Hard Enough

The proper review session I had after the match with Tori started about how I thought it would.

“You sucked,” A.J. said.

Yolanda bristled like a Meowth that had her fur rubbed the wrong way. “Brock won!”

A.J. sniffed. “Only because he had the better pokemon, his strategy was pretty basic. He flailed around when Minimize was used instead of committing to a move that would have worked.” A.J. began ticking his fingers. “Surf, Earthquake, Thunder, Discharge, Swift, Lock-On, or other accuracy boosting moves could have all worked.”

I coughed. “I only have a few of those and I don’t have any moves to boost accuracy.” I nodded to A.J. “You’re right though, I should have committed to other options. I’m happy with how I was able to use Shin to get Starmie into a position where I could beat him with Sanchez, but things would have been tougher if I didn’t have him on the team.”

Yolanda shifted only to scowl and cross her arms. “You would have worked something out!” she said, firm in her support.

I shot her a smile. "Thanks; I think I might have had to do some other options, such as denying accuracy. Usually, I’d use Sandstorm for that, but it would have been hard. Sanchez was my best option but I wanted to guarantee it.”

A.J. nodded. “You also didn’t—”

I sat back and listened to A.J. lay out my various mistakes, from not scouting enough to not having a clear enough idea of what would be the best field for me. Missy sat to the side, taking all of this in while also writing a lot of what was being said down. Today had been worth a lot for her, having been involved in most of the negotiations, review, field check, spectating the battle, and now the review.

She’d been given a dearth of information to look through and would have to take a while to digest it, especially with how I was going to go to Goldenrod City tomorrow for the next match.

I’d faced a good number of people at home but it was time to fight in another stadium.

I gestured to the whiteboard, “How much of this is going to need to be altered for tomorrow’s match?” I asked.

A.J. scowled at the whiteboard while the others in the room gained thoughtful looks.

Yolanda shook her head. “We’d need to watch some of Corvo’s matches to judge that.” she pointed to another whiteboard that listed his pokemon roster. An impressive fifteen pokemon all registered and had made appearances at the Ace level.

“Feraligatr’s going to be in his team as a starter,” I said, placing said pokemon on the ‘locked in’ position. I then eyed the fourteen other pokemon that had made an appearance thus far.

“Meganium is another solid choice,” I said before looking at the other options. Hypno, Heracross, Primeape, Ursaring, Kingler, were other pokemon I put on the maybe pile.

Rocko tapped one of the whiteboards. “I think there is a chance that he might have some other pokemon up his sleeve,” he said.

When I raised an eyebrow in question and waved my hand for him to continue, Rocko coughed. “Right well, Corvoi was able to do well enough to do a Johto, Kanto, and Hoenn journey a number of years ago.” Rocko waved a hand about the room. “But I don’t see any Hoenn pokemon on this list.”

I chewed my lip in thought. That did rather stand out.

Dennis snorted. “That isn’t actually a mystery. Corvo is a known Johto patriot. He likes to only use pokemon that he caught within the region. It limits him but he takes pride in his rise up the ranks.”

A.J. scoffed. “Yeah, for a guy that got a Totodile as his starter he sure had it rough.,” he said snidely.

I reached over and nudged A.J. “Hey, don't be too quick to judge. We all have different hurdles to face. Don’t forget that powerful pokemon like that can sometimes mean that the person has a target put on their back. Also, don’t begrudge him his success. Professor Elm gifted him Totodile yes, but with his team, he’s risen up to seventeenth in Indigo.”

“If he beats you he only needs to win a few more matches to guarantee a spot in the mid-season tournament,” Alexa pointed out.

I nodded. “Yeah, but that’s not going to be happening. I plan to win this just like the others.”

“Now, let’s do some review for his matches and pick out any techniques or tricks that he knows. Write down what they are and if they’re important we can review them as a group. Otherwise, for now let’s all pair up and watch a different match each,” I said, sending people off.

“Score! We get to sit around watching pokemon matches for the afternoon!” said one of my trainers.

I snorted. It was a pretty good gig to have. They were even getting paid. But that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be work to be done. There was information here, and it was up to us to ferret out what we could.

Tori had admitted to reviewing and creating her team with mine in mind. People were starting to get smarter about how and what they faced me with.

I had a few gaps with my roster's heavy rock and water focus, but as A.J. had detailed, I’d been coasting on the strength of my pokemon. Will… as much as I hated to admit it, had pokemon at my level.

At the moment, it was like my team were made of pokemon that had all reached level sixty… or at least fifty, compared to the forties of my opponent's Ace trainers. Super effective moves would still blow me up, but we weren’t on an even playing field.

I needed to work on this to make sure I had the skills to cover for any advantages they might use, some of which I was doing.

