Chapter 98 – Spoiling the Victor

Chapter 98 – Spoiling the Victor

There I stood inside the challenger’s box with only a single fighting capable Pokémon left. Our victory rested squarely on Numsy’s shoulders. Just like my other Pokémon he had gotten a face full of barraging stealth rocks. However, unlike my other partners my main stay Pokémon was partially a ground type, so it went through this hazing relatively unharmed. 

Nelson’s Exploud was a formidable foe indeed, but we did hold two advantages. Before going down Orin had managed to lay a Curse upon our opponent which was slowly doing its work draining the Pokémon of its vitality. The other big advantage we had which I had just now realized is Exploud’s advanced age. Unlike Juan’s Kingdra which was part dragon type and therefore had a longer lifespan than most Pokémon. 

‘Exploud should be at least past sixty years of age and therefore have grown past its prime. This should still be doable.’

“Egon, I warned you about being ageist!”

‘This is not that! I am just stating a fact, how long do you think regular people and Pokémon live for!?’

“If they take care of themselves by drinking clean water and eating lots of berries, two hundred!”

Eventually I did come to find out that humans habituating this world lived a tad longer on average. I mostly attributed this puzzling fact to the mysterious properties of aura. Both my grandparents were in their seventies and have suffered none of the health complications old age usually begot.

‘Pokémon of the scaly variety do get that old, but all the non-mystical larger mammalian types like Exploud live for about as long as humans do. Which is around a hundred, maybe a bit longer for the true exemplars of their species. Let me focus, the battle judge is only second away from commencing the match.’

“Begin!”

“Hyper Voice!”

“Protect! Keep it up for as long as possible!”

The Hyper Voice didn’t target me but being so close to the impact zone I could feel my eardrums ringing just from standing near. Numsy fared comparatively better even though he was the direct target of the attack. Since Exploud was still cursed, stalling for time like this became a valid strategy. Curse’s effect would eventually take their toll making this dangerous Pokémon too fatigued to continue the battle.

I knew we weren’t strong enough to face a seasoned Pokémon like Exploud on even grounds but if we could somehow hold out for long enough the curse would do its work for us.

As the move went off Numsy’s turquoise shield protected him completely. Most of my Pokémon could keep on using Protect for over dozens of seconds. That fact alone gave me the assurance that Numsy could outlast Exploud’s Hyper Voice.  

“Pay attention, something is happening to the shield!” 

As Victini pointed out small cracks began to form as Numsy’s protective shield started vibrating.

‘Resonance! Exploud must have such precise control over its vocal frequency that it can selectively affect solid structures like Numsy’s protective shield.’ 

“Get out of there! Use Bulldoze!”

My command fell on deaf ears. Exploud’s Hyper Voice had effectively deafened all audible means of communication between me and my old time partner. I could only watch on as Protect’s shielding broke down and Numsy became directly affected by the move. This auditory wave was so powerful that it actually blew away my five hundred pound buddy. Eventually Exploud’s vocal attack subsided because even the Loud Noise Pokémon had to take a breather after a minute’s worth of screaming.

“Numsy you okay?”

“Came!”

“Let’s start off with your signature, Lava Plume, cover the field!”

The volcanoes on Numsy’s back exploded, releasing a mixture of scarlet flames and soot. The move appeared stronger than usual, Numsy's output evidently receiving a significant boost from the harsh sunlight. 

“LOOOOOUD!!”

Even its enraged cry was loud enough to damage my hearing capability. I couldn’t see much because of all the soot flying around but at least this confirmed that Numsy scored a solid hit. Evidently Nelson and Exploud couldn’t see much either based on his following command.

“Earthquake!”

‘So, you want to play it that way? Fine!’

“Numsy! Destructive interference!”

On our journey we encountered a whole bunch of trainers using ground type moves to gain an edge over our team. My other Pokémon could do little to counter this strategy, but Numsy had learned to deal with this by creating counter tremors. If the opponent used a ground type move that Numsy had also mastered, it was a simple matter for my partner to match frequencies and amplitude cancelling out the attack. Against fellow ground type Pokémon this would be a hopeless endeavor because those Pokémon are often skilled enough to change the frequency of their moves on the fly. However, for a Pokémon who doesn’t naturally learn ground type moves and whose trainers made use of technical machines this stratagem was completely viable. 

