"Lapras, Ice Beam on Flygon!"
The said plesiosauruslike Pokemon followed Soledad's command, releasing the first attack of the battle as she shot a frosty ray from the tip of her scaly lips, which headed towards Drew's Flygon on the opposite side of the sandy battlefield. The desert dragon emitted a gasp of shock before dodging it out of instinct, his wings flapping vigorously to help keep his body in the air after the sudden evade. This brought Drew to display immediate determination, though Soledad had been expecting such a thing, and therefore she showed no surprise when the chartreuse-haired teenager ordered Flygon to retaliate with a Dragon Rage.
The desert dragon opened his jaw, firing out a tunnel of blue flames, lines of white twirling around it like ribbons. While the attack headed towards Lapras, who only narrowed her eyes, preparing herself to perform whatever tactic it required to avoid getting struck, May sent her Blaziken forward, the humanoid avian allowing her legs to become enshrouded in fire as she transfixed her eyes on Harley's Cacturne. The said amethyst-haired coordinator clenched his hands, brows furrowing, giving him a determined expression that could rival Drew's, though he kept a quiet attitude as he mumbled for his scarecrowlike Pokemon to stand his ground as Blaziken approached with a readied Blaze Kick.
Meanwhile, Lapras shot out a large Water Gun attack, the beam of water colliding with Flygon's Dragon Rage, turning the vast amount of flames into a cloud of warm steam, the blinding puffs of white covering the area and drenching it with humidity. Soledad gritted her teeth, as Drew was doing, both of them already beginning to sweat from the dense air. The crowd of both humans and their Pokemon that had gathered around the makeshift stage gasped in suspense, their expressions showing surprise and excitement despite that their cheers of support went unheard of by the competitors in the midst of ordering attacks.
The cloud of steam that enshrouded everything didn't bother Harley in the least. Instead, he crossed his arms, eyes narrowing and frown stiff, watching Blaziken approach since the flames on her legs helped signify her position. Cacturne twitched, wondering why his master had yet to command a dodge or counterattack, but nonetheless stood in place as the amethyst-haired man had ordered before. Seconds passed as Blaziken grew closer, and soon, for more power, the humanoid avian jumped high into the air, the flames on her legs leaving trails of scarlet behind her movements. Cacturne's eyes widened as he noticed this, though Harley kept a deadpanned face, Blaziken aiming her leg downward as she began to drop – and right over the scarecrowlike Pokemon below.
Closer.
Closer.
And closer.
Cacturne could feel the heat of the attack swipe across his facial skin, but the trust for his trainer convinced him to stay in place regardless of his urge to roll to the side. Then again, Blaziken was only an inch away when Harley finally responded:
"Move left! Now!"
Cacturne tripped slightly as he heeded Harley's words, jumping to the side right before Blaziken made contact, making the humanoid avian hit the ground. She stumbled from the wasted momentum, struggling to swiftly return to her feet – but only to get punched in the jaw with Cacturne's Needle Arm attack as Harley then commanded, using her confusion as a distraction. The bird Pokemon flew backwards, crashing into the ground right as Drew ordered his Flygon to use Gust, the dragon being flapping his wings and producing enough wind to blow away the barricading steam that environed them. May squeaked as she saw Blaziken's state, having been unaware of what was occurring over the last few seconds due to her dimmed sight.
Soledad blinked in surprise, shocked that Harley had managed to pull off a direct hit when he had proven himself to lack such strategic skills in the past. She shot a quick gaze at him, admiring his stiff posture as he stood there with crossed arms, mellow expression showing that he had been expecting May's attack since the beginning. Drew, casting a glance at May's stunned face, only furrowed his eyebrows once again, refusing to allow his focus on the battle to falter – even if only a bit. "Flygon, Flamethrower at Cacturne!" he roared out, his desert dragon Pokemon following his words as he released the said type of fire beam from his mouth.
