The Tournament of Champions, Part 4
----------------------------------------
Once inside the Master Dojo, Sikandar and Isabella met various students, all dressed in yellow and black garments. While some of them gave them curious looks, all of the pupils were very polite, and didn't get in their personal space.
"Aah, you must be those two Champions! Welcome to our humble dojo!" A cheerful woman called out to them, greeting them from the kitchen. The house smelled wonderful, as there was definitely something delicious being prepared. The noise of a spoon getting hit on a pot rang through the room, before the lady who had spoken joined them in the entrance hall. "We were wondering when you would finally join us! Oh, I'm Honey by the way." Despite her talking way faster than Gabby when she was excited, Honey had a certain motherly warmth surrounding her. It was hard to not like her.
"We wanted to reserve a room for each of you but received two other unexpected visitors. Which might end up to be in all of our interest. In any case, I put two futons in there for you. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes, so you might as well get comfy in the meantime~"
----------------------------------------
With that, she disappeared into the kitchen again, and another pupil politely asked them to come along, to show them their room. Mustard was nowhere to be found, although there were video game noises coming from the next room, and a mumbling which sounded an awful lot like the old man.
The room which was assigned to them was large enough for each of them to claim one side, and had a private bathroom attached to it. There was also a second door leading outside to a small secluded terrace. Overall, not the worst spot to stay.
"Two more visitors?" Sikandar wondered aloud, as their martial arts grunt led them to their room.
"Yes!" He said cheerfully as Sikandar asked. "Champion Victor and Leader Gloria are both training hard on the Isle of Armor, and in the Crown Tundra with their new teams, using the Dojo as a base. Annnd here's your room!" He said. He took a selfie as they entered and murmured "Sikabeeeeeelle" once they were inside. Mustard forbade students from 'doing the social media' while at the dojo, so instead they used a private group on Glaicebook to share photos instead. At the very least it kept hordes of Sikabelle shippers from invading the Isle of Armor, though people were definitely wondering where they'd escaped to by now.
----------------------------------------
In the background of that selfie, they were easily identifiable by their respective body type, hair, and skin color. The Glaicebook group he uploaded it onto was small, but that didn't mean someone would try and leak it onto Chatter.
"Oh right," The student said before closing the door. "We put our uniform on the futons for you, and would be honored if you'd wear it."
Isabella put down her stuff near the left futon, picked up her new clothes and headed for the bathroom to get changed. Oddly enough, she actually liked the style, and the uniform fit her perfectly.
----------------------------------------
Sikandar changed into his as well, and tied up his medium length hair into the man-bun that seemed to be the norm for the students here. Once she emerged, he nodded, and they went to dinner, to find a packed room staring at them, as they took their seats across from one another.
Honey was rather quick with how many she had to serve, and there were still two empty spots besides Sikandar and Isabella once the bowls of soup were passed out. It wasn't the dojo specialty, but it looked delicious all the same. "We're just waiting on our last two members. They'll be here soon I'm sure." She said, and Mustard nodded as well, glanced at the empty spaces, and then the door in the dojo's main room.
"They're already here, actually."
Moments later, they heard the doors open, and while most of the students seemed nonplussed about who was joining them, Sikandar was watching intently. He smirked, as he saw them. Champion Victor was a bit older, but still looked much as he had when he was twelve, in terms of clothing style. Now well into or even past puberty, he had the body of a martial artist, and the dress of a Trainer. A black hoodie covered his Trainer jersey, black with gold vertical lines, a sword and shield stylized after Zacian and Zamazenta adorned the chest in red and blue. His torn jean pants were still unchanged, but the dorky woolen hat had been replaced by a similarly gold and black classic Trainer hat, with a gold crown on its front. It seemed his girl Marnie had influenced his clothing style.
Much like Victor, Gloria was also older, but unlike him, she was in her Master Dojo gi like everyone else. Mustard didn't seem to care, as the powerhouse of a Trainer that was Victor could wear what he liked. He still repped the dojo with his backpack though, and the black/gold Trainer bag meshed nicely with the rest of his outfit. "Welcome, Champion. Leader Gloria. You're just in time. Let's eat!" He said, digging into the soup with the speed of an old man, sipping it gingerly, as it was a bit hot.
----------------------------------------
The two of them fell on the last remaining seats, and started to eat like it would be the most natural thing in the world. The dojo students however were now completely overwhelmed and kept looking back and forth between the two pairs of challengers. After a while, most of them had their phones under the table, wildly chatting about what was going to happen, or if they'd battle each other after dinner. Gloria seemed to become more annoyed by the minute, and after some students even started to mutter more and more, disturbing the peace, she slammed her fist onto the table.
"OI YE CUNTS HAUS YER WHEESHT! IT MAIKES NO BLOODY SENSE TAE BATTLE ROIGHT NAOW! GET YER SHITE TOGETHER! I SWEAR IF I SEE ONE BLOODY CHATTER POST ABOUT THIS SHITE OI'LL GIE YE A SKELPIT LUG!"
The silence was deadly for a second and suddenly all of the students were very busy with their food. The Rotom Phones, which usually automatically translated back and forth between their languages, were actually not able to get some parts of what Gloria had yelled, leaving half of the people at the table confused by her native southern Galar accent.
"Ah, what a good meal." Mustard said after everyone had finished. "It's already late, so I'm sending all of you kids to bed for now. Only thing left for me to say is… Thank you, Honey!"
"THANK YOU, HONEY" the rest of the students repeated, before standing up and making their way to their rooms.
