Excalibur – Charcadett (f)
Cú – Hisuian Growlithe (m)
Fatalis – Charmander (m)
Cookie – Metapod (f)
Chapter 15:
"So, that's what happened." Arthur mused. After Jessie had boldly declared her desire to train all of a sudden, he'd been more than a little perplexed. When she'd thrown herself and her Ekans into warm-up exercises, he'd pulled James aside for an explanation. Safe to say, getting beaten by your rival has always been and will always be a great motivator.
When Jessie returned, sweat running down the side of her face, he pulled out a bottle of water and a berry. "I got the gist of the situation, but you guys really don't need to get up so early. It's more than enough if you come at your usual time and do another session in the evening." He handed the bottle to Jessie, who promptly drank half of it and poured the other half over her head to cool off, and the berry to Ekans.
"Then you know what we're going for; total annihilation." Jessie proclaimed, swiping a wet stray hair out of her face while waving some fresh air under her top. "You can get us to that point easily, don't you, Arty?" She leaned forward with a determined look on her face.
Arthur ignored the snickers he heard from James and Meowth when his cheeks began burning from the sight and instead focused on his answer. "Of course. But I can only tell you what to do, the work will have to come from you and your pokemon."
"Alright, so, where do we start? Running laps around Pewter? Hundreds of sit-ups? Coming up with the vilest poison to ever exist and melt Cassidy's face off?" She rapid-fired her questions, coming closer a step each time until she was basically in his face.
"… what you lack right now is experience and raw power." Arthur explained while praying to Arceus that his eyes would stay on hers. "That said, you can start by battling with James for now. Once the tournament is over, I'll be happy to help you directly, although I advise both of you to challenge wild pokemon and other trainers once we're back on the road. Needless to say, I'll watch and point out mistakes and suggestions."
"Haha! I knew I could count on you, Arty." She exclaimed happily and caught him in a one-armed hug that mashed his head against her wet clothes. "Just you wait, Cassidy. You'll be eating dirt the next time we meet." She swore angrily with a raised fist.
Arthur freed himself from her damp grasp, swiped the residual wetness off his face with his sleeve, and clapped his hands. "Then let's not waste any time. Jessie, James, move over there and battle like you normally would. Meowth, if you'd be so kind as to make sure Fatalis is ready for the tournament?"
"Too obvious, try a different approach for getting near."
"While your Poison attacks won't do much damage against another Poison type, they still have their use. Especially if they're ranged."
"You'll need more than one response for when you're pushed into the defensive."
"Keep your opponent's strength in mind. A good trainer will have a way to cover their weaknesses, but denying their strengths is a good way to throw them off."
"Alright, that's enough." Arthur shouted. His companions had been training for two hours, with short breaks in between, and were clearly out of stamina. "You've done well and gave me some ideas on what to work on. Now we just have to make sure you don't get stuck in the way you approach your battles."
Jessie and James sat on the ground, leaning against one another, wheezing, and drying themselves off with towels. Their pokemon weren't any better. "I think I remember why we stopped training …" James croaked out.
"Yeah …" Jessie admitted and leaned further against him, looking up into the sky. "But this is our chance to excel and become the best squad in Team Rocket. We know those two brutes stand no chance against us in what we do best. It'd be nice to be able to force our way out of a sticky situation too."
"That's the spirit." Arthur reassured and looked over his notes. "I know what we'll be starting on this evening, unless Cissy tries to pull me around the city, that is."
"Oh? Does our little Art have a giiiiiirlfriend?" James poked with a wide grin.
"Didn't I tell you? We're married and have two kids." Arthur deadpanned in response.
Meowth laughed at both Jessie and James flabbergasted expressions, rolling over the ground as he teared up in joy. "Now that's what I call a critical hit."
"That reminds me; she wanted to meet my travel companions. So, be on your best behavior when you meet her at the tournament." Arthur continued as he put away the stuff his pokemon brought him after they too finished their training session. "She obviously doesn't know about all the Rocket stuff, so keep that in mind."
His friends stood up and dusted themselves off. "If you need a wingwoman, just ask, Arty." Jessie said with an innocent tone.
