Chapter 30 - The Snowflake Cup: Semi-finals
"What do you mean, you are going for a walk on the beach? Have you looked at the weather outside?"
Celeste grumbled at Delia as she headed towards the exit of the pokémon centre. She couldn't understand why it was so difficult for Delia to grasp that she woke up in a mood and simply wanted to take a walk. With a dramatic flair, she extended her hand outside through the automatic doors and smirked. "See, the rain stopped."
"For now," her friend responded, crossing her arms. "Besides, shouldn't you rest before the battle in the evening?"
—*—*—
Celeste felt a breeze brushing through her hair, carrying the salty aroma of the ocean as she strolled along the side streets toward the main festival plaza. Even though it was morning, the storm clouds had darkened the sky enough for the street lamps to be lit. In the corner, a charming café gleamed warmly with the golden glow of its fireplace.
A smile brightened the girl's face as she caught sight of two galarian darumaka through the café window. They donned cute pink aprons and served the few brave souls who had ventured out on that chilly November morning. The sweet scent of cocoa lingered in the air, and the sight of a steaming hot bowl of food made Celeste very aware of the dropping temperature.
"Maybe we could grab something to eat," she muttered, casting a glance at her pokémon. However, one look at them made she shake her head in amusement.
Pat had just jumped on the largest, and muddiest, puddle he could find. He rolled over with the sweetest grin and splashed water around with his tail. His expressive eyes were gleaming and filled with wonder in a way that made Celeste's heart pound with joy. She was genuinely willing to punch anyone who said her slowpoke had a blank expression.
Behind the slowpoke, Powder carefully studied the puddle, wrinkling her nose as she maintained her distance. People often said that young pokémon take time to develop their personalities, but ever since they started training, the little vulpix was growing into herself more and more. She was still adorable, of course, always stopping to smell pretty flowers and charming everyone around whenever she wagged her fluffy tails. However, she was also becoming Celeste's most focused team member. Powder would not stop training until she was either drained or satisfied with the results.
Needless to say, she was never satisfied.
Aria spotted Powder steering clear of the water and couldn't help but smirk. She casually trotted over, getting near her.
"Ve," she said, striking up a casual conversation. But the vulpix eyed the eevee with suspicion. Unfazed, the eevee pressed on. "Eevee vee!" Whatever she said caught Powder's attention, who tilted her head cutely.
Poor baby. She was growing up, but also way too pure for this world. Oblivious to Aria's intentions, Powder didn't even notice the eevee was luring her closer to the muddy water. As they approached the puddle, Aria leaped in, creating a wave of muddy water that drenched Powder from head to toe.
Pat took a moment to notice what was going on. Once he did, he rolled over, making space for his youngest teammate. Letting out a slow "Po," he beat his tail on the ground, signalling the empty space beside him.
In response, the vulpix snorted a flurry of ice, causing Aria to burst into laughter. The completely dirty eevee splashed even more water onto Powder.
"There is no way they will let us come inside," Celeste told herself, placing her hands on her hips. Just as a drop of rain fell on her forehead, she looked up, causing her smile to wane.
—*—*—
Celeste shifted around while she waited for Olga to open the door.
The three pokémon beside her were dripping muddy water all over Olga's patio, and the girl wasn't faring any better. Her boots were filthy, her clothes soaked, and her hair clung awkwardly to her face.
Once the door opened, the girl gave the woman a small wave and smiled. As usual, Olga responded with an annoyed grumble and a frown. After so much time together, Celeste had become proficient at differentiating her scowls. The one she wore now was the "not amused" scowl, which was a good sign. It meant that with a little persuasion, she would likely indulge in whatever nonsense the girl came up with.
"I'm not even going to ask," the older woman said, looking at the teen from head to toe. Her frown deepened, veering towards angry, when she noticed the three muddy pokémon. "You have pokéballs. Shouldn't you use them?"
The girl chuckled. She wanted to give her pokémon a bath, but if she went back to the centre like this, she'd have to listen to Delia telling her off. Somehow, that thought led her straight to Olga's house.
"I was wondering if Rey has… uh… eevee shampoo," the girl said, thinking she'd came up with a brilliant excuse.
