CHAPTER 151

The first thing we did before getting back to the Center was run back to Luca and ask him if he knew about any links between Harry Rodriguez and the Hunter family, but he had no answers for us. He'd said that there was nothing there that he knew of, but that he was going to start digging today already. If he ever figured something out, he would contact us and let us know.

For the right price, of course. He was somewhat similar to Abel in that regard, which kind of pissed me off. If there was some scheme going on, why not do the right thing and expose it? Or at least try to work with us.

The second thing we did was call for a group meeting where Louis, Cece and I brought everyone up to speed with the information we didn't manage to convey over text. We were currently in Cece's room to discuss things.

"Tomorrow, I'll try to ask around," Denzel said with his arms crossed. "There ought to be people that know more about Harry… still, none of this makes sense. I mean, he's a good trainer and all, but I still don't understand what the Hunters would have to gain and why BattleZone would be cooperating with this. The risks…"

"The risks didn't deter my father," Cece said.

"But there's no reward at the end," I said. "Unless there is, and we just aren't seeing it. It can't be for money. The Hunters are already filthy rich, and so is BattleZone. Hyper Beam wouldn't put a dent in their expenditure. And there's also how obvious they're making it too."

I tapped my foot against the floor and bit my lip. I was good at these things. Brainstorming and thinking about stuff, but for the first time, no answers were coming up. Why, why, why? No matter how I spun it, nothing made sense. We were back at square one—

Cece grabbed my hand and gently led me onto her lap.

"Relax, love," she said, hugging me from behind. "There's no fire. We still have time to figure it out."

"And maybe it's just a coincidence—" Maeve stopped when Pauline stared daggers at her.

"What was the supervisors' reaction when you guys lodged a complaint?" I asked.

"They were genuinely nice," Justin said. "Understanding and everything. They said that they'd be willing to refund half of Pauline's entry fee for the misunderstanding—"

"Which I took, by the way," she huffed. "Fucking half. Am I worth half a human being?"

"—We're not as good as you at reading people, but I felt like they were trying to be as nice as possible."

Denzel nodded to agree.

"Could they not be informed about the scheme?" I muttered. It would make sense for low to mid-leveled employees not to know. "Or maybe they sold it really well…"

"Either way, we won't figure out more until more time passes. Like Maeve says, it could be a misunderstanding or a coincidence, but the way Luca told us about the two people who resigned… there was something there," Louis said. "If we see more sudden resignations to give Harry an easier path, then we'll know for sure."

"Don't forget they might mix in others too," I warned. "Only helping Harry would be too obvious."

"Let's just go to sleep for now," Mira shrugged.

"Fine."

I went to bed pissed that night. And I also woke up pissed. I should have cuddled with Cece all night to soothe my soul. To be honest, I kind of wanted to sleep with her every night, but I didn't want to be too clingy and ask. She might find it annoying, and I didn't want to be a high-maintenance girlfriend. My battle against Yasim was in the morning just like my first one, and with all of yesterday's events I hadn't exactly had time to plan a general strategy, so I was just going in with the goal of taking down Hippowdon as quickly as possible to get rid of Sandstorm in hopes of using Sunny Day.

I stared at my opponent as I stepped onto the platform and exhaled. For my talks to Princess about not taking out her anger on her opponents, it was hard not to let loose here. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I needed to be a good example for her.

Yasim Benzema clasped his hands together, and his head twitched in anticipation. Just like my previous opponent, he was nervous to face me. What that nervousness would do to him during the battle, however? Would it sharpen his wit or dull his senses? That remained to be seen. I grabbed my two Pokeballs and felt at the cold steel with my palms. They filled my hands so comfortably.

The Snow Field had been completely fixed since Lauren had destroyed it yesterday. There were no signs of the crater or the upended earth, and a thick layer of snow had been placed back.

"This is a battle between Yasim Benzema and Grace Pastel. Trainers, send out your Pokemon."

