Salad 2.7

Aaron Fulan

Verdanturf Town, Hoenn Region

I stood across from Vincent and offered him a respectful nod. He was a tall boy with tanned skin, broad shoulders, thick arms, and a bit of a paunch. It spoke of someone who was used to physical chores but did not actively go out of his way to build an athletic physique. On his back was the guitar he'd played during his routine.

Off in the stands, I could see several people who looked like they could be his family. They came to cheer him on and the child in me felt an unreasonable pang of envy at that.

It was a pity I'd have to disappoint them.

"Coordinators, are you ready?" the blonde emcee said. A normal-rank contest wasn't big enough to warrant a referee apparently, because she doubled as both the ref and announcer.

"Yes, ma'am," we replied in concert.

"Then begin!"

I held out Jeanne's pokéball as Vincent tossed his.

"Light 'em up, Jeanne."

"Go, skitty!"

The two of us gauged our respective pokémon. I also spared a glance at my counterpart. Vincent honestly looked thrilled to be here, as though he hadn't expected to make it this far. On his face was a countenance of determination and excitement.

I wondered briefly what he saw on mine. Then the thought evaporated as my gaze flickered back to the field.

The two pokémon were like night and day. The skitty entered the field with an adorable playfulness that made the crowd lean forward to see more. It wasn't hard to see why the species was so popular as pets. They were cute, fluffy, easy to tame, and had a naturally playful disposition that seemed universally appealing.

Jeanne on the other hand was downright threatening by comparison, or as threatening as a lamb could be. It was plainly obvious to me that this contest just meant more to her. Horns and tail glowing, wool sparking with unshed electricity, she immediately began building a charge without a single word of input from me.

Whenever she wasn't refining her routine, she had spent weeks practicing to develop her internal electricity reserves by holding Charge for as long as possible. Whenever she wasn't doing that, she was undergoing grueling physical conditioning. And whenever she wasn't doing that, she was sparring against Artoria, the single most dedicated training-nut I'd ever seen.

Jeanne was taught that every second, every breath, counted in a battle. If no command was forthcoming, she was to prepare herself, all the better to shine even brighter. Her approach to battle was just far too different compared to the skitty's more lackadaisical attitude.

I nodded with approval. I didn't see this battle taking long. "Electric Terrain."

She stamped her feet, letting off that charge in a small circle of electrified ground. That would be my timer. I wanted to finish this as soon as possible. I did promise aggression after all.

"Skitty, Sing!" Vincent yelled.

I grinned. I had hoped he might go for that strategy first. Why wouldn't he? Putting your opponent to sleep was a decisive way to end a battle, one that normally left absolutely zero room for counterplay. This wasn't a game limited in its programming for the sake of balance; Sing did not have an "accuracy rating" that was barely better than a coin flip. You could resist, it was easier depending on how well-rested you were, but just hearing the song made the listener lethargic.

Unless you happened to be behind a psychic barrier, escaping the move entirely was challenging even to elite pokémon.

And yet, it meant nothing.

Electric Terrain was not a move that was seen often, not because it was difficult, or it would have been beyond Jeanne's abilities in the first place, but because it ran so counter to the fighting style favored by most electric types: speed. Electric types were some of the fastest pokémon around and the idea of grounding themselves, limiting their available battlefield, rubbed most of them the wrong way.

Powerful electric types, such as Volkner's luxray over in Sinnoh, employed the technique, but that was because they were strong enough to expand the radius of the move, giving them more land to play in.

It made sense then that trainers at my level weren't familiar with the move. Vincent, and likely the majority of the crowd, knew only what they'd observed from Jeanne's routine, namely that it created a static field of some sort and that it likely empowered electric type moves.

Electric Terrain had a different, more esoteric benefit: So long as a pokémon remained grounded, they could not fall asleep. Even self-induced moves like Rest would fail because the ambient electricity constantly stimulated the nerves of everyone on the ground.

Skitty sang and Jeanne allowed the sound to wash over her with a happy wobble. She even started to bleat her own harmony to the song.

I let it continue for a few seconds to make it clear to the jduges that the move wouldn't work. "Thunder Shock. Barrage."

Both the skitty and its trainer's eyes widened as a salvo of eight bolts lanced towards them. Electric type attacks were notorious for being fast-traveling and Jeanne's were no exception. Much like the cats the skitty reminded me of, it proved incredibly nimble, managing to dodge six, skipping and twisting in midair with the grace an acrobat would have envied.