Still, that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to keep pushing my pokemon. With the embers of the Moltres event, along with Will’s draw against us starting to die off, I would need to work to keep my pokemon motivated.

I was hoping that the slow uptick in the toughness of my opponents would make them keep up their efforts. I knew there was more my pokemon could achieve. It was just a matter of drawing out that potential.

Much like the games, it became harder and required more to have my pokemon get stronger. This was added to the complexity of needing to take into account training, rest, burnout, or even injury. All of that and more could cause setbacks.

Still, you needed to roll the dice and chance your hand if you wanted to be getting stronger.

For that, I needed to challenge and accept battles.

Specifically, battles that would take me out of my comfort zone.

Goldenrod City was one of the largest cities in Indigo. It came in as the third biggest after Celadon and Saffron. Where both of those cities were already established there was a growing sense that Goldenrod was still growing and doing it fast.

In truth, this was a lie. Goldenrod should have been the biggest city within Indigo bar none. It had a longer history, greater cultural significance, and also population.

It had all of these before the war.

The war had seen Goldenrod City ravaged as enemy forces were able to raid the high-value target from land, sky and sea to rip through the City.

Johto had been forced to station huge numbers of trainers and their pokemon at Goldenrod to defend it as they weren’t willing to lose their capital. It was seen as too great a dishonour to abandon it.

So they had dug themselves in and made others and their own pay.

Due to this mindset, Goldenrod was the most infiltrated city the Guardians had thanks to the number of chanellers that were required to calm malevolent spirits. Morty’s gym wasn’t able to supply all of the demand, so specialists from Lavender Town were sent there by the League. Or perhaps it was just a matter of Lavender Town being seen as better thanks to Agatha’s position as an Elite Four member.

Regardless, by the time the war ended, Goldenrod had been a shadow of its former self. That hadn’t stopped people advocating for it to be the capital of the newly formed Indigo. The people fighting for this were passionate enough that Oak’s compromise of the Indigo plateau being the true heart had seen a lot of pushback. At least that’s what was written in the Guardian’s notes on the time post-war history.

Goldenrod itself had struggled to get back despite the place in Johto residents had for it in their hearts.

It wouldn’t have surprised me that Giovanni had seen such an opportunity in Goldenrod with all the damage it had sustained. They’d needed support, and he’d had funds for days along with building materials, pokemon, and the connections to make things work.

All for the low, low price of Giovanni having a sizeable stake in Goldenrod. League accountants even now were still working through everything. They were desperately trying to keep the money flowing even as the League seized Team Rocket’s hidden assets to make sure that the rebuilding of Goldenrod continued.

I walked down the main street with Zubat flapping around me, taking in the sights.

There were a lot of building sites, but someone had obviously gotten a hold of a skilled city planner… or a team of them more likely, to set things out very well. Skyscrapers didn’t hog the waterfront but rather were positioned such that they didn’t obstruct someone’s view. That was if they were to own houses on the eastern hills that allowed people there to look out over the Sentret sea to the west of Goldenrod.

A railroad that, unlike the games, ran through the middle of Goldenrod, and allowed transport throughout the city, and indeed, a significant part of Johto. I knew of plans that often got tossed around to expand the rail network so that it came through Pewter and down into Saffron.

Sadly, Mt Silver and the various denizens were in the way and any thoughts on setting something up long-term were crushed in the early stages by practical-minded engineers. Nobody wanted to create a railway above or below ground that passed anywhere near Mt Silver.

Kanto residents liked to scoff that the railway made some of the Johto trainers soft. What with not having to camp out as much. They couldn’t dispute the undeniable benefits it brought though.

Interestingly, a subsect of the Battleclubs had formed due to the trains with trains often getting on and fighting other trainers from other areas of Johto. I had been told that there existed a Train challenge, where a trainer would start at the back, where the weaker trainers were supposed to be, before advancing up a cart after gaining three wins.

The trick was that you could only use one pokemon for each fight and you needed to do it in the space of time that the train was in station. This led to frantic fights that were all-or-nothing exchanges taking place near the train stations.

It was little wonder that the police had their own subbranches located right next to any rail station.

Johto, to me, was a dichotomy of the past and the future merging. Johto held to traditional styles while also having the latest cutting-edge facilities and technology.

It somewhat mirrored Japan from my past life, I suppose.

Interestingly I’d found an update on the next Gym Leader for Goldenrod after Hannah’s arrest.

Norman, a Gym trainer that was seen with high regard and studying with his family had been called in to temporarily hold the Gym. It was being touted as a great honour, and extremely forward thinking by the League. I didn’t miss the memo that mentioned how Norman, when he was expected to become a Hoenn Gym Leader, would help advocate for Indigo interests.

