Author's note:
Hey guys! I was a liiiitle bit late on this one- as I probably will be for the next chapter because of responsibliities piling up! i will do my best to update this weekly!
This one's another long one. 5000 words+! enjoy!
Chapter 9: Strengthening Bonds
The stage was set. The lights were on her, and everyone was watching. Anastasia could see everyone's smiling faces, all of their eyes squarely on her. Among the crowd, the snow-white haired girl looked for Lucia and Beatrice. She managed to spot them both. Lucia looked absolutely starstruck, while Beatrice watched with her arms crossed and a light smile. She directed a wink at Lucia's direction, and grinned once she saw the purple-haired girl jolt.
"Now, finally, the second to last show for us!" An announcer cried. The spotlight revealed the three judges watching the giddy contestant. "Let's give it up for Anastasia!"
Everyone started clapping. Anastasia couldn't stop smiling. She was in her element.
"Now, let's see what you can do!" One judge cried.
"Impress us!" Another yelled.
"Do your best!" The last one shouted.
"Okay, Ditto! Let's do thi-"
A smoke bomb exploded around her.
The explosion was loud enough to startle the young girl. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her mouth. She started to shriek. The smoke cleared, and the crowd was absolutely shocked to see two men in cloaks, and an Abra. One man pinned the young girl on the ground, while the other looked up at the crowd who all began screaming in panic and concern. The one who stared at the crowd pulled his hood and revealed his long raven colored hair. He smiled deviously.
"We are the Crimson Foundation!" The man named Aiden said. "We are the ones that will bring the legendary Quinton back to his former glory!"
"Hold still..!" Zennon cried, struggling to keep the young girl pinned.
"Let me go!" Anastasia cried. "HELP! SOMEONE!"
"What- What's going on!?" The announcer cried.
"What are you doing!?" Beatrice cried, standing up and activating her invoker.
"Let her go!" Lucia shouted before leaping off her seat.
"Hey!" Marie's voice made the dastardly duo turn to the furiously approaching blonde. "Let go of her right now!" Marie roared. The blonde was seconds away from throwing her Pokeball to release her Pichu. Lucia landed on the stage and glared angrily at the two grunts.
"What're you waiting for!?" Zennon cried. "Tell Abra to teleport us!"
"Abra! Use Teleport!" Aiden cried. Abra nodded.
"Stop them!" Beatrice cried.
"Haaaah!" Lucia was fast enough to be inches away from punching Aiden squarely in the face- but Abra was faster. In a blink of an eye, the three of them were gone. Lucia's fist flew in the air after missing its mark completely.
"No..!" Lucia roared.
"Darn it..!" Marie shouted.
The entire crowd roared in panic. Spectators leapt off their seats and began running off.
"Everyone- Please! Stay calm!" The announcer said.
"Where did they take her!?" Lucia cried. "What're they going to do with her!? Ugh..!"
"Lucia," Beatrice said, raising her hands and approaching the seething Lucia. "You need to rela-"
"Don't tell me to relax! Why the heck did they kidnap her!?"
"Don't worry, Lucia." Marie said, coming from behind Lucia and patting her shoulder. "Whatever it is, I'll get to the bottom of it, I promise. Okay?" Lucia spun around.
"But-"
"I can handle it. You two have to go get your gym badges. I promise as a former champion of Hoenn that I'll get her back. Okay?"
Lucia gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Marie patted her shoulder again.
"Don't let this distract you. I've got this. I'm going to get on it right now. In fact- I'm going to go backstage and get my invoker- and start moving."
"Ah, I see," Beatrice said. "You're going to leave with a flying type Pokémon, yes?"
"Who said anything about flying?" Marie asked.
"Wha-" Beatrice was nearly taken aback.
"If you're curious, you can watch outside, I've gotta go, now!" Marie spun around and ran backstage. Beatrice turned to Lucia.
