Chapter 45- Final-ly starting!

I watched as Sera continued to battle. After the first part where she was completely overwhelmed, I was surprised to see her go for a much more aggressive fighting style than she was used to. She barely left any openings unanswered, any attack leaving room for a follow-up was capitalized on and she pushed him relentlessly. What’s more, her Pokemon seemed to more than enjoy this pace of fighting and threw themselves in it with glee.

It was honestly kinda scary to see her flip strategy like that. To the point that I even wondered if it was even a strategy to begin with.

“… Say, do you think you would have been able to win?” Arnold questioned to my left.

I had to pause before answering that question. If I had to look back at the battles that since the beginning of my travels, I tend to be more on the cautious side. No, cautious wasn’t really the term, it was more like calculating, using boosting moves, or taking time to put things to my advantage.

Well, I don’t think that’s even right. It depends on my Pokemon I think. With Nike, I certainly battle that way. Skoll on the other hand is more of run in and punch things kind of Pokemon, even if he started to understand the benefits of moves like Work Up. On the other hand, for Tiamat I didn’t have a set fighting style, did I?

There wasn’t any point thinking about Tyr since I didn’t have nearly enough battles with him. But as for if I would be able to win against that particular Sera…

“…I think I might be able to win, but only using the type advantage. Even still, it will likely be close.” I answered finally. “What about you?”

“About the same. Although my team kind of counters hers I think.” He said.

“It’s true that between your Drillbur and Tauros, you will be able to shut down her most dangerous Pokemon, Luxio, and Pyroar but I wouldn’t underestimate Rufllet since it counters your Serperior with Pyroar. It could go either way if you rely only on type advantage.” I answered.

“I can return the same logic to you.” He added with a smirk.

I shook my head. “ You would be right if Tirtouga fought. Aside from that it will be a neutral interaction if Tia goes down. You on the other hand will have trouble especially if Rufflet takes out your Serperior, he could go on to knock out Tauros. Also, Serperior is… you know.”

I watched as he absentmindedly tapped his fingers against his glasses. He seemed deep into concentration so I decided to simply wait for him to finish whatever he was doing. In the end, he stayed silent so long that Sera entered the Pokemon Center. We signaled her and let her and waited for her to leave her Pokemon with the nurses.

“I want ice cream.” That was the first thing she said when she reached us. And she said it in the same way a child clamored for candy.

“But already cold outside…” Arnold pointed out.

That didn’t seem to matter and Sera all but dragged us to the closest ice cream merchant she could find. In the end, we all ended up with some ice cream, and for the first time since the beginning of the tournament, we simply enjoyed each other’s company, without talking about strategy or anything related to the tournament. It was honestly refreshing. Literally.

After a few hours of just talking, we went to the Pokemon Center to t welcome our teams back. As soon as our team was back, Nike exited her Pokeball without me releasing her.

‘Mago?’ she asked eagerly.

Which is why I ignored her question and simply hugged her. She, of course, pouted and continued to pester me with the same question again and again. I had to endure it until we got back to the hotel, with Sera and Arnold coming along. Or rather Arnold coming along since Sera stayed in the same hotel. We headed straight for space in the back and released our teams. We took care to stand a bit apart, at least at first.

My entire team was arrayed before me, all watching me, a certain psychic type more intensely than the others.

“First of all, you all did wonderfully during the match! You can’t believe how proud of you I am. And Tia don’t worry you will have your chance too.” I added and all of them perked up. Except for Nike, who already knew we had won. “Yes, we won.”

They all erupted into cries of their own, except Nike who kept staring me down. At that point, I knew that If I didn’t give her a Mago berry I’d probably end up suspended in the air… which is why I hurriedly fished one out of my bag.

‘Damn, I really need to get that under control soon.’ I thought, wiping the cold sweat that formed on my forehead.

I watched her happily munching away at the berry like nothing happened too. After a while, we made use of our hotel perk and got some food for both us and our Pokemon. While Sera and I got it for free, Arnold would have to pay, which Nana and Pops happily took upon themselves. Sometimes I wonder just how much they make even in their retirement. Granted they don’t usually spend much and I’m sure the others sometimes pitch in.

