Chapter 62: Codependent
Martin Hornsby: The premier rock and ground-type specialist of Skitrex. And even though he looked uncomfortable wearing the grey-colored, Elite Four jacket and slacks that were quite different from what he used to wear in his gym, he battled like he belonged there. During the man's time as a gym leader, every trainer in the region who had ever reached any sort of greatness would have had to face him at least twice: the first time when they lost to him and as many times as it took afterward to beat him. As a member of the Elite Four, he could battle at his fullest, no strings attached, so his win rate was likely to skyrocket. Daryl Jones knew this, and he entered the battles with him knowing that they'd be some of the most challenging fights to date. He too had been beaten by Hornsby the first time they battled over a decade ago. On the second attempt, he won by the skin of his teeth. But in the handful of times Daryl battled Hornsby afterward in tournaments across the world, he had lost. That would have to change.
The streak continued with the first match of their set, which Hornsby won with two to spare. In the second battle in the set, like Daryl's second ever battle with Hornsby, the challenger won, but just barely. The third battle was far more even. It was strange in a way; for so long, Daryl had always thought of Hornsby as his elder, but that day, he felt like his peer, his equal even. But he intended to be his superior, especially after what the man had said about him "not being ready" to be champion in that interview. He didn't resent Hornsby's opinion. It only pushed him to fight harder.
The battle had been difficult. He had to bring out Boss earlier than intended to deal with Hornsby's Bastidon, but the Slaking fell to an enemy Marowak. Daryl brought Hornsby to his last Pokémon, Stoneridge the Rhydon, who defeated Turmoil with ease before the Electrode could get a good chance to explode in the rhino's face. So, it came down to Stoneridge versus Gallant, Daryl's Gallade. Stoneridge was older, but not so old that his physical prowess suffered much. He was still the fastest and most powerful Rhydon on earth, able to fight disadvantageous match-ups and megas without missing a beat. But Gallant was intelligent, more than making up for any wisdom he lacked in his youth. With intelligence and wisdom cancelling each other out, it was really a battle of youthful strength versus an elder's endurance. That was a fight that Daryl and Gallant knew they could win.
[Swords Dance, milord?] Gallant asked his trainer through his telepathy. Daryl didn't say anything in return. He didn't even need to nod. The trainer and his Gallade had established a close enough bond that the pokémon could read his trainer's mind with ease. Letting out a grunt, the Gallade powered up his bladed arms while the Rhydon did something similar in activating Rock Polish. The already fast Rhydon would be able to keep up with the Gallade. Question was, could Gallant hit hard enough to penetrate his foe's rocky exterior?
The two pokémon rushed each other, only to be knocked back in opposite directions upon impact. Slightly more athletic, the Gallade charged back in, landing multiple Psycho Cuts that the Rhydon was forced to endure with a Harden. Stoneridge picked his moment and countered with a Drill Run. He didn't immediately retaliate with an attack, choosing to stomp his foot into the ground, forcing energy into the rocks in the earth. Multiple stones rose dotted the battlefield. The Stealth Rock would slow Gallant down… sort of.
The Ralts-line was excellent at teleportation and Gallant was no exception. He would teleport to wherever there was an opening, taking chances to shatter rocks or strike at Stoneridge when he could. But the Rhydon adapted quickly. He could tell where the Gallade would teleport to next, based on the openings in the rocks, and hit two Stone Edges as Gallant teleported those spots. When the Gallade tried to strike from above, the Rhydon struck him down with a Hammer Arm. He had no clear openings.
[He's shielded himself. I'm going to have to take a few taps!] Gallant told his trainer. He teleported to the middle of the field, dodging the Stone Edges in the obvious spots, but taking damage from the rocks. With a quick Psychic, he blasted the rocks out of the way and began cutting through the rocks with Psycho Cuts. Stoneridge tried another Stone Edge, but at the last second, Gallant teleported slightly to the side, dodging the two-story high, jutting stone, only to take cuts from the floating rocks. The Rhydon followed that with an Earthquake, the erupting earth knocking Gallant off his feet, but the Gallade bounced back and rushed through the stones, taking more damage, but it paid off. Up close and personal, Gallant and Stoneridge began trading blows, the Gallade throwing Leaf Blades and the Rhydon throwing Hammer Arms, the moves parrying each other. But fast as Stoneridge was, Gallant was faster. Gallant finally hit a clean blow, knocking Stoneridge down, but the rhino got one last hit, sending Gallant to the other side of the battlefield with a Stone Edge. Gallant looked exhausted, but he rose from his kneeling position, ready to fight. Meanwhile, Stoneridge looked winded.
"You've done well, Daryl," Hornsby shouted from across the battlefield. "But I always have a plan B. Stoneridge! Double Sub!" That was the only command that Hornsby gave his Rhydon in that battle and it was the only one that mattered.
"Son of a bitch," Daryl muttered. He recognized Hornsby's last trick, and historically, his most effective one.
The Rhydon let out a roar as it created not one, not two, not three, but six substitutes. And then, the big pokémon created two image copies of each Rhydon that appeared on the field, real and otherwise. In total, twenty-one Rhydon crowded the field. It was Stoneridge's last resort technique that he would occasionally pull out. Basically, the Rhydon would sacrifice the last of its energy to create six substitutes and fourteen images. The Double Team images had no actual physical presence and the Substitute copies could not actually harm their foe. But the joint technique would create absolute chaos, as the real Rhydon would be launching attacks behind the protection of the copies. While Stoneridge wasn't the originator of the Double Sub technique, he was one of the few non-Psychic, Ghost, Dark, or Fairy types who could pull it off. And usually, that technique, desperate as it was, worked.
Each Rhydon jumped up simultaneously and when they hit the ground, a three-story tall Stone Edge erupted under where the Gallade was standing. Gallant dodged and rushed in, brandishing his blades, but the copies expertly dodged. None of them were going in, but there were so many of them that Gallant couldn't tell who was real. Even with his psychic-powered senses, he struggled to pick out the real Rhydon among that mess. And that attempt to pick out the Rhydon left him unfocused for a moment, allowing Stoneridge to hit a Surf, one of his rarer moves. Following the crashing wave, Gallant took a wild slash to the side, hitting one of the image copies and forcing it to fade, but two substitutes grabbed him and held him in place for a slam from the Rhydon's tail. Gallant escaped, dodging another copy's charge, teleporting past a Stone Edge, and leaping airborne and crashing into and dissipating another image copy. But after taking another tail slam, that time to the head, that was when the six substitutes dogpiled him, holding him in place. Even though they couldn't hurt him, they could hold him down, and Gallade couldn't teleport away, thanks to the blow to the head that impaired him briefly.
