It's nice seein' Quayle get knocked down a peg or two after what he did.
Also, I was hopin' that Nye was gonna throat punch Eldan, hehe.
Also, I was hopin' that Nye was gonna throat punch Eldan, hehe.
Writing Mysteries of the Forgotten Island (Version Zero) (Complete)
- Thread starter PMJ
- Start date
Well, that was interesting. Mostly the fact that Quayle used to have back long hair....BUT OMG the plot though
I shall miss you Candice...
I shall miss you Candice...
Nah, my prediction is that he'll get another chance much later in the story, and the story will end with him and Candice on a positive note. I don't think him and Nye would ever hook up, so that leaves Candice as his reward for changing.
I want Nye to win, because her character is admittedly deserving of the tournament thus far. Although a small part of me wants her to lose just so she has to go on a date with Eldan.
And does anyone else think Nye deserves to win? If not, then who else do you think deserves to win the tournament?
if Nye hits the 50% chance to win every time then she definitely deserves it.
I don't think that anyone is deserving of winning at this point. The story just started; it's almost unfair to say that a character deserves to win at this point. We barely even know the characters. Sure, you can want a character to win, but it's a bit early to say someone deserves the win.
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
I don't think there is any character who deserves to win at this point. To accurately answer that question is largely impossible because there are too many unknowns. You don't know why most characters are competing. Jethro is in it for the lulz at this point, Quayle wants to fund more rEd ChAiNz. You'll learn Windra's motives in chapter 3, but that's it. How do you know that Nye doesn't want to use the money to start a puppy mill?
The story is also not finished yet. Even I don't know what's going to happen; there could be something that happens later on that would change your mind about a given character.
The story is also not finished yet. Even I don't know what's going to happen; there could be something that happens later on that would change your mind about a given character.
These are good points, I really don't know what I was thinking...
Edit: And when I said I wanted Nye to win, I meant in her match against Eldan, not the whole tournament. I know it seemed like I meant the whole tournament, so I'm just clearing that up right now.
Last edited:
I just read that interlude. Holy crap, I had no idea Nye could be such a jerk. At least Quayle got what he needed to hear, though. Trying to kill someone's Pokémon is too much. Also, I can tell Eldan wants Nye in his bed so bad, but now that she has to date him if he wins, I want him to win their match so bad. Overall, that interlude was a really nice read, and I can't wait for Chapter Three!
Well, I'm back! Where is it?
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
Hey guys. Apologies to anyone who subscribed to this thread and thought this was a chapter update. Just thought I'd post to update everyone at the same time.
I have not forgotten about this story. Unforuntately, since starting a new job, I've had less time to write. I also run PokeBeach's monthly PTCGO tournaments, so the end of the month into the start of the next one is always a busy time for me, so it's a bad coincidence that most of my online time has gone to making sure the transition from March's tournament to April's goes smoothly.
The good news is that Chapter 3 is mostly done. There may be some bits that I add to it, but I'm mostly in the editing phase right now. How long that will take is anyone's guess, and I'm not about to put a deadline on its completion.
Just know that this story is continuing. I ain't planning on letting it die just yet.
Here is a snippet from chapter 3 (disclaimer: everything you see is subject to change):
Ruby's mouth opened in shock, eyes wide. She, like Safiri, knew the implications of that statement. "Why? Why would he ever say such a thing?"
Safiri slumped back in her chair, and found something interesting on the floor to look at. "I made a joke in poor taste, that's all. I apologized for it, and he apologized for what he said as well."
"Must have been really bad if he said that to you. You gonna be okay?"
Safiri straightened a bit, but didn't take her gaze from the floor. "Yes, I'll be fine. Like I said, it was in poor taste. It won't happen again." She looked at the clock. "The match is about to begin. You'd better get things started."
Ruby reached over and took one of Safiri's hands into her own. "I know that it's eating at you. You wouldn't have told me if it wasn't. You might have even planned this out so I wouldn't have time to give you the "you are special" speech again," she added with a playful nudge. "If you want to talk later, I'm here. Esmy too. We love you."
"I know, Ruby. I... appreciate it," Safiri decided, not entirely comfortable with the subject. "Now hurry. They're all waiting for you."
Taking submissions for the best meme answers to the question "What joke did Safiri make?"
I have not forgotten about this story. Unforuntately, since starting a new job, I've had less time to write. I also run PokeBeach's monthly PTCGO tournaments, so the end of the month into the start of the next one is always a busy time for me, so it's a bad coincidence that most of my online time has gone to making sure the transition from March's tournament to April's goes smoothly.
The good news is that Chapter 3 is mostly done. There may be some bits that I add to it, but I'm mostly in the editing phase right now. How long that will take is anyone's guess, and I'm not about to put a deadline on its completion.
Just know that this story is continuing. I ain't planning on letting it die just yet.
Here is a snippet from chapter 3 (disclaimer: everything you see is subject to change):
Ruby's mouth opened in shock, eyes wide. She, like Safiri, knew the implications of that statement. "Why? Why would he ever say such a thing?"
Safiri slumped back in her chair, and found something interesting on the floor to look at. "I made a joke in poor taste, that's all. I apologized for it, and he apologized for what he said as well."
"Must have been really bad if he said that to you. You gonna be okay?"
Safiri straightened a bit, but didn't take her gaze from the floor. "Yes, I'll be fine. Like I said, it was in poor taste. It won't happen again." She looked at the clock. "The match is about to begin. You'd better get things started."
Ruby reached over and took one of Safiri's hands into her own. "I know that it's eating at you. You wouldn't have told me if it wasn't. You might have even planned this out so I wouldn't have time to give you the "you are special" speech again," she added with a playful nudge. "If you want to talk later, I'm here. Esmy too. We love you."
"I know, Ruby. I... appreciate it," Safiri decided, not entirely comfortable with the subject. "Now hurry. They're all waiting for you."
Taking submissions for the best meme answers to the question "What joke did Safiri make?"
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
Chapter 3 highlights:
- a little more insight into the workings of Diamant Industries
- a little more insight into the workings of Windra
- Tsomu and Kiria have their match
- it's friggin dope
Couple things. First, I'm trying out a new way to write battles. Instead of shifting back and forth between each battler on the fly, I've written the entire battle from (mostly) one player's perspective. I don't know if I'm gonna stick to this way. Just something different to try. Lemme know what you think. Second, I'm taking a break from this story so I can finally play Breath of the Wild. I'll resume writing once I've beaten the main story. Please enjoy and leave feedback.
Word count: 11,017
Safiri was exhausted.
She'd been on her feet all day, busting asses as well has her own, doing everything she could to keep the tournament running smoothly. After Thresher and Taikyu had finished their match and the cleanup crew had reset the field and set it up for tomorrow's first battle, she'd had time for a quick bite and then it was back out into the jungle, making sure that all the spectators were gone and that the shop staff had set up their stands with fresh, updated merchandise - she made double sure that their stock of Quayle flags made their way to a bin to be discarded. A smile crept on her face as she imagined herself pouring gasoline on the pile of flags and then tossing a lit match onto it, setting the entire thing ablaze.
She removed a small cloth from her pocket and wiped her forehead with it, then folded it and placed it neatly in her pocket. Her I's were dotted and her T's were crossed. There was just one thing left for her to do: her daily report with Mr. Diamant. She headed to her office to use the video phone to make the call. Diamant had a cell phone, and it worked just fine, but when it came to Safiri's reports, he preferred her to give them via videophone, just so he'd have something nice to look at. Safiri knew that what Diamant meant by that was wanting to see her pretty face, but she still unbuttoned the top buttons of her blouse and positioned herself such that she had a fair amount of cleavage visible.
She didn't mind doing it. Her current incarnation had been working with Diamant for nearly three years, and never had any trouble with him. He was tough, but fair, with clear expectations of each of his employees. And while all three of his Jewels would willingly do anything he asked, Diamant wasn't a pervert, and that was something Safiri admired in the man. They all cared deeply for him, and believed in both him and this project, and in return, he made sure they were well cared for. She knew he preferred the voluptuous type, as evidenced by Esmeralda, so showing Diamant a little skin was something Safiri had no qualms with.
After making a few last-minute adjustments to her hair and clothes, she dialed for her boss. Diamant's private island, Tajna, was six hours ahead of Kanto, so it didn't surprise Safiri when she called him and he answered with the video blocked. While she still looked stunning after the end of a long day, Diamant was likely in bed, and he didn't want anyone seeing him when he was less than camera ready.
"Good morning, Safiri," he said groggily. Yep. He was definitely in bed, and Safiri would have bet Glaceon that her call woke him up. "You're looking well."
"Good morning, sir. Thank you, sir," she dutifully replied. "I'm calling you to give you my report on Version Zero, as per your request."
Diamant yawned. He wasn't expecting Safiri's call for a few hours yet - maybe she was ahead of schedule? "All right, let's hear it."
Safiri sat up a little straighter in her chair. "Yes, sir. The first day's matches have concluded, with victories for... subjects eight and fifteen," she finished, glancing at her clipboard to make sure. "Subject ten was extremely hostile before, during, and after his battle. It's therefore my recommendation that he be excluded from further consideration for testing."
"Was that the boy with the Deoxys?" Diamant asked, a little more awake now.
"Yes, sir." He must have watched the battles. Of course he did. Why wouldn't he?
"Keep him. His willingness to go to such extreme lengths to win is something I like. We would be remiss to not include him in the project."
Safiri bit her lip, clamping down on her brain's traitorous dissent. "Yes, sir."
"You don't look pleased," Diamant said.
Safiri cursed mentally, having briefly forgotten that Diamant could still see her, as her video wasn't blocked. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Of course, Safiri. I appreciate and respect your enthusiasm for maintaining an air of professionalism - it is a part of you, after all - but I consider us all family. Neither you or your sisters should never be afraid to speak your mind to me."
"He's a piece of shit," Safiri blurted. "I can't stand him, and neither can anyone else. He's got a mouth on him, sir. Esmeralda reported that one of the other subjects punched him in the face because of how he handled himself during the battle, and comments he made afterward."
"I see," Diamant said, clearly intrigued by this new development. "Which one did it?"
"Um..." Safiri said before she could stop herself. She checked her clipboard, flipped through pages to find Esmeralda's report. "Number sixteen. A girl, sir."
"Oh?" he asked, obvious curiosity in his voice. "Was she the one the Deoxys kid fought against?"
"No, sir. This was a separate incident. According to Esmeralda's report, number sixteen's also got a mouth on her." She smiled. "Regrettably, I can't confirm if Esmeralda was speaking literally or not."
Diamant chuckled, glad to see Safiri loosening up, even if it was just a little bit. "I'm fairly certain she meant both. You keep an eye on number sixteen as well. As for number ten, I still want his DNA. We can make adjustments later, as you are no doubt aware."
"Yes, I am, but..." she trailed off. Diamant had given her permission to speak her mind, but she still felt like she was treading dangerously close to insubordination, so she chose her words carefully. "Are you certain that's best for the project? We only want to use DNA from the strongest trainers, and he didn't even get past the first round."
"Let me be frank with you, Safiri," Diamant began. "We're shooting in the dark here, and to be perfectly honest, I don't understand much of the science behind it. That's always been Helmi's thing, you know. But the results of this experiment will prove quite useful in improving the biot program, and we want to make sure we've got all our bases covered. That young man's DNA won't be used in the first few runs, but it will be nice to have on hand just in case. If you have specific questions, you can ask her. Do you understand?
"Yes, sir," Safiri answered, a bit dejected. Helmi, Diamant's younger sister and lead scientist for Diamant Industries, was notoriously difficult to deal with, even for Diamant. She spent most of her waking hours in the lab, running tests, and hated being disturbed. Getting even a few straight answers out of her would be a feat in and of itself.
"Good, good. Have you anything else to report?"
"I do, sir. The tournament itself is running on schedule. Though we started the first match on time, there were many people still entering the stadium at that time."
"Yes, I did notice that. It's not an issue. You will always have stragglers who show up at the last minute, no matter what time we decide to start. What's important is that they show up at all and support us by purchasing tickets."
Though Safiri was glad that Diamant noticed the same problem she did, a part of her was upset that he didn't see it as a problem. She blamed it on her upbringing - she'd been made to follow rules and deadlines for as long as she could remember. But, she remembered, Diamant wasn't like her or her "sisters," as he affectionately called them. "Yes, sir. Viewership today was in excess of ten million. We anticipate this number will only increase as the tournament goes on." She checked her notes. "Sales are high, as expected. One vendor ran out of product after only half an hour. I've already ordered more, but it won't arrive for two days."
"You've taken care of everything, as usual. Excellent work. I don't know what I would do without you, Safiri," Diamant said with a chuckle.
"Make more?" she joked, laughing a bit, but her laughter quickly turned to panic when she realized he was not laughing with her. "I'm sorry, sir. That was uncalled for. Please forgive my insubordination."
Diamant said nothing at first, and Safiri knew she'd struck a nerve. She found herself embarrassed at her outburst and filled with a desire to do whatever it took to make things right again. Finally, Diamant spoke. "You are forgiven, S7," he said coolly, deliberately using the designator number his predecessor used.
Before Diamant had taken over, she'd been a simple biot, a soulless drone programmed to follow orders. The fact that she was human in design and appearance did not matter to Ms. Whitemore, her former boss. Neither did the fact that, like humans, she could laugh, cry, love, bleed, hope, and feel any other emotion humans were capable of. The only noticeable difference between the biots and the humans whose DNA made up most of their being was the lack of aging. The Sapphire 1 model had been the first success story of the biot program, and Chroma Corporation - what would later become Diamant Industries - carried the program on in secret, making improvements. The S2 model was released only five months later, and the S1 model was unceremoniously destroyed, thrown kicking and screaming into an incinerator with the rest of the garbage.
Enter Lucas Diamant, one of Chroma Corporation's biggest financiers. When he learned what Chroma Corporation had done to S1, he was livid. He threatened to withdraw his funding from the program and blow the cover on their experiments unless President Whitemore agreed to treat the biots humanely. Over the next five years, drastic improvements had been made to the program, and four additional biots had been commissioned and - as far as Diamant and those who sided with him, which was most of the board, knew - disposed of humanely when they'd served their use. When he found out that Whitemore had secretly ordered suicide protocols programmed into the biots, and that had been how the previous versions had been destroyed, he rebelled. Whitemore was ousted as president, Diamant was unanimously voted in as the new president, and thus Diamant Industries was born.