Then, when it had somehow managed to turn a summersault into a full twist, it misjudged the timing and ate a Thunder Shock to the face. It was then unable to react to the eighth that caught it across the chest, sending it rolling like a ragdoll along the dirt. The acrid smell of singed fur filled the air.

I allowed myself a small smile as Vincent's counter diminished noticeably. Had Jeanne missed the full salvo and had the skitty stuck the landing with grace, I would have been the one who lost points, but not only did his initial strategy not work, he couldn't evade my follow-through.

"Hang in there, skitty," Vincent called, voice layered with desperation.

"Skiii…"

"Payback!"

The skitty glowed with power as it rushed forward. I was surprised to see that it wasn't the darkness I expected, but a pure, untainted white. It caught me off guard and delayed me from shouting an order in response.

Jeanne, who had gone straight back to using Charge, tried to keep the agile kitten at bay with another salvo of Thunder Shocks. It had more luck this time and managed to dodge everything now that it knew what to expect.

"Cotton Spore!" I barked, but the order came too late to keep the skitty from closing the gap.

Jeanne covered the skitty in wool but that wasn't enough to stop its momentum. The skitty still managed to land Payback, though some of the impact was blunted.

"Mareep!" she cried as she flew threw the air.

I realized long after that it was Normalize at work; the unique ability of the skitty line to turn every typed attack into one without. In the game, it made delcatty a slightly less useless option competitively. For example, using a normal type Thunder Wave to paralyze an unsuspecting ground type was a fun gimmick I used to play around with.

In real life, knowing what I knew about aura and the difficulties most pokémon had with customizing movesets, seeing Normalize in action made me consider finding a skitty of my own.

How did that work? Could they learn to disrupt and disperse incoming "colored" aura as well? Or could they add types as well as remove them to make different elemental variations of their moves? Those things sounded like a TM creator's wet dream…

I shook my head violently. This wasn't the time to get into theorizing. "Jeanne, Flash!"

She rolled along the ground, her wool taking the brunt of the attack, and hopped to her feet. Even with Normalize, the skitty was clearly no battler and its lackluster Payback couldn't compare to a Mana Edge from Artoria. Jeanne's horns glowed bright and she let out a determined battle cry, filling the stage with a painfully bright light. "Maa-REEP!"

The skitty, like all felines had exceptionally sensitive eyes, making Flash a very effective strategy.

"No! Skitty!"

I didn't give him the chance to respond. This match was closer than I wanted it to be. "Close in. Tackle!"

Before my sheep could ram into her target, a beam of light struck the blinded skitty, recalling her. The referee took that as the forfeit. "And with that the second battle of the battle round is over! Please give it up for our finalists, Solidad Saori and Aaron Fulan!"

I motioned for Jeanne to return to my side and gave her a good scritch behind her ears before balling her and walking to the center of the field. There, I offered Vincent a handshake. "Good match," I told him.

"Yeah, I don't think the little one's big on fighting. I'm surprised I got this far to tell you the truth," he grumbled goodnaturedly. His hands were calloused and he had a bit of a countryside accent now that I heard more than a word or two from him at once.

"Honestly? I don't think I'm winning this either."

"Heh, no offense, but I agree. Second's still pretty darn cool though."

"True. I'm happy with where I am today."

"And with that we'll enjoy another short intermission while Aaron and his mareep recover," Royce said over the crowd.

I walked back into the waiting room and placed Jeanne's pokéball into the care of an on-site nurse and her chansey. They, like many of the staff here today, were volunteers. Or maybe they'd been volun-told; the head nurse at the nearest pokémon center was a judge after all. The nurse returned my mareep to me after a quick, ten-minute checkup thanks both to the wonderful medical technology of this world and Jeanne's own hardiness.

The waiting room felt strangely empty with only two people. I felt Solidad approach.

"Congratulations, Aaron. It's a big deal to enter the finals on your first contest," she said earnestly.

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"It's just fifteen people, Solidad," I said. "Nowhere near as competitive as a higher rank contest."

"Maybe, but it's still a noteworthy feat. Normal-rank contests might not be as competitive, but these are the contests where coordinators find their stride. It's impressive to see that you've already found yours."

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from you." I meant it; she was a Grand Coordinator-to-be after all. Perhaps she didn't have a lofty title now, but that raw talent was there. It felt good, being recognized by someone I knew had such potential.

"So… Mossdeep Gym, huh?"

"Yup. Like I said, local psychics."

"I asked around because I was curious. I don't know enough about Hoenn to recognize any logos by sight. What's it like?"

