Wolff Howl you will be very excited to see what I have in store for the old chateau in just a couple chapters!
Black ninja is hoping to see Hikari win, and thank you for that!
Katy 2610 called the story awesome and thanked me for the shoutout last chapter! Haha, your welcome!
Now please enjoy this next chapter and review again!
I don't own Pokemon!
Chapter 21: Tears Won't Fool Me
Thursday, February 27th
It was practically torture waiting for our battle. Trevion's battle was amazing, his Stunky did great. He would move on to the next round.
Multiple times throughout the day I would catch Avery glaring at me from the opposite side of the room, her Zorua in her arms. Angrily I would force myself to look straight ahead and squeeze Electra in my arms until she moaned in complaint.
I tried to focus my attention elsewhere, and ended up settling on a young girl by the name of Daisy. She had been bouncing off of the walls all day and I was tempted to speak with the young prodigy. I didn't get the opportunity though, and before I knew it our battle was upon us.
Our battle was second to last. Finally, the time came when Avery and I had to get to our positions and then begin.
"Good luck Hikari, we're countin' on you!" Trevion patted me on the back and gave me an enthusiastic smile. "Beat that hag into the dirt!"
"I will Trevion!"
"And have fun Hikari!" Riley added. I smiled, and began walking trotting down the hallway leading towards the side of the stage I was to enter. Avery had already headed down there. Just as I stopped in front of the bright red curtain, the previous trainer, brimming with a sense of victory and pride, stepped out.
I didn't look up as they passed me, and put Electra into her Pokeball.
"We're ready Electra." I took in a deep breath, imagining my own victory dance. A small smile made it's way onto my face.
"Our next battle is between two green coordinators, Avery Michaelson with just one ribbon under her belt!" The applause that girl got when she walked out was practically sickening. "And also Hikari Diamond, a promising young coordinator and trainer!"
I put a proud smile on my face, and took long confident steps out into the hall. The roar of the crowd was like some sort of drug, and my grin only grew.
"Five minutes on the timer, full points for both coordinators, now begin!"
"Chesha baby, sweep them off of their feet!" The small black fox Pokemon burst out of her Pokeball along with a barrage of practically blue bubbles, flipping majestically as she did so. Chesha landed softly on all four paws.
"Spotlight Electra!" I threw up the capsule covered Pokeball, and it spun perfectly. Electra appeared in a flash of blue light in a pouncing position, and landed easily on her feet as well. Pink confetti became playfully stuck in her fur, and Electra tried to eat one stray piece. I was planning on attacking first, but Avery beat me to it.
"Aerial Ace Chesha!" Great, another move I wasn't expecting. Luckily it wasn't very effective against Electra, but we still lost points.
"Electra, are you alright!?"
"Shree-ah!" I nodded hearing her cry of excitement.
"Thunder Wave!"
"Dark Pulse!" The electricity given off by Electra was easily canceled out by the rings of dark energy that the Zorua created simply by hopping on and off the ground, and we continued to lost points.
"Crap..." I mumbled, searching my brain for any new strategies. I waited too long though, and Avery commanded another attack of her own.
"Shadow Ball!" Small Chesha opened her mouth as wide as she could, and a ghostly orb began to form, bigger and bigger with each passing second. Ha, that's it! I smirked and waited for the attack to come flying at Electra.
"Roow!" Zorua kicked itself forward, launching Shadow Ball straight for us. Electra meanwhile, had become more nervous as she saw the attack appear, and electricity coursed through her fur, causing it to flash a rainbow of colors. Perfect, her electricity has already built up!
"Thunder Waves, as powerful as you can, GO!" The ghost type attack wasn't slowed, but instead absorbed the power, creating a ghost and lightning combo, still headed straight for Electra. "Use Spark Electra, charge it!" I saw only the slightest hesitation before her small blue and black paws left the ground, racing towards the very attack that was meant for her. She was engulfed in bright blue sparks, so much so that I could barely even see her silhouette.
To be honest, I was terrified that it wouldn't work and that I had just lost this battle for the both of us. I crossed my fingers on both hands as I watched Electra come closer and closer to the Shadow Ball.
"GO!" I shouted in desperation, as Electra made impact with the orb. My eyes widened as I watched the Shinx go straight through Shadow Ball. The gasp was audible all around the hall. Shadow Ball dissipated after Electra had gone through it, and now she too was coated in both blue electricity and a dark aura. She rammed into Chesha, converting the electricity to her as well, and knocking the now paralyzed dark type back at least ten feet.
"No, Chesha!" I watched with complete arrogance as Avery's point bar began to tick down to nearly halfway, while mine was still at a solid three quarters full. Then, I turned back to my opponent, smirk in full swing.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what a move! Using Shadow Ball's power like that was one smart and gorgeous move on Hikari's part!" The hostess' praise only heightened my sense of pride. I looked over towards Avery who was desperately calling out to to her Pokemon, who could just barely stand. Blue and black glitter coated both Chesha and Electra.
