I don't care how much time it takes, or how many people I have to step over. I'll never lose anyone again.
The sunlight glared into Kibe and Arienne's eyes as they exited the PRB. Audino trotted ahead of them, while Garchomp trailed behind. The differences in personality couldn't be more obvious.
"Well, that went a LOT smoother than I expected. This might surprise you, but I was actually rather anxious about the entire thing!"
Kibe couldn't tell whether she was trying to save face, or genuinely thought that she had managed to mask her anxiety. However, he wasn't particularly interested in dealing with that social grenade, so he smoothly responded with a completely different topic.
"Never would have guessed. Anyways, do you want to go off campus for lunch? We have a few hours before we have to report back."
"Uh, sure! We could go to the seafood place by the Casteliacone stand-Wait, what is that?! Audino, look out!"
Arienne cried out as a jet of water burst from a nearby field, and headed straight for a happily oblivious Audino. Audino jolted and whirled around, but there wasn't enough time to dodge. However, just before it landed, a wall of earth sprung up to protect the target.
"A Hydro Pump, huh? And judging by the direction…Tch, it was those idiots after all."
Arienne could barely keep up with the flow of events; she looked at Kibe blankly, then whirled around to look behind them. Her suspicions were confirmed: a wedge of cracks had spread from Garchomp's foot, between the pair of humans, directly to the earthen wall that had barely withstood the attack. It was the Ground Type move Earthquake used with an incredible amount of precision.
"Hey, Kibe…just who exactly WERE you before you became a student? You didn't even issue a command…"
Kibe opened his mouth, but rolled his eyes and closed it right back when he saw who was approaching from the direction of the attack.
"HEEEEY, ARE YOU GUYS OKKK?"
Several boys, who appeared to be a group of incoming sophomores, came jogging over. At their forefront were two: one with black hair, and one with silver hair, a sheepish look on his face. They were some of the people Kibe had spotted in the morning.
"Yeah, we're fine. I'm guessing this was your doing?" Kibe stepped forward to meet them.
"That was my Feraligatr, I apologize…he's mainly used to physical attacks, so we were training a new move for our arsenal…" The silver haired boy bowed his head.
"This is the first day of our summer training! Since the Unova Invitational is at the end of the summer, we're busy organizing teams and building up strategies. We're all part of the underclassmen team, so we're still a little fresh…" The black haired boy added on.
"What would've happened if my Audino had gotten hurt though? You guys are part of the Battle Club, aren't you? Shouldn't you have more control over your power if you've reached this level?"
Arienne spoke up for the first time, and she seemed quite angry. The boys had fairly puzzled looks on their faces.
"We…would take it to the Pokemon Center? You have an Audino, so you probably know how fast and effective their services are…"
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT OK!" Arienne flared up, and Kibe put an arm in front of her as he tried to defuse the situation:
"The issue here isn't the end result, but that Audino got attacked at all. She's clearly not trained for battle, and wouldn't have been able to take the attack nearly as well as a trained Pokemon. Audino would end up with far more severe wounds than just some combat fatigue. Surely you people could at least understand that much?" However, more of his disdain leaked out than he intended…At Kibe's remark, the black haired boy's face morphed from half–hearted remorse to a determined glint.
"Hey, what's the deal? We already apologized, didn't we? If you want to act all smart with us, then why don't we have a battle?" The silver haired boy looked shocked at this declaration.
"Hey Nathan, are YOU going to battle? I don't think that's a good idea, you're a Super Class ranked Trainer…"
"What's the harm, Akira? That Garchomp looks fairly strong; it was easily able to block your Hydro Pump, after all. They're our seniors, so they should at least be able to back up their words, right?" Nathan provoked Kibe and Arienne.
"...Nathan, was it? Sure, I'll take you on. What are the conditions?"
"I don't want to waste too much time doing this, so let's have a one on one. Akira here will referee for us. If I win, I want you to take back your words about the Battling Club."
"Sure. However, if I win, you have to sincerely apologize to Arienne." Arienne was a little bothered by this condition.
"You don't need to do this for me! I could battle him myself if I wanted to."
"...It's honestly not just for you. I get rather annoyed at these naive battler types. Anyways, I accept your conditions. Where are we going to battle?" Kibe turned back to face the group.