Either way, for the first time in a while, all of our teams were gathered and laughed together. No one had any more surprise Pokemon so they all got to hang out together. Pyroar and Serperior were naturally the ones who gathered the most attention given their evolution. Nike also got a bit of that from Serperior and Drillbur since even if they knew it was the first time they saw her outside of battle. Skoll and Tyr found themselves quite fascinated with Tauros, the bull happy to oblige them.

The only one who stood to the side was Tirtouga, who was intimidated by all the unknown faces. She ended up at Sera’s feet as usual. Not that the silver-haired girl minded at all. We ended up talking so much that we missed the afternoon part of the tournament. It was a surprise to us all when Frank told us that he lost.

---

Meanwhile, a certain ranger was sweating profusely as he approached the ranger headquarters. It was based in Nimbasa, mainly due to its somewhat central position compared to the other main towns. In truth, the HQ was technically in Castelia, where his sister worked, but the center of operation was Nimbasa. It allowed for a fast reaction time no matter the zone that needed help. Much like the Pokemon League, they had access to teleporters, but given their line of work, it was best not to overly tire the Pokemon. The relatively short distance of teleportation combined with the different outposts meant that the rangers were often the first to intervene in matters happening out of the cities.

Also, the fact that the League had Caitlin if they really needed emergency teleport meant that they could spare some Pokemon power. Even still the teleporters were trained by the psychic Elite 4 and those required by the league specialized in more long-range teleportation. Some rumors even said that Caitlin's strongest teleporter could take her to different regions in a single jump. This one, Mathew would have liked to doubt it, but… he saw what his teacher was capable of. If he assumed that Caitlin was at the same level of absurd as him and took into account how the psychic type was more flashy than the fighting type, to begin with… yeah everything was possible.

Those thoughts were exactly why he was sweating. The psychic type master was currently slouched over the desk and the only sign of life came from the rise and fall of her body. Meanwhile, other higher-ups of the Rangers acted as if everything was normal. Maybe they were simply used to it?

“So, ranger Mathew,” a man with a scar running down his left cheek started. “ You wish to inform your mark of your affectation despite it being an undercover action. I would very much like to understand why.”

“Certainly sir.” He answered a bit louder than he wanted to but continued to explain what the old man had told him about Nexon. “That is why I would like to disclose it first. Otherwise, it may make cooperation a bit more complicated.” He finished.

“I do not think that the child's cooperation is needed. In the first place, I think it is a waste of resources. Many more places could use a man of your skillset. If his finding out that you are his shadow for protection might pose a problem, I will simply ask for your mutation to a more valuable position. There are thousands of trainers and this out doesn’t strike me as particularly valuable other than his status as a psychic.” The man, Captain Kirk, declared with a dismissive wave of his hand before going back to the documents scattered on his desk.

“But Captain-” Mathew started but didn’t get to finish.

“You are dismissed ranger.” He shooed him out without even looking up.

Mathew hesitated for e few seconds but started to turn around when the captain reached out for his pen and started to write what he assumed was his petition. The blond ranger didn’t even get to take two steps when a quick knock was heard and the door opened immediately after. That was a breach of protocol but that didn’t seem to concern the man who woman who stepped out.

The green eyes of the woman locked on him for a brief instant and he could swear that she gave him a slight nod of the head.

“And who do you think you are to enter my office without waiting for approval.” Captain Kirk asked more politely than Mathew expected.

Then again I guess, if someone got all the way here and didn’t wait for permission, they might have not needed it. He thought absentmindedly as he made for the door.

“That would not be needed Ranger Mathew given that the situation requires your presence. I was sent by Elite Caitlin to deliver a letter to Captain Kirk.”

Mathew stood awkwardly, his superior ordered him to vacate, yet this unknown woman told him to stay put. Normally that wouldn’t even be a question but the woman seemed like she carried authority, and so he was left in this awkward shuffling. At least until he heard Caitlin’s name, planting his feet firmly on the parquet.