"I'm going to go outside and wait for Marie to make her move. I'm curious to see how she's going to leave this boat without a flying type."
"How can you be so calm...?" Lucia asked. "They just took Anastasia! We need to-"
"Sitting around panicking isn't going to do anything, Lucia."
Lucia blinked and stood back. She was right. There was no denying that. But she couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Anyway, I'm leaving. Feel free to join me." Beatrice turned and walked away then and there.
"Hey- Wait!" Lucia said, rushing after her.
By the time the girls went out in front of the front deck, Marie was already out with her Invoker armor engaged. She and her Pichu, who stood on top of his trainer's shoulder, stared off into the sky together.
"So-" Beatrice asked, crossing her arms and approaching Marie. "How do you plan to get off this boat without using a Flying-type?"
"Simple," Marie said without turning back to Beatrice. Marie went on all fours, and Pichu hopped off to do the same. "Let's do it, Pichu!" Pichu cried out in agreement, and the two of them burst with electric energy.
"Let's go!" She shouted. The two of them leapt onto the water, static electricity wrapped around them like an aura as they moved with enough speed to bounce across the waters. Beatrice watched in sheer shock (No pun intended) as the two hopped across the water- it was like watching two balls of lightning play leapfrog on the ocean.
"That's incredible," Beatrice said.
"...I guess if anyone is qualified enough to save Anastasia, it's her…" Lucia said. "I just hope she'll be okay."
"She'll be fine."
Lucia frowned and lowered her head. Beatrice sighed and put one hand on her hip. She stared at the sulking Lucia and pondered on how she could possibly help. She had helped her while she was low, it would be polite. But how? What did Lucia like? What made her happy? She had no idea.
"...Hmmm…" Beatrice pondered to herself.
"Hm?" Lucia looked up to Beatrice.
"Hm." Beatrice looked away.
"Hmm..?" Lucia tilted her head. Beatrice shot a glare at Lucia before Lucia looked away again. Beatrice lowered her head. After a brief silence, the redhead sighed and crossed her arms.
"Do you…" Beatrice said suddenly. "Want to do something?"
"What?"
"...I mean- if you want. I mean- uh.." Beatrice scratched her head. "Ugh.. this is hard."
"What is it?"
"...What will cheer you up..?"
"Pff-" Lucia covered her mouth before she started laughing out loud.
"What?!" Beatrice cried. Her face went red. "Don't laugh at me!"
"How can I not laugh!? You sound so stupid!"
"Silence! Goodness- I shouldn't have asked to begin with!" Beatrice spun and walked away.
"Thanks though-" Beatrice stopped in her tracks once Lucia spoke again but didn't turn back. "For trying to cheer me up. You're not good at it, but it's the thought that counts." Beatrice didn't dare to turn around, because her face was too red at that point.
"Shut up. Stupid. Idiot." Beatrice stomped away.
It wasn't long until the ship finally reached its destination: Dewford town.
"We're finally here!" Lucia said, stretching her arms out after leaving the ship along with Beatrice. The sound of rushing waves gave the purple haired girl life. She ran out to the sand and jumped up and down in glee.
"You're such a child," Beatrice said with a sigh as she left the ship. She held the briefcase she had Harold carry for her with both hands.
"There a problem with that!?" Lucia shouted.
"Clearly you haven't been to beaches before. As for me, I've been to-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up, rich girl! This is my first time being in a beach like this, let me have this!"
Beatrice glared at Lucia.
"Grr… The nerve of you..! Fine. I'll let it slide just this once. Come now, the Gym awaits." Beatrice said, walking ahead.
"Heh. Come now, the Gym awaits," Lucia mimicked Beatrice's voice.
"Are you- I do not sound like that!" Beatrice said, turning around and glaring. Lucia grinned.
"Look at me, I'm Beatrice, I'm so rich and cool! I've been to 10 billion beaches!" Lucia said. "And I own every single one!"