We both released our Pokemon onto the field. Hippowdon stood at attention, its body tense, but there was a strange calmness in its eyes. Sand began to leak from the holes on its body and fell onto the snow, giving way to a mix of gold and white. A huge Lairon stomped the floor and stared me down with its resplendent blue eyes. I'd have to keep it away from Princess, but with how high in the sky she was, she was probably safe from most attacks. She tilted her head and curiously eyed our enemies— no doubt scanning for a weakness. Angel's vines waded through the snow and he played around for a few seconds, reminding me of our time up north on route 216 and 217.

"Begin!"

"Start getting in there. Slowly," I told Tangrowth.

There was no point in using Sunny Day. Hippowdon's Sandstorm was already starting to pick up. Tangrowth happily waddled through the snow, sifting the cold surface with his vines. I didn't want to wait for what Yasim was going to do next, but I was waiting for a specific distance for Princess to spring into action.

"Stealth Rocks, Lairon! Hippowdon, Sand Tomb the Tangrowth! Keep it trapped, or we lose!"

Lairon's entire body shook, and it ejected sharp rocks from the holes on its metallic head. The snow below Tangrowth's feet turned to mush, and then the mud from below erupted. Angel tried to get out by propelling himself with vines, but he couldn't. He was too heavy. Too slow.

"Ancient Power. Five spears," I said. "Don't aim for the eyes."

With a sharp nod, Togetic lifted the already-formed spears from the ground. They were thick and wickedly sharp, clocking in at eight feet long each. With a gleeful giggle, she launched each spear flying toward Hippowdon.

"Escape with Dig!" Yasim yelled.

The ground type yelled and sunk into the ground, and the five spears were lodged into the floor. The Sand Tomb under Tangrowth's feet stopped moving, allowing him to push himself out with his vines. Yasim cursed.

"Autotomize!" He yelled.

"Get him," I said.

Lairon's body shimmered, and the steel type skidded onto the floor, narrowly avoiding Tangrowth's Power Whip.

"Keep your distance and Earth Power!" Yasim yelled. "Hippowdon, get up there and Fire Fang!"

Interesting. Yasim was a lot trickier than what I had given him credit for. Geysers of molten rocks and earth erupted under Tangrowth's feet, singing his vines, and Hippowdon unburrowed right behind him with flames dancing in its huge maw.

"Behind you, Angel! Princess!"

One of Tangrowth's vines turned neon green and slammed against Hippowdon's neck, staggering the huge ground type. Five spears stabbed it in the back, burying themselves past its thick layer of fat. Hippowdon screamed but carried out its order, biting Angel with all of the strength it could muster and burning his vines.

"Now run and Dig!"

"Bind."

Ten of Angel's vines wrapped around Hippowdon's entire body. The ground type was too heavy to lift, but it was enough to keep him on the surface. Angel strained against Hippowdon's pull. It was so strong that some of the vines tore away, but they were immediately replaced. I ordered Tangrowth to use Mega Drain and took a deep breath. I couldn't go easy on Yasim. He was good.

I had another plan running in the background but If I could neutralize Hippowdon, then Sunny Day was a possibility. That would almost guarantee my win.

So it had to be done.

"Stab," I cooly told Princess. "Aim for the holes."

"Lairon, free him! Metal Claw!"

Lairon's claws shone, and he tore at Angel with everything he had. It wasn't enough. Tangrowth was constantly draining Hippowdon's energy and replenishing himself. Another set of five spears flew toward Hippowdon and penetrated deep inside of the ground type, each stabbing into its precious sand-creating orifices. The sand streaming out of its holes stopped, and the ground type cried out in pain.

"Princess, another round."

Another five spears. Another scream. Princess' aim was on point today, and the smile that stretched across her face disturbed Yasim to no end. The Hippowdon went limp, and Tangrowth's hold on him loosened. Yasim recalled the ground type and sent out a Magnezone. The true threat on his team.