Cracks and fissures spread out from an epicenter somewhere inside the soot cloud but at the same time my Pokémon did much the same. When the two tectonic forces clashed the rumblings actually receded proving of no harm to my Pokémon and buying us some extra valuable time. 

It was at this moment that the soot cloud finally dispersed giving me a clear view of Exploud. The Pokémon looked haggard. I always knew that Curse was a vicious move but to see its effects first hand was something else. 

Even I could tell that the gym leader was running out of options. That fact made me more wary than anything else. It was all too possible that he’d attempt to finish the match with an all or nothing blow.

“Boomburst!”

The wheezing Exploud paused for only a brief moment before all hell broke loose. All of its conical shafts started rapidly taking in lots of air; the suction noise closely resembled the sound of a jet engine right before a plane takes to the sky.

‘Any counter attacks will just get blown away. Numsy can’t use Protect anymore.’

“If you can withstand this it will be our win!” 

Numsy gave me one sideways look telling me all that I needed to know before digging his cloven hooves deep within the earth bracing himself against this incoming storm.

“Rupt!”

“…WAAAAAARGH!!”

I had preemptively used my hands to block off my vulnerable ears but it was a fruitless endeavor. The move had transcended itself from being a soundwave attack to one where the extreme change in pressure brought about multiple medium sized explosions. The resulting shock wave minced the entire field into little chunks. Numsy who had ensconced himself as deep in the ground as he could with the limited time we had, still got blown away. The red furred cow got blasted into a corner, his fate unknown while I was stuck undergoing my own trial.

Even when the blast was not directly aimed at me, I had to fight with all I had to not fall over. My eleven-year-old body still had a lot of growing up to do before I could handle being in the direct vicinity of attacks such as this one.

‘…Got to hold on!’

“Let me help!”

I could feel Victini’s psychic powers overlapping my body holding me steady as we waited out the bombardment. When it finally ended I wasted no time to check and see if Numsy was okay. My bovine friend had crash-landed himself in a still smoking crater seemingly completely out of it.

“Nuuumsy!”

As a trainer I couldn’t enter the battlefield without breaking the rules. Leaving me stuck inside the confines of the challenger’s box hoping that Numsy’s fainting spell would end before the battle judge deemed him unsuited to continue battling. On the other end of the wrecked field stood Exploud catatonic but still barely holding on.

I could already see the battle judge’s red flag moving but before his final judgement could be made something miraculous happened. 

“…Came.”

My big boy floundered like a remoraid stuck at a fisher’s market but eventually Numsy managed to get himself upright. Despite his injuries he defiantly exchanged looks with Nelson’s Exploud daring it to make another move. Even the audience kept quiet as the two Pokémon silently measured each other’s resolve. However, before Exploud could make another move its trainer intervened.

“Return!”

The gym leader had already activated the recall mechanism of his poké ball returning Exploud with a narrow beam of red light.

“The gym leader Nelson has withdrawn Exploud from the battle Camerupt wins! The victor of this match is Egon from Lavaridge town!”

“We did it! Great job Numsy!!”

“Camee….”

Having officially won the battle Numsy slumped back down on the ground ready to take its well deserved rest. The fire type even ignored the crowd’s well wishes who had become impressed by his resolve. Not wanting to let them disturb Numsy’s well deserved rest I quickly recalled it inside its own poké ball before walking up to the middle of the battlefield where leader Nelson was already waiting for me.

“A well fought battle, young trainer. We hope to see you perform in the upcoming Ever Grande conference. As per the rules of the gym I award you this Balance Badge.”

“Thanks a lot sir Nelson. Uhmm… what do you mean by we?”

“My granddaughter keeps talking about meeting that charming Pokémon of yours. The one that stayed over at the gym for a while and how it really helped our Kangaskhan grow more comfortable in her new surroundings.”

“…It is nothing really. She just likes making friends whenever we visit a new town.”

“How about you and little Maddy go to the storage room? My granddaughter will let you pick out a technical machine of your choice. That will give us old men enough time to catch up.” 