Diamant's first order of business upon becoming head of the company had been to give the current Sapphire model a name; he viewed the biots as more than just tools, and he felt bad calling a sentient creature, with thoughts, hopes, feelings, by a simple number - even it was technically correct to do so. In more than a small way, it humanized Safiri, and it was something she came to be immensely grateful for. She was mostly human, after all, and a small but not insignificant part of her felt a bit of jealousy that she hadn't had a "real" name. Diamant's only request - the same request that he'd later ask of Ruby and Esmeralda - was that they never referred to themselves as anything but special or unique. It was the only personal request he ever made of them, and all three of them agreed to it. So Safiri hearing her old "name" being used again - and what it signified, coming from him - nearly broke her. "Thank you, sir," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Diamant saw the way she'd reacted to his words, how the normally stoic woman was fighting to blink back tears, and he knew he'd crossed a line. Yes, he hated for them to make light of their situation. Yes, he could just "make more," but they wouldn't be her, would they? Strictly speaking, Safiri wasn't the first of her kind, but Diamant would be damned if she wasn't the last. Over the years, he'd grown to love them all as his daughters; it had hurt him to hear her even suggest that she was replaceable, but it hurt him more when he saw how much it had affected her. He enabled the video and, for the first time in days, Safiri was able to see her boss on the screen. From the shoulders up, he was a middle-aged man with messy platinum blonde hair that reached to his shoulders. "No, Safiri, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I was out of line," he said, so she could see in his worn hazel eyes that he meant it. "It was petty of me to say. And I know you might just call it one of my human flaws, but that's still not an excuse."
Safiri simply nodded. "I appreciate it, sir," she said evenly, hoping she could keep her composure for a few moments longer. She would definitely watch her tone in the future. "I have no further business to report. May I be dismissed? I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow."
In truth, Diamant wanted nothing more to say no, and force her to hear him out, but he acquiesced to her request. He was sorry; she was sorry; it was best to leave it at that. "Yes, Miss Kiter," he said, emphasizing her name as a final apology. "You are dismissed. I look forward to your report tomorrow." A thought. "Let's try at 10 PM your time. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes, sir," she said, and ended the call. And finally, in the darkness and silence of her office, Safiri's tears finally began to flow.
* * * * * * *
"Ladies and gentleman, the winner and grand champion of the first Kanto League Invitational is Windra Wallace! She'll be heading back to Unova with a sweet trophy and a hundred million dollars!"
Windra smiled. She couldn't remember who her opponent was, for some reason. I mean, they were right over there, all she had to do was look, but Windra didn't bother looking. She did, however, look at all the cameras that wanted to take the new grand champion's picture. She had pictures taken of both her and her Pokemon, doing mostly silly poses with Chomper and Tyeaf.
Scarlet rushed onto the field to greet Windra. "Congratulations, Windra!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms tight around her. "I knew you could do it."
Windra ran a hand through Scarlet's jet-black hair. "It was only because you believed in me that I was able to win."
"Of course, babe," Scarlet said, pulling the older girl in for a kiss.
"Wait," Windra giggled, moments before their lips touched. "What about the cameras, ya goof?"
"What cameras?" Scarlet asked, puzzled.
Windra gave Scarlet a playful shove. "Come on, don't be ridiculous, those cam-" But when she turned to point them out, there were no cameras. There were no people, and no Pokemon - just an empty, silent stadium. "What the hell? Where'd everyone go?" She turned back to Scarlet, but came face-to-face with Archeidon, her Volcarona... sort of - the body was Scarlet's, but the head was Archeidon's. Windra screamed, pushing Scarlet off of her in a panic and backing up several feet. "What's going on?!"
"Babe, what's wrong? You're acting weird," Archeidon said, revealing that he, for whatever reason, sounded exactly like Scarlet. He stood up, sprouted his six wings, and flew over to Windra, lifting her up into the sky.
Windra screamed again, struggling to break free from Volcarona-Scarlet. "Put me down! Let me go!"
"You won't be saying that after I'm done with you," Volcarona-Scarlet said hungrily, zooming towards the dormitory wing. They crashed through the doors and flew down the stairs, landing right in front of Windra's room. Volcarona-Scarlet wrapped her arms tight around Windra and said, "Oh, Windra! You've been such a naughty girl! Say my name, you dirty, dirty beast, and kiss me!"
Windra flailed in Volcarona-Scarlet's iron grip as the beast drew its buzzing maw closer. "Nnnnnnnnoooooooooooooo....!"
She awoke with a gasp. She turned the lamp by her bed on and sat up, panting, as her eyes darted around the room, giving her brain enough information to piece together its surroundings. All of her Pokemon were sleeping, which was a rarity - though she didn't doubt that Archeidon, who sat perched on the back of a chair (with his own body, thankfully), had spent more than a little time keeping Chomper in line again. The Pikachu in question was sprawled on the floor by the door, away from the makeshift bed she'd made for him and Tyeaf, her Paras. Even as a kid, Windra had always let her Pokemon sleep outside of their Poke Balls. When she was out in the elements, miles and miles away from civilization, it made her feel safer, and less... alone.
Archeidon awoke with a long stretch, flapping and stretching his many wings. Seeing him reminded her of the dream she had, and she decided to write it down before she forgot the details. "Morning, Kai," Windra said blearily as she reached for the notebook she placed next to her bed every night. "Had a doozy of a dream last night... you were in it. Much to my dismay," she added under her breath as she rolled onto her stomach and started to write.
Won the tournament. Don't know who I beat. Scarlet was there, she was hotter than usual. Just about to make out when her head turned into Kai's head. Still had her body so it could have been cool but dream me got scared. Swooped us into the building and called me a dirty beast. Went to kiss me, woke up alone. Damn it.
She shut the book and placed it back on the bedside table. She stretched, yawned, and contemplated going back to sleep. When she was on the road, she wouldn't ever think of wasting daylight, but she was still tired, and she had a feeling that not even the sun was thinking about starting its day yet. Her brain pleasantly reminded her that she wasn't on the road; she wasn't wrapping herself up in her jacket that was big enough for two of her, or trying to prop herself up against a tree for a night of uncomfortable sleep. She was safe and warm, in a heated building, in a heated room, under warm blankets in a bed that, like her jacket, was big enough for two; maybe three, if she was feeling adventurous.
She closed her eyes and thought about the girl from her dream. She kicked herself for not trying to go further with Scarlet; the way she'd reacted, she probably would have done anything Windra asked, right there in front of Kiria. She was pretty cute, and definitely seemed interested... maybe she--
She wouldn't want someone with a past like yours, her brain interrupted.
She sighed dejectedly, realizing that she couldn't refute that. Windra didn't think she was a mean person - at least not to anyone she felt didn't deserve it - but she'd done plenty of things she'd come to regret. And whenever she felt like she'd gotten close enough to someone to let them in on the details of some of those things, they balked at her, unable to let her past be her past. They'd make up some flimsy excuse and split within a few days - one had even left her in the middle of their date, disgusted at what he'd heard. After the thirteenth such failed relationship, Windra started feeling that she would never find "someone special," and part of her was just fine with that. Sure, she'd still use her charm to get her own needs met when the mood struck, but as far as love was concerned, she wasn't all that interested. She thought of Scarlet and the torch she was carrying for Rose, which complicated things a bit. Damn feelings. A smile crept across Windra's face. Windra had some feelings, all right, and none of them involved holding hands or relationships or dark pasts that you're ashamed of. She'd just have to find a way to get Scarlet alone, and then...
Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. Windra scrunched her brow, wondering who on earth was knocking at this hour, but she didn't get up. The caller knocked again, and Windra continued ignoring them, hoping they'd go away, but they didn't. They knocked a third time, and finally, Windra got up, her mood quickly deteriorating. Didn't they have any idea what time it was? "Okay, hold your horses, I'm coming," she grumbled, crawling out of bed, picking up a shirt from the floor and slipping it on more for the mystery person's sake than her own. Not like she had anything to hide, she joked. Being as exhausted as she was, she didn't bother putting on pants, and decided that whoever was at the door was just going to have to deal with her forest green panties. When she opened the door, she found herself glad she made that decision. There in the doorway, wearing a burgundy nightgown, was Scarlet.
"Hey," she said. "Can I come in?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," Windra said, trying to play it off like she wasn't excited as hell. This was perfect. She was going to make up for her mistake yesterday, come hell or high water. "What's up?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could, casually removing her shirt and tossing it carelessly on the ground. She figured if Scarlet asked questions, Windra could just say she was still way too tired for clothes, and they were both girls anyway.
To Windra's dismay, Scarlet said nothing, choosing instead to sit wordlessly on Windra's bed and motion for Windra to sit next to her. Windra obliged just a little too quickly and told herself to ease it up a bit; she couldn't just leap on Scarlet like this or she'd risk scaring the younger girl off. When she sat down next to her, Scarlet took one of Windra's hands into her own and, with a deep, shuddering breath, started tracing lines into her palm with the fingers on her other hand. Windra was stunned at how the simple touch electrified her. Windra could have sworn she felt every thread of the fabric of Scarlet's gown brushing against her leg. Windra let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She wanted Scarlet to take her, right now, but for some reason she couldn't say the words. "How are you enjoying the tournament?" Scarlet asked, after minutes of painful silence.
What? What kind of question was that? Am I looking into this visit too much? Windra noticed that Scarlet wasn't paying attention to her, but rather seemed to be distracted, or lost in thought - she couldn't tell which. There was nothing in Scarlet's tone of voice that suggested that this was going to end the way Windra was hoping, but Windra was determined. She's just shy, Windra thought. She's probably too nervous to take the lead, that's all. "It's all right. My match isn't until tomorrow afternoon. After yours, right?"
Scarlet quickly nodded, gripping Windra's hands a little tighter. "Y-yeah."
They sat in the dim light, holding hands for a few more agonizing minutes before Windra decided to go on the offensive. "Ah!" she hissed, reaching behind her to her lower back. If she wants me to lead, I'll lead, Windra thought. "I must have pulled something earlier. Would you mind getting this knot out of my back?"
"Yeah, all right," Scarlet said. Windra flipped over on her stomach and sighed contentedly as she felt Scarlet straddle her legs. "Where's it hurt?" Scarlet asked, and Windra pointed to a spot on her back. She didn't know if it was the spot she'd touched before, but she didn't care. The important part was that Scarlet had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. Scarlet pressed her thumbs into Windra's back, using her hands to knead the surrounding flesh and doing her best to relieve muscle tension that, unbeknownst to her, had never been there to begin with. "Does that help? I've never done this before, and--"
"Mmmm, yes, that feels nice," Windra said dreamily, closing her eyes, smiling into her pillow so as to not give away her intentions. "Just keep doing what you're doing. Don't be afraid to touch me, Scarlet, you can explore..." So Scarlet did just that. Windra sighed contentedly as Scarlet leaned forward, slowly, gently moving her hands up Windra's back to her shoulders, the silky fabric of Scarlet's gown feeling cool against Windra's skin. Feeling slightly emboldened at the sound of Windra's approval, Scarlet pressed her hands into Windra's shoulder blades, rubbing her hands in slow circles as she dragged her hands down the slim girl's back and sides. Suddenly, Scarlet gripped Windra's hips and readjusted herself on top of Windra's legs, eliciting a low moan from Windra as she did so. Scarlet continued her massage, blissfully unaware of Windra's ruse, and moved her hands up the taller girl's sides again.
Windra sighed again. Were all Rangers this good with their hands, or was it just Scarlet? She'd have to find out later; Scarlet's massage was so relaxing that she could think about little else, and Windra found herself not caring that Scarlet hadn't taken her obvious bait. "You sure you haven't done this before? It feels so good. You're gonna put me to sleep at this rate..."
She awoke some time later. She could still feel Scarlet's weight on her legs, but she'd stopped her massage. "Oh, sorry, Scarlet, I didn't mean to--" She turned to look behind her, but Scarlet was gone. In her place was Chomper, who'd made a bed out of her legs. What the hell? she thought. She dumped the Pikachu onto the bed, rousing it from its slumber, and sat up, eyes headed straight for the clock. The clock's display said 5:57. How long had it been? Windra tried to piece together as much information as she could. Everything was so real. She felt Scarlet's hand, her gown, her weight, everything. Windra looked on the floor and saw her shirt in the same place she'd discarded it when Scarlet came over, and the arousal she'd felt was definitely real. There's no way it was just a dream... was it? She turned to her Pikachu, desperate for answers. "Chomper, was Scarlet here?"
Chomper shrugged, then mimicked being asleep. "Damn. I was hoping you could tell me for sure. What about you, Kai?" Archeidon, lacking any sort of limbs with which to gesture a reply, simply continued to flap his wings from atop his chair. "...Never mind." More alert now, she went into the bathroom to clean up.
She filled the bathtub, making sure the water was nice and hot before getting inside. When she was out in the wilderness, braving the elements, she would frequently find a pond or a stream to get clean in; being able to relax and not worry about anyone harassing her or taking her stuff while she bathed was something Windra did not take for granted.
She sighed contentedly as Chomper walked in. He leaped on the toilet and waved, pointing at the water. "No, it's too hot," she said. Chomper defiantly dipped the end of his tail into the water, calling his trainer's bluff, and almost instantly withdrew it after realizing she hadn't been lying. "Told you. You can get in after it cools down a bit, then I'll wash your fur. Sound good?"
Chomper nodded, voicing his approval, sitting on the lid and waiting patiently for his turn. Windra closed her eyes and leaned back into the water, allowing the hot water to relax her muscles. She thought of how she was going to handle her battle tomorrow. She'd only spoken with Lenny briefly, so she didn't know much about him other than he'd worked directly under Flannery. She was no Skyla, Windra admitted, but she felt a bit of envy in the knowledge that Lenny had such a close relationship with her.
Working under Flannery meant he used Fire-types, which was bad news for Tyeaf. She was slow and her arsenal against them was nonexistent. Spore and pray; that's all she could do. At least Chomper could hold his own, as long as Lenny wasn't packing a Camerupt or something. Now that would be awful. And it wasn't like she was completely helpless against Fire-types - Archeidon beat them all the time - but she didn't know what she'd do if Lenny was one of those trainers who only used one type.
She prayed for victory, crossing her fingers and toes just to be safe. A hundred million bucks was a lot of scratch. It was more money than she knew what to do with; she couldn't even begin to imagine everything she'd do with it. There was one thing that was definitely getting done, she thought as she reached for some shampoo. She'd use the winnings to make sure her parents never had to worry about anything ever again. Both of them had grown up poor, and had made many sacrifices to make sure Windra had every opportunity she ever wanted. Allowing her to leave on her own journey was one of the hardest things Windra's parents had ever done, but they realized that forcing her to stay in Village Bridge would only hurt her in the long run. She'd left home as a sunny thirteen-year-old with a thousand dollars, two Pokemon, the wind in her hair, and a spring in her step, with a promise to see the world bright in her heart.
Only a year had passed before she'd started falling on hard times. On a particularly cold winter night, she'd had a particularly embarrassing experience where she hadn't had enough money to pay for a motel room, and was about to set out into the frozen city when a man stopped her. He introduced himself as Damien and explained that he had a daughter around her age who had been planning on visiting but had to cancel at the last minute due to an emergency. He offered Windra her room, as it was already paid for, and he wouldn't want his daughter to be left out in the cold if she were in Windra's situation. Grateful, Windra happily accepted, and the two spent the evening together. He treated Windra to a fancy dinner in the city - another plan for his daughter, and he didn't want to waste his reservation - and they chatted about their lives. She told him about her dreams to see the world, and how being poor made that difficult, and the man seemed to consider her as if wanting to ask her a question. When she inquired about this, he offered to give her an allowance and a place to stay, in exchange for doing things around his home.
