Chapter 4:

Slowly, I regain consciousness. I feel so good. I am warm and comfortable in bed. I am well rested and feel refreshed. I don't want to get up yet, I could stay like this for a while. There is something wrong though. Something sits in the back of my mind telling me this is wrong. I can't think what it is though, I'm too tired to think properly yet. Gradually, it dawns on me. I'm in bed. I didn't fall asleep in bed. I can vaguely remember battling Elin. What happened?

My eyes shoot open and I fling the covers off. I am lying in a hospital bed, but the room is like no hospital I've ever been to. It's a small grey room with a table in the middle and the bed in the corner. There's a shelf on the far wall with a first aid kit and a few other basic medical supplies on it. I sit up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. I'm still fully dressed.

I hold onto my head and try to remember what happened. I have a bit of a headache and sitting up quickly hasn't helped matters. It's making it difficult to think. Eventually, the fog in my mind clears and I can remember the battle, the booing and how Elin reacted to his Pokémon. I won and then I fell asleep on the floor. I'm not even sure how I managed to with all the noise in the stadium. I was really tired and exhausted after the battle, I remember that much. I must have completely crashed after it was all over.

I get up and take a few steps before I realise something else is wrong. I reach down to my belt to find all my Poké Balls are gone. I don't think I even had chance to return Crobat after the battle. I look around the room, there's no sign of them anywhere. I head for the door, it's time to find where I am and where my Pokémon are. I open the door and step outside. I find myself back in the tunnel leading out to the arena.

"I could do with a drink after that," I hear a familiar voice.

I look towards the arena to see the scruffy man walking towards me. He is lanky with shaggy brown hair and a matching beard. He holds a pair of glasses in one hand as he wipes his eyes with the other. He slips the glasses back onto his face and stops when he sees me.

"Oh, you're awake Psycho," he says.

"What?" I ask out of confusion, "Sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, amnesia, this should be fun," he says with a grin.

"No, I remember everything fine, I just don't know who you are," I say, "And why did you call me Psycho?"

"I'm Thomas Byrne and you're the Status Psycho," he says, "That's what they're calling you. See, you're trending on Twitter."

Thomas pulls a phone out of his pocket and taps a few times to bring something up before holding the phone out to me. I walk over to him and take the phone to look. The screen shows the latest tweets for the hashtag #StatusPsycho. I take a moment to read some of the comments.

"I don't see why people are worried about Holly passing out, she deserves it after that performance," I read out loud and scroll slightly, "Holly should be disqualified, no respect for her opponent."

"Those are rather complimentary," Thomas says.

I look up at him and then back to his phone. The comments start to get worse. The words used to describe me get more vulgar and all of them call me the Status Psycho. I feel sick reading what these strangers think of me. I'm also a little scared by some of the threats made, I wouldn't be surprised if someone was stupid enough to actually try something.

"Who's the Hangover Hero?" I ask as I read a tweet which doesn't make much sense.

"That's probably me," Thomas says rather proudly.

I read one more and decide I've had enough of them. I hand the phone back to Thomas and he pockets it.

"Are you alright?" he asks, looking at me concerned.

"Some of that stuff is horrible," I say. I probably look quite haunted by what I've just seen.

"Just go back out there and win more, no will care in the end," Thomas says, "It's like I always say, no one cares the orphanage is a pile of ashes if the kids are safe."

"That's an odd saying," I say awkwardly.

"It's true though," Thomas shrugs, "Anyway, someone will want to know you're awake so you should wait in there and I'll go find someone."

"Could I speak to Elin?" I ask.

"Sure, I'll send him in," Thomas says as he walks further down the tunnel.

I walk back into the room with the hospital bed. I walk around the room for a bit before moving over to the table. I jump up and sit on it with my legs dangling off. Soon, the door opens and Elin cautiously walks in. He stands at the door, gripping onto it.

"You wanted to talk to me?" he asks quietly.

"I wanted to apologise," I say and pat the space on the table next to me. He doesn't move from the door.

"Oh," he says. He seems to relax slightly, loosening his grip on the door.

"I'm sorry about what I did to you and your Pokémon," I say, "I didn't realise at the time how horrible the tactics I used would be or how they'd affect you. You're a good kid and definitely know how to battle. I didn't mean to be so cruel. I'm sorry."

Elin loosens up more, but doesn't say anything.

"I probably shouldn't call you a kid either, so sorry about that too," I say, laughing slightly.

"Thanks," he says with a smile and lets go of the door, "Are you alright after… you know, collapsing?"

"Yeah, I just needed to sleep," I say, "How are your Pokémon doing?"

"They should be fine after a rest, Tyrantrum's sight might be poor for a bit but it should recover," Elin says.

"That's good," I sigh in relief. My thoughts then turn to my own Pokémon, especially Crobat. I don't know where they are or how they are. I want to know what happened to Crobat's wing. It was having real difficulty flying at the end of the battle.

Suddenly, Elin notices something and moves away from the door. A moment later, a young woman in a light blue nurse's outfit walks into the room. She stares at Elin who immediately leaves without a word. The nurse approaches me and examines me with her piercing eyes.

"How are you feeling?" she asks with a soft and motherly voice.

"Minor headache, but I'm fine now," I say.

"Would you like anything for your headache?" she asks.

"No thanks," I reply, "Could I know where my Pokémon are?"

"Certainly, we took them to be healed, follow me," the nurse says and turns back to the door to lead me out.