"Your pokémon are not stepping inside," Olga declared, crossing her arms. However, she sighed in defeat as Celeste continued to stare at her with pleading eyes. "I suppose he might have something…"
The shop owner directed the young trainer to go to the small shed in her garden and wait for her before returning to the house. A few minutes later, she emerged with the shampoo and some towels in hand. Placing the items on a small counter, Olga proceeded to retrieve a small inflatable pool and fill it with water.
"Shouldn't you be doing this in the pokémon centre?"
Celeste laughed awkwardly and shrugged, motioning for her pokémon to get in the water. Olga grumbled once more, as all three pokémon jumped in simultaneously, causing the small pool to overflow. Murky water spilled out, creating a complete mess in the shed.
"I'll clean this up," the girl said immediately, picking up the shampoo. "Floral and peaches, huh?" she read the label aloud, opening the bottle for Aria to smell. The eevee took a whiff and grimaced in disapproval. Celeste understood it meant she didn't want to smell like Rey's pokémon. "Come on, this stuff will make your fur super soft, just like the shampoo we used to have before I lost my backpack."
In silence, Olga watched as Celeste started massaging her pokémon with the shampoo, vigorously scrubbing away the dirt. The process created a messy mixture of water and grime, further soiling Celeste's own clothes. However, the girl didn't seem to mind.
After finishing with Aria, the dirtiest of the three, Celeste instructed her to leave the pool so she could move on to Powder. But the stubborn eevee had other plans, choosing to swim closer to Pat, who was peacefully floating on his back.
"Enjoying the spa treatment?" Celeste playfully teased the eevee as she gently poured shampoo onto Powder's curly puffs. The vulpix closed her eyes and sneezed before cutely shaking her head. Feeling a bit annoyed by Olga's silent stare, the girl shifted her gaze towards the woman and tried to smile. "Did I ever tell you how I met Aria?"
Olga raised an eyebrow. "You know I'm only here to make sure you don't make a bigger mess, right?"
The girl let out a subdued laugh, feeling tired and gloomy. It could have been the poor weather or the restless night's sleep she had. That or the strange green flash of light would often linger in her vision whenever she closed her eyes. Regardless, she could really use the distraction of having someone else to talk to.
"She stole my popcorn," Celeste said despite Olga's lack of interest, and the eevee barked loudly in protest. "And after she was done, she thought I was such an easy target that she went back to get the chocolate I had in my bag, too."
The older woman looked at the girl and her eevee with some amusement. "So you captured her?"
The girl shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. "She actually followed me to my parents' boat and ended up getting tangled in some ropes," Celeste recounted with a chuckle. "Have you ever been to Sootopolis City in Hoenn? That's where we were. My mom and dad had anchored there to restock on supplies and gather info for our expedition to the nearby ruins of a water temple where we could allegedly spot phione. Anyway, we left without even noticing Aria was there. Me and our cameramen found her trying to chew through the rope the next morning when we arrived at the ruins."
Olga raised her eyebrow, her gaze lingering on the eevee.
"After I untied her, she obviously still found my chocolate and darted into the temple with it. I ran after her, and before we knew it, we'd got completely lost."
By the time Celeste finished her sentence, Powder was clean and eagerly hopped into a towel. The girl paused for a moment, her attention drawn to the sound of rain pattering outside. As she carefully wrapped the towel around her vulpix, the memories of that day at the ruins flooded back. In silence, she contemplated how her story should end this time.
"We shared the chocolate and bonded while trying to find our way back," the girl said, moving on to clean Pat. Thankfully, her slowpoke didn't have any fur, and his smooth skin, befitting of a water type, made dirt slide off effortlessly. He was nearly cleaned already. As Celeste poured water over Pat's head, her gaze briefly met Aria's, who sported a knowing, albeit slightly judgmental, smirk. "That was our first adventure together, and we promised to continue having adventures together for the rest of our lives."
"Cute," Olga said curtly. "Did you at least get to see the phione? It's said to be good luck if you spot one."
"Do you think I need good luck in the battle later today?" Celeste chuckled in response, sharing a final glance with Aria. "There wasn't one phione in sight."
