Thursday was great. Save for being woken up by Ves and Sam in the early morning, and spiraling into yet another fight immediately, it was the best day Ace had had since stepping foot onto the Old King's island. Partly due to the fact that after their fight, the other two had dissapeared and didn't come back to their dorm room until the evening. The blond boy had gotten his fair share of peace and quiet, and had used them to the best of his abilities. He actually managed to get a good rest, a feat that was slowly starting to seem impossible in this dorm room. Upon waking up, he took things slow. He fed Rockruff, and even got the small dog to let him brush his fur. The pokemon bit him quite a few times in the process, not out of rage, but out of excitment. The boy did know Rockruffs tend to show their affection in that manner, yet, he couldn't help thinking where that sort of behaviour would lead. Rockruff, even before evolving, would only grow rougher and rougher in his demeanor as he develops. Other than tending to his partner, Ace managed to vacuum their room, wash the window, and even squeeze in some study time. He was amazed at how much he could accomplish when he didn't have four other boys hanging around.
A video call from his mother set his mood back for a bit. Greg had, apparently, passed his license testing that he had took a day before. On the day of his 18th birtday. Ace had sincerly forgotten his cousin was supposed to turn 18 this year, not to mention that he had completely forgotten his birthday. His mother scolded rapidly scolded him about it, and demanded he congratulates his brother immediately. To keep the war at bey, Ace unwillingly shoot a few messages to Greg. Birthday wishes didn't come easy to him. Congratulating him on acquiring the trainer's license and starting his journey was easier in comparasion, but the boy had done it with much spite in his fingers. In reply, Greg sent a quick thanks, before drowning their barren chat with a barrage of pictures of his starter, a Squirtle he had chosen that morning. Sighing, Ace tried to end the conversation, knowing that insulting Greg right here and now would just lead to his mother unleashing hell upon him. And Greg was so easy to insult. The boy went along about challenging the gym in their hometown, Vermillion. Most people born in the port city of Kanto did that. For those born in the city with a gym, anywhere in the world, earning a badge of the said gym was a right of passage, a feat that would mark the beginning of their journey. For that reason, most people born in Vermillion would chose Bulbasaur as their starter. Others, and Ace had deemed these the smart ones, would pick Charmander. A potential of getting a flying, fire-breathing beast was too great too pass on, in his opinion. The only people who picked Squirtle were the ones who didn't plan to take on the Vermillion gym as the first step in their journey. Then, there were rare fools, like his cousin, the ones who thought they could beat an electric type gym with a water type. Some folks are irreversably stupid.
Regardless to his cousin's questionable choices, Thursday just kept getting better. In the early evening, Sam was the first to return. The boy kept quiet, other than to inform Ace of a spectacle tournament that would take place Friday afternoon. It was Ace's first time hearing about the 'little four' and 'golden generation'. He felt a stab in his stomach, realising those guys were Greg's age. In his mind, all of those times his cousin had complained about not making it into school due to harsh competition came back to him. He swore he'd never tell anyone in his family about golden generation, he wouldn't want to give them another weapon. But the prospect of watching these matches excited him. There was a hint of doubt in him, the whole 'golden generation' thing seemed a bit exaggerated, yet, just the fact these were the fourth years, and the best ranked amongst them, served his vigor. He wanted to know what Old King's school can make out of people, what it took for a person to reach that final year, and what it took to stand on top of your class.
Ves rolled in late, and didn't say a word, much to Ace's contempt. By the time Joe and Teo arrived, it was already 11 at night. Both boys seemed drained, and tension between the two was palpable. It worked out in Ace's favour, those two fighting. Last thing he needed was two guys most likely to have them expelled being friends. He liked the prospect of those two not talking to each other.
The pair woke them up with their arrival. Ace listened in sleepy daze to the retelling of their shopping trip. It was obvious the two boys had left out the chunk of what had happened to them. Joe ran through what they had bought, berries, training equipment, some TMs. He was quick to give a Thunderbolt TM to Sam, which the other boy put away, still half-asleep. Other TMs they had gotten were the ones for Trick Room, Energy Ball, and Wing Attack. They themselves seemed to be taken back by their choices, and Ace really didn't want to know how or why they had gotten those specific TMs. Trick Room would be useless for them, as all of their pokemon were fast, and it was a niche strategy even beyond that. Not to mention that none of their pokemon had wings, so Wing Attack was completely out of place. The Energy Ball TM ended up going to Ves, Houndour being the only one who could learn and make use of the move. The black haired boy seemed surprised that they were even talking to him, let alone bringing him gifts. The most Ace had gotten out of this was a Heal Capsule.
On more concerning matters, the two morons have captured a Totodile and decided to smuggle it onto the island. Teo ceremoniously released his newest partner, proudly standing above the small blue crocodile that was wearing red Lennons for whatever reason. Joe quickly informed them that they'd need to schedule a trip for the weekend, so Teo could register his new pokemon. Surprisingly, nobody complained. Ace, though he hated letting Joe make decisions, actually agreed with this one. Not that he cared much about Teo, but the trip would be a good opportunity for him to make a new catch as well. Other than having a run in with Totodile, the two also had a run in with their mentor, in some alleyway no less. Joe had managed to get some two fairytale books out of that encounter somehow. How they had gotten there, Ace did not want to know. Just the fact they might've been seen in Lilicove by their mentor was enough for Ace to want to murder them. But that was Friday's problem. Friday was, unfortunately, just around the corner.
"Less then a week", Ace yelled at Teo and Joe, hovering his phone in front of their faces, "we've been here for less than one week, and this is what happens".
Joe stared at him empty eyed. He had also recieved an e-mail summoning them to professor Noaln's office at 9 AM. "No need to yell at us Ace, that's not on us", the brown haired boy said in a flat voice.
"No? Well what could this be about then, please, tell me?", Ace couldn't keep his voice from cracking, it would happen each time he talked with anger. "The two of you just had to go off the island, even though we've told you it's stupid", the boy insisted, "and surprise, Nolan saw you sneaking around, and now we're all getting expelled". All the blood in him was reaching the boiling point, and the boy felt ready to dig his fists into them at a moment's notice.
"He didn't see us", came Joe's simple reply.
"Yeah, we were amongst the trash", Teo added, not even looking at Joe.
"Huh, you should've stayed there", Ace keeps yelling. He couldn't phantom it. After studying so hardn in order to get accepted, after listening to his extended family put him down for the entire summer, he'll just end up being expelled week one, thanks to these two. "What do you think this could possibly be about other than you two?".
"Maybe he just wants to talk to us", Sam offers, "you know, see how we're doing, he's our mentor after all".
"You stay out of this", Ace snaps at him.
"Calm down Ace", Joe says, looking up at the ceiling, "he didn't see us, I realised it was him before he turned around".
"Right, we can handle ourselves", Teo scoffs, earning himself a tired look from Joe.
"My God, the two of you aren't as smart as you believe you are", Ace says, "he did see you, and now we're all fucked".
"You don't know that", Joe crosses his arms, "what did all of you do yesterday?". All eyes turn to Ves instantly.
"No. You can't pin this on me", the balck haired boy raises his hands defensively, "I was at the training center the whole day, didn't leave the place for a moment".
"I was in the room, cleaning, cause someone actually has to do that as well, you know", Ace throws the pair a sharp look.
"I was training as well", Sam scratches his chin.
"Right, so that settles it", Ace says decisively, "it's the two of you".
"Um, I did see professor Nolan yesterday as well", Sam chimmes in.
"What?", Ace snaps at him, "you can't be for fucking real".
"Hey, chill out, dude", Sam puts his guard up, "I was resting on the beach after my run when he landed on his Mandibuzz".
"You're an idiot as well", Ace feels a headache forming.
"Well, I didn't do anything wrong", Sam says, "even professor Nolan said so".
"Right, right, I believe you completely", Ace rolls his eyes.
"My God, Ace", Sam's voice rises, "do you think we'll get expelled because I went for a run".
"I don't know", Ace admits, "you're all idiots".
"Can you stop catastrophising for a second", Sam sighs.
"No, I can't", Ace snaps back at him, "catastrophising is a survival skill, you know".
"Look, I talked to Nolan yesterday", Sam says insecurely, "he's actually okay, and we don't even know what this is about, it might as well be just a regular talk".
"Fraternising with professors, huh, buddy", Teo gives Sam a raised eyebrow.
"Y'all are just yelling for no reason", Sam says taking a step back.
"It's not for no reason", Ace points out, "these two will get us expelled".
"Will you just stop with that already", Teo scoffs, "it's not us".
