Finalists

6

Sunday, April 30th, 1989

A roar erupted from the jam-packed crowd. Every face itching with anticipation for the final of the festival to begin. The dusty wooden chalkboard displayed the pictures of the four participants who had made the finals. Security was on high alert after some Elkran soldiers had stumbled across the festival. They had been tied up to a pole in the burning heat, with twisted rope. The thought of being caught made Sutton's stomach churn. He glanced over to the battlefield.

The dust kicked up under James's shoes and his fingers wrapped around his onix's poké ball. Across from him stood Clarence, smiling. "Okta, let's win this!" James pressed the button on her poké ball and she appeared. She still hasn't fully recovered from the damage from the last battle. Damn healers didn't do a good job. He glanced to his left to see a four-legged pokémon appear.

"A luxray and an onix? Seems solid, just don't be a moron and use earthquake. Got it punk?" the woman called out to James. Her curly blonde hair flopped down over her eyes.

The sand rose up from the other side of the battlefield and a loud roar echoed around the arena. A blue dragon-like pokémon floated just above the ground. His fangs hung out of his mouth, and his moustache wiggled in time with his body.

James scowled. "Of course he would pick something like that, but luxray is super strong compared to gyarados, and that's a zweilous, right? No it looks like a zweilous but isn't."

"For the sake of darkrai, that's a scovillain." The woman smiled and held up her bracelet. "Anaska, mega-evolve!"

Before his eyes, James saw the luxray's black coat sway, his blue fur dimmed to a blend of grey and blue, and his long tail stood on end. The golden star which resided at the end split open and a wave of dark energy streamed out. The luxray rushed forwards towards the gyarados, baring his teeth and snarling. His paws slamming into the ground with thunderous applause, and its claws sharp enough to slash through flesh with ease. Approaching the gyarados of Clarence, James saw it open its jaws. At the last second, the gyarados sprayed water at the luxray with enough force that water splashed against James's cheek.

The gyarados's attack was filled with pure power, not something that was seen every day. The experience Clarence and gyarados had racked up over the years they had been together was scary. The lower estimates of his level-strength amongst the crowd was in the upper forties, with some assuming it being as high as in the seventies. Not to mention the sheer terror inducing expression on the gyarados's face, which had delayed the onix's response.

"Wake up kid!" the woman shouted.

"Right, Okta attack back!" James said.

The gyarados swam through the air, like he owned it, rotating and swivelling while firing vines from his mouth, puncturing holes in the ground around him.

The luxray rolled on his back and back onto his feet. One of the vines shot towards him, like a grappling hook. Quickly, using his nimble body, he sprung up into the air raising his iron coated tail to meet the vines and slice through them. His head turned to face the gyarados. However, the luxray's eyes opened wide, and he was slammed in the stomach by the larger beast.

The water expelled around the gyarados's skin to add extra damage to the attack. He charged once again at the luxray, who hopped back on his back legs to avoid taking another serious injury. However, the gyarados's ice cold breath huffed over the luxray. It was cold enough to withstand the boiling heat of the Akratian desert.

Behind the gyarados, James's onix had shot up from the ground. Her horn was lowered forward and aimed at the scovillain. Her eyes narrowed in on the two heads – one controlled his grass typing, and the other his fire typing. She screeched at the top of her giant lungs. The noise spread throughout the arena and coursed into the ears of the luxray, gyarados and scovillain. They all froze for a moment, squinting and glancing down. The onix seized the opportunity, using her long, twisting body to bring her self closer to the scovillain. She wrapped her tail around him and raised the tip of it. With an iron covered tail, she slammed down at the scovillain, but in plenty of time, the scovillain fired seeds at the onix's tail. The explosions were drowned out by the roar of pain. The onix let out a second roar of pain from a strike to the back from the luxray's tail as it hurtled towards the ground. James turned to glance at him, the sweat dripped down his face.

"Back it up!" the woman called out.

Springing back onto his feet, the luxray snarled, stepping back from the action for a moment. Likewise, the onix rolled herself back underground.

The gyarados rushes forward once more at the luxray, diving up into the air as high as its body could in a single push of its finned tail before plummeting down towards him. His jaw, coated in ice, snapping away at the luxray. Opening his jaws as wide as he could, the luxray let out an almighty roar, pushing the gyarados back towards the arena wall.

