Lucky for us there was an Ace Trainer named Jim in the growing crowd of onlookers to act as a referee. He also came equipped with a Claydoll for a reinforced psychic barrier to place around us. The sun was hanging in the center of the clear sky beaming down on us as the referee set himself up on the sideline. I could feel my hands getting wet with sweat from the combination of the anxiety I was feeling and the heat of the sun even with the gentle breeze of the sea wafting in. Meredith had her arms crossed as she stared at the trainer, her impatience showing in the way her foot kept tapping the floor.

I looked across to see that Elisha still had his shit eating grin on his face while his Blitzbro yawned and sat on his coiled tail munching on a Figy berry. Meanwhile, Champ kept his stance looking at Blitzbro as Piney lazily circled around him waiting for the signal from his trainer.

“Alright folks, we're ready to go!” Exclaimed Jim as a transparent pearlescent barrier came to life around the battlefield.

“Today's battle will be an unofficial battle between Elite Trainer Elisha and two Rookie trainers Erembour and Meredith. It's a one on two match with the win condition set to whichever side is unable to battle first.”

He stole a glance at the three of us to confirm that we were ready as we each gave him a quick nod.

“Very well then, let the battle commence!”

Blitzbro immediately shot forward with the sound of a cannon shot as its coiled tail acted like a spring and propelled him right at Champ.

“Piney, roll in and protect!” Meredith called out right in time as her Pineco shot up in between Blitzbro and Champ creating an intricate Cerulean wall of crystalline energy that intercepted Blitzbro's shell mere inches away from slamming into Champ's chest. Sparks were flying as Blitzbro pushed the shell deeper into the wall causing cracks to form.

“Champ! Mega Punch it away!”

Snapping out of his gaping stupor at the narrow miss, he sidestepped the wall and launched a fist towards Blitzbro's abdomen only to be met with its tail connecting with his face and launching him back ten feet before shattering the wall and forcing the shell to connect with Piney and send him flying towards the psychic barrier with a resounding crack.

There was a roaring cheer from the crowd as Elisha started to laugh, his Pokémon flexing with a silent laughter of its own. Champ immediately bounced up, a bruise forming on his left cheek as blood formed in the corner of his lip. He spat out blood to the ground as he took his stance, activating Focus Energy as his body took on an orange hue. Piney rolled back up to be next to Champ, I could see small cracks in his tough exterior from where the shell hit him.

This was an uphill battle, but I'm sure Elisha wouldn't have made it impossible to win. What's the strategy here?

“What are we going to do, Erembour?” Meredith asked me quietly as she eyed the situation. I stayed quiet, unable to give her a definitive answer. A sword and shield tactic won't work considering it has various avenues to attack with. Pure offense will only allow it to counter and defend with its shield.

“Oh? You guys aren't going to fight back? Well , I suppose we should get our free licks in then, shouldn't we, Blitzy?”

His Blitzbro grinned as it sprung forward aiming its shell straight at Champ again. The same situation repeated once again as Piney dove in with another Protect barrier, this time it was weaker and shattered instantly sending him flying away. Champ dodged to the left and aimed a punch towards it's left armpit to try and punish only to be met again with it's tail slamming into his gut and sending him reeling back before catching a backhand from the shell which sent him slamming to the ground.

You're quite the bit of garbage aren't you? All those “years” of experience that you have acquired and yet you can't bring a single drop of that vast wealth of knowledge to the forefront. Truly. Astoundingly. You are absolutely nothing more than a waste of sp-

“Erembour! Damn it! Focus!” Meredith yelled at me, snapping me out of my daze just in time to see Champ roll away from Blitzbro's tail slamming down into the floor with a resounding thud. I could see Piney rolling in as his body was covered in a silvery almost metallic sheen. My breath came out in small visible puffs like hanging mist before dissipating under the sun’s heat.

So cold. A shiver went down my spine as my body trembled, why am I so cold?

Fuck. Focus. Champ managed to push himself up with his right hand, narrowly dodging a blast of pressurized water shot from the end of Blitzbro's shell. The shimmer of a small psychic shield coming to life beneath it is the only reason the jet of water didn't cut through the observation deck.

All the bravado left me in the face of this challenge. This wasn't like me, this isn't like me. Damn it. Damn it! The edges of my eyesight darkened as breathing became difficult for me like I was six feet underwater.

