Note- Welcome back everyone! Summer is in full swing and your boy is having himself a great one. Big moves and career decisions are on the horizon, but one thing I hope to keep consistent is this story! It continues to be a wonderful outlet as my love for Pokémon continues to grow! Now, on to Heart and Soul!
When we last left our heroes, Luke and his team were in the throes of battle, fighting to earn their way into the semifinals. How will his battle conclude? And what about Waz's quarterfinal matchup? Will both our trainers come out unscathed? How about the growing conflict away from Silver Conference? Was Kayla able to make it to Route 32, and if so, has she discovered anything?
I won't keep you waiting or guessing with anymore questions. Let's get straight to it!
Please consider dropping a review and follow/favorite for notifications about future chapters! Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 73
"Kangaskhan refuses to go down!"
The announcer's voice boomed through the television speaker. The excited commentary bounced around the small family living room and off the four people who silently sat and stared at the screen.
Benjamin took a deep breath as a massive ball of ice repelled Kangaskhan's Dizzy Punch and sent the massive Normal-type hurtling backwards. This was only the second time the Alolan Sandslash had rolled through, but hiding behind a Substitute had given the Ice/Steel-type a chance to use Defense Curl first. Still, Luke had a chance to turn the tide now that he had destroyed the Substitute. And that looked to be exactly his thought as he returned Kangaskhan to her capture device.
A small cough came from somewhere on his right. It was the first sound he'd heard his mother make outside of a couple 'come on's' and 'there we go's' near the start of the battle. Tommy had also stayed quiet throughout most of the battle. Benjamin had half expected their youngest brother to root against Luke, but the thirteen year old had for once shown restraint.
It felt ridiculous, sitting here in this dark, quiet room. They should have been in that stadium rooting on Luke. Even if his mom and dad had work the next day, the Silver Conference was only a few miles away. He understood if they didn't have enough money for the whole family to go, but dammit, someone should have been there to root him on in person.
Charizard materialized onto the battlefield with flames already pouring from both sides of his mouth. Even from a zoomed out camera angle, the massive fireball at the end of his tail was unmissable. It would have been an incredibly intimidating sight had his back and wings not been severely drooping. Charizard had put in a lot of work throughout the battle, but his opponent hadn't made any of it easy. Benjamin had lost count of how many Substitutes the Flame Pokémon had blasted through. His newly learned Flamethrower had certainly helped make quicker work of them. Even now, the steady stream of fire had brought the ice-covered Sandslash to a complete halt.
He definitely hadn't learned that during Luke's last stay.
In truth, Benjamin still didn't know a lot about his brother's starter. He had spent a couple days with him right after Luke had brought him home. The Fire-type had been very shy, with only a few looks and growls toward anyone who wasn't his trainer. That had been it as far as seeing the Flame Pokémon in his base form. His next visit with Luke and his team had been in the damn hospital, and even then, he'd only seen Charmeleon through glass—wires running all over his body and a respirator obscuring most of his face. Luke had video called Benjamin a few times since then, giving his brother a better look at Charmeleon and then Charizard. Despite his multiple evolutions, when Benjamin had met the creature again in person just a couple months ago he still maintained much of that reserved, almost shy nature. It seemed bizarre the fire starter would still be so emotionally conscious after a year of travel and interacting with all sorts of people. Luke had mentioned something about tension popping up between trainer and Pokémon; he'd said they'd spent some time apart. Maybe that had set the Flame Pokémon back a bit in the social department? Whatever the cause, it had left Benjamin and Charizard with no real extended interactions, aside from the former watching the latter train with his brother.
As Sandslash fell to another wave of inferno, Benjamin felt the tension in his gut temporarily release. Along with his brother's returned momentum, Benjamin found his appetite had come back. He scooped out some dip sitting on the table in front of him, but when he reached for the chips he couldn't find them. He looked for the bag of pretzels and noticed they had also vanished. Both had been sitting on the left side of the table, over by…
A crunching sound alerted his ears before his eyes could spot them. There was Marcus Skylar sitting in his recliner, chomping away at a fistful of chips and pretzels, no dip needed. His father had a tablet and Pokéathelon newsletter laying face down in his lap. Benjamin hadn't expected his father to completely avoid Luke's battle, but he at least thought Marcus would pretend to be more distracted while watching. It was hard to gauge his emotions with his hand constantly obstructing his mouth, but if this wasn't stress eating, Benjamin had no alternative explanation.
