Outside, Erika let out a hefty sigh and sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. Rubbed her face with a sleeve of her kimono. She didn't have much to say, but Joe could tell it was affecting her. He passed her the third bottle of water he'd grabbed and she drank heartily.
"...It's not fair." She muttered.
Joe couldn't say much to that. People had to live with the hand they'd been dealt. But when it affected a child, it was rough. All people could do was make the best of a bad situation and spoil the girl. Give her the best life possible.
Fomantis looked up from atop Absol's back. Joe had proven himself both in battle and compassion. His intention was to help, not hurt.
Fomantis, like Caterpie, was after change in its life. It'd been in a rut for a while and didn't know what to do with itself. It spent its days going through life without thinking. Wake up, forage, eat berries, go to sleep in the fields, repeat. Fomantis accepted seeing the sick girl on a whim, but now it saw it could do more. It wanted to realise an impactful and important life. And a Trainer would help get Fomantis out of its rut.
David was too tired, and Caroline was too sick, so Joe was the next best option. Fomantis waved its little leaf arms above its head to get Joe's attention. When that failed, it hopped. This got Absol's attention. She looked over her shoulder as best she could. Absol moving caught Joe's eye.
Joe turned to Fomantis and it stopped jumping. He pat Fomantis' head. "Yeah, you did your part. Thanks for listening to my request, buddy."
Fomantis shook its head. Pointed at itself and then at Joe. Put its arms together to signify the two teaming up. Joe seemed to understand.
"You want to come with me?" Joe asked. He saw Fomantis nodding its head, so he knelt before it. Pulled a Pokeball out. Pressed the button to expand it. Held it in front of the Grass-type. Fomantis jammed both leaf arms into the button and went inside.
"Fomantis, the Sickle Grass Pokemon. During the day, it sleeps and absorbs nutrients from the sun. At night, it forages for food in forests."
#0753 Fomantis
Gender: Female
Height: 1' 00" (Average)
Weight: 1.5kg (Average)
Moves: Bullet Seed / Slash / Grass Knot /
Ability: Sap Sipper
Absorbs grass moves to bolster its own energy.
Joe smiled at the ball and pocketed it. The more, the merrier. He sent the pictures, as per the request requirement. Nomads showed a preview of each image as they were uploaded, giving Joe a slide show view. Rotom had continued taking pictures even after Fomantis was startled awake and used moves. Hopefully Joe being attacked amused the girl.
Joe figured this was where he parted with Erika, so he walked with her through a few streets. Before they got close to the edge of town, they passed by a circular stadium. Blue with white accents.
A man in a suit stood at the top of a staircase, watching everyone that passed by. He was holding a small tournament in his arena today, but there weren't as many entrants as he wanted. When he saw Erika walking by, besides her a man with a shiny Absol, his eyes turned to Pokedollar signs. He rushed down to meet them. Skidded to a halt in front of Erika.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but may you be Erika?"
Erika's elegant side activated. She observed the thinning hair and long moustache of the small man. "Yes. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
"Wonderful! If I may borrow some of your time, I'm holding a tournament in stadium." He gestured with wide arms at the structure. "And I would love for you to be the star attraction!"
Erika went silent as she considered it. What better way to get ready for her return to the Gym than to battle here and now. Again, any excuse to claim her Pokemon Journey was ongoing. "Of course. I'd be delighted."
"Thank you oh so much, ma'am!" The businessman turned to Joe, hands rubbing together. "And you, sir? Will you be entering?" When Joe gave a nod, he continued. "Marvellous! What is your name, sir? Joe? Okay. Oh, I should inform both of you. There's a bit of a gimmick for today's tournament! I have barred the use of Pokemon native to Kanto. Keep that in mind. Now, I'll see you this afternoon!"