“Really!? Thanks a lot, leader Nelson!” 

The old man walked up to the bleachers to greet his old friend Mr. Briney while his daughter left the stands at the same time. The young grown-up seemed somewhat pleased by the situation despite her grandfather’s loss.

“Stick with me, okay? Our guard Pokémon won’t give you any trouble if they see us together.”

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Petalburg Gym storage room*

‘As far as keeping watch goes, not many thieves can slip by a sentret unnoticed but as guards they’re a bit… low in the intimidation factor.’

“Cute Pokémon can also be menacing!”

The gym’s storage room was indeed looked after but not by the kinds of Pokémon one would expect. Stationed just outside the locked door was a pair of sentret. The duo were standing tall using their tails as pogo sticks looking extra adorable. 

“Seeeeen!”  “Treeet!”

Madeline, whom I had a sneaking suspicion was just humoring the two Pokémon, was quick to give them a salute as we neared.

“At ease, privates! This one has been cleared by the general.”

The two sentret let us pass without much preamble showing complete trust in Madeline that I was supposed to be there. Stepping inside I could see rows upon rows of cabinets filled with all sorts of training-related items. The resemblance to the storage room inside the Sootopolis gym was uncanny but instead of nautical equipment this chamber was filled with breeding paraphernalia.

“Look Egon! This is what a professional breeder’s workplace looks like. I have to share the space with some of my grandfather’s stuff but as you can see the extra security is worth it.”

The room was divided into two halves. On one side are kept the technical machines and battle items belonging to the gym leader and on the other I could spot rows upon rows of incubators. Most of them empty, but a handful of them were filled with eggs. Madeline couldn’t help but brag about all the different kinds of eggs she had the responsibility of taking care of.

“All of these come from the Pokémon living here. This one for example is a Skitty egg, notice the pink whirls? And this big yellow one with the brown spots comes from a Girafarig couple that you’ve probably seen during the tour and…”

Just like that the young woman kept going on clearly showing that Madeline had chosen the profession which most suited her interests. I was content to let this play out until my guide had run out of steam until unexpectedly the net ball strapped to my midriff opened up on its own releasing Halo.

“Vess!”

“Oh my?!” “Halo…?”

The bug type careened its neck in an attempt to get a better look at some of the eggs showing a clear interest. Having grown to a considerable size while under my care the bug type had nearly matured to full-size, allowing Halo to get a clear view of the bottom row eggs.

“So, this is Larvesta? What a peculiar Pokémon. Hello honey, are you interested in my work too?”

“Laaar.”

Halo gave Madeline a dignified nod urging the woman to continue her spiel. Madeline restarted her anecdote from the very beginning, causing me to quickly lose interest. While both of them were distracted I took this opportunity to peruse the technical machine cabinet. The drawers were full to bursting. Inside almost every conceivable normal type technical machine was on display in alphabetical order.

‘Hmm what would be useful to have?’

“I’ve been stuck in my ball all day. Let me pick one!”

‘This room is heavily monitored for obvious reasons. I trust Madeline and Nelson but this being a league facility we don’t know where the video footage ends up being stored.’

“Spoilsport! Fine, we'll pick one together.”

That’s how I got to work mentally compiling a list of technical machines which would be useful to have for the team. At first I was tempted to pick out a copy of Flash but then I realized anyone of my Pokémon could light up a cave with ease.

“Egon, pick out Secret Power. We’ll be able to make a Secret Base!!”

‘Ehh… secret bases aren’t easy to maintain, and I figure we won’t stick around in one place for too long.’

“Dummy! I can teleport us over.”

While Victini had clearly already made up her mind I was still undecided. There were quite a few technical machines which held a good deal of appeal. 

‘Endure, Hidden Power, Tri Attack, Substitute, Roar and even Explosion. All of these are great technical machines for battling. Choosing just one is going to be difficult, as expected of a normal type gym.’

“Secret Power…”

When the fire rabbit got like this I already knew there was no arguing with her. Not even bothering to continue the argument I gave up in defeat.

