Ran makes his way back to his friends, the ongoing battle clearly having ended during the latter part of his talk with the referee, as two other trainers are now squaring off, with a Furret desperately trying to weave through an Octillery’s barrage in a thus-far-unsuccessful attempt to close the distance. Spotting the pair of Grady and Josie without too much difficulty, Ran is unpleasantly surprised to find an angry Grady glaring at Josie, who seems both utterly unrepentant and completely uninterested, ignoring the smaller boy’s anger in favor of the ongoing battle. That is, until she notices that Ran’s rejoined them, as he speaks up tiredly, “Josie, what did you do this time?”
“Oh sure, because I must be in the wrong,” She complains half-heartedly, not even giving Ran her full attention, as her eyes remain locked on the ongoing battle, “Kid’s just upset I’ve got some hometown pride.”
Josie’s words are vague enough, but considering just what fight the two were spectating, Ran has the unpleasant thought that he might just know what Grady’s anger is about. Already knowing that he’s not going to enjoy this conversation, he still begrudgingly looks at Grady, not even needing to speak for the kid, because that is ultimately what he is, to start explaining just why he’s upset.
“This guy with the Slowbro was saying that Kanto’s league and conference are way tougher than ours! So I said to Josie that I was happy that she’s not a stuck-up ass like that guy! And then she said- she said- she said he was right!” Grady blusters, outrage almost visibly pouring out of him.
“This other guy, that’s why they were battling, he was defending us! But then when he lost, the other guy made him tell the whole crowd that winning a badge in Kanto is harder than it is here!” He continues furiously, before he once more glares at Josie. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what her response was to that particular statement.
“Let it go, Grady,” Ran sighs warily, having run into Josie’s biases before and unwilling to confront them again already, “One battle isn’t enough to prove anything of the sort. There’s no need to get all wound up just because Josie’s being Josie.”
Josie, clearly at least still listening in even if most of her attention remains on the ongoing battle, finally aims a taunting grin at Ran, “Sounds like loser talk to me, buddy.”
“Coming from the loser of our only match thus far, that doesn’t really bother me.” Ran waves her off easily enough, familiar enough with Josie’s banter and having accepted that Josie’s view of Johto’s league circuit is just something they’ll have to disagree on for the foreseeable future. Grady, however, whether due to age, or unfamiliarity or who knows what else, takes her words far more seriously.
“And I’ll show you who’s the real loser! One-on-one, a real fight! When I beat you, you admit that we’re just as good as your precious Kanto!” The Goldenrod-native declares heatedly, though with how upset he is and the way his voice hasn’t lowered yet, Ran can’t help but draw a mental comparison to an angrily yipping puppy.
“Sure thing,” She agrees confidently, her grin shifting from taunting to bloodthirsty, as she’s clearly drawn out the reaction she was looking for in the first place, “But after you’ve lost, you’ll be going shopping for some art supplies. Because I don’t care about you proclaiming Kanto’s superiority. Instead, with a nice, personally made banner to support me, I want you sitting on the very front row when I kick Whitney’s ass.”
Grady accepts immediately, racing ahead immediately as he charges for the nearest foot bridge across the large battlefield. Clearly, he’s absolutely focused on getting to the mid-range trainers’ field, not clearly considering just what he just agreed to. Ran, however, is far calmer at the moment. Thus, he’s the one to throw a sharp glare at Josie.
“You’re not seriously going to do that to the kid, right? Whitney’s his sponsor, you could ruin his career.” He asks swiftly, unable to hide a faint undercurrent of worry for Grady’s future prospects.
Josie waves him off, “Nah, don’t worry, I won’t actually hold him to it. I just want him to go all-out, none of that fake crap he pulled back in Union Cave. Maybe have him make the banner, to rub his nose in it a bit. But after that I’ll let him off the hook.”
Worries assuaged by Josie’s answer, Ran untenses, as the pair finally start following Grady, who’s already gotten to the top of the bridge in the brief window of time their question and answer delayed them by. As they follow, Ran finally jabs back at Josie, figuring that with her intending to be sensible about their wager, he can afford to wind her up just a bit.
