Chapter 16
"Well, the schedule says there's going to be three matches each day, for the first two rounds," Mark explained to Maple the morning after the entrance ceremonies, "looks like our first match is two days from now. It's on the morning of the third day. Should be plenty of time to get ready." He folded the paper up and put it in his back pocket.
"'ou fink so?" Maple gurgled. She was trying out brushing her teeth, which seemed pointless since they were just going to get dirty again, but she did like the way the toothpaste tasted. Mark warned her not to swallow it, which made even less sense.
She could've had more practice, on the road, but this was the first morning that Mark had been able to convince her that her teeth even looked dirty.
"Rinse and spit, once you're done," he instructed before continuing, "yeah, I think so. I mean, you were pretty strong as a Leafeon and you've only gotten better. Really I just need to see what battles with human Pokémon are usually like." See how brutal they are, Mark thought but didn't say, "And I'm sure there's somebody we can challenge outside of the tournament for practice. Yeah, two days is plenty of time to get ready."
"O'ay," Maple spit, but she didn't know what Mark meant by "rinse" which required a little extra help to show that he meant to rinse with water. She also spit on the floor, rather than the sink. In retrospect, that made much more sense.
"Let's see if Kim's around," Mark suggested as he shut the door to their room, "I still need to ask her a few questions."
On their way to Kim's room, a frantic male voice called out to them. They turned to see a disheveled human Absol dressed in white racing down the hall towards them. The young man stopped in front of them, panting for breath.
"Umm…hello?" Mark started.
"I don't…have much…time," he glanced over his shoulder while he talked, "my name's Silver. I'm looking for a new trainer."
"You're what?" Maple was thoroughly offended by the idea.
"I'm looking for a new trainer," Silver repeated, his patience running thin, "Mine's psychotic. You have no idea what I had to do to even get away from her for five minutes."
"Okay," Mark was beginning to grasp where this was going, "why did you come to us, then?"
"Look," Silver sighed, "I'm not exactly picky about who I join up with. And besides, I heard you were the only trainer in the tournament with just one human Pokémon and-"
"Wait," Mark interrupted, "how did you know that? We didn't even know that for sure."
"So…" Silver suddenly looked very confused, "you didn't send him?"
"Send who?"
"The blond kid," Silver answered, "some little teenager came around last night telling everybody in the tournament that there's a kid named Mark Diamond that's competing with only one human Pokémon. It's probably all over the island, by now."
"What…?" Mark's face went white. It had been Lionel, there was no question about that. He had gone off on his own. Why? Why would he do something so stupid?
"You okay, man?" Silver asked, "hey, don't worry about it. So what if everybody knows all you have is a Leafeon-girl? Take me with you and you'll stand a real chance in this whole thing!"
Mark was too dumbfounded to respond. Everyone knew. They knew exactly what his weaknesses were and he hadn't even fought one match yet! It was over before it even started.
"Silvyyyyy!" a young girl's voice echoed down the stairwell behind Silver, making him cringe.
"Dammit!" he swore, "gotta go. I'm up in 1512 when you're ready. Just watch out for Lily. And don't let her find me!" Before either Mark or Maple could respond, Silver was gone, running past them and bolting down the opposite stairwell.
"What the…?" Mark started to ask when the same girl's voice called out from behind them as she emerged into the hallway.
This time, a girl with dark hair who looked about Mark's age approached them. She looked lost and hurt, a complete contrast to the psychotic menace that they had just been warned about. Yet there was no mistake, this was the girl whose voice had made Silver run and hide like a criminal with a death sentence.
"Umm…hello, my name's Lily," the girl said meekly, "did you happen to see a human Absol recently?" Mark and Maple exchanged glances.
"Yeah," Maple answered, "he just went running through here. Is something wrong?"
"Well…no," Lily hung her head, "but Silvy's been acting really weird, lately. He keeps running off…"
"He asked us if he could come with us," Maple said gently, afraid to upset Lily, but determined to tell her the truth.
"He said that?" Lily asked, not really surprised by the information, "I see. Well, which way did he go?"
"That way," Maple directed, "he ran down the stairs."
"Oh, okay…" Lily numbly began walking past Maple and Mark, "I just want him to be happy. Maybe I'm overdoing it…" She started to trail off, speaking more to herself than to anyone else.
"That was weird…" Mark shook his head and started moving towards Kim's room, again. Maple kept staring after Lily. She felt horribly sorry for her. Lily just loved Silver too much and Silver didn't love her back. It was so sad. The poor girl. Maple hoped that she and Mark wouldn't end up like that.