----------------------------------------
Victor stopped by Mustard's chair, as he and Gloria left before Sikandar, who was finishing seconds, and Isabella, who was probably glaring at him to hurry up. "Got any wisdom for me today, Master?" Victor asked, speaking for the first time all dinner. Gloria glanced back at the two, smirked, and then leaned on the doorway. Honey joined her, watching closely.
Mustard closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, and smirked at Victor. "What did the Watchog say to his Emboar friend to calm him down?"
Victor shrugged.
"Kakuna Rattata!"
Victor's blank expression slooowly shifted to a smile. "That's hilarious." He said, almost monotone. Behind him, Honey was giggling, and Gloria winced.
"Och, Masster, ah cringed sae solid ah git an ab workout fae tha' yin. A'm off tae kip. Guid nicht."
Only Honey seemed to understand what Gloria said, and Sikandar guessed at it, from her response. "Alright, goodnight Gloria! You too, Victor." She said as he ran straight past her without so much as turning his head, with the same single-minded focus and blank expression that had made him an unbeaten Champion. Honey looked at the last remaining two then. "Are you two off to sleep, or do you intend to train some more?"
It seemed she had an eye for intentions, which made sense, given how many Trainers she lived with. Mustard gave them a sly side-eye from where he sat, enjoying his Earl Gray tea after the meal.
----------------------------------------
Isabella chuckled at the joke of the old master. Now that was some wisdom. Their meal had been delicious, and she felt new energy surging through her. "Hmmm…" She turned around to her partner. "Wanna clear up a Den or two before we get to bed? Our Pokémon could work a bit on their teamplay, and will also gain some additional experience."
For her, it was easier to sleep after a workout anyway, and looking out of the dojo's windows, at least one glowing red pillar was promising a good fight nearby.
----------------------------------------
He glanced out the window as well, and nodded. "I could use some candies. We'll work our way to that extra swirly one." They were off, then, and after the first den, Sikandar shoved some Exp candy and some Figy berries into his Hippowdon, and the thicc chonky ground boi became bigger, thiccer, with a truly magnificent attack stat.
It took a good four hours, but they returned laden with experience crystalized by so much Dynamax energy. By that point, everyone was asleep. Almost. A Bulbasaur came out of the darkness with glowing eyes as they entered, but Sikandar was there with a berry.
The last remaining Kanto starter of the dojo, capable of Gigantamaxing already, watched the two as he munched, but otherwise stayed quiet.
----------------------------------------
With the amount of battles and experience their Pokémon got, they started to feel more and more like one big team. Out of curiosity, Isabella had fed a few candies to her electric shoulder hedgehog, which had promptly used its newfound strength to OHKO a strong looking Gyarados at a lake. At that moment, her Bolthund's fate was sealed, and 'Papaya' had rightfully earned his place on the team.
After feeding the little Bulba, they made their way back to the room, and Isabella opened the sliding door to the garden to let in some fresh air. She was glad to have their part of the garden surrounded by multiple plants as well as a fence. It gave them some privacy, as it was impossible to peek through, unless of course someone was to climb the house's roof. Even so, apparently Mustard had put out Pokémon to watch over the house. Isabella could swear she had seen their shadows as they hid somewhere farther up.
"Would you mind if we keep the door open during the night? The air is really nice outside." She had put her hoodie next to her futon, and simply stood in the garden's doorway, enjoying the breeze.
"Psychic Types only need four hours of rest. Have Raphael watch the window...I'd rather not have my bag stolen for some test in the morning. That seems to be Mustard's vibe." He'd also read the old man's thoughts, the surface at least, and found he had a test planned for them, the next day, that would involve something slow, apparently. He hadn't gotten a full read, and the old man seemed to notice he'd been mentally listening, if not actively prying. With a heavy sigh, Sikandar drifted off to the realm of dreams.
----------------------------------------
PokéJam- Pokéjam- PokéJAM! Let's do it!
----------------------------------------
"What's up PokéJammers! It's been a few quiet days on the Chatter front! News is slim, rumors abound, but you know how me and Gabby run things! Accurately! Fan favorites Sikabelle are still missing, and after losing hard to Kabu and his granddaughter from Hoenn, Flannery, so is Zabriko! Those two packed a pair of Fire Punches that seem to have sent our Zabriko into an intense bout of training to compensate for their rough start to the Gym circuit."
"That's right Ty, and it seems that hashtag Sikabelle Gate is trending on Chatter after a very clearly Rotoshopped photo of, potentially, the two Champions surfaced on the Pokénet. Rumors abound after this photo's reveal, as it seems the two Champions are sharing a room, which has, naturally, been the only significant takeaway from this blurry, doctored photo. Sikabelle shippers are over the moon, while reportedly, many of Champion Isabella's fans are heartbroken, and judging by the comments, a little bit racist. It's okay not to like certain people from certain places, folks, but words can hurt, and it's not just Champion Sikandar who will be hurt by them. Let's all try to rise above the base racism that Chatter owner Elmo Musk seems determined to propagate."
"Man, I used to like Elmo, too. He had some cool ideas for getting to Mars, but it seems he'd rather use his alleged IQ to post cringe tier memes and spread hatred on his bought out social media platform. Gah. Such a waste. Is there anything noteworthy going on with the challenge, Gabby? I'm about full up on Chatter drama."
----------------------------------------
"Not particularly, Ty, but to fill this seemingly temporary gap in the challenge as both teams train hard for the latter stages of the challenge, we have a special interview tonight!"
"That's right folks! You know him, you love him, he's bad with directions and has a Charizard! It's Chairman Leon!"
