After our post-battle shouting match, a few people passing by tried to get involved and step in while a few others heckled us from a safe distance away. I did my best to ignore them and walked away to find the nearby station where they were taking injured Pokemon. Rather than have battles and rounds spread across multiple days, the tournament opted to have extra Pokemon Center staff on hand to be able to treat all of the Pokemon.
There were at least four other battlefields set up across the meadow where battles were either taking place or being prepared for the next round. I had actually passed one in the clean up process on the way over here. A Trainer and his Torterra were in charge of repairing the damage. The Grass Type was huge, a landmass on four solid legs with a towering tree sprouting from its back. Even from a distance, I could feel the impact of its feet molding the earth around it.
After I handed Hitmontop and Sableye over to the Nurse, I checked the bracket for the next round. My next opponent was Terrence Drake. He owned a Gurdurr and Nosepass along with a badge from the Oreburgh Gym. From his Gym Battle, it looked like his opening gambit was to use Gurdurr's strengths as an offensive powerhouse to gain an early lead, then swap to Nosepass to cripple and inhibit the next opponent. Against Roark, he'd allowed Nosepass to go down but the Rock Type still threw out Thunder Wave and Rock Blasts so as not to be a sitting Psyduck against long-range threats. I had to commend him, it was a lot more solid of a strategy than I had against Byron. Unlike me, Terrence used both of his Pokemon in tandem and planned for the long term of the fight rather than just dealing with immediate threats. It was something I'd been behind in, but my team also didn't have the same dynamics as Terrence. Marshtomp and Hitmontop stayed on the offensive, and while Sableye could do the same, I hadn't used the moves he excelled with. He likely would've taken significantly less damage, if any at all, had I been using Flash, Confuse Ray or Disable. Combined with Night Shade and his Prankster ability, it might've been possible to take down Jangmo-o and Braixen both. But it also could've gone sideways had Alyssa's Ducklett entered the fray. Sableye lacked any ranged attacking moves to deal with it. That thing could've been its own issue, and I would've been forced to use Marshtomp to have any chance of dealing with it.
The Nurse told me they'd notify me when my Pokemon were healed up, so I walked off to observe a few battles and kill some time. I noted where the spectators were flocking to for the next match and found a good seat in the stands.
"Hey, you mind sliding over?", a voice to my right called out.
"Huh?"
I looked over to see a beautiful woman with tanned skin and short dark hair grinning and giving me a skeptical look. She was tall, easily taller than me, and wore a black T-shirt and sweatpants. Flanking her was a Pokemon I'd only seen in pictures and videos, a Hawlucha. It had piercing eyes that darted around everywhere and to everyone that gave his Trainer a passing glance, including me. I felt immediately compelled to look away from the Flying Type as I scrambled to answer his Trainer.
"Uh, yeah, yeah sure." I responded, giving this stranger and her Pokemon room on the bench. She sat down, while Hawlucha stood up on the bench, his eyes scanning the crowd and the battlefield being prepared.
"Come on, don't be like that, just have a seat, we're here to relax.", she assured the Flying Type. That was enough for Hawlucha, as he took a seat next to his Trainer and crossed his arms. I realized that she had an accent that I'd never heard before.
"Are you participating in the tournament?" I asked, hoping to stir up a conversation.
The woman turned to me with an incredulous look, before her face twisted to one of derision. She laughed, audibly, for a solid five seconds before she gathered herself and responded while wiping the tears from her eyes. "Tapus no, no I'm not participating. I happened to be flying through and had the time to sit here and watch."
I noticed that her belt was full with six Pokeballs attached to it. And she was flying through? Hawlucha weren't large enough to carry a human while flying, which meant she had another Pokemon that could and she had a flying license for it.
"You have another Flying Type?" I asked, even more curious now. Most Trainers with some exception opted to diversify the Types on their team to avoid a common weakness from wreaking havoc on them. Though, some Type specialists still existed anyway and even some Gym Leaders and Elite Four began their careers doing that very thing.
"I have five more actually, but I usually ride around on Ana, my Dragonite."
That was a bombshell. The Dragonite line was incredibly rare and powerful, and the cost of a single Dratini egg was exorbitant. You could catch one in the wild certainly, but that meant the potential of facing down an enraged parent Dragonite. And not only that, but she had a team full of Flying Types, making her a specialist of the Type. I wondered what species she had in addition to her Dragonite and Hawlucha.
"So why bother watching rookie matches?"
She considered for a moment before stretching her arms over her head and rolling her shoulder.
"Because I can? And it's fun, reminds me of when I got started and where I came from." she replied.
"Well, hopefully my next match is something worth watching. I'm Titus by the way, it's nice to meet you." I told her, hoping I didn't stumble over my words and make a fool of myself.
"I'm Kalani. Do you have any badges yet?"
