Chapter 53

CHAPTER 53

“Ayoo!” Denzel greeted everyone happily with a wave. We were late because he dozed off in the shower, and we were the last two to arrive.

“Sorry we’re late,” I apologized before taking a seat. “Anything new?”

“Nothing much,” Justin said. “I did call my father to give him an earful this morning,” He said with an excited smile. “It was my first time ever speaking to him like that. How riveting!”

I grinned. I had also called dad, but I couldn’t imagine living my entire life without having a fight with my parents at least once.

“I fight with mommy all the time,” Pauline shrugged. “But anyway, Emi’s doing great, although she’s still confined to her bed. The doctors say it’ll be safe for her to walk again in three days— although she’ll have a limp for a while.”

I nodded before meeting Cecilia’s eyes. I swallowed before averting my gaze. “So, we were going to talk about the rest of route 205, right?” I asked.

“Correct,” Louis said. “It’ll take two days for us to get through.”

“It’s a pretty chill route, all things considered,” Denzel said. “Easier to get through than the first half before Eterna forest. It’s just a flat path, and we’ll have to pass a huge lake too.”

“Pass how?” Justin asked.

“It has a bunch of islands connected by bridges, so don’t worry, we won’t need to pay for a ferry, or waste time by going around,” Denzel added.

“And then we’re already at the city?” I asked, sinking slightly into my chair.

“Yes,” Denzel said, looking at me apologetically. “At least we’ll be able to relax, right? Gonna feel damn good not to be on edge while traveling.”

“I concur,” Pauline said. “Anyway, that should be it, right? Justin, come visit Emi with me later…”

The meeting quickly devolved into just normal conversations, which I honestly didn’t mind. It felt like we were finally allowed to be kids again. Not worrying about anything, just hanging out and having fun. I spoke with Denzel about how Feebas was doing. He had finally released him again by going to the lake yesterday, and he was going to go there again today. Denzel felt terrible about neglecting the water type— even though he hadn’t had a choice. The forest wasn’t a place where Feebas would be able to thrive. Either way, he wanted to make up for lost time, and he would spend as much time as possible with him on the rest of route 205 since we’d be traveling next to a lake the entire time. Cece and Pauline were talking about activities that they could do in Eterna city, from shopping to the different five-star restaurants to spectating a Pokemon Contest. Justin and Louis spoke about needing to get a new member for their teams soon, because after the second badge, gym leaders expected us to have at least three Pokemon.

“Well, if worst comes to worst, I can have my father send me another Pokemon,” Louis shrugged.

“I think that building your team organically will turn you into a better trainer,” Cecilia said.

“Surely having the most powerful Pokemon possible is better than—”

Suddenly, I noticed that someone— wait, that was… Chase Karlson was coming right at us with a determined look in his eyes. He was wearing his signature dark blue cap. I was surprised to see that he had already made it through the forest like us, but my surprise was quickly replaced with dread when I saw that he was only looking at Cecilia.

I leaned toward Cecilia. “Cece, you remember that guy from the power plant that busted in? And that wanted to battle you in Oreburgh,” I whispered.

She frowned. “Yes?”

“Well, he’s coming right here,” I said, nodding toward him. “And he’s not looking too happy.”

“Well, well, look who it is!” Chase said boastfully. “Obel and her ilk.”

“Who are you?” Louis asked. “What do you want with her?”

“Typical,” The boy spat. “Of course, the rich spoiled asshole wouldn’t remember me,” He continued before pointing at Cece. “You. Battle me right now. Let’s settle our score once and for all.”

“There is no score to settle,” Cecilia said stoically. “I don’t want to battle you.”

“You heard her,” Denzel glared. “She doesn’t want to battle you. Now leave.”

“Aren’t you the guy I destroyed back in Jubilife?”

“Want a rematch, asshole?” Denzel quipped.