"Being sponsored or being the son of a gym leader?"

"Yes," she said with a wan smile. "I have a friend who is the head of Pewter Gym, but his family situation… could be better."

"Huh, I would have thought you had your own. Sponsor, I mean. You're certainly talented enough."

She laughed, though it came off a little lifeless. "I wish. I tried to obtain a sponsorship from my hometown, but Pewter isn't big on contests. Nowhere in Kanto is, really. Contests exist, but coordinators don't have nearly the prestige they do in other regions. The sport is becoming more popular, but it's still a work in progress."

"You sound like you're not a fan of Pewter."

"I am, don't get me wrong. Pewter City is gorgeous in a very rugged sort of way. It's sandwiched between Viridian Forest and Mt. Moon so nature is never far if you're feeling a bit cooped up. But it's the 'gateway gym' if you know what I mean."

"The gym that most trainers challenge first?"

"Yeah. I guess, because it's so important to the League, battling takes precedent and other pokémon-related sports fall to the wayside. Leader Flint wasn't interested in sponsoring me over a traditional trainer and when my friend Brock took over… He had his own worries and couldn't spare the money or clout on a coordinator. The only other major organization that might have the money would be the Pewter City Museum of Geology and well…"

"No rock types."

"Not at the moment," she sighed.

I understood, not from this life, but from my old one. Neither HEMA nor kendo were popular sports compared to football or basketball in the States. Getting a sponsorship to compete in Japan, even as a sixth-dan master, wasn't easy.

In Solidad's case, she was a young woman who was born with incredible talent, but to a place completely uninterested in nurturing said talent. Throw in the difficulties of raising nine other siblings and I could see why she didn't want to approach Brock, childhood friend or no.

I felt for her.

"Well, this might just sound like entitled bitching from your perspective," I started, making her snort with surprise at the crass language, "but being sponsored isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"How so?"

"For starters, mom's really big on not giving me any handouts."

"I'd heard she's very strict. I take it that's not just a persona she puts on for challengers then?"

"Definitely not," I snorted. "Sharon Fulan, Oracle of Mossdeep, strongest psychic in Hoenn, maybe the world. She straight up told me she'd make me take a civilian job if I failed my TLE, no second chances."

"You know you can retake those, right?"

"Not if your family is one of the most influential in the region. Having to take it again for any reason short of a near-death experience would tarnish my family image. Pass or fail, sink or swim, it's always been like that with mom."

"Wow, I guess having a long family legacy comes with its own hardships."

"Yup. Grass is always greener and all that. As for the sponsorship itself, that reflects her parenting style too. 3,000 LC per month at the start, which is barely enough for gear and potions. The stipend increases significantly with every badge and ribbon to be fair, but that leaves every non-serious trainer in the dust."

"So there's a huge pressure to progress then?"

"That's her style; either you can cut it as a trainer or you can stop wasting gym resources. Being her son doesn't get me any additional perks in that regard."

She winced. "That sounds harsh."

"Strictly speaking, it's not an unreasonable payment plan, especially since the first badge is reasonably easy to get. There is always the expectation that we do some odd jobs or win battles consistently; it's an important part of the journey apparently. We have a bit of a cushion, but not enough to cruise by. The money's not the main reason to seek a sponsorship anyway. The main benefit of a gym sponsorship is the free or discounted League services. Pokémon center, ferries, that sort of thing. With her specifically, I can stable psychic pokémon with her for training and I get access to the gym library."

"Wow, so you really need to win?"

I shook my head. "No. Don't even think about throwing the finals. I don't need to make the family gym look good by winning, especially since I'm not even competing with a psychic type. I just wanted you to get an idea of what sponsorships might be like."

"Thank you, Aaron, I appreciate it. So… Psychic training…?"

"Yeah, why? Got anything you want to know?"

"Well… Martin's been having some trouble with Reflect and Light Screen…"

I offered her my PokéNav. "Gimme."

"Huh?"

"Your number. I'll see if I can pull up an article or two. It won't be anything phenomenal, mom's pretty cagey about sharing family secrets from ancestors and whatnot, but the basics handed out to gym trainers should be enough to get you started."

"You'd do that?"

"Consider this a thank you for the ribbon."

She took my PokéNav. "I feel like I should be the one thanking you."

"Then let's call us even." I offered her a fist bump. "Friends?"

Her fist met mine. "Friends… But I'm still going to win."

