Steven Stone III stood in the middle of the clearing, arms relaxed at his sides, grinning with a look of smug superiority at Emilia, Lindon, and Cashe. He reached behind his back and pulled out a pokeball, tossing it in his hand like a gangster in a fifties movie might flip a coin. Behind him was a small camp. A large tent was set up in front of an ashy fire pit.
“I’m glad someone finally showed up,” Stone drawled, “I’ve been waiting here for weeks just so I could prove myself.” He tone was one of scorn, as if the very concept of working to earn something was beneath him.
“What are you doing here?” Cashe said, reaching to his own belt for his pokeballs, “You’re supposed to be banned from the region.”
Stone rolled his eyes and turned to face Emilia, “You really hang out with this guy? Is he an idiot or is he just doing an insufferable bit?”
Emilia put a hand on top of Cashe’s, pushing it down so he did not summon a pokemon. She stepped forward, “What’s the test?”
“How should I know? These dumbass wild pokemon aren’t exactly great communicators.” Stone scoffed, jerking his head in the direction of the cave, “But I think they want me to beat you.”
Cashe turned his head to look. From the darkness of the cave, a pair of Salamence emerged. Beside him, Lindon gasped.
The pokemon were not huge or aggressive, but nevertheless, Cashe felt a shiver of fear crawl down his spine. Both Salamence moved silently, stalking out of the cave with the liquid grace of a jaguar mid hunt. The pair of pokemon stood five feet tall at the shoulders and were at least three times that from nose to tail. A pair of vibrant, red wings lay folded at their sides, placed in stark relief with their light blue hides.
The Salamence stared down their group with confidence born of inherent power. These pokemon were not concerned with the safety of their offspring, they came to judge. Cashe could see the deep intelligence in the Salamence’s eyes, the cold calculation that moved just under the surface of these pokemon. They were weighing him. Pushing him to prove himself. How Stone regarded them as stupid was beyond him.
Cashe took an involuntary step back under the power of their gaze, pushing Lindon behind him. As he did so, both pokemon instantly disregarded him, turning their attention to Emilia instead.
Where Cashe failed to meet their glare, Emilia stood strong. She stared directly into the eyes of the ferocious dragon pokemon, refusing to blink. One of the two Salamence snorted at her display, the small action tossing up a gust of wind that blew Emilia’s hair back from the force of it.
Behind him, Lindon clutched at Cashe’s back, “Is she going to be okay, Apollo?”
“Emilia’s strong,” Cashe said, “She’ll be fine.”
Cashe backed up further as the Salamence crossed the clearing approaching Emilia and Stone directly. Their tails whipped through the air as they moved, kicking up a cloud of dust in their wake. In the cave behind them, a pair of Bagon poked their heads out of the shadows, looking to see what the commotion was all about.
The Salamence stopped thirty paces away from Emilia and Stone, watching with expectation. Emilia seemed to glean something from their stares and nodded. She whistled. The grass of the field around the clearing rustled and Omanyte appeared with Charmeleon. Both pokemon were slightly scuffed and muddied from their journey through the tall grass, breathing hard from fending off many wild pokemon and scratched from where they took occasional attacks.
“You are still running with those pokemon?” Stone smirked. He tossed the pokeball he was juggling high into the air, where it exploded into a burst of bright light. From the light emerged a strange pokemon. It was large and glinted in the evening light, its blue steel body shining. It looked like a UFO with metal arms, floating silently in the air, a deep scowl on the pokemon’s face. It hovered in the air, a few feet from the ground. The pokemon’s main body was round, tapered and flat, a bit like a bottle cap. It was three or four feet wide and half that in height. Its arms dangled from its body, hovering a foot or so above the ground. They were thick and powerful, like the forearms of a sailor, but tipped with deadly, steel claws. Stone smiled at his Metang and raised an eyebrow at Emilia, “As you can see, I’ve upgraded.”
Emilia glanced at the pokemon, no look of surprise on her face. If anything, she looked pleased to see the powerful pokemon, the corners of her mouth twitching upward for a brief moment before returning to a neutral rest.
“Omanyte, Charmeleon, come back,” Emilia held up her pokeballs and returned both pokemon to them. She placed both pokemon into her backpack and removed her third pokeball, “Vullaby, let’s go.”
“What?” Lindon shouted, jumping out from behind Cashe, “Use Charmeleon! Emilia, what are you doing?”
“Proving my worth,” Emilia glanced over her shoulder and gave Lindon a soft smile. She turned back to face Stone and put her hands on her hips, “Are you ready?”
Stone stared at Vullaby in obvious disbelief, his face flushing red, “You are going to fight me with a Vullaby? THAT VULLABY? Is this a joke? Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“Yes. Yes. No. Yes.” Emilia grinned, “Are you going to battle or what? Are you scared?”