"Focus," I warned her.

"Fuck up that Togetic. Thunderbolt!"

Magnezone buzzed, and an arc of electricity rushed toward Princess. It was harmlessly absorbed by her psychic shield.

Yasim's expression began to morph into one of disbelief.

"Finish off Lairon with Power Whip."

Tangrowth smashed Lairon again and again, denting its tough metallic armor. The steel type tried to fight back, but he couldn't withstand Angel's assault. After using Tri Attack on Togetic and realizing that even that wasn't going through, Yasim ordered Magnezone to use Thunder Wave on Tangrowth instead. Angel froze and his vines sputtered, allowing Lairon some respite.

"Tri Attack Tangrowth!"

"Barrier on him," I told Togetic.

Three lasers of fire, ice, and electricity hit Tangrowth, but a protective bubble appeared in front of him. She was far, but she was quick.

"That's fucking bullshit," Yasim groaned.

It really wasn't, but I shut up and didn't let it show on my face. He probably thought that Togetic was shielding Tangrowth at the same time as herself, but she wasn't. She'd shifted the barrier to him instead, so she was currently very vulnerable.

"Angel, can you still fight?" I asked. He kept twitching in place.

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"Don't fucking talk to your Pokemon midbattle! Lairon, Magnezone, break through the barrier!"

I frowned. Was I not allowed to check if my Pokemon was okay? Lairon was tired, but he still used weakened Earth Powers to try to help. Magnezone was the one doing the heavy lifting here, and his Tri Attacks were even better than Mira's. It was only a matter of time before the barrier broke. Without Angel, I didn't really have an answer to steel types other than Turtonator. I could use Shadow Ball, but he'd dodge those easily.

"Princess, focus on finishing the Lairon. Ancient Power. Blunt force this time, five rocks."

The barrier around Angel disappeared, and she lifted five thick boulders from the ground. With a fierce cry, she sent them off toward Lairon. The steel type dodged the first two, but it was too injured from all the abuse it had taken from Power Whip. A boulder broke against his head, and another against the softer bits on his flank. Lairon reeled, but let out a defiant roar—

The last boulder hit him in the face, causing him to faint. Finally.

Yasim sent out his last Pokemon. His Vibrava. Princess locked onto the dragon, her eyes unblinking. I could practically feel her bloodlust from here.

"Calm down," I said. "Ancient Power, another set of spears."

"Magnezone, forget the Tangrowth! Gang up on Togetic! Vibrava, Rock Slide!"

I clicked my tongue. I'd been content at Magnezone tiring himself out with attacks that would take ages to bring Angel down, but Yasim was smarter than that. Why worry about Angel when he was incapable of fighting? Vibrava beat its wings until they became a blur and rocks rose toward Togetic like they had a mind of their own. She simply flew up to stop herself from getting hit. Magnezone fired off a Thunderbolt, interrupting her from using Ancient Power. She had to focus if she wanted to shield herself. The attack was absorbed into her shield.

"I'm withdrawing Angel," I said. Turtonator would have been ideal here, but I couldn't use him still. I sent out Buddy instead, who floated up into the air. The Stealth Rock penetrated deep into his body, and he groaned before expunging the rocks and Recovering. "Brine. Princess, Ancient Power. Start with five drills."

"Thunderwave that Jellicent!"

"Shield him—"

"Tri Attack, then! Vibrava, Dragon Breath!"

Princess sent five spinning drills toward Vibrava, who weaved in between them with impressive maneuverability. I should have known that it would have been good at that when looking at its wings.

Fortunately though, Brine came into the picture. Clouds formed above both Magnezone and Vibrava, and thin jets of water slammed against their bodies. The steel type was relatively unaffected, but Vibrava screeched as it spat out its Dragon Breath toward Jellicent. This time, both Tri Attack and Dragon Breath hit, but Buddy just recovered.

