Chapter 7:

"Go, Serperior!"

"Go, Ferrothorn!"

The two Pokémon take to the battlefield and prepare to fight. The green serpentine Pokémon is on Elin's side while the thorny metallic Pokémon rests in front of Flourette.

"This looks like a bad match up," Robin says sounding concerned.

He is right. I think back to Elin's full team and realise that Flourette has made an excellent choice. Ferrothorn is the best option against anything Elin has while presumably something else she has might have a weakness at Elin's disposal. Ferrothorn is strong defensively and thrives in close combat and has a strong natural advantage against the only things in Elin's team that don't rely on being close. This looks bad.

"Let's start with Coil," Elin says.

Serperior raises its head proudly and twists its body into several coils. It is preparing itself for the battle to come, heightening its abilities. With the opponent as it is, Serperior will need all the advantages it can give itself.

"Spikes," Flourette calls simply with her ever present smile widening.

Ferrothorn uses the appendages coming from its head to start rotating itself. As it spins, the spikes sticking out of its body are launched as projectiles. The spikes scatter all over the battlefield. Ferrothorn stops spinning and a new set of spikes grow out of the holes left behind.

Both trainers have made their opening moves to set themselves up. Elin is trying to power himself up to be in with a chance of standing up to Flourette's Ferrothorn. Flourette, meanwhile, has taken control of the battlefield. Ferrothorn will rarely move from its starting position and, with its tough metallic body, won't even be scratched by the spikes lying around. However, Serperior will be moving a lot and will now have to contend with a seemingly endless maze to weave through.

"Serperior, Aerial Ace," Elin orders.

Elin and Serperior haven't realised the significance of Flourette's play. Serperior darts forward with incredible speed. As it approaches Ferrothorn, it launches itself into the air and prepares to strike from above.

"Power Whip!" Flourette shouts urgently.

Ferrothorn reacts on command and one of its green appendages extends. It whips Serperior while it is still in mid-air. Serperior comes crashing to the ground and lands on a few spikes, forcing it to reposition itself while still coming to terms with the pain it is in. Serperior has taken a lot more damage than the attack should normally do. Then I spot the scratches all over Serperior's body. It had charged straight through the field of spikes.

"And your tactics are morally questionable?" Robin asks me. He has spotted it as well.

"She'll justify it to herself as a field advantage," I say, "She didn't cause it to happen, Elin walked straight into it."

Elin looks terrified. His Pokémon is getting up slowly, but he hasn't ordered another attack. How bad the situation is seems to have finally dawned on him and it's crushing him.

"Gyro Ball," Flourette says.

Ferrothorn starts spinning again. This time it's a lot faster. The spinning Ferrothorn starts moving around and catches several spikes in its spin. The spikes are thrown off in all directions. Serperior doesn't have enough time to notice and dodge. The spikes hit Serperior in several places and send it crashing back to the ground. It lets out a horrifying shriek of pain that causes me to cringe and look away.

"Serperior, use Aqua Tail on the ground," Elin shouts with determination.

Something seems to have awoken in Elin and his Pokémon reacts to it. I watch in wonder to see what he's planning. Serperior's eyes shoot open and it swings the end of its tail. The end of its tail glows blue as it slams into the ground. A wave of water spreads out from Serperior's tail in all directions. The water washes all the spikes away and crashes against Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn's spin halts and it tips over.

"Get back up and use Gyro Ball," Flourette says desperately as her Pokémon rocks precariously on its side. Its spikes are just about stopping it from falling in either direction.

"Aerial Ace," Elin calls.

Serperior reacts immediately and quickly follows up on its previous attack. It charges forward once again and slams into the underside of Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn topples over, landing upside down and crushing most of it appendages. The discs at the end of the appendages stick out from beneath the upturned Pokémon and tamely attempt to flip it back over.

Eventually, Ferrothorn gives up on trying to get back up. Flourette isn't sure what to do. Her Pokémon is unable to move. Both trainers look to their Battle Gears. They likely show that both Pokémon are still able to battle. There is a moment of confusion as everyone looks to each other hoping for a resolution.

"Ferrothorn is unable to battle, Serperior and Elin win!" Mark steps forward and declares.

"This isn't over," Flourette says, "We'll have a rematch someday and I will finish you off. But for now, a deal is a deal."

Robin and I go over to congratulate Elin as both trainers return their Pokémon. Then everyone gathers in the middle of the battlefield. Flourette offers me a handshake and I gladly take it.

"You're alright Wexler," she says, "Regardless of the result of this battle, I was going to let you do as you please. You have enough conviction in your beliefs about how you battle to face a challenge to it and convince someone who suffered at the hands of it to fight for you. I like that."

"Thank you," I say.

"Reynold, you still owe me a rematch though, I'm not going to take this lying down," Flourette says with a determined grin and points to Elin.

Flourette then makes her way to the lift. We are left facing Rhianne.

"So, are you up for our battle tomorrow?" I ask.

"Of course, I want to win as much as anyone so I've got to get through you," she says. She sounds fired up ahead of our battle. It seems there was never any doubt about me and the whole thing was all a bit of fun. If the battle hadn't been entertaining to watch then I might have struggled to see the funny side.