Slowly, Chesha pulled itself up, it's blue eyes watery and big. One big blobby tear was all it took for the rest to come down like a waterfall. The Zorua sat it's scrawny butt down and balled like a baby. Completely caught off guard, I raised an eyebrow and gazed suspiciously at the dark type Pokemon. Even Electra stepped backwards and looked around wonderingly.
"Dark Pulse!" Very suddenly Chesha jumped up into the air, coming down full force and sending an enormous wave of dark energy in every direction. The full force of what had just happened came down on me like this attack would on Electra. Fake Tears lowered a foe's special defense by too much, and Dark Pulse is a special attack.
"Jump up Electra!" Despite my orders, Dark Pulse still caught at Electra, sending her spiraling downwards. She landed in a roll before stopping on all fours. "Bite!"
"Aerial Ace!"
"Spark!" The two attacks collided in a painfully bright white light. I had to look away, and held my arm up in front of my face. My braid and dress flapped wildly with the wind created. Finally I forced myself to look, though I was squinting. Suddenly the light was gone just as quickly as it had appeared, and the wind dead quiet.
"Electra!" I called out. The young Pokemon was standing shakily, and panting. I looked farther ahead of her to see a small black mass lying sideways on the ground.
"It's a Battle Off! Zorua is unable to battle any longer!" Even though I had won simply by default, by knocking out Avery's Pokemon, I still looked up at the screen. Forty seven seconds still remained. Our points though... Avery was missing just a tad more than I was, a tad too close if you ask me.
"-Remarkable!" My head whirled towards the judges, already finishing up their evaluation of the battle. I'd missed that part.
"We won." I stated, reassuring myself.
"Shiii." I looked down at Electra, staring up at me wonderingly. There was a scrape just below her right eye, and it remained closed. A grin so sudden it surprised my Pokemon painted itself across my face and stitched it's happiness into my soul.
"We won Electra! We won!" I picked her up under her arms and spun around, laughing. Finally I caught the electric type in a gentle hug, careful not to irritate her injuries.
I didn't stop the embrace until we were well on our way down the hallway leading back towards the waiting room.
The clicking of my heels halted when I heard an all too familiar sound. It wasn't quiet by any means, but it also wasn't the all out sobs you might expect. It was practiced, and pretty. Crying shouldn't be either of those things. I would know.
"Avery?" I peered into a doorway to see the girl with the very long blonde hair and blue eyes wiping her eyes with her left hand, while holding Chesha, still unconscious, in her other.
"W-what do you want!? You- you are such a meanie! Chesha's hurt real bad... You should really be ashamed of yourself!" Avery looked up at me with her eyes as crystal clear as they had been earlier, despite the tears which filled them. There was expectancy lying in them.
I almost couldn't believe it. She actually expected me to feel bad for her. She wanted it. I would never be able to live it down if I did. Good thing I'm such a heartless bitch, huh guys?
I giggled, probably cruelly. She might have been a sad little girl, but all I could see when I looked at her was her rude Zorua, and it's large salty tears which could have lost me the battle.
"Sorry kiddo, but that kind of trick won't fool someone like me." I spun on my heel, loving the feeling of daggers being glared into the back of my head, at least in this situation. On a whim I turned back around to give her some helpful advice. "Oh, and if you want your crying to actually be believable, I would suggest looking more like a real person than a robot while you're doing it."
"Wha- Y-you ignorant rat!" I was already gone though, down the hallway with an almost sickening spring in my step. I loved it.
When we arrived back at the waiting room, Riley and Trevion greeted us with big grins and lots to say about our battle, but I just had to go first to tell them all about my encounter with Avery.
"And believe me when I tell you that it was the worst fake crying I've ever heard!"
"And what'd you do about it?" Asked Riley with a smirk tugging at the edges of her lips. I grinned back.
"I laughed, duh! And I told her that it hadn't fooled me, like her Zorua's stupid move hadn't, and then I started to leave, but turned back to tell her that if she wanted her stupid act to be believable, that she needed to look like a real person more than a robot!" Trevion laughed loudly, then patted me on the back hard enough that I stumbled forward a little. I only grinned and beared it though, it had been an affectionate gesture.
"You're great Hikari, but remember that you haven't won yet." I nodded determinedly.
"I know, but I'm looking forward to." I grinned brightly, while Trevion smiled himself, stepping backwards and holding up his hands.
"Woah ho ho, someone's feeling confident!" We laughed, and waited for the matchup of the remaining eight trainers for the next round of battles taking place. The semi finals and finals would happen tomorrow.
