Hey everyone and welcome to chapter 11 of pokemon Re:Dux! We're quickly approaching the battle between Retsuko and Jackson and Carmen and Gill, so let's see how their week of training went! The Intro arc is nearing its last stage...
Kaz. The Kourada Family fighting style is derived from multiple martial arts using different weapons, including one's own body. They each come from different religions and cultures and are based around the movements of certain Pokemon. The Kourada Family tree is branched out and has traces from nearly every race and culture in it, with the life of all Pokemon. My Grandfather taught me his native Japanese spin on the techniques through Iaido, and everything he knew about the style, and I'm going to be teaching you now. The forms are based around the starter Pokemon from every region, but for beginners' sake, we'll start off with the most basic forms.
The Horizontal Pass, The Vertical Bound, and the Diagonal Whip.
"Right," Kaz responded unenthusiastically.
"We need to take advantage of your assets. Specifically your speed. So hold off using liquidation unless it's absolutely necessary. And only as a finisher combined with the use of Retsuko's family techniques." Kion said.
"Alright then, let's see what you've got!" Kyu said as he slammed his fist into his palm.
"I'm ready." Kaz said nervously.
"What's she saying?" Kion asked while glancing at her.
"Retsuko smiled warmly.
"She's ready for this. Now, Kaz, these three techniques are meant to be performed in a chain. If you can infuse liquidation into these then you can trap an extremely quick opponent like Spike."
"And then finish him off with the final blow!" Kyu exclaimed excitedly.
"Our first order of business is figuring out how to deal with Carmen's Meowstic Duo. They allowed her to use two Pokemon because of her battle inexperience but she still helped us take down team plasma. Carmen is no joke." Kion said.
"Okay. Then the Horizontal Pass will make use of your speed." Retsuko said. "The pass is a quick draw ability derived from Iaido which you can use to get close to your opponent and deal a hell of a lot of damage at once," Retsuko explained.
Kaz looked down at her two paws.
"It's just a quick draw and dash. No biggie, right?" Retsuko said.
Kaz and found herself covered in a pool of her own sweat.
Kuu was blissfully sleeping next to her on the moist surface, ignorant of the sweat.
Kaz stood up and stepped out of the Pokemon bed.
She looked up to Retsuko who was also fast asleep and didn't take her eyes off of him, then looked down at her paw.
She attempted to use liquidation again, but stopped herself midway.
"That's right. Today's the day... That I can finally prove my worth to Master." She said.
For the remaining four days after their first day of training, Retsuko and Kion used Kyu's Alakazam to help strengthen Kaz's hold on using the Kourada Family style and liquidation and gaining battle experience slowly to help further her other abilities and moves.
The night before the Festival, Kion stood on top of the club from before, at midnight.
He was dressed in a black and blue suit with water patterns flowing up in a camo pattern. The chain on his neck had a sharpedo tooth on the edge of it this time, and he wore gloves that matched his suit.
"There are a total of four links I found through my research. This club has been linked to the illegal Rare candy scandal that ghetsis used to gain wealth. So this must be the place where they get their imports." Kion said to Khan.
"Samurott-Samu." Khan replied in agreement.
"Let's go then!" Kion said confidently as he leaped off the side of the building, landing in the alley next to it.
Khan did the same and they silently approached an air duct sticking out of the brick exterior.
"Samurotttt." Khan whined in rejection of the idea.
"I know you hate tight spaces, but save your bitching and moaning for another time. Now come on and just use Razor Shell." Kion said.
Khan rolled his eyes and unsheathed one of his seamitars, slashing the duct open with a swift cutting motion.
Kion returned Khan to his PokeBall and climbed into the tight vent, crawling through the building through the air system.
"This is absurd but it's working." Kion whispered.
"He kept crawling and accidentally rubbed his elbow against a mysterious brown stain on the side of the vent."
"More Cramped then I thought, and disgusting." He commented.
He jumped around several vents and through a large moving fan before stopping above a room where there was a large chair in front of a total of 7 Monitors with two supercomputers.
In the center of the setup was the same case that Naoki had found in the stone, and Kion's eyes shined as he saw it.