With that declaration, the man ran off. He posted the news everywhere on the Internet to drum up as much interest as possible. He had just a couple of hours to do it, but Amethyst was a tourist town. Many would like to witness a Gym Leader in the flesh. It was something to talk about when they returned home. As expected, interest spiked now that a celebrity was involved. The venue filled its seats and all open slots to Trainers were filled. The man's eyes once again turned to Pokedollar signs as he saw another name he recognised.
"Are you sure about this?" Joe asked. He figured someone on holiday from being a Gym Leader wouldn't want to battle during their time off.
"Of course."
The businessman had said afternoon. The tournament was still a couple of hours away. Joe and Erika had lunch and came back on time, only to be greeted by a dozen stalls selling merchandise in front of the arena.
"Talk about a shrewd businessman." Joe commented on the scene.
Erika chuckled. Her eyes were shadowed and she wore a nasty grin. "If he's going this far then I can expect a cut of the profits, can I not?"
Joe wasn't going to get involved in that mess. Thankfully, he didn't have to. A voice reached his ears, but it wasn't for him.
"Erika!"
Joe looked to see a teenage girl. She came running. She wore a modest long sleeve black shirt and dark blue jeans. Her purple hair was tied back into a ponytail, but some strands were left alone to create a fringe down the side of her face.
When the girl stood in front of Erika, the woman responded with a genuine smile. "Ah, Janine. It's good to see you."
"And you! What are you doing out here?"
"I was having a holiday while a still could, but I got caught up in this tournament."
Janine wore an evil grin like Erika had moments earlier. She put a hand in front of her mouth and chuckled. "Are we pulling strings to get paid for this?"
Joe stifled a laugh. Whoever this Janine girl was, she knew Erika well. They seemed like good friends despite the age difference. Joe walked off, deciding to let Erika and Janine catch up without a third wheel.
He approached one row of stalls. The makeshift shops were set up as rows on the edges of the path, freeing the way to the arena. Joe saw merchandise for various species of Pokemon. From images of Pokemon printed onto bowls and t-shirts, to plush toys. The bowls sat next to a popcorn machine to entice people to spend even more money.
Joe walked up steps. He immediately spotted, front and center, a giant stall with Erika's name and likeness printed on the banner. The shrewd businessman was waiting for this kind of opportunity. Erika's stall had the most people gathered around it. Of course. If people were going to witness Erika battle, they would want her merchandise. If these people were lucky, maybe they'd grab her attention long enough for her to sign whatever they bought.
Customers parted when the biggest man around stepped onto the scene. Joe saw a wide array of items. He saw a plush toy of Erika, and attached to her was the plush of a Pokemon. Big, red petals sat atop the black body of a Vileplume. Joe remembered seeing it in Erika's exhibition match against Steven Stone. Vileplume was Erika's Ace. It was a Kantonian Pokemon so she couldn't use it in the coming tournament.
Ace Pokemon were, as the title suggested, someone's strongest Pokemon. It was more complicated than picking out the strongest species someone had caught and calling it the Ace. Assuming all of Joe's Pokemon fully evolved, Joe would end up with a Butterfree and a Meowscarada. Species had an inherent strength, so the Meowscarada species was outright stronger than the Butterfree species. But each member of a species had varying capabilities. Joe's Meowscarada being a non-combatant while Butterfree trying hard created a rift of power between them.
Essentially, serious training could elevate naturally weak species to a position of power.
These plush toys existed for all Gym Leaders. Jasmine had one with her Ace, and it was sold in the PokeMart. Joe had teased her about it once. To his understanding, Jasmine's Ace was the perfect example of never assuming a species was all the same. She had raised a naturally weak Pokemon to the point where it defeated a Powerhouse Pokemon alone. Jasmine was the owner of perhaps the world's strongest Dodrio. A tall, three-headed bird with strong legs and long beaks.
The other item that took Joe's interest was a row of potted plants. He eyed a small plastic sign in the soil. The logo was Erika's bust as a silhouette.
Erika and Janine approached Joe. Erika introduced her friends to each other, with Janine having to crane her neck to look at Joe's face. She was small for her age.
