Character: Melody Hannah Grace
Species: Cinccino
Age: 14
Nickname: Hannah, Miss Destiny
Year of character creation: 2014
Story: A princess who entered a strange hibernation in pursuit of her mother's killer, Martha Verity. She has both the Veritan and Valorian royal blessings. As Lugia's Scion, she's able to control wind, even to the degree of flying on an oversized fan. Lugia's last Scion, Helena Verity, decided to stay and act as a guide, which has allowed her to learn at a much faster pace than normal. She dreams of becoming a traveling performer.
Her feet hit the ground.
Audino Agatha stopped to catch her breath. She resigned herself to muddy feet from the wet grass. Rivers of bright sunlight poked through holes in the green canopy of leaves overhead. She turned around in a circle.
"Zoogle!" she cried. "Where are you!?"
A blue, round, shiny tail vanished behind a tree. She chased after it.
Audino Agatha woke up to a serenade. Warm air welcomed her awake. Cinccino Hannah stood over her from her bedside, with a white sweater on.
"Hi," Hannah spoke. "Good morning."
Agatha yawned. "Hi," she sqleuched out.
"Breakfast is ready. We're going to the arena today."
Hannah placed a paw on her forehead, for whatever reason. Agatha stayed still and went with it.
"You have a very mild fever," Hannah said. "You should take it easy today. It should go away."
"Where's Jenna and Natasha?" she asked.
"Down on the first floor. I'll bring up your plate."
"You don't have to do that."
"It's okay. I'll be right back!"
Agatha flopped down and held her head. Who in the heck was Zoogle?
Sunlight headbutted Audino Agatha as she stepped outside. She stayed under the shade for a minute.
The rest of the class and chaperones all bunched together outside, underneath the marble Horsea fountain. Constant chatter bounced on her ear strands. She grabbed and pulled on them both to dull it.
Flygon Mr. Rivers floated over all of their heads with his arms folded. Even the other chaperones didn't seem to notice him there.
As Agatha walked closer, behind Slurpuff Zel and Elektrike Janette, they quieted down. One by one, they glanced up at Mr. Rivers and finally noticed.
"Thank you," Mr. Rivers huffed. "We'll be in carriages again today. Once we get to Central Valor, everyone should remain within ten blocks of the area. This is a lot of open space for you all, so please be responsible. We'll meet at around six in the afternoon to head to the arena. Please, text hourly updates on where you all are, and use your common sense."
"I have a question," Persian Romania said. "Is there anything we aren't allowed to buy?"
"It's your own money for shopping. You can use it on whatever you want. I for one need better workout bands. The stuff in Verity is so cheap, I'll have you know."
"Uh, teach," Umbreon Walter said. "No offense, but we have never seen you work out."
"Why would I work out in front of students? Dolt…" he hissed under his breath. Only Agatha caught it, she assumed. "I mean, just- Nevermind. Sort yourselves into carriages. It should only be a half hour trip. When you go out there, compromise and make groups of at least three. If there's any arguing, you come to me. Now let's get to it. The sooner we get there, the sooner I get gains."
"Please never say that again…"
Mr. Rivers ignored him. The group sauntered forward.
Now who would Agatha take for shopping?
She didn't have anything specific in mind, but she knew she had to get past that crazed Umbreon in the Old World. She needed something to give them an edge. With the current skill difference, they'd have to get a little creative if they wanted to win.
Hannah would be a must, and then…
She turned.
Pikachu Simone walked next to Sandshrew Thomas. They spoke quietly. Simone knew practically everything about royal history, and in general. He'd be a must. With her, that made three.
Cinccino Hannah walked close next to her. She'd probably stay. Agatha just needed to convince Simone.
Simone patted Thomas on the back and jogged in their direction. Good. She could ask-
"Hey Agatha," Simone said. "Can I tag along with you today? You're probably going to the library, right?"
"Uh, yeah," she said. "Sure. That was the plan."
"Do you have room for oooooooone more?"
Deerling Belle bounded up next to Simone. She definitely wasn't interested in history, so Agatha had to ask herself: what'd she even want? To look smart? After the Dogecoin story, that ship set sail.
"Are you looking for a book too, Belle?" Simone asked.
"Of course!" she nodded, bubbly.
"Who's your favorite author?"
Her eyes widened, and her smile dropped.
Agatha curled her lower lip and nodded to herself.
"Well, I'm hoping to complete my collection," said Simone. "Just need a quick pit stop at the bookstore, and I'll show you mine."
"Sounds good!" Belle said.
"Can I come too?"
"Hey, uh-"
Out of nowhere, Agatha found them swarmed with requests to join from her classmates. As Growlithe Alisha and Boltund Avery made their bids, she had to wonder why they didn't have anything better to do on a field trip. By her estimate, almost none of them read any books.
"Why do you guys wanna go to the library?" Charmander Natasha asked.
"Recipe books," Sandshrew Thomas said.
Midnight Lycanroc Roy snapped his claws and pointed. "Manga."
"I think I have a theory as to why King Leonidas Verity was banished rather than executed," Simone said. "Also, the origins of french fries. I mean, what even is 'french'?"
"Then we'll all take a pit stop at the library as a class, then part into groups," Mr. Rivers said.
"I guess your suggestion was popular!" Hannah smiled at Simone.
Simone's ears flicked. "I didn't realize you guys read so much." He flinched. "Ah, no offense."
"Can't lie though," Slurpuff Zel said, "I'm kinda hyped about tonight. I mean, the Valorian arena?" The same one where the Olympic battles were held?"
"I'm just trying to contain myself 'til then," Lillipup Shenise said, walking next to her. "I might try to follow the path the Royal Parade took. You know, the one Agatha and Hannah's friend was on."
"Now now, class," Mr. Rivers said. "Respect people's privacy."
"Uuuuugh…"
Everyone already seemed to have branched out into their own carriages. As they all spread across the brown sidewalk, they left her alone with Cinccino Hannah and Pikachu Simone, right next to a small, empty carriage.
Guess this would work.
At first, during the ride, Simone stared at his phone without talking. Audino Agatha twirled her ear strand. She sat next to Hannah on a small brown cushion, and across from Simone. She mulled over ways to ask him for tips. She didn't think of any that sounded natural.
"Hey Simone," Hannah said. "I want to play a game."
Simone winced and frowned as he glanced up from his phone. "Candy crush…?"
"I mean a history game! One I made up!"
Simone rolled his shoulders and set his phone down. "Okay."
"Okay, so we all go around and describe how we'd try to beat historical figures in an arena battle."
"Huh." He smiled. "Alright."
"We'll go around and choose, Agatha?"
Agatha blinked. Hannah stared her down with her deep, blue eyes. Her normally innocent, mellow look had been replaced by something sharp and clever..
It intrigued her.
"Okay," Agatha said. "Uh, Hungrybox."
Simone snorted. "I'd probably have to wait for the sun to burn out. But, well, he's not really historical since he's still alive and posting Chatotlongers."
"I… don't keep up with this sort of thing. But, uh… How about the Glass Reshiram?"
"I'm pretty sure all of us would die."
"Yup!" Hannah nodded and smiled.
"How about an explorer then?" Agatha suggested. She recounted seemingly endless hours in the classroom. "Uh… That Noivern guy? Bah… Boh…"
"Boon?" Simone asked. "He was pretty strong. I would probably go for the wings, but, that's cliche. Couldn't overpower him, either. I'd stay low to the ground. He'd prefer being over his opponents, so, I'd try to clip him with electric attacks, and stay out of sight."