The bright morning sunlight of Himitsu Island lit up the stadium as Kim led Mark and Maple in to watch the first fight. The match would be between Aurum, one of the Four, and someone else that Kim had never heard of named Abe Gerson.
She had seen Aurum in the last tournament. But he lost in the first round in a major upset, before he even fought another one of the Four. That person lost immediately after that to EdgeoftheEarth, but she could not for the life of her remember who it had been. Whoever it was would probably be back again this year.
Her own group of human Pokémon remained divided as Sprinkle prowled the beaches, Cotton kept herself timidly locked away, and Volt became even more angsty than usual. She wondered what it was that bothered him so much…something in the air. Mark's friend Lionel made it even worse, which made no sense.
Speaking of Mark, the kid had somehow designated Kim to be his personal tour guide. She couldn't complain since she had practically volunteered herself. But she liked Maple, even if Mark was just a stupid kid. Thankfully, the pamphlets that the nurse had given them had either answered all of his questions or convinced him to stop asking.
He might not have noticed it, but he was a lot more like Maple than what he realized. Both of them had an endless fascination for anything new and, in their own way, they each examined it, prodded at it and played with it like a kitten. The only difference was which world each came from. They were a girl from the world of Pokémon learning about humans and a human boy learning about Pokémon. They were a fascinating and often frustrating couple.
"Over here!" Maple hopped up and down from a location in the exact center of the western half of the stands. From there, they would be able to easily see the entire field and have an excellent view of the battle.
"Not bad," Kim complimented as she and Mark settled into their seats on opposite sides of Maple, "the match should start in another fifteen minutes or so."
The stadium quickly filled with humans and human Pokémon alike. Looking over the crowd, Kim thought it was a fair guess that almost every person at the tournament had turned out for it. That was what happened when one of the Four took to the field. They were in a class of their own and to see one fight was always a rare and wonderful experience.
Maple could barely sit still as they waited. In fact, Mark and Kim both had to scold her at least three times apiece to get her to sit back down and stop bothering everyone else. Kim felt like a babysitter looking after an over-thinking nerd and a toddler with energy to spare. Finally, when she could take no more, the combatants entered the stadium
A grizzled middle-aged man entered to their right. Not even glancing at the crowd, he walked calmly to the center of the field, where he would shake hands with his opponent before beginning. The crowd began to murmur in a low rumble as the onlookers wondered what kind of fighter this mystery man could be. No one knew who he was, but he obviously must possess a good deal of experience to be able to enter the stadium without a single glance at his audience.
A moment later, a hunched old man in a straw hat emerged from the opposite end of the stadium. After taking a few steps he paused, confused by the tumultuous roar that erupted once he was recognized as Aurum. He shook his head in exasperation then briefly waved, causing the crowd to cheer even louder. Kim had to peer a bit closer to realize that under his left arm, he was carrying a battered lawn chair.
Maple shot up onto her bare feet when she saw the old man. After a second of careful consideration she began bouncing up and down and waving her tail excitedly. Earlier she would've been told not to do so immediately, but with the entire crowd cheering just as excitedly, she fit right in.
"What, what is it?" Mark asked, shouting to be heard over top of the crowd.
"That's the old man from the boat!" Maple explained, smiling down at Mark, "I can't believe it! This is gonna be so great!"
Mark was a bit doubtful about how great the match was going to be. But, he didn't come just for his own enjoyment. He needed to study his competition. It was odd that he had now crossed paths with two of the Four, the toughest competitors in the tournament. He had seen Aurum and RiverofTears, who was left? More importantly, what kind of trainers were they? He would need to know if he wanted to have any chance against them.
Down on the open, grass field, the two oldest fighters in the tournament met in the center for the opening handshake. Abe scowled at the old man thinking that it was his lucky day that he'd be able to fight him right away and get this over with. After all, Aurum was the reason he was here.
"Hello," Aurum said, half-awake, "most people call me Aurum, I'm-"
"I know who you are," Abe snapped.
"That's nice," Aurum said, rubbing his eyes with his one free hand. After another few seconds of silence, he wondered what the expression on his opponent's face was supposed to mean, "should I know you?"
"Senile, already?" Abe mocked, "yes, you should know me. I challenged you at the last tournament."
"That happens," Aurum responded dryly, his patience running thin. Soon it would be up and he wouldn't give this nobody the time of day.
"I challenged you so that you would teach me and my Pokémon to fight like yours," Abe gritted his teeth, "you refused because I couldn't defeat even one of your Pokémon."
"So what?" Aurum responded, "Lots of amateurs come to me to beg to be trained. Just because I'm old, it doesn't mean I'm looking for apprentices."
"You miserable old fool…" Abe clenched his hands into fists, fighting back his frustration at the half-awake old man.