‘Fine you win! But I’ll ask Madeline if Nelson is willing to trade some of our prize money in exchange for a copy of Hidden Power. That Mistralton Hermit went through all that trouble evaluating each of our friends’ potential it would be a waste not to take this opportunity.‘

Taking out the two containers I present the both of them to Madeline who was still orating the particulars of eggcare to Halo whose interest had not lessened even a little bit.

“Maddy does the gym sell technical machines to visiting trainers. I’d really like to have both of these if possible.”

“That’s… maybe? The league association provides these technical machines solely to give out as prizes. Grandpa does let me borrow some whenever I want. How about I let you use one of them a single time and tell Grandpa that I was the one who did so?”

“That could work. Only Victini really wanted to learn Secret Power.”

‘That’s everything settled. I hope we can give a good showing during the conference. It would be pretty embarrassing dropping out in the preliminaries.’

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POV – Aster

After returning to the village with my darling little sister Zinnia and her mother I called for an emergency council session to discuss the tribe’s plans going forward. Zinnia’s brother and Victini’s forewarning had put a timer on our tribe’s secrecy practices. Now it became clear to me that knowledge of Mega evolution spreading is inevitable. Despite having called for an emergency session the council gathering was delayed a couple of days because of elder John’s health issues. 

‘Uncle John is back now but it won’t be long before he has to retire. I really don’t want Yahto to come into these meetings.’

Zinnia’s father was too self-absorbed and utterly convinced of his superiority as a trainer. Despite Yahto’s attitude, the village’s unofficial battler rankings put him squarely as middling. The man’s false confidence reflected the very worst traits of dragon type specialists. It was impossible for me to trust a man that puts in so little time with his own daughter. 

Contrary to my own dislike, the village overall supported Yahto’s bid for the council seat. The man had worked incessantly to extract voting promises out of each household. It was already a foregone conclusion that Yahto would attain a seat on the council when a seat becomes available. Even his mother, the eldest in the village, believes that this responsibility will work to straighten him out.

‘Calm down, The Mega stones that Egon provided me with are still safely stored under my pillowcase. All ready and waiting to be used to bribe various family heads to renege on their promise with that good for nothing.’

It didn’t take long to get the rest of the council members up to speed about the incoming disasters awaiting the clan and Hoenn as a whole. Most of them wore shocked expressions as I explained the future fate of myself and Rayquaza by the hands of the Association and Devon Corporation as well as the gigantic meteoroid set to impact our region.

“Lorekeeper, how can you be certain of this?! This anonymous source of yours might just be attempting to pull the mareep’s wool over our eyes. Perhaps if you let us speak with these individuals ourselves…”

Even now the uncles and aunties on the council look out for my best interests. The story I shared with them about an anonymous psychic type divulging details concerning the near future with me was hard to believe.

“I had good reason to trust them and your prying won’t work, elder. These words were spoken to me in confidence.”

Unlike the image the council projected to the other villagers we almost never got into a heated debate. Everyone in this room was at least distantly related to one another, making our disagreements feel more like family squabbles than anything else. Some of them could act grumpy but in the end that attitude would last for no more than a couple of days.

“This does sound like something that fool Joseph would get up to when given free reign to indulge in all his foul proclivities. I always knew that boy was a rotten exeggcute. Even the very idea of capturing our lord after doing away with you sounds outlandish.”

“That could have been caused by a mishap amidst the fighting! Even my sources couldn’t tell if my future death was on purpose or by accident.”

Zinnia’s grandmother who usually acted as the voice of reason became angry enough to spit fire at the very idea of her passing much like everyone else in the room. The very thought that someone’s ego would grow big enough to try and make an attempt at forcefully controlling this region’s savior Pokémon.

Inside I felt touched that all of them felt the need to fuss over me but progressing this council session was going nowhere. That’s why I had to step in to get us back on track. 

“Thank you all for worrying over me. Can we now move on and talk about possible solutions?”

-

“Yes, that would be for the best. What do you propose we do about this chain of events Lorekeeper Aster?”

Even though I was the youngest participating member of the council as Lorekeeper of the tribe I still had my special privileges. A Lorekeeper’s vote counted twice as much compared to any other elder and I could bring to attention any topic of discussion.

