CHAPTER 29

“Good luck, dude,” I told Denzel as he nervously left the stands.

“Thanks, I’ll need it,” He answered with a huff.

Louis Bianchi sported that same pompous smile as he always did, even as he lost the coin flip. The blond man sent out his Gible, who announced his presence with a juvenile roar. It seemed pitiful now, but even as the first stage in its evolution line, Gible were absolutely deadly. Denzel breathed through his teeth and sent Eevee. I believed he could win, but it wasn’t looking good. Not only could he only use one Pokemon, but he’d have to win against a dragon type. I retreated deep into my mind right before the match started. What would I do if I was Denzel here? Eevee was faster, but could his attacks even hope to take the Gible down?

“Here is our second game ladies and gentlemen! On the left, we have Denzel Williams from Twinleaf town, owner of the Coal Badge. On the right, we have Louis Bianchi from Jubilife— also owner of the Coal Badge!” The commentator said. Murmurs and cheers ran through the stands when the name ‘Bianchi’ was spoken. “Yes, you heard that right, Bianchi! But on the battlefield, every trainer is equal! Here’s to a good match!”

“I am not equal with this peasant from nowhere. I haven’t forgotten how you spoke to my friends and my fiance. Time to show you who’s—”

“Quick Attack!” Denzel yelled, interrupting Louis.

With a flash and a burst of speed, Eevee blurred toward Gible, who roared out a Dragon Rage in response. Eevee skirted to the left, barely avoiding the draconic flames, and ramming into his enemy. Gibble slid back across the grassy field with a grunt.

“And Eevee gets the first hit! But it doesn’t look to have done much to that sturdy Gible!” The announcer exclaimed. “But will it be fast enough to respond?”

“Next time he does that, grab him,” Louis said.

“Again!” My friend ordered. “Around him!”

With a bark, Eevee rushed forward, and just as he reached Gible, the dragon snapped his jaw shut. Eevee sidestepped and began to run around the dragon, who hissed in a fit of rage.

“I sure do hope Louis Bianchi has that dragon under control— but it looks like Eevee’s running around him in circles! Gible still hasn’t landed a hit yet, and it’s looking like it might not be able to!”

“Dragon Rage to cut him off! It doesn’t matter where you aim!”

“Get in now! Quick Kick!”

Gible screamed out another Dragon Rage, hoping to stop Eevee dead in his tracks, but he suddenly carried all of his momentum and hit the dragon hard with his hind legs, cracking some of its scales. Gible screamed in rage, and sand started to gather around the battlefield.

“Eevee, don’t let him concentrate! Keep using Double Kick!” Denzel ordered urgently.

Eevee barked and kicked Gible in the chin, but the dragon slashed across his face. He retreated with a whimper as the Sand Tomb began surrounding him.

“And Gible has finally found a counter! Eevee seems helpless against that Sand Tomb, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to escape any time soon!”

“Good, good, now finish him off,” Bianchi said with a grin.

Gible was obviously not bothering with anything his trainer said at this point. The dragon stomped his foot, and the Sand Tomb intensified, completely enveloping Eevee.

“Get out of it with Quick Attack!”

Eevee blurred through the sand and immediately rammed into the Gible, who stumbled back, and then Double Kicked it. Gible caught on this time and bit down on Eevee’s back paw. Blood dripped down his fur as he squirmed, trying to get out of Gible’s bite.

“Oh, Arceus! What a ruthless bite from that Gible! Eevee appears to be completely stuck, ladies and gentlemen, this could be it!”

“Kick it with your other foot! Don’t panic!”

“Just Dragon Rage it, you stupid dragon! Finish this!” Louis hissed.

Blue flames began to grow in Gible’s mouth, burning Eevee’s hind leg before three kicks managed to get him out.

This is bad, I thought. Eevee’s almost done.

Eevee’s hind leg was completely screwed. Bleeding, singed, and the poor thing was limping, barely able to put any weight on it. I winced as Gible let out another Dragon Rage, which he dodged with a roll to the left. Any hopes of using Quick Attack were gone now, and the situation was grim.

“Just keep using Dragon Rage, one of them is bound to hit. Stay at a distance,” Louis said.

“Dodge if you can! Get closer!”

“Dragon Rage! What a powerful move from an even more powerful Pokemon! Eevee dodges the first… he dodges the second… he— oh, he gets hit!”

Eevee cried out in pain as the Dragon Rage hit him, completely covering him in searing hot draconic flames. He collapsed onto the ground and fainted. The battle had ended. Denzel’s head hung low as he returned his Eevee. Apart from a few cracks in his scales, Gible wasn’t giving any signs that he had just been in battle. That thing was ridiculously tough, and even a bad trainer would be able to win with its help.

“Well? Send out your next Pokemon!” Louis smirked.

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“Nah, I forfeit,” Denzel sighed. “You win.”

The audience clapped as he walked off the pitch, leaving a very confused announcer and a gloating Louis, and hurriedly came to me.

“You did great, that Gible is just something else—” I started.

“Hey, I’m going to run to the Pokemon Center. Eevee got really hurt… I pushed him too much. I don’t think they have enough to help him here. Sorry I won’t be able to watch your next match.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” I answered. “Let me know if he’s fine when you get any news.”

“Alright,” He said, running off.