"You're such a kid! Shut up!" Beatrice roared. "Goodness- I can't stand you!"
Lucia poked her tongue out as Beatrice walked away in a huff.
"Let's GOOO!" Lucia said, running ahead of Beatrice. Despite being annoyed, Beatrice couldn't help but smile a bit, because Lucia seemed to be in a better mood.
It didn't take long for the girls to find the Gym. Lucia rushed into the gym first, and Beatrice followed. Inside was a gigantic arena long enough to be a football field. Standing in the middle of the arena was Brawly, the second gym leader. He already had on his invoker armor and was throwing punches and kicks as though he were practicing. Once he saw his two challengers, he sported a large grin.
"You must be Lucia and Beatrice! Nice to meet you! I've been expecting you both!" Brawly said.
The girls looked taken aback once the Gym leader referred to them by their names.
"What?" Lucia asked. "How do you know our names?!"
"Roxanne gave me a call not too long ago," Brawly said while rolling his shoulders. "She said something about taking you both on at once for bonding."
"WHAT?!" The two girls cried. "WHY!?"
"I thought the same thing!" Brawly laughed heartily at their reactions. "Although, fighting two challengers at the same time sounds like a blast! So I said, why not!?"
"Ohh…" Lucia lowered her head. "This is the worst..."
"...For once, I agree with you." Beatrice groaned. "I swear, trouble just finds me much faster when I'm around you!"
"Shut up!" Lucia cried. "You're the one causing me trouble! You think I want to fight with you!?"
"Now, now, girls-" Brawly waved his hands to calm his opponents. "Fighting each other isn't the answer. Fighting me though? That's a start! I'll move over to the other side! Start thinking of a plan of attack!" Brawly pointed finger guns at the girls as he took several steps back. Beatrice dropped her briefcase and crouched down to pull out her Invoker shaped as a necklace. She put it on and took out the single Pokéball she had.
"Oh boy.." Lucia groaned. "We really have to fight with each other again...?"
"Shut your mouth and focus." Beatrice said. "It wasn't that bad before. Now listen. My Slowpoke knows Psychic type moves like Psychic and Confusion. Brawly uses Fighting-type Pokémon. As long as I stay back and use those abilities on his Pokémon, we'll be fine."
"All right." Lucia said.
"We have no idea what Pokémon Brawly's going to use, but if one of us goes head-to-head against him, let it be me. Brawly may be a fighting expert, but he's no match for my Future sight. As long as I can see the future, I should be able to handle him fine. That being said- can I rely on you to protect my Slowpoke?"
"That's going to be really hard for me and my Pokémon to fight two Pokémon at once."
"You won't have to for long." Beatrice said. "As long as I use Psychic type attacks on Brawly, all of that damage should transfer to one of his Pokémon. So eventually, it'll be a two on one. As in- you and Shelgon versus whatever Pokemon he brings out. Speaking of Shelgon, bring him in for maximum defense."
"Right, sure, uh, I will..." Lucia said.
"Are you two ready!?" Brawly cried.
"Uh-" Lucia said, blinking. "I mean-"
Beatrice activated her invoker, and her armor engaged with a flash of light. "Yeah- we're prepared." Beatrice said. Beatrice turned to Lucia. "Just defend Slowpoke and let me do the rest.
"R-Right," Lucia pulled out her Pokéball and threw it. Shelgon came out and bellowed a cry.
"Come, Slowpoke!" Beatrice threw her Pokéball in the air, and Slowpoke came out of it. He landed on the ground behind the girls on its feet, and then rolled over on its back.
"Poke, poke poke.." Slowpoke muttered.
"Slowpoke, you know what to do- Future sight!" Beatrice cried. Slowpoke's feet stood up on end as its eyes shined red.
"Shelgon, to me!" Lucia said. Shelgon turned around and ran to his trainer. He leapt into the air and latched onto the back of Lucia's wrist. With a flick of her free arm, a sword made of dragon flame formed in her hand.