It's as if Ace's entire body is trembling in rage, his vision blurring. So many things. He could tell them so many things. Crossing the ocean to go shopping, bringing in an illegal pokemon, and whatever else those two have done yesterday, he wanted to shove it all in their faces.
"Actually", Joe says as if he's just now rembering something, "it could be those guys went to the police, so this might be on us". Ace watches as Teo's face flinches, and his own stomach sinks.
"They didn't", Teo says unconvincingly.
"You did let Absol loose on them", Joe points out as if that information was nothing.
"Well no one got hurt", Teo rolls his eyes, "besides, thugs don't usually go to the police, you know, it's not like they were innocent either".
"I'm just saying, almost getting killed by a raging Absol might've proped them to do that", Joe says calmly.
"No one got killed", Teo started explaining.
"Just what did you two fuckers do yesterday?", Ace cuts him off his cracking voice piercing through the room. Joe looks about ready to explain, but Ace stops him with a wave of a hand: "no, stop, I don't want to know".
"Alright", Joe nods carelessly.
"I'm just glad I'm not the bad guy anymore", Ves says with a laugh.
"You're getting expelled here as well", Ace serves him a sharp look.
"Don't get ahead of yourself Ace, you're acting as if we're already expelled", Teo sighs, "maybe Nolan just wants to have tea with us".
"You know what, let's just go, please",Ace says defeatedly, "I can't stand this anymore, I can't believe you're all so calm about this".
"No use crying before the Crabrawler has actually punched you", Joe says distantly.
"Is that some sort of islander's wisdom?", Teo chuckles.
"Yeah well, I'll punch both of you, so you won't even have to worry about any Crabrawler", Ace scoffs, "now let's go".
For the first time since coming here, Ace is thankful for the stairs. They make up the distance that separates him from the doom. His head felt clouded, all he could hear were the echoes of footsteps they made. They sounded like 5 clocks, all ticking in their own rhythm, creating utter dissonance, yet they were all counting down to the same thing.
Walk to the offices felt heavy, the morning sun not offering any warmth, company of his teammates not offering any comfort. Ace wished he was alone. In his head he could already hear Greg's voice smugly telling him it's alright he had failed at his chance. He was sure his cousin would feel great about it, basking at Ace's failure. His own parents as well, they probably expected him to fail anyways. The worst of all was, he didn't fail. This had nothing to do with him. He did everything right. He did all he could.
The wait in front of Nolan's office was short, the five boys took seat as soon as they entered. Ace made the point of sitting at the chair furthest from the doors, the most isolated one. Ves placed himself right next to him, while Teo took the middle seat. Joe sa at the opposite and, apparently not wanting to be right next to Teo. Sam ended up creating the wall between the two.
Professor Nolan greeted them shortly, his harsh tone confirming Ace's suspicions. They were not invited there for the morning tea. The boy tried keeping his gaze fixed on the Sawsbuck figurines for a bit, but they provided no shelter. He noticed a book laid flat on the table. He couldn't read the title, but he already knew it, 'Review of Renegade Legend: World Between Space and Time". It was the same book Joe had brought back from Lilicove. One of those fairytale topics that disguised themselves as pseudo-sciences. Fitting for a history professor, Ace thought, to waste time and money on something as stupid as mythology. Right next to the book stood a small statue made of black marble, showing a creature that resemled a worm with legs and wings and legs that looked like burned curtains. Curtains, Ace thought, those two morons didn't think about getting curtains on their little shopping trip. Something that would actually be useful. He felt the need to start yelling at them about it, but rembered that it probably didn't matter anymore. The only reason they'll go back to that room was so that they can pack their bags.
Nolan wastes no time talking to them, informing them instead that he has a busy day today, and he wants to get over this quickly. Amazing, Ace thinks, he probably wants to go flying around and collecting fairytale books and action figures, so he won't even take proper time to expell them.
Turning a rusty-looking laptop towrds the boys, the man presses play. Ace has to lean in to see what's going. A very short video shows a battle between Yamper and an Axew. A realisation dawns upon Ace immediately. Seeing Sam run up to his Yamper once the pokemon is knocked out only confirms what the boy already knows. The video cuts off there, and Ace immediately turns to look at Sam. The boy is leaned back in his chair, his mouth gaping open. Thousand curses gather in Ace's throat, begging to cross his lips. He's sure other three boys feel the same way.
Nolan stops them before any of them manage to find an appropriate reaction. "I believe you all realise what you have seen", his eyes scan the five boys, landing on Sam, "little to say, I find myself rather dissapointed by this turn of events".
"Oh, for goddess sake, just expel us", Ves scoffs in his chair taking Nolan's glance head on, "no need to teach us a lesson, we'll deal with this fucker later".
"No cursing", Nolan reminds him, his voice rising.
"As if I give a fuck right now", Ves's body tenses up, "we're out of this school anyways, I can curse if I want to".
"Well, you will definitely get yourself expelled like that, boy", Nolan says dryly, "would you have some manners and hear me out first?".
"Right", Ves leans back in his chair fixating his eyes on the ceiling, "whatever". Ace shares the sentiment. If they are going home, he'd rather not have to sit through lesson on ethics.
"As I believe you already know, first year students are forbidden from battling without supervision", the man clears his throat, "any infrigment on this rule leads to expulsion".
"Yeah, yeah, we know", Teo says sarcastically.
"However, believe it or not, I am not a type of professor that wants to see his students expelled", Nolan's words give some hope to Ace. "I have managed to convince the school board to hold back on expulsion, but sanction you in different manner instead", the man states, "considering it's your first week in this school, and techinacally only one of you has broken the rule". Ace almost laughs at the idea that Sam's the only one breaking rules on their team.
"Oh how considerate of you", Teo is one to speak, but all five of them have their ears on. "What do we get?", the boy inquiers, "community service? Detention?".
"The school board has decided you'll get 500 team points deducted from your team score", Nolan gives them a look of significance.
"What score?", Ace almost jumps up from his chair, "we're literally at zero points, they have nothing to take away".
"Well, now you boys are 500 hundred points in the negatives", the professor shrugs, a small smile lingering across his lips.
"You find this amusing?", Ves joins in.
Clearing his throat, Nolan returns his expression back to the professional: "slightly, you boys are the first ones in school history to have a negative score, you know".
"Always the blueprint", Teo says dryly, and Ace can imagine the eye-roll that accompanies the statement.
"We'll fail", Ves is almost yelling at their mentor, "why do this, God, if you'll deduct that many points from us, better just expell us instead". Ace digs his elbow into the boy, wanting him to shut up.
"This is the best I could do", Nolan raises his hands in the air, "be thankful you still have a chance".
"Well, did that other guy's team get the deduction as well", Ves insists.
"No", Nolan says simply.
"Why not, he broke the rules as well", Teo joins in.
"Yes, but we couldn't tell who it was from the video", Nolan shrugs, "besides, none of the students in my class have an Axew, so it's not my bussines".
"But you have information on every student, so you must know who it was", Teo remains adamant.
"The board looked into it, but the only student that has an Axew in your year was on record in training center whole day yesterday", Nolan informs them, "him and his Axew both were on-camera".
"Well, how can that be?", Ves protests, "something's fishy here".
"I would recommend you boys not think about that", professor says, "you have bigger problems on your hands right now, and wheter anyone else gets sanctioned or not doesn't change that".
"Well, it's still not fair", Ves says firmly, "Sam, who did you battle? You have to know his name".
Ace sees Sam shift uncomfortably in his chair. "Stanley", the boy says in a low voice, "his name was Stanley".
With a sigh professor turns his laptop around, and starts pressing buttons. In the meantime, the three boys keep staring daggers at Sam. Joe's just carelessly looking at the doors.
"No Stanley", professor informs them after a few moments.
"What do you mean no Stanley?", Ves yells out.
"Keep your voice down", Nolan reminds him, "there's not a single first year student named Stanley in our base, meaning such a person does not exist".
"Meaning that this idiot here was given a fake name", Teo says smacking Sam over the head.
"No violence", Nolan says firmly, as Sam flinches from the hit.
"Rules say no pokemon battles", Teo states, "I can still fistfight this moron".
"There are very much rules against both physical and verbal violence as well", Nolan reminds him, "you want to be expelled?". With that, Teo settles back in his chair, but Ace is certain the boy's reaction was only put on hold.
As hope and fear cascade inside of his throat, Ace stops listening to whatever people around him are saying. They are 500 points behind everybody, he realises, which means they are up on the chopping board already. Yet, they are still here. A faint idea of survival lingers in his mind. There is one chance.