"Cacturne, dodge it!" Harley yelled, the scarecrowlike being in front of him wasting no time upon moving to the side. However, the attack was too fast, striking Cacturne's side in the midst of a roll, the super-effective strike flinging the Pokemon backwards where he landed in front of Harley. The amethyst-haired coordinator gritted his teeth, glaring imaginary daggers at Drew and his Flygon, though he returned his gaze to Cacturne when the grass and dark type returned to his feet, limping slightly from the powerful hit. Meanwhile, May's Blaziken got up as well, shaking any leftover disorientation away while awaiting her master's next order.
Soledad exchanged a quick glance with Harley, in which he nodded, physically informing her that Cacturne was still able to fight. However, with type disadvantages on both ends, Soledad knew the outcome of the battle could go either way, which convinced her to mentally think of a plan – a collage strike from Lapras and Cacturne, perhaps; or anything that could damage both Blaziken and Flygon at the same time before they threw out any more super-effective hits. Lapras cooed her name from beneath her breath, as if asking her master on what to do next.
Meanwhile, May shot a look towards Drew, the chartreuse-haired teenager returning the determined gaze. It was a deadpanlike glare, as if it was a physical sign to do something as seen with players among a game of poker. Soledad, noticing this, now felt anxious to know what the signal meant, while Harley grunted to himself, his muscles stiffening in anticipation. Drew returned his eyes to the battlefield, his hands clenching and unclenching, and though the only sounds that could be heard was the flapping of Flygon's wings as the dragon hovered in midair, as well as the quiet whispers between the members of the audience around them, the air was more tense than ever.
That is, before Drew followed through on his and May's plan.
"Flygon!" Drew called.
"Blaziken!" May yelled out afterwards, she and Drew both then joining their voices to emit the following command:
"Wall of Fire formation! Now!"
Soledad stumbled, her expression showing bewilderment, as was Harley's. Wall of Fire?
Flygon roared out his name while Blaziken jumped forward to take her place in front of him. The avian humanoid then crossed her arms in front of her face, throwing them downwards as she shot her head up to release a large Flamethrower into the air right above her. The beam of flames rose high, soon stopping when it reached as far as it could, now splattering outward towards the top like the end of a geyser or fountain.
Soledad, Harley, and the crowd around them watched in awe, their Pokemon only mumbling their names in confusion.
Next, Flygon began to flap his wings in a vigorous motion, performing a Gust attack that caused winds to form around him. Blaziken kept her head high, continuing to shoot out an elongated Flamethrower into the air. As Flygon's Gust attracted more and more powerful winds, it wasn't long before Drew counted it to be enough, as he jabbed his front finger forward, roaring out one word with viciousness:
"NOW!"
And that's when Flygon snarled out his name, throwing his wings downward and therefore sending the sprawls of winds forward. The squalls hit Blaziken's Flamethrower, causing it to spread out across the span of the winds, which made it form into a walllike formation, where it was then sent shooting towards Lapras and Cacturne like an approaching tower of death – a wall of fire.
Harley and Soledad's faces fell.
The blinding, colossal wall of meshing infernos, the heat radiating from it becoming unbearable, convinced screams and gasps of utter shock to emit from the audience. Soledad could only gaze in slight horror at the formative strike May and Drew had obviously been practicing behind her back for a very long time, though she soon regained her thoughts when she realized she had to move out of the way to avoid getting hit herself. She quickly did so, Harley doing the same, despite that Cacturne and Lapras couldn't possibly dodge in time since they were right in the middle of its course. Panicking slightly, Soledad improvised for a solution, and the only thing she could think of was the following: "Lapras, use Surf!"
The plesiosauruslike Pokemon snapped out of her trance of amazement, stumbling to perform the command. Her eyes glowed a deep blue, the edges of the ocean behind her beginning to rise farther and farther into the sand before it. Soon, Harley and Soledad's feet became hidden beneath a veil of water, the audience backing away to avoid getting wet themselves, and as the tide swept past Lapras and Cacturne, Soledad could only pray that it would be enough.
