Note- Welcome back to Heart and Soul! For those in the holiday season like myself, I hope you're having a good one! I don't particularly enjoy the shorter, colder days, but my gosh, is it great motivation to curl up by a fire and do some writing! I also got to fulfil a lifelong dream and travel to New Zealand for two weeks! All the beauty there has me beyond motivated to go back, but first... Chapter 76!
Today sees things ramping back up as the semifinals continue. The crowd, including several prominent viewers, watch as Waz and Kahekili continue their arduous battle. Chris also looks on, but how is he feeling with his own battle just around the corner? Our chapter today though starts off away from the action in the arena. But love, you see, is also a battlefield.
Please consider dropping a review and follow/favorite for notifications about future chapters! Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 76
"He's here. Sarah, he's here!"
Footsteps echoed up and down the short hallway that connected the bathroom to the bedroom. The distant hum of the bathroom fan clicked off. Then back came the footsteps.
Sarah laid in the queen sized bed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. She felt melded to the mattress. It really was a damn comfy bed. If she ended up back at her dad's house, she needed to cherish this. Her old room's mattress felt like it had been pulled straight from the floor of one of Oreburgh's mines.
"Can you get the door when he knocks?"
More than the comfort she felt, why the hell should she get up? Where did she have to be? What exactly was pulling her to get moving? There had been calls. Some promotional opportunities. A doll to sell products. A message inviting her to take on the Sinnoh Gym Challenge. Snowpoint City will fucking melt before I entertain Candice with a Gym Battle. Professor Rowan had sent her a congratulatory message with an offer to work with his lab in some kind of project. Of those three Sinnoh opportunities, that one sounded the most tolerable, but its vagueness made her uneasy.
"Are you even listening?"
Sarah let out a long sigh. She lifted her head just enough to make eye contact with her sister. If Sarah had been in a better mood, she might have laughed. Candice had undone her pigtails and looked to be halfway through straightening her hair and doing her makeup. Her curly ends had clearly been fighting back against the iron, creating a wild mismash of frizzy hair that didn't quite fit either category. Combined with the half blushed, uncharacteristic scowl on her sister's face, one could have easily mistaken the iconic Gym Leader for a furious clown.
"Yes?" Sarah asked.
"Girl, get it together," Candice said, pointing the flatiron at her.
"It looks like you're the one struggling to get ready."
Candice shook her head. "It would have really helped to have you for the whole process. We could have gotten my hair untangled and straightened twice as fast."
"I kind of like what you've got going now. You're already switching up your look. Might as well really keep him on his toes."
"Ugh," Candice groaned. She ran the iron back through her hair and turned away. "Please just get the door when you hear him knock. He said he's on his way up."
Sarah shimmied up the bed into a seated position. She glanced at her torso and legs to make sure they were clothed. The pajamas she wore weren't exactly high fashion, but they had served as a cozy blanket for the past few hours.
Sarah frowned. No, she had put these on when they'd gotten to the hotel the previous afternoon. One look at her Pokétch showed it was nearly noon.
Time really flies when you're aimless.
She shuffled over to her miniature suitcase, but upon inspection, her options seemed limited. Candice had taken a bunch of their clothes down to the complimentary washroom, which was far too great a distance for her to want to go now. It looked like her choices were a non-matching t-shirt and shorts combo, staying in her PJ's... and that was it.
"Whatever."
Sarah slid out of the night-turned-all-day wear, put on some underwear, and then threw on the pink shirt and blue shorts. A swipe under each arm with her deodorant stick completed the transformation. And as if she'd passed some checkpoint, there came a knock at the door.
"Sarah—"
"Yeah, I got it."
"Make sure you open the blinds too. We don't want him to think we're really a bunch of Golbats!"
"Maybe he'd find that sexy."
"Sarah," Candice's long sigh made it through the closed door.
"The guy does love Flying-types."
"Hush."
Another, more loud knock echoed out as Sarah reached the door. She rolled her eyes and thought about making him wait even longer, but then she'd have to hear more of her sister's annoying whining. Taking a deep breath, she undid the lock and pulled open the door.
"Hey—oh… hi."
"Welcome to our abode," Sarah said in as monotone a voice as she could muster. "I will be your third wheel for the day."
Falkner's face went crimson. "Oh, come on. It's nothing like that."
"Right. You're just in the neighborhood and wanted to say 'hey'."
"Exactly."
Sarah turned and waved him in.