"Wait", Ves's voice cuts through the tension. "We get deductions on the team score, not on the personal ones, right?", Ves asks exactly what Ace has had in his mind.
"That would be right", Nolan nods, "the board wouldn't want to damage a singular student, they still want to know if any of you can prove yourself".
"Well that's a little bit stupid", Joe says flatly.
"That gives us a chance to pass on our own", Ves retorts, "I thought you'd catch that".
"I'm just saying, if that's the agenda being pushed, why put us on the teams in the first place?", Joe locks eyes with their mentor, "why not just let us be on our own from the start?".
"Yeah, I was wondering the same thing", Teo says sharply.
"The school board does what they think will yield the best results", the man shrugs, "as you know, I don't always agree with their decisions either".
"Yeah, we're aware", Teo rolls his eyes, "very well aware".
"Right, it's kind of unfair how the students here don't get the same opportunities", Ves adds, crossing his arms.
"Unless that serves some purpose as well", Joe says distantly.
With a sigh, the professor says: "boys, I am not a trainer myself, you know this". Following the man's gaze, Ace can see he's looking at Joe. "I wouldn't want to risk anyone getting injured on my watch", the man states, and Ace can see his teammate moving his bandaged hand away from sight. A sense of knowing envelops Ace, but he can't confirm it. He doesn't want to.
"Alright, if that's all to be said on this matter", Joe clears his throat.
"It is", Nolan cuts him off, "you've heard your punishment, don't do something stupid like this again".
"Right, we won't", Joe says flatly.
"We definitely won't", Teo chimmes in.
"And we'll make sure Sam doesn't either", Ves shoots a sharp glance at the boy.
"Okay, if that's settled, we'd like to sign up for a school trip", Joe notes, sounding as if they haven't just suffered a 500 points loss.
"Right now?", Nolan asks in surprise.
"I don't think now's the time to do this, buddy", Ves says.
"Why not?", Joe shrugs, "we've heard executive orders, and your warnings, no need to stay on that topic any longer".
"Still, not a great time to set up a trip", Ves sighs, "we've just earned ourselves the last place".
"I'm just thinking about the future here", Joe replies.
"Alright, alright", Nolan stops any further conversation, "it's definitely a weird timing, but alright". Pressing a few buttons on his laptop he informs them: "all the spots for this weekend's trips are filled up, so you'll have to wait for the next week".
"Unfortunate", Teo says.
"There are free spots for every trip next week, so just say what works for you", Nolan ignores him.
"I'm going home for the weekend, so either Thursday or Friday", Joe says. Ace is not sure when the boy had made that decision.
"Alright then you can either visit Galar region with professor Gale on Thursday, or Sinnoh region with me on Friday", Noaln informs them.
"We're not going to Galar", Teo says decisevly.
"Where in Sinnoh are we going?", Sam asks, earning himself a series of glaring looks.
"Canalave city", Nolan informs them, "I've arranged a small lecture with the leader of the local gym, and there's a newly open exhibit in their museum that I had hoped students would want to visit".
"Sounds kind of boring", Ves says, "classes and museums?".
"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise", Noaln says indifferently, "but a member of Sinnoh's elite four will also take part in the short lecture". The five boys look at the man with growing interest.
"Why would you spoil a surprise for us?", Teo says with a chuckle.
"I was hoping you would decide to come along", the man says, his eyes landing on Sam.
"Oh, what, so you secretly like us?", Teo adds sarcastically.
"You've almost gotten expelled in a span of 5 days", Nolan says, "I want to keep my eyes on you, it's not exactly a secret".
"Right, Sinnoh it is then", Joe decides, "sign us up".
"Hey, Joe, stop being the manager", Ves scoffs, "you can't decide for all of us".
"Right, let's vote then", Joe says simply, raising his arm. Teo and Sam raise their arms as well. Ace too, in the end, a chance to meet a member of the elite four doesn't come around often.
"Right", Ves says crossing his arms.
"Alright", Nolan says indifferently, punching in something on his laptop, "you're going to Sinnoh next Friday then".
"Lucky us", Ves says.
"And right now, you're going back to your dorm room", Nolan scans over them, "in a peaceful manner".
"We're going to watch the little four tournament, actually", Teo points out.
"Do whatever you want, but do it peacefully", Nolan sighs, "no breaking rules".
"How about bones?", Teo inquiers.
"No", Nolan meets his eyes dead on.
"Cut it off, Teo", Joe says.
"Is there anything else you would like us to know, professor, or are we free to go?", Ace decides to finally say something. This conversation's already gone on for too long.
"No, that would be all", Nolan nods, "you're free to go".
Ace shoots up from his chair immediately, heading for the doors. "I would like itnfor you boys to keep the rules in mind from now on", Nolan says behind them. He did, he did keep the rules in mind, Ace thinks, as he ventures into the hallway.
His teammates shuffle out of their mentor's office as well, not saying a word, but Ace can sense the different feeling mixing in the air. Mostly anger coming from Ves and Teo. Fear from Sam. Joe was on his usual bullshit. Ace himself had turned off any feelings. He had walked into that office expecting the worst. This situation, though dire, was still a step-up from what he had been preparing for. His mind was racing, putting pieces of information together, trying to find the way out of this new maze the boy had been thrown into. There was only one exit in sight - pass on your own.
Calculating his chances of landing into top 50 proved tough, especially at this moment. Waiting for his teammates to snap, his judgment felt clouded. He could only come up with rough drafts of his plan. Outscoring people in front of him in written exams was a must, he knew that much. The gaps in theory were not that big, he knew, there was a difference of about 100 points between him and the person ranked at 50th place, if he remembered correctly. The problem with that was that the other students would start studying harder as well, it would take much effort to outdo them. Best case scenario, he concluded, he can reach top 50 with test scores. Most realistic case, he gains 10 to 15 spots. That would be his aim for this semester, he decides.
The battles were a different beast all together. Dwindling confidence in that regard, Ace found it almost impossible to assess his chances. He knew well enough Rockruff was the middle of the pack pick when it came to battling. There were certainly much worse partners to have, like Yamper, Petilil, or Spoink, but there were better ones as well. Evolution would be the only solution, but that was not an easy feat to accomplish. He'd have to catch a new pokemon during their trip to Sinnoh, that much he had already decided. He needed more options if he wanted to accomplish anything. Then it's just a matter of training.
Again, other students were a problem as well, as Ace was sure mostly everyone would be putting in effort. With written tests, the entrance exams results offered some insight on where he's standing comapred to the rest of the students in their year. With battles, there were many more moving parts. He knew his place in relation to Lesley's team, and to some degree he could add those girls from their class as well. Little to say, he didn't rank too highly. The truth on that matter was clear to him, and he had no intentions on holding on to pride, it would only drag him down.
Another factor that had made things hard to predict was the randomness of it all. This first tournament was tag team battle, so how many chances to score points he'd have depended on his teammates as well. Joe did say that Teo's decent in battles, and they had a chance to pass the few rounds. That was, however not the only problem. If the three of them, Joe, Teo and Ves, decided to hog all of the battles for themselves, even if they got them through the couple of rounds, it wouldn't mean Ace would score any individual points.
The group made a turn to the left, and, as he had expected, Ace was stopped from making any further plans for the time being.
"Alright, you dumbass, you're dead meat now", Teo reaches for Sam as soon as they are away from the offices.
"Calm down", Sam gets away from him, defensively raising his arms, but Ves is quick to appear behind him, locking him into a grip and rendering the boy unable to move. "Dude, I didn't do it on purp-", Sam attmepts, but Teo plants a sweeping punch right into his face. Ves lets go of him, and the brown haired boy ends up falling to the ground.
To Ace's surprise, he doesn't stay there for too long. "Stop it", Sam yelles, throwing himself at Teo, grabbing at his sides, and throwing both of them down. Ves reaches for him, getting him into the lock yet again, but Sam thrust his elbow backwards, digging into the boy's abdomen. With a quick turn, Sam gets away from them, placing his back against the wall.
"Wait, stop for a second", Joe interrupts them, walking in closer Sam.
"What do you want", Teo scoffs, but neither Teo nor Ves reach for him.
"I just want to know one thing, then I'll let you settle this hovewer you want", Joe says flatly.
"Dude, I didn't do it on purpose", Sam pleads, and Ace can almost see the tears welling up in his eyes. His hand is rubbing the place where Teo's fist had landed, and Ace discerns it must hurt.
"You did it because you're stupid", Joe says simply, causing Sam to flinch, "but it doesn't matter now, it's done, I just want to know who you were battling".