“Of that?” Stone whipped off his sunglasses and shook them at the Vullaby. As much as Cashe believed in Emilia, Stone had a point. Vullaby did not strike an imposing figure. The pokemon looked like a fat chicken that was wearing a diaper made of bones. Its tiny wings were completely ineffectual. It couldn’t fly, it could barely run. Against the silent and imposing Metang, it wouldn’t stand a chance. To make matters worse, Cashe knew it was barely trained - Vullaby didn’t even have her ability yet.
“So, you are going to battle, then?” Emilia said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.
Stone turned his head to the Salamence. They watched the exchange impassively, waiting patiently for something to happen. Their tails twitched back and forth, weaving slowly through the air in anticipation.
“If you want to lose, fine,” Stone declared, “It just makes this easier for me.”
Emilia did not give him a moment to get ready, pointing Vullaby at Metang the moment Stone agreed to battle, “Tailwind, Vullaby!”
Vullaby kicked up a gust of wind and Stone yelped in surprise as it buffeted him. If the Salamence found this to be a dirty tactic, they did not object, sitting just outside the area of battle and watching closely.
“Get in there and Pluck!” Emilia shouted and Vullaby took off. The fat bird in a diaper blurred as it burst from its spot, flying at Metang and rearing its head back for a vicious attack. Metang reacted slowly, taken by surprise from the speed of the attack, and couldn’t get out of the way as Vullaby closed the distance.
CLANG
Vullaby’s small beak slammed into Metang’s metal side, sending a deep metal ring through the air. Metang shifted where it floated and Vullaby bounced off from the point of contact. Cashe grimaced. Vullaby was vibrating from the collision and it looked like she took more damage than Metang did from the attack.
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“Metang, Bullet Punch!” Stone shouted.
Metang lashed out, moving much faster than it had any right to with its bulk body, its clawed fist connecting with Vullaby in a solid hit. Vullaby squawked as Metang’s arm made contact, flying away from it in an explosion of feathers.
“Hold in there, Vullaby,” Emilia encouraged, “Use Flatter!”
Vullaby righted itself, getting up from the ground with a flutter of its wings and facing Metang. The iron claw pokemon was in the process of turning to face Vullaby, moving with measured confidence. Vullaby flapped its wings in excitement dancing happily as the opposing pokemon faced it.
Metang paused, the confusing effects of Flatter taking root. Metang floated straighter, almost posing at Vullaby’s obvious praise, swelling with pride.
“No, Metang, don’t fall for that!” Stone groaned, “Snap out of it and use Flash Cannon!”
Metang, however, was still caught in the confusion caused by Flatter. It moved to attack, but instead of attacking with Flash Cannon, it glowed with violet radiance, a dark purple energy gathering around its steely head.
“Gust, Vullaby,” Emilia ordered.
Vullaby waved her wings in a frenzy as Metang closed the distance, kicking up a violent wind that cut and scraped at Metang’s metal hide. The wind buffeted Metang, but did not slow it down much, and Metang attacked straight through it, slamming down its head to attack Vullaby with a headbutt.
Emilia did not order Vullaby to dodge, or even move, instead, she ignored the attack completely, shouting out a counter attack, “Vullaby, Pluck!”
Vullaby darted forward, meeting the attack head on with her own, a pale blue energy gathering around her beak. The pokemon clashed. The energy around Metang’s head vanished as it touched Vullaby, disappearing as if it were never there, the psychic type move rendered inert by Vullaby’s dark typing. Metang was knocked back as Vullaby’s beak crashed into its face. Metang made a strange sound, like the shrieking of a drill as it stripped a screw, and wobbled in the air.
“Damn it, Metang!” Stone raged, “You can’t use psychic attacks against her! Listen to me! Use Flash Cannon!”
Metang shook in place as it recognized the rebuke from its trainer, but instead of attacking it turned to face him, making more metallic screeches in protest. Emilia did not waste the opportunity.
“Vullaby, Gust again!”
Vullaby whipped its little wings at Metang and again winds buffeted it. Metang bleated another metallic sound of surprise and spun around, lashing out at the attack ineffectually.
“Metang, get a hold of yourself! Tackle!” Perhaps it was the simple attack used, or maybe it was the lack of insults in the command, but Metang shuddered in place, focus returning to its eyes. It turned and charged Vullaby, just as the tailwind petered out.
Metang closed on Vullaby, and the little pokemon was too slow to move out of the way in time without the help of Tailwind, the heavy body of Metang colliding directly with Vullaby and sending her flying again.
Lindon flinched at the attack connected, “Why is she using Vullaby?” He whispered, “She only has two attacking moves and Metang resists them.”
Cashe watched the battle as Vullaby recovered from the hit. Despite only being struck twice by the larger pokemon, Vullaby looked haggard. Her feathers were a mess on her body and many were scattered over the clearing that had become the battlefield. Meanwhile, Metang looked almost pristine, the only signs of damage present were a few scuffs from both Gusts and two small dents in Metang’s metal from both Pecks. It did not look like Vullaby could win the fight, even if Metang never landed another attack.
