Chapter 87

By the time the attendant finally told Cara she could leave the locker room, the match was a full fifteen minutes behind schedule. Technically, each competitor was allowed a twenty minute grace period before they automatically forfeited. However, Cara was willing to bet that the Four were an exception to that rule. She could be waiting in that locker room for the rest of her life and they'd still wait for RiverofTears.

Cara had never met the woman and knew very little about her. From what Alex had told her, the same was true for almost everyone on the island. She was a strong trainer in her early twenties, she was pretty, and she was the only girl member of the Four. It was more than enough to make her very popular. It didn't surprise her in the slightest, that the cheers for RiverofTears very nearly drowned out the announcement of Cara's own name.

But it didn't matter. They would recognize Serenade and the Dugtrio triplets. That was what mattered. Cara was grateful for the timing. The crowd would remember them from the night before. If she could fight a halfway decent battle against RiverofTears, it could help their publicity. The more exposure their names had, the better. Not that she'd be able to win, of course.

Cara also hadn't expected the turn-out that this match had. Even with the rain, the stands were filled with attendants, covered in plastic or huddled underneath their umbrellas. She had to remind herself that this was a four-on-six match. Regardless of her opponent, she was only down two human Pokémon. If she made the right decisions, had a little bit of luck on her side and…no, she was going to lose. She was positive of that.

Cara had never thought of herself as very pretty, or popular. However, it hardly ever bothered her. She was fine with managing and figuring out the paperwork while someone else took center stage. But when she met RiverofTears, she felt somehow…inadequate.

The young woman was very pretty, beautiful, even. She was a little bit taller than Cara and her auburn hair, though becoming wet and matted from the rain, was long and silky. She was thin, but had curves where women should have curves. She made Cara feel frumpy and awkward, with her glasses, her stubborn, dull, brown hair and…well, Cara didn't really want to think about what RiverofTears had to eat to look like that.

"Uh…nice to meet you," Cara's hand shook a bit. It was ludicrous, but she was nervous. She knew nothing at all about RiverofTears. Why should she be nervous?

"Thank you for coming," River pumped her hand twice. It was a handshake that felt like a man's. It made Cara look up in confusion.

She had been so focused on RiverofTears' physical qualities; she almost forgot to look at her face. The other young woman's expression was…cold and distant. No part of her was actually enjoying this.

"Are you okay?" Cara had to ask.

RiverofTears blinked at her.

"Uh, I'm sorry," she apologized, "let's just get started." She broke off the handshake and turned back towards her end of the stadium. Cara watched her for a little while, uncertain.

Loosen up, Rachel told herself, you're not at work. Have some fun. For Teardrop, at least. It was easier said than done, however. Did she even know how to have fun anymore?

She ran her hand over her engagement ring. He wouldn't be in the crowd. She told him not to come. This was her past, he would be her future. She wanted them separate and he respected that. He was good to her.

So why did she keep glancing towards the stands?

Alright, Sparks, Cara thought at the Pokéball containing her human Luxray, it's raining and we're fighting somebody who calls herself RiverofTears. Hope you're not too rusty.

She looked across the wet, muddy field at her opponent. Neither had anything to shield them from the rain. Neither cared. Rain, sun, snow or sand, the battle would go on.

"GO!"

Sparks cracked his neck and then his knuckles, when the flash of light around him faded. Back on the battlefield. How long had it been? Three months? Four? Too long, that's for sure. Cara might have been messing with him by sending him out first, but it hardly mattered. Hell, with the rain, he might be able to pick off some pesky water-types.

He breathed deep. Now, what was he fighting?

"A…Cincinno?" Sparks blinked as he looked at his opponent, wrapped in fancy fur that was liable to be ruined by the steady rain. He turned back to his trainer, "Cara, I thought you said this girl was strong…" A Cincinno was never anything that worried Sparks before…

"She is," Cara reminded him, "be careful."

"You're the thinker," he shrugged, "just tell me what to do."

"Ready, Cashmere?" Rachel asked her human Cincinno.

"Ready!" Cashmere chirped. It was the usual strategy. Rachel could already see the rest of the battle falling into place. She could see how she needed to move and when, always two or three steps ahead. It fell back into place easily. Her granddad had taught her well.

"Go, Sparks!" Cara ordered, "Wild Charge!"

The human Luxray began to charge forward, building up the electricity for his attack as he went. Soon, his body was giving off a faint glow as small arcs of bluish-yellow electricity coursed through him, searching for a way out. Another body to jump to.

"U-Turn," came RiverofTears' order to Cashmere.

Sparks was nearly halfway across the field when the small, slight Cincinno-girl came rushing up to meet him. Heedless of the rain and the mud, she giggled as she jumped forward. In a smooth motion, she kicked him in the chest and began darting away.

Only a little dazed from the attack, Sparks swore under his breath and began charging after the girl. He caught up quickly, eager to take down the fragile speedster in one blow.

