It had taken hours for Aidinza to have finished all the paperwork that Nurse Joy insisted was absolutely required to be registered with the Unovan League, and the wider United Pokémon League Association.
Identification forms, statutory declaration forms against Pokémon abuse, applications for Poké storage eligibility, a form for carnivorous Pokémon, a form for Pokéball grants, registering for the gym circuit, registering for international travel, and a form agreeing to assist Pokécenters in the event of a crisis.
It was enough to have his head spinning, the legalese melding together until it was just some hopeless blob inside his brain. But at the very least through it all, Nurse Joy took the opportunity to give him some needed lessons and advice. At first, it was just tips for keeping a Pokémon like Sandile healthy outside of its native habitat of a desert, mostly by ensuring that he had a dry place to sleep at night and that he was properly washed - the nurse recommended always picking up a bag of sand when he travelled town to town.
Then it turned to more general things, ways to administer field medicine to the average Pokémon, which boiled down to spray potion directly on a wound, common indicators of sickness; the young nomad would have to be checking his Pokémon’s teeth often, and just what he was entitled to when it came to treatment at a Pokécentre. As a first-year gym circuit trainer, it encompassed free medical care up to using super potions, fifteen days of free accommodation per month, and access to the Pokécentre’s computers while there.
It was the third thing that Nurse Joy really emphasised, because in her mind half the battle to being a good trainer, was being a trainer who knew how to properly research his Pokémon. She went on at length about the sheer amount of resources that people had access to at a Pokécentre, their computers having access to information from giants as massive as the Aether Foundation, and Oak Labs.
It was not the same as being an experienced trainer, or having one of the famed Pokédex, she later admitted to him, but it was good enough that it would give any young trainer the right direction.
So when all the paperwork was finally over, the desert nomad found himself behind a wood desk, on a surprisingly comfortable rolling chair, tapping away at a keyboard and squinting at a box very similar to the one that Nurse Joy had been using.
He was looking up Sandile, obviously, finding an ‘article’ by a man named Clay on the troubles of raising the at times foul-tempered Pokémon. The issue was that the Sandile line had intense dominance instincts, nearly on par with dragons, and when they had demonstrated that dominance, the rush of endorphins, and adrenaline caused certain kinds of Sandile to naturally tap into something Clay called ‘distortion’, the power that dark types used in their abilities. It also caused them to be more prone to attempting to establish their dominance again, making them disagreeable and aggressive for as long as the chemical mixture was swirling inside them.
This ability was something he called ‘Moxie’, and was one of the biggest hurdles for properly training the desert reptiles, even if the Sandile outside of when his instincts were roused was as sweet as anything.
It was also not something that could be easily overcome, according to Clay, other than by ensuring that your relationship with the Pokémon was such that even when riding high on a rush almost as great as evolution, that the Sandile would want to listen to you, and ensuring that you familiarise the Pokémon with the feeling.
Luckily, the Sandile line had an almost inbuilt set of training wheels for the ability. Hone Claws, a move that let Sandile tap into their natural reservoir of distortion by making a pantomime of the natural rituals that preceded the dominance fights between Krookodile. It was not exactly the same rush of emotions and power as Moxie, but it was similar enough to help.
It had been exactly what Aidinza had been looking for when he first realised just how aggressive Sandile got when he was on a roll during fights. A way to ensure that he did not lose control of a battle, and to make sure that Sandile did not do something he would regret.
He wasted no time, holding the power button down until the computer went silent and jogging out the Pokécentre, he had training to get to. Nimbasa city was a different beast at night, compared to during the day. For one, it was a lot less crowded. Though there were still people wandering around, it had nothing on the press of people when he arrived. Second, the buildings were different in the dark. The lower floors lit up and the upper floors utterly dark created a somewhat creepy contrast, but one far less overwhelming than when the glass was glittering with reflected sun.
However that did not mean that he felt that comfortable, and so rather than going to one of the parks that he saw dotted around the city, the young man instead travelled to and past the very edge of the city.
It did not take him long to find a little clearing in the trees, close enough to the city to be lit by the residual light it was naturally exuding. The place was even scarce on grass, something that Sandile seemed to appreciate on release, rolling about in the dusty dirt.
“Hey, Buddy.” Sandile’s attention snaps over to where his trainer had set up against a nearby tree, his backpack cushioning the hard wood. “I’ve got some training ideas, to help us keep focus when you start to win fights.” The Croc Pokémon’s head tilts at that, black eyes blinking closed before he prodded the nomad’s leg with his snout. It seemed that he did not really understand the why, but was eager enough. “Now, we’re going to teach you Hone Claws.”
Sandile got even more confused at that, recoiling slightly from his trainer, before trying to look at his claws, a strangely pout-like expression passing over his snout. It was certainly an event to behold, Sandile’s head did not have anywhere near enough motion to twist that far, no matter how much he flattened himself against the ground to stretch out his claws, no matter how tightly his cheek pressed against his shoulder, he just could not get the right angle. Aidinza could not help but chuckle at the comical sight, picking Sandile up to place him back down in his lap.
“Your claws are plenty sharp Sandile, Nurse Joy told me that you take good care of them.” He explained to the reptile, as he scratched at his pokemon’s cool scales. “So we don’t really need to sharpen them, it's like… you know when you flex at your opponent?” Sandile smiled at that, nodding happily even as he cooed at the feeling of Aidinza’s fingers. “That’s a Move, you use the energy inside you to empower something that you do. And with this, you're, um tapping into distortion to empower yourself?” His voice trailed off in a question, still rather unsure about the exact mechanics of what went on. “So what you need to do is scrape your claws against each other okay?”