The real Stoneridge stepped forward, his horn spinning. Both Daryl and Gallant knew what that meant: one Horn Drill and the battle would be done for sure. But Gallant didn't need his trainer to inform him of that. The drill grew closer. And closer. And closer. But right before it hit the Gallade's chest, he quickly tilted his head forward and touched the side of the spinning drill with the horn on his head, creating a small jolt of what looked like electricity. The horn immediately stopped spinning and the Rhydon stood up straight, confused. He hadn't expected the Disable.
That bought Gallant the time he needed. He managed to Teleport out of the substitutes' grasp and with a slash of his blades, striking each of the substitutes down. When he refocused, he saw that the Rhydon had surrounded himself with the Double Team copies again. So, the Gallade decided to fight fire with fire: he used Double Team himself, standing behind his own little army of image copies.
It was a bit confusing following the battle that ensued. The images of Gallade and Rhydon rushed forward, "attacking" each other, but being unable to actually do anything, being illusions and all. Neither Gallant nor Stoneridge attacked the images, but instead picked their spots, trying to blend in with the chaos. Psychic blasts and Stone Edges shot across the stage, but both pokémon kept dodging. Finally, Stoneridge released his most powerful Earthquake yet while jutting out multiple, angled Stone Edges at once. But Gallant was ready, using his psychic abilities to leap high above the earth, bouncing off the various stones that shot from the earth, getting closer and closer to the Rhydon. When he had a clear shot, the Gallade shot forward like a bullet, ready to strike with a final Psycho Cut. Stoneridge was ready strike back, but Gallant thought of that too. Instead, last second in mid-flight, the Gallade teleported several yards behind the Rhydon, maintaining his momentum as he struck the rhino from behind. And having used all of his energy on the Double Sub, the Rhydon finally fell.
"Rhydon is unable to battle! Gallade is the winner! Therefore, victory goes to challenger Daryl Jones, who will advance to challenge the final member of the Skitrexian Elite Four!"
After years of hearing cheers and applause from different crowds from around the world, Daryl could barely hear the clapping anymore. Hopefully, he'd hear them again when he became champion. But he was happy to hear the voice of his partner.
[Little touch and go there, but we did it!] the Gallade said to his trainer after walking over to him, clutching his ribs and panting.
"We? You did the heavy lifting," Daryl said, patting his pokémon on the back.
[All thanks to your training, milord,] Gallant said, tilting his head in a quick bow. [If that was the hardest these trainers will be, we have nothing to worry about.]
"One can only hope," he laughed, knowing that he still had two tough trainers to go. However, the final member of the Elite Four was the least threatening of the bunch, so maybe Gallant was partially right.
"Well, it appears you have proven me wrong," Hornsby said, having recalled his Rhydon and approached Daryl to shake hands.
"You gave me a good fight, but it's not the first time I've been doubted." That doubters are what motivated him. He pretty much had to use it to his advantage, considering what the critics said about him after every battle. "Too inconsistent." "Too predictable." "Too many team members with niche roles at best." Aside from his four or five best pokémon, the rest of his team of fifteen was often written off as filler. Could he really win with his team being so centralized?
"Good luck to you. I genuinely hope you give Vega and Kaiser hell," Hornsby answered with a nod, his smile widening.
"Hope…" He didn't need to hope for anything. He already knew he had everything he needed.
Waiting… Waiting… Waiting… Brooke hated waiting. The seconds felt like minutes. The minutes like hours. The hours like days. So two hours felt like an immeasurable amount of time.
Since the holiday with Cody's friends and family, Brooke had been hypervigilant at all moments of the day, waiting for the Brotherhood to come and collect. It didn't matter if she was with Cody or alone, in a city or the wilderness, night or day. If the Brotherhood wanted her badly enough, they'd find her. She was thankful for her low rank, as it seemed to be delaying the inevitable. The inevitable. No, she just wanted to get it over with, but she lacked the courage to turn herself in. And it was all getting to her. She felt physically drained at the end of each day, but she couldn't sleep soundly either, waking up multiple times in the night, even when her boyfriend wasn't having his nightmares. And her exhaustion was beginning to show. Her near perfect complexion was cursed with dark bags under her eyes. But those were the least of her worries.
Staying near Cody made her feel safer, as it was unlikely that the Brotherhood would try anything that would spook him. He didn't question her sudden clinginess. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. He loved the attention in general and if she had to guess, it probably gave him a sense of control; something that he lacked when she was the one pulling the strings. That said, she knew that if she was around him too often, he'd get sick of her, so when he and Heather went out to train that day, she stayed in the motel room… alone…
She took a few precautions: she chose the bed on the far side of the room, away from the door and windows. The lights were off and the TV was on low. If a psychic-type was about, trying to listen in or otherwise snoop, the flickering of the screen would cue her in. But she wasn't that safe. She held her Pancham close, but tough as he was, he wasn't strong enough to guard her against a forceful extraction. If Cody could barely defend himself against a snatcher, what were her chances? In truth, none of her precautions mattered. If they wanted her that day, they'd have her. But there she was, huddled in the corner of the room, her rowdy Pancham in her arms, just waiting for something to happen. And in all likelihood, she'd be like that for hours. Cody hadn't gotten to hang out with Heather one on one in a while, so they'd probably taking advantage of the time.
So helpless… She hadn't felt so helpless since joining the Brotherhood. What once gave her strength was what made her weak. Please… return soon. But that didn't matter. Borrowed time and all.
Two Whirlipede: one shiny, one not, both tearing up the battlefield. Cody and Heather's opponents had not expected them to use the same pokémon simultaneously, and it wasn't fairing well for them, given that they brought both a Quilladin and a Medicham onto the field: not so advantageous.
