Satori in Kalos
Chapter 14
Fairy 2
Satori decided Valerie's advice was worth taking and planned on challenging some of the normal gym people before going after Valerie herself. A few days had gone by since their conversation, and she had let Calem know what Valerie had said. He was grateful for the advice and both of them decided they would spend a bit of time in Laverre Town.
Currently, Satori was standing in front of Valerie's gym. From the outside it looked like a dollhouse. Satori had been a bit embarrassed at Valerie's disappointment in her appearance and tried to clean herself up some, washing her clothes (which were really Reisen's old clothes), doing her hair and trying to cover up some blemishes.
She was briefly reminded of her time in Cyllage where the fashionista had done wonders with so little. The hair clip was long gone though, Satori had lost it at some point. It was sad that she couldn't remember when or where.
Once she was presentable enough she made her way to the gym. She wouldn't be challenging Valerie today, just some of the lower level people in the gym. Satori was always curious who they were in the other gyms she had visited—she never interacted with any of them before.
Rin had decided to come along but Calem was off doing something else. Satori put him out of her mind and focused on her task at hand. Not counting Yveltal, she had four pokemon at her disposal. She was close with them, but if Valerie wasn't just trying to spook Satori, that wouldn't be enough. Satori wasn't sure what to expect.
With a shrug, she pushed open the front door to the gym. They didn't get more than five steps in before they stopped in shock at what was inside.
At least it isn't another damn tower...
What they were looking at could only be described as "half a building." There was an open, almost warehouse-like area in the front half of the gym with stands for an audience. The other half showed a cross section of various rooms, just like a dollhouse. Five rooms long and five rooms tall, each large enough to house a pokemon battle.
Satori spotted Valerie in the center room. She considered going to say hi, but she couldn't figure out exactly how. The ladders and stairs were not well-marked. A portly fellow near the entrance explained that this was intentional and the trick was figuring out what rooms connected to what other rooms.
Satori and Rin shrugged and went up the left staircase. It led to a green-themed room made up to look a bit like the surrounding forest, with a green couch and wooden table. Sitting on the couch was a familiar face.
"Daiyousei?"
Daiyousei looked up at her visitors. "Ah, S-Satori. Why are you here...?"
"To train. I think the real question is what are you doing here. And where's Cirno?"
Daiyousei blushed. "I, er...work for the gym. Valerie increased my hours because of our adventure the other day..."
"I didn't know you were a trainer," Satori said. "You don't seem the type." Daiyousei didn't say anything in response, but Satori could tell it was something she felt bad about. "Since you work here, you must be pretty good though, right?"
"Ah, well, I'm not terrible..." Daiyousei twirled her fingers nervously. "I, uh, I have seven badges..."
"Seven?" Satori didn't quite believe it. But Daiyousei's ability spoke for itself, and when they pulled out their rosters and did battle Satori was completely and utterly destroyed.
She would have liked to say it was because Absol was injured and wasn't at her full fighting strength, or that she was rusty, but that wasn't it at all. Satori was just not as good as Daiyousei.
Daiyousei had a roster of four fairy types, but that was where the similarities between her pokemon ended. Satori scanned all of them with her pokedex, all of them fairy types of some kind, but their moves were anything but. In fact, it was as if Daiyousei completely ignored the typical type association and taught her pokemon the most unlikely things they could feasibly learn.
"Ahh...what you're focused on," Daiyousei explained after Satori's second loss, "is called stab." Satori tilted her head. "Same Type Attack Bonus. S-T-A-B. It's that Pokemon are good at...you know, using moves the same type as them. Like, your Pikachu…" Daiyousei fumbled her words a bit. "He's good at thunderbolt, but wouldn't be so good at something like rock smash."
Satori nodded. "Intuitive." Daiyousei wasn't too good at explaining, but Satori could grasp the meaning from her thoughts. Daiyousei knew what she wanted to convey, but only had difficulty in forming the words.
