the Protect, preventing the turtle from using it again. However, given her options, Memento was probably the way to go, had it hit. But now, the Skuntank had no will left to fight.
"Skuntank is unable to battle. Wartortle is the winner!"
"Stay focused, bud!" Cody called out to his pokémon as Aagni returned her fifth monster to his ball. "The big guns are coming out next!"
"You've done your homework, Storm!" Aagni called out from across the field. "Nobody has blocked one of my Skuntank's Mementos in a while. But my Magmar just evolved this week, so you'll have to start from scratch on this one." With that, she sent out her final pokémon to face Bastion.
Aagni's Magmar had evolved in a match several days earlier, but he was still within the power range to compete at the fifth tier. Standing at about five and a half feet tall, this pokémon looked so odd. Magmar looked like a hodgepodge of different pokémon, but Magmortar looked like nothing Cody had ever seen. A bulbous, pear-shaped body that was burning with high-rising flames, with spikes jutting out the back. It's clawed hands had giant, cannon-like holes that it could shoot blast attacks with. But that face... it was ugly but smug. The beast looked down at the Wartortle and didn't seem worried at all.
Bastion held his position, but Cody felt some concern. In theory, Bastion should have had that match-up in the bag, but battling was rarely as simple as the Lampent-Monferno situation from earlier. This Magmortar was young, but being fully evolved, it was definitely had more power than Bastion. It would be bulky enough to absorb hits and hit hard enough to deliver debilitating blows, even if they were fire attacks versus a water-type. This would probably be Bastion's toughest challenge to date. Should he fall, Elesa was still waiting in the wings to finish the fight, but Cody wanted Bastion to win this on his own. He also wanted to win that bet he made with Heather, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
"Stay focused!" That was all he said. He wanted Aagni to make the first move here. His attempts at making the first move thus far had mixed results. The turtle had the speed advantage and the type advantage, but against a strong pokémon like this…
"Flamethrower!"
"Dodge into Aqua Jet!"
It was a smooth and fluid movement. Like a gunman, the Magmortar shot a stream of fire from fire from the cannon on his left hand, but Bastion easily strafed left and shot into the bigger pokémon's barrel chest with an Aqua Jet. It staggered the Magmortar, but he quickly retaliated with a Fire Punch. A direct hit, but Bastion could tank a lot of those in the end. Falling back, Bastion tried an Aqua Jet again. The Magmortar was a quick learner, though, effectively smacking the turtle backward and let loose a Confuse Ray. A quick Rapid Spin and the mysterious blob disintegrated against Bastion's shell. The Wartortle tried a Water Pulse, but that collided against another Flamethrower. A Withdraw to endure a second Fire Punch and extending that into an Iron Defense to block a third. Having the type advantage wasn't going to make this win easy, so Cody knew creativity would pay off.
"Aim for the shoulder!"
Aagni ordered her Magmortar to block the incoming hit, but Bastion wasn't aiming for the shoulder with the Aqua Jet. Instead, he aimed slightly above the shoulder. The instant he was over the left shoulder, Bastion pulled out of his shell, flipped forward, and slammed his Iron Tail into the back of his shoulder.
"Oorooaaah!" the Magmortar staggered forward, clutching at his left shoulder with his right cannon. He immediately blasted a thick, black cloud of smoke from his good hand, darkening the battlefield completely. Bastion would not be able to see, but he was so low to the ground that the Magmortar couldn't see him either.
Stalemate. Bastion and the Magmortar had both taken significant damage, but neither of them had done enough to put down the other for good. Now, the Smokescreen would muddle things even more. Cody didn't like those fify-fifty odds. He needed to turn the tide in his favor.
A raindrop hit the top of his head.
Of course.
He got so wrapped up in the fight that he forgot Bastion's biggest advantage.
"Rain Dance!"
"Raaaaauuuuu!" The Wartortle sprung out of the smoke, spinning, and shot a clear ball of mist into the dark storm clouds above. And then the rain began to pour.
Bastion had learned that move over the summer. He could create storm clouds a short distance above him and the rain increased the strength of his attacks. However, creating clouds took a lot of energy out of the turtle. But when there were already clouds above him that were ready to burst, the energy required was so much less. Now, the rain was pouring and the part of the battlefield where he stood responded automatically as a metal barrier extended above his head to block the rain. Aagni had a similar shield, as did the audience. But the Magmortar… his flames were burning much lower now.
