Arasam nightlife had been so highly spoken of by fellow travelers that Tag knew immediately that he was going to be let down. He wasn't much of a drinker, really, and he didn't like making a fool of himself. Most places, he felt, required a certain level of inebriation or temerity to enjoy, and that was something he didn't have a stomach for. Dinner with Raven had been a wholeheartedly simple affair. Tag didn't really enjoy fancy joints, or even restaurants in general, so he had suggested finding a food court or some off-the-beaten-path sandwich shop. He found one simply called "Patisserie Arasam", and while it was more of a patisserie than a deli (The name should've been a dead give-away), they had some pretty delicious sandwiches.
Tag had awkwardly attempted to strike up a conversation with the sandwich maker. The man would've been Moroccan if Morocco existed in the universe, and had the name of Marouane. Tag inquired as to where he got such a pretty name, but it came out kind of like he was hitting on the guy. The guy likewise simply stated that his parents had named him that, in the same way that Taggarty's parents had named him Taggarty. It was pretty awkward. The sandwich maker then proceeded to mostly ignore Tag and flirt with Raven, which seemed to further incense the former Dragon Trainer.
It is interesting to note the voracity with which Tag ate. He did not particularly relish the flavours of things the way gourmands or hedonists did, but he did enjoy them to the extent that he enjoyed anything that wasn't pokemon battle. The speed at which he ate was not dictated by taste. After many years of travel, Tag took opportunities to eat good, tasty food as they came, and would usually devour it rather swiftly. This was ultimately because he rarely ate such good food while on the road all the time, and he tended to eat it quickly mostly because he wasn't sure of the next time he'd eat that well in the future. This voracity likewise gave him a proclivity towards over-eating. After having eaten two and a half sandwiches of varying ingredients, he felt really quite full. So instead of continuing to bum around Arasam with Raven, as was his plan, he opted to go to the Pokemon Center and turn in for the night. He didn't drag Raven along, he just felt something of a food coma approaching.
Unlike Raven, who'd spent the better part of a day unconscious, Tag hadn't really slept since the ordeal in and on Mount Carello. Between exhaustion of running through a cave all day, then not sleeping very well due to worry, he found that the sandman came for him quite quickly, drifting him off to sleep on one of the benches on which he'd grown so accustomed to sleeping.
Usually, he preferred to keep his pokemon in their pokeballs, but for whatever reason, he opted to leave them out. Kyoko, his gloom, seemed to have her stink under control, so he didn't really mind leaving her out with the rest of the lot. On top of it, he was really too tired to worry too much about it.
* * *
Later in the night, Tag stirred awake. Slowly, almost grouchily, he opened one eye. Instead of the expected sunlight, he noticed that it was still really quite dark out. The Pokemon Center had dimmed its lobby lights. Despite the fact that like all Pokemon Centers, it was 24 hours, it had opted to lower the intensity so that the few travelers could get some rest. Tag slowly scanned the pile of his sleeping pokemon, noting with a smile that Suzu and Bachi had curled up together (Suzu somehow avoiding the poisonous spikes even in her sleep. It only stood to sense; Suzu and Bachi had spent a lot of time together). Orin had nestled down by her lonesome, slightly apart from the rest of the group. Tobi had gently laid down opposite Suzu near Bachi, but had done so in a fairly prim manner, retaining his attempted regality even in sleep.
What worried Tag was that Kyoko was nowhere in sight.
Rising slowly and throwing his jacket over his tank top, he moved slowly and quietly about the dim lobby, looking for signs (and more honestly, smelling the air), to see if he could find any trace of his now missing pokemon. After some time, he felt that he had exhausted his options looking for his pokemon indoors, and chose to step outside to search.
Naturally, the first thing he saw was Kyoko.
Arasam was a city essentially carved into the side of a mountain, and that left it with a fairly impressive view. The moon hung at a middling height in the sky (Rather than far off in a corner), and appeared to be quite full. The glowing disc floated with an eerie silence in the night sky, shining a chill, blue glow on the surrounding buildings.
However, in a particularly crepuscular moonbeam, he saw his pokemon, Kyoko, standing almost perfectly still. She was up on what should've been tiptoes, had she possessed toes, and was leaning slightly towards the low moon. Tag stopped dead in his tracks, staring at his pokemon as she stared out at the moon. Her eyes were closed, sure, but it seemed like she was really trying to listen to the light in front of her.
Then she began to sing, slowly. While the only word was "gloom", her mezzo-soprano voice filled the air with a soothing, soft melody. It flowed gently in the night air, almost like a trickle of sound wafting around on the breeze. Several little stars formed around her and seemed to orbit in a little rotation around the Weed Pokemon, floating around Kyoko in a warm little pattern. Kyoko, while singing to the moon, had evidently also used lucky chant, creating a beautiful image against the backdrop of the cold velvet sky with its giant glowing moon. Idly, Tag joked that he was sure the moon wasn't about to land any critical hits anyways, but outwardly, he just watched his pokemon in a little bit of an awed silence. He had no idea Kyoko, much less any gloom could sing like that at all. He remained there in stunned silence, listening and watching intently.
Raven discovered how hard it was to eat a sandwich with one arm, especially a roast beef sandwich au jus; it was really a messy affair. She was rather surprised that the man who was their waiter, Marouane, she had learned, was so keen on flashing smiles and compliments her way, much to the dark expression on Tag's face. As the meal had progressed, she noticed the furrows on his brow deepening, and so had opted to wrap up the sandwich and save it for later. Tag had finished 2 and part of another sandwich, and Raven had warned him comically throughout the meal that if he ate too much, he'd be absolutely worthless for the rest of the afternoon.
After eating, Tag seemed rather dozy, and so she didn't begrudge him a bit for heading off for a nap. However, as he wandered off, she summoned Requiem, Aria, and Forte out of their poke'balls, and laughed as all three stretched and proceeded to greet each other and Raven in their own respective ways. As the three were summoned, she noticed that the people around her turned to stare at the motley crew; this grungy woman had 3 very odd looking poke'mon, however, all of them seemed extremely happy. Their effect was well-taken, and while people continued to stare at her and the poke'mon, they were far too intimidating to be approached or questioned, especially the defensive looking Totodile.
Raven's first stop was a fountain she could see in the distance. She knew that Requiem hadn't seen water in quite some time, and the way that he had performed in the last battle, she wanted to reward him in some small way. A few Marill were playing in the trickling waters of the old fountain, and a couple of stray Meowth were perched on the side, staring longingly at the coins within. Once Requiem heard the sound of water, he let out an ecstatic growl, and waddled as fast as his little legs could take him over to the fountain. The poke'mon that were there stared at him curiously, but once they saw that the only thing on the Totodile's mind was some innocent splashing and swimming, they turned to their attention back onto what they were doing. Raven finally caught up with the Totodile, chuckling as he submerged his head over and over, splashing his stumpy arms in the clear water wildly. This was the closest that Raven had ever seen the serious Totodile act like a "normal" Totodile, and while it was different, Raven was thrilled that the little Poke'mon was so happy. Sitting on the edge of the fountain, Raven stroked Aria's mane as Aria placed her head in Raven's lap, and watched as Forte proceeded to make a dirt-pile, patting the sides of it firmly, making a tiny mountain. As Requiem continued splashing behind her, he rhythmically splashed and cried "Dile! Dile! Dile!", as though making a song for himself. Raven absorbed this moment of peace, closing her eyes and inhaling the mountain air with as much savoring as she could muster.
She didn't really notice that the splashing had gotten stronger, or that the sounds of "Dile! Dile!" had turned into "Naw! Naw!", until she exhaled her deep sigh, and noticed that Aria was looking at the water instead of laying her head on her lap. However, when Raven opened her eyes, and noticed that the passing people had stopped, and she actually heard the sounds of "Naw! Naw! Croc-o-Naw!" behind her, she whipped around, and saw that either the fountain had shrunk...or, the more plausible reason...Requiem had evolved. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the Croconaw behind her, and she found herself thinking that she was silly to think that Requiem as a Totodile looked intimidating. As with Aria, all of his scars and wounds remained intact, as well as his glazed, white, right eye. His fangs had grown, and more were protruding out of the side of his mouth, which was currently in a happy grin. He was also significantly bigger, and Raven had no doubt that he would have no problem jumping on her bed if he needed to.
She couldn't believe she had missed the evolution. "Requiem, I missed it!" she stated, but smiled at him regardless, extending her good arm. He traipsed over to her, splashing all the while, and fell against her, nuzzling her cheek, making it shimmer with moisture. "Naw, naw..." he uttered gently, and she noticed that his voice was much deeper and growly than it had been. However, she found his answer oddly appropriate. He still had one more evolution to undergo, and Raven would be dead before she missed that one. As he reached his longer claw out to touch her nose, she knew that he was still the same Requiem...just a bit bigger, and more scary looking. Raven touched his nose in return, hugging him close to her. She would have genuinely enjoyed the moment, if people still weren't staring towards them. She was drawing attention to herself, which was something she tried not to do...ever. Clearing her throat, she pulled away from Requiem, patting him on the head lightly. "C'mon, let's get moving." she said softly, turning a rather agitated looking gaze towards the people who were watching.
Raven continued to peruse the streets, stopping to look at little trinkets and souveniers that caught her gaze, but nothing was really noteworthy until she stopped at a shop that really didn't even look like a shop, until she saw an old man behind a makeshift counter, whittling away at a branch. As she stopped, she noticed that what he was selling was walking-sticks. Nothing too special, just branches that had been hand crafted and smoothed to where they could be used as such. As the old man noticed her, he flashed her a wide, toothless grin. "A customer! Welcome to my little parlor, little miss. Is there anything I can do for you on this fine day?" he said with a cackle, causing Raven to look up at him. She offered a polite smile in return, and shook her head. "Just browsing, really. Do you make these yourself?" she queried, taking up a stick that seemed to be crafted out of rosewood. It was smooth, and felt good in her hand.
The old man nodded proudly. "Yes'm. Every one of these was built by my own hand, it was. Guaranteed to last a lifetime or two, if you treat it right." he responded, noticing the stick she had in her hand. "Ah, that one's a beauty, ma'am. It used to be part of an ancient tree that had fallen when I was still young enough to travel, like yourself, oh-ho. I've had it for years...always wondered why no one liked it, I did."
Raven nodded, grasping the stick firmly and tapping it on the ground, testing its durability. However, as she did so, Forte the Larvitar roused out of its second sand mountain of the day and turned to her, looking up at her expectantly. Raven tilted her head, and tapped it on the ground again. This time, Forte cocked his head curiously and rose to his feet, looking at her with questioning eyes. A thrill of excitement filled Raven's heart. She remembered back to where the Larvitar had been communicating through stomps in the cave...Larvitar was a ground-type hybrid, and could probably feel vibrations of the earth better than it could understand anything else, including visual cues, which had been Raven's initial plan with how to train the little poke'mon. She tapped it against the ground again, twice...and Forte curiously tapped his little toe twice. A grin crossed Raven's face. This could work.
"I'll take it." she said to the man, who flashed his toothless grin at her once again. "Splendid! Splendid! And you'll scoff at the price, m'dear. Only $20, it is. Only $20." he said, rising to his feet, wiping his hands on his apron and a cloud of sawdust rising from it soon after. Raven reached inside her satchel, pulling out a $100 bill. "Keep it, please. Thank you." she said softly, before turning and, with her new stick in hand, strolling down the street.
As she was walking, contemplating different combinations of taps she could use to train the Larvitar, and how she was going to go about doing so, the cries of a street vendor caught her attention. "Step inside to Arasam's Poke'mon Emporium! All your poke'mon needs in one store! Rare Poke'mon? We got 'em! All Poke'mon are pure-bred, training compatible, and priced to fit your budget! Come on in, and see what Arasam's Poke'mon Emporium can do for you!"
Raven stopped, looking up at the well-decorated, large store. She knew she couldn't take any more poke'mon into her team, but she liked poke'mon. She liked going into Poke'mon stores, just to marvel at the poke'mon, maybe pet a few cute Growlithe puppies, or even to see if their caretaking standards met hers, to which she would offer a large donation towards the store and check back on it later to see if things had changed. In either case, it would probably be her last stop before she went off to find Tag, who had been headed towards the Poke'mon Center the last time she had checked. As she stepped towards the door, she saw a notice:
"PLEASE RECALL ALL LOOSE POKE'MON BEFORE ENTERING THE STORE. NO FOOD OR DRINK. THANK YOU."
Raven looked down at Requiem, Aria, and Forte, and said "Just for a minute, guys. I'll let you back out once I'm done; shouldn't take too long." and with that, she summoned them all back into their respective balls, clipping them to her hip.
As she walked in, she immediately noticed that the place didn't smell, which was always a good thing. The second thing she noticed was that the place was huge. At the front, aisles upon aisles of TM's, Potions, and other trainer goods were laden down and brightly advertised. Friendly shopkeeps were there to greet her, and there was even a child's area near the front, where a mascot dressed as a Marill was busy telling a story to some young children. Raven nodded to herself approvingly. However, the main thing for her was how the poke'mon was kept, and she wandered past the aisles to see for herself. Immediately, she was greeted with a wide open space, almost zoo-like in appearance, and great signs hung from the ceilings, labeled "WATER, GRASS, FIRE" and the like. As she neared the sign labeled "WATER", she neared a sort of glass barrier, and upon looking inside, there was an almost life sized waterfall, a pond, and a sun-lamp dangling from the ceiling. Inside were many happy, immaculate looking Marill, Poliwag, Goldeen, and other water-type poke'mon who were frolicking within, some coming to look up at Raven with wide, curious eyes. Raven looked on the side of the glass, where prices were listed, as well as a notice that any were welcome to request that a poke'mon be taken out of its enclosure, as long as hands were sanitized and there was a genuine desire to buy.
Overall, as Raven ventured from enclosure to enclosure, she was greatly impressed. She even squeaked a little as she neared the fire enclosure and saw a few young Vulpix playing with each other. So tempting. So tempting.
She looked into each enclosure, making sure not to touch the glass that was kept immaculately clean by a few wandering storekeepers, and decided that she was beyond impressed. Should she ever need to buy a poke'mon, she would come to this place. It was obvious that they kept healthy, happy poke'mon...and it was even family friendly. As she was preparing to wander back up to the front, possibly peruse their vast TM selection, she noticed that towards the back of the store, there were two desks, and in the midst of them, a man stood guard at a large metal door. The two behind the desks seemed dutifully at work; perhaps it was a help-desk? She should go over and give some positive commentary, and possibly a donation for their good work. As she walked towards the desk, the man watched her curiously, and both people at the desk lifted their heads. The person on the right desk was a young man, who was dressed very formally, not at all like the other shopkeeps. "To view our special collection, a $1000 deposit is required." he said blandly, taking one look at her style of dress and turning back to his work.