“Looks like you’ve got some additions to your group, Obel,” Chase smiled maliciously. “And they’re not even rich. Probably just bootlickers using you to get access to some of your fortune,” Chase said. His smile grew wider when he saw her subdued reaction. He had hit her where it hurt— her trust issues. “What? You don’t really think they like you, do you?”

I rose to my feet. “Back off.”

“Watch your mouth, scumbag,” Pauline threatened. “Get the fuck out, or I’ll make your life a living hell.”

“Do I need to call someone?” Louis said. “I will if you keep bothering us.”

Chase crossed his arms. “So no battle, then? You’re going to run away again? People are curious, you know? They want to figure out who’s stronger, you or me. When I win, are you going to call your dad to get more dragon types—”

“Fuck you!” I hissed, feeling rage bubble inside of me. “Leave her alone. You don’t know anything you’re talking about.”

“I think I have the gist of it,” He said. “My point from Oreburgh still stands.”

“No one cares about your little freak out in Oreburgh,” Denzel said.

“The video went viral,” Chase grinned. “You would know. I see you on the forums all the time.”

“If… if I battle you, will you finally leave me alone?” Cecilia quietly asked.

I looked at her with worry before grasping her hand. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. Trainers can’t force you to battle.”

“I really don’t,” Cece whispered in my ear. “I’m not allowed to lose publicly, Grace. Only to Louis.”

“You think you’d lose?” I asked in disbelief.

“I’m not sure,” She answered. “And I don’t want to take that risk.”

“So?!” Chase asked. “I’m waiting!”

I ignored him as the group continued to defend Cece. Heads in the cafeteria were turning our way. “Then say no,” I told her.

She clasped my hand tighter. “That reflects badly on me. That makes me look like a coward.”

“And that would make your dad angry,” I understood as I sighed. “That’s okay, I think I’ve figured something out for you.”

“I’m sorry. For always relying on you so much,” Cece apologized.

“That’s what friends do, Cece,” I smiled nervously. “Chase. You say you want to battle her?”

“I’ve been saying it the whole time. Get your damn hearing checked.”

“I lost to her in the Floaroma tournament. You know what that means, right? You’ve got to go through me first. If you can’t beat me, there’s no way you’re beating her.”

——

I stared at Chase as he grabbed his first Pokeball. We were on the outskirts of the outpost next to the lake, and a small crowd had assembled around us at a safe distance, including my friends. Some people were recording us, which made me fiddle nervously. I hated being the center of attention. I needed to focus.

In a way, I was surprised Chase was being like this. I thought he had changed after his experience at the powerplant, and he was much more mellow when I thanked him for stopping me from being tortured by Mars, but I supposed that had just been wishful thinking. He wouldn’t stop harassing Cece until he was either put in the dirt or had proved his superiority. I was hoping today would be the former.

“How are we doing this?” I said, trying to stop my voice from shaking. “Coin flip? Switch-ins?”

“Nah, no swapping, three on three,” He grinned. “You’re weak, I’ll just send out my Pokemon first. You’re up Ri,” He said, releasing his Riolu. The fighting type looked around before his eyes settled on me, and he got into a fighting stance.

Alrighty, I thought, taking a deep breath.

While we had been walking here, I had been thinking. I was going into this battle with a few advantages. One, this moron was underestimating me big time. Sure, I wasn’t the best trainer around, but my time through Eterna forest had taught me that I sure as hell wasn’t weak like he thought I was. And as that saying went, it was always good to appear weak when you were strong. Cocky opponents made mistakes.

And he had already made the first mistake when he disallowed switching Pokemon. I grabbed Togetic's Pokeball and held it tightly.

Second, I had information. I had seen Chase’s battle with Roark. I knew his Pokemon— or at least three of them, and I knew some of their moves. But Chase? Chase didn’t know a thing about me or my team. I was getting the best possible setup for this battle, and I had to make it count.

I released Togetic, who chirped happily. “Battle time, princess.” Chase’s confident grin immediately turned into a grimace. That’s right, I thought. You fucked up.