I slip off the table and follow the nurse back out into the tunnel. She leads me to a room opposite where the other competitors were likely still gathered. It is very similar to the room I had woken up in. The major difference is the presence of a Pokémon healing machine in the corner. It is capable of healing most regular battle injuries and restoring a Pokémon to good health. No such technology exists for humans yet. Elder Industries is supposedly working on it despite medical care not being a normal focus for them. I often wonder what it would be like to be instantly recovered and refreshed after an injury. Until an ethics committee approves Poké Ball technology for humans, an equivalent machine for us seems near impossible.

Five of my Poké Balls are resting in the machine having likely already been restored to health. The sixth is on the table next to my Crobat. Crobat is sat on the table looking rather upset with its wings hanging limp at its sides. The wing that had been clipped by Tyrantrum is wrapped in bandages. It looks up at me as I walk over and start stroking its head.

"Your Crobat won't be able to fly for a few days while its wing recovers," the nurse says.

"So I won't be able to use him in the quarter final?" I ask.

"I'm afraid not," the nurse says and shakes her head, "Though the bandages should come off before the semi-final and it will be able to fly, I wouldn't recommend it so soon."

Crobat and I both look down at this. We know what this means. The nurse is advising me to only use five of my current team for the rest of the tournament. It doesn't matter though. There aren't full six against six battles until the semi-finals and I won't make it that far without Crobat. I rely too much on the poison tactics in big battles. I return Crobat to its ball and reattach all six to my belt. I then return to the room opposite to find Raymond and the other competitors waiting for me.

"Keep up Psycho," a girl says when I walk in.

It turns out I slept through the other three battles and now everyone is waiting to return to the hotel. Thomas had won the last battle of the day. Daedalus has also won his battle. The other winner was the girl who spoke when I entered. She has tanned skin and long, wavy black hair. Her name is Rhianne. She will be my opponent in two days' time. If that's the first impression she wants to make before we battle, then I will feel no guilt in the tactics I use.

With all of us now present, we return to the hotel. Raymond leaves us at the entrance hall and we all decide to go our separate ways. Some people leave together, others on their own. Thomas loudly proclaims his intention to go to the bar. I decide he's got the right idea and follow him. The bar is at the hotel's restaurant and I haven't eaten today.

The restaurant is empty. Thomas immediately makes his way to the bar and takes a seat on a stool. I let him order his first drink before I ask the barman if food is being served yet.

"It is, for you," the barman says.

I blush slightly at the thought of getting special treatment. Thomas puts his drink down and looks at me.

"Don't think he's after you, Psycho," he says while the barman is away fetching a menu, "All competitors can get meals when they want."

"Why are we getting special treatment?" I ask.

"I don't know or care, if Elderidge wants to pay for us to eat, drink and be merry, who am I to decline?" Thomas says and takes another swig from his pint.

The barman returns with a menu and I take it to a table in the restaurant. I am liking Thomas so far but I have no idea how he'll be after a few more drinks so want to keep my distance. I browse over the menu. Nothing jumps out as overly enticing. At this point, it's all food, I'll probably love whatever I have. I briefly return to the bar to order and then sit back and wait.

"Over here," I hear someone say.

I look around and spot Rhianne at the entrance to the restaurant. A moment later, another girl joins her. It is the girl with the Poké Balls strapped to her arm that I noticed when we first arrived. She looks around and her blue eyes light up when she spots me. She dashes over and her blonde corkscrew curls trail behind. Rhianne quickly follows. As they come over, I wonder if Robin has stolen any of those Poké Balls yet. They takes the seats across the table from me and the blonde girl smiles at me.

"So, you're the Status Psycho, eh?" she asks.

I try to think of a response, I'm not sure I like this nickname, but I'm too slow to say anything.

"I'm Flourette Lauxand, tournament favourite," she says, "And my friend Rhianne here wants a challenge in the next round. Sadly, she got you and it sounds like you hide behind dirty tactics. Which is why I'm here, I'm going to train you to battle properly. You two get a good battle, no one gets hurt; everyone wins."

"I'm sorry, what?" I ask sounding offended.

"I'm going to help you," Flourette says, still smiling.

"It's a lovely gesture, but I did win my first round," I say, "And you're a fellow competitor. I don't want you trying something to have an edge if we end up facing each other."

"I'm trying to be nice here and you accuse me of being up to something," Flourette says. She sounds annoyed, but she keeps smiling. The whole smiling thing is starting to get unnerving.

"No offense to you, but people do anything for an advantage in lesser tournaments, you've walked in with my quarter final opponent and offered to help me. How can I not be suspicious?" I ask.

"I just wanted to help," Flourette says, "You can't like that Status Psycho thing and Rhianne's scared of what you'll do to her Pokémon. I'm not going to let her get hurt and it'll help you dispel the unwanted attention. It's like I said, everyone wins."

"Well, thank you, but I really have no intention of hurting Rhianne or her Pokémon, just winning, so you have no reason to worry," I say.

"How about we battle?" Flourette asks, "I win and you accept my help, you win and I'll let you decline my offer."

"Flourette, think about what you're saying!" Rhianne interrupts, "You've got your first round battle tomorrow, what if she tortures your Pokémon or even puts one of them out of action? I heard that boy she beat can't use his Tyrantrum for a while because she blinded it."

Flourette stops to think for a moment. Her smile then grows. It seems she's had an idea.

"Ok, we'll battle tomorrow night, except you won't be battling. You need to find someone who believes in you enough to battle for you," she says enthusiastically, "and if you can't find someone, then you forfeit."

I don't say anything. This attitude towards how I battled Elin is really getting to me. I don't want to open my mouth and make things worse though. Thankfully, I am saved from any more of this confrontation by the barman carrying over my food. The other girls look at each other and seem to take my lack of protest as acceptance of the challenge. They get up as the barman places my meal in front of me and leave me to debate who would actually be willing to stand up for me.