"Special collection?" Raven queried, tilting her head to look at the large guard curiously, who was obviously not intimidated by her small stature. The man looked up at her again, and nodded. "Yes. Special collection. We need to make sure that those who enter our showroom are able to pay for one of our special collection, and therefore, we require a $1000 deposit."
Raven's interest was piqued. It wasn't like $1000 would hurt her any, and she was curious. Besides, the man's nature had kind of annoyed her, and she wanted to let him see that you shouldn't read a book by its cover. His demeanor had almost pushed her away completely, but she was a prideful creature, and instead, reached into her satchel and pulled out her wallet, pulling out ten $100 bills, placing them on the desk before him. The man lifted his head again, and viewed the money with interest. Raven was further annoyed by the way he scoured each bill individually, as though checking to see if she had stained them. She knew he had to check and see if they were real, but the man had thoroughly annoyed her. As soon as his check was complete, he nodded. "Yes, very well, then. Please leave your poke'balls with my associate, and I will lead you back."
She clutched at her poke'balls defensively, giving him a wary gaze. However, as the man patiently waited, she slowly unclipped her three poke'balls and gave them to the woman at the other desk, looking at her dangerously. Though she attempted to smile, Raven's gaze was quite intimidating. The guard stepped aside as the formally dressed man typed in a complicated code that Raven could not follow, and proceeded to swipe his finger over a fingerprint reader. The door clicked, and the man pushed it open easily. What Raven saw next, she would never forget.
The room was much larger than she had anticipated, and inside were vast numbers of...shiny poke'mon. Each poke'mon was in its own small enclosure, big enough for one poke'mon, and price tags were listed under each poke'mon. Even Raven's eyes oggled at the prices...a shiny Ponyta canted around its enclosure, priced at $75,000. A shiny Charmander watched its own tail curiously, priced at $450,000. A couple of shiny Eevee were priced at $150,000 a piece. A shiny Duskull, priced at $50,000, was floating mysteriously around its enclosure. The price tags were so incredulous, in fact, that Raven noticed the comparatively small price of $17,000 attached to one enclosure before she noticed the poke'mon inside. When she did, however, she found that her ability to breathe normally had been taken away from her.
Curled up inside was...what she could assume to be a shiny Vulpix, but it looked unlike any she had ever seen in pictures. It was curled up into a ball, its little eyes shut tight in slumber. The fur on its body was of the deepest, softest looking ebony shade that Raven could ever imagine, and its little feet, or those that she could see, looked as though they had little white socks upon them, such was the contrast of the pure white fur with the black. The ringlets upon its head were of the same stark white, contrasting elegantly against its little black muzzle, as were all 6 of its tails, which looked so lusciously silky and soft that Raven probably could have held onto it forever.
Raven's hands and nose were pressed up against the glass, not really caring as to how they got there or who had to clean them. The creature in front of her was, undoubtedly, the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. "Surely..." she whispered back to the man, who was smiling at her "...surely, there must be a mistake with a price? This poke'mon is one of a kind...it must be...$170,000...or...$1,700,000?" she asked breathlessly, not taking her eyes away from the sleeping Vulpix in front of her.
"No, ma'am. $17,000 is the price. It would have been the price you mentioned, probably even moreso if the little creature weren't disabled." he said lightly, looking down at his hands. Raven pulled away from the glass for a mere moment to look back at the man, her face still incredulous. "Disabled? How?"
The man neared the glass, and tapped on it lightly. The little Vulpix inside shifted, but with another soft tap, it opened its eyes. Both of its eyes eerily reminded her of Requiem's one eye...and her question was answered in her mind, as well as by the man. "She's blind. Completely and totally. This is a store where trainers buy poke'mon, either for contests or for battle. She would not qualify as a contest poke'mon, because she is not a true shiny. And I have yet to know a trainer that could train a fully blind poke'mon." he murmured matter-of-factly, however, Raven was not really listening. Her eyes and the eyes of the blind Vulpix had met, and Raven's eyes were streaming tears as she whispered a soft: "Hello, sweetheart..." towards the Vulpix. The little creature's sensitive ears' piqued, and it slowly rose to its feet with a stretch, and a curious, "Pix?". Raven's quivering smile grew slightly, and her soft voice whispered "I know, baby. It'll be okay..."
The Vulpix followed the soft voice, and pressed her nose to Raven's through the glass. Raven could feel the fire-poke'mon's warmth. "Can I hold her?" she asked softly, turning to the man, not at all humiliated by the tears streaming down her cheeks. The man nodded, and moving around to the back of the enclosure, unlocked it, and withdrew the little poke'mon, who seemed a bit startled by the large hands grabbing at her. However, once she was in Raven's arms, and she heard Raven's voice once again, she snuggled her little nose inside of Raven's jacket, into the side that was currently occupied by the arm in a sling. Raven was in love.
"Its a good thing you've showed interest. If no one had taken her within the week, she was due to be...relocated." the man said calmly, not looking at Raven at all. Raven's head turned to look at him, and she frowned slightly. "What does that mean...?" she queried, burying her nose into the Vulpix's soft fur. The man shrugged. "She's been here for a while...I don't know where she'd go, but she was taking up space for a poke'mon that would actually sell. She was losing money."
Raven really did not like this guy. "Well, I'm buying her...so I suppose that will be something you no longer have to worry about." she said softly, and the little Vulpix lifted her head to look at Raven, what looked to be a smile on her face. Raven remembered, Vulpix and Ninetales could understand human speech. She could have someone to talk to. "Does that sound good, little one?" Raven asked softly to which the little ball of fluff answered with a soft, "Vul...pix!" Raven turned to the man, and lifted her chin. "I'll take her."
The little Vulpix was packed up inside of a Poke'ball (Raven had been given an option, and she chose the Poke'ball so her other poke'mon wouldn't feel neglected) and finally, it was time to pay. Raven withdrew her checkbook, quill, and bottle of ink, and prepared to write the check. The total was $18, 360 including tax, and as she was writing the check, the man watched curiously, with more interest than he had been while making the sale. "So, you're Raven Amaranth?" he asked softly, and Raven looked up at him, pausing while she wrote. "That's what the name says, doesn't it?" she said lowly, ready to get away from the man. As she completed the check, he took it from her, and inspected it. "For such large checks, we have to do a confirmation. You understand. While you're waiting, you can go pick up your poke'mon. We'll have a receipt for you by the time you get back."
Raven looked at him suspiciously, before nodding and heading over to the other desk, receiving her poke'mon. As she did so, she heard the man saying "Yes, calling to confirm a check for a Raven Amaranth. Yes, that's correct. R-a-v-e-n, A-m-a-r-a-n-t-h." she heard him spell out the name, and after clipping her other three poke'mon to her belt, she went back over to the man, leaning against the desk. He was hanging up the phone as she did so, and he smiled at her. "There you go, Ms. Amaranth. Such a pleasure to serve you, today. Don't forget to come back, now!"
The tone in his voice made her grab her receipt and her new poke'mon, and stride away without even saying thank you. She wondered, while walking by the enclosures, if the other happy poke'mon she saw were also "relocated" if they weren't sold. The whole place was a sham. As Raven neared the front of the store, she noticed a gathering crowd outside, peering in. She wasn't bothered by them looking in...she was bothered by what was in their hands.
Cameras.
As soon as she reached the front desk, the flashing started. She summoned Requiem and Aria to her side, knowing they would look the most intimidating. She winced and blanched with fear as the incessant flashing brought her back to memories she wished she could have forgotten long ago. She now knew why the man was so descriptive about her name. He knew she had the money. He was tipping off someone...and now they knew.
Raven Amaranth, after 9 years, had been found.
As she pushed her way through the cameras, fear consuming her thoughts, Requiem and Aria snapped defensively at the swarming paparazzi, effectively creating a path. Raven attempted to shield her face at all costs, but she only had one arm to do it with. As soon as she saw a path out, she took it, and sprinted. The descent of the sun made every street-lamp look like a camera, and as she ran, she heard the cries of Requiem behind her, Aria could easily match her speed. The horde was slowly disappearing, their damn flashing lights disappearing with them. Raven slowed only to recall Requiem, and kept running.
She didn't know how long she ran, or how far, but she eventually stopped, her ears pounding violently with her own pulse. She gasped to catch her breath; the night was still, now. Her gasps turned into racking sobs, and Aria tried to console her by nuzzling at her face. For 9 years, Raven had tried to avoid them. For 9 years, Raven had tried to be normal. They had found her, and now that she was no longer a child, she knew that they would not pity her. Worse yet, this meant Tag would be brought into it. She would have to tell him...she would tell him everything.
She sat there and cried for hours, finally crying herself until she couldn't cry any more, which was what she had been aiming for. She didn't want Tag to see her cry. As she rose to her feet, she winced at her stiff muscles and the shoulder which had long ago required pain medicine. She was glad she had bought her stick, as she leaned upon it heavily as she made her way to the Poke'mon center. It was a slow trek, especially since she had run towards the edge of town, and had to follow the numerous signs to the Poke'Center.
By the way the moon sat in the sky, she knew it was late. She was sure that Tag would be asleep, but as she neared the Poke'center, a beautiful melody filled her ears. As Kyoko came into view, Raven simply stopped and watched for a moment, listening to the beautiful melody that pierced the cacophony of conflict in her mind. Kyoko noticed her, however, and gave her a Gloom-ish smile. Raven smiled back, and murmured "That was beautiful, Kyoko." to the grass poke'mon, who seemed to shyly spin in place, a happy smile on her face. Raven walked over to Tag, who still seemed hypnotized somewhat, and looked up at him. "We have to talk." she said softly, her eyes full of concern.
Once they had made it back inside, and Raven was sitting across from him, Raven proceeded to explain who she was to Tag, including her last name. She made it quite clear that she had never been attempting to hide her identity, he had just never asked. She told him about the paparazzi, and how they had found her once again. After pausing, and letting him absorb the information, she looked down at her hand in her lap.
"I understand if you would like me to leave. I don't want you being caught up in this. As much as I want to stay with you...all they will do is bring you into this. I don't want to be a big deal, Tag...never have. But some curses are wrought from birth, others from choices. Mine is from birth, and I can't help that." she said softly, trying to keep her eyes diverted from his. He had stayed with her, and the only good thing she could do was offer him the chance of her leave. She knew she might never see him again...but Tag was the only person she could even remotely consider a friend. Maybe, if she left...he would remember her for who she was.
The choice was now up to him.
Raven approached, which somewhat surprised Tag. He thought he'd been out there alone with Kyoko, listening to his pokemon, who in turn thought she'd been alone. However, Raven complimented Kyoko, who after a little appreciative twirl, scooted over to Tag, who picked her up in his arms and gave her a little squeeze.
"We have to talk." He hadn't noticed that he'd been smiling broadly down at his pokemon partner, but even still, the smile faded at the concern in Raven's voice. For whatever reason, thoughts of rejection floated through his mind. She was running off again, back to Petropolis, or wherever it was the girl had decided to run off. Tag quickly began to prepare the least awkward goodbye he could muster, and he could only imagine, unfortunately, that it was because of him. He never should've gone to take that nap.
"Sure." He followed her into the pokemon center, careful to move around his sleeping comrades as the two took seats on the benches. What she told him caused his mind to explode, if only slightly. This was mostly because it wasn't a goodbye, merely an offer for one because of her history.
Tag listened intently without saying a word while absently petting the plant pokemon in his lap. Only the slightest flashes of emotion or recognition would seep through his eyes; other than that he remained incredibly placid, despite the story Raven unfolded before him.
After several moments of careful consideration, and an unchanged expression on his face, he responded with delicately picked words.
"Um." It was a good start. "You don't need to leave."
He paused for a moment, looking pensive as he drummed around for a more thorough explanation.
"I'd heard of Amaranth. I'm from Johto too. Blackthorn." As if the explanation was necessary. "So, whoever these people are, if we run into them while we're traveling together, so be it. We'll just deal with them. If we don't come across them? That's better." He paused again, wondering whether or not it was his turn to reveal his own somewhat traumatic back-story. With just a moment's consideration, he opted not to. He felt that it might somehow cheapen or dampen Raven's sorrowful story. He left it simply at: "We're both exiles. At least while our paths are crossed, we should stick together."
A warm smile crossed Raven's face, and out of either relief, or joy, she leaned across the table and gave Tag a one-armed hug. "Thank you..." she whispered. Kyoko crooned softly, not from being squashed, but instead because she wanted a little attention too. Raven pulled away from Tag, and gently ruffled the Gloom's leaves atop her head. "And thank you, for your beautiful song, pretty girl."
Raven moved back to her chair, and plucked the 4th poke'ball from her clip. "There's...something else I want to show you." she said quietly. The poke'mon needed no introduction, but as Raven summoned the Vulpix forth, her heart melted once again with the sheer beauty of the poke'mon. Raven leaned down and picked up the Vulpix, placing it in her lap. "'Pix?" the timid creature queried shyly, before it heard Raven's voice once again, and seemed to smile. It sniffed around on Raven's lap for a while, before placing both of it's paws on Raven's chest, lapping at her chin with a soft tongue. Raven looked down at those eerie white eyes, which still maintained a bit of emotion despite their lack of color. "I've decided to call her A Capella, or Ella, for short." Raven murmured quietly, and the little Vulpix, so odd in shade, determined that there was another person in the room. Lowering itself from her breast, the little creature sniffed the air, catching the noticeable scent of a Gloom, as well as another human.
The little vulpix pawed at Raven's lap, an anxiety filled look on her face. "What is it, girl? You want to go say hi?" Raven asked curiously, looking down at the little creature's white tipped paws as they pawed lightly at Raven's knees. "Pix! Pix!" she cried agitatedly, backing up against Raven and hiding her face inside her jacket shyly. "Oh, she's shy..." Raven murmured, a muffled "Vul..." being heard in response. However, the cries of the similar specie woke Tobi, who lifted his head mildly. "Vulpix?" he seemed to ask groggily, a wide yawn splitting his jaws.
Raven looked at Tag sheepishly, uttering a soft "Sorry", but Capella didn't seem sorry at all. She removed her head from Raven's jacket, and began purring softly. Tobi, after stretching, meandered over to Raven's side, sniffing curiously. "You want to say hi, Tobi?" Raven asked quietly, but Capella beat him to the punch. The tip of her black furred nose slowly crept over the side of Raven's leg, sniffing towards the other Vulpix. However, as Tobi's nose got too close, the pretty girl shied away, purring softly. "Pix...Vul?" she seemed to ask, and Tobi fluffed his tails out proudly, puffing out his chest. "Vulpix." he uttered. Raven could have sworn that he had a braggadocious tone to his little voice.
Stifling her laughter, Raven smiled over to Tag, shaking her head. "This could be a problem." she murmured quietly, watching as Capella was now dangling a paw over and batting at Tobi's regal ringlets on his head, missing horribly. Turning back to Tag, Raven continued stroking Capella, noticing that Aria had fallen asleep next to Bachi and Suzu. "So...we're both exiles on the run...bound by one simple thing: a desire for like company. I'd say it was romantic, but..." Raven cleared her throat awkwardly, reminding herself to replace her word-to-mouth filter next time she had the chance. She instead changed the subject by saying: "Maybe someday you could tell me what happened?"