Cody had convinced Heather to enter an underground double battling tournament with him. She was incredibly unsure of it at first but decided to give it a go out of the sake of thrill-seeking. Deep down, something about the taboo nature of the whole thing excited her. Once inside, she seemed to have a cautious enjoyment of the entire experience, definitely getting into the intensity and excitement of the battle and the roar of the crowd (not to mention that she was also ogling that sweet prize money.) Even though she was an above average trainer, cash was always limited, so the chance to win a boatload of money was always a good thing.
"Steamroller!" both trainers ordered. The Medicham dodged the attack with a graceful leap, but the Quilladin could only brace himself with a Defense Curl. Not that it did him much good. But they couldn't continue the beatdown, as the Medicham knocked Wheeler (Heather's Whirlipede) back with a Fire Punch. She then dodged a Rollout from Ferrari, but wasn't able to dodge forever. When stunned by a collision, she was sprayed down with Toxic.
"Venom Drench!" Heather shouted and Wheeler capitalized with a spray of purple liquid on the poisoned Medicham, shocking her system. Before she could shake it off, the two Whirlipede began rolling in wide circles around the dazed Medicham. The fighting-psychic type tried to shoot the bugs down with psychic blasts, but she couldn't connect. The Quilladin shot Seed Bombs, knowing that they wouldn't do much against the Whirlipede, but perhaps they would slow his foes down enough for his partner to snipe them with a Psychic. But he couldn't hit them either.
Like they practiced, the two Whirlipede rolled toward the desperate Medicham from both sides, crushing her with combined Steamrollers. That ended her immediately. She was called back to her pokeball and her trainer looked absolutely distraught. The Medicham had barely been in the battle for a minute and she was already out. And since each trainer was only allowed two pokémon in that final battle and that was his second, he was out. Now, it was Heather's last pokémon and Cody's last two versus the remaining trainer's last two. And given how the Quilladin was on the ropes, it would be three versus one very soon. The battle was all but in the bag.
"Steamroller from the back!"
"Ferrari, Poison Tail!"
The grass-type was ready to try and counter Ferrari's Poison Tail with a Body Slam, but was knocked on his face by Wheeler's Steamroller. He may have been safe if he stayed on the ground, but instinctually, the Quilladin tried to get to his feet to defend himself, only to be struck by Ferrari's poisoned spikes straight to the face. That didn't quite bring down the bulky mammal, but he didn't have any opportunity to fight back, getting hit by dual Venoshocks. There was no getting up from that.
"Lookin' like an easy win, right?" Cody laughed. Somehow, this grand final battle was easier than the first two matches they had.
"You're going to jinx us with talk like that," Heather scolded, but she was still grinning with glee. She had gotten into the atmosphere and she could see the gold at the end of the rainbow. But their smiles faltered when they saw the remaining trainer's final pokémon.
The beautiful, cream-colored Rapidash that entered the field… something about her seemed different from the rest of the pokémon they had faced that night. She seemed a bit bigger than the average Rapidash and her flames rose higher with an unnatural burst as if they were being fed with gas. There was no question that the horse could handle an individual Whirlipede. Two, though? Maybe they had a chance. They would have to work as a well-oiled machine for sure.
"Rollout!" Cody and Heather shouted simultaneously.
"Agility into Bounce!"
Wheeler rolled straight at the fire-horse while Ferrari, who was faster, rolled over right and at the Rapidash at an angle. The idea was for the foe to dodge one of them and then get hit by the other, but she was too smart for that. The Rapidash leaped high before getting hit by either, landing behind Wheeler, running even faster when she landed. Wheeler rolled around, chasing faster, as Ferrari unleashed a fury of Poison Stings from a distance, but the Rapidash outran all of that. Finally, in a swift, graceful motion, she sprung straight up into the air, angling her descent and timing a landing on the top of Wheeler's carapace. The blow knocked the wind out of the bug and the Rapidash was ready for the coup de grâce with a point-blank Fire Blast, but Ferrari saved the day with a Rollout. He tried to roll backward quickly, shooting another barrage of Poison Stings, but the Rapidash aptly dodged that, charging in with a Flare Blitz. Unable to dodge in time, the curlipede endured the blow with an Iron Defense, just barely surviving.
"We need to do something and fast!" Heather said frantically as her Whirlipede stood up to defend Ferrari. He managed to graze the Rapidash with one of his venomous spikes, but she didn't appear to make a deep enough cut to poison her.
"Right. What about that thing we talked about earlier?" Cody suggested, not looking away from the tussle.
"You mean the-"
"That's the one," Cody answered, not wasting any more time. "Ferrari! Opposite side!"
"You too, Wheeler!" Heather ordered immediately afterward.
The two Whirlipede rolled to opposite sides of the Rapidash and began circling her like a pair of wolves. Simultaneously, they released toxic sprays in an attempt to douse the horse with poison, but the Rapidash was ready. She lit up the arena with a fiery Inferno, engulfing both Whirlipede… or so it seemed. Both bugs protected themselves with Protects, buying a little more time, but it was all for naught. Letting out a piercing whinny, the Rapidash seemingly exploded in a ball of fire that broke the weakened force fields and seared the pair of bugs. As the fire died down, the Rapidash stood alone, breathing heavily. She still had energy to spare, but the Overheat definitely took a lot out of her.
"Well shit," Heather gasped, exhausted and worried as she returned Wheeler to his ball. "I'm out. What do you have left again?"
"Enough to win this battle," Cody answered, returning his shiny Whirlipede and pulling up his final pokémon of the evening. The Rapidash was definitely one of the stronger pokémon he had fought in recent memory, functioning at a 7th or 8th tier level, But she was not of a power that he couldn't match. "It's up to you, Elesa!" he shouted, releasing his Zebstrika onto the singed battlefield.
The contrast was almost poetic. On one side of the arena, a proud, majestic, horned horse with beautiful flames that flew from her neck, back, and tail elegantly stood with pride. And on Cody's side stood a dark and furious beast, her body tensed for battle and electricity crackling all around her as she dug her front left hoof into the ground, snorting. It was almost as if the Rapidash was about to fight her evil twin. If that were the case, Cody hoped villainy would prevail. And he trusted Elesa with that. In the absence of Colossal, he trusted her to anchor the team whenever Antonia couldn't fill the role, such as against a fire or electric-type (especially the latter.)