All she got in response was a roll of his eyes. "I'm not interested in Cissy, thank you very much. And I don't know if I want your help given that track record of yours James told me about." He recalled both Fatalis and Excalibur, opting to let Cú have some more walkies while he carried Cookie himself. When Jessie turned to James with fury in her eyes, he chuckled. No one got away with poking fun at one another.
Arthur hadn't expected the other participants in the tournament to be amazing trainers, but he'd thought that at least some of them would be good. The first few rounds had shown him otherwise. He thought he just might've gotten the easier match-ups, but Cissy's battles were over just as quick as his.
A short break was called before the semi-finals, which he promptly used to look around a bit. He knew that he shouldn't compare some random no-name trainers to himself, given his training and knowledge, but the matches still bothered him. As it turned out that about half of the participants weren't just locals, they were from Pewter City's orphanage. The fact that not all children in this world were raised in happy, complete families was no secret – both he and Cissy were no exception to that, neither were the kids from Pallet Town –, but the sheer number had shocked Arthur.
While that didn't mean the children had no education at all, it most likely played a role somehow. Then again, they were new trainers, barely more than children. And what child hadn't gone for just damaging moves when playing the games? He'd done so for sure. Perhaps he should talk to Flint after their match to get a better insight on the situation. He was going to be Champion, after all, he needed to know what problems the region had and what caused them.
When he turned the corner to get back to the arena, he crashed into Cissy.
"Oof … hey, watch where you're goi-" She started before recognizing him and sighed instead. "Where have you been?! The last rounds are starting and I can't have you get disqualified for getting there too late."
Before he could say anything in response, he was pulled along by her.
"By the way; those guys with the Meowth are your travelling partners, right?" She asked, looking at him over her shoulder. "They've been cheering the loudest for you, after all."
"Yup. Sorry you couldn't meet them beforehand. They were still exhausted from training."
"Training?"
"Mhm, they got beaten pretty bad in a fight and it didn't sit right with them."
"So, they're training with you? Poor guys."
"Hey!"
She laughed and playfully hit him in the shoulder. "I'm joking. You better get your head in the game and give me your all in the finals, you got that?"
"Of course, I won't just hand you the win." He replied. At least he wasn't planning on it, but given that he'd use Fatalis in the finals, she might just get the upper hand with her Water types. He'd used Cookie all the way up until now, and surely the next battle would push her over the edge.
"And you better make it to the finals too!" She said before she ran off, just as the announcer called out the matchups for the semi-finals.
"Our first semifinal match will be between Arthur of Cinnabar Island and Calvin of Pewter City! Trainers, on your marks!" The burly man announced and Arthur took his spot in the arena. On the opposite side stood a boy just a bit shorter than him, dressed in a blue shirt, brown shorts, and a yellow cap worn backwards.
"The trainer who knocks out their opponents pokemon will be the winner and go on to the finals. Release your pokemon in 3 … 2 … 1 …begin!"
"Cookie, you're up!"
"Let's go, Spearow!"
His Metapod appeared with a cool aura, calmly taking in her opponent. Said opponent flapped its wings wildly as it rose from the ground, a predatory gleam in its eyes.
"Alright Spearow, close in and use Peck!" Spearow took another flap of its wings to soar higher before diving straight for its target, its beak glowing in a blueish-gray color.
"Clip its wings!" Arthur ordered in response and his pokemon responded with a wide String Shot in front of her.
"D-dodge!"
The Spearow fumbled around in the air, trying to avoid the sticky strings shooting at it, but after a few seconds one of its wings got clipped and it started to lose its balance. Committing further, Cookie shot a precise string that wrapped around the already clipped wing and tied it to the Spearows side, causing it to fall to the ground helplessly.
"Oh no, Spearow! Try to free yourself!" His opponent cried out desperately.
"String Ball at its beak! Don't let it get out!" Arthur responded.
Spearow first tried to get its claws raised far enough to get the sticky strings off, but when that didn't work it opened its beak to try and tear through. That's when it was hit by a fist-sized ball of web that stuck itself to its beak, leaving it utterly helpless.
"Good job! Now Tackle it!" Arthur continued, while his opponent froze up, not knowing how to respond.
Cookie shot forward and hit her opponent hard, throwing the Spearow back. Instead of continuing with another Tackle, however, she shot a String Shot after it and connected to its foot. In a surprising show of strength, she turned on the spot and used the attached string to smash the Spearow against the ground. It growled through the now loosened strings and started to get up.