The rush of water made contact with the approaching wall of fire, turning the deadly attack into a tower of steam as it began to melt into the blanket of aqua. However, it was doing so slowly, and with it still approaching it continued to be considered dangerous. Lapras, too busy focusing on her Surf attack, could do nothing else, and Cacturne had no tactics that could help. The attack was still going to hit, and no doubt would it be devastating.
Harley lowered his eyes to the ground, frustrated from lacking his own plan of assistance. Though, as he eyed the top of the wall of fire, his expression slightly lightened in realization, and he quickly turned his eyes to Cacturne. "Cacturne, get on top of Lapras' head!"
Soledad blinked in bewilderment as Cacturne followed the command, his nervousness proving its presence from how he stumbled continuously amongst climbing onto the scalp of the sea Pokemon as fast as he could. Upon reaching the designated destination, Harley's voice returned once again. "Now, start to charge up a Solar Beam!" he ordered, and Cacturne wasted no time in doing so, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and using the exposed sun as a source of power to help build an origin of energy between the ends of his two arms. Soledad continued to display confusion, though when she met Harley's determined gaze, which he flickered his eyes towards the top of the wall, she soon understood what he was attempting to do.
And she quickly played her part in it.
"Lapras!" she called out. "Launch Cacturne into the air!"
The plesiosauruslike Pokemon cut off her connection with the rising water around them, which caused it to die down and recede back into the ocean, and all so she could duck her head with Cacturne still on top of it, then throwing it upward so that the grass and dark type rocketed skyways into the air. May and Drew, who were on the other side, couldn't see anything from beyond the wall of fire, but they stood still in suspense, blinking when they heard Lapras screech in pain upon the attack striking her scaly body, passing over her to dissipate into the ocean. They smiled upon seeing the successful strike and how the sea Pokemon was pushed backwards, her cringes proving the immense damage brought onto her from it all. Soledad gritted her teeth, having been aware that such a thing was going to happen, but still satisfied that it at least had its own benefit.
Because Cacturne was high in the air, having avoided the wall of fire that would have been devastating to his type - and his Solar Beam attack was ready to be launched.
When May and Drew finally realized this, it was too late.
"Now! Fire!" Harley screamed, and his Cacturne threw his eyes open, roaring out his name as he lunged his arms forward and shot the beam of blinding gold straight towards Blaziken and Flygon, who were still standing in front of one another from when they performed the Wall of Fire formation. The attack hit Blaziken dead on, and it was still deadly to her despite its type disadvantage, which was why she yelped out her name in pain among the midst of flying backwards, colliding with Flygon, and both of them crashing harshly into the ground right in front of a surprised May and Drew.
Of course, that wasn't the end, as Soledad ordered for Lapras to use Ice Beam, in which the said Pokemon pushed away her pain to perform the aforementioned, the beam of frosty white heading straight towards Flygon and Blaziken, who were in the midst of returning to their shaking feet. The attack struck them both, causing them to collide and fly backwards once again, ricocheting a few times across the ground before they ended in a slide, sand partially covering them among the aftermath. They cooed out their names, struggling to get up, and though Blaziken was able to do so by the skin of her teeth, Flygon had failed, falling to the ground, motionless. Drew, still slightly shocked by the unexpected strike from Cacturne, sighed as he returned his fainted desert dragon to his Pokeball.
Meanwhile, Blaziken soon cooed out her name, her voice coarser than usual since she could no longer fight the darkness that was beginning to overtake her sight. Instead, her fatigue made her give into it, which she fell forward and onto the ground, unconscious.
It was silent after that, as if everyone was in slight disbelief of what had just happened.
Soledad and Harley had won.
Just realizing this, the crowd exploded in cheer, their excitement for the epic battle that had just occurred showing in their loud voices. May only dipped her head in slight sadness, disappointed with herself as she returned her Pokemon to her Pokeball, while Drew sighed through his nostrils, annoyed at the outcome of the match. Soledad shot a look towards Harley, amazed that his quick-thinking had been the key to their victory. If it hadn't been for him, both Cacturne and Lapras would've taken that attack, leaving Cacturne finished due to his type disadvantage, and Lapras too weak to continue fighting on her own. His battling skills had approved greatly, she noticed, and she had begun to wonder if he had been practicing a lot since the Johto journeys.