Both pokémon charged at each other, but Elesa had run this drill so often, it was second nature to her. Before they clashed, she lit up her body with a Flash, blinding everybody in the arena. As the light subsided, Elesa had positioned herself to land an electrically-charged Double Kick to the Rapidash's ribs, following up by quickly turning around and using Shock Wave to electrocute the stunned horse again. It was a solid combination of moves, but that was the most unanswered offense that the Zebstrika was going to get.
Elesa ran in with a Spark, only to have to dodge a Fire Blast. The flames were weakened from the Rapidash's earlier use of Overheat, but the move was merely a distraction. Before the zebra could reasonably change course, the fire-horse ran parallel to her in the other direction, striking her side with the sharpened horn on her forehead. Elesa whinnied in pain as the blow left a large gash on her side, but she was not one to quit. When the Rapidash circled around for a second attack, she tried to ward off the attacker with a Hidden Power, not realizing that the move's typing would do little against a fire-type. She took a direct Flare Blitz that was almost too hot for her to handle. The battle was just beginning, but for a moment, she was already knocked to her knees.
That Rapidash is just too fast. Normally, Cody would tell Elesa to use Flame Charge to build her speed to the level where she could keep up, but if the Rapidash was of the variant that could absorb enemy fire, the last thing the young trainer wanted was to arm his opponent with more ammo. An Agility would do just as well for building speed, but it wouldn't give Elesa the protective qualities that a Flame Charge would offer, meaning that she'd be a sitting Ducklett for attacks. No, she needed an opening that would allow her to match speed.
"Charge a Solar Beam and keep on the offense!" the opposing trainer ordered.
That sounded almost too strong, the fact that the Rapidash could begin charging such a move while still actively trying to gore the Zebstrika with her horn, but it actually gave Cody and his pokémon the opening that they needed. He made the bold assumption that while the opposing horse could use physical attacks when charging the beam, she wouldn't be able to attack or defend with any fire-type moves without burning too much energy. And considering that she had depleted her special move resources with the Overheat from earlier, she would have to overcharge the Solar Beam to make it worth it.
This will totally work. "Shock Wave! Then Agility!"
"Neeeiiaagh!" Elesa whinnied as she released another Shock Wave before speeding into the Agility. Cody noticed a bit of anxiety rise in the expression of the enemy trainer as he realized what had happened. His Rapidash could tank a Shock Wave with minimal damage, but the attack could potentially disrupt the Solar Beam charge, making it all for naught, as well as potentially leaving the horse open for a strong attack. So, the Rapidash's only option was to outrun the move that closed in like a homing missile, hoping to run long enough that the electricity would diminish to the point of being a pinprick. But by having to constantly outrun the Shock Wave, she wouldn't be able to focus as much on harming Elesa, leaving the Zebstrika an opening to boost her speed.
"Quick, hot her with a Horn Attack!"
"Just keep running, Elesa!"
The plan worked perfectly. Elesa kept running, increasing her speed, and whenever the Rapidash got close, she had to dodge the Shock Wave. Finally, she had enough juice to fire the Solar Beam that may have been able to take out Elesa in one blow, but the Zebstrika had become too fast to snipe. She dodged the beam before circling around into as Spark. The fire-horse couldn't escape the weakened Shock Wave at that point.
"Now, Discharge!"
"Get out of there! Use Inferno!" the opposing trainer shouted, but it was too late as she was downed by a point-blank Discharge. Suddenly, all of her advantages seemed to evaporate as Elesa stomped her hooves into the fallen Rapidash, let out a screeching whinny, and called down a blast of Thunder. It wasn't as strong as it would have been if Bastion had been in the battle to set up a Rain Dance, but it was a direct hit as the lightning struck through Elesa's body and directly into the Rapidash's ribs. In just a few simple moves, she had won, all because the opponent had gone all in with a strategy that locked his pokémon into a poor position.
"And your winneeeeeerrrs!" the announcer roared over the megaphone over the rambunctious crowd.
At that moment, two spotlights shined down on Cody and Heather, taking Heather by surprise as the light blinded her. But Cody loved all of the attention. It felt so raw, getting it from the underground scene. He knew that when he got cheered, it was because he put on a good show and the prize money only made that sweeter. Hopping down from the trainer's platform her and Heather shared, he approached the snorting Elesa and gave her a pat on her back, getting a nice static shock from her in return. Even though she was riled up and wanting to still fight, she turned to him and instantly calmed as she nuzzled him affectionately. A badass on the battlefield, but a sweetheart to him and him alone.
"That was more stress than I needed," Heather said as she came over and hugged Cody. "But you did it!"
"Hey now, I don't deserve all the credit," Cody boasted, giving his Zebstrika another pat.
"I was talking to Elesa," Heather answered, giving the horse a kiss on the nose.
"Okay, a little credit would be nice," Cody laughed. Heather had done her part as well, so he'd have to thank her later for that.
"Well, you kids did it," the promoter said into his microphone as he approached the two of them. He was a gruff-looking man in his early forties, wearing an old suit that made him look a little sneaky and sleazy. "Gotta say, I'm impressed. Outsiders never win these things."
"We're more than just your typical outsiders," Cody replied, smirking smugly. "This isn't my first rodeo."
"Well, regardless, let's show them what they've won!" he shouted into the microphone.
"Yessir!" the announcer shouted as the spotlight shown down on a table at on the edge of the arena where two briefcases sat. "Our winners battled through three rounds of brutality, outlasting seven worthy teams! They have won 75% of the pot, amounting to $6,000 dollars split between them!"
"Holy shit..." Heather breathed. She knew she stood to make back $2,500 if she won, but it was just beginning to sink in how much she was actually gaining. "I can't even- Cody, make sure I don't pass out right now."
"It feels good, right?" he laughed. He still hadn't gotten tired of that feeling of winning big money.