"Great! Follow us." Nathan turned on a dime, followed by Akira and his friends. Kibe and Arienne followed behind. At the back, Audino could be seen thanking Garchomp for the protection. Arienne whispered into Kibe's ear. She came up to about his shoulder height wise, so he had to lean over.
"...Hey, you made that bold declaration and all, but do you actually think you have a chance? These guys are basically battle junkies, right? And you're battling their leader?"
"Well, would you have battled him with that Audino? I didn't really have a choice."
"You're not answering the question! And I have another Pokemon anyways…although he doesn't always listen to me…" Arienne started out with a full-on hiss, but quieted down by the end, trailing off.
"Is that so? Garchomp is the only Pokemon I have at the moment. Regardless, I do have some experience with competitive battling from back when I lived in Sinnoh. I competed in the gym challenge, and placed at the Lily of the Valley Conference. That was six years ago at this point, though…"
"Woah, the Sinnoh League?! Isn't that one of the most prestigious Leagues out there? I think it was that Sinnoh has the most competitors, and Kalos has the highest average skill level, right?"
"Well, yeah…" They had arrived at the training fields Kibe had seen earlier that morning. There were over two dozen Trainers battling and practicing across multiple battlefields. This club had quite the budget, it appeared.
"Impressive, right? All the people you see here are incoming sophomores like us! The upperclassmen are at a training camp in the Galar region. The club's plan is to select two teams of six from the people you see here for the Invitational at the end of the summer. Tryouts start in a month." Nathan gave an explanation as they walked to the middle of the area, which, unlike the other fields, had bleachers and proper barriers. Akira grinned, and picked up a loudspeaker.
"HEY EVERYONE! NATHAN'S GONNA HAVE A BATTLE, COME WATCH!!" The dozens of people around them stopped what they were doing, and began moving over.
Kibe sighed. "Come on, was that really necessary? It's not like we have to make this a whole song and dance. Arienne and I have things to do as well…" Nathan smirked in response.
"Well, it's not like this battle will take a particularly long time. Get ready!"
Nathan walked over to the other side of the battlefield. Kibe took his place at the close side, with Garchomp walking past him to the field. Arienne stood just behind him, and to the left. People continued to gather on the bleachers, and other unrelated spectators passing by on their way to lunch started piling in as well. The murmurs continued to swell.
"...come on, just where are all of these people coming from? Don't they have anything better to do during break?" Kibe was exasperated at this point.
"Hey...Thanks a lot for doing this. We don't even know each other that well, but you're going this far… I care a lot about Audino, so I kind of overreacted and made this whole thing a bigger deal than it had to be."
"We're going to be partners from now on, right? Stuff like this is only natural. It's not that big of a deal. Anyways, this is partly for my own self-satisfaction, as I said before."
"Well, in that case, Audino and I will be cheering you on! Hurry up and win so we can go get lunch!"
There were roughly 50 spectators crammed into the bleachers. Others were watching from behind the contestants. Everyone was ready, and Akira stepped forward at the referee's position.
"This match will be a one on one battle! No recovery items will be allowed, nor will usage of techniques like Mega Evolution or Z-Moves! The match will end when one contestant's Pokemon is unable to battle! Trainers, send out your Pokemon!"
"I'll be choosing Garchomp, of course."
"This will be my Pokemon! Go, Samurott!!" Nathan threw out his Poke Ball, unveiling Samurott, the Formidable Pokemon. It stood ready to unsheathe its razor shells which functioned as melee weapons. Arienne knew that she thought Kibe would end the match quickly…but was that slothful Garchomp really a good battler? However, she noticed something: Garchomp had tensed up, despite his outwardly relaxed position, and had a suspicious glint in his eye.
"Alright then. The battle will begin at my mark! As the away team, Kibe will have the first move! 3…2…1…BATTLE BEGIN!!"
"Garchomp, use Swords Dance!"
"Let's go Samurott, use Aqua Jet!"
Garchomp raised one arm above its head, and held another out in front of him. His gaze sharpened. Samurott was engulfed in a torrent of water, and rocketed towards Garchomp. Samurott's incredibly swift Aqua Jet nearly landed before Garchomp had completed the move. However, Garchomp was able to endure, and shrug it off.
"Don't let up! Use Razor Shell!!"
"Counter with Dragon Claw!"
