Chapter 59a: Reversal of Fortune, Part 1
The time after Team Swellow's victory on the field flew by in a daze, thanks to Team Bedtime's battle strategy abusing techniques that put their opponents to sleep, including a potent Yawn from its Munchlax leader. In spite of it all, Nida, Elty, and Guardia managed to piece together enough of the journal to notice that Sibich seemed to have total control over his underlings' activities, and that he seemed to use the journal to maintain a running log of his dealings and exploits. Before they knew it, the three were back in the courthouse, with their paws and the team's satchel filled with muddy notes, running up with an audible yawn in front of an agitated-looking Pikachu.
"… Again?" Cardino sighed. "What happened this time?"
"Sorry, we got Yawned on during our last match and had trouble staying awake afterwards," Nida explained. "That's why it took a while to get over here."
Cardino sighed and he flattened his ears against his head in exasperation. If he'd known his assistants would have had this much trouble with the tournament, he would've looked around for an extra set of paws to fight in the ring while these youngsters focused on finding clues.
"Sure seems like you three are a magnet for trouble," the Pikachu murmured. "But did you find anything, at least?"
"Someone mailed us Sibich's decoder," Guardia answered. "These papers were the transcriptions we were able to make before time ran out.
At once, Cardino's jaw dropped and he spluttered incredulously. They got mailed Sibich's decoder? But how, and who- Pah, it wasn't worth sweating the details right now! This was the break of a lifetime, and it couldn't have come with better timing!
"Well don't just stand there!" the Pikachu exclaimed. "Hurry on in! Nico has been stalling for over half an hour!"
The courtroom doors swung open dramatically, clearing the way for Nida, Guardia and Elty to stride in at a hasty pace, Cardino closing the doors behind them. As Team Traveller made their way inside, Nico opened his beak to exclaim something-or-other at a Cofagrigus on the witness' stand with Rita floating at his side, only for his budding outburst to die in his throat as his voice stalled out of shock. The Fletchinder took a breath, gathering his wits for a moment, before gesturing excitedly with a wing to present Detective Cardino's assistants to the court.
"Aaaaand here's our evidence, your honor!" Nico cheered.
"Really now?" Akin scoffed. "Looks more like a bunch of children and an out-of-shape mutt running in with a last-minute distraction."
"That's where you're wrong!" Guardia countered. "Those three pirates were framed and we have proof of it!"
The Cubone's claim at once stirred up murmuring among the audience, some curious, some skeptical. For his part, the Cofagrigus witness on the stand narrowed his eyes, shooting a hardened glare back at the youngsters before turning to the Slowking judge.
"Your honor, I didn't agree to come testify to be smeared with baseless accusations," Sibich huffed. "I already plead no contest to my crimes."
"That's for the evidence to decide," Nico countered. "Your honor, I call Cardino's assistants to the stand to share this evidence that they've found!"
The Slowking judge moved his gavel to his mouth, giving it an idle whirl as he pondered. The timing did seem a bit suspect, but after the tumultuous events of the last trial, it hardly seemed fair to dismiss it out of hand. Satisfied, the Slowking shook his head, turning back to Nico with an expectant look.
"I will allow it," the Slowking said. "Witnesses, please take the stand."
Sibich scowled as he slinked away from the witness' stand to make way for Team Traveller while they shuffled forward. The three youngsters took their places, and Nida fished the journal out of her bag as Elty and Guardia set out the transcriptions they had made. The trio steadied their breathing, keenly aware that every eye in the courtroom was on them. Nida cleared her throat uneasily and straightened her posture, preparing to speak.
"We'd gotten the idea that Captain Sibich's diary would tell us more about what his crew were up to," Nida began. "By a stroke of fate, earlier today we stumbled on his decoder."
"We took a look through different parts," Guardia added, passing out a small stack of transcriptions. "Even though we couldn't finish in time, we know that he seems to insist on calling the shots for his crew."
"Most interestingly, he seems to be pretty disdainful of his Marked crewmembers," Elty said. "Calling them 'blotch-heads who got in his way' that 'draw attention away from the rest of the crew'."
"As you can see, Eric and his buddies' claim to be set up is completely reasonable," Nida continued. "There's someone with the motive and mindset here to do it. Captain Sibich!"
The Nidoran's exclamation at once drew a set of startled protests from the defendants' docket. There, Eric, Hanuna, and Sela gawped at the Poison-Type with wide eyes and slackened jaws, incredulous at the claim she'd laid before the court.
"H-Hold on a second!" Eric stammered. "Captain Sibich really wrote that?!"
"But the Shadow Brigade was the easiest crew for Pokémon like us to join!" Hanuna added.
"How about we get an explanation here, huh?" Sela demanded.
"Well now, your honor. That sounds like an awfully surprised reaction from the accused," Nico said. "Perhaps there's some truth to the witness' claims."
The Slowking quieted for a moment, playing with his gavel in his paws. The Psychic-Type paused in visible thought, before shaking his head and beginning to respond.
"I'll admit that it does sound a bit-"
"Hold it!"
All eyes in the courtroom turned to a billowing and seething Cofagrigus, giving a look that could kill towards Team Traveller. The Ghost-Type slammed his hands onto the ground and turned up to the judge, visibly agitated.
"I demand to be allowed to testify," Sibich spat. "I refuse to let a pack of neophytes try and shift the blame onto me through engaging in selective quotations!"
"Yeah, what he said!" Akin hastily added. "What bit of decisive evidence did the witness provide to exonerate your client?"
"That Captain Sibich used Pokémon like the accused as patsies," Nico scoffed. "You heard it straight from their mouths!"
"Yes, but did your 'patsies' here not commit the crimes they're accused of?" the serpent demanded. "That's the important part, and you don't have the evidence to prove it!"