"Orrrrr…" the announcer continued before a spotlight shown down across from the money table, revealing two pokeballs. "Our contestants can forsake the cash prize and choose the mystery pokémon! These balls contain two pokémon not found in Skitrex all the way from the Galar region! They're exotic! Rare! You'll be the talk of the town with these pokémon by your side. Winners, who do you choose?"
"Well, that's easy! We'll take the money!" Heather answered confidently.
"Now hold on a minute, I didn't know about the mystery pokémon prize," Cody interrupted, his eyes bright with excitement. "A pokémon from Galar that can't be found here? That's pretty cool, right?" Just the thought of that was getting him excited as if he were about to start a new battle.
"Oh no, I'm not falling for that and you shouldn't either," Heather scolded him, her excitement morphing into frustration. "You have no idea what's in the pokeball. They could have just caught a Hoothoot in Galar for all we know."
"Maybe, but that's part of the excitement, right? I have no idea what I'm getting. It could be something cool or something common, but there's the adventure." He was already pretty sold on the idea, silly as it was.
"We did give away a shiny Pinsir last week," the promoter added, taking care not to speak into the microphone as he tried to convince Heather.
"Why should we believe you?" Heather shot back, not trusting the sale's pitch. "Cody, this is a scam. You paid $500 to enter this event and you just won $3,000, a $2,500 profit. Whatever is in those balls, you could probably get from the GTS for less than $500. You basically just won three battles only to pay $500 for a pokémon that you don't even know what it is. You'd have to be an idiot to make that choice."
She made a good point. Still, with how well he had been doing in the underground scene, $500 wasn't that big of a loss. Plus, he couldn't shake that feeling that taking the mystery pokémon was the right thing for him. I gotta go with my gut on this one. "Are we allowed to choose different prizes? She takes the money and I take the mystery pokémon?" he asked the promoter.
"Yeah, that's fine," the bald man answered, getting a little impatient.
"Okay, whatever," Heather sighed, shrugging. "Enjoy throwing your money away, Cody."
"Oh, I will," he answered, nodding and grinning like an idiot.
"Our winners have made their choices!" the promoter shouted into the microphone. At that, Heather rushed over to the money table to accept her prize as if she were afraid that the promoter was about to go back on his word.
Okay, time to choose, Cody thought to himself as he approached the table, a weary Elesa at his tail. Two emerald-colored pokeballs, two pokémon, both from Galar. Were they two of the same species? Or was one prize "better" than the other? He had no idea.
"You know what? You pick," he said, turning to Elesa and motioning toward the balls. "You won the battle and you made it look easy. You've been on a roll lately, so whatever you pick has to be good luck, right?"
"Snroff!" the zebra snorted. It made no difference to her, but she stepped forward looking at both of the pokeballs. Lowering her head, she sniffed both of them briefly before nudging the one on the left and then stepping back.
"Left one, huh?" Cody asked. "Well, here it goes." He picked up the first pokeball and stepped away from the table as one of the attendants took the second.
"I gotta see this," Heather said, having returned with a fist full of $100s in her hand. She sounded as though she both pitied Cody for his decision and took some sort of sick amusement in it as well.
"Well, here we go!" Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Cody pressed the button on the pokeball and released the monster inside onto the field.
Despite how "hardcore" the audience of the underground bracket was, there was an audible "Aww!" in response to the pokémon who emerged from the pokeball, which truly spoke to how cute it was. The little monster was young and not even a foot tall. Its green body supported a bulbous head with funny looking soil-colored ears an orange maw that matched its paws in color. Its hair was tied up around a stick above its head and its long, brown tail whipped around excitedly.
"Holy crap," Cody breathed as a warm feeling welled up in his heart. "It's a-"
"Chi-chi-chiriiii!" the little monkey sang as it began dashing around in circles. At top speed, it ran between Cody's legs, climbing up Elesa, charging through her static-filled mane, and leaping onto Cody's head where it sat, content. The Zebstrika looked more annoyed with her choice in partner, but Cody couldn't wipe the smile off of his face.
"And here's what he would have won, had he picked the other pokeball!" the promoter shouted, motioning for his assistant to release the other pokémon… a Hoothoot, just as Heather predicted. It looked healthy and Cody would have happily raised it all the same, but he couldn't have been more pleased with his choice.
"Well?" Cody asked, turning to Heather with a smug expression plastered on his face.
"Well, it is cute," she admitted, but shook her head again. "If you really wanted a Grookey, you probably could have used your winnings to buy one and you would have had money to spare. Plus, you were one pokeball away from paying $500 for a Hoothoot.
"Maybe," Cody answered, but he really felt as though he earned his prize. As the monkey's tail swayed back and forth in front of his eyes, he didn't think of the money at all.
Despite Heather's handsome payout, the two trainers got takeout instead of a more expensive option. She ended up paying for both of them, even though he would have been good for it. Cody figured that she must have felt bad about how much money he lost that night, so he accepted. It was only a few dollars for crappy tacos anyway. They brought them over to the park, which was lit up for an outdoor, indie-rock concert, but the two of them ate away from the rest of the noise and commotion. They were still close enough that they could feel the warmth of the heat lamps in the cold month of January. Still, they were a little cold, and their cheeks showed it. Both of them had had a long day, but they wanted to stay up a little longer to bask in their victory.
That was after a trip to the pokémon center. They went there not only to heal their pokémon but also so Cody could register his newest team member. As they ate in the park, Cody was staring at the little Grookey as she bounced around, chirping like a bird.
"So, you're really gonna use her, huh?" Heather asked between bites of the lousy quesadilla she was holding. "It's gonna take a long time to get her up to speed."
"I know," Cody agreed, taking a bite of his taco with one hand while petting the little simian on the head with the other. "But I'm in desperate need of a grass-type and Grookey are pretty great, not to mention exotic for these parts."
"But they supposedly gave out a shiny Pinsir the week before. Does this really compare?"
"I don't need a pokémon to be shiny," Cody answered confidently. "I need reliable team members, and if this little Grookey is able to hold her own, I'll be happy. And if she can't…" He picked her up and held the bouncy pokémon in front of his face. "She's such a cutie, yes she is," he said in an overly sugary voice.
"Chi-chiri!" the Grookey chirped, bouncing up and down in his hands.