Windra hesitated, and the man could see it in her eyes. He promised her that he wouldn't ask her to do anything untoward, and when he told her just how much she would get a month, Windra's eyes widened in disbelief, the last bit of doubt in her mind unraveling like a thread. When he agreed to allow her to send the bulk of her funds to her parents, and to cancel the arrangement whenver she pleased, she relented, and stayed with him for the next three months.
During this time, Windra lived the good life. Damien had kept his word about not requiring anything sexual of her, and he'd also kept his word about the money he'd promised, and the two grew close. But over time, Windra got restless, and wanted to set out again; however, with her sending the majority of her funds to her parents, she didn't have much saved herself. Damien gave her the same kind of questioning look that he'd given her three months prior. After confirming that she was at least fifteen so he wouldn't be landed in jail by asking her, Damien offered Windra a deal. Windra hadn't known what knowing her age had to do with it, but once Damien explained the details of his deal, she knew. He wanted to... she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Harder still was the amount that he'd said he'd increase her monthly allowance by if she agreed to it, with more and more promised depending on how far she was willing to go.
She found herself surprised at not having refused him straight away. He was well into his thirties (despite looking in his twenties when he shaved), divorced, and in the time they'd spent together, Windra noticed he never dated. She couldn't imagine why - with all the money he made, he could have had any girl in his bed that he wanted, and here he was, asking her. She'd grown fond of him, true, but she saw him as more of a father than a lover. She thought of her actual father and mother, who were in the dark about Windra's living arrangement. They wouldn't approve, but they were touched by all the money that Windra had sent them; That, Windra thought, was one of the greatest feelings in the world. With them in mind, she hesitantly accepted Damien's offer, but insisted on getting the money up front so she could wire it away before he changed his mind.
The first time, she had to admit, wasn't awful. Was she nervous? Oh yes. Self-conscious about her body? Absolutely. But awful? Not at all. Damien had been a gentleman, even professional, about the whole thing, and Windra at least could appreciate that, and Windra felt herself growing closer to him as a result. So when he asked her again two weeks later for a repeat performance, she agreed without a second thought.
The second time seemed to flick a switch in her that she hadn't been aware of until now. Up until now, she hadn't cared for sex or even boys in general, mostly stemming from her rail-thin, virtually curveless body. But Damien had made her feel very attractive with his attentiveness, practically worshiping her in bed, and Windra couldn't get enough of it. She surprised him by taking charge and asking him once, and when he'd brought a friend home with him from work one night, someone who Damien said liked "girls like her," Windra was more than happy to accommodate her - for a price.
When she finally left Damien six months later, she felt like a new woman, empowered and sexy, and while she still loved to travel, her visits to new towns always took a decidedly sexual turn as she found herself longing... but none of her lovers had been as kind or as attentive as Damien had been. One man tried robbing her after they'd finished, but Archeidon made quick work of him, managing to evolve in the process. Desperate for love, she even tried going back to the city where she'd lived with Damien for the better part of a year, but he was long gone, having left without leaving so much as a forwarding address.
In the tub, Windra opened her eyes, briefly wondering if she'd nodded off again. She sat up in the tub, causing the water to slosh and splash. "Did I pass out?" she asked Chomper, who nodded. Windra stretched and yawned as Chomper pointed at the water again. He could probably handle it by now, Windra thought, and at her nod of affirmation, Chomper leaped off the toilet - right into Windra's waiting hands. "Are you crazy, kid? You're gonna get water everywhere. Now sit still and I'll scrub you down," she said, gently placing him into the water.
She squirted some of the scented shampoo onto Chomper's head and began to work it into his scalp. "So what do you think of Scarlet?" she asked. "Pretty hot, huh?" Chomper extended his paw and waved it side to side, one of many signs Windra had taught him. "Pfft. Shows how much you know. Girl's an eight, bare minimum," Windra said, lathering up Chomper's ears. As she worked the soap into his fur, it reminded her of Scarlet's dainty hands trying to work out a nonexistent knot. "Are you sure she didn't come over earlier?" He paused, but she felt him nod, and she frowned. "I guess she did act kind of weird... for her. You know, I'm getting real sick of dream me not sealing the deal. Next time, though, I'm rocking her world. Deep breath now, ready?" Chomper nodded, and Windra dunked him under the water, rinsing the soap out of his fur. She lifted him out and examined him. "Perfect." She brought him in close, inhaling his scent. "Oh, and you smell amazing. Those lady Pikachu are gonna be begging for a piece of you," she joked, setting him down.
After she'd finished washing herself, she let the water out and toweled off, handing Chomper his own so he could do the same. She walked out of the bathroom and greeted Tyeaf, who was awake and sitting on the bed. "Good morning, Tyeaf," she announced as she slipped on a pair of underwear and jean shorts. "Bet you guys are hungry, huh?" She grabbed a bag of her special blend of Pokemon food and set out a dish for each of her Pokemon, filling them with the kibble. She dug through the mess that was the bag she'd packed, pulled out what looked to be a plain black T-shirt, and examined it. It was extremely wrinkled from being crumpled up in her bag, but it would do. Windra shrugged and tossed it over her head, then peeked into the bathroom just to make sure everything looked okay. The shirt provided a stark contrast against her skin, which Windra noticed had been getting paler. It was a sure sign that she hadn't traveled as much as she used to.
She liked the way her legs looked. She had long considered them her best feature, and most of the people she'd been with agreed with her. Years of walking had toned them up, but they were still smooth and feminine looking. She turned in the mirror and sighed. "Nothing up top and even less ass," she joked. "Good thing you've got a winning smile and a great personality, right, Windra?" she told her reflection.
She laughed at that.
Windra returned to the main room and noticed that her Pokemon had finished eating. "All right, guys, back in your Poke Balls. I'll let you out again later tonight." She returned each one, clipped them onto her belt, and left to go greet anyone who was up at... oh geez, it wasn't even seven yet.
Maybe it wasn't too late to just go back to bed.
Windra meandered down the hall, figuring that she might as well head to the cafeteria to see if she could get an early breakfast and avoid the rush. She passed Scarlet's room and considered just asking Scarlet straight up if everything was all in her head. What was the worst that could happen? Still, she decided against it, and continued to the cafeteria. It was, predictably, mostly barren. Noise could be heard from the kitchen, where Tsomu was no doubt helping make breakfast. Safiri, Ruby, and Esmeralda were all sitting at a table together. Windra thought of how perfect they looked, and just how much trouble they went to in order to look that pretty. She admitted that that all three of them were undeniably hot, but Windra rarely wore makeup; Damien rarely asked her to wear it, as it interfered with the cute, young, innocent girl image he and his friends liked.
Ruby saw Windra and waved her over. She was wearing a baggy T-shirt and sweat pants, a huge difference from her usual working attire. "Morning, Windra," she said. "Care to join us?"
"Yeah, sure, why not," she said, pulling up a chair between her and Esmeralda.
"You're up early," Esmeralda said with a smile. Esmeralda was wearing a gigantic t-shirt, so big she was practically swimming in it, and green flannel pajama pants.
"Yeah, I was up, so I figured I'd just see if I could score some early food, you know?"
"Breakfast is at 8 AM," Safiri reminded her. Unlike Ruby and Esmeralda, Safiri was work ready, in her pristine navy blue suit combo. She noticed Windra staring at her. "Also, please don't hit the other competitors, regardless of how much they may or may not have had it coming. Is that understood?"
"I understand that Quayle is a living turd and oughta get castrated."
Safiri sighed, suppressing an urge to high-five her, opting to roll her eyes instead. "Miss Wallace..."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Windra said, crossing her arms in frustration. "Are you always this ornery? When's the last time you got laid?"
"That's none of your concern. I'm glad we've come to an understanding. Please excuse me," she said, standing from the table and leaving the room.
"Don't worry about her," Esmeralda said, placing a reassuring hand on Windra's shoulder. "She means well. It's just that..." she considered her words carefully. "You might say that being that way is in her blood. She can't help it."
"Yeah, don't let her get to you," Ruby reassured her. "She wouldn't admit it under torture, but she's glad you socked Quayle. She just thinks she needs to be Miss Tight-Ass all the time or the boss will get mad at her."
"The boss? Your boss?" Windra asked.
"Yeah, Mr. Diamant, the one sponsoring this tournament. She's his favorite," she whispered, not at all softly.
Esmeralda giggled. "Well, she has been here the longest, after all. They're very close."
Windra raised an eyebrow. "Close? Like, close close, or..."
"Oh, no, nothing like that," Esmeralda clarified. "Mr. Diamant has always been nothing but professional with us. He prefers it that way. I don't think he's dated anyone since... gosh, Ruby, I don't know. Do you?"
Ruby shook her head. "Sure don't. He's never talked about that kind of stuff with me, and I haven't asked. It's not our business anyway, Esmy."
Windra snickered. Esmy. That was cute.
"What about you? Anyone special in your life?" Esmeralda inquired of Windra.
She thought about telling Esmeralda that she was in a committed relationship with three Pokemon as a joke, but decided against it. Windra may have been more than a little promiscuous in the past, but even she knew that doing that with your Pokemon was a line you just didn't cross. She shook her head instead. "Nah. Well, there is one person I kinda got a thing for," she admitted, "but there's no way she's into me."
"That's not true!" Esmeralda blurted out instantly. She grabbed Windra's hands and smiled. "I mean, I'm sure she'd be open to at least getting to know you better. You should try telling her how you feel."
"Wouldn't be right," Windra said, leaning back in her chair and extracting her hands from Esmeralda's. "She's out of my league, for one, and for two, I don't think she'd want to be with a cheap whore like me."
Esmeralda frowned, a look of hurt and sadness coming across her lovely features. "That's an awful thing to say about yourself. You're not a cheap whore."
At this, Windra laughed. "Oh yeah? What do you call someone who's only good when she's on her back? The world has no shortage of men who would pay huge bucks for a night with little old me," Windra said, smiling widely, batting her eyelashes. "I've been used more than a Pokemon Center, lady," she continued, her smile and humor suddenly gone. "So don't get upset at me for calling a spade a spade. If she knew the kind of person I was... what I've done... she'd be disgusted at the sight of me. Everyone else has been. No reason to expect anything different this time." With that, she got up and left, suddenly no longer hungry.
Windra practically threw open the cafeteria doors, wanting nothing more than to get away from everything. How did this conversation become about her, anyway? Oh yeah. Esmeralda asked if she'd had anyone special in her life. Windra hadn't had one of those since... she didn't want to admit that Damien was special to her, after he'd up and left without at least writing and telling her where he went. Clearly he was just like everyone else, willing to pay for a good lay and a house slave. At least all the other guys she was with were honest enough to not pretend they gave a rat's ass about her. Windra stormed down the hallway and into her room, slamming the bedroom door behind her.
* * * * * * *
Next door, Nye was busy getting ready. Clad in the towel she'd used from her shower earlier, she stood at the bathroom sink and blow dried her hair. She'd heard the door slam loud and clear over the blow dryer and briefly wondered what Windra's problem was. Was she still mad about yesterday? It was to be expected, Nye supposed. She admitted that, had she not known Quayle before he'd gotten so... weird, she likely wouldn't have given him the time of day. She smiled to herself as she began taking a large brush to her full mane of hair. After taking the time to sleep and mull over her decision to give him another chance, she found that she was glad she did. And as for her second decision...
Nye stopped brushing and stared into her reflection. "I hope you know what you're doing," she said to it. "You know he's never going to let you live this down if he beats you." She sighed as she went to her bag to pick out her clothes for the day. Our match is today. With all these distractions, I'd completely forgotten about it. She held up a light blue tank top, approved of it, and set it to the side as she dug for something that would match it. I wonder what Eldan looks like under all that red, she thought, briefly imagining him removing his shades only to reveal red contacts underneath. She found a long skirt in the same blue that she liked very much. She dressed herself and looked herself over. Nice and casual. Feeling particularly cute, she spun around once and struck a pose. Smiling, she returned to the bathroom to put on her makeup, intent on looking her best for the crowd.
By the time she was done, breakfast had already been served and everyone was eating. Most of the discussion was on the matches that would be taking place over the course of the day, though some of the others were chatting with Quayle and complimenting his new look. Tsomu was starting to clear some empty dishes when he noticed Nye coming into the cafeteria. He smiled and waved her over; she smiled back and went to grab a plate for herself. "Good morning, Tsomu," she said cheerfully.
"Good morning to you as well! You're looking pretty today," he said, giving her a thumbs up. "Isn't that right, Bae?"
Ribombee nodded, making a few happy noises of confirmation. Out of the corner of her eye, Nye noticed Eldan sitting at a nearby table. "Why, thank you, Tsomu, that is a very kind thing of you to say!" she said, loud enough for Eldan to hear her. If Eldan hadn't been wearing his sunglasses, she might have seen him roll his eyes at her remark. "This food looks absolutely delicious. I'm terribly sorry for arriving so late."
Tsomu, ignorant of Nye's reasons for raising her voice, simply smiled. "Not a problem! We made plenty. Please help yourself to as much as you'd like," he said on his way back to the kitchen.
Nye's stomach growled as she took in the sight of all the delicious food. So much to choose from. Eldan stood up from his seat and approached her. "Hey, sexy lady. Looking good. Not what I would have picked, but it's good. Is it for our date tonight?"
Nye felt sick at the idea of what monstrosity Eldan had in mind. "There will not be a date, Eldan," she said, using a pair of tongs to add a thick piece of sausage to her plate. "And since today is the last day you will be allowed to make such crude remarks, I will forgive your transgression just this once," she added, smiling at him.
"Since when is calling you sexy a crude remark?" he asked her. "Don't you think you're sexy? Most of us guys are in agreement that you're top 2 easily. Don't be such a prude."
Nye gripped her plate a little tighter, but said nothing. To think that she would have to be alone with this cretin if he beat her... She considered not watching the morning match so that she could take advantage of the extra training time. She scooped some scrambled eggs onto her plate, setting the utensil down a little too forcefully, causing specks of egg to splatter onto some of the other dishes. "Please leave me alone," she seethed.
Eldan stared lamely at her. "What? Are you that mad that I called you sexy? Fine, whatever, sorry. At least come sit with me," he offered, gesturing towards his seat.
Before Nye could answer, Windra, who'd watched them talk from her table with Scarlet, Esmeralda, and Jethro, made her way over to Nye with the intent of 'rescuing' her. "Hey, Nye. Cute outfit! Looks good on you. You wanna come sit with us? We have room for one more," she said, emphasizing one more as she cast a not-at-all-subtle look at Eldan.
Nye sighed. This was not how she wanted to start her day. "Thank you, Windra, but I'd--"
"--like to sit with Eldan," Eldan finished for her, directed at Windra. "We're spending time together before our date tonight."
