Chapter Seven: Not Made Of Porcelain
If Carla had been staying in Mauville on her own, she would have eaten at the Centre canteen every single day. Since she had company, she bought her meals from the Food Court every day, taking care not to buy anything that was too pricey. The prize money from battling Wattson would more than make up for the amount spent on food.
And...well, she was rather enjoying Bruno and Tally's company.
They spent an hour a day in one of the training rooms, which contained a selection of useful items such as practice dummies, targets and even a small obstacle course. When the hour was up, they wandered out of the city and trained outside. Zoe and Rakel both learned new moves and Treble learned Magical Leaf, much to Tally's delight.
Carla knew she couldn't use Tess in the battle against Wattson, but she still made all three of her team members battle Frank so they would become used to Electric attacks. Tess disliked this intensely at first, but Carla told her the training would make it easier for her to brush the attacks off.
"It'll make you a lot tougher as well, because you have a weakness against Electic attacks and they don't."
Tess seemed to accept the explanation, because she shook herself and fluffed up her feathers.
Carla also took the time to research Wattson's battling style and what kind of team he might use against her. Since she only had one badge, it would most likely be another two-on-two battle. No doubt Wattson knew exactly how to counter pokémon that had an advantage over his speciality.
He wouldn't see Carla and the girls coming.
While practicing in one of the training rooms, Carla noticed Zoe's Weather Ball reacted to the weather regardless of whether or not the user was indoors or outdoors. She wasn't sure why that was, even when Bruno enthusiastically asked her.
Boing loved the indoor pool at the Centre. Tally spent ages sitting on the edge, her bare feet resting in the water as the Wailmer swam the length of the pool back and forth repeatedly. Bruno let Pinch play in the water as well, but he had to recall the Corphish more than once after Pinch started pestering pokémon larger and stronger than he was.
On the sixth day, Carla looked around the Battle Food Court and wondered if they would be eating their food off plates or from takeaway boxes. There was still space at the table they were seated at, but only enough for one person.
"We've been here for fifteen minutes," Tally said, peering around as well. "How come nobody's challenged us yet? Our food'll be ready soon."
"You sound like you want someone to battle us!" Bruno laughed.
"Well, it is a bit weird, isn't it?" Tally asked. "Why hasn't anyone approached us for a battle?"
"Maybe it's because we're in a group." Carla idly played with the lid of her water bottle. "Challengers only go after trainers who are sitting by themselves."
"Huh. That's a good point. You know," Bruno remarked, suddenly changing the subject, "there's something I've been meaning to ask you." He rested his elbows on the table. "What's the deal with the PTPL?"
"What do you mean by what's the deal?" Carla asked.
"I know what it stands for," Bruno said impatiently. "I just want to know...are they for real? Do they do what they say they do?"
"Well...yeah. They do. Nobody was sure about them at first, but they've actually saved a lot of lives."
"Why wasn't anyone sure about them?"
"Because protecting trainers and pokémon is what the Pokémon League was supposed to do," Carla told him. "Or at least, that's what we thought."
"So what changed?" Bruno asked. He sounded confused.
"Have you ever heard of..."
"Hey."
Everyone looked up to see a boy standing close to their table. He wore a black jacket over a blue T-shirt and his dark red hair was clustered in curls very close to his head. "I want to battle you for your table," he said.
"There's another seat right there." Bruno pointed to the empty chair next to him.
"I don't want the seat. I want the table."
"All right." Bruno got to his feet. "Just hold on and I'll..."
"Not you," the boy said. "Her."
He pointed his finger directly at Tally's face. She flinched back, her eyes growing wide.
"Um, OK. Budge up, Carla, and let me out."
As Tally edged past her and into the space between the table and the counter, Bruno and Carla shared an anxious glance.
"Is she a good battler?" Bruno whispered.
"I'm more worried about him," was Carla's reply.
"One on one?" Tally called to the redhead, who shrugged his shoulders. "All right. Come out, Glossie!"
The Spoink landed elegantly on her tail and began to bounce up and down on the spot.
"Sid, go!" the redhead shouted.
Sid was a Minun. His cheeks crackled with electricity at the sight of his opponent.
"I'll start us off. Use Quick Attack, Sid!"
"Glossie, use Psybeam!"
Sid easily dodged the Psybeam attack. Glossie fired off another one, but the Minun simply leaped aside. Carla could have sworn he was snickering.
"Use Confuse Ray!"
A glowing purple orb appeared in front of Glossie's head and shot right towards Sid's. The Minun stopped running and watched in bewilderment as the orb circled his head until it was a blur. When the blur faded, Sid staggered around aimlessly as if he'd been spun around repeatedly.
"Snap out of it, Sid, and use Spark!" cried the redhead.
Sid tried to send the attack towards Glossie, but stumbled over his own tail and lost control. He shrieked as volts of electricity zapped his body.
