“We got quite a battle today folks! A family feud! Elizabeth Ferrous, a returning contender aiming for the top this year, and her younger cousin. Victoria Ferrous, the Trainer of the first flying Gyarados, and our very own Drrrrragon Master!”

I winced a bit at the obvious focus I was getting over my competitor.

But that was that, and this was this. I stepped out onto the field and up the little challengers podium.

The Ice Field.

As I looked over the field there was Elizabeth just like me she was dressed up in her tournament clothes. She looked like an ace trainer, her clothing was expensive sports gear. But it was her eyes that told me this was going to be painful.

She was completely serious and ready to fight for a win.

“Trainers! Release your first Pokemon!” The announcer called out and I grabbed a specific white pokeball and threw it.

Elizabeth’s ball reached the arena first and burst open and I wasn’t surprised to see her partner.

“A Delcatty! Not a surprise from the Ferrous clan and their love of Cat like pokemon!” The Announcer quickly called out, but only a moment later appeared my partner.

“Miiiiii!” Milotic roared out as he stretched out and then loomed over the much smaller Delcatty.

“Match Begin!”

“Rush her down!” I roared out, and Elizabeth responded.

“Dodge it!” Elizabeth called out in return, and Delcatty focused on that. Even as Milotic rushed forward, the ice not slowing him down at all, as he curled up and slammed his tail fin down, the glow of his fin telling me he was using Iron Tail.

The ice exploded from his blow even so. Shards of ice shot up, but it didn’t hit.

Delcatty jumped, and twisted, and dodged the first strike, with some aerial maneuvers that impressed me.

But just dodging once wasn’t enough! Milotic had learned how to control his strikes and keep the attack going from Zelos after all! He continued attacking, his tail lashing out, forcing Delcatty to twist and spin.

But it was the third swipe that surprised me. Delcatty landed on Milotics tail and used it to bounce far into the sky.

Ah, this was planned. I smirked as despite the cold of the Ice Field, the air suddenly heated up as Sunny Day cleared out every hint of clouds.

Milotic actually flinched a bit from looking upwards as the sun grew bright.

“Milotic! Don’t chase! Prep!” I called out and he did just that.

Curling in on himself, energy seeped out of him, as he used Coil.

Delcatty finally landed back on the ice, and to my surprise despite the slick ice she landed solidly.

Hmm. Did she use her claws to dig in? Or some other trick to stick?

“Now Delcatty! We’re going all out!” Elizabeth called out, and I smirked as suddenly the plan all came together.

Delcatty’s tail lit up drawing in power instantly, and suddenly a Solar Beam rocketed forward.

“Dig!” I called out, and considering that the ice below Milotic wasn’t the usual hard packed earth he needed to use water to dig up, he spun, and used the same crack he had used when he smashed the ice to slam down through the ice into the water underneath.

The Solar Beam passed over where he had been leaving a stream of water boiling off from the heat.

“Delcatty! Use the time!” Elizabeth called out and I nodded as Delcatty obviously started preparing some trick.

Then Milotic decided to be tricksy. Suddenly from below the ice a rumble started and then a burst of water and sound blasted through where Delcatty had been.

She jumped at the exact moment the rumble started and so escaped from the Water Pulse that shattered ice.

Hmm.

I see. Milotic thought he could pull a Zelos! What a smart boy!

The cat and mouse game started for a bit, double funny that it was a fish and cat game. Milotic continued to attack from under the Ice, and while Elizabeth was using the time to try and buff up Delcatty, there was a problem.

The entire arena started to break apart.

Gyarados hadn’t cared when his opponent had turned the water to ice, and Milotic didn’t care that the arena was ice to start, he was turning it into water. Breaking up the ice, the once solid arena was soon floating in sections, making the entire thing more slippery, and more dangerous for Delcatty.

“Okay Delcatty! Get him!” Elizabeth called out and I watched as her tail once more started glowing. And then surging. And powerful Solar Beams started smashing back down into the ice as Delcatty jumped around.

It was funny, but both pokemon were blasting the other with beams and I could hear the audience delight in the light show.

But…

The battle had already been decided, and I felt bad for Elizabeth. Milotic was my partner. My first pokemon. There was no way I would let him be the first of my pokemon to lose.

I had come up with this plan since I already knew the ice arena would be next.

It was just bad luck that Elizabeth was facing it.