"Is something burning?" Falkner asked.
"Perceptive." Sarah muttered under her breath. Aloud she said, "Hair stuff."
The smell of the flat iron had been ubiquitous the entire morning. Having such long, straight hair, it was surprising Falkner didn't recognize the scent. Perhaps the Gym Leader had been blessed with naturally straight hair.
Thankfully the room came with a desk that had a chair tucked under it. Sarah motioned to it with one hand and drew back the curtains with the other. She plopped onto the bed as Falkner sat down and it took everything in her not to fall back and resume her ceiling watching.
"Caught some of your battles." Arceus bless him. He either couldn't read people or he was hell bent on making this work. "You guys looked good."
"Not good enough."
"It's tough to win something like that." Falkner let out something between a chuckle and a sigh. "I mean, only one person can."
"Hmph."
"You know, I didn't win the region championship either," Falkner continued. "Didn't even make it to the final battle."
"Really?"
"Yep. I got beat in the semifinals by somebody who hasn't had nearly the kind of career I've been fortunate to have."
Sarah had to close her eyes to keep from rolling them. Your father gave you his Gym, she wanted to scream. Instead, she nodded and let a yawn pour from her open mouth.
"So, yeah. Don't lose hope in thinking you'll never get where you want to go."
Sarah nodded again and Falkner finally went quiet. He looked to his left, then right, and then back toward the commotion Candice was making in the bathroom. Sarah took a moment to size up the Gym Leader.
Tall, conventionally attractive. A man of status, with an enviable position. And as milktoast as they come. No wonder Candice likes him.
"Well, uh, any ideas on the next step of your journey?"
"To get away from here."
"Ah."
Another stretch of silence. Sarah could see color rushing to the man's face and she found herself with her first real smile in days.
"You know," she said, tilting her head to one side. "You've been asking me a lot of questions. But I feel like I should be the one doing the interrogating."
Falkner showed a nervous smile. "What do you mean?"
"Well, clearly you and my sister have been hitting things off."
"We've just—"
"Just been hanging out," Sarah completed, nodding her head slowly. "I'm not accusing you of anything."
"You did use the word 'interrogation' a moment ago."
Sarah brought a finger up to her chin. "I suppose I did. How about instead we call this a friendly introduction?"
"So what would you like to know?"
"What are your intentions with my sister?"
Falkner grinned, but Sarah kept her face a stone. The Gym Leader soon joined her. "Well, I plan on spending time with her. I think we've developed a mutual interest that we'd like to explore further."
"Okay," Sarah said, pausing as if she was really thinking about what he'd said. "So you guys met at the Silver Conference, hit it off, and now you're wanting to pursue this relationship?"
"I mean, I don't know about calling it a relationship."
"Oh, so you don't have a relationship with her?"
"We do, but, I mean, if you're talking about in the romantic sense, I don't think this has progressed to that."
"Do you want it to?"
Falkner shrugged. "If that's where it goes, uh, I'm good with it."
"You're 'good with it'?" Sarah asked, her fingers making air quotes. "Doesn't exactly inspire passion, does it?"
"I'm just being honest," Falkner said. His voice carried an intensity that made Sarah sit back. "I appreciate you being a caring sister. It's commendable, truly. But your sister is a grown woman."
"Grown?" Sarah repeated with a chuckle mixed in. "Candice is a teenage girl trapped in a woman's body."
"Look, I'm not going to pretend I know Candice better than her own sister. But to hear her talk about it, it sounds like you guys have not been super close over the years."
"That's none of your business."
"I'm not trying to make it my business. Your sister said that herself." Falkner's shoulders pulled back. It was a small thing, but suddenly Sarah felt as if he had gained full command of the room. "And if you're going to try and talk about your sister in a way that disparages her and implicates me in taking advantage of her, I believe I have the right to respond."
The mirror behind Falkner revealed Sarah's frustrated, contorting face. This fucking prick. How dare this self-righteous asshole come in here and pretend to suddenly care about some girl he just met? Like he was some kind of fairy tail prince who deserved immediate acceptance and love. She wanted to scream this man right out of the room, even if it pissed off Candice. It would make her feel better, if nothing else.
As she went to open her mouth, the click of the bathroom door reached her ears. A moment later, steam poured down the hall. It fogged up the windows and obscured her reflection in the mirror. Sarah flinched as a high pitched beep rang out overhead.
"Oh, somebody open the window!" came Candice's panicked voice.
