It was time. The final match was here.
King stood before the arena, waiting for the announcer to call his name as he had in all the other matches leading up to this final one. He breathed, smelling the sweat that slithered down his forehead, then exhaled through his mouth, trying to stop his heart from slamming against his chest. King would not let his nerves distract him. He would not let his emotions control him. He needed to stay calm if he was going to win.
The semi-finals had finished. King's final opponent, as she had guessed three days before, was Vanessa. She'd won her previous match without her Pokemon getting so much as even a little scratch. King would've liked to figure that her opponent had been garbage, and that was why she'd won so quickly, but he knew it was because of her skill, and nothing else.
The plan he'd come up with was to send both zorua and rufflet out as, well, rufflets, and Vanessa wouldn't know which was the zorua. She couldn't even know that he had a rufflet: King hadn't used it in the semi-finals match. The two of them would rush in as soon as the battle began. Hopefully, Vanessa wouldn't know which to attack. If zorua did get stuck in a position where it couldn't dodge, rufflet could always step in and take the hit. If it was a bug or grass-type move, it would barely get damaged.
He licked sweat off his upper-lip, tasting salt. The announcer called his name. He stepped out into the arena, kicking up sand and dust with each step.
The crowd screamed, chanting his name as he stopped a small ways away from the center of the stadium. He could practically feel the way the people stirred with excitement. Somewhere amid all of them was the person that proclaimed King could never win the tournament because he didn't love Pokemon enough. But this wasn't some TV show, planned and scripted by writers. This was real-life, where the mind ruled, not ideals.
"And his challenger," the announcer called. "She's dominated all of her previous matches: Vanessa Rose!"
She strode out of the opposite entrance, taking the cheers and whoops in stride. Once in front of King, she halted, hands-on-hips, smirking at him.
He returned the look. He pushed down the fluttering in his heart. This was it: where it all began, or where it all ended.
"King," Vanessa greeted. "We finally meet in the arena. I'll be using every tactic I know. No hard feelings, of course, but that money is already mine."
King grunted. "Don't get too cocky now. I'm not a pushover like all the others."
"Indeed, but it makes so difference. I've already won."
"We'll see. I'm doing this for more than just some pieces of paper."
She raised one of her angular eyebrows, but before she could comment, the announcer's voice rang through the microphone in his hand.
"Now! As we previously announced, this will be a double battle! If the participants would please release their Pokemon!"
King unstrapped his two Pokeballs. Vanessa did the same, tossing them onto the ground. Two spheres of light formed into venipede, on her right, and whimsicott to her left. Good. She was using both the same Pokemon she had in previous matches. That gave King an early advantage.
He released his Pokeballs. Both rufflets came out, zorua on his left, and the real one on his right. Zorua looked back at him and nodded, while rufflet glared daggers at both Vanessa's Pokemon. At least the bird was ready for a challenge.
Dust swirled. The onlookers went silent, and a tense, almost palpable feeling hung heavy in the air.
"With further ado! Let the final match of the Beginners Vertress Tournament… begin! The first to faint all of their opponents Pokemon will win!"
King rested his hands in his pockets, clearing his mind of any other thought other than winning. He didn't think of his father: how he might be watching, judging. How, if he lost, that man would no doubt come and find him and laugh in his face, screaming and swearing that he had told him so, that he'd been right all along.
"Alright," King shouted, pointing. "Rufflet, run for-"
"Whimsicott, Dazzling Gleam!"
King froze. Dazzling Gleam? He had studied all four moves whimsicott knew. Dazzling Gleam wasn't supposed to be one of them. But she would hit her venipede, too.
Whimsicott started to glow, auras around its body shimmering with rainbow light. Shit! Venipede is a poison-type! It doesn't matter if it gets hit.
His plan was collapsing already.
"Rufflet," King said, keeping his voice level. "Protect zorua."
The bird looked back at him, then to zorua. It narrowed its eyes and didn't make a single move.
King tsked, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the glowing light. If he didn't act, they'd both get hit by spheres of fairy energy. "Rufflet, Aerial Ace on whimsicott!"
It bolted forward, white streamers of light stirring the air around it. Whimsicott flashed brighter. Vanessa smiled.