"This won't take long," he said confidently. He didn't think anybody could hear him say that over the rain, but somehow, Aagni did.
"Not for me at least." Through the rain, her smile shone through. "Charge!"
"Orrrrrrrrr!" The Magmortar raised his arms and roared. His body crackled with electricity.
What the- Oh shit! It was charging electricity. How was that possible? Magmortar could learn electric-type moves, sure, but not Charge. And then, he remembered something he watched that week.
There was a volcanic island that emerged about hundred miles south of the southern tip of the India in the early twentieth century. It was barren for a long time, save for the Magmar and Magby that crawled out of it. These pokémon hunted in the islands shallow tides, but they were prone to attacks from strong water-types. However, they adapted. A few decades ago, it was found that the few Magmar that did evolve into Magmortar on the island developed the dual typing of Fire-Electric. These individuals would protect the clan from water-types.
Cody had seen this info in a Magmar documentary that he watched earlier that week when preparing to fight Aagni's Magmar, but he would never have guessed that this one Magmar would have been a descendent of that subspecies. If that was the case, he might have just accidentally turned the tides in the gym leader's favor. And she was smart not to show her hand. Had she tried using an electric attack earlier, he would never have told Bastion to use Rain Dance.
"Lay low in the smoke!" Cody shouted. Playing the long game might have been worth it in this scenario. Rain did increase both the strength and accuracy of electric attacks, but enough exposure to water would eventually kill an electric-type's charge (and in the case of the Magmortar, his fire attacks would be weakened as well). The longer the battle ran, the more the odds would be in his favor, but one good electric attack and he was done. Then he would have to turn to Elesa. Could she beat this Magmortar? Maybe. But he didn't want to deal with those risks.
"Defog!" At Aagni's command, the Magmortar released a purple gas from his cannons which slowly ate away at the dark haze. Nowhere to hide anymore, Bastion rocketed at his foe with an Aqua Jet. A direct hit, but Bastion let out a pained grunt as his body sizzled with electricity. The Magmortar's body was electrified, so making any sort of physical contact was off the blow, the Magmortar began his attacks again, shooting Thunderbolts out of his right cannon and Flamethrowers out of his injured, left cannon. Bastion dodged each attack, but the Thunderbolts were coming awfully close to hitting him. Just narrowly dodging the last Thunderbolt, the Wartortle unleashed a Bubblebeam. The fire pokémon tried to counter this move with a Flamethrower, but his fire only weakened the attack somewhat, as the rain was drenching the attack's potential. He took most of the Bubblebeam, but with his other cannon, he had a perfect shot with a Thunderbolt. The electric blast charged, shot, and connected with Bastion easily, leaving the turtle pokémon sizzling, but not out yet.
"End this! Thunder!"
"Oooooooraaaaah!" the Magmortar roared, calling down lightning from the storm clouds above. The Thunder hit the big pokémon and he redirected it to shoot out of his good cannon at the prone turtle. The Thunder created a small explosion as it hit its target, but to Cody's relief, Bastion pulled out Protect at the last second. The protective bubble shattered as the lightning strike ended, meaning that he couldn't do that again, but it bought Bastion a little bit more time.
"Aqua Jet into Iron Tail again!" He knew Bastion would know what to do: injure the right shoulder like he did with the left, potentially reducing the Magmortar's aim. The foe was smart though and he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice, turning right and punching the turtle with a dampened Fire Punch. Bastion tanked the attack well, landing on his feet before flying forward with another Aqua Jet, this time between the opponent's legs. From there, he leaped up and Iron Tailed the Magmortar's right shoulder, eliciting another roar from the beast.
The battle was beginning to shift. The Magmortar's aim was stunted from the Iron Tail shots and the rain was beginning to take its toll, finally dousing its charge. Even if the beast could beat Bastion, beating Elesa afterward was looking less and less likely. Using the last of his power, the Magmortar let out one more bone-rattling roar as it used Lava Plume, erupting the field in fire. Raining or not, the flames would still burn, so Bastion had to dodge them as the bigger monster shot out another round of Thunderbolts. He shot a few water blasts back, but he couldn't get a clear shot as he kept running, zigzagging between the flames.
