Chapter 5: Not Just Friends!

A familiar beeping sounded as the elevator reached the executive floor again. Tyrantrum stepped out of the elevator without saying a word, Kel and Aurora close behind. The latter seemed completely carefree and did not seem to have seen the same thing as Kel. Or had he just imagined, tired as he was? And yet it felt as if that look had been too real.

All three were now back in the office, where Aurorus was still sitting.

"Are you finished with the tour?"
"They saw everything important, so yes."

Aurorus did not even wait for an answer from the new team itself.

"Good, anymore questions then? If so, ask them now. If not, then your team is now officially registered. Your first league battle will take place in four days, we will send you more details by then. Until then you can prepare, train and maybe meet other teams. So, are there any urgent questions right now?"

Tyrantrum eyed the team with an unreadable look, but Kel again thought he saw a spark of disrespect.

"I'll take that as a no. Then go and let us work!"

Neither of the two members of Polarna Vatra wanted to object, so they both immediately left the office and got back into the elevator.

"So, what do we want to do now? I want to train, we want to win our first fight afterall!"

Without really having any other idea, Kel simply agreed to Aurora's idea.

"So should we just go to some training floor and hope that no one is there right now?"
"I'd rather hope that there is someone there! We can learn much better against others than just against each other!"

Aurora pressed one of the buttons seemingly at random and the elevator started moving, only to stop soon after. Although this level was number 32, not number 25, which Kel already knew, at first glance the two floors did not differ at all. Only a strange object, probably some kind of training device lying on the floor, revealed that it was really another plane. And, just as Aurora had wished, two Pokemon were already fighting in the ring.

For the time being, Team Polarna vatra just watched the fight play out, even if it wasn't really that exciting. Kel recognized the species of one of the two Pokemon, namely that of the defeated fighter. She was a white and red Zoroark with long hair, who had a red cloth wrapped around one of her arms. In terms of basic stature, her fighting partner and obviously also team partner looked quite similar to her. Kel knew Zoroark from his world as a black and red dark Pokemon, but didn't want to question anything. It took about a minute until Zoroark was pushed to the danger zone and immediately got knocked out of the ring.

"You're getting better, but still, keep training Zoroark, otherwise we'll never make the King's League!"

Only now did the team seem to notice the newcomers.

"And who exactly are you two now? A new team? Otherwise you wouldn't have the right to be here!"

Kel was quite happy that Aurora was doing most of the talking in this conversation.

"Yes, we are Team Polarna vatra. We are new to the league and were just about to start our first training session!"
"Team what now?"

Zoroark spoke up for the first time, following her leader's question.

"Polarna vatra, Old Kasonian. It roughly translates polar fire, even though it isn't actually a word."

The Pokemon that was obviously leading the team did not seem enthusiastic.

"An Old Kasonian team name? Sounds like smart-asses to me. Are you one of those teams that join the league in the hope of reaching the top?"
"Of course! Why else would you join the league?"
"For less naive reasons. Now listen to me carefully, both of you: If you don't toughen up, you will perish in the league. Then you won't even reach the Upper League, but will disappear between all the other amateurs! You can't win here with dreams and good will!"
"That doesn't mean you can't try! And try we will!"

A knowing look fell from the strange Pokemon to Zoroark. "Let's greet these guys properly, don't you agree?" The other Mon just nodded.

"Then, let's start again from the beginning. I'm Zeraora, leader of Team Slash, consisting of Zoroark and myself. We are currently ranked 92nd in the Berelian League."

Kel thought back to Monargora's lecture. Rank 92 would put the team in the upper part of the Upper League.

"When a new team joins the league, we are often the reception. We give a first impression of what to expect in a small training duel. Would you like give it a try?"

Before Kel could even think about his bad feeling, Aurora had already agreed to the duel.

"Sure!"

A malicious grin appeared on Zeraora's face.

"Very well, then pick your starter and we'll get started!"

The first opponents of the new team went to the other side of the ring while Kel gave his opinion to Aurora.

"Why the hell do you want to fight against these guys? First of all, they are anything but likeable and second, they are completely above our level! You do realize that I haven't ever had a fight in this body, right?"

It didn't seem to Kel as if Aurora could understand his problems at all.

"Of course I know that. But who says that we have to prove anything in this fight? An if we fight against a much stronger team, then maybe we can learn a thing or two from them! So, just go into the ring, do your best, you'll see, it won't be that bad."

"It won't be that bad? I have no way of defending myself, I don't know any attacks, Aurora! Do you even understand that?"
"Anyone can attack. Just fight based on instinct! Should I take the first round, will that make you feel better?"

At first Kel wanted to refuse, to say that it didn't matter to him whether he went first or second, but he decided against it because it gave him the chance to analyze the situation first.

"Are you two finally done? Can we start?"

Zeraora was clearly getting impatient already.