The Fletchinder grimaced, realizing that this whole time, while he'd been trying to cast doubt on Sibich, he'd completely failed at proving his clients' innocence! They certainly weren't acting misleading, but nothing that he'd shown the court so far could prove that they weren't a part of those egg thefts!
"Nrr… rrgh…"
"It's really all quite simple, featherbrain," Sibich said, giving a dismissive wave of his hands. "I'll explain to you from my experiences as a captain how it was that the testimony of those little snoops you called to the stand changes absolutely nothing."
"I'll hear it," the Slowking replied. "Captain Sibich, you may begin your testimony explaining the context of your journal entries."
The Ghost-Type floated back up to the stand as Team Traveller hastily took their leave back for Nico's desk. All the while, the Cofagrigus trained a harsh glare on the youngsters, seething behind clenched teeth before he swallowed his agitation and turned his attention to the judge with newfound sobriety.
"I admit, the youngsters' words are true…" Sibich reluctantly admitted. "That is what those entries in my journal say after reading them properly."
Some shocked gasps went about the gathered audience, wondering just what sorts of malevolent acts the Cofagrigus captain before them could have done if he was willing to hide his true colors from his own crew. In anticipation, the Ghost-Type held up a hand for silence, before turning his attention back to the judge.
"However, things are not as simplistic as the Defense's witnesses would like to believe," the wraith insisted. "The lines have merely been taken out of context."
"… Would you care to explain that?" Nico asked.
"They are things I wrote out of frustration after long days of working with the Marked on my crew," Sibich explained. "It got tiring to deal with them going behind my back constantly."
"If they are all such awful crewmembers, then why do you have them on your crew in the first place?" Fletchinder pressed.
"Because a trained and experienced crew is worth more to a captain than a ship full of rookies," the Cofagrigus retorted. "Despite the flaws among my Marked subordinates, it simply made the most sense for me to stay the course to teach them prudence in their mission and of honor among thieves."
Nida, Elty, and Guardia gaped at Sibich. How could he regurgitate the blatant lies he'd told them at the detention center yesterday so plainly in public ? It was totally shameless!
"Grr… that's an obvious lie!" Guardia spat. "He's guilty and we all know it!"
"Maybe so," Nico murmured. "But I can't see anywhere where his testimony contradicted the evidence we have."
"Hold on, Nico. He admitted that anything read from his journal through that decoder is proper, right?" Rita asked. "Then if so, anything else he wrote in that book is something that he'd be admitting to happening."
"Yeah, but how does that help us with this giant book here?" Elty demanded. "We'll never be able to decode the whole thing before the judge gives a verdict!"
"We'll buy some time. Nico's great at pressing a witness when he has to, so just look around and try to find something that would relate to this last raid," the Misdreavus insisted. "He's bound to have said something about what happened beforehand."
"Hold it! About your first statement!" the Fletchinder cried. "What did you mean by 'write'…?"
Team Traveller blanched and threw a set of paws over their faces, shaking their heads as they noticed a deepening glare settling over the judge's face. 'Stalling for time' was one thing, but this was just reeking of desperation...
"Let's just hurry this up before the judge loses his temper," Guardia sighed.
Nida and Elty at once flipped the diary open and browsed back to the most recent entries in it. The pair fished out the decoder and hastily started to transcribe entries while occasionally peering up to overhear Nico in his latest featherbrained attempt to stall the judge. On the third entry in, Elty hastily scribbled down some runes, before Nida's eyes went wide as she realized that when combined with the ones next to it, it described a 'Guardian of the Seas' in Giotto. Wait, but that meant...
"Eh?!" Nida exclaimed. "Someone told him Pleo was here?!"
"Huh? But weren't we at Sormus at the time that was written?," Guardia muttered. "That said, how exactly would that do anything to help prove our case?"
"If he was coming for Pleo, it'd explain why he went out with all his ships…" Elty said to himself. "Did he talk anywhere afterwards about planning? Since even Hess plans out his bigger raids."
The three looked down and started to transcribe the next messages. Glyph by glyph, words and then entire sentences started to take shape in front of their eyes, with Nida and Elty falling silent as their eyes fell on one in particular that they'd just completed.
"Drilled through attack plan with crew, left notes under cover," Nida murmured. "'Under cover'? Like a blanket?"
The Nidoran looked around at the rest of the notes, and failed to find any mention of drapes or any sort of covering. By happenstance, the Poison-Type grabbed the front cover to turn to another page when she realized that it felt unusually thick. Nida blinked a moment, before lifting up the diary and shaking it in front of her, hearing a faint rustling sound from within. The Nidoran's ears perked up, her actions failing to go unnoticed by Sibich from the witness' podium whose eyes widened out of surprise.
"Oi!" the Cofagrigus snapped. "Just what do you think you're doing there?!"
"That's it!"
The Nidoran hopped onto the desk, whirling to face the judge as she thumped the wood underfoot for attention. Try as she might, she couldn't contain her excitement, coming to the realization that the discovery she just stumbled on was huge!
"Your honor, there's something inside this diary's cover!" Nida exclaimed.
For a moment, it seemed like Sibich's face had gone pale, however much that was possible considering his coffin-like body. The Ghost-Type sputtered, desperately attempting to find the words to downplay the Nidoran's epiphany.
"P-Pah! Preposterous!" Sibich insisted. "Even if there was, just how would you propose opening i-?"
CRACK!
The courtroom flinched at the sound of splintering wood after Guardia club came down on the diary's cover. The binding cracked as the front cover buckled out and a panel toppled out, leaving Nico and Akin alike to stare mouths agape, the Serperior stammering in shock at the Cubone's treatment of case evidence.
"Hey! She can't do that!" Akin squeaked. "That's destruction of evidence!"
"That's where you're wrong, Jalorda!" the Cubone insisted. "I'm improving your evidence!"
Guardia yanked away the freshly-broken cover, causing a small wad of folded-up papers that had sat in the newly exposed hollow to flop out onto the witness' podium. The Slowking judge's eyes widened, the Psychic-Type audibly gasping in surprise at the sudden turn of events.