"Ready!? Set..!" Brawly brandished a single Pokéball before throwing it into the air. "Go!" Brawly cried. The Pokéball opened, and the Pokémon that came out made Beatrice's eyes widen in sheer shock.
"What!? No way..!" She cried.
A Pangoro came out of the ball. He was a Dark and Fighting type. Pangoro let out a battle cry as it landed on the ground. It's massive weight nearly shook the entire arena.
"Wait-" Lucia said, widening her eyes in realization. "Pangoro is part Dark-type, which means..!"
"...Psychic type abilities won't work..!" Beatrice cried. "Darn it..!"
"Heh." Brawly grinned and cracked his knuckles as he stepped forward.
"Aren't you going to let out your second Pokémon!?" said Beatrice as she stepped forward hurriedly.
"Rules say I can use more than one Pokémon. I'm not required to let them both out at once."
"Tch..!" Beatrice clenched her fists. "Drat it- Come on then!" Beatrice sprinted after Brawly. Her eyes widened once she saw the future.
Her vision had fortold it: Brawly would grab Beatrice by the shoulders and flip over her so he could get to Lucia and Slowpoke. She couldn't allow this! Beatrice gritted her teeth and extended her arms, ready to grab Brawly and stop him from flipping over her. Instead of grabbing for her shoulders, Brawly punched Beatrice in the stomach with enough force to nearly push the redhead off her feet.
"What-..!?" Beatrice groaned before another punch sent her flying away.
"How did he..!?" Lucia looked in sheer shock. "I thought you could see the future, Beatrice!"
"Take care of her, Pangoro!" Brawly cried. Here I come, Lucia!" Brawly cried as he rushed ahead of Beatrice, who was struggling to get up. Beatrice looked up at Pangoro, who looked down menacingly at her.
Lucia grit her teeth as Brawly drew near. Her heart raced with anticipation. As soon as he came close, Lucia swung her sword down, only for Brawly to clap and grab the sword just before it hit him.
"Whoa- close one there!" Brawly said. He twisted the sword out of Lucia's hands before landing a kick to her stomach. Lucia's feet dragged across the floor as she was sent back. Brawly quickly dashed to close the distance with his fists raised.
"Shelgon, Protect!" Lucia cried. Lucia hid behind Shelgon as though he were a shield. A blue barrier formed between the two trainers and caught Brawly's fist mid flight. Brawly grinned, as though this were a challenge and delivered a barrage of punches and kicks onto the barrier.
"AAAAATAAAA!" Brawly bellowed a high-pitched war cry as though he were one of those TV martial artists and punched straight through Lucia's barrier without breaking it. Lucia's eyes widened in pain once the gym leader's knuckles reached her cheek and slammed into it.
"Shel-!?" Shelgon cried out in surprise. Lucia pushed her face against the Gym leader's knuckles.
"How did you.. Break through..!?" Lucia cried.
"Ever heard of the move, Feint?" Brawly pulled his fists and began shuffling his feet like a martial artist. "It goes through Protect like a hot knife on butter!"
"N-No… way..!" Lucia grunted.
"AAAAATAAAAAAAA!" Brawly spun around and smacked Lucia's face with the back of his fist with enough force to send her body spinning. Shelgon shot a glare and immediately leapt off of Lucia's wrist and leapt after Brawly as he closed in.
"AAATOOOH!" The gym leader uppercutted Shelgon before he had a chance to strike. Lucia stumbled before stopping her body from spiraling out of control. By the time she adjusted herself, Brawly's fist dug onto Lucia's cheek and sent her stumbling back.
Brawly let out a barrage of Punches too fast for Lucia to keep up with. "ATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!" Brawly roared as he punched Lucia again and again. Shelgon finally landed on the ground and raced to help his trainer. He leapt onto the air and tried to tackle him- But Brawly was faster. He landed a devastating elbow on the Pokémon without turning away from Lucia, then spun around and kicked the dragon type away. As Lucia stumbled back, she wiped her mouth with the back of her fist.