"Use Psybeam, Glossie!"
Glossie's pearl glowed bright blue, and the next moment a multicoloured beam of energy shot out of it and right towards Sid. It was a direct hit; he tumbled over backwards until he came to a halt by his trainer's feet.
The redhead clenched his fists. He pulled a pokéball out of his jacket pocket and withdrew the Minun.
"Hey, what are you doing? You're not even going to finish the battle?" a voice cried from a nearby table, but the boy was already stalking off.
"You can sit with us at our table if you want..." Tally's voice trailed away as she watched him leave. Then she went over to Glossie and withdrew her before coming back to the table.
"I know some trainers can be sore losers," Bruno said as Tally sat down, "but that was something else."
"That wasn't even losing," Carla said. "That was quitting."
A man in a white shirt came over with two plates of food. "One Krabby Kroquettes and one Spicy Sub?"
"I'm the Kroquettes!" Tally cried.
"And the Spicy Sub's mine," added Carla. The sight of the sub crammed with meatballs and spicy tamato sauce reminded her sharply of how hungry she was.
"Yours is coming up soon," the waiter said to Bruno before gliding away.
Tally beamed before digging her fork into her fried dumplings. "You've got to try a Swirlix Crush as well," she said, holding up her drink. "It's so sweet!"
"I don't really like very sweet drinks." Carla wished she could have bought a bluk juice; she loved the flavour, and it always left her tongue and lips blue after she finished it. Glennis used to tease her about it when they were younger.
"When are you challenging Wattson?" Bruno asked her.
"Soon. I need to do another training session after 's nearly got Headbutt perfected, and Rakel's finished learning her new moves as well. I just have to wait for the right time to go to the Gym."
"Well, when is the right time?"
"It should be tomorrow."
"Well now! You certainly got past the rigged doors quickly!"
Wattson's hair was pure white and his beard stuck out at strange angles, as if he'd stuck his finger in a socket. His eyes shone and sparkled brightly despite his age, and Carla felt as if she'd walked into a room and came across somebody's beloved grandfather. He wore a bright yellow shirt with a black waistcoat over the top.
She couldn't let her guard down, though. It hadn't been easy to find the right path through the doors, and she'd had to double back more than once. She couldn't afford to underestimate him.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a referee standing close to the wall. Like Wattson, he wore a yellow shirt with a black waistcoat.
"What's your name, young lady?" Wattson asked jovially.
"Carla." When Wattson raised his eyebrows as if to prompt her, she added: "My last name's Saverre."
"Brace yourself, Carla, because you're about to receive quite a shock!" Wattson's laugh echoed around the room. It was a booming sound that made Carla want to step backwards. Was this his actual personality, or just an act he put on to deceive challengers?
"This will be a two-on-two battle," announced the referee. "The first one to knock out both of their opponent's pokémon is the winner. The challenger is allowed to make substitutions, but the Gym Leader is not."
Carla's hand grasped Zoe's pokéball tightly. Wattson took a capsule off his belt and tossed it into the space before him; a green and yellow form landed on the floor and fixed Carla with a challenging stare. It was an Electrike, the other canine pokémon native to Hoenn.
"Zoe, you're up."
As Zoe materialised, Carla noticed the smooth floor of the Gym. It might be risky, but maybe the strategy she'd used to defeat Norman would work here too. There was no danger of Rakel falling prey to it.
"A Snorunt! I haven't battled one of those in a long time!" Wattson said with another guffaw. "Challenger gets the first move."
"Use Icy Wind."
As she'd expected, the attack blasted along the floor as well as the Electrike, who slid backwards before coming to a halt, growling angrily, his sharp white teeth glinting.
"Hit 'em with a Tackle!"
"Dodge and use Headbutt," Carla commanded.
Zoe swerved aside quickly before Electrike could collide with her. Then she lowered her head and charged forward, sending Electrike skidding across the floor again, this time with a startled yelp.
"All right, let's give her a Volt Switch!"
The Electrike's body crackled with electricity. A large bolt of lightning shot in Zoe's direction, hitting her and blasting her backwards. Luckily, she regained her footing quickly - just in time for her next opponent to appear in Electrike's place. It was a Magnemite.
Carla kept her face impassive. Wattson didn't know it, but he'd done exactly what she'd hoped he would. "Use Icy Wind again."
"Blast it apart with a Sonicboom!"
The attack went right through the Ice move, but it was left severely weakened. Zoe only took one pace back when the Sonicboom hit her. She shook herself and focused on Magnemite again.
"Weather Ball!"
Zoe ran forward, opened her jaws and shot a fireball right at Magnemite. Wattson's eyes widened as the Steel-type screeched loudly in pain.
"What the...How did...Oh. It's sunny outside. Well, let's see you handle this little shock. Use Thunder Wave!"