"Oh my! Diaries with compartments?" the judge exclaimed. "I wasn't aware that you even could keep private possessions and private thoughts together."
Nico strutted over and grabbed the papers with his beak, bringing them back to his desk. The Fletchinder and his Misdreavus assistant pored over the articles carefully, prompting curious murmuring to break out in the audience. Guardia peered over, struggling to see just what they had uncovered.
"What does it say?"
Nico unfurled the papers from the cover onto his desk, as they settled it became evident that they contained an annotated map of Polderfield Town and its surroundings with colored dots and arrows. Along with it, names had been scrawled onto a separate list, apparently denoting groups of Pokémon and actions written out over them.
"It looks like it's a diagram of the harbor, with attack routes," Nico murmured. "I'm more interested in this list here though, Captain Sibich…"
"Grrnh… and just why would that be?" the Ghost-Type demanded.
"Well for one, I see Eric, Sela, and Hanuna's names in here, but they're under a team for pillaging Polderfield's main square," the attorney began. "On the other hand, I see your name in this group here under 'recruitment' for what appears to be the local daycare. And wasn't that where your diary was recovered in the first place?"
"Then that means-" the Slowking began, much to Akin's grudging realization.
"That the real culprits were the Pokémon who went to the daycare…"
WHAM!
"Which would include you, Captain Sibich!" Nico exclaimed. "As none other than their ringleader!"
"Rrgh… this proves nothing!" Sibich hissed. "It was a setup!"
"I'm afraid that won't work," Rita retorted. "You yourself admitted that the decoder was right."
"Yeah, and that's how we found out about the compartment in the first place," Nida cried. "You wrote about it in your diary!"
The Nidoran's exclamation at once made Sibich set his teeth on edge, the Cofagrigus appearing much like a Deerling in the line of a Flash Cannon as he realized that he had indeed confirmed in front of the whole courtroom that the decoder belonged to the diary...
"Nrgh…"
"Your honor, these documents are the decisive evidence needed to prove my client's innocence," Nico said. "It shows that they were part of a broader conspiracy organized by Captain Sibich to frame them and other Pokémon like them for more serious crimes, so that the real culprits could evade justice!"
The Fletchinder beat out a wing, dramatically leveling his wingtip across the room and peering down at the Cofagrigus at the other end, before finally raising his voice again to press one further question.
"… Do you have any commentary to add, Captain?"
"Nnn… Ngaaaah..." the Ghost-Type seethed. Sibich wrenched an arm free, flinging a shadowy orb at the Defense's table that sent them diving for cover. The Coffin Pokémon raged, his voice coming out in an increasingly unhinged-sounding hiss.
"This can't be happening! Everything in my plan was perfect!" he shrieked. "I'm Captain Sibich of the Shadow Brigade, I made it perfect! And I'm not letting a songbird and a couple of runts ruin that perfection!"
The Cofagrigus threw another Shadow Ball at the other end of the courtroom, making some observers in the audience duck out of their seats with yelps as it slammed into the wall below. His patience with Sibich long exhausted, the Slowking judge glared and pounded his gavel irritatedly against the wood of his podium, turning his attention to a Glalie and a violet Persian with pudgy cheeks.
"Bailiff, please take the witness into custody and escort him out of the courtroom," the Slowking judge grumbled.
"No! I refuse! You cannot do this to me!" the Cofagrigus screeched. "I'm Captain Sibich of the Shadow Bri-"
The Ghost-Type was cut off by a shadowy ball striking his face, as the Glalie and the Persian descended upon him. Sibich thrashed against his attackers, only for the Glalie to chomp down on his face, drawing a pained shriek as he toppled back in a daze. With their charge subdued, the captain was unceremoniously dragged off, the courtroom door slamming shut and leaving behind a stunned silence… broken by the sound of a Fletchinder poking his head up above his desk and shooting a smug smile across to the prosecutor's end of the room.
"Well, it looks like the 'Rookie Killer' has been killed," Nico jeered.
"Nrghh," Akin groaned. "This is one of those times when it's really best to just slink away for another day."
"So be it, I'll be waiting for tha-"
"Aherm."
The Fletchinder and Serperior quickly stilled their tongues as the sound of the Slowking judge clearing his throat sounded out. The pair turned, watching as the Psychic-Type toyed with the gavel in his paw, giving a satisfied shake of his head.
"With these turns of events, I think that I'm ready to hand down my verdict," the judge said. "With regard to the defendants and the charges of egg theft… Not Guilty!"
The Slowking brought his gavel down onto the desk with a forceful thud, prompting cheering to erupt from the audience. For a moment, the Pokémon on the Defense's side of the room swelled with pride, glad that their hard efforts had in spite of all odds paid off.
"Hah! You did it! You did it!" the Scraggy exclaimed. "You got us off the hook-!"
"However, based off the evidence at hand, we can clearly see that the defendants are guilty of larceny," the Slowking ordered. "I order that they be returned to detention to await sentencing on a separate occasion as prior cases are reconsidered in light of this new evidence."
WHAP!
"… Way to make us look like idiots, Eric," Hanuna snarled.
"Come on, get going," Bastiodon scolded. "You can go warm a cell for a few days before you get put on trash duty."
The Pokemon by the Defense's end of the courtroom looked on while the Bastiodon guard marched the three pirates away as Cardino slipped in from outside, the Steel-Type guard slamming the door loudly behind him. From where she floated over Nico's shoulder, his Misdreavus assistant sighed and shook her head.
"Well, all's well that ends well…" Rita sighed. "Er… sorta."
"I'm sure they'll be grateful in due time," Cardino said. "Larceny is usually grounds for some form of Community Service, nothing that those three can't bounce back from if they make the most of it."