Such as the G-men.

I had to give it to Lance, it was a coup on many levels.

The arena that I would be fighting Corvo at today was located on the waterfront, and to my own sensibilities, it took place north of the Goldenrod radio tower.

A pier extended from the beachfront out to a large structure that was built into the ocean and held a lot of trainer facilities along with entertainment.

In a way, it reminded me of Coney Island.

My walk down the pier with my entourage started to draw attention from there. People couldn’t help but notice me. What with how posters plastered up showcasing Corvo and my own face in a featured Ace match-up.

People began stepping out of the way while others glared at me. It was actually surprising to have people not approaching me, but then again I’d gotten used to Kanto resident's reactions. Johto residents… well I might not be so popular with them having beaten their golden boy Lance, and I was now facing off against Corvo. Another Johto patriot.

Murmurs were surprisingly as bad as it got with people giving me a cold shoulder. I had to wonder if there would be other reactions if I remained out in public but in the end, I decided to not test it.

It still affected Yolanda and Missy though, with how they stepped a little closer. “So this is the Johto cold shoulder I’ve heard about?” said Missy.

Yolanda shot her a look. “Cold shoulder?”

Missy nodded. “Johto people like to snub people they think have wronged them or are going to wrong them. By not interacting with Brock they are showing disapproval.” Missy raised up her transceiver and displayed a travel advisory. “I discovered this during my own journey but if you’re not liked by the locals, they will only serve you certain dishes or even refuse service. It’s caused a number of fights to take place and while it isn’t supposed to occur as much, plenty of places will still give a very… diluted menu if you go there.”

“Huh,” I said, eying the nearby stalls. “That’s a shame. It looks like a nice place to bring the family.”

Missy nodded. “Yeah, they will be like this for today and a bit after the match but they should be fine if you’re coming in as a tourist. If you’re coming here to fight one of their darling trainers though?” Missy shook her head.

I glanced towards where the Goldenrod Gym was. I wondered what the etiquette was about challenging the gym? “Do people just stay quiet about when they’re going to challenge the Gym?”

Missy made a so-so gesture. “It’s not as bad for trainers as most people doing the Gym challenges are young kids. They get a bit of the treatment if the challenger is loud and obnoxious, but once the match is over they usually return to being polite.”

“Hmmmm, I can’t say I like it,” Yolanda said.

“Me neither,” said A.J. causing Yolanda to blink in surprise.

“You do?” she said, perplexed.

“Yeah, they should just be upfront about it, not so sneaky. If people want to challenge them they shouldn’t be like that. And if they have a problem they should just demand a fight themselves!” he said glaring at the people around us, only to earn a few glares himself as people reached for their pokeballs.

I sighed as people took his challenge at face value. A.J. grinned. It probably hadn’t been his intent, but he’d drawn out a few people for a fight.

I was suddenly glad that I came an hour early for this match. It might have cost me a bit with Teleport fees but that wasn’t too much of an issue. I’d just needed to schedule myself off for half the day.

I watched A.J. beat down a few locals only to get crushed in his third match by a strong trainer who had a very well-trained Furret. Once that was wrapped up we continued on to the arena itself which had a huge golden edifice that swept around on itself like a wave. It easily had enough seating to be classed as a mega stadium.

Team Rocket pokedollars had been spent very well.

I marched into the stadium and was led to a set of rooms that were a touch shorter than I’d expected. I could hear the rumble of thousands of feet marching over my head.

Yolanda twitched and shifted, agitated by the noise while I merely sat on a massage table and shut my eyes.

“This… is this really the room we have to wait in?” she said after a few minutes.

I cracked an eye open and looked her over. “Yeah, this is the room they give to ‘away’ trainers. They are deliberately built to be smaller, not as accommodating, and a bit off-putting. It is yet another method of disadvantaging a trainer.”

“Huh, that’s cheap,” said A.J. with a dismissive sniff.

I shrugged. “It’s a common enough practise in most sports for away teams to not have the nicest waiting areas. It’s no different for pokemon trainers,” I said, not worried.

“You’re not worried about this?” Yolanda said.

I shook my head. “You just need to remember that there are worse places to wait around or to battle. It’s one of those things that you’ll learn a bit more about on your Journey,” I said.

Missy started looking around, opening cupboards and doors to find various change rooms or broom closets.

A knock on the door ten minutes before the match led to an official entering and offering his id badge to me. I scanned it with my xtransceiver and got confirmation that he was who he said he was.

The man then gestured to a small six-ball receptacle. “Gym Leader Brock, it has been noted that you have a carrying capacity beyond the norm of six. Therefore it is our duty to ask that you please lock in your selections for which pokemon you will be using.”

“Ah, like when I faced off against Lance,” I said before nodding.