—*—*—
Celeste was sitting on the floor beside her slowpoke, watching the washing machine spin. She was wearing an oversized bathrobe and running her fingers through the knots of her damp hair as she tried to come up with a strategy for her battle with Mia later in the day.
"We've seen Noel use Agility, Bullet Seed, Drill Peck and Brutal Swing…" the girl told her pokémon. "It's a freaking delibird, though. It's got to know Present."
The slowpoke blinked at her charmingly.
"Not one for strategising, huh?" Celeste chuckled, her gaze turning to Pat's eyes expectantly. "Hey, um… I've been meaning to ask." She twirled a strand of hair around her index finger, fidgeting with it. "Remember when we started training Confusion the other day?"
Patrick slowly tilted his head in response.
"No pressure, you'll figure it out soon… I was just wondering…" The girl averted her eyes, uncertain if it was okay to ask the question she had in mind. "Can you talk, Pat? Telepathically, I mean."
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her slowpoke's eyes dimming as he blinked once more. This time, his response seemed slower. Maybe it wasn't okay to ask him that… Psychic types typically communicated with individuals they had formed a strong bond with, such as their trainers. According to her parents, there needed to be trust above all else for the barriers between minds to dissolve.
Well, most of the time, at least.
She remembered speaking to her mother's sigilyph only once, and it had left her with a horrible feeling. It was undoubtedly one of the creepiest experiences she had ever had. Her father's claydol was the opposite, however. It had zero qualms about barging into anyone's mind and wouldn't shut up whenever it was out of its pokéball. It either completely disregarded any unspoken rules about trust or simply placed blind faith in everyone it met.
"I just wanted to say that if you can… if you want to, I'd love to talk someday."
Celeste noticed her pokémon's gaze lowering as he turned his attention back to the spinning washing machine, his eyes following the motion in circles. The digital timer on top changed from 3:00 to 2:59, and a sigh escaped the girl's lips.
"Right… so what do we know about Present?" she turned to her slowpoke again, forcing out an energetic grin.
—*—*—
"Thank you for the help, Olga." Celeste and her mentor had just arrived in Articuno Plaza for her battle, and the older woman seemed taken aback by the girl's sudden gratitude. "Not just today, ever since we got here… thank you."
For a moment, Olga remained silent as Celeste spotted her opponent, Mia, waiting for them on the battlefield. Mia's delibird stretched its wings while she tied her long purple hair into a ponytail and engaged in conversation with the DJ.
Celeste felt her mouth go dry and a knot form in her stomach as Olga gently tapped her back, signalling her to proceed.
With a curt tone, Olga spoke, "If you want to thank me, win this one." She shifted her gaze towards Mia and the DJ. "Everyone here is obsessed with Razzo having taken an interest in the island. I'd love to see one of my kids beating them."
Despite her nervousness, Celeste couldn't help but let out an involuntary snort at Olga's words. "I'm one of your kids?" she blurted out, unable to contain herself.
Olga immediately turned her gaze away, and with a muttered comment, she said, "You know what I meant. Just do your best, kid."
—*—*—
As Celeste stepped into her designated square, she noticed the damp battlefield was reflecting the dramatic red and orange from the skies. The clouds looming above them looked like a painting, even though they were foreboding.
On the stands beside her, only a few people were spectating. Delia, Olga, Luan and even Rey were there. In the absence of a crowd, their familiar faces were easily recognisable. At the front row, Lorelei smiled at her while cradling her little smoochum. Celeste held onto the belief that the crowd would cheer for her and that she would emerge victorious with ease. However, she knew she was the underdog this time.
"Ladies, are you ready to battle?" DJ Jiggly Jams said, but without the bigger audience, his tone lacked the usual energy and quips,
On the other side of the battlefield, Mia grimaced. "Come on, Nick, we're not paying you to be boring. This is being broadcasted to Kanto!" She rolled her eyes and then turned to Celeste. "Talent, am I right?"
The girl blinked at her opponent. Of course, the DJ had an actual name.
"Anyway," Mia looked up, annoyed. "It is a shitty day for battling, but at least we caught a break from the rain."