"Hello there, Gabby. Ty. Always a pleasure to be interviewed." Leon said from his chair beside him, looking like he was contemplating how those two things were really what he was best known for, at this stage of his life.
----------------------------------------
Unaware of Leon's seeming existential crisis, the reporters soldiered on. "Ty and I both have questions, Champ- er, Chairman. Thank you for taking them. The most common questions we're seeing from Glaicebook and Chatter are: where the heck are our Challengers? Can you provide any insight as to their locations?"
For an instant, Leon looked somewhere between constipated and irritated, with a frown, but then the smile was back, for the cameras. "Well Gabby, I know for sure that both Sikandar and Isabella are okay. I take the safety of our Challengers very seriously, but they are Champion tier Trainers. They can handle themselves. I also know that...erm, Sikabelle, as we seem to be calling them, have requested their location remain hidden. As has Zabriko after their hard loss. But Galar is a big place, folks! The main continent has many areas with super strong Pokémon! Then there's the Crown Tundra and the Isle of Armor! These places should only be explored by trained visitors, so please, be careful if you go searching for your favorite Champions. Victor and Gloria are also out there, but please don't hurt yourselves just so you can get a selfie. Your lives are worth more than that."
Ty nodded, sagely. "Wise words from our formerly Unbeatable Champion! So, Chairman. What have you been up to of late? You have more fans than any of our Challengers combined. It's not a stretch to say that many of your fans are undyingly loyal, even after watching you get decimated by Victor's team."
----------------------------------------
Leon seemed touched by that, judging by his top tier smile. "Me? Well, aside from hangi- er, helping Professor Sonia, I've been keeping abreast of new Trainers in both Kalos and Unova."
"Oh? Anyone caught your eye?"
Leon nodded, and smirked. "In Kalos, last year's Champion Challenger, the one who took on the Elite Four, left Alain's chamber in defeat, after smashing through the entire Elite Four with only his Greninja. This year, Connor Gladstone is back, and it seems someone made him realize that while having an Ace is important, the rest of the team is just as important as well. One of the many reasons our Experience Share devices spread it evenly is so nobody gets left behind while training, and it's that philosophy that the device's creator, the inventor Nikola of the Azoth Kingdom, had for the machine. With how hard Mr. Gladstone has been going, I wouldn't be surprised if he topples Alain. He has a winning streak as long as Victor's, but, I have heard someone in his home region of Unova rumbled him pretty good in Undella Town."
Gabby leaned forward. "Really? Who? How have I not heard of this match?"
Leon chuckled. "It wasn't exactly televised...but I do believe you're heard of Unova's latest Champion? The one who almost soloed their Elite Four with his Gallade, and then proceeded to win against both Reshiram and Zekrom, wielded by Champions Hilbert and N respectively."
----------------------------------------
Gabby nodded. "Ah, yes. Redwood. He is Unova's latest rising star, isn't he."
Leon nodded as well, and then linked his fingers in front of him. "You know me, Gabby. I'm a big fan of Charizard Trainers...someday we should all come together...settle this 'whose Charizard is the strongest' argument once and for all."
Gabby shuddered, in a good way. "Ooh. My money is on yours Leon, but I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd love to see such a fiery festival of ferocity! Quite a few Trainers have a Charizard on their roster, after all."
"Something to look forward to, but only once this current challenge wraps up. That's all we have for tonight, folks." Ty said, as he readied the next song. "Tonight's jam is, as always, brought to you by the soothing baritone of Galar's own Rick Astley. Keep Singing, PokéJammers! Until next time!"
----------------------------------------
Later That Morning…
----------------------------------------
At first, Isabella felt a little uncomfortable suddenly having to share a room with him. However, since not a single awkward situation had come up, she started to let her guard down more and more around Sikandar. She slept soundly through the night as well, until her Rotom Phone woke her up in the morning, by repeatedly flying into her face. Apparently, it forced her into reading a text message, which is how she learned about the now distorted Selfie their guide had taken and SikaBelle Gate.
To summarize, her friend managed to bribe a few thousand Rotoms into forgetting about this very picture, namely by bribing them with lots of Watts. Any clues which publicly named their whereabouts were gone from the Pokénet, and whoever saved the picture from Glaicebook found a distorted version of it on their phone. All of this had happened before the photo got leaked onto the Chatter App, so mostly people from the Isle of Armour as well as a few friends of the dojo students had properly seen it.
Isabella made a plan about asking the person who took the picture to have a private talk with her. She was honestly angry with them, and while she wasn't going to shout at him or anything, would want to communicate with him on why she didn't approve of being treated like that. Public person or not, the dojo had promised them safety from the media, and while she didn't plan on ratting out the students, she wanted them to consider the challenger's situation, and refrain from bringing her into a situation like that again. But all in due time. It was currently six in the morning, an hour behind her friend, who had completely forgotten time zones existed.
The gong which was designed to wake up all of the pupils was going off an hour later, making sure everyone got up and to the table to enjoy Honey's self made breakfast.
----------------------------------------
The student who'd taken the selfie was not the one responsible for leaking it, and either way, both were already set on avoiding the two Champions. Hugh was also on the lookout for leaks like that, and had already deleted the account of the leaker in the private Glaicebook chat. Breakfast wasn't as crowded as dinner, and it seemed Victor and Gloria had already left to train wherever it was that they trained.
Once they'd finished with breakfast, Mustard gathered them in the main area of the Master Dojo. "Today, we begin the contest to determine who among you is worthy of the Armor of Isle's super secret set of armor. Of course, by now, you're all aware of what that armor is: the Pokémon Kubfu! We have two who are ready to train themselves, with a Trainer worthy of them!"