Suddenly Milotic stopped attacking back, and Delcatty’s Solar Beams continued shooting down into the water for a while longer before Elizabeth called for a stop.

“Folks! The battle of blasts has finally gone quiet! Did a lucky Solar Beam take out the beautiful Milotic? Is this the end of Trainer Victoria’s perfect record through this conference?”

But Elizabeth didn’t look at all, like she expected that to be what happened.

And then I felt it. A rumble ran through the area, water shifting. Delcatty suddenly meowed at Elizabeth.

“Delcatty! Keep your feet, Get ready to block it!” She called out, but while that was a good guess. It wasn’t right.

The water shifted. Beginning to surge up and over the limits of the ice arena, the smaller chunks of ice now completely broken apart surged over the edge and flowed away. Destroying even more landing area for Delcatty, and then it was over.

The whole area shuddered and Delcatty cried out as it went flying. The ice block it had been resting on had just been shattered with a brutal Iron Tail.

And then Milotic once more disappeared.

“Don’t think you can hide forever then!” Elizabeth cried out, obviously angry “Delcatty! Flash!” She roared and I blinked and looked away, as Delcatty suddenly became a massive beacon of light that I had to flinch against even while I looked away. “There!” Elizabeth cried out and only once I looked back did I get it.

“Elizabeth had used the Flash to light up the bottom of the arena so that even Milotic couldn’t hide within the water! Smart!.

“Caaaaty!” A SolarBeam burst down into the water and crashed into Milotic.

And then it popped as if he was never there.

“Substitute.” I called out calmly.

Milotic hadn’t just been blasting the arena into pieces. He had been preparing for a full sweep. A Substitute was just a useful move to always have active if you could, in case you were going to take a massive hit, like a powered up Solar Beam.

Milotic didn’t like training, unlike Arcanine who just blasted forward and used her overwhelming strength to win, he preferred it his own way.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

He hid away, powered himself up so he could win the whole battle without really tiring himself out.

He was a lazy fish after all.

Delcatty landed back on another chunk of ice, and it was obvious Elizabeth was going to try her flash trick again, but Milotic struck first. Another Iron Tail smashed into the ice she was on and sent the cat flying high into the sky.

“Milotic! Go!” I called out loud enough for him to hear and even as Delcatty shot another solar beam into the pool where she had just been. Everything exploded.

Extreme Speed was a difficult move for Milotic to use. At least it was when he was on the ground. Put him in water though?

The arena erupted into a spout of water and no one could even see what had happened, even as Delcatty’s Solar Beam blasted a hole through the water revealing nothing.

And then it was over. Because above Delcatty, looming over her, and cutting her off from the sun was Milotic.

And then he struck.

A tail covered in water came crashing down and Delcatty was smashed.

Then she vanished in a puff of smoke.

“Substitute.” Elizabeth called out, in the same tone I had used before.

I felt a smile spread across my face as she spoke.

Because while it was mocking, the look on her face as she looked up at Milotic was anything but.

As he floated for a moment in the sky, it revealed he was prepared. Aqua Ring floated around him, healing him constantly and he had the rippling colors of energy floating over his scales, making them appear even more rainbow like than normal.

Milotic was fully buffed up.

“Milotic! Go!” I roared once more as Delcatty appeared on the ice, her substitute having ended as she appeared normally once more, and even as Elizabeth responded, it wasn’t enough.

Milotic shot down and it was only a solid wall of energy that appeared in front of Delcatty that kept her in the arena, as another Aqua Tail smashed down so strongly that it rang out on the shield like a gong.

Protect wasn’t going to save her. That only delayed the inevitable.

A moment later another strike and Delcatty cried out for half a second as she once more puffed into smoke.

Another substitute? I see.

“Solar Beam!” Milotic turned and grunted as he was met face first with a blast of energy, to my relief, it wasn’t enough.

His head turned to the side at the attack and when it was over, he shifted enough to lock his massive eye back on the cat.

Then he surged forward, and this game of fish and cat was over.

Substitute, and protect only delayed the inevitable, as Delcatty simply couldn’t use Substitute enough to survive Milotics rampage.

And it was a rampage. He didn’t like battling, so making the battle last longer was doing nothing for his temper.

And finally Delcatty had nothing else to give and an Aqua Tail smashed her into the water with a massive plume erupting where she disappeared.

When it settled. The poor cat was floating in the water unconscious and Elizabeth returned her partner, with shaking hands.