Looking down at Capella, she noticed, paw still dangling from her lap, that both she and Tobi had fallen asleep. She felt increasingly drowsy herself, and as her green eyes squinted and she yawned, emitting a soft squeak as she did so, she blinked sleepily over to Tag. "Maybe in the morning? You've got a big day tomorrow, big guy." she said in an almost motherly tone, but still cheeky, all the same.
Little did she know, morning was already creeping over the horizon. Her time to sleep would be short.
The hug was accepted with the usual awkwardness Tag employed to contact with other human beings. He really wasn't good at anything but handshakes. Hugs for other people were almost entirely out of question. However, Kyoko's gentle insistence was a welcome distraction from the awkward moment, and Tag's uncomfortable expression faded swiftly.
Raven then proceeded to procure a pokeball from her belt, revealing a black Vulpix. The sheer beauty of the little fox pokemon stunned the seasoned Trainer for a moment, his jaw literally dropping at the sight of her. Then he notced the lack of focus on the eyes, as the Vulpix turned her ears towards sound, rather than using her eyes to locate the sources, and used her nose to smell about her surroundings. The Vulpix was blind. Raven had chosen a fitting name for this one too, keeping with her musical theme. There was a sort of humour in the choice as well. No sight and No accompaniment. Well...at least there was that dark humour in Tag's mind.
Tobi took an interest, introducing himself with his usual proud and lofty overtones. Since he'd rescued the Vulpix, Tobi had seemed to grow into a haughty little thing, who obviously thought very highly of himself. Tag didn't mind. As he knew their battle styles and their abilities quite well, he had only recently began to focus on their personalities and quirks. Suzu was gentle and motherly, Bachi a bit naive and clueless, Kyoko shy and sensitive, Tobi proud and almost a little vain. He would pay attention to the more aloof Orin, but had only noticed that she was a fairly timid Snow creature.
Tag essentially tuned Raven out for the next part; he seemed far too occupied with watching Capella and Tobi interact. But something caught his attention:
"Maybe someday you could tell me what happened?"
That caught him a bit off guard.
"Maybe." He responded with a curt nod. That was about as close to a 'yes' as he would probably reach for that part.
He immediately began to wonder how Raven would train the two new pokemon. Forte was deaf, and Capella blind.
"Speaking of the big day...how about I warm up by working with you on commands for Forte and Capella? We could make it a training session for everyone that way. Seems it would be beneficial to us both."
Tag's words fell on deaf, sleeping ears. The exhausted girl had already dozed past the point of hearing conversation, her head lolling gently on her shoulder, a cascade of brunette hair shielding her peaceful countenance. Capella had shifted slightly, curling up into a little ball upon her owner's lap, her delicate white ringlets falling between her closed, sightless eyes. However, as first light crept over the horizon, and the lights from the poke'center brightened with the new day, Raven woke with a start.
Attempting to move from the position she had fallen asleep in was a task. She now had a crick in her neck, as well as an uncomfortable pain in her lower back. As she attempted to move, she creaked and popped like an old house, appropriate groans and mumbles following each sound. As she straightened her back, it made an odd sound, much like a zipper being pulled up or down, which caused her to sigh with relief. Running her good hand through her tousled hair, she looked outside, at the orange sky, and then back to Tag. "Didifallazleep?" she asked groggily, stretching her good arm up as though she were making a half V, her tiny hand curled up into a ball. As she lowered her arm, sighing, she looked at the Vulpix in her lap, who was looking up at her with blinking, questioning eyes. "Good morning, sunshine." Raven crooned softly, leaning down to touch noses with the little fox.
"Pi-...Piiiiiiiiix!" the Vulpix responded, the last 'pix' actually being a quite squeaky, adorable yawn, closing with a gentle nip and lick at Raven's nose. Raven smiled at the unique smell of the creature's breath; which was a mixture of puppy breath and ashes. It was actually a pleasant smell. Looking up at Tag, Raven nodded. "I guess it's time to get the crew out, eh? Let them meet the newest member of our...my motley crew." Raven said quietly, pulling Requiem's and Forte's poke'balls off of her hip. Aria was still sleeping quietly at Bachi's side, nestled precariously underneath a poisonous spine.
As she called Requiem out of his ball, he announced himself with a loud 'NAW!', which effectively woke everyone up in the room with a start, including a passing Chansey who was carrying some reports. The reports stayed in hand, however, it was odd indeed to see a look of mild agitation blended into a forever-happy face. Kind of creepy, actually. "Sorry." Raven whispered, though it didn't matter much, since Aria was making her way over to the little Vulpix, sniffing at her fur curiously. Requiem, however, was much more interested in Tag. A Requiem-esque scowl crossed his features, and the Croconaw snarled menacingly at the man, his back spines bristling.
"Requiem, cut that out. You've met him already. Come see your new sister." Raven reprimanded, and while Requiem seemed to soothe, he still glared and growled at Tag the entire way over to Raven's lap. Tobi moved out of the way just in time before Requiem's big foot trod on him, and the little male Vulpix didn't look too happy about nearly being roadkill, showing his displeasure by hopping into Tag's lap and turning his face away from the Croconaw.
Raven called out Forte, who skittered over happily, nuzzling Raven's leg, before sniffing up into Raven's lap, trying to figure out what new creature was in her lap. Raven couldn't help but being guilty about adopting Capella so readily; she had nearly talked herself out of adopting Forte. She hadn't, however, and now she had a good little family. The little Vulpix in Raven's lap heard all of the new sounds and smelled the new smells, and curled up against Raven meekly, hiding her face. "Capella...it's alright, love. These are your new brothers and sisters. They won't hurt you, I promise." Raven murmured, stroking Capella's rabbit-soft fur gently. Aria seemed to notice the little creature's fear, and began licking maternally at Capella's back, purring and nosing at her gently. Slowly but surely, Capella withdrew her head, and the Croconaw in front of her touched her nose to his gently, sniffing and nosing curiously at her. Forte was merely trying to get a peek at this new wonder, but Raven had but one working arm, and a Vulpix in her lap. Since the bonding process seemed to be going well enough, as each of her poke'mon were murmuring placidly to each other in their own language, Raven set the Vulpix down on the ground, where she was immediately greeted by a sniffing Forte.
Capella bristled slightly at the new creature, but soothed when Aria made her way over to the side that she was on, and began licking the top of her head with her sandpapery tongue. Croconaw seemed to move closer to Forte, as though all of this love was against his manliness. Forte didn't really care: he had seen what he had needed to see, and now it was time to focus on something more interesting. Like dirt, or something. Yummy, crunchy dirt.
Raven observed as Requiem and Forte cautiously made their way over and began "talking" to the Vulpix, and watched as Capella even play-bowed a couple of times toward Requiem and Forte, to which they seemed to get excited and laugh. Raven could only wonder what was going on inside of poke'mon's heads, but for creatures who only understood each other, they were surprisingly human.
This would be a good time to test out her stick theory with Forte, to see if he even responded to the sound. She pulled forth the walking stick from it's leaning position against the chair next to her, and looked over to Tag. "I think I have an idea on how to train Forte. He's a ground type, which means he's sensitive to vibrations, right? Let's see if this works."
Raven tapped the stick against the tile, just once, and Forte and Capella both turned towards Raven, canting their heads at the sound. Capella had a heightened sense of hearing, no doubt, due to her blindness, but as Forte couldn't hear, she knew that it was a good start. Raven waited until they became occupied with each other once again. Raven dragged the stick lightly against the ground, and this time, only Forte turned. Raven's eyes widened. Incredible. She knew that by dragging a stick at an angle across the ground, it seemed to jump and make an almost wooden purring noise, and she could assume that by dragging it lightly, it did the same thing, only at a much quieter level. Waiting once again until he had turned, Raven dragged the stick across the ground, and this time, as soon as he turned, she motioned for him to come over, to which he did, while the others remained with each other, getting acquainted. Raven turned to look at Tag excitedly. It was a start. A slow start, but a start.
Raven scratched the Larvitar on the head lightly, and motioned that he could go back to play, which he did. Raven waited a while, before dragging the stick across the ground again. This time, Forte turned and took a few steps towards Raven, looking at her curiously. As soon as he stopped moving, Raven beckoned for him to come over once again, which he did happily. A few more repeats of this exercise had the Larvitar trotting over to her merrily every single time. Raven's grin grew wide. He might have been deaf, but he caught on quickly.
About an hour and a half later, and with Requiem's wonderful modelling, Raven effectively taught Forte how to come to attention, turn his head left, right, and center, and use Bite, which, in the process of teaching, he seemed to get confused and attempt to use Rock Slide (Raven found this out by Tag pulling out his Poke'Dex once the Poke'center began to tremble) and prompted them to move the session outside after Nurse Joy came out, looking more frazzled than usual. She had directed them to the fenced in backyard of the Center, which was out of sight, and larger than the courtyard in the front.
Raven was scratching down the commands in her notebook, so she wouldn't switch them up accidentally and use the wrong move. And an hour later, with Forte happily munching on a pile of rubble he had created during one of his Rock Slide attacks, she looked up at Tag, looking tired and sweaty, but very fulfilled. "Let's see...that's Bite, Sandstorm, Screech, Little By Little and Rock Slide, yes? I think that's all he knows right now. I didn't even know about the move Little by Little...but it's very cool." Raven murmured to herself, looking over the notes in her notebook. She had decided to leave out the move Leer from his training, since Screech was far more effective, and she didn't want to overload him in one day. As she looked back over to Forte, whose little cheeks were stuffed with rock and dirt happily, she smiled. "He's really powerful." she said lightly, looking over at Aria, Requiem and Capella meander over to Forte, nosing and shoving at him playfully.
"...I don't want to battle with Capella yet." Raven said, noticing that she and Aria seemed to have developed a bond. "She's been through too much. I suppose I could try to teach her...see what she knows as well, eh?"
Raven called Capella over, and the little Vulpix came trotting towards her voice. Raven shifted lightly, and as Capella heard a stick break underneath her feet, she knew exactly where to go. Capella would be easier to train; the true problem with her would be to guide her to where to go. However, Raven first needed to know what exactly the little Vulpix knew. So, she asked.
"Capella, would you mind showing me what you can do?" Raven asked softly, and the Vulpix wiggled it's six tails excitedly. "Pix!"
Capella began her routine by shooting balls of flame directly at Raven, to which Raven yelped and escaped, dodging out of the way. The fireballs landed harmlessly in a pile of dirt, but Raven realized, she didn't tell the little creature where exactly to direct the basic Ember attack. "Would it be possible for you to...you know, turn a bit to the left and do that?" Raven panted, pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. The Vulpix complied, and fired off another Ember attack. Raven quickly withdrew her quill, turning to a blank page as Capella began wiggling her silky white tails cutely. "Tail Whip..." Raven whispered, writing it down as neatly as she could with no arm to hold the notebook still as it lay on the ground. Looking up, Raven saw that Capella was taking a deep breath. As she exhaled the breath, a loud, terrifying and earsplitting Roar caused every poke'mon around to jump, including the intimidating Bachi.
Raven blinked, before beginning to scribble Roar down, but a blur caught her eye. "Quick Attack..." Raven wrote as she watched the little Vulpix return to her place. After that, the little Vulpix began to run in circles. Raven tilted her head curiously, but soon realized what she was doing as a thread of flame leaked from the Vulpix's mouth, and soon, the spiraling vortex of Fire Spin enveloped a small area, charring the ground as it's flames went out.
Very pleased, and about to dismiss the poke'mon as she attempted to come up with a training method, she noticed that the little Vulpix was concentrating very hard on something. Raven looked towards what the Vulpix was looking at, which was...a decorative plant placed by the door. Raven was confused. This was a blind Vulpix, looking very hard at a pot. However, before Raven's confusion could grow anymore, the pot exploded violently, causing Raven to shield her face. As she looked to Tag incredulously, he pulled out his Poke'dex, and the little mechanical voice announced "Extrasensory". Raven's mouth fell agape. That was a really strong move for such a young poke'mon, she could only assume it was an egg-move.
Raven waited a moment, but when Capella didn't make anything else explode or burn to ashes, Raven called "Capella?" to which the Vulpix came trotting over happily.
Raven spent the next hour and a half using the speedy Aria as a model, talking to the Vulpix as she would a child who was learning to read, telling her to smell out the foe, and listen for her footsteps. In no time, the little Vulpix was landing almost every Quick Attack with aplomb, and Aria was getting tuckered out.
Excited, Raven turned to Tag. "Let's battle. I want to see if they can handle the pressure...and to see if I've done a good job. Be easy on me, though...I'm learning as much as they are."
"NAW!"
That was probably the last thing Tag had wanted to hear in waking. He'd been having a surprisingly pleasant dream, wherein he'd been floating gently in the sky with a swarm of Hoppip, who'd chanted and floated about him happily. With the dream nothing but a distant memory, he quickly rose from his bench and hushed Kyoko, who started in fear. This was mostly to calm her stench defense, and it seemed to work.
Suzu, Bachi, Tobi and Orin all woke with similar starts. Suzu and Bachi immediately moved to battle positions, but relaxed as they noticed it was just a Croconaw...a terrifyingly scarred and angry looking Croconaw. Bachi bristled as the Crocodile pokemon growled at his trainer, but as for Suzu, something of a maternal smile appeared on her face as she crossed both sets of her arms in front of her, tilting her head to the side.
Tobi had hopped up less than gracefully next to Tag as Requiem stomped by, burying his face into the trainer's side, whilst Orin simply retreated behind the couch, quivering in terror at the sound.
"Congratulations on your evolution." Tag grumbled, still wiping sleep from his eyes. He'd been a little cold, since he'd had to discard his leather jacket in the previous adventure. He had been reduced to wearing tank tops, that showed off his manly arms. This did not afford him any protection from temperature, however.
Slowly, Orin moved from behind the bench to under it, then waddled forward, peeking out from between her trainer's legs, eying Raven's pokemon suspiciously. She knew she'd fought alongside them before, but this scary lizard she did not recall amongst their ranks. Tag reached down with one arm and scooped her up quickly, despite her verbal protests, and neatly deposited her on the bench next to him. She looked grudgingly up at him, but before she could jump off, he very carefully wrapped an arm around her, holding her close. She wiggled in protest briefly, but ultimately decided she liked the contact. She announced it with a fairly stubborn: "Runt." It sounded fairly definitive, but Tag saw that her normally concerned face had something of a smile there now. That was all he needed for the time being.
Several times in the next few minutes, Tag whipped out his pokedex to help Raven in figuring out the moves of her new pokemon. Even though she hadn't heard him mention training the night before, evidently they were on the same wavelength of thought. He muttered quietly that Larvitar was actually a Rock Type, but he wasn't sure if Raven heard it properly. The difference between a Rock and a ground type was minuscule, but incredibly important in terms of typing. For instance, a Rock Pokemon could resist normal attacks, but was weak to fighting ones; case and point, Bachi's Horn attack versus his Double Kick.