"As if that matters", Ves says.
"It does, this was obviously a set-up, the guy even gave him a fake name", Joe points out, "if there is someone out to get us, that matters".
"Someone probably just saw this guy is a fool and decided to use it to their advanatage", Ves shrugged, "they just wanted to get rid of one team".
"Yeah, I don't know why Mikey would go after Sam specifically", Teo notes, "he's like ranked first, and I doubt he knows Sam's on the team with me or Joe".
"Wait", Ves says in an upset, "how do you know Mikey?".
"Who is Mikey?", Joe raises an eyebrow, "and why would he care if Sam was on the team with you, or me at that matter?".
"All you need to know is", Teo says with a heavy sigh, "is that Mikey is the guy in our year with an Axew, so he must be involved in this".
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"I would very much like to know how I connect to him", Joe retorts.
Ignoring him, Teo turns towards Sam, asking in a sharp voice: "did that guy have dumb blond hair, and was he a prick?".
"No, no", Sam says, "he was...he was kind of tall, dark hair in a mullet...".
"A mullet?", Ves cuts him off seemingly deep in thought. "Mikey has an Axew and this guy had a mullet", the boy says to himself.
"I don't think there's a connection there, Ves", Teo says.
"No, no, what was that move that Axew had used in battle?", Ves says in exhilaration, "that one where his claw flashes in black?".
"It was Thief", Sam says confused.
Ace pulls out his pokedex immediately, searching up Axew. He quickly confirms what he had already knew. "Axew can't learn Thief", he says to the group.
"No shit Sherlock", Ves snaps at him, "that was not an Axew, that was Zorua".
"Could be, but we can't be sure", Ace nods.
"Yes we can", Ves says, "Illusion only works when Zorua had seen a pokemon it turns into before the battle, and it fades when it takes a hit".
"So you think that guy's on a team with that Axew guy?", Ace inquiers.
"I'm sure he is", Ves says, "that's Vinnie's little boyfriend, they are all on the same team".
"Who is Vinnie?", Joe says, growing more confused by a second.
"Oh, she's that girl who's ranked third?", Teo chimmes in, "and that Dominic guy is on the team with them as well then".
"How the fuck do you even know them?", Ves asks.
"Had an unfortune of meeting them", Teo admits, "Mikey and Dominic, that is, I've never seen Vinnie, or anyone with a Zorua... or a mullet". Raising an eyebrow, Teo adds: "and how do you know them?".
"Long story", Ves trails off.
"Well, make it short, you moron", Teo hisses out.
"Vinnie's my half-sister", Ves says cautiously, "and Mikey is, technically my step-brother".
"What the fuck", Teo yells out, "you're related to that blond moron?".
"No, I'm not, we're step-brothers", Ves says defensively, "there's no blood relation there".
"How...how does that even work", Ace scratches his head, "all three of you are the same age?".
"Don't ask", Ves sighs.
"Don't care about anyone's family drama", Joe interrupts, "I just wanna know why they would go after Sam, and what in the world do I have to do with Ves's step-brother".
"God, they were giving me shit while I was trying to feed absol, and I might've named dropped you", Teo snaps at him, "mentioned you were 4th, they seemed interested, that's all".
"Why would they care about it?", Joe retorts.
"I don' t know, the three of them are top 3 ranked students in our year, maybe they see you as competition", Teo says, "anyways, they don't know what you look like, or that Sam is on our team, so that's probably not it".
"They could've seen us all together sometimes", Ace points out.
"Right, so Teo's put a target on our backs, mostly mine, how surprising", Joe says, "so Mikey's blond, a guy with a mullet has a Zorua, and then there are some two named Dominic and Vinnie, roger that".
"Okay, no", Ace gets mixed in with his teammates, grabbing Joe's shoulder, "whatever you have planned, don't even think about it".
"Right, as if you can stop me", Joe waves him off, "besides, I'll just give them a warning shot".
"A warning shot?", Ace hisses at him, "Calm down Cruise, this is not 'The Outsiders'".
"Actually, I was thinking more in the lines of 'Chicago', you know, the musical", Joe says calmly.
"You two morons stop with your bullshit right now", Ves clams, "let's be serious here".
"Dude, we've avoided being expelled like 2 minutes ago, and the first thing this wanker wants to do is cause even more trouble", Ace says under his breath.
"Look, Ace, sorry to inform you, but he's right", Ves replies, "and I'll go with him, Vinnie has some explaining to do".
"Don't need any help", Joe says simply, "especially not from you".
"I know what these people actually look like", Ves points out, "pretty sure you need me, besides, what, you think you can go 1v5 against them?".
"I could", Joe says trailing of.
"Yeah, sure", Ves rolls his eyes, "I despise Mikey, but let me make one thing clear, his father was a champion in Master's division back in the day, both Mikey and Vinnie have much more experiance than any of us, you know".
"How are they even on the same team?", Ace wonders, "you say they are top 3?".
"Money does wonders", Ves says shortly.
"Look, whatever, I can take them both", Joe says flatly, "and their little teammates as well".
"You don't get it, don't you?", Ves goes to shove Joe away, but stops immediately. "Look, the two of them have been training since we were kids, and Dominic as well, his mother is in Master's division as well", Ves says heavily, "I don't know about the other two, they are probably Mikey's friends, but I doubt they are any different than those three".
"That sounds... incredibly unfair", Ace admits. It does not surprise him though, the idea that some people had a chance to start training before ever acquiring their license.
"You can't beat them", Ves states, "and even if you could somehow manage to do that, they could easily pay to have you expelled, you don't understand how these people are".
"I can still try to beat them", Joe shrugs, "if they want competition, I'll give it to them".
"No, no, you still don't understand", Ves sighs, "look, they aimed at Sam for whatever reason, but you have to realise one thing, if they wanted us out of this school, we would've been expelled, and there would be no need for them to go around and set-up this imbecile".
"So you think they don't want us out of the school?", Ace questions. Too many things are passing through his head, new names, their motives, the boy can't wrap his thoughts around them.
"I think it's Vinnie", Ves says, swallowing air, "she... she want me to switch teams, be with them, that might be why she sent her boyfriend to do this, I wouldn't be surprised if they had Nolan and the school board involved too".
"You think professor Nolan would do something like that?", Sam dares to speak.
"You think they'd pay off Nolan and the board just to get you on their team", Teo laughs, "that's a joke".
"You don't know anything, so shut up", Ves braces at Teo. "And yeah, Nolan, I mean, isn't it a bit strange that we scraped by this easily? You think he really likes us enough to argue with the board on our behalf?".
"I don't think he likes us at all", Ace says, starting to believe Ves's words, "so, what's your theory here?".
"They payed off the board for sure, and perhaps Nolan as well, so we'd end up getting points deducted", Ves explains. "I mean, it makes sense, since our individual scores weren't affected", the boy adds, "Vinnie probably thought that would be enough for me switch sides".
"Will you?", Teo fixed his gaze on the black haired boy.
Unsure of himself, Ves answered: "no".
"Really?", Teo challenged.
"Look, I know you guys don't like me, and you think I suck", Ves's voice grows tired. "But know one thing, I hate that family more than anyone, I'm not switching teams", he says, "I can pass the year on my own".
"Right, suite yourself", Joe says calmly, "all I need you to do is show me these people".
"I will, and I'm coming along as well", Ves nods.
"I'm coming too", Teo states, "I want my chance at Mikey".
"The three of you...", Ace starts.
"You stay quiet", Joe cuts him off, his expression blank. "Just stop talking, you can try to stop me if you want, but do so quitely", he says. Turning to Sam, his voice remains cold. "Our chances of passing as a team are basically dead in the ground", Joe says, his voice flat, "and I'm done acting like a babysitter, that goes for all of you".
"Thank God", Ace rolls his eyes.
"Say what you will", Joe glances at him, "I know I can pass on my own, I'm not a hopeless cause, and I'm not wasting my time helping any of you from now on". Scanning over the other four, his eyes land on Teo: "so stay away from me, all four of you".
"I was just about to say the same thing", Teo scoffs.
"Good", Joe notes turning around, "I'm off to watch the tournament then".
"Unfortunately for you, we're all going", Ace says dryly, following after him. It's not that he minds Joe's little solo act in theory. What was irking him was that he thought himself untouchable. No one is untouchable. Behind him, Ace hears Teo and Ves hiss their final warnings at Sam, before the three follow along.