Electra, normally the lazy and even uninterested one, even she watched curiously as the battling pairs were decided. Trevion and I, we were both up against strangers. But they were smart, powerful strangers. I felt ready though. I think we both did, staring blankly up at the screen.
My battle was up second, and Trevion's right after mine. We patiently watched the first battle run it's course, and as it closed, I saw that my own fingers were trembling with excitement. Or maybe I'm nervous...
I shook my head, trying to rid myself of those kind of thoughts. I can't doubt myself, not at a time like this. I stood up to go take my place, handing Electra to Riley. The electric type didn't like a whole lot of people, except for children, me, and now had taken a liking to Riley. I suppose it was because of her time as a stray in the city. Anyways, it was really only the touching she didn't like. Riley seemed to have a way with all Pokemon though, kind of like I always have, and Electra settled right into the red head's lap.
As I made my way confidently down the hallway, a blur of yellow spun by me.
"Huh?"
"Hi there, nice to meet you! I can't wait to battle, bye!" Was all the quick young girl was able to spit out before dancing away. It left a refreshing smile on my face.
"What a cute girl, and hyper too. This battles going to be a doozy." I told myself. Quickening my pace down the hallway and already grabbing for a Pokeball.
The young girl I was battling was Daisy Tilton, the girl I'd been staring at earlier, and she was a Contest prodigy. Both of her parents had been Top Coordinators, and were some of the richest people in the Sinnoh region. At only eleven Daisy was well on her way there with four Ribbons. It had been a huge thing in the media when Daisy had disobeyed her parents to leave home earlier than they had wanted to pursue her own dreams as a Coordinator. I didn't know much more than that, but I was very excited to battle her.
She was fairly short, which made sense for her young age. Daisy had gentle brown eyes and medium length light brown hair. Her bangs were slightly curled upwards at the end, and partially covered her left eye. The back was left straight except for towards the top where it had been done up in a bow shape. She wore a bright yellow dress which was frilled almost like a princess' dress on the skirt. It didn't go down any farther than her knees. The leggings was a bit of a strange call on her part, and were colored a light orange. Finally were the shoes. Purple converse.
Honestly I wished that I had the confidence to dress that out of the box, you know, if I had that extravagant of a fashion sense. She was a child and she didn't care so much what others thought. I envied that. Daisy was just an innocent kid doing what she loved.
On the field Daisy who was smiling brightly threw up a Pokeball, and a familiar Pokemon appeared in a puff of pink smoke.
"Abra, go!" I nearly laughed. The atmosphere this girl provided was a joy.
"Psy!"
"Ruby, spotlight!" I released the Ponyta with a rainbow confetti seal, and she whinnied with confidence and excitement. The audience was going wild with cheers and whoops. My heart beat rapidly and a million different outcomes raced through my mind, but one stood out from the rest. Victory.
"Yay, this'll be a fun one!" I heard my opponent shout from the other side of the arena. She jumped gleefully, then commanded her first attack. "Use Teleport!" I only blinked and Abra was right behind Ruby. Instinctively I called out an attack as lightning fast as I could.
"Fast Flame behind you!" Ruby burst into flames, and flew backwards like a shot, but somehow her Abra had already begun a different attack. It's hands were gracefully and quickly moving in circles and creating strange gestures, then the rest of it's body too. Black smoke began to grow around Abra, and by the time Ruby had begun to move backwards, that smoke had become a wall of a dark storm cloud, which suddenly began to shoot bullets of water towards Ruby.
Rain Dance!? But how- Ruby was immediately extinguished, even her mane and tail were unable to stay lit. The rain was so powerful that it pushed her backwards, causing the fire type to stumble and fall onto her side in her weakened state. My points began to steadily decline.
"Ruby girl, please get yourself up!" She looked so distressed and pale without her fire to keep her warm and strong. I'd known that Daisy was one of the smartest and cleverest Coordinators around, but this was not going as well as I had hoped. I've just got to be smarter... I thought grimly, as the storm clouds made their way to the top of the arena, soaking everything. The judges, the audience, the Pokemon, even Daisy and myself.
Though my dress was heavy with water, I took a step forward. I had an idea, but needed a way to accomplish it. Rain Dance would last a total of five minutes, but since that was how long the battle would last, we couldn't wait it out. We needed to somehow stop the rain and fast.
Ruby could probably use Fast Flame to get above the clouds somehow, but not without her fire power... I need to give her a serious power up... Wait, she has Flash Fire! If she could hit herself or get hit with a decent amount of fire, that might give her the power she needs!
The only fire type move Ruby knew was Flame Wheel, and I couldn't see a way that this move could possibly boomerang on itself and hit Ruby. I need to know what moves Abra knew.
"Ruby, I believe in you! I know it must hurt but get up!" I watched desperately as she slowly picked up her head, squinting and looking towards me. Then, hoof by hoof, she got to her feet. "Use Agility to get close then use Double Kick!"