And he had been the bait anyway.

A drill tore through two of Vibrava's wings, and the dragon crashed to the floor. It tried to fly back up, but with that gaping hole there was no getting back in the air. It was a sitting Ducklett.

"Spear now. One," I quickly said.

With a sad chirp, Princess raised the earth once more. A single spear rushed toward Vibrava, who tried to counter it with Dragon Breath. The Ancient Power jerked to the right and kept going.

"Magnezone, get in front of her!"

"Get in there and Hex."

Jellicent propelled himself with Water Sport, hoping to reach Magnezone in time. His eyes shone with a menacing red as the steel type's body began to smoke, but the spear actually crashed into it, barely causing a dent. Yasim clenched a fist in celebration.

"Do it again. Ten this time. Buddy, Brine."

I wasn't actually going to hurt Vibrava that much, and Princess knew that. I didn't want to battle like that, and like I had said, I wanted to rein that side of me back in.

But the quick mood switch that Yasim just went through that I manufactured? From things being slightly under control to a complete disaster? That caught him off balance. All this time during the battle, I had limited myself to the number five. Five, five, five. Whether drills, spears, or boulders, I had etched that number into his mind and made him feel safe in thinking that was Princess' limit. A tough attack to counter, but he had grown comfortable with it. Used to it.

And then I pulled the rug from under him just like I had done with Candice, but better.

If he'd been better mentally prepared, then this could have been stopped. At this point in time, however? Yasim could only feel one thing.

Despair.

The spears spread out and all converged toward Vibrava. There was no way for Magnezone to protect his teammate from that many without his trainer's command. The raindrops from Brine slowly but surely dented at his metallic shell. I waited to see if Yasim would fight back, but he just stared. That hopelessness I had crafted? I would use it to win. After realizing that no orders from his trainer were coming, Magnezone tried to desperately interrupt Princess with a Thunderbolt, but Buddy flew in between them with Water Sport and tanked the hit before recovering.

I whistled sharply, and nine of the spears jerked away from Vibrava and dissolved into dust. The one that remained lightly stabbed into Vibrava's abdomen and the ground type fainted. That whistle had been my signal for Princess to hold back, and she'd done so perfectly, although I could still feel some reluctance.

Yasim recalled his Vibrava and bit his lip.

"I forfeit."

—

After slogging through my interviews and escaping by using the Pokemon Center excuse, I joined my friends again. Cece and Denzel were the only ones here. The others were off training or hanging about Solaceon. If I remembered correctly, Pauline was complaining to Emilia on the phone about her loss. Mira was training for today's battle, and I was surprised to see that Denzel hadn't done the same. Justin was rekindling his friendship with Louis since they hadn't talked alone in a long time. I was hoping to go investigate, but I wouldn't be able to do anything until tomorrow when Harry battled again.

Cecilia kissed the corner of my lip. "Your ruthlessness leaves me more enamored with you by the day."

I couldn't help but grin like an idiot, and Denzel frowned at us.

"You guys are weird."

"Shut up. You wouldn't get it," I said.

"No. No, I really don't. Anyway, I'm mostly just joking around. Luring this guy into a false sense of security was as good of a tactic as any."

"It was brilliant," Cece smiled. "I was wondering why you were holding back the whole time, but that reveal was… wow."

"I feel kind of bad. I mean I was pissed about yesterday," I sighed. "So some of that might have slipped into the battle. Hopefully he's fine."

"Should we go somewhere to cheer you up?" Cecilia asked.

"Sure. A change of pace will be good."

"I'll be off. Need to prepare for my battle," Denzel said. "I'm still tweaking a few things."

"Don't act like you aren't hiding something," I smugly said.

"W—What? I don't know what you mean."

"Arceus, that stutter you have when you get caught in a lie is crazy. You should work on that if you want to trick me."