*****
The central stadium is nothing short of majestic. As the stands start filling up, Ace can't help but watch around in awe. Just the sheer size of it was breath taking, he had read in the brochure that the stadium could fit around 50k spectators. Mostly, it was used to hold inter-school tournaments, that were quite common between different high schools for trainers. During the summer breaks, the Old King's offered the place up for different league tournametns as well as friendly matches between famous trainers. In short, this place was the money-making machine for the school. Neat rows of blue chairs seemed to be circling upwards, almost all the way to the ceiling. The ceiling, though, was not there right now. It had been nesting within the walls, so Ace was offered the view of the September sky. In the center of it all stood the vast battlefield. The ground was set to neutral terrain right now, clay, Ace noted. He knew the Old King's gem had the capability of switching between different terrains. And even the clay, which was nothing out of the norm on surface level, proved just how much effort was put into building this place up. It was evened out, and smooth, without any cracks visible. Living in Vermilion as a kid who dreamed of one day becoming a pokemon trainer, Ace had witnessed many gym matches. He even visited gyms in the surrounding towns in order to spectate a few times. He was well aware what it took to keep the battlefield in a condition like that. Even the gym battlefields bore the traces of battles they've seen, and those ones were significantly smaller than the one he was looking at right now.
Without much talk, but with growing tension between them, the five boys found their seats. They have deliberately decided to sit down next to Lesley and his team. Ace, though not the fan of this choice, joined them simply for the fact he had no other option. Save for sitting alone, which was out of the question. Joe had immediately gotten into the conversation with Henry and Marc. Those three have seemed to hit it off quite a bit, as Joe had even done some shopping for them. Lesley had tried to rope Ace into the conversation, but the boy managed to escape it by the virtue of ignoring him. Ace didn't like Lesley. Ace has never liked Lesley. They were in the same class throughout their life, starting from kindergarten, and stretching throughout the middle school. Now, they were high school classmates as well, the fact that the blond boy hated passionately. He was sure his teammates found Lesley likeable, but Ace had known better. Not only was the curly haired boy extremely on the nose and over the top all the time, but he was not the kindest person. Ace had been on the recieving end of Lesley's poking for the majority of his life. It did not help that Ace's father worked in the aero-nautical center back at Vermilion, and that Lesley's father was one of the CEO's of the said place. In short, Ace had loathed the boy, and was unsure why Lesley was adamant that the two were friends. They were far from it.
To his right, Ace could catch Dean trying to start a conversation with Sam, who had seemed to be only partly there. The boy had a dishelved look in his eyes. His face was pale other than the area near his right eye, which was slowly getting the shade of ripe purple, a handiwork of Teo. Ace felt almost sorry for the guy. While he was mad that he had managed to get them points deducted, he had deemed punching the guy unnecessary. And he could see that the boy was shaken by everything that had happened. A bit unwillingly, he brushed his hand on Sam's shoulder, whispering: "Calm down, it's fine, they'll calm down eventually".
"You sure about that?", Sam whispered back.
"You know how they are", Ace said, "as soon as something else comes up, it will grab their attention". Truth be told, Ace had no idea if he believed his own words. While his teammates had a tendency to make a fuss out of things just to disregard them the very next moment, this one felt different. Sure, by now, they had promised they wouldn't talk to each other about 20 times at least. The same number of 'leave me alone' statements has been given. After all, all they were 5 teenage boys who lived each other, getting into small fights and swearing they'd never talk to each other was a given. Most of the things they forgot about. Most of the things were insignificant.
Then there were things that couldn't be brushed off. Things their youthful minds couldn't phantom forgivness for. Ves attacking Joe. Having an outburst and making mistakes made you a teenager. Almost setting another boy on fire made you something much worse. That was the first crack. Then there were Teo and Joe, whatever went down between the two in Lilicove drove a rift between them. Now, there was Sam. Another push in the wrong direction. Ace felt as if they were hanging by a thread. And it wasn't just about passing the year. Whatever little understanding had existed between the five of them was dangerously close to being extinguished.
Some sort of collaboration still existed, Ace knew. It was clear by the way Joe and Ves were scanning through the crowd without uttering a word. It was a weird relationship between the five of them, one very much reliant on mutual benefit. Or in this case, shared enemy.
"What", Lesley's voice pierces Ace's ear, "you've been deducted 500 points?". Ace throws a cold glance at Joe, the most likely person to have told Lesley about this. The two seemed to get along, and Ace hated the fact. "What will you do now?", Lesley inquiers.
"None of your business", Ace shakes him off.
"Not an enviable position to be in", came Henry's calm voice.
"Well, at least we know this one's gonna make it through", Marc yells along, wrapping his hand around Joe, "he's been beating me left and right since we've met". Ace notices a slight blush run to Joe's face as his teammate leansn in closer to Marc.
"Yeah, I'm not too worried", Joe states with a barely audiable shake in his voice.
"I'm not worried either", Ace states, turning around to stare at the empty battlefield. Truth be told, the boy is little bit worried, but he had figured out how it works. The written tests are basically a base, he knew from the entrance exams that the differences in points on that part weren't too big. And those were unlikely to change too much as well. Battles were what ultimately made the differnece, and separated students in different ranks. That was Ace's very own theory, born out of the scoring methods. First of those ranks would be people who lose immediately and score a zero. Ultimately, those would end up being the people who would fail the year. Maybe not the first year, but they definitely wouldn't live to graduate. No amount of perfect test scores could save them either. Even the difference betweem him and Sam, a difference of more than 200 spots, was about 200 points. Which had seemed like much, but in reality, would be easy to compensate through tournament results. Not to mention that those lower ranking students didn't even necessarily have to aim to surpass Ace right now. The second rank would be those who win one battle, either by some low amount of skill or just pure luck. Regardless, those were still on the chopping board. The third rank were the people who could win some more battles, and had a chance of graduating. The fourth rank were the people who would definitely graduate, the top cut.
Out of curiosity, he took out his phone and started scrolling through the entrance list, finding his name and counting all the people he knew off that were in front of him.
1. Mikey - 997 pts.
2. Dominic - 995 pts.
3. Vinnie - 995 pts.
4. Joe - 994 pts.
5. Zoe - 994 pts.
6. Patrisha - 992 pts.
7. Natasha - 990 pts.
8. Parker - 990 pts.
9. Quincy - 990 pts.
10. Bo - 989 pts.
He studied the top 10 list ferociously. Maximum number of points to be scored on the entrance exam was 1000. These 10 were very close to that number. It wasn't a rare sight to see people having a same score, in those cases the spots are determined by the alphabetical order. Still, the list was tight, Joe was technically 3 points away from the first place in the emtrance exam, and that girl Natasha wasn't far off either. Really anyone in the top 10 could take the first spot easily. The gaps would become a bit wider down the list, he knew.
17. Lesley - 979 pts.
18. Nick - 979 pts.
19. Otto - 979 pts.
A whole trio with the same score, Ace noted, with Lesley pulling ahead in name only.
50. Nina - 913 pts.
There was a cutt-off line. It was high, nothing unexpected in a school like this. He quickly found the rest of people he knew.
60. Mai - 900 pts.
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74. Henry - 882 pts.
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87. Ace - 833 pts.
He was only 80 points away from getting the 50th spot. He'd need to get just one win. He'd also need that Nina girl to lose. And most people in front of him too. He kept scrolling down the list.
146. Dean - 777 pts.
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168. Tammy - 769 pts.
169. Ves - 767 pts.
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211. Leah - 710 pts.
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249. Tea - 676 pts.
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255. Teo - 660 pts.
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257. Marc - 649 pts.
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299. Andrei - 620 pts.
300. Sam - 618 pts.
The difference between him and Sam was 215 points. That was far from unattainable. All of these calculations had led Ace to one conclusion. He had a chance. Not only to get up to top 50, but to surpass that place as well. Only around 150 points aeparated him from landing comfortably in the top 20. A plan quickly formed in his mind. A way to assess how he fared battle-wise. But that would have to wait, he needed to get to training first. Next week would be perfect for him to get into form. Then he'll use a comparasion method to test himself. The trip was there too, he remembered. It turned up just in right time, originally he only agreed to go for the fact he'd get to meet an elite four member and Teo would get to register his Totodile. But an opportunity to catch a new pokemon was just what he needed. It would allow him to go into the tournament with more options. And he'll go home as well on the weekend, he realised, now that Greg had his starter, he wanted to prove some things once and for all. It all started to seem exciting, pokemon, battles, he realised why Ves and Joe were so intent on battling all the damn time. Of course, Ace wouldn't go breaking any rules, he didn't need to.