"You care if I grab some of those chips?"
Marcus began to blink rapidly and he gave a quick shake of his head. He whipped around to look at Benjamin. "What is it?"
"The chips, dad. Could I grab a few?"
"Yeah. Take 'em all."
Marcus tossed the bag over and scooped up the newsletter. "Did you see Diego is considering retirement?"
Benjamin gave Marcus the best side eye he could muster. "That's interesting, dad. You sure he and his Electrode are what you're most focused on right now?"
"Hey, this is big news. He's the best Relay Runner of his generation."
"Honey," his mom couldn't hide the agitation in her voice, "your son is battling in a major tournament on television. Focus."
"I know he is. And he's doing well." Marcus picked up the tablet and waved it. "But there are other things going on in the world as well. I can multitask."
Benjamin's mom scoffed, but didn't respond.
Marcus flipped on the tablet and began to swipe through different apps. His head never lifted, but Benjamin could see his eyes flickering up to take quick glances at the television screen. That drew a grin from Benjamin.
"Shit," Tommy hissed.
"Thomas!"
Benjamin twisted around and found Charizard laying on his side. Rain now pelted the battlefield and the fire lizard. The latter was especially concerning now that the flame on the end of Charizard's tail more resembled a candle than a torch. .
"Get up," Benjamin whispered.
"Get the hell up!"
Benjamin flinched at the sound of his father's booming shout. Marcus did him one better and actually sprung up from his chair, a feat his son didn't know was possible given his serious fall had happened only a few months prior. Clearly Marcus hadn't known he could either, as one of his hands immediately went to his lower back, and a grimace spread across his face. Still, he didn't take his gaze off the screen.
Benjamin turned his attention back to it as well. This was do-or-die time. Each trainer only had two Pokémon left. If Charizard went down, not only would Luke be losing an anchor of his team, he'd be in a 2-to-1 hole. The odds of coming back from that weren't impossible, but it hadn't yet happened in these Finals.
Charizard pushed off the ground with his arms, his wings dragging the ground as he got his feet back under him. The opposing Ludicolo looked to already be preparing another super effective attack.
"Get up!"
"Air Slash!"
Luke knew he should have been looking at their opponent as he called for the attack, but he couldn't peel his eyes away from his friend. The Flame Pokémon had only just made it back to his feet, but it looked like he might fall back to the ground at any moment. Streams of water ran down his back, forcing him to constantly swing his tail to keep them from reaching the flame at its end. He flinched as some of the thicker raindrops splashed against his wings, which struggled to spread with the vines of Ludicolo's Leech Seed wrapped around them. At this point, Luke wasn't sure they'd even be able to get the attack off.
The Tohjo Falls native was finally able to peel his eyes away from his teammate and toward the darkening sky above. Somewhere up there, Ludicolo's Chilling Water was taking shape. Hiding its approach in the downpour above had already paid dividends for their opponents—Charizard had only just recovered from the last use—and now Luke's teammate wouldn't have the strength to avoid the next attack.
We'll just have to blast it away, Luke silently realized.
As Charizard's wings expanded, snapping a couple of the vines wrapped around them, Luke called for the change in target. It looked to take an extra bit of strength as Charizard swung his drooping neck back, his stomach and chest puffing out. The flames that had poured out from his mouth at the beginning of Blaze's boost were now nowhere to be seen.
You've given so much. We just need a little more.
A dark, lavender haze coated the artificial clouds overhead. The bottom of the storm above Charizard suddenly lowered as a new curtain of rain descended.
"Wipe that rain away!" Luke shouted.
The Flame Pokémon threw every bit of his weight into his wing flaps. The visible slices of wind lifted up into the wall of falling water droplets, fanning them out in every direction. The attack continued on, moving into the clouds and whipping them apart to reveal the sun above. Luke had to look away as the beams of natural light radiated down, but he could see the clouds above swirling away to dissipate against the energized walls of the battlefield.
Even if Charizard couldn't outlast Ludicolo, getting rid of the rain at least meant he had stopped the Water/Grass-type's healing ability. Now, if they could just land a Flamethrower before…
Charizard let out a painful roar.