"He's not as strong as Machoke.. But he's much more skilled..!" Lucia cried. "I can't keep up..!"
"C'mon! We're just getting started!" Brawly dashed in after Lucia. The purple-haired trainer raised her arms to block. "WAAATAAH!" Brawly's fist went over Lucia's defense and smacked her straight in the face. He continued to pummel the trainer with devastating punches and kicks. Lucia tried to grab the gym leader's fists, but they were too fast. Too precise- too quick. This was truly a martial artist. Every attack was preplanned so Lucia wouldn't be able to fight back. Every attempt at a counterattack was parried and knocked away. Every punch she threw: Swatted away. Every kick she threw: blocked and pushed away. It was like Beatrice said- She was no match for him in a one-on-one fight- and every time Shelgon attempted to join the fight- Brawly knocked him away.
"Lights out!" Brawly punched Lucia in the face hard enough to send her flying. She hit the ground with a thud and moaned in agonizing pain.
Meanwhile, Beatrice managed to spring up to her feet, standing face to face with Pangoro, who looked down at her. She thought of every scenario-, saw every possibility through Future Sight- and none of them saw her moving past Pangoro without defeating him. Who would have thought Brawly using a dark type would mess up her plans this badly..!?
Suddenly, Beatrice's eyes widened. She saw a single possibility that ended with Pangoro defeated.
Her future sight showed her a vision: She and Pangaro would throw a punch at the same time. Pangoro would be fast- but she would be faster, landing the first punch quickly and decisively. Then, and only then would she begin her assault to defeat the Pokémon. Beatrice nodded to herself and clenched her fists.
"Take this..!" Beatrice threw a punch, and to her total surprise Pangoro didn't throw a punch. Instead, he grabbed the girl's fist mid flight and held it tight.
"Wha-!?" Beatrice cried. "My- My premonition was wrong again!? What's going on!? Why is my future sight wrong!?"
Pangoro shot an intense glare at the girl before lifting her off her feet and tossing her to the wall. She crashed straight onto it back-first and slid down to the ground as Pangoro came closer. Beatrice grit her teeth and glared as she stood up.
"Slowpoke..! Use Future.. Sight..! Allow me to… see into the future!" Beatrice widened her eyes, expecting to see the future- but nothing happened. "What..!?" Beatrice cried. The red haired trainer tilted her body to look over the massive Pokémon's shoulder and saw Brawly standing triumphantly over Lucia, placing a foot on her back and holding a beaten-up Slowpoke on his hand. Shelgon was the only one still standing, however, and was glaring fiercely at Brawly. Beatrice's eyes widened in shock.
"No..!" The red haired trainer cried. "NO! That's impossible! My- My premonitions were wrong- why were they wrong!? This shouldn't be happening!"
Brawly turned his head back to Beatrice.
"I deal with Psychic type users all the time around here. The moment I heard you say, 'Future sight' I had a plan. I'd devise a small little plan in my head, and of course, with you being able to see the future, you'd see that plan and prepare for it. But instead of executing that plan, I just empty my mind and just let my body move."
"What!?" Beatrice cried. "So you're saying, you thought of a plan to distract me, then changed it at the last minute?!"
"You're close," Brawly said. "Instead of executing the plan I think of, I just stop thinking altogether and just let my body move. In other words, I put a false premonition in your head. It's like the move Feint, but for thoughts instead of fists. Pangoro did the same thing as I did."
"You..!..I–..!"
"You still look like you have fight in you!" Brawly cried. "Hey Pangoro..! You can go ahead and let loose! Use Close Combat!"
Pangoro's eyes started to glow red with malice. With an intense war cry, it let loose a devastating barrage of punches far too fast for the trainer to block let alone see.