"It's now or never!" Aagni shouted desperately. "Thunder!"
"Aqua Jet!"
Again, lightning fell from the sky, and the Magmortar channeled it to blast it back at his enemy, but Bastion jetted over it, hitting him in his chest and knocking him over. Once in the air, he let out a super, strong Bubblebeam that impacted against his chest. That final hit ended it all. Bastion landed next to his fallen foe, gasping for breath and clutching his chest. The flames died down and the rain began to slow as a bit of sun peeked through the clouds.
"Magmortar is unable to battle! Wartortle is the winner! Therefore, victor goes to challenger Cody Storm!"
He sighed with relief. He knew that he would win this battle, but he wanted his Wartortle to win the fight against a much stronger monster than he was used to facing. Cody hopped down from where he stood and approached his exhausted pokémon. He held out a piece of kibble, which Bastion snatched and gobbled down quickly. Cody knelt next to his pokémon on the charred, soaked ground and rubbed his long, fluffy ears.
"I'm so proud of you," he whispered, and the turtle nuzzled his chest. Cody decided that his pokémon definitely earned a shell waxing that night.
"Well, that was exciting," Aagni said as she approached Cody. She was obviously forcing a smile as he eyes told another story. She obviously wasn't all that happy about losing to a trainer who with an extra pokémon to spare. "You've earned the Inferno Badge and your choice between a TM or a Fire Stone."
"Thank you," he replied, shaking her hand and taking the Inferno Badge. It looked like a rounded jewel, surrounded by an earthy gray border. "That was pretty fun." He felt kinda bad, seeing how hard she was taking it. He remembered how when he won the Voltage Badge from Ian Powell, the older trainer was angered by the happenstance that led to his loss. This girl seemed to express her frustration in sadness. She was pretty cute, though… and not that much older than him. If he weren't in a confusing not-relationship already, he'd consider asking her out, but he probably wouldn't have had the balls anyway.
"Cody, that was amazing!" Brooke exclaimed, squeezing Cody in a tight hug as she joined him on the battle plot. "Like, I've never seen somebody do that well in a gym battle!"
"Yeah, it was pretty easy," he admitted once Aagni was out of earshot. "There were a few troubling moments, but overall…" He trailed off as Heather approached and he returned her smile with a smug one of his own. "I won with two to spare. Fifty bucks."
"And so it begins," Heather sighed, handing him his camera. "You won easily, so now you'll go around thinking you're hot shit until you get your ass beaten."
"And you're smiling about that. Is it worth fifty dollars to see me lose?" he laughed.
She shrugged. "Kinda."
"Don't care. Fifty dollars richer." He'd miss Heather's wit when she left, but for the time being, he enjoyed poking fun at her. Five badges… he'd say that he couldn't believe it, but that wasn't true. Seven more to go, and beyond that… Despite all the shit he would have to deal with, he couldn't feel better in that moment if he tried.
We're gonna make it, he thought to himself as he stroked the top of his Wartortle's fluffy ear.
It wouldn't be long...
Two more days. He had two more days left in Ashlin. That wasn't so bad. Ther city had a decent trainer community, the people were friendly, and nothing was all that expensive. The city was nice in general, but he had to keep going, either alone or with Brooke.
That was the question of the hour: would Brooke be coming with him? He had mixed opinions on the whole situation. On one hand, it would be for the best if she patched things up with what was left of her family. But if that happened, he would definitely miss her. On the other hand, while he secretly hoped she'd come with him, he didn't know if she would be a good traveling partner. She couldn't battle, she was an incompetent camper, and unless she made more money, she'd be broke. As much as Jared got on his nerves, at least the guy was useful to have around when camping. So each possibility had its pros and cons. He would have to start preparing if he did end up traveling alone again. He considered looking for other trainers to travel with if any of them were heading north. He'd probably have to cancel his travel destinations, such as heading towards Solomon's Pit, but he really did not want to be alone. Not with the nightmares. Not with the Brotherhood watching him. He needed to have somebody nearby.