The vines around his wings had constricted, nearly folding the fire lizard's appendages back on themselves. The vegetation took on a red glow—a sight Luke had seen too many times already—as it siphoned off Charizard's energy and redistributed it to Ludicolo. This time though, it had taken all that remained.
Luke's starter took one awkward step, then another. Then he toppled over onto his stomach and lay still. Luke looked on, his eyes stinging and his cheeks burning.
"Charizard is unable to battle!" the judge declared. "Trainer, please bring out your last teammate."
Early in his career, Luke had taken part in several battles where his starter had fainted. He had lost just about all of them. And when Charizard had left, Luke's glaring reliance on him had only been further exposed. Those first couple of gym battles after—losses in Goldenrod City and Mahogany Town—showed just how much Luke's gameplan had revolved around his starter. Electabuzz, Mightyena, and Pidgeotto had attempted to step up to fill that void, but none of them could have been ready with how little experience and focus they had gotten by comparison. The turning point hadn't come until after his first battle with Whitney, when David had suggested giving Luke's younger teammates some shine. It had taken some grinding, but Duskull, Riolu, and even the young Axew had managed to grow so much during that time. And Luke could only speculate, but it seemed like it had motivated their older teammates to mature as well. What Electabuzz had done to help Riolu's combat prowess was as clear a sign as any. The work he had done with the Emanation Pokémon had led to a victory in their rematch against Whitney, a win that saw Riolu finally evolve into the Lucario he was today. Now, in the biggest battle of his life, Luke would need Lucario to come through again.
Morty sat in his normal seat in the suite, his favorite drink in hand. He usually made it through about two of them while watching a battle, but for some reason, he couldn't seem to get the bottle up to his mouth. Instead, he'd spent the last twenty minutes tapping the side of his jaw, just below the ear, with his other hand. He'd done it long enough now that he felt a dull throbbing pain with each tap. That was probably a sign he should stop, but then one of his other nervous twitches would—
"Things aren't looking good for that Tohjo Falls trainer."
Morty's eyes slid over to the seat beside him where Falkner now sat. An hour ago, Kamon had filled that seat. Morty liked sitting next to the Mahogany Gym Leader. He let Morty drive the conversation and otherwise remained silent. It made for a chill battle watching atmosphere, something Morty desperately needed with Luke—
"Even if Lucario knocks out Ludicolo, I don't think he can beat Mudsdale too."
Morty held back a sigh. He held no ill will toward the Violet City Gym Leader. He just found the guy overly serious. Kamon technically could be described that way as well, but there were subtle differences that made the red haired Gym Leader easier to get along with. Kamon at least had an edge to him, something that made him feel a little more unpredictable and interesting. Falkner felt as white-meat to be around as any other stoic do-gooder. Or at least, that's how Morty felt; some of the female Gym Leaders might disagree with him. If the gossip circles, of which Morty actively tried to avoid, were to be believed, the Flying-type specialist had been quite flirty with the single female Gym Leaders in attendance. That included a visiting Gym Leader from the Sinnoh region who he had repeatedly brought into the suite. Apparently his years-long on-again-off-again relationship with Janine was currently in its latter phase.
"He probably didn't use that Lucario against you, did he?"
Shit. He was actually addressing him directly now. "No, he did not," Morty said, trying and failing to stop his constant chin tapping. Of course Luke hadn't used a Fighting-type against him. Any trainer worth their salt knew better. That especially went for Luke, whose love affair with type matchups sometimes bordered on obsession. All four of the Pokémon he'd used were either immune to Ghost-type moves or hit for super effective damage. It was a bit ironic that someone with Luke's openness to explore would stick to such a stringent battling style.
Morty suddenly realized Falkner was still staring at him. Fuck, does he want more? "Uh, I'm guessing he didn't battle your birds with Lucario, either?"
"No, he didn't."
Falkner took a sip from his drink and began typing out a message on his Pokégear.
Morty breathed a quiet sigh and turned his attention back to the battlefield, where Lucario had just scored the knockout against Ludicolo.
C'mon, Luke.
The Tohjo Falls native had bounced back from so many different setbacks, including a crushing sweep at the hands of Morty's Gengar. Lucario may not have been in Luke's party at the time, but a couple months later he had watched on the sidelines as Luke and his teammates secured the victory in their official gym battle. That battle had seen Luke come back from a three-to-two Pokémon deficit, thanks in large part to his Dusclops and Mightyena. But as Morty watched Mudsdale emerge from his trainer's Poké Ball, a sinking feeling set into his gut.