I let out an undignified snort. "Obviously. Enjoy the easy win while it lasts, because Jeanne will be a whole different pokémon when we meet again."

"I'll look forward to it."

X

We lost as expected. I stood on the side of the stage and clapped politely as Miss Royce presented Solidad with her ribbon. I wished I could say Jeanne and I gave her a good battle, but that'd be a lie. I knew psychic types. Jeanne had a type advantage against the slowbro. But this wasn't an anime and I wasn't Ash. Even with those advantages, there was ultimately little Jeanne could do to match a fully evolved pokémon as she was now with only two weeks of training.

We started with Electric Terrain, if only so we could shut down Yawn. Then, after stacking Charge on top of the Terrain, Jeanne let loose a Thunder Shock as powerful as a Thunderbolt. Solidad let it happen as a courtesy to me before Martin grabbed the attack in midair and twisted it around against her like Sabrina did to Ash in Saffron.

It wasn't meant to be particularly damaging. Electricity meant little to a mareep, especially when it had lost some residual energy and the mareep was fully grounded. A direct psychic attack would hurt more than taking control of a projectile, which was why it wasn't done often even by powerful psychics. It was a flex, plain and simple.

Cotton Spore did nothing; slowbro weren't exactly known for their speed anyway. Martin didn't care no matter how many spores clung to him.

All we could do from that point was run around and Tackle the slowbro, nudging him here and there but ultimately failing to do any real damage. In the end, Jeanne tuckered herself out and I bowed out of the contest.

I knew the loss was coming, but the loss still left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I bid Solidad a final congratulations and stepped out of the contest hall with a frustrated sigh. We had so much work to do, but the loss gave me some perspective. If someone like Solidad was still going through normal-rank contests, how strong was Wallace?

I walked back to my room in the pokémon center with newfound respect for the contest circuit. The vibration of my PokéNav dragged me from my melancholy. It was the twins, checking in through the chatroom.

Mossdeep_Moon: Sorry you lost, bro.

Mossdeep_Sun: Yeah, you'll do better next time. Second place is pretty cool though.

Mossdeep_Moon: That slowbro was really strong though.

Sir_Aaron: Thanks, yeah, Solidad's a great trainer. I think she's going to get really far this circuit.

Mossdeep_Moon: Mom says you were great.

Sir_Aaron: O.o Did she?

Mossdeep_Moon: Well… She said, "His growth is sufficient," which is basically gushing for her. Oh, and dad says hi too.

Mossdeep_Sun: Are you going to participate in other contests?

XO-CloudDancer-OX: Woah, wait, you finished second? How do you guys know? The recording hasn't been posted online yet.

Sir_Aaron: They're practicing divination and they're really good at it. Future is cloudy but the present's fine apparently. At least when the two work together. Think evil queen with a magic mirror.

XO-CloudDancer-OX: That's so cool. Did you two watch the whole contest live?"

Mossdeep_Moon: Yup~ And we're not evil!

Mossdeep_Sun: One of us at any rate…

Mossdeep_Moon: Oi!

XO-CloudDancer-OX: Hehehe, your siblings are funny.

Sir_Aaron: They're adorable. And little terrors when they want to be.

XO-CloudDancer-OX: So if they're the evil queen, does that make you the princess?

Sir_Aaron: 😉 Only if you'll be my prince~~~

Mossdeep_Moon: Eww, bro, I got goosebumps from how gross that sounded.

Mossdeep_Sun: I think I threw up a little.

Sir_Aaron: Everyone's a critic. And to answer your question, I'm going to stay in Verdanturf for a bit. After that, who knows? I'm thinking south. Oldale? Petalburg? Who knows?

Mossdeep_Sun: Cool, so gym badge?

Sir_Aaron: Right. Maybe even find a third pokémon for my team. I should get around to talking to mom about that actually.

Mossdeep_Moon: Ooh! Another psychic? An abra? It's a lunatone, isn't it?

Mossdeep_Sun: No way, solrock is definitely better.

Mossdeep_Moon: Is not.

Mossdeep_Sun: Is too!

Mossdeep_Moon: Is not times two.

Mossdeep_Sun: Is too times infinity.

XO-CloudDancer-OX: …

Sir_Aaron: Let's not put Lisia off the idea of little siblings, you two. I'm still trying to get her to adopt one of you. And it's not going to be a psychic.

Mossdeep_Sun: Your lame. Why is our brother so lame, Liza?

Mossdeep_Moon: He is. I'm sorry, Lisia. You had the misfortune of meeting him.