"ORO ORO ORO ORO ORO ORO..!" Pangoro let out a battle cry for every punch thrown, at this point, Beatrice's entire body bounced about as though static electricity were shocking her. "ORRRROOOO!" Pangoro smashed his fist straight onto Beatrice's visor and sent her flying through the wall she leaned against.
"I… Can't… move..!" Beatrice said.
"Ooooh… Pangoro, why'd you do that?" Brawly said. "That's the third time you've broken the wall! C'mon!" Brawly turned to look at Beatrice's Slowpoke, who was lying unconscious on his hand. "Welp, he's out cold," Brawly lightly tossed Slowpoke away from the arena and onto the sidelines. "Looks like you two lose," Brawly said. "Come back when-"
"No..!" Lucia said, struggling to get back up.
"Whoa now, stay down!" Brawly said. "You're way too hurt to continue!"
"I won't let you WIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Flaming azure wings of a dragon sprouted on Lucia's back. Brawly leapt away in startlement. An intense aura wrapped around both Shelgon and his trainer.
"Whoaaa- Interesting! I haven't seen anything like this before!" Brawly cried.
Lucia grit her teeth and stood up. Shelgon leapt onto her wrist as Lucia brought her hands together. Her dragon sword formed in her hands once again as she raised it high into the air.
"Take this..!" Lucia said. The dragon sword doubled in size, then tripled, then quadrupled. "Our blood, our sweat, and all of our tears! DRAGON..! SWOOOR-"
"Now! Do it now, Pangoro!" Brawly shot his hand out, and Lucia felt Pangoro's giant arms wrap around her stomach.
"Wha- When did you..-" Lucia could do nothing but scream as the Pokémon lifted her up into the air. The sword she held disappeared as Pangoro proceeded to perform a German Suplex on the girl. The earth shattered beneath them. The sharp pain the girl felt on the top of her head was immense- nearly enough to knock her out. She'd felt punches onto her body- but never had she ever felt an attack like that before on the top of her head. She groaned in pain as Pangoro stood up, grabbed Lucia by the head and pulled her up.
"It's..! Not..! Over..! Yet..!" Lucia said. She was more than lightheaded- she was even starting to lose consciousness. Brawly crossed his arms and just frowned. "It's- It's not..!" Lucia groaned.
"It's over now, Lucia, you both lost. Come back when you train s'more, okay?" He said.
"I- Can still-.. I can still.." Her sight was becoming hazy. "I-.." Her eyes slowly drifted off into unconsciousness.
Brawly sighed. Suddenly, he felt a bump on his leg, and shot his head over to Shelgon, who was still standing and attempting to fight Brawly.
"Uh- Shelgon? Bud? Your trainer's unconscious. Because you don't have any commands to receive, that means you lose by default."
Shelgon still kept headbutting him.
"Oh boy. Pangoro, help me out,. Let's get Lucia to the nearest Pokecenter."
Marie stood alone near the ocean waves of Lilycove city. She was completely alone. Not even her Pichu was out of his Pokeball. She stood around with shifty eyes, as though she were waiting for someone to approach.
"We're here." Marie spun around and saw the perpetrators that took Anastasia walking straight to her. The long haired one had his hood off, while the other who walked beside him kept his hood on.
Marie approached the two of them slowly, but kept her hand close to her Pokéball, which contained Pichu.
"Where is she?" Marie asked.
"Straight to the point, are you?" The long-haired man said.
"Yeah, just like the message you sent to my phone- 'Come to Lilycove City alone.' No mention of how Anastasia's doing- nothing. Well- I'm here so, you'd better tell me that Anastasia's okay."
"She's fine," The hooded man said.
"But she won't be if you don't do what we ask." The longhaired man said. "I'll introduce us. My name is Aiden, and this is Zennon."
"..H-Hi.." Zennon said, waiving shyly. Marie narrowed her eyes.
"Get to the point already," Marie said. "What do you two want?"