"Hrm… I guess we'll have to see what they do. Though something's bothering me," Nida murmured. "We found out that Sibich was responsible for this egg theft… but that list of eggs involved multiple crews... Who exactly was helping him?"
Before anyone could answer the Nidoran's question, she was cut off by the sound of thumps and shouts from outside the courtroom. The door was abruptly smashed open with a shadowy fist, as Sibich's seething form floated back inside.
"I'm not going down on my own!" the Cofagrigus shouted. "I refuse to let Coil hang all the blame on me!"
Stunned gasps broke out in the audience, the Ghost-Type narrowing his eyes and slamming his hands against the ground for attention, hoping to strike while the iron of his spectators' shock was still hot.
"That's right! Your beloved pirate hunter Admiral Coil has been working with me for years!" Sibich snarled. "So what are you going to do about it?!"
At once, the Cofagrigus was answered with a hail of loud jeers and shouts. The Ghost-Type was promptly clocked in the face by a flying apple, with other audience members taking the opportunity to lob objects of their own from the overlooking balconies.
"Get out!" a Bellossom shouted.
"A likely story from scum like you!" a long necked Exeggutor jeered.
Sibich toppled back under the blows of the incoming attacks when a flung Iron Ball sailed along into his forehead, sending the Ghost-Type clattering to the ground with a groan. The bailiffs came along and drug the now-unconscious Cofagrigus off, though the uproar in the audience was little-changed prompting the judge to pound his gavel for order. While the Slowking attempted to calm the riled-up audience, Cardino stared after the door where Sibich had been dragged off, before shooting a sidelong glance at the Fletchinder beside him.
"Hey Nico, you interested in representing another client?" the Pikachu asked. "I think we can get you a face-to-face meeting with him sometime around sundown."
"Well, it's my job," the Fletchinder murmured. "But why?"
"I think I might've found a break to this egg ring case, but it's gonna require the cooperation of a tough customer."
As the sun continued its ascent up to its midday high in the sky, the Silver Wing Cup continued on at the Vecioferàle Arena. The day had been marked with cycles of frenetic activity, followed by lulls much as this one where the field was cleared and rearranged and spectators drifted out into the hallways to purchase concessions or settle bets in the wake of the second round. From the portion of the stands set aside for the contestants, the lull was occupied more by plotting out strategies for next matches, slinking off to train, or in the case of Valatos, Nori, and Alvise, simply lazing around and waiting for time to pass by.
"Ugh, I'm so bored spending all this time watching all these other Pokémon fight," the Marowak groaned.
"If only we were in a large city where we could freely go around with plenty of stuff to do like the Imperial capital…" Valatos sighed, before shooting a piercing glare at the Manectric beside him.
"Hey, you saw what happened the last time we went out!" Alvise snapped. "I'm not going unless there's a good reason for it!"
"Bah… why couldn't you have left town when you were younger without getting a gang of 'mons mad at you?" Nori huffed.
The Marowak and Manectric's argument quickly took a turn for the worse as the two bickered with one another, drawing an annoyed groan from Valatos. After a moment's reservation, the Yanmega opted to let the pair sort out their own differences and settled on a railing overlooking the arena. The dragonfly turned his head rightwards down the contestants' stands and watched the forms of various Pokémon go by, fanning his wings lazily when a squeaking voice reached his ears.
"Ah! You're back!"
Valatos looked ahead and saw the form of a blue Nidoran hopped into the arms of a waiting young Druddigon, the Dragon-Type taking her up and nuzzling her against his snout. The Yanmega retched at the lovey-dovey scene further away, and gave a seething chitter that turned his teammates' attention away from their spat.
"Eh? What's with you, Valatos?" Alvise asked.
"Yeah," Nori added. "What are you looking at?"
The pair peered over from the other side of the contestants' stands, just in time to see the young Druddigon and Nidoran ahead joined by the rest of their teammates. At once, Valatos' companions felt their moods sour along with him, the pair growling lowly as Valatos beat a tarsal against the stadium's railing.
"Grr… of course they have to show their ugly mugs in the most guarded spot in the stadium," Valatos hissed. "If it weren't for that, I'd give the lot of them a good Air Slash."
"Wait, those dweebs from the ship know those 'mons with the bounty on them?" Alvise asked.
"I'm pretty sure that the Crimgan with them mentioned something about it," Nori said. "But surely we have something better to do than just sit and watch them here."
"Well, since Prinses Alvise here isn't up for going out into the city, let's do the next best thing and stretch our wings in the halls a bit," Valatos sighed. "Maybe there's something we've missed so far."
Alvise spluttered and sparked in frustration as his teammates dutifully ignored his protests. Valatos got up and flitted off for the hallways, followed by his Manectric and Marowak peers. The three made their way along the circular walkway ringing the stadium, looking through the arches out to the passersby in the canal-lined plaza below milling between shops and stands set up for the occasion of the Silver Wing Cup. The pirates started to turn down an interior passageway, passing some rooms that had been locked tight with signs labeled 'Arena Props' or 'Plaza Decor' denoting their contents.
Valatos and his companions swung around a corner, carrying past a room lined with holes cut into the floor that had herbs hung over the doorway with the sound of flowing water coming from it. The herb-scented air carried an underlying odor reminiscent of the Mistral Marauder's heads, which judging from Alvise's disgusted reaction after sniffing the air, had been freshly used for their same purpose. The trio picked up their pace and turned down a corner, eager to return to a portion of the stadium with fresher air. The lot carried on, heading towards the sunlight and making their way forward when the sound of murmuring ahead caught their ears.
"I don't even care how you did it, but why did you change our matchup?" an agitated, bat-like voice demanded.
"Yeah, it's not like there's any team in this tournament we can't beat anyway," a barking voice added. "And we've been swimming in fan mail! Why risk our reputation with the crowds?¨
"Huh?"