"Yeah, you can do it Spearow!"
"Tackle from above! Give it your all!"
As the Spearow wabbled to its feet, Cookie pulled herself up into the sky with a String Shot, attaching it to a nearby light post. Cutting the connection, she used her remaining energy and weight to crash down onto her opponent, just as it got free of its webbing. The result was Cookie standing tall and proud atop the unconscious bird.
Just as the referee raised the flag in Arthur's direction to call the end of the match, Cookie started growing brightly. A loud crack could be heard as the cocoon teared open and out came a big and beautiful Butterfree, happily chattering as she spread her wings.
"And with this amazing finish, Arthur of Cinnabar Island is the winner!"
ZZZZ
"Psyduck, use Water Gun! Make it slip!"
Arthur watched on from the stands as Cissy continued to put pressure on her own opponent. His newly evolved Butterfree sat on his lap, happily munching on her namesake which she held between her tiny hands.
"Your friend isn't so bad, Art. You taught her too?" James asked from his right.
"Yeah, but mostly theory. She's got good instincts for battling." He replied.
"Think she can take us?" James asked once more.
"Right now? Probably only with her starter, but yes." When he could beat Jessie and James with a newly caught Caterpie and a Charmander that had no real battles, then Cissy could too.
"Man, that's kind off depressing." James slouched in his seat and slurped on his drink.
"Don't be so hard on yourself." He patted his friends back. "You guys got so many skills no trainer could even hope to hold up to, it's really not a fair comparison."
"Unless you got both …" Jessie grumbled
Arthur flicked a piece of popcorn from James' bucket against her head. "Stop it, both of you." He got an annoyed glance from Jessie, but since she wasn't climbing over James to get to him, he continued. "Futch and Cassidy have always been more brawn than brain, that's why they got better scores in my class opposed to your high scores in others. Or do you think Cassidy could ever move as discreet as you guys the way she tramples everywhere?"
Jessy laughed at that. "Never."
"See? That's what I mean. And while I certainly wouldn't mind some good training partners, you guys can support me in ways they never could." That made the two straighten their backs and look at him expectingly.
Down in the arena below, Cissy's Psyduck managed to score the knock-out against her opponents Ratatta. A round of applause went to her and Arthur got up. "Think about it. If you can guess what I mean I can take you out to dinner this evening." He shot them a cheeky wink before he recalled Cookie and made his way down to the arena once more.
Taking his spot once more, he met Cissy's confident smirk with a grin off his own as both of them took their pokeballs from their belts.
"And now the grand finale of this year's Pewter City Rookie Tournament! The winner takes home to prize of 1000 Poké, as well as free entrance to the Pewter City Museum for the rest of the circuit! Please welcome our finalists; Arthur of Cinnabar Island versus Cissy of Mikan Island!"
"Trainers, on my mark!" The referee raised his flags waiting for the countdown to finish.
"You're going down!" Cissy shouted.
"Give me your best shot." Arthur chuckled in return.
"Begin!"
"Fatalis!" "Squirtle!"
Charmander and Squirtle appeared near the middle of the field, sharing a brief friendly wave before both tensed up, ready to fight.
"Smoke Screen!" Arthur shouted, taking the initiative. Given the disadvantage he was playing with, he had to control the tempo of the battle. Fatalis acted instantly, taking a deep breath before letting out a stream of dark smoke. In a matter of seconds, the middle of the field was completely clouded.
"Bath them with Bubble, Squirtle! If they can't see, they can't dodge!" The sound of Squirtle blabbing could be heard through the thick smoke, and here and there a blue bubble reflected the sunlight from within.
"Pop them with Ember and advance!" Bright and audible explosions erupted from within the smoke, but that turned out to be something his opponent was waiting for.
"Rapid Spin, 3 o'clock!"
Suddenly, the smoke began to be drawn into itself, moving at a fast speed towards his side of the field. "Brace and claws ready, catch it!"
When both pokemon collided, the smoke and the bubbles left in it dispersed. While Fatalis looked a bit worse for wear, he did manage to catch the spinning turtle between his brightly glowing claws. "Throw it down and Scratch!"
"Water Gun at the ground! Shoot yourself to safety!"