"Transport!" Daisy sung, and Abra easily avoided Ruby.
"Stomp!"
"Again!" I grinded my teeth in frustration. She wasn't going to give up any other moves. Daisy, this adorable little girl, was going to wait us out. I didn't have any other choice at this point though. We also didn't have too much time left.
"Keep going!" I called out, pulling my Pokedex out and going through any information on Abra that I could find. It wouldn't give me much because you can only see a specific Pokemon's moves and abilities if you catch it. Just as I was beginning to give up though, I found that Abra can have one of two known abilities. Inner Focus or Synchronize.
"If it has Synchronize..." I swallowed hard. It was a long shot, but if we could somehow burn Abra, then the ability would cause Ruby to become burned as well, possibly giving us the necessary power to stop the rain.
"Ruby!" I shouted. "I need you to dig deep, find any warmth you have left, and Fast Flame that thing as hot as you can! Heat is what we need now!" I saw her spindly but powerful legs trembling in the distance. My Pokemon wasn't facing me, and I could imagine what she was feeling out there. Alone. Cold. In pain. I'd felt it before myself.
Then though, as if she'd suddenly found some inferno in her heart, the horse Pokemon burst into flames, and was no more than a light blurring across the arena. Abra was quickly plowed down.
"Hey, no fair!" Despite Daisy's whines, her Pokemon clambered up, holding it's side in pain.
Oh my Arceus. It actually worked... The Contest Gods are smiling down on me today. Just as quickly as the burn on Abra's entire right side became obvious, Ruby was also doubling over, but for a different reason entirely. White fire was licking up every part of her, and the Pokemon reared up and whinnied.
"Alright, use Stomp then Fast Flame into the clouds and stop that rain!" Ruby gave a small jump, forcing herself down as hard as she could, then using Fast Flame and Agility she rocketed up into the sky, past the clouds. I crossed my fingers at my sides, staring up into the sheets of water still pouring down.
I'm no meteorologist, but still... I really hope she can clear the clouds or vaporize all the water or something... Then, a streak of black was replaced with rays of light. Then another. And another. Until we could see Ruby propelling herself off of the walls and through the clouds, still aflame, and bit by bit the rain stopped, revealing the glass roof of the building and allowing bright sunlight to pour in.
Ruby hit the ground with a huge thud, and her mane, now back to it's red and orange color, burned higher and hotter than usual.
I, with a determined grin, stepped forward and held my arm up, also flinging my stringy wet hair over my shoulder. "Amazing, if I do say so myself!" I took a moment to soak up something besides water, as the audience applauded me. I also happened to catch Daisy's point meter going down.
"Good job, but let's just see if you're good enough! Ice Punch Abra!" Daisy spun around, completely uncaring of the damp state the entire arena was in.
"Double Kick it Ruby!" The fire horse spun around, her back end high in the air as she kicked out, shattering the ice around Abra's fist.
"Psychic on the shards!"
"Flame Wheel!" Just as a strange blue aura had surrounded the shards, turning them towards Ruby, she once more burst into flames and ran straight into them, past them, then into Abra, knocking it backwards with a powerful force.
The shards melted immediately leaving behind only sparkles. Abra lying on it's back was able to pull itself up at Daisy's eager words. There was nothing left to do though, because the buzzer sounded at that moment.
Instinctively I turned my head towards the timer, showing the time that we had left. 0:00. I forced my sapphire blue eyes to remain on the timer. I was scared to see the points scores.
"And the winner is... Hikari Diamond!" I blinked, immediately breaking out into a bright smile. My eyes darted toward the point scores, and I saw that I still had more left than Daisy did.
"Yes!" I ran out to Ruby laughing, and threw my arms around her neck while the fire type nuzzled my shoulder.
"Hey Hikari!" I looked up curiously and saw little Daisy with her hands held behind her back smiling down on me. Her hair was a mess, a wet, tangled mess, now black with the water. I was sure that mine was the same way though, navy blue strands hanging pathetically around my shoulders. It didn't seem to matter all that much at that point though. Her face was slightly flushed from the excitement and adrenaline of the battle.
"Uh, hi Daisy."
"That battle was so gorgeous!"
"Gorgeous?"
"Uh huh! You were really great, and what you did with the clouds and then the ice, amazing! I can't wait to meet you in Contest again!" I smiled again too.
"Thanks. I can't wait either!" With that the girl spun on the back of her Converse and skipped away. "Haha, what a funny girl!" I took out Ruby's Pokeball and returned her, heading backstage.
After the rest of the battles finished up, we all got to see the matchups for the next day. The semi-finals.
A small smirk managed to creep it's way onto my face when I saw who my opponent was.
"You ready Hikari? Cuz' this time I won't be goin' easy on you!"
Thursday, February 27th
YAY!