"R-Right. But people get hung up on that…" Daiyousei trotted over and picked up her Sylveon in her arms. "So by teaching Sylvey stuff like bite and dig, I can get an edge over opponents who expect fairy moves."
"Okay." Satori thought for a moment. She had done something like that once. She taught an ice move to Absol to win the second gym battle, but hadn't needed to since.
What Daiyousei brought to the table was versatility. An ability to adapt to whatever an opponent may throw at you. Between Delphox, Pikachu, Absol and Wobbuffet, there wasn't so much of that. Absol was strong against most things, type didn't come into play often, but Delphox and Pikachu were one-type-only for the most part.
And Satori still wasn't sure how to use Wobbuffet.
Rin finally spoke up after Satori and Daiyousei started talking about the blue punching-bag pokemon. "It's just a guessing game, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you said it had four moves." Rin listed them off her fingers. "One deflects fighting, one deflects special attacks, one defends against poisons and the like, and the last is a double suicide. So, you either guess your opponent will punch you, blast you, poison you or kill you."
"T-That's actually a...good way of putting it…"
A guessing game. Satori was very good at those. But Daiyousei's advice to Satori was not so feasible. It basically boiled down to teaching her pokemon something unexpected to mix up the game and add versatility. Although it was fine to try to target Valerie's specific weaknesses, it would be better to come up with a more general moveset for her pokemon good in any situation.
The problem with this was that to do that Satori would need TMs, which would require money. Her account was nearly empty, and she didn't dare reach into the savings for upkeeping her house. She had "donated" most of her cash to Cirno's gang before Yveltal attacked, and he had destroyed most of Satori's other belongings in his rampage.
"S-Sorry…" Daiyousei said quietly after Satori explained the infeasibility of her suggestion. The conversation died there, so Satori and Rin decided to bid Daiyousei farewell. Instead of leaving the gym though, Satori tried to head over to Valerie's room.
Tried is the accurate word because for the life of her Satori couldn't figure out the pattern to the ladders, and Rin's frustration became quite vocal after a number of iterations. Eventually Satori resorted to asking the other residents of the rooms, none of which directly answered her inquiries (although their thoughts betrayed them). But most challenged her to a battle.
Daiyousei had been nice enough not to take Satori's pitiful remaining funds and just battle for fun, but the other girls in the gym were not so kind. Satori won once and lost several more times than that, and was even further away from being able to afford TMs let alone clothes.
Eventually she reached Valerie's room, which was not done like a typical bedroom of a house, but was very much a stage for battles. She herself was radiant.
"Oh, I was not expecting to see you again so soon my little flower," Valerie said. "And you have brought an acquaintance. To whom may I owe the pleasure?"
"This is Orin, Miss Valerie." Satori said. "I wanted to ask for your help."
"My, so you are not here to challenge me to a battle then?" Satori shook her head violently at Valerie's response. "I'm glad, I was afraid you were as foolish as those you associate with."
Satori blushed. "Speaking of them, training with Daiyousei made me realize I'm not so up to par for the big leagues."
Valerie nodded. "It is shameful that one as talented as her had fallen in with one so pitifully imbecilic and arrogant as Cirno. Daiyousei could have the potential to challenge the elite four, in my humble opinion, if she would take her training more seriously. Her intellect is above most."
"Daiyousei's lessons had a pre-requesite of being well funded." Satori lowered her head. "I have no money, so, uh..."
It was hard for Satori to get the next words out. Interacting with other people was something difficult for her, the chief reason being her ability. If too many people were around it was, quite literally, painful for her.
But the sad truth was that Satori would need money. Winning bets on pokemon battles was supposed to sustain a trainer well enough to continue on their journey all the way to the Elite Four, but Yveltal had caused some unforeseen expenses. And getting a job to fund what is supposed to be a journey seemed a bit wrong.