“I don’t know,” Cashe whispered back, “I’m sure Emilia has a plan.”
“I hope so,” Lindon said.
The battle continued. As Vullaby righted herself from Metang’s tackle, Steven Stone III took advantage, “Metang, Bullet Punch!”
Metang shot across the space that separated it from Vullaby, its fist swinging through the air as she got back under control. She tried to dodge the incoming attack, but Metang was moving too fast, and its claws clipped her fat body as she moved out of the way, sending her spinning in a whirl of feathers.
“Tailwind, Vullaby!” Emilia ordered, even before she had a chance to recover.
Vullaby responded mid-spin, flapping her wings erratically and channeling flying type energy through them. The wind kicked up again and the move managed to balance her out well before she could naturally recover. Vullaby’s speed rocketed up again as the wind caught at her back.
Stone wrinkled his face into a snarl as Emilia got the wind back up, his face reddening from embarrassment at the length of time it was taking him to put down a single untrained Vullaby.
“Flash Cannon!” He growled, jabbing a finger at Vullaby in his anger.
Metang, finally free from the burden of confusion, responded immediately, glowing with a silver-gray light. A beam of steely energy erupted from Metang, flashing across the battlefield in an instant.
“Dodge, forward and right!” Emilia shouted as the attack flashed out, “Close the distance!”
With the help of Tailwind, Vullaby moved out of the way with centimeters to spare. She dashed forward, using her wings to propel her forward as her feet scurried as fast as they could to carry her at her opponent.
“Pluck!” Emilia shouted.
“Bullet Punch!”
Vullaby and Metang clashed again, but this time the energy around Metang did not disappear. Vullaby’s beak pecked ferociously at Metang’s clawed fist, but it was a hopeless gesture. Metang was several times the size of Vullaby and dozens of times heavier. He was steel type and resisted flying type attacks. The pair clashed and Vullaby was thrown back, crashing to the ground in a heap. Metang was not untouched by the attack, recoiling from the strike, but was nowhere near as damaged as Vullaby.
“You can do it, Vullaby, get up, I believe in you!” Emilia shouted, pushing her little pokemon to continue the battle.
Vullby struggled to right herself, but managed to do so, forcing herself to her feet. She was a mess of feathers and covered in dirt from being repeatedly thrown into the ground.
“Gust!” Emilia shouted.
Vullaby nodded and whipped her wings through the air again, whipping up a breeze at Metang. Steven Stone shook his head, not bothering to order Metang to move. The attack hit Metang, causing a few more ineffectual scuffs to form in its metal hide.
“Flash Cannon,” Stone ordered. Metang glowed again with vibrant, steel-gray energy. It brought its hands together in front of it, aiming directly at Vullaby, even as she flapped desperately to do more damage with her Gust.
A beam of cold light flashed across the battlefield and struck Vullaby in her chest. She was tossed through the air and bounced violently off the ground, rolling to a stop at Emilia’s feet.
“No, Vullaby!” Lindon whimpered.
To the side, the Salamence roared, the sound rolling out of its throat, low and final, signaling the battle was over. Both Salamence moved forwards.
Steven Stone snorted in derision, returning Metang to its pokeball without a word, “You should have listened to the kid. Winning that tournament went to your head. You might have stood a chance with Charmeleon.”
Emilia ignored his barbed words and the approaching Salamence, rushing to Vullaby’s side and quickly administering a potion to the suffering pokemon, “You did an amazing job,” Emilia said, stroking Vullaby even as she sprayed her with a potion, “That Metang was big and scary. You were so brave fighting it like that. Once you get a bit of training in you, I know you can do amazing things.”
“That will be the day,” Steven snorted. He put his pokeball on his hip and turned towards the cave, “This means I get my Bagon now, right?” He said to the Salamence. Not waiting from either Salamence to respond, he started towards the cave.
Only to be cut off by a growling Salamence. Cashe didn’t even see the huge pokemon move, but it was in front of Steven in a fraction of a second, staring him down with a furious look in its eyes. A low, warning growl rose from its chest and it flared its wings behind it, raising them and its tail in a terrifying display.
Stone stumbled back, falling over in shock at the sudden aggression from the pokemon.
“B-but I won!” He managed to blurt out. Salamence was unmoved by his protests, taking a step forward and forcing him to scramble away.
The second Salamence approached Emilia, its head held high. She ignored it until she finished taking care of Vullby and returned her to her pokeball. Only then did she stand and greet the imposing dragon.
“So?” Emilia said, meeting Salamence in its eyes, “Am I worthy?”
Salamence stared at her for a long moment and snorted again, rocking Emilia where she stood from the blast of air. The dragon pokemon bowed its head, the tiniest of approving nods, and turned to guide her over to the cave.
Emilia grinned in victory.
*****