CHAPTER 157.5

This is just a bonus chapter for the day that I wrote to get through all the OCs my Discord submitted. It isn't relevant to the plot, so feel free to skip if you don't feel like reading battles. Either way, enjoy.

The last few days had been horrible for Cecilia. It wasn't the worst thing she had experienced— far from it. This was nothing compared to the terror her father had wrought on her or being stranded in Mount Coronet or having Abel show up in her room. Yet, this was possibly the most anxious she'd ever felt. Along with Maeve, Cecilia was the last voice of reason within the group. They had to pull the reins and stop their friends from doing anything stupid, and thankfully it looked like they had succeeded. The League knew about the problems Solaceon was facing, the Hunters' link with Team Galactic, and Grace was planning on calling Candice to make sure that they knew that this was real and not something they could ignore.

Things were finally looking up, and yet it still didn't stop Cecilia from feeling like a weight was pressing against her chest. If anything happened to Grace…

No, she couldn't think about that. Just visualizing it was enough to bring her close to tears, and she had to focus for her battle. This would probably be her toughest opponent yet.

"This is a battle between Cecilia Obel and Juan Montes. Trainers, send out your Pokemon."

Juan released a Drakloak and a Grafaiai. Cecilia had progressed a lot since flailing around against Fantina's own Drakloak. Its speed was its main asset, but it couldn't fight against the power she would bring to the table. Grafaiai was a Paldean Pokemon she had never even heard of before. Fluorescent blue paint-like saliva dripped from its fingers, and its teal blue eyes stared right into her own. Grace had insisted on making her do a minimal amount of research. She'd ended up doing all of it though. Cecilia was just content to spend some time relaxing with the girl she loved.

These two weren't the main threat on Juan's team, so he was apparently keeping the best for last. Cecilia sent out her Talonflame and Slowking. She felt her heart swell when the huge flying type soared in the air and screeched. Talonflame wasn't big enough to fly on, but she was large enough to pack a serious punch and she had lost her old frailness. Talonflame weren't known as apex predators for nothing. Slowking put his hands behind his back and silently observed. Cecilia felt bad for Zweilous. She hadn't even used him once in the tournament so far, but it wasn't her fault. She just kept winning too quickly, and Scyther and Golett needed the practice. The bug type still didn't want to listen to her, but he at least took her advice seriously now.

"Begin!"

"Drakloak, Double Team and Quick Attack toward Slowking! Grafaiai, get in there and Venoshock!"

Drakloak let out a juvenile, raspy roar and split into ten. The illusions rushed toward Slowking while charging up Dragon Pulses in their mouths. It was a nice trick, but it could just be overwhelmed by Heat Wave. Deception was only effective when no amount of power could blow past it, which was why Grace was so effective at it when she wanted to be.

"Heat Wave," Cecilia said. "Slowking, you just protect yourself."

Talonflame spread out and flapped her wings. The air slowly grew hotter and distorted, and the Double Teams fizzled out into thin air. The real Drakloak screamed, and a quick Dragon Pulse flew toward Slowking. Weak. The psychic type waved a hand, and the attack curved, crashing against Kadabra's barrier instead. Grafaiai struggled to keep going against the heat and opted to hide behind a boulder.

Cecilia let out a disappointed sigh. She yearned to call out and to tell her opponent to come after her seriously. Or maybe this was it? This was just so dull.

"Infestation!" Juan yelled.

Little green lights wormed their way out of Drakloak's body, flying toward Slowking like missiles out of a jet. A few of them washed over his psychic barrier, while others simply failed to reach him due to the strong winds from Heatwave. The floor was glowing bright red, and only the vicinity below Slowking was safe. Grafaiai let out an agonized scream and ran away from its boulder. The skin under its feet was melting off. It fell onto the floor and began to burn.

Juan panicked and stammered out a few words, but the poison type was in too much pain to act.

Cecilia watched like it was just another Tuesday.