"Is that...?" He questioned.
He readjusted his body so that he was in position to kick the vent door out and did so, nearly knocking it out onto the floor before catching it.
"This has to be Naoki's setup. It makes sense now..." He said quietly.
He examined the room from vent level and took note of his surroundings.
"Knowing Naoki, he probably has sensors everywhere or at the very least extremely high security." He deduced.
Kion reached for his PokeBall belt and retrieved one with a blue exterior patterned with sparkles.
"Eryie, let's go!" He shouted quietly in fear of there being cameras, and released the Pokemon from the ball.
Eryie was a large Vaporeon with a green scarf on her neck, and she landed right next to Kion on the vent.
"Eryie, can you use Haze for me real quick?" Kion asked.
Eryie nodded, and opened her mouth to release a chilling white smokescreen into the room, blocking all forms of recording or sensory.
Kion and Eryie landed in the room and Kion put on a special set of goggles to help himself see in the haze.
We've got about 5 minutes before this runs out so let's dip in and dip out quick." Kion said.
He inspected the desk to find that the box from before was opened and empty, and at the center of the desk connected to several wires was a clear glass case with a fragment of a white stone in it.
On the largest computer monitor was a blueprint for the Vertress City Stadium that they had battled in during the Pokemon League.
Kion stood there in awe of what he was seeing and sat in the computer chair to get a better glimpse.
"Is this why Naoki needed my help getting into the Kalosian Ruins? This was the stone he found there..."
He punched in a few keys and the schematics of the glass case and a list appeared on the screen.
Kion pulled a Flash Drive out of his pocket and plugged it inro the computer, and went to transfer the files to it.
A transfer percentage popped up on his screen.
File Transfer starting ~ 1-52,000 files transferred.
EST: 3 Minutes.
Kion's eyes went dim as he read the message.
"That barely gives me enough time to escape, and the drive barely has enough space for all the files!" He exclaimed in frustration.
He lowered his voice in realization that people could likely still hear him, but was reassured by the sound of a massive rave going on in the club below.
"They've been hiding a whole damn computer lab in a club... I thought they were getting money from this place after it got seized by the Unovan Government." Kion said.
Eryie began to paw on the door of the room and Kion hopped up in anticipation.
"Shit." He mumbled.
The door burst open and a girl fell into the room through the door.
She was about 5'7 and had brown skin which Kion could see through her poorly put on gloves, and was well endowed. Her hair was tied up and it was a multicolored blend of brown and black in a curly bun. She was wearing a red hoodie with leggings and a black mask to conceal her identity.
Kion released Khan from his PokeBall, ready to fight, but stopped as the girl put her hands up.
"No, No, No! I'm not here trespassing, I'm just here by mistake and I was looking around to try and see myself out and I am definitely not in here snooping for evidence, no I am not so please don't kill me!" She rambled.
Kion stood there dumbfounded, staring at her, before Eryie hiccuped and interrupted the silence.
"Who are you..?" He asked, lowering his guard.
"That's for me to know!" The girl replied loudly.
There was a Lopunny with her and she had a Flash Drive prepared in her hands.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Kion said, putting his hand to his face and starting to laugh.
"What's so damn funny?!" The girl shouted in retaliation, but Kion continued laughing.
"There's no way that the two of us got the same information, came to the same conclusion, and decided to sneak into the same club, on the same night, at the same time!" He managed to say between laughs.
He was interrupted by a beeping from the computer, indicating that the transfer had been completed.
"Since that's all well and good." He said, walking over to it and snatching it from the computer.
"We've had a good run, but I'm out." Kion said.
He jumped up attempting to enter the vent again, but an alarm rang, and guards stormed upstairs.
"Not enough time for that!" The girl shouted, grabbing his hand and fleeing the room.
Khan followed and Eryie hopped on his back to join them.
They turned the corner, and were stuck at a dead end.
Kion looked up at the girl and now that he had gotten a better look at her, he completely recognized her from the I.P.F. headquarters.
"You! The nurse from before!" Kion exclaimed but was quickly shushed by the girl.