"Yes, you are!" He kissed the little pokémon and put her back by his side. "When we're done with these tacos, you wanna check out that concert? Definitely smells like weed in there if you wanna get a piece of that."
"Smoking outside in a public place?" Heather chided, shaking her head. "Fantastic idea. Did you learn nothing from the whole Crystal Cliffs fiasco?"
"Hey, they're all doing it," Cody said, nodding toward the crowd. "The cops haven't come yet. Besides, apparently, there's been an uptick in gang activity in this city. I'm sure the police have got bigger things to worry about than stoners at a concert."
"Gang activity?" Heather asked. "How do you know that? Have you been watching the news?"
"I've been trying," he admitted, finishing up his taco and crumbling the paper into a ball to throw away later. "It's happening all over Skitrex, really. Lot of young trainers from poor homes joining the game, losing all their money, and engaging in criminal activities. Even though we're some of the lucky ones, we should probably be keeping up with this stuff, right? GOtta know what's happening around us."
"I guess being informed couldn't hurt," Heather agreed with a nod. "What brought this on? I almost never see you watching TV or reading the paper unless it's battling related."
"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Crazy, right?" Cody laughed at his lame joke and only got an "at least you tried" smile out of Brooke. "Sometimes, I think about the people we met… the poor trainers, those people who joined the Brotherhood, that kid I knew who got killed by a Scyther… was any of that stuff preventable?"
"Right…" Heather said, unsure of how to answer that question. "I'm sure that there's a political or economic answer to that question out there, but I couldn't tell you what it is."
"Me neither. I suppose that's something for more intelligent or charismatic people than us to figure out, right?" he laughed half-heartedly. "I started thinking about that more when I started the underground battling. I gotta say, I love the rush it gives me. And I've been making so much money from it that I've been able to get my pokémon better care. Better items, better food, better grooming… Plus, it's really good experience for them. Forces them to think outside the box. But I think there's probably a lot of gang activity entwined with it, right? It's always been super seedy, that environment… I've also been thinking about the Brotherhood a lot lately."
"Huh… why?" Heather questioned. "I mean, I think about them too, but they really haven't bothered us in a while. Maybe that notice they gave you about leaving us alone was legitimate?"
"No, it's not that. Things have been pretty good there." Except for the Regice thing, but that actually didn't directly involve him and he wasn't going to spill that to Heather. "I just wonder what they're up to, you know? They got big money behind them, they're under the radar, they supposedly have numerous powerful trainers behind them, and then there's the message… It's not a bad message, helping the poor escape the bullshit. I've said before that they're probably doing good stuff. But if they're keeping themselves such a secret, you know they got to be up to something big. And if you have a rise in crime and poverty, they're gonna capitalize on that, right?"
"So, you think they're going to be making a move soon, huh?" Heather asked, summarizing what her friend had said. "What do we even do about that?"
"Nothing," Cody said, hugging the squirming Grookey close to his chest for a little bit of extra warmth. "They are much bigger than us. This isn't the kind of enemy you beat with raw strength. I could be the best trainer in the world, but you don't just stop a machine like that by battling it. So, we can't do a thing. Not to mention that they made it perfectly clear that they'd take those we love from us, so there's that. One can only hope that whatever they're planning will be a good thing or that some sort of divine intervention stops them."
"Right…" Heather sighed. She looked to be hopeless, staring off into space as she was reflecting on what had been said. "Makes a person feel small, don't you think?"
"The world has a way of humbling you like that," Cody agreed, nodding his head. "And it's not just this, but everything. I feel so damn small. Training-wise, we're doing well, you and I. Our win-loss records are pretty solid, but we're not the only ones, you know. I've been recording our records for the past few months and I'm winning eight out of every ten matches against trainers of our skill level. You're somewhere between seven and eight. That's great for us, but that only means that there are trainers still above us in our tier. Can we ever break past that? You know that if we want to win Diamond Beach, we have to reach nine out of ten at least and even that may not be good enough."
"Wow, way to bum me out even further," Heather laughed, but it sounded kind of hollow. Maybe what Cody had said made her remember the harsh realities of being a top trainer. "You're right, though. So many good trainers, never end up being good enough… I know Jared was talking to me about that on the phone yesterday. He says he's been struggling. He's been keeping track of his ratios too. Said he's been losing more and that he's at risk of plateauing. I'm sure he's not the only one that happens to."
"He's not," Cody agreed, frowning slightly. As much as he didn't click with Jared, he knew what the guy was fighting for: his sister. So hearing that he was struggling was truly sad. "I worry about that too. Jared's good, but his battling is straightforward. It's hard to find an effective, dynamic style." He knew he could beat Jared if their pokémon were even in power. By his estimate, that wouldn't be too far away. He looked down at the little Grookey who was fidgeting with the stick holding her hair up. She would definitely need to work hard to catch up with the rest of his team. Could she really fight on the eleventh and twelth tiers in a year's time? "He's doing well, though? I mean, outside of battling?"
"Yeah… Or maybe not. I think he's getting lonely. You know, despite how you two used to fight, I think it was good for him to be in a group. He's not the most social person otherwise."
"Yeah… I know he said he wanted to keep traveling alone because he didn't want to be distracted right now, especially if he's not winning as much, but you're a good distraction, Heather." He smiled at Heather, nodding slightly. "Stress isn't going to help him. Maybe you give him a blowjob and he'll suck less?"
"Dear lord, did you really just say that?" She sounded as though she was trying to hold back a laugh, but she was simultaneously disgusted. "Besides, you know that's not happening. Can't go around pissing off God, right?"
"You just gotta find a loophole," Cody suggested, not dropping the act. "Is he the kinda Christian who doesn't count sex if it's anal?"
"Just stop, asshole," Heather answered, finally laughing, but shaking her head, clearly done with his shit. "You're really channeling your inner Laurence right now. How the hell does Brooke put up with you?"
"My roguish, give-no-shits charm, I suppose," he chuckled, though he wondered the same thing himself sometimes. "You're taking her side now, though? That's progress, right?" He had liked how tensions had been much more favorable lately, but Brooke admitted to him that she wasn't sure what had changed. "What's up with that?"