Calem would agree on that point, should Satori bring it up. But what this meant is that Satori needed an influx of cash, and Valerie had given her a way to do so. But she would have to do something very difficult. She would have to jump into the deep end.
"Can you tell me more about that talk show idea?"
Valerie's face brightened instantly. "I would love to. Would you let me be make a project out of you and be your manager? Image is of vital importance, especially for legendary trainers such as yourself who wield prowess that entire nations fear. Portraying you as safe is our goal, but there is room for so much more than that, if would let me dress you as a doll and dance you as a puppet."
Satori took a deep breath. "Please do so."
And with that, Valerie clapped her hands and dragged Satori out of the gym, disregarding any potential challengers that day. They went straight to the boutique, with Rin following, and Satori was forced to let Valerie force a countless number of outfits on her. Satori gave Rin the opportunity to leave in case she was getting bored.
Rin, however, did not take it. She was too busy laughing.
The following weeks went much like this, Satori training with Daiyousei or others in the gym in the morning, and then Valerie dragging her away mid-afternoon once her mandatory number of challengers were exhausted to dress her and talk about her "image."
Valerie pointed to a number of options Satori could pursue. Her legendary pokemon was Yveltal, widely known as a beast of destruction and clearly falls into the "evil" category from that. So, the natural inclination was to paint Satori as the one who tamed the beast. A sweet Satori who was nice and lovable enough to calm even Yveltal's heart.
Satori snorted at that, and Valerie agreed it didn't quite suit her. The next option was similar, to draw Satori as someone who defeated the beast, and subjugated it to her will. This would make her seem stronger in the eyes of the public. Satori liked that impression better, but could not help but think Yveltal would be deeply offended by it. Especially considering the truth.
So that had to be vetoed. But Valerie was rich with ideas, and they found an idea that rung well before Satori's Monday morning interview. The date was decided well in advance to give the news agency enough time to advertise no doubt, and by the time the day rolled around the entirety of Kalos would be tuning in.
It ended up raining. Satori wasn't sure how to feel about that, but neither Valerie nor the reporter seemed to mind. The reporter was an odd one, an energetic woman who had black, feathery wings. They looked real enough, but Satori couldn't tell. They were similar to Utsuho's though so Satori suspected this reporter was actually youkai.
"Ho ho, Valerie, can't thank ya enough for this exclusive." The reporter, Shameimaru Aya, gave an informal salute with a large smile on her face. "Wait till I throw the legendary trainer of Kalos in Hatate's fat cow face."
Valerie nodded. "I would appreciate you going easy on little Satori, Aya. This is a delicate matter for the entire region."
Aya smiled and turned away to set up the stage. She and Satori would sit across from each other at an outdoor cafe table. It would now be under an umbrella thanks to the rain, and several cameras were set up around the table similarly covered.
Valerie gave Satori a reassuring pat on the shoulder and helped her into her seat. Satori wore a deep violet coat and light scarf with a knee-length skirt, but sitting down the skirt wasn't very visible. Intended, of course, although Satori wasn't told most of the camera details. She figured them out anyways.
Another thing she figured out, but wasn't supposed to know. Aya was going to surprise her with a video. Satori couldn't figure out what was on it but she tried to prepare herself.
"Alright everyone, welcome to Bunbunmaru News!" Aya addressed the camera. "Today we will be interviewing the one and only Komeiji Satori, the legendary trainer of Yveltal."
Satori gave a little wave and smile.
"I'm sure I don't need to remind you fine folks who she or Yveltal are." Aya was very wild with her hand movements, and she held a microphone in her hand despite she and Satori both having mics clipped to their clothes. "So let's find out more about our little savior." Aya leaned over the table. "Soo, Satori Satori, how do you respond to the rumors that you and your friend Calem are a bit more than friends, hmmm?"
Silence.
"W-Wait, what..?" Satori's cheeks went beet red. "W-What kind of question is that?" Satori didn't even see that one coming, Aya must not have even put any forethought into asking it.