"Alright then, Aurora, do your thing!"

Aurora entered the ring, Zoroark on the other side.

"The chance was 50%. Too bad, Zeraora actually wanted to fight you."
"Thought so. Can we start?"

Zoroark didn't answer with words, but with the first attack of the duel. A normal Shadow Ball that missed Aurora by a lot. She immediately sprinted forward, aiming to tackle her opponent into the danger zone. And yes, Aurora actually hit her target, but the attack wasn't strong enough to move Zoroark pretty much at all. While Aurora had to recover from her own move, she was completely vulnerable, which her opponent of course immediately took advantage of. A targeted claw strike shot Aurora across the entire battlefield into the danger zone, where a Shadow Ball immediately followed and pushed Aurora out of the ring.

Kel had watched the duel closely and had noticed some important things. First off: He had no chance. And... that was basically it.

"1-0 for us. Obviously"

Kel stepped into the ring uncertainly, opposite to the Pokemon proudly stating the score. He knew he couldn't get out of this now, no matter how much he wanted to. The only option left to him was to get it over with. Zeraora faced him in the ring.

"So, let's get this over with!"

The electric type immediately attacked with an electrifying blow that Kel was not at all prepared for. Instead of being thrown across the field, he remained in place. At first he was confused, not knowing if Zeraora had really wanted this to happen. But it was only when he tried to move himself that he realized how difficult it was. At the time he did not yet know exactly what this state was, but he too learned that it was paralysis.

Zeraora's expression revealed everything Kel needed to know. Everything was going exactly as Team Slash's leader wanted. Before Kel knew it, his opponent simply disappeared into nothingness and a strike hit his back. There was no need for Kel to look around to know exactly where he was now, because he felt the gravity pressing him to the ground. At first he decided to roll blindly, simply concerned that he would not be hit by Zeraora immediately. But as soon as he rolled to the side, he felt a massive kick into his stomach. However, it didn't feel particularly strong or targeted and wasn't strong enough to even move Kel from his spot. There was a loud bang and when Kel looked around, he saw Zeraora lying on the ground outside the circle.

"You actually won, Kel! Unbelievable!"
"Unbelievable? That was nothing but bullshit! Why the hell would you blindly roll towards the enemy! That's the only reason I tripped over him!"

While the team leader let his emotions play out, Zoroark tried to explain the situation to him analytically.

"You went up against a Pokemon that had never fought before, but expected the thinking of an experienced fighter. Bad decisions become good when you don't expect them."

"I don't give a damn what the reason was! Go! Round 3! In the ring, both of you!"

Kel was about to step back into the middle of the ring, still a little confused by what had happened, when Aurora stopped him.

"Step out of the ring first, Kel. Then your paralysis will stop."

The Growlithe did as he was told and immediately felt his fur stop crackling. He then stood back in the ring, right next to Aurora.

"Let's go! No mercy this time around!"

Zoroark seemed to recognize a cue and immediately used a treacherous attack for fights like this: Earthquake. It caused both Aurora and Kel to fall, while Zeraora disappeared into thin air. As soon as the earthquake had subsided, Zeraora reappeared and hit both Aurora and Kel with a wide-ranging blow. Both members of the team immediately found themselves in the danger zone, where they were immediately met by Zoroark's Shadow Balls and pushed out of the ring.

"Pathetic! And you really think you can achieve anything in this league?"

Aurora straightened up again, optimistic as ever.

"That was our very first wrestling match, I don't expect us to achieve anything major this season. It will take a long time, but we can still dream! Besides, if we are so terrible, why did we have this third round in the first place?"

When Kel heard these words used so carelessly, he expected an outburst from the mythical Pokemon, but in fact his emotions seemed to subside.

"Well, if you realize how far the way is, I can accept your dreams more easily. But don't get too big for your buck about this match, we all know that you only won a round because I got careless."
"Of course we know that. I didn't even notice that I won."

There seemed to be no interest in further discussion, so Zeraora just nodded briefly before leaving the arena, Zoroark close on his heels. Now that both Pokemon had disappeared, Aurora turned to Kel again.

"See? It was a complete success, as I thought!"

The Pokemon addressed decided to leave his thoughts unspoken, because he didn't really understand why this fight should have been a success.

"We can either continue training or call it a day. What do you think?"
"I've had more than enough! Let's go back!"

Obviously this wasn't the answer Aurora had expected.

"But we have to train to climb the ranks! It's not an easy task, as Zeraora said!"
"Still, today is our first day! Besides, I joined this team to learn how to defend myself. To be honest, I really don't care about any placements."

This statement was clearly not what Aurora thought herself, but she decided that she didn't want to spoil things with her team partner.

"Fine by me then! But tomorrow we'll train more!"
"Alright, alright. Let's just go now."

And so, Aurora and Kel left the big tower after their first day as an official team. But what they didn't know: The real adventure was just about to begin…