"I am a DOCTOR damn it, not a second-rate nurse!" She exclaimed but was interrupted by a shadow ball from a houndoom that narrowly missed her head.
Kion and Saabrina turned around and saw dozens of security guards in front of them, all armed with Bork Industries Nanotech and Pokemon Partners.
"Mom's gonna kill my ass!" The girl wailed.
Kion looked to her and as she was flailing around in fear, Kion realized her extreme lack of experience.
"What's your name?" He asked calmly, dodging an attack from another Pokemon, as Khan took down an enemy Scrafty.
"Saabrina. With two A's." She squeaked.
"Well then Saabrina. I guess our only way out is down!" Kion said.
Khan kicked up a torrent of water in a protective barrier and scooped up Lopunny, Eryie, and Saabrina in his arms.
Kion kicked out the window and hopped out along with the three of them, landing safely on the street below thanks to Khan.
"Get him!" One of the guards shouted, as Kion narrowly avoided a shadow ball to the dome.
He ducked into an alley with Khan and hid there to wait for the guards to pass.
Saabrina exhaled loudly and popped up out of Khan's arms.
"OF ALL THE RECKLESS, IMMATURE AND BRASH PEOPLE I HAVE MET, YOU HAVE TO BE THE MOST-" She began, but Kion largely ignored her, only focused on her appearance and her multicolored Black and brown hair and Ultramarine eyes.
"You wouldn't happen to be a relative of Retsuko and Naoki Kourada, would you?" Kion asked.
"How did you know that..?" Saabrina questioned.
"Your parents have some strong ass genes." Kion said.
Kion got up and started to walk away, paying no attention to her and returning Khan and Eryie to their Pokeballs.
"Hey! You can't just do all that and leave! I need answers! What was that conversation I heard between you and the President?" Saabrina interrogated.
Kion stopped walking.
"I seriously advise you to stop here. Investigating further will get you killed, and at the very least, you can kiss that dream of being a doctor goodbye." He said.
Kion patted himself down and realized that he was missing the drive and began to panic.
Saabrina ran up to him and grabbed onto his hand to stop him.
"Like I told you, I AM a doctor." She repeated.
Kion turned to her and scoffed, but his expression quickly humbled when he saw the Flash Drive in her hands that she'd swiped from him.
"And I want in."
2027 - Unova, Star City Asther's Penthouse
Asther stood in front of the same window that she'd received the message in, watching the now busy star city from her throne above it all.
"It seems like your plan to reinvigorate Unova worked." Sir Shino said as he walked up behind her.
"Of course it did. Everyone is hurrying down to Vertress City to see the events, and the stadium is full of life again."
Shino readjusted his shades.
"Nailah, with all due respect, I am concerned for the people. The Orakuru could very easily attack such a densely populated area, and our citizens are well aware of that."
"That's Madame Asther to you Shino. And I too have my doubts about this whole ordeal. But entertainment was requested, and entertainment will be provided. This is all to prevent this threat. We still have no idea what the Orakuru's true motives are. Our only hope is to discover the Gijinka and use them. The speech I give today will honor our losses and push our plan further." Asther replied.
Sir Shino sighed and lowered his head in submission.
"Then I shall prepare a pokemon transport to Vertress City."
2027 - Unova, Retsuko's apartment
After a week of training, Retsuko woke up early again and found Kyu, and Via already dressed and waiting for him in the living room.
"You guys were mad quick." Retsuko said rubbing his eyes.
"You sure you don't want to get in a last minute training sesh in with Kaz?" Kyu questioned.
Retsuko yawned and looked around.
"Speaking of Kaz, where is she? Actually, I haven't seen any of my Pokemon this morning." He said, waking up more.
"They've been outside practicing for hours, even before we were awake." Via explained.
"What?! That can't be healthy, why didn't you tell me sooner!" Retsuko Shouted, running into his room and getting ready.
He took his hoodie and put it on as he left the bathroom after fixing his hair and taking care of the other necessities and met everyone else outside in the field.
Kaz stepped forward in a quick dash towards Kuu and swung her arms forward to try and slash, but Liquidation failed again.
