Hitori wanted to hide, but it was too late. Her classmate had gotten close enough and more than that was already waving at her. She didn't know how to respond so suddenly to talk with someone who recognized her. At least Whismur was still in her Pokeball, otherwise she was sure that Whismur would start crying out of anxiety. Hitori knew because she felt like crying as well.
Regardless of Hitori's quiet wish to have an extra ten minutes to an hour to mentally prepare, Kita was soon right at her table. "You're… Hitori Gotoh right? From Appletun middle school right?" she asked.
A way out, Hitori could just pretend to be someone else, not recognize her or anything it'd be easy and awkward if she was called out on it. "Y-yes…" Hitori quietly whispered.
"I knew it, your battling is so cool, I didn't think anyone else in the class was aiming to be a trainer much less one going for the Pokemon gym challenge!" Kita replied excitedly. 'Else' those words stood out to Hitori who sat there quietly. Did that mean Kita was also looking to become a trainer? Ah, she needed to reply.
Hitori coughed as she tried a bit too fast to say something. "Ah, are you okay? Did something go down wrong?" Kita asked flipping on a dime and looking worried.
"Ah- O- Y-… E-Else?" Hitori coughed out after a couple of seconds of attempts. Her eyes glanced toward a large board located near the counter that had the tournament bracket listed on it. For a moment she inwardly smiled seeing her name had already risen so far, but she focused on looking to see if Kita was on the board.
"Yep! I thought I was the only one. I won my recommendation a few weeks ago because of a contest Raihan hosted, isn't that cool? Apparently, the pics I took for Porygram were enough to get his interest, so I won a recommendation from a gym leader himself! Even if he sent out like thirty of them," Kita explained energetically.
It was a lot for Hitori to take in, someone from her school had gotten a recommendation from someone as high up as a gym leader? One as popular as Raihan? Wait from pics? She could never do something like that. It also meant that Kita was already more of a trainer than she was, it probably meant that she had more than one Pokemon as well.
"A, I- um, yes?" Hitori eventually replied going for what she thought would get her out of the situation by just agreeing.
"See? But I think it's so much cooler how you're earning your recommendation through battle! You're Whismur is so cute and powerful as well! I bet you'll go far. What if we end up rivals? You know another Hop and Gloria?" Kita continued regardless. But well Hitori didn't really mind Kita's talking if she could just get by without embarrassing herself too much.
"As if, just kidding, I doubt I'm good enough to get even a little far. I mean I only started training with my Pokemon after getting the recommendation," Kita admitted.
"U- I, um, I think… you'd do… just fine," Hitori whispered after an awkward pause started between them.
"Really? Thanks for the vote of confidence, I'll just have to work harder to meet your expectations!" Kita so cheerfully replied, shining like a sun.
Hitori covered her eyes as though she were looking at the sun, it was just too blinding for someone like herself to bear so suddenly. Did Kita know Sunny Day perhaps? Someone so extroverted like her probably had Pokemon walking up begging to join her like some kind of princess from the movies she watched as a kid.
"Ah, sorry did I get a bit too close to you?" Kita asked. It took Hitori a moment, ah. She had actually raised her hands and covered herself up she wasn't just imagining it.
"N-No, I-I'm fine," Hitori replied.
"We will now shortly begin our semi-finals, if our next-round opponents can come up," The announcer said. Providing Hitori with the best excuse to get out of there before she said something else stupid.
"I'll be cheering for you! You can do it Hitori! I believe in you!" Kita said so energetically Hitori could swear she was taking damage from the energy.
Hitori felt a bit nauseous as she stepped up to her side of the arena while the announcer started their introduction to her round. She had gotten so distracted by Kita that she couldn't think of how she would beat the fighting type. Well, she seemed to be doing well enough with smokescreen. She'll use that again.
"W-whismur…" Hitori whispered out before lobbing her Pokeball, releasing her partner who didn't let out a cry. Hitori could tell that Whismur was just as nervous as she was. Or maybe she was just picking up on how nervous her trainer was being and following suit?
"Come on out Clobbopus!" Hitori's opponent called out and hurled the Pokeball far, it didn't touch the ground before the ball opened and let out the Clobbopus who punched its two large tentacles together and let out a cry. Hitori noticed that while she let out Whismur basically right next to her, Clobbopus was let out as close as his trainer could get to the line separating their sides of the arena.
"We will now begin our first semi-final battle! Whismur vs Clobbopus, Begin!" The announcer said before bringing their hand down like a flag.
"Leer right off the bat!" Hitori's opponent shouted out to the point that both Hitori and Whismur flinched over the noise. Clobbopus obeyed and his eyes became so much more menacing and threatening looking. Not only that but without a command, Clobbopus was already moving forward.
"S-Smokescreen h-hurry," Hitori whispered her command out. Whismur, still startled by the shout from earlier was slow to start bellowing out the smoke.