"Got ya!" he yelled out, expecting a solid hit. But what he rammed into and began electrocuting with his built-up charge was not the Cincinno-girl he had been chasing. He stepped back, staggering a little as some of his electricity re-bounded on him. His vision blurred a little as well and he began to feel…slightly queasy.

What just happened? He thought.

"Sorry, dear," the Roserade-woman in front of him greeted, "roses have thorns, after all."

"You alright, Sparks?" Cara called down after seeing him stagger.

"'fraid not…" he groaned, "the bitch poisoned me!"

"Oh, crap…" Cara muttered.

U-Turn…she should've expected that from RiverofTears. It was a perfectly legal attack that let a Pokémon quickly attack and switch to another in one, smooth motion. A Cincinno was something that Sparks could handle easily. She had even taught him Fire Fang for opponents like the Roserade-woman. But with the rain coming down and Sparks sick with poison…she needed a new plan. Fast.

"Sludge Bomb," Rachel ordered Briar. Luxray had a lot of attack power, but it was fragile and rather slow, at that. One hit should do it. And even if she switched, a Sludge Bomb stood a good chance of doing significant damage to whatever came next.

"Serenade!" Cara called out her best as Briar formed a small glob of poison in her hands. The Jynx-woman materialized in front of Sparks just in time to shield him from the disgusting goo. It splattered across her face and chest, making her recoil in pain and disgust.

"Ewwaughh!" Serenade cried before turning to the partner she had shielded, "never say we don't care about you!"

"You don't," he smirked before fading back into his Pokéball.

Ice and psychic, River pondered her options as she looked at the Jynx-woman. There weren't many. Luminous possessed the best advantage against her, but he would take a considerable amount of damage just coming out onto the field. Worse still, he would be slower than his opponent and take a second strong hit before he could retaliate. She could call out her sixth, but…no. That one was special.

There was also a chance that Briar could come out ahead. Jynx was quick, but Roserade was known to be just as fast. It would come down to which was better trained. But River knew her human Pokémon, and knew their limits. Briar was not trained for that kind of speed.

"I'm sorry, Briar," River apologized.

"It's fine," the Roserade-woman brushed it off, "think nothing of it."

"Psychic!" Cara called out, hardly believing what was about to happen.

Serenade closed her eyes to concentrate while Briar prepared another Sludge Bomb. Cara crossed her fingers and shut her eyes, praying that when the dust settled Serenade would be the one on her feet.

Serenade's eyes opened and she extended an open palm at Briar as her Psychic attack began. Briar felt the jolt that she had felt from Astral and Farsight more times than she dared count. She knew what it meant and she did not fight against the darkness that slipped over her. She collapsed on the ground, blood trickling from her nose.

"We got one…" Cara gaped at the field as the Roserade-woman faded away, "we actually got one…holy shit, we ACTUALLY GOT ONE!" Four-on-five. They stood a chance. They had a real, honest chance now. But what would RiverofTears do next?

Think, think, think, River told herself, you used to be good at this. Come on. Think. Used to be? Was that really the truth? Was all of her talent and instinct for battling gone? No, no, it couldn't go away that easily. She just had to calm down and think.

Luminous. She had to use Luminous now.

No…wait, was that right? Jynx. She had to think about what Jynx was. What could it do? What could go wrong? Lovely Kiss! Yes, of course! Lovely Kiss was one of Jynx's signature abilities. If it was quick enough, it could easily put an opponent to sleep and attack a helpless target. And yes, it would be quicker than Luminous. But…it wouldn't be quicker than Cashmere!

"Cashmere!" River called the Cincinno-girl back out.

"Crap…" Cara swore. The Cincinno. She hated the Cincinno. It was so small and supposed to be so weak, so why was it still fighting? What to do…Serenade and Sparks were both hurt and ready to collapse. Ebony and the triplets still had the energy to keep fighting, but each could get hurt terribly if she switched. Maybe now it was her turn to lose one.

"Tail Slap," RiverofTears ordered.

"Serenade…" Cara warned.

"She's too quick, I know," Serenade nodded. Then she turned back to give her trainer a half-smile, "but what if she misses?"

Serenade kept her eyes open, concentrating on her hands as she gathered water vapor from the air. The sphere of freezing water for her Ice Beam grew larger and larger, but the Cincinno-girl was closing fast. She let the stream loose, but it was too early and her aim was terribly off. Cashmere jumped easily overtop of it.

She pounced on Serenade, as nimbly as a squirrel. Using her scarf like a whip, she struck Serenade wherever she could reach. Once in the face, once to the shoulder, twice to the chest, and one more to the face. But Serenade was falling after the third hit and didn't even feel the last two.

"Okay, okay. I expected that," Cara said aloud, "it's no big deal, no big deal. But…what now?" She drummed her fingers on the railing as she thought. She knew one thing about RiverofTears. Her strongest human Pokémon was a Milotic. But that Milotic hadn't appeared yet. So far, Cara had only seen two. Just the Roserade and the Cincinno. Even just those two had proven to be a handful. The Four really were as powerful as what they said.