He was heading to a cemetery on the southern side of town, the one that Brooke told him to meet her at. She had spent the morning visiting with her family, but she wanted him to meet her there afterward. From there, they'd go to see Heather's gym battle and Jared's after that. He didn't know why she wanted to meet him there, but it would be about her decision, he figured.
Beside him walked his Venipede. This was a huge improvement in terms of teaching the pokémon commands. The pokémon had been ignoring him all week, so getting the shiny to walk by his side was the first step in training him.
"You'll be battling in no time," Cody said, smiling down at his bug.
"Tlick tlick!" the Venipede clicked in response, disinterested.
"You'll come around."
They reached the picturesque cemetery. Beyond the iron fence, the place had a "wooded" feel with all the trees that grew there. Brooke didn't tell him where she was in the cemetery, so he'd have to look. After walking with his pokémon between the headstones for about a minute, he was about to call her, but he saw her standing in the distance by a willow tree. Even from far away, he could tell it was her; aside from her blonde hair, he also recognized the jean shorts and the yellow-pastel colored tank top that hugged her curvy body. He wasn't sure how she could stand wearing clothes that light when it was getting cold out. It had gotten to the point that he had to finally break out his jacket during the daytime. Still, she was easy on the eyes, so he wouldn't complain.
"Hey you," she greeted as he got closer. She was smiling, but she looked a little sad. The two hugged and he could feel the goosebumps on her skin.
"Jesus, you're cold," he laughed. "How can you stand not wearing any clothes?"
"I am wearing clothes, jerk!" she giggled in return. "I just thought it would be warmer. It was, like, eighty degrees yesterday."
"True story." He felt something else on his back: the Venipede. He too was getting cold, so he attached himself to Cody's back for warmth. Another good sign. "I'd offer you my jacket, but-" He motioned to the bug. Just as he did, the bug scurried off and up the tree that they stood next to. Hopefully, he'd come back down when it was time to go. "Here." He handed the girl his jacket and they sat down under the tree. "Why did you ask me to come here today?"
Brooke shrugged. "I like to come here when I'm not feeling good. It's quiet here. Peaceful and pretty, you know? Also…" She looked over at the nearest headstone and his gaze followed. From where he was sitting, he saw the name "Terrance Oliver Mitchell" and "Lydia Marie Mitchell", both of whom died in the year 2010. There was more written on the stone, but where he was sitting, he couldn't make it out.
"Your parents…" He said, stating the obvious.
"Yeah…" She cuddled up closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I… I don't know if I believe in heaven, but I'd like to think that they're listening to me when I talk to them here. I just hope that they're not too ashamed of me, you know?"
"No, I don't know what you mean. Why would they be ashamed of you?"
"Ugh Cody, you're being too nice again," she groaned, pulling away, but only slightly, so she could look him in the eyes. "My aunt and uncle are dicks, but I alienated what's left of my family. I don't even talk to my sister anymore either. On top of that, I failed as a trainer, threw away all my money, and threw myself at any guy I could, just so I wouldn't have to go back home. What exactly do I have to be proud of?"
"Um… You-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there, save us both the embarrassment," she answered with a half-hearted laugh.
"You're a good person," he said. "You've been good to me, especially when I really needed it. Without you, these past few weeks would have been rougher."
"You're sweet but as much as we've hung out… there are things about me that if you knew-"
"You can tell me."
She nodded. "I will in time."
In time? Did that mean...?
"Anyway, things with the family didn't exactly go according to plan. I admitted that I failed, and they were just as condescending and verbally abusive as usual. The phrase "empty-headed loser" came up multiple times. Of course, I guess they're right. I guess I should start taking classes so I can get my GED or whatever. Because this trainer thing isn't happening. Maybe-"
"It's never too late to improve," Cody offered, even though he himself questioned her ability to get better. "Even if training doesn't work out, there are other options, pokémon wise. Refereeing, management jobs, and so on. So don't listen to that, okay?"
"Well, I don't know," she answered half-heartedly. "But I can't stay here, in this city." She blinked, smiling. "So.. is the offer to travel with you still open? Again, I know I'm not the perfect traveling partner, but-"
"Of course it's still open." If there was a silver-lining to the sad situation, it was this. But he still had concerns. "You know it will be rough, right? The winter is going to be brutal, and while we can try to spend the night in towns when we can, we're gonna be outside a lot. Plus, I like spending time with you, but the training is a priority. Multiple battles a day, running drills, individual care and bonding with my-"
"Yeah, I get it," she answered. "I know it's important to you. I'm not going to get in your way."