“All of that assumes you win, of course. You’re not forgetting that he’s a gym-sponsored trainer with a year’s worth of training under his belt, right?” He presses her, even as they start ascending the bridge, carefully maneuvering through the foot traffic and the spectators that use the bridge’s elevated position to get a good look at the next match that’s about to begin.
Josie scoffs disbelievingly, but when Ran’s expression doesn’t change, her bluster fades slightly, “He’s got a Voltorb, a Chinchou and an Eevee. What exactly am I supposed to be afraid of? Ginger’ll trample whichever one he sends out.”
Ran, happy to see even the faintest trace of hesitation on Josie’s part, raises the obvious point that even a cursory examination of Grady’s team reveals, “Yeah, I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but there’s a water-type in that list.”
“Seriously?” She retorts, seemingly offended at the mere idea of a Chinchou on dry land posing any problems for her, “If he’s dumb enough to rely on that, it’ll be a sitting duck!”
“If you say so.” Ran replies neutrally, content to end the conversation there and leave Josie to her own thoughts for the final minutes before her match, as they finally spot the third and final battlefield.
It’s a respectable middle ground between the grandeur of the main field and the disappointment of the ‘baby’ field, though the lack of a large crowd and eager trainers waiting for their turns ensures that the overall impression Ran’s left with is an underwhelming one. Even if it’s not quite the inspiring sight they’d been looking at mere minutes ago, the field is at least made out of proper terrain, with no astroturf to be seen. Grady is already waiting at the entrance to the field, the female referee standing by his side noticeably perking up when he assertively points out Josie as they draw nearer.
Josie immediately diverts towards her challenger and the referee, leaving Ran to wander over to the field’s accompanying booth for a quick moment. Again, there’s no second staff member around, though there is at least a Mr. Mime available, as the referee sends one out to create barriers around the field even as she briefly runs through the fight’s agreed upon format and stakes. Ran, for his part, throws a brief look at the rules hanging in the stall, to see if anything truly stands out.
Essentially, the only really major difference to the ‘main’ arena, is a rule outlawing moves that affect the terrain to a depth greater than two feet. For the pokémon their group has available to them, that shouldn’t become relevant, leaving the match between Josie and Grady to be as close to representative as they’re likely to get. Ran wanders over for a better view, just as the referee winds down and raises her flag to start the battle.
As she does so, a few passersby pause and congregate around the field, seemingly interested to catch at least the start of the match. Ran doesn’t pay them any mind, instead watching eagerly as Josie, as announced, sends out Ginger the Ponyta.
She’s not the one he’s interested in however, as instead he turns his attention to Grady’s side of the field, where Chinchou does in fact materialize. The little blue sea-dweller’s stubby feet are hardly an inspiring sight on a battlefield where there’s not a single body of water, but after a moment’s hesitation, as it clearly struggles to find its balance immediately upon materializing, it seems ready and willing enough to face the far larger fire-type on the other side of the field.
The referee lowers her flag, signaling the start of the fight. Immediately, Josie barks out an enthusiastic order.
“Flame Wheel, Ginger! Run it over!” She calls, unsurprisingly trying to engage her opponent aggressively with a frontal charge.
Even though Ginger hasn’t evolved yet, which is when she’ll truly come into her speed, according to what Ran knows of the Rapidash-line at least, there’s still a fair bit of velocity behind her charge. She makes for an impressive visual, as the flames always gently coming off of her mane and tail flare up impressively, before getting drawn into a tight wheel looping around her own body from head to tail and then running back in the opposite direction between her legs.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Impressive speed and visual or not, Ginger’s charge doesn’t by any means catch Chinchou and Grady by surprise.
“Bubble Beam, Chinchou, try and stand your ground.” He orders with a pained expression, clearly unhappy to be issuing an order that almost guarantees that Chinchou will be taking a painful hit. The Angler Pokémon doesn’t seem to mind though, merely gathering its strength briefly before firing off an impressive attack of its own.
Bubbles, empowered by water-type energy to be far more threatening than a mere look at them might imply, shoot out of Chinchou’s little mouth with surprising speed, heading directly at Ginger. It’s looking like a direct collision between water and fire, the likely winner of which has Ran looking towards Josie doubtfully, checking to see if she’s going to do anything to divert from her chosen course.
His look is for naught however, as Josie stubbornly doubles down, “Power through, Ginger! Show ‘em what Ponytapower is all about!”