"Let's battle. I want to see if they can handle the pressure...and to see if I've done a good job. Be easy on me, though...I'm learning as much as they are."
Tag consented with a nod, and moved to the other end of the training field. He didn't want to announce that he'd have a little bit of an advantage, seeing as he had a good grasp on Forte and Capella's abilities. His discerning eye immediately began to think of ways to exploit their disabilities, the thought of which made him feel slightly guilty. However, no other trainers would afford Raven or her pokemon those luxuries, so Tag would be rough (at least in that aspect). He huddled down with his pokemon, explaining them to hold back their full power on this one. This would serve to help Raven's pokemon learn, as well as conserve their full energy for the gym match later.
"Alright, did you want to do a Two on Two Battle, or you would rather go Four on Four?" He looked down at his five pokemon, wondering which one would sit out. "Either way, it might be a bit much for a double battle at this point. You'd be handling two different types of commands."
Shooting a quick glance over his pokemon, quickly analyzing the type match-ups that were about to follow. He wasn't exactly sure as to how to 'take it easy' in this case, since he was all about applying pressure through status attacks, and controlling the field in that way. Perhaps he'd start with a more basic approach.
"Bachi, you're up first." He slipped his hands into his pockets as the Poison Pin Pokemon trundled forward, scratching his foot at the ground in anticipation of the battle.
"The honour of the first move is yours, Raven." Tag gave something of a respectful nod, in the way that he was accustomed. This was, in his mind, an official battle (holding back!), so at least proper protocol would be followed on his end this time.
Raven made the fantastic assertion that they were in the backyard of a Pokemon Center. Thus, it made it easy to heal up Bachi, Tobi and Kyoko. They hadn't sustained that much damage, in the grand scale of things, but Tag wanted to make sure they were fully rested and ready to go.
As he recalled Kyoko to her pokeball to rest, Raven moved across the field to shake his hand. Reaching over, he scooped the reticent Orin up into his arms, as Suzu moved to perch on his back in her favourite spot. She once again assumed the position of 'backpack' on Tag, peering out curiously over his shoulder, and occasionally down at her new sisiter, Orin. The Ice Cone pokemon seemed to huddle into Tag's arms; at the very most, she seemed to reluctantly enjoy being carried around by Tag. Tag hadn't yet had a chance to test her battle capabilities to full, seeing as she'd almost immediately been knocked out in her first fight (and that was after taking a direct hit from Tobi's Bursting Flame attack.) Tag wasn't sure he was ready to send her up against a Fire Pokemon Master anyways; he needed to compose a team that would minimize his weaknesses, giving the enemy gym leader less upon which to maximize.
Tag handed over the three pokeballs to the attending Chansey, who promptly disappeared into the back. Remembering something, he reached into his backpack, that had been strewn onthe bench. After a few moments of shuffling through the various items in there, he came across what would've looked like an ordinary CD case. However, upon opening it, it contained a few TMs. Reaching in, he drew out "Double Team". After a moment's consideration, he handed it to Suzu, who would potentially be hoping not to be hit.
The TM performed its little trick and shattered over Suzu's head. She nodded, as if in agreement with some unheard voice, then proceeded to perform her new move. Suzu's speed was dazzling; she flitted about so quickly, that it seemed that there were several solid afterimages, effectively creating the "Double Team" Attack, which would make things much more difficult for his opponent. Tag allowed himself a smile, holding out his arm for Suzu to alight upon. She landed their and hung from his arm with her upper to hands, much like a little monkey.
Before long, the Nurse Chansey returned, handed Tag's pokeballs to him. With that as his cue, he reclipped the pokeballs to his belt, and recalled Orin and Suzu. It was time to du-du-duel.
"Let's go to the Arasam gym."
(*Cue Stalking Bogart*)
Raven meandered back inside with Tag, placing the Poke'balls that contained Requiem, Capella, and Forte next to Tag's. Another Chansey, after taking Tag's poke'mon, took hers as well, and Raven wandered away from Tag, Aria at her side. She took a peek outside, and it seemed to be the normal, bustling crowd; no sign of any cameras. However, Raven's heart sank as she looked towards the newspaper stand that was by the door, and could vaguely see the name 'AMARANTH' plastered upon it's front with big, bold, black lettering.
She looked over to Tag, who was seemingly occupied with Suzu, and wandered over to the rack. The picture on the cover, she was proud to note, was one of her holding her arm over her face, and a very agitated Croconaw attempting to bite the camera lens. Picking up the paper, she began to read the article:
Suzu, still hanging from Tag's arm, looked over to Raven. Floating up, she hovered just in front of Raven's face as they turned to leave the pokemon center. The Ledian was making an attempt to be something of a pokemon shield from prying eyes, though in all honesty, it was probably drawing more attention. Tag reached out and pulled Ledian back to him, shaking his head slowly, to which she earnestly nodded.
"Maybe a haircut?" He offered somewhat uselessly as they walked past the crouds. He proceeded to point at his face, offering his usual stoic expression: "Face tattoos are pretty useful."
As they made their way towards the gym, Tag noted the odd gaggle of people who would dial phone numbers or gawk awkwardly at them. Suzu would occasionally snap her head over in a particular direction as she hovered next to Tag, essentially unwittingly signaling to Tag that someone's phone had snapped a picture.
"You know, you could revel in the celebrity. Flick them off and go on your merry way." He turned and gave the darkest glare he could muster at a pimply teenager with a newspaper. He didn't know if the kid was watching them because Raven was Raven, or because there were two very bad-ass looking people walking along the sidewalk. The kid, however, very quickly found something interesting to look at on the floor.
"I could have Tobi light them all on fire." He suggested, the timbre of dark humour dancing in his baritone. "We could light them all on fire." Part of his mind was relishing in the thought of setting people on fire. While the more sane part of his mind ultimately pushed the sociopath urges back into their corner, he had already entertained the thought and grown bored with it. Stupid people were like a hydra. Cut off one head, and a dozen more gibbering idiot heads would spring up in its place.
"Ah, here we are. Arasam's gym." He looked up at the entryway. His nerves welled up inside him, where they would remain bubbling until the battle was announced. Then, as usual, the nervousness would flow through his body in a quick tingle before subsiding, and Tag stood within the eye of his own inner emotional storm. "See you after the match." He turned to Raven, nodding, once, confidently.
Raven's dark scowl turned into a gentle, chuckling smirk as they walked to the center, keeping her eyes down on the road in front of her. At the mention of lighting people on fire, however, she scoffed to herself, a hand rising to her temple. His attempt to make her feel better was working, mainly because she knew that he was partially envisioning it. As she lifted her gaze for a moment to witness a group of fashionably styled girls looking at her rugged outfit and snickering to themselves, she almost wished that she could. A flutter of her rebellious anger touched her heart...and at the same time, a very girlish shame caused her head to sink. Part of her wondered what she would look like if she...well, actually tried. She looked up at Tag out of the corner of her eye, and then back at the moving ground beneath her feet. He seemed to like her okay...which was enough for the moment.
This whole train of thought led them directly to Arasam's Gym, horde of stalkers and all. As he turned around to her, saying that he would see her after the battle, Raven's brow furrowed. "Oh...I thought gyms allowed spectators..." she said aloud, turning to look at the very unsubtle crowd at her back. As she looked up at him, she could see that despite his stoic countenance, he was excited...possibly even nervous. Raven smiled up at him, stood up on her tip-toes, and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, which so happened to be on top of one of his numerous scars. It would have been a really touching moment if the cameras behind her, disposable and professional alike, began a'clicking. Requiem growled at her feet; Raven didn't think it was because of the cameras, this time. As Raven lowered to her heels, she simply looked up at him for a minute, her cheeks flushing crimson. "You'll do great." she added quietly, turning on her heels, realizing that she'd have to face the horde alone on the way back. "I'll be at the...the...um...the place we were this morning. Look for me behind the counter; just ask for me, okay?" she called back to him, adding a fanciful wink and a gentle sashay of her hips for good measure.
She would explain it to him later. The peck on his cheek had been genuine, but the added gesture had been to see if the murmuring crowd were as prone to assumption as she believed. By the sound of the raised voices, Raven assumed they had taken the bait. Recalling Requiem back into his poke'ball, she got into an offensive position, a scowl on her face. "Alright. A no-holds-barred interview for the first person who can catch me." she called out, reaching over to adjust the limply hanging sleeve on her injured arm. "...God, if you're up there, let this work." she murmured to herself, and she bolted.
The crowd was so surprised that they parted as she ran through, standing there dumbly as she continued running down the street. Then, risen from their stupor, they took chase, cameras, newspapers and everything else in hand, leaving a crowd of dust in their wake.
Raven kept running, turning towards the Arasam Grande Suite and Hotel, dodging down a dark alleyway. Crouching behind a trash can, she pulled Aria behind it with her, barely daring to breathe hard. As she heard the thundering herd approaching, she placed her good hand over her mouth, staying completely still. Her heart froze as she heard them stall, murmuring curiously amongst themselves. A loud voice called: "The Hotel! Just like we thought! Come on, let's go see if we can get that guy's name!" The crowd cheered, and as she heard them running towards the hotel, she smiled to herself. She waited until the footsteps subsided, and as she peeked her head out of the alleyway, she saw the last of the herd attempting to get through the rotating doors of the hotel.
As she sprinted towards the poke'center, her shoulder was throbbing. The electronic doors of the Poke'center couldn't open fast enough, and it seemed to take forever for them to open. As her loud, trotting footsteps made it over to the desk, Nurse Joy looked up at her curiously. Then, suddenly, her eyes widened. "Hey...you're..."
"Nevermind who I am, Nurse...can I please, please stay in the back room with the poke'mon. I'll be good, I promise. I'll even do my business on the newspapers. Just, please. You can't imagine the day I've had." Raven rasped, huffing and puffing, her sweat dripping on the counter. Nurse Joy looked at her with a concerned gaze, her look changed from one of gawking curiosity to one of genuine concern. "Sure, sure...come on..."
Nurse Joy exit through the small door that blocked off the public from the area behind the counter and the back room, and gripped the sweating Raven by the arm, pulling her into the back room. As Raven entered the stark-white back room, she wasn't sure if her vision was blurring or if the Chansey were asexually reproducing. The Chansey swarmed around the girl, placing a pillow in a corner for her to sit on. Raven fell on it gratefully, tilting her head back, sweat beaded on her brow. She knew she was out of shape, but wow. Must have been the mountain air.
As one of the Chansey removed her jacket, Nurse Joy placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh, my..." she murmured, and then proceeded to give Raven a stern, but concerned gaze. "You haven't changed those dressings, have you." she asked, and Raven looked down at her wrapped shoulder. She immediately wished she hadn't. The dressings that had been clean yesterday evening, were now stained and yellow with blood, plasma, and other leakage that the girl didn't want to think about right now. "Sorry, Nurse..." she said tiredly, offering up a weak smile. "I had other things on my mind."
Nurse Joy 'tsk'ed under her breath, and sent one of the Chansey to go get some gauze and a trash can. Kneeling down beside the tired girl, she immediately began unwrapping the gauze. Roughly, Raven might add. Raven winced as the thick gauze peeled away, and the closer to the skin it got, the more she gritted her teeth. The girl was intelligent, but she didn't know that healing skin exposed to porous cloth would actually get said cloth confused with skin, therefore, trying to heal around it. As the last strip was pulled away, Raven grunted. Nurse Joy held her hand over the wound, and 'tsk'ed again. "I can tell you've been taking antibiotics as well? You've practically got heat waves over this thing." she added sarcastically, jotting something down onto a tablet. Tearing off the paper, and handing it to a Chansey, the pink smiley creature waddled off as Nurse Joy began unrolling the new gauze.
Lifting her arm as best she could, Raven allowed the Nurse to begin rewrapping the wound. The Nurse wrapped in silence for a while, before looking up to the green-eyed girl in front of her, who looked completely content to fall asleep in her slouched position. "So...you're really Raven Amaranth?" the Nurse asked, diverting her gaze as Raven opened one eye lazily to gaze at her. "Yeah...yeah, I guess I am. The Amaranth that got away...at least temporarily." Raven murmured, sighing softly.
The wrapping continued in more silence, before the Nurse asked in a voice that sounded more childish than prying. "So...you really didn't want to be found?"
Raven inhaled deeply, before turning to Nurse Joy, her eyes half-lidded and her face looking far older than her years typically portrayed. "I just want to be normal."
The awkward silence was halted as the Chansey came back with a tray laden down with what Raven could only pray were goodies. Next thing she knew, she was spluttering on two antibiotic pills roughly the size of her pinky finger and orange juice, managing to get most of both down. Another Chansey was following behind with an IV tree and another tray, which was lowered to the Nurse. Raven looked at the sterile needle on the tray, and grabbed her jacket with her free arm, draping it over said arm. "No, ma'am. I don't do needles." she said warily, giving the Nurse a dangerous look. The Nurse proceeded to give Raven a look that was more dangerous, and Raven slowly lowered the jacket to the ground, nibbling on her lip and squinting her eyes shut, turning her head as far away as her bandages and broken clavicle would allow.
"A little pinch..." the Nurse murmured, but the big, brave Raven squealed like a stuck pig before the needle even went in, so much so that she didn't even feel the "pinch". Her eyes were still squinted shut as Nurse Joy attached her to the IV drip. "This will help you sleep, as well as rehydrate you a little." the Nurse said calmly, scribbling something down. As Raven opened one eye cautiously, she whimpered as she saw the needle in her arm. She hated needles. However, the effects of the sedative were quick, and as Raven's muscles began to ease, and more pillows were placed gently underneath her, and a blanket laid over her, she was asleep as she was gently eased into a resting position in the corner of the room, Aria curled up at her stomach.
For a while at least, Raven would rest easy.
Tag was caught completely off guard. He'd hoped that Raven would, in fact, spectate his match. However, she seemed to take it as he wanted to go in there alone. Hell, Justin and some random girl had watched his last gym match.
Tag silently cursed his non-commital word choice, but a small kiss on the cheek threw him completely for a loop. The expression on his face didn't change, but he felt a warm wave wash through his face. Despite his usual expression, his cheeks were flushed bright red.
Tag watched as Raven suddenly dashed off, leading several of the crowd off with her. Muttering darkly under his breath, he scanned the remaining people. The few that remained turned to him, flashing notepads, taking pictures and yelling inane things at him. He didn't hear a single word, but he'd seen tabloids and magazines before. He figured they'd twist his words beyond repair. So, he stood there for a moment, just blinking in the flash of cameras. Tag really didn't like the attention in this way. People were just that much more stupid to want to talk to him just because he was loosely affiliated with Raven.
After a moment, he grew bored of their chatter and turned to walk into the gym. He slammed the door behind him, leaving the gaggle of wannabe press with a facefull of door.
