oH SNAP UPDATING A DAY EARLY
First round was a breeze. Two-on-two match, in which most beginners bring out the first two pokemon they ever obtained. I planned to battle with Def and Coeur, mostly because they weren't starter types. They also balanced each other out – if there was a dark type, Coeur could cover; if there was a fighting type, Def could cover.
Angelica Flores from Hearthome City (Def informed me that Faith was giggling her head off about "angel's trumpet" flowers) brought in a grotle and graveler, which pretty much confirmed what I expected. I had Def in for the first round, against her grotle, and kept him in for the second round so he could sweep an easy win with magical leaf.
Thomas was in the green room when I returned. "Congrats," he said.
"Thanks. Why are you dressed up?" I asked him. He looked like he was going on a summer date, wearing slacks and a light blue button-down.
"It's a tournament," he said. "Why aren't you dressed up?"
I looked around to make sure – yep, everyone around me was dressed in normal clothes – and said, "We dress up for contests, but not usually for tournaments. Unless it's like… a theme tournament, maybe, like some historical towns do for tourism, or maybe the Sinnoh League itself."
"You're performing, why not dress your best?"
"Why not wear what you're comfortable battling in?"
"If your battling skills depends on your outfit, are you really a good trainer?"
I started numbering off on my fingers. "Skirts get blown around in battle," I began. "Tights slide down my thighs. Heels suck to stand in, and the only rental flats are too narrow for my feet. Unlike you, I'd be obligated to wear makeup–"
"Those sound like girl problems," he said.
"Yeah. It's much easier to dress up if it's like that," I said, gesturing at his minimal-effort dressiness.
"Why not just wear something like this?" Thomas said.
"I would," I sighed. "I've lowkey always wanted to dress like a guy, but my mom was always against it."
"I meant a shirt and pants."
"Oh. It wouldn't be so bad."
"Next up, Thomas Zamora. On deck, AJ Kaur."
"Good luck," I said.
"Thanks," he said, heading out.
I turned and let my smile drop into a frown. My mom didn't like me getting anywhere near crossdressing. I hadn't even realized. Was that a bad sign? Did that mean she'd be like Maylene's family?
And why did Thomas's outfit bother me?
Day one was round one for all divisions. Ours began with 28 trainers, so 4 random competitors were given a bye in round one. By evening we were down to 16, which meant the tournament organizers would be setting up a real bracket from then on out.
I hadn't talked to Lucas since he arrived – he came back sometime late at night, and was still asleep when I left the room. He and Dawn had both passed round one as well, so they were gathered with the rest of the trainers in the green room, waiting for the bracket to be announced.
I joined them, coming up next to Lucas. He looked my way for a second, nodded, and went back to looking somewhere else.
"Hey," I said quietly. He wasn't even looking at anything in particular.
Dawn leaned behind him to talk to me. "There's about a one in five chance that one of us will face another," she told me.
"Oh. Wow. That's exciting," I said, a little surprised at how large that chance was.
An excited murmur spread from the front of the crowd: the lower division lineups had been announced. Us next.
Thomas made his way towards us as the 1-and-2 badge trainers made their way out. "Did you guys get your lineup yet?" he asked.
"Not yet."
We waited. I kept glancing at Lucas, trying to read his expression. When did I get so bad at this? It stressed me out more than the upcoming battle brackets.
"How… how was your first match?" I asked him.
"It was fine," he said.
Which was as brief as I should've expected. I struggled to come up with something else to say.
The brackets went up, and I scanned for my name. I found it, paired with–
Are you for flipping real.
Literally paired with Lucas Tristan.
Day two. Round two. I still couldn't believe I was going up against Lucas so soon. My stomach seemed to know what was going on better than I did. I felt sick.
I went to the opposite green room a few battles before ours, so I could wish him luck. At the entrance, I peeked around the corner, to see if he was already there.
He and Dawn were talking. She spoke more animatedly than he did, which was expected. Lucas was smiling, with an expression I hadn't seen in a while.
I… I guess I won't disturb them, I thought hastily, backing out of the room.
On my way to the other side of the stadium, I ran into Thomas. Naturally.
"Are you okay?" he asked me.
"Yeah?"
"You seem nervous."
"Oh. I guess."
He lightly patted my shoulder. "It's okay. Before you go on, pretend you're a pokemon using focus energy."
A laugh burst from my mouth. "I mean, I guess."
"Good luck," he said. "Although you won't need it.
I shook my head, smiling. "Thanks."
Thomas's focus energy idea ultimately didn't work, and I wound up standing on one side of the battlefield with a stomachache, barely able to hear the judge talking. It's fine, I know it was something like "Evelyn from Twinleaf and Lucas also from Twinleaf, two-on-two match, substitutions allowed between rounds." This is why you read the rules ahead of time, kids.
"Battlers, are you ready?"
Lucas nodded. I gave a thumbs-up and fished out the pokeball I needed.
"Battle, begin!"