The woman auburn chignon barely moved as she stepped toward the desk, depositing a simple letter, with a pinkish wax seal on it. From what he knew this was Caitlin’s so it would make at least a bit of sense. The captain eyed it for a moment before breaking the seal. He took a few seconds to read the content of the envelope, his eyes widening with each line. Seemingly satisfied that he had read it, the woman turned around and walked out, taking care to close the door and leaving Mathew in an even more awkward position.

It seemed the Captain took his time to reread the letter because he spoke after a few seconds. “You are given Carte Blanche to deal with the boy as see fit.” He declared.

“What?” Mathew could not help but blurt out.

“Don’t ask me. It says here it’s above my paygrade and to leave you to deal with it,” he said throwing his hands in the air and pushing the letter toward him.

Mathew hesitated for a few moments before reading the letter…. And was shocked to see that the Captain had repeated the letter to him verbatim. The only reason the letter was several lines long was because of the greetings and the signature at the bottom…

After he was done, he pushed the letter back toward the captain before walking out. All the while he wondered what had changed from the beginning of his assignment and tried his best to ignore the captain’s muttering about the league taking a good element out of the field.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

---

I had thought that things would be able to get much busier than they had yesterday. Evidently, I was wrong. Somehow the city seemed to boil even more than it was previously. But then again I should have expected it given that it was the weekend, and I had to admit that those planning the events knew what they were doing. Keeping all the finals on the same day and on a weekend was genius.

Even in the waiting room, the noise of the crowd reached my ears as I tried to calm down the nerves that were steadily growing. The last day of the tournament was divided into three parts. The first part was the opening, which was taken care of by the two small finals to determine third place in both categories. There were two matches, predictably, namely Sera vs Arnold, and Frank vs a guy named Louis.

After both finals were taken care of, we would have the finals. And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, my and Roy’s battle was considered just the interlude for the main show that the advanced final is. It also left the entire afternoon for the ceremony and their mystery event.

Speaking of the ceremony, I realized quite late that I didn’t even know what the prizes were… as it turned out they were monetary and also reduction coupons for some partnered stores. And from what I saw it was juicy. Stores dealing with held items, vitamins, TMs, and even evolutionary stones. You name it, trainers need it, and it’s probably there. There was of course a maximum amount that they would cover but it was still nice. All semi-finalists were given a coupon, starting with 5% for the fourth place and reaching 20% for the first.

And even that was only for the beginner's tournament. The advanced tournament even received some coupons with 100% coverage for some TM’s. The only difference was the number of coupons they would get. And they could even resell it if they didn’t have use for them.

So, as I said pretty juicy.

After a while, I decided to fully release my team to keep me company and calm. Each of them settled around me, Nike on my head, Skoll and Tyr to my left and right and Tiamat settled herself between my feet. None of us spoke, simply watching the match unfolding. Sera vs Arnold.

In the end, Arnold won, mainly by shutting down everything Sera tried with the type advantage, but not easily either. In the beginning, much like our discussion suggested, he led with Drillbur and Sera immediately recalled Luxio. That however cost her since rocks were scattered across her side of the field. When Pyroar touched the field, he tried his best to knock out Drillbur but fainted after inflicting significant damage.

Sera then sent Rufflet who proceeded to make short work of Drillbur without taking damage. As soon as that was done, Sera used her last switch, bringing Luxio out to face Tauros. She was probably hoping for another clean victory, but that didn’t work out and Luxio and Tauros ended up in a draw, leaving Sera at an advantage with Rufflet against Serperior.

What should have been an easy victory turned into a narrow defeat for Sera when Serperior hid a Leech Seed with one of the Vine Whips that connected. After that, I was glad that Serperior had just evolved when we faced them, he still didn’t have perfect familiarity with his body, but he moved and that was the problem. He showed that he lost none of his speed as a Sniny, and even boosted this further with some Scale Shot. That was a risky strategy that turned Serperior into a glass cannon, but it paid in the end, if barely. Once the victory was called in Arnold’s favor the grass type collapsed in a heap. He was exhausted to the point of unconsciousness.