Zoe was too close. "Dodge and repeat!"
The Snorunt moved aside and fired off another Weather Ball. It was another hit, and a forceful one. Carla winced at the sound Magnemite made; it sounded like a mangled scream mixed with scraping metal.
"Let's give 'em a Supersonic."
Carla's gut clenched as Magnemite sent out soundwaves at Zoe. As soon as they enveloped her, she started weaving from side to side in the exact way the redhead's Minun had.
"Now use Thunder Shock!" boomed Wattson.
The attack sent Zoe tumbling backwards. She staggered to her feet and shook tendrils of electricity off herself. Then she shook herself again.
"Hold on, Zoe; we can do this." Carla fought to stay calm. Latias, please, help us win this!
"Use Tackle, Magnemite!"
Magnemite moved forward quickly. All Carla could see was a silver blur, so she shouted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Weather Ball!"
There was a blast of flame, closely followed by the sound of metal scraping across the floor. Magnemite slowly came to a halt, its body charred and unresponsive. Carla held her breath as she watched it, and exhaled as Wattson withdrew his pokémon.
"Magnemite is unable to battle," called the referee. "The challenger wins the first round."
"You did great, Zoe," Carla said. "You can take a rest now." She recalled the Snorunt and pulled out Rakel's capsule. Wattson still had his Electrike and he wouldn't be able to use Volt Switch this time. Also, Electrike had taken damage and Rakel hadn't yet.
"Come out, Rakel!"
"Let's give them a shock, Electrike!"
When Wattson saw Rakel, his eyebrows seemed to rise halfway up his head. "You've got an interesting team there, missy! Let's see if this one puts up as good a fight as the last one. Thunder Shock!"
"Mean Look!"
Electrike froze to the spot, paralysed by Rakel's stare.
"Don't let it affect you, Electrike. Use Thunder Shock again."
Electrike snarled and let loose a bolt of electricity. It hit Rakel directly, causing her to drop a few inches. She rapidly recovered, and levitated higher into the air.
Then Carla had an idea. "Do what we did in Slateport."
She could almost see Rakel smirk before she disappeared. Electrike barked in astonishment, looking around him frantically.
"Fire off bolts everywhere until you..." Wattson began, but it was too late. Rakel appeared right next to Electrike and screamed into his face, making him flinch again and back away.
Carla didn't give him the chance to recover. "Use Psybeam!"
"Thunder Shock!" Wattson commanded.
As soon as he gave the order, Carla realised the two pokémon were too close to each other. The explosion made her briefly cover her eyes; when she lowered her hand, Rakel was still hovering, but Electrike was once again getting to his feet.
That was the third time Wattson had told Electrike to use Thunder Shock. Why did he keep using that one attack? Was it some kind of strategy, to try to get her to lower her guard?
Or maybe Electrike knew moves that didn't affect Rakel.
Either way, Carla wasn't taking any chances. "Psybeam again!"
Electrike tried to scrabble out the way, but he wasn't quick enough. He was blasted across the floor and landed on his side in a crumpled heap.
"Electrike is unable to battle!" announced the referee. "But I'm not entirely sure the unnamed attack is allowed."
Carla froze. She hadn't thought of that.
"I'm going to allow it," Watton said firmly. "Shows initiative and catches opponents off guard. But I wouldn't recommend using that tactic too often in Gym matches."
"Thank you," Carla said gratefully. "And well done, Rakel - you were awesome!"
Rakel smiled, as if to say: Of course I was.
Wattson was coming over. "You've earned this Dynamo badge, Carla. Congratulations." He dropped a small, shiny object into Carla's palm.
"Thank you."
"You stay level-headed in a battle," Wattson said. "That's good - means you won't lose your cool quickly! And you're not a bad strategist, either. That was a great battle, and I'm glad I had it before I go on holiday!"
"Oh? When do you leave?" Carla asked politely.
"In about..." Wattson checked his watch; Carla wasn't surprised to see its face was in the shape of a Pikachu. "...an hour. You're my last challenger of the day. I hope you and your team are going to have a little break too, Carla. Take it easy and enjoy Mauville."
"I will."
Carla walked back to the Gym doors, feeling as if she could fly.
It was the evening rush. The indoor streets of Mauville were bathed in a beautiful amber glow from the sunset outside. A couple of girls walked past Carla; their hair glimmered in the light as they talked and laughed together.
The euphoria had faded while Carla was waiting for Zoe to be healed, leaving a draining tiredness in its wake. Carla stifled a yawn as she walked back to the room she shared with Tally and inserted the key into the lock.
To her surprise, Bruno was already there.
"How'd it go?" he asked as Carla walked into the room. His face broke into a beaming smile as she grinned at him. "All right! Yes!"
"I knew you'd do it!" Tally cried. "Who did you use?"