Sandile nodded cheerfully, tumbling out of his trainer's lap, and ambling some distance away. Then he rears back on his hind legs, and claps his hands together awkwardly, then with a cheerfully gummy smile that exposes rows of sharp serrated teeth, he turns back to his trainer proudly.
“Nice attempt!” He encourages, unable to bring himself to tell Sandile outright that was not what needed to happen at all. “But you really need to make sure the sharp parts of your claws connect with each other.”
The small Pokémon nods firmly, rearing up again, and this time the noise of keratin claws clinking together hits his ears. But, the expected sight of the claws glowing a “darn infernal sight” did not manifest, nor did the sight of Sandile’s muscles bulging under his scales, like when his Moxie activated, manifest.
Aidinza’s brow furrows as he tries to remember what the article said about Hone Claw. It said that it tapped into the innate dominance rituals of the Sandile. That just the action alone would be enough to trigger millennia-old instincts. It also warned that it would put Sandile in the mindset of a dominance display. But considering that Sandile had since gotten bored, and began chasing his own tail in the time the Ya’an-ah had taken to think, that seemed to not have taken root.
Slowly he breathes out, and shifts around to get comfortable against the tree he was leaning against. He had seen Krookodile fight for dominance before, though they generally attempted to keep fighting like that away from the Naisho’h. He had even seen Sandile fight for dominance before, wrestling in the sand with claws not yet sharp enough to break their thick scaled hide. He even thinks he might know the exact ritual that the article had been talking about, vague memories of large, mean-looking red Pokémon scraping cruel claws against each other as they squared up against a foe.
But he never saw anything like that when the Pokémon were alone. As tough as Krookodile looked, well he knew they were all big softies at heart. When they were alone they would laze about in the sand, and be completely fine with letting the young of the Naisho’h climb all over them. It was only when you started adding…
Other Pokémon. He steals a quick glance around the dark clearing, trying to spy any nearby Pokémon through the thick trees surrounding him. Unfortunately, there was none that he could see at dusk. But that might not be an issue. He stands up suddenly, the motion so startling to Sandile that the croc launches into the air, and comes back down to land in a heap.
“Sorry Sandile just had an idea.” He gives Sandile an apologetic smile, before tearing through his backpack, searching for a pad of paper that Nurse Joy had handed to him to take notes on. It was a surprisingly large thing, nearly as long as his arm, and while that might have made it slightly awkward to hold he was pretty sure that it made it perfect for the thought he just had.
Because it was not just the presence of other Pokémon that saw Krookodile honing their claws. Or well, not just the presence of living Pokémon. Once when Aidinza was young, his sister had made him a little Sandile doll, or well it was supposed to be one but the resemblance was pretty slim.
But it was close enough that while he was playing with a Sandile, and brought it out one day, the Sandile attempted to assert dominance over it. The young nomad frowned slightly, remembering the outcome of that display, his precious teddy had been completely shredded. While a young Sandile’s claws were not enough to leave a mark on scales, it was certainly enough to tear through the cloth.
And now he was going to see if he could replicate it with just a drawing, which… well let it never be said that he was an artist. But also let it never be said that he shied away from a challenge easily. It took nearly twenty minutes for him to draw out something that he thought was a good enough rendition of a Sandile. It was certainly rough around the edges, and it was probably only halfway decent because of how many Sandile that he had seen over the years, but that was fine. He doubted he would need to teach this way to any other Pokémon.
“Sandile!” He called out, to catch the attention of the desert croc, where he was attempting to chew on the tip of his tail. The limb was just too short for him to manage and so he was left trying to force it the rest of the way as he lay on his back, claws wrapped around his muscular tail. “The idea’s ready.” The Croc perked up, rolling over his shoulder to land on his feet upright. So Aidinza wasted no time in brandishing his drawing at Sandile.
And…
Nothing happened, at least nothing that he wanted to happen happened. Instead of reacting to another sandile right in front of him, Sandile just waddled over to investigate the drawing, with a slight warble.
It seemed that his artistic skills were not up to snuff. But the sound of Sandile’s warble gave the Naisho’h teen an idea. He had always been a fair hand at mimicry, sometimes when walking across the scorching desert, the only thing to keep him entertained was trying to see how could make the best Pokémon noises between him and his sister.
A low growl rumbles out of his throat, starkly reminiscent of the growl that Sandile had made against Mark. Aidinza could pinpoint the exact moment the sound registered with his Pokémon, could see black eyes dilating, the friendly sheen being replaced with something more…
Primal.
Sandile immediately growled back, and this time when his claws slid against each other, the sound lingered in the air with malicious glee. His snout pulls back to expose sharp teeth, and underneath his scaled hide muscles bulged with a vicious strength as they coiled and threatened to send him hurtling forward.
“That’s it!” Sandile snapped out of his instinctive display, at the sound of his trainer's excited exclamation. “Great job!” The Croc preened under his trainer’s praise, seemingly instantly forgetting his aggression moments before. Cheerfully he waddled over to his trainer, and Aidinza wasted no time in giving him scratches in reward. “Now, we just need to do that again. Can you do that for me?”
Sandile jumped up, once more rearing up on its hind legs. However, this time when he growled, it came out high pitched and adorable, and the clack of his claws against each other lacked the lingering malevolence.