"Bind now! Don't let it hide in the smoke!" Clobbopus's trainer barked. The Pokemon leapt up as its tentacles, normally rather small extended out like a net. Whismur panicked and let out a cry, stopping the half-formed smokescreen and on her own, dove out of the way to avoid the Clobbopus.
"N-n… Whismur, i-i-. Smokescreen please," Hitori called out stumbling over her words as she already was kicking herself for forgetting to tell her partner to run while letting the smokescreen out. Whismur quickly picked itself up and began to blow out the smoke once again but soon found a tentacle lunging forward and wrapping around her.
"Good, now deliver the rock smash!" Clobbopus's trainer shouted, slamming his fist into his palm as though the Pokemon needed the visual aid to understand how to use the move.
"W-whismur, S-smoke-" Hitori started once again, letting herself get distracted with the need to hide before she thought to do anything else. Whismur certainly tried to keep letting the smoke out even as another tentacle wrapped around the normal type trying to push her mouth closed.
Then Clobbopus's larger fist-like tentacle, glowing the faint orange-brown light slammed into Whismur causing her to let out a pained cry. Hitori gasped as the ground cracked slightly below the two entangled Pokemon.
"Good, once more! Don't let up!" Hitori's opponent commanded. Hitori could feel herself sweating and panic starting to rise.
"A-A-A-A-Astonish," Hitori called out in a strained cracking tone. Whismur stopped its attempt to let out smoke and for a moment looked over at her trainer. It went quiet for a moment as Clobbopus's tentacle was once again starting to glow with the telltale energy of its move. Suddenly, Whismur unfurled her ears and in a surprising display of strength from it slammed then, on either side of Clobobpus's head while letting out a cry that was half teary and half roar.
The sudden action was enough to make Clobobpus recoil back, flinching and loosening his grip on the normal type. Something Whismur was able to take advantage of and pull herself free regardless of being ordered to or not. Then she ran, crying out all the while.
Hitori saw the rough-looking patch on her partner's head where she had taken the hit. "W-Whis-" She started but before she could say anymore her voice was overpowered by her opponent.
"Leer once again, don't let them recover!" He ordered and while Clobbopus did start to glare at Whismur once again. Whismur, understanding what her trainer wanted, responded with a smokescreen once again.
This time without the initial startling yell of the trainer, Whismur was able to get enough of a cover that neither she nor her trainer would have to see the intimidating stare of the fighting type. But more importantly, she was finally able to generate enough smoke that it was starting to cover Hitori up.
"I-icy wind, d-don't move," Hitori gave her order, even if she had to kneel to get low enough to cover herself. As embarrassing as it was, she just couldn't give commands with everyone looking at her. Whismur let out a cry that seemed a bit more confident. For a moment Hitori wondered if it was her being able to act more confident in the smoke as well, or if Whismur was able to act more confident because she was?
"Rock smash!" Hitori's opponent called out. As Clobbopus's tentacle glowed with energy he jumped forward towards where Whismur was standing before being covered by the smokescreen. A moment later the icy wind blew the smokescreen away from Whismur and onto the now air-borne fighting type.
For a moment the Clobbopus's trainer thought he had it in the bag. After all he knew Clobbopus was used to cold waters and weather so the icy wind wouldn't slow it down as much as he expected his opponent was hoping.
"Jump in and use Pound, then Astonish," Hitori did her best to properly announce her attack but even covered by her smokescreen it was hard for her to raise her voice like that. Whismur, having extended the smokescreen leapt forward and collided with Clobbopus in the air with her tackle.
With much of the field now covered by the smokescreen it was hard to tell what was going on but a moment later Whismur was shot out of the smokescreen nearly reaching the other end of the arena. Another large bruise on her body, clearly losing the exchange and getting hit with another rock smash.
"Echoed Voice, don't let up," Hitori called out. Whismur was visibly struggling to get to her feet but once it was it began to cry once more, loudly her voice reverberated around the café. At least the patrons were prepared for it and they covered their ears in time before the sound hit them.
"Clobbopus, hurry! Get over there and use rock smash, one more time and we'll win!" Hitori's opponent called out, though panic was starting to show in his voice. There was a delay in response from his Pokemon. "Clobbopus, Hurry!" He called out once again.
Hidden under the smokescreen his trainer hadn't realized that Clobbopus hadn't gotten out of the exchange scot-free either, having once again been temporarily disorientated by Whismur's attack. Not only that but as he began to march over towards the Whismur, emerging from the smokescreen, it dawned on his trainer. The icy wind may not have slowed Clobbopus down that much, but it still was having some effect on him.
Every second it took Clobbopus to reach Whismur was another second that her cries reached the fighting type and rattled it from the force of the sound waves. Every second it took was another for echoed voice's effect to get stronger the more time it had to build up. The gi-wearing trainer looked over at where Hitori was crouching and hiding in the smokescreen as realization hit him.
It was planned. That's why she had Whismur jump to meet Clobbopus's attack. She wanted Whismur to get knocked back, astonish and Icywind was meant to delay Clobbopus's approach, all for this chance to use Echoed voice.