Grafaiai fainted, and Juan sent out a female Indeedee. The psychic type began to burn under Heat Wave's influence, but—

"Fake Out!"

Indeedee blurred forward and jumped, somehow using its stubby legs to reach Talonflame. The bird was stunned by the attack and froze. She would have crashed to the ground if Slowking hadn't caught her. Indeedee fell with a loud thud and its thin fur burned to a crisp, exposing its soft pink flesh.

"Slowking," Cecilia said.

The water type seized Indeedee as Drakloak screamed and struggled to make its attacks connect. Its Dragon Pulse and Infestation might have broken through another Pokemon's barrier, but not hers.

"Forget it! Dragon Pulse the Talonflame!"

"Slowking—"

The water type forwent his attack on Indeedee and protected Talonflame instead, leaving her enough time to fly back to the air. Unfortunately, Indeedee used the opportunity to slam her against the ground with a Psychic of her own. Cecilia grinned. The battle was finally starting.

"Water Pulse!"

A ring of water quickly sped off toward Drakloak, who phased out of existence and reappeared behind Slowking. This time, he was too close. Infestation wormed its way into the psychic type and would keep ransacking him from the inside.

"Psychic! Grab it!"

Slowking held out his hand, but he couldn't stop himself from twitching. The Psychic only held for two seconds until Drakloak escaped. Talonflame, for her part was struggling against Indeedee, but she managed to open her mouth to burn the normal type with ember, leaving her enough time to escape back in the air.

"Finish the Slowking off!"

"Fire Spin!"

Now that he was too unfocused to shield himself, Cecilia couldn't possibly order Talonflame to use Heatwave. A ring of fire came to life around Indeedee, slowly getting tighter and tighter. Slowking brought his hand forward and stopped another Dragon Pulse, but the attack grazed his shoulder instead.

"Acrobatics!"

Talonflame spun in the air and she was next to Drakloak in a flash. The dragon type managed to slip away, but not before getting its tail clawed by Talonflame's talons. Unfortunately, Slowking fell to the ground. It seemed that the Infestation had been too much. She recalled him before he could fall and released Zweilous. She couldn't afford to mess around here, not when Juan still had his last Pokemon up his sleeve.

Well, now that Zweilous was on the field, no more holding back.

"Tailwind, Fire Spin, Heatwave."

Drakloak was a ghost, so he'd be able to resist the extreme heat that had been enough to turn glass into sand. As for Indeedee? Well, Juan was so scared that he recalled her from the fight. Cecilia obviously would have stopped before anything permanent could be done, but he wasn't going to take that chance.

Well, it was time for the true threat to appear.

Juan tensed and released a Ceruledge onto the scorching field. It was a magnificent specimen, and the armor needed to let them evolve could only be forged by a few specialized smiths in Paldea. Cold, ghostly flames covered its body and danced in unison, as if they were alive.

"Dragon Pulse," Cecilia ordered. "Talonflame, stay focused on Drakloak. Quick Attack and Flame Charge to build up speed."

Talonflame screeched, and flames enveloped her entire body. Drakloak was quick enough to dodge, and it desperately tried to fight back with Dragon Pulse and Double Team. The goal was to keep it occupied so it wouldn't focus its dragon type attacks on Zweilous.

The two heads snarled. In a split second, two huge turquoise beams flew toward Ceruledge and combined into one. The ghost type sharpened its blades and sunk into the floor with Shadow Sneak. It traveled through the entire field that way and Cecilia thought it would go for closed range attacks, but it slashed across the air to summon small giggling purple flames. The Will-O-Wisps entered Zweilous' body, and the heads screamed.

Cecilia stared at Juan, who was simply ordering his Drakloak around. She was starting to think that he had not commanded Cerludge's respect quite yet.

"Stomping Tantrum!" Cecilia yelled.

