Chapter 26

The crowd that had gathered to watch the impromptu human Pokémon battle was slow to disperse after the display they had just seen.

"They say that's his only human Pokémon," somebody whispered.

"Damn, it's powerful," someone else added.

"How'd it move like that? Nobody but the Four has human Pokémon like that."

"Yeah, and what happened when it freaked out? That was weird…"

Mark wanted to scream at them to go away and leave them alone. Maple was already frightened from having involuntarily gone into the Red state. The last thing she needed was vague rumors and whispers saying that she was a freak. To be considered a freak and a monster among these people that had welcomed her with open arms just the day before…Mark couldn't imagine a worse fate.

"It's alright," Mark held her in his arms, "don't pay any attention to them. They'll leave soon."

"That was awesome!"

Mark could hardly believe it when he heard Ian's small voice pierce through the crowd. He looked over to see the boy breaking through the front ranks, Flurry close behind. He was ecstatic over the battle and he rushed up to congratulate them both.

The boy's appearance had the profound effect of making the crowd disperse. It was as if they all remembered at once why they liked Pokémon in the first place.

Maple sniffed back a tear and knelt down to talk with Ian. But before she could start, another wave of pain passed over her shoulder and she held it, shuddering.

"Here, use one of mine," Kim offered a Burn Heal formulated for human Pokémon to Mark, "it's a spray on, so, that's your job." Nodding, Mark took the bottle of liquid and knelt down with Maple. Her shoulder was badly blistered and the second-degree burns looked like they were getting worse. He squirted the salve onto her burned skin and then rubbed it in by hand. A soft coolness soaked into Maple's skin as if a gentle breeze were wafting over her. She moaned softly as the pain faded at Mark's touch. Moments later, her skin was healed and the burn was gone.

"Better?" he asked.

"Very," Maple gasped, "very much better."

"Impressive battling," Alex joined the after party, "not particularly creative, but a fun match nonetheless."

"Alex," Mark had expected him to have disappeared, but the hipster had remained behind to congratulate him.

"Are Coraline and Cascade okay?" Maple asked, worry filled her eyes.

"They'll be fine," Alex smiled. He found her concern adorable, "I gave them both Revives. We'll take a trip to the Pokémon Center, but they'll be just fine."

"Good…" Maple breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright," Alex clapped his hands together, "congratulations. That was a great match. Maybe we will see you again in a more official fight. Maybe I'll win next time. Or…maybe you'll kick my ass again."

"Guess we'll see," Mark nodded. He wondered about that. There was definitely something more to Alex than he was letting on. Mark had no idea what it was, but it had something to do with the Red state. After all, he hadn't been that surprised when Maple lost control.

Alex bid them farewell and left, walking in the direction of the Pokémon Center.

By that time, most of the crowd had dispersed. But a few individuals remained, watching the human Leafeon and her trainer.

"What d'you think, Apollo?" Cerberus, a human Houndoom asked the human Swellow on his right, his voice was a deep Doberman-like growl.

"She's still a baby," Apollo considered, "but that sure is an interesting talent."

"Do you think she's prettier than me?" Cleo, the human Persian scowled at Maple.

"Nah, baby," Cerberus shook his head, "she's cute, but she's just a little kid. She's not half the woman you are."

"You're right," Cleo straightened with pride, "I am wonderful, aren't I?"

"Whatever," Cerberus snorted, "let's go say 'hello.'" He led his two followers down to the small group of humans and human Pokémon. He took long, confident strides and grinned his jagged teeth as he walked nonchalantly up to the small group.

"How's it going, baby?" Cerberus purred at Maple, "quite a fun sight to watch you fight them girls back there."

"And just who the hell are you?" Mark snapped. The man in front of Mark was half a foot taller than him, but he was also quite a bit broader. His exposed chest was deeply muscled as were his legs and arms. He wore a long black trench coat adorned with what appeared to be pieces of bone. His burnt orange pants were similarly decorated with bones and he even wore a skull necklace and belt buckle. Dagger-like teeth, curved horns and a thin spade-tipped tail gave away his identity as a human Houndoom. In the end, Mark was a little surprised that he managed to keep all of the fear and alarm out of his voice.

"'Scuse me, but I'm talking to this lovely piece of ass, right now," Cerberus countered without batting an eye.

"Piss off," Kim joined Mark and stepped in front of Maple.

