Chapter 12 – Counterbalanced
"I just don't understand why he has to come with us."
"Quinn just wants to see how much stronger I've become since I left Nuvema Town, Alex.
I really don't see what's wrong with that."
"Don't expect me to chitchat with the dude."
"I expect you to be on your best behavior."
"… I wonder what makes you think I'm actually capable of good manners?"
"Just focus on the gym battle, Alex. Look, I can see the gym over there."
...
Quinn was waiting for them in front of the gym, casually leaning against one of the building's impressive pillars.
He smiled at Yena, and hugged her again, completely ignoring Alex.
"It's good to see you again. Are you nervous?"
Yena shook her head, stepping back.
"No, not so much. I'm actually looking forward to it, it'll be exciting."
She looked at Alex, redirecting Quinn's attention to her companion.
"I think both of my Pokémon have gotten quite a bit stronger since I started training with Alex."
Quinn gave Alex a quick nod, which was reluctantly returned with an even smaller one.
Yena gestured at the massive, open doors in front of them.
"Let's go inside, okay?"
...
"Ah yes, challengers! And two of them!
We haven't had any of those this week, so this will be good!"
The blue-haired gym leader Cress, dressed in the restaurant's waiter clothes, was beaming as he welcomed them.
"And I remember you!"
He happily shook Quinn's hand.
"I learned a lot from our battle. Of course you're welcome to observe your friends' battles."
He pointed at the back of the café.
"I'll give my brothers a call, and they'll open up the entrance to the battleground from the other side.
If I may ask, what Pokémon did you start out with?"
It was easy for Yena to return his enthusiastic smile.
"Thank you! And my first Pokémon is an Oshawott."
Cress nodded.
"Then you'll be facing Cilan."
He turned to Alex, who was impatiently waiting at Yena's side.
Before the gym leader could ask anything, he stated:
"I don't have an official starter Pokémon, but I'll be challenging one of you with my Zigzagoon."
Cress got out a cell phone from one of his pockets.
"That'll be fine. My other brother, Chili, is available for battling.
As much as I'd like to join you guys, to battle or observe you, I have my duties here at the restaurant."
He pushed a couple of buttons on his phone, and held it against his ear.
While he was waiting for his brothers to pick up the phone, he held out his hand.
"I'll be needing some form of identification, just to make these gym battles official, and to register the result."
Both Yena and Alex quickly got out their Pokédexes, handing it over to Cress.
The blue-haired man bowed, and walked over to the restaurant's main desk to fill out the necessary forms.
He soon got a hold of one of the other gym leaders, and after a couple of minutes, the wall in the back of the café opened up, revealing a passageway.
Cress returned the two Pokédexes to their owners, giving another bow.
"I wish you two the best of luck with your battles."
He nodded at Alex.
"You will be up first. Chili is really looking forward to a challenge."
For Yena and Quinn, he gestured at the passageway, then to the right.
"There are some stairs on the right when you pass through there. It leads to the spectators' area.
You may watch the battle from up there."
...
Alex could hear Yena cheer for him as he took his place on one side of the rocky battleground.
She was leaning over the balustrade, and waving at him.
"You'll do great, Alex!"
He hadn't felt so nervous in a while.
He clenched his fists, and relaxed them again, trying to get rid of some anxiety.
He quietly observed his opponent on the other side of the terrain.
Chili had bright red hair, that waved around like flames when he moved his head.
Alex breathed in deep, resenting battling Fire-type Pokémon, and wished he could fight Cress or Cilan instead.
In different circumstances, he would probably have objected to this outcome, and convince Yena that they should come back on a different day so he could fight one of the other gym leaders.
The presence of Quinn had stopped him. A tingle ran down his spine, and he glanced up at the spectators' area.
Dark brown curls were hanging from the sides of Quinn's face as he was looking down at Alex.
Yena and Quinn were banned to the back of his mind when Chili spoke up:
"Welcome to the Striaton City Pokémon Gym. My name is Chili, and I'll be your opponent today."
The man grinned, clearly excited about the upcoming battle.
He held out his left arm, pointing at the side of the battlefield.
Cilan, Striaton City's third gym leader, was looking back and forth between them.
"My brother Cilan will be our referee.
Don't worry, I can assure you that we're professionals, and he will strictly follow the rules set by the Pokémon League officials.
It's good to see you brought some friends along, being observed helps us to play fair."
Cilan's bright green hair was short, with the exception of some longer strands of hair standing up at the edge of his hairline.
He raised his hand, to get everyone's attention.
"This is an official gym battle between the gym leader Chili and the challenger, Alex Zenouveau.
