Chapter 24: Failure, her old friend

"Is there a reason why you want to fight at the beach?" Wattson asked. Both he and his challenger, Lucia, were face to face, standing on the shallow waters of a beach close by Mauville city. The sun was bright, and there were clear skies- perfect weather for a vacation. Lucia could feel the waters brushing against her ankles. Her Marshtomp, who stood beside her, was smiling a confident smile- just like her trainer.

"Well, it's for two reasons," Lucia said. "One, every time I have a gym battle the gym itself always ends up exploding or being damaged."

Wattson laughed heartily. "Can't have that. What's reason number two?"

"There's a body of water below us both. You can electrocute it, and Marshtomp and I can use it against you. Keeps us both on our toes."

"Very true. Isn't it a little risky to give us both leverage like this? Maybe a little too risky?"

"Yeah, maybe. Or maybe, I have a plan," Lucia said. "You'll find out soon."

Wattson smiled as the wind started blowing past them both.

"You're brimming with confidence!" Wattson said. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Yeah…" Lucia said. "Partially because I have a wonderful friend watching over me."

"AWWWW!" Anastasia's voice reached them both, both trainers turned their heads to see Anastasia all the way back onto shore, waving her hand to them. The snow-white haired girl had a backpack on, which held items Lucia had asked her to buy earlier. Lucia smiled and raised her hand, blushing a bit too as she did.

"You've a good friend there," Wattson said.

"Yeah," Lucia said without turning to the old man. She slowly lowered her waving hand and head. "She said earlier that I was acting a lot like Quinton. And she was right. But it wasn't a 100% bad thing."

"Hm?" Wattson said, turning his head to his challenger. Lucia turned to the gym leader and nodded.

"We're cocky when we're scared… we're both pretty insecure…" Lucia shrugged. "But we both share a strong desire to win. Before, when I became a trainer, I just wanted to become strong so I could beat my dad. To have my Shelgon evolve into Salamance, so he could fly. Then my goals changed as I saw people around me being better than me."

"I see." Wattson said, crossing his arms.

"I lost sight of my reason for fighting, and my reason for wanting to win. Not any more. I want to surpass everyone in this world, because I- no… we're gonna be the best. It's destiny." Lucia finally turned to Wattson. "It doesn't matter how many times you knock me down. No one will ever cut our wings."

Marshtomp nodded and cried her own name in agreement.

"I love it!" Wattson cried. "Absolutely incredible! I'm actually proud of you!"

Lucia smirked.

"Good. Though, you'll be prouder after I win," She said. The old man howled with laughter.

"Well, if it's an eventuality, then I won't make it easy!"

"It wouldn't be fun otherwise!" The two started laughing together.

But soon, the laughter stopped.

They slowly began to glare fiercely at one another. Slowly, Wattson took a few steps back and engaged his invoker. He pulled his single Pokéball from his pocket and tossed it beside him. Out came Ampharos.

"You asked me to go all out," Wattson said. He closed his eyes and lowered his head. "And I will have to warn you. I do not say this because I'm underestimating you.."

"I get it," Lucia said. "You don't usually go all out against people who only have two badges. But let's think of it this way. Do you want me to win the easy way? Or the hard way?"

Wattson chuckled.

"I like that snarky tone you have on you! I see great things in your future. I choose... The hard way." Wattson pulled arm close to him. His bracelet that had his Ampharos's Megastone began to activate. Ampharos was encased in a pink orb, and immediately, like a monster erupting from its egg, Mega Ampharos came out from his shell.

The entire time, Wattson stared at his mega stone as though it were a watch. He then activated his invoker. His body flashed with light- and when it faded, the old man was clad in armor. Electricity began bursting around the gym leader as he still stared at his wrist.

"I have something to admit." Wattson said. "During our last fight… I wasn't using my full strength."

Suddenly, the sky started to become dark. Storm Clouds began to form in the sky- and intense winds started to blow. The water below their feet began to move faster. Electricity rampantly began to rise around Wattson as though it were an aura. The entire time, Wattson continued to stareat his wrist, as though he were checking the time. His eyes were encased in shadow and could be barely seen by Lucia.

"Last time… I'd say… I only used about 10% of our full power." Wattson said.

"Wh-What's…" Anastasia's eyes widened as she took a step back. The leaves of the trees behind the white-haired girl began to shake as though in fear.