"I would punch really hard!" said Hannah.
She probably had no idea who he was.
"Alright, how about King Leonidas Verity?" Simone asked.
Agatha didn't know if Hannah had heard about him. Actually…
Wouldn't that have been around her time?
"He burned energy faster than any other pokemon on the planet," Hannah said. "I would try to outlast him."
"Same," Simone said. "I mean, it's the right answer, but, easier said than done. I honestly don't know how anyone could survive an onslaught from Leonidas. The sheer defensive mastery you have to have is unreal. It'd take years to learn it."
"I'd just kick him," Agatha huffed.
"Impatience will do you in, y'know."
"Well, if his offense obliterates anything, then you just have to obliterate him first. It's not like he'll be practiced at defense either, being so used to getting his way and the usual formula."
"Fascinating," he said.
Agatha blinked.
"Oh, uh," Simone murmured, and rubbed his head. "Just the fact that you'd take into account your opponents' psychological state. You got one, Hannah?"
"Yes," she said. "How about Selina?"
"Selina?"
"The Twilight Hero, they called her."
Her mother? Well… Her adopted mother?
"There aren't even any records on her species," Simone said. "It's pretty annoying not having details like that, at least. She appeared out of nowhere and tore up whole battlefields. I don't think it's possible to know how to beat her."
"Oh," Hannah said. "Well, that's fine."
Hannah stared down at the floor.
"Agatha?" Simone asked.
"How about Arthur Acuity?" she asked.
"The mad king…" Simone sighed. "Arthur, huh…?"
Simone seemed to think for a few seconds. Agatha shared a quick glance with Hannah.
"Well, assuming you wanted to play it nice, you'd need to be familiar with the tactics of Acuitan warlords," he said. "Before King Arthur, Acuity focused on defense and economic stability through trade with other nations, like Lao Shen. Then, Arthur took the most brutal of their strategies, and added his own bloodlust. It wouldn't be far off the mark to say that the entire style of fighting is… evil.
"So, you'd probably want to go for his left side."
"His left?" Agatha asked. "Why?"
"His daughter struck him in his left side with Courtain, before he killed her. No matter how strong you are, Sacred Treasures are deadly. His body would probably react a lot slower if you kept on his left. So, what would you guys do?"
"Uh… Stay on his left?"
Hannah nodded.
Simone's cheeks crackled with electricity. "Copycats…"
Thanks to Simone, Agatha had an answer. Now the problem was that she didn't feel like going to the library. If she had her way, she'd find some private place and train. She thought for a while, and still found an efficient use of her time in the library: some Acuitan warlord tactics.
The carriage doors opened to a bright blue sky and busy street. Before Agatha stepped out of the shadows, she double-checked for her black leather jacket and pink-and-black striped socks. With everything covered, she hopped out after them.
The front of the library looked like nothing in Verity.
It appeared like some massive complex. Snobby, white stone stairs led up to tall, gray cut archways. Dark, wooden doors lead inside, and they only reached up a fourth of the height of the arches. Spiral pillars, stone cut vases, and a statue of a random Pyroar cast a shadow over the sidewalk.
Agatha looked up and calculated how much tax money it cost just to make this useless front porch.
Flygon Mr. Rivers landed on the first step. Espeon Selina joined him on the side. Agatha shifted her weight from side to side as the rest of class gathered together. After a while in carriages, they were all quieter.
"Alright!" Mr. Rivers raised his voice over a torrent of carriages on the road behind them. "From here, you'll have to walk wherever you want to go until this afternoon. Or pay for your own carriages. Remember to stay in groups of three once you leave this building and to have fun!"
With that tiny announcement, they all turned up the stairs. Agatha had to stare down to plant her feet correctly.
Mr. Rivers pulled the door open as they all walked in as a horde. With Hannah behind her, Agatha trailed last.
The inside opened up. The ceiling stretched high over all their heads, complete with a painting of a bright blue sky and clouds outlined with sunlight. Mr. Rivers and other chaperones drew towards the front desk, on the side of the way in. The rest of class continued inside while they talked.
Bookshelves stacked over their heads ten times over. Agatha swiveled in a circle as she walked forward.
Her feet didn't twist with her. She fell over.
Something grabbed her tail and yanked her upright. She untwisted her feet. Cinccino Hannah walked past with a smile. Her own tail hovered over the tiled floor.
"Where should we look around?" Hannah asked. "I've never even heard of a library this big before…"
"I'll look up a map or something," Agatha said. "In the meantime, uh…"
Agatha glanced around. She noticed a line, made up of half of her class, had formed in front of a quartered off area that served as a cafe and rest area. Some had already started to order from the coffee stand. The workers behind the counter started to hustle around.
"Go over there and ask one of them what a coffee is," Agatha said.
"Okay!"
While Hannah did that, Agatha walked over to a bookshelf and stood at the corner of it with her phone in hand. She searched for a library map. She found it quick. Any combat related books would be on the second floor, which apparently existed.
She played on Tetris till Hannah got back, with a styrofoam cup in her paws. Hannah smiled at her from ear to ear.
"It tastes awful!" she said.
"Yup," Agatha nodded. "C'mon. We're going to the second floor."
"Would you like to try some?"
Agatha held out her paw out of instinct and took the cup. She didn't formulate the answer yet.
Did she really want to drink out of the same cup as Hannah…?
Eh. Whatever.
Agatha raised her head and took down a swig. She swallowed fast, but the taste loitered. Luckily the cup was tiny, and she finished the last of it. She tossed it in a bin on their way to a spiral, stone rampway up.
"That sucked."
"Yes, it did!"
The rest of the class stayed on the first floor. She had to stare down at her feet yet again. It took a minute longer than it should have to reach the top. She hated walking in circles.
When they reached the top, the ceiling changed out its artwork for a forest landscape. Carpets lined hallways formed by bookshelves. Agatha stood in place and read labels and signs for a moment.
"This place is very fancy," said Hannah.
"Eh," Agatha shrugged.
"You seem glum. Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah?"
Though, she did have a headache.
"How about we find a place for you to sit?" Hannah asked. "I could bring you books and hot cocoa. You can stay rested for tonight!"
"Uh, sure?"
"Great!"
Agatha let Hannah walk her around the maze of bookshelves. In a corner wall, by a window, they discovered a small wooden table with a cushion against the wall. Agatha walked forward and sat in it. The soft, smooth cloth curled around her back. She sighed.
They found it close to the books they were looking for. Hannah brought a small pile for her to flip through. She read a few of her own, too.
Agatha couldn't lie; a Scion bodyguard made her comfortable. The floor could spontaneously combust and Hannah would catch her.
She let herself breathe easier.
From what she read, Acuitan warlords mostly went for the head, a weak point on most species. They had less honor than she thought they would. Outside of Acuitan duels, they yanked hair, bit arms; anything to win.
They often kept their fur short for maximum efficiency. They even had formulas to follow, entire charts complete with conditionals that all ended with a dead opponent. Some studies of biology nestled in between the pages so they could fight anyone, and they all had formulas.
Agatha didn't see a trace of what she thought combat would be about: willpower, psyche, or strength. It read as cold as a math book, and the writing itself acknowledged it. She didn't like it at all. It turned every opponent into a robot. It's no wonder the style wasn't exactly popular.