He moved calmly towards the battle area, standing at the edge of the arena, waiting to be acknowledged.
"No, Troy, I haven't seen Mawwie."
"Why would I hide it? Not like I like the little dastard. It tried to bite me the other day, you know."
"Well, have you asked the Council? Maybe one of them have seen it."
"Yes, I did call your Mawile an -it-. It's a soulless abomination."
"Good day, Troy. I have a challenger. We can't all have fireworks and work one day a week. Yeah, I did, as you say, just go there."
He hung up the phone. Otis still used a cord-bound, wall telephone. While Troy had bought him a Pokégear for Christmas, it was pink and had an unmentionable background that the gym leader didn't know how to change, and was thus balled up in his sock drawer, hidden in a pair of socks festooned with Stars-of-David. All was fair, though - Otis' own present that year was a lifelong subscription to Christian Science Monthly.
Moving from his office, Otis strolled through the short hallway that attached it to the main gym floor. As he arrived, he ignored the trainer, instead heading to the teleportation system that held his Pokéballs. He pushed a book from the PC area - idly drawing a Pokéball, summoning the Washibon within, and commanding it to put it in the study with the other ones in the series. Recently, the gym leader had splurged and purchased a set of detective novels based in Chicago. Vega had called the series' writer a hack, but Otis never really respected the nerd (and he was a nerd. There was no getting around it) or his opinions of books. Sorry, Vega, but the prequels to Dune were lousy.
He tapped lightly at the teleportation machine, thinking carefully about his choices. Sparing a glance, the older man's eyes swept over the challenger. He certainly looked tough, which was a nice change from the twelve-year olds that usually bothered him. The machine gave a pleasant beep, sliding out a tablet-like device, which Otis took as he stood up, striding to the other end of the battlefield.
"Challenger, welcome to Arasam Gym. You have the look of an experienced battler, so I'll spare the details. The rules are simple," said the older man, his firm words carrying easily over the gym floor. "The battle will consist of two Pokémon per side, with one substitute in reserve. You may replace one fainted Pokémon with the reserve, but cannot hold your reserve back should one of the lead-off Pokémon faint."
"The first combatant for whom all their battling Pokémon faint loses the match. Is that understood?" He paused for a fraction of a moment, seemingly attempting to be polite. "Good," nodded Otis, continuing, "then choose and present your team. You will find a device like mine over there - register your Pokémon." When Tag had, the Arasam leader began his speech. A new one, this time.
"When my grandfather's grandfather was just a child, lava from the heart of Carello lashed at the very sky in vain. Though the lava has since retreated into the depths, that yearning to tame the sky under flame still burns in the hearts of every man in Arasam. Every member of the family Astoran has been in the air since birth, and I have conditioned myself in Carello's molten heart. Fire and Flight -I have married the two better than anyone else in Furoh. That is not bluster or showboating; I am simply the best." He spoke without rush or abash. Though the speech was new, the dramatics that were inherent to a gym leader was not.
Silently, Otis tapped the tablet device, and a Pokéball materialized. He dropped it, and a Charizard appeared. Though he was in a casual stance, the sense of a wound-up spring was evident - the lizard was ready to fight in an instant. "What do you think, friend?" Otis stared the Flame Pokémon straight in the eye. "Yes? No?" Charizard gazed across the field at the heavily tattooed man. Gravely, it nodded,
"My friend deems you worthy. I won't go easy on you, challenger of..." He gazed at the projection screen. "Blackthorn. You're far from dragons and ice, challenger. Better look alive. I call upon Darmanitan, Dodrio, and Charizard." Two more Pokéballs materialized, and he dropped them lightly on the ground. The Blazing and Triple Bird Pokémon appeared in bursts of blue-and-gold light, the simian grinning madly and the bird clawing at the ground, like a roadrunner.
"Only a poor host would not allow a guest to introduce himself. Present your Pokémon, and you shall have the first move."
The gym leader walked right past him, essentially ignoring him. He was quite fine with this. After all, it was just the way gym leaders liked to psych people out. Earlier, Vega had drummed up his name from the ethos and attempted to psych him out that by knowing in advance.
Tag was no stranger to the intimidation tactics employed in these battles, and so he retained his poker face during Otis' speech. There was a brief moment wherein he was given a pause to either agree or disagree, and he opted to deliver a nod of understanding.
As he was commanded to register his pokemon he did so. He listened intently to the second speech; he had heard out in the streets that the gym leader was a master of Fire and Flying pokemon, and he was almost boastful in his announcement of such. Tag didn't mind though. He could tell that this man, whose name he didn't know yet, had the walk to support his talk.
Then the Charizard appeared. Tag raised an eyebrow at its appearance. Naturally, it was the pokemon to embody Flight and Flame (Short of pokemon like Moltres), so he really shouldn't have been surprised. As the Charizard's appraising gaze fell over him, he glared right back at it, hardening his stare to meet the flame pokemon's eyes head on.
"My friend deems you worthy. I won't go easy on you, challenger of...Blackthorn. Yuo're far from Dragon's and ice, challenger. Better look alive. I call upon Darmanitan, Dodrio and Charizard!"
Two more pokemon appeared. Charizard and Dodrio he had dealt with multiple times in his past, but he'd never seen a Darmanitan. Hell, he hadn't even heard of it. It appeared to be a giant ape, with ham-sized fists and gigantic, hungry looking eyes. It was oddly intimidating in a very primal, aboriginal way.
His pokemon had been registered successfully, and he finally stepped up into the field, tossing his backpack back into the waiting area.
"I am Taggarty Lee, of Blackthorn City." Tag gave a sort of curt bow in Otis' direction. "I do hope I have the reciprocal honour of your name, Sir.?"
Sizing up the other three pokemon, he knew he was already at a huge disadvantage. He gave a short of mental shrug (while gazing coolly at the field), deciding that he wasn't going to complain about it.
"My partners for this match are Suzu, the Ledian, Tobi the Vulpix and Bachi the Nidorino." With flashes of brilliant white light, Suzu and Tobi appeared on the field, with Bachi appearing at his side. Suzu buzzed excitedly. She looked worriedly over at Tag, who gave her a reassuring nod. As a bug pokemon, she was at the most disadvantage to both Fire and Flying, and thus Charizard. Tag, however, had a plan to keep her as safe as possible. Tobi seemed a little nervous, but channeled the energy into his proud call on the field. He met eyes with the three much larger pokemon, issuing his challenge to them silently.
At his side, Bachi bristled excitedly. He seemed incredibly eager to spring into the field and engage the other pokemon. Tag placed a hand between the spines to scratch him gently. On the field, Tag appeared to be engaging Otis in his own field of Fire and Flight, but that really wasn't the case. Tag's forte was in non-damaging moves, and he would show his craftsmanship in that field.
He raised his hand up into the air, while the other slipped into his pocket, in what was sort of his signature battle pose.
"Suzu, Supersonic on Dodrio. Tobi, Confuse Ray on Darmanitan!" Tag needed to control the field from the very start of the battle. Darmanitan, Dodrio and Charizard were all very powerful pokemon, and Tag would need to turn their massive strengths against them.
From their positions on the field, Suzu fired off a stream of sonic sound waves over towards the Trio pokemon. He had considered having Confuse Ray on Dodrio, but Tobi's was an ocular ray, and Dodrio had six eyes to aim for. Therefore, Suzu's Supersonic seemed better suited to the task.
Tobi's Confuse Ray lanced towards the Fire Ape Pokemon, and Tag could only hope that such a large simian creature wasn't as mobile as the little Fire Fox.
"Taggarty Lee," repeated Otis, testing the words. Then, at the realization that he'd forgotten to introduce himself: "my apologies," and here he seemed sincerely sorry, "I would've assumed my reputation had preceded me. I am Otis of Arasam. I'd ask you not call me sir - here on the field, we are true equals. Enough of that; to arms." He quietly analyzed Taggarty's selection - Vulpix and Ledian. The Vulpix was likely to activate Flash Fire, should the gym leader grow sloppy and command Darmanitan to respond with a fire-type move. He could also expect the Vulpix to cover the Ledian should Darmanitan use a similar move. The symbolism did not escape him - a fire type and a bug-and-flying type come to challenge the fire-and-flying gym.
Taggarty began with a double-Confusion gambit - risky, but in many situations very effective. Words came quickly from Otis, as he began stroking his five-o'-clock shadow with one hand.
"Dodrio, allow; Darmanitan, behind Dodrio." Quickly, Otis' Pokémon shuffled into an odd queue - the bird protecting Darmanitan from the Confuse Ray through its Normal virtue, but accepting the Supersonic waves, and the gorilla covering his ears, shutting his eyes, and tucking his legs in. Darmanitan moved with surprising speed, almost as fast as the Dodrio he hid behind. Otis allowed himself a small smirk - the Blazing Pokémon was naturally fast, but the speed training had brought it to a new level.
The response worked, Dodrio beginning to wobble on its clawed feet, as Darmanitan unrolled quickly. He didn't like to use Dodrio as mere bait, but one Confused Pokémon with a slight advantage was far better than two. It seemed that Taggarty's battle strategy was to debuff his foes and allow them to self-destruct. There were several counters to that strategy, though it was still an effective one - brute force (always a good standby), a Refresh or Aromatherapy Pokémon (Otis had neither with him), Taunting to force attacking moves (a lightbulb lit up, but he filed away the idea for a tighter spot than this), or... yes. While the plan became cognizant, Otis spoke, discussing his newest addition.
"I see you're unfamiliar with Darmanitan. I do not blame you - he's one of the first in Furoh, picked him up on a trip to Daioh. This is actually his premiere battle. So be kind, would you? Darmanitan, Encore. Dodrio, Mirror Move." The last words came almost casually, but the Pokémon picked up right away. While Darmanitan began energetically clapping, hooting excitedly, toward Suzu, Dodrio's three pairs of eyes glared back at Tobi.
Should Otis' plan work, with Ledian locked into a poor-accuracy move, and Vulpix having trouble separating friend from foe, the first round of battle might be over as quickly as it began.
"I am not yet your equal" Tag retorted with a short bow. "But please, allow me to prove myself as such through this match."
Tag found himself frowning as the counterattack commenced. Otis was sharp, and Tag's opening gambit had been a failure. This did not deter the trainer, and Tag's battle flexibility was about to show tenfold.
Otis was correct; he was unfamiliar with Darmanitan. He was even more unfamiliar with its move-set, and had not been expecting Encore, one of his own signature moves, to be used against him so swiftly.
Likewise, Dodrio fired off a Confuse Ray, directed at Tobi! He was about to be the subject of his own strategems, something he'd rarely encountered. Otis wasn't playing around.
But this wasn't to mean that he wasn't totally unprepared. Watching his opponent's defense, and with the command of mirror move, Tag opted to use his own sort of mirror move.
"Tobi! Behind Suzu!" Tobi moved with a speed not borne of training but rather of instinct for survival. His 'earring' shook in his ear as he dove behind for cover behind his teammate, imitating the speed and verve that his fellow fire type had shown only minutes before. The hooting and clapping Ape pokemon's technique, as well as the Dodrio's clever move both hit the shielding Suzu simultaneously.
If sunglasses could obtain a glazed look, Suzu's eyes would've had that. However, they showed no discernible effects. His familiarity with Encore saved him. Sure, it was a low accuracy move, but it was enough to cut Tag's initial losses. The confuse ray had struck Suzu dead on. Now the poor Ledian could only use Supersonic, and was confused to boot. However, Tobi, his vulpix remained unscathed in this round of combat, just as the Darmanitan had been.
Part of him hated using Suzu as a shield like that, but Tag really wanted to win this match. Now he truly had the sense that he was up against a formidable trainer and quickly commanded his next move.
"Tobi, Safeguard!" A thin veil appeared over both his Ledian and his Vulpix. The translucent blue, almost dust like air floated around the duo, and would essentially protect them from further status harm. This way, should Suzu fire off her Supersonic and Tobi, if it hit, it still wouldn't cause any confusion. On the other hand, if her Supersonic fired off at Dodrio or Darmanitan, it could potentially further disrupt Otis' team.
"Suzu, Supersonic!" Not bothering to order another move, since Encore was in effect, he simply commanded the move she was locked in to. At the same time, he didn't bother to command a target, since it was pretty much anyone's game there. Luckily for him, Tobi was protected by the Safeguard move.
Not surprisingly, Suzu opted to fire off her confusion-instilling attack at her teammate. However, the waves vibrated harmlessly off of the Safeguard veil, leaving Tobi quite safe for the round.
Tag hardened his gaze across the field. He had prevented taking any damage this turn through his counter to Otis' Counter attack. My goodness, the whole thing felt like a chess match.
"In my way of being kind" Taggarty Lee retained his confident position, speaking clearly and respectfully without being boastful "I will give your friend Darmanitan no quarter and no leniency. I expect no less from him in return!"
Hmm. Taggarty's use of Safeguard had been an effective tactic. For the next few rounds of combat, Otis would be forced to adopt a different strategy than buffing and debuffing. He had been hoping to test Darmanitan's Taunt out, but if the challenger turned out to be a disappointment, the gym leader might not even get the chance. Safeguard also protected Vulpix from Ledian's errant Supersonics, which was another tick in Taggarty's favour.
But Otis wasn't going to spend his time ticking off Taggarty's advantages. The playing field was just about evened - time for aggression. "Darmanitan, Work Up," and the Blazing Pokémon began huffing and puffing, enraging itself.
As he battled, he talked. Otis liked to talk while he battled - not only was it a distraction to his adversary and a way to focus, it also was generally informative. "You understand that every Pokémon has its own innate ability, right? Darmanitan here isn't too good at lowering other Pokémon's power or causing Burns. Dodrio, Acupressure." The gym leader's smooth conversation wasn't halted, even as his bird pecked itself in the chest. While its plumage suffered, the pressure point was massaged, raising one of the Triple Bird's statistics - he couldn't be sure which. Otis continued.
"That's because his species naturally have the ability Sheer Force. What Sheer Force does is sacrifice an attack's secondary effect - say, Ember's innate ability to burn on contact - for even greater power, or force, of the move. Keep your head up, there'll be a test later. Darmanitan, Rock Tomb on Ledian." Darmanitan hooted again, before ripping a sizable boulder from the gym's floor and rushing toward the Five Star Pokémon with surprising speed. Even if Vulpix tried to take the blow, it would still hit a Super-Effective advantage.
Tag had no idea what work up was, much less what the ability Sheer Force did. Well, that was the case until Otis kindly explained the basics of sheer force. He couldn't help but feel slightly patronized by the opposing trainer. After the slightest hesitation of hurt, he gently brushed it aside mentally as just another tactic. He was not about to lose his temper over words, especially not here. This may not have been a battle to the death, but for whatever reason, Taggarty Lee felt it more important to at the very least put up the best fight he could muster.