"But there's something else." He couldn't look her in the eyes, but instead, he looked up the Venipede in the tree. "Brooke, what are we?" When he looked back at her, she looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean us. What are we? Sometimes, you're flirting with me, other times, we're just friends. One moment, you openly admit that you feel bad for leading me on, and the next, you kiss me. Plus, we go on a lot of dates or what might as well be dates. So, what are we?"
Her eyes fell and she touched his cheek. "Cody…"
"Look," he continued, "If you just want to be friends, that's okay, I can take it. I feel lucky enough that someone as cute and cool as you even wants to hang out with me to begin with." He paused. This moment was becoming way too awkward. What would Laurence say in a moment like this? "Or, I don't know, friends with benefits? I just need to know what all of this is."
Another brief silence followed. This time, she couldn't look him in the eyes.
"Look, Cody, you know I like hanging out with you. It's just that I don't want anything serious right now and I don't want to put a label on us."
That's not any less vague. "So…"
"Look, I'm not going to take advantage of you. If I go with you, I'll go where you go and I won't complain. You won't have to spend any money on me or anything. I'll be fine." Then, she leaned close to his ear and whispered, "and if things happen, things happen. Don't worry so much."
Don't worry so much. So, that was her answer. Essentially, nothing changed and he had no idea what she really wanted. He guessed she just didn't want to stay where she was and that she needed him. And unlike those other guys she traveled with, she knew he wouldn't expect anything in return. But she did offer something: comfort and company. That was all he really wanted in the end, even if her intentions did confuse him.
"Yeah… I get it." He pulled out his cellphone and checked the time. "We better get going if we want to catch Heather's match. I mean, you don't have to go if you don't want to, but I told her I'd get her battle on camera, so-"
"No, no, we can go. I've been here long enough." The two of them stood up, but before Brooke could move, he pulled her in and kissed her. After the conversation they just had, he wasn't sure how she'd react to this, but she let him and she kissed back. He pulled her even closer, his hands lowering on her back as he did. When he pulled his lips away, he moved them near her ear and whispered, "thank you."
"No, thank you," she replied, smiling.
He looked up at the tree branches where his Venipede sat, he had gotten too high up to be reached by his pokeball and he still wasn't good with voice commands. "So, how do I get him down?"
While Cody was trying to figure out how to get his pokémon out of the tree, Brooke was already mentally composing what she would be telling Michelle. Of course, she wasn't surprised with the result she reached. She really liked Cody, but he was pretty easy to work over. Her parents' headstones were real, but her visit with her remaining family was fiction. But the performance she put on was convincing and he suspected nothing. Then again, why would he? Still, she knew Michelle would give her another scolding for kissing him again… no. She smiled to herself. She'd keep that detail to herself.
"Wait, you're serious?"
Jared rarely ever got angry at her. Despite their differences, they usually handled everything calmly, but that was out the window now. Following their victories at the gym, Heather and Jared grabbed dinner before coming back to the motel room. It was there where Heather decided to confide in her boyfriend about what her Lunatone told her about, such as the Regice that her friend had supposedly found. Like she expected, he didn't believe that that was possible, but then she told him her decision.
"I'm going to keep traveling with Cody," she repeated firmly, although her sadness showed. "Look, I know this is so shitty of me. I just don't trust this girl. I-"
"Why? Because your pokémon heard the name "Regice", possibly out of context, so you automatically assume something's up? Because you just have to make an issue out of nothing? Because you hate the fact that Cody is focusing on somebody other than you for a change?"
"What?" She felt her face burn up at that last one. "Are you saying I'm doing this because I'm jealous?"
"I don't know, Heather, are you?"
"No!"
"Then what is it?"
A brief calm in the storm. The two of them never fought all that much, so this whole experience was new to both of them. Both of them were red-faced and breathing heavily. There was no going back on the decision, however, as she already refunded her plane tickets.