Thunder from the sky struck down as an azure aura rose around the old man- the dragon type energy was surging around him. Wattson moved his arm away and stared straight at Lucia. His eyes were glowing with an electrified azure light.

Marshtomp was beginning to panic, while Lucia watched with awe-struck eyes.

"I was afraid to use my full strength against a single little girl. But I see your resolve. So..!" Wattson clenched his fists and raised them close to his chest. "I'll answer in kind..!" Wattson began screaming at the top of his lungs as his aura became even bigger. His entire body began to glow as the ground below began to tremble. More thunder sparked around them, as though the heavens themselves were in an uproar. Suddenly, the storm clouds started to part, and a massive blast of lightning came flying down straight onto Wattson's body. It became so bright, Lucia and Marshtomp had to cover their eyes. But soon, the light faded, and out from the light came Mega Ampharos and Wattson, whose armor now resembled a medieval knight's. His shoulder pads were shaped like thunderbolts, his body armor was even bigger than before. His face was nowhere to be seen under his knight's helmet.

His Dragon type lightning-imbued cape flowed from his back as he slowly began to float into the air.

Lucia was completely amazed, while Marshtomp looked absolutely terrified.

"That's incredible!" Lucia cried. "You look so cool!"

"I'm glad to hear that from you." Wattson's voice echoed like thunder. Wattson shot his arm up at the sky, and so did Mega Ampharos. "Ampharos! Together..!" He roared. Thunder blasted from the gym leader's fingertips and from Mega Ampharos's arm and flew toward the sky. The thunder tore through the clouds and in mere moments, more thunder blasted down upon Wattson's hand in response. A javelin made of azure thunder formed and floated above his hand. He grabbed it, and then pulled his body back in preparation to hurl it.

Lucia and Marshtomp didn't move at all. Marhstomp was shivering in fear. Lucia patted her Pokémon's shoulder and offered her hand to her.

"If you want to," Lucia whispered, "You can hold my hand."

"M-M-Marshtomp...!" Marshtomp said. She nodded and held her trainer's hand. They both stared at the man ready to hurl his javalin.

"What are you planning!?" Wattson said.

"Do your worst!" Lucia cried.

"WH-What are you doing!?" Anastasia cried from the sidelines. "If that Javalin hits you.. It's game over! You'll lose for sure!"

"What're you waiting for!?" Lucia cried. "Do it!"

"Fine!" Wattson said. "TAKE… THIIIS!" With a mighty roar, Wattson hurled the javelin. It flew with so much force that the ocean waves flew and parted as it passed.

Lucia and Marshtomp didn't move a muscle. Right as the Lightning javelin drew near, Lucia's smile became bigger.

The explosion that came once the Javelin hit was nearly catastrophic. A pillar of water splashed up into the sky as a mushroom cloud made of electricity rose from where Lucia once stood. It was like watching a missile strike.

The explosion and electricity slowly and finally cleared. And Marshtomp and Lucia were completely cooked. Their bodies were pitch black, and they both fell to the ground. Dragon-type Electricity coursed about their bodies… but despite this, Lucia was chuckling to herself.

"Good… That was pretty good..I lost… Real fast…"

As Wattson descended to the ground, his golden armor shattered like glass, and his invoker armor disengaged once he finally touched the ground. Both he and Mega Ampharos exchanged glances, and then, Wattson returned the Electric/Dragon type back into its ball. He turned and walked to the downed trainer and her pokemon.

"Why didn't you get out of the way?" Wattson asked.

Lucia looked up at Wattson, who slowly crossed his arms.

"I'll tell you… when I eventually win." She said. Wattson raised a single eyebrow.

"Lucia!" Anastasia cried, running hurriedly over to the downed Lucia.

"Hey.. Ana… You got… the Paralyze heals, the revives, and the full restores I asked you to buy?"

"Y-Yeah…" Anastasia answered. why didn't you want to take any of them before the fight?"

"Can you help.. A girl out?" Lucia asked. Anastasia nodded, crouched down, and brought her backpack out. She dug through it, and pulled out two paralyze heals, a revive, and a full restore. She sprayed the Paralyze heal on Lucia first, before moving onto the unconscious Marshtomp.

"So," Lucia asked, coughing and clutching her arm. Smoke came out of her mouth as she coughed. "Same time, same place, tomorrow..?" Lucia asked.

"What's your goal?" Wattson asked. "What are you trying to pull?"

Lucia smiled.

"I promise you, just believe in me, and you'll see." She said. "You'll see what I have planned. I meant it when I said, 'I'm going to win.'"