Rock Tomb was a move he was familiar with, so that quickly put things back in his territory. Suzu would suffer a very crippling blow from the technique, as would Tobi. However, the theme of the opening rounds of this battle seemed to be: "Cut your losses."
"Tobi, intercept. Use Disable." Without the tiniest hint of a falter, Tobi shot upwards, knocking his bewildered Ledian compatriot aside, taking the full brunt of the blow. It would not do as much damage to the fire-type, but it would still sting like the dickens. Large rocks tended to do that to any creature, after all. As the rocks fell around him, it seemed hopeless, but that was never a cause for Tag to give up hope. From a gap in the rocks, Tobi's chestnut eyes appeared, suddenly glowing with a yellow light. The move had, for the time being, shut off Darmanitan's access to the Rock Tomb move, which would shut off that pokemon's main source of attack for the time being.
Meanwhile, as the Dodrio pecked itself, Tag worried as to which of its natural parameters had been raised from the precise self-strike. It was a gambit on Otis' end, but one that suited him just fine. His heart pounded as his mind raced to try and guess. Sadly, he was no mind reader or psychic, and the Dodrio gave him no telling indication as to which stat it had raised. Worse still; the Dodrio did not seem to be reeling from the Confusion that had been inflicted on it, meaning that his initial gambit had been an utter failure. No matter. He'd rallied from tougher spots than this in the past. Perhaps not with this particular trio of pokemon, but nevertheless, he'd done so.
At his side, Bachi prepared to leap up, but a steady hand from Tag shot out in front of his face, barring him from his dynamic entry.
"Relax, partner." Tag flashed a sidelong smile "Let your comrades handle this for now." As his gaze shifted back to the battlefield, he watched as Suzu's confusion faded. Luckily for Team Tag, it had been a short lived spell of obfuscation. She shook her head and steadied her flying, as if the blow from her teammate had rapped her sharply back to her senses. "Suzu, Supersonic Darmanitan." Since she was still locked into the low accuracy, status dealing move, it was a shame that this was the best tactic his agile mind could whip up. This was not the first time in awhile he'd fought such an uphill battle. In all honesty, the thought excited him immensely.
Could Tag be using a second bout of Confusion against Darmanitan's boosted attack, knowing that it would inflict more damage if he took recoil? It was difficult to tell. While it was clear that the challenger had a more-than-decent grasp of battle mechanics, would he really have taken the time to consider that eventuality? The challenger information panel before the Gym Leader's narrowed eyes claimed that his experience was enough to say yes, but who kept such a level-head in a battle such as this?
In any case, the time had come for the home team to move onto a more offensive track.
*Flash Fire will come into effect if we use a fire-type move... so...*
"Darmanitan, use Headbutt on the Vulpix!"
The great blazing Ape smacked his chest once and surged towards the fire fox Pokemon like a mini torpedo. A torpedo, however, that had a very predictable trajectory. Supersonic waves screamed into Darmanitan's ears before he could reach Tobi and before he knew it, his own fist was slamming into his stomach. With a great cry, Darmanitan stumbled back and teetered on the spot.
Otis caught a glint in the challenger's eyes. He thought he had gained back some footing? Otis inwardly cursed.
"Dodrio, go!" In a flash, the bird Pokemon was on the move. Kicking up dust as its wide-splayed claws scrabbled furiously at the field, Otis could clearly see that his bird's Speed had been the stat to benefit from its Acupressure. Excellent. Now, Dodrio would be harder to hit and faster to strike!
"Give them no quarter! Drill Peck on the Ledian!"
The brown blur raced across the field, a three-tiered battlecry screaming throughout the arena. How would Taggarty Lee choose to deal with that move?
The battle seemed to be teetering on the brink of success and failure, rapidly gyrating between the two outcomes. Since Suzu had been hit with Encore, she had no choice but to use Supersonic. However, it worked in his favour, perhaps out of sheer luck. The Darmanitan, charging full speed towards Tobi, had opted to sucker punch itself in the stomach, leaving Tobi free for the time being.
However, the Dodrio lanced forward, it's discordant cry piercing the air as it attacked Suzu with alarming speed. Without wasting even a second, Tag began to yell a command...
Unfortunately, he severely underestimated Dodrio's speed boost. The acupressure from earlier had raised its speed to an alarming height, and he didn't even have time to issue an order before Suzu felt the full brunt of a drill peck attack.
Suzu slammed backwards, landing on the ground with a dull thud. Tag's breath caught in his throat as she lay there unmoving for a moment. She twitched once slowly, before pulling herself back up. The only attack she'd take thus far was the Drill Peck, and while it was a heavy one, it appeared that she could still fight. Resilient Suzu rose slowly back into the air as Tobi bounded over, his eyes full of concern.
Suzu did not have much left in her. Tag knew it was time to launch a counter-offensive, but he would leave himself very vulnerable to the speed-boosted Dodrio. He'd have to gain full control of the field through more buffs and debuffs.
"Suzu, Double Team!" Luckily for Tag, the encore from earlier had faded, and Suzu was no longer relegated to simply firing off Supersonic attacks. "Surround Darmanitan." Suzu obediently flew forward and initiated her technique, surrounding Darmanitan with several illusory copies of herself. Mind you, she was simply moving very quickly, but to anyone watching, the after-images seemed almost full and real. It was the first time Suzu had used the move in a match, but it seemed that she already pulled it off with aplomb. Suzu was his most trusted pokemon, after all.
"Tobi, Will-O-Wisp on Dodrio!" Tobi's eyes glowed an eerie purple as several similarly coloured spheres of flame appeared in the air over each of his outstretched tails. The six wisps of fire shot forward, spinning around one another in a display worthy of a contest move. The goal was not to inflict damage, but rather to burn the Dodrio. Tag remembered that burns essentially cut the attack strength of a pokemon in half, while causing it residual damage over time. It was perhaps exactly the right move he needed to cripple the Dodrio.
If only the move would hit.
"Burning my Pokemon won't help you!" Otis warned almost mockingly as the flames of Will-o-wisp approached Dodrio. Unable to dodge the attack after just landing her own, the Gym Leader's Pokemon was surrounded by the many wisps of flame and with a triple cry of anguish they left their mark on her feathered body. "Using fire attacks against a fire specialist means only one thing - I know their weaknesses."
*And that means switching to Special Attacks... But first to make some breathing space...*
Darmanitan tottered back and forth amid the flickering images of Tag's Ledian, not really focusing on planting his feet in any firm direction. That was, however, until Otis called the next move.
"Ignore the Ledian! Darmanitan use Encore on the Vulpix!"
Otis' giant ape clapped his hands in excitement and his eyes momentarily caught focus, his tiny brain battling through the confusion that plagued it. Slamming his wide palms overhead, the Encore started up anew, this time taking hold of Tobi and his Will-o-wisp attack. Almost instantly, however, Darmanitan went back to staggering aimlessly with a comical look of astonishment on his dumbstruck face. Otis pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose upwards.
"Now, Dodrio! Tri Attack on the Ledian!"
Running wide around the arena in a speeding arc to ensure a clear shot, Otis' second Pokemon primed itself to attack. All three heads of the monstrous bird locked into a triangular formation and a shimmering beam formed between them. With a piercing scream, the Triple Bird let loose with her attack in a sweeping motion, aiming to mow down the Double Team copies of her opponent one at a time.
Dammit Tag found himself visibly flinched as Encore whipped up once more. First Suzu, now Tobi had been the recipient of the attack, and to be quite honest: Tag now knew what it was like to battle against himself. It was infuriating.
However, that was no cause to lose his head over Otis' well planned strategies. It was almost refreshing to meet a fellow strategist on the field of battle. Refreshing and incredibly annoying.
"Suzu, Light Screen." Tag had now taken into account Dodrio's speed, and had been able to react accordingly this time. Each of the Suzu doubles raised her hands, forming a defensive, translucent yellow screen. However, the ones that were merely copies simply faded away as the tri-beam passed through them. The real Suzu remained, holding her Light Screen in front of her like a shield. Accepting the force of the attack, the shield held firmly for a brief moment before shattering. However, it had given Suzu enough time to maneuver out from behind it, dodging the vicious beam.
This was not good, however. Tag had given Otis the chance to get back on the offensive. Darmanitan seemed dazed and confused, but time would only tell how long he stayed that way. Slipping his hands into his pockets, Tag gazed across the field, wondering the best way to turn the tides here. Otis severely outclassed him at the moment.
"Tobi, Confuse Ray on Dodrio"
Tag regretted the command immediately, having just forgotten Darmanitan's Encore attack. Tobi attempted to follow through on his trainer's orders, but found himself forming the same purple wisps from earlier, sending them at Dodrio again to no apparent effect.
Tag frowned, having essentially wasted a turn on a foolish move. Maybe it didn't show outwardly, but he was definitely getting frazzled from Otis' brilliant ploys.
"Darmanitan, keep it up!" Otis urged his newest Pokemon into some sort of sane action but the flaming ape continued to teeter from foot to foot in a daze. "Go and use Hammer Arm on the Vulpix!"
"DARMA!" A primal roar was uttered and the fire-type raised a glowing fist, advancing on his small opponent with glee... Then punched himself in the stomach again. "MANITAAAN!" He roared, toppling to the side and puffing out smoke with a fainted gasp. Otis sucked air irritably between his teeth. He had lost the first combatant... Not only that, but the challenger was using fire and flying types, too. A similar situation had transpired not too long ago but Otis had taken the win eventually. The same would just have to happen again!
"Darmanitan, return! Rise to the skies, Charizard!"
Finally getting his opportunity to take to the battlefield, the Flame Pokemon spread his great wings wide and burst from the sidelines in a swirling cloak of dust that trailed lazily in his wake. Otis had had enough of playing nice - moves that tricked and stalled your opponents would only work for a while but in the end sheer power would win a battle like this. And his Charizard? Well, his Charizard had power by the scale load.
"Sky Drop on the Vulpix!"
Almost immediately, Otis could see Taggarty Lee searching for his Ledian's support to intercept. Otis curled his lip.
"Dodrio, Drill Peck on the Ledian once more!" Freshly confused by the ghostly rays emitted by Suzu, Dodrio's three heads shot into motion, each one stabbing at slightly different angles with whirring beaks that sang like masonry drills. One head swung back too far and stabbed itself in the side but somehow the other two managed to continue their assault on the bug type unperturbed. Despite the magnificent speed and valor of his bird Pokemon in the battle, Otis knew it was only a matter of time before she would join Darmanitan in her ball, leaving only Charizard on the field. But then again, Charizard was all he needed on the field.
This was yet another example of the outrageous luck Tag seemed to be having in his gym challenges thus far. Darmanitan had defeated himself with none of Tag's pokemon ever having laid a finger on it. It was a shame, really. All of its monstrous strength had been used on itself. A risky gamble on Tag's part, but one that had ultimately paid off.
The small victory that Tag had gained left no time for any sort of revelry. The dreaded Charizard took the field and immediately moved towards Tobi.
And of course, Tag fell right into Otis' trap.
"Suzu, intercept with Comet Punch!" As Suzu buzzed up to intercept the much larger opponent, Dodrio came whirling out of nowhere in an elegant display of three heads attacking in two-thirds unison. Two heads repeatedly slammed into Suzu, whilst the third attacked Dodrio herself. Suzu never reached her intended target. Instead, she found herself unconscious on the floor of the gym, victim to Dodrio's powerful Drill Peck.
"Excellent work, Suzu." Tag's recall beam struck her square on, retreating the tired bug pokemon to her home.
Elsewhere, Tobi shrieked in panic as the Charizard rose into the air with him. Not only was he airborne, but airborne via a large dragon-like lizard. The sky drop attack was devastating, landing Tobi in a crumpled heap on the ground, almost precisely where his comrade, Suzu, had fallen. Otis had swiftly turned the tide of battle by eliminating both of Tag's pokemon in one fell swoop.
"You were wonderful, Tobi. Rest up now." Tag's voice croaked from the stress. His throat and lips were dry, almost hoarse from the stress of the battle and issuing commands.
"Bachi, let's go."
Bachi bristled his poisonous spines threateningly as he charged forward onto the field. He roared out in challenge to the two larger pokemon, eying them defiantly in hopes of avenging his fallen comrades.
"Bachi, Fury Attack on Dodrio!" With a baritone rumble in his stomach, the Poison Pin Pokemon burst forward, imitating Dodrio's earlier Drill Peck attack with several rapid thrusts of his poisonous horn. Bachi was the powerhouse on Tag's team, though that paled in comparison to the raw might of the Charizard before him, it seemed that the trainer had now choice but to rely on Bachi's power as well. He and Otis had silently come to the same conclusion that the time for trickery and support moves was over; it was time to come to heads with sheer power alone. Tag only hoped that his friend was up to the mountainous task before him.
Horn met beak in a clash of keratin that clacked harshly like the sound of wooden practice swords at the Kendo training school on the other side of Arasam. Otis watched closely as the Nidorino and Dodrio did battle and was not surprised to see his own Pokemon falter. One simple stumbled from the bird and Otis knew it was over. A clear stab of the horn and the Fury Attack hit home once, twice, three times. Dodrio squawked desperately and staggered sideways, flames sprouting up around its triple necks. Falling foul of her burn, the giant bird continued to stagger until both legs could grasp the ground no more.
"Dodrio, return." Otis recalled his second Pokemon as it fell harshly to the ground in a splutter of singed feathers. She had fought well and had added another win to her belt - one of the best in his flying-type arsenal - and bestowed the small gift of pride upon her master as she went back into the Pokeball for a well-earned rest.
"I must say, master Lee," Otis touched his fingers to his wire framed glasses once more, "you have proven your worth as a talented trainer when it comes to challenging a gym with a sound strategy and honourable Pokemon that continue to battle even when the odds are not in their favour. You must know, however, that the tables are now turned completely against you so I only believe it fair to extend your options further during this match. Previously, I stated that the end of the match would be when one side of the field has no Pokemon remaining. If, however, you choose to bow out before that time comes there will be no shame here today."
Charizard roared overhead, its massive wings beating in great arcs that sounded like rumbling thunder. His vermillion scales glistened as he focus his attention on the purple ball of spikes below him in a look of what might only be called 'murderous intent'.
"Whether you take that option is up to you but, right now, I suggest you act quickly! Charizard, Flame Burst!"
The Flame Pokemon's mouth opened wide and from the blazing fire sac within his belly roared an orb of burning embers that spat free and fast like a meteor, right for the challenger's Poison Pin.
The battle between Bachi and Dodrio moved about the field like a dance, the two fighters elegantly parrying and thrusting. Bachi had three heads to worry about, but Dodrio likewise had to attack with precision, so as not to find herself on the receiving end of Bachi's poisonous pins.
Dodrio fell to the ground under the heavy assault of Bachi's Fury Attack, signalling that the battlefield was now one-on-one. Bachi wasted no time in turning his intense gaze to the much larger Charizard across the field.