"Don't worry. It's gonna work." Retsuko said as he approached the small Buizel, crouching down and putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Master..." She said telepathically.
Kaz jumped back and got in the preparation stance.
"Vertical Bound!" She cried out as she lunged forward at Kuu at a blinding speed and went in for the hit.
Liquidation failed a second time, causing Kaz to lose her balance and fall down.
"Okay, who's idea was it for all of you to wake up early and train?" Retsuko asked, staring all of his Pokemon down.
Rio stepped up to him, and he lowered his head with a deep breath.
"Sleep is really important before a battle. You of all Pokemon should know that, Rio." Retsuko scolded.
Rio nodded apologetically and looked to Kaz.
"Lycanroc!" She howled, startling her.
Retsuko turned over to Kyu and Via.
"Yeah, I think we're all good." He said, smiling.
"Let's go then, cuz if I miss the opening ceremony i'm gonna kick your ass!" Kyu said.
He hopped on his skateboard, and kicked off with the help of Nagatae giving him a boost.
"Then try to keep up!" Retsuko said, hopping on Kuu's back and simultaneously returning all of his other Pokemon.
"Do you guys even know where the festival is?!" Via shouted, but was ignored.
After an hour, the Trio made it to Vertress City where stands were set up and the stadium was as crowded as ever.
"I'm just now noticing a ton of stuff..." Via said.
"Like?" Kyu asked, kicking up the skateboard from it's Mimikyu Tail and sliding it into his back.
"When we were just Pokemon trainers, the rules of the League required us to travel using the routes so that we could defeat the gyms and progress. But now we can just go wherever we want as quickly as we want." She said.
"The benefits of being successful!" Kyu replied with a wink.
A bolt of lightning shot through the festival in the direction of Kyu this time, who turned around and saw a familiar Dedenne coming right for him.
"Nagatae!" He said, as Nagatae jumped up and used shadow Claw to catch the tiny threat.
Nagatae opened her claw and Kyu examined spike, who jumped up and whipped Kyu in the face with his tail.
"...I deserved that." He winced.
Gill ran up to them, and He and Kyu locked eyes.
All Kyu could think about is the image of Gill being impaled by Moé that was running through his mind.
He didn't know what to say or do, and was just frozen there in front of the friend that he'd failed.
Gill didn't say anything and instead pulled Kyu into a tight hug, one that Kyu found awkward due to their height difference but accepted nonetheless.
"I see that you've finally found what you were looking for. I forgive you, bro." He said warmly.
A tear streamed down Kyu's face and Gill pulled out of the hug.
His serious expression changed to a sly grin.
"Now who's ready to fuckin go!?" He shouted.
Retsuko stared at him blankly.
"Dude, we don't have our battle until 2. That's in three hours." Retsuko explained.
"Damn! I was really looking forward to fighting someone! Carmen's such a dry opponent and she sucks at Pokemon battles!" Gill complained, folding his arms behind his head.
Kyu wrapped his arm around Gill's shoulder.
"I'll tell you what, you buy me some pancakes and we'll battle all day later." He suggested.
Gill's eyes began to sparkle.
"I knew you'd say that, and I need a rematch! Now let's go, the Gym's right over here-" Gill said, preparing to run off but Via grabbed him by the hood.
"He said later. Besides, the opening ceremony is about to start." She said in a motherly tone.
Kyu rolled his eyes, and Via stuck her tongue out at him in response.
"Don't forget, I'm not holding back in our battle later. Can tell you've been having it easy as Unova's Champion but your streak is gonna end today." Gill said confidently.
Retsuko karate chopped him on the head in response.
"Via, handle his rowdy ass for me." He said, hopping on Kuu's back and taking off.
"Hey, what the hell was that for!?" Gill shrieked, but Via snatched him up and began to drag he and Kyu to the Vertress City Stadium, with Retsuko following behind them.
She bumped into Kion, who was on the phone with A girl.
"Kion, I'm telling you, I'd be a valuable asset to this whole thing!" The girl, who Retsuko quickly identified as Saabrina said.
"Listen, I-" Kion said, as he turned around and saw Via.