She picked up another… book and read… the first…
Agatha's eyes shut.
"Yeah. Sounds about right," said Simone. "They really didn't hold back."
Agatha's eyes fluttered open.
Cinccino Hannah still sat across from her, joined by Bayleef Jenna, Persian Romania, and Growlithe Alisha. They all crowded around their book covered table. She covered a yawn with her hand.
"You want to join us?" Jenna asked. "We're doing a little self-care at a nice spa. Girls' time out."
"Oh wow, you're a girl?" Agatha mumbled.
"So that's a yes?"
Agatha looked down at a few open pages on the table. It all looked jumbled together. Besides, she was on vacation…
"Kay," she said.
"Really?" Jenna blurted.
"Yeah. I'm tired. And I've never been to a spa."
"Never been to a- okay, let's go girls."
"Am I an honorary girl?" Simone asked.
"Yes."
Simone pumped his arm.
Audino Agatha got to zone out for a while. She kicked cement pebbles during their trek through the streets. It helped ease the pressure of the city. Skyscrapers overshadowed them at all times. Electric carriages whizzed past them on repeat, in both directions. She held her ear strands to dull it.
They came to a pale white building with a friendlier atmosphere. Twin fountains of stone Magikarp sat on each side of a light brown walkway. Summer had kicked into full gear. Bees and butterflies intermingled over an ocean of tiny flowers on the front lawn. Agatha released her ear strands as the noise eased up.
"This is supposed to be the best spa in Valor," Bayleef Jenna said. "So yes, I'd think their entrance would be a bit better."
"This spa was originally a medical camp when Valor was at war," Pikachu Simone said. "Lots of study and advancement as to treating different species happened here. It was only turned into a spa afterwards. It doesn't have the same history as the others, even if it is the best."
"I mean… Yeah, but, still…"
"It doesn't really matter. Isn't the interior what counts?"
"Crap, you're corny…"
"You said it's the best one in Valor. Obviously got that title for a reason. Also, how are we paying for this?"
"Agatha's not the only rich kid in school. Don't tell anyone, kay? Girl's secret."
Simone patted over his heart. "I promise," he said.
How many randomly rich kids went to her school of all places…? And why did Simone know all of them?
"I've been, like, needing to cut my fur forever," Growlithe Alisha said. She flicked her head and a long tuft of brown fur swished in front of her face, as if to make her point.
"Thanks for footing the bill," Persian Romania said, behind Jenna.
"Don't give it a second thought. I have a little play money for the trip is all."
Bayleef Jenna walked up to the door first. They slid open.
Cool air blasted them in the face. Agatha folded her arms as they stepped in.
Landscape artwork layered cream walls. Plants in fancy vases sat in every corner. A waiting room with velvet carpeting and huge cushions sat in wait for them, but Jenna leaned them towards a counter. A Glameow sat behind it. With no computer on the table, her attention fell on them immediately.
Agatha hung back with Cinccino Hannah.
"Welcome," Glameow said, with a buttery smooth voice. "You're all Jenna's group, right? You have a reservation."
"Yes," Jenna answered. "We arrived early."
"We're light today and can take you now. We have two rooms to split you into two groups of three."
"I'll take a room with the Cinccino and Audino back there."
"Of course. Right this way." Glameow glanced towards the others, slowly. "I'll be back with you shortly."
Agatha followed Jenna and Glameow. She walked them into a hallway, blocked off by another sliding glass door.
The carpet gave way to a white tiled floor. Agatha watched her step to avoid the pale ridges between tiles. They passed by plain, metal doorways spaced far apart from each other. They must've had big rooms, and a huge building. It seemed like they walked for a quarter mile before Glameow turned, entered a code on a panel, and cracked open one for them.
The interior stretched out. A massive water pit, more like a swimming pool, dominated the center of the room. A dozen mirrors and short tables littered with cutting tools covered the right wall. Beyond, a veil of steam fogged up a massive window. The outside showed off a garden, complete with little statues. Walkways made Agatha guess they could tour them, if they wanted.
"Enjoy your stay," Glameow said. "Attendants will check on you in half an hour."
"Thank you," Jenna said, nodding.
Glameow nodded back and shut the door. Jenna turned to them.
"By the way," she said, "neither of you are allowed to judge me for this."
"Uh, for what?" Agatha asked.
Jenna took a few steps back. She sprung into a run. Agatha and Hannah stepped aside.
Jenna ran and jumped straight for the center. Water geysered up as she splashed down. Agatha raised an arm over her eyes. Droplets dribbled down on them. Jenna popped her head up. She sighed, content.
Agatha huffed and walked forward. Hannah slipped off her white sweater and politely stepped down from the edge; lucky her. Agatha had a few more steps to do. She slipped off her pink and black striped socks, then her leather jacket, and finally, her prosthetic feet. She set them a few feet away from the edge.
Jenna stared hard. She couldn't blame her. Without her prosthetics, her legs abruptly ended as nubs. It looked weird.
"Why do you look so.. Mangled?" Jenna asked.
"Uh… House fire?" Agatha said.
Agatha lowered herself into the warm water. Claire's house didn't have a water pit, and she couldn't use one for a long time during her stay at the hospital. She had to clean off with rags and the like. The heat seeped through straight to her bones.
"Not the scars…" Jenna said. "I mean your fur. It looks like you barely take care of yourself. It looks dry, matted, tangled…"
"Busy doing more important things," she said.
She scoffed. "Hardly. If you don't take care of yourself, no one will. And you look awful. It's like you just got struck by lightning."
"I'd look awful either way, so does it really matter? Buzz off."
"Let's be real here," Jenna said in a low voice. "Your scars really aren't that bad. I've seen worse tattoos."
"Can I relax without talking about it?" she bit out.
Jenna finally shut up. Agatha sighed.
The tension left the air fast. With how comfy she got, Agatha didn't really care what Jenna said. It'd all just wash down the drain. She enjoyed the long silence. It actually felt like a vacation, for once. Yeah. She could stay like this for a long while.
"Oh. Uh… Should I…?"
"Go ahead and call Margaret for this. You'll need the basics first."
"Okay…"
Agatha bothered to open her eyes.
Up already, Bayleef Jenna and Cinccino Hannah were sat in front of mirrors, attended to by Cranidos and Frogadier. Agatha turned to the door as it shut.
About a minute later, the door opened. An Alolan Ninetales, radiant as the sun, walked through, up to the side of the water pit. Her soft, blue eyes trailed over her prosthetics, then to her. Agatha quaked. She folded her arms.
"I bet you think you can't be beautiful," she said.
"Uh… Okay?" Agatha replied.
"Challenge accepted."
Ninetales whipped out a brown, plastic comb as if it were a sword. Agatha stared.
"This will be painful."
"What?" she asked.
The comb dragged down her back. Agatha grit her teeth and held her ears. It felt like she just tried to rip her skin off.
"Uh, ow!?" she yelled. "Isn't this supposed to be relaxing?"
"It really should. But I've seen tumbleweeds less tangled than this. Just bear it for a minute."
Agatha squirmed and yipped the entire time. Right when she thought she couldn't stand it anymore, she moved along to another section. By the time she finished, a dozen tiny burns ran across her body. Agatha breathed in deep.
"Hmm," Ninetales hummed. "Alright. Step out, if you please."
