It was almost appropriate that it decided to rain as they were heading to the hotel. Alexis didn't deserve to enjoy the nicer southern weather, in Espir's humble opinion. He had a plan and he was going to set it into motion as soon as Alexis was asleep.
Now that the Pokémon were healthy, she was- for some reason- back to smiling and joking around, trying to be cheerful around Espir. He didn't know how to respond. No normal person was this happy after such a crushing, embarrassing style of defeat. They still had a chance to win, but got disqualified due to her misjudgment.
Shane was in no way ready to face a Pokémon battle, let alone one of that caliber. She should have sent Espir in. Espir was battle hardened at this point. He would have known how to handle the adversity and would've known what to do to pull out a win, even if he was being overpowered. Shane had actively shown fear and a dislike of conflict.
Whatever was going on, Alexis' mind was not screwed on the right way at his moment in time and Espir needed to figure out how to communicate to her that she needed to get a reality check in before she pushed on with this gym quest of hers.
He was not going to be a part of a squad that was routinely battered a pulp each time they entered an arena, only for her to forget about that fact as soon as she won a badge. The only difference this time was that she hadn't won one. Hopefully, that would be the crease in the armor for Espir to get through to her about this dangerous habit of hers.
The room that Alexis got in the hotel had a forest theme going on in the decorations that rubbed Espir the wrong way. Perhaps he was just in a bad mood due to how the battle had gone, but he didn't like how the childish trees painted on the walls, or the bedside lamps shaped like trees, looked. There was too much green in this room. Espir shook his head. He was clearly just annoyed at his circumstances, again, and was now taking it out on interior design, of all things. He just had to wait until Alexis was asleep, that was all.
It didn't take too long. Alexis decided against staying up late and collapsed into bed soon after they had arrived in the room. Espir looked to the collection of Pokéballs that had been discarded on the floor, still attached to her belt. He didn't want to risk the red light waking her up, so he carried the Pokéballs to the ensuite bathroom and closed the door as quietly as he could.
First press. Flash. Second press. Flash. Third press. Flash.
Espir looked around at the cramped bathroom, at the three Pokémon he had last seen lying in their own blood. Staravia was perched on the sink, Letos in the bath and Shane on the floor in front of him.
"We need to keep it down," Espir whispered, "because Alexis is asleep."
"Why are we even out, if she didn't let us out?" Letos grumbled, eyeing Espir suspiciously.
"Because we need to discuss some things that I hope we agree on," Espir said.
"What sort of things?" Staravia asked, as Letos rolled his eyes.
"The state of our team during Pokémon battles," Espir said.
"We're doing our best-" Letos started to protest, but Espir cut him off.
"I'm not saying that," he said. "I'm incredibly impressed with how you're fighting, I am. What I needed to talk to you guys about is how Alexis manages our fights. Twice today, she essentially chose to let our guys go down, instead of recalling them to safety. Letos, you against Quagsire. Staravia, you against Floatzel. Neither of you deserved to go through those moments- and it's not the first time things like that have happened. She treats your health like a right only she has the power to control. She put Shane out against Floatzel before me, no offence Shane."
"None taken," Shane mumbled. "I'm not a fighter and have no wish to be."
"That isn't something you get to decide, unfortunately," Letos said, though his tone was a shade softer than it usually was when he spoke to Espir. Perhaps, he simply disliked Espir and Espir alone.
"Alexis has a hard time understanding me," Espir said, "and after the amount of times I've complained to her and she's ignored me, I doubt my words would have any effect anyway. I need all of us to confront her and get her to change her ways. For the sake of our health and, potentially, our lives."
Espir waited for Letos' inevitable argument and denial, but it never came.
"Are you not going to tell me why it won't work?" Espir asked Letos, his face twisted slightly in confusion.
"Nope," Letos shrugged. "Strange, isn't it?"
Espir nodded slowly, unsure how to feel about the fact Letos had agreed to his request so swiftly. Perhaps, they had all been thinking the same things he had, they just hadn't had the opportunity to voice them as much as he did.
"So, when do we talk to her?" Staravia asked.