"Stand aside," the human Swellow at the Houndoom's left warned, "or we'll make you." The Swellow-man was dressed like a rich gentleman. His great wings were folded against the back of his night-blue suit coat. He wore red dress pants and a white dress shirt that had probably been stained with blood on more than one occasion, but no marks remained.

"You really want to have another fight right here and now?" Kim produced Cotton's Pokéball, hoping to bluff her way out. After all, Cotton wouldn't stand a chance against a Houndoom, Swellow, and Persian all at the same time. If the bluff failed, the best she could do was stall and hope that Volt hadn't wandered too far away.

"Hey, Cerberus," the Persian-woman spoke up, "you just said that I'd be more fun than this little school girl." She wore a black suit jacket. The white shirt she wore underneath it was tight enough to be a second skin. The mini-skirt clung to her in a similar fashion and her exposed nylon stockings classified her as a high-class woman of loose ethics. That was, if it weren't for the ears and tail of a Persian that labeled her as a human Pokémon.

"You are baby," Cerberus cooed, covering his tracks, "but I do wonder…" He craned his neck to look around Kim and peer at Maple.

"Back the hell up," Mark took a step forward, blocking the weakened Maple.

"And you'll do what to stop me?" Cerberus glared down at Mark. As emphasis, he blew a small puff of fire out of the side of his mouth.

This is bad, Mark thought. He didn't know what it would take, but he was going to protect Maple.

"Well, isn't this cute," Volt appeared and Kim glanced back in relief, "the dog, the cat and the bird all getting along. Now, that's just adorable."

"Why, Volt!" Cerberus spread his arms, "so nice to see you!"

"You know him?" Mark looked back at Volt.

"We fought them last year," Kim admitted.

"Sure did!" Cerberus chuckled, "now where's that hot piece of ass that was with you guys back then? Sprinkle? Was that her name? Great name for a hooker."

Volt stormed forward and stepped in front of Mark, not even a full inch away from Cerberus's face, "Say that again and I'll make you regret it." He grinned before continuing, "...or would you rather that she washed that smirk off your face all over again?"

Cerberus scowled down at Volt for a bit before regaining his composure, "nah, man. We don't need to get her when there's this cute little Leafeon sitting right here."

"You're gonna have to take her," Volt dared him.

"Think you can stop us all?" Cerberus grinned at the idea. As far as he saw it, all that stood between him and what he wanted was Volt. The humans didn't even count.

"I-I can fight," Maple said, getting to her feet.

"No, stay back," Volt motioned to not just Maple but to all of them.

"Now that's cute," Cerberus glanced between the two, "the mouse standing up for the…the hell are you, anyway?"

"Umm…I'm a Leafeon," Maple answered, confused.

The sound of Volt's palm smacking his forehead seemed to echo around the square.

"You'll have to fight me, too," Flurry stepped forward to add strength to the group standing between Cerberus and Maple.

"Well, this shit just keeps getting better," Cerberus cracked his knuckles.

"Hey, Cerberus," there was a warning edge in Apollo's voice as he talked down his hot-headed leader, "you better not. That's Flurry. She's one of PureBlueSky's."

Cerberus turned to stare at Flurry. Grudgingly, he growled at Volt and pointed a finger in his face, "don't think this is over."

"What's not over, Cerberus?" a new voice coming from behind Cerberus made all three of the hostile human Pokémon turn towards it.

"Boss…" Cerberus knelt down, followed swiftly by Apollo and Cleo. Standing over them was a boy just two or three years older than Mark. However, the way he stood and talked suggested that he was at least ten years older than that. He looked down at his human Pokémon with a strange mixture of pride and disgust.

"I brought you guys here to let loose," he started, shaking his head, "and you guys start to go nuts in the square? The shit?" He backhanded Cerberus across the face. The Houndoom-man undoubtedly felt little pain from the assault, but his ego was obviously scarred.

"I'm sorry, boss," he whimpered, "we won't do it, again."

"Spare me," the boy spat, "just be sure to save it for the tournament. Maybe then we can actually get farther than Round One this year."

Volt's group stared at the boy as he enacted justice on his human Pokémon to keep them in line. Mark had no idea what the hell was happening, but every single one of them seemed insane.