Aidinza frowned slightly, it looked like it was going to take more work than just that. Luckily, it was a warm night, and after being stuck inside for hours the young Nomad welcomed the chance to spend a few hours under the stars.
-
Nimbasa gym was an intimidating sight. It was not the tallest building in the city, nor was it the highest but…
It had an energy about it, with the pulsating lightning bolt lights mantled onto it, and the heavy pointed obelisks that jut into the air above. It felt like it was a place more fitting for an ancient tyrant, rather than a place of an honoured leader.
Or maybe it was the fact that it was teeming with people, like a desert cliff teemed with Durant, that was putting him on edge. It was probably less than the main street of Nimbasa, but they were more concentrated in the courtyard, lining up to get in the building or streaming out of it.
Luckily for him, he did not have to line up with the vast majority of the people, no as a trainer signed up for the Gym Circuit, he had been directed towards a small side door nestled underneath one of the intimidating granite obelisks on the east side of the building.
But even that had a line that he was forced to wait in, half a dozen young men loitering around waiting to be called inside, most a few years older than the young nomad, and strangely enough most were guzzling water, and more than one had abandoned their top. The young Ya’an-ah attempted to introduce himself to one, but he got little more than a grunt out of him. So he resigned himself to waiting in mostly silence, thankfully the day was rather mild, and the shade of the massive building kept him cool.
It ended up only taking twenty or so minutes for the young Nomad to be let inside the building, a closely walled dark grey affair, with very dim lights hanging overhead. It was also completely empty of people, barring a single rather intimidating man, leaning against the wall, with what seemed to Aidinza to be a set of very superfluous sunglasses.
“Keep heading down that way.” The man jerked his head to his right, “until you hit the third corner, then head up to the second intersection and go left until you reach the desk. If you see anyone you better make sure you stay out of their way, got it punk? Don’t go down the first intersection, don’t even think of going to the third, the second intersection.” Aidinza nods, slightly awkward. Already just being inside felt strange to him, and adding to that a large man getting into his face? Well, it certainly did not give him much of a reason not to hurriedly follow the directions.
However, it was just after he turned at the second corner, and was crossing the first intersection, that he ended up inadvertently getting in the way of someone.
“Oh, darling that looks wonderful on you.” Or more accurately, Aidinza found someone getting very intentionally in the way of him. It was a dark-haired woman, nearly a full head shorter than the young Ya’an-ah, with a small upturned and high aristocratic cheeks. She also stood far, far too uncomfortably close to him, patting long his poncho and straightening it out at seemingly random intervals. “You look so bold! So magnifique darling. Oh, I heard that Elesa had picked up some incredible new talent, but I had no idea that it would be this incredible.”
Aidinza was frozen under the onslaught of attention, feeling like he had been caught in a sandstorm, and like his best option was to hunker down and hope to weather it out.
“Look at that jawline, and those piercing green eyes! Just one look from them will have everyone swooning.” His eyes widen, as he leans away from the women as best as he could. “Exactly like that darling! You’re amazing.” Finally, she stepped away, flicking her immaculately curled hair over her shoulder, and looking at the Ya’an-ah with a frown, that made the severe lines of her face all the more evident. For a moment he felt like he was caught in front of a frowning Tsesei, and found himself straightening up. “It's not one of the outfits I assigned, where is it from, I wonder?”
“It’s a traditional Naisho’h robe…'' Came Aidinza's weak response, which only saw the strange ladies' eyes lighting up.
“Aha you’re right darling, it's such a bold entrance, full of…” She trails off for a moment, tapping a single long finger to a pair of white painted lips. “Pizazz! Yes, such a strong statement is only going to be loved by the crowds, you’re brilliant, a tyranitar in metamorphosis! And I, Edith, will be there every step of your evolution!”
Edith spins on a high heel, a hand lashing out to grab his own. She dragged Aidinza along behind her, deeper into the build, deeper into the right turn of the intersection.
“A-ah honoured Lady Edith.” Edith snaps to a stop, turning to face him the moment he opens his mouth.
“No no, you have to be respectful! Even if you’re wearing their clothes, you should not take their language!” Her voice was sharp and incredibly serious. Once more Aidinza felt like he was standing in front of Elder Tsesei. But then her face softened. “I can understand your enthusiasm for their culture, but we walk a fine line between art and icons in fashion darling. Just call me Aunty E.”
“O-okay.” He stuttered out, feeling incredibly flat-footed being told to be respectful of his own culture. Then the woman gave him an expectant look. “A-aunty E?”
She beamed, before spinning around once again and tugging him along once more. Edith led him through the dark grey, unmarked halls with intent and confidence. The pair seemed to take dozens of corners at seemingly random, passing by rooms and halls without a second glance.
“Now darling, I would usually insist that you be given a few minutes to warm up, but you’ve been so scarce that you’ll have to head on as soon as we arrive, or I’ll lose this slot.” She waves a hand dismissively in the air as if trying to convey a sense of what can you do nonverbally.
“I-”
“No no, darling.” Aunty E bulldozes straight through what Aidinza was about to say, not even pausing in her stride this time. “No need to apologise, this place is a maze that you could lose a paparazzi in for a week, HA!” She lets out a sharp bark of laughter and throws an expectant look over her shoulder. The weak chuckle he gave seemed to be exactly what she was looking for because a moment later she beamed.
Soon enough the pair of them crossed into a wider room, lit by dozens of flashy lights. Inside were dozens of what Aidinza could easily recognise as incredibly beautiful people, all of them dressed up in extremely elaborate getups. Some dressed up in just an incredible riot of colours, others with feathers and scaled clothes. One Aidinza could swear was wearing a shirt as pants. But none of them seemed self-conscious in the slightest about their somewhat bizarre wear, all of them confidently striding through the room.