As the two squared off, Otis took the moment for yet another lengthy speech. Tag was slightly taken aback at the offer for a surrender. He pondered for a moment, but that was all the time it took for Otis and Charizard to begin their attack.
The Flame Burst attack shot forward, similar to Tobi's, but much, much more powerful. Problematically enough, Bachi was not nimble enough to get clear out of the way, and the attack had such a wide explosion radius that Bachi would not come out unharmed. Tag still held firmly to the change in tactic from support and stagger to All-Out Offensive.
Therefore, attack was the only option. Bachi, however, could still inflict one deadly status effect, and Tag banked on that for his next move:
"Bachi, Poison Sting!" Bachi braced himself firmly and launched forward, directly into the incoming attack. His horn glowed a venomous purple, and actually succeeded in cutting through a small portion of the attack, dispersing the flames ever so slightly as to not receive the full brunt of the attack. Shaking his head as he charged valiantly through the flame, he lowered his head and aimed at the Charizard's soft underbelly. Poisoning the Charizard was one of the few options Tag had remaining.
"I will not concede!" Tag, now wearing something of a smirking grin, called over the battlefield at Otis "Not when your friend has been so eager to battle this whole time."
"Hah! You're more foolish than I first thought, challenger." Otis pushed his glasses up his nose in contempt. How could someone who had generated so much fuss on the Championship track since his successful challenge in petropolis make such a reckless move? A Nidorino was approximately a quarter of Charizard's weight and smaller than even one of the great dragon's legs. Using a straight forward attack like Poison Sting would never work.
"Charizard, catch it!"
Dropping to the ground and holding out his claws, Charizard weighted himself firmly and braced himself for the incoming poison Pokemon. Bachi flung himself with all the power his legs held straight for the fire-type's chest and immediately squawked back a strangled cry as his horn was clasped in two massive claws and his movement stopped completely. Charizard lifted his opponent so that they could be eye-to-eye and grinned wickedly at the immobilised Pokemon in his hands. With contempt, he blew smoke in the Poison Pin's face.
"This battle is over, Master Lee. I suggest you call your Pokemon back before my Charizard fries him to a crisp." Otis taunted.
"NIII-DOH!" Otis gasped as he witnessed the much smaller Pokemon begin his completely unexpected counter-attack. Double Kick met reptilian chest and, using the hard scales as a springboard, the poison-type swung around in the grip of his captor with his spines bristling wildly. Needles met face and neck of the Flame Pokemon, eliciting a terrifying roar as Charizard bellowed in pain and swung the Nidorino in his claws around and away through the air.
"AIR SLASH!" Otis commanded, angered that he had been caught off guard so easily. His mighty Charizard, exhibiting a few spines embedded in his flesh dripping with poison, beat both wings forward in a powerful gust that sent slashing wind at the airborne Nidorino.
Otis was looking pretty contemptuous. Sure, Tag had chosen an incredibly reckless move. But Tag felt that perhaps Otis’ contempt was unwarranted. After all, Bachi had no real choice but to attack head on, and even if the opponent was a Charizard, Bachi would still have to face him.
As a Nidorino, Bachi was much, much smaller than Otis’ Charizard, and probably much less powerful. Using a straight-forward attack like Poison Sting was the only plan he had.
Tag gasped as Charizard caught Bachi’s attack head on. His breath caught as his pokemon was lifted clear into the air by the overpowering might of the enemy pokemon. It was incredibly demeaning as the smoke hit Bachi’s face. Mind you, Tag had been expecting a Fire Blast or something ridiculously powerful to hit point blank.
“This battle is over, Master Lee. I suggest you call your pokemon back before my Charizard fries him to a crisp.” Otis taunted.
Due to his gargantuan sense of pride, Tag set his mind on coming up with a witty retort. Then he tried to switch gears mid-process in an attempt to rectify the current situation. However, that sort of put him at a mental impasse.
Bachi, loyal as ever, took advantage of Tag’s indecision to take matters into his own hands. Tag found himself glowing with pride for his pokemon as Bachi made a move all on his own. He’d trained the Poison Pin Pokemon since it was a…well…smaller poison pin pokemon, and it showed. Bachi’s battle cry resounded through the air as he swung himself downwards in a ferocious double kick, using the torque of the swing and the gravity of his own weight in order to increase its strength. As the Charizard stumbled backwards, Bachi swung around, bristling his spines as best as he could.
Tag found himself wincing as the Charizard roared in pain, throwing Bachi clear away from himself.
Otis’ overconfidence had given Bachi an incredible opening, and even in Tag’s indecision, Bachi had capitalized on it. Tag watched as a few of the poison pins remained embedded in the Charizard’s flesh, seeping their toxins right into the enemy.
“AIR SLASH!”
In the back of his mind, Tag had been expecting a powerful move…but for whatever reason he had assumed it to be a fire attack. He was dead wrong as the Charizard wipped up some razor-sharp wind, sending it flying at the mid-air Bachi.
Bachi, undeterred even in flight, twisted himself with surprising agility. Perhaps the pokemon’s instincts were running at a higher rate than usual, since Bachi rarely displayed this sort of thought process for himself. Perhaps it was because the stakes were so high; facing a dragon-like pokemon under the command of a talented gym leader tended to do that. The air slash impacted at an odd angle. Instead of slicing through with all of its force, it merely forced Bachi into a rotation. He landed hard on his side, grunting in pain, but rolled himself back up with very little difficulty.
“Bachi, Fury Attack!”
With a determined roar, Bachi trundled forward at full speed, his footsteps resounding through the gym hall as he hurtled forward. As he drew in close, he began to jab swiftly with his deadly horn, sending it at a wide array of points on the Charizard’s body like an expert fencer. Things were once again teetering in Tag’s favour, all thanks to Bachi’s quick thinking.
Otis cursed himself for being so complacent and narrowed his eyes deeply - if he had spent more time attacking and not talking then he wouldn't have had to find out how Tag Lee had managed to earn the Twilight Badge. A simple, well executed move had managed to bring the power gap between his Charizard and the foe's Nidorino closer together and not only that, he was on the defensive!
"Bachi, Fury Attack!"
Otis watched on as the poison-type launched into a full-frontal assault with that sharp horn that would have no difficulty in cutting Charizard down to size. The great fire lizard found himself stabbed repeatedly for a few moments, unable to get away from that fierce bombardment of attacks, until the Nidorino began to slow with the fatigue of his exertion claiming his limbs.
"Rwwrr." Charizard moaned as poison sapped his strength for a moment and his opponent began to regroup. With a roar, the Flame Pokemon beat his wings to become airborne and gathered flames within his throat.
"Charizard, use Bursting Flame once more!" Otis commanded, aiming to take that spiteful little pin cushion out with a barrage of aerial attacks.
*If that thing can't fly or fire something back, all we need to do is defeat it from above.* Otis mused mercilessly.
Otis' next choice in tactic had been one that Tag had mentally prepared for. He hadn't prepared Bachi for it, but the Nidorino was a very loyal soldier of a pokemon.
In so many words, Otis had chosen something of a stall tactic by keeping his distance. While Bachi had suffered some damage, so long as he hadn't been hit, he would remain standing. The mighty Charizard on the other hand was suffering from Bachi's poison. If Otis stalled, it would only serve to hurt Charizard.
Now the tricky part was to keep Bachi alive while the poison whittled away at the great lizard. Tag and Bachi had no options for counterattacking at such a great distance, and no techniques to employ in order to protect Bachi.
Trajectory wise, the Flame Burst attack was easier to dodge from the air, since its path was angled and easier to avoid. Bachi, a grounded pokemon, had full use of the two dimensional plane to dodge. Had it been simply from a distance, Bachi's only options would've been left or right, where he was least agile.
"Bachi, dodge forward and focus energy!" It was a bit of a risky gambit, considering Flame Burst's radius, but Bachi charged forward at full speed, receiving only a singe on his haunches as he made a mad dash forward, settling himself closer to the aerial Charizard, where he crouched for a moment. The Poison Pin Pokemon closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating hard, even going so far as to radiate a blue aura momentarily. This would help in the combo that Tag was preparing to unleash in the next turn. However, this was entirely dependent upon the Charizard's aim with his potent fire attacks.
"Otis, I see now why you hold your title." Tag gave something of a bow as a small smirk crept across his face "But where is your confidence now? I never expected you to command your Charizard to flee from a pokemon a quarter of his size." Tag was not really one to gloat, but on the battlefield, a simple taunt could turn an experienced strategist into a novice. Either way, he was about to see just what Otis would produce under duress.
Otis snorted.
"My Charizard isn't fleeing - on the contrary! If you are from Blackthorn City, you should know how a pseudo-dragon like Charizard responds to a lengthening battle." Otis raised his hand in the air to point at his gliding Flame Pokemon. The fully evolved fire-type winced as poison in his veins sapped a little more strength but then, much to Otis' enjoyment, the great lizard grinned.
"Of course, his natural Ability is Blaze - your dodging may work for a round or two but don't expect your Nidorino to stay standing once a fire attack hits the mark." Otis educated his opponent as, on cue, a shining vermillion aura burst around his final Pokemon.
"Charizard! Rapid fire Bursting Flame!"
Tag's eyes widened in shock. Not because Charizard had activated Blaze, but rather that it had come so soon. He had been intending to skip that part of the battle all at once by having Bachi launch a final furious assault (most likely in the form of Fury Attack). Likewise, he had been hoping that his taunt would have somehow brought Charizard to even ground with his own pokemon, allowing Bachi to attack.
Otis had seen through his ploy, and allowed the poison to actually work in his favour somehow, and now it seemed that all would be lost.
The salvo of Bursting Flames, or Flame Bursts, or whatever they were actually called, would be devastating. It could potentially cover the entire field in flames.
"Bachi, evade!" Tag roared over the sound of the searing flames, with Bachi panickedly obliging him. The Nidorino hauled himself along at his best full speed, but kept taking the last edge of each of the blast radii. This would probably weaken him as the Charizard continued to fire them off. What a rotten strategy. Effective, but still rotten.
"Bachi, stop!" This was the best plan of action in terms of defense. Hopefully, Bachi would only have to take one while the Charizard continued to fire in Bachi's path, thus missing him. It was true, the Charizard soared by overhead, slamming one hard bursting flame attack into Bachi's back, but the rest were clearly ahead. There was really only one chance he had, and it was a bit of a long shot. Bachi seemed to be reeling heavily from a direct hit from a Blaze-boosted Bursting Flame, and was clearly on the brink of collapse. Tag had to come up with something...and quickly. Since normal methods were out of the question, he decided to go with something more absured.
"Bachi, use Double Kick to launch yourself into the air." Tag mentally cursed himself for using such a long command. He really felt like one of the kids he'd stomped on the way over to Arasam, who had been trying really hard to use Pokemon moves in ludicrous fashions.
Bachi leapt up and...well...Double Kicked the floor. It worked beautifully, sending the Poison Pin Pokemon hurtling through the air. The problem was that Tag had never utilized this tactic ever before. Ever. The drawback was simple: Bachi had no idea how to aim the attack, or even know how hard to kick to launch himelf. Bachi flew in an unceremonious arc over the Charizard and landed in a rather ungainly fashion on the other side of the arena. On the one hand, it got him out of the way of the immediate burst flame attacks...but he probably also hurt himself from flying through the air.
As more Flame Bursts welled up in a sort of strafing line towards Bachi, Tag found himself at an utter loss of ideas on how to counter this assault. He could only hope that the poison took over completely.
Charizard let loose a terrifying roar as he circled the field one more time, his course faltering as poison sapped more of his energy. Otis could see that the great lizard was waning and that time was running out which meant only one thing. It was all or nothing. The challenger's face bore much the same expression as Otis' own - a mix of tension, excitement and above all else, panic. The battle was coming down to the wire because of the Gym Leader's foolish pride and cocky attitude towards an opponent like Taggarty Lee and didn't he know it. Through gritted teeth, Otis commanded the final attack.
"Charizard, go! Use Sky Drop and put that thing down for good!"
Swooping low, the Flame Pokemon sped across the arena towards Bachi who held firm despite the impending attack. In a flash, the Nidorino was on the move, charging straight for the incoming Charizard with his horn glowing a malevolent purple. Otis wondered how much damage the Poison Sting attack would actually do only for a brief moment before he knew he didnt need to worry.
With the horn snagged right out of the air, Charizard launched upwards with his spiny payload - the Nidorino flailing in vain within his grasp. Spines embedded themselves deep into the dragon's chest as he reached the crest of his climb before he turned back and threw the Nidorino down with all his might... and found himself tumbling straight after!
In an unfortunate turn of events, Bachi's spines had hooked into Charizard's shoulder as he had primed the over-arm throw towards the ground and the attack had only caused a mid-air somersault that led to both Pokemon tumbling toward the ground out of control.
"Charizard!"
"Bachi!"
In a swirling mass of orange and purple, the two Pokemon plummeted back to the arena but another move had to be made before they met the ground. Lee's Nidorino, finding footing on Charizard's flank kicked out hard with a Double Kick attack to perform his catapulting technique just in time. Soaring through the air and away from the falling dragon he landed clumsily near the challenger's feet in a cloud of dust. The fire-type, however, was not so fortunately.
BOOOM
Otis' Pokemon crashed headlong into the ground and after a few moments a flag was raised.
"Charizard is unable to battle! The round and the match go to Taggarty Lee of Blackthorn City!"
The battle was reaching its climax, easily. This was most likely the end of the match for Bachi and Tag, and the latter would return to Raven empty handed. He had fought well, and there was no humiliation in this defeat whatsoever. His pokemon, likewise, had performed admirably, even against the insurmountable foes they faced.
Bachi had other plans.
The Nidorino executed his plan in a way that screamed pure desperation. Bachi had adamantly gone ahead and continued to fight, even when his trainer had given up all hope. The Poison Pin-bag pulled off his next set of moves with utmost aplomb, sending the Charizard crashing to the ground, leaving it in a smoldering pile on the battlefield.
"Charizard is unable to battle. The round and the match go to Taggarty Lee of Blackthorn City."
Tag's eyes widened in disbelief as he heard the words, surveying the battlefield to make sure he hadn't heard wrong. Bachi limped slowly back to the trainer box, nuzzling Tag's thigh affectionately. Kneeling down, Tag placed his hand on his comrade's nose, a slow smile creeping across his face.
"My friend, you were magnificent." Gingerly, he pulled his pokemon into a hug, careful so as to avoid the spines. After a moment he stood, recalling Bachi into his pokeball to rest.
With long, slow strides, he moved to the middle of the field and waited for Otis.
"Sir, you're an exceptional trainer. Thank you for the match; it's one I will not soon forget."
Otis was raging on the inside as his mighty Charizard fell to his own power - a complete travesty of a result caused only by a series of flukes and foolish complacency. If one was for sure after this match it would be that Otis would not back down or underestimate his opponent again. With great reluctance, he held aloft Charizard's Pokeball and recalled the magnificent dragon.
