Chapter 7: Revealing Emotions
Aiden Flamel
Magby tugged on the drawstring of Aiden's red hoodie as his trainer watched the ending of the first battle of the day. The winner, a girl named Kara Ryder, defeated a boy named Benjamin Rein in the last thirty seconds of the battle. Despite the field favoring Benjamin and his Water-type, Kara was able to win in just two hits. When he met her, he had no idea she was that strong.
All though she fought well, Uruvio gave her a nine, Crasher Wake gave her a seven and Falkner gave her a five. Apparently, the Flying-type Gym Leader believed she had won on sheer luck. It might have been true, her mienfoo was looking pretty beat for a moment, but the surprise victory deserved at least a ten. Aiden couldn't believe the score when he saw it. Though, coming from Falkner, it didn't seem all that surprising. A total score of 21 was good, but not enough to get you the Leader's Suite.
Uruvio dismissed Kara and she left, a grin on her face and sparkles in her gray eyes. Once she left, Uruvio stood and faced the crowd. "Well, trainers, now you know never to let your guard down," he said with a chuckle. "Next battle will be between Fictus Berwyn and Umbriel Nox. Both trainers must be present in Field 1 in fifteen minutes. Thank you."
Field 1 was located beside Field 2, so Uruvio asked the crowd to move if they wanted a better view. Aiden picked Magby up and stood, but before he moved, he noticed Drakon Volans sitting at the bottom of the bleachers with his pokemon beside him, still bruised and burned from the battle with Magby. Aiden thought that that was odd and cruel since there was a Pokemon Center on the third floor of the cruise. Putting the thought aside, he walked toward the white-haired trainer.
"Um, hey," he said, extending a hand. Drakon ignored him, not even looking at his hand. His bagon, on the other hand, growled and bared his teeth at both of them. Aiden retrieved his hand before Bagon bit it off, and scratched the back of his blond head. "Er, well, I just wanted to say that… um… you battled really well. At least they let you stay, so…. No hard feelings, right?"
Drakon raised one eyebrow as he stared at Aiden with a blue eye. At first he thought Drakon was going to spit at him, but he only hissed. It took Aiden a while to realize he was speaking another language. The only words he could make out were: "Bene audiunt, puer. Draco: Magister Ignis."
Drakon got up and walked away, his pokemon following close behind, leaving Aiden confused and Magby wanting to battle right then and there. The Fire-type nearly jumped out of his trainer's arms, and he would have done it if Aiden hadn't held him tight.
Aiden decided that, yes, there were hard feelings. He moved to the seats around Field 1 and sat far away from the Dragon-type trainer. From where he sat he had a complete view of both sides of the battlefield. This one was closed, simply a dirt field with a few fake rocks here and there. Luckily for Umber, this field favored none, unlike Kara's pool field.
"I wonder where Umber is," Aiden told Magby. The pokemon gave him a disapproving stare, clearly not forgiving Umber for leaving them waiting for him. Last night he had told them that he would go to his room quickly and come back to take them to the Opening Ceremony. However, he never came. Aiden searched for him, but he didn't know which room was his, so he decided to go to the Opening Ceremony without him. "Wouldn't want him to… to…."
Something – more like someone – caught Aiden's attention. Sitting on the bleachers opposite the one Aiden sat on, was Ambrosia, brown hair glowing beneath the sun. Aiden began to comb his hair with his hands. He hoped that this time, if she saw him, he would actually look good, or at least normal.
"Five minutes for Fictus Berwyn and Umbriel Nox to arrive at Field 1." Uruvio announced.
A short, chubby trainer stood on one side of the field. He had red hair and the beginning of a beard on his face, despite not looking much older than Aiden. Once Uruvio saw him, he immediately jumped onto the scene.
"You must be Fictus Berwyn, am I right?" he said. The boy nodded with a smile. "Well, as we wait for your opponent to arrive, let's have a chat. Tell me, Fictus, what type do you use and where do you come from?"
"I use Normal-types. I have my trusty Teddi with me today," he said in a high-pitched, almost childish voice as he sent out his pokemon. A red light shot out of his pokeball, and from it, a small brown bear cub with a crescent moon on its head appeared. The teddiursa clung shyly to Fictus's leg. "We came all the way from Blackthorn City in Johto."
"And why are you here today, Fictus?"
"My father. I want to show him that I can make it…." He said, voice trailing away.
"I'm sure you will. Well, best of luck to you." Uruvio returned to his seat, counting the last minutes for the battle to begin. Aiden worried for Umber, but he couldn't get Fictus's motivation out of his mind. He, too, was here because of his father.
Umber appeared from a crowd of people and ran toward his side of the battlefield. For some reason, his normally tidy black hair was messy and he only had one earplug plugged in. "Ready! I'm here!" he shouted, releasing Poochyena from her pokeball. The pup growled at her Normal-type opponent as she appeared.
"Good, both contestants have arrived. On our left we have the Normal-type trainer Fictus Berwyn and his Teddiursa. On our right we have the Dark-type trainer Umbriel Nox, joining us with his Poochyena. Let the battle begin."
Teddiursa staggered as it walked on the field, stumbling before it reached its destination. The crowd gave an "awww!" as it stood back up. Poochyena, however, stared at it with a tilted head. She was wondering exactly the same thing as Aiden: what was this thing doing battling in a tournament? Probably in respect to the pokemon, or in fear of having the crowd angry at him, Umber waited for it to get ready before making a move.