"Aren't you tired having to look down on everyone all the time?" She turned to the wolf. "Cool Absol. Can I pet it?"
Joe chuckled. Didn't bother getting an answer from Absol. "Sure. She likes strong scratches around the head and neck."
Absol looked up at Joe with an open mouth. Betrayed by his desire to cause mischief. Absol accepted the attention as Janine scrubbed her face. Absol had already learned to live with Joe's personality, and to her surprise she found herself getting into it and following in his footsteps. She'd get him back for this, just like how she let Erika creep up on Joe.
The trio went inside. The reception area had a big television displaying a pyramid of names, with just one standing at the top. A standard knockout tournament. The screen switched to the rules. The big gimmick, no Kantonian Pokemon, was at the top. Specifics were listed below. Single battles, with each Trainer having access to two Pokemon. The screen switched back to the brackets. Joe would be battling someone called Hiro.
"Oh man, why am I first? It's got me nervous." Janine's teeth began to chatter.
Janine had evidently entered the tournament. She was build up to the main event of Erika the Gym Leader. Janine, being the daughter of a Gym Leader, had her own fans already. The tournament would start with a minor celebrity and would likely end with a major celebrity.
A clock in the corner of the massive screen showed there were ten minutes until the first match started. Joe started to get a little nervous about the idea of being in front of a crowd. But this tournament was the perfect chance to train. He had to enter.
"You'll be fine." Erika reassured her friend.
Janine walked left into her waiting room while Joe and Erika went straight through a large hallway and up some stairs. They got front row seats as people recognised Erika and made way for her. As they waited for Janine to be called in to battle, Erika explained Janine a bit to Joe.
Janine was fourteen years old. When she was twelve, she claimed she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps. She wanted to run a Pokemon Gym just Koga did. Because of that, Koga brought his daughter along to a work meeting. Gym Leaders were coworkers so met on occasion, like welcoming new members. That was how Erika and Janine met.
Koga believed in his daughter having a standard Pokemon Journey the same way he did, so when Janine was thirteen, her father presented her with the starters of Kanto. She picked Bulbasaur, A green frog with a large bulb on its back. It had since evolved into an Ivysaur, the bud on its back beginning to bloom.
Because Janine was still of school age, and Koga was a strict father, Janine could only continue her Pokemon Journey when school was closed. At first Koga only let Janine venture to settlements around their hometown of Fuschia. And if she started to fail in school then she was grounded and had to study harder. Janine held up her end of the bargain and got good grades, and a year had passed, so Koga had loosened up a little. She was now allowed anywhere in Kanto.
Despite wanting to be a Gym Leader, Janine was taking it easy while she still could. She'd only earned one Badge and was in Amethyst to rest. That was until she saw the news of Erika being in town.
Joe and Erika watched and cheered for Janine as she won her match. A couple of battles later and it was Joe's turn. He left Erika and went to a waiting room. Now that he thought about it, Joe liked the limitation of no Kantonian Pokemon. It forced him to consider every little thing the Pokemon on his roster could do.
He could use Cyndaquil, Ralts, Absol and his new Fomantis. Hoothoot and Sprigatito weren't fighters and obviously Metapod, Nidoran and Sandshrew were out because they were Kantonian Pokemon.
Joe had yet to use Ralts in battle, so she was his first choice. His second choice could wait. He needed to be able to improvise and adapt. Planning every detail too far ahead might cause him to stumble.
At the very least, Joe was certain he wouldn't use Absol. He needed to train his Pokemon to get them to Absol's level. But at the same time, Joe wanted to get used to commanding Absol in battle.
Joe considered the fact that he was in a small town. He expected his foes weren't too crazy. If his opponent threw an Aegislash or Salamence into the arena, then Joe might as well use Absol. It was either that or forfeit for the sake of keeping his Pokemon safe. As evidenced by Nidoran being scarred from one attack, the difference in strength could be immense. Joe wouldn't allow his Pokemon to come to harm.