Valatos poked his head around the corner, where the forms of a Weavile, a tan-furred Lycanroc, and a visibly agitated Crobat in white scarves with a blue sun pattern came into view with other like-garbed Pokémon loitering further down. The Yanmega and his buddies looked on in silence, watching as the Weavile gave a dismissive shrug of his shoulders before replying to the Crobat.
"I was bored, I saw an opportunity to have a little fun, and I took it," he answered. "Nothing wrong with that."
"You endangered our operational security for your own amusement?" the Crobat spluttered. "Ketu, what's wrong with you?"
"Would a 'game' give us a chance to have an easier path to the finals?" Ketu retorted. "Besides, you're not actually sorry that we're getting the chance to throw around a few of those Tromban idiots, are you?"
At the mention of 'Tromban idiots' from the strangers' voices, Valatos flitted up with a start. The Bug-Type beat his wings agitatedly, realizing that there were only two possibilities that cat could be referring to. Both of which were scores he wanted to settle!
"Hey wait a minute!" the Yanmega buzzed. "That's-"
"I dunno, he makes a pretty compelling point there, Kane," the Lycanroc murmured.
"Hrmph. You'd just better hope nothing goes wrong from this, Ketu," Kane snapped. "You'll have a lot more to worry about than just being knocked down a rank by the Captain if it does."
"Tsk, nothing to worry about. Let's just take some time to kick back a bit before our next match, it's not as if it'll be a hard one," the Weavile answered. "Besides, how often do we get to humiliate some hicks in front of their own Protector?"
The team of white-scarved strangers slunk off down the hallway, chattering amongst themselves about how much of a cakewalk their next match would surely be. All the while, Valatos and his companions stared after them, their jaws slacking as the significance of the Weavile's words began to dawn on them.
"That little weasel's rigging the matches!" Nori exclaimed
"Come on, if we hurry, we can tip off a ref before the next matches start!" Alvise grunted. Valatos mulled, fuming under his breath, only for his temper to get the better of him. He was not going to just let that Weavile's scheming go unanswered, much less just sit around while he stole away their chance at vengeance on those Tromban hicks.
"Grr… lousy fleabag, going out of your way to steal my revenge!" the Bug-Type hissed. "Let's do it, I wanna see that cat suffer-!"
A deafening, roaring cheer cut off the Yanmega mid-sentence. He trailed off, the three of them pausing to wonder about the occasion for the audience's raucous demeanor. The question swiftly answered itself, however, as Thalez' voice filled the air from a glinting metal bangle hung in the hallway.
"Aaand our intermission's over, folks!" the Rotom cheered. "Time to move on to the eighth-finals!"
The three pirates grimaced at the announcer's words, a sinking realization setting upon them that the tampered team lineups had surely been seen at this point. Now, whatever had made it in front of Thalez would be read aloud and none would be the wiser about the original lineup.
"… We're too late."
Valatos stared blankly ahead, head drooping low and wings uncharacteristically still as Thalez droned on in the background. It seemed that not a single thing had gone right for them since they first bumped into those blasted brats back in Kenobi! No matter which side of the law they fell on, it hardly seemed fair for them to not catch a single, small break...
"And moving on to our matchups!" Thalez's voice crackled. "Our first fight will be between Team Tailwind and Team Sunshine. Next up will be Team Venom and Team Surveyor, then Team Traveller and Team Iron..."
The trio stood blinking dumbfounded for a moment as Thalez called out 'Team Iron', the hastily-devised name that they'd entered themselves and their teammates into the tournament with. The Rotom droned on, leaving Valatos to click his mandibles and spread a malicious smile over his face as much as his chitinous mouthparts allowed. With newfound peace of mind, the Bug-Type turned to his teammates, giving a cheery flit of his wings.
"Whelp, what are we waiting for?" the Yanmega asked. "Let's go prep for our match."
"Wait," Nori insisted. "But I thought we were gonna tell the refs that that Weavile was cheating."
"No need. Cheating or not, we can still work things through with this lineup," Valatos chittered. "So let's just have a little fun."
The Yanmega flitted up, taking a moment to lavish in a feeling of assured self-confidence stronger than any he'd had since the Mistral Marauder pulled into port at Giotto. Alvise and Nori traded puzzled looks with one another, but Valatos was more than happy to better articulate his point.
"After all, how many chances are we going to get to beat the tar out of those dungeon brats in front of a cheering crowd?"
"Yah!"
The sound of a Gallade's cry rang out from the pit of the Vecioférale Arena, as he lunged forward with a swipe, sending a hulking Scolipede skidding back along a grassy arena floor. The centipede hissed angrily and built up a glob of violet fluid in between his mandibles, and spat it up in retaliation at the Gallade. The glob carried on, finding its mark on the Fighting-Type much to the Bug-Type's satisfaction, only for his cheer to swiftly end as he felt himself get lifted off the ground. The Bug-Type shrieked and thrashed, watching his opponent motion with his arms with glowing eyes as he sent him flying towards the top of the pit's walls. The Pokémon in the stands flinched, worried the Scolipede's body was about to strike them, before an Exploud and a Ninjask hastily stepped up and threw up two barriers of light as the Scolipede smacked against them with an audible crash. The hulking Bug-Type pitched back before limply tumbling into the pit, crashing face-first in the grass and twitching his hind legs weakly.
"And looks like Team Venom's Scolipede is down for the count!" Thalez cheered. "And with that, Team Surveyor is the winner to progress to the quarter finals!"
A roar of approval swelled in the stands of the Vecioférale Arena, prompting the forms of a Gallade, Blastoise, and Goodra on the field to wave back in triumph. Amidst the celebratory mood, there were occasional outliers here and there: a Boldore slinking back with a disappointed sulk over his chosen team failing to win the match, a Honchkrow beating a wing out agitatedly at money lost on betting on the wrong team… But most unusual of all were the ashen faces of a Nidoran, Growlithe, and Cubone in the contestants' sections of the stand, the lot sporting grimaces all but dripping with visible dread.