"I'd suggest now, honestly," Espir said. "Otherwise, we might not have another chance to get you all out of your Pokéballs before she takes another swing at this gym. Shane, how was your Pokéball, anyway?"
"Not too bad," Shane said, giving his approximation of a shrug, though he stood upon four legs. "I didn't really know what I was expecting, to be honest."
"I got eternal darkness," Espir said. "How about you?"
"Is this really the time?" Letos cut in.
"Sorry, you're right, I got distracted," Espir nodded, turning towards the bathroom door. "Are we all ready? Letos, can you do the talking? She understands you best."
"Certainly," Letos said, his tone grim and Espir could feel the determination, mixed ever so slightly with concern and dread, washing over him. It felt a little strange for Espir to be putting the fate of this plan in the hands of the one Pokémon that had always hated him- but Letos had the most to gain from a change in tactics from their inexperienced trainer.
Espir opened the door and the rest of the Pokémon filed out after him, all of them walking over to Alexis' bed. Gently enough, as this wasn't meant to be a cruel situation, Espir nudged Alexis until she woke up. Even though he woke her up gently, she awoke with a start, before realizing where she was. She rubbed her eyes and looked down at the collected Pokémon, switching on the bedside lamp, to better see them all.
"What are you all doing outside of your Pokéballs?" Alexis asked groggily.
"We have complaints to make," Letos said, as the others watched on, putting on their best stern and serious expressions.
"What do you mean by complaints?" Alexis asked, understanding what Letos was saying, even though he was really only saying 'Prinplup', as it was his Pokémon species.
"The way you treat battles, and us within those battles," Letos said, "it has to stop."
"How else am I supposed to act?" Alexis asked. "We're there to win."
"Not at the expense of the team," Letos said, shaking his head sadly. "I question whether you even care about me as anything more than a means to another badge nowadays. The worst of these injuries have been avoidable for some time now, but you consistently choose to put us in harm's way. Why?"
"I don't need this right now," Alexis said, leaning over to turn off the bedside lamp, but Letos moved just as quickly, pushing up closer to her.
"What we don't need, is another incident like every single time we have stepped into a Pokémon gym," Letos snapped. "Change your ways or we refuse to fight."
"You refuse," Alexis scoffed. "Since when did you ever have the choice to refuse?"
"Since you stopped caring," Letos said.
"Hey, you know what?" Alexis laughed, in a slightly unhinged manner, "if you've all given up on me, what use do you have for keeping me around?"
She threw off the duvet and began to pull on the rest of her clothes.
"Come on, this isn't mature in the slightest," Letos sighed as Alexis put on her coat.
"No, no," she replied back, still giggling slightly, "you all have fun without me. I won't burden you with my inadequacies any longer."
Espir could feel Alexis' emotions as she left the room. They were twisted up, distorted. Her positivity over the previous few days had been a forced positivity. He didn't know why, but Alexis had been trying to hide her true feelings for days and the pressure had clearly gotten to her. Whatever was eating at her was winning, but it was too late. She was gone. Espir thought about going after her, but it wasn't like he had the ability to say anything to her that would get her to come back. All he'd wanted was for her to take their safety and health seriously, not to push her away entirely.
"I'm going after her," Letos said, rushing out of the room before she could get too far. Espir stayed in the hotel room, along with Shane and Staravia. This might have been an issue that affected them all, but Letos was her first Pokémon and the only one that could truly communicate with her. This was his battle to win.
...
...
...
Letos wasn't used to the responsibility.
Over the past few weeks, he had become accustomed to almost solely being let out of his Pokéball to fight in battles he would never see the end of, or to rest momentarily at campsites. A few of those times had been punctuated with arguments with Espir, the fake Marshadow, but they were generally the same.
He had forgotten what it felt like to be the leader of the pack. To be the trusted ear to the trainer. Heck, she didn't even understand Espir and yet she seemed to trust him more. Not anymore.
It was a shame that his responsibility and need for communication had resurfaced at a time like this, but it was better now than never.