Harley met her gaze, his own eyes showing slight surprise that they had won, though he soon smiled himself. It was that soft smile that made Soledad's face heat up for a reason that escaped her, which was why she turned her head away to hide it as Lapras craned her neck to shoot a weary grin at her trainer, feeling worn out from the match. Cacturne returned to Harley's side, purring softly when the amethyst-haired coordinator patted him on the head – a physical signal of gratitude and congratulations for his hard work. While Soledad returned Lapras to her Pokeball for a much-needed rest, Drew and May approached, May displaying a grin of happiness despite that the battle hadn't ended in her favor, and Drew was simply frowning as he always did – though it was obvious he was slightly flabbergasted that Harley had beaten him, and therefore only muttered an incoherent "Good job…" to the amethyst-haired man while in the midst of shaking Soledad's hand.
The audience began to disperse, returning to their business, or whatever things they were doing before the prior battle had caught their attention. May eyed this for a second, but soon returned her gaze to Soledad, grin still present. "That was an awesome match!" she exclaimed, apparently no longer caring that she and Drew had lost. Drew only grunted, crossing his arms, still in denial that he had lost to Harley, of all people.
Soledad nodded. "You two have been practicing." She smiled. "I'm impressed. You almost beat us."
As if on cue, Harley walked over, hands in his pockets and expression back to being mellow, despite that a prideful hue was radiating from his small smile. "That Wall of Fire technique was amazing," he began, earning a surprised look from both Drew and May. "How long have you had that going?"
Drew blinked, shocked that Harley was actually complimenting him and therefore failed to emit an answer. May, on the other hand, being the spunky, forgetful girl she was, jumped forward almost immediately. "Thanks! We started working on that since we heard that this contest is going to star partner rounds."
Harley and Soledad exchanged a look.
"It's becoming a new category for contests," explained May, "and it just involves two competitors teaming up for a few rounds. Drew and I decided to partner up for it, which was why we've been working on various formations with our Pokemons' attacks."
Soledad nodded in understanding, never having heard of partner competitions. She slid a glance over to Harley, still amazed by the way their Pokemon had worked together in the previous battle when they hadn't even had past experience doing such a thing. She smiled at the thought of them teaming up for the contest, and when Harley returned the warm look she was giving to him, she could tell he was mentally accepting the possibility as well.
"Hey, how about we all go to brunch together?"
Soledad blinked, turning her eyes to May as the brunette suggested the idea, smile giddylike. Harley hummed from the side of her, which was a signal that he was up for it, and Soledad agreed with a smile. Meanwhile, Drew remained silent, and when Soledad shifted her gaze to him, she noticed that he was staring at her with narrowed eyes, obviously at the fact that he had caught sight of her opportunistic expression from seconds ago – the one she had displayed when she was considering Harley as a partner for the upcoming contest. Soledad wanted to roll her eyes at his overprotectiveness and lingering distrust towards Harley, but threw it all away when she smirked upon realizing a plan that would surely make Drew forget it all – even if only for a few minutes.
"Hey, May," Soledad whispered to the said brunette's ear while Harley walked off ahead, Drew following out of suspiciousness, "I think Drew's a little sad for losing the match. Why don't you go give him a hug?"
At first, May blushed slightly at the thought, but shrugged it away quickly, eyed Drew's slouching walk, and cocked her head as she mentally agreed that Drew did indeed look a little disheartened. Because of this, she put on a devious grin as she snuck up from behind the chartreuse-haired teen, and, when she was close enough, pounced on him from the back, causing the male coordinator to emit a startled "Ack!" as they both then collapsed to the sandy ground below. Harley snapped around at the sound of the yelp, but only to roll his eyes at the sight of a fallen Drew, May on top of him, her arms wrapped around his torso as she nuzzled her head into his back. Soledad laughed at the scene, which convinced Harley to do the same as she joined his side. "C'mon, you love Swellows," Soledad chuckled, she and Harley continuing onward.