"Look," Jared began, his voice calmer and his breathing under control, "is this about the other night? When we were on the Torterra and-"
"No, it's…" she trailed off. Was that part of the issue? She had honestly forgotten about all of that when she actually made her decision, but maybe… "Look, Jared… I just know this is crazy, but I have this feeling and I'm really worried about him. If something were to happen-"
"So he needs you? Are you sure that's not in reverse?"
She didn't have an answer to that.
"Or, did you ever stop to think that I needed you?"
She didn't have an answer for that either.
He shook his head. "No, no, this is for the best, I guess. I need to focus. I need to remember why I'm out here to begin with."
"Jared, I-"
"Heather, I don't want to lose you… So I just need to think about all this."
"Jared, I just want to-"
"I need to be alone." He left the room, leaving her alone.
Heather sighed, sitting down on the bed. That could have gone better… Her emotions were mixed on her decision now. She still thought that she was doing the right thing, but that didn't stop her from feeling like an awful person. But what was she left with? Cody was still her friend, but now, she was the third wheel to him and the girl he was ogling.
"I guess that's how he felt for the past year," she said to herself, thinking of Cody having traveled with her and Jared. But all of this would be for naught if she didn't find whatever she was looking for. She hoped that there was nothing at all, but that feeling in her gut…
She fell back on the mattress and stared at the motel ceiling. This was stupid. This was so stupid. And as much as she hoped there was nothing at all, she hoped that her decision paid off somehow. And maybe Jared was right; maybe she did want to take a break from him. Saying that to herself, that actually sounded nice.
Now I really feel like a bitch…
There was a high school near the pokémon center, and near that high school was a track. Usually, students were training or having track meets there, but that day, his final day in Ashlin, Cody and his team were using it when nobody was around. Following an intense gym battle, he would give his monsters a couple days off from battling, but they still ran fitness drills. That day, the focus was cardio. For the past hour, he brought out six of his team to run sprints and long distances, alternating between the two. All the while, he ran with them, as he would never put them through any fitness training that he couldn't do himself.
This was where Elesa excelled. Even when her electricity was drained, she could still lead the pack on her physical prowess alone. Today, she had some new competition in the Venipede, who managed to keep up with her. The bug still wasn't listening to his trainer, but he would run with Elesa. Despite his coldness, he seemed to have a taste for competition. Perhaps that could be channeled into? Behind them, Bastion, Reflet, and Cody followed, slightly slower, but still improving their ground speed. Behind them were Colossal and Antonia. The pupa had to keep up with multiple hops and this ultimately drained him. The armored-bird hated having to run when she would rather fly. On top of that, she had been giving Cody an attitude all day. Perhaps she knew that Cody kept her out of the last gym battle? Fire-types or not, she was the kind of competitor who would hate to be sidelined in a fight.
Alright, 'round the bend. They were in the midst of a distance run. Ultimately, they would run as long as they could before breaking and doing a set of sprints. But as they looped around the capsule-shaped course, Cody saw somebody standing near the track. At first, he thought it was somebody from the school who had come to kick him off the track, but as he approached, he saw that it was Jared, carrying all of his gear with him.
He's still here? He thought that Jared would have gone straight to the airport. Did he come to say goodbye? Because Cody had said his goodbyes with Jared earlier that day. Unless he was there to yell at him about something? The young trainer felt the pit deepen in his stomach. He sincerely hoped that this didn't have to do with Heather choosing to travel with him and Brooke. Whatever that was all about, he didn't want to be in the middle of whatever was going on between the couple.
"Okay, I'll catch up with you guys in a moment!" Cody called out as he sidestepped out of the group. His pokémon kept running without him.
"Cardio?" Jared asked with a smirk, knowing the answer.
"Yeah," Cody answered as he bent over, trying to catch his breath. Suddenly, the cool air felt so much more evident when he wasn't running. "Too soon for them to battle right now. Bastion still has a few bad burn marks and Reflet still has a bruised rib. But they can run. They like their running… save Antonia."
"Well, I guess it's good that you don't take any days off." He smiled slightly before continuing in a lowered tone. "Look, I'll let you get back to your training in a moment. I just wanted to talk to you in person before I left. This sort of thing is better said in person in my opinion."