Denzel grumbled as he left. I wasn't going to try to dig deeper into his new tactics unless we were about to battle. I still had a lot of opponents to get through before that, however, so I could relax for now. And now that I'd made it through two opponents without looking up their moves and fighting styles, I could finally stop holding back. I wasn't going to risk getting knocked out this early, not with the Poketch Company breathing down my neck and the money that was on the line.

But most of all, I wanted to face Harry Rodriguez and win. If we both kept winning each round, we would face each other in the top sixteen. That meant that he was the main trainer that stood in the way of a potential reward from the tournament. Thanks to my beneficial position on the bracket, I wouldn't have to battle any of my friends until I made it through him. If none of my friends got knocked out by other trainers, then Harry would have to make it through… Maeve pretty soon. I did think she was a good trainer, but as it stood, I didn't think she had a chance. Denzel and Cecilia would end up having to battle soon enough, and so would Lauren and Mira.

"Grace?"

"My bad," I said, refocusing on her.

"You're anxious."

"Of course. I don't know why, but I want to win against this Harry jerk. Now let's go hang out."

"Where should we go?"

I hummed. "First, go give Angel to Nurse Joy, and then… do you think they have a piano around here?"

—

Somehow, we ended up knocking on strangers' doors to ask if they had a piano we could use. Cecilia had begged me not to do it because of the possibly fatal amount of second-hand embarrassment that she felt whenever some stranger stared at us confusedly when they opened the door, but she loved me so much that she pushed herself for me.

There was no piano to be found. We ended up having a date were we just knocked on strangers' doors and awaited their reactions. Solaceon was a relatively small, tight-knit community. Not as small as Twinleaf, but small enough for people to not even leave their doors locked at night. An old couple called Daniel and Marge even let us in to have some tea.

"It's not often that we have young people in our home," the old woman smiled as she handed us two cups. "What brings you here?"

Cece stared daggers at me.

"We're trainers just passing by for the tournament," I said. "We've been enjoying Solaceon a whole lot so far."

"It's a great little town," Daniel said fondly. "Full of history, if you know where to look—"

"Please, Danny. Don't bore them with your history again," his wife rolled her eyes. "We should talk about younger things. My grandson always brings up this DailyTube thing on the internet…"

"That's somewhere you can watch videos online," I explained, surprised that she even knew about the internet. "What does your grandson do?"

"He's at Sunyshore University. We raised him, Danny and I."

"I heard it's the best in Sinnoh," Cecilia smiled. "He's in good hands."

"He didn't originally want to go there, you see," Daniel said with a regretful look. "He wanted to work for the Daycare. He was really passionate about Pokemon—"

"He still is, Danny."

"Get off my back for a second, Arceus," he grumbled. "Can I just speak uninterrupted for a second—"

"What was that about the Daycare?" I asked.

Daniel sighed and Marge cackled.

"He wanted to work for them."

"I thought it was a family business only," Cecilia said.

"Oh it is. The Hunters have always been that way. Everyone in Solaceon knows that they hold their share of secrets and that they run things here. They aren't willing to just let anyone in. You see, our grandson Isaac used to date a Hunter. Lisa Hunter, to be exact. He hoped to marry her and join their family."

"He would have had to take their last name, which is egregious."

"You only say that because he's a man and you hate the idea of a husband taking his wife's name," Marge countered. "Let me do the talking. The only way an outsider can join the Hunter family is by marrying a Hunter and taking in their last name. Isaac— bless his heart— really believed that the relationship would go that far."

"I warned him. I did. I explicitly told him that his first relationship would most likely not go that far, but he wouldn't hear it."

Cece and I glanced at each other but said nothing.

"When you two girls find a boy, you should keep that in mind," Marge said. "Lisa broke our poor Isaac's heart, and he decided to apply for Sunyshore University. Now he says that he never wants to show his face here again."

I ignored the fact that they had gotten our relationship completely wrong and bit the inside of my lip.

Okay.

Okay.