Drew blushed slightly from it all, though his stoic expression soon returned, causing the redness of his face to dissipate. "May," he began, calm at first as the said brunette rose her head from the midst of resting it on his back, "I appreciate your physical signs of affection, but, please. Get. Off."
May only laughed at his usual grumpiness, not surprised by it. Nonetheless, she followed his order, getting off of his back, which allowed him to return to his feet, brushing the sand that now covered his entire front. "Just trying to cheer you up," May commented, zipping off after Soledad and Harley before Drew could mutter his bewildered reply.
"Cheer up?" he repeated, confused. "Cheer me up from…what…?" He suddenly blinked as he realized what had convinced May to 'glomp' him – or rather: who – and his expression succumbed to a look of anger. "Arceus damn it, Soledad!"
Another now-distant laugh from the said pink-red-haired woman was the only response.
"So, we'll see you in a week or two?" May inquired to Soledad in the midst of leaving the homey restaurant they had just eaten in, which sat right on the boardwalk that broke off the coastline shops from the beach and ocean. A sunset was in view, the calm ocean sizzling as the orange-dubbed sun began to sink below its horizon, and the sky fell into a void of hot-pink clouds and the darkened shades of an approaching night. The moon could be seen as a phantom in the sky, larger than usual as stars began to appear alongside it, poking their way through the blanket of metamorphosis that was occurring among the planet's atmosphere.
Soledad blinked in slight surprise, unaware that they had spent so long chatting in the restaurant about various things. They had entered in the middle of the morning, and now the day was almost dead, shadows beginning to dominate more nooks and crannies of the city as the sun lost its power over the land. Streetlights shifted on, the air grew cooler, and the softness of the purring ocean nearly blanked out the distant noises of Slateport. Of course, the pink-red-haired woman soon turned her eyes to May, remembering her earlier question. "Yup," she then answered, May gazing at her with curious sapphire eyes, "we'll probably meet countless of times over the week, and a lot when the contest comes up." She displayed a friendly smile.
May smiled as well, nodding. "Maybe we can all train together or something," she suggested, Drew, who had been standing silently beside her the whole time, quirking his eyebrow at the possibility before nudging May slightly in the side. She turned to him, and with a shake of his head to the left, May caught the message that it was getting late and they should be heading back to their hotel. The brunette nodded once again, waving goodbye to Soledad as she then followed Drew down the platform, they both soon disappearing into the midst of the city.
Soledad sighed in content, turning her head to eye the sunset as its lingering warmth pranced across her skin at a comforting rate. With the shift of her eyes to the left, she blinked in bewilderment, turning her body around in search of an absent Harley, who had been standing by her side when they left the restaurant. She hummed when she caught sight of him leaning forward onto the railing that broke off the boardwalk from the beach, his eyes obviously transfixed on the sunset. She arched an eyebrow, but soon, ever so slowly, she walked up to his side, placing a hand on the railing and taking a place right next to him. She shot a quick glance towards him, noticing that his brows were furrowed, his gaze indeed focused on the setting sun, and, despite the light, his metallic blue-green eyes were still darkened to a lonerlike hue.
For some reason, Soledad was at a loss for words. Harley looked like he was seriously pondering on something, and because of this she was slightly paranoid to break the silence usually required for thinking about big things. Instead, she kept her eyes on the sunset as he was doing, also noticing that, with the sun falling away, the beach had grown more and more deserted, leaving the boardwalk to lack other people since the shops had closed up for the day. It was quite relaxing, actually, watching the light of the afternoon fade away into the night without any distractions.
"Wow," she found herself saying a few seconds after, remembering that Harley had mentioned earlier how stunning it was to watch twilight commence upon the beach, "it is beautiful."