"Looks like that's it for this round... We're up next…" Elty gulped.
"Against Valatos and his buddies…" Nida groaned. "Fantastic…"
"Ugh, I told you you'd jinx us by talking about not fighting them again, Gardie!" Guardia snapped.
"How is that my fault?!"
A low growl rumbled from the Growlithe's throat as he arched his back aggressively. Not to be outdone, Guardia tensed her grip on her club, pointing it forward and growling back at her Fire-Type challenger. With a wide-eyed grimace sensing the imminent trouble, Kiran flitted up, interjecting with a hasty wave of his wings.
"Hey, hey, calm down!" the Swellow squawked. "You won't be doing yourselves any favors going into battle divided!"
"And you're not the only ones who have a tough matchup," Ander murmured. "We got slotted against one of the crowd's favorite teams for our next match."
The Scyther's reassurance failed to sooth the three youngsters, particularly Nida, whose ears flattened against her head in annoyance. Just how was being told that they weren't the only ones facing insane odds supposed to help?
"But you're also much more experienced fighters than us!" the Nidoran exclaimed. "How can we even do this?!"
"Yeah, we can't use any items like the last time we faced them," Elty protested.
"And even then we needed my colony's help," Guardia added.
"Well, how did you get past encounters with groups of Pokémon in Mystery Dungeons?" Kiran asked.
"We tried to take down the Pokémon that would hurt us the most first," Nida answered.
"The same principle applies here," the Swellow insisted. "All you need to do is to try and keep your most dangerous opponent still fighting from attacking you."
The Flying-Type's instructions drew uneasy glances back from Team Traveller. Yes, keeping the toughest foe from fighting them had served them well in dungeons… but this was no Mystery Dungeon, and Valatos and his buddies were not exactly common ferals from a Monster House.
"That's a little easier said than done..." Elty groaned.
"Alright beauties and gentlebeauties! How about we get this next fight started?" Thalez's voice crackled. "Can Team Traveller and Team Iron please come onto the battlefield?"
At once, a loud roar broke out from the stands, the spectators eager to see the next fight. One that the grimacing members of Team Traveller were hoping on the Travellers above wasn't their last...
"Well... that's our cue," Nida sighed.
"Good luck out there, Nida," Crom said. "I'm sure you guys can do it."
The Nidoran stared out onto the field a moment before turning to face the young Druddigon. The rabbit twitched her nose, weakly forcing a smile onto her face before mustering an equally weak and unenthusiastic response.
"Thanks Crom."
Nida, Elty, and Guardia breathed in before making their way out onto the battlefield. The field had been cleared and laid out as a rolling, grassy plain, bereft of any meaningful cover to be used in a battle. The three looked down the field at Team Iron and grimaced, realizing that there would be nothing to help tilt this fight to their advantage beyond their wits and reflexes, which judging by the sneering glares from Valatos and his companions as they approached, was a realization that had also dawned on them.
"Well, well, well," Valatos sneered. "What have we here?"
"Looks like we got lucky and got an easy matchup this round!" Nori added, joined in by a devious smirk from his Manectric teammate.
"It's time to get back at what you did to us on Kenobi you little brats," Alvise taunted.
"And this time you won't be able to hide behind another Monster House or a bunch of street thugs!" Valatos chimed in.
Nida, Elty, and Guardia gulped and tensed their bodies at their foes taunting. Trying their best to steel themselves for the coming fight, the trio dug their feet into the ground and attempted to summon defiant scowls to shoot back at Valatos and his buddies.
"H-Hah!" Elty stammered. "You don't scare me!"
"Yeah, we've toughened up since last time!" Guardia insisted, giving a wave of her club. The gestures did little to impress Valatos, who answered back with a derisive chortle.
"Hah! Sure you have!" the Yanmega buzzed. "Just tell yourselves whatever you need to feel better, this'll be over before you know it."
"We all know these two teams by now, so let's not delay this any longer and get the action rolling!" Thalez crackled. At once, the audience erupted into cheers, their excited roar swelling in the arena as Thalez raised his arms for the countdown.
"Three! Two! One... GO!"
At the sound of Thalez's thunderclap, the three members of Team Iron tore forward in a rush. Alvise's attention quickly settled on Guardia, venom visibly swirling in his eyes as he lunged for her with bared fangs.
"You're mine-!" the Manectric roared, only to be cut off by a whirling woosh and a dull blow against his head. Alvise let out a whining yelp and stumbled, looking up just in time to see a spinning bone twirl back towards the form of a Cubone falling back. Guardia threw her hand up and caught the returning Bonemerang with a determined scowl.
"Now!" she cried. "Ring him before he can get away!"
Alvise tensed himself and bared his fangs, when he caught the sight of a hopping blue blur come from the left. He opened his jaws and whirled towards the oncoming Nidoran ready for a crushing bite, only to howl in pain as he felt a burning pain on his hindquarters. The Manectric whirled around just in time to see Elty dart away, his focus promptly interrupted by a pair of stiff kicks at his gut that sent him stumbling back.
"Alright, Guardia!" Nida squeaked. "I think we've got him on the-!"
"Not so fast, brats!"
Nida's ears flicked as she heard Guardia and Elty suddenly yelp as they dove out of the way. The Nidoran turned her gaze to try and see what happened, when she was cut off by a slicing gust of wind striking her in the side that sent her pinwheeling across the battlefield.
"Gyah!"
"Hang in there, Nidoran!" Guardia shouted. "I'm comi- Agh!"
The Cubone's attempts to rush after her teammate were interrupted by a blow from behind, sending her tumbling along the ground. Stunned, the bone-lizard lay on the ground trying to catch her breath for a moment, only to glance upwards and see her evolutionary relative charging for her with his club raised for an overhead smash. Guardia went wide-eyed and reflexively grabbed her club, holding it up just in time to block Nori's blow as he brought it down towards her.