“Edith and James Swoon, you’re up!” A svelte man called, at least Aidinza thought it was a svelte man, he was a rather androgynous figure, and it was only voluminous, spiky ponytail behind him that made Aidinza think he was male.
“That is us, darling, we’re just in time! Just like a wizard. Now one final check!” Edith spun on her red heel as the pair of them reached a heavy curtain, intently studying the young Ya’an-ah. She started circling him, checking him over from every angle. “Ah, you’re going to be the darling of the crowd darling.” She claps her hands together excitedly, before pushing him through the curtain into…
That was a lot of people.
That was a lot and a lot and a lot of people. Wide green eyes shone with panic as they darted around the massive coliseum before them. There were thousands of people here at minimum, more than even the main street of Nimbasa when he arrived, and unlike there where no one was looking, all of those eyes were focused on the long strip before him.
“Go on, get walking!” A long strip that Edith wanted him to walk down. His feet, completely unbidden from his mind, take a step forward.
“Now the next ensemble is a real treat, from the desert of route four, an outfit inspired by the savage noma-.” Aidinza’s eyes snapped around at the sound of that, prickled pride for his people roused at the assertion that they were savages. He finds the culprit quickly enough, a man in front of what he knew to be a ‘microphone’. However it seemed that he did not need to make his displeasure known as Edith - somehow - was standing right next to the man, and slapping at him with a shoe?
“Darlings, this is a pseudo genuine recreation of the traditional Naisho’h robes, there is no savagery here.” Edith’s voice boomed around the stadium, as she wrestled control over the microphone. Her eyes met his, and she gave an encouraging gesture.
Unwilling to disappoint someone who had just stuck up for his people - He thinks? - Aidinza steeled his resolve and stepped forward. It was not easy, and he almost froze up again as the attention shifted from the spectacle of Edith over to him. But he squared his jaw and pressed on regardless, even if he was unable to stop his eyes from widening.
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It was easier to take the next step, somehow, if he just tilted his head up and stared straight ahead, he could almost imagine that it was only the hundreds of people right in front of him looking at him, which was more manageable than the thousands.
One foot in front of the other. Left-right, left-right. He repeated over and over inside his own head, and soon enough he found himself on the far side of the strip and found himself lost as to what came next.
Was still lost as to exactly what anything of this was in service of. Desperately his eyes flickered around the massive room, trying to find any hint of what was next. It is then that his eyes catch on a truly stunning figure.
Not just because the blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman was without any doubts the most beautiful woman that Aidinza had ever seen. With her smooth fair skin gracefully slender arms and the blue-yellow outfit that clung tightly to her, it was hardly even a contest. Even the strange headphones with trailing cords attached did little to detract from her striking eyes and high cheekbones.
No, it was not just because she was beautiful, but because it was a familiar face among the crowd. After all, it had only been yesterday that he had seen her face on one of the multitudes of forms he had been forced to fill out.
That was Gym Leader Elesa, of Nimbasa City. The realisation of what must be going on struck the young Ya’an-ah, this was some sort of procession to honour the woman before him! Mildly unsure as to why he was part of it, and why him being on this stage achieved that, but certain that it did in some way, Aidinza felt himself relax.
“The sun sings for your health. Honoured Leader Elesa.” He bows low at his waist, one hand coming up to press against the bottom of his neck, as respectful a gesture, and a greeting as the Ya’an-ah had. One only to be said to those so far above you in stature, that there was no need for a reply.
That was when a man, half-dressed in some truly tight pants, dashed onto the stage, and with all the offence of an impugned child stabbed a finger towards the Naisho’h boy. “This boy stole my spot!” He wailed out, and a shocked gasp passed through the room.
“Sacré bleu! The savage dressed boy might in fact just be a sav- Ow ow ow.” The announcer from before begins and then cuts himself off as the sound of heavy smacks ring over the microphone.
“It’s true! I was snapping into my wonderful outfit, having lost track of time, and next thing I know the wonderful Poppy is telling me that my slot had been stolen by this… cad!” Aidinza freezes underneath the weight of thousands of judging stares, and the accusation of the man. In moments he hears jeers and boos from the crowd and feels his shoulders start to slump under the disapproval.
Then, Elesa spoke. “Is this true?” Her voice was light, airy even. But it cut through the jeers and the din of the crowd with incredible ease. It just had an undercurrent of steel to it that told woe to any who would even consider ignoring it.
“I-I didn’t mean to? I’m just here for a gym battle.” Aidinza felt so incredibly small underneath her sharp blue glare, the weight of a thousand jeers was nothing compared to her attention. Then like an incredibly small saviour sent by the sun, Edith slid in front of him.
“It is my fault Elesa dear, I saw this young man on his way to the gym registry, and my artistic soul sang! He looked so bold, and so out of place! Like a Sugimori found in a hotel room!” Aunty E’s voice rang out over the crowd, as the short-statured woman covered her face in faux shame, turning away slightly. The Gym Leader’s cool eyes turn to Edith, a hint of amusement in them that Aidinza missed.
“Is that so?” She chuckles slightly, a warm rich sound. “Well, I can hardly be upset with two people sharing my two greatest passions, fashion, and battling!” The crowd, somewhat bizarrely to Aidinza cheers wildly at that, as Elesa flicked her hair, the two cables snapping in the air behind her. “Ye’an-ah!” She calls out, and Aidinza perks up at the sound of his people’s name properly pronounced. “How many badges do you have?”
“No badges, Honoured leader, this will be my first.” An amused, disbelieving laugh passes through the crowd at that, and Elesa stands up, vibrantly painted lips pulling up into an amused smile.
“Will be? Such confidence! Such Gravitas! How can I do anything but reward such spice! Jaundice!” A young rather put upon looking man glances up from his tablet in a sloth-like manner, heavy bags under his eyes. “Clear a battle slot for tomorrow! No, clear the two-thirty battle slot!” At that Aidinza’s eyes widened, the implications were obvious. “Be prepared for tomorrow, young challenger, because I’ll dazzle you with my beauty!”
The Gym Leader turns sharply on her feet, cords trailing in the air behind her, before she all but strutted away, long sleek legs on obvious display, as the crowd went absolutely wild.
Aidinza shakes his head slightly, to pull his attention away from the stunning gym leader's retreating form, and finds himself sharing a glance with a widely grinning Edith.
“Come, Darling, you have a gym challenge to prepare for!” Edith’s steel grip once more grabs onto the young Ya’an-ah and drags him off the stage.
-
Edith had Aidinza out of the gym in minutes, the short-statured woman once more proving her absolute mastery of the seemingly identical hallways in the backrooms. He ended up leaving from a different door, and this one somehow seemed even more out of the way, a precaution against the paparazzi Edith told him.
Then, after a brief stop at the Pokécentre for a free meal, one he was entitled to even if he had used his fifteen days a month, Nurse Joy told him, he made his way back to the clearing from last night.
Edith was right, he did have a gym challenge to prepare for, if her eyes were any indicator of the calibre of trainer Elesa was, then you would need everything you could muster.
Hone Claws was progressing at a reasonable pace. The biggest issue was crossing the final hurdle of getting Sandile to use the move without first rousing his dominance instincts. But that issue was not as bad as it might seem, Sandile did not, and maybe never did need Aidinza’s drawing. However, he did need the added push of Aidinza’s mimicked growl.
There had been a slight issue at the start, where Sandile would mistake his trainer as someone he needed to assert dominance over and would be slow to obey his orders. But after a few hours of effort, that was ironed out.
In fact, barring the fact that Aidinza had to rely on the crutch of the growl, he was very satisfied with the move, it only took a moment for Sandile to ‘power up’ as it were, and the Croc always performed the move successfully.
And so, Aidinza decided that at least for now, Hone Claw’s could be set aside.
“We’re going to be trying to learn something else now, Sandile.” His Pokémon wasted no time in reacting to that, cheerfully bouncing to attention with more energy than he has had for hours. Something about using hone claws exhausted the little guy, though Aidinza was not sure if it was the energy he channelled, the chemicals that flowed through him, or if it was the rousing of his instincts that did it.
The young man does not dwell on that thought for long, flipping through the notes he wrote out while he had been eating his lunch at the Pokémon centre. Specifically on training Sandile on just how to use a move known as Sand Tomb. It was something that the Sandile line was predisposed to, they naturally manipulated the sand around them when they swam through it to go as fast as possible, and Krookodile were capable of causing massive sandstorms when roused to anger.
Or stopping them, as the Naisho’h were more familiar with.
Though training was made slightly awkward, for the fact that they were no longer in a desert, instead they were in a dusty dirt clearing. Thankfully, Aidinza had wasted no time in securing a bag of sand at Nurse Joy’s instruction yesterday, and it was coming to benefit him in more ways than just hygiene.
The training was both slower and faster than Hone Claw. Faster because Sandile seemed to have a more conscious understanding of what he needed to do when he pushed the sand around. Slower, because Aidinza did not have a shortcut to having Sandile do it exactly right.
Still, there was progress, even if that progress was little better than Sandile just kicking sand at the enemy. He was starting to figure out how to manipulate the sand for longer, and there were even times when it started to circle whatever ‘target’ he was focusing on for a few moments.
Hopefully, by tomorrow, the two of them will have something workable down.
If not, well the two of them have managed well enough so far with just physically bullying their way into victories.
And at this point, all he could really do was hope that was enough.
-
There was more buzz around this fight than Aidinza thought was really reasonable. He had even heard it talked about when he ate breakfast in the morning at the Pokécentre. Well he heard about a “cute boy” sneaking onto the catwalk to challenge Elesa, and maybe it was slightly self-absorbed to think that it was probably about him, but it seemed slightly too fantastical to happen twice.
“Of course, there is a buzz about it Darling, think about it from their perspective! It is such a vibrant story! A young handsome desert nomad, so enamoured with our beloved Gym Leader that he sneaks onto the catwalk to personally challenge her? It’s the stuff of naughty nighttime reading.” Edith dragged the comb through his hair once more, before nodding, seemingly satisfied with the oddly wild way she had styled the young Ya’an-ah’s hair.
“I’m not sure the battle would live up to expectations though.” While he had quickly come to love his Sandile, Aidinza was not blind to the fact that he was a very new trainer, with a rather young Pokémon. Hardly something able to compete with the legendary battles of elite trainers.
“It's not about the battle darling, it's the narrative.” The short woman brushed the front of his cloak once more before she beckoned him to stand up. He wastes no time doing so, even if he found himself agreeing with Edith that he had to look his best infront of Elesa, it was still uncomfortable to have the woman fussing over him. “It’s the zest and spice!” The woman spun around, her red dress sparkling in the stark light of the dressing room. “I’m sure even if you go out there and lose in a single move the city would buzz about it.”
The young man hums noncommittally, looking at himself in the mirror he had been set up in front of as he stood up. Edith had, in her words, ‘lightly’ touched up on his face, added just a dash of daring darling. Considering that he could not see much of a difference in his face, he found himself wondering just how lightly she meant.
“Now darling, it's time for your two thirty!” He followed Aunty E through the uniform maze-like hallways of the gym, unable to really tell where he had come from or where he was going no matter how much he tried to focus on the corners they were taking. This time, however, instead of coming out in a room full of beautiful people, they came out into a room with a somewhat aged man, with grey receding hair, and again still very odd to Aidinza, wearing sunglasses inside.
“And here is our challenger for the day. I’m Cylde, I’ll be the referee of the battle today, the battle will be following the standard league rules, in a two versus two format. However, unlike standard league rules, items, and substitutions will be allowed.” The young trainers' brow furrows at that, that seemed like it could get annoying. Clyde seemed to notice his expression, giving him an easy-going smile. “You shouldn't need to worry about that one, Elesa’s not going to bring out the Emolga twins on a zero badge trainer.” Despite not knowing what the Emolga twins meant, the words were surprisingly calming to Aidinza, and he tried to return to smile. “Now, I have to head up to the referee box, but do you have any questions?”
Aidinza shook his head no, and with one final smile from the older man, he headed towards a door, a keycard at the ready. “Wait, I have one… question.” Clyde was gone, the heavy door clicking shut behind him.
“What is it darling?” He glances down at a concerned Edith and shrugs.
“I don’t actually have a second Pokémon.” He smiles bashfully, hoping to head off any sort of scorn from the woman and to cover up the nerves that were playing on his mind.
“Your bold moves know no bounds darling! Challenging your first gym before you catch your first Pokémon? Daring.” Despite the probably reassuring intent of Edith's words, Aidinza still felt worry curling in his gut. Something the red-dressed woman took quick notice of. “Don’t worry darling, you’ll do great, I’m sure of it, just give your best shot.”
“Thanks, Aunty E.” Her words finally got through to him, and with a deep breath to expel the last of his nerves, the young man stood up.
“Challenging her, from the infamous Yaanah desert, also known as Route Fourrrrr!” The two of them perk up at that, and Edith immediately begins pushing him towards the door to the arena.
“Good luck, prove great skill! You’ll do great, put on a good show and the crowd will love you, darling! I’ll sort out the announcer's pronunciation for you so don’t worry about that darling.” Soon enough he was standing at the precipice of the entrance to the arena, and Edith had disappeared from the room.
“Give it up for AIDINZA!”
The just named man takes a slow breath in, and pushes through the door into a wall of blinding light and deafening noise.
Flashes of bright stark light, beams of coloured lights, shouts and jeers, cheers and screams all hit the young man at once, and it took him a long moment to recover from the sensory overload.
And when he did, he almost wished he had not. Once again the entire stadium was utterly packed, and this time he knew that they were not just here inadvertently to his presence, but actually here in some tangential way for him.
Struggling to ignore the crowd, he turns his attention to the arena before him. It was a long unraised strip, reminiscent in some ways to the ‘catwalk’ he had been on yesterday. Though it was much wider. The floor itself was tiled, and at the edge of it was a net, probably to prevent any Pokémon from slipping off and colliding with either the crowd or the ground.
Then before he could look any further the lights dimmed, two large spotlights tracing along the sides of the strip, starting in the middle, and crossing over each other seemingly at random as they approached the other end of the arena.
“And defending her gym’s badge, the electric, stunning beauty of Nimbasa, GYM LEADER ELESAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” The lights crossed over each other one last time, coming together to beam down on the stunning figure of the Nimbasa Gym Leader, hip cocked and a cool smirk on her face.
If Aidinza thought that the noise he heard in reaction to himself was overwhelming, it had nothing on the reaction to Elesa. The crowd went utterly wild, screaming and stomping, a cacophony of revenant adoration. The lights around the arena strobed, almost as if they were joining in on the raucous cheering.
It made the boy feel slightly lightheaded, the world spinning and warping in his head. It was so bad that he was half sure that he was going to fall over on the spot. For a boy of the desert and the sun, it was just too much.
Too much was becoming a distressingly common feeling to him in the few days he had been in Nimbasa.
At some unseen signal, the crowd’s cheering died down, and when he was recovered enough to really take things in again, he saw Elesa strutting down to take up her position on the strip.
“It's a two on two battle folks”. Aidinza winces slightly at that, and wonders if it's too late to tell anyone that he doesn’t have a second Pokémon. “And between you and me, even if this is just a zero badge fight, the beautiful Elesa knows how to make the most out of even the youngest of Pokémon! If you pay close attention at home, you’ll catch some ideas you can apply to your own battles!” The announcer, Clyde Aidinza noticed when he glanced over, hyped up the crowd, as he rose up on some sort of odd platform that gave him a perfect view of the arena. “Gym leader Elesa to choose first!”
“Get ready Aidinza, zero badge team or not, I’m going to leave your head spinning!” He resists the urge to call back that his head was already spinning, as the graceful blonde expands a Pokéball, and throws it to the middle of the arena.
The ball snaps open, and in a flash of red light, a small blue and black Pokémon appeared, only a little taller than Adam's Lillipup, that Sandile had fought on the first day. The crowd cheered, and the Pokémon preened under the attention, yellow eyes sparkling.
“And Elesa sends out a Shinx to start things off! These dazzling flashers will leave anyone too shocked to fight! Now how will the challenger respond?”
Unknown to the crowd, the challenge only really had one response. “Go Sandile!” A tossed ball, a red flash, and an adorable sand croc appeared in the middle of the arena, to the more muted roar of the audience.
“He sends out a Sandile! A smart choice from the challenger to neutralise the electrifying moves of Elesa! But type advantage isn’t everything!” Doing everything he could to ignore the crowd around him, he meets Elesa’s eyes. Her painted lips were tilted up in an almost approving smile. “Now get ready! Get set! Begin!”
“Ultramarine, get pumped up for a performance, Howl!” Elesa’s voice rang clear across the arena, a single slender arm cutting through the air in a remarkably dramatic gesture. Instantly the Ultramarine lets out a deep-chested howl, the sound scratching at a deep remnant of Aidinza’s monkey brain.
It was a move similar to Hone Claw, Aidinza realised immediately, as the Blue-black Pokémon’s muscles began to bulge underneath its fur.
“Sandile, Hone Claw.” His growl is instantly echoed by his Pokémon, as the sand croc rears back on its legs, and the malicious rasp of keratin scraping against keratin fills the air. “Now get in close, and overwhelm it!”
Sandile explodes forward, claws padding against the tiles as he moves at a speed that belies its size.
“Don’t let him push you around, tackle!” Shinx wastes no time in obeying his trainer's instructions and meets Sandile with as much ferocity as a half metre blue feline could muster.
Which was a rather large amount as it turns out, shoulder checking the sandile on its approach, sending it sprawling backwards. Sandile wasted no time in getting back on his feet, but once again Aidinza found himself reminded of the difference between using moves and raw physicality.
“Keep dazzling them Ultramarine!” Elesa before Sandile had even got to his feet, and the small feline darted forward.
“Sandile, Sand Attack!” It was a spur of the moment choice, one that Aidinza found himself immediately unsure of, but Sandile gave him no time for him to rescind the order, ripping sand out of the tiny bag tied to his side, and throwing it at the charging Shinx’s eyes, causing him to stumble to a stop. “Give him no time to recover, flex on him!”
Instantly Sandile's posture shifted, his back legs bending slightly, front legs straightening, and Aidinza knew from experience a crocy smirk would be spread along his long snout. But this time rather than waiting for the blinded Shinx to react, Sandile exploded forward and crashed into Elesa’s pokémon. However, the lack of reaction from Elesa’s Pokémon did not seem to weaken the move in the slightest, as Sandile crashed into him with incredible force.
The Shinx was sent flying, the face full of sand it had received flying everywhere from the sheer force of the impact, and came to a rolling stop not far from Elesa’s feet.
It did not get back up, and for a moment the crowd seemed stunned.
“Incredible! In a single attack, the challenger has put down Elesa’s shinx! I didn’t promise a clash of titans here folks, but maybe Sandile wants to deliver one!” Sandile straightened up even further at the praise, tilting its head side to side, as his muscles, already empowered by Hone Claws, grew even further as the chemical cocktail of Moxie spread through his body.
“Well done! I’m glad to see you aren’t wasting my time.” Elesa flashed a wide, brilliantly white smile at the young Ya’an-ah, and he felt his cheeks warming up at the attention. “But my next Pokémon won’t be so quick to go down. Go Bolt!”
This time the Pokémon released was taller than Sandile, a hooved creature with a black and white coat, and a tall mane that was stylized into a lightning bolt. Two intelligent, but rather cloudy blue eyes stared out at… seemingly nothing. Aidinza frowned.
“And Elesa releases one of her incredible Blitzle! Keep an eye on this one people, Elesa’s main Zebstrika is considered one of the strongest electric types in Unova!” The crowd cheered, however they still seemed subdued, after the quick loss of shinx. “Now get ready for the second round, people, because it begins now!”
Aidinza, rather than ordering Sandile to do anything, instead continues to watch the Blitzle, focusing on its eyes. It only took a moment for him to realise what was pulling at him, he had seen those same eyes on the older folk of the Ya’an-ah, the folk whose eyes had long failed them. Half horrified, his eyes snap up to meet Elesa’s.
“Is he blind?” Are you forcing a Pokémon to fight blind, was left unsaid for the moment, but if he did not get a satisfactory answer, then it would certainly be on his lips in an angry second. Elesa did not seem put out by the question, or well not in the way he expected. Instead, she only gave a soft, almost sad smile down at the Blitzle.
“He is. Little Bolt’s one of my Zebstrika’s foals, but unfortunately was born with damaged eyes.” Despite the explanation, Aidinza was no closer to being satisfied. “He still loves to fight, however, so I make sure he gets a chance whenever he can.”
“How do you even expect him to fight if he can’t see!” Despite his obvious mounting frustration, Elesa merely smiled at him appreciatively, which did little for the Nomad’s mounting temper.
“Through the bond of a trainer and a Pokémon obviously! He’ll trust me to tell him what to do, and I’ll trust him to pull it off with everything he can! Now Bolt, S S E Quick Attack!” The conversation ground to an instant stop, as the Blitzle blurred forward, his hooves beating a quick tempo against the tiled floor.
“Sandile, dodge!” Despite himself, he still could not really bring himself to order Sandile to attack a blind Pokémon. However, he knew that since it was blind there was no way it would be able to make an adjustment already in motion as it was, and hopefully once Elesa realised that she would call of thi-
“S S S E!” Elesa called, as Sandile dodged left, and instantly the Blitzle readjusted its charge to dead-on Sandile, slamming into him with bone-rattling force.
However Sandile was empowered by both Hone Claws, and the territorial instincts of Moxie, and rather than sending him sprawling like Shinx’s tackle, it only sent him sliding back slightly, the grind of the sand left from the previous fight awful on the ears. It seemed that Elesa was going to give the two of them no real choice in fighting a blind Pokémon.
“Sandile, flex on it!” He called out, wanting to at least end this quickly if he had to fight it.
“Dodge N N W!” Not that Elesa was planning on making things easy for him as Blitzle reared onto its hind hooves, and booked it away from the preparing Sand Croc. “Now S S E, come in on an angle!”
Blitzle immediately complied, running straight perpendicular with the edge of the arena, using its incredible speed to get a flank on Sandile. However, Sandile was no fool to sit around gormlessly, spinning to face the fast equine.
“Get ready Sandile, attack when he’s close!” He catches the slight nod that Sandile gave in the distance, already almost glowing with the power of his flex, and turns back to watch as the blind Blitzle blurred forward in another quick attack.
“Now!”/“Jump!” The two of their orders blended together, but their Pokémon seemed to have no trouble in making a distinction between the two. Sandile shoved himself forward, looking to barrel straight through the Blitzle.
However, the Blitzle jumped clean over the Croc’s snout, landing with a clatter on the sandy tiles behind him, and once more rearing up to spin around.
“Behind you!” Came Aidinza’s too slow warning, as the Electrified Pokémon surged forward in another lightning-fast dash, colliding with Sandile back, and this time having a far greater effect, unprepared as the desert dweller was.
“This is what my Gym teaches, Aidinza, that with a strong enough bond with your Pokémon you can overcome anything, all you need to do is trust them!” Elesa’s call to Aidinza was followed by a roar of approval from the crowd, many of which began a chant of her name.
Aidinza’s shoulders hunch into a tight line, as he turns back to the fight, ruminating over her words. However, he was not given long to think, as Elesa pressed the assault, guiding her Blitzle into leveraging its speed advantage to a frankly incredible degree.
It was not going well, no matter what Aidinza or Sandile tried, the Blitzle was just too fast, and too agile for them to catch out, and even empowered as Sandile was, he was starting to feel the strain of multiple quick attacks.
They had to change something soon, or they were going to lose. But what could they do? No matter the progress they had made on Sand Tomb, it was nowhere near ready. While Sandile could throw a lot of sand at once, he could do nothing with it after a few seconds beyond the smallest tugs, and considering Blitzle was already blind, it could hardly work as a distraction.
Aidinza winces as Blitzle sends Sandile sprawling again, his fast found friend landing in the…
Sand that had spread across the arena. The sand from Sandile’s sand attack. A plan began formulating in his head, one that would stop the Blitzle for long enough for Sandile to get a solid hit in. The only issue is it would be doing something with sand that the two of them had yet to manage.
“N E E E, let's finish this Bolt, Double Kick!” But was that not a facet of the lesson that Elesa had just tried to teach him? Sandile was trusting him to come up with something to do, and Aidinza now that he had come up with something, now had to trust Sandile to give it his all.
So, as Blitzle approached on a blisteringly fast approach over sandy tiles, and Sandile sluggishly turned to face him, Aidinza put his plan into action.
“Sandile! Push all the Sand around you!” And now, all he could do was trust.
Trust, and hope Sandile could deliver.
And of course, Sandile wasted no time in attempting to follow the order. Instantly the thousands of grains of sand left behind from Sandile’s sand attack and spread about the arena throughout the fight shuddered and shook, but did little else. For one sinking moment Aidinza was sure that it was not going to happen, far too familiar with the sight of shaking, but unmoving sand proceeding a tired Croc.
But that Desert Croc was not this Desert Croc. Empowered by Hone Claw, and Moxie, and with it all on the line? Well, Sandile could do and would do nothing less than absolutely deliver.
As Blitzle spun around, his powerful hind legs lifting in preparation for two powerful kicks, the sand coating the tiles surged back, with incredible force. Blitzle, unprepared for the very floor underneath it moving against it, found himself dragged along with it, unbalanced and toppling..
“Now Sandile, finish it!” The order was almost superfluous from him, as an already irritated Sandile slammed his body into the blitzle, sending the white and black equine skidding across the arena and over the edge to be caught by the net underneath.
Silence, for the first time since Aidinza had stepped onto the arena. Not even the stunned murmurs of when he had beat Shinx in a single move was this quiet.
The sound of a Pokéball returning a Pokémon breaks the silence, and when Aidinza looks over to his opponent he sees a soft expression on Elesa’s face. “Well done, you’ve earned a Bolt Badge. Your trust in Sandile dazzled me.”
She pulls a yellow bolt-like metal badge from somewhere, and it flashes in the light as she flicks it over to Aidinza. He catches it, and for a moment just stares at it, not quite understanding.
“There you have it, folks! The challenger beats the stunning Elesa one pokémon to two! What an incredible performance.”
He glances up at the stunned crowd, wide green eyes taking in the surprised faces of thousands.
And then they go absolutely fucking ape-shit. Cheers and screams, louder than even Elesa’s entrance. A chant of his name took up through the arena, and it almost felt like the building was shaking from the raucous applause.
Aidinza’s eyes fell back to the badge he had caught.
He had done it.
He won.
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