"Trust, it's yours!"
"Houndoom! Use howl!"
Okay, I'm not gonna lie. I have forgotten what howl does. Judging by the lack of tangible effects on the field or Trust, I guessed it was a self-imposed status move.
"Trust, mach punch!"
"Thunder fang!"
As the two rushed forth, I quickly analyzed the type matchup – two fire types, one fighting, one dark. Trust had an advantage, but only with fighting moves.
Trust's mach punch hit square in the face, which gave Houndoom easy access to his arm. The day 2 crowd cheered and called out advice that was lost to the din. "Again," Lucas called.
"Avoid the mouth," I said to Def. Out loud, I said, "Brick break!"
Trust leaped over her at the last moment, landing his hit on her back. He jumped away as she turned and snapped her jaws at him.
"Thunder fang! Like against Byron!"
"Avoid her mouth at all costs," I reminded Trust. "Looks like thunder fang is the only move she has that'll do much against you. If you need to, use mach punch."
We played defensively, Trust dodging everything. When Houndoom got too close, Trust used mach punch in another direction to speed himself up.
"Brick break!" I said once Houndoom started to look tired. Trust ran in and leaped. A mistake. Houndoom caught him by the foot as he came down, pulling him to the side. She discharged electricity through her teeth – in effect, thunderbolt. But now she was close.
"Trust, mach punch. Lots."
Trust fought the electricity surging through him to nail Lucas's houndoom in the face. He did so twice, three times before she let go.
"Back up," said Lucas. "Howl."
I jumped at the opportunity – at the risk. Clutching my necklace pendant for luck, I told Trust, "Focus punch."
As Houndoom howled, Trust charged up energy in his fist. "Quick, thunder fang!" Lucas called out.
Come on, Trust…
Houndoom pounced, jaws open. Trust threw his fist, and in a burst of bluish-white energy, the two were propelled back from each other.
Trust caught himself. Houndoom fell and didn't get up.
"Houndoom is unable to battle."
A smattering of applause from the audience. I let go of my necklace. "Trust, well done," I said happily. The judge looked my way and I shook my head, indicating that I wasn't going to switch out.
"Psyduck, go."
Welp.
"Trust, do you want to forfeit the round?" I asked, thinking of the type disadvantage and the damage he had already taken.
He turned around with a look of mock offense on his face.
"All right, all right," I said, laughing. "Mach punch, then."
"Confusion."
As he lunged forward, I fleshed out the plan telepathically. "Go with scratch and fury swipes mostly. Mach punch for speed."
Before he even got there, Psyduck's eyes glowed blue, lifting Trust with psychic energy. "Flamethrower," I said. It was his only distance move. Psyduck slammed Trust down and caught the fire in his psychic gaze. Trust staggered to his feet, but before he could make another move, Lucas's psyduck rediverted his flamethrower back at him. The combination of the fire and psychic energy barreled through Trust, and while I hoped he was still standing, I already knew.
"Monferno is unable to battle."
"Great job, Trust," I said, pulling him back.
The crowd murmured excitedly. I hesitated. I knew who I wanted to battle with – had type advantages, needed practice fighting, needed practice fighting water types, specifically – but was now really the time for that?
"She is ready," said Def.
"Yeah…"
"Tu sais she is ready."
I breathed deeply and touched my necklace. "Fly high, Hope!"
Hope burst from her pokeball with a delighted squeal.
"Psyduck, use confusion," Lucas said.
"Don't let it hit you! It's hard to see!"
Hope was already high in the air. She swooped around, changing course erratically. Psyduck's eyes glowed blue, and her head moved around trying to pinpoint Hope. Nothing happened, and a few seconds later, she clutched her head with her flippers. Between her natural psyduck headache and Hope's constant motion, she was having trouble getting confusion to hit.
"Hope! Doing great! Now use shockwave!"
"Shockwave!" I said out loud. Although Hope couldn't hear me all there way up there, I was still trying to hide that I had a telepathic pokemon.
With a battle cry of "Prrrri~" Hope continued flying in swift circles and let down a bolt of electricity. Psyduck quacked in shock (HAHA GET IT LIKE SHOCKWAVE).
"Disable," said Lucas.
"Shockwave, quick!" I said silently and audibly.
Psyduck's eyes glowed blue, and a wave of psychic energy rippled out from her body. Hope elicited another "Prri~" and another shockwave before the disable hit her – shockwave got through and zapped Psyduck again, but I knew the move would be gone for a while.
"Hope, use swift," I said, starting to plan ahead.
Hope sent a flurry of stars down at Psyduck, who was completely unprepared. For a moment I could read Lucas's expression again – stunned confusion – and then his eyes narrowed and eyebrows returned to an impassive – albeit stressed – position.
"Disable," he said, glancing at me.
Psyduck let out a disabling wave, and then swift was out. "Okay. Hope? Use the biggest magical leaf you can!"
"Disable the next move," Lucas said.