I can help you, you know. The way to winning is right here, under your nose, locked away inside your brain just ready to be cracked open. Don't you want to win? To let your Tyrogue become stronger and more powerful than ever? I know you can taste it. The power to win. The power to rule. All of it is right here for the taking.

A strange sensation swept over me as everything slowly became distorted. The outside commotion turned muffled as my vision dimmed further. Visions of Champ with an ethereal left arm swam across my mind. He was standing atop a mountain of dead Pokémon, their eyes lifeless and no visible injuries upon their corpses.

Another vision of Champ and I sharing one mind as I direct him on how to dodge Blitzbro's attacks before burying his ghostly arm into its chest and stopping its heart dead with a single grasp.

A primordial hunger stirred within me, a savage desire that wanted - no, craved desperately to have this power. An insatiable and cruel thing I thought buried deep beneath the rubble of my old self that I left behind. It clawed its way viciously to the surface, almost compelling me to give in.

Yes. That's it! I know you want it. I know you need it. You only have to do one Itty bitty thing and it'll be all yours. Take a nap, slip into a peaceful slumber and allow me to command this symphony. In return I'll give you a beautiful orchestra to listen to when you awaken.

I could feel myself being swallowed up in an ocean of malice and an unparalleled high of euphoria. Silence and darkness greet me in a gentle embrace as I hear my heart beating slow and rhythmically to a song I cannot hear. I scream for someone - anyone to save me. I cry out for Meredith to punch me, to do something to snap me out of this state of limbo.

You fool! You don't know what you're doing. I can make you great. The greatest that there will ever be! Stronger than your wildest dreams! I am all you will ever -

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

The taste of copper fills my mouth as the world comes rushing back to me. Gasping, I come to find myself on my knees breathing heavily as Jim's Claydol hovers in the center of the field keeping both sides at bay. Meredith is kneeling in front of me, a look of worry on her face. The cheer of the crowd has fallen silent. The warm trickle of blood drips down my mouth to my chin.

“Erembour, You're -”

“Thank you, I'll explain later. I promise.” I hug Meredith tightly and get up, using her as support for my numb and shaky legs. Champ looks at me with deep concern on his swollen face, and it eats at me from the inside so I flash hu

“Are you done with the cheap theatrics to stall for time?” calls out Elisha towards my direction, the grin never having left his face. Arceus I'll be happy if I can wipe that smug look off his chiseled old face. I look towards Jim and give him a nod along with a thumbs up to let him know that I'm ready to continue the fight. I could feel the gaze of the audience on me and I kept fidgeting. I wanted to get this over with, I didn't like being stared at, let alone being the center of attention.

He frowns at me before putting on a neutral look and nodding, his Claydol moving off the field to join him at his side. The deep intense feeling of freezing to death slowly dissipated from my bones as I turned my attention to the field.

“Seeing as how trainer Erembour is able and willing to continue we shall resume the battle. Trainers and Pokémon get ready-”

Everyone tensed up in preparation, my mind clocking into overdrive at the potential strategies that I could implement. The thought of failing to give in and allowing myself to get stronger eating away at the back of my mind. Is it worth it? Did I make the right choice?

“-Get set-”

The hunger for power still rumbled deep within the bowels of my soul. I could feel it lusting, hungering, mourning for that promise. Now’s not the time. I need to focus. It's too late to think about the what if’s. I'll go with a distance strategy and see if we can wear it down with stamina and endurance.

Ok. We can do this. We can do this.

“-Go!”

“Champ, keep your distance and pelter it with a stream of rock slides!”

“Blitzy, divide and conquer.”

“Piney! Protect Champ and iron defense!”

As all of our commands echoed across the field to our Pokémon, the battlefield erupted into mayhem. Champ jumped back several feet as he summoned wave after wave of rock slides. Blitzbro's body is divided into a long line of copies of itself, some of them taking the rock slide attacks before disappearing into nothingness.

“Arceus damned double team!” I cursed silently to myself as the rest of the ones that survived took aim with a fist at Champ before disappearing in a blur and reappearing slamming their fists into Piney’s well timed protect. There was a roar of applause as the crowd started to cheer Piney’s continuous endurance at the onslaught of Blitzbro’s attacks. Champ sent several more rockslides from the left side of Piney’s barrier causing it to jump back giving them both a quick moment of respite. Wait. The pieces started to click in my head. Why has Blitzbro been dodging all of their attacks? Perhaps it doesn’t have as much in defense as we originally thought?