Interestingly, the official’s face twitched into annoyance when I mentioned the Lance fight. “Yes, quite.”

Yolanda shuffled from her feet. “You haven’t had to do this in the past?”

I shrugged. “People have been willing to accept that I’ll hold to six pokemon. I usually only openly carry five pokemon on my pokebelt, so it is obvious if I draw a pokemon from somewhere else.”

“Five? But what…” Yolanda blinked and nodded. “Oh right! Titan’s necklace greatball.”

I nodded my head and registered which pokemon I was going to use today. The man bowed in acceptance before departing.

“I feel like that could be abused,” said Yolanda.

I sighed. “Yeah, it could be. I was honestly surprised that Will didn’t demand it for my match against him. I don’t think it would have done him any favours. Then again he might not have thought about it.”

I tilted my head. “Then again with the tricks he pulled off I doubt that, it probably wasn’t worth it.” I offered a shrug and pulled out some cards from my carry pack. “Want to relax a bit? Your nerves are making me nervous,” I said with a teasing smile to show I was joking.

Yolanda huffed and dragged a chair to a table where we set up.

I released some of my team, and a few of them scrapped the ceiling. Titan and Link settled next to me while Knight sat behind A.J. Gawain turned down the offer and instead moved to a corner to meditate while Selene assisted Yolanda and Terra to win big time.

When the official came to collect us he found us playing another round.

“Go fish by the way,” I said to A.J. who shot Knight a scowl. I then, at Titan’s direction pointed a finger at Missy. “Two’s?” I asked.

She scowled and handed me over her two to Titan’s pleasure.

“You’re playing cards with your pokemon?” he said incredulously.

“Yeah, it’s great fun for them. When they don’t cheat!” I said, staring at Selene who looked far too smug.

He shook his head and had me return my team before leading us up the tunnel. My entourage went ahead and got to their seats while I waited in the tunnel.

“And now! Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight’s feature match! From Pewter City, the Gym Leader of Rock and Stone! Give it up, for Brock!”

I step forward, thoroughly bemused at the rather lackluster introduction. Rachel did better on her bad days.

I walked to the podium only for a wave of boos to roll out. Huh, guess this was another factor with being the Challenger.

I hummed and smiled. Really, it reminded me a lot of my time as a Gym Leader where I needed to be the heel to push people. Sometimes the crowd, even at Pewter, didn’t cheer for me. Then again the Gym circuit and the Ace circuit were very different beasts.

I just shook my head as people shouted and hollered. I waved to Yolanda and the others, making sure to project how confident I was and that I wasn’t letting these people get to me.

When it was time for Corvo’s introduction, the lights dimmed, the crowd fell silent, and Corvo stepped forth.

“From the east to the west! All know of him and his passion for Johto! He’s the Johto Patriot! The eighteenth-ranked battler. It’s Ace trainer Corvo!” introduced the announcer.

Corvo descended through the crowd and they cheered as one for him. His long blue hair pulled into a ponytail. His hands played with a single pokeball as he walked.

The crowd called out his name but he didn’t even acknowledge them.

His eyes were locked with mine. I felt a frisson of excitement run up my spine.

Hoh? He’s got some proper fighting spirit then? Excellent.

When he reached his podium the referee was quick to go through the usual pre-match spiel before he waved flags in both of our directions.

“Trainers! Are you ready?” we both nodded and he swept his flags. “Release and begin!”

“Let’s go Gawain!” I shouted.

“Snapper! Out and angry!” Corvo called.

As Gawain took form I had to curse as on Corvo’s side, Snapper, the Feraligatr was sent out straight away.

Damn, he’d sent his starter out first against my rock-bug pokemon.

I’d been hoping for Meganium, Ursaring, or one of his fighting-type pokemon.

“Waterfall!” barked Corvo. His pokemon suddenly launched forward like it was on top of a geyser with how the water appeared underneath it, launching Feraligatr straight at Gawain.

“Agility!” I called, forcing Gawain to dodge the attack. Gawain blurred to the side and I was pleased to see him dragging his axe into the ground as he slowed to keep Feraligatr in his field of vision.

“Tch! I’m not falling for that!’ said Corvo. “Surf! Whip the field clear!” he commanded. Feraligatr stepped back and a huge tidal wave formed to sweep him up.

Gawain stared at the oncoming attack with wide eyes. “Charge into it!” I ordered.

Gawain twitched but did as commanded, right before the wave slammed into him I slashed my hand. “Protect!” I ordered, causing the wave to sweep over an orb of protective energy, resulting in Gawain escaping easily.

When the wave crashed down on the other side of the field Snapper turned and shot Gawain a narrow-eyed look.

Gawain dropped the Protect and brandished his axes.