Alexis had gone a decent distance before Letos had managed to spot her once again. She had gone down the elevator and out of the hotel, before he'd even left the hotel room. Once he was out of the hotel, too, having had to take the stairs, he started searching for her in earnest. The weather was atrocious. Warm, yet torrential, rain. Letos spotted her running into the woods, the dense woods that she could easily get lost in.
Letos hurried after her, using the water to help propel him across the ground. He couldn't let her go too far into the woods, or they'd risk truly losing her.
He reached the trees not long after she did, travelling across the ground at a much faster speed than she could run.
"Alexis!" He shouted after her, knowing she was within earshot, even over the sound of the rain hammering on the trees. "Can we just talk this through?"
He listened out and made sure to follow the sound of her splashing footsteps, weaving between trees and slowly catching up to her as he did.
Once Letos had finally caught up to Alexis, he found her curled up behind a tree, hugging her knees close to her chest, with her eyes closed. She was just mumbling to herself as she sat there, refusing to take in his words.
"What's going on, Alexis?" Letos asked quietly, sitting down beside his trainer. "Since when did you ever run away from a troubling situation, let alone a conversation with friends?"
"It won't stop," Alexis muttered. "It just won't stop."
"Would you be okay telling me what won't stop? I can't help you if I don't know."
"My nightmares," Alexis said, through short, sharp breaths, "they're starting to become reality."
"Your… nightmares?" Letos asked, trying to keep his disbelief either in check, or at least well-hidden.
Alexis nodded and leaned her head back so that it rested against the tree trunk. She groaned up at the sky.
"I'm a failure," she moaned.
"Not at all," Letos said, nudging her with his wing. "We're both still really new to this, remember? You've accomplished so much, all we need is a little communication and teamwork to take it to the next level."
"I've ruined it," Alexis said, shaking her head. "They hate me. You hate me."
"I wouldn't have come racing after you if I hated you, now, would I?" Letos argued, his tone gentle.
Alexis didn't reply, she just sat there in silence, listening to the rain beat down around them.
"Do you think you'd be able to come back inside, now?" Letos asked.
"In a minute," Alexis said quietly, resting her head on Prinplup's head, as he leaned against her side. "In a minute."
...
...
...
It was the following day. Espir and Shane stood just to the left of Alexis. Espir was nursing his right arm, but nothing was too seriously injured- not like the injuries of the Pokémon in the past. Staravia was in a similar condition within her Pokéball, still conscious, just a bit beat up. Letos stood opposite the Floatzel, both of them standing on platforms as the water stood still between them.
Under Alexis' leadership, the team had dispatched the first two Pokémon swiftly and efficiently, without needing to even turn to Shane. Shane, for his part, was helping tend to Espir as Alexis focused on Letos and the Floatzel.
"How are you doing, Letos?" She called out over the arena. "Do you need a break?"
"Not a chance," Letos replied, his voice low and menacing as he eyed the Floatzel. They had both done a decent amount of damage to each other, but Letos clearly had the upper hand at this point in the battle.
There were more spectators in the crowd at this time of day, late morning, and Crasher Wake had gradually stopped appealing to them as the battle had so readily turned against him. At least the day prior had been close until the disqualification. This new battle appeared to be going in one way and one way only. Letos just had to hold out a little longer.
The Floatzel darted into the water, likely wanting to try another quick Ice Fang, hoping to potentially catch Letos off-guard.
Letos watched the orange blur burst out of the water and, instead of his usual Peck, he reacted with even more speed. He put all of his frustration into the various battles he had fallen in, only to miss out on seeing the victory, of losing his top spot to some random Pokémon, of gradually falling out of touch with his best friend and trainer- Letos worked himself into a fury, on the spot, and lashed out at the Floatzel while it was soaring through the air towards him, unable to change its trajectory now.
Letos stepped to the side and unleashed a Fury Attack, peppering the Floatzel with brutal attacks from its beak as the Floatzel flew by, unconscious by the time it hit the water on the other side of the platform.
Letos had won. Alexis had won. Their team had won. Not a single one had fainted- and Letos allowed himself to celebrate a win for the first time in his life.