"Right…" DJ Jiggly—Nick scratched his head. "Huh… today we got Mia, our Razzo representative, bringing all the dazzle to the battle. Her opponent is a celestial girl, to say the least. Trust me on this. Her vulpix looks like a little angel from the heavens. Ladies, please bring out your pokémon."
Mia giggled as she gestured for the delibird to make its way onto the battlefield. "Man, that was lame. Let's just get this over with quickly, Celly."
A shiver ran through Celeste, and she tried to blame it on the cold. She wanted to exude coolness and confidence like Mia did, but paradoxically, the more at ease the woman appeared, the more nerve-racking the battle felt. Somehow, facing a stranger seemed a thousand times better than a friend.
Taking a deep breath and attempting to steady herself, the young trainer pressed the button of her premier ball, releasing Powder into the arena. The charged clouds above grew heavier, and within seconds, a hailstorm erupted.
Snow Warning was a strange ability.
It responded to Powder's emotions, but not in the way Celeste expected. When the vulpix got annoyed at Aria's pranks or angry her trainer was distracted, nothing would happen. On the other hand, whenever she got frustrated with how hard it was to master fairy-type moves, chunks of ice the size of golf balls would suddenly fall from the sky. It was the same with training. They could go the whole day with clear skies when practising, but the moment an actual battle started, so did the hail.
Initially, Celeste believed Powder had unlocked a hidden talent within her, making her a natural at controlling the ability. That seemed like the only plausible explanation as to why it would always activate when a battle was about to begin.
However, the more the girl observed the vulpix, the more she came to the realisation that she was wrong. Hail wouldn't rain down simply from her pokémon being slightly angry or excited. It wasn't about what the vulpix's feeling, but the intensity of her emotions. And Celeste could see that intensity in her Powder's face. Battling in this tournament, it meant the world to her.
The trainer smiled. Her pokémon could turn her feelings into a fucking hailstorm. She should be confident, too. "Let's give it all we've got!" she yelled and felt satisfied when she noticed the hailstorm had slightly intensified.
As soon as the referee gave the go ahead, neither trainer wasted any time.
"Powder Snow, let's make the weather even worse," Celeste commanded.
"Bombard them with presents!" Mia said with energy.
Both pokémon sprang into action immediately. Celeste hoped that the combination of hail and the winds from Powder Snow would hinder the delibird's manoeuvrability and accuracy. They could maintain the storm for a while, then attempt to sneak behind Noel with Ice Shard. Like that, they would hopefully stay hidden and safe while doing some damage.
Her hopes were immediately shattered as the delibird shot up above the reach of the Powder Snow and opened its bag, releasing several glowing orbs onto the battlefield.
That was delibird's signature move, Present.
Powder didn't have time to react as she was bombarded with a barrage of glowing orbs, causing Celeste to grit her teeth in frustration. How did he make so many at once?
As the dust from the explosions settled around them, the trainer shook her head and regained her composure. The Present move was a double-edged sword. While some orbs caused damage upon explosion, others had the power to heal. That must be why Mia hadn't used it in previous battles. If she was already winning, it made no sense to take the risk of healing her opponent. However, as the opening move in a battle, it was a solid way to pack a punch. If there were more healing orbs than explosive ones, it wouldn't make a significant difference, but if the balance tipped in favour of damage, the damage could add up.
The audience was on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting the outcome. DJ Jiggly Jams approached Celeste, shielding his eyes and squinting to catch a glimpse within the swirling cloud of dust. The entire arena held its breath, unsure if Powder would still stand after such a massive attack.
Celeste had to suppress a laugh.
If Powder had been knocked out, the hail would have stopped, but instead, it intensified. Her vulpix was still in the game and most likely angry. Mia didn't know that, though, so this was her chance to be sneaky.
"Powder, no!" Celeste did her best to sound like she was panicking. She needed to tell her partner where the delibird was without alerting their opponents. "Seriously, Mia? Is your bird just going to hover in the middle of the battlefield as if it's nothing? Powder could be hurt."
The girl cringed at how bad she sounded, and Mia's expression turned into a frown. If Diantha was there, she would burst into laugher.
"Good try, Celly," Mia said, clearly not fooled. "Noel, watch out for—"
Before Mia could warn her delibird, three ice shards zipped through the air, striking his chest.