I shot a look towards where the small patch of Stealth Rock should have been only to find them washed away.

Hmmm, they’d accounted for that with that Surf. That was wise of them. I huffed, it seemed I really couldn’t play it out easily. I could probably win this with Gawain, but it would be enough to see the field inundated with water.

Setting up for other water types and limiting rock or ground type attacks.

Gawain had good mobility, but I needed some quick dodges while being able to pressure Corvo’s starter. Gawain, if I got in close, might be able to do that.

I had better options, however.

“Gawain return!” I barked holding up his pokeball.

Corvo twitched and narrowed his eyes, watching as my pokemon departed before I sent out another.

“Go Selene!” I said frowning, as I noted that Corvo didn’t use a buff or something delayed that would… Realisation clicked in. He didn’t have a move like that for Snapper.

I wanted to stare at him, that seemed like a bit of a blunder on his part, especially with how prevalent it was for trainers to change out pokemon. Instead, I had to make the most of Selene’s appearance.

“Psy!” I said, making a grasping gesture. Selene glowed with psychic energy and Snapper rose struggling as he was grasped in Slene’s Psychic.

“Waterfall!” barked Corvo.

Snapper once again had a huge geyser of water launch him up into the air where he hung for a moment. From on high he loomed over Selene. I smirked.

Well, if he was going to give me such options, who was I to deny him?

“Psybeam!” I ordered.

Selene tilted up and then unleashed right into the falling pokemon.

“Match it with Ice Beam!” Corvo said. His pokemon inhaled and then discharged a powerful blast of Ice straight at Selene only for her Psybeam to meet it in the middle.

Ice beam, while strong, wasn’t able to match the STAB bonus of Selene with her Psybeam blowing through Snapper’s attack to nail him before he could land.

Snapper landed only to kick up into a fighting position with a sinuous twist of the body. “Surf!” called Corvo.

“Build up for it!” I said, crossing my arms and watching as the wave built up before once more carrying Snapper.

The wave came on and for a moment it looked like Selene was in danger, only for her to vanish at the last second in a Teleport.

“Snapper!” shouted Corvo, revealing that his pokemon had been waiting for just this.

Snapper, already at the top of the wave, turned and leapt back towards where Selene was, fangs glowing darkly.

I allowed myself a smile. Corvo had anticipated what I would do. Selene’s trick was known these days. Which meant that people’s responses could also be anticipated.

“SE!” I called as the wave crashed before me. I might not have seen where Selene was precisely, but I knew what was coming next.

I saw Snapper vanish, only to reappear as a giant rock slammed into his head sending him flying back into the crashing wave.

I grinned. “Nice one! Follow up on him!” I said only for Corvo to return his pokemon. I clicked my tongue and instead made a quick circle motion. “Future Sight!” I said, preparing the best I could while Corvo selected his next pokemon.

Selene glowed with intent while Corvo paused, his eyes narrowing. Ah, he’d noticed that Selene was still in his area of the battlefield.

“Go! Snarler!” he said, sending out his Ursaring. It appeared with a snarl that I felt only to barrel towards Selene. “Payback!” he ordered, resulting in his Ursaring taking on a dark energy.

“Get out!” I said, resulting in Selene Teleporting back from the advancing pokemon. Selene appeared once more on my side of the field.

Snarler lunged and missed only for the dark energy to not dissipate; it in fact grew stronger.

I frowned as Snarler whirled about and charged on with more dark energy around it.

Huh, it seemed like Payback had registered Selene’s Teleport as her leaving, resulting in the move growing stronger. Alright, I definitely didn’t want to let that play out again.

With room to move, I snapped a hand down. “SE!” I said.

Selene once more launched a large rock straight into the oncoming Ursaring.

Snarler tanked the shot and once more the dark energy built up. “That’s it! Take her out!” said Corvo as he realised that another dodge from Selene would only result in his pokemon growing stronger and stronger over time.

Thankfully, I had other options.

“Protect,” I said. The crowd howled their disapproval as Snarler’s fist slammed down impotently against Selene’s protective shell. He loosened a huge snarl of rage.

“Rest Snarler,” said Corvo as he narrowed his eyes. This caused his pokemon to shut his eyes and snore loudly as it recovered its health.

“Take it out of the fight!” I said to Selene as her Protect faded away.

Corvo, instead of fearing for his pokemon grinned. “Sleep talk,” he ordered.

Surprising everyone in the crowd, Snarler went from laying on his belly asleep to barreling forwards with powerful intent. I recognised the move as High Horsepower.

Sadly Selene was too close to dodge and so had to take the hit straight on, getting cast away by the powerful attack.

“Again! Crovo called. This time his pokemon rose up with a brown glow around one arm. Brick Break, he was about to use Brick Break.