"You have revealed who is the real rufflet, King. Venipede, Venoshock on rufflet!"
"Rufflet, dodge! Zorua-"
Whimsicott released the light. King pulled back, shutting his eyes and throwing an arm over them. The crowd roared. When the light dissipated, King blinked, looking around hurriedly. Zorua, back in its original form, struggled to a stand, legs shaky and teeth gritted. Rufflet flew in the air, reeling from the attack. Before King could react, venipede, who was barely affected by Dazzling Gleam, released a spray of poison toward rufflet.
"Whimsicott, Cotton Spore," Vanessa called.
King growled. "Tail Wind!"
Rufflet dodged the sprays of poison, then flapped its wings, creating gales that whirled around Vanessa's Pokemon. The wind slapped the rest of the poison back, left to coat the ground, and whimsicotts spores were blown to the opposite end of the arena, failing in their use. Sand spun.
King breathed, chest heaving already. Sweat stained his face. As rufflet's gales subsided, King wiped some of it away with the back of his arm.
Rufflet returned beside zorua, who had regained its composure and looked about ready to pounce.
"A heart-pounding beginning!" The announcer cried. "It looks like our competitors are squaring off for round two, but King has come out much worse for wear than Vanessa!"
I need another plan. Now. She completely foiled my first one.
"You see, King," Vanessa said. "I will win."
Plan. I need a plan. Something that can capitalize on both zorua's illusion ability and rufflet's keen eye.
He watched the last stream of sand from rufflet's Tail Wind fall back to the ground. Got it.
Vanessa smirked at him another time. He smiled back.
And again, they started to battle.
"Whimsicott, Razor Leaf!"
"Tail Wind!"
Rufflet took to the air, using Tail Wind. Leaves scattered around the battlefield.
"Aerial Ace on whimsicott!"
Rufflet plunged forward. Venipede skittered in front of whimsicott.
"Venipede, Protect."
A shimmering wall appeared in front of the two Pokemon. Rufflet attempted to slow to a stop, but was too late, and slammed beak-first into the wall. It flapped backward, squawking.
The barrier disappeared. "Venipede, Venoshock on zorua."
"Zorua, dodge, and use Extrasensory! Rufflet, Wing Attack on whimsicott!"
"Cotton Spore."
The battlefield exploded into motion. A spray of poison launched toward zorua, who sprinted forward, weaving through the splotches. Rufflet dove for whimsicott, wings glowing. Zorua leaped, spinning, releasing a beam of multi-colored energy at venipede.
"Venipede, Protect!"
The beam deflected into the sand. Zorua landed on the ground, careful not to step in poison, and whimsicott bounced away from rufflet, whose wings snagged at the balls of cotton hanging in the air. It fell to the ground.
King clenched his fists. His lips were dry, his tongue like sandpaper.
Both of her Pokemon turned to zorua, who stood in between them. Rufflet furiously plucked the cotton out of its wings with its beak.
Vanessa sniffed. "Whimsicott, Moonblast on zorua! Venipede, Bug Bite!"
A ball of light coalesced in front of whimsicott. Venipede skittered forward.
"Rufflet, fly next to zorua, and use Tail Wind into the sand!"
Venipede neared. Rufflet spiraled forward, wings clear of cotton, and hovered next to zorua. Dust kicked up everywhere when it used Tail Wind, stirring up a cloud that obscured all the Pokemon. It was time to use his plan.
"The battlefield had fallen under a cloud of sand!" The announcer cheered. "What will happen now?"
"Zorua, transform into whimsicott!" King yelled. "Rufflet! Lift whimsicott into the air!"
The cloud of dust stilled. A blink later and rufflet spun outward, trailing sand off its wings. It held whimsicott in its talons.
"That's obviously zorua!" He heard Vanessa call.
"Zorua, Extrasensory!"
The whimsicott above didn't move. Vanessa balked, then stuttered out an order. "Whimsicott, Dazzling Gleam!"
Come on, zorua. You can hit the venipede. King couldn't see anything from within the cloud. Vanessa was too focused on rufflet to remember to call Protect, but zorua would have to guess where venipede stood based on where it'd been before. Come on!