The announcer's voice cutting through the arena brought the boy out of his scheming state of mind. And just when his thoughts started to entertain him. The sound of applause carried through the vast space. Ace noticed only a few stands were filled. Made sense, the school didn't have anywhere near 50k students. They didn't even have a thousand, with the way they were failing a number of students each year. The fourth year counted 150 students, half of the number of the first years. Ace shuddered at the thought that by the fourth year, only half of first years would be here. He wondered what half he'll end up belonging with. And out of those 150, only 100 were bound to graduate. Though these 16 trainers that would take stage today were pretty much certainly getting their diplomas and the ticket into the U3 division.
Ace recalled the rules of the league. There were four main divisions total - B, G, U and M, meaning Beginner, Great, Ultra and Master. Each of those had 3 sub-divisions, assigned numbers from 1 to 3, with 1 being the highest level of the said sub-division and 3 being the lowest ones. There were two ways of earning yourself a spot in one of these divisions. One was graduating any high school for pokemon trainers, which would immediately qualify you for a certain level of competition. The level depended on the average showing of the graduates from your school. Old King's alumni's results in the league led to the school landing their graduates straight into the Ultra division, sub-division 3. Only two schools could land you into a higher level, both in U2, and those were highly exclusive private schools that addmited around 20 or 30 students per year. Every other school, and they weren't numerous would land you into the Great or Begginer divison.
The other way to enter the league was by acquiring all 8 gym badges of a region, then placing within the top 32 in the domestic league. This would allow you to enter the world's league at the Beginner division, at sub-division 3. This was obviously a much harder path to take. Regardless, Ace was a student of Old King's, and graduating would mean the opportunity to compete at one of the highest levels. And these people he's about to watch battle would make their debut, probably as early as next summer.
The announcer relvels in the crowd's excitment, even though the said crowd is by no means numerous. Ace hears sighs of dissapointment when the first two people walk onto the battlefield. Not the top 4 ranking students, Lesley is the first to complain. Henry reminds him that they are all still some of the best in their generation, and Dean adds that it was still early in the year, ranking for the year technically exist yet. Ace had no idea what spots these people held last year, nor who had the top 4 spots. The rankings weren't exactly available to the public. Lesley must've dedicated a lots of time to asking around in order to know this much.
Two girls stepped forward, as the announcer wished them good luck and instructed them to get ready. First round would be fought with one pokemon each. Quarter and semi finals will see the students using 2 pokemon, and the final match would be 3v3.
One of the trainers, a short girl with braided hair sent out a Rillaboom, instantly catching Ace's attention. Not only becuse the buff monkey didn't fit with the emergy the girl was giving off, but because it was a highly unusual pick. While Grookey, the unevolved form of the monkey, was a starter in Galar, Rillaboom itself wasn't often used, not due to the fact it was weak, but it had a very specific battle style. It wasn't a tough pokemon to train, but a tough one to use in a battle. Ace had expected this battle would take a while. The other girl sent out her Tinkaton, much more common pick amongst the trainers. It was too on a slower and bulkier side, and considering the neutral type match-up, this match was definitely about to last for a moment.
The Tinkaton girl was ranked 16th, and Rillaboom girl was 8th, he heard Lesley say. Not that he cared.
As the battle started up, Ace got caught in a haze. There was no time wasted as the first command was given and Rillaboom slid towards its opponent with a Grassy Glide. Tinkaton proved to be agile enough to dodge the attack, twisting its body immediately, and using the force of the movement to power her Gigaton Hammer. With a Protect from Rilaboom, the attack was easily stopped, and the grass gorilla quickly moved out, stomping its feet against to the ground in a powerful rhythm. Even before Ace could recognise the behaviour as an attack, the Stomping Tantrum shot into the opposing Tinkaton. The hammer-wileding creature recovered quickly, as its trainer ordered another attack. Play rough landed into another Protect from Rillaboom, but the girl was quick to take the opportunity and order a Thunder Wave, paralysing the grass type. Just like that the tide of the battle was switched.
Now that Rillaboom's movements were slowed down, the battle was somewhat easier to follow. There seemed to be no way break the tie, with Rillaboom slowed down, Tinkaton could easily avoid its attacks, the the grass monkey as well had no problems stopping the attacks thanks to Protect. Ace did his best to follow along, looking for mistakes, but there was nothing. Every single move these two girls made was perhaps the best one possible.
Tinkaton tried exploiting the paralysis further, attacking from the sides, back, and even from the air, but nothing seemed work. Even with paralysis inflicted, it could still avoid Tinkaton's attack, which weren't fast to begin with.
The breakthrough came when the Tinkaton trainer decided to let the Grassy Glide make contact in order to counter with a Gigaton Hammer of her own. That was one way to go around protect, Ace noted, certainly not his favourite one. The risky tactic like that was definitely more of a Joe and Ves kind of play. Damage taken, the Rillaboom trainer quickly realises that her opponent had switched tactics, and going on the defensive would be the best otpion. Ace decides that he's rooting for the Rilaboom girl.
Tinkaton trainer wastes no time going into the offensive, ordering a Play Rough from the air, which Rilaboom's Protect quickly stops. Ace already know the moves of the Tinkaton. Two attacks, Gigaton Hammer and Play Rough, Thunder Wave. Those three are pretty standard for anyone training a Tinkaton, and the fourth one was most likely Stealth Rock, which is pretty much useless in one on one battles. Ace can't help wondering why the girl had used Tinkaton in a 1v1. Perhaps she wanted to keep her other pokemon rested for further rounds. Rillaboom's fourth move could be anything, as far as he knew, while the three moves he had already seen were common choices, the fourth one could be anything. Either another attacking move or a utility move of some kind.
With Tinkaton pulling back and readying for the next attack, the Rillaboom trainer ordered a Boomburst. The grass pokemon started besting against its wooden drums with force, creating a sonic waves that echoed throughout the arena, and Ace could feel them in his bones. Tinkaton felt them as well, slowing down in a daze, just for a few seconds. Those few moments were more than enough for Rillaboom to swoop in and land another Grassy Glide. Tinkaton trainer rected in time, retaliating with Gigaton Hammer. The grass type seemed to be ready to take another hit, as it quickly recovered its balance after the blowback. The Rillaboom girl ordered a Stomping Tantrum, and her partner was quick to launch the attack. Tinkaton, still recovering from the impact of its own attack had no time to get out of the way of the earth-shattering force that was sent her way. The hammer pokemon was thrown to the ground, as Rillaboom stood tall on the field. It took the referee a few moments to confirm the knockout, and the announcment was followed with a round of applause. Ace felt satisfied with the result, almost as if he had won the match himself.
"That was to be expected", Lesley scoffed, "the 16th ranking girl has no chance against anyone from top 10".
"She held her own quite well, though, so maybe don't be such an elitis", Henry says.
"Righ, Les, and aren't you 17th yourself you dipshit", Marc points out.
"That does not count", Lesley retorts, "those are just entrance exams".
"Oh, but they count when you're giving me shit", Andrei chimes in.
"Let's not start with this", Dean gestures for his teammates to keep quiet.
Leaning closer in to Ace, Sam whispers: "Hey, this was a good battle, right?". The boy seems to have gotten some colour back in his face, other than the growing purple.
"Yeah, it was good", Ace confirms shortly.
"That Rillaboom seems so strong", Sam goes off the margin, "I wish I had one of those as well".
"You have Yamper", Ace notes.
"Yeah, but Yamper is not jacked", Sam points out.
Ace hated the conversation. Now that Joe has, most likely, decided to distance himself from Sam, the boy needed somebody else to imprint on. And Ace was apparently the most suitable target. The blond boy cursed himself for ever comforting this idiot.
"Well, then, catch yourself a Grookey", Ace says through gritted teeth, wishing to end conversation.
"But we're going to Sinnoh", Sam points out.
"There are Grookey's in Sinnoh", Ace retorts.
"I know, I know, but it would be better if we went to Galar, it would be easier to find a Grookey", Sam thinks out loud.
"Well, Teo didn't want to go to Galar", Ace sighs.
"Why though?", Sam wonders.
"I don't know, ask him yourself", Ace says.
"Hey, hey, shut up you two", Lesley snaps, the boy's hand leading their sight to the battlefield. The next two contestants have taken stage. "It's starting", Lesley says in a whisper, "and this on the left is 2nd ranked student, and he might even rank first this year".