As he revealed the Kubfu, Sikandar found his eyes locked with one of them. A female, but an adamant female. The male of the pair was eyeing each of the Trainers in turn, though his beady bear eyes stuck on Isabella the longest. "Your first challenge!" Mustard continued. "Is to find and defeat...MY FAST SLOWBRO!" A group of four truly massive Galarian Slowbro trotted out behind their Trainer. "And!" The old man said grinning, "My FAST SLOWKING!"
A Galarian Slowking shambled out beside the Slowbro, and Sikandar winced, as it was very obvious the Shellder was controlling its body, not the psychic water hippo. Regular Slowking was able to balance the twin intellects of both Pokémon. The Galar variant was very clearly more dominated. "Ready...go!" With a blur of speed, the typically slow Pokémon vanished like ninjas, and the other trainees sighed, as they ran after them. This challenge had only gotten harder since Victor, Gloria, Klara, and Avery had beaten it.
----------------------------------------
Both of the Kubfu seemed to be adamant, and immediately knew who they were rooting for to win. The Pokémon exchanged a silent look with one another, before running off with a speed similar to the Slowbro. It was actually impressive.
Sikandar and Isabella walked outside of the dojo, where everything still seemed normal, and calm. "I really want to win so… let's work together, and get ALL of those guys before the others can."
----------------------------------------
"In that case...hold on tight." Sikandar said, as he drew the only rideable Pokémon either of them had on hand that could match the 'fast' Slowbro. Raajabara, his golden Arbok, appeared then, and he hopped on the snake's coils, pulling Isabella with him, as he assumed she'd never ridden one.
"After them, Raajabara. First the Slowbro, then the Slowking." The snake eyed the female Trainer on his back for a moment, and then took off, and Sikandar guided her hips with his as they had to sway to counter the Arbok's slithering. He moved very fast, leaving a dust cloud behind them, and the 'unintentional' grinding of his front on her back was not an unpleasant feeling. For him, anyway. If he found their thin but stretchy dojo outfits rubbing together arousing, there was no physical evidence, and he seemed focused on chasing down the Slowbro, who'd taken to taking potshots at their pursuers with their Shellder cannons. Raajabara, naturally, was unbothered by those as his serpentine movements were very good for dodging pulse moves.
Once they were attacked, Rajabaara used Glare to slow them down significantly.
----------------------------------------
Isabella didn't think they would end up sitting that close when she took him up on his offer to ride on his Arbok. If she had known, she'd likely have called for her Rapidash, but by the time she had that idea, their bodies were already moving together, and suddenly hopping off or asking to get away would have created an awkward situation. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling, and Sikandar wasn't being creepy about it, so she tolerated the contact and tried to ignore his trouser snake.
Clearly, it had been an outfit designed for training, and to not disturb its wearer. Since the Isle of Armor had a tropical, hot climate, it also made sense to use this kind of fabric. The woman's uniform was a little shorter than the man's, but for both of them most parts of their legs were exposed.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
They were able to feel every part of each other's body, especially with some of Arbok's sliding movements, and whenever it suddenly had to change its pace. Isabella felt uncomfortable at first, not because she could feel him, but because she knew it was the other way around as well. Their bare legs were constantly rubbing together, and at some moments, she could feel his breath at her neck. It was somewhere during this ride that she felt genuinely attracted to him for the first time.
After all those moments they had shared together in the past days, and getting to know him a little better, being so close to him brought this realization rather sudden to her. She had seen his kindness towards both of their Pokémon, his mental and physical strength, and at some evenings, they had spent time talking just about everything. They had been in, or near, each other's mind too, and he had never made her feel uncomfortable on purpose. He even accepted her quirks, without getting mad. Why did she have to notice how handsome he was now, of all moments? She shook those thoughts out of her head, and reminded herself that she was here on business. Finally, once they saw the first Slowbro, her mind was focused on the task at hand.
They made a great team: where he coordinated their mount, she called out her team, and led their Pokémon around different obstacles to trap their prey. Those first three were child's play for them, but the Slowking was clearly more experienced, and able to flee two times from them. At the third one, just as it ran off again, it went past a lake which was closed off by a mountain. They looked into each other's eyes, and without saying a word, knew how they could trap it. She called out her Rapidash and hopped off. "I'm taking the right side. Let's corner him, and win!"
----------------------------------------
As they made to trap the Slowking, he demonstrated just how good of a snake surfer he was as it tried to come back on his side of the lake, and then turned around. Raajabara was fast enough to corner the Slowking into running towards her Rapidash, and thanks to being mounted, she probably had a good shot at hitting him with a ball, and starting a battle. He'd gotten more of the Slowbros, so he left the finale to her.
She only had one good option against the secondary poison type, and so she called out Elsa, her Froslass. "Set up a hailstorm, and disappear!" A moment later, the icy Ghost disappeared, and Slowking was buffeted by thick hail. No matter where it aimed, Froslass was faster, and her Snowcloak kept hiding her presence.
Thanks to all those advantages, and Sikandar and her blocking both paths off, the battle was over quickly. Just when the Slowking was about to fall, a red beam came out of nowhere, enveloping the Pokémon, before it was drawn into its Pokéball. Mustard, who had silently managed to appear out of nowhere again, clapped. "Looks like you managed to catch all of them. Not bad. Not bad at all. I can see how you two became Champions, but rarely do Champions work so well together." He said with a knowing smirk.