Above, whimsicott began to glow again. "Rufflet, drop whimsicott, and use Aerial Ace when it's in the air!"
Whimsicott toppled downward. Inside the dust glowed. Rufflet spun back around, preparing an Aerial Ace. It flew, closer and closer. Dazzling Gleam was almost finished.
King swallowed hard, eyes wide. Come on, come on, come on.
Whimsicott released its move. Rufflet dove for it. The crowd sat with bated breaths, watching, waiting.
King shifted. The next moment, venipede flew out from the cloud of stirred sand, skidding along the ground. Vanessa whipped her head to look at it, gasping.
Whimsicott crashed to the floor. Rufflet hovered above it, flinched, and then topped as well, its wings failing it. Dazzling Gleam had hit.
"I don't believe it!" The announcer said. "All three Pokemon are down!"
When the dust and sand settled, zorua still stood, breathing heavily, eyes squeezed shut. It had remembered where venipede was and hit it. More importantly, it was still standing.
The crowd yelled so loud it sounded like rumbling thunder. King fell to his knees, turning his head to the sky.
I won.
Zorua bounded to him, running around in circles, hopping up and down with overjoyed excitement.
We did it, sir! We did it! It ran onto his lap and started licking his face. A memory of a lillipup, doing the same thing as he lay laughing, flashed into his mind. He patted zorua and pushed the memory away. It wasn't the time to think about that.
King pushed himself to a stand, placing zorua by his heels.
"Both Vanessa's Pokemon are unable to battle! That means-"
"It means nothing!" Vanessa growled, interrupting the announcer. She placed her hand behind her back, then outstretched it, and in her grasp was another Pokeball. Dread surged through King's chest. He took a step back. Shit.
She released the Pokeball and out came a pignite, kicking up sand as it stomped on the ground.
"Vanessa has a third Pokemon?" The announcer said. "I'll tell you now, folks, as much as I wasn't expecting that, it's completely legal, even for a double battle! The max amount of Pokemon is three!"
King growled."I should have thought of that," he said. "I should have been the one with that strategy."
Sir?
"I told you," Vanessa boasted, crossing her arms. "My victory is assured unless you had the foresight to capture a third Pokemon. No? A shame."
Zorua stepped in front of him. I don't care, sir! I'll fight!
"Goddammit," King said, turning his head. "I got so close."
Don't stop now, sir! Please, trust me. I can do this!
King gave it a sideways look, opened his mouth, then hesitated, closing it again. He grunted. "You're right. I've come this far, so there'd be no point in stopping now."
Exactly! But I'll fight only if you make me pancakes after.
"Why not," King smirked, shaking his head. "If we win, you can have all the pancakes you've ever wanted, and then some."
Yay!
"I hope you're finished talking to yourself," Vanessa said.
King nodded. "Indeed."
"Now we have round three! Could this match get any more exciting?"
King planted his feet. His heartbeat like a drum in his ears. Hot sweat trickled down his temple. A spray of it had plastered his clothes to his skin.
He closed his eyes, breathed in deeply, then opened them again.
"Extrasensory," he called.
Pignite dodged without an order from Vanessa, who also had to dive away from the rainbow beam. Pignite barreled forward, snorting and stomping.
"Let's try out that technique we practiced on the way to Vertress, zorua," King whispered. Vanessa rose to a stand, grumbling.
You got it!
"Zorua, transform into pignite!"
It did so, then charged toward Vanessa's Pokemon. She growled, and pignite stumbled back, confused.
The two Pokemon slammed into each other, locking arms.
"Pignite, Arm Thrust!"
Her Pokemon reeled one of its arms back.
"Transform!"
The strike met empty air as zorua morphed back into itself, too low on the ground to be hit.
"Pignite, Flame Charge!"
Tongues of flame sparked around pignite, then erupted into a sphere of fire that wreathed around it. It charged zorua.
"Transform into tynamo!"
Zorua slithered in its tiny form past pignite's legs, who snorted in confusion, stopping.
"Extrasensory!"
"Pignite, behind you! Flame Charge!"
Pignite spun. Zorua released its attack. Pignite raged through the beam and slammed into zorua, reverting it into its true form.