"Sir, you're an exceptional trainer. Thank you for the match; it's one I will not soon forget." Tag addressed Otis formally. Again, Otis was pleased. There was a certain level of decorum that was to be expected on the battlefield of a Gym and this challenger grasped the tone well.
"Likewise." Otis muttered. This match would certainly be etched into his mind for some time to come. "However, Master Lee, let me offer you a word of caution. Your battle style may seem clever at first but don't rest easy on those tactics during your next Gym matches - I assure you that the result we have today and how it was achieved shall be passed on to Chloe and Maxi. As Gym Leaders, they will be keeping an eye on upcoming trainers and finding new strategies to best combat your own style in order to defend the honour of their Gyms. Be sure to mix up your training and those Badges may be attainable yet."
Otis pushed his glasses to the top of the bridge of his nose one last time.
"It was a pleasure battling an experienceed trainer like yourself, Master Lee. Now, do not allow an unfavourable reputation to fall on me and ensure that you make it to the Pokemon League - winners at this Gym are certainly Champions in the making."
He shook hands smartly with the challenger before pulling a badgecase from the inside pocket of his jacket and opening it, revealing a glittering row of red and silver inside. Selecting an Emberwing Badge, Otis gave it to the trainer with a mix of regret and wistful resignation before nodding once in polite farewell and leaving the hall to send his defeated Pokemon to the Pokemon Centre.
Otis was right. Tag's strategies were easily countered, as he found out today. He had a few up his sleeve, but Otis had shut him off at every turn. Upon initial sight of the Charizard, Tag had been wanting to unleash a "encore/Disable" combo, from Suzu and Tobi, effectively reducing the enemy pokemon to the move "Struggle".
In any case, he knew he had much more training to do, and the badge Otis placed in his hand was proof of that. He had been haphazardly wandering Furoh in an attempt to hone his skills and earn gym badges, as he had done with every other region he'd visited. He neatly deposited the badge in his old cigarette case, watching as it took its place at the top of the heap. He blinked over the other badges, briefly remembering all his trials and tribulations. This made 34 badges and no Championships.
Since his 'rebirth' back in Johto, and arrival in Furoh, he really had been missing something. Now he figured that it was the title of Champion under, or perhaps on, his belt. He was at least halfway there in Furoh. The badges of Fidona and Gigarte remained. He'd have to do his research and redouble his training in the meantime.
But for now, Taggarty Lee accepted his victory. It was certainly hard fought, but it seemed like it was more on account of Otis' flukes and overconfidence than his own ability. He'd have to remedy this in his training. That could all start tomorrow though; he had to return to the Pokemon Center where hopefully, Raven was waiting for him.
* * *
Tag stepped in through the sliding doors, approaching the counter. He procured the pokeballs for Tobi, Suzu and Bachi, handing them to the Nurse Joy. Blinking, he looked around the Pokemon Center as she registered the patients in the computer.
"Uh...is a scary looking lady with brown hair and a leather jacket here?" Tag inquired softly "She said she'd be waiting here at the Pokemon Center for me."
Nurse Joy eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then seemed to realize that she had, in fact, seen the two of them together here all of yesterday and today. Sure, Tag looked a little thuggish, since he was still wearing nothing but a wife beater for a shirt.
"She's resting in the back. I gave her a few sedatives."
Sedatives. Fitting. Raven probably needed those after running from a crowd just wanting to meet her. Celebrity-status must really be annoying. Tag wondered for a moment just how his life would change if he were Champion of the region. Would that mean he'd be popular? Would it mean that he had to talk to people?
"I'll go out on the town for a bit." Tag shrugged "Will you let her know that I'll be back tonight? Please leave my pokemon with her for the time being." He trusted Raven that much.
Joy nodded slowly, retreating into the back room with Tag's tray of pokemon. Tag placed his hand on his belt, absently touching the soft surfaces of the pokeballs for Kyoko and Orin, whom he felt like he hadn't seen in some time. With a sigh, he turned to leave out the building. He'd see his tired battlers when he returned in a few hours, giving them plenty of time to rest. At the very least, they'd keep Raven company, and vice versa.
* * *
Tag returned several hours later, with his right arm wrapped in saran-wrap, underneath which shone a new sleeve tattoo, going from his right pectoral, right shoulder blade, and all along his arm down to his wrist with an intricate pattern in the tribal tattoo style, to match his tattooed face. He rather liked it, but damn, it stung like a bitch. Just over his shoulder was the insignia (in silhouette) of the Twilight Badge. On his bicep rested the shape of the Emberwing Badge, both of which were now in his possession, and now engraved forever into his skin. Tag didn't really have the words to explain it, but these two badges were now part of his life, part of the new destiny he'd chosen for himself in Furoh.
That and he had to show Raven just how cool it looked.
In his pocket, however, rested a new item he'd purchased while wandering Arasam. It was a small stone, circular with several protruding spikes, and at its epicenter another set of spikes. This stone radiated a warm glow, and shone even slightly through his pocket. He'd ask Kyoko once he was in the room with Raven, whether or not she was ready to evolve one more time into a Bellossom.
Tag's return was not greeted with the pleasant face of Nurse Joy. Oh, no. Instead, just as Tag stepped inside the door, a very frazzled, tired looking Nurse Joy greeted him.
"You've got to get her out of here." was the first thing he heard, followed by an appropriate sounding crash from the back room. "She's better, make sure she changes her wrappings, but for the love of Arceus, get her out of here."
Crash.
Raven was paying no attention as Tag entered the room where she had been sleeping, aided by sedatives, the majority of the evening. Actually, at the moment, she couldn't see anything at all. Each and every one of his and her poke'mon were out of their poke'balls, skittering around the hard floor, each making calls that sounded like laughter or giggles. Raven's eyes were closed tight, her one good arm extended and the first word from her that would greet Tag would be:
"MARCO!"
Followed by a resounding chorus of:
"PIX!"
"Pix?"
"NAWWWWCROCACROCA!"
"Xio! Lux! LUXIO!"
"IIIINO!"
"Dian! Ledi!"
"LOOOOMGLOO!"
"...Runt?!"
Unfortunately for Raven's deaf Larvitar, Forte, the game of Marco Polo was just one where all the poke'mon ran around in a mad frenzy with no regard for the breaking of items, and was currently waddlesprinting around the room in a fashion that showed that he had no idea what he was doing. Raven's head twitched every whichaways, hearing all of the calls from different corners of the room. She narrowly missed finding Tobi, who had Capella's nose shoved into his fur so she could follow him around the room.
A bandaged Nidorino was the first to notice Tag.
"IIIIINOOOOO!" came the cry from a much healthier poison pin poke'mon, and he proceeded to charge rampantly across the room, barreling Raven over in the process, as well as a very bewildered Chansey, whose smile seemed to be more terrified than usual. As Raven fell flat on her ass, and Tag's poke'mon huddled around him, Raven's own poke'mon took this as an opportunity to assault the Marco Polo champion. Thus, just as Raven was opening her eyes, there was a large Croconaw, a giddy Luxio, a deaf, oblivious Larvitar and a Vulpix who were about to pounce on her.
"C'mon, guys! Same team! Same team!" she called amidst laughter, trying to avoid Requiem's spines and Aria's sandpapery tongue. Surprisingly enough, none of the poke'mon even ventured near her injured side, choosing to remain on her lap for the vicious snuggles that Raven was prone to administering.
As the black and white Vulpix leapt upon her tousled head, Raven's wide grin and sparkling green eyes turned over to Tag, who was receiving a lesser greeting from his comrades. She was panting from the assault, and rose to her feet (after shoving off the very loving Croconaw) and walked over to him, eyes darting to his new tattoo.
"You look like shit, man." were the first words that came out of her mouth, and she extended an arm for the Vulpix to climb down and safely leap to the floor. She recognized the Emberwing badge, and Tag didn't look as depressed as usual, so, she came to the assumption that he had won his Gym Battle.
"Congratulations. You deserve it." she said in a slightly softer tone, wrinkling her nose so as not to defy her brusque appearance. She extended her one arm reluctantly, and as she walked towards him, preparing to give him a one-armed, awkward hug of congratulations, she was stopped by a snarling Croconaw at her feet, one who was looking up at Tag with an expression that stated that he knew that he was responsible for breaking up their snuggle fest, and he was not happy about it.
Raven snorted with laughter, and instead extended the arm to shake his hand. What was she thinking? Tag wasn't huggable. He was a man. A manly man. He didn't do hugs. He did handshakes, and/or harsh slaps on the back. No hugs.
Even still...Raven found herself hesitantly wondering what it would feel like to be in his arms. Just once.
...He was an asshole, and she hated him.
Tag blinked as the very frazzled Nurse Joy approached him. It was true, she looked more haggard than usual, so that probably meant that some patient was being unruly. Naturally, the only patient he could possibly be a hassle was...
Crash.
Her.
Tag stepped into the backroom, watching as 9 pokemon scampered about, calling out happily as they crashed about the room. Something of a smirk crossed his face; the pokemon looked like unruly children. His entrance sparked their interest, and his five charged over towards him, sitting obediently at his feet (except for Suzu, who perched on his non-tattooed arm).
"You look like shit, man."
This was probably the best thing he could've heard. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he took a fairly lax stance.
"Likewise, lady." he chuckled softly.
"Congratulations, you deserve it." Tag glanced down at his right bicep, where he saw the insignia of Arasam's Gym engraved on his arm.
"Thanks"
She started to move in for the usual one-armed hug, but Requiem, filled with the strong dislike he reserved for Tag, stopped her from approaching. Raven instead offered him her hand. Behind him, Tag's pokemon peeked anxiously at the proceedings. This was probably the longest they'd been with another person, and it was obvious that for the most part, they'd grown fond of Raven.
Gingerly, he clasped her hand. After a moment of holding, he pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Not a one armed awkward hug, not a quick friendly hug. This was a full on grip, his arms wrapped fully around her holding her close.
"Thank you." He whispered.
After a moment, he pulled back, looking a little embarrassed. All of his usual awkwardness returned in a flash, and he turned back to his pokemon. "Back you go, everyone." The red return beams shot out, recalling his pokemon to their homes. "We should probably get going soon."
For the few moments that she was in Tag's arms, Raven was sure that her heart was going to beat through her chest and lie flopping on the floor like a landed Magikarp. However, as she slowly laid her head against his chest, and listened to his heartbeat, her emerald eyes slowly closed, and for the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to relax. As he whispered 'Thank You', into her ear, Raven chuckled softly.
"You did it...not me..." was all she could think of to say.
As they pulled apart, Raven realized that her face felt as though it were melting. She reached up her good arm and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to pull it over her face to hide the fact that she was blushing. Tag looked a little awkward as well, so it didn't make her feel as bad. As he recalled his poke'mon, Raven nodded curtly.
"Right. Okay, you too, guys." she called out, her thick southern drawl causing all of her poke'mon (save Forte, who was now attempting to eat an IV pole), to cry out in dismay. It sounded ironically like a loud "AWWWWWWW." Before any more protesting could take place however, the red flashes caused each and every sound to disappear, ending with Forte, who had finally caught on and was now scuttling around the room looking for a place to hide.
As the unruly Larvitar was finally caught and clasped to her belt, Raven patted each of her partners containers, grinning. "Well, then. Where are we off to next?" she asked, that sassy smirk still on her lips. It swiftly fell, however, as Raven assumed her awkward stance, which consisted of her rapidly scratching the back of her head.
"I mean...if you want to. I can always head back home if you just...wanna...y'know, go do your own...stuff."
"Uh..." Tag adopted a similar pose, gently scratching the back of his own neck while staring determinedly at the ground. Naturally, the ground would not give him an answer to her question, nor would it magically open up and drop him into a bottomless pit where he'd die of starvation. "Uh..." He took a moment to look at his arm again, then nodded once.
"Gigarte" Tag nodded firmly. "Let's go there."
His hand brushed against his pocket for a moment, and he remembered that he'd purchased a Sun Stone. He plucked Kyoko's pokeball from the #3 slot on his belt and dropped it on the ground, revealing his plant pokemon in a flash of light.
"Hey buddy." Tag knelt down, pulling out the Sun Stone from his pocket. "You know what this is?"
Kyoko's closed eyes stared intently at the stone in Tag's hand. She tilted her head/body over to one side, eying it curiously before shaking her head.
"It's a Sun Stone. If you touch it, you'll evolve."
Kyoko looked up at Tag questioningly: "gloom?"
"I bought it just before I got the new tattoo. I thought I'd check with you first, you know? See if you're ready to evolve yet?"
A bright smile crossed Kyoko's inquisitive face. She did a twirl happily, mostly excited at the thought that her trainer had asked her whether or not she had wanted to evolve. Perhaps memories of a less hospitable and less accommodating Pistol Jones crossed her mind, but she seemed to accept Tag's request wholeheartedly. She reached up and gently took the stone from Tag's open hand with her little nubs, before hugging it to around the area below her mouth.
A warm, sunny glow radiated from the stone, cover Kyoko in its radiance. Tag stood up, shielding his eyes for a moment as the glow roared up into a full blast of light, as powerful and magnificent as a small sun. Once it faded, there stood an elated looking Bellossom, curtsying in her new grass skirt to Tag and Raven. "Bella!"
"Kyoko, congrats" Tag smiled, scooping her up into his arms "You're amazing, as always."
He looked to Raven, the warm smile still plastered to his face. "We should be going. I'm tired of the city, let's find some place to camp out tonight."
Raven crossed her arms, as though pondering the thought of Gigarte. It was a new place. She'd never been there. There would be camping, and fun, and making others miserable.
...Of course she was in.
She gandered Tag already knew that, though, considering that he was now talking with Kyoko, and holding...something. Upon closer inspection, Raven's eyes widened.
"Oh, a Sun Stone..." she whispered, allowing the "conversation" to continue. She began thinking about when she would evolve A Capella...and what she would look like. Her heart fluttered with the thought of such a beautiful and powerful creature at her side.
And speaking of beautiful...
A radiant glow erupted from where the Gloom had once stood, and in its place now stood a beautiful, twirling Bellossom. As it curtsied to Raven, the girl made the most feminine noise she had probably ever made, something mixed between a squeak, a garbled mix of foo-foo words, and a large "D'awww!". The sound seemed to startle Raven, and she immediately took on her stoic appearance once again, her eyes darting around the room as though she was searching for the source of the odd noise.
As Tag mentioned that he was tired of the city, Raven gave an exasperated groan. "You have no idea. Let's get out of here."
With that, she strode over to Tag, and dramatically linked her good arm with his, a proud, militaristic scowl upon her face.
"Onwards! We have Gyms to slay, Poke'mon to catch, and...and..."
She paused, the look on her face turning into one of contemplation. After a moment, she chuckled to herself, shaking her head. What thought had just crossed her mind would be hers, and only hers...though the look on her face would lead to a great bit of confusion from the bumbling lummox at her side. Tugging at his arm fervently, she craned her head towards the door.
To Gigarte.
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