Morty stood up. He needed to move—needed to get out of here.
"Oh, while you're up…" he heard Falkner say from behind him, but Morty was already approaching the door.
"Oh, excuse me." Chris slid around a pair of individuals and stepped back against the wall he had hovered around for these last ten minutes. On the opposite side of the tunnel, above the three concession stands in his view, hung a row of screens displaying Luke's battle.
A part of Chris felt guilty at leaving David back in the trainer's box to cheer on Luke alone. He had told his friend he'd needed to use the bathroom—a believable lie. Or at least, it would have been had he returned somewhat promptly. Truth be told, Chris had wandered this tunnel for several minutes before finally returning to watch the battle here at the entrance to their section.
"Sorry," Chris said, dodging a man doing one hell of a balancing act with his food. Somehow he had wound up away from the wall and back in the path of the tunnel traffic. He quickly backpedaled, nearly bumping into someone else, and posted back up against the wall.
Chris pounded the concrete behind him with a fist as Lucario scored a direct hit with Flash Cannon. Luke's ability to tap into his teammate's special moves meant Mudsdale's Iron Defense wouldn't be the death nail Chris had feared it to be. Still, Lucario was clearly on his last legs and his final opponent was about as bulky as they come. Mudsdale had seen some action and taken some damage earlier in the battle, but it hadn't been much. Kahekili, Luke's opponent, had not stopped his cautious approach, even with this lead. He looked content to keep up this battle of attrition.
Chris's wrist buzzed. A message from his dad. It was probably an observation about Luke's battle. He could have said it to Chris in person, but Chris had decided to sit up in the trainer box with David to rally for their friend. That had Chris feeling guilty all over again. He should get back out there and—
"Either stand still or go somewhere else!" a loud voice from nearby shouted, making Chris jump. It came from a man working a vendor cart along the same wall he was standing beside. Or at least, the wall he had been standing beside. Chris now found himself several feet from it, smack dab in the middle of a quickly forming line leading right to the shouting man's cart. "You can't keep pacing through here!"
Chris popped onto his tiptoes and attempted an apology, but it came out more like a squeak. He dipped his head down and took off at a quick pace toward the entrance to the trainer box. After only a few steps, his feet altered his course, and now he was heading toward the restroom. A bowel movement was on its way, though whether from stress or fear he couldn't say. At least now he hadn't told David a complete lie.
Here he comes.
The opposing trainer had been very hesitant to charge forward with any of their Pokémon. It seemed like each opponent had carried a set up, boosting, or protective move that they always went to first. Mudsdale had played into that trend with Iron Defense and Luke wouldn't be surprised to see another similar non-attacking move in his arsenal. At least they'd been able to surprise Mudsdale with Flash Cannon. They would need free shots like that to complete this comeback. Despite the toughness and will to win, his young Lucario didn't have the strength or stamina to trade blows with Mudsdale.
Even with the barriers between them and distance separating them, Luke could feel the ground shaking as Mudsdale charged. He had heard the creature was large, but standing on level ground with him, the Ground-type dwarfed Luke by nearly two feet, and if the rumbling ground was any indication, most likely a couple thousand pounds.
"Dodge to the right!" Luke shouted.
Lucario waited a couple seconds longer than Luke would have liked to move. As Mudsdale lowered his head to flatten the Fighting/Steel-type, Lucario pounced to the right, just avoiding his opponent's massive, churning legs.
"Now, Flash Cannon!"
Luke wanted to watch his teammate charge up their attack, but Mudsdale's shocking quick pivot yanked his attention away. Thankfully, the Draft Horse Pokémon was slow to accelerate out of his direction change, giving Lucario enough time to prepare and launch the attack.
"High Horsepower!"
As the silver bolt of energy hurdled toward him, Mudsdale once again lowered his head. The energy struck him directly and splashed out in every direction. Luke hoped to see the Ground-type slow down or perhaps falter from the Steel-type move's secondary effect, but he got neither. In fact, it looked like Mudsdale's speed had only continued to increase. He had nearly reached Lucario, who had only just begun to backpedal.
"Jump to the left!"