Ginger neighs obediently, clearly in full agreement with her trainer. The flames that roar around her in a violently whirling Flame Wheel seem to flare up briefly, but before she’s impacting the Bubble Beam, that temporary effect is already gone again. Still, she hits Chinchou’s own attack with impressive strength, the explosive popping of the bubbles mixing with the hissing of steam and Ginger’s aggressive neighs to form a discordant melody.
The fire-type’s advance is clearly slowed by having to fight through a Bubble Beam, but not entirely stymied, as after a few long seconds, she bursts through to slam into Chinchou, which gets knocked away. The Flame Wheel peters out as Ginger throws her head back triumphantly, nickering pridefully. It’s a show of strength, but, to Ran at least, it doesn’t hide the clear signs of pain and exhaustion Ginger now shows.
Her flames burn less brightly, with her mane and tail at least two full inches shorter than they were at the start of the fight. Her stance is less confident, her footing seeming less steady than before. As for Chinchou, though it got thrown backwards impressively after being hit by a strong attack, it manages to find its feet with relative ease, looking far less worse for wear.
For a moment, the fight pauses, as both the pokémon on the field and the trainers commanding them take stock of things. It’s an interesting situation, as although Chinchou does have the obvious type advantage, it’s definitely a relatively weak pokémon from a purely physical point of view. Ginger for her part, although by no means a true powerhouse when compared to even her own evolved form, is definitely the one with more raw power available.
As things stand, type advantage won out in the first exchange, but a single glance from Ran in Josie’s direction is enough to make him suspect that she’s not inclined to really overhaul her approach. As she enthusiastically calls out her orders, that suspicion is quickly proven correct.
“Alright, if that’s how it is, let’s build up some proper speed! Flame Charge!” She calls out, her right fist punching forwards dramatically for emphasis.
Ginger rears back imposingly, her front hooves flaring up with visible flames in preparation. She neighs loudly whilst doing so, mirroring her trainer’s own flair for the dramatic. Under the cover of Ginger’s loud cry however, Ran is sure that Josie misses Grady’s counter-order, which he gives only just loud enough for Ran to make it out.
“Thunder Wave when you’re sure.” The younger trainer orders softly, timing his words in such a way that Josie completely misses them, distracted as she is by Ginger’s actions. Though Ran can’t tell if Grady did so deliberately, or whether he lucked into it.
Whether intentional or not, the result is the same, as Ginger charges forwards. Flames shoot up her form with every hoofbeat, her speed visibly increasing throughout her charge. She reaches her previous top speed easily and blows right past it, drawing a low, impressed whistle from Ran.
Maybe Grady and Chinchou are impressed as well, but they maintain their focus perfectly. As its antennae start to glow and spark menacingly, the exact moment where realization hits Josie is clearly visible, as her eyes widen in surprise, mouth half-opening before she stops herself, an aborted warning or command never materializing as she instead watches intensely as Ginger closes the final distance.
As the gap closes faster than ever, for an instant it looks as if Chinchou holds off on its Thunder Wave too long, or perhaps it didn’t properly hear its trainer after all. Just as Ran instinctively braces for impact out of sheer empathy however, Chinchou finally acts. The bright yellow bulbous ends of its drooping antennae flare up even brighter, the lone sparks previously arcing across their surfaces suddenly intensifying and connecting. Then, the small net shoots forwards, expanding exponentially as it flies through the air.
Its surface area multiplies rapidly in the blink of an eye, whilst Ginger is far too close to try and dodge or retreat. Instead, the fire-type charges right through, whinnying in clear annoyance as paralyzing electric-type energy arcs across her form once the net collapses upon her. She’s clearly hindered, as her movements become a lot more stilted, but the flames don’t sputter out and her momentum doesn’t simply disappear.
The obvious result of which is Chinchou once again being sent flying. This time however, Josie doesn’t hesitate, clearly fully aware that with paralysis now a factor in the fight, she needs to keep up the pressure. Likewise, Grady seems fully aware that there won’t be another breather, as he starts to call out his own order only moments after Josie.
“Stomp it down, Ginger! Don’t give it any room!” She cries out, whilst Grady counters with another call for Bubble Beam.