Nervously, James looked around for his onix, who had dived down under the ground. He smiled as he saw the sand shift a little in the distance. She shot up underneath the scovillain, scratching his knee with her horn. The sandy dust from the ground spat up and imbedded itself in the cut. The ground covering the battlefield began to crack around the holes she had made in the ground.

James's attention turned back to the luxray. Now you have a dark type attached to you your dark type moves are stronger, but I haven't seen you use one yet. On top of that, you have more weaknesses now. He closed his fist, and his fingers shook. Damn it. Imagine having the ability to make your pokémon a mega and us still losing to a non-mega pokémon what you are stronger against?

The scovillain lunged at the onix, firing seeds as fast as bullets from his twisted mouth. The onix, backed into a corner, raised her tail to defend herself. Swinging its tail, the luxray met each bullet seed with an iron-clad defense, sending them flying into the scovillain making him collapse on the floor. The luxray wobbled on his feet, and turned to face his trainer. His knees were swollen around the joints, and remnants of vines hung out of them.

"You have used most of your strength, now it is my turn." Clarence opened his left hand, and a mega ring glimmered in the light on his ring finger.

"No fucking way. Damn you!" James squinted, and light shot out from the gyarados. It's back had a giant cream fin spout from it, and its blue and cream body was changed to blue and black. Another dark type?

The gyarados rushed forwards, coating its body in water and slammed into the luxray. Desperate to escape, the luxray dug his claws into the ground, however, his claws where ripped off the ground and he flew through the air, slamming into the barrier. Without stopping his attack, he rushed the onix, and struck her body. He flipped back to watch his handy work. To his surprise she wobbled, and blood dripped down her mouth, but she was still upright.

James, you need me. You cannot do it without me. You want to win, don't you James? Lend me your strength, and I will lend you mine.

"Okay!" James felt his skin ache with a stabbing pain, and he saw blood drip down his hand and into the sand. He looked up to see his onix screech louder than before. His vision blurred, and the blood dripped faster. He raised his hands to cover his eyes and wipe them. When he opened them again, the entire ground was green, and beneath the green, he could see the tunnels created by his onix's dig attacks. Without an order, he could see her digging her way through the ground, and the sand shifting. She shot up underneath the gyarados, but he was faster than her. He turned around and slammed into her with his water coated tail. Her whole nine metre body rolled across the ground and into the protective barrier, loud enough to make it crackle from impact.

Glaring back at the gyarados, she roared once more, her eyes were a piercing red, something James had never seen before. His stomach sank and he stared on at her, unable to find words. The onix slammed her tail into the ground, sending rocks flying up. She pivoted on her rear and hit the rocks into the crowd.

"Okta?"

Clarence reached his hand out, his ponytail blowing in the wind. "Power whip! Protect the people!" Immediately, the gyarados pushed the air back with a flick of its large tail fin. Long vines shot out of its body, colliding with the rocks flying through the air. Each rock was split into small pieces, easy enough to be deflected by the barrier.

The onix rushed in towards him, raising her tail up, and swung at his head. She missed the swing, and pivoted on her side, swinging down once more. Her tail froze in place and she screeched under the immense force of the gyarados's jaw. She wobbled in place and collapsed onto the ground.

It shook and James fell onto the floor, hitting his already bloodied arm in the sand. All he could hear was the crowd erupting in cheer at Clarence's victory. He clenched his fist. Why? It is so unfair, he clearly cheated with that pokémon.

James, don't you want to just kill him? You can make the ground cave in under him. Don't you just want to make him suffer for winning?

"…match. Ja-… James?"

"Sorry… I-I don't know what happened. She was fine and then…" James looked at his poké ball and returned his onix to it.

Clarence knelt beside James, and reached out his hand. "I guess she got excited." He pulled James back to his feet. "It happens, you put up a good fight. It was a good match. Oh, you are bleeding, here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pink spray can. Untwisting the lid, he pressed on the nozzle. "It is chansey egg, it will make sure there is no infection. Let's go so they can clean up the arena. I will collect my prize later. Let's get something to eat before we depart." Clarence stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets, and walked out of the arena. His gyarados glowed a bright yellow before returning to its normal form. "Come, Faleberot."