An alert sounded and Joe heard cheers. The current battle had ended. He walked into a hallway as a Trainer passed him. Joe could see across the dirt arena to a hallway entrance on the other side. Joe could see his opponent hopping. Hiro was getting ready for the fight.
Despite being used to danger, Joe hadn't experienced this before. Anticipation from a crowd. He realised it was less so nervousness and more so excitement about the unknown.
On top of the people he could hear, there had been a disclosure paragraph on the lobby screen that stated the tournament would be livestreamed to the Internet. Including the unseen, there were over five thousand people watching.
People loved the sport, but they didn't want to put in the effort to engage with it themselves. Which was fair. Being a Trainer wasn't for the faint of heart. It was difficult, like any sport. And it could be dangerous. Civilians liked living vicariously through Trainers, experiencing the thrill without all the hassle.
"And next up, we have a man the size of a mountain bringing a special Absol with him! Versus Hiro, a boy eager to prove himself with his first tournament appearance!"
The challengers walked into the arena and took their places. The field was marked with thick white lines. The boxes that Trainers were supposed to stand in were clearly marked at either end of the large battlefield. Hiro seemed a little younger than Janine. He wore simple clothes and had a plaster on his nose. Hiro eyed Absol as she sat on the dirt ground beside Joe. They tossed balls at the same time. The big screens around the arena changed to reflect the Trainers and their Pokemon.
Hiro had sent out a quadruped. It had brown and black fur and had a little red mohawk of fur atop its head. Hiro was worried that Joe would use Absol. He'd be outclassed if Joe used his strongest, but as he'd planned, Ralts had sent Ralts out.
Joe looked at Hiro and saw he, too, had a RotoPhone hovering in the corner of his vision. The two Trainers nodded at each other and shouted orders at the same time.
An Ember fireball burst out of Litleo's mouth, which Ralts swatted away. The fire burned up before it reached anyone in the audience, but to be safe, arenas for battle had a Pokemon in place to protect the people. This arena in particular had a Mr. Mime that had gone around and installed barriers everywhere. The shields were about the size of a door, so the shield being segmented made it easy to replenish if and when moves destroyed it.
Joe was lucky to fight a Fire-type with Ralts. Thanks to Cyndaquil, Joe knew how to combat fire with the little fairy. But still, there was more to Ralts' psychic powers than she'd shown. Confusion could be used in an ever-increasing number of ways. They just had to imagine new ways to use it.
Another Ember came Ralts' way. Ralts caught it, twisted and manipulated it, and blasted it back at Litleo too fast for the lion cub to avoid. The fire had been entwined with psychic energy so dealt regular damage.
Litleo shook it off. The cub covered ground in leaps and bounds as it charged in with Take Down, a powerful Normal-type move imbued with great energy. Ralts barely managed to avoid by jumping aside. She landed on her belly, rolled over, and sat up. Litleo was already in front of her with Take Down still active. Ralts managed to dodge again by jumping to Litleo's side. She landed on her feet this time.
Ralts used Confusion to manipulate the energy of Take Down. Stripped the raw energy from her foe and kept it between her hands. It was rough and hard to control. Litleo's front paws landed on the ground. Ralts blasted the energy forward and knocked Litleo off its feet. Sent it tumbling. Litleo righted itself sooner than expected, meaning Ralts and Joe weren't ready. Litleo used Ember and struck Ralts in the head. She stumbled back.
Litleo shook from head to tail. Ran forward engulfed in white energy. Ralts raised both her arms above her head, taking chunks of the ground from behind herself. She tossed them one at a time as Litleo darted around the attack. Ralts raised a wall of dirt, but Litleo burst through it and knocked Ralts down. Ralts was down on her back and the power dispersed to crack the ground.
Blocking Take Down wasn't the same as blocking Tackle. If Joe was an experienced Trainer, he would've known Take Down was a stronger move even if he'd never seen it before. He would've known to use a stronger defence.