"Look, can we get this over with already?" Aurum's patience ran out, "I have fishing to do. Even if I hate it." Aurum extended his wrinkled and bony right hand. It was a hand that had thrown a Pokéball countless times.
"Fine, then," Abe shook Aurum's hand roughly, "I don't even need you. I'll show you how far me and both of my human Pokémon have come."
"You have two?" Aurum asked, his interest piqued.
"Yes, what of it?" Abe snapped back.
"Well, I'll make you a deal," Aurum grinned, "you said we fought before, then let's just have a rematch. Use two of yours to defeat one of mine and maybe I'll think about training you."
"A gambler, huh?" finally Aurum was speaking Abe's language, "alright, then. You're on." Smiling, both men parted ways towards their respective sides of the stadium. Aurum to the green platform, Abe to the red.
Aurum opted to have his platform lower and then raise him up the necessary five meters above the ground. He probably could have climbed the ladder, at least he hoped he could, but why go to all that trouble?
Unfolding his fishing chair, he sat down and peered at the man across the field from him. He did remember the man, vaguely. More importantly, he remembered what his human Pokémon were. Sighing, he realized that this match wasn't going to be worth his time.
He leaned back and lowered his hat over his eyes, intent on taking a nap. He tossed out a Pokéball and heard the familiar popping sound as Katana took to the field.
The human Weavile stretched her arms and slowly breathed in the sweet, intoxicating scent of a battlefield. She wore a one-piece black dress that cut off an inch above the knee with a dark red collar and a sash around her waist. There was a dark red crown on top of her short, black hair. She also wore white gloves and black knee-high boots. She peered out at the world with bloodlust shining in her red eyes.
"Wow…" Katana breathed, smiling, "wow…it's good to be back. Oh, master, you have no idea how good it feels to just stand here."
"Don't get your hopes up too much," Aurum grumbled, "you're fighting an amateur."
"Dammit…really?" Katana asked, hoping that her trainer was lying.
"Sorry," Aurum sighed, "wake me when it's over."
"If you insist," Katana shrugged, "goodnight, master."
Aurum leaned back and folded his arms across his lap as Katana turned back to her opponent. In a flash of light, a human Tauros appeared across the field from her. It bellowed out at her like an actual Tauros. Katana half expected him to start pawing the ground, preparing to charge, but it didn't happen.
"Nice to see you, too," Katana taunted, "lovely weather for a bloodbath, today. I assume you'd like me to cut you above the belt, right?"
"SHUT UP!" he yelled.
"Geez," Katana shook her head, "touchy, touchy. Whatever, let's just do this."
"Welcome one and all to the first match of the Third Annual Human Pokemon Tournament, the Evolution Cup!" an over-excited, male announcer's voice boomed throughout the stadium.
"Crap, I forgot," Katana mumbled, "stupid tournament regulations…guess I'd better wait before ripping this guy's heart out."
"This match is between one Abe Gerson and Aurum, the Golden Trainer!" the announcer continued, "each trainer is permitted to use a total of six Pokémon! And it looks like Aurum has begun with a human Weavile while Abe has selected a human Tauros!"
"No shit," Katana tapped her foot impatiently, "can we start already?" Across from her, the human Tauros looked like it was going to explode if he didn't get to fight soon. His face was bright red and the veins on his neck were popping out.
"Let the match begin!" the human Tauros was off even before the announcer had finished, barreling down towards Katana with the force of a freight train. Katana watched his movements, shaking her head at his clumsy footwork.
"Stampede, show no mercy!" his trainer yelled out, "Double-Edge!"
They were only three meters apart when the human Tauros shot forward, directly at Katana. But when he reached the spot where he should've hit his mark, his target was no longer there.
"Slow," Katana sighed, materializing behind Stampede. Flicking her wrist, her fingers were replaced with the razor-sharp claws of a Weavile. She slashed down her opponent's back leaving a black trail that resembled smoke wherever it touched. It wasn't enough damage to draw blood, but the sensation of her claws digging into an opponent was always a delightful one. A moment later, she flexed her hand again and the claws reverted back into fingers.
"AMAZING!" the announcer screamed, making Katana wince with annoyance, "Aurum's Weavile easily dodges the attack and counters with a Night Slash!"
"What the hell happened?" Stampede growled as he reeled from the pain. He had missed and been attacked in the span of just a split second. How could she move that fast? Weavile were naturally fast and agile, but speed like that was unreal.
"That was sad," Katana hung her head, "if that's the best you've got then you should just go home and stop wasting my time."