Saabrina kept shouting but Kion hung up the phone on her.
"What's up?" He said to everyone.
A firework went off, and from on top of the stadium, Asther stood in the air, boosted by a psychic Pokemon.
She held a glass of what looked like wine in her hands and clapped, the sound being projected out to the whole city.
"On behalf of my Unovan People, I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families of the loves lost and that have suffered tragic and irreparable loss due to the attack on the Star City Plaza three weeks ago. This gathering of People from all throughout Unova, held at a time of unprecedented global and regional challenges, is an opportunity to reaffirm our faith in international co-operation; to renew our commitment to the core principles of humankind; and to reaffirm our determination to contribute to the achievement of the noble goals. I cannot thank everyone who has taken the time to join us today enough, despite knowing the threat that the terrorist group known as the Orakuru pose. I am no liar, and in complete and just honesty, I can tell you all that you are all safe here today. We have our most powerful I.P.F. officers placed everywhere, and our most powerful Pokemon trainers are all gathered here today. Our very own Champion, Retsuko Kourada is here with us and will be demonstrating his might as the Champion against a top ranked trainer and member of the master's 8 today in our exhibition match. There will be a press conference afterwards explaining the precautions we will take and the measures we will go to to prevent this threat from harming any other citizens, and all questions will be answered there. I take this opportunity to thank you again for the bravery everyone has shown during these critical times, and to reiterate my commitment to working closely with you in order to achieve success in defeating this threat. This will not be another repeat of the disastrous team Plasma incident. I promise you all that. And thank you for your time."
Asther drank her glass of wine, and everyone in the city began to cheer loudly in support.
"I didn't think it was possible for everyone to adore a politician like this." Kion said, looking up at her.
A spotlight shined over the audience, but behind Asther was a fragment of a white stone inside of a glass in the projector. The light didn't blind Retsuko or anybody with visual issues, almost as if it were invisible to everyone except them.
When the bright light projected by the white stone made contact with Via, the flames from before that burst out when she snapped at Kion lit aflame. The light turned into blue, red, and purple energy. The blue energy flew directly into Retsuko's eyes, the red into Via's, and the purple into Kyu's.
Kion stared at the light curiously, noticing it's similarity to the stone he'd seen before.
Asther looked at the group through her glasses and smiled.
"So that's what the old bastard was after." Asther said as she looked at them.
Retsuko turned to Via, sensing the flame immediately.
Kyu had yet to notice the aura around him but backed up at the sight of Via.
"Dude, you're on fire!" He shouted out.
"No... Not again. No!" Via shouted as she ran out of view of the rest of her friends, disappearing into the crowd.
The flames burst out, and Kyu stumbled back in response.
"Via, wait!" Kion said, grabbing onto her, but he couldn't hold his grip and she ran off.
"Let's go, guys! Via's still there somewhere!" Kyu said in a panicked voice.
"Someone as small as Via could easily get lost in this mess," Retsuko said, but Kyu ran off into the crowd after her.
"Wait for a second, Kyu!" Kion yelled.
Kyu had already run off into the crowd, leaving Retsuko and Kion behind.
"He can't be serious," Kion said with a groan.
As Asther finished her speech, Retsuko and Kion ran out of the stadium and into the still lively festival.
Kyu noticed Via across the festival path, standing in front of the huge statue.
"Kyu!" he called out to his friend.
Via looked in Kyu's direction, immediately recognizing him.
"Via!" Kyu yelled again to her.
"Just let me go! I'll see you guys later!" She shouted as she disappeared again.
Kyu gave up and sighed, and Retsuko balled his hand into a fist as his lip quivered.
"Is that what Via meant when she came to Unova for a personal reason? Those Flames are definitely not coming from Vye or any other fire type Pokemon. Is Via a Gijinka like me? Does she have powers? Is that why that teacher wanted to see all three of us?"
The more he thought about it the more questions popped into Retsuko's head.
"She can take care of herself," Kion reassured Kyu.
"We have another focus besides Via. She'll be fine." He said again.
Kyu turned back to Retsuko.
