Lee.

Two Mornings Later.

"Ugh...I still feel terrible."

"Then don't take tequila shots when we go out, you damn addict. I can't believe your fiancée hasn't held an intervention yet."

The morning of the Pokemon Contest, I was hungover. Again.

Mark and I stood behind the Contest Hall like I had in Hearthome, smoking. I had taken just about enough Advil when I'd woken up to take down a Primeape.

Around 8:30 that morning, bright and early, Riley's friend Amber was approaching me. She must have remembered where I was last time.

I groaned loudly. "Ugh. Children."

Mark elbowed me, hard, in the ribs. "Be nice, Leon."

The redhead greeted me with a bright grin. "Hey, Lee." Her energy and optimism for the day made me positively sick. Sicker than the tequila shots I'd downed the previous night.

I groaned again, exhaling cigarette smoke. "Don't talk to me this early, sparky." Mark promptly smacked me in the back of the head, causing me to drop my cigarette in the grass.

"Hey! Those're expensive!" I growled at him.

"I told you, don't be an asshole to the kid!" Mark growled back at me.

Amber snickered. I turned my annoyance towards her.

"Whattya want?" I grumbled. "I'm in a terrible mood, and I feel like crap."

Amber's annoyingly gold eyes widened. "Oh...sorry." She started to turn around. "I just thought-I thought you'd wanna know, Riley won his rematch against Reggie."

"He did?" Of course, Mark would engage in conversation. "Well, good for him."

"Yeah," I grumbled in agreement. I lit another cigarette, not in the mood for conversation.

She stood there for another minute, before running off like a startled Stantler.

Mark turned to me with an irritated sigh. "Do you really have to take your hangovers out on innocent teenagers?"

"Shut up! Just. Shut up. God, this'll be a long day..."

Astro.

"D'ya...do you really need to use me for the battle round? I'm fine doing appeals for today. After that incident with Riolu..."

Amber shook her head. "Don't be silly, Astro...I believe in you. Besides, we're on a winning streak!"

Dee puffed out an angry breath. "Speak for yourself!"

"She did."

"Shut up, Riley."

Tess' group wasn't gonna be watching Amber and Dee in their contest, because they left shortly after Riley had battled Reggie again.

The four of us stood outside the contest hall, waiting for the officials to let us in at 9. That was when the contest was supposed to begin.

Cyrus' words still echoed in my mind, and they bothered me. Knowing battling could harm my health, it felt almost...irresponsible to be participating in the contest.

And Amber knows exactly what I do, I thought bitterly, so why is she even still entering?! I knew nothing about her talk with Riley.

But, I was her loyal partner, so I had no choice but to trust her judgement and obey her orders. I didn't like it, not one bit, but I had no choice.

We were admitted inside the building, and butterflies made my stomach their own personal playground for assholes. The thought of battling again made me nervous, jittery, scared...all sorts of synonyms.

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts, I was surprised when Dee asked, "Jesus...Aaron and Lucian? What're you doing in a contest?"

I looked up, and saw Aaron and Lucian speaking to each other. By then, we had all moved to the coordinators' waiting room, Riley sitting in the audience.

Even more shocking, Aaron was dressed up fairly nicely. Wore an ironed, pale green button-up shirt with khaki dress pants.

Lucian was the first to offer a smile. "The same as you two, I'd imagine. Aiming to earn a ribbon."

Amber turned her gaze to Aaron. "And you?" She asked. "A gym leader?"

He blushed a little, tugging at the collar of his dress shirt.

"Lee talked me into it," He admitted. "I've been interested in Pokemon Contests forever, but my gym leader duties have always got in the way. I figured I'd get it out of my system before I go back to Eterna City."

Dee let out a sharp whistle. "Whoa. Stiff competition today, Amb."

Lucian chuckled. "I'm not so sure about that," He answered Dee. "Amber's Riolu really is quite a fighter. I'm almost glad I had battled Lee instead of you in Hearthome."

Now Amber was blushing, like an anime schoolgirl. "Oh...thank you."

It wasn't long before the four coordinators all took their turns with appeals, and I didn't pay much attention. I hoped Lee wouldn't play the favoritism card and let Amber continue.

In the Second Round...

"Aaron...you and I are the first match up!"

SHIT! I thought angrily. Damn that cute Magby!

I found myself opposite the field from Aaron's Leafeon, waiting for Marian to begin the battle. I took the moment to analyze my opponent.