“Psybeam from in close!” I shouted.

Selene narrowed her eyes and unleashed a powerful blast from close to point-blank range knocking Snarler back.

With the impact, he shook his head and glowered at Selene, waking up from his beauty sleep.

I rolled my shoulders. Our review session yesterday revealed something interesting about Snarler. He could tank a lot of damage, but most of the time he dished out more, was when he went to sleep. I suspected that Snarler had the ability guts, which increased attack when a status effect was in play.

If so, Corvo was very much playing to his strengths with Rest, and then Sleep Talk into other attacks.

I’d done my homework, however. Future Sight slammed home into Snarler before Corvo or I could give any more commands knocking the Ursaring down once more. I didn’t hesitate. “Psychic!” I said.

Selene lifted and then slammed Snarler into the ground heavily, ending the battle with a powerful blow, and I pumped my fist in victory having taken the lead one nil. “That’s the way girl! Go Selene!” I shouted.

Selene warbled her name, pleased at her showing before hovering back to my side of the arena.

Corvo sighed, and sent out his next pokemon. “Let’s go Pincher!”

His Kingler took to the field and I had to lean forward, knowing that this would be a tough match for Selene, but it was once again doable. I just needed to be careful.

“BB up high!” said Corvo. His Kingler raised the singular huge club-like claw and unleashed a barrage of bubbles into the air above Selene.

“Future Sight,” I said, happy to get this off.

I eyed the floating bubbles and whistled to Selene. She glanced at me and I made a subtle gesture indicating for her to move slightly to the left.

Corvo pointed straight at Selene. “HH!” he said, causing his Kingler to turn to the side and then sprint straight at her with the huge claw raised up, ready to club Selene.

I merely pointed, willing to match attack for attack. “Stone Edge again!” I chose to forgo the shorter command.

Selene unleashed her move only for Kingler to kip backwards, or rather, due to turning, sideways from Selene to avoid the attack. He then raised his claw up into the air and let loose an Ice Beam.

As the beam swept through the air, it made contact with a number of previously innocently floating bubbles, whereby they became frozen and heavy.

They plummeted out of the air as giant balls of ice and water shattered and splashed the area around them as they slammed into the arena floor.

Selene, thanks to my earlier prompt, didn’t even get wet.

I grinned. If Sanchez had pulled that off he would have clapped his hand and mimed an ole for all his worth. Instead, I pointed straight ahead at the gobsmacked Corvo and Pincher.

“Psychic!” I said. Pincher rose up as Selene grasped him with her power. Then she hurled him into a wall with a deft flick of her mind.

Pincher slammed into the wall, and then Future Sight slammed into him, knocking him out for another pokemon down.

I punched the air. “That’s the way Selene!” I said.

She warbled but this time it was much more subdued. I assessed her and sighed. Those last three fights with Snapper, Snarler, and Pincher had all taken their toll.

I raised her pokeball. “Nice work girl, time to send someone else in.” I grinned down at her ball before selecting my next pokemon. It was time to bait the hook and see what I reeled in.

“Let’s go Tide!” I said sending him out before Corvo had made his selection.

Corvo stilled. His hand locked on one pokeball only to look up and meet my gaze.

He shifted his hand to another pokeball and hurled out his fourth pokemon of the match. “Let’s show them up! Princess!” he barked.

Princess, the Meganium appeared and shook itself out as, on my side, Tide, the Lapras raised his chin defiantly.

Grass versus water. An advantage to Corvo.

“Petal Dance!” he said.

“Blizzard!” I responded, sweeping my hand in a wide arc.

Ice formed and was unleashed onto the field, freezing the petals as they formed. Huge boulders of ice flew down and Princess moved quickly to dodge the powerful, but inaccurate attack.

When the Blizzard died down, Princess was revealed and she had moved quickly enough to evade any danger.

“Energy Ball!”

“Ice Beam!” I replied.

Both pokemon opened their maws and a yellow and blue ball formed for each respectively.

Then they snapped their heads down and unleashed their attacks. I was more than a little surprised when Tide’s Ice beam was slightly pushed back. I shot Princess another look, reevaluating her strength.

She would have had STAB, but still, a grass vs. ice matchup should have seen Tide emerging as the clear winner there.

“Again!” said Corvo, leaning forward as he sensed a weakness that he could push for. Princess formed another ball of yellow energy, only for me and Tide to not be willing to get locked into a mirror of earlier.

“Blizzard,” I said, unleashing a powerful wave of ice once more. This time Princess wasn’t in a position to quickly escape and a large boulder of ice slammed into her even as she got off the Energy Ball.

Tide took the hit and glowered at her.

Princess for her part shot back to her feet with a determined glint in her eyes.