"Let's see how tough you are when you can't hide behind your colony, jari" the Marowak snarled.
The sound of Guardia's struggle grabbed the attention of Nida and Elty, prompting the pair to rush in from opposing sides of the arena towards Nori. Much to Nida's surprise, given his stocky build, Elty had actually managed to pull ahead of her, as cinders danced on his orange pelt and set it alight.
"Hey bonehead!" Elty jeered. "Think fast!"
The Marowak was cut off by a wheeling, burning tackle to his side, knocking him off his feet. Nori uneasily righted himself, watching as his Cubone opponent slipped away along with a Growlithe still trailing embers off his pelt attempting to follow suit.
"Grr! Why you-!"
Nori swung fiercely at the intruder, making a loud whack ring through the arena followed by a pained yelp, as Elty sailed forwards and skidded along the ground. From the right of the Marowak, Nida attempted to lunge for the bone lizard, only for her whole body to stiffen up at a blood-curdling howl from just a few paces behind her.
"Here, you lousy pincushion!" a wolf's voice growled. "Try this on for size!"
Nida shrieked as she felt fangs dig into her pelt and her body get lifted up off the ground. The Poison-Type felt her body get shaken like a rag doll, prompting her to raise her barbs in a panic and Alvise to drop her with a pained whine. She fell to the grassy ground with a yelp, lying stunned and panting as she watched Alvise spit up some barbs from the side. The Nidoran froze, watching in petrified terror as a slicing gust of wind struck her square in her chest, sending her skidding back with an agonized cry.
"A-Aaagh!"
Pat-pat-pat
"Hold on just a little longer!" Guardia's voice cried. "I'm- Eyaaah!"
Nida craned her head to see Alvise snatch up Guardia in his jaws, the wolf biting down into Guardia's abdomen with a pained squeal. In a panic, the Ground-Type lashed out with her club, clocking her tormenter below his left eye with her bone. The Manectric shrieked and let the bone lizard go, letting her flop unceremoniously to the ground, before tottering and collapsing onto his side.
The Nidoran waited tensely for one or the other of the two Pokémon to get back up, only for the pair to remain still beyond the occasional weak twitch or rising of their chests from breathing, a sure enough sign that the two were down for the count in this battle. From his place in the air, Valatos chittered annoyedly at Alvise's defeat, training his eyes down on the visibly haggard spike lump below.
"Lights out for you, Nidoran!"
Nida blanched as the Yanmega beat his wings together and began to flick up a slicing gust of air from his wingtips. She hastily sprang to her feet and bounded away as the sound of a piercing wind came from behind her, the Poison-Type hastily side-stepping as the Air Slash mowed down the grass off the battlefield just to her right and forced her leftward towards the arena wall. The Nidoran looked up, and much to her horror spotted Nori ahead charging towards her with his club swung out wide for an attack.
"A-Aah!"
Nida loosened a spike from her pelt and flicked it forward, screwing her eyes shut in a panic as the Marowak's footsteps approached. The projectile sailed on into the air, with the sound of a yelp and Nori's pace abruptly halting following immediately afterwards.
Cracking her eyes open, Nida saw Nori stumble back slightly, his club-hand's grip loosened on account of the fresh, poison-dribbling barb which had been lodged in it. Just as the Marowak began to regain his bearings, he was thrown for a loop again as he felt his club yanked right out from between his digits, his eyes shooting open wide in shock.
"H-Huh?!" Nori cried. The bone lizard whirled around in an instinctive panic, groping for his missing club only to turn and spot a Growlithe waving his bum at his face, his jaws clamped firmly around the bone that moments ago had been secure in his grasp.
"Chodź i weź to!" Elty jeered. "Just try and get your bone back!"
Grinning as well as he could with Nori's club in the way, the Fire-type darted away, leaving Nori in his dust to splutter and take off after him, blood running hot and his helmeted head transfixed with a look that could kill.
"Get back here, you lousy fleabag!"
The Growlithe led Nori on a wild chase across the battlefield, darting to and fro ever out of reach of the slower Marowak pursuing. Exasperated, Nori growled, shouted, and cursed in the bone-thief's general direction as the Puppy Pokémon continued leading him on, far outclassing his pursuer in speed. Elty's grin widened impishly, the Fire-type making no effort to hide his enjoyment of the episode, but his smile faltered as a loud hiss sounded out from above him.
"Knock it off, you lousy mutt!"
Valatos motioned with a tarsus and called up a dirt-caked rock from under the battlefield, sending it flying soil and all square for the Growlithe. Elty hastily sidestepped with a yip, but was unable to avoid a nasty graze to his flank from Valatos' Ancient Power, knocking the bone in his mouth free and sending it flying ahead. The dog stumbled disorientedly, his body throbbing from the heavy blow when he noticed in alarm that Nori was making a run for his dropped club. He took off after the Ground-Type, only for his best efforts to be thwarted as the Marowak somersaulted ahead and pulled his club in close to his chest.
"Gotcha-! Agh!"
As soon as Nori recovered his bone, he toppled onto his side and rolled from a pair of swift kicks from a Nidoran's feet. Their owner whirled back to Elty, beckoning him to come and strike while the iron was still hot.
"Elty! Quick!" Nida squeaked. "Before he can get back up!"
"On it!"
The Growlithe lunged, his fur becoming wreathed with flames as he darted forward and leapt up into a somersault at the stricken Marowak. Nori looked up just in time to see his attacker falling towards him, and in a panic swung his club, catching the Fire-Type in his hind leg... but failing to stop him from barreling headfirst into his chest and throat and kick up a cloud of smoky dust. The young Growlithe tottered in a stunned daze, trying to keep his balance as he saw Nori struggle to rise to his feet with his club…
"Grnk!"