Nye whipped her head around to glare at him, equal parts furious and embarrassed. "I told you, Eldan, there is not going to be a--"
"You guys are dating?!" Windra asked, mouth wide open in shock.
"No!" Nye shouted, spinning around to answer her, nearly spilling her food. "We are not dating!"
"Yet," Eldan said with a grin, shooting finger guns at the two ladies.
"Ugh. Come on, Nye, let's get out of here," Windra said, putting her arm around Nye's shoulder and ushering her away from the protesting Eldan.
"Windra, hold on, stop," Nye pleaded. "Please, just wait a minute."
Windra obliged, looking at her with suspicious eyes. "What for? You're not telling me you actually want to sit with him?"
"Of course I don't, but I don't want to sit with you, either. It's nothing personal - I simply prefer to eat breakfast alone. We went over this yesterday, remember?"
"Yeah, but I thought that was just a one-time thing," Windra protested.
"I remember her saying that," Eldan chimed in.
"You stay out of this!" both Nye and Windra scolded him. Nye turned back to Windra and smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but no thank you. And that goes double for you," she said to Eldan, taking her plate and sitting at a table where no one had sat. She could feel the eyes of a few of the others on her, but she paid them no mind and ate. It wasn't her fault that Windra didn't know how to listen, or that Eldan didn't know how to compliment a lady without sounding uncouth, or that the very idea of discretion seemed to escape them both. She thought she had been polite with them - more than necessary in Eldan's case. If either of them wanted to sulk about it, it was fine by her. They were more than welcome to take it up with her - after she'd finished her breakfast, of course.
* * * * * * * *
The time to battle was soon to arrive, and Safiri had just finished checking in with Tsomu and Kiria to finalize their teams. She headed to the announcer's booth to sit with Ruby, and brief her on her meeting with Diamant. Her mind naturally wandered back to the tail end of that conversation, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind. Entering the room where Ruby made hype happen, Safiri watched her instruct some techs on camera work and then send them on their way. Ruby waved a greeting to her "big sister," turning her chair so they were facing, and leaned back. "Everything all ready?" she asked the blue-haired woman.
"Yes. I spoke with Mr. Diamant last night, and he was pleased with what we've been doing for Version Zero," Safiri replied, taking her seat next to Ruby. "I tried convincing him to disqualify Quayle from the test, but Mr. Diamant liked his desire to win and thinks his DNA could prove useful if we need it," she finished with a reluctant sigh.
"I figured he'd say that," Ruby offered, stretching in her seat. "I wouldn't be too worried about it, though. This is all just a test, you know? If the champion's DNA isn't enough, we'll have plenty of other samples to use." Ruby looked out at the crowd, nearly fifty thousand strong, who'd paid good money to see the amazing battles that were taking place here. "And besides, it's not like we've got a shortage of talent here. I'm sure that Helmi will be able to do something with it. Calling her a genius would be an insult. Hard to believe she's human!"
Human... "Yeah," Safiri said, looking at the floor.
"What? I say something wrong?" Ruby asked, puzzled.
"He called me by my designator number."
Ruby's mouth opened in shock, eyes wide. She, like Safiri, knew the implications of that statement. "Why? Why would he ever say such a thing?"
Safiri slumped back in her chair, and found something interesting on the floor to look at. "I made a joke in poor taste, that's all. I apologized for it, and he apologized for what he said as well."
"Must have been really bad if he said that to you. You gonna be okay?"
Safiri straightened a bit, but didn't take her gaze from the floor. "Yes, I'll be fine. Like I said, it was in poor taste. It won't happen again." She looked at the clock. "The match is about to begin. You'd better get things started."
Ruby reached over and took one of Safiri's hands into her own. "I know that it's eating at you. You wouldn't have told me if it wasn't. You might have even planned this out so I wouldn't have time to give you the "you are special" speech again," she added with a playful nudge. "If you want to talk later, I'm here. Esmy too. We love you."
"I know, Ruby. I... appreciate it," Safiri decided, not entirely comfortable with the subject. "Now hurry. They're all waiting for you."
* * * * * * *
"Welcome, one and all, to the Pokemon League at Indigo Plateau! I'm Ruby Erthgrand, and this is day two of our tournament of champions! We've got hot battles lined up all this week, so make sure you tune in every day so you don't miss a second of the excitement! If you'd all direct your attention to the west platform, you'll see one of this morning's challengers approaching! He's come all the way from Alola to cook himself up a win today! Please make some noise for your Malie City tournament champion, Tsomu Isobe!"
Tsomu took the field nervously, a little unsure of himself. It was something else, seeing the crowd in person as opposed to through a TV screen. At the very least, he wasn't worried about appearing nervous to Kiria; they'd talked at breakfast, and she'd readily admitted she was nervous as hell. She told him to think of it as just another battle. When the battle started, there was no one else there, just her Pokemon and his Pokemon.
He waved to the cheering crowd, wondering if Kiria would be able to take her own advice in front of this many people.
"And on her way to the east platform is a woman who has conquered opponents the world over! Just last month, she barely edged out a win against former Hoenn Champion "Captain" Luke Ainsworth in order to win the Saffron City qualifying tournament! Give a warm Kanto welcome to Kiria Gramarye!"
Kiria smiled warmly, waving to the crowd, enjoying the sight of so many purple flags. It didn't surprise her; she'd made many, many friends over her numerous years on the road, and it gave her confidence knowing that the ones who weren't here in person were watching on TV.
Both battlers watched as the field randomizer revealed that they'd be battling on the fire field. As soon as the floor opened, a blast of hot air erupted from the gap, and they could feel the temperature rising in the immediate area. As the field proper was elevated, Tsomu noticed many holes scattered throughout each covered with a metal grate, as well as the small white platform in the center of the field. Another burst of steam issued from the one of the holes with no warning, and Tsomu knew he'd have to be careful.
As the trainer shields went up, Ruby finished her monologue, intent on keeping the hype train moving. "Will Kiria achieve victory on this grand stage as well, or will Tsomu serve her up some crushing defeat? The third match of the first round begins now!"
Esmeralda approached the field, thankful that as revealing as her outfit was, at least she wasn't going to sweat excessively in it. "Trainers, release your Pokemon!"
"Time for action, Bae!"
"Maiko, come on out!"
Tsomu considered Kiria's Mimikyu. Ghosts, especially high-level ones, were tricky to deal with; their ability to phase in and out of solid objects was always a pain. Fortunately for Tsomu, he wouldn't have to deal with that with Mimikyu - while they had the potential to phase shift like all Ghost Pokemon did, their shrouds and tail sticks were not afforded the same luxury, and so they rarely utilized the tactic, unwilling to be seen without them. Still, Tsomu knew that, if allowed the opportunity, Mimikyu could very well have her way with his team. He'd have to hit her hard and fast, and he had just the move to help him do both.
"Bae, use Quiver Dance!" Ribombee gracefully fluttered around the field as if she were dancing, creating numerous copies of herself. Mimikyu swiped at a nearby one with a sickly black phantom claw, hoping to put Ribombee out of her misery early on, but it was only a copy.
"Trick Room, Maiko! Turn the tables!" Kiria commanded. Mimikyu's eyes glowed blue, and the field was briefly enveloped in a large, light blue rectangle. Tsomu went to give his Pokemon a command, but Kiria recalled Mimikyu before he could. "Eleonora, come on out!"
Tsomu cursed under his breath. This was bad. Not only was Bae significantly weaker under Trick Room's effects, but Mimikyu had escaped with her disguise intact. He cursed again when he saw Kiria's Arbok hit the ground, slithering quickly around the field. If Kiria thought he was going to simply let Bae get destroyed, she had another thing coming. Swiftly, Tsomu recalled his bug just as Arbok fired a massive Gunk Shot, making a large puddle of acidic poison in the spot that Bae had occupied mere moments before. Kiria wanted to play with slow Pokemon? Okay then. "Time for action, Dialga!"
Dialga landed with a mighty crash, stomping defiantly in the poison puddle. It splashed around, dissipating harmlessly on both battlers, and what remained wasn't enough to harm anyone not immune to its effects. Tsomu could tell Kiria was both impressed and a little frightened of the massive Pokemon, but he didn't think she was about to give up. "Eleonora, use Mud Bomb!" she commanded. Arbok reared back and vomited an impressive glob of thick mud at Dialga, landing a direct hit on its eyes and leaving it temporarily blind.
Dialga tried to shake the mud off, but it didn't help. Kiria directed her Pokemon to use Mud Bomb again, and Tsomu was quick to react. "Metal Burst!" Dialga roared, sending an impossibly huge amount of shrapnel forward from its body. There was no need to aim; there was so much of the stuff that Arbok could not possibly avoid it. The attack pelted Arbok hard, sending her reeling backwards.
"Earthquake, Eleonora! Make it a big one!"
Arbok hissed and lunged forward, intent on having her revenge. She raising her tail high in the air as she approached Dialga from the side. With a mighty slam, Arbok brought her tail down, causing Dialga to trip and fall face first onto an erupting geyser. The force of the blast knocked Dialga backwards, crashing onto the ground with a deafening bang. To Kiria's horror, the god of time was still able to get up after such an attack, and to make matters worse, the heat from the geyser had dried the mud that had been caked around Dialga's eyes, allowing it to crumble off in pieces. "Metal Burst!" came Tsomu's command, and the battle arena was flooded in shrapnel a second time. Arbok tried to slither her way behind the center platform to hide, but she couldn't avoid the sheer size of the Metal Burst. She slumped against the ground, defeated.
"Arbok is no longer able to battle! Dialga is the winner!" Esmeralda announced, acknowledging the badly hurt Pokemon. It was standing, true, but it wouldn't be for much longer. It all depended on who Kiria sent out next.
"Barry, come on out!"
Tsomu didn't waste any time before issuing his next command. Dialga was in bad shape, and he wanted to make sure he got a solid hit in before it went down. "Dialga, use Roar of Time!"
"Dodge it, Barry, and then use Fire Blast!"
The jewel on Dialga's chest glowed bright blue, and the spines on its back extended another foot and a half in length. Dialga summoned the massive bluish-purple beam and fired, obliterating the center platform. Slowpoke easily leaped out of the way and dashed at an alarming speed towards the resting Dialga. With a deep breath, Slowpoke torched the much larger Pokemon, and it fell to the ground, unconscious.
Esmeralda announced victory for Slowpoke, and Tsomu slapped his forehead. Trick Room. Damn it, I forgot about that. Okay, let's see... it's been a while, so it should be going away soon, right? I still need to send someone out, though. Bae is no good as long as Trick Room is still in effect. Venusaur might fare better, but Slowpoke is still going to be faster, and also has a type advantage, even though Venusaur has one on him, too. Can't forget that.
Hey... wait a minute. If I have Bae use Quiver Dance right as Trick Room ends, I'll be in a really good spot! I'll be able to knock Slowpoke out easily, and then, at the very least, I'll be able to bust Mimikyu's disguise. Then a single Sludge Bomb from Venusaur is all I'll need! He grinned, confident in his plan. "Time for action, Bae!"
Ribombee came out on the field for the second time in this battle, and while she didn't have decreased speed from Quiver Dance to deal with, she was still plenty slow in the twisted dimensions.
Damn, it's not over yet. I'm going to have to put as much damage onto Slowpoke as I can. It's still really fast, but I've got just the thing! "Bug Buzz!"
"Fire Blast, Barry!" Ribombee flew a few feet above the ruined center platform and screeched, sending visible red waves out in all directions. Slowpoke took the attack head on, giving no indication that the attack had even had any effect, then blasted Ribombee from point blank range. She fell to the ground, screeching, but this time from pain instead of the attack. Tsomu and Kiria both saw the Trick Room arena dissipate, and Tsomu put his plan into action immediately.
"Use Quiver Dance!"
"Use Trick Room!"
Tsomu slammed a fist on his platform. "God damn it!"
In a seemingly perfect replay from the beginning of the battle, Ribombee danced, and immediately regretted it as Trick Room came back up. This was hopeless. He commanded another Bug Buzz, but Slowpoke beat her to the punch with another devastating Fire Blast, and that was the end for Ribombee. Esmeralda made Slowpoke's second victory official, and Tsomu wanted to simply give up then and there. He wordlessly released his Venusaur, resigned to defeat. "Use Giga Drain."
Venusaur shot out two long vines, intent on grabbing Slowpoke and sucking the life out of him, but Kiria had a plan of her own. "Barry, use Psychic!" Slowpoke easily dodged the two vines, his eyes glowing blue. Venusaur was lifted into the sky and hurled into the far wall by the attack. "Again!" Kiria ordered, giving Tsomu no time to react. Slowpoke telekinetically picked Venusaur up again and threw her into the opposite wall; the Mr. Mime holding the barrier briefly lost its footing from the hard impact.
Tsomu sighed. "Wait!" He called, holding a hand up towards Esmeralda. This fight was hopeless. He could try Frenzy Plant, but even if he'd succeeded in knocking Slowpoke out with the move, Venusaur would be forced to rest after the attack, giving Mimikyu all the time in the world to do as it pleased. There was no point in letting his Pokemon get needlessly hurt. "I concede the match."
"Are you sure you want to forfeit, Tsomu?" Esmeralda asked him, concern in her voice. She didn't want to see anyone give up, no matter how hopeless it seemed, but the young man seemed determined to save his Pokemon from being thrashed any further.
"Yes, I'm sure. I give up," Tsomu said plainly.
"Very well," she said, turning to the crowd. "Tsomu has forfeited the match! Advancing to the next round is Kiria Gramarye!"
- a little more insight into the workings of Diamant Industries
- a little more insight into the workings of Windra
- Tsomu and Kiria have their match
- it's friggin dope
Couple things. First, I'm trying out a new way to write battles. Instead of shifting back and forth between each battler on the fly, I've written the entire battle from (mostly) one player's perspective. I don't know if I'm gonna stick to this way. Just something different to try. Lemme know what you think. Second, I'm taking a break from this story so I can finally play Breath of the Wild. I'll resume writing once I've beaten the main story. Please enjoy and leave feedback.
Word count: 11,017
Chapter 3: The Blue Ladies
Safiri was exhausted.
She'd been on her feet all day, busting asses as well has her own, doing everything she could to keep the tournament running smoothly. After Thresher and Taikyu had finished their match and the cleanup crew had reset the field and set it up for tomorrow's first battle, she'd had time for a quick bite and then it was back out into the jungle, making sure that all the spectators were gone and that the shop staff had set up their stands with fresh, updated merchandise - she made double sure that their stock of Quayle flags made their way to a bin to be discarded. A smile crept on her face as she imagined herself pouring gasoline on the pile of flags and then tossing a lit match onto it, setting the entire thing ablaze.