“Meganium!” she said, shaking her head and flaring the flower.

“Charge in close with Vine Whip!” ordered Corvo, a hint of desperation tinging his words.

Princess sprinted forward and I snapped my hand forward. “Ice Beam!”

“Leap now!” shouted Corvo and against my expectations for such a large pokemon, her vines formed up and lashed the ground, launching her up into the air and over the top of Tide’s Ice Beam.

Tide had a moment to try and tilt his head up to slam his beam into her only for her to get close enough to wrap her vines around his mouth. She landed heavily and Tide staggered her as he hurled himself backwards.

“Meganium!” said Princess, as she dug her feet in and wrenched Tide on his side, slamming him into the dirt and knocking him out.

I sighed. He hadn’t had a good run of it. While I had been hoping for a better outcome, I had to admit to being surprised about how powerful Princess had ended up being.

She stood, heaving in breath after breath, before draining back her vines as Tide vanished in a red light as I recalled him.

“Megan!” Princess called as she waved to the crowd. The crowd roared their approval back only to fall silent as I selected my next pokemon and sent out Gawain right on top of Princess.

“X-scissor,” I said firmly.

Gawain raised his axes and lunged.

“Vine Whip away again!” Corvo commanded. Once more Princess surprised me with her agility as she used her Vine Whips to kick back with an extra set of limbs, getting herself a little more room.

Only for Gawain to kick off the ground extra hard, his Agility still in effect from earlier to close with the Meganium.

X-scissor landed, and just like that Corvo had lost his third pokemon, and what had to be his second strongest pokemon. Even that seemed doubtful with how much better Princess’ showing had been compared to Snapper.

But then again, a starter is your starter for a reason.

Corvo returned his pokemon with a stern expression only to then pull out another pokeball. “Go! Smasher!” he said. His pokeball was released, and this time I found myself locking eyes with a Primeape.

It instantly screamed in rage and began punching at the air before noticing Gawain before it.

I nodded my head. Alright, fighting type v rock-bug.

Let’s do it to it, I thought.

I might have started this all because of Will and my desire to block his advancement and continued it so I was in a position to be the barrier for others like him, but that didn’t matter at all.

I was in the thick of it, and I was loving it.

I’d made the right choice to keep pushing myself.

“Agility!” I called, pushing for more of a buff to Gawain.

“Stomping Tantrum!” roared Corvo. Smasher stomped his feet into the ground with a roar as shockwaves rocked the arena. A good deal of the crowd gasped in shock as Gawain stumbled.

“Give yourself more balance points! Go into a low guard!” I commanded and Gawain did just that, his axes touching but not digging into the ground as he bobbed with the shaking earth.

Smasher snorted and stopped stomping his gaze now locked onto Gawain.

“Focus Blast!” shouted Corvo. Smasher shot out a huge blast of energy with a punch.

“Evade!” I responded.

Gawain vanished as he took off, circling Samsher as the feral Primaeape snarled and stomped his feet.

“Stone Axe in close!” I said deciding to dance in close.

“CC!” said Corvo with Primeape opening his arms in readiness to grapple if Gawain got too close.

“Control the fight!” I ordered, making Gawain shift his target from centre of mass hits to instead grazing attacks. I did not want Primeape getting a hold of him.

Primeape and Gawain danced back and forth. Gawain chopped and slashed with his axes while Smasher snatched after him or tried to bullrush him into a tackle.

Each attempt was evaded as Gawain was too fast.

Smasher tried to fake him out with an aborted attempt only to twitch in another direction.

Gawain didn’t hesitate to pull his axes back, raise them into a high guard position before lashing them in an X as he performed an X-scissor without my prompting.

I pumped my fist. “That’s the stuff! Good read!” I shouted, pleased that the work we’d done with Shin and Hypnotoad, along with Trixie’s fighting-type pokemon was paying off so well.

Primeape staggered back only to shake himself and howl with rage. He stomped his feet and snarled only to then dash about to another location, stomping his feet and throwing punches at nothing.

"Uh oh, he’s gotten rage locked,” I said.

Primeape snapped around at my voice and surged towards me, frothing at the mouth. I quirked an eyebrow, unimpressed as Gawain bodied the Primeape before he could take more than a few steps.

Primeape landed heavily only to stand and glower, his arms hanging low. It snorted and snuffled in rage only for Corvo to raise his pokeball and return him. “I withdraw him,” he said simply.

I shot him a raised eyebrow. “You waited until then?”

“Smasher has a lot of vitality to him, he needs to be worn down properly. Sometimes he can lock onto the right target during his Rage and he becomes unstoppable…” he shrugged then. “And sometimes he focuses on the wrong target. It’s a bit of a gambit. Fifty-fifty if you would, this time I came up unlucky.”