She had two more pokemon. She had to send them out onto an arena that was now smashed apart and mostly water. Facing a fully buffed up Milotic, who was pissed and ready for anything she did.

The match was over.

We both knew that. Our eyes met across the battlefield. I nodded at her then. Not to embarrass her, but because I respected what she had done with Delcatty.

If we had a more solid ground arena… Well she still would have lost, but it would have been even more even. She had lost to the same moves I had used for Milotic to fight against Koga.

There wasn’t any shame in being overwhelmed like that.

But it didn’t mean that Elizabeth was just going to hand me the win either.

“Go! Vaporeon!” She called out and released her next pokemon and I nodded. A good choice considering the arena. And so the match continued.

—--

I hesitated, before deciding to walk into the lockers anyways.

Normally I wouldn’t go to my opponents lockers after a match, but this was different.

As I entered I felt myself wince as I heard the muffled crying.

Elizabeth had put up a hell of a fight. It just didn’t matter in the end. Powered up Milotic was OP. My fishy boy just didn’t care about taking damage, or anything by that point, he could Recover through it.

So Elizabeth's team had been crushed.

But I wasn’t going to let it end like that. She wasn’t just some random competitor. She was family… Sort of… No, she was. She had helped the Goomy. Had taken care of the Milotic when I wasn’t around…

She deserved to be treated like actual family.

I stepped farther in and found her sitting on the bench her head in her hands, as she muffled her cries into a towel.

“You were amazing.” I started off, because I didn’t know how else to get the conversation started.

Her shoulders hitched and then she snapped at me.

“Go away!”

“No.” I responded back and stepped forward. “You were amazing.” I said again and then just to solidify the point I sat next to her on the bench.

“I said go away! I don’t want to deal with you!”

“I know. Losing sucks.” I agreed my own loss against Koga had sucked. Even if it was necessary.

“Why are you here? Just to mock me? Prove you’re the better one?” She hissed into her towel. I just shook my head, as I kicked my feet a bit.

“I’m not better than you Elizabeth.” I denied, but she hiccuped up a laugh in return.

“You beat me.”

“I know things you don’t. That’s all. You fought me so hard it was crazy.”

“I lost. I lost against a kid in her first year as a trainer!”

“I’ve had Milotic for years, and Arcanine for a while too.”

“You know what I mean!” She got angry again, snapping at me.

“Yeah. I know what you mean.” I agreed. “You know. You never asked me how my pokemon are so strong.” I mentioned and she twitched a bit.

“Family secret.” She muttered bitterly, and I nodded despite her not being able to see it.

“Yeah that’s true. It’s a stupid family secret, like so much other stuff. Stuff I would rather just share. Like Milotic, or lots of other stuff… But you know, You’re family too.”

The room was quiet for a long while before Elizabeth scoffed.

“We aren’t family. We’re strangers. Our fathers hate each other.”

“Don’t say that around Gram Gram. She’d smack your butt.”

She once more scoffed. “You know what I mean. We take care of your Milotic and benefit from it… I know the secret obviously, but that’s that, and that’s all we know.”

“Yeah. I knew it would get out eventually. Just like I think all the secrets will… Eventually.” I said and I felt a grin spreading across my cheeks, because I was getting ideas about those secrets to start with. “But like you said, that’s that… And this is this. I beat you today. But tomorrow? Or next time? Ask me when you’re ready.”

“Ask you what?”

“How to get strong.” I said frankly, and then I just walked away. She did need time. But I didn’t want her to think this was some stupid competition… Well I mean, other than the conference.

If she wanted to be the heir to the clan, good. That meant I wouldn’t even be in the consideration all the better for me.

No. I had no interest in that.

—--

Ivy Vinewood

Finally her opponent’s pokemon went down. Ivy was breathing hard despite the fact she wasn’t the one battling. No, it was her pokemon, but she was now down to one last pokemon, and all her tricks hadn’t worked.

Her opponent was strong. Really strong, and Ivy was being pushed back. The boy across from her, had the easy confidence of being in the arena before.

She had done a bit of research. This was his seventh conference, and it showed.

Ivy had been on the back foot from the start. All because her opponent had been ready for her tricks.

She felt… Like this was her limit.

It made her want to cry. To think that all her work so far would end here, before she even made it out of the preliminary arena.

“Mooo!” Tauros called out and Ivy blinked the tears out of her eyes to see Tauros looking up at her.