"Are you sure Kaz is gonna be okay during this battle? Her opponents are gonna be super powerful." Kyu warned.
Retsuko gave Kyu an uncertain look.
"That's the thing. When Kion and I checked her speed stat, it was unregistered. It was so high that it literally broke the scale." Retsuko explained,
Kyu's eyes widened.
"Just like Kuu's when we checked his for the first time." He said in awe.
"Which is the reason Kuu can hit really damn hard on pokemon that he shouldn't be able to, yeah we know," Kion said.
Retsuko looked at the palm of his hand.
"I originally thought it was because of my Kourada family gift that my pokemon's stats were boosted, but this is different. A new perspective. I have a spiritual bond with all of my Pokemon, especially Kuu; but with Kaz, it's... psychic. Via..."
Kyu paused after hearing what Retsuko said.
"We found something else too. Retsuko never got the opportunity to catch Kaz, she just appeared out of thin air and they fused. So when she ended up next to his bed with a Pokeball, things got confusing. We found out that her owner is registered as Retsuko, but the original trainer is Nailiah Asther. Madame Asther." Kion added.
"My top concern right now is getting this thing over with. Asther read me like a book because she knew that I would use my remaining Pokemon aside from Kaz to scout the area and protect from the Orakuru in case they attack again. I'm her insurance." Retsuko said.
"Then with our training, Kaz is gonna be elite!" Kyu exclaimed.
They stopped at a fork in the festival, where there was a row of food carts lined up.
Kyu's mouth watered as the aroma of delicious fried sweets filled the air around him, and he practically floated in that direction.
"I'm gonna go fill myself up- err I mean I'm going to go look for Via near the food carts." He said.
"I'm gonna go with Kyu to get something to eat. You find Via and we'll catch up." Kion said.
Two hours later, Retsuko and Kyu were looking for Via together again and stopped walking at a bridge with a small river flowing under it.
Another firework went off.
"What did you guys talk about?" Retsuko asked.
Kyu started to whistle, acting like he never heard what Retsuko had said.
"So why have you been in Unova for so long? I figured you'd have duties as Kanto's champion." Retsuko asked.
Kyu sheepishly turned away from Retsuko as he scratched the back of his head.
"About that... I was only the champion as a placeholder." He explained.
"What?" Retsuko questioned.
"Tachi Yeonghon." Kyu said.
Retsuko's eyes widened. "Your brother?" He asked.
"Tachi has been Kanto's champion ever since we met Sun back in Alola. They were friends I guess, and I found out from him that Tachi won the league. I had to take his spot because of a pretty bad injury he got. ...And he's retired now." Kyu continued.
"Damn..." Retsuko said quietly.
"The Kanto Pokemon league was already coming up then, and because of a shortage, they offered the placeholder position to his only available kin. Me. So i was moved to the spot of a champion to balance out my wheelchair-bound brother. By the time I woke up from the plaza attack, the pokemon league was over and the winner was announced so I was relieved from my duty."
"Sorry about Tachi. That must be tough for him." Retsuko apologized.
"It's fine. At the very least, he can spend more time with his wife and daughter now." Kyu replied.
"You're an Uncle? Since when?!" Retsuko questioned excitedly.
Kyu laughed the question off.
"Tachi's Wife, Ruka is so beautiful. And she's really kind too. Big bro scored for real." Kyu commented.
He cracked open the can of beer in his hands.
"And my niece. Algeria Yeonghon. You really need to meet her bro. She's so adorable. I'm honestly so lucky to be the uncle of such a beautiful little girl." Kyu said, as tears began streaming down his face.
"You alright?" Retsuko asked.
"I'm fine," Kyu replied as he wiped his tears.
"Hey, remember when we were still at the pokemon school back in alola? And we would watch tapes of Tachi's battles on replay for hours?" Retsuko asked.
Kyu's face brightened as a smile crept onto it.
"He was deadset on beating your dad in a pokemon battle," Kyu said with a laugh.
"And he lost every single time!" Retsuko added, joining in.
The two laughed together before Kyu gathered himself and looked down at the calm water of the lake, mesmerized by its reflection.