By this point, Piney had set up another Protect just as Blitzbro’s tail came slamming into the wall. Champ had timed it so that his kick would come for its abdomen which caused it to suddenly jump back and abandon the attack. Yeah, that settles it in my mind. It doesn’t want to get hit for some reason, we need to take advantage of that.

“Meredith, we need to go on the offensive. Don’t worry about Champ, he can tank a hit or two. Start hitting that thing with all Piney can muster.” I whispered to Meredith who stared at me confused for a split second, before nodding.

“Alright, but I’ll need you to have Champ be the frontline for this. Piney! Switch it up and start a Rock Blast barrage!”

Piney rolled back out of range while Champ and Blitzbro engaged in close quarter combat. Champ focused on using his legs to attack with mega kicks, each one being blocked by its shell shield. Each kick landed caused a crack to form in the shell, but at the cost of Champ getting hit with Blitzbro’s tail. The shining silver corona of each of champ’s blows illuminates the battlefield as the air fills with the sound of a shotgun blast going off. Elisha’s smug grin begins to falter as a thin line forms on his lips. While they trade blows I can see a large volley of white glowing rocks form around Piney which are continuing to grow in number and size at a startling pace. Had I known the Pineco I gave her was going to be this strong, I might have changed my mind and kept him.

“Blitzy, Force Palm and Water Pulse.” Elisha said simply as Blitzbro slammed its light blue glowing tail into Champ’s chest sending a shockwave of blue aura through him and sending him flying back into the barrier. The Rock Blast volley that Piney had been gathering flew straight toward Blitzbro as it lifted up its shell shield and sent out several rings of vibrating water to intercept the volley and destroy them. The field was filled with falling rock debris and a shower of rain hitting the field. Champ struggled to his feet, an aura of staticky yellow surrounding his body as the tell-tale sign of paralysis was visible to everyone.

“I guess it’s time to end this. It was fun while it lasted, you two. Blitzy, Belly Drum.”

A sadistic grin formed on his Blitzbro’s face as it slammed its hand rhythmically against its stomach and shell in an intimidating war drum fashion. Its body glowing red as muscles rippled to the surface everywhere on it.

“I’ve got an idea, Erembour. I’ll take the lead, just make sure Champ gets in close and lands his strongest attack when I give you the signal.” Meredith grinned as she slapped me lightly on the back and took a deep breath in. “Piney! Rapid Rollout!”

Piney immediately spun in place causing sparks to fly everywhere from the intensity of its spin before flying forward at an alarming rate, Blitzbro ready to take him on with its shield.

“Champ, I know you’re tired and hurt buddy, but we’ve got one last play. Charge in as close as you can get and wait for my order.”

Champ slapped his cheek to pull himself together and charged forward trailing behind Piney. Once Piney was a foot away from Blitzbro, he immediately veered to the left trying to get behind its shield. Blitzbro’s tail came sailing out to catch Piney with what seemed like another force palm when Piney slammed into the floor and bounced up in an arc sailing over Blitzbro’s head.

“Piney! Self-Destruct!” Meredith roared in triumph. I could feel the moment when everyone held a bated breath as Piney shined a brilliant ocean blue with rays of light streaming off of its body. I glanced quickly at Elisha who had a dumbfounded look on his face before the brilliant flash turned into an ear splitting explosion of red hot fiery energy. Was it over? No, I can’t take that chance.

“Champ! Use Mega Break!” I yelled out over the leftover echoing roar of Piney’s self-destruct hoping he could hear me. As smoke filled the psychic dome I could see the tell-tale sign of Champ’s finisher, the corona of beautiful white and orange energy pierce through the smoke followed by the rushing gust of wind forcing the billowing smoke into the walls of the dome.

As the smoke cleared through small holes in the dome, I could see Champ barely standing in the middle of the field, his breathing shallow and fast. Across from him stood the towering shield of Blitzbro’s shell covered in black soot and an impressive amount of spidering cracks. Piney was unconscious a few feet behind Champ, its husk filled with cracks and missing some of the pinecone texture that it used for shrapnel.

The air was heavy with silence once again with the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the cruise ferry along with the ocean breeze.

Blitzbro took a step forward and my heart sank. It still wasn’t enough, was it?

It took another, forcing Champ to take a heavy breath and a step back before Blitzbro’s shell shattered and it fell forward unconscious.

The pregnant silence erupted with a roar of cheer and applause which drowned out Jim announcing that we were the winners.