"Try something else," Abe called, just as confused as Stampede, "Rock Tomb!" Stampede growled as he lifted a boulder the size of his chest out of the ground before him.
"That's even worse," Katana groaned. She bounded backwards to put a dozen or so meters between them. She ducked under the first boulder with time to spare and rolled under the second as if he were throwing a Frisbee instead of a boulder the size of a medicine ball. Each attack left gaping holes in the ground and the boulders shattered harmlessly behind Katana as she practiced dodging as a warm-up for the rest of the tournament.
"Stampede switches strategies, and has begun raining boulders down at Katana," the announcer explained to the roaring crowd as they cheered for Katana, "how long will she be able to keep this up?"
After the fourth boulder clumsily flew off to her left, Katana had had enough, and she flicked her wrist and made three dagger-like icicles form in her hand. She threw them like knives directly at Stampede. The attack was perfectly on target, driving into Stampede's bicep and drawing a satisfying trickle of blood before shattering and vanishing. Reeling in pain, Stampede dropped the boulder he had been holding at his feet.
"Incredible! An Ice Shard cripples Stampede!" Katana just wanted the man to shut up so she could enjoy this.
Abe couldn't understand it. It was exactly the same as before. No matter what he did, none of his human Pokémon could even land a blow on Aurum's specially trained allies. The old man hadn't even issued orders and was just sleeping over on his platform. Abe couldn't even defeat one, and the man still had five more like this? How could it be possible? Was he really nothing but an amateur compared to Aurum? How could such a thing even be true?
"Stampede!" Abe roared his order, "Giga Impact! Take her down, now!"
Stampede hesitated before obeying. He couldn't understand what the difference was between him and his adversary. He was fast, but she was a blur compared to him. Worse yet, her trainer had been asleep for the entire fight and hadn't given her a single order. That made it impossible for Stampede to predict her next move, which he wouldn't be able to stop even if he knew what was coming. Worse still, it meant that Katana wasn't at full power. If Aurum had been giving orders, the fight would have been over already.
She was too fast, too powerful. He was helpless against her. And staring at her grin, but still being able to see the disappointment in her eyes just made him angrier.
He had one shot to take her down. He would have to make it count. Giga Impact was the strongest attack he possessed. If he didn't beat her with it, it was over.
Stampede crouched back, bracing his legs against the ground, preparing for his last, desperate lunge.
"Go on," Katana whined, impatiently, "come at me, already."
Grinding his teeth in pure rage, Stampede rocketed forward as fast as he could possibly move. Head down, he charged forward, his horns glinting in the morning sunlight. It was the fastest he had ever moved in his entire life. But, just a split second before he would've hit Katana squarely in the chest, he saw a flash of movement from where she had just been standing.
A moment later, Stampede felt Katana's booted feet settle gently on top of his head, behind his horns. Then she pushed off and his vision was blurred by dirt and gravel coming up to meet him. She had re-directed his Giga Impact to aim directly at the solid ground beneath his feet. Grinding to a halt through the dirt and gravel, Stampede could do nothing more than lie on the ground in pain, coughing against the dirt. His body had left a shallow, three-meter long trench in the ground.
Katana lazily turned around to look at her handiwork. It was a bit bigger than she had expected. Apparently the human Tauros had come at her with enough force to potentially deal her quite a bit of pain. Still, he hadn't been anywhere near fast enough to land a hit and that was just pathetic. She hadn't come back to fight weaklings like this. Where were PureBlueSky and EdgeoftheEarth when you needed them?
Groaning, Stampede managed to stagger to his feet. Every bone in his body ached. He hadn't been this hurt in months, even years. And yet, it wasn't over. Until he heard his opponent walk up behind him.
"Hi," Katana whispered, "I think I've had enough."
Whether she waited for him to turn around, or if he simply moved that fast, Stampede couldn't say. But when Katana brought her clawed hand down across his chest, it seemed to be moving in slow motion. The pain was somehow very faint, but blood sprayed everywhere, mingling with the darkness generated by the Night Slash. He never forgot the look of sheer boredom in Katana's eyes.
AN: at last, the start of the first tournament fight and my first serious fight scene! it turned out pretty well, better than i expected, actually.
a few quick notes on mechanics:
1.) the bleeding system reflects the color-code on the health bar in the game. little or no visible wounds would be in the green. minor wounds and some bleeding would be yellow. and finally, severe injury (though still not life-threatening) would be in the red. fainting and unconsciousness are still the same, but, like the pamphlet said, they can push themselves past that if they choose.
2.) i don't really like using the announcer, having two narrators is pretty annoying to write for. i kinda just wanted to establish that he is indeed there, i'm just going to ignore him in future matches.
thanks for reading!