She walked away. Agatha glared down the back of her head as she pulled herself out. She dried her hands off with a puffy, white towel, strapped on her feet, and dried the rest of herself off. She left her leather jacket on the floor behind her and walked up towards the mirror. Ninetales laid out a cushion in front of it. Agatha stared at her as she sat.
"Any idea of what you want to be when you grow up?" Ninatales asked.
"Uh… Nunya?"
"If you want to be a lawyer, dress like a lawyer. You haven't heard this before?"
"Well…"
Outside of revenge, she had to go back and remember. She'd gone through times where she wanted to be a chemist, engineer, a doctor… Last one was so overdone, though.
"I don't know," she said. "Can't you just… do something normal, I guess?"
"If I do something normal, you'd probably hate it." Ninetales glanced back. "So, want to try punk rock?"
"Feels kinda fraudulent since I don't listen to rock music."
"We'll figure it out together."
Agatha didn't want to argue over it anymore. She let her do her thing. Ninetales went down her arm with a cushion brush. After, it had sort of a slick shine.
It was okay, just not her thing.
"I don't think it suits me," Agatha said.
"Yes, same…"
Ninetales pulled out another comb, one with uncountable, tiny fangs, and ran it over her arm again. Her fur stretched off her body. It settled like a wave of tiny spikes. Her fur got longer than she realized. It must've clumped together and tricked her eye.
"I like it," she said.
"Okay, we'll go with that. But first, I want to try things up here." She touched the top of her head.
In the mirror, Agatha's eyes widened as Ninetales pulled fur from the top of her head. It stretched on to be almost as long as her freaking arm. She winced as a comb ran through it all.
In front of her eyes, it got shaped into a mohawk. They both grimaced.
"Ah, sorry about that," she said.
"It's fine…" Agatha murmured. She glanced to her right.
Hannah and Jenna had already left. She saw their figures pass behind plants in the garden. She huffed a bit to herself. She guessed it only made sense she'd take longer.
Ninetales pulled out another comb with a multitude of thin fangs and puffed out her fur. She wrapped a black band around it and made a small, dense ponytail. Agatha didn't like it. It looked too… whatever the word was for it.
"Alright," Ninetales said. "I think I figured out the right drip now.."
Agatha blinked. She had to be, like, seventy something, and she knew the word "drip"?
Ninetales unwrapped the band and continued to use the tiny comb. She yanked out all of the fur on her head. Agatha squirmed from the tearing sensation again. Her face heated up by the time she finished.
"Uh, what am I looking at?" Agatha asked.
"It works, right?"
"It's, uh… Kinda weird."
"You don't like it?"
"No, no. It's cool. I've just never seen an Audino with this."
"Yay, or nay?"
"Ah… Yay?"
"Well good. I'll finish up then."
She copied the process she used on Agatha's arm across the rest of her body. By the time she finished, Agatha got fidgety. She kicked her metal feet back and forth. Ninetales grew a smug smile. Agatha forced a frown..
"Now doesn't that feel better?" Ninetales asked.
"It's fine," she said.
"You love it and you know it."
"Uh… M-maybe."
"Have you ever asked yourself what beauty really is?"
"Uhm… No."
"In old Acuity, it used to be that those with the most weight were seen as the most beautiful, because they had the most food, and the most power. Recently, it's been whoever's the thinnest, for whatever reason, but it's different in other parts of the world. So, in reality, there is no definition. So no one can tell you that you're not beautiful."
Well. That was corny.
"Uh, thanks," Agatha said quietly.
"You're very welcome. If you would, please don't pick any of the flowers in the garden. It's not easy to replace the ones from Pataliputra. I'll be sure to text your friend a link to buy a comb to take care of your new style."
"That'd be great. Thanks."
Agatha stood up and stared at herself in the mirror. Red scars, eerily in the shape of flames, covered the lower half of her body, danced on her arms, and reached around her neck. The rest of her cream and pink fur stood sharp, like a porcupine.
Topping it all off, a short, pink strand of fur ran over her right eye; the classic emo look.
"Something wrong?" Ninetales asked.
She sighed. "I miss how I used to look."
Ninetales smiled. "Me too."
Outside, sunlight poured down through trees. Audino Agatha walked around aimlessly, on stone pathways. She leaned down and read tags with information on the plant, only to forget by the time she read the next one. She let her brain relax.
"Oh hey."
As she bent down in front of blazing pink hibiscus flowers, Bayleef Jenna's voice bombarded her ears. She groaned and turned.
Her fur had been groomed, more than usual. Didn't look like it mattered too much. She looked the same.
"Gotta say," Jenna smiled. "That suits you."
"Oh wow. Nice do."
Pikachu Simone rounded a corner, with a plump afro on his head. Agatha blinked. Jenna turned between both of them.
"Uh, Simone?" Jenna asked. "Why do you have an afro?"
"It's actually a pretty popular thing among us Pikachus lately," Simone said. "I figured I'd try it out today. I have to admit, I'm surprised I had all this on my head."
Persian Romania and Growlithe Alisha rounded the corner Simone came from. They both looked poofy, like dolls. It definitely worked better on them.
"Where's Hannah?" Agatha asked.
"She'll be a bit," Jenna said. "Went to another room for a special makeover. She kind of has quadruple the amount of fur than all of us. After that, it's arena hype time."
"Hey Simone," Growlithe Alisha said. "Did you see that blue flower earlier?"
Simone held onto his blank smile as he glanced around. Dots of blue surrounded them in an avalanche.
"There were flowers earlier that I read the tab for. It said there was an old legend where you could crush up the flowers and use them to get the Valorian blessing."
"Yeah, there's plenty of stories like that." He hunched. "You know, you guys all ask me all these questions, but you can look most of this stuff up…"
"I don't feel like it."
"Besides," Jenna said, "It makes it so that your knowledge has an actual point."
"Ouch."
"Do a lot of people ask you questions?" Romania asked.
Simone turned. He tilted his head from side to side. "Not usually. Everyone's usually hyped to learn about them around when the Royal Parade happens, but other than that, most people don't care as much. Kind of just a trend. But there are plenty of stories like that that haven't been disproven. Flowers, seeds that sprout beanstalks…"
"Rude," Alisha scoffed.
"But some stories are more interesting, less straightforward." He smiled. His eyes lit up; they always seemed to when he flexed his galaxy brain. "Some stories are taboo, so they aren't in books."
Everyone quieted. Agatha folded her arms.
"Two stories in particular are dated to back when Verity and Valor were still at war," Simone said. "They aren't mentioned, because many people see one of them as a fairy tale and the other as racist.
"In the first story, they say that at each of the lakes, the royal blessing took the form of a ring, and that whoever wore one of them was bestowed with the royal blessing, and that they couldn't take the ring off if they wanted to. That's what people say happened to Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit. The legend goes that the rings will reappear if everyone with that royal blessing has passed on, or that someone puts there."
A ring? Weird.
Agatha probably wouldn't have noticed something like that in the middle of being… Yeah.
"The second is a lot more taboo," Simone said. "The war between Valor and Verity was a long stalemate for a time. Villages between both nations intermingled. None of the royals could really control it, so they 'made up' a story, they say. They said that if a child is born with all three royal blessings, a god from another world would reawaken its powers and wreak havoc on the planet."
"Kinda creepy," Alisha broke the silence. "But why is it 'racist'?"
