Chapter 6:
I watch the other two battles. I make notes about Daedalus and Thomas just in case. Thomas' battle is the one that really catches my eye. It is obvious that his hangover affected how he battled, yet he managed to win. It seems Thomas had been fortunate enough to get the easiest tie of the round. His opponent, a boy called Warren, showed little promise and struggled to command his Garchomp. It is a wonder how he even qualified.
With the show finished, I turn off the TV and get into bed. I want to sleep, but it is difficult. I had slept through the middle of the day so my body clock is now all wrong. I do manage to fall asleep but it doesn't last. A couple of hours leaves my body thinking it is done resting. I lie in the darkness begging a higher power to allow me to sleep. My wish is not granted and I eventually give up. Once again, I find myself leaving my room for a change of scenery.
The hotel is quiet, almost silent, and the lights have been dimmed. I slowly wander down a corridor, treading silently so not to wake anyone. I slow even further to a complete halt when I hear noises. They sound unnatural, but they're muffled. I suddenly feel like I'm being watched. I frantically look around. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. I rationalise it and realise that the noises are muffled because they're behind a door. I listen carefully and try to pinpoint which room they're coming from.
The noises stop as I realise which door they were behind. I slowly turn my head to look at the door. Suddenly, a face appears. I am taken by surprise and jump back. I lose my footing and fall onto my rear. I stare back across the corridor at the face. It is small with large gem-like eyes and a menacing grin laughing at my misfortune. I recognise the Pokémon as a Sableye and calm down slightly.
The door opens and I look up to see Daedalus towering over me. He is wearing just jeans and a white vest. It actually makes him look slightly attractive. I also spot a book in his hand with a bookmark sticking out. Why he has a Pokémon out in his room while reading is beyond me. He has a concerned expression, the first emotion beyond disgust or indifference I've seen from him.
"Oh, it's you," he says, "Sorry about that, wretched thing is always playing tricks on people. Are you ok?"
It takes a moment to register what is going on. Daedalus seems like an entirely different person to the one who blanked me before. He even extends an arm to help me up.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I say as I take his hand and get back to my feet.
"Ruined body clock?" he asks. I nod. "Force yourself to stay awake until tomorrow night, then you'll have no problems sleeping a normal night."
"Thanks," I say. It's the obvious thing to do, but I appreciate that he's being nice and offering advice.
"Goodnight Holly," Daedalus says as he forces Sableye back into his room. He then turns and closes the door behind him.
"Wait," I cry out while still trying to stay quiet enough to not wake anyone.
Daedalus stops and opens the door slightly to look at me.
"You called me Holly," I say.
"That's your name, isn't it?"
"Everyone else has been calling me Psycho," I explain.
I am blushing slightly. Daedalus Marlowe of all people has made my night. I never realised that hearing my own name could make me so happy. When I first tried to introduce myself to him, he had been rude. Now, he has revealed himself to be one of the nicer people I've met here.
"Sorry, this is going to sound weird," I begin without thinking, "Would you like to battle tomorrow?"
"We could easily be semi-final opponents in a few days and you want to battle now?" he asks, looking rather confused.
"No, not me, Flourette Lauxand," I say.
"No thanks," Daedalus says and immediately shuts the door.
I sigh. I am not completely surprised by that outcome. It was stupid of me to even bother asking in hindsight. I continue with my aimless wandering around the hotel. The rest is a lot more uneventful.
When the day actually begins, I return to the entrance hall. The competitors for the day's battles are gathering. I am thinking of going with them to watch them battle. I then spot Elin enter. I assume he has come to watch the battles too and go over to him.
"Hey, where are you going?" I ask while walking alongside him as I notice he walks past the group.
"Oh, hey," he says and stops, "I was thinking of going into Nimbasa for the day and seeing some of the sights. Do you want to come too?"
"That's not a bad idea," I say, "I was just going to watch the other first round battles. Are you sure you wouldn't mind me tagging along?"
"No, it'd be nice to have some company," he says.
We are then interrupted by Robin rushing over to us. He lifts up my hand and places a Poké Ball in it. He then gives me that mischievous grin of his.
"What's this?" I ask, looking at the ball.
"Conversation starter," Robin says, "Flourette wants to talk to you, so you can use that to get her attention."
"Robin, what exactly is this?" I ask again.
"Flourette's Ferrothorn," he says, faking innocence, "Third time I've swiped it without her noticing."
"Does she know it's you taking it?" Elin asks.
Robin stops to think for a moment. "Nope."
"Me turning up with her stolen Pokémon isn't exactly going to help matters," I say.
Robin pats me on the back and pushes me in the rough direction of Flourette. I spot her talking to some of the competitors that I don't really recognise. Mark is also in the group but doesn't seem to be taking much interest in the conversation. I walk up to Flourette and the conversation dies down. I hold out the Poké Ball to her and she looks at it for a moment.
"I believe this is yours," I say. Flourette quickly checks her arm and notices there's a Pokémon missing. She smiles and takes the ball back.
"Thank you," she says, "I hope you haven't forgotten our little arrangement. We never agreed a time and place. How about back here after the second round briefing tonight?"
I vaguely remember a mention of a briefing similar to the one on our first night for the people who won in the first round. I don't really know what the point of it is since we know the bracket and who we will face. I simply nod to Flourette and prepare to return to Elin and Robin.
"I do hope you find someone, I'm quite looking forward to it," she says cheerfully.
I can't help but feel she's looking forward to it either way. I walk away and leave her to resume her conversation with the others. Elin and Robin are looking at me with interest.