Even with Shadow Sneak, the attack would deal damage. A thin barrier appeared around Ceruledge, not shielding him from the tremor, but from the ground type energy that came with it. Zweilous could keep their attack going for a long time, and the fire type could not. In the air, Talonflame finally managed to cut Drakloak in half with an Aerial Ace. At her speed, Cecilia wasn't even sure that she'd be able to command her properly. Her wings had been singed by Dragon Pulse, and she had been hit by multiple Infestations, but she was still going strong.

Ceruledge's Protect finally broke, and it silently screamed. Its armor clanged and flames surrounding its entire body. Sol used the opportunity to hit it with a Dragon Pulse, but Ceruledge cut the weakened attack in two with its swords and rushed toward the dragon. Shadows surrounded its sword and it slashed across Sol's neck, cutting it like it was flesh instead of tough scales. The head growled and bit at the ghost type with a vicious Crunch, seizing it by the arm.

"Talonflame, pivot!" Cecilia said.

Drakloak was practically a non-issue by now, so now was the time to act. The flying type screeched, and after one blink, she was already hitting Ceruledge with an Aerial Ace that penetrated its armor. Zweilous' second head bit the ghost type's torso with Crunch and Talonflame finished it off.

Ceruledge was good, but its capabilities had seemed overblown by Grace. Oh well, she had always been more safe than sorry regarding battles and battles only. Anything else, she'd throw herself into danger. Talonflame took to the air again and one last Acrobatic finished off Drakloak.

"Victory to Cecilia Obel!"

—

Hours earlier.

"This is a battle between Justin Gardner and Andrew Zabana. Trainers, send out your Pokemon."

This was it, Justin thought. There was no way he was making it any further than this. Andrew Zabana had five badges and he had three. The skill and experience gap was simply too wide for him to overcome this challenge. Justin watched Andrew release a Torkoal and a Victreebel. The sun grew harsh and started to weigh down on the Grass Field. This was his tactic. Andrew was a trainer who used the sun to win against his enemies.

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Justin sighed and sent out his Audino and Growlithe. Guessing who his opponent would start with had been easy enough, but finding a counter had been difficult. He had almost considered using Lombre with Growlithe to focus on taking down that Torkoal, but the sun's sheer power would render his water moves useless. If only he'd practiced more with Audino's Simple Beam…

"Begin!"

No matter how hard he looked, there was no path to victory, but there was a path that came close. Justin snapped his attention to the battle and took a deep breath.

"Torkoal, Stealth Rocks! Vicky, Solar Beam!"

Justin ground his teeth. His opponent was bringing out the big guns right from the start. Solar Beam was such a powerful attack that Growlithe's type advantage might as well not matter, and Audino would take a lot of damage. Torkoal slowly expunged sharp rocks from his shell, and a huge beam gathered in front of the grass type's mouth and flew toward Audino.

"Helping Hand and Flamethrower!"

Dodging such a huge beam would be impossible for Audino, so his best bet would be to weaken it enough to survive. The normal type twirled and clapped his hands, reinvigorating Growlithe, whose Flamethrower was at least twice as strong as normal with the sun and the Helping Hand. The flames spewed forward and countered the beam of energy for a few seconds, but it broke through and burned Audino's body.

"Life Dew and Wish!" Justin screamed. "Growlithe, Flamethrower that Victreebel!"

Another Flamethrower flew out of Growlithe's mouth, but at this distance, it was easy to dodge. The poison type was under Chlorophyll's influence and could move itself with its vines. Water dripped out of Audino's body, healing with slightly and he recovered from his burns. Then, he shot a light into the sky.

"Long range won't work! Torkoal, get in there with Rapid Spin! Vicky, keep using Solar Beam!"

"Audino, Helping Hand! Flamethrower!"

How many times could Victreebel use Solar Beam without getting tired? Even with the sun, it was an exhausting move to use. Once again, Growlithe stopped the Solar Beam with his flames, but Torkoal was spinning through the arena quicker than it could ever hope to walk. The remaining beam was weak enough for Audino to keep fighting, and he healed himself with another Life Dew. It wasn't enough to completely make up for the damage he'd just taken, but Wish could counter that soon.