"We want to know where Quinton's current whereabouts are. That's all." Aiden said.
Marie's eyes widened.
Lucia and Beatrice were absolutely silent as they left the Pokécenter together. Lucia was fully healed. Beatrice fell to her hands and knees.
"Ugh...! how could I be humiliated this horribly...!?"
"Yeah..." Lucia said with a shrug. "It happens."
"It happens!?" Beatrice turned her head to Lucia. "We were beaten- Lucia! Utterly beaten! Do you not realize how terrible this is?!"
Lucia sighed.
"Do you not realize the gravity of the situation?!" Beatrice stood back up. "We have to rethink everything! Every single part of our strategy was flawed! We can't be flawed! We must be perfec-!"
"We can't be perfect," Lucia said, shaking her head. "We just have to do better than we did just no-"
"No! "You don't get it! You don't understand!"
Lucia narrowed her eyes in annoyance.
"It's new to you, I know, but it's called losing!" Lucia cried. "It's happened to me plenty of times! But I'm still here!"
"Shut up! You don't possibly understand what I'm feeling right now! The sheer agony- the- the embarrassment I'm feeling right now, it's alien to you!"
"It isn't alien to me at all! Remember that time when you beat me!? Don't you think that wasn't embarrassing!?"
Beatrice glared furiously.
"You think YOU lost!?" The redhead shouted, walking closer to Lucia and pressing a finger against her chest. "That wasn't a contest between you and I- it was a contest between Marie and I! I was the one who lost!"
Lucia felt something snap in her mind as her anger grew.
"What do you mean, contest between you and Marie!?" Lucia roared. "Was I nothing to you then!? Just a speck of dirt in your way or something!? This is why I hate you! I never liked you! You're such a whiny little girl! I wonder sometimes who's the more mature one!"
"Excuse me!?" Beatrice cried. "Whiny- how dare you speak to me like that!?"
"There it is again! 'How dare you speak to me' You're always like that! You're always looking down on everyone!"
"You're childlike and horrid- being forced to hang out with you was the worst thing to ever happen to me! Now I understand- You were the reason why I lost! If you weren't there to begin with, then I would have easily defeated Brawly!"
"What!? You were the one who went down first! Ugh- I could punch you right now! I swear-...!"
"Then do it! What's stopping you!?" Beatrice cried. "Do you not want to hurt me!? Is that it!?"
"Yeah- what if that's it!? I don't want to hurt your perfect face, or else you'll start crying about it ALL DAY!"
:"Well-..!" Beatrice activated her invoker. "Fine! Hit me now! Go ahead and try!"
"What- and let you hit me without you feeling any pain!? Get lost!"
"Does it look like I have a Pokémon synched to me!? I'll feel the pain! Go ahead and hit me!"
"No! I'm NOT going to hit you!"
"Why won't you hit me!?" Beatrice deactivated her invoker. "Don't you hate me!? Don't you think that I'm the cause of your problems!? Don't you think that I'm what dragged you down during our gym leader fights!? Don't you think that if I wasn't a failure-..!" Beatrice looked like she was ready to cry. Lucia's eyes widened. "Don't you think that if I wasn't a failure..!" Beatrice continued. "That if I had just changed my strategy- and didn't rely on the same tactics like a fool..! And..!" Beatrice fell to her knees once again. "If I wasn't..! If- If i wasn't..!" She nearly began breaking down into tears. "I was the one who dragged you down.. During both our gym battles...!"
"You think you're a failure..!?" Lucia cried, gritting her teeth as an attempt to fight back tears of her own. "It's not the same as what I feel! Every since I met you, I always saw you as someone better than me!" The purple haired girl began to cry herself. "You're more of a lady than me, you're more mature than me, you're able to take Anastasia's kidnapping more calmly than me...!"
"You're-" Beatrice choked between her sobs. "You're much stronger willed than me. Even against all odds you stand up, and rise to the challenge, while I'm just here crying at the smallest bump in the road..!"