Fatalis hit Squirtle with two Scratch attacks before it successfully angled its head to the floor and shot out a torrent of water, catapulting itself to the other side of the field where it landed, although a bit unsteady.
"Smoke Ball on its location! You gotta get close!" Arthur ordered, opting for a localized smoke rather than a wide spread one. They came up with that version of the move when they watched Cookie bundle up her String Shot.
"Water Gun!" Cissy shouted in response, punching her fist forward.
Since it took Fatalis longer to concentrate his move, he was hit straight in the chest with a Water Gun. He slid back a bit, grunting at the super effective hit, but nevertheless shot out his own attack. A small area around Squirtle was once more clouded in smoke, where it coughed from within due to the increased denseness.
"You got this, buddy. Advance and Scratch!"
"Don't let up, Squirtle! It's time for a real Bubble Bath!"
As his Charmander ran towards its target, wave after wave of bubbles flooded out of the smoke. The little fire starter did its best to clear a path by ripping them apart with his claws, who had taken on a silvery metallic gleam after the first two waves, but he didn't make any progress.
Arthur had to hand it to his friend; she came up with a great strategy for a move as weak as Bubble, but he could compliment her later. While Fatalis seemed to have managed learning Metal Claw by now, this wasn't going to help them in this matchup. His mind raced to find a way to get the upper hand, when his eyes fell on his pokemons tail. The flame on top of it grew brighter and brighter with every destroyed Bubble. That's it.
"Fatalis, turn up the heat! No need to hold back!"
After batting away a few more Bubbles, Fatalis straightened and responded with a spray of Ember. Each projectile shone a bright hot red, as opposed to their regular orange, and managed to pierce through the Bubbles they collided with. After a few seconds, he managed to push through and hit Squirtle right in the face, who cried out as it was thrown out of the smoke.
"Good, keep it up and get close!"
"Squirtle, push through with Water Gun!"
Squirtle got up, tanking the rain of Ember with a wince, and shot out a stream of water, glowing in the same brilliant blue as its eyes did. The Water Gun pushed the Ember back while both pokemon moved closer to on another, pushed by their desire to win.
"You can do it Fatalis!" Arthur cheered on his pokemon, knowing that it was all up to him. Now that both of them were empowered by their abilities, it was only a matter of time before Squirtle managed to overcome the Ember. If Fatalis could get just a little closer he could roll to the side and strike in close combat …
Hearing his trainer, Fatalis stomped down its foot harder with every step forward, a purplish-blue fire jumpstarting at the edges of its mouth. A step forward. Then another. His eyes met that of his adversary glaring back at him. With another mighty stomp and a loud roar, Fatalis fiery pebbles turned into a torrent of draconic flames that halted the advancing water briefly. Then, with another step forward, both forces exploded in the middle, throwing up a dense steam that hid the whole arena from view.
Arthur saw his friend tense up, her fists shacking at her side. She looked at him, then back to the field, waiting anxiously for the conclusion. It was only then he felt his own hands shake in anticipation. Despite this being a low-level battle, it felt way more intense than any battle he had while working at the Cinnabar Gym. Was it because it was against his friend? Was it because he used his own pokemon?
That thought would have to wait as the steam cleared. The referee shielded his eyes on the lookout for both pokemon. As the field became visible again, both Charmander and Squirtle stood in striking distance of one another. They were clearly on their last legs, but defiantly kept standing. They raised their arms and punched each other one more time, before they fell flat on their backs simultaneously.
"Both pokemon are knocked out! This spectacular fight ends in a draw!" The referee announced, raising both flags when it became clear that neither side was getting back up. Despite this, or maybe even because of it, a thundering applause echoed through the arena.
Arthur made his way to his pokemon, as did Cissy. He crouched down held his pokemon up for a moment. "Amazing job out there, Fatalis. You're in for a good long rest." The little lizard hummed quietly before he disappeared into his pokeball.
When he got back up, his friend had finished congratulating her own pokemon as well. She stared at him for a moment before she sighed happily. "Remind me not to tell you to go all-out on me again?" Cissy joked and held out her hand.
"Nope, too late for that." Arthur replied with a chuckle and shook her hand. "Can't hold back if you put up such an amazing fight."
"Yeah, I'm just amazing like that." She laughed. "Good fight."