But she had been careless before. The Milotic was what she needed to worry about. To take it down, she'd need Sparks. And now Sparks was hurt and couldn't take much more abuse. Would he even last against a Milotic? She had a bad feeling that he wouldn't…

Wait…was she thinking about winning again? No, she couldn't do that. She couldn't win. There was no way. But…she wanted it. She really, really wanted it. And that was what felt so confusing.

But if she wanted to win, then first she needed to take this Cincinno down. It was so fast. It was hard to counter it without getting hurt…so she needed something just as fast.

"Umm…I don't think that's legal…" Cashmere shook her head, "three against one just isn't fair…"

"Technically, they are just one," Cara explained the triplets, "…I think. Anyway, they are allowed."

"Actually, this is our first battle ever, like this," Mano, the tallest one, spoke cheerfully to his opponent.

"Yep," Duon went next, "never fought a human Pokémon battle before."

"You can be the first!" Trine finished.

"They always do that," Cara grinned, "it's weird, I know."

"We are not weird!" they said in unison.

"Whatever," Cara shrugged, "Stone Edge!"

"Bullet Seed!" RiverofTears' answered.

"WHAT?!" Cara shouted. But it was too late. The orders were in. She knew what Bullet Seed was, but she never knew that Cincinno could learn it.

The triplets each managed to find a usable chunk of rock amidst the puddles and mud that dotted the field. The three hurled their stones straight at the small, nimble Cincinno-girl. She managed to dodge the first, but the other two caught her in the ribs and on her left hip. The jagged stones ripped through her clothes and left bloody wounds as the impact made them crumble into pebbles.

Still on her feet, Cashmere tried to take aim as the triplets scattered in every direction, something a normal Dugtrio wouldn't be capable of. She spat small bursts of plant seeds out of her mouth, like an Uzi, trying to hit one or maybe all three of them. She shot five times, but in the chaos and confusion, none of her attacks managed to hit.

"This isn't fair…" Cashmere whined, shaking her head.

She tried again, but it only took one more hit from one of the triplets' Stone Edges to finish off the human Cincinno.

Three-on-four, three-on-four, Cara couldn't suppress her grin anymore. The battle was going far better than she ever dreamed it would. Just a few more and she'd have a superb shot at winning. She could do it. She could do it.

"Neat trick," RiverofTears complimented her through the speaker.

"Thanks," Cara replied, "I didn't know they could do that either."

Cara's opponent laughed at that.

Wait…laughed? Was Cara still fighting the same woman that looked so cold and unforgiving when the battle started? She had lost two human Pokémon while Cara only lost one and yet…she was having fun. Cara grinned wider.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

"A bit," RiverofTears admitted, "but I'll feel even better when I've won."

"Go ahead and try, then," Cara taunted, playfully.

"Teardrop!" RiverofTears called.

Here we go, Cara thought.

The young Milotic-woman stood poised and elegant across the field. She was as beautiful as her trainer. She looked up at the rain, as if thanking it.

"Ready, Teardrop?" River asked, behind her.

"Hmm?" She turned back. There was something different in her voice. Something she hadn't heard in far too long. River was smiling at her. "Anything for you."

Cara had to think fast. The Milotic. She needed Sparks if she wanted to beat it, but he was hurt. If she switched now, he'd go down before the fight even started. But the triplets weren't finished yet.

"Keep it up, guys!" Cara cheered them on, "Stone Edge!" As one, the three rushed forward, each holding their own bowling-ball sized sharpened stones.

"Dodge this," River smirked, "Surf."

Teardrop brought her arms up in sweeping motion. She held them straight out to her sides, palms down as water began gathering behind her. From every corner of the stadium, water seemed to be rushing towards her. It gathered all along the far-side boundary of the field. Teardrop barely flinched as the Stone Edge attacks from the triplets struck her body. She only continued holding her arms up as an enormous column of water rose up, three times her height.

The triplets stared in awe. There would be nowhere to run.

Teardrop brought her hands forward in another quick, sweeping motion and the water came crashing down. It swept across the field in a devastating tidal wave, picking up the triplets and tossing them helplessly through the surging current. The three slammed into the base of Cara's platform. All three remained there, unconscious, as the remaining water flowed around them and the platform.

Teardrop remained where she stood, smiling over her handiwork.

"How are you feeling?" she asked her trainer.

"Wonderful," River sighed, "like I'm a teenager, again."

"Good," Teardrop smiled.

AN: a caution to those in the first three rows: you will get wet :-p

ah…finally, another tournament match. This one's much more fast-paced than the others. I wanted to stay focused on Cara and River, so I dropped Mark's group entirely, but they'll probably be back next chapter.

also, it's time to start switching more often, like an actual Pokémon battle.

Anyway, I guess that's it, for right now. Still working on re-reading and editing (I didn't really do any over the weekend, to be honest…). The old AN needs to be trimmed down, too…yep, lots to do.

So, yeah, I think twice a week is a good pace. Tune in Thursday for the exciting conclusion!

Thanks for reading!