There wasn’t any worry in his eyes, Tauros… He was her friend. They’d met in the Safari zone and in the end Ivy hadn’t even needed a Safari ball to catch him.

“And Evan sends out a Machamp! A brutal type disadvantage for Vinewood! Will she be able to pull off a surprise win?!” The announcer spoke and Ivy winced, because… Yeah that was probably the end.

Tauros was already tired, and a Fighting Type was his weakness.

But once he looked towards his opponent, he planted his hooves and mooed out a warning.

“Woooo! Ivy! Kick his butt!” A voice howled out from behind her and she almost flinched and looked but then relaxed.

Stupid Vicky. She shouldn’t yell so loud.

“Machamp! Close Combat!” The battle was on. No time to think about anything else.

But… This match wasn’t over!

“Zen Headbutt!” She called out just in time to get Tauros ready.

She might lose, but she would lose fighting!

—--

I really didn’t want this to be a common thing. I entered into the locker room, and to my surprise I didn’t hear tears.

“Ivy?”

“I’m over here Vicky.” Ivy called out, and I walked in to see her surrounded by her pokemon.

Venusaur almost didn’t fit, but they all squished together. And Ivy was using Potion to spray over all of them, and seemingly taking care of them herself.

Ah. Her eyes were a little blurry, but she wasn’t crying.

It’s funny, but I think I had the words to share this time and they were the same ones I had used before.

“You were amazing.”

“I lost.” She offered, but I walked over and settled in next to Phantump who blinked up at me. And then crawled onto my lap as I settled him in.

“So? Does losing make you any less amazing? Everyone loses.”

“You don’t.” She grumbled, but it wasn’t bitter, but more teasing.

“Koga kicked my butt.” I said and Ivy looked up in shock.

“What? When?”

“The first time I faced him. I was relying entirely on my pokemon's strength, and I wasn’t preparing for the battle well enough. He beat me up and then I studied under him as a Gym Trainer for a while. I beat him on the rematch.”

“Huh. Is that why Kiba always mentions you being a Ninja.”

“I’m afraid to say I know nothing about the Protector of the Moon, Glorious Beautiful Kunoichi Nike. But I did hear she kicked Kiba’s ass.” I said fighting off a smirk.

“Vicky you’re such a… You.” Ivy finally said with a sigh before focusing once more on Clefairy who was laying in Ivy’s lap looking pretty roughed up still.

Although I noticed the little pink pokemon was mostly faking the extent of its injuries even swooning in Ivy’s lap to get extra attention.

“You’ll do even better next time.” I said, and Ivy shrugged.

“Maybe. Maybe not. I’m not sure I’ll be very focused on the conference next year, I want to try and spread around some of the new moves that Fomantis and Phantump bring to the Bulbasaurs for next year. And do some breeding.” She explained as she squirted a bit of potion onto Clefairy's chin making the pink pokemon blow a raspberry as some got in her mouth.

“Hmm.” I said because I actually understood. Would I show up next year for the conference? Would I go through the gym circuit again?

I mean, I liked battling, I loved pokemon, but more importantly, I loved being with them more than I cared for the sound of battle.

“You’ll be amazing no matter what you do.” I decided instead and she laughed, sending me a look that didn’t have nearly as much tears in her eyes anymore.

“Look in the mirror Vicky. You’re going to win the whole conference.”

“Maybe.” I demurred but Ivy shook her head.

“The trainer I fought. He was strong. Super strong. I looked into him before our match. He had seven conference showings. Vicky, I fought him hard, and lost. But I’ve fought you too, you know? When you face him, you’ll beat him.” Ivy sat up, and wiped a hand through her green hair, her leaf beret on the bench beside her.

“Forget about me.” I said, waving my hand. “You fought so well. Everyone is going to remember you.”

Ivy sent me a look and then rolled her eyes.

“I’ve got most of them taken care of. Do you think Chanse-I mean Blissey would look them over?”

“Sure. Of course. Not going to a Pokemon Center?”

“Are you kidding? They’re packed right now Vicky. There was even a fake pokemon center that got busted the other night.” Ivy said and I blinked at that. Ballsy to do something like that during the conference…

Wait, wasn’t that an Ash thing?

Team Rocket again I think.

Huh.

“Sure, Blissey can look over your friends, and then we need to go find your family. I’m sure they want to celebrate.” I said and Ivy flushed and looked away at the idea of celebrating her loss, but that’s just how it was. This was Kanto after all.