They had spent all day running around the Isle, and the sun was already setting. "Honey has made us something really delicious tonight. You children can go and set the table. Move along."
----------------------------------------
The other students behind Mustard, just as dirty as they were, gave a unified affirmative shout, and ran off. Mustard eyed the Champions then. "You two have potential. Mm. I won't bother telling you to hurry back, I know how Champions get when there are Dens nearby. Don't make us wait too long." Mustard hobbled off then too.
Sikandar rode over then, and hopped off his golden snake. "You handled that well. I would've brought my Hippowdon out, but he's...far too slow for this." He eyed her curves more obviously then, smirking at her. "You handled riding my Arbok pretty well, too." He said, without a hint of awareness as to how that sounded. "Want another round, on our way back? I'm going to hit the Dens in our path on the way."
"Thanks." she grinned confidently at his compliment. "I usually focus a lot on speed at my training. But honestly. I wouldn't have been that effective alone. We made a good team out there. You got two of those Slowbro, and dealt with them very quickly."
His flirting blew that confident smile right off her face. She was reminded of how his body had felt against her back, with every detail, turned around and blushed heavily. "I-I'm good. I'll just… take my Rapidash…" This couldn't be. She refused to accept getting shy around him. And blushing? Absolutely not her style. Typically, people were flustered around her, not the other way around.
The cool breeze grounded her thoughts, and after taking a deep breath, she was able to look him in the eye again, and while the handsome Champion of Indius was smirking, he didn't tease her. "Let's empty those Den's, and fetch our dinner."
----------------------------------------
Raajabara's tongue flicked the air, as he seemed to have some inkling as to what his Trainer was up to. Her Rapidash did not, however. Not even a little. Seeing how hard she was blushing, from her neck Sikandar stepped up to the Rapidash as well, approaching it once he sensed it wasn't going to attack. "I've always liked this species. They say they even have some psychic potential. Makes sense, given what they've become in Galar."
He held a hand out to the fire horse, and she snorted, before taking in his scent. For his part Raajabara watched on, ready to strike in an instant if the Rapidash started anything. His skill with Pokemon was as good as ever though, and before long he had her nuzzling her snout into his pets. "Yes...you're a good girl, aren't you...Epona. Hmm. I swear I've heard that name before...but it fits."
----------------------------------------
"The goddess of equine Pokémon. Many of the countries in the west of Old Africa worship her. It's a rather old legend, one that apparently originated in the Lorule Region, way back when it was still Hyrule."
Epona seemed to like him well enough. She really didn't understand at all what was going on, however, she noticed her Trainer being shaken up by something. And this man was somehow connected to it. The two Pokémon had seen each other at the camp a few times, while eating their curry. However, they had little interaction so far. The Rapidash noticed how Raajabara kept eying her, and stared back at it. Until her Trainer clapped a few times with her flat hand against her side.
"Calm down. Yeah, let's go." They cleared up multiple dens on their way. For some reason the students kept avoiding those stronger Pokémon, which meant more Exp candies for the two of them. After being drenched by a particularly vengeful Quagsire, Sikandar had removed his heavy, soaked hoodie and just gone shirtless.
----------------------------------------
Their plates had been left out for them and it was late by the time they returned. Mustard was conked out on the couch, and everyone was already sleeping. Honey being Honey though had expected the two, and the dinner table had become a setup for two, a rather romantic one, complete with a wine bottle that was older than Mustard, but already opened. She and Mustard hadn't liked it, but it was decent quality, and from Italia.
The scene had, of course, been photographed by one of the dojo students, and this time, Hugh was all over it, removing any tangible trace of location with Rotoshop, before releasing it onto Glaicebook with the original title that explained it was for Sikabelle. "Seems like they're trying to tell us something." Sikandar said, as he tried the lights, and found the power was already off in this room for the night. They'd be eating by candle it seemed. He took the chance to put his orange top on, unless she told him not to, of course.
----------------------------------------
Isabella always envied guys for the option of going shirtless, and due to its climate, it was probably done rather often on this island. There were multiple instances on their way back, where their eyes crossed each other's path. At some moments, Isabella smiled at him. Others, she looked away. The amount of moments they had seemed to stack up, and by the time they reached the dojo, she certainly felt like there was something buzzing between the two of them. She was looking forward to taking the cold dinner back to the terrace of their room, and simply talking to him some more. Enjoy a peaceful evening to celebrate their accomplishments.
But, it seemed like the students had other plans with them, and this romantic setup reeked of hashtag Sikabelle. Her facial expression froze when she saw it. Just a second later, they heard a giggling sound, along with at least two other people going "Shhhht!"
At this point, Sikandar didn't even have to be able to brush over her mind to know how much she wanted to get out of here, but if they did that, those people listening in would probably be highly disappointed. So she simply sighed. "Awesome. How nice of them to prepare this." Her voice sounded tired. She poured both of them a glass of wine, but clearly just followed a routine, and any romantic or special mood went out of the window with how loud the excited students were by accident.
They finished the dinner there, cleaned the kitchen as much as possible without any light, and took the wine back to their room. As usual, Isabella opened the door to the garden, but this time, she sat down outside at the terrace, her feet stretched out into the tall grass, the bottle of wine next to her. "Please don't take it personally. But my immediate reaction, whenever they try to force us on one another, is to pack my stuff and leave. The Dojo, the Isle, everything. I am sick and tired of this. If Zabrina and Miko wanna give their fans a show by being all over each other, fine. But I don't want any of it. I wanna win this challenge with a bang, and be recognized for my strength, not for doing a social media show with some hot dude from Indius."