"Just one. I earned my Mineral Badge from the Canalave Gym." I replied. A few people in the audience began to clap and cheer as two trainers took to the field, one of which was Karl, so I joined in the cheering. His opponent was a nervous looking teenager with red hair and glasses that looked completely out of her depth. She looked like she wanted to run for her life. "Looks like it's starting."
The speaker crackled to life as the announcer's voice cut across the field.
"From Jubilife City and holding one badge, Karl Bernard!"
A few people cheered and clapped, and I joined in on encouraging my friend.
"And from Sandgem Town also holding one badge, Sam Blackwell!"
Sam wrung her hands in front of her, looking down and away from the crowd. She was probably just trying to psych herself up for this.
"Begin on my signal!", the referee shouted.
The whistle sounded, and two Pokemon materialized. Karl had chosen Phanpy and the squat blue creature began stomping the ground and flapping its long ears. On Sam's side of the field, a skittish looking creature with dark eyes and a green coat appeared. The top of its head bore a large yellow flower. A Deerling.
It looked like Karl's information hadn't been perfect if it had missed the fact that Sam owned a Deerling. There was also the possibility she'd caught it recently though too. Karl looked stunned as the Grass Type appeared, but he threw out the first move regardless.
"Rollout!"
"B-Bullet Seed!"
Phanpy curled into a ball and rolled, tearing across the field and leaving a divot in the earth as it gathered speed. Deerling opened her mouth and fired a barrage of seed projectiles, harassing the Ground Type as it approached. When Phanpy drew close, the Grass Type nimbly dodged out of the way while her opponent sped off before turning and coming in for a second pass. While Phanpy continued its Rollout, Deerling peppered it with Bullet Seeds. Karl would have to think of something quick or switch out Phanpy now. As the blue creature rumbled across the earth for its third pass at Deerling, who evaded the incoming Rollout, he sprung into action.
"Bulldoze, it can't evade!"
There it was. A tremor shook the ground around Phanpy and Deerling, who was caught off guard by the sudden tectonic shift. The Grass Type recoiled and its legs shook as it struggled to maintain its footing. In addition to the damage the shockwave dealt, grounded opponents hit with Bulldoze would find themselves moving slower for a while.
"Not something you usually see from beginners." Kalani commented.
"What's that?"
"Combining two moves at once like that. Bulldoze nearly guarantees that the followup Rollout will hit its mark, that's kind of impressive. "
Phanpy continued its rampage, barreling into Deerling twice more as Sam desperately ordered it to dodge. The Grass Type couldn't keep up with the speed of her opponent and the devastating impact of Rollout was too much. After the second hit, Deerling went flying across the field and crashed into the barrier. Sam recalled her Pokemon before sending out a spunky looking Bidoof. Despite its best efforts, the Normal Type went down without much trouble either.
"The victor is Karl Bernard!"
"Your friend has some good instincts, he didn't let the type disadvantage rattle him like most people would have." Kalani mused.
"And Sam?" I asked, curious about the insight a far more experienced Trainer might have.
"She panicked and left her Deerling out to take the fall. It couldn't dodge, but that didn't mean she had to stop attacking. And if she'd landed a Leech Seed, she could've bought her Bidoof time to wear it down. But that's a lot of "if's", it really comes down to her panicking." she replied.
The match between Deerling and Phanpy highlighted something I would have to start implementing more. I had tried to have Hitmontop use Swift and Mach Punch when we were getting ready to face Byron, but the moves simply didn't work well together. Now it was a matter of looking at what each of my Pokemon had to find any combinations that worked. For Phanpy, Bulldoze and Rollout combined to make each followup attack more likely to land as Kalani had pointed out.
"When's your next match? I want to see firsthand what you're capable of." my new friend asked. She was flicking through something on her phone and Hawlucha was lying on the bench beside her.
"Oh, it's not for a few hours, the rest of my team is getting looked at." I replied.
"And who are those two?", she pointed to my belt and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, Marshtomp. And Murkrow, though she tried to kill me the last time I let her out." I admitted.
At that mention, I had Kalani's full attention. I explained what had happened, just as I had done with the Nurse at the Center. While I told the story, new Psychic Types were brought in to maintain the barriers around the field and the chalk lines were redrawn around the arena.
"I'm not really sure what to do. Neither option seems fair for her."
"I think you need to pick one and live with it." Kalani stated firmly. "Regardless of if its fair, keeping her caged is worse than not giving her the chance to return to her old life."
Kalani was right though. I was just too much of a coward to face the idea that Murkrow might die if I let her go or that the Trainer that takes her might not treat her well.
Nearby, several people began to clap and cheer as a new Trainer took the field. Her auburn hair was cut short in a way that framed her face. She wore a bulky looking hoodie and sweatpants, but looked to be having the time of her life if her ear to ear grin was any indication.