Justin was okay for now, but it was like he was walking a tightrope. One mistake, and the entire battle would unravel.

"Double Kick that Torkoal away!" He screamed. "Disarming Voice!"

Growlithe quickly turned away from the fire type and tried to kick it with his hind legs, but the force of the Rapid Spin proved too much. Even with Audino's Disarming Voice to soften the blow, he was knocked and sent away. Another Solar Beam engulfed Audino's entire body, and this time, it was fully powered. The normal type was on his last legs.

"Keep going Torkoal! Body Slam!"

"Heal Pulse, Audino!"

Growlithe couldn't afford to fall here. Justin needed him to be as weakened as possible, but not faint. If Audino was going to faint, then he would push Growlithe through this hurdle! A pink burst of energy flew out of Audino's hand and hit Growlithe, healing him just enough for him to make it through Torkoal's Body Slam. The fire type whined as he struggled to get back up.

Justin's condition was met.

"Reversal!"

There was a glint in Growlithe's eye, and his wounds did not stop him from moving any longer. In one smooth motion, he pawed Torkoal away. It was comical how nonchalant the move looked. Torkoal grunted in surprise and flew away toward the barrier, cracking his shell and falling on its back.

Another Solar Beam— weakened this time— finished Audino off. Perfect.

Louis had taught him this little trick that his Pawniard was fond of.

"Retaliate!"

Growlithe blurred toward the helpless Torkoal and rammed his entire body into the turtle. The Pokemon rolled over backward and spun like a spinning top before fainting. Justin could see from his opponent's eyes that he hadn't expected that at all. He recalled his Audino, and Andrew did the same for his Torkoal. Justin sent out his Lombre, and his opponent sent out a Tropius. The stones from Stealth Rocks lightly penetrated his skin.

That was probably the worst-case scenario. Justin felt the high of his victory over Torkoal evaporate in a flash.

"Tropius, fly over there and Seed Bomb! Finish that Growlithe off! Vicky, get closer!"

At least he had stopped the flurry of Solar Beams that had made this battle impossible to fight. Victreebel looked exhausted, and struggled to even walk straight with its vines. If Growlithe could get close enough to use Reversal… but no, that was too risky! He had to do this!

"Flamethrower!"

"Tropius, Wide Guard!"

Justin's shoulders sagged when a thinly veiled barrier appeared to protect both Tropius and Victreebel. The flames helplessly washed over the invisible wall, and Tropius beat its wings, dropping huge seeds from the sky. The explosions rocked the entire field, and despite Lombre attempting to pick off the ones falling above Growlithe's head with Bubblebeam, a few made it through and took down the fire type. Tropius turned and flew back toward his trainer.

Justin sighed and recalled his Pokemon. Krokorok would be terrible here, but what else could he do but try. His path was still open. He could at least take down one more, but it would take a lot of work. Stealth Rocks rammed into the ground type's skin, and he grunted in pain.

"Lombre Rain Dance!" Justin yelled.

With a loud croak, Lombre summoned thick clouds that swarmed the arena and obscured Tropius in the sky. An unintended consequence, but it would also have to fly lower if it wanted to aim properly. Victreebel was almost here now—

"Sludge Bomb the Lombre!"

A thick glob of poison flew out of the grass type's mouth, but Lombre easily skidded across the grass, dodging it. Justin yelled out a Knock Off, and the water type slid his way toward his enemy, dodging Sludge Bomb after Sludge Bomb. Tropius broke through the clouds and sent out Seed Bombs to finish Krokorok off, but the ground type simply buried to hide away from the worst of the damage.

Darkness surged in Lombre's hand, and he hit Victreebel with Knock Off, staggering the grass type. Perfect.

"Sand Tomb!" He yelled out to Krokorok.

With how wet the floor was, Krokorok's Sand Tombs were even more potent than usual. The ground was already covered in mud, and it began to spiral under Victreebel. Lombre had thankfully been quick enough to escape with Swift Swim.