"There's no purpose in fighting with her," Heather replied, shrugging. "I'm not her biggest fan and I still think she was foolish to take you out clubbing the night before a gym battle… but other than that, what can I say? It's not like she's dragging you down right now otherwise. Like you said, we're doing really well right now, so as long as we keep that up and as long as she doesn't interfere with that… I can put up with her." She only half-smiled at that, but that was the best she was gonna give. "Besides, not like she's leaving anytime soon, now that you're sleeping with her."
"Sleeping with-" Cody had been relaxed up until then, but he felt his astonishment show through. Well, no use in lying about it now. Not that he had the capability. "How did you know?"
"Please, it was obvious," Heather sighed with a giggle. "The fact that you've been using your underground money to get a separate motel room in addition to the one we split on is a pretty dead giveaway. But even if it weren't for that, the fact that you two disappear whenever she gives you those "fuck me" eyes pretty much spells it out for anybody with half a brain."
"Huh, so you noticed the eyes too?" he asked. And he thought they had been subtle. "You notice a lot, don't you?"
"One of us has to," Heather answered, tapping her index finger to her temple.
"Right…" He looked over at the concert as the indie band started a new song. He wondered how long they would play. Being nearby made him wish he could go to one soon. Maybe over the summer when he was on break. Then he looked down at the Grookey who was curled up in a ball on the table, ready to sleep. "We should get going. It's getting late…" He smiled again. "I really do appreciate these talks. We never get to hang out one on one like we used to, you know?"
"Right… I'm always here, you know," his friend reminded him, reaching out and touching the sleepy monkey's head. "Even if I go off with Jared, you know how to reach me. I'm always a call away."
"Right…" But he had yet to appreciate that fact as much as he would in months to come.
Reflet got lucky that night. Most nights in town, Cody had his pokémon sleep at the pokémon center, but he would usually alternate among his smaller pokémon and have one of them stay in the motel room overnight. He did it for protection, paranoid of the Brotherhood and criminals who might prey on those who stayed at the seedy establishments. Reflet had no problem standing watch as her trainer slept, sleeping lightly near the door and perking up at any nearby sounds. But her fortune came with Cody's misfortune.
She woke at the sound of a light rustling coming from one of the beds. She silently approached the bed to investigate and her assumption proved true. It was Cody. He had been sleeping soundly all night, but something was definitely wrong, as he kept twitching and fidgeting in bed, murmuring gibberish to himself. In his sleep, he seemed so distressed, despite being the little spoon in Brooke's embrace. His girlfriend seemed to be too deep in sleep to notice.
He's definitely having a nightmare. She could sense it. She could try to wake him, but he didn't always wake up when she had tried in the past. And when she was successful, he was often bewildered and severely distressed. No, she would try something else: Dream Eater. Having practiced with Jared's Haunter over the holiday, she had the basics down and continued to practice on her teammates when they slept, taking care not to harm them. It was invasive, but it was all for her trainer. If she could pull it off, she would devour the dream and he could possibly forget he even dreamt that dream if he wasn't awoken, waking up in the morning without any distress.
Hang on, Cody. I'll save you. The red gem on the Espeon's forehead shined and she began to link to her trainer's mind.
"I know you're here!" Cody shouted into the abyss. He expected Darkrai to remain silent for a few minutes, just to mess with him and attempt to take him by surprise. But what actually surprised him was when the dark one answered his call.
"It's far less fun when you see it coming," the being sighed. "I suppose it's an unfortunate consequence of repeated visits."
"Well, you could always take a year or two off. Would probably be good for both of us," Cody suggested, knowing that his wish wouldn't come true.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Darkrai appeared before him, taking the "monochrome Cody" form. "But you know I'm not here to benefit your life… though, I did give you a reprieve, the other week. I was going to visit, but-"
"Wait, when are you talking about?" he asked, confused. Since when did Darkrai show mercy?
"Christmas Eve," it answered as if the answer were obvious. "Humans place an inordinate value on the first time they engage in intercourse. It's baffling to me, but I let you have that one. You're welcome."
"Am I supposed to be grateful?" He refused to thank the dark being for that, even if it was surprisingly generous of it, especially since it still sent him those little, impersonal nightmares to him every night. He could never share a bed with Brooke for the entire night because he didn't want to wake or concern her if he could help it. "One good night doesn't make up for the other nights you bother me."
"Tsk, tsk, so ungrateful," Darkrai chided. "Do not expect such kindness from me in the future, Cody Storm. You will be broken, just like-"
"Oh shut up!" Cody shouted, unflinchingly fearless, feeling hardened from all he had experienced thus far. "You act as though you are infallible, but I know that's untrue. You have yet to accomplish your goals after all these years. And you were wrong about some things. Brooke, for example: you said that I couldn't trust her with my pain or the secret of what you are, but she accepted it. She believes me because she says that you took her sister from her. Is that true?" He waited only a few seconds for the dark one to respond, but continued in the absence of a response. There was no way that Darkrai would talk about such things unless they benefited it. "The point is that she believes me. So does my Espeon. And it's made me stronger in the face of darkness."
For a moment, the monochrome copy just stared back at Cody, processing its response. Then, it snickered as if it heard a mildly funny joke. "Classic codependent behavior," it finally said.
"Codependent?" Cody asked. He had heard the word before, but he had never bothered to look it up.
"The fact that you've been feeling yourself slip for some time and that only your relationships that you perceive as positive are what give you strength, not actually allowing you to address what truly weakens you, therefore perpetuating said weakness," Darkrai clarified. "Codependent."
"Hey, that's not the only thing-"
"Let's see what you have so far," the dark one continued as if he wasn't interrupting the young teen. "I'll give you Reflet. Obviously, you two have a strong bond or she wouldn't have evolved the way she did. But she is also biologically and mentally compelled to stand by you after her evolution. Does that really count as a meaningful relationship? And how is she supposed to help you aside from support? She can't save you."
"No, but talking to her helps me endure," Cody replied, confident in his response. "If you're trying to drive a wedge between us, it won't work."