Next, Samurott unsheathed its twin azure blades and swung at Garchomp. However, Garchomp's claws enlarged and took on a green hue, blocking the attack. A furious melee took place, which resulted in Garchomp not only fending Samurott off, but dealing damage and pushing it back. The Battle Club was encouraging Nathan:
"Come on man, Get him!"
"Imagine setting up in a one on one! Show some honor!"
"Nice job, Kibe! Kick his ass!!"
The last comment, it should be noted, came from Arienne.
"That increased Attack is no joke huh…Samurott, break away for now!" Nathan was cautious about getting into close quarters, which tended to be a Garchomp's specialty.
Kibe smiled. It seemed like Nathan hadn't noticed that it wasn't only the boost to Garchomp's attack power that had given him the edge, but also Garchomp's incredibly deft technique. And enlarging the gap wouldn't help him one bit.
"If close quarters won't work, we'll attack from range! Use Hydro Cannon!!" Nathan gathered himself and called out Samurott's strongest attack, which was at the pinnacle of all Water type moves.
"...Well, that's something, at least. Defend with Earthquake!"
Samurott charged up a giant sphere of water, and then compressed it down to a size smaller than that of a watermelon, and fired it. At the same time, Garchomp slammed his foot into the ground, erecting three earthen walls to try and stave off the attack. The Hydro Cannon shot across the field in the blink of an eye, shooting straight through two barriers and crashing apart the third. The shockwave, water, and pieces of wall ejected from the explosion slammed into Garchomp, and rushed for the two people behind them.
"A-Audino, use Protect!!"
Audino ran in front of Kibe and Arienne, erecting a barrier to protect any and all projectiles flying their way. Garchomp flew backwards from the attack, but landed on his feet right in front of them. The spectators were roaring: the battle was heating up in an explosive fashion.
"What the hell?! Were you planning on just letting us get hit?!"
"To be honest, I didn't expect Earthquake to be completely overpowered like that. If that had landed directly, we probably would have lost. But I can handle a few rocks."
"Ok, but what about ME?!"
Arienne's shock was giving way to anger. Kibe quickly decided to shelf the conflict building behind him to focus on the one directly in front of him.
"Garchomp, cut off his vision and strike at him! Use Earthquake!"
"Hey!!"
Garchomp stomped his foot once again, and large fissures began to erupt in the field. First, large walls were erected around Samurott, forming something akin to a maze on the field. Next, blunt spears began to jut out, similar to the Rock type move Stone Edge. Arienne was in awe now; just how much control and technique did Garchomp have? The audience was shocked as well, the Battle Club's jaws hanging wide open.
"Samurott!!"
Unfortunately, the power of Hydro Cannon came at a price: Samurott was rendered unable to react to the veritable natural disaster. Nathan grit his teeth and watched Samurott get buried. Kibe smiled and relaxed.
"Well, is that a wrap? I expected a little more to be honest, but you still did quite well for an underclassman."
"Don't underestimate us!! You might be extremely skilled, but we have you outmatched in raw power, even with your Swords Dance! What's that Garchomp's deal, anyway? It attacks like a damn Psychic type!!"
Akira hesitantly watched the pile of rubble Samurott was buried under, unsure whether to call the match. But since both Trainers were still talking, he decided to let them finish. The spectators were whispering to each other, wondering whether the ace of the underclassmen had seriously lost to someone pretty much off the street.
"Well, most Garchomp's fight using their natural-born bulk and speed. This tactic was popularized among Trainers as the "right" way by Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion and owner of the strongest Garchomp in the world. She uses incredibly strong attacks like Dragon Rush, Giga Impact, and Draco Meteor to secure victory. While this method of maximizing your strengths isn't wrong-one might say it's actually correct, given the results-I believed in covering my weaknesses instead, crafting the perfect situation for precise attacks to grant me wins. Honestly, this was the first actual battle I've had in nearly half a year. I really enjoyed it, despite everything.You should call the mat-oh?"
"SAMUROTT!"
Nathan shouted in relief as a battered Samurott cut apart the pile of rubble just as Kibe was signaling to Akira to call the match. Heaving for air, Samurott stood tall and sheathed its blades. The Battle Club started cheering and hollering. Arienne was shocked.
"LETS GOOOOO!!"
"NATHAN! TAKE IT HOME!!"
"How on earth is that Pokemon still up?! Such tenacity!"
Nathan grinned and clenched his fist, striking a pose.
"See, I TOLD you not to underestimate us! We're going for the win!!"