She removed a small cloth from her pocket and wiped her forehead with it, then folded it and placed it neatly in her pocket. Her I's were dotted and her T's were crossed. There was just one thing left for her to do: her daily report with Mr. Diamant. She headed to her office to use the video phone to make the call. Diamant had a cell phone, and it worked just fine, but when it came to Safiri's reports, he preferred her to give them via videophone, just so he'd have something nice to look at. Safiri knew that what Diamant meant by that was wanting to see her pretty face, but she still unbuttoned the top buttons of her blouse and positioned herself such that she had a fair amount of cleavage visible.
She didn't mind doing it. Her current incarnation had been working with Diamant for nearly three years, and never had any trouble with him. He was tough, but fair, with clear expectations of each of his employees. And while all three of his Jewels would willingly do anything he asked, Diamant wasn't a pervert, and that was something Safiri admired in the man. They all cared deeply for him, and believed in both him and this project, and in return, he made sure they were well cared for. She knew he preferred the voluptuous type, as evidenced by Esmeralda, so showing Diamant a little skin was something Safiri had no qualms with.
After making a few last-minute adjustments to her hair and clothes, she dialed for her boss. Diamant's private island, Tajna, was six hours ahead of Kanto, so it didn't surprise Safiri when she called him and he answered with the video blocked. While she still looked stunning after the end of a long day, Diamant was likely in bed, and he didn't want anyone seeing him when he was less than camera ready.
"Good morning, Safiri," he said groggily. Yep. He was definitely in bed, and Safiri would have bet Glaceon that her call woke him up. "You're looking well."
"Good morning, sir. Thank you, sir," she dutifully replied. "I'm calling you to give you my report on Version Zero, as per your request."
Diamant yawned. He wasn't expecting Safiri's call for a few hours yet - maybe she was ahead of schedule? "All right, let's hear it."
Safiri sat up a little straighter in her chair. "Yes, sir. The first day's matches have concluded, with victories for... subjects eight and fifteen," she finished, glancing at her clipboard to make sure. "Subject ten was extremely hostile before, during, and after his battle. It's therefore my recommendation that he be excluded from further consideration for testing."
"Was that the boy with the Deoxys?" Diamant asked, a little more awake now.
"Yes, sir." He must have watched the battles. Of course he did. Why wouldn't he?
"Keep him. His willingness to go to such extreme lengths to win is something I like. We would be remiss to not include him in the project."
Safiri bit her lip, clamping down on her brain's traitorous dissent. "Yes, sir."
"You don't look pleased," Diamant said.
Safiri cursed mentally, having briefly forgotten that Diamant could still see her, as her video wasn't blocked. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Of course, Safiri. I appreciate and respect your enthusiasm for maintaining an air of professionalism - it is a part of you, after all - but I consider us all family. Neither you or your sisters should never be afraid to speak your mind to me."
"He's a piece of shit," Safiri blurted. "I can't stand him, and neither can anyone else. He's got a mouth on him, sir. Esmeralda reported that one of the other subjects punched him in the face because of how he handled himself during the battle, and comments he made afterward."
"I see," Diamant said, clearly intrigued by this new development. "Which one did it?"
"Um..." Safiri said before she could stop herself. She checked her clipboard, flipped through pages to find Esmeralda's report. "Number sixteen. A girl, sir."
"Oh?" he asked, obvious curiosity in his voice. "Was she the one the Deoxys kid fought against?"
"No, sir. This was a separate incident. According to Esmeralda's report, number sixteen's also got a mouth on her." She smiled. "Regrettably, I can't confirm if Esmeralda was speaking literally or not."
Diamant chuckled, glad to see Safiri loosening up, even if it was just a little bit. "I'm fairly certain she meant both. You keep an eye on number sixteen as well. As for number ten, I still want his DNA. We can make adjustments later, as you are no doubt aware."
"Yes, I am, but..." she trailed off. Diamant had given her permission to speak her mind, but she still felt like she was treading dangerously close to insubordination, so she chose her words carefully. "Are you certain that's best for the project? We only want to use DNA from the strongest trainers, and he didn't even get past the first round."
"Let me be frank with you, Safiri," Diamant began. "We're shooting in the dark here, and to be perfectly honest, I don't understand much of the science behind it. That's always been Helmi's thing, you know. But the results of this experiment will prove quite useful in improving the biot program, and we want to make sure we've got all our bases covered. That young man's DNA won't be used in the first few runs, but it will be nice to have on hand just in case. If you have specific questions, you can ask her. Do you understand?
"Yes, sir," Safiri answered, a bit dejected. Helmi, Diamant's younger sister and lead scientist for Diamant Industries, was notoriously difficult to deal with, even for Diamant. She spent most of her waking hours in the lab, running tests, and hated being disturbed. Getting even a few straight answers out of her would be a feat in and of itself.
"Good, good. Have you anything else to report?"
"I do, sir. The tournament itself is running on schedule. Though we started the first match on time, there were many people still entering the stadium at that time."
"Yes, I did notice that. It's not an issue. You will always have stragglers who show up at the last minute, no matter what time we decide to start. What's important is that they show up at all and support us by purchasing tickets."
Though Safiri was glad that Diamant noticed the same problem she did, a part of her was upset that he didn't see it as a problem. She blamed it on her upbringing - she'd been made to follow rules and deadlines for as long as she could remember. But, she remembered, Diamant wasn't like her or her "sisters," as he affectionately called them. "Yes, sir. Viewership today was in excess of ten million. We anticipate this number will only increase as the tournament goes on." She checked her notes. "Sales are high, as expected. One vendor ran out of product after only half an hour. I've already ordered more, but it won't arrive for two days."
"You've taken care of everything, as usual. Excellent work. I don't know what I would do without you, Safiri," Diamant said with a chuckle.
"Make more?" she joked, laughing a bit, but her laughter quickly turned to panic when she realized he was not laughing with her. "I'm sorry, sir. That was uncalled for. Please forgive my insubordination."
Diamant said nothing at first, and Safiri knew she'd struck a nerve. She found herself embarrassed at her outburst and filled with a desire to do whatever it took to make things right again. Finally, Diamant spoke. "You are forgiven, S7," he said coolly, deliberately using the designator number his predecessor used.
Before Diamant had taken over, she'd been a simple biot, a soulless drone programmed to follow orders. The fact that she was human in design and appearance did not matter to Ms. Whitemore, her former boss. Neither did the fact that, like humans, she could laugh, cry, love, bleed, hope, and feel any other emotion humans were capable of. The only noticeable difference between the biots and the humans whose DNA made up most of their being was the lack of aging. The Sapphire 1 model had been the first success story of the biot program, and Chroma Corporation - what would later become Diamant Industries - carried the program on in secret, making improvements. The S2 model was released only five months later, and the S1 model was unceremoniously destroyed, thrown kicking and screaming into an incinerator with the rest of the garbage.
Enter Lucas Diamant, one of Chroma Corporation's biggest financiers. When he learned what Chroma Corporation had done to S1, he was livid. He threatened to withdraw his funding from the program and blow the cover on their experiments unless President Whitemore agreed to treat the biots humanely. Over the next five years, drastic improvements had been made to the program, and four additional biots had been commissioned and - as far as Diamant and those who sided with him, which was most of the board, knew - disposed of humanely when they'd served their use. When he found out that Whitemore had secretly ordered suicide protocols programmed into the biots, and that had been how the previous versions had been destroyed, he rebelled. Whitemore was ousted as president, Diamant was unanimously voted in as the new president, and thus Diamant Industries was born.
Diamant's first order of business upon becoming head of the company had been to give the current Sapphire model a name; he viewed the biots as more than just tools, and he felt bad calling a sentient creature, with thoughts, hopes, feelings, by a simple number - even it was technically correct to do so. In more than a small way, it humanized Safiri, and it was something she came to be immensely grateful for. She was mostly human, after all, and a small but not insignificant part of her felt a bit of jealousy that she hadn't had a "real" name. Diamant's only request - the same request that he'd later ask of Ruby and Esmeralda - was that they never referred to themselves as anything but special or unique. It was the only personal request he ever made of them, and all three of them agreed to it. So Safiri hearing her old "name" being used again - and what it signified, coming from him - nearly broke her. "Thank you, sir," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Diamant saw the way she'd reacted to his words, how the normally stoic woman was fighting to blink back tears, and he knew he'd crossed a line. Yes, he hated for them to make light of their situation. Yes, he could just "make more," but they wouldn't be her, would they? Strictly speaking, Safiri wasn't the first of her kind, but Diamant would be damned if she wasn't the last. Over the years, he'd grown to love them all as his daughters; it had hurt him to hear her even suggest that she was replaceable, but it hurt him more when he saw how much it had affected her. He enabled the video and, for the first time in days, Safiri was able to see her boss on the screen. From the shoulders up, he was a middle-aged man with messy platinum blonde hair that reached to his shoulders. "No, Safiri, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I was out of line," he said, so she could see in his worn hazel eyes that he meant it. "It was petty of me to say. And I know you might just call it one of my human flaws, but that's still not an excuse."
Safiri simply nodded. "I appreciate it, sir," she said evenly, hoping she could keep her composure for a few moments longer. She would definitely watch her tone in the future. "I have no further business to report. May I be dismissed? I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow."
In truth, Diamant wanted nothing more to say no, and force her to hear him out, but he acquiesced to her request. He was sorry; she was sorry; it was best to leave it at that. "Yes, Miss Kiter," he said, emphasizing her name as a final apology. "You are dismissed. I look forward to your report tomorrow." A thought. "Let's try at 10 PM your time. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes, sir," she said, and ended the call. And finally, in the darkness and silence of her office, Safiri's tears finally began to flow.
* * * * * * *
"Ladies and gentleman, the winner and grand champion of the first Kanto League Invitational is Windra Wallace! She'll be heading back to Unova with a sweet trophy and a hundred million dollars!"
Windra smiled. She couldn't remember who her opponent was, for some reason. I mean, they were right over there, all she had to do was look, but Windra didn't bother looking. She did, however, look at all the cameras that wanted to take the new grand champion's picture. She had pictures taken of both her and her Pokemon, doing mostly silly poses with Chomper and Tyeaf.
Scarlet rushed onto the field to greet Windra. "Congratulations, Windra!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms tight around her. "I knew you could do it."
Windra ran a hand through Scarlet's jet-black hair. "It was only because you believed in me that I was able to win."
"Of course, babe," Scarlet said, pulling the older girl in for a kiss.
"Wait," Windra giggled, moments before their lips touched. "What about the cameras, ya goof?"
"What cameras?" Scarlet asked, puzzled.
Windra gave Scarlet a playful shove. "Come on, don't be ridiculous, those cam-" But when she turned to point them out, there were no cameras. There were no people, and no Pokemon - just an empty, silent stadium. "What the hell? Where'd everyone go?" She turned back to Scarlet, but came face-to-face with Archeidon, her Volcarona... sort of - the body was Scarlet's, but the head was Archeidon's. Windra screamed, pushing Scarlet off of her in a panic and backing up several feet. "What's going on?!"
"Babe, what's wrong? You're acting weird," Archeidon said, revealing that he, for whatever reason, sounded exactly like Scarlet. He stood up, sprouted his six wings, and flew over to Windra, lifting her up into the sky.
Windra screamed again, struggling to break free from Volcarona-Scarlet. "Put me down! Let me go!"
"You won't be saying that after I'm done with you," Volcarona-Scarlet said hungrily, zooming towards the dormitory wing. They crashed through the doors and flew down the stairs, landing right in front of Windra's room. Volcarona-Scarlet wrapped her arms tight around Windra and said, "Oh, Windra! You've been such a naughty girl! Say my name, you dirty, dirty beast, and kiss me!"
Windra flailed in Volcarona-Scarlet's iron grip as the beast drew its buzzing maw closer. "Nnnnnnnnoooooooooooooo....!"
She awoke with a gasp. She turned the lamp by her bed on and sat up, panting, as her eyes darted around the room, giving her brain enough information to piece together its surroundings. All of her Pokemon were sleeping, which was a rarity - though she didn't doubt that Archeidon, who sat perched on the back of a chair (with his own body, thankfully), had spent more than a little time keeping Chomper in line again. The Pikachu in question was sprawled on the floor by the door, away from the makeshift bed she'd made for him and Tyeaf, her Paras. Even as a kid, Windra had always let her Pokemon sleep outside of their Poke Balls. When she was out in the elements, miles and miles away from civilization, it made her feel safer, and less... alone.
Archeidon awoke with a long stretch, flapping and stretching his many wings. Seeing him reminded her of the dream she had, and she decided to write it down before she forgot the details. "Morning, Kai," Windra said blearily as she reached for the notebook she placed next to her bed every night. "Had a doozy of a dream last night... you were in it. Much to my dismay," she added under her breath as she rolled onto her stomach and started to write.
Won the tournament. Don't know who I beat. Scarlet was there, she was hotter than usual. Just about to make out when her head turned into Kai's head. Still had her body so it could have been cool but dream me got scared. Swooped us into the building and called me a dirty beast. Went to kiss me, woke up alone. Damn it.
She shut the book and placed it back on the bedside table. She stretched, yawned, and contemplated going back to sleep. When she was on the road, she wouldn't ever think of wasting daylight, but she was still tired, and she had a feeling that not even the sun was thinking about starting its day yet. Her brain pleasantly reminded her that she wasn't on the road; she wasn't wrapping herself up in her jacket that was big enough for two of her, or trying to prop herself up against a tree for a night of uncomfortable sleep. She was safe and warm, in a heated building, in a heated room, under warm blankets in a bed that, like her jacket, was big enough for two; maybe three, if she was feeling adventurous.
She closed her eyes and thought about the girl from her dream. She kicked herself for not trying to go further with Scarlet; the way she'd reacted, she probably would have done anything Windra asked, right there in front of Kiria. She was pretty cute, and definitely seemed interested... maybe she--
She wouldn't want someone with a past like yours, her brain interrupted.
She sighed dejectedly, realizing that she couldn't refute that. Windra didn't think she was a mean person - at least not to anyone she felt didn't deserve it - but she'd done plenty of things she'd come to regret. And whenever she felt like she'd gotten close enough to someone to let them in on the details of some of those things, they balked at her, unable to let her past be her past. They'd make up some flimsy excuse and split within a few days - one had even left her in the middle of their date, disgusted at what he'd heard. After the thirteenth such failed relationship, Windra started feeling that she would never find "someone special," and part of her was just fine with that. Sure, she'd still use her charm to get her own needs met when the mood struck, but as far as love was concerned, she wasn't all that interested. She thought of Scarlet and the torch she was carrying for Rose, which complicated things a bit. Damn feelings. A smile crept across Windra's face. Windra had some feelings, all right, and none of them involved holding hands or relationships or dark pasts that you're ashamed of. She'd just have to find a way to get Scarlet alone, and then...
Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. Windra scrunched her brow, wondering who on earth was knocking at this hour, but she didn't get up. The caller knocked again, and Windra continued ignoring them, hoping they'd go away, but they didn't. They knocked a third time, and finally, Windra got up, her mood quickly deteriorating. Didn't they have any idea what time it was? "Okay, hold your horses, I'm coming," she grumbled, crawling out of bed, picking up a shirt from the floor and slipping it on more for the mystery person's sake than her own. Not like she had anything to hide, she joked. Being as exhausted as she was, she didn't bother putting on pants, and decided that whoever was at the door was just going to have to deal with her forest green panties. When she opened the door, she found herself glad she made that decision. There in the doorway, wearing a burgundy nightgown, was Scarlet.
"Hey," she said. "Can I come in?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," Windra said, trying to play it off like she wasn't excited as hell. This was perfect. She was going to make up for her mistake yesterday, come hell or high water. "What's up?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could, casually removing her shirt and tossing it carelessly on the ground. She figured if Scarlet asked questions, Windra could just say she was still way too tired for clothes, and they were both girls anyway.
To Windra's dismay, Scarlet said nothing, choosing instead to sit wordlessly on Windra's bed and motion for Windra to sit next to her. Windra obliged just a little too quickly and told herself to ease it up a bit; she couldn't just leap on Scarlet like this or she'd risk scaring the younger girl off. When she sat down next to her, Scarlet took one of Windra's hands into her own and, with a deep, shuddering breath, started tracing lines into her palm with the fingers on her other hand. Windra was stunned at how the simple touch electrified her. Windra could have sworn she felt every thread of the fabric of Scarlet's gown brushing against her leg. Windra let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She wanted Scarlet to take her, right now, but for some reason she couldn't say the words. "How are you enjoying the tournament?" Scarlet asked, after minutes of painful silence.
What? What kind of question was that? Am I looking into this visit too much? Windra noticed that Scarlet wasn't paying attention to her, but rather seemed to be distracted, or lost in thought - she couldn't tell which. There was nothing in Scarlet's tone of voice that suggested that this was going to end the way Windra was hoping, but Windra was determined. She's just shy, Windra thought. She's probably too nervous to take the lead, that's all. "It's all right. My match isn't until tomorrow afternoon. After yours, right?"
Scarlet quickly nodded, gripping Windra's hands a little tighter. "Y-yeah."
They sat in the dim light, holding hands for a few more agonizing minutes before Windra decided to go on the offensive. "Ah!" she hissed, reaching behind her to her lower back. If she wants me to lead, I'll lead, Windra thought. "I must have pulled something earlier. Would you mind getting this knot out of my back?"
"Yeah, all right," Scarlet said. Windra flipped over on her stomach and sighed contentedly as she felt Scarlet straddle her legs. "Where's it hurt?" Scarlet asked, and Windra pointed to a spot on her back. She didn't know if it was the spot she'd touched before, but she didn't care. The important part was that Scarlet had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. Scarlet pressed her thumbs into Windra's back, using her hands to knead the surrounding flesh and doing her best to relieve muscle tension that, unbeknownst to her, had never been there to begin with. "Does that help? I've never done this before, and--"
"Mmmm, yes, that feels nice," Windra said dreamily, closing her eyes, smiling into her pillow so as to not give away her intentions. "Just keep doing what you're doing. Don't be afraid to touch me, Scarlet, you can explore..." So Scarlet did just that. Windra sighed contentedly as Scarlet leaned forward, slowly, gently moving her hands up Windra's back to her shoulders, the silky fabric of Scarlet's gown feeling cool against Windra's skin. Feeling slightly emboldened at the sound of Windra's approval, Scarlet pressed her hands into Windra's shoulder blades, rubbing her hands in slow circles as she dragged her hands down the slim girl's back and sides. Suddenly, Scarlet gripped Windra's hips and readjusted herself on top of Windra's legs, eliciting a low moan from Windra as she did so. Scarlet continued her massage, blissfully unaware of Windra's ruse, and moved her hands up the taller girl's sides again.
Windra sighed again. Were all Rangers this good with their hands, or was it just Scarlet? She'd have to find out later; Scarlet's massage was so relaxing that she could think about little else, and Windra found herself not caring that Scarlet hadn't taken her obvious bait. "You sure you haven't done this before? It feels so good. You're gonna put me to sleep at this rate..."
She awoke some time later. She could still feel Scarlet's weight on her legs, but she'd stopped her massage. "Oh, sorry, Scarlet, I didn't mean to--" She turned to look behind her, but Scarlet was gone. In her place was Chomper, who'd made a bed out of her legs. What the hell? she thought. She dumped the Pikachu onto the bed, rousing it from its slumber, and sat up, eyes headed straight for the clock. The clock's display said 5:57. How long had it been? Windra tried to piece together as much information as she could. Everything was so real. She felt Scarlet's hand, her gown, her weight, everything. Windra looked on the floor and saw her shirt in the same place she'd discarded it when Scarlet came over, and the arousal she'd felt was definitely real. There's no way it was just a dream... was it? She turned to her Pikachu, desperate for answers. "Chomper, was Scarlet here?"
Chomper shrugged, then mimicked being asleep. "Damn. I was hoping you could tell me for sure. What about you, Kai?" Archeidon, lacking any sort of limbs with which to gesture a reply, simply continued to flap his wings from atop his chair. "...Never mind." More alert now, she went into the bathroom to clean up.
She filled the bathtub, making sure the water was nice and hot before getting inside. When she was out in the wilderness, braving the elements, she would frequently find a pond or a stream to get clean in; being able to relax and not worry about anyone harassing her or taking her stuff while she bathed was something Windra did not take for granted.
She sighed contentedly as Chomper walked in. He leaped on the toilet and waved, pointing at the water. "No, it's too hot," she said. Chomper defiantly dipped the end of his tail into the water, calling his trainer's bluff, and almost instantly withdrew it after realizing she hadn't been lying. "Told you. You can get in after it cools down a bit, then I'll wash your fur. Sound good?"
Chomper nodded, voicing his approval, sitting on the lid and waiting patiently for his turn. Windra closed her eyes and leaned back into the water, allowing the hot water to relax her muscles. She thought of how she was going to handle her battle tomorrow. She'd only spoken with Lenny briefly, so she didn't know much about him other than he'd worked directly under Flannery. She was no Skyla, Windra admitted, but she felt a bit of envy in the knowledge that Lenny had such a close relationship with her.
Working under Flannery meant he used Fire-types, which was bad news for Tyeaf. She was slow and her arsenal against them was nonexistent. Spore and pray; that's all she could do. At least Chomper could hold his own, as long as Lenny wasn't packing a Camerupt or something. Now that would be awful. And it wasn't like she was completely helpless against Fire-types - Archeidon beat them all the time - but she didn't know what she'd do if Lenny was one of those trainers who only used one type.
She prayed for victory, crossing her fingers and toes just to be safe. A hundred million bucks was a lot of scratch. It was more money than she knew what to do with; she couldn't even begin to imagine everything she'd do with it. There was one thing that was definitely getting done, she thought as she reached for some shampoo. She'd use the winnings to make sure her parents never had to worry about anything ever again. Both of them had grown up poor, and had made many sacrifices to make sure Windra had every opportunity she ever wanted. Allowing her to leave on her own journey was one of the hardest things Windra's parents had ever done, but they realized that forcing her to stay in Village Bridge would only hurt her in the long run. She'd left home as a sunny thirteen-year-old with a thousand dollars, two Pokemon, the wind in her hair, and a spring in her step, with a promise to see the world bright in her heart.
Only a year had passed before she'd started falling on hard times. On a particularly cold winter night, she'd had a particularly embarrassing experience where she hadn't had enough money to pay for a motel room, and was about to set out into the frozen city when a man stopped her. He introduced himself as Damien and explained that he had a daughter around her age who had been planning on visiting but had to cancel at the last minute due to an emergency. He offered Windra her room, as it was already paid for, and he wouldn't want his daughter to be left out in the cold if she were in Windra's situation. Grateful, Windra happily accepted, and the two spent the evening together. He treated Windra to a fancy dinner in the city - another plan for his daughter, and he didn't want to waste his reservation - and they chatted about their lives. She told him about her dreams to see the world, and how being poor made that difficult, and the man seemed to consider her as if wanting to ask her a question. When she inquired about this, he offered to give her an allowance and a place to stay, in exchange for doing things around his home.
Windra hesitated, and the man could see it in her eyes. He promised her that he wouldn't ask her to do anything untoward, and when he told her just how much she would get a month, Windra's eyes widened in disbelief, the last bit of doubt in her mind unraveling like a thread. When he agreed to allow her to send the bulk of her funds to her parents, and to cancel the arrangement whenver she pleased, she relented, and stayed with him for the next three months.
During this time, Windra lived the good life. Damien had kept his word about not requiring anything sexual of her, and he'd also kept his word about the money he'd promised, and the two grew close. But over time, Windra got restless, and wanted to set out again; however, with her sending the majority of her funds to her parents, she didn't have much saved herself. Damien gave her the same kind of questioning look that he'd given her three months prior. After confirming that she was at least fifteen so he wouldn't be landed in jail by asking her, Damien offered Windra a deal. Windra hadn't known what knowing her age had to do with it, but once Damien explained the details of his deal, she knew. He wanted to... she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Harder still was the amount that he'd said he'd increase her monthly allowance by if she agreed to it, with more and more promised depending on how far she was willing to go.
She found herself surprised at not having refused him straight away. He was well into his thirties (despite looking in his twenties when he shaved), divorced, and in the time they'd spent together, Windra noticed he never dated. She couldn't imagine why - with all the money he made, he could have had any girl in his bed that he wanted, and here he was, asking her. She'd grown fond of him, true, but she saw him as more of a father than a lover. She thought of her actual father and mother, who were in the dark about Windra's living arrangement. They wouldn't approve, but they were touched by all the money that Windra had sent them; That, Windra thought, was one of the greatest feelings in the world. With them in mind, she hesitantly accepted Damien's offer, but insisted on getting the money up front so she could wire it away before he changed his mind.
The first time, she had to admit, wasn't awful. Was she nervous? Oh yes. Self-conscious about her body? Absolutely. But awful? Not at all. Damien had been a gentleman, even professional, about the whole thing, and Windra at least could appreciate that, and Windra felt herself growing closer to him as a result. So when he asked her again two weeks later for a repeat performance, she agreed without a second thought.
The second time seemed to flick a switch in her that she hadn't been aware of until now. Up until now, she hadn't cared for sex or even boys in general, mostly stemming from her rail-thin, virtually curveless body. But Damien had made her feel very attractive with his attentiveness, practically worshiping her in bed, and Windra couldn't get enough of it. She surprised him by taking charge and asking him once, and when he'd brought a friend home with him from work one night, someone who Damien said liked "girls like her," Windra was more than happy to accommodate her - for a price.
When she finally left Damien six months later, she felt like a new woman, empowered and sexy, and while she still loved to travel, her visits to new towns always took a decidedly sexual turn as she found herself longing... but none of her lovers had been as kind or as attentive as Damien had been. One man tried robbing her after they'd finished, but Archeidon made quick work of him, managing to evolve in the process. Desperate for love, she even tried going back to the city where she'd lived with Damien for the better part of a year, but he was long gone, having left without leaving so much as a forwarding address.
In the tub, Windra opened her eyes, briefly wondering if she'd nodded off again. She sat up in the tub, causing the water to slosh and splash. "Did I pass out?" she asked Chomper, who nodded. Windra stretched and yawned as Chomper pointed at the water again. He could probably handle it by now, Windra thought, and at her nod of affirmation, Chomper leaped off the toilet - right into Windra's waiting hands. "Are you crazy, kid? You're gonna get water everywhere. Now sit still and I'll scrub you down," she said, gently placing him into the water.
She squirted some of the scented shampoo onto Chomper's head and began to work it into his scalp. "So what do you think of Scarlet?" she asked. "Pretty hot, huh?" Chomper extended his paw and waved it side to side, one of many signs Windra had taught him. "Pfft. Shows how much you know. Girl's an eight, bare minimum," Windra said, lathering up Chomper's ears. As she worked the soap into his fur, it reminded her of Scarlet's dainty hands trying to work out a nonexistent knot. "Are you sure she didn't come over earlier?" He paused, but she felt him nod, and she frowned. "I guess she did act kind of weird... for her. You know, I'm getting real sick of dream me not sealing the deal. Next time, though, I'm rocking her world. Deep breath now, ready?" Chomper nodded, and Windra dunked him under the water, rinsing the soap out of his fur. She lifted him out and examined him. "Perfect." She brought him in close, inhaling his scent. "Oh, and you smell amazing. Those lady Pikachu are gonna be begging for a piece of you," she joked, setting him down.
After she'd finished washing herself, she let the water out and toweled off, handing Chomper his own so he could do the same. She walked out of the bathroom and greeted Tyeaf, who was awake and sitting on the bed. "Good morning, Tyeaf," she announced as she slipped on a pair of underwear and jean shorts. "Bet you guys are hungry, huh?" She grabbed a bag of her special blend of Pokemon food and set out a dish for each of her Pokemon, filling them with the kibble. She dug through the mess that was the bag she'd packed, pulled out what looked to be a plain black T-shirt, and examined it. It was extremely wrinkled from being crumpled up in her bag, but it would do. Windra shrugged and tossed it over her head, then peeked into the bathroom just to make sure everything looked okay. The shirt provided a stark contrast against her skin, which Windra noticed had been getting paler. It was a sure sign that she hadn't traveled as much as she used to.
She liked the way her legs looked. She had long considered them her best feature, and most of the people she'd been with agreed with her. Years of walking had toned them up, but they were still smooth and feminine looking. She turned in the mirror and sighed. "Nothing up top and even less ass," she joked. "Good thing you've got a winning smile and a great personality, right, Windra?" she told her reflection.
She laughed at that.
Windra returned to the main room and noticed that her Pokemon had finished eating. "All right, guys, back in your Poke Balls. I'll let you out again later tonight." She returned each one, clipped them onto her belt, and left to go greet anyone who was up at... oh geez, it wasn't even seven yet.
Maybe it wasn't too late to just go back to bed.
Windra meandered down the hall, figuring that she might as well head to the cafeteria to see if she could get an early breakfast and avoid the rush. She passed Scarlet's room and considered just asking Scarlet straight up if everything was all in her head. What was the worst that could happen? Still, she decided against it, and continued to the cafeteria. It was, predictably, mostly barren. Noise could be heard from the kitchen, where Tsomu was no doubt helping make breakfast. Safiri, Ruby, and Esmeralda were all sitting at a table together. Windra thought of how perfect they looked, and just how much trouble they went to in order to look that pretty. She admitted that that all three of them were undeniably hot, but Windra rarely wore makeup; Damien rarely asked her to wear it, as it interfered with the cute, young, innocent girl image he and his friends liked.
Ruby saw Windra and waved her over. She was wearing a baggy T-shirt and sweat pants, a huge difference from her usual working attire. "Morning, Windra," she said. "Care to join us?"
"Yeah, sure, why not," she said, pulling up a chair between her and Esmeralda.
"You're up early," Esmeralda said with a smile. Esmeralda was wearing a gigantic t-shirt, so big she was practically swimming in it, and green flannel pajama pants.