"Now Mist!" Justin hurriedly ordered.

Lombre let out another croak, and a thick mist overtook the arena. Justin had always found it a shame that Grace no longer favored the move, but it would serve him well here. Now, Tropius had no way of knowing where Lombre or Krokorok were, and the latter was free to surface to power up his Sand Tomb and finish off Victreebel!

"Seed Bomb!" Andrew's voice broke through the Mist, and more explosions shook the field. Then more… then more.

Ah.

Justin had forgotten that it didn't matter if Tropius couldn't see the field. It would just be able to sweep the arena over and over and flood the arena with Seed Bombs. It must have taken two minutes for the mist to start fizzling out, meaning that Lombre was down. What Justin saw nothing but destruction. It was like the entire field had been excavated with bombs. Nothing remained of the Grass Field he knew, just like Lauren had done with the Snow Field.

Krokorok was also down. His body was upside down, with his head still buried. He'd been tunneling, but the explosions had broken through the earth.

In the end, Justin had taken down two Pokemon— Victreebel and Torkoal. A better performance than he had the right to ever pull as a three-badger. It stung, but he couldn't exactly be angry.

He had done well.

—

Maeve's face twitched as she stepped onto the podium. Battling since her first loss had always been a nerve-wracking affair that Mira had tried to solve in countless ways, but she didn't think she would ever go back to normal. Nothing would ever give her the confidence she had felt from back when she had dominated Roark and every trainer in her way.

It had all evaporated in the Floaroma tournament.

She couldn't even say that battling would take her mind off things. What had happened these last few days was more than anything she thought would happen in her entire life. Maeve was just a normal girl that wanted to live a normal life, yet her friends kept getting in these extraordinary events. If she somehow won this, she'd have to battle against Harry Rodriguez next match. She was one of the few people with three badges remaining. Louis and Justin had fallen today.

And yet, she still couldn't find it within herself to be proud.

"This is a battle between Molly Chapman and Maeve Chang. Trainers, send out your Pokemon."

Maeve's opponent sent out an Electrode and a Marowak. The electric type had a wide smile permanently etched on its face, and it excitedly rolled around the Desert Field. Marowak hit its huge bone against the floor, and it quickly settled down. Maeve gulped and sent out her Skorupi and Starmie. She had known that Electrode would be first from the minimal amounts of research she had done, but Starmie's psychic powers would be invaluable here. It was a risk, but a risk worth taking.

"Begin—"

"Keep your distance, this thing explodes!" Maeve quickly yelled. "Pin Missile and Psybeam! If he comes at you, stop him with Psychic! Focus on Electrode!"

Her orders were a mess. Rambles full of slurred words and barely coherent enough for anyone to give them meaning. The two attacks flew toward the opposite side of the arena, but attacks from that far away were easy to dodge. Electrode quickly rolled backwards toward Marowak and his grin widened, mirroring its trainer.

"Bone Club!" Molly exclaimed.

Marowak tightened its hold on its bone and hit Electrode away like a golf ball. The electric type winced at the hit, but it was somehow speeding up through the air. Agility.

"Grab him!" Maeve yelled.

Starmie's gem shone and the star on its back rotated. Pink energy surrounded Electrode, causing it to hover in the air. The electric type grunted and squirmed in Psychic's hold, but the damage it was taking made it impossible to focus.

"Now Pin Missile!" Maeve said to Skorupi.

The bug type angled its tail forward, sending out sharp spikes toward Electrode. It was superficial damage, but it would quickly add up—

"Explosion!"

From here?

"Throw him away—"

Maeve hadn't even been quick enough. The Electrode bubbled, swelled, and its body shone. For a split second, the world was still. Then, a giant explosion rocked the field. Maeve flinched when the shockwave immediately reached her, bending Kadabra's barrier. When the smoke cleared, glass littered the Desert Field's upper layer. Starmie had fainted, its gem cracked and devoid of its usual vibrant reddish pink. Marowak had been far enough away to be spared of most of the damage— a testament to how powerful that Explosion had been. If Maeve had to guess, Molly was a trainer that specialized in double battles. They were rare, but they existed. There was no way she would have come up with this strategy otherwise.