"Oh ho ho, changing the subject?" Aya laughed. "So you and he are an item then?"
"N-No! We're not!" Satori shook her head and her hair fell in front of her face. "We're just friends…"
"Hmmmmmmmmm, is that so?" Aya didn't look convinced, very intentionally. "Bahaha, well, I guess I'll move on to these other questions." Aya waved a bunch of cards. "Lots of viewers wrote in and gave us some ideas of what to ask."
Satori nodded more energetically than she should have. Aya shifted through the cards a bit, and rather inelegantly tossed a few onto the ground before finding one that appealed to her.
"Okay, Satori, let's start with the question that's on everyone's mind. How?" Satori had a feeling Aya didn't actually read what was actually on the cards, but the question was at least expected.
"Well, during the attack on Lumiose Yveltal sort of...spoke to me. Not in a good way."
"Oh? In what way, then?"
"He was intent on killing specifically me. Some of the police can back that one up, if they're...if they survived. Everyone referred to Yveltal as some sort of natural disaster, like a hurricane or tornado or blizzard. But he's not, he's a pokemon. There's reason behind his behavior, like all pokemon."
"Reason, you say…" Aya didn't seem perturbed by Satori's grim recollection. "I do think a number of people would disagree with you there. What reason is there to cause such destruction?"
"Same thing that drives everyone," Satori said. "Fear. Yveltal has far too much power for its own good, but his mind is not particularly special compared to ours."
"So why'd he want to kill you, specifically, Satori?"
"Uhh," Satori hesitated. She didn't really know the answer to that, but it wouldn't be good to say it out loud. "I guess he just found me irresistible?"
Aya snorted and covered her mouth. Valerie had told Satori to make a joke when in doubt. "Uh oh," Aya said, "Am I sensing a love triangle in the making? Better let Calem know the name of his rival!"
"Gahh…" Satori couldn't properly respond to that one.
Pretending to sift through a few more viewer question cards, Aya stopped on one but her gaze never really left Satori. "Okay okay, next question, can you control Yveltal. No offense, Satori, but you only have four badges right? And you've been here in Laverre a few weeks and haven't challenged Valerie yet. Scared?"
"Ahh, Valerie is supposed to be notoriously difficult," Satori said. "Or, er, I guess just the fifth badge is. But that's her."
"Yeah, that Valerie sure is a scary one isn't she?" Aya snickered. Satori shot a glance over at Valerie who was watching behind the cameras. She wore a smile that inspired more fear than comfort.
"But, Yveltal is safe with me." Satori made sure to say that line clearly. "Absolutely. I understand him, and we have a partnership now. He won't go on a rampage again." It was shameful that Satori didn't believe her words as strongly as she implied she did. She had no doubt that Yveltal would go right on back to causing mass destruction of Satori showed herself not worthy.
"A...partnership, you say…" Aya grinned maliciously. "I can see the headlines now: Pokemon Love, is it really so wrong? A girl can love a Pikachu as much as any—"
"N-N-Not that kind of partnership!" Satori exclaimed, her face beet red again. "W-We aren't—that's disgusting!"
Aya burst out laughing, and the interview continued in much the same manner. Valerie had planned on having Satori's image be a bit more reserved, mysterious, but strong. Aya utterly destroyed that, but Satori got the impression that Valerie also intended for Aya's influence, however unpredictable that may be.
She hoped.
Finally, Aya smiled a strange grin. "Well, Satori, we actually have something a bit special planned." Satori didn't respond. "You see, despite the blackout there were still plenty cameras operating in Lumiose. One of our viewers caught something a bit interesting and sent it in."
"Is that so?" Satori didn't like where this was going.
"Yup. And we're going to play it now." Aya directed Satori's view to a monitor that was set up nearby. The picture was black and white, cut in and out and had no audio. But Satori recognized it. Of course she did.