Ginger starts out closer to Chinchou than she did at the start, but between the damage she’s taken and now Thunder Wave’s lingering effects, she’s noticeably slower than she was at the start. The boost afforded to her by Flame Charge has clearly been canceled out and then some. Still, with the gap so reduced, she’s no sitting duck just yet, as she tries to rush forwards to once more engage Chinchou before it can muster another Bubble Beam.
She doesn’t make it, still at least a second or two away when another super-effective attack gets fired her way. Ran, for his part, would’ve tried to order a dodge, though at the speeds and distances involved, the odds of success there would’ve been slim at best. Still, Josie doesn’t even make the attempt, instead merely clenching her fists together and leaning forwards as she tries to will Ginger through the Bubble Beam.
Her starter makes an admirable go of it, but by the time she makes it through Chinchou’s attack, her flaming mane is reduced to little more than candle flame. Her attempted Stomp is so weakened, in fact, that Chinchou and Grady seem more than willing to let it hit. Because rather than try to dodge, they go for a decisive counter.
“Spark it up, Chinchou!” Grady cheers eagerly, even as Ginger’s forelegs go rising into the air before coming down on the water-electric-type. Obediently, Chinchou’s antennae once more produce visible arcs of electricity. Before, there’d been some amount of structure to them gathering into webbing between its antennae, but now there’s no such order to be found. Instead, wild arcs of electricity are sent racing across its body.
Then, Ginger makes contact, her own hooves landing heavily, but not devastatingly on Chinchou’s form, whilst in turn the electricity travels in the other direction. Ginger visibly freezes up, her entire body stiffening, before keeling over to the side, landing heavily on the ground as she gets knocked unconscious.
“We did it!” Grady cheers enthusiastically, as he only barely manages to wait for the referee’s match-ending call before he’s running out onto the field to enthusiastically scoop Chinchou into his arms. His small blue pokémon trills proudly as it gets scooped up, surprising Ran somewhat with its high-pitched sound.
As for Josie, she looks as if she’s been forced to suck on a Sitrus berry, though she does at least manage some kind words for Ginger’s ball once she’s recalled her starter. Ran joins the small crowd of spectators that’s formed in politely applauding Grady, with the Goldenrod native clearly over the moon as he takes in that, yes, the applause is for him.
He seems to have completely forgotten about the fight’s wager, not sparing Josie even a moment’s attention as he instead basks in the crowd’s praise. Ran, not quite as scatterbrained as Grady, does keep an eye on the fight’s loser, which is why he’s the one that sees Josie’s moment of hesitation, as she realizes that she can sneak off the field without having to honor her bet. Her hesitation is brief however as, even though her expression remains sour, she visibly steels herself before marching onto the field as well.
“Oy, short stuff!” She calls out loudly, abrasive overconfidence seemingly falling into place quite easily, as a cover for the far less pleased emotions she was showing mere seconds ago, “A bet’s a bet. So yeah, in your own words: ‘I admit that Johto is just as good as my precious Kanto.’”
Grady’s barely turned to face Josie by the time she’s already finished her declaration, but that doesn’t stop his smile from becoming even bigger than it already was. Especially when a few of the spectators start applauding all over again, and with significantly more enthusiasm, at those particular words out of Josie’s mouth. Ran doesn’t join them, because a single battle between two rookies with a combined total of four badges to their name is hardly something to base such statements off.
But he won’t deny feeling a small sense of vindication as Josie departs the field in defeat, leaving Grady to soak up the cheers for another half minute or so, before the referee shoos him off the field. Apparently, Grady and Josie’s battle had stirred up some interest, as another pair of trainers eagerly claims the field for themselves.
Whilst Josie rejoins him and with Grady not that far behind him, Ran’s attention turns to the slowly growing crowd around the field. Though the vast majority aren’t trainers, but rather spectators drawn to the field by the promise of free spectacle, there’s a small but growing group of trainers as well. Clearly, their own group isn’t the only one who doesn’t quite reach the standards of the main arena.
With an eager grin, Ran scans the crowd, looking for another eager trainer to meet his eyes, as his hand drifts meaningfully to the pokéballs hanging on his belt. Just because Grady and Josie are done for the moment, that doesn’t mean he can’t at least get a battle of his own in, after all.