Third? As corny as it was, I was fighting to help the girl I liked.

I exhaled as the sound of the crowd dissipated. “Up high!” I ordered. “Whip up a Fairy Wind!”

“Quick Attack and jump onto it before it gets too high!” Chase yelled.

Togetic floated up as Riolu shone brightly and blurred forward. When he got below Togetic, his legs bulged, and he jumped. My eyes bulged at the sheer height the fighting type was getting. His palms started to glow with a pale blue. He was going to reach Togetic—

“Stop him with Extrasensory,” I said.

The Fairy Wind dissipated, and Togetic’s eyes glowed as she restrained Riolu midair. The fighting type tried to struggle, but he wasn’t going to break out. I grinned.

“Slam him on the ground,” I ordered.

Togetic giggled, and Riolu plummeted into the floor, creating a small crater.

“Go lower to get in range and do it again,” I said icily. “He can’t get to you.”

Riolu was lifted off the ground and slammed again. And again. Chase tried barking out orders, but fighting types were weak against psychic attacks. Riolu was never going to be able to stop Togetic’s Extrasensory through brute force alone as Scyther had done with Confusion. Riolu’s body was surprisingly durable. Princess had to keep slamming him on the ground for over five minutes until Chase finally recalled him. The first battle had been a complete slaughter, and even though Togetic was tiring, she would still be able to keep going.

And she would need to, because I already knew what Pokemon Chase was going to send next. Houndour would just be weak to her Fairy Wind, so the logical choice would be—

“Charjabug, don’t disappoint me,” Chase said as he released his electric type.

Togetic was probably going to lose this one, but I would have her deal as much damage as she could. Ideally, I would have released Tangela after she lost, but I had never used angel in battle yet, so that wasn’t an option, meaning I’d have to use Elekid.

“Get low!” I yelled. “We’re doing the same thing we did with Prinplup!”

“Thundershock!” Chase angrily said. “Charge it up!”

Charjabug started scuttling along the ground and gathering electricity before shooting out his attack.

“Ancient Power,” I ordered.

Togetic nodded and raised a small chunk of earth, completely neutering the attack.

“Get around it!” Chase yelled out.

“Throw it forward!” I said.

The chunk of earth and rock was propelled forward and appeared to hit Charjabug, but he had simply dug a hole to avoid the attack. “Again!” I said.

“Enough!” Chase screamed. “String Shot!”

The next Ancient Power was stopped in its tracks by the bug type’s powerful string. Togetic tried to push it forward, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Keep getting closer, and String Shot every time it attacks!”

“Alright, princess, it’s time to fly up again!” I said, biting my lip. If it was going to stop every Ancient Power, she had better odds dodging at a distance, and surrounding Togetic with a barrier was useless since it could just dig under her. “Start charging up a Fairy Wind.”

Togetic chirped as pink mist started to swirl and twist around her. Chase ordered Charjabug to use Thundershock again, but she barely managed to dodge the electric energy. She was getting better at multitasking.

“String Shot! Restain her!”

“Release it!”

Strings flew out of Charjabug’s mouth, but the Fairy Wind pushed them away and hammered the bug type against the ground.

“Keep it going as long as you can!” I said.

“Dig! Get to shelter!” Chase said.

Charjabug shook, creating a hole to protect himself from the wind, which quickly ran out. My eyes darted around the field, looking for any sign of disturbance on the ground. It wasn’t coming out.

“Get another Fairy Wind going!” I quickly said. “Release it when it comes out—”

The electric type burst from under Togetic and shot strings at her. She quickly became entangled and fell to the ground. “Don’t panic! Release it!” I bit my tongue. Even though she didn’t need her wings to fly, it looked like the attack still had an effect on her ability to float.

The wind erratically went in all directions, but some of it hit Charjabug. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to even stop the Pokemon in its tracks, and it quickly scuttled closer to Togetic.

“Thundershock point blank,” Chase said.