Ace takes note of the two boys. The guy on the left is tall, as far as he can tell, and dressed in green the whole way through. His opponent, and Lesley lets them know he is number 10, is on shorter end, dressed in blue has already sent out his pokemon. A meanecing Tyrantrum stands on the field, redy to attack. His opponent, the nuber 2, hurls his pokeball through the air, and a vicious-looking Houndoom appears on the battlefield. Ace's eyes fly over to Ves immediately. The black-haired boy seems to have taken a short lived interest in the evolved form of his starter, but he quickly diverts his eyes elsewhere. He's looking at the stands further to their left, occasionally whispering something to Joe. It isn't too hard to guess what they are talking about. Ace decides to leave them to their devices for now, turning his attention back to the battlefield.
The referee announces the start, and unlike the first one, this battle passes quickly. Houndoom proves to be as dangerours as it looks, immediately starting to run in circles around much less agile Tyrantrum. Thanks to it's bulk, the dinosaurs pokemon can't even turn around in time to follow its opponent's movements. Houndoom has an easy time showering the dinosaur with backhanded Dark Pulses. Though Tyrnatrum tries retaliating with Ancient Power a few times, his efforts end up failing short, as Houndoom emerges as a swift victor. All Ace can think about is inevitability of this battle. Houndoom ended up entraping the Tyrantrum so easily, just by moving in circles. Simple yet effective startegy. Almost as if the black dog was a hunter, toying with its prey.
As the two boys leave the battlefield, and Lesley gives a boastful commentary, Ace's eyes turn back to Ves. He wants to know if his teammate caught the same feeling as he did. But Ves is not at his spot. Neither is Joe. Ace sees the two aiming for the exit. Without much thinking, he jolts up from his seat, heading for them. He knows what those two are doing, and he's not letting it happen.
"Hey, where are you going", Sam's voice sounds after him. The boy stood up to follow, which only confirmed Ace's suspicion that he's been selected as his new best friend.
"He's going after those two", Teo explains joining them as well, "and I'm going to watch".
"Maybe stay here and watch some actual battles", Ace says without turning his head.
"No way, this is much more fun", Teo notes.
"Wait, why are we following them?", Sam's still confused.
"Cause they are about to do something stupid", Ace states.
"Right, they saw those guys that set you up in the stands", Teo says, "and I guess they left, so those two are going after them".
"Oh, you think they want to fight them?", Sam scracthes his head.
"No, they want to have a civil conversation", Ace rolls his eyes, "of course they want to fight them".
"You think they can beat them?", Sam inquiries.
"I think they can get us expelled", Ace hisses.
"And Ace thinks he can actually stop those two", Teo chuckles.
"Shut up", Ace says flatly.
"Hey, wait up, we're coming along as well", Marc's voice sounds after them.
"Yeah", Henry joins in, "Joe explained what happened, we'll help".
"Oh, great, with the two of you we might actually be able to stop them", Ace nods.
"No, no, we're helping them, not you", Marc notes.
"Dude, you'll just get your team in trouble too", Ace says, "what will Lesley say".
"Fuck Lesley", Marc says, "he's not a boss of me".
"Yeah, and Joe and Ves went after three people", Henry says, "so we're just there to tie things up, number wise".
"Well, if that's the case then you don't have to come", Teo says, "after all, I'm here".
"Really, dude?", Ace says as they exit the stadium, "are you all idiots?".
"Hey Ace, be careful what you say", Teo reminds him.
"Teo, shut up", Ace scoffs, "you're not fighting anyone, you can't control your pokemon, you'll judt cause more problems".
"I can't control Absol", Teo notes, "Tots is listening to me".
"No", Ace says, "you're aboslutely not using Totodile before he's registered, you'll get us in so much more trouble".
"Calm down, nothing's gonna happen", Teo waves him off.
"Nothing, huh, and what if someone records you with a pokemon that you smuggled onto the island?", Ace says, "you'd have to explain how you got it".
"Chill dude, I'll just say Totodile stumbled onto the island and I found him", Teo says.
"You can't say that, there are nets all around the island stopping water pokemon from coming in", Henry says, "and besides, the currents around the island are too strong for a Totodile to approach, it's too small".
"Hey, Tots is smart enough to find a way", Teo shrugs.
"It's still smarter if you let us handle this", Henry notes.
"No, it would be smarter if you came to your senses and helped me stop those two from doing stupid shit", Ace sighs.
"Hey, hey, Joe explained what happened", Marc says with vigor, "it's only fair to get revenge, and we want to battle some high ranked guys as well".
"What's up with the three of you anywys", Teo scoffs, "you're like battle maniac friends or something?".
"You jealous?", Ace pokes at him.
"We are, indeed", Marc says shortly, "Henry and Joe are great, they keep beating me every time we fight".
"You know, for once I'd like to see someone beat Joe", Ace states, "that guy need to be knocked down a peg, Henry, did you ever get that rematch".
"Not yet, but I'm getting ready", Henry says calmly, "I'll get him one of these days".
"Well, you know, now would be a great time", Ace points out, "if you challenge him, I'm sure he'll drop his revenge quest, and I can deal with Ves".
"Yeah, you can deal with Ves", Teo chuckles. Ace ignores him.
"I'll challenge when I'm ready", Henry says flatly, "right now, I'm here to help out with those three".
"God help us all", Ace sighs.
As they exit the main building, Ace can see Joe and Ves few feet away from them. They notice them as well, but decide to ignore them, opting instead to keep following a group of three people further down the cobblestone path. Ace can't tell for sure from the distance, but he thinks one of those people is a girl, and another one a boy with a mullet. At least his temmates have their target recognition in tact. Sucks that they are both tactless. Ace stays back, no reason to get in close to them right now. They were still near the main building, nothing's going to happen here. Maybe, further down the road, those two decide to give up on this bullshit. Tough chances, Ace knew, but he could hope. Surprisingly, Teo, Henry and Marc decided to stick with him as well, instead of joining Joe and Ves.
As the chilly air crawls across his skin, Ace follows along. It's not exactly a spy mission, he thins. Everyone involved knows they are being followed. As the weird row strays further away from the main campus Ace can see his two teammates pick up the pace. Beach. Those three that they are following are headed for the beach. It's always the beach, isn't it? Regardless, he picks up his pace as well, intent on cutting the revenge quest short. He already knows where this leads. It doesn't take long to calculate his chances. They are virtually nonexistent. He's not beating Ves or Joe in a 2v1. There's one way to stop this thoug, and a few things would have to go his way. Teo can't meddle, and Henry and Marc have to stay on the sidelines as well. He notices Riolu isn't following Joe, which giges him a bit of hope. Maybe he doesn't want the pokemon out when Ves is around. It did attack him the last time, and Joe might as well still be holding a grudge that his emotion-reading dog could catch on to. Maybe it wouldn't be 2v1. Regardless, he knew he'd have to fight them both eventually. He's not winning it. Only thing he could accomplish here is injure their partners to the point the two of them give up on this chase in order to go and heal them. He hated to admit it, but he was getting excited at his own ideas. This was his forte, using his brain to get things to go his way. With a sense of growing confidence, he stepped forward. All he needed was for everyone else to stay away and let him focus on those two. He could do it.
"Alright, you two stop right now", Ace yells behind them, calculating they are far enough from the campus. The few trees around them provide a bit of a cover. Regardless, most of the staff is probably watching the tournament. The plan is easy, hope that Joe and Ves won't both jump to battle him 2v1. Get Ves riled up, Ace thinks, he has an advantage over him, so beating him would be easier. Then just land a few hits on Joe, enough to keep him from going forward.
"What do you want, Ace", Ves grunts.
"I'm stopping you two from getting us into even more trouble", Ace says stepping forward.
"Alright", Joe says, turning around and releasing Riolu in a sweeping movement, "stop us then". Ace stops in his tracks, he was hoping Joe would be the second opponent.
"Don't give him a time of day", Ves notes, "we'll lose those three if we stay here to play with blondie".
"No worries", Joe says calmly, "this will be over quickly".
"We'll follow them", Marc says making a jolt forward, "let's go, Hen".
"Right, we'll keep track of them", Henry promises, following after Marc.
"Well, I'm staying to watch the show", Teo says.
"Right, I'm joining in then", Ves says readying his pokeball.
"No, just let me deal with him", Joe stops him, "it will be faster".
"You're hogging all the fun", Ves protests.
"Cmon, Ace, don't make me wait", Joe ignores the black haired boy. Unfortunately for him, killing time was exactly what Ace had in mind.
Looking around to confirm no one was there, he opposes his teammate. "Can you just think about this for a second", the boy does his best to keep his voice even, "you'll get us in even more trouble".
"I won't", Joe raises his eyebrow, "I know what I'm doing".
"God, stop acting so tough all the damn time", Ace scoffs.