"Sorry 'bout that," the boy apologized, "they're just restless, is all. Tristan Kesner, by the way." He extended his hand and went down the line, skipping only Maple and Ian. His grip was iron-hard and Mark thought he was attempting to break his hand.

"Anyways, sorry for any problems they caused you," he bowed slightly, "but we should be going." As he talked, he unfolded a collapsible steel rod. Before he left, he hit each of his human Pokémon with it smartly between the shoulder blades. Then the three obediently got up and left.

"Holy crap…" Mark stared after them in disbelief, "you fought them? God, they're insane! Every single one of them! And the trainer's the worst of them all."

"Umm…Mark," Kim spoke softly, "there's something I should tell you."

"What?" Mark didn't like where this was going.

"I probably should've told you this earlier," she sighed, "well, they were kinda nuts last time, but not at all like that. They've gotten worse. A lot worse."

"O-kay," Mark began, "so, what did you need to tell me, then?"

"Mark," Kim's voice was apologetic, "that's your first opponent."

"Shit…"

Aurum was less than pleased with the results of their test. The purpose had been two-fold. First, they needed to test the Red state in a real battle. Second, he needed to make sure that Mark and Maple could take down an opponent without hesitation. They had failed both tests and nearly lost the fight because of it. Only the overdose of power granted by the Red state had saved them.

However, Aurum was far from ready to give up. They were young and they were new, there were bound to be a few bumps in the road. At the very least, it was a useful experience. Maybe next time they'd do better. That was, if they made it through their next fight at all.

So, he took them back into Palkia's Woods to start training, yet again. This time, he chose to skip fishing for the day and joined them. He fought alongside Katana while Mark supported Maple.

Aurum's experienced eyes watched Maple closely as she moved. Weaknesses were everywhere. Small cracks dotted every aspect of her offensive and defensive movements. The worst was the split second of temporary blindness that happened whenever she spun around to use Leaf Blade. It only lasted for a few moments, but Katana exploited it every time and she was getting better and better at it.

As the day wore on, Maple gradually learned to cover most of those weaknesses. Sometimes she opened up others, but Katana was always quick to point out her mistakes with a well placed Night Slash or Ice Shard. The Leafeon-girl was learning, but Aurum doubted if it was enough.

Worse than the girl's weaknesses, Aurum was bothered by her trainer more than anything. The boy didn't seem to notice even half of the weaknesses that Aurum did. He should also have been picking up on Katana's weaknesses, as well. They were few, but they were there. With proper timing and attention to detail Maple should've hit Katana at least a dozen times already, but the trainer hadn't noticed the openings the way that he should be. It was sad to watch a trainer with a powerful human Pokémon waste its talent.

Finally, in the early afternoon, Aurum had had enough. He called the boy off to the side, out of earshot of the two human Pokémon.

"You're left-handed, aren't you?" Katana asked Maple as they both watched the two humans.

"You could tell?" Maple asked.

"You favor that side," Katana explained, "try to stay balanced between the two. It might feel strange, at first, but you'll get used to it. And it'll help cover a lot of your weak spots."

"Oh, thank you," Maple nodded. She wondered how Katana had picked up on that so easily. She had noticed almost no weaknesses in any of Katana's movements. With Aurum guiding her, she was even quicker than before. Even with the Red state constantly active, Maple could barely keep up with her.

"What do you see in him, anyway?" Katana asked as she watched the two humans talking.

"What?" Maple asked, confused by the suddenness of Katana's question.

"Your trainer," Katana began, "he doesn't seem like anything that special. He doesn't seem particularly observant, or creative in how he fights. I'd say he's average at best. So, why do you care about him so much?"

Maple hung her head, her ears drooping forward. Was Katana right? She and Aurum both didn't seem to care about Mark, at all. They had nothing but criticism for him. Maple they helped and encouraged, but Mark they were disappointed in. What did their experience show them that Maple and Mark couldn't see?

"You don't know him like I do," was the only response Maple could think of.

Katana looked over at Maple. She had struck a nerve with that one. Katana had to admit, she did like Maple. She hadn't at first, but Maple was just a tiny chick dreaming about flying. A day and a half of training had toughened her up a bit and Katana was actually starting to feel genuine affection for the girl. Hell, by the end of the tournament they might actually be friends.

"Well, whatever," Katana shrugged, "I guess we'll see tomorrow just how good he is. After all, for you to win against a Swellow, Persian and Houndoom, you're going to need something extra."