Celeste's grin widened. Despite her less-than-stellar poker face, Powder had received the message loud and clear, and she had executed her task with flawless speed.
"It fell back towards Mia," the girl yelled, her eyes fixed on every move of the bird.
A few more ice shards soared through the air, but the delibird swiftly steadied himself and dodged them with impeccable timing. However, before he could change direction, Powder unleashed another batch of shards, and one of them grazed Noel's wing, causing the pokémon to spiral downward.
After a thump and emitting a loud chirp, the delibird regained his balance and took flight once again, albeit still unsteady. He chirped once more, flapping its wings to clear away the lingering dust. Finally, Celeste could see Powder again.
The vulpix looked scruffy with a few bruises, but nothing that would slow her down. They'd got lucky with Present, from the sheer number of bombs… things should have been worse.
Celeste's eyes flicked from Powder back to the delibird. She needed to keep the pressure. "Continue hitting Noel with Ice Shard. Dodge anything he throws at you."
Mia whined when a few more shards hit her pokémon, but she didn't seem too distraught. "Hey Celly," she said, suddenly grinning. "Your vulpix is the cutest. Looking at her makes me really happy."
Celeste frowned. "Good for you?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know." She continued grinning and shot a disturbing look at the delibird. "I wanted you to know that what I'm doing next really pains me."
The delibird got Mia's message, whatever it was. He swiftly shifted his tail, causing the contents within to transition from solid to liquid. As the liquid swirled inside its bag, the bird skilfully evaded another Ice Shard from Powder. Then, with an ominous glint in its eyes and a piercing chirp, the delibird ascended above the vulpix. Opening its bag, it allowed a putrid sludge to drip onto the battlefield. As soon as the first drop made contact with the ground, a toxic, acidic smoke rose.
"Powder, that's poi—" Celeste's chest tightened, her words catching in her throat. Without warning, vivid flashes from her encounter with the tentacool, just before she reached the Sevii Islands, flooded her mind. The memory of the pokémon dragging her underwater, its tentacles coiling around her legs, and the poison spreading through her veins consumed her. She shut her eyes tightly, desperately trying to make the images go away. "That's poison. Don't let it touch you."
As her breaths grew shorter, the trainer became acutely aware of the suffocating stench emanating from the toxic sludge. With a trembling hand, she reached into her pocket and clutched Powder's premier ball. She could end this right now and no one would have to deal with poison.
Locking her eyes with the vulpix, she noticed her pokémon swiftly switching directions, gaining some space between her and the delibird. Maybe she could outrun this until it was over?
Mia clicked her tongue. "Pair it with Agility," she said, and Noel's feathers quivered in response. He didn't even need to pause to ensure his speed had increased; his wings fluttered rapidly, closing the gap that Powder had created. "Now, finish her."
Trying to ground herself, Celeste focused on the cold metal of the ball in her hands. She needed to let go of thoughts about the tentacool and the poison, and concentrate on Powder.
But that fucking poison.
Noticing her trainer was frozen, the vulpix barked angrily, snapping Celeste back to the present. They needed to face this challenge together. It was no time for the girl to feel lost.
Still feeling the tightness in her chest, Celeste let go of the ball. As long as she was holding it, recalling her pokémon would be a possibility, and that wasn't fair to Powder. She raised her hand to her heart, trying to calm it down, and clenched her fingers into a fist.
Option one, keep running until the delibird runs out of gunk.
There was no way they could pull that up. Noel wasn't pouring the poison onto the field, he was letting it drip. He wouldn't be able to go on forever, but for far longer than Powder could keep dodging.
Option two, take the hit and use the opening to fight back.
Celeste steadied herself again. "Powder" She took a deep breath. There was one way forward, and no time to be terrified. "Stop running and use Moonblast."
She wanted to keep the move hidden for as long as she could, but it was time.
Mia's eyes bulged. "Pour in all the gunk and pivot to Brutal Swing."
The girl pressed her lips together.
Moonblast was hard.