XO-CloudDancer-OX: Hehehe, I think you three are tons of fun though. And I can adopt both of you.

Mossdeep_Moon: Nope. That's not how this works. You either take Tate off our hands or you get adopted by us.

Mossdeep_Sun: Hey!

XO-CloudDancer-OX: Okay, guess you can all call me big sis now. And if it's not going to be a psychic, maybe a rare pokémon that only a gym leader can get? Is it going to be a dragon? Boys like dragons, right?

Sir_Aaron: We'll see.

Mossdeep_Sun: I bet it's going to be a bagon, just like Drake's.

Sir_Aaron: Secret~

Mossdeep_Moon: Booooo!

Mossdeep_Sun: Booooo!

XO-CloudDancer-OX: Booooo!

Sir_Aaronron: Well done, you midgets. You've corrupted Lisia.

Mossdeep_Moon: You say that like it's a bad thing.

I shook my head at their antics. I got changed into something more comfortable than my slacks and lied down on my bed. The contest itself hadn't taken long, it was still only one in the afternoon, but I felt like the whole mess had taken the full day.

First things first, I wanted to chat with Jeanne alone. I let her out of her ball only for her to curl up and sulk on the bed. I gently picked her up and hoisted her onto my lap. I poked her side and marveled as my finger sank all the way to the knuckle into her wool.

"Jeanne."

"Maaa… Mareep." It was the most dejected bleat I'd ever heard from the little lamb.

I reached out and stroked her ears, just below the horns where I knew her sweet spot to be. She barely twitched, which was how I really knew this was serious. "We lost."

"Mareep…"

"And that's okay."

"Maa?"

"That's okay," I said, more firmly this time. "Losing is okay."

"Mareep. Mareep-maa. Maree?"

Artoria's ball pulsed with concern as she sensed my confusion. I tried to piece together what Jeanne was saying and was dearly tempted to let my starter out to play translator, but I refrained. I wanted this conversation to be between just the two of us, at least in the moment. "I'm not disappointed in you, Jeanne. Did you think I would be?"

She finally looked up at that. Her big, brown eyes were watery. "Mareep?"

"I'm not upset and you shouldn't be either. Tell me, Jeanne, did you do your best?"

"Maa…"

"That's not good enough. Your best wasn't good enough today. Our best wasn't good enough today. And that's good. Becoming the most radiant ampharos in the world shouldn't be easy. Grand Coordinator shouldn't be a title we can achieve without difficulties. It should be a long, hard climb to the top. That's why it's worth doing, isn't it?

"Are you upset you lost? Good. Now use the bitterness; channel it and let it fuel you into being better. Our best wasn't good enough, but we're going to try again and the next time we see Solidad and Martin, our best will be good enough. Losing now hurts, but we'll get there no matter how long it takes, together."

I stared down the dejected lamb, willing her to understand. I was never much of a motivational speaker, but I did know what it felt like to lose. The very first competition I went to in Japan, I let the crowd get to me. There was a palpable feeling that I wasn't wanted, never mind that I was half Japanese. Half a gaijin was still a gaijin and a gaijin had no business learning kendo.

Like with any other athlete, the sting of defeat was an old friend. As cliché as it was, it really was a matter of how many times you got back up.

Lucky for me, the pokémon world agreed. This world ran on shonen tropes and the power of friendship. So long as she would stand, I'd be there to support her and that alone would be enough for her to grow stronger.

"Ma. Mareep," she bleated. She reached up, placed her two front hooves on my shoulders, and said, "Mareep. Mareep. Ma-ma-reep."

We stared at each other like that for a solid minute. I reached out and rubbed her ears affectionately. Alas, I had to burst her bubble. "Jeanne, dear?"

"Maa?"

"I have no idea what you said."

The look of shocked realization frozen on her face was so comical that I bust out laughing. I spent the rest of the day consoling a freshly sulking mareep. As I plied the little lamb with a juicy berry to earn her forgiveness, I allowed myself a warm smile.

I wouldn't have things any other way.

Author's Note

I figure the chat system is a good way to give side characters some personality. I write a ton of Worm, so I guess I felt a little weird not adding some online hijinks to the mix. PHO's kind of a pain, but it's a lovable pain, you know? I'll probably do a full interlude later.

Shonen pep talk? Shonen pep talk.

Thank you for reading. To reach a wider audience, and because I enjoy a more forum-like setup to facilitate discussion, I like to crosspost to a wide variety of websites. You can find them all on my Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/fabled.webs.