"Zoe and Rakel. They both did brilliantly." Carla ran a hand through her hair. "I think I'll have a shower before we eat. I won't be long."
She walked over to her bag and pulled out her navy T-shirt before going into the bathroom and locking the door. She felt a little more refreshed after having a quick shower. Fortunately, the launderettes available in Mauville were much larger than the one in Dewford. Once she got dressed, she towelled her hair dry carefully and went back into the main room.
"Bruno and I have been thinking," Tally announced as Carla unzipped her bag, "and we've decided we don't want you paying for your food tonight."
Carla froze, her dark blue hoodie halfway out of her bag. "What?"
"You heard," Bruno said, his arms folded. "We're treating you. And we're not taking no for an answer."
Carla stood up. Something fell out of her bag and onto the floor, but she ignored it. "Well, if...if you put it like that...Thank you."
"You've earned it, after winning that Gym badge!"
"You dropped your scarf," Tally said, pointing to the floor.
"Oh yeah. Thanks." Carla put her hoodie on, picked up the small black scarf and stuffed it into her pocket.
The Food Court was always crowded in the evenings. Bruno found a small table tucked away from everywhere else, where they were able to release their teams so they could eat as well.
"What about Boing?" Carla asked.
"Oh, he's fine. I've already fed him," Tally said brightly. "What do you want to drink, Carla?"
"A bluk juice, please."
While Bruno and Tally went off to the food stalls, Carla released her team.
"We're doing really well," she told them. "I'm proud of all of you."
Tess tried to hide her face in her wings, and Zoe's mouth stretched into a happy smile. Rakel merely tilted her head to one side.
"Tonight, we can just relax and enjoy ourselves. Sound good?"
Immediately, Zoe and Tess started chasing each other around the foot of the bench. Carla watched them, feeling somewhat wistful. When was the last time she'd simply allowed them to play together? She needed to help her sister, but she'd heard stories about harsh, bullying taskmaster trainers and had no desire to become one herself.
"Why don't you join them, Rakel?" she asked.
Rakel raised her eyebrows.
"It might be fun."
The little Misdreavus seemed to think for a moment. Then she hovered down and inserted herself in the gap between Zoe and Tess. When Tess saw Rakel had entered the game, she cheeped happily and started to run even faster.
Carla smiled at the sight, but then leaned her elbows on the table and started to plan.
She needed to think about her next step. She had to send some of the prize money to Glennis, but also had to keep some for her team and herself. They would need food and medicine, but there might be other things they would need as well. Carla knew she'd done reasonably well so far with three pokémon, but she was aware that wasn't going to last long. If she wanted to be stronger as a trainer, she would have to add someone else to her team. That meant she would have to set even more money aside, but if it also meant challenging more trainers and winning more battles...
"Hey!" Bruno was back. He deposited a large box of pizza in the centre of the table. "Dinner is served."
"Thanks, Bruno. And...thank you for all the training with Frank. It really, really paid off."
"You're welcome. Maybe I should battle him next!"
"Actually, he's on holiday."
"What?" Bruno asked, frowning. "Since when?"
"Since this afternoon. I was his last challenger of the day."
"Wattson's on holiday?" Tally was back; she set three drinks on the table and sat down next to Carla. "Where's he going?"
"Probably Kalos or Alola." Carla could easily picture Wattson wearing a black and white Alolan shirt and lounging on a beach somewhere.
No, he wouldn't lounge at all. He didn't seem like the type to do that.
When the pizza box was empty, Carla looked up through the skylight to see the sunset had completely faded, leaving a dark night sky. There were even more people in the Food Court than before.
"Does this place ever close?" Bruno asked.
"I don't know." For some reason, Carla didn't want the evening to end just yet. "I think I might go for a walk."
"Can I join you?" Tally asked eagerly. "I'd love to see what Mauville looks like at night."
"Sure. What about you, Bruno?"
"Yeah, all right. I'll come too."
Most of the shops were closed, but there were still a lot of people milling about on the indoor streets. Mauville was still brightly lit, but Carla suspected the lights would start dimming soon. They wouldn't go out completely, though.
"How rich do you have to be to afford one of those bikes?" Bruno asked, pointing towards a shop that had two bikes on display in the window.
"Very," Carla replied. She looked around for side-streets and was surprised to see there weren't any. Wattson must have deliberately designed the city that way.
"Hey, um..." Tally's hands were in her pockets and she was looking at the ground, her black hair almost hiding her face. "Can I talk to you guys about something?"
"What is it?" asked Carla.
"I got a call from my mum today. She said..."
Everything went black. Carla stopped walking. Her breath caught in her throat. She'd gone completely blind. She couldn't see anything. Shocked cries echoed from all directions.
Mauville had been plunged into darkness.
Thank you for reading so far!
This chapter's title comes from 'Start a War' by Jess and the Bandits.