It catapulted into the wall, hitting with a thud and a yelp.
"Zorua takes the first hit, even after striking pignite! On top of that, its already damaged from whimsicott's Dazzling Gleam!"
Zorua curled into itself, hacking and reeling from the pain. Pignite stomped forward, the flames around it disappearing.
"Zorua, get up!"
"Pignite. End this with Arm Thrust."
Pignite stood over zorua, pulling a fist back, preparing to strike. King looked away, his heart sinking.
A slam echoed through the arena.
The wind gusted through King's hair. He opened his eyes. Pignite looked around in confusion. There was a crack in the wall, but zorua wasn't there.
The ground in front of King's feet broke. He looked down, mouth open.
A drilbur burst through the sand and crawled onto the hard ground, slumping, breathing heavy.
"Amazing!" The announcer cheered above the crowd. "Zorua transformed into drilbur to escape, using its claws!"
King chuckled as zorua morphed, still laying on the ground.
"You crazy son of a bitch," he said.
I'll keep fighting, sir. It struggled to stand. I'm good enough.
Vanessa roared, pointing at zorua and King. "Pignite! Heat Crash!"
Waves of heat poured away from pignite as it became embroiled in another sphere of fire. It leaped into the air. Zorua looked at King.
"Alright," King said. "We've got to end this right now. Heat Crash is a powerful move since pignite is so much heavier than you are, understand? That means there's only one move we can use."
It nodded. Pignite rocketed toward them.
"Foul Play!"
…
N lurched to his feet. Many of the others around him did the same. This could not be happening.
The dust in the arena settled. Tears filled the edges of N's eyes. Pignite lay face down in the sand, and zorua stood victorious. The battle had scattered the other Pokemon in the arena, leaving them motionless. Lifeless, like a trees abandoned leaves.
The people screamed King's name. N wiped away a stray tear. He cried for the injured Pokemon. He cried for the ignorant populace that relished in the Pokemons wounds.
He cried because a man like King had won.
Ghetsis laid on a hand on his shoulder. "It is time, my son."
N nodded. He slid away from his seat, jostling past people with their arms in the air. He stalked down the stairs, to the railing a few feet above the arena. Security watched him uncertainly.
He leaped over the railing. The guards shouted after him as he landed, interrupting the announcer in mid-speech. Pain bristled through N's calves, but he did not care. He stomped forward, tears drying as rage built inside of him.
The crowd turned silent. King and the announcer watched him with eyebrows raised, while Vanessa had sunken to her knees, head hung low. N ignored the startled announcer and ripped the microphone from his hand.
"How can you all sit there and cheer!" He shouted into the microphone. "How can you watch and not be disgusted with yourselves? Pokemon are innocent creatures, and yet you scream with excitement when they are injured!"
He gestured to all the fallen Pokemon, spittle flying from his mouth. "Look around you! The government absorbs your attention with these battles, in the hopes that you will buy more Pokeballs and potions and tickets to tournaments so that they may be more powerful!"
Security poured from the arena entrances, racing toward him. "Do you see? They try and prevent me from opening your eyes! They do it because-"
Hands caught his shoulders, slamming him to the ground. He clutched the microphone as if it were his lifeline, uncaring of the sand that filled his mouth.
"Because they know… I am right! Open your eyes! Do not be manipulated! Release your Pokemon so that they be happy!"
The security ripped the device from his hands and began to drag him away.
They could not stop him. He was more affirmed in his goal than ever before. If someone like King could win, someone like that, then this world needed changing.
N would see to that himself.
…
King exited the stadium; a briefcase of one million Pokedollars in his hand, Pokeballs strapped at his waist.
He'd won. That green-haired man, who'd stomped into the arena, had interrupted them, but King was still declared the winner. The man had spouted nonsense, but his eyes had burned with such intense fire that the crowd had frozen where they stood. Even King did. If nothing else, the guy had believed what he said, even though it was rubbish.
King stepped forward into the city, heading for the Pokemon center. Release your Pokemon, he'd said. King was about to do that exact opposite. Finally, he was a trainer. Winning the tournament banished any semblance of doubt he had left.
It was time to challenge his first gym.