"Clobbopus-!" He shouted hoping to give some kind of order to his own partner, but it was too late, he watched as Clobbopus fell over, and fainted.
"W-whismur y-you can stop now," Hitori whispered before standing up. Whismur took a moment to stop her cries but when she finally did, she gave out a final whimpered cry before falling back onto her rear, panting. Hitori could see the tears welling up in her partner.
"Clobbopus is unable to battle, the victor is Whismur!" The announcer declared loudly.
At the end of the battle, Hitori heard the audience cheer for the battle that had taken place. She even heard Kita cheering for her, but her thoughts, positive or negative were placed secondary to her partner. Nearly tripping over herself she stumbled over towards Whismur and picked her up. "A-Are you okay Whismur?" She asked in a panic.
Whismur looked at her panic and began to cry, cutting off the cheers as they rushed to cover their ears. In turn, Hitori panicked more, clutching Whismur tight to avoid dropping her. Compared to how usually this would have made Whismur only cry more as has happened so many times back at home. Whismur quieted down from the embrace, even if she was still whimpering. "A-Ah, P-potion, I'll get you a potion Whismur," Hitori said in a panic.
"W-Whismur it'll sting a little bit, p-please don't cry, okay? I-I'll get you another soda if you don't," Hitori bargained with her partner as she shakily held a potion in her hand. Right now she was in the employee's change room since they didn't have a more official place to tend to any injured Pokemon. Though they were nice enough to provide free potions and other necessary supplies so she wouldn't have to run looking for a Pokemon center.
Whismur whimpered some more but seemed to be putting on a brave face. "O-Okay, here we go…" Hitori said as she spritzed Whismur on the bruised top of her head. Whismur's whimpering got louder for a few moments but soon quieted down. Hitori was rather amazed at the potion's effectiveness, already the bruise was looking better. According to the instructional bit on it, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes for the entire effect of the potion to apply.
"L-let's see, apply no more than two sprays to each visibly injured part of the Pokemon, i-if injuries persist, wait thirty minutes before applying another dose. I-if two doses aren't enough, look to bring the Pokemon to a Pokemon center, or use a stronger dose," Hitori read the instructions and carefully stared at Whismur as she counted the minutes away.
Maybe she was staring a bit much as she zoned out, worrying about this that or another thing, only snapping out as Whismur let out a happy cry. Hitori blinked and looked at Whismur once again, other than looking a little red around her eyes, she looked just fine. Hitori let out a sigh of relief, "You were brave Whismur," Hitori complimented.
Whismur let out another cry that seemed a bit more pleased with herself. Then she let out another cry, and another. Her small hands pointing to something. Hitori turned around seeing a box of empty glasses. "Oh right, I'll get you another drink I promise, but it may not be until after our last round," Hitori explained.
Whismur's attitude took a complete turn around and she slinked away finding a dark corner to shove herself into. "Ah, no Whismur, it's not your fault! I just don't know how long we have until our next round!" Hitori started to beg while trying to pull Whismur away from the dark, inviting, cardboard box she was climbing into.
In the end, it took five minutes to convince Whismur that she hadn't made any mistakes. At least Whismur seemed somewhat pumped to hurry up so she could get another drink. Now returned safely into her Pokeball, Hitori walked out of the employee's changing room to see that the other semi-final round was similarly over.
"Wooloo is unable to battle, the victor is Dottler!" The announcer exclaimed.
Hitori looked over at the arena to see the bug type right before it was returned to its Pokeball. Her Trainer was younger than herself, with long unkempt green hair. While she was wearing a school uniform, on top of it she was wearing a lab coat that was clearly too large for her.
She seemed to be proud of herself. As Hitori had that thought it seemed to draw the girl's attention as she looked up at that moment looking directly at Hitori. Not only that but she immediately began to march over.
'Not again!' Hitori thought, she was still recovering from being talked to by Kita and she was helping her Whismur heal. Could she maybe reschedule? Hitori quickly looked away, eyes finding any good place to hide for as little good as it would do.
"You're the other finalist, right? Well, I'm going to tell you know that I'm going to win, and you won't even get to lay a hit on my Dottler!" The girl confidently declared, arm extended, pointing at Hitori. At least she assumed so, the sleeve of the lab coat was still covering her hand up.
Hitori froze up at those words. She looked around hoping to find someone who'd miraculously save her from this. "A-a, um…" Hitori started but didn't go anywhere.
"Hmm, so focused on your upcoming battle? I see, this is the thing where we don't even need to exchange words, our Pokemon will do all the talking for us! Maybe you're not a total newbie, you'll make a good starting step to my championship victory!" The girl continued before walking off past Hitori and into the employee-only changing room.
Hitori quickly escaped from the situation before she was forced to deal with more social activity. However, she did wonder why the girl was going into the employee-only area. Maybe her Dottler had taken some damage, and she didn't see it?
There were a few minutes she had until the finals, so at least she could take some time to breathe and focus. "Hitori! You did so well in that battle!" Kita announced from halfway across the café. Hitori dived under her table to hide.