As Lucario went to plant his feet, he winced and grabbed at the back of his left leg. Luke felt his heart skip a beat. Conditioning, especially on this highest, most stressful level, had been one of the risks in leaning into this power lineup. And Lucario being one of his newer teammates meant even with younger legs, his cardio in high stakes six-on-six battles just hadn't developed.
"Dive!" Luke pleaded.
Lucario's dodge looked more like falling than diving, but he did manage to pull most of his body with him. Unfortunately, the lower half of his legs couldn't follow fast enough. They served zero resistance as Mudsdale's own tree trunk-like legs trampled through. The collision sent the Aura Pokémon spinning like a top, his torso spiking off the ground, then his back, and then his torso again.
"Fuck."
Luke took a step forward and squinted through the translucent energy barrier. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the judge doing the same. That kind of violent collision usually heralded a knockout. And once his body had stopped spinning, Lucario didn't look to immediately move. But as the judge began to raise an arm, Lucario suddenly sat up like he'd stuck his paw into a socket. He went to push off the ground with his arms but couldn't bring himself up right away.
"Heavy Slam!" their opponent shouted.
They can sense it.
For the first time, Kahekili had his Pokémon going on the all out offensive. Without time to recover and create separation, Lucario stood no chance.
Mudsdale pivoted toward his opponent once more, his knees bending lower than Luke thought possible for a horse. With Lucario still so close, there was no need to charge. Instead, the two-thousand-plus pound creature leaped into the air, his stomach damn near clearing twelve feet. Luke's teammate had made it back to a standing position, but there would be no avoiding the next attack. Force Palm wouldn't be strong enough to rebuff what effectively was a vehicle being dropped on them. There was no time to charge Flash Cannon. It had to be…
"Counter!"
Lucario stretched both arms out and had Luke not feared for his teammate's health, he might have laughed. Each of the Aura Pokémon's arms could have been five feet long and he still wouldn't have been able to wrap up the gargantuan horse. Luke's teammate nearly vanished as Mudsdale's legs passed on each side of him and their torsos collided. A high pitched thwap echoed out from the collision, and Luke braced for the thud that would signify his teammate being crushed. Instead, a guttural roar sent chills running down both his arms. Lucario's upper body bent backward, nearly at a ninety degree angle. Somehow, those tired legs leaned into their youth, spreading wide, but holding up. And as his back bent, Mudsdale's upper body swung with him. There was a yelp, then Mudsdale slammed into the ground, folding like an accordion. He bounced from the collision, an incredible feat considering his weight, then rolled several times. As Lucario completed the belly-to-belly suplex, his momentum carried him to the ground.
As the battlefield fell silent, a roar echoed out across the crowd. The announcer tried to match their excitement, but his words were inaudible under the thousands of screaming voices.
Was this a double knockout? If so, what in the hell did that mean for the result? Were there sudden death rules? Luke wished he would have read up more on it. Then he noticed movement on the battlefield.
"C'mon, Mudsdale!"
Mudsdale's body twisted. His legs began churning, then tucked under his torso as he rolled onto his stomach. A couple dozen feet away, Lucario lay motionless.
"Let's go, Lucario!"
The aura Pokémon twitched, but then went still again.
Mudsdale snorted as he kicked up off his back legs. He made it halfway up before dropping back onto his stomach. Almost as if in response, Lucario's upper half slowly swung up into a seated position. He brought both arms over to one side and twisted to push himself off the ground. As he did so, Mudsdale once again pressed himself up off the ground, only this time, his legs held up. Lucario also attempted to push himself up, but the minute his back went straight, he let out a grunt and dropped back to his knees.
"High Horsepower!"
Luke couldn't believe Kahekili was going for an attack. Even if Mudsdale had more strength left, he'd just been thrown skull first into the ground. If his neck hadn't been so thick, the weight of his body crashing down on it might have knocked him out cold. And yet there was the Draft Horse Pokémon, horseshoes clopping down on the dirt as he began a trot. It wasn't long until that slow charge steadily quickened. Even if he only made it to half his normal attacking speed, he'd still flatten Lucario.
"You have to get up!" Luke shouted.
Lucario tried to press off the ground again, but one arm immediately shot to his lower back.
Shit.