"Ok, Poochyena, Bite." He ordered, pointing a finger at the Normal-type when it finally stood straight. Poochyena sprinted forward in the direction of the teddiursa. The cub's eyes shot open in fear and it attempted to run back to its trainer. Before he could make it, a set of teeth had chomped onto its ear.
The audience held back an "awww!" when they heard the pokemon yelp. Aiden had to admit they both looked cute, but this was not the time for cuteness.
"Teddi!" Fictus cried. "Faint Attack! Get it off you!"
Teddi, though nearly in tears from the pain, slammed Poochyena with its body. Though not doing much damage, the hit released the bite. Poochyena shook it off and snarled. Teddiursa just shivered in fear.
"Use Assurance, Poochyena." Umber said, a hint of reluctance in his voice. Aiden guessed that he, too, felt pity for the little pokemon. Why would you enter a tournament with an inexperienced pokemon? You'd have to be inexplicably stupid or cruel.
The whole crowd watched as the pup charged toward the cub, slamming it with the force of its small body. The Normal-type was lifted off of the ground and landed a few feet away with a thud and a cry.
"Get up, Teddi!" Fictus shouted. Despite his situation, he didn't look worried. He crossed his arms and smiled at the scene. "Now, use Fake Tears!"
Teddiursa stood up, perfectly balanced, with a smirk on its face. Then it sat down, crossed its arms and began to wail. Tears began to pour out of its eyes, soaking the field around it. Even Aiden felt the temptation to stop the battle and cradle the poor cub in his arms. Poochyena gave a whimper and stared at Teddi with the eyes of, well, a puppy.
Fictus beamed. "Fury Swipes!" he ordered, and before Poochyena knew it, the Normal-type was clawing her body with sharp claws. She yelped in shock, not having expected to feel claws digging into her skin. Teddi sniggered maliciously with every swipe. The crowd gasped, noticing the turn of events.
"Poochyena!" Umber shouted, eyes locked on his pokemon. Aiden could see the sweat on Umber's forehead and knew he was worried. Of course, just like everyone else watching the battle, he hadn't known the weakness of the pokemon was all just an act. "Run out of there!"
Teddiursa scratched away, not giving the pup a chance to escape. Aiden stood up. The fear of Umber losing and leaving him alone so early made him too nervous to sit still. Then a sudden movement from the other side of the field caught his attention. Ambrosia, too, had stood up.
"Keep it up!" Fictus was practically laughing.
The cub kept sniggering and scratching. It didn't seem to even be tiring. Umber furrowed his brow and put his hands to his ears, pressing the earphones deeper into his head. Aiden knew what he was doing, he had seen him concentrating enough times before.
"Bite, Poochyena!"
As another paw took its turn to scratch the Dark-type, Poochyena quickly sunk her teeth into the cub's foot. It yelped, but didn't stop scratching.
"Use Scary Face to make it stop!" Umber commanded. Foot still tight in its mouth, Poochyena glared at Teddi with red eyes and fangs exposed. The cub froze in fear. "Good! Now use Assurance!"
Again, Poochyena slammed its body against Teddiursa's. The attack sent the pokemon flying back farther than the last time. It was a technique Aiden had seen Umber use before. Assurance was a move that hit harder if the opponent had been hurt recently, so, since Poochyena still had had a grip on Teddi, the hit was very effective. The second the cub hit the ground, it fainted.
Right then Uruvio announced, "Teddiursa is unable to battle. The winner is Umbriel Nox!" The whole crowd erupted in cheers. Aiden shouted especially loud for his best friend. Once they settled, and Fictus had stormed away, the judges gave their scores. Uruvio gave a nine, Crasher Wake an eight, and Falkner a six. The Flying-type leader said it was because he let cuteness affect his battling. Summed up, he ended with a twenty-two, one point more than Kara.
Aiden ran down the bleachers once judging was finished. He wanted to congratulate his friend, but when he got there, Umber was gone. He looked around, confused, then he saw him in a crowd heading toward the elevators. Aiden followed, but the crowd blocked him.
"Umber! Umber, wait!" he shouted as he saw him enter the elevator. Aiden tried to push the people aside to get there before the doors closed. Before they did, he noticed Ambrosia talking to Umber. He kept pushing ahead, then paused when he saw them hug.
Author's Note:
Uh-oh! Wasn't kept secret for long, was it? How will Aiden react? Well, we have a very angry dragon! PLEASE DON'T LOOK FOR THE LATIN TRANSLATION YET! IT'LL BE EXPLAINED IN ANOTHER CHAPTER! For those of you who couldn't resist, the translation is a bit rough, so it might not make sense yet. So, who will battle next? Stay tuned to find out!
Behind-the-chapter:
Fictus was going to be a really nice, childish boy named Robb, but when I gave Teddi the move Fake Tears, the idea struck. To not leave you guys completely in the dark with the Latin words, "Bene audiunt, puer." means"Listen well, boy." Oh, and Falkner always seemed like a strict Gym Leader to me. Crasher Wake, on the other hands, seems a bit more carefree and fun.
Review, guys! The sake of Poochyena's cuteness depends on it!