Lara stared after that infectiously cheerful girl, Maeve, as she took her newly evolved Frogadier to a bench. Only two Pokéballs were clipped to her belt, both of them used up, and Maeve looked like she had just reached the age where one would begin their Gym Circuit.
At first, when Lara had set her eyes upon Maeve’s battle with that boy, Ralph, it had been a passing curiosity. She had been done with her battles for the day, and all her Pokémon rested inside their balls. Unconsciously, Lara had found herself quietly assessing the pair’s moves, evaluating their threat level to her chances of becoming the Champion.
Maeve and Froakie performed reasonably well together, likely honed by years of companionship. Ralph and his Squirtle had most likely just met, and they bumbled in all directions like toddlers.
There was one hitch in the battle, though, that Lara had almost missed. Maeve had told her Pokémon to meet the Squirtle’s Water Gun with his own Water Gun. After the Water Gun, though, the Froakie had immediately blurred into Quick Attack. No visible command from his trainer, and not even a hitch as he made the decision. It was possible that Maeve could’ve trained it into him, but…
It didn’t mean too much without further proof, but Lara should never leave a potential opponent…or ally…uninvestigated. Especially if she wanted to win this Circuit.
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After having a small telepathic chat with Blue about his new evolution, Maeve set out to find a match for Lizzie, who was waiting impatiently in her Pokéball. She had garnered some attention with Blue’s evolution, so it didn’t take long for her to find a match, or rather, for a match to find her. Her opponent was a hotheaded boy a few years her senior.
“Are we betting credits on the match?” the boy, Kyle, sneered. “Or are you too much of a coward?”
Maeve gulped. “Err…how much?”
Kyle shrugged. “I’ll be nice. How about two hundred credits?”
Maeve’s eyes widened. That was her monthly allowance.
Do it, Blue whispered from inside his Pokéball.
“A-alright,” Maeve whispered, already regretting ever accepting this match.
“K,” Kyle said. “It’s set, then.” He unclipped one of his Pokéballs from his belt and tossed it onto the dirt without any announcements. It popped open to reveal a Buizel in a flash of light.
“You’ve got this, Lizzie,” Maeve whispered under her breath as she tossed the Salandit’s ball onto the field. It popped open to reveal Lizzie, eyes gleaming with a wicked edge.
Lizzie’s fire would have its effect halved against Buizel’s Water typing, and Lizzie knew it from her calculating gaze taking Buizel in.
“Three…”
“Two…”
Maeve took a deep breath.
“One…”
“Go!”
“Smog! Then Ember!” Maeve yelled as soon as the match started.
“Growl! Then Water Gun!” Kyle shouted at the same time.
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Buizel let out an adorable growl, and Salandit shook her head as she released a thick, poisonous smog into the air. However, Lizzie’s focus was off.
“Don’t fall for it, Lizzie! He wants you to fall for it!” Maeve shouted. It worked. The Salandit’s head snapped up, blazing with a defiant fury, as she released a barrage of Embers towards Buizel. Struggling to see through the smog, three of the Embers hit Buizel before the Pokémon lifted itself into the air with its tails.
“Water Gun!” Kyle ordered.
“Dodge! Ember!” Maeve shouted not a second later.
Her speed working for her, Lizzie skittered to the side, releasing another barrage of Embers towards the flying Buizel. Buizel dodged, but a cleverly shot Ember caught the Pokémon in the tail. Buizel fell, plummeting to the ground. The Water Pokémon let out a ferocious growl.
“Water Gun!” Kyle ordered. “Soak!”
“Sweet Scent!” Maeve shouted. “Get in close, and use Poison Fang!”
Lizzie released a wave of disarming scents, causing the Buizel to relax, looking dreamy. Zipping forward, Lizzie sank her teeth into Buizel's arm as the sea weasel dislodged her with a panicked shriek. But the damage had been done. The Buizel was now poisoned. At the same time, the Water Pokémon seemed to forget about Soaking Lizzie.
“Keep on the offensive!” Maeve ordered. “Poison Gas and more Embers!”
“Quick Attack into Tackle!” Kyle shouted, eyes narrowed.
“More Smog! Hide and attack within cover!” Maeve yelled. Their voices overlapped, and it was a wonder the Pokémon could figure out what to do. A thick smog spread over the area once again, and a multitude of noises erupted from inside the smog.
“Clear the smog!” Kyle shouted. The smog dispersed as Buizel slowly blew it away with its spinning tails, but the Pokémon looked far worse. A multitude of scratches covered its body, most likely from Lizzie’s Scratch, and the barrage of poisonous attacks had taken its toll. Lizzie wasn’t unharmed, either, limping a little from Buizel’s Water Gun and Tackle.
However, Buizel was the first to collapse, falling onto the ground from exhaustion and poison alone.
Numbly walking up, Kyle returned his Buizel and looked at Maeve with a sigh. “...Good fight, I suppose. I didn’t expect the poison to be so effective…” He transferred the credits from his account to Maeve’s and walked off, mumbling to himself about poison counters.
“Nice match,” a vaguely familiar voice said. Maeve turned to see the girl from before, Swablu’s trainer.
“Thanks?” Maeve said, unsure.
“My name’s Lara. I’m going to schedule a match with Roark tomorrow,” the other girl continued. “Once I defeat him, I intend to head through Route 206 and take a detour through the Wayward Cave. I need a companion, and you seem pleasant enough.”
Lara was a blunt, straightforward girl who got to the point immediately.
“Well…sure…I guess,” Maeve said, fidgeting nervously. “I-I need to schedule a match with Roark, too, so I guess our schedules would work out…”
“Great,” Lara said. They exchanged contacts on their Pokégears. “I’ll send you my plans later today,” Lara said. Then she strode off.
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Lara stayed true to her word. Not even an hour after Maeve returned home with a newly evolved Blue and a triumphant Lizzie, her Pokégear dinged with a message from Lara.
Lara: I’ll be at the gym to sign up for a match at 10:00 AM tomorrow
Lara: After I get the Coal Badge, I intend to head through Route 206, taking the Cycling Road before heading down to the Wayward Cave to see if there are any worthwhile Pokémon down there. After the Wayward Cave, I’ll be heading to Eterna City to challenge Gardenia.
Maeve typed her own response.
Maeve: Ok
Maeve: I’ll try to make it tomorrow :)
Lara: I despise emojis
Maeve: How dare you （︶^︶）
Lara: We’re not getting along, are we?
Maeve: (‾◡◝)
Lara: I’m already regretting this
Maeve: I’m growing on you. I can tell
Lara: Like a parasite
Maeve grinned as she stared at her conversation with Lara. They were going to get along just wonderfully. She could feel it in her soul.
After spaghetti, cake, and a movie, Maeve laid down on her bed, Lizzie snoozing away on top of the lamp as Blue curled up on a pile of pillows. It had been an unusually hectic day, with the shopping and then the battles and then meeting Lara, but Maeve found herself excited for what the next day would bring as she set her alarm to 8:30 AM the next day. Then, Maeve closed her eyes and fell asleep.