Litleo froze as Hiro didn't know what to do with his Pokemon standing over Ralts. If Litleo knew Bite then the answer was obvious, but Litleo only knew Ember and Take Down. The only option Hiro had was Ember, but he saw it as a ranged move so it took him a moment to decide to use it.
Joe had also been given a moment to think. He recalled the only other time he'd seen Ralts in action. She couldn't use her psychic powers to pick up people or Pokemon directly, but what if it was a general blast of energy? Surely that would be like any other attack. Joe gave his orders.
Ralts summoned all the power she could as Litleo opened its mouth to reveal the building up of a fireball. Ralts pushed up with all her might, Litleo's eyes going wide as Ralts created something of a psychic wind. It struck the entirety of Litleo from below, sending the lion straight up. The fast-moving wind got caught in the back of Litleo's throat, cancelling Ember.
While Litleo was still in the air, Ralts stood and stretched an arm out to the side. She swung it slowly, like she was pushing a tonne with her tiny body. A force struck Litleo in the side and threw it into the ground.
Ralts panted but remained standing. When the dust settled, Litleo's eyes were spinning. It'd been knocked out. The first win went to Joe's Ralts.
Hiro returned Litleo to its ball. He spoke quietly to it. Put it in the holster on his hip. Brought another ball out and tossed it. Hiro's next Pokemon was a green dog with yellow accents and a long head. Electrike's yellow tail expelled electricity as it entered the field. It stood over two feet tall, towering over Ralts.
The battle commenced. Electrike led with Thunder Shock, sending a thin bolt of electricity at Ralts. Ralts stretched a hand out so the electricity hit it first. She was a little hurt by the attack as she redirected it into the ground. The bolts had moved faster than she could wrap her hand in psychic energy.
Keeping with the theme of speed, Electrike's body was surrounded by white light. It moved in a straight line so fast it was a blur. Quick Attack. Ralts attempted to respond, channelling psychic energy in front of her. But she was too slow. Electrike's head struck Ralts and tossed her into the air. She landed close to Joe, her eyes spinning.
Joe smiled. Withdrew Ralts using her Pokeball. "You fought well." He was proud of her. Despite being the first time he'd used her in combat, she managed to come out on top. Joe tossed a ball. Arguably his strongest besides Absol.
Blue energy scattered to reveal Cyndaquil, his energy replenished and in good spirits. Fire burst from his back to show he was ready for a fight.
Being purely pragmatic, winning this match meant Joe could stay in the tournament longer. He could train further. While Cyndaquil still had plenty of room to grow, Joe could've sent out Fomantis. He'd specifically sent his strongest into battle.
Honestly, the tournament didn't matter that much. Most towns and cities had large stadiums with nine dirt arenas inside. There was most likely one in Amethyst, and there were likely a dozen Trainers there right now. Joe could just join them and train in friendly matches. But Joe wanted to stay in the tournament. He liked the sport of battle more than he thought he would. He didn't want to lose in the first round. His priority was helping those in need, but he'd been gaining a competitive spirit ever since he first commanded Cyndaquil in New Bark. A new hobby to enjoy when he wasn't solving problems.
The battle resumed. Both sides tested each other, Cyndaquil firing Ember and Electrike using Thunder Shock. They dodged and attacked and dodged again. Circled each other. They had a good understanding of their opponent. Cyndaquil and Electrike were equals.
Electrike got the next attack off first. Electricity sparked around its body, channelled up to its mouth, and shot forward. Cyndaquil negated Thunder Shock with Ember, causing a small explosion. Cyndaquil ran through the smoke with parts of his body engulfed in white energy. Electrike did the same, meeting Tackle with Quick Attack. Their heads smashed together and neither budged an inch. They growled at each other and put all their strength into moving their foe, but still neither moved.
Cyndaquil was ordered to create distance, so he bounced back. When he used Tackle with his head, his mouth was pointed at the ground. He needed space so he could aim Ember.