She wasn't half as angry as her words sounded. But telling him how she felt made her feel better, even though it was likely the wine which had loosened her tongue. Speaking of which, she drank some more, directly from the bottle, before looking up at him, offering it to him.
----------------------------------------
The one responsible had actually been Honey, who'd seen how the pair kept 'low-key' staring into each other's eyes. She'd gone to bed at nine sharp though, and naturally, one of the students had seen her handiwork, and the news had spread like wildfire.
Sikandar coerced the ever-watching Bulbaboi to scare the trainees off with some Poisonpowder in exchange for a ripe Sitrus berry. The little dino plant made odd noises as he savored the meal at a slow, saurian pace, but even with the nuisances gone, he could tell she was behind her mask again.
Once they were sitting on the terrace, he put his hand on hers, and her reality shifted. She'd recognize the mindspace, though this time, it was exactly the same as their physical surroundings. The difference being, nobody would hear them like this.
"Zabriko is as much a couple as we are. I saw the pictures. It's an illusion, most of it, and if there is...physical release going on, it's not serious. Not on Zabrina's part, anyway. I know you and Mikolaj go back...but Polska has changed lately. Once they are...'admitted' to the Imperium of Man, both Regions have changed. They're claiming they need to expand their Imperator's borders. They're eyeing Kalos's land. They've raised Legions of Thunder Warriors from their population." If he sensed confusion on her part, he'd provide mental images that, thanks to the space they were talking in, she'd understand pretty quickly.
Everyone knew of the Imperium's obsession with mechanical augmentation of the human body, with their upper echelon chasing the pinnacle of man and machine, while the lower castes were regular army fodder, worked menial jobs, or worse, were lobotomised and essentially used as tireless labor in the pursuit of resources for the Imperium. Their Thunder Warriors were the pinnacle of this ideal, divided into twenty legions, they served as the personal warriors of the Imperator.
----------------------------------------
He took a sip of wine, and the space seemed to become slightly hazier. He was not a big drinker, and Italia had the good stuff. He passed it back to her, something her outer body would be aware of, as it was essentially mirroring what they did in headland. "I don't know what his angle was here, but my Master was planning on entering this challenge, and his notes suggested he suspected Mikolaj of...something. I don't know what. But I know Zabrina is helping him with...whatever he's doing. I'm sure we'll find out when we get to Wyndon. I don't care about social media. I don't use my Glaicebook. I think we're the...genuine team, as opposed to the fake one...whatever this is between you and I, is real…and I think we could be greater together." She'd probably be able to sense his buzzed mind drifting back to the feel of her perfect ass when she'd ridden his Arbok, but with a mental blink of his eyes he kept it in check. It was weird, getting insight into how male minds worked, but it probably wasn't all that different from hers. Just more horny.
To any intrepid Sikabelle fans, it'd look like they were giving eachother an expressionless stare, with his hand on hers. Thankfully, Hugh had confiscated most of the student's phones, and was monitoring Chatter posts. He took privacy breaches seriously, and in the morning they'd find an email from him, explaining the situation, and apologizing for it with the guarantee that their location, at least, wouldn't be given away. Famous figures couldn't get much privacy, but he suspected the pair had a plan, and if it was to become stronger here like Victor and Gloria had before going on to topple the Battle Tower and Leon himself, he would give them the opportunity to do so.
----------------------------------------
"I don't know about that. Mikolaj has always been… rather easy to fall for someone…" He'd see glimpses then, of various times from her childhood at the Pokémon camp. There were a few people who were always present, and Mikolaj stood out with his pale blonde hair. The years changed, the kids surrounding her grew, and by the time they were in their teens and went to a training camp for battling instead, he'd see Miko fall for a different girl every semester. One year, it had been her. Another, a girl who had looked like a boy when they were smaller. The women he chased changed, until none of them went to a camp anymore, as most of those people had become Champions or Gym Leaders in their respective region.
Naturally, as close as her region was to the border, Isabella already knew most of the stuff he told her about with regard to the Imperium. In fact, Germania had already started to push into its neighboring regions, trying to sway the people into joining them. Marchia Orientalis as those from Aurelia in the Italia region called it. Some parts of the mountainous Germania region yet resisted the Imperator and the Prime Archon who administered Germania. These people named themselves after their ancestors, Austrians, and acted as an unofficial buffer between Italia and Germania. They were very active and vocal on the Pokénet though, and the last time Thunder Warriors had tried making them capitulate by force, Kalos, Galar, Paldea, Italia, Polska, Romani, and even a few of the eastern States had threatened to start a proper war against the expansionist regime. Since that promise, the Imperium had backed off of violent takeover, and their Iterators had been sent to seduce the populace to join the Imperium over time. It would never work on the older Austrians, but young minds were much easier molded, and money was no object to the world-spanning Imperium. Just as many of their conquests had been thanks to greed instead of overwhelming military might.
Polska was actually claimed by the Imperium, as a part of Germania and more of their government fell to the party supporting the Imperium every year. Some Polskans were fine with this. Others, were not. It was a point of contention, even years later, but Polska was very aware of how the Imperator handled uprisings, so none had officially happened, yet. Nobody wanted to face the Bolter guns, and their explosive ammunition, from a Legion of genetically mutated and cybernetically enhanced freaks.