I frowned. That didn’t sound like how Rage was supposed to work, but then again there were a number of moves that were similar, such as Outrage, that were tough to Or had he trained for that specifically? It was very risky, but if it worked like he said it did, then it would be worth it.

Or was it an ability? Hmmm, too many variables that were unknown to say.

With Smasher removed, it came down to Corvo’s second last pokemon, his Feraligatr had taken a beating so I didn’t expect it to come back out, but then again, I might be wrong.

I glanced at Gawain and hummed at what I saw. He was a bit tired from that exchange but otherwise doing alright for himself. I tilted my head. If I was right… Corvo’s best choice was another fighting type, with his Heracross having the highest odds.

If I was wrong, it wasn't such an issue.

I could stick with Gawain, he was already buffed up, but… I wanted to give another of my pokemon a chance to shine.

“Gawain, return!” I ordered. Gawain vanished in a red beam and Corvo narrowed his eyes at me as he palmed his last pokemon.

I grinned and palmed my next choice. “Let’s go, Link!” I shouted, sending him out for his debut showing.

Link appeared with a twirl and both hands waving hugely, the wings on his back flapped excitedly and he had a gigantic smile on his face. “Clefable!” he shouted.

The crowd wasn’t quite sure what to make of him and there was a lull as they stared at him.

“YEAH! GO LINK!” shouted Yolanda from the side lines.

I shot her a smile as Link perked up and waved at her before settling into a fighting stance.

I then turned my attention back to Corvo who stared at the Clefable. “You haven’t used this pokemon before,” he said.

I grinned. “Yup! This is his debut!” I said.

Corvo shook his head and sent out his last pokemon. “Go Buzzer!” he said, sending out his Heracross. I mentally fistpumped. I might not have gotten the order right, but I’d guessed what team he’d use against me correctly.

“Aerial Ace!” Corvo shouted. Heracross vanished into a blur as his wings buzzed up to speed.

“Gravity!” I replied and Link clenched his fists and punched them forward resulting in a distortion to build up around him. He flexed his knees but was otherwise unaffected.

Buzzer however was thrown off by the sudden increased weight of his flight and crashed into the ground with a heavy crash.

I chopped my hand at Buzzer’s downed form. “Moonblast!” I said and Link held up his hands, channelling up a pink ball before hurling it at Buzzer.

“Protect!” snapped Corvo resulting in the attack slamming into a barrier.

“Again!’ I said making Link go for another blast and this time Corvo couldn’t dodge. The orb of fairy energy hammered into Buzzer and dropped him.

He buzzed angrily for a moment before standing and staggering back and forth. He glowered at Link for a moment before growling in rage and shaking his head, getting back into the fight.

I had to admit that I was impressed by his fighting spirit to keep going.

“Throat Chop!” said Corvo and this time Buzzer came straight on his wings buzzing and pushing him even as he used his feet to kick off the ground.

“Meteor Mash,” I responded and Link threw himself into a roll that saw him and Buzzer slamming into each other.

For a moment they clashed, both of their energies radiating outwards only for an explosion to rock the field as both pokemon’s attacks discharged.

When the smoke cleared it revealed Buzzer angrily leaning against Link who stared into his eyes in curiosity.

“Hera…” said Buzzer tiredly, only to topple.

Before he could hit the ground, Link caught him and held him up, helping Buzzer stand at his side.

“Fable!” said Link firmly. He then nodded once and put Buzzer back onto his feet before raising his hand up into the air with Buzzer’s left hand.

I blinked in surprise, was he… honouring his foe?

The crowd, who’d almost to a person had been booing or catcalling me at the start, rose in dribs and drabs to clap.

Before long, everyone in the stands were on their feet cheering for the show of sportsmanship Link had just done.

Buzzer stared at the adoring crowd for a moment before shutting his eyes, passing out still on his feet.

Link stepped back and smiled.

I stared.

Holy Houndoom. That… I wasn’t even sure what to call that.

He’d just flipped the crowd with one heartfelt gesture.

Corvo returned his pokemon and gave Link a long, thoughtful look before raising a hand to the referee. “I will withdraw any other pokemon that I might have, I think.” He then turned to Link and me and bowed. “The victory is yours, Brock. It is a well earned sweep,” he said.

He then raised his hands and clapped, leading a wave of renewed applause.

I laughed and hopped over the podium railing to grab Link and toss him up onto my shoulder.

“You don’t even have to try, do you?” I said to Link. I was so getting a poster made of this moment. I’d title it, that’s what heroes do.

He shot me a confused look before turning his attention elsewhere to wave to the crowd.

I shook my head and joined him.

The heart of a hero indeed.

And what was more heroic than winning the hearts and minds of the people?