Upon winning, the challenger will receive the Trio Badge, along with 1680 Pokédollars.
You will each use one Pokémon. The battle will be over when one of the Pokémon is unable to continue fighting, or when one of the trainers gives up.
If these rules are clear, the battle may commence!"
...
As soon as Cilan had started talking, Quinn looked at Yena.
"Alex… Zenouveau?"
Surprised by the unexpected and complicated situation, Yena glanced down at Alex, just in time to catch a glimpse of the 'I told you he'd be trouble'-look he was giving her.
Yena tried to smile at Quinn as if his words hadn't caught her off-guard.
He was studying her face closely.
"If Alex is really related to you by blood, then I'm the new champion of Unova.
What's going on, Yena?"
She should've thought about questions like these. What to reply, how to act…
Blood rushed to Yena's face.
"Alex is… my adoptive brother."
Quinn's eyebrows went up.
"Ah. So your parents adopted Alex as their son since I left Nuvema Town a couple of months ago?"
"It's…"
Yena couldn't see a way out, and felt quite threatened by his way of questioning her.
"It's… It's really complicated, Quinn. Let's not talk about this now. Alex' battle is starting."
She nodded towards the battlegrounds, where Zigzagoon had just appeared in front of Alex.
Alex was saying something to his Pokémon, but Yena couldn't quite focus on what was happening, still flustered by Quinn's questions.
She could feel how Quinn was still watching her, before he finally directed his attention to the battle taking place below.
...
"I'm counting on you to give it your best, Zigzagoon."
Zigzagoon barked once, with great determination.
The Pokémon followed Chili's Pokéball with its eyes as it flew through the air, and opened with a flash.
As Chili's Pokémon appeared on the rocky battlefield, Cilan waved with his arm again.
"Trainers and Pokémon! Get ready! The battle for the Trio Badge starts… now!"
Chili's Pokémon jumped across the battlefield, the tuft on its head wobbling as it moved.
The colors of its fur varied from bright red to yellow, clearly showing off which type of Pokémon he was.
The Pokédex in Alex' hand told him:
"Pansear, the High Temp Pokémon.
When it is angered, the temperature of its head tuft reaches 600º F.
It uses its tuft to roast berries."
Alex rolled his eyes. The Pokédex proved to be no real help.
He put the device in his pocket, while keeping a close eye on the primate-like Pokémon.
It was clearly trying to get some kind of response from Zigzagoon by jumping back and forth, maybe to find out what kind of attacks this challenger had up his sleeve.
But Zigzagoon was standing perfectly still, until he would receive his first command.
"Pay attention, Zigzagoon!"
As he had done with his battle against Professor Juniper, he brought the thumb and index finger of his right hand to his mouth, ready to direct Zigzagoon in its attacks.
This system between him and his Pokémon had been practised and perfected, and was useful in battles like this.
Chili, on the other side of the battlefield, looked confused as the first whistled notes ringed across the rocks.
He yelled a warning at Pansear when Zigzagoon immediately responded by jumping forward, its fangs clearly visible in its open mouth.
The primate made a backflip, avoiding Zigzagoon's jaws that snapped shut.
"I see. That's a clever command system you have there. I won't be able to see the attacks coming until they actually happen.
Looks like I'll have to try a little harder… Pansear! Use your Flamethrower attack!"
Alex almost forgot to breathe when Pansear fired a powerful blast of scorching flames towards his Pokémon.
He froze for a moment, staring at the fire, but the pure necessity of his commands for Zigzagoon sped up his thoughts.
Alex gasped for air, quickly producing a loud whistle, that went from high to low.
In the red light of the approaching fire, he could see Zigzagoon's paws moving fast as he dug his way into the ground.
The next moment, the fire roared across the battlefield, blocking any view he had on Zigzagoon.
Alex stared into the flames, anxiously waiting for the attack to end.
When Pansear closed his mouth, a hole in the scorched ground was revealed, in the middle of the rocky terrain.
Chili wasted no time.
"He may have dodged that move, Pansear… But show him what you can do underground!
Use your Dig attack as well!"
Pansear's hands were very suitable for digging – aside from a thumb on each hand, he didn't have any separate fingers, making his hands almost like spades.
Large amounts of dirt flew through the air as he started to make his way through the earth.
...
Yena was tightly holding onto the iron railing in front of her.
She could see how Alex hesitated in his battle against Chili, how he was thrown off by the element he was fighting.
She had personally not foreseen the possibility of the gym leader's Pokémon knowing how to dig, and judging by the pause in Alex' commands, neither had he.