Psyduck went for it right as Hope did – her magical leaf got through, but I got the sense that it should have lasted longer. And Psyduck was standing still.
"Nice job, Hope! Keep dodging for a bit, okay?"
"Prri~" I heard, and Hope seemed to speed up a little.
I wasn't entirely sure what Lucas said next, but it sounded like, "Icarus can't fly if his wings are wet"? Psyduck shot a watergun into the air – basic. An easy dodge. Until he grabbed the water with a confusion, like a giant blue serpent, and went after Hope.
I winced – this brought me back to the battle with Azelf – pull it together, it's a common move – but ultimately it was up to Hope to dodge.
"Don't let your wings get wet," I told her audibly and telepathically.
Psyduck strained to force the water snake to keep up with Hope. She whirled and changed directions suddenly and flew with the goofy gracelessness of an oddly-weighted bird. The snake started tying itself in knots, and I realized it was almost surrounding her.
"Fly down and get out of it," I instructed.
Hope obeyed, and too late I noticed Psyduck gathering water in a water pulse.
"Now!" yelled Lucas.
Psyduck launched the sphere of water right at Hope, hitting her square in the face. Hope squealed and started to sink lower; the water had splashed her wings. She could have recovered, and it could have dried out quickly – if not for the water snake that came crashing down on her, and fell with her to the ground.
"Great job, Psyduck!" Lucas said, wearing a smile that hurt my heart.
His psyduck shook her head briskly, quacked, and started to glow. Perfect. We had time.
"Hope, you okay?" I said as Psyduck began evolution.
She was soaking wet and lying on the ground, but when I reached out she shook herself out and got up, a bit battered but conscious somehow.
"Pri," she said determinedly.
"Nice! Hey, dry yourself off as much as you can. You have a little time." She started to flap her wings frantically. The audience oohed and aahed at the evolving pokemon across the field.
"Hey Hope – keep drying yourself off – I want you to know… even if we don't win this battle, I'm already so, so proud of you."
"Prrri~"
Lucas's now-golduck emerged from the light. I didn't bother to hold my necklace for luck. Luck didn't matter.
"Confusion," Lucas said, and from across the battlefield I could see the determined glint in his eyes.
A headache no longer obstructing her, Golduck took a blue psychic grip on Hope, pinning her down. I was so thankful that confusion is not an inherently damaging move.
"Water gun!"
"Shockwave!" I said, hoping disable's time was up.
And it was. The watergun and shockwave met in midair, struggling for territory in a reverse tug-of-war. I noticed the blue glow around Hope fading, and silently said, "If you can, keep using the move, and jump up or fly."
Hope struggled to her feet, still holding on to the shockwave in front of her. This situation usually plays out in favor of the physically stronger pokemon and move. However, we had accuracy on our side.
So Hope leapt into the air, flapping hard, and her shockwave made it around the watergun to hit Golduck directly. She wasn't in the air for long, still heavy with water, but it didn't matter. The watergun died down and stopped, and Golduck collapsed. Hope let up on the shockwave, gasping "Prri… prri…" from exertion.
"Golduck is unable to battle! Which means the battle goes to Evelyn of Twinleaf Town!"
The audience cheered or applauded politely; I saw Thomas and Dawn on the sideline, Thomas yelling, "Go Evelyn!" and Dawn clapping with a smile on her face.
I turned back to the field, and Hope immediately tackled me. I fell over backwards, laughing, my sopping wet togetic on my chest.
Let us now remember that I was effectively wearing a shiny stone around my neck.
The pokemon on my chest glowed and grew heavy, and emerged a togekiss, still hugging me. I hugged her back. "I'm so proud of you," I whispered.
We managed to get up and head to the middle of the battlefield for courtesy handshakes. "Congrats," Lucas said shortly.
"Thanks," I said. "Congrats to your golduck for evolving! And to you – that was a really good battle."
He nodded tacitly. I extended my hand to shake. He extended his, too, but not before hesitating just long enough for me to know he really didn't want to, and was only doing so for sportsmanship's sake.
I exhaled when I turned away. I still didn't know how to fix what was wrong between us – or even what was wrong, really. But for now, I pushed it aside, hugged my togekiss again, and made my way off the field.
Angelica (more accurately, Angel) is also a reference to Axel. I started watching Love Live recently because of him (and nEVER HAVE I EVER FALLEN FOR A CHARACTER FASTER THAN I DID FOR MAKI NISHIKINO SHE'S MY FAVE). AJ is a reference to a character from the first fanfiction I published online.
I'd like to give a shoutout to everyone who's ever reviewed/commented on this fic: servine, Sky65, Vixal, InspireFire, Anla'shok, Stairway to Elysia, Polarissb, Y-ko, An Author's Pen, Red Zeppelin, various guests (including Sean), and especially Keleri, who literally went and reviewed almost every single chapter to date?! I've been meaning to respond to them all in one mass message, but I was waiting for you to finish lol. It means so much to me, so thank you.