"Okay, so what about Brooke?" Darkrai asked, switching targets. "What makes relationships between humans interesting is that there is plenty of room for blindness and dishonesty. I've seen strong relationships between humans before, but when somebody is bolstered by a relationship, only to be broken by that relationship's destruction…" It smiled a villainous smile. "Let's just say the fall leaves a lasting impact. It's why I learned from my mistakes with Giratina. Though we aren't human, trusting her to stand by me in the face of Arceus was foolish. So, I've learned that having enough strength to stand alone is the answer. If you were truly as strong as you say you are, you'd do the same. Not that it would help."
"Dishonesty and blindness…" Cody repeated the dark one's words. "You're saying that I still shouldn't trust Brooke?"
"How can you prove that she is honest or that she will never hurt you beyond repair?" Darkrai asked. "You can't. You can't even prove that she actually believes you."
"I know what you're trying to do," Cody replied, furrowing his brow. "You want me to be paranoid about Brooke and to question her motives. It's not happening."
"So, let's pretend that you're right for a moment," Darkrai conceded. "What happens when she leaves you? When she breaks your heart? Will you be able to stand after that? Or will you be too weak to deal with me on your own, having grown too dependent on her for support?"
Cody hadn't thought of that. He was so engrossed in his training and the relationship that he hadn't considered Brooke not being a part of his life. But he just smirked. "Maybe we won't break up then," he answered with confidence.
Darkrai got a good laugh out of that. "Spoken like a true teenager. One way or another, you're in for a world of hurt and disappointment. But I'll indulge in your fantasy a little bit longer. Let's just say that she will never hurt you… what is to say that you won't lose her in some other way?"
"Some other way?" He repeated, trying to figure out what the dark one meant. "Like what, death?"
"Death is one possibility, but I like to have as much control of a situation as possible," Darkrai answered. "Remember Stella? She had loved ones too at one point. But I took them away from her." Its smile grew even darker. "Who is to say I won't do the same to you?"
That sounded like a threat and it made Cody shudder. He actually hadn't thought about that and he knew Darkrai had done that to others in the past. But he remembered a clear advantage that he possessed. "She believes that you're real. She'll have more understanding about what you're trying to do than-"
"Do you think I would remove her as I did to those who loved Stella?" Darkrai asked, sounding as if Cody had insulted his intelligence. "I can be more creative than that if the situation calls for it." It closed his eyes as if to think of a solution. "I do not have direct access to Brooke's body or mind. But know this: one way or another, whether it be by my hand or the hand of fate, you will lose your strength. And when you do-"
Darkrai was interrupted as a severe rumbling erupted in the hellscape. Cody fell over, but he was surprised to see Darkrai fall over as well. That didn't make sense; it was Darkrai's domain. Why would it fall over like that in its own world?
"What's happening?" Cody shouted as fragments of the nothingness began glowing and disappearing simultaneously. "What are you doing?"
"This isn't my doing!" Darkrai roared as he regained his footing and began levitating. "Something is eating the dream!"
"You mean like 'Dream Eater'?" Cody shouted over the destruction. "Who the hell-"
"It's you're Espeon! I can see her!" Struggling to stand up in the rumbling nightmare, Darkrai was shooting Cody an expression of rage. "Did you honestly think this would work against me?"
"Think what would- I didn't teach her Dream Eater! I specifically told her NOT to- What do you mean? It totally seems to be working!" He felt a little bit of pride that Reflet was able to disrupt Darkrai like that, but he was also worried about her safety.
"A temporary setback!" Darkrai shouted back. "But you were right to warn her! If it was THAT easy to get rid of me, don't you think Stella would have told you? All you would need is a Drowzee to- Nevermind! Whether you asked her to or not, I will show your Espeon what happens to those who try to resist!"
"Wait, wha- Darkrai!" Standing up in the collapsing dream, he raised his fists, ready to fight, even if it would do him no good. "If you hurt her, I'll-"
"You'll do WHAT, Cody Storm?" it challenged, unwavering in its decision. "Learn your place! Because dear Reflet will be learning hers momentarily!"
"No, wait!" Cody shouted, bursting from Brooke's grasp and sitting up. It took him a few seconds to realize he had woken up and he felt a brief feeling of relief as he realized he was safe. But the last few seconds were a blur.
Reflet was trying to save me? From…? Oh shit! She had devoured the nightmare with Dream Eater. And Darkrai had said something about hurting her. Was it a bluff? Where was she?
"Riiiiiiiii!" Reflet screamed, her shrill tone piercing the eardrums of everybody in the room.
"What the- Reflet!" He quickly peered over the side of the bed to see his Espeon violently writhing about on the floor, her eyes stuck wide open and her mouth foaming as she shook. It looked as though she was having a seizure, like when she first evolved, but something about the whole thing looked incredibly wrong. Her eyes... even though they were motionless, they didn't look like her eyes anymore.
Darkrai said she was trying to eat my dream. But if he can't directly hurt me, how is he hurting her? Not waiting to figure out the answer, he scrambled to her level and held her in his arms as if the power of love would somehow save her, but no such luck. She kept screaming and flailing as if he wasn't even there.
"Cody, what's- Oh my God!" Brooke gasped, clasping her hand over her mouth as she looked down at them. "What- why is she doing that?"
"Quick, get her pokeball! It's on the dresser! We need to get her to the pokémon center right away!"
Waiting for Brooke to get the pokeball, Cody felt as helpless as his seizing Espeon continued to gasp. But he had to snap out of it. He couldn't let Darkrai fulfill his threat of taking the ones he loved away from him.
I'm trying something bold here: introducing a new teammate without knowing anything about them. I'll be keeping Grookey's powers pretty vague right now, given that she's not going to be fighting on par with the others yet and because we don't know much about what Grookey can actually do, but come on. How could I not add her to the team? Absolutely adorable. Plus, I've been going back and forth on which grass-type to add to Cody's team for years now. Let's just hope her evolutions look cool. Nickname suggestions are welcome!
Updates have been slower than I would like, but I've been working on other stories and future chapters of this story as well. Hopefully, the latter will speed up the process a little bit.
Also, thanks to Wolflyn for the cover art. Go check out their work on Archive of our Own (am I allowed to say that?)
As usual, let me know if you come across any significant continuity or grammatical errors. And if you're gonna give me a hard time about capitalizing pokémon names or moves, take a deep breath and relax.