----------------------------------------
Italia was the only region the Imperium hadn't completely taken or infiltrated, in what was left of Europe after the African plate had been pushed into the Eurasian plates by Regigigas, and that was solely because of their defensive pact with Kalos, Galar, Unova, and other eastern states surrounding Unova. The Imperium didn't want a war with half the modern world, but many in Italia saw the Imperium's conquest as inevitable. Some, were enchanted by the Imperator, a mysterious and almost godlike figure to his people, he was staunchly atheistic, and against genetically modifying Pokémon, beyond breeding them of course.
Enhancing them with technology was another matter entirely, but his stance on altering their genes in the name of strength was firm. The Imperator had appointed himself the Master of Mankind, and evidently saw Arceus as a contemporary, but to Pokémon. The least he could do, in the name of good relations, was not meddle with the Alpha's work.
Isabella winced when she heard how Miko had probably gotten himself into a proper mess, which was most likely connected to Germania. Polska had always had close ties with them. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew how he was manipulated easily. She had seen it happen enough. It saddened her.
----------------------------------------
Thankfully, it was not possible to see their part of the garden from any of the windows. The students would have to climb the dojo's roof to see part of the grass, but the terrace was well hidden, most likely by design. Even the greenery which surrounded their part of the garden was behind a large fence with a privacy screen. The easiest way to listen in on them would be to sneak to the door of their room, and hope for the best. Something which would be detected by even the weakest of their Pokémon.
Isabella took the bottle from him with her other hand, just so they wouldn't be disconnected from this mind-talk they had, and tasted more of the dry, dark red liquid. She wasn't affected much by the wine, some people in her country tended to drink it like water. Still, the barriers her social awkwardness usually created between her and other people, which had needed a lot of training by a communication coach just so she would be able to cope with it as a Champion, fell completely. She didn't flee from him when his mind wandered to how nice her ass felt, though he could likely still feel her being a little embarrassed.
She endured it, but squeezed his hand a little. Throughout handing the bottle over to one another, they had scooted closer, both in this space, as well as reality. The spark she had felt between the two of them was back, and somewhat stronger while being connected like that. He had initially taken her hand just so they could talk without being disturbed, but she found she didn't want to let it go.
----------------------------------------
Sikandar didn't let go of her hand either, and instead entwined their fingers, as he leaned towards her. They were in a whirlwind of their own emotions by now, as words fell away for the intense eye lock he was giving her instead. He gave his urges context, when he sensed her uncomfortableness. He'd been drawn to her when they'd first met, but it had been seeing her blush when he'd kissed her hand that had sealed his fate and cemented his desire for her.
From then on, she'd been on his mind constantly, and he'd grown more fond of her once they talked, and he saw how she handled her Pokémon, adopting a semi-useless baby Pikachu clone not long after telling him they needed to harden their hearts and be the best. Every single thing about her drew him in more, as he leaned closer to her, and stopped fighting the feeling of longing to be close to her.
Hair, eyes, body, personality, it was clear the 'hot guy from Indius' was very much as interested in her as Chatter thought.
----------------------------------------
She was usually one of those people who had cold hands, something which was only present on one of her hands now. Through the other one, she could feel his warmth as it spread through her. Isabella didn't interrupt him while he showed her all of his experiences and emotions, but grinned once her own words repeated through his mind. "The hot guy from Indius… I guess I did say that."
His words and actions were responsible for her feeling attracted to him as well, something she couldn't hide from him while they were connected by mind. So far, she hadn't bothered to hide what she felt. Right now, they were sitting awfully close to one another. The bottle of wine had gone empty at one point, the number of indirect kisses they shared through it, plenty.
As he leaned closer, she could feel his breath on her face. He seemed to wait, to give her space to flee, something she appreciated greatly. Her heart was beating like crazy, hammering away in her chest, and drumming in her ears. If she wanted to claim his lips, all she needed to do was to slightly tilt her head, and close the last bit of distance.
Looking up at him, she studied his brown eyes. The most common eye color in her region, yet his were much prettier than any she had ever seen before. Her head was full of doubts, on whether or not she should go through with this. Doubts, curiosity, and something else, the sparks which had started to form between them over the last few days.
----------------------------------------
Somehow, her eyes closed on their own as she leaned closer, their noses sliding past each other, before their lips met for the first time. Barely brushing over each other, soft and warm. And then she looked away. "Sorry… I shouldn't have…" She let go of his hand, and had to blink as the two worlds snapped together. She could still feel the warmth of both his hand, and his lips, both of her own still tingling from the experience.
She stood and turned around, fingers touching her own lips. If they went through with this, social media would slaughter every aspect of their social life, speculate every time they would talk to someone from the opposite gender. Their epic battles would be swept under the table by some romance story made by Gabby and Ty.
His lips had felt so good. So right. She wanted, needed more, of everything from him. She'd blame the wine for it, if she wouldn't know better. "It's late…" She couldn't look into his eyes as she rambled on with some lame excuses. "We should probably get some rest, so we can win the next challenge as well."
----------------------------------------
He stood once she offered her second lame excuse, and walked up behind her. The faint scent of spices came with him. Gently, but firmly, he turned her to face him. Social media would speculate and spew regardless of their feelings, but while Gabby and Ty enjoyed a romance, the Challenge would get the most coverage. Reports on Chatter gossip were really only used to fill dead airtime.
"Don't apologize..." He said, as his brown eyes snared hers again. "We will win. Together." His forehead lightly pressed into hers then, and an image filled her mind, of a younger Sikandar, being trained by his Master, who had a much thicker Indius accent to his words in Common.
"In Battle as in life, you must trust your instincts. With psychics especially, this is important. People like you, Sikandar, have these instincts for Battle for a reason. Trust them. Do not deny them. They will not lead you astray." He hadn't always trusted his instincts, but he trusted them now. They'd been paired by fate for a reason, and he saw no reason to deny how they felt for each other.