"Yeah, I was up, so I figured I'd just see if I could score some early food, you know?"
"Breakfast is at 8 AM," Safiri reminded her. Unlike Ruby and Esmeralda, Safiri was work ready, in her pristine navy blue suit combo. She noticed Windra staring at her. "Also, please don't hit the other competitors, regardless of how much they may or may not have had it coming. Is that understood?"
"I understand that Quayle is a living turd and oughta get castrated."
Safiri sighed, suppressing an urge to high-five her, opting to roll her eyes instead. "Miss Wallace..."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Windra said, crossing her arms in frustration. "Are you always this ornery? When's the last time you got laid?"
"That's none of your concern. I'm glad we've come to an understanding. Please excuse me," she said, standing from the table and leaving the room.
"Don't worry about her," Esmeralda said, placing a reassuring hand on Windra's shoulder. "She means well. It's just that..." she considered her words carefully. "You might say that being that way is in her blood. She can't help it."
"Yeah, don't let her get to you," Ruby reassured her. "She wouldn't admit it under torture, but she's glad you socked Quayle. She just thinks she needs to be Miss Tight-Ass all the time or the boss will get mad at her."
"The boss? Your boss?" Windra asked.
"Yeah, Mr. Diamant, the one sponsoring this tournament. She's his favorite," she whispered, not at all softly.
Esmeralda giggled. "Well, she has been here the longest, after all. They're very close."
Windra raised an eyebrow. "Close? Like, close close, or..."
"Oh, no, nothing like that," Esmeralda clarified. "Mr. Diamant has always been nothing but professional with us. He prefers it that way. I don't think he's dated anyone since... gosh, Ruby, I don't know. Do you?"
Ruby shook her head. "Sure don't. He's never talked about that kind of stuff with me, and I haven't asked. It's not our business anyway, Esmy."
Windra snickered. Esmy. That was cute.
"What about you? Anyone special in your life?" Esmeralda inquired of Windra.
She thought about telling Esmeralda that she was in a committed relationship with three Pokemon as a joke, but decided against it. Windra may have been more than a little promiscuous in the past, but even she knew that doing that with your Pokemon was a line you just didn't cross. She shook her head instead. "Nah. Well, there is one person I kinda got a thing for," she admitted, "but there's no way she's into me."
"That's not true!" Esmeralda blurted out instantly. She grabbed Windra's hands and smiled. "I mean, I'm sure she'd be open to at least getting to know you better. You should try telling her how you feel."
"Wouldn't be right," Windra said, leaning back in her chair and extracting her hands from Esmeralda's. "She's out of my league, for one, and for two, I don't think she'd want to be with a cheap whore like me."
Esmeralda frowned, a look of hurt and sadness coming across her lovely features. "That's an awful thing to say about yourself. You're not a cheap whore."
At this, Windra laughed. "Oh yeah? What do you call someone who's only good when she's on her back? The world has no shortage of men who would pay huge bucks for a night with little old me," Windra said, smiling widely, batting her eyelashes. "I've been used more than a Pokemon Center, lady," she continued, her smile and humor suddenly gone. "So don't get upset at me for calling a spade a spade. If she knew the kind of person I was... what I've done... she'd be disgusted at the sight of me. Everyone else has been. No reason to expect anything different this time." With that, she got up and left, suddenly no longer hungry.
Windra practically threw open the cafeteria doors, wanting nothing more than to get away from everything. How did this conversation become about her, anyway? Oh yeah. Esmeralda asked if she'd had anyone special in her life. Windra hadn't had one of those since... she didn't want to admit that Damien was special to her, after he'd up and left without at least writing and telling her where he went. Clearly he was just like everyone else, willing to pay for a good lay and a house slave. At least all the other guys she was with were honest enough to not pretend they gave a rat's ass about her. Windra stormed down the hallway and into her room, slamming the bedroom door behind her.
* * * * * * *
Next door, Nye was busy getting ready. Clad in the towel she'd used from her shower earlier, she stood at the bathroom sink and blow dried her hair. She'd heard the door slam loud and clear over the blow dryer and briefly wondered what Windra's problem was. Was she still mad about yesterday? It was to be expected, Nye supposed. She admitted that, had she not known Quayle before he'd gotten so... weird, she likely wouldn't have given him the time of day. She smiled to herself as she began taking a large brush to her full mane of hair. After taking the time to sleep and mull over her decision to give him another chance, she found that she was glad she did. And as for her second decision...
Nye stopped brushing and stared into her reflection. "I hope you know what you're doing," she said to it. "You know he's never going to let you live this down if he beats you." She sighed as she went to her bag to pick out her clothes for the day. Our match is today. With all these distractions, I'd completely forgotten about it. She held up a light blue tank top, approved of it, and set it to the side as she dug for something that would match it. I wonder what Eldan looks like under all that red, she thought, briefly imagining him removing his shades only to reveal red contacts underneath. She found a long skirt in the same blue that she liked very much. She dressed herself and looked herself over. Nice and casual. Feeling particularly cute, she spun around once and struck a pose. Smiling, she returned to the bathroom to put on her makeup, intent on looking her best for the crowd.
By the time she was done, breakfast had already been served and everyone was eating. Most of the discussion was on the matches that would be taking place over the course of the day, though some of the others were chatting with Quayle and complimenting his new look. Tsomu was starting to clear some empty dishes when he noticed Nye coming into the cafeteria. He smiled and waved her over; she smiled back and went to grab a plate for herself. "Good morning, Tsomu," she said cheerfully.
"Good morning to you as well! You're looking pretty today," he said, giving her a thumbs up. "Isn't that right, Bae?"
Ribombee nodded, making a few happy noises of confirmation. Out of the corner of her eye, Nye noticed Eldan sitting at a nearby table. "Why, thank you, Tsomu, that is a very kind thing of you to say!" she said, loud enough for Eldan to hear her. If Eldan hadn't been wearing his sunglasses, she might have seen him roll his eyes at her remark. "This food looks absolutely delicious. I'm terribly sorry for arriving so late."
Tsomu, ignorant of Nye's reasons for raising her voice, simply smiled. "Not a problem! We made plenty. Please help yourself to as much as you'd like," he said on his way back to the kitchen.
Nye's stomach growled as she took in the sight of all the delicious food. So much to choose from. Eldan stood up from his seat and approached her. "Hey, sexy lady. Looking good. Not what I would have picked, but it's good. Is it for our date tonight?"
Nye felt sick at the idea of what monstrosity Eldan had in mind. "There will not be a date, Eldan," she said, using a pair of tongs to add a thick piece of sausage to her plate. "And since today is the last day you will be allowed to make such crude remarks, I will forgive your transgression just this once," she added, smiling at him.
"Since when is calling you sexy a crude remark?" he asked her. "Don't you think you're sexy? Most of us guys are in agreement that you're top 2 easily. Don't be such a prude."
Nye gripped her plate a little tighter, but said nothing. To think that she would have to be alone with this cretin if he beat her... She considered not watching the morning match so that she could take advantage of the extra training time. She scooped some scrambled eggs onto her plate, setting the utensil down a little too forcefully, causing specks of egg to splatter onto some of the other dishes. "Please leave me alone," she seethed.
Eldan stared lamely at her. "What? Are you that mad that I called you sexy? Fine, whatever, sorry. At least come sit with me," he offered, gesturing towards his seat.
Before Nye could answer, Windra, who'd watched them talk from her table with Scarlet, Esmeralda, and Jethro, made her way over to Nye with the intent of 'rescuing' her. "Hey, Nye. Cute outfit! Looks good on you. You wanna come sit with us? We have room for one more," she said, emphasizing one more as she cast a not-at-all-subtle look at Eldan.
Nye sighed. This was not how she wanted to start her day. "Thank you, Windra, but I'd--"
"--like to sit with Eldan," Eldan finished for her, directed at Windra. "We're spending time together before our date tonight."
Nye whipped her head around to glare at him, equal parts furious and embarrassed. "I told you, Eldan, there is not going to be a--"
"You guys are dating?!" Windra asked, mouth wide open in shock.
"No!" Nye shouted, spinning around to answer her, nearly spilling her food. "We are not dating!"
"Yet," Eldan said with a grin, shooting finger guns at the two ladies.
"Ugh. Come on, Nye, let's get out of here," Windra said, putting her arm around Nye's shoulder and ushering her away from the protesting Eldan.
"Windra, hold on, stop," Nye pleaded. "Please, just wait a minute."
Windra obliged, looking at her with suspicious eyes. "What for? You're not telling me you actually want to sit with him?"
"Of course I don't, but I don't want to sit with you, either. It's nothing personal - I simply prefer to eat breakfast alone. We went over this yesterday, remember?"
"Yeah, but I thought that was just a one-time thing," Windra protested.
"I remember her saying that," Eldan chimed in.
"You stay out of this!" both Nye and Windra scolded him. Nye turned back to Windra and smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but no thank you. And that goes double for you," she said to Eldan, taking her plate and sitting at a table where no one had sat. She could feel the eyes of a few of the others on her, but she paid them no mind and ate. It wasn't her fault that Windra didn't know how to listen, or that Eldan didn't know how to compliment a lady without sounding uncouth, or that the very idea of discretion seemed to escape them both. She thought she had been polite with them - more than necessary in Eldan's case. If either of them wanted to sulk about it, it was fine by her. They were more than welcome to take it up with her - after she'd finished her breakfast, of course.
* * * * * * * *
The time to battle was soon to arrive, and Safiri had just finished checking in with Tsomu and Kiria to finalize their teams. She headed to the announcer's booth to sit with Ruby, and brief her on her meeting with Diamant. Her mind naturally wandered back to the tail end of that conversation, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind. Entering the room where Ruby made hype happen, Safiri watched her instruct some techs on camera work and then send them on their way. Ruby waved a greeting to her "big sister," turning her chair so they were facing, and leaned back. "Everything all ready?" she asked the blue-haired woman.
"Yes. I spoke with Mr. Diamant last night, and he was pleased with what we've been doing for Version Zero," Safiri replied, taking her seat next to Ruby. "I tried convincing him to disqualify Quayle from the test, but Mr. Diamant liked his desire to win and thinks his DNA could prove useful if we need it," she finished with a reluctant sigh.
"I figured he'd say that," Ruby offered, stretching in her seat. "I wouldn't be too worried about it, though. This is all just a test, you know? If the champion's DNA isn't enough, we'll have plenty of other samples to use." Ruby looked out at the crowd, nearly fifty thousand strong, who'd paid good money to see the amazing battles that were taking place here. "And besides, it's not like we've got a shortage of talent here. I'm sure that Helmi will be able to do something with it. Calling her a genius would be an insult. Hard to believe she's human!"
Human... "Yeah," Safiri said, looking at the floor.
"What? I say something wrong?" Ruby asked, puzzled.
"He called me by my designator number."
Ruby's mouth opened in shock, eyes wide. She, like Safiri, knew the implications of that statement. "Why? Why would he ever say such a thing?"
Safiri slumped back in her chair, and found something interesting on the floor to look at. "I made a joke in poor taste, that's all. I apologized for it, and he apologized for what he said as well."
"Must have been really bad if he said that to you. You gonna be okay?"
Safiri straightened a bit, but didn't take her gaze from the floor. "Yes, I'll be fine. Like I said, it was in poor taste. It won't happen again." She looked at the clock. "The match is about to begin. You'd better get things started."
Ruby reached over and took one of Safiri's hands into her own. "I know that it's eating at you. You wouldn't have told me if it wasn't. You might have even planned this out so I wouldn't have time to give you the "you are special" speech again," she added with a playful nudge. "If you want to talk later, I'm here. Esmy too. We love you."
"I know, Ruby. I... appreciate it," Safiri decided, not entirely comfortable with the subject. "Now hurry. They're all waiting for you."
* * * * * * *
"Welcome, one and all, to the Pokemon League at Indigo Plateau! I'm Ruby Erthgrand, and this is day two of our tournament of champions! We've got hot battles lined up all this week, so make sure you tune in every day so you don't miss a second of the excitement! If you'd all direct your attention to the west platform, you'll see one of this morning's challengers approaching! He's come all the way from Alola to cook himself up a win today! Please make some noise for your Malie City tournament champion, Tsomu Isobe!"
Tsomu took the field nervously, a little unsure of himself. It was something else, seeing the crowd in person as opposed to through a TV screen. At the very least, he wasn't worried about appearing nervous to Kiria; they'd talked at breakfast, and she'd readily admitted she was nervous as hell. She told him to think of it as just another battle. When the battle started, there was no one else there, just her Pokemon and his Pokemon.
He waved to the cheering crowd, wondering if Kiria would be able to take her own advice in front of this many people.
"And on her way to the east platform is a woman who has conquered opponents the world over! Just last month, she barely edged out a win against former Hoenn Champion "Captain" Luke Ainsworth in order to win the Saffron City qualifying tournament! Give a warm Kanto welcome to Kiria Gramarye!"
Kiria smiled warmly, waving to the crowd, enjoying the sight of so many purple flags. It didn't surprise her; she'd made many, many friends over her numerous years on the road, and it gave her confidence knowing that the ones who weren't here in person were watching on TV.
Both battlers watched as the field randomizer revealed that they'd be battling on the fire field. As soon as the floor opened, a blast of hot air erupted from the gap, and they could feel the temperature rising in the immediate area. As the field proper was elevated, Tsomu noticed many holes scattered throughout each covered with a metal grate, as well as the small white platform in the center of the field. Another burst of steam issued from the one of the holes with no warning, and Tsomu knew he'd have to be careful.
As the trainer shields went up, Ruby finished her monologue, intent on keeping the hype train moving. "Will Kiria achieve victory on this grand stage as well, or will Tsomu serve her up some crushing defeat? The third match of the first round begins now!"
Esmeralda approached the field, thankful that as revealing as her outfit was, at least she wasn't going to sweat excessively in it. "Trainers, release your Pokemon!"
"Time for action, Bae!"
"Maiko, come on out!"
Tsomu considered Kiria's Mimikyu. Ghosts, especially high-level ones, were tricky to deal with; their ability to phase in and out of solid objects was always a pain. Fortunately for Tsomu, he wouldn't have to deal with that with Mimikyu - while they had the potential to phase shift like all Ghost Pokemon did, their shrouds and tail sticks were not afforded the same luxury, and so they rarely utilized the tactic, unwilling to be seen without them. Still, Tsomu knew that, if allowed the opportunity, Mimikyu could very well have her way with his team. He'd have to hit her hard and fast, and he had just the move to help him do both.
"Bae, use Quiver Dance!" Ribombee gracefully fluttered around the field as if she were dancing, creating numerous copies of herself. Mimikyu swiped at a nearby one with a sickly black phantom claw, hoping to put Ribombee out of her misery early on, but it was only a copy.
"Trick Room, Maiko! Turn the tables!" Kiria commanded. Mimikyu's eyes glowed blue, and the field was briefly enveloped in a large, light blue rectangle. Tsomu went to give his Pokemon a command, but Kiria recalled Mimikyu before he could. "Eleonora, come on out!"