Countermeasures. A backup plan. Luke had to think of something. His brain wasn't helping though. It felt like a searing cloud had expanded in his skull. A burning pain had spread to his temples and a fog obscured the strategic decisions he had gone through countless times. Another Counter was out of the question. A Force Palm from that low a position would do nothing to keep Mudsdale from running him over. Whatever his decision, it had to be made now.
"Flash Cannon!"
Lucario lifted his free arm as beads of light began to swirl above his paw. He slowly brought his other arm around from his back to cover and shape the growing ball of energy. It would be close. Damn close. Mudsdale looked to have made it up to whatever top speed he was still capable of. He had already covered over half the distance between the two creatures. Luke glanced back at his teammate and found Flash Cannon still early in its formation.
The Tohjo Falls native became suddenly aware of the noise from the crowd and announcer. With each charging step, their voices seemed to grow louder. It must have felt like watching a train approach a car abandoned on the tracks. But that stationary vehicle was his damn teammate.
Mudsdale was now only a couple seconds away. Even at a slower speed, his steps were sure. His body would not give out.
The swirling energy in Lucario's palms flashed its distinct silver color. The attack was ready. If Luke called for it now, his teammate might still have time to fire.
Luke opened his mouth.
Waz should have been down in the tunnel. He had no doubt missed his pre-battle interview, a fact which normally would have made him happy had he not already pissed off the tournament media multiple times. Even so, he still viewed the trade off as a net positive.
A selfish part of him knew he shouldn't still be focusing on Luke's battle. His next opponent was a more experienced trainer and a spot in the semifinals was on the line. Even if Luke won this battle, there was no guarantee Waz would be there to face him. He'd preached one battle at a time to his friends, his team, and especially himself. It did them no good to worry about future opponents, but this situation was different. This was about cheering on a friend.
Waz didn't know Luke as well as Chris or David, but the Tohjo Falls native inviting him to stay and train at his home had shown what kind of man he was. It was an honor that Waz did not take for granted. And in speaking with him, it had become clear that Luke cared deeply for his team. From what he had gathered, they had been through some major trials during their short journey. And yet here Luke was, battling for a spot in the semifinals. It was the kind of story that made you want to see someone succeed, even more so when you had a connection with them. So here Waz stood, at the top step of the trainer box, his eyes glued on Mudsdale as he charged toward Luke's struggling Lucario. He was about to witness an unavoidable car crash, but he couldn't look away.
As Mudsdale lowered his head to deliver the tackle, Lucario's arms swung forward. The energy between the Aura Pokémon's paws never left them, but instead vanished. In fact, Lucario himself had completely disappeared, the outline of his figure fading within a faint red light.
The crowd noise swirled, a mix of confusion, disappointment, and some cheers. An announcement blared over the noise. The judge brought a flag up, but Waz's gaze had singled in on Luke. The trainer was looking down at his hand, where his teammate's Poké Ball rested.
The next few minutes felt surreal. Waz thought he saw Chris—heard his voice even—but his feet marched him through the belly of the stadium and down into the competitor's tunnel. He didn't remember showing his credentials, but somehow he now stood just outside of the hallway that led to the locker room. He wasn't even sure Luke would still be in there, but he knew he needed to speak to the Tohjo Falls native.
Someone shouted Waz's name and the Sevii Islander gritted his teeth at the sight of an official running over. The man grabbed Waz's arm to lead him to the nearby media stage and it took everything within Waz not to resist. He had barely made it in front of the media backdrop before the questions started coming. Clearly they were trying to make up for lost time. Waz couldn't muster more than a word or two answer for each. Maybe he could have, but his thoughts were completely preoccupied with the battle he'd just watched. He could still feel his body shaking from its finale. Where the fuck was—
"Luke!"
Waz hopped off the stage and headed toward the Tohjo Falls native as he stepped out from the locker room. With his head down, it wasn't clear exactly how Luke was feeling, but Waz was going to clarify that straightaway.
"Luke."
Luke's head shot up, the small smile on his face quickly contorting to a confused grin as he caught sight of Waz.
"Are you ready for your—"
Waz grabbed Luke's arm and brought the trainer into a tight hug.
"Damn," Luke gasped. "That battle already had me breathless. You trying to finish the job?"
Waz released his hold and took a step back as Luke let out a couple of coughs. "You're a good man, Luke," he said.
A wave of emotions seemed to wash over Luke's face. "You think so?" he asked.
"I just fucking witnessed it."