The scene faded then, and he gave her a moment to come back to the reality of his handsome face once more moving towards hers, slow enough to pull away, but quick enough that his nose brushed against hers as he whispered to her. "There is nobody I would rather have at my side..."
----------------------------------------
He leaned in to kiss her then, and she'd feel his arms pulling her body into his as well. Where their first lip lock had been light, chaste even, this one was more passionate, and again, she'd be able to sense his feelings for her. His grip wasn't forceful, just enough to overcome her hesitation, until he kissed her properly.
There was a second after he wrapped his arms around her, where her body seemed to tense up. Her mind was a swirl of emotions, fighting over what to do; to fight him, to pull him closer. To scream or to cry. To give in to what she felt, and what he felt as well. His lips captured hers then, and the discussion was suddenly obsolete, her head clear. She had known all the time what she wanted, and he had known as well. It helped how confident he was with both his words and his actions.
When she felt his tongue, her lips parted for him, gingerly at first before the passion built up between the two of them. She didn't know where to put her hands, and they ended up clutching his dojo shirt, under the open yellow zipper hoodie. He could probably feel her shaking hands as they kissed, and she was being swept away by their emotions.
----------------------------------------
After long days of aching to touch her, Sikanadar finally gave in, firmly holding her close against him when she didn't pull away, but instead met his tongue with her own. They continued making out like that for several minutes, until he parted their mouths, panting. "I have...wanted to do that...since I first saw you. You...are beautiful, and your name is very fitting..." He lifted her up then with ease as he resumed their heated kiss, and carried her into the privacy of their room, and closed the shades.
Her hands were sliding up, arms wrapping around his neck while they kissed, and stayed there once he put her down on the futon. She wasn't really able to answer him, let alone speak at all. Of course, the compliment flattered her, especially coming from him. She meant it when she had called him the hot guy from Indius, and through a tangled mess of pictures and mind-words, conveyed this to him while they continued to make out.
When their lips finally parted, both of them were panting, and she lifted her head up to touch his forehead with hers. "Can we… stop here for today… please?" She didn't try to hide how much she desired him, but she needed some space now, to sort her thoughts and to understand what she wanted, and where her boundaries were. Conveying her thoughts to him still was hard to her, but she probably was able to make him understand how overwhelmed she was right now.
The proud Champion of the Italia region, feared by her rivals for her cunning, speed, technique and tactical thinking. Literally knocked onto her back by a kiss.
----------------------------------------
For the first time in his comparatively brief existence, Sikandar understood how lesser men could be swayed to continue down a darker path that ignored a woman's request to stop. To cross that line and take the steps to relieve the almost painful feeling of being pent up, by force. He never realized how hard resisting that urge was in the heat of the moment, and he was glad he'd been taught how to control his thoughts, and his actions, by a master. Though even without training he had a feeling he would have had enough sense to not Muk up what he had with her by giving in to his bodily urges.
As she parted their lips, he regained his breath. He brushed strands of sweaty red curls from her cheeks, and took in just how hot and bothered he'd made her, but he didn't want to end just yet, and he could feel her mind moving a mile a minute.
"I'm not planning on...advancing...until you're ready...but I would like to stay here longer...like this…with you." His lips pressed into hers then, as he started up their kissing, and she'd be able to feel them moving as he said, "Everything about this...feels right..." He actively kept his hips from grinding too hard into her, and as they continued on instinct anyway, he eventually rolled them on their sides, hands sliding along her back as he continued passionately swirling his tongue around hers in their new, enjoyable dance.
His lips felt wonderful, his body perfect against hers. She enjoyed the sensual dance of their tongues just as much as he did, and was glad he kissed her another time. She felt a little better once they rolled to their sides, with less physical contact, and still close enough to feel the warmth radiating from his body. She sighed once their lips parted, and they continued to gaze into each other's eyes. It did feel right.
They did stop eventually, and he found himself staring into her eyes, despite the darkness. He was completely snared by her beauty, and it was obvious. Eventually, he whispered to her. "Do...you mind if I sleep over here, tonight? I'm very tired...and moving seems...like a lot of effort."
----------------------------------------
After he asked his question on whether or not he could stay here, with her. Which sparked a whole other inner conflict within her. She both wanted him to stay, and leave. It was utterly impossible, but she knew herself. She needed time to build physical attraction for someone, and with him it was simply too soon for sleeping this close next to each other. Wordlessly, she stood, and walked over to his futon. Moving it through the room was rather easy, and she didn't stop until their beds created one large square.
She laid down on his side then, without scooting much closer. However, she did take his hand, entwining their fingers firmly. "I had a really good social coach, and my acting in being the stoic, confident Champion is very well accepted throughout the public. However, I don't want this to be an act. So… if you will bear with me, and give me the time and space I need…" She squeezed his hand. "I promise, I'll make it worth the wait." Her eyes were burning into his, and it was clear she meant what she said.
He frowned when she stood, and retrieved his futon instead, but the darkness hid his disappointment. They snapped together with the power of magnetism, and as she spoke, he sidled closer to her. "For you, Isabella, I'd wait a lifetime..."
He stared at her right back, meaning every word, until they fell asleep. The gong didn't ring the next morning, and nobody disturbed them, as Mustard personally confiscated the rest of his student's phones, at least for the duration of the Champion's stay on the island. Hugh had shown him how out of control Sikabelle's fans were getting in their private Glaicebook group, and that was the line in the sand for him.