The thirty-minute wait at the tables for food felt more like an hour to James, as he stuffed a roasted qwilfish into his mouth. His fixated-on Clarence's rings on his hand. "So you have a mega stone?" James pointed. "I wish I could mega evolve Okta. That would be awesome!"

Clarence smiled. "I can mega evolve four of the six pokémon on me." With his knife, he cut the qwilfish on his plate into smaller pieces.

"Woah, no way the Elktan jerks would mess with you. You'd just smash them up. You hear that Sutton, you jerk? He will kick your arse!" James jumped up onto the table.

Sutton winced. "Elk'an."

"Piss off with that shit, twat-face, Sutton." Lioa scowled. Can't believe James beat me and lost to this guy. Like what? How? What a twat.

The clanking of plates broke the silence that followed Lioa's shouting. He grabbed his pokémon from his pocket. "Come fight me if you think you are better." However, Lioa was met with Sutton's hand. His cyan hair flopped down at Sutton's rejection. "Let's just go home. I'm done here." He got up from the table, and walked off into the dusty market. Dumb James. I worked way harder in our match. He approached a market stall of berries and watched the foot traffic of those around him. Lioa's fingers twitched. One, two… He slipped a berry into his pocket and continued walking on. The ruins of wooden shacks littered the streets in front of him. Sandstorm dust stuck onto the rooves would occasionally drizzle down.

In the corner of his eye, Lioa caught a glimpse of smoke rising up. Smoking? Akrat is too poor for people to smoke. Geez, tourists. Who would want to visit this shithole? He leaned against the building, and took a bite out of the smooth yellow berry. His tongue felt as if the saliva surrounding it was being soaked up by the berry. Damn it, a dry berry. What is it? He glanced down. Ugh, chillan berry, great, just great.

Lioa pushed his hair back and tossed the half-eaten berry onto the floor. He looked back to where he saw the smokers. They are gone now. Huh? A glimmer of something metallic shone up at him from the ground. He turned back to the street, and walked towards the shining object. He reached down and picked it up, looking at it. It has the Kilgorese flag on it? No, it's not just that, it has the symbol for the Kilgorese rebellion on it. Weren't they wiped out like twenty years ago? That's creepy. He put the pin into his pocket, and walked down the streets towards the train station.

"Li!" James put his hand on his shoulder. "I got some cash. I'm just going to go to the market, I will be back in a minute."

"Sure," Lioa said.

James walked down the sandy street into the market where Lioa had just come from. Each stand has its own little canopy." The smell of cooked food wafted into his nose, and his stomach growled. He approached the roasted qwilfish stand, and glanced at the cooked meat. His mouth watered at the sight of them.

Clang.

What? James turned to face the sound, snapping out of his trance. Poké balls? No way I'd even be allowed to get one at home without a permit to buy them. Stupid Elktan. Stupid Elkran rules. He reached over and picked one up. "How much?"

"This is Akrat, kid. You don't ask." The market stall owner raised a knife up. "You offer, and none of that metal crap."

"Sorry. I didn't know. Um… here." James reached into his pocket and pulled out an oran berry. I was saving this for Okta, but with this money I can buy berries at home.

The market stall owner quickly snatched the berry and shoved the poké ball into James's hand. "Good doing business with you," he sniggered.

James shrugged and walked off. Finally, I can get a new pokémon. Yeah, it's going to be an awesome strong pokémon like a deino or a flying type. I want to fly so I can do what the hell I want. Approaching the station door, James was met by the keen grin of Lioa.

"What took you so long, you twat, I'm taking a window seat in the carriage," Lioa said.

"Let's go and get on the train. Clarence is keeping Seargent jerk busy. We should board it now before it gets busy, or Kuti starts to cry again." James walked over to the desk and with a giant grin on his face said, "Four tickets to Fehahra town please." The man on the other side of the wooden barrier placed four pieces of paper on the desk, which James quickly snatched up. "Thanks." He raised his hand up, and jumped onto the open carriage. He walked down the carriage and opened a compartment. He slumped down next to Kitiku and looked to Lioa. "There, Li. Let's go home. Kuti, your dad will be so proud when he finds out we came second."

Or he will murder us both for leaving the town for a whole day. This was such a bad idea. We should have stayed home, Kitiku told himself.

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