Wattson's eyebrows rose.

"I…see." He said, clearly and utterly confused.

"S'not like you have a choice, anyway, old man!" Lucia said. "I'm going to rest up today, then tomorrow, I'm fighting you again. And again, and again, and again until I win."

Wattson began to snicker, then he laughed his hearty laugh." All right!" He cried. "Far be it from me to decline a challenge! Like you said, It's not like I have a choice in the matter!" Wattson continued to laugh.

Marshtomp slowly stood up herself, fully healed and raring to go. She approached her trainer's side and glared a determined glare. Wattson sighed finally and stared at Lucia's confident smile.

"I feel like I'm witnessing the beginning of a legend," He said.

"You are. So, same time, same place?"

Wattson nodded.

"Same time, same place," He began walking past the two girls and onto shore.

"Hey-" Anastasia said, approaching Lucia from behind. "What did you mean earlier by building a mindset that surpasses Quinton's?"

Lucia turned to her and grinned. "You'll see. Just watch me."

"... I feel like… I should give you incentive."

"Incentive?"

"Yeah. I don't wanna sit around and do nothing and just-"

"Anastasia...you're doing so much by just watching me and being there. It didn't look like it, but I was terrified. You watching gives me strength."

Anastasia's eyes widened in shock. Her face became red.

"O-Oh… L-Lucia.." Anastasia cupped her hands and covered her face. "You-You're-.. I'm the one who's supposed to make you blush… not the other way around.."

Lucia's eyes widened in shock. Her face became red too. "H-Huh!? I- I didn't mean to- I was just being honest! Ugh- Jeez! I'm- I'm going! C'mon, Marshtomp! Let's rest up!" Lucia grabbed Marshtomp by the hand and hurriedly ran away.

Anastasia sighed deeply as she watched her run off.

Sleep.

Wake up.

Lose.

Sleep.

Wake up.

Lose.

An entire week had passed. Day after day, Anastasia would watch Lucia fight Wattson. In the same place, same time. The two trainers would face off standing in the same shallow waters by the beach near Mauville. Again and again, Wattson would use his ultimate attack and hurl his javelin. And every time. Lucia and Marhstomp just stand there and let the attack hit them.

Why?

Why had she done this?

What was her plan?

Through the days that went by, Lucia refused to answer. How many times had she let the attack hit her? How many times had Lucia lost by now?

10 times?

20?

30, maybe?

Anastasia had lost count.

But one thing was certain: Lucia was changing. On one day, Lucia and Marshtomp were able to stay on one knee after the devastating attack, but fall to the ground anyway. On the next, Lucia and Marshtomp were able to stay standing after the devastating attack, but still fall.

She was losing again and again, but Lucia and Marhstomp…

They were becoming stronger.

The week that passed by was like a blur to Anastasia. She wondered where the time went as she stared at the night sky, lying beside a bonfire that was between her and Lucia.

"Just watch and see.." Anastasia said to herself. "I don't know what you're planning.. But I believe in you." She reached toward her sleeping friend's hand, and gently held it. "You can do anything.." She said as she slowly drifted to sleep once again.

All eyes were on Wattson, who was clad in his golden armor, and Mega Ampharos. The Gym leader's arm was raised above his head. His Dragon/electric javelin was floating above him once again. The waves of the ocean were flowing rapidly. The sky was pitch black from the storm clouds that covered it.

"Are you ready!?" Wattson cried.

"Do your worst!" Lucia cried. She had said this every single time. Wattson bellowed a war cry as he hurled his Javalin. It flew, and the waves parted as it came after her.

It was a familiar scene to Lucia and Marshtomp. The both of them drew in a deep breath, as though they were in complete sync. They closed their eyes together, like they were connected. Their eyes shot open once the Javalin came close, and then-

BOOM!

The explosion that came from the Javalin hitting the two of them came out- the ocean waves exploded upwards, and a mushroom cloud of electricity shot up into the air.

Soon, the electricity began to clear.

Was it over? Anastasia wondered. Her hands slowly dropped. Wattson's golden knight helm shattered into glass as he descended to the ground. The old man frowned as he came closer toward the smoke. "It's over," He said. His voice was back to normal.

"Nah," Lucia's carefree voice made Wattson and Anastasia gasp in sheer shock. "I don't think so. Marshtomp! Hydro pump!"

