Me and Dad were stuck in the middle of the sea of reporters. It wasn’t until the Violet city police showed up along with officer Jenny were we finally saved. Making it to our room we both let out a sigh of relief. I’m so exhausted I pass out instantly as I plop myself onto the bed.
I don’t wake up till it’s well past noon. Dad is already up and about as he hands me a plate of food he got earlier from the center’s cafeteria. Too hungry to care I immediately start eating the cold sausage and eggs. Taking out my phone I open up the battle forums only to be assaulted by a wave of articles featuring my face and name. Disturbed by the sheer invasion of privacy I immediately begin going through the articles to see what they’re saying about me. I’m shocked by how much information they were able to dig up about me. They found out that I am ex Blackthorn and that I was disowned by the clan along with my Dad. They even found information about Mom. Most of the articles end up being speculations about what my meeting with the professors was about. However some articles were just making stuff up. One claimed that me and Dad were exiled because my Mom was a spy trying to destroy the Blackthorn clan from within and we were complicit. Multiple articles mention trying to get a statement from the clan only to receive no comment.
I decide that the articles aren’t worth my time deciding to check out the rest of the forum only to find more people speculating about me. I sigh, closing the forums and go over my plan for the day. First thing is signing up for my gym match, second thing is clothes shopping. My clothes are pretty much patch work at this point, also maybe I’ll get Coraline an actual sewing kit. She’s pretty much my personal seamstress at this point from all her experience repairing her costume after battles. Last thing is checking out that battle club. It will be good training for the gym battle.
I finally get ready for the day and give Dad a hug before finally leaving the room. As I walk out I’m met with a police officer by the door. Turns out multiple people tried breaking into the room last night to interview me. It is a little scary to think about how I slept through all that. I thank the officer as I pull my hood over my head as tight as I can. Luckily I made it out of the center without incident. I release Opera who gives a good morning chirp, before settling on my shoulder. Coraline also greeted him by letting out a “kuku” from my shadow. As I walk down the sidewalk towards the gym we take in the sights of the city.
It takes only half an hour of walking to reach the gym. Occasionally stopping because Coraline wanted to look at clothing displays behind the glass of a department store. The Violet city gym is a wondrous sight. It takes up the whole block and is at least ten stories tall. Apparently the gym is centuries old being renovated and extended as the city grew.
As I enter I see a long line leading to the counter. Turns out I wasn’t the only one with the idea of booking a match before the league officially began. Without any other choice I join the end of the queue.
The line takes way longer than walking to the gym. Making it to the front of the queue It’s made apparent why. The computer behind the desk looks as old as the gym and the lady using it even older.
After repeating myself over a dozen times and trying to resist the urge to bash my head into a wall I finally got my match booked. Only for the computer to take ten minutes to confirm my appointment. I’m handed a piece of paper with the date and time of my match, September tenth at noon. It’s only a week away, five days after the league officially starts. It’s much sooner than I thought it would be considering the line, but it makes more sense when you consider how long it takes to book a single match. By the time I can finally leave, Opera is sleeping on top of my head. Leaving the gym I wake up Opera and look up at the sky realizing how much time I spent waiting to sign up. I look at my phone to see it’s five p.m.. I spent four hours just signing up for my match.
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“Screw it! We can go shopping tomorrow. Let's just go to the battle club. I need some stress relief.” I say Opera chirping in agreement looking forward to finally having a battle.
Luckily the School is only a couple blocks away. As we reach the school I see a sign taped to the wall saying “Follow arrows to battle club” an arrow below pointing to the left. The arrow points to another sign with an arrow pointing to another sign eventually leading to a court yard with multiple chalk rectangles. People of varying ages can be spotted around the courtyard with multiple battles happening. Multiple kadabra are making barriers for matches between older kids. Two chansey can be spotted hanging out in a corner waiting to receive pokemon for healing. As I walk over one of the few adults here waves over to me.
As I walk over to him he says “You here for the battle club?”
I nod and say “Yeah, I’m looking to get some practice in before my gym match.”
The man smiles saying “Well you’re at the right place. I’m Mr.Jones, the head of this club. Just walk over to someone and ask to battle. Battles are one vs one so people can’t hog a field. If you need a barrier just ask one of the kadabra. I borrow them from a friend of mine that trains them for the league. The chansey are lent to us by the pokecenter nearby so don’t hesitate to ask for healing.”
I nod and thank Mr.Jones before walking off to find an opponent. However it isn’t long before I’m approached. A boy who appears to be about my age approaches me “Hey I haven’t seen you around before.” Before I can introduce myself the boy continues “I’ve already beaten everyone here so I need a new opponent. Who knows, maybe you’ll actually be decent.” I’ve already decided I don’t like this guy. Behind me I hear someone say “Austin is picking on another newbie.” Their friend responded “He wouldn’t even be that hard to beat if he didn’t have a starter.” This should be fun, starters are given out to promising new trainers by the region's greatest professors. The closest one capable of giving a starter would be professor Elm. Maybe I’ll send him a message later.
I’m led to the nearest open arena. Austin yells out to the nearest kadabra “Hey, I need a barrier over here!” The kadabra rolls his eyes clearly used to dealing with Austin’s antics. The kadabra raises his spoon creating a barrier for our battle. As I stand in the trainer box as Austin enters the one one the opposite side of the arena. He yells “Don’t feel too bad when you lose!” and releases a totodile. I can see his arrogant smirk from here.
I want to demolish this kid. I look at Opera on my shoulder and say “Change of plans Opera I want to do more than win. I want to traumatize him.” Opera gives me a cruel smile, he knows what’s coming. “Coraline you’re up and be spooky while you’re at it.” Pokemon battling is more than just physically battling. It’s also about mind games as you try to make your opponent make mistakes, and Haterenne once told me the best way to get into your enemies head is to make them fear you.
My shadow begins to lengthen, extending into the arena. From my shadow a chorus of distorted giggling can be heard. All other battles stop as everyone begins looking at my shadow as Coraline slowly reveals herself. The referee for our match gives me a fearful look which I ignore. One of the younger kids closes her eyes and covers her ears. The rest all have their eyes on Coraline who stares at totodile who takes a hesitant step back. Austin's eyes are wide with fear. He gulps before saying to himself “what the hell is that thing?” as he pulls out a pokedex. However, when he scans Coraline all it says is “No data found.”
I give Austin a kind smile reminiscent of the smiles Jenna once directed at me. I say loud enough for Austin to hear “Don’t feel too bad when you lose.” Throwing his words back at him. After taking a second to calm his nerves the man acted as the referee said. “Th This is a one v one match of Totodile vs” The man stops for a moment thinking of what to say. “The challenger’s pokemon. The battle ends when the opposing pokemon faints, or the opposing trainer surrenders. Begin!”