Electrike took advantage of the opportunity. It rushed forward with Quick Attack and skid to Cyndaquil's side. Opened its mouth. Its canines sparked black from Dark-type energy.
Cyndaquil wanted to roll to the side while firing Ember, but he was too slow. A tight jaw clamped down on his body, damaging his defence energy. It might seem counter-intuitive, but the less teeth were in direct contact, the stronger the bite. More force applied to less places. That was to say, Electrike's Bite did a good amount of damage.
The bite just missed Cyndaquil's back, catching his neck and arm. That was lucky for Electrike because Cyndaquil's fire would've gotten in the way.
Cyndaquil couldn't flare the flames on his back to be a nuisance, but he still had a way out of this. A thick black fog escaped from Cyndaquil's back. Smokescreen got caught in the back of Electrike's throat. It let Cyndaquil go, staggered back, and coughed. Cyndaquil wanted to hammer home his strength and immediately attack, but Joe had a different idea. He ordered for the full use of Smokescreen to cover as much area as possible. Cyndaquil obeyed, spewing more fog from his back. Electrike coughed and sputtered and twisted its head to watch the thick fog surround it.
Cyndaquil came in head on and Electrike didn't see it coming. Cyndaquil barged into his foe, knocking the dog back. As he backed off, he used Ember multiple times. Two out of three fireballs landed.
Electrike used Quick Attack to get out of Smokescreen and darted around the arena, charging through the fog but failing to hit Cyndaquil every time. Joe didn't know where his Pokemon was in the fog, but all he had to do was call out where Electrike was coming from. Joe and Cyndaquil learned the timing. Cyndaquil spat a fireball pre-emptively into Electrike's path and it landed.
Electrike exited Smokescreen and slowed down. It winced. Steam rose from its side. It'd been burned, which now depleted its defence energy periodically. If this fight went on for too long then the damage would add up. Without defence energy, the strain on the body would cause it to pass out.
Hiro decided to lean on a chance. They'd worked on it, but hadn't mastered it. Electrike combined Thunder Shock and Quick Attack as best it could, charging fast and with more power since it was engulfed in electricity now. The move was Spark. Actual conflict had a way of making efforts bear fruit. Electrike barged through Smokescreen two times and on the third it clashed with Cyndaquil, tossing the hedgehog out of the smoke with an electrically charged tackle.
Cyndaquil expected to be attacked as he stood up, but Electrike was tired. Cyndaquil was panting too, although not as heavily. As Joe had said, Cyndaquil had energy to burn. Cyndaquil grinned at the thought of the comment both because it was a joke and it was praise for his efforts. Electrike took this as a taunt. Electrike roared and used Spark again, charging at the hedgehog faster than before.
Cyndaquil fired off two fireballs. They both landed. They didn't stop the charging electric dog, but the fire sunk through the electricity and dealt some damage. Cyndaquil took the Spark attack with Tackle, their heads clashing again. Cyndaquil poured all the Normal-type energy he could into Tackle, barely standing his ground as white energy rushed around him. He was taking damage from Spark, but still he managed to pour more strength into Tackle. He pushed Electrike back. He struck with such force that Electrike fell back a few feet.
Cyndaquil stumbled forward now that all his strength passed through air, but he remained standing. He panted heavily as he watched Electrike try to stand. Electrike did good. It rose to all fours with bent legs, but that was all it could manage. It collapsed back to the dirt floor of the stadium's arena. Cyndaquil won.
"And there we have it! Joe came out on top, besting Hiro in fair combat!" The announcer spoke.
Joe basked in the cheers for a moment. Cyndaquil had the energy to smile and run up to Joe. Joe knelt and picked his excited Partner Pokemon up. Joe stroked Cyndaquil's head. "That was a good fight, buddy. Well done."
Joe cradled the hedgehog in his arms as he walked back into the waiting room and made way for other Trainers, smiling while poking Cyndaquil's cheek. He'd won his first Trainer battle in the sport. A rush of adrenaline coursed through him, not unlike genuine conflict. Joe could get used to this.