There was not much to be seen on the battlefield now, except for the holes the two Pokémon had disappeared into.
The strange silence was finally broken by some whistled commands from Alex, even if they didn't sound as confident as before.
Some crumbling rocks on the ground revealed the presence of a Pokémon right below the earth's surface from time to time, but there was no indication that the two had found eachother yet.
Yena gasped as there was an sudden outburst of growling and squealing underground, clearly audible through the holes in the earth.
Immediately, four loud, short whistles rang across the field. Alex paused, then nervously proceeded to give a two-tone command.
The struggle that took place must've been intense, because the high cries that came from the holes in the ground were occassionally displaying pain.
Alex' gaze was set on the rocky earth between him and Chili, his unused hand clenched in a fist.
Chili stated:
"This has taken long enough. It's time to end this.
Pansear, smoke out that Zigzagoon to the surface by using your Flamethrower!"
A moment of silence passed, and Chili's words started to sink in.
The thought of Zigzagoon being caught in the flames underground was too much.
Panicked, and losing control of the situation, Alex forgot to whistle, and yelled instead:
"Get out of there, Zigzagoon! Now!"
On the left of the battlefield, near Cilan, the ground began to crumble.
The second Zigzagoon came flying out of the ground, the inside of the holes were filled with a bright orange light, and a moment later, three pillars of fire rose up from the ground.
Zigzagoon landed on the ground with an inelegant thud, looking quite ragged.
He seemed to be missing some hair from its tail.
The Pokémon shook its body, getting rid of dirt on its coat.
Then there was silence.
With a shock, Alex found himself in the same situation as he had placed Professor Juniper in, a couple of weeks ago.
Pansear was nowhere to be seen or heard, so there was no telling where the Fire-Pokémon might pop up.
"Just… keep your eyes and ears open, Zigzagoon."
Chili seemed to recognise Alex' nervousness, and prolonged the tension by waiting to give his next command.
After a moment, he yelled across the battlefield:
"Pansear! Give it your best shot! Come out of the ground using your Flamethrower!"
Alex' mind was racing – what to do?
Another Dig attack?
…No. That would result in the same situation all over again.
Plus, Zigzagoon was weakened, and Pansear might still be perfectly fine.
The ground started to shake, announcing Pansear's attack.
Alex stared at his Pokémon on the battlefield, awaiting his command, and felt his mind go blank.
What to do? What to do? What to-…
"Get yourself together already!"
Quinn's loud voice hit him like an arrow.
In a reflex, Alex' index finger and thumb were back near his mouth.
When the ground finally opened, and a beam of fire shot out of it, Zigzagoon was already on the move, directed by a series of tones.
Pansear's Flamethrower attack never hit its target, and when the Fire Pokémon appeared from the scarred ground, Alex could clearly see the damage Zigzagoon had done to Pansear earlier. Alex' Pokémon had obviously been on the upper hand under the ground, biting his opponent wherever he could. The biting marks were bleeding badly, and Chili's Pokémon was in pain.
The red-haired gym leader saw this as well.
"Hang on, Pansear. Try another Flamethro-…"
There was no mercy from Alex. Before even giving Chili the chance to tell Pansear what to do, Zigzagoon had tackled the Fire Pokémon.
Pansear responded to this on its own, screeching and biting.
Growling and wrestling, the Pokémon rolled around for a while, until Zigzagoon got a hold of Pansear's throat.
Whenever its opponent would struggle now, Zigzagoon tightened its grip on him.
Soon, Pansear lay perfectly still, not wanting to suffocate.
Alex looked at the green-haired referee on the side of the battlefield, the adrenaline still rushing through his body.
Cilan saw his glance, studied the situation again, and nodded. His right hand went up, in Alex' direction.
"Pansear is unable to continue this fight! I hereby declare Alex Zenouveau to be the winner of this battle!
He has officially earned the Trio Badge, along with 1680 Pokédollars. Congratulations!"
...
Loudly cheering, Yena prepared to leave the spectators' area, both to congratulate Alex and to take her place on one side of the battlefield.
Yet she was stopped by Quinn, who lightly grabbed her arm.
"Yena, please listen… Is that guy dragging you into trouble?
I know the way to Castelia City as well, why don't you let me be your guide?
There's something about him that's just… off.
And I'm not even talking about him suddenly being related to you…"
Yena shook him off, feeling somewhat irritated.
"That's very considerate of you, Quinn, to worry about me like that.
But I'm going to have my gym battle now, so if you'll excuse me…"
She hurried down the stairs, leaving him alone in the spectator's area.