… only for the Marowak's grip to abruptly fail and for him to flop unceremoniously to the ground on his belly. Nori's club followed suit, toppling onto its owner's head and leaving him on the ground groaning incoherently. Nida and Elty panted, looking at their handiwork, only to be snapped back to attention by the sound of a seething buzz from the air.
"Grr… do I have to do everything myself?"
Valatos dove, darting in a zig-sagging pattern towards Nida and Elty as the pair hastily tried to waylay him with fire and spikes thrown from a distance, only for their attacks to miss their marks one after the other. Nida's eyes widened as the hulking bug closed in on her, a shadowy haze starting to accumulate around his front legs that spooked her into fleeing. The Nidoran turned and bolted, managing to make it away a few paces before suddenly feeling a slicing pain on her back and the sensation of a chitinous claw pin her down.
"Yaaaaaaah!"
The rabbit squealed in pain and fright, swinging her paws for dear life and desperately trying to wedge her nails into the gaps of Valatos' carapace. By chance, one of her swipes slipped in between one of the segments of the Bug-Type's flank, forcing him up with a startled buzz, and prompting him to ready another Night Slash to finish off his foe.
"Say your prayers, you little pest-"
Before Valatos could finish his taunt, he felt a burning pain flash over his wings and saw fire move past his eyes. The Yanmega fell to the ground screeching, rolling desperately to put out the embers that had landed on his wings. He hastily righted himself and beat his wings, wincing in pain from the sensations of a fresh burn, looking up to see none other than the tubby Growlithe culprit dart in front of him.
"Grah! What did you do, you lousy mutt?!"
The Fire-Type didn't bother to stop to give a response, instead beelining for his stricken teammate. Panting and winded, Nida stumbled to her feet as her teammate nosed her up from the ground, peering down with exhausted eyes that were at once alight with the taste of victory just within reach.
"Nida! We can pull this off!" Elty yipped. "We just need to think of a way to slow him down enough for us to hit him!"
"It won't matter!" Valatos hissed. "Let's see you pull through this!"
Elty lurched as he felt the ground roll under him, a stone erupting from the battlefield underfoot to strike him beneath. The Growlithe went flying through the air in a plume of dirt, shrieking as he sailed up and hit the ground hard, coming to a rolling stop amidst the torn-up grass of the battlefield.
"Nrgh…"
The Fire-Type wheezed, struggling to his feet with his vision running muddy as Valatos swooped in from above. For a moment that felt like an eternity, Elty stood there, frozen in fear as the dragonfly descended upon him with a claw trailing smoky haze, only for a thwip to ring out and a dart-like spike to suddenly strike the Yanmega's singed left forewing.
"Eaaaargh!"
With a pained shriek, the Bug-Type pinwheeled in the air and slammed head-first into the ground. Elty threw himself to his feet, stumbling as he saw Valatos weakly pick himself up, tottering in a daze from an impact. Sensing that their window of opportunity was at hand, Nida bounded forward, looking back at the Fire-Type to beckon him to follow.
"Elty, this is it!" she cried. "Let's make this count!"
The Nidoran ran ahead and shot out a spike at the stricken Yanmega, followed closely on her heels by Elty as flames wreathed his pelt. The Growlithe charged and vaulted up, somersaulting into Valatos' side and sending him tumbling back in a cloud of cinders and torn-up grass. The Bug-Type wheezed and hissed hatefully, struggling to his feet and facing his attackers just in time to see a blue blur charge him.
WHAP!
A long silence hung in the air after Nida's tackle to the Yanmega's face. She heard a faint groan and felt Valatos' head slide down and flopped backwards, looking down to see that the Yanmega was lying still and motionless beyond faint signs of breathing.
Nida and Elty panted and stared ahead exhausted when the sound of a loud roar reached their ears. The pair looked up apprehensively, only to realize that it was coming from the stands. There all around them, in every shape and size were Pokémon cheering for them, congratulating their hard-fought victory, leaving the pair to soak in the attention for a tired, happy moment.
The two noticed movement from the corner of their eye, where they saw the medics lifting up and dragging off Valatos and his compatriots from Team Iron. For a fleeting moment, Nida and Elty watched as the Yanmega raised his head, seemingly glaring off at them before drooping back down, which served to shift their minds back to their own battered and sore bodies.
"P-Psiakrew… Come on," Elty panted. "We should go help Bonehead and get patched up ourselves."
Nida limped off, fighting with her legs against the weight of her body to make it over to Guardia's unconscious form. She heard Elty slip and flop against the ground, the Nidoran pausing a bit before continuing on a few paces and also toppling onto her side, staring off ahead with her breath coming in ragged pants. They'd made it one match closer to making it to Pleo, but how could they hope to build at all upon this victory? They'd pushed themselves to their limits just to overcome Valatos and his buddies, and there'd be stronger teams… and the Empire... Surely they wouldn't just let Pleo go without a fight even if she and the others did get a private audience with him…
Just what could they hope to do…?
"Nida! Hang in there!"
The Nidoran blinked and felt herself get lifted up from the ground by a pair of claws, craning her head up to see Crom looking down at her. She turned and sized up her surroundings, seeing Pladur helping Elty up and limp along away from the battlefield, and Guardia slumped over on Kiran's back. In spite of her battered and lightheaded state, the spike ball couldn't help but have a smile settle on her muzzle as a realization sank in her mind...
"We won…We really won."
"And you did great out there…" Crom answered. "But let's take things one step at a time, alright?"
"I think I'd like that…"
The Druddigon let his Nidoran companion clamber tiredly up his head, for what felt like the first time in ages. And so it was that the two made their way back for the contestants' portion of the stands, glad for the quiet of a precious peace the two could share just like old times.
Author's Notes:
- Jalorda (ジャローダ) - Japanese: "Serperior" (Official Romanization)
- Prinses - Dutch: "Princess"
- jari (じゃり) - Japanese: "brat" (Hepburn romanization)