I winced as Togetic started to convulse and squirm in pain from the electric attack. I tried to get her to calm down and fly up again, but she was in too much pain. Too scared. I recalled her.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“You did great, princess,” I whispered before releasing Elekid. The electric type grinned when he saw that we were in a battle, and he spun his arms in excitement, generating electricity in between his horns.

“Swift!” I quickly ordered as I extended my arms. The Electric variation was more powerful, but I was fighting against another electric type.

Stars materialized above Elekid’s head and rushed toward the bug type.

“Dig,” Chase lazily said, seemingly regaining his confidence. I frowned, not knowing how Swift would interact with the ground move.

I smiled as they turned at an outrageous ninety-degree angle into Charjabug’s hole. I heard a muffled screech coming from the ground, but my smile quickly vanished when I realized that it wasn’t coming out. It was going to hit Elekid directly with a ground type move.

“Shit!” I swore. “Run around! Don’t stand still!”

Elekid cackled as he started zig-zagging around the battlefield. Worst case scenario, he was going to get hit, and I would have a counter. My mind whirred as I tried coming up with a strategy to beat Dig.

Charjabug jumped from below ground and bit Elekid with his sharp mouth. The electric type flew off toward Chase and struggled to get up.

That’s it! I thought to myself. I had a plan.

“Swift again!” I quickly ordered. I had to use the move as much as possible while Charjabug was still in Elekid’s line of sight.

His arms spun as he summoned another set of stars. And another. And another. Elekid was tiring quickly, but that was fine. Chase’s eyes widened, no doubt surprised by the sheer amount of Swifts I was sending Charjabug’s way. The bug type quickly dug again and was quickly followed by the stars.

“Elekid!” I called out. The electric type stared into my eyes. “Ready to go out with a bang?”

He grinned and yelled out, flexing his arms as he started to spin them.

“Thunder Punch as soon as he hits you from below,” I ordered. Chase hearing this wasn’t a problem whatsoever. It was a game of chicken. Either Charjabug finished his Dig and took at least two Thunder Punches to the face, or he didn’t and had to tank a Swift.

“Hit it!” Chase ordered.

Charjabug burst from the ground below Elekid, who immediately punched the bug type back with everything he had. The attack crackled throughout the field with electricity, and both of our Pokemon went down. We both recalled them. Chase looked at his Pokeball with disappointment and anger before grabbing his last Pokemon. I did the same.

“Who’s going first?” I asked, wiping the sweat off my brow.

“I’ll… I’ll do it,” He answered shakily before releasing his Houndour.

“You’re up, buddy,” I said. Frillish’s eyes glowed bright red as he floated upward.

The strategy here would be roughly the same as it had been with Togetic’s. I nodded and clenched my fist in determination.

“Get higher up!” I yelled out. We both had the type advantage over each other, so the biggest priority was making sure the dark type couldn’t hit Frillish. “Then Bubblebeam!”

“Damn it!” Chase yelled. “Roll left and Ember!”

The dog lay flat against the ground and tightly moved to the left with a roll, wasting no movement. Unfortunately for him though, Frillish could just keep going. Houndour yelped as the bubbles exploded on contact with his body. It tried running away, but Frillish’s Bubblebeam just followed the fire type, and there was nowhere to hide on this battlefield. It didn’t know dig, or any long-distance dark type attack, so Frillish made quick work of Houndour. He kept attacking with Bubblebeam, and sometimes switching it up with Water Pulse whenever it looked like Houndour was getting the hang of dodging. The only thing the dark type could do was strike back occasionally with Ember, but that only dealt minimal damage.

The dark type barked out one last time before going down. Chase’s gaze fell to the ground as the reality of the situation sunk in. Chase was a good trainer. Riolu might have been able to beat Deino, and Charjabug Slowpoke. But raw strength wasn’t everything. Through the power of knowing my enemy, I had won, humiliating him in front of dozens of trainers.

“Don’t bother Cecilia ever again,” I said.