A blast of water came out from the smoke and flew Wattson's way. He had a split second to dodge, and he did just that. As his widened eyes watched the water fly his way, he turned to the sender. The smoke cleared and revealed Lucia and Marshtomp. Lucia was completely and utterly unharmed, while Marshtomp was slightly hurt, but very much standing.

"What!?" Wattson cried. "There's not a scratch on you..?! I don't understand!"

Lucia and Marshtomp started marching together. Electricity from Wattson's attack coursed through their bodies.

"You know what the difference is between the me who fought you for the first time, and the me today?" Lucia said. "Before, I was scared. Extremely scared. Scared of losing to you. I had resolve… but it wasn't true resolve."

"T-True resolve..!?" Wattson cried.

"I kept thinking in my head… 'What if I lose?' What if despite everything, I lost? That fear was running in my head, and messed with my resolve. I remembered that this was what Quinton was fearing the most, too. I was similar to Quinton...and his only real weakness.. was that he was afraid of losing." Lucia and Marshtomp finally came face to face with Wattson Mega Ampharos. "He let that fear take him over," Lucia continued. "So I thought, what if he kept that mindset of always wanting to win, but not caring if he lost? What if instead of fearing failure, he embraced it as a possibility- and welcomed it? I think he'd achieve true confidence. That no matter what- he'd gain something from every fight. That's how I'm going to surpass Quinton, My Dad, and everyone in this world!"

"You-... Did you lose again and again on purpose!?" Wattson's body was trembling in surprise. "You- You lost... again and again..All so you could-!"

"Completely erase my fear of failure." Lucia said. "Every time I failed, it softened the blow of the failure. I started to get used to it. Every loss I ever had, especially the ones I had against you, meant something. I learned something from every single one of them. This plan also wasn't just so I could eliminate my fear of failure, it was also to strengthen my own body. You think fighting in the water was a good idea for me, who never planned on fighting back?"

"Wait- No way-..!" Anastasia cried. "You gave Wattson the advantage on purpose?!"

"I brought us here to the water so your attack would hurt me more than it normally should." Lucia said. "So that when anyone decides to hit me with an attack like yours, I'd be able to take it, and still stay standing. That was your absolute strongest attack, right? I took it like it was nothing! No one, not you, not anyone... will ever cut our wings!"

Wattson chuckled. He started laughing. The armor on his body broke like glass and faded away. He then turned to Mega Ampharos, who looked at him in surprise. The Mega-evolved Pokémon understood what his trainer was trying to do the moment their gazes met. Mega Ampharos nodded, and Wattson returned him to his Pokéball.

"Huh..?" Lucia asked, raising her eyebrows. "What're you-"

"The answer to your question is, 'nothing.' I've already lost. I concede to you, Lucia."

"WHAT?!" Lucia cried. She immediately started to pout. "AWWW, C'MON! I HAD A COOL SPEECH READY TOO- IT WAS GONNA BE RIGHT AFTER I KICKED YOUR BUTT! I WAS GOING TO BOAST ABOUT HOW MUCH STRONGER I GOT!"

"You didn't think I'd concede after you endured my strongest attack?" Wattson started laughing. "I'm old enough to know when I've been beaten!"

"I LITERALLY DIDN'T GET TO HIT YOU AT ALLLLLLLL!"

"Sorry! The battle's already over."

"Lucia!" Anastasia's voice called out to her. Lucia turned around and saw her running her way. You won! The white-haired girl leapt and hugged Lucia, who stumbled back upon catching her.

"I'm so proud of you… I'm so proud of you..!" Anastasia said, holding her tightly.

"But- I didn't even punch him!" Lucia cried. Suddenly, she heard Anastasia breaking into sobs.

"I'm so proud of you..!" She said with a sniffle. "I'm so proud..! I'm so proud..!"

"D-Don't cry.." Tears started welling up in Lucia's eyes too. "Your tears are contagious…!"

"I hate to stop this tender moment," Wattson said. The girls both turned to Wattson. "but, I have to give you your badge." Anastasia pulled away from Lucia, and the purple haired girl approached the man who held the Dynamo badge in his hands. She took the badge, and turned to her friends, Marshtomp and Anastasia.

"...WE DID IT!" Lucia roared, shooting her fist at the sky. Marshtomp raised her arms in triumph and Anastasia smiled.

By sheer willpower and resolve alone, Lucia had gotten her third badge. Instead of running and cowering from failure, letting it label and define her, she treated it as though it were an old friend...