Kibe smiled and nodded, accepting Nathan's will.
"It seems that I indeed sold you short, sorry about that. Let's fight to the finish!!"
The crowd swelled to a crescendo.
--
Inside her office, Miranda heard some faint shouting from her fifth story window. She picked up her midday coffee and peeked outside, opening it. By her judgement, nearly one hundred people were crowded around the Pokemon Battling Club's main battlefield…and she could see a familiar pair standing in one of the contestant boxes. She spit out her coffee and started laughing.
"Hey Lewis, you have to come see this!! I told those two to go out for lunch and this is what they're doing!"
A grad student poked his head out from one of the offices and walked over. On the shorter side with brown hair and freckles, he walked up next to Miranda.
"Professor, are those the two undergrads you brought on?"
"Oh yeahh, I forgot that you haven't met them yet! Yep, that's them! They're so active, I'm sure they'll do great. I'll introduce you when they get back here this afternoon."
The pair watched the conclusion of the battle from the best possible seats.
--
"Let's finish this, Garchomp! Earthquake!!!"
"Don't lose your balance! Razor Shell!!"
An earthen wall rose directly under Samurott, launching it into the air. Samurott responded by unsheathing its signature swords once more, shining stronger than ever. One could almost see the amount of power being packed into them. Samurott twirled into a spin, slashing down at Garchomp from midair.
"Meet it with Dragon Claw!!"
Samurott and Garchomp met in midair with tremendous force, azure blade meeting jade claw. The shockwave sent a breeze blowing through everyone's face. Both Pokemon had used both arms to attack, and were locked in place. Nathan grinned.
"Do it, Samurott!"
Samurott kicked Garchomp to the ground, and began to fall.
"THIS IS IT!! USE ICE BEAM!!"
Nathan unveiled his trump card, and Samurott began charging it up while divebombing Garchomp; it became cloaked in the Ice energy of the move as opposed to using it as an attack! Arienne screamed. The Battle Club were nearly collectively passing out from excitement.
Garchomp barely had time to recover and look up, only to see Samurott filling up his vision. However, this was what Kibe and Garchomp were waiting for all along.
"FINISH IT! USE THUNDER FANG!!"
Right when Samurott entered range, giant electric fangs materialized in front of Garchomp, and slammed Samurott to the ground. A massive explosion shook the field.
"What?! Samurott, no!!"
Nathan cried out as the spectators went silent. The smoke eventually cleared out, revealing an unconscious Samurott at Garchomp's feet. Akira shook, and stepped forward:
"S-samurott is unable to battle! Garchomp is the winner! And so, the victory goes to Kibe!!"
The entire battlefield was silent. But then, one person started clapping: Arienne. Slowly, but surely, the entire field became flooded with applause.
"What an amazing battle, Kibe! Congratulations!!"
"You guys don't need to go this far, really…" Kibe accepted Arienne's praise with some embarassment, and began walking onto the field. Nathan and Akira did the same. First, Nathan walked up to Samurott and comforted it.
"You did amazing out there, buddy. Get a good rest."
Nathan returned Samurott to its Poke Ball and looked up. Nathan, followed by Arienne and Audino, had arrived next to Garchomp.
"Excellent work on the timing, as always. It's been a while since we've really let loose like that, but it's like no time has passed at all."
Garchomp shook his head as if to say that wasn't true at all, and he definitely had gotten rusty. He headbutted Kibe's shoulder in an uncharacteristic display of affection. Kibe then looked down at Nathan, and held out his hand.
"Honestly, I think we both went too far. There wasn't any need for us to go at it like this, although I can't really say that I regretted it. This was a lot of fun."
Kibe took his hand.
"Ain't that the truth."
The spectators began to clap louder and cheer. On the side, Akira was once again apologizing to Arienne.
"I'm really, truly sorry about all of this! This was all my fault to begin with, and if only I was a better Trainer-"
"No, please don't put yourself down like that…I got way too emotional. I'm really attached to my Audino for personal reasons outside of her just being my Pokemon partner, so the thought of her getting hurt made me irrationally angry. I'm sure you're a fine trainer, and it wasn't fair for me to blow up at you like that-"
"No, no, seriously I should be the one apologizing-"
The pair continued trying to take all of the blame from the other. Kibe and Nathan looked at them, then at each other, and burst out laughing.