All of my Pokemon were transfixed on the match while it was going on. Only after that did they relax slightly. The tension was still there but it was subdued.

“Don’t worry. Our turn is soon. And I know you will all show them what you are made of.” I spoke while they all turned and nodded.

Not much needed to be said. They knew what they were aiming for, and what height they wanted to reach. And I knew and trusted them to give them their all.

While I would love nothing more than to march onto the field and be done with this, I still had to wait for the small final of the advanced tournament. We watched said match with a mix of horror and envy. The amount of destruction they were causing was staggering. Cracks and crevasses opened on the arena before being flooded by the next set of Pokemon, only for the next cause it to evaporate. It put in perspective how much growth we had to do to truly stand at the top.

In addition, it also meant a bit more time was needed to fix the terrain before the next battle could occur. Something that the advertisers were more than happy for. After the brief pause, it was time…

“Nexon, please follow me, your match is about to begin.” One of the employees said while poking his head through the door.

I took one last deep breath, standing up and locking eyes with every single Pokemon in the room with me. They each nodded as I recalled them. Finally, it was time. Our footsteps echoed through the corridor and I approached the exit just in time to catch the tail end of the announcer. It seemed that Roy was already on the field and waiting for me.

The noise assaulted me, but I quickly tuned it out. I focused on the grin plastered on Roy’s face, his green eyes locking onto mine. It very much looked like he wanted to say something but he at least had the decency to shut up in front of the public. Even he didn’t want that bad of a press, especially given that he wasn’t the most popular online due to his comportment.

“This match will be the final between Roy and Nexon. It will follow a Single format with three Pokemon on each side. Each trainer is allowed to use two switches at their discretion. The battle will end once all the Pokemon on one side are rendered unable to battle! Are you ready?” We both nodded silently as a reply “ Let the final for the yearly tournament BEGIN!”

From what Roy showed so far, he always began his battle with his Pignite, then would switch to his Axew if needed or if he wanted. Taking that into consideration, there was only one Pokemon in my team that would cover both possibilities. As I sent my Premier Ball flying, an ironic thought crossed my mind.

You wanted to battle her when we first met. Well sorry for the wait.

Nike appeared on the field with her usual giddy expression, and that didn’t diminish one bit when the Pignite landed on the ground and started to puff embers from his nose. Both Pokemon locked eyes on the field and I would follow in Sera’s footsteps and seize the momentum for myself.

“Nike, Go with Psybeam.”

“Incinerate.” The green-eyed youth called.

Both attacks shot out without delays. An almost multicolored beam of psychic energy flowed from my Hattrem’s hat and was met halfway through the field by a sea of flames. While the Psybeam held the flames at bay, the attack was simply too narrow compared to the Incinerate, causing the flames to close back toward Nike. If I didn’t do anything, she would take the hit for nothing.

“Teleport up then Psyshock,” I called out.

Just before the walls of flame came crashing down on her, she disappeared in a flash, appearing several meters off the ground. Immediately, orbs of psychic energy coalesced around her, and she sent them hurtling toward the flaming fighting type. To his credit, even without orders from his trainers, Pignite rolled to the side, managing to avoid 4 of the 5 orbs that were coming for him. Unfortunately, the last one caught his side and exploded in contact, sending him sliding backward.

“Flame Charge. Get her when she lands.” Roy ordered.

Flames surged around Pignite and he started to run toward Nike’s landing point. That would usually be a good idea, but unfortunately for them, Nike could float briefly with Psychic energy. Not that I thought it was time to enlighten them about that.

“Protect.”

Showing them that I had access to protect should make them think before attacking, at least I hoped so. No one liked to have their attack completely nullified and the possibility that I could do so would hopefully unsettle him.

On impact, the flames around Pignite died down as the Protect flared brighter for an instant. The recoil left him unbalanced, which was an opening I would capitalize on gladly.

“Confusion. Grab him.”

“Assurance.”

The thin sheet of Psychic power that started to gather around the fighting type was dispersed forcefully by the Dark TE and before Nike could react, his palm shot forward and caught her without any defenses. The punch sent her rocketing backward and she tumbled a couple of times before stabilizing herself.

The fire type for his part looked mighty pleased with himself and snorted another burst of embers while hitting his fists together. The battle entered a standstill after only a couple of exchanges. We each sustained a blow, but I was unwilling to admit that ours had been glancing at best while they landed a super effective one.

‘Nike, how are you feeling?’ I asked her.

‘Still fight. Will win’ she stated confidently.

I couldn’t help but smile at her confidence and it did a lot to calm my pounding heart as well. I was brought out of my thoughts by Roy.

“Work Up.”

When I heard the command, I was more than happy to reciprocate. “Calm Mind”

Both Pokemon focused on making themselves stronger, readying for the next confrontation. Nike sent me a signal as soon as she was done, and without wasting time, I called for a concentrated Psybeam. It shot forward with great speed and caught our opponent off guard. It was clear that while they were proficient with the move, it was nowhere close to Nike’s familiarity with her own boosting move.

The Psybeam moved faster than the previous one, slamming into the wide-open belly of the fighting type. They definitely felt this one given that as soon as Nike stopped the beam, Pignite fell with one knee to the ground and panting heavily. Just as I was about to call for another one to finish him off, a red beam of light connected with the wounded Pokemon.

I didn’t get the time to process the switch when a small greenish dragon appeared on the field. Axew calmly watched the entire battlefield as soon as it landed. Its gaze landed on Nike and its eyes sharpened. I was forced to agree with Sera when she said that it didn’t behave like the usual dragons did. There was no display of power, simply focus. As much as I didn’t like the guy, if Roy managed to wrangle the wild nature of dragons under control he was surely doing something right.

‘Misty Terrain. Now!’ I sent to Nike quickly.

For some reason, I had a bad feeling about this. And the next instant, I was proven right. The mist had barely started to rise around Nike when Roy reacted.

“Taunt! Don’t let them!” he shouted for the first time in the match.

I started to smile as I heard the order, and even when a mocking laughter echoed out with the dragon as its epicenter. However, my smile froze when Nike stopped spreading the mist and instead let out a fairy-infused scream.

“Nike! Continue with the Misty Terrain!” I called out, but instead, she continued with Disarming Voice.

It was clear that the Taunt had taken effect. The only fortunate thing was that she had her Fairy Feather, meaning that Disarming Voice was doing even more damage than it would normally. Unfortunately, that didn’t explain anything when it came to the fact that Nike had essentially been affected by a move that should have been reflected.

What the hell is going on? With Nike Magic Bounce there should have been no way for her to be taunted. It’s supposed to reflect any non-attacking move and I remember clearly Taunt being bounced back previously so there is no way it isn’t one that should be reflected.

While I was thinking furiously to try and figure out what was going on, I let Nike deal with whatever she wanted. I knew that she wasn’t so incensed that she would disregard any strategy we had in place. The fact that she used Disarming Voice instead of her more powerful and familiar Psychic move was proof enough.

I took one glance at Roy and saw that his composure was also cracking. Clearly, he didn’t expect Disarming Voice to be that powerful. Axew was covering its ears and trying to get its bearing. But even then, Nike would need to stop at some point.

Calm down and think. You know that Magic Bounce is an extremely annoying ability to get rid of. What’s more there were only so many abilities that could get rid of it. It has to be an ability, given that he didn’t call out anything else. What are the abilities of the Axew? Think, think. An ability that bypasses other abilities? I don’t think there were any like that. I know some abilities disregarded others like… Mold Breaker! If I remember correctly, that was one the Axew line had access to. Damnit!

“Nike, Psyshock, and step back!”

‘Your ability won't work against this one. That means they can use the same move again.’

She didn’t answer me and I only received a brief annoyance at the situation as she created distance with the dragon type. It seemed they had closed the distance while I was thinking. When the orbs condensed around Nike, she sent them toward their side of the battlefield in a wide arc, sacrificing the several hits one would take and instead going for at least a guaranteed hit. That seemed to work out great since it gave up its chase after one orb made contact with its arm. I took the brief time to examine both of them closer. Nike was panting and seemed to have taken several hits, which was worrying given her fragility on the physical side. Opposite her, Axew also stood ragged and beat. The Disarming Voice at the beginning did a number on it and judging by the fact that some scales seemed misshapen, it seemed Nike landed a couple of blows using Psyshock.

After taking stock of the situation, there was one play that I thought was optimal. Nike wasn’t suited for an opponent closing the distance and with the possibility of taunt and other status moves, the matchup didn’t seem as favorable as I thought. With that being said it was time to go back to how I planned things to go in the first place.

Nike disappeared in a beam of red light, and I immediately threw out Skoll’s capsule.

“Work Up!” I called as soon as he appeared.

I wasn’t planning on letting them prevent me from setting up. While they would be able to block it with a quick taunt I would take every boost I could. Sure enough, Skoll’s muscles didn’t get to expand as much after the unnatural wave of darkness washed over him. I could only thank his discipline that he didn’t rush and attack but instead waited for the command.

“Bullet Punch.”

My fighting type blurred forward and before the dragon could react, two metal fists crashed upon it. It reacted and tried to lash out but Skoll took a single step and was out of range.

“Dragon Claw!”

“Ice Punch.”

Extended claws met frigid fists. The impact caused by the two moves sent vibration through the air. It was clear that this was the difference in a battle between two physically oriented fighters. They both seemed locked into an intricate dance as they ducked to avoid hits. With one final clash, they were both sent backward, leaving grooves on the ground. I knew however that Skoll’s preferred fighting style was a relentless assault.

“Quick Attack and Force Palm!”

“To the side! Now!” Roy commanded.

Axew reacted immediately and jumped to his left in a surprisingly nimble roll. That caused Skoll to miss his Quick Attack, but that was only the first part. Planting his right foot firmly on the ground, most of the momentum from the attack was transferred to his now glowing palm. In what was likely a textbook strike, Skoll put his entire weight onto the palm strike, from his feet to his hip, to his arm, and straight into a stunned Axew.

The impact drove straight for the scaled chest of the dragon type, driving all of the air out of its lungs. This particular strike was so heavy that I thought I saw shockwaves exiting through its back. For a moment I thought I imagined it, but even after blinking a couple of times, I was sure of what I saw. Shockwaves weren’t supposed to be blue, or any color for that matter.

That was definitely Aura. And it’s not the first time that happened even.

The poor Axew was sent caroling backward by the violence of the impact, and I even started to feel a little bad. That was one powerful attack, one that could even be considered a critical hit if I were to hazard a guess. Skoll stood still ready to dash forward as he watched the dragon on the ground like a hawk. Anticipation radiated from his entire being as he just waited for the signal.

I also watched as the dragon lay on the ground, my eyes flicking to the referee. Axew was clearly struggling to get up, amidst coughing feet.

“Come on Axew! Get up!” Roy encouraged(?) his Pokemon too.

Although it definitely felt more like an order to me, it seemed the Pokemon didn’t see it that way. Slowly but surely, it stood back up. Just when I judged that it was fine and was about to call for another Bullet Punch, the damn dragon started to glow.

NO! Fuck that! That’s bullshit! There is no way that this is happening! Not again! Shit! Damn! Merde!

While I was genuinely losing my mind over an Axew of all Pokemon evolving mid-battle, the world didn’t register my complaints. I watched helplessly as the dragon grew to almost double its size. Its iconic tusks grew to almost triple their existing size and its stumpy tail elongated.

While I would love to attack it before it powered up, that was a major faux pas that even criminals hesitated before committing. It wasn’t a law or anything of the sort, but it was wrong on an instinctual level. And yet it was frustrating!

Arceus damn it!

As if to announce it was done, a loud roar shook the arena.

“FRAXUREEE!”

Welp. Things just got a lot more intense.

I couldn’t help but think dryly as I tried my best to ignore the cold sweat forming on my forehead.