Sarah let out a sigh and swung up to her feet. She found the latch and fiddled with it until it gave way, then she pushed the window open as far as it would go. Over the repeated beeping of the fire alarm, she heard a noise that sounded like the opening of a Poké Ball.
Before Sarah could turn around, something heavy struck the back of her head. No stars came, but she had to fight off a spell of dizziness. Whatever had hit her, it felt like it was now being pressed against her skull. She found her footing and just managed to keep her face from smacking the side of the window. Shuffling sideways, she found the night stand and then fell back onto the bed.
The steam had completely vanished from the room. Even the mirrors looked spotless. The fire alarm had stopped its screaming, and the only noise now came from the soft whistle of the breeze passing through the window. Falkner and Candice stood in the room's center, but a massive Pidgeot had now joined them.
"Wow!" Candice clapped her hands together. "How did you do that?"
His damn bird did all the work.
"Tailwind has its uses," Falkner said with a shrug. "And without Sarah opening that window," he continued, "it wouldn't have happened at all."
Candice turned that sickeningly sweet smile toward her. It didn't seem to reach her eyes though as she probably noticed for the first time how little effort Sarah had put into her outfit. "Thanks Sas!"
"Hm."
Candice motioned for Falkner to take a seat back at the desk. She then joined Sarah on the bed, mercifully choosing to not try and snuggle up too close. "So, did you two have a nice introductory chat?" she asked.
Sarah met Falkner's gaze and they held each other's stare. Falkner was, unsurprisingly, the one to break the silence.
"I think it was pretty enlightening," he said, a small grin appearing above that clean shaven, sharp lined jaw. "Your sister is very passionate about your well being."
Sarah could feel Candice's eyes on her, but she kept her own on the Violet City Gym Leader. "Oh really?" Candice asked.
"Oh yeah," Sarah said. "I just want the best for my big sister."
It sounded like Candice had to hold back a snort, but she thankfully didn't press Sarah anymore on it. When she spoke again, the mirror's reflection showed she was back to smiling at Falkner. "I really appreciate you coming all the way out here. I know this isn't exactly on your way back home."
"Nowhere is too far away when you've got this guy as a friend," Falkner said, his hand running over Pidgeot's long crest. The enormous creature plucked at a tuft of feathers just below his right wing. With its appendage slightly bent, Sarah could clearly make out the powerful muscles stretching from the creature's neck to the tips of his wing. This was a well trained and mature Pokémon. The Pidgeot her team had defeated to earn her sixth Gym Badge had barely been half this size.
Shit. Her team. They'd yet to have their first official meeting since the loss. Not that she wouldn't get to it. At this point, maybe she could use it as an excuse to get away from Mr. High Road.
"Do you guys fly over to Kanto very often?" Candice asked.
"Oh yeah. I go to the Celadon Department Store a ton." Falkner's eyes went wide and he brought a fist up to his lips. He cleared his throat. "Well, not as much these days."
"Is it because of all the sketchy stuff that's been going on?"
"Nah, just been busy."
"But there has been some weirdness in Johto, right?"
Falkner took a long breath. "Yeah. Weird is probably a good word for it. We had a bit of a scare around ten years ago, but I haven't seen anything quite like this."
"A lot of crime?"
Something about Candice's voice made Sarah turn toward her. There was an intensity on her sister's face that surprised her. Team Galactic had caused havoc across Sinnoh only months after Candice had become Snowpoint's Gym Leader. Sarah had been too young to really understand anything about the criminal organization or the damage they had caused. She'd never asked Candice about it, particularly what they had done just outside Snowpoint at Lake Acuity.
"Violent crime," Falkner answered. "And just some strange events."
"Like what?" Sarah heard herself asked.
"Well," Falkner cleared his throat, "we've had these intense storms hit our region this spring. I'm talking wind and lightning like you've never seen. It's killed people. And they've just… popped up out of nowhere. Then there are these three roaming legends that normally keep to the shadows. You may have something like them in your region. But they've started appearing a lot more and with real aggression, like they're being provoked."
"Wow," Candice said, shaking her head. "Is it okay then for you to be here? I mean, will your city be okay?"
Sarah had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes. If this guy was all it took to fend off something, then this threat was way overblown.
"Oh for sure. Johto's security council actually just brought in some major muscle to my sector. They said they wouldn't need me for a few days."