"It was made to prevent Valorians and Veritans from having children together, and promoted violence against the children already born. But I guess people prefer to forget it instead of talk about it."
"So Simone," Jenna said. "What happens after you major in history in college? Is there anything else other than being a history teacher?"
Simone shrugged. "At least I'm useful when you run out of cell data. After all, there's no way you'd read a book."
Agatha smiled.
"So, in short, eating the flowers here is more likely to poison you than give you superpowers, or royal status, or anything like that. So, uh, you can stop eyeballing those now."
Simone turned to Persian Romania. She lifted her head up from sniffing a small blue flower.
"Hello!"
Across the way, Cinccino Hannah waved her arm and ran in their direction. A tsunami of rushing, silver fur followed behind her.
"Wow," Jenna said. "Just, wow."
Wait a minute…
"Hi!" Hannah said again. She slowed down as she drew near. Her smile outshone the sun. "I'm very much enjoying this whole spa idea! I feel great!"
Back in the cave, Lugia wanted Hannah to have children with that Flareon, Light. That couldn't be a coincidence, right?
Whatreally happened when someone had all three royal blessings?
Hannah's eyes gleamed. She gasped and hopped closer to Simone. He stared up at her.
"The fur on your head looks so poofy! What is it?"
"It's called an afro," he said.
"A-fro?"
"Yeah."
"I like it! I wanna try it, too!"
Agatha imagined Hannah with one for a moment. It was bigger than her entire body. She pushed her lips together and nodded.
"Time to head out," Simone announced, staring down at his phone. "We're all heading back to the hotel for a bit, then to the arena. We should get there early. I don't want to miss anything."
Everyone began to saunter towards the exit of the garden, attached to the building. Agatha trailed behind.
A god from another world…
Two annoying carriage rides with Jenna's gossip later, they arrived.
Despite harsh sunlight struggling against the sunset, the arena cast a blue shadow over two whole city blocks. It hung over the still, empty parking lot at the arena's base. Audino Agatha stared down at her feet and the white lines on the asphalt. Their footsteps crunched on trails of pebbles in the massive web of cracks.
Agatha ignored the chatter around her.
When they had gone back to the hotel, she changed into her smooth black jacket and skirt. She huddled up in her own corner during the carriage ride to the arena. Her classmates had never seen her wear anything else other than the leather at school. They didn't react to it, thankfully.
"Which row are we in?" Growlithe Alisha asked.
That happened to catch Agatha's attention.
"I forget the letter," Pikachu Simone said. "It's around the middle."
"Not bad. I'm surprised our teachers are going this far for us. I mean, I figured most old people would just talk about how it rots our brains."
"Well, don't forget Mr. West was an arena fighter too."
Alisha snickered. "Hey, what if he competed tonight?"
"Then I would lose my mind and this month's play money on betting."
"You're not old enough to gamble."
"Oh… Oh yeah."
"But our other teachers, on the other hand…"
They cleared the parking lot. Large, metal archways, multiple on all sides, led inside. In every hallway, someone occupied a small hub on the side. Agatha's feet transitioned off of the blacktop to hard stone, She clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from bumping together.
They conjoined together with another group of classmates, and then another group came behind them. Agatha found herself in the middle of her whole class in minutes.
Flygon Mr. Rivers and Torkoal Mr. West spoke with a Blissey at the counter. The rest of her class and the chaperones chattered away. Agatha stood idle. As much as she looked forward to the carnage, she didn't feel in a talking mood. She felt popcorn, lemonade, and candy, lots of candy.
"Class!" Mr. Rivers called. His voice didn't quiet them, but it reached. "Come and take your tickets!"
The class straightened out into a single file. Agatha ended up between Sandshrew Thomas and Boltund Avery. One by one, they swiped paper tickets from Blissey. When she took her's, she plucked it out of her hand with the tips of her fingers. Blissey smiled at her a little harder than the rest of her class. She bowed her head lower.
The class walked single file, through empty hallways with stone-tiled floors and metal-clad walls. Fresh air poured in through huge exits to different places in the stands. If Agatha felt like reading her ticket, she could figure out where to go by reading the labels over each of them. Instead, she followed the train of her classmates.
The arena floor spanned for who knows how long; a flat terrain of brown dirt, surrounded on all sides by a cement wall and metallic stands. Only a handful of spectators dotted them throughout.
They really did come early.
Agatha stood by and watched as a numbered section of the stand filled up with her classmates. They huddled together shoulder-to-shoulder to fit. Agatha watched.
By the end of it, she couldn't actually pick out a spot to sit, even without a single chaperone in sight. Either on their phones, looking over her head, or at each other, they didn't seem to notice her standing in front of them. She glanced around, unsure, then she noticed.
Umbreon Walter sat all by himself on a set of stands above the rest of the class; the complete opposite of the center of attention. Agatha walked up in his direction. She nearly tripped a few times, but got the hang of it.
When she got close, Walter's eyes didn't snap up. They glazed over and stared at the arena floor.
"Why are you sitting up here on your own?" Agatha asked.
Walter's eyes sparked. He noticed her standing to the side of the stands.
"Oh, uh, no reason," Walter said. "Just got a different ticket number." He looked down at the rest of the class. "You can sit up here if there's no room. No one else is going to be here."
Huh. Why not?
He must've been hiding something, but Agatha didn't question it. She plopped down a short ways away from him, folded her arms, and crossed her legs.
"I don't watch sports," Agatha said. "How do we know who's battling tonight?"
Walter picked up his phone, which sat next to him. "I'll text you a link to the bracket."
Agahta pulled out her phone from her jacket. Once she got the link, she mulled over it for names she recognized. Not one stuck out to her, of course.
Until she saw Mr. Rivers, and Mr. West, and the Principal, and the other Principal that might be one of their new teachers…
And Claire, and Imani? Imani was here? And so was John?
The total count read eighty-two competitors. Longer tournaments usually started in the middle of the day, so this had to be a smaller one.
"Uh, Walter," Agatha said.
"Yeah?"
"Did you know Mr. Rivers and Mr. West were entering?"
He turned. "Oh shit, what?"
"I see their names."
Walter glued his eyes to his phone.
"Bro," Walter blurted. "We're about to watch our teachers compete in the Valorian arena? And I thought beach day would be the best one!"
"I don't want to see them get, like… hurt," she said.
"I'm sure they'll be fine. I mean, Claire was a friggin Wayfarer."
"Yeah, but still."
"They'll be alright."
Agatha ran out of things to say. Walter rubbed the back of his neck.
"So, uh," Walter mumbled, "you look nice."
"Kay," she said.
"So, you went to the spa? Me and the guys went around to some, uh… I guess you could call them nerd stores. Got video games and stuff. You play them?"
"No."
"Oh."
Agatha tapped her finger on her leg and glanced up. Walter retreated to his phone. She looked at him.
He seemed a little unsteady. She expected him to talk her ear off about sports, not sulk. He didn't even seem impressed by the arena, sort of like how she didn't find herself impressed by her "rich" classmates.
"Have you been here before?" Agatha asked. "Often?"
Walter's eyes lifted, and fell between Agatha and his phone. "Ah, yeah. I've been here before. Not, uh, in the mood to talk about it."
O-kay…
Agatha leaned back and watched the stands fill up. She criss-crossed her legs and sat with her back straight before she ruined it again. As nice as her classmates were to be around, she enjoyed the break.