But where was Skorupi?

"Skorupi?!" Maeve yelled as she recalled Starmie. "Skorupi—"

A Drapion emerged from the hot sands. How?

Molly recalled her Electrode and sent out an Amoonguss, and Maeve sent out her Monferno, who stared up at his new teammate confusedly. Drapion was wounded, but his quick thinking had made it survive the explosion.

Maeve couldn't afford to be agape for too long. She needed to be quick.

"Drapion, Hone Claws and get in there! Monferno, Bulk Up and do the same!"

Her Pokemon weren't as strong as Molly's, so her best bet was to bridge the gap. Monferno's muscles bulged outward, and the fire type smashed a fist against his palm. Drapion menacingly closed and opened its sharp pincers while they glinted.

"Amoonguss, Growth! Marowak… Bone Club!"

Damn it, again? What was it now? Marowak hit the grass type away just like it had done with Electrode, but it was slower this time. Maeve had time to react.

"Flamethrower and Venoshock!"

Flames and poison washed over Amoonguss, but they did not stop its momentum.

"Spore!"

"Damn it— run away! Keep using Pin Missile and Flamethrower!"

They had actually dealt a lot of damage, but it hadn't been enough. Spores exploded from Amoonguss' body. Maeve's Pokemon held their breaths, but they spread quicker than they could run, and Drapion wasn't used to his new body yet. Both of them fell into the sand.

"Whew. Marowak, get in there and Earth Power both."

It took ten seconds for the ground type to get close enough. Maeve clenched her fists. All she could do was watch. The sand under her Pokemon swelled, and huge quantities of earth burst from the ground, hitting both Monferno and Drapion. It took another four for Drapion to faint, and two more for Monferno to do the same. Maeve recalled her Pokemon and sent out her last teammate.

"Staravia," Maeve said. "You're up."

The flying type jumped and took to the air, analyzing her two opponents with a worried gaze. Maeve had no choice but to wait out the spores. Staravia didn't exactly have ways to attack from a distance, but neither did Marowak, who couldn't even approach because of the Spore.

"Venoshock!" Molly yelled.

Maeve didn't even have to tell Staravia to dodge. She put her wings flat against her body and dove, stopping herself just shy of the spores.

"Double Team!"

Twenty of Staravia's clones appeared, and the original quickly got lost in the mix. Venoshock was powerful enough to dissolve the illusions, but Staravia just replaced them whenever they disappeared.

"Quick Attack!" Maeve said, pointing at Marowak. All of the Staravia shone and rushed toward the ground type. Amoongus was too slow to help. All it could do was worm itself back toward its teammate.

"Rock Slide!"

A barrage of rocks erupted from the floor in front of Marowak, but if there was one thing Staravia was good at, it was maneuvering. The bird extended her wings, bringing herself to a screeching halt, and rushed to the side to go around the Rock Slide. She spun around and used Aerial Ace to strengthen her hit, stabbing into Marowak with her beak.

"Hit her off!" Molly yelled.

With a labored grunt, Marowak slammed its bone against Staravia's skull. The flying type squirmed and flew off, but Marowak threw its bone, hurting her wing. Staravia collapsed in the sand.

"Can you still fly?" Maeve asked.

She tried to push herself off the ground, but she could only glide for a few seconds. Staravia's wing was broken.

"You did good," she said.

"Finish her off with Rock Slide—"

Both trainers gasped when light overtook Staravia's body. She grew until she became larger than Maeve herself, and her talons sharpened. A bright red crest formed above her head.

"Congrats again," Molly smiled.

"Thank— thank you."

It was weird to be congratulated by her opponent, but it certainly felt nice. Another Rock Slide finished Staraptor off, and Maeve lost her battle.

Still, two evolutions? She wasn't as sad as she thought she would be.