"You're prettier than me, smarter than me...! You always know what to say...!" Lucia cried. "I even listened to you during that last gym battle because I thought your strategies would be better than anything I could ever think of..!"
"You're able to shrug off the loss like nothing, and yet here I am..! " Beatrice said. "All I wanted.."
"All I wanted.." Lucia said.
"All I wanted was to be more like you!" The both of them shouted at the same time.
Their eyes widened once they heard each other. Then, almost immediately, the girls hugged and started sobbing in each other's arms.
"I'm sorry..!" Beatrice cried.
"I'm so sorry...!" Lucia cried. The both of them kept crying like babies for what felt like forever. Minutes felt like hours. They kept crying until their lungs gave out, and even then, they cried some more. Their bodies swayed back and forth as they continued hugging.
"I'm so sorry...!" Lucia cried.
"I'm sorry too! I'm sorry...!" Beatrice shouted. Soon, their wails became quieter. The two girls were merely sniffling.
"I always thought that you were better than me.." Lucia said. "From the start..."
"I thought you were a better trainer than me..." Beatrice said. "You were always up for challenges, no matter how big."
"...It hurts to talk." Lucia said.
"That's okay…" Beatrice said, hugging her tighter and pressing her head against her's and rubbing them together. "That's okay. That's okay…" Lucia started to cry a bit more.
"...The tears are contagious…!" Lucia said. Beatrice chuckled a little, and then, Lucia chuckled a bit herself.
"Listen... I'm sorry… for saying such mean things to you..." Lucia said. "It's just- when you said that it was a competition between you and Marie- I got...really sad."
"...I'm sorry I said harsh things to you, too." Beatrice said. "But I really meant it when I said I wanted to be more like you."
"...I didn't think you'd want to be anything like me.."
"You're everything I'm not, Lucia.."
"...No.. you're everything I'm not.." Lucia said.
"You're a lot stronger than I am.. in mind, and in battle." Beatrice said.
"No.." Lucia said. "If you and I were to fight, you'd beat me 9 times out of 10 because of your incredible strategies."
"9 times out of 10?" Beatrice said. "Don't count yourself out so badly. You'd beat me just as much. Your tenacity... It's incredible. The way you stood up against Brawly… I was afraid I'd be the one in your shadow. Just like the last Gym fight- I would have lost if it wasn't for you, and it would have been the same if you somehow bested Brawly."
"I'm sure you would have figured something out if I wasn't a part of your team, you're super smart. You'd just find another Pokémon and think of a strategy that would knock everyone's shoes off."
"...Well, while that may be true.." Beatrice said. "But If you weren't there to fight with me against Roxanne and I somehow lost... I might have quit being a trainer all together."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"...Oh.." Lucia said. "Well… good thing I'm here, right? It'd be such a waste of good talent if you quit."
Beatrice chuckled lightly and let go of Lucia. They both stood up.
"I'd say it's embarrassing that you had to see me like that…" Beatrice commented. "But- you cried too, so I feel less bad about it."
"You definitely cried more." Lucia said, poking her tongue out.
"Surely you jest- you definitely cried more than me!"
"Shut up!" The two girls started laughing together. Soon, they went quiet, and Lucia scratched the back of her head.
"Well.. /Uh… " Lucia said. "Let's think of a new strategy."
"Right.." Beatrice said. "We'll think of a new strategy together. And I think I know the perfect place to think of one."
"Really?" Lucia asked.
"Catching a Pokémon would be a good start. There's a cave not too far from here. If we go there, surely we could find a Pokemon or two to-"
"Oh jeez- You're right! There IS a cave around here!" Lucia said.
"Haven't you looked once at your map?" Beatrice asked.
"What's a map?"
Beatrice and Lucia stared at each other for a brief moment before laughing together.
"Let's be off." Beatrice said, smiling brightly.
"Okay," Lucia said, smiling back.