"So, you want to be around here when you grow up?" Agatha asked.
"Yeah," Walter said. "Nice pay, everyone likes you. Once you go pro, your life's like a movie. Everything always works out."
"Being rich ain't all that."
He smirked and snorted.
A couple more minutes passed. An avalanche steamed into the stands. For a moment, Umbreon Walter stood up and walked off somewhere without a word. He came back, walking on his back legs, with an enormous red basket of golden popcorn and candy. She eyed it curiously. He set it down between them and pushed a pile of candy towards her.
"Oh," she said. "Thanks."
He nodded.
More time passed.
Either the sugar or the increase in noise got to her; the edges of her fur tingled with excitement. Agatha switched sitting positions every few seconds. When the lights dimmed, she squeezed her hands together.
Her classmates below yelled at random. Her ears lit on fire.
Two commentators offered a little speal, barely audible. She imagined those watching on the TV, most of the audience, would be able to hear it fine.
Walter said something. Agatha looked at him and shrugged. His mouth moved again. She got none of it. He rolled his eyes and nodded to himself.
The matches didn't exactly start off strong. They threw a bone here and there by matching up a total novice with a pro, but besides that, the matches were novice and novice. Agatha didn't judge. A lot of people tried to enter a tournament at least once in their life for the experience. Still, watching a Magby struggle to make a light screen of smoke hurt her internally.
When Mightyena Claire walked onstage, she lost it.
Agatha rocketed to her feet and clapped so hard her hands stung for a minute after. Walter clapped too, like a normal person. The rest of her class amped up with her. She could barely make out Claire's shape from the stands, but she could see enough. She waved back at them.
Her opponent, a scrubby thing of a Nincada, stood opposite of her. Agatha wanted to watch Claire's Hyper Beam cut him and the rest of the stage in half. When the bell dinged, she forced herself to sit.
Nothing extraordinary happened, in a way.
Nincada ran forward and tried to slash at Claire. It didn't work, his claws bounced off her face. He backstepped. Claire walked forward.
She bent down and talked to him. No one could hear (Agatha only couldn't because of all the noise), but she recognized the look in her eye. Agatha groaned to herself. Claire probably babied him and gave him advice for nerves mid-match. Everyone in the crowd made her out to be a saint. Agatha already knew that. She'd play nice since she had the strength to do that, which meant the arena would still be in one piece.
Bummer…
Claire almost had a sort of playfight with Nincada until he tired out and forfeited. Agatha watched with an empty head.
"What's wrong?" Walter asked.
"I wanted to see her kick butt," Agatha said.
"Maybe later. That guy was clearly new to this. No reason to go overkill."
"Yeah," she sighed. "I know."
Agatha almost got hyped up when Flygon Mr. Rivers floated out, but her hopes fell short again. He fought against a Blitzle that only seemed to know electric attacks.
Uneventful, to say the very least.
She could accept it though; it was the first round. Those usually went like this. People with families, she assumed, left it on in the background over dinner, and gathered around as it advanced; so they could all see Claire win.
Or maybe John?
Mawile John walked across the stage with two short wands in hand. Agatha recognized them vaguely; a bright blue, twisty Whirlwind Wand in his right hand, and a straight, brown Blast Wand in his left. He must've been taking advertising into his own hands, literally. It didn't surprise her. He'd always been rather hands-on with sales.
The Golett across from John never got close. Agatha had watched him swing wands to test them out a dozen times. The Whirlwind Wand pushed golett back while the Blast Wand's explosions whittled down his stamina. Golett didn't have any response.
"So, you intern with that guy?" Umbreon Walter asked. He broke her train of bored thought.
"Yeah," she said.
"Okay, but, uh. Hear me out…." He lowered his voice. "Why bother if you're rich…?"
"Because then I can make better weapons for myself."
"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense."
"I also can't train as much as I want to, and it kills time."
"Oh."
Golett hit the arena wall, burnt like a piece of toast. He hoisted himself up to one knee and waved a small, white flag all of the competitors had strapped to an appendage to forfeit, if need be. Mawile John bowed to him, the audience, and walked away.
As the competitors switched out, Walter grumbled something so quietly, even Agatha could barely hear it.
An Absol and a Dartrix walked out next. Agatha traced Walter's eyes.
They glued onto Absol. Agatha didn't even think he looked at Dartrix. More importantly than that, his red eyes seemed so… smitten. He had some sort of expectation, and the exact same scowl.
"Family member?" Agatha guessed.
"My father," he said.
Ah. That explained the drama, at least. She wondered why Walter's paws clenched the stands.
The match started.
Agatha looked on. Absol jogged across the stage from their starting positions. Dartix stayed still. He shot Razor Leaves with flourishes of his wings. He ignored them entirely. They all bounced off of his fur. They seemed dull and limp, like he'd barely just learned how to do it.
Absol slid under another volley and slashed at Dartrix's side with his horn.
Agatha jolted. She tore her eyes away. Dartrix barely got his white flag up.
Her class went dead silent. Much of the crowd quieted, but they'd been that way since the start of the match. Clearly, this happened often, and Walter, and everyone, expected it.
"He says to never hold back, on anyone," Walter said. "He says that always going to your fullest will make you stronger, faster than anyone else."
"So, is he always that much of an asshole?"
"Yeah," he nodded.
"But you probably wish you were just as strong anyway, right?"
"Can… We pick a different subject?"
"Well, it's going to be hard to pick a different subject if I see any of our teachers or my… Or Claire, getting hurt like that."
Half a dozen nurses or so rushed out to the field. Absol didn't bow to the crowd, or even stay to watch as they rushed Dartrix out. If Claire or Mr. West or anyone ended up like that, Agatha didn't know what she'd do. Imagining it lit a fire in her chest. He knew from the Razor Leaf they were new to this.
"Don't worry," said Walter. Agatha looked at him as he stared ahead. "My dad's only ever concerned about his next check. He doesn't have real passion like Claire does. She'll be fine."
She wished she shared his confidence.
Torkoal Mr. West went on stage next, against a Simisage. He won, by a landslide, and politely, unlike Walter's father.
The second round dragged again, and then the third came around.
An hour and a half passed by. Together, her and Walter halved the size of the popcorn and candy, and ran through a fourth of each of their giant, blue and red slushies they bought when an Azumarill offered them. Both people slated to fight his father forfeited before their matches were called. Without any of that nonsense, she actually enjoyed herself.
She literally had candy for dinner.
"Okay," Walter said in between matches. He leaned towards her. "I wasn't going to say anything, but your lips are so, so blue right now."
Agatha patted her mouth with a napkin.
"Nope," he said. "Didn't do anything."
She shrugged. "At least I'm not wearing lipstick."
Umbreon Walter pulled out his phone and tilted his head as he checked his face.
Mightyena Claire walked out onto the stage. Agatha smiled and sipped her slushie. With every passing round, the crowd cheered a bit louder, and realized a bit more just how strong she was.
This time, though, they were a bit divided. Flygon Mr. Rivers flew out, and all of a sudden, Agatha didn't know who to root for. But, they had been waiting for something this insane to happen.
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah!" Walter shouted. "Gettem teach!"
Either they heard or knew where they were beforehand, because they both turned and waved. The class underneath them went nuts. Walter stood up and jumped up and down on the stands. Agatha picked up the strands of her ears off from the metal surface before her head burst open.
