Chapter 9

Rise of the Mayto

Ella was having the time of her life. In only a handful of weeks, she'd made almost 10,000 dollars. With only an electric bill to pay for the warehouse, this entire ordeal was paying for itself exponentially. And letting Ella have the thrill of combat was icing on the cake.

Of course, there was a scare only a week ago. Officer Jenny had arrived at her doorstep with a search warrant, and right in the middle of the night's events.

Sadly, there wasn't anything that Ella could do against a warrant. But she'd thought of this. Bruce and Lloyd had outdone themselves with their latest invention, a Mass Teleporter. In only seconds, the entire crowd was moved several miles outside the city. When Jenny was shown inside, there was nothing but an empty room.

Now Ella had to hold regular training there, but it was a minor fix to a big problem that worked perfectly. And with her scouts equipped with Telepathic Enhancers, it would be nearly impossible for any cops to discover this place unless they were directly told.

Ella grinned smugly to herself. She'd never imagined that this could all go so perfectly. Even her first experiences dimmed compared to this. She was the ringleader, the master.

She stepped aside as the previous combatant was carried out and then walked up the stairs. This simple act threw the crowd into a frenzy. After the first night, she never took the stage as announcer. She only ever took the stage if she was one of the fighters.

She'd been in only two fights, one on the first night and one the week after. Both of them had been victories. She was quite surprised by the amount of talent in this city. Even Mystique would have had a hard time beating some of the best here.

She took her place as the announcer stepped up. "Mäyto!" he screamed with a wave. The crowd cheered as Ella gave a bow. Then he pointed to the other side. "Tyke Everheart!" A boy came up. The crowd was a mixture of clapping and boos.

Tyke let his pokeball out into the air. In a flash of light, a Tyrogue stepped onto the field, its hands held up and bouncing lightly.

Ella laughed. "A Tyrogue?"

"You bet. My Tyrogue's easily as good as any Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan, plus it can do both punches and kicks!" Tyke said with determination.

"We'll see about that." Ella got the idea to have a little fun. Her body shifted into a Hitmonlee's.

The crowd roared when they realized that this was going to be a fighter's match.

Ella leaned back and sent a kick flying across the stage. The Tyrogue ducked nimbly.

"Mach Punch, Tyrogue!"

"Let's go!" the creature shouted as he rushed at Ella with increasing speed.

Ella's foot was still retracting, but she jumped into a spin. Her other leg swung around, catching the Tyrogue and sending it rolling. She continued her spin, using her longer leg to kick the Tyrogue again.

The Tyrogue rolled to a stop and jumped to his feet. It reached up a fist and wiped a bit of blood from the side of his mouth. "Hehe. This will be fun."

Ella ducked down and rushed, using her long legs to gain speed, as she approached, she changed into a Hitmonchan and charged up a Fire Punch. She swung in from the side.

The Tyrogue jumped at the last minute, letting the fiery fist pass beneath him. His jump turned into a spin, and his foot glowed lightly. He brought it down on Ella's head and sent her face into the cold steel.

Ella slid a short distance. When she did, she pushed herself up and touched her face. She had a few long gashes along her cheek.

"Mach Punch!"

Ella turned her head. The Tyrogue was coming at her from above. She quickly rolled out of the way and its hand went into the platform. As soon as her legs were beneath her, she dove at the young Pokemon as a Hitmontop. She began to spin as she bowled into him. They fell and the Tyrogue became pinned beneath Ella. He howled.

She kept spinning. After several seconds, she jumped up into the air. With a quick shift, she became a Hitmonchan and charged up a massive Mega Punch. She fell straight down, sending the punch into the Tyrogue's chest.

The metal buckled below him, creating a small crater and a small cloud of dust.

Ella stopped, her breath ragged and heavy. She'd become a human right after her attack hit, and now looked down at her victim an inch under her still closed fist. The area around his stomach was shredded and crushed. For only a moment, she felt a wave of nausea.

She could hear medical people rushing over. She stepped back, knowing there was no need for them.

She turned and walked off the stage. A man held out an envelope with her winnings, but she for some reason ignored him.

She'd seen Pokemon get killed in these kinds of fights a few times, but this time she had actually caused it! Something in her stomach seemed to twist, creating a feeling of pure sickness. She put on a straight face as best as she could; it wouldn't do well for the league to see its owner soft. But inside…she couldn't even describe how she was feeling.

She worked her way through the crowd and out an unmarked door at the edge of the room as the next battle started. She walked up a flight of stairs, down a long hallway, and back down to the ground floor where she went through a door into the night.

Her apartment was directly across the street. After unlocking the door, she went inside, closed the door behind her, and fell into the nearest chair.

The fight replayed over and over in her mind. She couldn't even remember thinking about that last attack. Her body had simply done it.

"That's the nature of these fights. It's kill or be killed," her mind told her. And that helped to calm her a bit.

She drifted off into sleep with that still in her mind.

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The next morning, she woke up still in the chair. Forcing herself up, she went into the kitchen and got her usual breakfast: berries from a bush she kept by the window. She'd stop at a fast-food joint later for some real food.

After a shower and a change of clothes, she was ready to head out. She was going to go into the nearby woods and do some training.

She'd just gotten out the door and locked it when a flash appeared in front of her. A woman appeared where there was thin air. "Ella!"

Ella took a startled step back. "Mom?!"