Tsomu cursed under his breath. This was bad. Not only was Bae significantly weaker under Trick Room's effects, but Mimikyu had escaped with her disguise intact. He cursed again when he saw Kiria's Arbok hit the ground, slithering quickly around the field. If Kiria thought he was going to simply let Bae get destroyed, she had another thing coming. Swiftly, Tsomu recalled his bug just as Arbok fired a massive Gunk Shot, making a large puddle of acidic poison in the spot that Bae had occupied mere moments before. Kiria wanted to play with slow Pokemon? Okay then. "Time for action, Dialga!"
Dialga landed with a mighty crash, stomping defiantly in the poison puddle. It splashed around, dissipating harmlessly on both battlers, and what remained wasn't enough to harm anyone not immune to its effects. Tsomu could tell Kiria was both impressed and a little frightened of the massive Pokemon, but he didn't think she was about to give up. "Eleonora, use Mud Bomb!" she commanded. Arbok reared back and vomited an impressive glob of thick mud at Dialga, landing a direct hit on its eyes and leaving it temporarily blind.
Dialga tried to shake the mud off, but it didn't help. Kiria directed her Pokemon to use Mud Bomb again, and Tsomu was quick to react. "Metal Burst!" Dialga roared, sending an impossibly huge amount of shrapnel forward from its body. There was no need to aim; there was so much of the stuff that Arbok could not possibly avoid it. The attack pelted Arbok hard, sending her reeling backwards.
"Earthquake, Eleonora! Make it a big one!"
Arbok hissed and lunged forward, intent on having her revenge. She raising her tail high in the air as she approached Dialga from the side. With a mighty slam, Arbok brought her tail down, causing Dialga to trip and fall face first onto an erupting geyser. The force of the blast knocked Dialga backwards, crashing onto the ground with a deafening bang. To Kiria's horror, the god of time was still able to get up after such an attack, and to make matters worse, the heat from the geyser had dried the mud that had been caked around Dialga's eyes, allowing it to crumble off in pieces. "Metal Burst!" came Tsomu's command, and the battle arena was flooded in shrapnel a second time. Arbok tried to slither her way behind the center platform to hide, but she couldn't avoid the sheer size of the Metal Burst. She slumped against the ground, defeated.
"Arbok is no longer able to battle! Dialga is the winner!" Esmeralda announced, acknowledging the badly hurt Pokemon. It was standing, true, but it wouldn't be for much longer. It all depended on who Kiria sent out next.
"Barry, come on out!"
Tsomu didn't waste any time before issuing his next command. Dialga was in bad shape, and he wanted to make sure he got a solid hit in before it went down. "Dialga, use Roar of Time!"
"Dodge it, Barry, and then use Fire Blast!"
The jewel on Dialga's chest glowed bright blue, and the spines on its back extended another foot and a half in length. Dialga summoned the massive bluish-purple beam and fired, obliterating the center platform. Slowpoke easily leaped out of the way and dashed at an alarming speed towards the resting Dialga. With a deep breath, Slowpoke torched the much larger Pokemon, and it fell to the ground, unconscious.
Esmeralda announced victory for Slowpoke, and Tsomu slapped his forehead. Trick Room. Damn it, I forgot about that. Okay, let's see... it's been a while, so it should be going away soon, right? I still need to send someone out, though. Bae is no good as long as Trick Room is still in effect. Venusaur might fare better, but Slowpoke is still going to be faster, and also has a type advantage, even though Venusaur has one on him, too. Can't forget that.
Hey... wait a minute. If I have Bae use Quiver Dance right as Trick Room ends, I'll be in a really good spot! I'll be able to knock Slowpoke out easily, and then, at the very least, I'll be able to bust Mimikyu's disguise. Then a single Sludge Bomb from Venusaur is all I'll need! He grinned, confident in his plan. "Time for action, Bae!"
Ribombee came out on the field for the second time in this battle, and while she didn't have decreased speed from Quiver Dance to deal with, she was still plenty slow in the twisted dimensions.
Damn, it's not over yet. I'm going to have to put as much damage onto Slowpoke as I can. It's still really fast, but I've got just the thing! "Bug Buzz!"
"Fire Blast, Barry!" Ribombee flew a few feet above the ruined center platform and screeched, sending visible red waves out in all directions. Slowpoke took the attack head on, giving no indication that the attack had even had any effect, then blasted Ribombee from point blank range. She fell to the ground, screeching, but this time from pain instead of the attack. Tsomu and Kiria both saw the Trick Room arena dissipate, and Tsomu put his plan into action immediately.
"Use Quiver Dance!"
"Use Trick Room!"
Tsomu slammed a fist on his platform. "God damn it!"
In a seemingly perfect replay from the beginning of the battle, Ribombee danced, and immediately regretted it as Trick Room came back up. This was hopeless. He commanded another Bug Buzz, but Slowpoke beat her to the punch with another devastating Fire Blast, and that was the end for Ribombee. Esmeralda made Slowpoke's second victory official, and Tsomu wanted to simply give up then and there. He wordlessly released his Venusaur, resigned to defeat. "Use Giga Drain."
Venusaur shot out two long vines, intent on grabbing Slowpoke and sucking the life out of him, but Kiria had a plan of her own. "Barry, use Psychic!" Slowpoke easily dodged the two vines, his eyes glowing blue. Venusaur was lifted into the sky and hurled into the far wall by the attack. "Again!" Kiria ordered, giving Tsomu no time to react. Slowpoke telekinetically picked Venusaur up again and threw her into the opposite wall; the Mr. Mime holding the barrier briefly lost its footing from the hard impact.
Tsomu sighed. "Wait!" He called, holding a hand up towards Esmeralda. This fight was hopeless. He could try Frenzy Plant, but even if he'd succeeded in knocking Slowpoke out with the move, Venusaur would be forced to rest after the attack, giving Mimikyu all the time in the world to do as it pleased. There was no point in letting his Pokemon get needlessly hurt. "I concede the match."
"Are you sure you want to forfeit, Tsomu?" Esmeralda asked him, concern in her voice. She didn't want to see anyone give up, no matter how hopeless it seemed, but the young man seemed determined to save his Pokemon from being thrashed any further.
"Yes, I'm sure. I give up," Tsomu said plainly.
"Very well," she said, turning to the crowd. "Tsomu has forfeited the match! Advancing to the next round is Kiria Gramarye!"
Last edited:
YES! YES! YES!
IT HAS ARRIVED!!!
-Extremly Hyped.
IT HAS ARRIVED!!!
-Extremly Hyped.
It's 11:00 for me so a lot of what I have to say is probably gonna be stupid, but here goes:
Looking forward to seeing what Diamant Industries is going to bring to the table! And I wonder how they're going to get the DNA. From what I've seen, Ruby, Safiri, and Esmeralda seem to care about the "subjects" to some degree so I would guess Helmi would have to be present for things to get done.
I'll be the first to say that I did not expect Windra's character to be fleshed out in the way that it was. And she's only 17... but the fact she's girl-crushing Scarlet is definitely going to make the story more interesting, and it makes me think even more that Scarlet and Rose will linger as a possibility before eventually burning out.
And I feel bad for Tsomu... that's a tough way to go out.
Looking forward to seeing what Diamant Industries is going to bring to the table! And I wonder how they're going to get the DNA. From what I've seen, Ruby, Safiri, and Esmeralda seem to care about the "subjects" to some degree so I would guess Helmi would have to be present for things to get done.
I'll be the first to say that I did not expect Windra's character to be fleshed out in the way that it was. And she's only 17... but the fact she's girl-crushing Scarlet is definitely going to make the story more interesting, and it makes me think even more that Scarlet and Rose will linger as a possibility before eventually burning out.
And I feel bad for Tsomu... that's a tough way to go out.
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
They've already gotten it
If I were a good author, I would have made all the combatants submit a blood test or something at the beginning, but since I'm not, I have to go backup. If you think hard enough, you can probably figure out how they got the DNA they needed.#rekt
*doesn't feel like thinking hard enough, so decides to speculate instead* So I wonder what Helmi is going to do with the DNA... well, of course I've got a good guess, but I mean with the semi-clones I think they'll make. I feel like Windra would find out first, just because she's the most self-conscious about her body, and then get caught and drugged and basically held as a prisoner. Which leads me to Safiri... if this story goes the way I think it's going, she'll eventually have to decide between her position as Diamant's right hand, and her own humanity. That'll be fun to see if it happens.They've already gotten it
He really would, too, wouldn't he?
RIP in Pieces
Interesting character development for Windra! Also, I greatly look forward to seeing how the whole "Version Zero" bit gets fleshed out. I've been wondering what that meant, but now I sorta know.
Also, Eldan... I legitimately wanna sock him right in his face. He's so damn rude.
I, uh, spent about a minute thinking, and cam up with a solution to get DNA. Maybe, eh, collecting bodily waste....
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
I made it up literally for this chapter. Hopefully it'll work out.
ftfy
I thought you said you didn't have plans for an overarching plot. :U
In fact, I smell a major scheme developing behind this Diamant Industries - this tournament means business, and you've left us hanging. All that I know for now is that Diamant Bigwig shouldn't be trusted one bit.
So yeah, I finally got around to reading this, as school is currently in recess, and man, am I sorely disappointed that I didn't get to it earlier! It's been a while since I've read something that keeps me on the edge. It's late and I'm tired, so have a probably quite random thought dump.
The action in Chapter 1's battle stole my sole attention, and it was beautifully well envisioned. I appreciate the new life-and-death level you brought into it too. The battles of the later chapters were not as exciting, in my opinion, although I reckon that's good, since if all the battles are that exciting, that excitement will really just become boring. The use of creative license is my favourite thing about written bbattles, and I enjoy picturing your interpretation and adaptation of the attacks, abilities and forms.
The single-perspective style in Chapter 3 was an interesting change, although I think you can play with it more. I think utilising the strengths of the style, particularly the character's (and thus the audience's) ignorance of the opponent's strategy, and similarly their confirmation bias, to set up battle twists that are more unexpected, would be even more impactful and entertaining. However, in battles that aren't particularly twist-y, such as that in Chapter 3, I'd probably prefer to hear the strategies/thoughts of both battlers, personally.
I'm not the type for romance, so Chapter 3's earlier focus on the Windra/Scarlet subplot got me perhaps a little bored. Conversely, I'm finding the satire aimed at such romance very enjoyable, especially over-the-top characters such as Eldin (who is an absolute jerk), and also the Nye x Quayle rumours, and the sexualisation of the Jewels (?). I did chuckle audibly throughout a couple of the later chapters, though regretably I can't remember the exact cause now.
On another note, I seem to find recognising all these different names a bit difficult, which honestly isn't abnormal for me, but fortunately I'm making good progress, thanks to your character development. I actually haven't read any of the posted profiles, and I'm actually quite glad, as it's been fun to read this a bit more blindly as to share some of the character's surprises, such as Rose's surprise in Quayle having a Deoxys. I also found that list of ages quite helpful, as a reference point.
I actually am developing a love-hate opinion of Quayle. I suppose I like messed-up characters. Bonus points for being young, male, having a dark character and having a unique name (is it seriously pronounced like 'quail'? xD). I'd personally like to seem him reach a climatic point in development, where he becomes chillingly cold and dark, before losing his bitterness and returning to how he once was.And dump Candice; she's just a waste of time. I found Windra amusing when she was a fluttery in-love girl during Chapter 2 - it reminds me of my partner-chasing peers whose ventures I find ridiculous; although Chapter 3 was a nice reminder that she still has feelings. I suppose I just thought her to be entirely stupid. Whoops.
I noticed people were saying Nye is deserving to win the tournament, but honestly, I quite dislike her. She's too arrogant, opinionated and stuck-up for my taste, perhaps because she tends to be also right. That, and she somehow bewitched Quayle into being apologetic. I liked him better when he was cold. Except for when he was killing Gardevoirs. Dx Otherwise, Taikyu is sweet, and this possessing business is quite interesting. I'm enjoying watching how that unfolds. Kyro is great comic relief. It makes me want to see him more.
In fact, I smell a major scheme developing behind this Diamant Industries - this tournament means business, and you've left us hanging. All that I know for now is that Diamant Bigwig shouldn't be trusted one bit.
So yeah, I finally got around to reading this, as school is currently in recess, and man, am I sorely disappointed that I didn't get to it earlier! It's been a while since I've read something that keeps me on the edge. It's late and I'm tired, so have a probably quite random thought dump.
The action in Chapter 1's battle stole my sole attention, and it was beautifully well envisioned. I appreciate the new life-and-death level you brought into it too. The battles of the later chapters were not as exciting, in my opinion, although I reckon that's good, since if all the battles are that exciting, that excitement will really just become boring. The use of creative license is my favourite thing about written bbattles, and I enjoy picturing your interpretation and adaptation of the attacks, abilities and forms.
The single-perspective style in Chapter 3 was an interesting change, although I think you can play with it more. I think utilising the strengths of the style, particularly the character's (and thus the audience's) ignorance of the opponent's strategy, and similarly their confirmation bias, to set up battle twists that are more unexpected, would be even more impactful and entertaining. However, in battles that aren't particularly twist-y, such as that in Chapter 3, I'd probably prefer to hear the strategies/thoughts of both battlers, personally.
I'm not the type for romance, so Chapter 3's earlier focus on the Windra/Scarlet subplot got me perhaps a little bored. Conversely, I'm finding the satire aimed at such romance very enjoyable, especially over-the-top characters such as Eldin (who is an absolute jerk), and also the Nye x Quayle rumours, and the sexualisation of the Jewels (?). I did chuckle audibly throughout a couple of the later chapters, though regretably I can't remember the exact cause now.
On another note, I seem to find recognising all these different names a bit difficult, which honestly isn't abnormal for me, but fortunately I'm making good progress, thanks to your character development. I actually haven't read any of the posted profiles, and I'm actually quite glad, as it's been fun to read this a bit more blindly as to share some of the character's surprises, such as Rose's surprise in Quayle having a Deoxys. I also found that list of ages quite helpful, as a reference point.
I actually am developing a love-hate opinion of Quayle. I suppose I like messed-up characters. Bonus points for being young, male, having a dark character and having a unique name (is it seriously pronounced like 'quail'? xD). I'd personally like to seem him reach a climatic point in development, where he becomes chillingly cold and dark, before losing his bitterness and returning to how he once was.
I noticed people were saying Nye is deserving to win the tournament, but honestly, I quite dislike her. She's too arrogant, opinionated and stuck-up for my taste, perhaps because she tends to be also right. That, and she somehow bewitched Quayle into being apologetic. I liked him better when he was cold. Except for when he was killing Gardevoirs. Dx Otherwise, Taikyu is sweet, and this possessing business is quite interesting. I'm enjoying watching how that unfolds. Kyro is great comic relief. It makes me want to see him more.
Last edited: