Tuesday, June 20th, 1978, 1200
“So, how’d it go?” Ellie asked around a bite of ice cream way too big for her mouth. It dripped down off her chin and pooled onto the ground for River and Petal to fight over.
After a brief scuffle, Petal unsurprisingly won, happily scooping up her prize, and we both giggled at the scene. We were sitting in a park we had wandered into near the ice cream shop.
I didn’t have to ask what she meant. We both knew what she was referring to. “She turned me down,” I answered bluntly. “Said she couldn’t return my feelings, and that she was sorry. That’s all.”
“Oh, that’s not bad at all,” Ellie said with a dramatic sigh of relief. “Coulda’ been wayyyy worse.”
“And how’s that?” I asked drily, failing to see how her reaction made any sense.
“Well, she could’ve have said that she didn’t like you?” Ellie suggested. “Or that she was seeing someone else. Or that she liked girls. There are all sorts of things I can imagine.” She shuddered. “Daytime television paints a terrifying picture of relationships.”
I raised my eyebrows, not understanding the reference. I hadn’t had the opportunity to watch much television growing up. “And how is that any different from what she said? I fail to see how any of those options are better.”
Ellie rolled her eyes, taking her time to wolf down another bite under her team’s watchful stares as they hoped for another morsel. “Isn’t it obvious? She said she couldn’t return your feelings. Not ‘I don’t like you’ or ‘ew, gross’. Don’t you see the difference?”
Was this what Kiriel meant? I wondered. Unraveling the female mind was a challenge, to say the least. And it was difficult to think objectively about the situation with the pall of rejection weighing heavily on my mind.
I shrugged. “Not really; it seems like for all intents and purposes it’s the same thing. She doesn’t want a relationship of any kind, and that’s it. It hurts, but I’ll get over it.”
“Mare,” Ellie said, turning to look at me directly with a look between disapproval and disbelief. “Stop being such a fucking drama queen. If you were a little more observant you might have realized there are plenty of reasons why she can’t return your feelings beyond simply not liking you, as you seem to believe. It’s not that simple.”
I scoffed. “Like what?”
“You’re ridiculous, you know that?” she shot back, shaking her head. “I think you forget the situation we’re in. This isn’t just a regular trip, and you’re not just a regular person, as much as you might want to believe that. You’re not just ‘Mare the boy,’ a helpless romantic with a crush on a cute older girl. You’re ‘Mare Seiichi’, scion of the Seiichi clan. What you do reflects on anyone else who shares your name.”
She continued, “Say, for example, you do date. And everything goes well. Too well, let's say. And you either try to elope or get Dani pregnant or something ridiculous like that. What happens next? Do you really think you can just waltz home and say, “hey guys, I decided I’m starting a family. Wish me luck!” What would the people of Fuchsia think? What would your parents think?” She shook her head again, a look of disgust marring her face. “Did you not listen to anything Kuon said last night? You’re acting like you’re normal and you’re not. It’s irresponsible.”
“Point received,” I muttered, my heart falling as I recognized the truth of her words. Maybe I had gotten too comfortable after spending the last few weeks away from that world. But it just reinforced how important it was for me to withdraw from the clan if I wanted any agency at all in my own life. Kiriel’s offer was sounding better and better, even if it meant giving up on my feelings of injustice and anger.
“Good,” Ellie breathed, smiling as she dusted the remains of the ice cream cone off her lap. “So before you jump to any crazy conclusions about whether or not Dani actually likes you, just think about her position for a minute. And stop moping about it. The last thing you should do is mope. If Dani does like you, which I think she does,” she said pointedly, “moping about it is just going to make her feel worse and not want to spend time around you, and by extension, us. Do you want that?”
“No,” I said, feeling ridiculous, like I was a small child getting a scolding. Ellie really didn’t play around when she was serious. “I don’t want that at all. Should I just pretend nothing happened? I don’t want her to feel awkward.”
“Probably?” She shrugged. “But it’s not like I can predict the future. But if you just cry about it she’ll probably feel reassured in her decision to turn down your feelings.” She turned my way again with a serious look in her eyes. “What do you want? Are you just looking for a fling to spite your family? Or to get laid? Do you really like Dani genuinely? You should seriously consider your goals right now. Or if there’s even space for a relationship. How you proceed is entirely dependent upon your intentions.”
“I can’t say I’ve ever thought much about it,” I told her, feeling slightly sheepish at how serious she was taking the whole thing. “I just know that I love being around her, and she makes my heart race. I respect her and think she’s a good person and trainer. And when we’re alone, I feel a connection with her I’ve never had with anyone else.” I chuckled bitterly. “Not that I have much to compare to, though. I guess I hadn’t thought much about it past that.”
“And that’s your problem,” Ellie replied. “You haven’t thought about it at all. And she has to. Tell me this; when is the last time someone in your family, anyone at all, just married somebody normal? For love, ya know?”
I pondered her question. My parents had married for political reasons, and Kiriel’s parents before her as well. I didn’t know much beyond that. But I did know Sula hadn’t hesitated to go on dates and the like. But she had never been in a relationship, I knew that much. Maybe I should call and ask what she thinks about the whole thing?
“I can hear your brain ticking from here,” Ellie giggled. “You don’t need to answer now. It’s just something to think about. Despite how awesome you might believe her to be, Dani is still just a normal girl from a normal family. Of course she would be aware of the difference in station between you two. She probably forgot about it because we were just off in the boonies for so long. But I imagine it was quite the shock to be suddenly confronted with the leaders of two of Kanto’s most powerful clan’s at a fucking casual dinner like we’re old family friends. It might be normal for you, but not for her.”
She shook her head, her voice softening. “Imagine the poor girl, having only seen your mom on the news or even read about her in history books. A real-life war hero, in the flesh. You have the privilege not to think about these things, but others don’t.”
“And why are you so untouched by it all?” I asked, curious as to why Ellie was speaking about it all so objectively. As far as I knew, she didn’t come from any powerful family in Johto.
She shrugged. “Not my people, not my country. Sure, I moved here, but it’s not like I identify as a Kantonian or anything like that. If I was having dinner with Pryce Hyou or Percival Chikara, I would’ve been beside myself with anxiety! Kiriel is more like distant management or something like that.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I admitted, recognizing the names of the well-known Johtan clan leaders.
“Obviously,” she said, smiling in satisfaction. “I always make sense—the perfect voice of reason.”
“Right,” I chuckled, ignoring her antics. “You were surprisingly nonchalant all last night. I really appreciated it, though. And thanks for calling Kiriel out like that. I’ve never had someone speak up for me before.”
“Don’t mention it!” Ellie said. “I’m happy to help a friend. But now that that’s out of the way, we should probably talk about the fact that we killed Kuon’s guy? We managed it pretty well last night, but I don’t know that they didn’t pick up on the fact that something funny was going on. I tried to cover our asses, but ‘accosted by brigands’ isn’t exactly the most believable excuse for our delay.”
“No kidding,” I agreed, frowning. Prior to Kiriel rudely interrupting my sunbathing, I had been dwelling on that very issue in an effort to get my mind off Dani. “I’d guess there’s a pretty high chance he picked up on the fact that we know more than we were letting on. I doubt he thinks we were directly responsible for it, but he was clearly aware there was something more there.”
Ellie nodded. “I think so, too. He stared Dani down something awful first thing when we got there but went right back to normal in an instant. It was creepy.”
“Sounds like Kuon,” I said, thinking of my experiences with the man. “Even though I’ve known him for years, it’s difficult to tell what he’s really thinking. But I don’t think he would hold it against us personally if we told him. It’s not like its reasonable to just roll over and die. Besides executing the others, there was nothing wrong with what we did. And we don’t have to tell him about that part, just that we were defending ourselves. I think he would understand.”
“That’s a pretty big part to leave out, Mare,” Ellie commented skeptically. “What if he knew the details of the assignment? We have no idea how close he was with Adrien. His story made it sound like they were close friends. But what if he knew every part of what they were doing? Do you think Kuon is capable of supporting that kind of thing?”
“Probably, if I’m behind honest,” I admitted, loathe as I was to admit it. “You heard his story; he clearly doesn’t hesitate to get his hands dirty if necessary. But what I don’t understand is why he would support such a thing. He’s always been a staunch supporter of Kiriel, and I don’t see why this would be any different. What would he stand to gain from fomenting discord?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t like it,” she replied, shrugging resignedly. “But I do know we should try to find out before we go too much further. I know you’re friends with him, Mare, but I can’t help but think we should be wary. I know we tend to think old people are all cute and loving and all that Tauros shit, but it also means they’ve had more time to develop any nasty habits they might have. Like plotting and backstabbing, for example. You don’t stay in charge of a huge city for decades without some of that.”
I nodded slowly. What she said was true enough, but I was having a difficult time picturing Kuon as the villain. He had always been exceedingly kind to me, and I didn’t want to give up that image of him if I could help it.
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“I’ll be careful. I promise,” I said. “We should have a chance to talk with him today after registering for the gym. Maybe I can find out more then?”
“Sounds like a plan!” Ellie said, standing up with a big yawn. “That drunken sailor thing really worked! I feel wayyy better.” She turned my way, holding out a hand to help me up. “You ready to go check out that battle center thing? The one Liza said we should check out?”
I took her hand, standing up with a smile. I had to admit, I felt a lot better after talking to Ellie and getting some food in my system as well. The headache had finally receded. “You got it!” I looked down at my team. “You guys ready for some actual matches?”
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“Raticate, use Hyper Fang!”
Ellie and I watched with growing horror as the fluffy brown pokemon tore into a poor Caterpie that didn’t know what hit it, its sharp incisors easily crushing through the bug’s soft carapace and deep into its body, nearly tearing the poor thing in half.
Yellow-orange blood pooled around it as it immediately fainted, its trainer’s face going white with concern as she rushed into the ring to recall her downed pokemon before it literally fell apart.
Thank Arceus for modern medical care, I thought, wincing. Just a few years ago, an attack like that would have been lethal.
The referee raised a red flag with an appalled look on his face. “Tyler’s Raticate is the winner. Please be advised, emergency medical care can be found directly down the street.”
The victorious trainer walked to the center of the ring to collect his winnings. He had the good grace to look slightly bad as the crying trainer handed over a wad of bills.
“Wow,” breathed Ellie as we walked away from the viewing area. “That was a blowout.”
“No kidding,” I agreed, looking for another match to watch. I was trying to find a trainer with a strong electric type to practice with but was having no luck so far. “That girl had no business attempting to fight here. She should still be in the outskirts trying her luck with other beginners.”
“Why is that?” Ellie asked, cocking her head. “They seemed plenty strong from what I saw. The trainers outside the city, I mean.”
I shook my head. “That’s just because you’re a beginner. These arenas are expensive and are a huge step up from the beginners running around with pokemon they just got. If there are stronger trainers out there, it’s simply because they’re trying to fleece some newbies for cash.” I gestured around at the facility. “This place, in contrast, is for people seriously trying to improve.”
We were in what was known as a Battle Center. It was a massive circular building that offered panoramic views of the numerous arenas trainers could rent out for challenges.
A raised central platform overlooked the different arenas spanning out from it. The design was roughly shaped like a wheel, with the arenas being like the spokes. There were twelve arenas in all.
You paid a flat rate, and then people posted challenges. The longer you won, the more you recouped your losses and even potentially made money. If you lost, you not only had to pay the victor, but you then lost the rights to your arena.
From what I could deduce, you needed to win roughly three matches to break even with the overhead cost. Rates varied, but the standard bet for a match was usually less than a hundred league credits.
“Mare, over here!” Ellie called out excitedly. “I think I found one that might work!”
I made my way over to her to see what was going on and was surprised to see an Electabuzz facing off with a Tauros.
“Ziggy, strafe left when it charges and use Thunder Punch! Aim for its chin if you can.”
True to the command, the Tauros, which as a species had little option but to charge, did so. The striped pokemon dodged to the left and lashed out with a left hook wreathed in crackling electricity, making direct contact with the charging pokemon.
Its momentum, paired with the strength of the strike, served to be enough, and the bull pokemon careened into the wall in a twitching and smoking mess of fur.
The bored looking ref raised a red flag. “Samantha’s Electabuzz is the winner!” He turned to the defeated trainer, who was looking at a pokéball in his hand with a conflicted expression as if unsure to sentence whatever resided in it to pain. “If the challenger has any remaining pokemon, they may send them out now.”
“I forfeit,” the trainer called out dejectedly. “I don’t want my Poliwag to get hurt against that monster.”
“Good call,” I muttered to myself. It was clear that the Electabuzz was head and shoulders above the others we had seen, and a puny first stage pokemon with a type disadvantage stood no chance.
Not that I’m much better, I mused, given that I planned on sending Larvitar in as many times as it took until he could take a solid hit or come up with a strategy to deal with electric type attacks.
“Tanner forfeits,” the ref called out. “Samanatha earns her sixth win in a row. Are there any challengers?”
Smiling grimly, I made my way forward.
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“Challenger, you have sixty seconds to release your first pokemon,” the referee said. “There are no swaps.”
I stood on one end of the rectangular arena, taking in the setting. The arena looked to be around twenty meters wide and forty meters long. There was a small pool of water in the center and chalked out ‘trainer boxes’ for my opponent and I to stand in.
I could hear the comforting hum of forcefields surrounding the upper edges of the arena, as well as the small cubby the ref sat in. There was no such protection for the trainers participating in the match, however. Trainers were expected to be on their toes at all times, and injuries were common, if not expected.
“You got this Mare!” Ellie cheered from her position behind me, waving her hand frantically back and forth as if I somehow hadn’t noticed her.
How embarrassing, I thought, doing my best to tune her out and focus on the match. I have to win this.
Although, I had to admit it was nice having someone cheer for me for once. I also had to admit that I was nervous despite myself. Besides my match with Dani, I had never battled in front of an audience outside of my family. Being in an actual arena, with a ref and a gaggle of trainers whispering behind me was a somewhat surreal experience that I had dreamed about for years after watching matches from the outside looking in.
In my fantasies, I had always won. But now I was afraid I would mess things up on my first foray onto a larger stage.
You got this, Mare, I told myself. This is the first of many, many matches. Deep breaths.
I glanced back and realized the gaggle of trainers had grown, and there was now a decent sized crowd of trainers looking down at us with interest from the viewing platform. My guess was that the trainer I was facing was fairly well known around here. Or, she had at least generated some interest by going on a six-win streak.
Or maybe they're interested in me, some small part of myself chimed in before my rational side quashed the conceited thought.
I gave Ellie a relaxed thumbs up and looked over at my opponent. It was difficult to tell how old she was. Frankly, she could have been anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five. Her plain brown hair was tied up in a professional looking bun that gave me the vague impression that she was older rather than younger. She wore a plain white blouse and hiking pants, sporting a confident smile that told me she knew what she was doing.
“I hope we have a good match,” she called out, her voice easily audible due to the small mics we had both clipped onto our shirts so our orders could be heard. “I’m Samantha.”
“Mare,” I answered simply, tossing out Larvitar’s black and gold pokéball. He popped out, looking more than ready to go, giving me a determined nod before turning to face his opponent.
I had briefed him about our intentions before we entered the Battle Center. He knew what our goals were, and what was required of him. He wouldn’t shirk his role.
They had a no-pokemon policy unless you were actively battling, so Eon and Nana were holed up in their balls waiting until I inevitably had to send them out.
If she had more pokemon even close to the strength of the Electabuzz, she was easily a multiple badge trainer that I had no intention of taking lightly.
“What the hell is that?” my opponent wondered aloud, fiddling with the pokéballs at her waist as she decided what pokemon to send out first.
Four, from what I saw. “It’s a Larvitar,” I offered, recalling that part of my mission was to be as vocal as possible about the species. “Native to the Silver Mountains, in Johto.”
A smattering of whispers broke out at that, and even Samantha frowned. “I see.” She shrugged her shoulders and tossed out a ball. “Let’s go, Maggie.”
A large metallic pokemon emerged from the ball, looking like three magnets professionally welded together. It spun around rapidly, emitting a series of inhuman clicks and beeps that made my skin crawl.
I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the second stage evolution. This trainer had not one, but two powerful electric type pokemon for Larvitar to train against! Despite the rough start to the day, things were getting better and better.
For me, at least, I thought, resigning myself to the fact that I was about to watch my youngest pokemon get utterly destroyed. Repeatedly, if I had my way.
“Match start!” The ref called out, bringing his flag down swiftly.
“Water Pulse,” I commanded immediately, taking the initiative. “Try not to get hit and keep pumping out as many attacks as you can.”
“Iron Defense,” my opponent said, and I heard a jarring metallic noise as her pokémon effectively grew another layer of armor, increasing its already impressive resistance to physical attacks.
This is going to be such a pain, I thought, frowning at the thick layer of armor. There wasn’t a single chance in hell we were winning this matchup. Larvitar was too slow to dodge effectively, and we had yet to come up with a way to negate electric attacks. So, it was a shootout, basically.
Larvitar released a pulsing jet of water from his mouth, hitting his opponent with enough force I could feel the spray from where I stood. But it didn’t do much; the floating pokemon rocked back slightly but looked largely untouched. It was impossible to tell how much damage the attack had done, as it looked no worse for wear.
Samantha giggled. “About what I would expect from a Johtan pokemon. Maggie, hit it with Thunder Shocks until it’s charred meat.”
“Intercept them with Water Gun and Rock Throw!”
The Magneton vibrated, sending of a series of crackling yellow orbs our way, shooting out methodically from each set of magnets in turn.
Showing excellent skill for his development, Larvitar managed to deflect the first four bursts of electricity with a combination of well-placed bursts of water and hunks of rock. A series of jarring explosions rang out as the elements warred for supremacy.
But he couldn’t intercept the fifth, nor the sixth. Nor the next three after that.
I winced as Larvitar squealed in pain, his turquoise scales blackening and cracking to reveal the vulnerable pink flesh underneath. He looked to be locked in place, his muscles spasming from the repeated shocks.
But he didn’t go down, growling resolutely as he stared accross the arena at his opponent with pure venom.
“Not bad at all,” Samantha called out, her voice relaxed. Not that I could blame her, considering how the match was going so far. “Maggie, step things up a notch; Thunderbolt.”
“Water Pulse,” I said calmly, keeping the concern out of my voice. You knew this would happen, Mare. Deal with the consequences. “Keep the beam as tight as you can. Like Nana showed you.”
Giving no indication he heard me, Larvitar heaved a huge breath of air, releasing a concentrated beam of water that rapidly lanced across the field towards his opponent.
Either underestimating the power of the attack or confident in its defenses, the Magneton didn’t even attempt to dodge.
In contrast to his first attack, however, the dense spray of water left visible damage; steel flaked off in the face of the focused pressure, and the pokémon’s three eyes visibly flinched in pain, emitting a cry sounding like rusty gears grinding together.
But Larvitar couldn’t maintain the powerful attack for long, and he quickly spluttered out, looking ready to fall over then and there. His breath came in rapid gasps and droplets of blood from his cracked skin soon dotted the ground beneath him.
He didn’t have to wait long; the Magneton shook itself like a dog, sending water and steel fragments across the arena before releasing a crackling beam of lightning as thick as my thigh towards Larvitar, who attempted to dodge, jumping to the side heavily. But the attack was too fast, and it clipped him before he could fully get out of the way.
He went down without a sound, not even a cry of pain; steam rose in tendrils from a body that contracted uncontrollably. I calmly returned him, mentally thanking him for his fortitude. Holding up to that many attacks in a type disadvantage was impressive.
Seeing his tortured body was difficult, but I reminded myself it was a necessary struggle for him to address his weaknesses. Although, I had to admit it would have probably been better to start him off with a less powerful opponent.
But trial by fire was the Seiichi way, and I had to hope this would lead to more benefit than messing around with a low voltage Pikachu that went down from a single Water Pulse. From my experience, the best way to improve was to throw yourself against more powerful opponents over and over again until something changed.
Samantha scoffed, a sneer erupting onto her face. “What a disappointing first round. I can’t believe you would start things off with such a weak pokemon. It’s barely out of training wheels! Don’t expect me to easy on you just because you have baby pokemon.”
“Thank you for your assistance,” I offered, enjoying the look of confusion on her face at my comment. “Strong electric pokemon are in short supply.”
“The challenger’s pokemon is unable to continue,” the ref called out impassively. “Challenger, you have sixty seconds to send out your next pokemon.”
I smiled viciously, more than ready to avenge Larvitar’s valiant showing.
It was time for Nana to shine.