This was something. A lead. I needed to push for more information.

"How many years ago was this?"

"Two years ago. We haven't seen him since, but we talk on his video chat thing," she sighed.

"And the Hunters… are they secretive of any potential relationships at all?" Cecilia asked.

"Quiet? That wasn't half of it, they made us sign—"

"Marge."

The old woman froze, and audibly swallowed. Sign what? An NDA?

"They were. Lisa constantly demanded to keep it hidden," Daniel continued half-heartedly, keeping his eyes on his wife. "It never got out, though. They tend to always be secret. That's why we always suddenly hear that so-and-so is marrying into the Hunters, and we're always surprised by it."

"Uhuh," I muttered. "Don't you think that's strange?"

"Well, that's just the Hunters," Marge waved dismissively. "They behave like the clans in Kanto and Johto sometimes, it reminds me of my childhood."

"You're Kantoan?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"I was born and spent the first ten years of my life there," she shrugged. "I consider myself Sinnohan."

"But she'll never stop nagging me about how her damned attitude is because of her Kantoan blood," Daniel laughed.

I sipped on my tea and considered what to ask next while Cecilia kept them busy with small talk. I couldn't assume that Harry Rodriguez was dating someone in the Hunter family yet. That was just my brain desperately wanting to fit the last piece of the puzzle that would blow this whole thing wide open. It would be too easy. Too convenient. It still didn't explain why they would even want him to win so much that they'd rig it so egregiously, and it still didn't explain the relationship with BattleZone. People on the forums were already starting to talk about how this whole tournament was suspicious, and the media was also beginning to smell blood in the water. Cece waited for a lull in the conversation and struck.

"Are the Hunters known to work with other companies? You know, they're cooperating with BattleZone for this tournament," Cecilia asked.

"Well, I'm not that well-versed in their business practices. What about you Danny?"

"They're fiercely independent, but not stupid. If there is money to be made, they'll work with others."

"So it's not the first time?"

"Of course not," he waved dismissively.

Damn it, it would have been a lot more suspicious if it was a change from how they usually operated. I was still missing the last piece, but we had somehow gotten a lot more information than I thought we'd get by pure chance. It didn't exactly have anything to do with the tournament, but it seemed like the Hunters had a lot of skeletons in their closet. We stuck around another thirty minutes before we left. They had both become uncomfortable with the number of questions we were asking about the Hunters and kept diverting the topic to other things. They asked us to come back before we left Solaceon, and we said we'd come. They were nice people, even though they had unknowingly thrown shade at our relationship by saying it was doomed to failure.

I grabbed Cecilia's hand and felt my heart pang.

"Are you worried about what they said?" She asked.

"I thought you'd ask me if I was worried about the Hunters," I dryly said.

"I know you," she smiled. "There's an element of truth to what they said… most teenage relationships don't last long. But we can try, can't we? I think we're good together."

"I do too," I reassured her.

She released her Slowking, and we walked in silence toward the city center.

"Say…" I whispered. "Can we sleep together every night?"

I felt Cece jump. "Wha— wha— um—"

"Not like that!" I quickly added. "I mean sleep literally. Just cuddle, you know. I want to fall asleep in your arms. Eugh, that sounded really corny."

She took a bit to recompose herself and cleared her throat. "O—of course. I was… waiting for you to ask that."

"You were? Why didn't you just ask me?"

"Why didn't you ask me earlier?" She countered.

"That doesn't even work," I laughed.

"I thought I'd be too clingy. I already feel like I hog you from our friends too much."

My eyes widened. She'd been worrying about the exact same thing I was.

"Let's just stop worrying about being clingy and be open with each other," I said.

Cecilia's smile widened. She linked her arm with mine and started planting kisses on my cheek while we walked on the empty road. I grinned.

"I've been cutting all of our kisses short," she said.

"How about we put that to the test?"

We were going to be insufferable to our friends, weren't we?