A shift of weight between shoulders was Harley's only reply. Of course, his voice soon followed, his tone as mellow as ever as he finally muttered what was on his mind. "I see Drew still doesn't trust me."
Soledad blinked, turning her gaze to him. So he had indeed caught the subliminal messaging between Drew's narrowed glare, she thought, frowning slightly? She wasn't surprised all that much, as Drew's emotions could easily be read off of his face whenever he happened to expose them. She was now concerned for the amethyst-haired coordinator beside her, which was oxymoronic considering the reason why Drew had grown to lack faith in him.
To tell the truth, she didn't know what to say. Should she point out the reason why Drew didn't trust him? It was an obvious reason – a reason that Harley's serious face signaled he was very aware of. But…why wasn't he stating an apology or some sort of alibi for the things he had done in the past? Did he perhaps not find them important or things worth remembering? Was this all part of his 'real' or changed character? Soledad didn't want to point out his schemes from before, mentally agreeing with herself that it would be awkward to do so, treating the person next to her like an enemy by resurrecting his past sins into the conversation. But then, what should she do? Her head hurt just by the mere thought of it, and yet again she was back to the mysteries she was wondering about before the day had started.
"Can you blame him?"
Soledad immediately slapped her hand over her mouth upon emitting those words. She didn't mean to say that. She shouldn't have said that. She mentally kicked herself in the face, her stomach roaring with regret.
However, Harley did nothing, and his reply was one to be unexpected. "Not really."
Soledad returned her eyes to him, feeling slightly amazed.
"I did stupid things in the past," he muttered; "things I'm not proud of."
The pink-red-haired woman brought her gaze back to the sunset. So he did regret his past acts, or, at least that's what it all sounded like? Soledad wasn't really sure, though she felt relieved that he did, despite that she still wondered why he had done them in the first place.
She didn't have time to think about this, though, as Harley's voice continued – this time a hint of enthusiasm riding it. "We worked together really well today." He chuckled slightly. "I can't believe we actually beat May and Drew."
Ignoring the sudden change of topic, Soledad decided to just go with the flow, and replied, "They nearly finished us with that Wall of Fire formation, though. We barely made it out of this one, and I don't think we're going to the next time if we don't come up with our own alternative."
Silence. Then:
"So I see that you're implying that we should be partners for the contest?"
Soledad turned to gaze at Harley as he mumbled those words. His eyebrow was arched, though his eyes still showed casualness. The pink-red-haired woman brought her gaze back to the sunset, smiling as past thoughts returned to her mind – at the idea of him and her working together. "Yeah," she replied. "I bet we could make a good team."
More silence.
She shifted her gaze to Harley, who was now smiling himself. He met her eyes, turned to face her, and held out his hand. "Partners, then?" he inquired, his smile still strong. She switched her gaze between his request and his eyes, and soon smiled as she clasped her hand with his, sealing the deal with a following shake. Their hands soon broke apart, though right as Soledad returned to watching the sunset, she was suddenly pulled forward by Harley, landing right into his arms.
He was…
…hugging her?
Indeed – that's what he was doing. His arms were wrapped around her, her head leaning against his chest while his head buried itself into the crook of her neck.
It was obviously just a simple gesture of friendship on Harley's end – but it felt like a lot more to Soledad.
In fact, she blushed from the contact, feeling his warmth meet hers, which made her want to melt then and there. Her stomach fluttered with the chilling sensation of affection, and she didn't even notice that she had closed her eyes in content, snuggling her head into his chest, breathing in his heavenly scent.
Arceus, he smelled so damn good.
They fit together perfectly – like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, as if they had been made for each other; and only each other.
Soledad blushed at this thought, but didn't bother to hide her red face, nor even think about it, as all that was important was enjoying the moment; and she could feel Harley smile against her neck, his arms tightening around her as if he had read her mind and was completely agreeing with her.
Needless to say, they didn't break apart until the sun had completely disappeared from view.