Agatha couldn't see every fine detail of the battle. Mr. Rivers floated up out of claws reach and breathed out fireballs and draconic attacks. Claire didn't move around as much. She waltzed around the same small area, over scorch marks from his other attacks. Agatha knew that if Claire wanted to, she'd fire a Hyper Beam and round him for good.
She must've still been going easy. She still seemed out of her opponent's league. Her classmates couldn't tell, though. Over half were in the midst of a sugar rush.
Definitely the best vacation ever, ten out of ten.
Mr. Rivers landed on the ground, probably to save stamina. Claire approached him, slowly, unimpeded by attacks. At this point, it looked clear that Mr. Rivers hadn't practiced his long range enough to eat at Claire's endurance. He'd probably try to fight up close.
Mr. Rivers' claws lit up in flames. Agatha gaped. He fluttered his wings as he leapt. He left a scorch mark trail underneath him. He swung for her face.
Claire reeled her head back and dipped under, then shoulder tackled him in his exposed side. He stayed up like a wall. He uppercut with his left.
After that, she lost track of what all went on. A dozen impacts or more rang out.
"Damn," Walter blurted. "I guess Mr. Rivers was serious about his fundies."
"I didn't know he could punch that hard." She turned. "Did you know he could punch that hard?"
Claire kept her footing. She pushed Mr. Rivers back multiple times through the onslaught. None of his swings hit clean. She only heard whiffs. Claire moved a lot slower than him, too. She had some kind of higher understanding of his movements.
She was still going easy.
In time, the savagery of Mr. River's attacks wore thin. Claire continued to shoulder and tackle him back. Mr. Rivers slowed down and tried to swivel on his feet to play her slow game. He started a little late. His face shone with sweat. His chest heaved. Claire shifted her feet to be in a better position than him automatically.
Mr. Rivers broke his stance and shrugged. Claire smiled.
A few seconds later, Mr. Rivers raised the white flag.
"Geez…" Walter said. "Claire's… insane."
Agatha didn't expect what just happened from either of them. As the next match started, she didn't pay much attention. Instead, she listened to the reaction reel from her classmates.
It seemed like they had a new favorite teacher, and he walked up to the stands during the next match.
The whole class rose to their feet and huddled around Flygon Mr. Rivers. Agatha almost stood up, but didn't want to get in the middle of all of it. Walter, on the other hand, stood up and sulked over. Mr. Rivers held up a tired smile.
"Okay," Walter huffed. "I admit it. I think you work out."
"That's why I'm the gym teacher," he said.
"But, you still lost."
He rolled his eyes. "She was a Wayfarer. Sue me."
"Oh, don't put yourself down so much."
Mightyena Claire followed behind Mr. Rivers from the rampway up. She didn't even have a strand of fur out of place.
"You were great out there," Claire said.
"Thanks, Miss Yanders," Mr. Rivers said. Hearing him say "Miss" sounded weird. "I'd love to practice more, but I'm so tired after work. I don't have time to go to the arena and get the experience."
"I tried teaching myself. I don't have nearly as much patience as you do. You already do plenty."
"Mr. Riveeeeeeers!"
He turned.
Eldegoss Ms. Wilman bounced over to him out of nowhere. The students parted to let her get close. Her eyes glittered under the stage lights.
"You were incredible out there!" Ms. Wilman said. "I didn't know you had such an arm on you!"
She nudged him in his shoulder.
"W-well thank you," he stammered.
Agatha and Walter grimaced at each other. They turned back to the arena floor.
Agatha's heart jumped up.
Luxray Imani and that Absol walked across the stage, facing each other. Agatha didn't have much bearing on how strong Imani was. She barely talked to her. Claire would know.
Claire's face had tensed up; not a good sign.
Her class sat down as the match started. Mr. Rivers stood to the side of the stands with Claire. Walter sat back down as it started. Agatha clasped her hands together.
Imani and Absol both closed the distance. Agatha didn't have much to say. Imani didn't match his speed. Every interaction left her with a little less of a grip on the fight.
Claire's eyes darkened as she watched. Agatha glanced between her and the arena floor.
"Gerald," Claire said, "where's Mr. West?"
"Still down in the prep area," he answered.
"Stay here with the kids. I'm going to go talk to him."
"Alright…"
Agatha checked her phone as the match dragged on; she only spared a quick glance.
If Absol won, Mr. West would be his next opponent. He was strong, he fried every opponent he went up against with pure strength alone in one or two moves, but rusty. Absol wouldn't hold back. He could get really hurt if Claire didn't talk him out of it.
Imani had reset her positioning against Absol. Multiple red gashes ran along her face. She raised the white flag before they engaged in another tussle.
"Sorry…"
Agatha glanced at Walter. His tired eyes trained down.
"You don't have to apologize for anything he does," Agatha said. "Besides, If I was old enough to gamble, I'd put a grand down on John turning your asshole dad into advertising in half an hour."
"I mean I should've said something sooner, when I knew we were coming." He sighed. "I just hoped he wouldn't be here." He looked up. "Really think that Mawile will beat him?"
Agatha nodded. He said he knew how to Mega Evolve, and always had an air of… revenge. She couldn't explain it, but she just knew Absol was about to get bodied.
"So, is your mom…?" She trailed off. She didn't know where to go with the question.
"My mom won custody over me when they divorced, after she caught him cheating," he spat. "We moved to Verity five years ago. And ever since then, he's been like this, taking it way too seriously."
"Do you miss him?"
"I miss the old him, I guess."
"So, these seats are for family members of the contestants?"
"That's right, only for contestants that show up a lot, though. The only other tickets available were on the other side, and I didn't want to sit alone."
"Is he why you're on the varsity battling team at school?"
"Sorta? It's hard to explain. I don't really know. For some reason, I feel like I owe it to him."
"He's the one who messed up."
"I know."
Walter glanced down to the stands.
"Are you going to eat that chocolate bar?" he asked. "It's kind of really good."
She handed it to him. She still had to whittle away at her slushie.
The tourney bracket updated in real time. Agatha happened to see the moment Mr. West pulled out, five minutes after the match with Imani. Odds were that he'd fight John next, in the semi-finals. Despite her waning attention from the late night hours, Agatha didn't see anyone stronger than Claire or him in the tourney. Even Mr. Rivers had a leg up on the rest of the competition.
She knew it'd be a small time tournament, but Mr. Rivers and Claire fighting like that still blew her mind. School would buzz about it for months after summer break. That gave her a thought.
"Does any of the rest of class know about your dad?" Agatha asked.
"Nah," Walter said. "I just wanted to tell you since it only seemed fair."
"I won't tell anyone."
"Thanks. You're, uh, nicer to talk to than I thought you'd be…"
"...Thanks?"
Agatha glanced down at the rest of her class.
Cinccino Hannah smiled up at her. Bayleef Jenna glared. Elektrike Jannette and Lillipup Shenise made kissy faces. She didn't react.
Claire and Mr. Rivers spoiled the crowd. None of them reacted to non-explosions anymore. Her ears vibrated substantially less, with the exception of John's third round that lasted ten seconds. The atmosphere said it all: the crowd just wanted to know who would take it all between the big three.