I had honestly thought that Denzel would be more depressed about losing on television, but he had grown more than I thought. I could tell he was frustrated with himself, but he knew Eevee was the priority. Bianchi walked back up to the stands, and I could hear him gloat to his group about his victory. I clenched my fist, containing my anger. There was no need to be an asshole about a victory, and yet this man was just awful at sportsmanship. I almost hoped I’d be matched against him to beat his Gible into submission with my Fairy type, but he was on the opposite side of the bracket.

Speaking about the bracket, who will I have to fight next? I asked myself, looking at the giant screen. My jaw dropped.

I would have to fight either a trainer with no badges or Cecilia Obel. Needless to say, she was going to crush that trainer in a single minute, meaning our battle was almost guaranteed. I spent the next few battles strategizing. I knew she wouldn’t use Deino against Togetic, because dragon moves simply left fairy types unaffected, and from what I saw, its only other long-distance attacking move was Incinerate. But she also had that Fletchling. Both of my Pokemon countered hers to some extent, so it all came down to getting favorable matchups. I could switch out, but then she would do the same, and then I would be fucked. So the battle entirely depended on who won the coin flip. If I won, I’d be able to send my Pokemon last, forcing her to switch, and then I would do the same and trap her in an unfavorable matchup. If she won, I would be forced into sending out Togetic first, because I was sure Frillish would lose against Deino.

The outcome of the battle depended solely on luck.

Soon enough, it was time for the quarter-finals. I picked up my Pokemon, who were almost completely healed from their previous battle, and I made my way onto the pitch. I took a breath, picked tails, and she picked heads.

The referee flipped the coin, and time slowed as it fell back into his hand. I adjusted my collar as he caught it and slowly lifted his hand up into the air, teasing the audience.

It was heads.

“Fuck,” I whispered.

I grabbed my first Pokeball and sent out Togetic, and Cecilia released Fletchling— an unfavorable matchup not because of the type but because of the flying type’s sheer speed and maneuverability in the air. Togetic wasn’t fast at all relative to an actual bird, and she wouldn’t be until I evolved her into Togekiss.

I wiped my hands on my pants and tuned out all the noise around me. The announcer, the audience, they were all gone. There was only Cecilia and me, ready to battle it out. The referee blew his whistle.

“Quick Attack to get close, then Acrobatics,” Cecilia calmly said.

“Keep it away from you with Fairy Wind!” I ordered.

Fletchling shone and flew toward Togetic at breakneck speed. It was faster than Eevee, and it reached her before she even had time to gather her wind. Fletchling savaged her with its talons, nimbly moving around to avoid any retaliation.

“Extrasensory!” I ordered.

“Toge!”

The bird’s wing jerked, causing it to tumble down for a few seconds before it stabilized itself. It kept trying to get up close to Togetic, but she kept using Extrasensory to stop it mid-flight. This tug of war, unfortunately, wasn’t in my favor. Eventually, Togetic would slip up. I bit my lip. My only hope was to slow this thing down enough or catch it off guard to hit it with Sweet Kiss.

My worst fear came through as Fletchling pressed its wings flat against itself, dropping under Togetic and lifting itself up behind her.

“Ember,” Cecilia said.

The bird opened its beak and let out dozen of small flames, hitting Togetic in the back. She retaliated with her psychic attack, slamming the bird down. Unfortunately, it wasn’t powerful enough to get it on the ground, and it recovered easily.

“Fairy Wind before it gets back to you!”

Togetic gathered her wind faster this time and threw it against her opponent.

“Quick Attack upwards,” Cecilia said.

“Follow!” I screamed.

The pink wind followed Fletchling, twisting and turning as it did.

“Ember again to throw off its concentration,” She ordered.

“Drop down!”

Togetic levitated down as Fairy Wind rammed into the Fletchling, who had to stay still every time it used Ember. The small bird fell to the ground, and my eyes widened. This was an opportunity.

“Ancient Pow—”

“Up!”

Fletchling stood back up, and with a Quick Attack, it rammed into Togetic, who cried out in pain. The bird clawed and pecked at her, drawing blood as the two Pokemon fought themselves with no particular move.

“Don’t forget to use Extrasensory!” I added.

Fletchling was fast and hitting my Pokemon more than she was hitting it, but Togetic was a sturdy, stubborn girl. The two Pokemon fought each other in a vicious melee, but I needed a little bit more. Fletchling was slowing down, little by little. Just a bit more, and I would be able to land Sweet Kiss…

Just a little bit more…

A little more…

Now!

I stomped my foot twice against the ground, and Togetic sent out a Sweet Kiss toward Fletchling—

“Now!” Cecilia shouted.

Fletchling dodged to the side and hit her with Acrobatics. Togetic slowly levitated down as the bird kept clawing at her, and she fell to the ground. Fletchling landed and stumbled a little, but it was fine.

How? I asked myself in disbelief with wide eyes. She knew about the signal.

“And Togetic goes down! What an amazing battle in the skies between two excellently trained flying types! Grace Pastel is down to one—”

Concentrate! I thought, clenching at the fabric of my shirt. It’s not over yet.

“You did amazing, princess. I’m proud of you,” I softly said, returning Togetic.

I released Frillish and immediately sprung to action.

“Bubblebeam!” I screamed.

Bubblebeam was a faster attack than Water Pulse, and thanks to Frillish’s proficiency in the move, they dealt roughly the same amount of damage. The water type reared its head back and let out a stream of bubbles, but Cecelia returned her Fletchling right before they reached it. She grabbed another Pokeball and released Deino.

Why wouldn’t she deal as much damage as she could before switching? I asked myself. Regardless, I had no time for these thoughts. The last phase of the battle was beginning.