Luke gave a slow nod and adjusted the strap of his satchel. "I wish I could have provided more evidence in a battle with you."
"There's no need. You gave me undeniable proof there at the end."
"Hey, Luke!" a voice from behind Waz shouted. He looked back and was surprised to see the Ecruteak Gym Leader walking towards them. The tall, slender blond stopped in front of Luke and gave him a nod. "Well done."
Waz took a step back and made for the locker room. He'd said his piece and now he could feel that familiar prickling sensation around his neck. His battle would be starting any minute.
"Waz!" The Sevii Islander turned and found Luke grinning at him. "Go wreck his shit."
Watching Luke's battle had Waz ready to take care of business. But now?
We're going to steamroll this bastard.
The sunshine came and went as swaths of clouds periodically passed over, casting wide shadows across the rolling hills. A few of the fast moving clouds spat out some rain, but only enough to leave a light coating on the grass and dirt paths.
Kayla avoided sun and rain alike beneath a line of sycamore trees. She'd spread out a blanket under the thickest of the trees so she could rest her back against its wide trunk. Unfortunately, nothing aside from air conditioning could have protected her from the high humidity that made it difficult to breathe every time the sun came out. She was reminded each time she tried to adjust herself and felt her shirt stuck tightly to her back.
Then again, it could just be old sweat.
Even if she was down to only a couple outfits, she'd still found doing laundry particularly difficult while on the run. Washing things in streams or rivers had been next to useless without any kind of detergent or cleaner. During her most recent trip to the Violet City Pokémon Center, she'd managed to sneak back into the custodial area and grab a bottle of half used detergent. Clearly, it was past time to put it to use.
At least I've been able to use that Pokémon Center.
Truth be told, she might have been forced to give up on her quest without Violet City's center. There had been a bed open every night for her to sleep in. She had been able to heal her team daily there. The nurses working the counter had never even questioned her constant appearances or asked her to stop taking all the pastries and snacks left out for visitors. Without those bland fucking bagels she might well have starved to death.
"'Chu!"
Kayla held a finger up to her lips as the Mouse Pokémon came scrambling through the undergrowth. "What is it?" she hissed.
Raichu pointed back toward the route. Kayla nodded and motioned for Raichu to lead her. When they had reached the tree line, Kayla whispered for her teammate to hang back. The blonde trainer poked her head out, looking left then right. The route around her looked unoccupied, as had been the case for most of their time here, but she needed further confirmation.
She twisted to look up, but had to squint as the sun came bursting back out from behind a cloud. It was difficult to spot him at first, but she eventually caught sight of the branch her Noctowl rested on. She brought her pinkies up to each corner of her mouth and gave a short whistle. The Owl Pokémon never flinched, a testament to the insane calm her teammate lived in. It had served him well in battle, but had been an even bigger blessing in some of the more stressful moments of their search. He looked down at her, then extended both wings out in front of him—a sign she was safe to cross.
Kayla took a deep breath, then stepped out onto the dirt path. As she crossed, she tried to appear calm, leisurely even, but her sweat soaked shirt made it difficult. The material had stuck to her back again once she'd stood up, pulling her shoulders back. It had her marching like she was a damn park ranger.
Just get to the other side, she told herself.
Medicham was at her side the moment she made it across. He pointed into the woods behind him. "Cham."
Kayla nodded and picked her pace up to a light jog. As she passed deeper into the cover, her speed increased. By the time she reached the wall of rock near the back of the woods she'd made it to a full sprint. Her feet found the grooves in the rock and she grabbed onto the now familiar handholds. She'd done this enough times now to where her focus wasn't so much on safety, but more on trying to beat previous climbing times. A part of her knew it wasn't a good idea to expend so much energy. She barely ate these days, and what money she did get from selling off her belongings went straight to purchasing food for her team. But vengeance and justice were exhausting motivators on their own. She needed some kind of levity in between.
The massive mound of earth began to level off as she neared the top. Her shoulders bumped against several of the tree branches that jutted out to scrape the rocks. She shimmied up to where she could see the rounded top of the earthen wall and turned to look over her shoulder. Just a few feet up, her Butterfree rested on one of the shorter branches.
"'Free!"
Kayla found herself bringing a finger up to her lip again, but this time it touched a smile.
This has to be something.