For the semi-finals, a ten minute intermission drowned the arena in mindless chatter. As the amount of rounds lessened, competitors still needed the same amount of time to catch their breath. Claire's match would come first, between her and a Gallade. The last two matches would be between Mawile, John, and her, if she won, which she would.
Her ears lit up in flames when Claire walked out. Apparently, the Gallade was second seed, meaning expected to win second, before they knew Claire existed.
So, he got bodied.
Claire fought him like Mr. Rivers, only Gallade didn't come close to landing anything. Claire smacked him around for a bit with her claws. Gallade slowed down his pace before he got tired, unlike Mr. Rivers, but it didn't do him much good. In time, his breath got heavy.
She outlasted him, like the rest of her opponents. The crowd raved when he raised his white flag. Agatha shuddered in anticipation for the match to follow. She told herself John had it easily, to make herself feel better, but she didn't know. He acted too cool to forfeit.
Mawile John smiled as he walked across the stage, the same angry one he had on whenever someone insulted his wares. His hands clasped tight around his wands, his stiff arms swung harder than usual. Absol didn't have any expression at all.
They both stopped at their starting positions.
"So," John spat with a nod, "think you might've been a bit much on that Dartrix earlier?"
"He stepped into the arena," Absol called back.
John's smile erupted. "Kid, you take this ball pit way too seriously. I'm gonna paste a picture of this battle on my store's front door. Thanks for the advertising."
The match started.
Agatha only noticed it now: John switched hands. He flourished his left arm for his Whirlwind Wand, and his right for the Blast Wand. She knew he was right-handed. He changed his strategy.
John flourished his left hand, and his right in quick succession. A white orb, fired from the Blast Wand, ricocheted off a gust of wind and slammed into Absol's side as he ran forward. For the first time in the tournament, he lost his footing and hit the ground. He stood up, after his side scraped against the ground.
Absol barreled forward again, through the wind, and he cut through the Blast Wand's projectile with his horn. He didn't have enough fancy footwork to do anything else, it seemed. He bulldozed through with heavy steps. Agatha bet John lost a lot less of his breath with this.
The distance closed.
John hunched as if he'd step back. Absol leapt and slashed his right claw.
Agatha blinked and missed something.
John slammed the Blast Wand down. Absol flew back, fur darkened and battered, in a heap of smoke. Chunks of his shattered wand gathered at his feet. Absol didn't catch himself when he landed.
Agatha knew how sturdy those wands he made were. Her forehead wrinkled when her eyes popped out.
Even still, Absol stood back up anyway; the arena fell silent to see if he would. John rolled his shoulders and stared.
Agatha looked at Walter. He stared relentlessly.
Absol plucked out a shining, rainbow stone from his ruff. Agatha expected it in the back of her mind. As she watched him Mega Evolve, she looked to John to see what he'd do.
She saw his Mawilite at the shop, behind his desk, under the cash register. She didn't know if he brought it, or could use it, or would want to if he did.
"Just remember," John said, "you're the one who stepped into the arena."
John dropped his other wand and cracked his knuckles.
Agahta flinched.
The battle transformed into something else. John didn't use a single move, just his fists. Agatha winced and turned away at points. He very literally beat the mega evolution out of him.
John smacked the dirt off his hands and walked away.
Slowly, very slowly, Agatha turned to Walter. He did a picture perfect impression of the Grinch smile. She nodded to herself and looked away.
It became official; one of their field trip's chaperones won a small tourney in Valor. Agatha drank more of her slushie and let it settle in. It may have been a small tourney, with small winnings, but the fact they even entered blew her mind.
Ten minutes later, smiles all around.
"How on earth am I supposed to hit you?"
Claire giggled.
Once the tournament ended, the class returned to the hotel and tried to burn off the adrenaline. They gathered in the lobby for a while, before they'd return to their rooms for the night. John, Mr. Rivers, Mr. West, and Claire talked over old fights they've had.
Luxray Imani looked pretty down on herself. Claire sat next to her and soothed her like she was an angry cat, with snacks.
Agatha's energy crashed. She walked herself to bed first out of anyone. Somewhere in the fog of sleep, she could tell when Bayleef Jenna and Charmander Natasha staggered in and went to bed.
Voices.
Audino Agatha stirred awake. A full fledged conversation woke her up. Based on the voices, it sounded like all the adults were up talking about something. She couldn't get the best sleep until they were done.
Eh, might as well.
Agatha reached her arm and grabbed her prosthetic feet. Once they were on, she snuck out of her room. The voices sounded like they came from above her, through the ceiling, so on the roof. She stepped lightly and made her way around.
A small rampway led up, barred by a pathetic, plastic "Do Not Enter" sign. Agatha stepped over it and took the spiral ramp up. Dirt covered the floor more with every step. Paint on the walls chipped off and dusted the floor. Light from the hallway failed to reach for a bit, but the darkness broke to Valorian skylight.
"Aaaah, so you're all here on a field trip? Your students must've been thrilled to see that."
"They were," a familiar voice laughed.
The Principal?
Agatha cracked open the door at the top.
Lucario Annette and Espeon Selina sat in a wide circle. Mightyena Claire's back faced Agatha.
Facing opposite of Claire, a Furret, with fur like hundreds of needles, sat and ate a stuffed to bursting sandwich. Alongside her, a Musharna, Jolteon, Marshadow, and Melloetta stood behind her back. An Ambipom with scarlet eyes sat off on the right, like an impatient five-year-old, flicking pebbles on the roof and looking around for something to do.
"I'm surprised Bao didn't come," Furret said. "Did she ever decide to evolve?"
"Oh, no," Claire said. "She'll be a Torracat forever. She claims to be on the fence, but, you can tell."
Melloetta rolled her eyes. Furret seemed to catch that. She smiled and looked back at her.
"She's always been like that," Melloetta huffed.
"Not very surprising," Furret said. She turned back to Claire. "So, I take it you're still busy with that whole project?"
"Yes. We are."
"I'm glad I could see you all again, though." Furret smiled down at her sandwich. "It looks like you haven't lost your touch for anything. I almost figured it would be like we didn't know each other anymore. This is… a relief. But," she pointed at Selina and Annette, "why didn't you two enter?"
"She overate and I had to take care of her," Annette said.
She shook her head. "Typical Selina."
"I need fun too," she said, glowering.
Agatha's heart thumped out of her chest. She should've probably got out of here unless she wanted to go to round three with death. The other half forced her to stay; the pesky, demanding, curious half.
"Jessie," Claire said, "I know you never cared much for… appearances." She cleared her throat. "But don't you think you're going too far?"
"Too far for my husband?" Furret asked. "Too far for my daughter?"
"No, too loud. Your daughter isn't in immediate danger, but do you know what would happen to them if she found out who killed her father?"
"By my guess," Selina added, "something as stupid as what you would do when you pieced it together."
Furret rose to her feet. "Excuse me?"
Annette rolled her eyes and sighed. "Come on, Jessie. You never made plans. You just bumrush everything."
"By the end of the year, I'll either have them skewered on Lobera, or I'll be dead. You all said you were too busy to help when I asked, and I don't understand what this 'project' is about, but I believe you. Now believe me when I say that I know what I'm doing."
"Maybe when you're sober, at least," Selina muttered.
Furret sighed and plopped back down. "I'm not taking that seriously from you, 'Principal'."
Agatha took one step back, then a second, and a third. She did this all the way back down the staircase and prayed no one would hear.
She should've stayed in bed before anything insane happened.