The whole experience has caused me a lot of unnecessary stress. It is over now and a great weight is lifted from my shoulders. It seems the other competitors are not as concerned with how I battle as they had first come across. We head back down into the hotel and I make my way to my room. I feel like I can finally relax and get some sleep ahead of my battle.

I actually manage to sleep and wake up feeling better than I have felt since arriving in Nimbasa City. As I get ready for the day ahead, I catch a glimpse of a smile in my reflection. There is good reason for it to be there. I am ready to battle Rhianne. I even detect a hint of confidence. I have to battle without Crobat, but I am now ready to use my status techniques with pride. If the crowd want to call me a Status Psycho then I will let them. I'll wear it as a badge of honour.

I head down to the entrance hall to find Elin and all of the quarter finalists gathered. It seems we're at the stage where everyone is starting to believe and wants to scout potential opponents. The battles will also likely be of a higher standard than in the first round. Everyone has proven themselves now. Almost everyone…

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Thomas cries out as Raymond impatiently guides him to join us.

"You are going to need to sober up soon," Raymond says. He sounds irritated and Thomas looks drunk. How early did he start drinking?

"I know, I know!" Thomas slurs, "I'm battling Day… Damien… Dianne… Dragon man!"

"Dragon man?" I ask.

"No idea. He's drunk, it all makes sense to him," Robin says, "I hope he doesn't sober up, it'll make great entertainment."

I look around for Daedalus. As expected, he is stood away from the group waiting. He is avoiding everyone and doesn't look too impressed by what is happening. After meeting him the other night, I wonder if it's all an act. He is watching Thomas and looks like he could explode with rage at any moment. Robin might be onto something about entertainment.

Thomas is bundled onto the bus and then the rest of us follow. When we arrive at the stadium, the crowd to greet us is smaller than last time but no less excited. That is, until I step off the bus. Boos ring out. I force a smile. I want to make it look like I am feeding on the hatred thrown at me to put them off. Deep down, it is getting to me. I want to stay confident but it's just so hard to ignore what is happening around me. A plastic bottle flies over the fence and bounces on the ground in front of my feet. That was intended to hit me.

"Silence them," I hear Flourette say behind me.

At first, I think she's talking to me. I don't quite know how to react and keep walking. A deafening roar rips through the air and everyone stops. Thomas grabs his head in pain and swears loudly. The booing falls silent and everyone looks up. A Salamence is circling above us all.

"You should all be ashamed," Flourette shouts to the crowd, "I put a test to Holly Wexler and she is not the horrible one, you lot are. She's here competing, providing you with entertainment. Show her a bit more respect or actually do something to prove you're better than her."

There is a stunned silence. All eyes are on Flourette and follow her as she smiles and resumes walking into the stadium. She returns her Salamence and then disappears through the doors. I quickly follow her inside with the others not far behind. I hear the crowd regaining its voice but I can't gauge the mood once inside.

"Don't bother thanking me, just go battle," Flourette says as I walk up to her.

I nod and obey. I enter the trainers' room and begin to mentally prepare myself. Rhianne takes a seat while Daedalus stands in a corner. Thomas flops face forward onto a sofa and proceeds to rummage in his bag. A glass bottle of clear liquid emerges from the bag. It doesn't look like water.

"Is no one going to stop him?" I ask.

I get no response so take action myself. I walk over to Thomas and grab the bottle out of his loose grip. He lifts his face from the sofa and scowls at me.

"I was… I was drinking that," he hiccups.

"You've had enough for today," I say.

"I'm old enough to look after myself, mum," he says.

"Clearly not," I say and carry the bottle away at arm's length to keep the smell from my nostrils.

I hide the bottle in one of the cubicles then go back to attend to Thomas. However, Raymond returns to collect me and Rhianne for our battle. I slap Thomas' face to try and knock some level of consciousness into him before quickly stepping back to avoid the backlash.

"Daedalus, please look after him," I say, "Try get him to sober up, or at least just keep him away from any more."

"No," Daedalus says simply, "He sickens me."

I don't have time to argue. I have to abandon Thomas and, once again, try to refocus my thoughts to my upcoming battle. Rhianne is calm as we stand together in the tunnel. I try to calm myself. My strategy should be straight forward. All I have to do is inflict some status and let her Pokémon wear themselves down while avoiding everything else. Sadly, battles at this level are never that simple.

The announcer declares our names and we step out into the arena again. The atmosphere is so different to the first time. It seems tense. This crowd are obviously willing and prepared to turn on me. Though I spot a corner of the crowd still showing support for me and I focus on them to calm my nerves.

I take my place opposite Rhianne and activate my Battle Gear as instructed by the referee. We are then told to select our three Pokémon each. I have only used the Battle Gear twice before but it feels wrong to see my team lined up without Crobat. I was given the option to substitute Crobat out of my tournament roster for something else, but then it would eliminate even the slightest chance I have of using it in the semi-finals should I get that far. I don't want to give up hope. Now, I only have five to choose from and, as with every battle, I instantly eliminate one. Before I even look at Rhianne's team, I only have four Pokémon to choose from. It is a simple question of which one to leave behind instead of which three to take.

I tap my three choices and then wait for Rhianne to decide. I am ready. I don't know Rhianne as well as I knew Elin. I have no doubts in my mind holding me back. I am going to go full out to prove to the world that I am no psychopath.