"From Celestic Town and holding one badge, Rhiannon Dulahan!"
Ah.
The people around us cheered, and I noticed that there were significantly more than were around for Karl's match. Rhiannon leaned into it, waving to the spectators and giving the crowd what they wanted.
I was excited to see this match. Helen said she was gaining a reputation after all, and while I knew her team, I didn't know much about them, or her for that matter. Seeing her battle would be helpful. After all, I came here with the intent to see where I stacked up against my peers.
"And from Jubilife City, Henry Parks!"
A tall boy who looked close to my age with slicked back black hair tossed a Pokeball from hand to hand, a smug grin plastered to his face.
"And, begin!"
A Riolu materialized on Rhiannon's side of the field. It was my first time seeing the Fighting Type in person. I had wanted one when I first planned my team years ago, but I had no idea where they came from. The only thing I'd heard was that they were occasionally seen on the Iron Islands. Henry's Pokemon of choice was a Ponyta that took to the field with a running gallop, probably happy with all of the wide open space it had to run around it.
"Quick Attack, Force Palm."
"Flame Charge!"
Ponyta's fiery mane grew and engulfed it in flames, the sound of her thundering hooves reverberating across the field as she picked up speed. Riolu blurred, meeting the Fire Type head on as it flipped backwards and kicked Ponyta in the jaw before striking her with a glowing paw, catching his opponent off-guard. The force of it threw Ponyta back before she regained her footing and skidded backwards.
"Again."
"Ponyta, Ember then Stomp!"
Ponyta's mane grew as tiny wisps of flames shot forth, setting the grass alight as Riolu darted between the projectiles before closing the distance. The Fighting Type kicked Ponyta in the leg, which buckled from the force of the attack causing the Fire Type to bray in pain and lower its head. A single glowing paw slammed into Ponyta's muzzle and threw it backwards, causing the poor Pokemon to crash into the barrier. After a few seconds, the referee stepped in.
"Ponyta is unable to battle, send out your last Pokemon!"
Henry looked absolutely furious at Rhiannon, who happened to be smiling like a mad woman. She was clearly having a lot of fun with the battle. He recalled Ponyta before sending out his last Pokemon. What popped out was an ornery looking Geodude and I doubted it would do any better against Riolu than Ponyta would. Before commands could be thrown, Rhiannon recalled her Fighting Type for a new Pokemon, a dainty looking creature with thin white limbs, green hair and red horns. Kirlia.
"Rock Throw!"
Geodude began flailing its arms, causing chunks of stone to shoot from the ground towards the Psychic Type. As each one drew too close, Kirlia's eyes would begin to glow pink and the projectiles never found their way to her. That had to be Confusion or some other Psychic attack.
"Rollout!"
"He's getting desperate now." Kalani commented beside me. I'd been so engrossed, I'd nearly forgotten she was there.
I couldn't blame Henry honestly. It had to be tough watching your Pokemon be effortlessly dealt with and their attacks nullified.
Geodude was rolling across the grass for a second pass, having missed by a wide margin with his first attack. Kirlia was dodging easily, dancing away on its dainty legs. As the Rock Type gathered speed, Rhiannon finally gave the Psychic type an order with a wide grin on her face.
"Send it off course!", she shouted with a delightful glee in her voice.
Kirlia sprang into action, its eyes glowing pink once again as Geodude rumbled towards her and drew close. Before it could make contact, a pink light swirled around the Rock Type and it made a hard ninety degree turn away from the Psychic, suddenly finding itself speeding towards the barrier without a way to stop itself. Rhiannon laughed audibly as Geodude crashed and the audience gasped at the sudden impact. The Kadabra maintaining the barrier nearby looked absolutely livid with her antics.
"Finish it off with Magical Leaf!"
From thin air appeared dozens of multicolored leaves that swirled in a dizzying array around Kirlia's head before flying towards Geodude and tearing into him. When he stopped moving, the referee blew his whistle.
"Geodude is unable to battle, the winner is Rhiannon and Kirlia!"
It hadn't even been close. It was a one-sided slaughter and some of the most impressive battling I'd seen from a fellow first-year. And yet…
I felt so far behind, watching how easily she dismantled Henry. Rhiannon was good, really good. I clenched my fists as I realized that could've just as easily been me out there. If I went farther in the tournament, it probably would be. A nervous, sinking feeling began growing in my stomach as I began to wonder if I was out of my depth here.
Kalani whistled and cheered next to me as Rhiannon exited the field. "That girl's got potential, I just hope she doesn't burn out and give up. But hey," she clapped me on the shoulder, "No pressure for your battle, right?"
This fic is now available on Ao3! (Archive of our Own) /works/56574589/chapters/143789596