"Stop meddling", Joe retorts, "I thought we were clear about some things".
"What things?", Ace spits out.
"That we're all doing our own thing from now on", Joe says.
"And I was clear that I wouldn't let you do whatever you want", Ace points out.
"Think you can stop me?", Joe says.
"You've got your head in the clouds if you think you're unbeatable", Ace reminds him.
"Statistically, I am", Joe states.
"Statistically, you're full of shit", Ace retorts.
"Great, a nerd-off", Teo comments.
"Just give it up Ace", Joe sighs, "there's a reason you can't win against me, multiple reasons, but you can't understand it".
"Oh, trust me, I get it", Ace rolls his eyes, "I know you're a special little snowflake".
"You do, huh", Joe says flatly.
"Cmon, I'm not stupid", Ace looks away from him. "You're impossible to read, a silent type, a guy who just keeps winning effortlessly", Ace says distantly, "an overpowered guy who shows no emotion, and everyone's obessed with you". Ace looks him straight in the eye: "I know what you are".
"Why the fuck are they reenacting Twilight?", Ves says, but the two boys ignore him.
"Say it. Out loud", Joe's gaze meets Ace's, "say it".
"A self-insert", Ace says coldly, "you're a Merry Sue".
Joe looks at him with a cold glance. "We're all self-inserts, Ace".
"Wait we are?", Teo jumps in.
"Well, you're the biggest one", Ace notes.
"Even if you're right, Ace, it doesn't really matter", Joe notes, "besides, I'm a guy, so I'd be a Garry Stue".
"Same difference", Ace scoffs.
"And just so we're clear, breaking the fourth wall is my thing", Joe rolls his eyes, "you get movie references, I get the fourth wall breaks".
"No way, you don't make the rules around here", Ace retorts.
"Well, I broke the fourth wall in the last chapter, so I did it first", Joe crosses his arms, "besides I do it much better".
"Hey, hey, what kind wall are you two nerds going on about?", Ves chimes in irritated.
"Yeah, and who are Marry and Garry?", Sam scratches his head in confusion.
"The fourth wall", Teo notes.
"Oh, Teo's figured it out as well?", Ace says in surprise.
"Nah, I explained it to him yesterday", Joe notes.
"Explained what", Ves presses.
"The fourth wall, I'll explain later", Joe waves him off.
"Huh, right, those two are the main characters as well", Ace nods, "guess we should tell them".
"Roger that", Joe says, "now put the 4th wall back up and fight me".
"I think these two are doing drugs", Ves nods towards Sam who raises his hands up in a show of utter confusion.
"Alright", Ace says gripping for his pokeball. With no more time to buy, he releases his partner. Rockruff readily stands on the grass keeping his eyes fixed on Riolu.
"Accelerock", Ace orders immdeiatly. Joe orders a Vacuum Wave at the same time, just as Ace had expected. The blast of fighting energy clashes with projectiling rocks in mid-air, both attacks cancelled out. Good thing he has priority as well, Ace thinks. Come to think of it, Joe relies on his fastest move, it lets him get hits in and is hard to avoid. For the most part, that's why everybody has trouble beating him. Ace, however has a priority move on his own, which gives him a chance to counter those plays. He's one of the worst opponents for Joe, he realises, silent confidence building within him. He could actually beat him. Though he hates the fact that he can't use his usual strategy here, Joe wouldn't let him get either Sand Attack or Double Team off, he can still win.
"Metal Claw, Rio", Joe orders and Riolu rushes in. Maybe its just Ace's imagination, but the fighting type seems to have gotten even faster since the last time they fought.
"Accelerock, Rocky", Ace commands, intent on stopping this attack. He's figured out that combo Joe uses, Metal Claw followed by Vacuum Wave, the best way around it was to cut the first attack short.
"Rio, Detect", Joe orders up. Riolu's eyes flash blue, and the pokemon avoids the rocks flying his way.
If there was ever time to get an advantage it was right now, Ace thinks. "Sand Attack", he orders.
"Bullet Punch", Joe says, as Ace takes a surprise step back. His Rockruff conjures up some sand, aiming it at Riolu, but the blue dog takes the attacks head on, slamming his flashing fist into Rockruff. He probably learned that attack in Lilicove, and Ace wasn't informed about it.
"Accelerock, Rocky, now", Ace hastily orders, knowing well enough what's coming.
"Detect", Joe hits him with yet another surprise, as Riolu dodges another attack. Ace can see Riolu's body twisting, his arms flying into postition for a follow up.
"Accelerock, again", he orders up, knowing that's the best play. From that distance, Vacuum Wave was sure to hit, even with the Sand Attack off. He sees the rocks around Rockruff's neck pointing up, almost ready to be fired, when the blast of energy hits his partner, sending him flying back. Riolu's definitely gotten faster, he realises.
Rockruff manages to stand back up, and Ace is pretty sure that shouldn't be the case. The boy connects the dots - that Vacuum Wave was weak. Joe had traded power for speed. Still, it is a fighting type move, and the second attack Rockruff has taken, so the brown-furred dog is on the edge of his endurance.
Ace knows he's not winning this now. His only option was matching Joe's speed. That's not happening anymore. He's gotten himself yet another priority move. And he's been training, Ace thinks, everything else aside, Joe's been training ever since they came here. He was battling non-stop as well. Going for a Sand Attack there was a mistake, Ace realises, a Double Team would've been better. At least he has that advantage of Riolu's accuracy being lowered.
"Accelerock, Rocky", Ace orders, realising the best he could do now is prolong this battle. Keep Riolu at bay with his attacks. And dodging should be easier now.
"Detect, Rio, get back", Joe orders, and his partner is quick to oblige, making his way further from Rockruff.
"Accelerock, keep them coming", Ace presses. He can just tire him out.
"Vacuum Wave", Joe orders.
As the two attacks clash in mid-air again, Ace gets ready to follow up with another attack immediately. A flash of blue light catches his attention.
"Ember, Doom", Ves's voice echoes. Taken back, Ace can't react in time, instead, he just watches as the wall of cinders envelops Rockruff, knocking his partner out.
He looks up at the black-haired boy, rage filling him up: "hey, that was unfair!".
"Well, go cry about it", Ves scoffs.
"Stop being a jerk", Ace's voice cracks, "that was a dirty move and you know it".
"Hey, this is not an official battle", Ves raises his hands up, "I got tired of waiting for you to settle this so I interwined, that's all".
"Huh, right", Ace retorts, "maybe you were just jealous cause I was actually holding my own against this bastard".
"Yeah, getting hit with two attacks while not landing any, you were really holding your own against him", Ves rolls his eyes.
"I could've won", Ace states, not fully believing it himself.
"Sure buddy, but you lost", Ves shrugs, "so get lost".
"I lost cause you jumped in and made it a 2v1", Ace points out.
"Ace, calm down", Joe says recalling his Riolu, "you lost, and to be fair, the only reason you held on for this long is that Rio's Bullet Punch isn't quite there yet".
"Right, whatever that means", Ace rolls his eyes.
"It means I didn't have too much time to work on that move yet", Joe says, "I only had this morning, its still not powerful enough, if I had some more time, you would've gotten knocked out after two attacks".
"Right, that's what you think", Ace rolls his eyes.
"Hey, you weren't bad, you're just not good enough yet either", Joe says simply, "I mean that Sand Attack was a waste of time, to be fair I have no idea why you keep relying on accuracy and evasion tactics, haven't you figured out that they don't really work for you".
"Oh, get off your high horse, you didn't even beat me", Ace yells, knowing full well Joe's right.
"I would've beaten you", Joe shrugs.
"Right, so", Ace crosses his arms, "you're going on with your bullshit then?".
"Of course", Joe notes simply, "you should go back to the dorms, and take Sam, no need for the two of you to be here anyways".
"Right", Ace says, "we could go back and watch a tournament, that would be better". He knows full well he's not going back into the stadium.
"Whatever, just go", Joe steps away from them, "and Teo, you should go too".
"Hey, I wanna watch, you know", Teo says playfully.
"You have no business here", Ves reminds him, "and you can't even fight, so just go".
"I do have business with these guys, remember?", Teo retorts.
"No, you do not, Mikey and Dominic are not with them", Ves says, "and even if they were, you should stay away from them".
"Like I'm going to listen -", Teo starts.
"Teo, let's just go", Ace cuts him off, "let these two idiots dig their own graves".
"We'll handle this", Ves says recalling his Houndour.
"Yeah, I'm sure you will", Ace says leaving. There's just one thing clear in his mind. He needs to start training.