Leafeon wasn't much bigger than I was, but I judged her to be heavier, and definitely a physical attacker, if Riley's gym battle was anything to go by.

Aaron himself looked like he was sizing me up, because no doubt, his buddy Lucian had told him a few stories about the time I went toe-to-toe with Lee's psychotic alternately-colored Umbreon.

"Ready? And...begin!"

"Astro, use Force Palm!" Naturally, Amber would call out a Force Palm to begin with.

Aaron hesitated. "Leafeon, wait," He ordered cautiously. "See how this works."

As I charged energy, Marian exclaimed, "A bold order from a bold gym leader! What could be going on behind those glasses?"

Only took a second before I charged enough energy to launch, but it felt like an eternity. I planted my feet firmly on the ground, ready to let loose.

Aaron took a deep breath, and shouted, "This is a long-range attack! Use Dig, Leafeon!"

Leafeon dug underground as I released my pent up energy, and it wasted the attack. I heard Amber's points go down.

"A predictable tactic from Sinnoh's youngest gym leader!" Lee's voice thundered through the sound system. "Dodge the first attack, and lash back with a stronger one. My baby brother could have seen it coming!"

Those remarks hurt my pride a little, and probably Aaron's, too. I closed my eyes, trying to scan underground for Leafeon.

"What...what is Astro doing?" Marian asked.

Leafeon was under me. Ten feet. Five feet. Three...

I jumped from the spot I stood, just as Leafeon burst out of the ground. I narrowly avoided being tossed in the air.

I wish I knew then

What I know now.

"While Leafeon's back is turned, Astro, use Hidden Power!" Amber cried.

I nodded, holding my paws out at Leafeon. I formed a pink ball of psychic energy, and hurled it at her.

I wouldn't

Dive in.

Leafeon cried out as it struck her back and exploded. "Leaf!"

Aaron lost points, but not many. He bared his teeth in a snarl.

I wouldn't

Bow down.

"Leafeon, use Leaf Blade!" He growled out.

The guy was just as fierce as he'd been against Riley. I braced myself for whatever Amber asked me to do.

Gravity hurts, but

You made it so sweet.

Leafeon lept in the air, the leaves on her tail and head glowing as she did a somersault.

Amber...! I didn't have the luxury of waiting for Amber to give me an order.

'Til I woke up,

Up, on the concrete.

"Ungh!" I grunted, swerving out of the way as Leafeon came down on me. Damn!

I swept through my mind, thinking of all the battle tactics I knew of, trying to come up with a strategy on the fly. The effort gave me a headache.

"Leaf!" Leafeon plowed her body into mine, in a full-body tackle. I was thrown back, but landed on my feet.

"Astro, he's trying to wear you down!" Amber warned me. "Use Force Palm!"

Between the headache I'd given myself and the impact of Leafeon's tackle, I could hardly focus through the haze of pain.

But, I refused to give in, like I had while battling, or Shift. I needed to stay strong.

As I charged energy, Lee warbled, "Look at the determination in those eyes! Astro's losing, but he's making damn sure that Leafeon's not battling a test dummy! I love that kinda spirit!"

Hearing Lee praising me angered Aaron. He thundered, "Leafeon, use Leaf Blade again!"

When I finally unleashed the attack, Leafeon lept up in the air, turning a somersault again and slashing me with the leaves on her head and tail.

I endured the attack, until Aaron added, "Now use Tackle! Now's your chance!"

Leafeon tucked her head in, slamming herself into me. I tried to stay standing, thinking I could still battle if I stood, but my legs buckled under me without my consent.

"It looks like Amber's Riolu, Astro, is beaten!" Marian announced cheerfully. "The winner is Eterna City's gym leader, Aaron!"

Normally, I would have been upset over such an easy loss, but I could hardly breathe from how hard Leafeon had tackled me. I curled up on my side, my hearing fading out...

"Oh my God...Azzy, Astro, are you okay?"

My head throbbed painfully as I focused on Amber's voice. Amber scooped me into her arms.

"N-no...God, my lungs hurt..." I closed my eyes, nudging my head against her arm.

Amber walked off, holding me to her chest. "Oh...Astro, I'm so sorry, I should have used Magby to battle..."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault..." I urged her. "Sorry I lost."

I nodded off as Amber carried me away, not waking up again until I was at the Pokemon Center.