Candice nodded, but that worried look didn't quite leave her face. Falkner must have noticed as well, as he threw on a smile and quickly added, "Johto is a peaceful region. I have full confidence this will just turn out to be a blip."
"With good people like you watching over it, I can believe that."
Falkner stood up and rubbed the back of his head. "How about we get outside and grab some lunch?"
"Some sunshine would definitely help lift the mood after all this scary talk!" Candice turned to Sarah with a smile that bordered on threatening. Sarah already knew what to say before Candice even asked the question. "Would you like to join us?"
"As nice as it sounds, I'm not really hungry. Think I'll chill here and catch up with my team."
"Alright," Candice said, her head nodding in not-so-subtle approval. "We'll see you a bit later then."
"Yep."
As they made for the door, Falkner turned his head toward Sarah as if he might say something, but instead just gave her a quick wave. A moment later she was alone.
Sarah's eyes drifted up to the ceiling, then back down toward her bag on the floor. She took a deep breath.
It was time to be a woman of her word.
Waz had always found Pokémon battles to be the most intense, enthralling events on the planet. He never cared much for playing sports outside of his brief time in wrestling, and even those competitions had never carried the complexities that came from a full six-on-six Pokémon battle. But dammit, this semifinal battle had felt like attempting a million piece puzzle with his hands glued together.
Substitutes to absorb damage and create opportunities for advantageous switching. Defense Curl and Iron Defense turning multiple members of Kahekili's team into unbreakable walls. Ludicolo's Leech Seed prolonging the life of that tap dancing fucker. Waz had been slowed down at every turn.
He'd watched enough of the Alolan trainer's battles to know this was coming. He'd even tried to balance out his party to keep from over relying on physical attackers. But cautious feet only got you so far in a bog. At a certain point, Waz knew he had to focus on his own strategy. It had taken beyond long enough—Arceus knew they had to be approaching an hour of battle time—but the tide finally seemed to be turning.
"Hydro Pump!"
Shrugging off the flare up from his burn, Blastoise unloaded a pair of concentrated blasts from his cannons. Wigglytuff danced her way around the first, but the second exploded against her shoulder.
Gotcha, you fucker.
The Balloon Pokémon did a full spin, her eyes wide as she fought to stay upright. Waz called for another Hydro Pump, but before the attack had even left his starter's cannons, a glowing red light had overtaken Wigglytuff.
Oh no you don't.
He finally had the Alolan native on the backfoot. He wouldn't cede any of this hard-fought momentum. The concentrated water missiles had only just cleared Blastoise's cannons before Waz had him back in his capture device. Swellow took to the air just a fraction of a second after the opposing Mantine had done the same. Waz hadn't seen much of the Water/Flying-type. Kahekili had only used it in one other battle—a contest he had handily won. From what he'd seen, Mantine served as the closest thing to a straightforward attacker outside of Kahekili's own starter. He took both shots from Hydro Pump—one in each wing—and barely winced.
Waz grinned. No substitute shenanigans. Minimal disruption moves, aside from a couple potential secondary effects. He had stepped into Waz's territory.
Swellow immediately made his speed advantage known, closing the gap between the two creatures while also avoiding a Bubble Beam attack. Double Team helped them cover the remaining distance, with Mantine's Rain Dance doing nothing to slow Swellow down. If anything, the downpour made Waz feel better about the plume of fire that lanced up from the Flame Orb attached to the real Swellow. Some soothing water to offset the chip damage the item would cause him. Either way, the residual damage would be worth it now that Swellow was in striking distance.
"Facade!"
The power behind the attack easily overcame the size difference between the two creatures. Swellow's full body tackle sent Mantine whipping backwards like curtains encountering a tornado. Waz immediately called for the same attack.
"Bounce!"
Swellow surged toward his backward falling opponent, but Mantine proved more resilient than he'd expected. With a flap of his fins, he swam up through the air as though it were water, with Swellow zipping just beneath him. Before Waz could call for a counter, the Kite Pokémon shot back down like someone had dropped an anvil on him. The wide creature's body slammed onto Waz's teammate and drove him toward the ground.
"Use Aerial Ace to escape!"
Swellow twisted around and drove his glowing wings repeatedly into Mantine's belly, creating just enough separation to allow for him to swing free.
"Psybeam!"
Mantine spun a full one hundred and eighty degrees before Swellow had even made it a dozen feet. The multicolored beam caught him square in the back of his head and nearly whipped the Flame Orb's strap off his neck.
Waz turned his frown toward the storm clouds. Did Mantine have the Swift Swim ability? He had to have; the Mantine species was not known for their speed. A high pitched squawk brought his attention back to the battlefield. Swellow had landed near the battlefield's center and now staggered slowly toward Waz's trainer box. The Sevii Islander's frown hardened. Despite purposely choosing fewer physical attackers for this battle, Swellow had been a priority add for an entirely different reason. Swellow's use of the Flame Orb would serve as a pivotal counter to any of the other status conditions Kahekili might try to slow them down with. But unfortunately, confusion was the one condition that could affect any creature, regardless of their current status.
Waz quickly returned Swellow to his Poké Ball, but paused before bringing out another. He made himself take a deep breath. Even if it allowed his opponent to set up for his next choice, Waz needed to center himself. Both trainers were down to three teammates, but this wasn't an ordinary three-on-three battle. Blastoise may have been a tank with minimal damage from an earlier encounter, but neither of those traits were true of Gengar and Swellow. All three of Kahekili's teammates had bulk in spades of course, but they had all taken real damage. And of the three, Decidueye would prove more frail than Wigglytuff and Mantine.
One at a time.
Waz pulled a Poké Ball from his jacket. "You're up!"
It was amazing what effects labels had on people's perceptions.
Kamon glanced around the jam packed suite. He hadn't seen it this full since the first day of the finals. The last couple rounds had seen only a few leaders show up. Not that Kamon was complaining. Those had been the days he'd enjoyed the most. They had allowed him to relax and focus on the battles. He hadn't even minded the occasional interruption from Morty—one of the few Gym Leaders not in attendance today—though the frequent inclusion of Blue had soured several of those encounters. But now the tournament had reached the semi finals, and that label alone brought with it a prestige and importance that clearly no one wanted to miss out on.
Despite the crowd, thankfully no one had attempted to bridge the two seat gap separating him from the filled up room. That at least allowed him to focus on the battle below, though it hadn't exactly been the most thrilling. Not that he was surprised, considering one of the trainers was Kahekili. The Alolan native's gym battle with Kamon had come very early in the League season—just at the beginning of summer in fact. He could vividly remember the trainer mentioning his distaste for the cold and his strategy to hit all of Johto's coldest locations during the warmest months. It had made Kamon wonder why the Alolan native hadn't just gone to the Hoenn region instead.
Kahekili may have said he hated the cold, but he had battled at a pace so glacial Kamon had worried his own Ice-types might get frostbite. Still, the trainer had clearly been on to something with his battle style. He had finished top sixteen in his Kanto League journey the previous year and had defeated Kamon on his first challenge. Now he stood just two victories away from a region championship. There had to be extra motivation with this being his team's final chance to compete for a region—
"I'll be damned!"
Kamon jolted up in his seat. He felt a mix of annoyance, horror, and—strangely—joy, as he turned toward that familiar voice and took in the speaker's all-too-familiar face. He gathered himself and managed a slow nod. "Ethan."
It had been years since he'd seen the former champion. He had given up wearing his trademark hat and his oversized outfit had Kamon worried he might be challenged to a breakdance battle. His dark hair had grown longer and messier. Those wild bangs, even parted to the side, obscured most of his forehead. He looked to have put on some weight as well, though it might have just been his oversized, gaudy outfit. One thing that hadn't changed was his shit eating grin. That's still the biggest fucking smile on the planet.
Ethan threw his arms up. "What in the hell are you doing up here?"
"Just taking in some of the battles," Kamon said. "And yourself?"
"Just sweeping back through our old stomping grounds," he said, plopping down in the chair beside Kamon. That grin looked even bigger now that he was barely a foot away. Too big, in fact. Like there was a painfully annoying question lurking behind it. "The Gym Leader life still treating you well?"
Kamon shrugged. "It's fine. Pays well enough. Gives me the perfect excuse to continue training and battling."
"Good to hear. Do you see yourself sticking with it for the long term?"
"Are you looking to take my place?"
Ethan swatted the idea away with a hand. "Nah, no way. I enjoy traveling too much." He used his other arm to throw an elbow at Kamon's ribs. The Gym Leader dropped his own down and blocked it. "I know back in the day no one could keep you in one place. You've gotta be feeling that travel itch."
For fucks sake, he hated when Ethan danced around something. Turning twenty had zapped none of the trainer's childlike coyness when it came to asking for things. Kamon leveled the legendary trainer with the most annoyed stare he could muster. "Get to your real question, Ethan."
The New Bark Town native puffed out his cheeks. "No room for small talk," he muttered, before slowly straightening himself up. "Fine. To the point, then." He cleared his throat. "I thought it would be cool to make a circuit around Johto. It's been years since I've explored it."
"Sounds nice."
"I'm happy you think so," Ethan said, licking his lips. "What would you say to traveling with me?"
"I would say 'thanks, but no thanks.'"
That finally snatched any hint of a grin from Ethan's face. "Why?"
"Because I have a gym to run."
Ethan snorted. "Do you know how many gym leaders go on sabbatical? Every region I've been to I run across at least a couple cities where the Gym Leader is gone for the month."
"Would this just be a month?"
"Well, no, probably not."
"Then I must, again, decline."
"Come on, Silver!"
Kamon fought the urge to harden his stare. He could look past the name slip up, but he'd forgotten the man's stubbornness was on par with his battling ability. Maybe it was the flashing memory of Ethan helping him get his Gym Leader role or maybe because they hadn't seen each other in ages, but Kamon actually felt his expression soften when he went to speak. "Ethan, it does sound nice. It really does. But I have a responsibility to the league and I don't have the experience or status to just go MIA."
"Look who you're talking to. I can absolutely get somebody to cover for you."
"You think you still have that kind of pull?"
Ethan tilted his head to one side. "Well, me and Lance aren't exactly close these days, but Karen has always had a soft spot for me. And I'm sure you already have an assistant helping you run and maintain the facilities. I really think we can make this work."
Kamon just slowly shook his head. "Why do you want me to go with you?"
Ethan turned to face the battlefield, but not before Kamon caught his pained expression. "We're friends. It's always good traveling with friends."
Kamon sat back in his chair. It had been years since they'd seen one another, months since they'd spoken… but they were friends. That was a fact that still managed to surprise him. After everything: his thievery, his threats, his abuse, and his less-than-moral background, after all of it, they had become friends. Battles against one another, from Cherrygrove to the base of the Indigo Plateau. Battling side by side, from fending off Team Rocket in Goldenrod to double battling two dragon masters in the heart of the Dragon's Den.
"There's another reason too."
Kamon looked back at Ethan, but the trainer still had his eyes fixed ahead. Kamon followed his stare and saw that the battle was nearing its end. Above, the scoreboard showed the competing trainers each had just two Pokémon remaining. Below, a Gengar drifted just out of range of the opposing Wigglytuff's Dazzling Gleam.
"I've heard about some of the bad stuff that's been happening around Johto. It's just now reached my ears though, so I'm sure I'm well behind in what I know and how to respond."
"You're wanting to check on things around the region?"
"Something like that, yeah."
Kamon nodded. "You're strong and you care about this region. You'd be a good man for the job."
Ethan turned to look at him and Kamon met his gaze. The New Bark Town native had a small smile in place of his usual gargantuan grin. "I could really use someone with even more knowledge. Someone who also has strength and cares about Johto."
"I doubt I know much more than you. I've stayed in Mahogany for basically the whole year."
"You guys still do those monthly Gym Leader conference calls, don't you?"
"We do."
"And I know Gym Leaders talk. You guys are just full of gossip. I bet some of the others have passed on some good info."
"I haven't quite ingratiated myself with most of them yet."
Ethan gave him a knowing look, his smile twisting into a scowl. "Have any of them disre—"
"No, Ethan. There's no bad blood. I'm just not much of a gossiper. It's kept me out of a lot of discussions, some of which I'm sure addressed real issues. I've talked to Morty. He's passed along some stuff to me. And Blue has said some things as well."
"You and Blue been chatting?"
Kamon opened his mouth, then closed it at the sight of Ethan's hopeful smile. He pried it back open just wide enough to let out a quick, "Yeah."
"That's good to hear," Ethan said, nodding. "Really good."
Blue annoyed the hell out of him. Born into a great situation but still cocky and ungrateful. A combination built to rub Kamon the wrong way. Morty had been adamant about Blue having changed for the better as the years passed, mellowing out and expanding his circle of friends. If that were the case, Kamon had yet to see it. And if it really was true, he was glad he hadn't met the legendary trainer when they were younger.
I would have strangled that bastard.