"Right…" Maple hung her head again. Cerberus, Apollo and Cleo. Every one of them was dangerous and Apollo and Cerberus had a type advantage over Maple. Was she strong enough to fight all three? Thinking back to the look in Cerberus's eyes…she was scared. Could she win against an opponent like that?

Please, let Mark have a plan.

"What are you doing?" Aurum asked with disdain.

"What do you mean?" Mark didn't know how to respond to Aurum's hostility.

"You're standing back and doing nothing," Aurum snapped, "are you just going to stand back and let her get ripped apart? What's wrong with you?"

"What are you talking about?" Mark snapped back, "we're doing our best!"

"Your best isn't good enough," Aurum shook his head, "she might be ready, but you're not."

"What…?" Mark was flabbergasted.

"You're not doing your job," Aurum said, "can you not see her weaknesses? Or Katana's? Does the fight move too fast for your eyes to follow?"

"I…" but Mark didn't have a response. Aurum was right. A trainer's job was to lend support, make decisions on how to attack, and, most importantly, be the eyes of the Pokémon in the battle. A trainer watched for weaknesses and predicted how his opponent would move. There would be no point to having a trainer if he or she couldn't see that.

"You're used to watching Pokémon, I understand that," Aurum nodded, "but you need to re-learn everything you knew by heart when she was a Leafeon. And you need to do it by tomorrow."

"Right…" Mark hung his head. A lot changed the instant Maple evolved, but exactly how much, Mark hadn't realized. Perhaps he never would understand everything. But he had to try. They had already lost if he just gave up.

"What should I do?" Mark asked the Golden Trainer.

"Stay here and watch," Aurum turned back to Katana and Maple, "focus on learning. Winning comes later."

Mark sat down on the grass and did as he was told. Afternoon slowly changed into evening as he watched.

He felt powerless and useless. Maple had made massive strides in increasing her abilities, but what had he done?

He hated this. There was nothing he could do but watch Maple get slashed and stabbed and healed again. Aurum had told him not to worry about winning, but that wasn't at all evident in his training methods. Katana showed no mercy and only Maple's naturally strong defenses helped to keep her in the fight.

The two fought tirelessly. Maple could do no better than nick Katana on very rare occasions where her guard was down. On the other hand, Katana still hit Maple fairly often. What was she doing wrong?

What seemed like oddities at first gradually made more sense as Mark watched. For example, there was the slightest hesitation before Katana used Night Slash as she gathered the energy needed. It was only momentary, but it was a spot of weakness. Maple had nicked her once or twice while she did it. Other quirks became apparent, as well, like how Maple began overcompensating for her weak right side and let her guard slip up on her normally dominant left side. But Katana was less forgiving than Maple and she usually suffered dearly for her shortcomings.

It was around the fifth time Katana had ripped into Maple's side that he started to realize something. They weren't going to be ready. No matter how much Maple trained or how many more quirks Mark noticed, it wouldn't be enough to defeat three human Pokémon. Two maybe…but three was out of the question.

He had to think. What could they possibly do? Unless there was an even higher Red state, Mark doubted that there was any hope. It was just him and Maple. The two of them alone against the entire tournament. Fighting the Four was laughable.

After all that they had gone through in such a short time, would it really all be for nothing? Should they have given up a long time ago? No, they couldn't back down. And it wasn't just because Maple thought she had to fight. Mark wanted it to. Despite all of his fears he still needed to fight. They had come too far and gone through too much to just run away.

But what could he do?

Frustrated, Mark leaned back in the grass. The Pokéballs attached to his belt brushed against the ground. Looking down at them, an odd thought occurred to him.

Maybe they weren't as alone as he thought they were.

AN: so, four new characters...and they're all crazy...

i had to watch myself with Cerberus's dialog. he's vulgar alright, but he was worse when i first wrote it.

so, let's see...oh, yes. zzzp2 asked some questions that i wanted to answer for everybody. first of all, Maple might seem kinda weak because she's only been a human Pokemon for a short time. she was strong as a Leafeon, and that's carried over, but she still has some catching up to do to reach the veterans like Cascade and Coraline. the Red State gives something like a 10-level boost. it doesn't make her invincible, but it's a big help. oh, and the Blastoise-guy just sucked, plain and simple.

anyway, that's it! thanks for reading and cya next time!