Powder needed to gather power from the moon, and turn that into a blast of fairy-type energy. According to Opal, before she evolved she wouldn't be able to fully generate fairy energy on her own, but she could use her affinity with the type to gather it from other sources, such as the moon. She had told them it would never be as powerful as the Moonblast of an actual fairy-type, but they could train to make it stronger.
The main problem, however, was that since the vulpix needed to gather the energy for the attack, it took focus and time. Hence the need to stop and consequently take the hit.
But Powder could do it, Celeste told herself with determination as she watched the surrounding hailstorm intensify.
Celeste held her breath and winced when the remaining poisonous gunk washed over her pokémon. Powder remained stoic, however. She didn't even flinch as the corrosive liquid slid through her body.
Soon, a soft pink light began to gather around Powder, and the scattered ice chunks on the floor trembled in response. It was taking longer than Celeste had hoped, perhaps because the poison was interfering with the fairy-type energy or maybe because, despite not showing, the vulpix was in pain.
But she could definitely do it.
No matter the hardships Powder had to face, the pokémon didn't care. She pressed on, the shimmering glow intensifying with each passing moment.
"Keep going!" Celeste encouraged her pokémon, but her heart sank as she noticed the poison corroding the vulpix fur. If Powder was that strong and brave, all the trainer could do was try her best to keep up with her.
Above them, the delibird's bag also emitted a faint glow. It looked more empty and less menacing than when he used the move against Delia. Still, Brutal Swing was brutal for a reason. The bag flared with an eerie purple smoky energy, and if Powder were to get hit, that would be the end of the battle.
"Just a little more!" Celeste kept pushing her pokémon. The poison had burned through some of her fur and was now searing the skin.
The delibird swiftly shifted his bag to his back and plunged towards the vulpix. Celeste released the breath she had been holding, knowing that every second Powder spent gathering energy was crucial. They needed to time this perfectly.
As the delibird tightened his grip on the bag and prepared to swing, Celeste's voice thundered, "Now!"
The vulpix' eyes fluttered open, and the pink aura surrounding her transformed into a pale blue hue reminiscent of the moon. The energy she had gathered coalesced into a large sphere that shot towards the delibird's face.
Powder's Moonblast was nowhere close to what a fairy could do. Still, her opponent had no chance.
Noel crumpled to the ground, unconscious, before he could complete his attack. The DJ erupted in applause as soon as the referee declared Celeste the victor. "Man, that was incredible! What a battle."
The small audience erupted in applause and enthusiastic whistles. Mia chuckled as she recalled her fainted delibird into his pokéball. "I didn't think you could win," she remarked, feigning indifference. "That vulpix of yours, it's quite the pokémon."
With her attention still fixed on Powder, Celeste allowed her arms to fall limply to her sides.
"Powder?" she whispered softly. As the vulpix turned around, her legs were trembling under the strain. She gave a tentative step forward, but fell down. "Powder!"
A/N:
- So Celeste won! Barely. She is also now very aware that she has some unresolved trauma with poison (and tentacools). Her encounter with the tentacool was all the way back in chapter 8 - Dive and Catch.
- The poison move being used is my interpretation of delibird using gunk shot (my interpretation for most of delibird's moves is that it keeps stuff on his bag and then uses it). This particular poison acts like an acid burning the skin.
- Also I realised I never stated this, but this was a festival in a small island (although everyone around makes a big deal out of it) and only unevolved pokémon that weren't too strong were allowed (no Lapras for Lorelei). That means that there weren't all that many people there. Here is how the tournament went:
Round 1 - 16 participants, 8 battles.
Group A
Powder x Seel — Swinub x bergmite— Shelly x Cubchoo — Noel (delibird) x snover
Group B
Snom x Seel — Kristal (smoochum) x Spheal — Seel x Shellder — shellder x Snorunt
—
Round 2 - 4 battles
Powder x Swinub — Shelly (Delia) x Noel (Mia)
Snom x Kristal (Lorelei) — Seel x Snorunt
—
Semifinals
Powder x Noel — Kristal (Lorelei) x Snorunt
(Let's try to guess who is going to the final, Lorelei or a Snorunt :D)
Anyway, hope you are enjoying! Thanks again for comments, likes and follows. I really appreciate it.
NEXT CHAPTER: The Voices in His Head