Yveltal had her pinned down in the middle of the street, forcing her to desperately gasp for air. Satori looked so small and weak compared to it, like a doll. A doll covered in blood. And one of her arms was bent the wrong way.
Her mouth was moving, though it was clear she was struggling to breathe. But she was definitely talking. Pleading. Yveltal's massive form loomed over her, its head waving back and fourth.
Satori's body quickly gave, and she fell limp. Unconscious. But Yveltal just stood there, hovering over her. Delphox and Pikachu were nearby, as still as statues.
Yveltal brought its head in close to Satori, and rubbed its nose against her forehead before turning its attention away from her. Towards her Pokemon.
Delphox and Pikachu, who hadn't dared move, stepped forward. Just one step each, they didn't even get close. But the gesture must have meant something, because Yveltal brought his talon off of Satori's body.
Satori's things were flung all over the street. Yveltal turned its attention towards Satori's ultra ball before glowing white. The ball activated on its own accord, and Yveltal was sucked into it.
Aya cut the video off after that. Satori had read her pokemon's thoughts and memories of that moment, but that couldn't compare to seeing it on video. To really seeing it happen.
"So, what did..." Aya started before trailing off. "Oh, I'm so sorry, was that—"
"N-No, it's..." Satori wiped a tear from her eye. "I just didn't, ah—"
"It's fine, it's fine. Just take your time." Aya smiled. "I'm real curious though, because to me it looks like you told Yveltal something and passed out, which it surely took to heart."
Satori took that moment Aya let her take before answering.
"I told him I had to save him."
"And—"
"No."
Aya was taken aback. "What?"
"I'm not being more detailed than that."
Aya coughed, and quickly continued the interview. Over the next few minutes she brought it back into playful lightheartedness and then wrapped it up. She was positively beaming by the end of it, clearly very much enjoying how it went.
"Satori, girl, your reactions are great."
Satori couldn't quite take that as a compliment, considering the reactions in question were her embarrassment at being accused of sleeping with Yveltal and then stubbornly refusing to elaborate on its capture.
Any ill feelings Satori may have harbored evaporated once she got her check though. 750,000P. It was a crazy amount of money for her, and it was hers. Her house and upkeep expenses were taken care of automatically and she couldn't really dip into it, but this new sum was hers to do literally anything she wanted with. It was a liberating feeling.
And all she had to do was talk.
Still, all the money in the world wouldn't make her a pokemon master. Satori worked with Daiyousei to build her team's move sets, which bolstered her confidence greatly. Then it was shattered completely when she faced Valerie and was crushed. But Satori knew what she had done wrong, made changes, planned, and was ready to face her again just as the first winter snow started to fall.
"You're looking well, dear." Valerie said as Satori walked into her gym room. Her friends were watching in the stands. "Not to add to your pressure, but if you do not manage to defeat me you will be forced to wait one month before challenging me again. At that point, many trainers give up. Walk away from the path of the pokemon master."
Satori narrowed her gaze and prepared to face her opponent. Her opening was to pit Delphox against her Mawile, relying on fire being strong against steel. Of course, it wasn't nearly as effective as Satori would have wished.
"Ho ho, fire may beat steel, but dark can beat psychic. Pokemon often have multiple types, do not ignore them." Valerie smiled.
Satori tried to fool Valerie's next pokemon, Mr. Mime, with her own Wobbuffet. She got a solid rebound hit in, but Valerie was smart enough to be able to counter against a Wobbuffet. Absol cleaned up with some good old-fashioned physical violence though, making Valerie and Satori tied each with one Pokemon left.
Pikachu against Sylveon, a game of cat and mouse, almost.
"Sylveon, use dig." Valerie said.
Pikachu did his best to dodge, but Sylveon was just too good. Satori's assistance kept Pikachu in the game far longer than he would have been able to otherwise, able to predict when Sylveon would surface.
But it only took a few good hits with something Pikachu is weak against to knock him down.
She lost. Again.