"What's happening between you two?" Elin asks.
"She's trying to help, it's just not help I want," I explain, "She seems quite opposed to how I battled against you and wants to teach me how to battle 'properly'. She won't take no for an answer though. Unless, of course, I can find someone willing to battle on my behalf who can beat her."
"Why do you need someone to battle on your behalf?" Robin asks, "Is she scared of you?"
"Well, yes," I say bluntly, actually taken by surprise by my answer, "but for the wrong reasons. She's worried I'll put her Pokémon out of action."
"I'd be up for it if we weren't in the same part of the bracket," Robin says, "If we both win then we play next round anyway. Maybe if one of us loses then I'll do it."
"I'll do it," Elin says.
"What?" Robin and I ask simultaneously.
"You shouldn't try and control how other people battle," Elin says defiantly, "I was the one on the end of your tactics so I am the only one with any right to comment on it and I know you didn't mean to hurt me. So, I will battle Flourette for you."
I ask Elin if he's sure. He seems fairly determined about it so I question him no further. We hang around with Robin, mostly listening to him, until it is time for the competitors to depart. We then make our own way to explore Nimbasa City. I mostly follow Elin as we visit all the places he wants to see. I don't really have many arguments with his choices. The Battle Subway is one of the more interesting places we check out. Though most of what we see of it is the associated museum. There is no time in for us to take a ride. Instead, that is something we agree on for another day.
There are several giant screens dotted around the city showing the Elder World Championships. We finally stop long enough to take in what is actually happening on a screen when we have lunch at a riverside café. We catch the conclusion of Flourette's battle. She has won using just one Pokémon. There is a reason people are tipping her to win.
I grow tired in the afternoon and Elin has to keep me from stopping and falling asleep. On reflection, walking around all day only brought about fatigue sooner, even if it kept me from having chance to nod off. We make our way back to the hotel and arrive at the same time as the bus brings back the other trainers from the stadium.
"How did you do?" I ask Robin as he comes to greet us.
"I won, of course," he says, "What else did you expect from a substitute Gym Leader?"
"Substitute Gym Leader?" Elin asks.
"I run the Laverre City Gym while Valerie is away," Robin replies.
"If you're a Gym Leader, how are you in the tournament?" I ask. I remember back to what Raymond had told me when he first invited me.
"It's not my role full time so I don't count," he laughs.
We have some time to kill until the second round briefing so go for an early dinner. Robin's mouth does a good job of keeping me awake, as does the meal. Robin and I then have to leave Elin to go to the meeting.
On our way out of the restaurant, we find Thomas passed out on the bar. Robin disappears and quickly returns with a snooker cue. At first, I want to question him but I watch on with interest. Robin stands at a distance and reaches for Thomas with the cue. After a few pokes in the side, Thomas awakens. He swears and thrashes about, knocking the snooker cue away. It all makes sense.
We manage to calm the drunken beast and try to convince him to come to the meeting. Reluctantly, he accepts and staggers along behind us. Once again, we all meet up in the entrance hall and Raymond leads us to the same room as the first night. Lancelot Elderidge is waiting for us. I eye him suspiciously after what I had overheard the previous night. I can't shake the feeling that there was something not right about that conversation.
Lancelot congratulates us and explains what we mostly already know. The quarter finals are still three against three and will be played over two days. The bracket is brought up again and I now recognise every face on it. I have some degree of familiarity with everyone in the room, whether I want to or not. My match against Rhianne is first up tomorrow morning. Thomas will then battle Daedalus in the afternoon. Robin and Flourette have indeed been paired up, leaving Shaw and Mark as the final match of the round.
With the meeting finished, we all return to the entrance hall where Elin is waiting for us. Once there, most of us stay. Only Thomas, Daedalus and Shaw leave. I stand in the middle of the hall facing Flourette. Rhianne stands next to her while Elin and Robin stand behind me. Mark, for some reason, is watching our confrontation from the side lines.
"So, you showed up," Flourette says with a smile, "And it looks like you've brought some friends. Alright, who's going to battle me?"
"Me," Elin steps forward.
Flourette looks at Elin surprised. She then laughs.
"I must say, I didn't see that one coming," she says.
"So, where is this battle happening?" Robin asks, "I don't see us getting away with it here."
"I had a scout around last night and found just the place. Shall we?" Flourette says and holds out a hand.
We all follow Flourette through the hotel to the lift. We all just about manage to squeeze inside. I continue to wonder what Mark is doing here. Flourette then hits the button for the top floor. The ride to the top is silent and awkward as I stand squashed between Robin and Rhianne.
I am not prepared for what we find when the lift finally stops. The doors slide open to reveal the roof of the hotel. We step out into the orange light of the evening sun. I am too busy admiring the view of the city and the many iconic buildings that stand out to notice what we came for. There is a concrete battlefield with lines painted on taking centre stage on the roof.
Elin and Flourette take their places at either end of the battlefield. Robin and I move over to stand near Elin to show our support while Rhianne does the same at the other end. Mark crosses the battlefield and stands in the middle on the far side. It appears that Mark is here to referee the battle. I look over to Flourette thinking she had this all planned out but she seems just as surprised by Mark's presence.
"This will be a one on one battle with no time limit. Trainers, activate your Battle Gears," Mark declares.
Elin and Flourette raise their arms to set up the battle on the devices strapped to their wrists. They then take a moment to select their Pokémon. After a moment of intense thought, they both tap the screen and nod to indicate they are ready. Elin picks a Poké Ball from his belt while Flourette grabs hers from the strap on her other arm.
"Begin!"