"Sometimes I think that I just don't deserve the life I have. Especially after everything I did two years ago." He said.
"Yeah, but..." Retsuko trailed.
Kyu turned over to him.
"Go on."
"You got kidnapped by team Plasma and tortured for information on Karin Akaba. You were just a kid. You still are. That pain..." Retsuko said, but Kyu held up one finger to shush him.
"I may be a kid, but I handled the pain. That torture combined with the Alola League loss and... the family issues. It's what made Moé manifest into me and affected Nagatae."
Retsuko looked down sullenly.
Kyu's expression remained calm and carefree despite the conversation topic.
Retsuko envied it.
Kyu looked over to Retsuko again.
"Do you wanna know why I gave Nagatae the name she has?"
Retsuko looked up at the sky and then down back to him.
"No? Why?" He replied.
Kyu burst into laughter at Retsuko, pointing his finger in his face.
"You really never noticed?! Dude, it's so obvious, what a dumbass!" He teased.
Retsuko karate chopped Kyu's head, and Kyu stumbled back in response.
"Bonk. How was I supposed to know?" Retsuko asked.
"She's named after your dad. NAGATAE. NAGATO. You really never pieced it together?" Kyu asked.
Retsuko looked down at the cup of Ice cream in his hands.
"Now that I think of it, that makes sense because you were such a fanboy." He replied.
Kyu laughed, nearly dropping the can of beer in his hand.
"So what about you... How have things been on your end, Mr. Champion? He asked with a hiccup.
Retsuko leaned forward on the rail of the bridge and sighed.
"People weren't very fond of a kid who's not only a Dark Skinned Blasian but an Alolan Native as their new Champion." He explained.
Kyu's expression grew serious.
"Damn. I didn't know you went through that." He said.
"Iris received a good amount of hate herself as she told me, but according to her, it wasn't nearly as bad as it was for me. The security had me on lockdown for almost a year." Retsuko said, faking a laugh.
Kyu looked at Retsuko with concerned eyes.
"There was this edit of my face that surfaced on the internet and got extremely popular. Someone took a picture of me and color dropped it just to make fun of my complexion. Then they made a blackface edit of me and posted it. The hate posts about me got so bad that they had to shut down my platform temporarily."
"You shouldn't have had to experience that," Kyu said, putting his arm on Retsuko's shoulder.
Retsuko removed Kyu's arm and turned.
"But I did. That's the funny thing, Kyu. People kinda suck. But you get used to it. Stuff like that doesn't really affect me anymore. ...Besides, my pain isn't nearly as much as anyone else's."
Kyu remained silent because of the last part of the statement, not knowing how to respond.
"What about your conditions?"
"Not many people know about it. Only those with access to my records or are family know. Not even Via knew until I told her." Retsuko explained.
"I've been so happy recently. With everyone back in my life, the loneliness that burdened me and the stress of navigating my life as a champion are just... gone. But I still have burdens. As Unova's champion."
Kyu prepared to respond but was interrupted by Via calling out to the two of them, running up to them.
"Via, where were you!?" Kyu asked in a relieved tone.
"R-Retsuko. Your exhibition match. Is coming up..." She panted, bending over and putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath."
Retsuko pulled Kaz's pokeball out of his pocket and looked at her through the clear red metal.
They were both thinking the same thing.
Retsuko ran off to the stadium in the middle of Vertress City in a hurry.
"Retsuko! Do your best!" Kyu shouted out to him as he left.
"And don't push Kaz too far!" Via added.
Retsuko smiled back at them and waved.
"Noted."
Retsuko's battle with Gill and Carmen has been announced. Who will win? How will it unfold? What did Kyu and Jackson speak privately about? And the truth has been revealed about Kyu and Via's latent Gijinka Abilities! All will be revealed in chapter 12, the start of the Battle! (As a side note: I've been making small edits to the story in the background for those who haven't noticed, but I'm going to make two big changes soon. From chapter 12 on, Jackson, Neptune, and Riptide will be named Kion, Khan, and Eryie. I will also be adding a new chapter at the beginning of the story titled the prologue, which will explain a lot of things that happened before the events of this story.)