"Huh…" This had to be about Heather, so he didn't bother beating around the bush. "Look, Jared, I just want you to know that I didn't try to do anything to convince Heather to keep traveling with me. I mean, I like traveling with her; next to Laurence, she's my best friend. But I didn't want to get between you two or anything. I would have turned her down if she hadn't already refunded the tickets because it's really silly-"
"I know you aren't directly responsible," Jared answered, somewhat coldly, but with little emotion otherwise.
"Directly?"
"Did she tell you why she chose to keep traveling with you?"
Cody shrugged. "I don't know, she said that you and her had a fight or something. I told her that was stupid, but-"
"So you don't know why we fought?"
Another shrug. "She didn't want to talk about it, so-"
"Well, surprise surprise, it's about you." Now, there was a bit of venom in Jared's tone. "Well… don't tell her I said this, but it's not just you. It's about Brooke."
"Brooke? What about Brooke?" Cody was really confused now. He knew that Heather and Brooke weren't exactly chummy, but they seemed to get along all right. They even went out together a few times in the past week there didn't seem to be any drama surrounding those outings. Hell, Brooke gave Heather the Venipede that she didn't want.
"She doesn't trust her," he answered simply. "I don't know, maybe it's a girl thing."
Girl thing… He wanted to believe that that wasn't it. Laurence was always telling him about how in his experience, most women couldn't stand each other and that they were always putting up a front. He always figured that Heather would be above that sort of thing, but maybe not? No, there had to be a reason. But Jared didn't know (or wasn't telling him) and he couldn't ask without betraying Jared's confidence in him to keep that secret.
"So… is she trying to protect me or something? Because I don't need that."
"Yeah, I know you don't," Jared agreed with a nod. "Despite all the shit that happens to you with secret organizations and almost getting eaten by wild pokémon, you seem to be absurdly lucky. But, it is what it is…"
"Wow, Jared, I'm sorry." He would never wish misfortune on Jared, no matter how much he pissed him off sometimes. "So, you and Heather… are you guys-"
"Still dating? Yeah… Just on a break." The older boy managed a weak smile. "No, this is a blessing in disguise. It sucks, but I need some alone time. Maybe I can focus on getting the rest of the badges before the summer. If I can get them by July, I can register for Diamond Beach." He nodded his head. "It's doable."
"Yeah, you'll do fine." Cody had nothing more to say. If he forced anything else out, he'd probably say something stupid. But no, just an awkward silence…
SPLSSSHHH!
"Ow, what the fu-" Cody turned around to see who hit him with a burst of water to the back of the head. As expected, the culprit was Bastion.
"Rup rup rup rup rup!" the Wartortle laughed before running down the track again. A second later, Antonia ran by, giving Cody a death glare for skipping out on the running. He turned back to see Jared doing his best to stifle a laugh. Of course, the guy enjoyed it whenever Cody was in some sort of minor pain.
"I'll let you get back to your run. Just take care of yourself… and her." He seemed a bit disgruntled, but he held out his hand in good faith.
"Good luck you. I hope you get to the beach this year," Cody said with absolute sincerity as they shook.
"Yeah. You… you'll be fine." He took his hand back and he turned around and headed off the track.
"Hey, next time I see you, I'm beating you!" he shouted out to the older boy.
Jared held up his hand as if to wave as he walked away. "Fat chance."
He was gone and Cody felt a mixture of relief and confusion. Jared had been a decent human being to him in the past few minutes, but he'd be lying if he said he'd miss him. But that whole business with Heather not trusting Brooke to the point that she felt the need to leave traveling with Jared… what was that all about? Jared had asked him not to say anything and he wouldn't if that meant driving Jared and Heather apart; that wasn't his business. Even if he did, what would he even say? He would risk making the situation even more awkward, especially if it made her feel more isolated in the group.
No secrets. What a load of Tauros shit. But he pushed those thoughts aside. Brooke already provided him with enough personal insecurity that he didn't want to deal with anymore. Not with what was coming up next. He'd be challenging for the Cerebral Badge next, a badge belonging to the only gym in Skitrex that was run by a former champion.
"I can't lose sight of this."
His pokémon passed him on the track again and he joined the crowd to run with them again. He needed to stay focused, namely on how he'd get Bastion back for spraying him.