Butterfree swung one wing out to point beyond the rock. Kayla nodded and turned back to finish her climb. Even after reaching the top, she hugged the rock beneath her. She scooted up to the small, natural spire at the top of the formation and peered around it. A wave of cool air blasted her face and washed over her exposed arms and legs.
Arceus, that feels amazing.
She took an extra second to breathe in the salty air and tugged at the back of her shirt to let the sea breeze in. A Hoenn native, the smell and feel of the ocean brought her comfort. Looking down at the long coastline below, she wished she could have set their camp closer to it. Even if the beautiful harbor remained out of sight, the cool and refreshing air would have helped tremendously with the heat they had to suffer through further inland. But as she looked down the beach, her eyes found the pier and she was reminded again of why they had set up on the north side of the route.
Of the three days, this was by far the fullest the pier had looked. Two boats were docked on opposite ends of the unofficial port, with a third about to land at its center. The vessels weren't anything remarkable or outright suspicious—a couple yachts and a small supply ship—and Kayla wasn't exactly sure what she should be looking for, but that's why she had her team. In particular, her Medicham, as he had been throughout most of their hunt, would be their corruption compass. She shimmied back to the edge of the rock face she'd climbed and waved. A pink blur shot up the stone wall and stopped just above her.
"Use Mind Reader to see if you can get a feel for the situation."
Medicham poked his head around the spire, but quickly turned back and brought his arms up. "'Cham?"
"We'll just have to check all three."
Medicham let out a sigh, but nodded. He looked back out at the boats, dropping into a squat and cupping his hands around his forehead. His head slowly turned as he scanned the pier below. After only a few seconds, Kayla found herself creeping back up to the top of the hill. With so many people and at such a far distance, this process could take a while. She at least wanted to observe the subjects at hand while Medicham worked. And feel that wonderful ocean breeze again.
As she looked on, she caught sight of a procession filing up from the south end of the route. The loose line of individuals fanned out as they reached the pier, an even number heading towards each ship. Kayla squinted back toward the way they'd come. Somewhere not far out of view resided the Pokémon Center near Union Cave. She once again found herself wishing they could have set up by it. The convenience of having the harbor and a Pokémon Center at hand would have worked infinitely better than their tiresome daily backtracks to Violet City. The logistics of a good stakeout—an undertaking she admittedly still had limited experience with—went beyond convenience though. If evil was gathering down there, and she wholeheartedly believed it was, she couldn't afford to be seen, especially repeatedly. That unfortunately had meant not being able to have Swampert patrol or survey down by the water's edge. Such an uncommon Pokémon loitering nearby would also undoubtedly draw suspicion.
Hell, we've had to hide from everyone.
After taking off, the Johto Professor undoubtedly had people out looking for her. That meant anyone in any position of authority could potentially ID her and put an end to her mission. That made even the nurses in the Pokémon Center credible threats, especially with her frequent visits there. She'd used a fake name for her check ins each night and the nurse had yet to push her for proof. But with Violet City's close proximity to New Bark Town, she knew she was playing with fire.
Kayla watched as the groups arrived at the water's edge and began helping the ships' crews unload boxes. It looked like support beams and other large construction equipment were also among the cargo load. Some of the workers called on their bulky Pokémon to handle the heavier items.
"Med'."
Kayla's head whipped around, but quickly sank at the sight of her teammate's face. The normally stoic creature's mouth had dipped to one side. He slowly shook his head.
"Shit."
Kayla spun around and fell onto her back. She let the back of her head rest on the rock. A large wave of white clouds filled her vision. They seemed to be moving even quicker than before.
They wouldn't have to wait too much longer.
Just a few more days.
Then they'd march down there and get some answers.
This was one of the few chapters that I went back and forth on for months. The outcome of Luke's battle and the ramifications of it circled through my mind every time I thought about writing it. In the end, I'm happy with where everything landed and I'm excited for you all to see what may come out of this. But the result of Luke's battle may extend beyond just him. How will Chris handle his friend's defeat? Will an inspired Waz be able to follow through and punch his ticket to the semifinals? And what about those individuals who, like Kayla, are facing challenges away from the battlefield?
I'm already close to halfway through Chapter 74, so I'm hoping you guys won't have to wait long!
Please drop a review and follow/favorite if you are enjoying. I'll see you in the next installment. Take care!