The frustrating cherry on top was that he understood Blue's skeptical attitude toward him. The former champion was not alone in his hesitancy to accept Kamon either. He most likely was in the majority, especially among Gym Leaders. Several of Johto's leaders had experienced his worst behavior directly, and more still had been forced into damage control after. He didn't blame any of them for keeping him at arm's length, whether it be in person or on their monthly calls. But it didn't change the fact that Kamon wanted to be of some use. He just wanted to help. If they weren't going to ever extend that opportunity, perhaps Ethan's offer…
"You don't have to let me know now," Ethan said, standing up and stretching. "I'm gonna be sticking around the tournament grounds till the Finals are through. You still have my number?"
"I thought about deleting it a couple months ago when you didn't wish me a happy birthday, but I think I talked myself out of it."
"Oh, man. I'm sorry about—"
"You know I don't give a shit about stuff like that." It was Kamon's turn to flash a smirk. "Or has it really been long enough for you to forget?"
Ethan brought back that wide grin. He turned to go, but jabbed a finger back at Kamon. "Consider my offer."
"Is that a threat?"
"If it helps convince you." Ethan turned away and made for the door. He threw playful taunts and jabs at a few of the Gym Leaders as he passed. Still Gold.
This was the last thing Chris's nerves needed.
Waz's battle was nearing its end but the outcome was still very much in question. Chris had been curious to see how his friend would handle Kahekili's glacial battle pace. He'd considered watching it with the other guys, but he'd bailed before even reaching the trainer box. And so he'd paced back and forth inside the stadium's belly for the past hour, his eyes darting between the numerous displays hanging from the ceiling. He wanted Waz to win, but selfishly, he just wanted the battle to be over. Powerlessly rooting on his friend was already emotionally exhausting, but then there was the stress he felt about his own battle. The longer this contest went on, the worse both of those feelings got.
"That's a good switch." Chris had almost forgotten about his dad being there. He had joined Chris about halfway through the battle, but had stayed uncharacteristically quiet. That was fine with Chris though. With everything going on he didn't have the mental bandwidth to carry on a conversation.
His father was right about Waz's switch. Blastoise came in at the perfect time, shrugging off Decidueye's U-turn and setting himself up to punish Kahekili's incoming Wigglytuff. The Shellfish Pokémon leveled his cannons at the incoming Poké Ball.
"Blast her with Flash Cannon," Chris mumbled.
Wigglytuff materialized onto the battlefield's center. She had only just lifted her head when a shimmering, silver beam slammed into her pale stomach, folding her over before the attack had even finished.
"Let's go!" Chris shouted. He turned to his dad and the two fist bumped.
"Waz is going to win this freaking thing," Ben said.
"He is. So now I better get ready to do the same." Chris leaned over and wrapped his dad in a hug. "I'm going to head to the locker room. Thanks again for being here, dad."
"You know it." Ben squeezed his shoulder and gave his back an extra pat. "I'm proud to be here with you. Now you go give it your best shot."
Chris found it hard to pull away, but with an extra effort, he slowly stepped back. "I will," he croaked. He dug into his tan jacket and handed his ID card to his dad. "Go watch this battle up in the trainer box. It'll be more fun hanging with David, Luke, and those boys."
"I'll rally the cheerleaders," his dad said with a wink. "We'll be loud enough for you to hear down there. You can book it."
Chris nodded and managed a small smile. "Thanks again, dad." He took a deep breath, gave a parting wave, and then made the short trek over to the check in station.
"Chris Aedan?" the man asked, taking his Pokédex and looking him up and down.
"Yes sir."
The man handed back the device and gave him a nod. "You're all good."
Chris went to walk past, but something made him stop. "Has Prinny checked in yet?" he asked.
The man snorted. "Long time ago." Chris turned to look straight ahead. The overhead lights revealed no one in the tunnel. "He's been sitting back in that locker room for at least an hour."
A distant roar reached his ears. The floor shook as the stadium crowd erupted. The tunnel lights flickered beneath the rumbling cacophony. Down that narrow corridor sat his shot to the championship. Down that narrow corridor sat Prinny.
Thank you for your patience these past two months. I'm beyond excited to continue writing and am so pumped to be getting close to a major marker in this story. Thank you again for your feedback and your readership. It really is so special to hear that people are having fun with this tale and I hope that enjoyment only grows as we continue into Chapter 77 and beyond!
Please drop a review and follow/favorite if you are still enjoying. I'll see you in the next installment. Take care!