Astro.
The Next Morning
I stood on the battlefield, cracking my knuckles. Now, Pikachu and I were up against real opponents.
Riolu stood in front of Riley, shaking a little. The thought of battling me again must have terrified him.
But that Umbreon, Shift, stood tall and proud. I liked that confidence, but it also made me nervous; Shift was a carefully trained contest pokemon. I'd have to stay on edge.
"Amber, Astro, you ready?" I barely registered Volkner's voice through the din of the crowd.
I nodded. I knew the drill; when in public, no speaking. The only place that rule didn't apply had been Twinleaf Town.
The announcer lady, Marian, came on through a microphone.
"Good morning, trainers and pokemon, and welcome to the second round of the annual Hearthome Tag-Team Tournament! Today's first battle will be between Amber and Volkner, and Riley and Lee! Are you guys ready?"
Lee spoke up first. "Yes ma'am, we are!" He was positively glowing with excitement.
The other three weren't quite as enthusiastic.
"Then...begin!"
My muscules tensed, waiting for a command. I almost never began a battle on my own accord.
"Shift, use Swift on Astro! Take him out as soon as possible!"
Lee's style is fast and furious, I noted.
"Astro, dodge it, and use Force Palm!"
"Pikachu, use Electro Ball and take out Riolu! Let Amber and Astro handle Shift!"
"Riolu, dodge!"
I ignored all the trainers ordering us around. I focused on Shift, and the stars of energy she shot out at me. They ran fast and were aimed well; simply running away wouldn't work...
"Hnnngh!" I leaned back with my paws behind me and my knees bent, all the way down until my back nearly touched the ground in a full backbend. The glittering stars grazed the fur of my stomach, hitting the ground behind me.
"Astro, look out!"
Too late. Shift ran out and dug her head under my back, and shot me up high into the air. The Swift attack had been a diversion. Clever bastard.
"Now use Iron Tail, Shift! Hit him hard!"
Shift lept up to meet me midair, doing a somersault as her tail glowed a metallic color. I had exactly one second to react.
I twisted my back as far back as I could, really pushing my flexibility, and lifted my legs over my head just as Shift tried to slam her tail into my stomach. I landed safely on my feet.
"Wow! Just look at that Astro go!" Marian squealed. "He's leaping and twisting around like an acrobat!" The audience went wild with applause.
"Astro, use Force Palm!" Amber's voice rang clear in the chaos.
As Shift landed, I charged a pulse of pure energy in each of my paws, then shot them at Shift. She cried out, but stood tall.
"Astro, watch ou-!"
Too late. Riolu swept his foot under my legs and knocked me on my back. When I looked up, he held a paw to my face, glowing greenish-yellow.
My breath hitched. "You wouldn't." He didn't dare have the nerve to hurt me.
"Riolu, attack Astro!"
"Shift, Headbutt him from behind!"
He frowned, looking sad. "Hynn." I'm sorry.
I was attacked from both directions; Riolu blasted me in the front, and Shift headbutted me in the back with the force of a speeding truck. If I had the brittle bones of a human, a couple of my ribs would have shattered on impact. I was thrown away a few feet.
"Astro!" Amber squealed.
I looked around, in a panic. Where was Pikachu? She was supposed to be backing me up.
I saw Volkner return his second pokemon, a knocked-out Shinx, to his pokeball. He looked upset. Riolu must have decimated his team while I dealt with Shift.
"Lee, let Riolu take care of Astro. We can win this." I could hear the grin in Riley's voice. Confidence worked well with him.
Shift took a half step back, staying on guard. I forced myself to my feet. Riolu was on one side of me, Shift on the other side. I was trapped against the side of the battlefield.
"Astro, don't give up!" Amber encouraged. "Attack them both with Force Palm!"
Breaking out in a cold sweat, I held my paws out at both of them, forcing all of my willpower and energy into one attack.
It was amazing. For a few seconds, I could sense everything in the world; I could hear Riolu's heavy breathing, I could feel Amber dig her fingernails into her palms, I could even feel Riley's triumph at a battle well won. For a moment, I felt like a god.
Strange enough, I could feel how nervous Lee was. His stomach was tied in tight knots, and all he could think was, "Mark will kill me." When I heard that sentence sound in my mind, in his voice, then disaster struck.
For an entire heartbeat, my vision went solid red. My knees felt like jello, and I sank to the ground. My head was thudding painfully and powerfully, like a hangover from the power I had just felt.
"Astro! Get up!"
"Hyunn!" Astro!
I fell happily into unconsciousness. Well, not happily, but I was grateful. For a moment, I thought I had died. But only a moment.
Later.
"Astro...oh God, Astro..."
"It'll be fine, Amber...Astro's tough. He'll wake up."
"I just want to get to the Pokemon Center."
"I'm so sorry I got blown out of the battle so quickly, Amber...Astro could've really needed backup."
"Yeah...heheh. Sorry, kid."
I woke up, and felt like shit. My whole body ached, but where Shift had headbutted me from behind, it felt like it was starting to bruise. Riolu had done a number on me, too, but I was struggling to remember details from the battle.
Voices started to drift in a while later. I put faces to the voices, and then names to faces. Amber was holding me to her chest, rocking me like a baby.
I shifted in her arms. "Ungh..." I groaned.
Amber gasped. "Astro!"
I stayed curled up. "What...what happened...?"
"You just.. your eyes just rolled up into your head, and you sank to the ground." Lee's voice. "We...we didn't know what happened."
The fact that me talking didn't phase him didn't register. I tried to focus, and sense what was around me. The aura sensors on my head lifted weakly, but my headache doubled.
"Astro-" Amber sounded stunned.
"Stop." A warm hand pressed itself to my back. "Relax. Don't try to do anything." Lee, again.
How did he know what I was doing? I did what he asked of me, and relaxed my mind. That simple action left me breathless.
"Do you think Amber should bring him to Nurse Joy...?" Tess asked fearfully.
"I doubt she could tell you anything different than 'he's tired'. Let him get some rest, and I guarentee he'll feel good as new." Lee sounded so sure of himself.
Laying there in Amber's arms, restricted from really doing anything, I was already half-dozing. Lee didn't need to repeat himself.
But, in the back of my mind, something felt off. Lee wasn't...he wasn't telling the whole truth. Not how everybody thought he was. He was holding something back.
"Liar." The word escaped my thoughts before I could stop it. It came out lazy and half formed, sounding like "liahhh".
"What, Astro?" Amber stood up.
"Nothin'," I quickly covered myself.