“Joseph’s heir is set to take the mantle of champion for himself. If we could delay or avert that outcome and put in someone more favorable to the village that would be for the best. Without total control of both the Association and Hoenn’s business world Devon cannot avoid public scrutiny for their actions.”

My suggestion seemed to have garnered their favor as all of the elders started exchanging ideas with each other.

“Do we even have a conference participant of our own?”

“My oldest grandson Tomatoma is participating in this year’s conference. He means well but…”

‘Tomatoma? That young man only occasionally trains with his partners. I haven’t witnessed him use the training fields near often enough. That alone is sufficient to make it to the top sixteen but not much else. If I remember correctly his family trains and rears Mawile.’

“Elder, your family keeps the Mawilite correct?”

“Yes, are you suggesting that…?”

“It is an option. In the future, which my source has foreseen, Mega evolution has become common practice among the upper echelon of trainers. There is no point in keeping it a secret for much longer. How would you rate his chances against Steven Stone when making use of his family’s stone?”

“Tomatoma and Mawile have trained long and hard to master Mega Evolution. If the boy is allowed to do so then winning the tournament becomes possible.”

“Mega evolution is still unknown. Couldn’t the league disqualify the boy for using it?”

“We need to comb over the rules once more, but I highly doubt it. Pokémon frequently wear accessories in official matches.”

Just like that we cycled back to debating on the feasibility of the idea until it was agreed that Tomatoma would be allowed to do so but only when facing off against the Stone’s heir. If at some point prior Tomatoma got knocked out of the tournament we would have to come up with an alternative plan.

When the previous matter was settled and agreed upon the council proceeded to discuss a more harrowing topic.

“That same meteoroid is coming back. Does the dragon lord already know?”

Everyone in the council referred to the protector of our region as the Dragon Lord. Only myself and the previous Lorekeepers felt familiar enough with Rayquaza to call him by name. 

“Not yet. When Rayquaza comes back around to see me again we’ll discuss it together. With his help I am confident we can avert the disaster from happening but…”

Zinnia’s grandmother was quick to finish my sentence.

“You aren’t certain that you will survive the vacuum of space. Even accounting for the dragon lord’s supreme mastery of the Air Lock technique.”

“Rayquaza’s very first partner, our ancestor, died despite him trying his best. I don’t want him suffering from such guilt once again. For my friend to maintain his transformed state, close proximity to myself is still required.”

“Aster dear, technology has improved since then. I propose we send out a few feelers into Mossdeep’s space exploration program. I am quite sure we could borrow one of their fancy spacesuits.”

That proposal had gained a lot of support, and I was all for it as well. The league association’s restrictions on sharing new age technology made it all but a requirement that the tribe steal one of those suits. Offering to pay or barter for one would not go over well unless it was for something that the association considered of equal strategic value.

“That settles the matter concerning our lord and the scheming Joseph Stone. Let’s finalize this meeting on a lighter topic. Did your short spell away from the village bear fruit?” 

“I almost forgot! Thank you for reminding me. I did acquire the sender’s address. The man is a professor going by the name of Tybald Darington Fitzgerald working at Celadon University. A very enigmatic gentleman who has a burning passion for collecting fossils. Vii… ahem! My source told me that the man has no interest in money and only values fossils. Do any of the village households keep such items in stock?”

“We’ll have to check… but I am doubtful.”

After the final point was addressed and each elder received their individual tasks for the week the council session was put to a close. As the respective elders slowly retired to the exit door Zinnia’s grandmother took me aside.

“Zinnia’s other family, what is your impression of them? Do they bear anger in their hearts against us for being separated from their household’s daughter?”

“Not to the village as a whole. Although I am fairly sure that your son left a poor impression on them. Something about not showing up to visit his daughter for nine years and then all of a sudden taking an interest in being a parent.”

‘Who wouldn’t?! Even I have no patience for that unscrupulous son of yours. How did that leppa berry fall so far removed from the tree?’

“I see… that is only natural I suppose. I am partly responsible for Yahto’s changed behavior as well. My condition for allowing my washed-up son to run for the council position was him taking an active interest in his daughter’s life. Despite me forcing the situation, little Zinnia’s arrival has truly been a blessing to that household, even I find myself visiting more often.”

“Elder…”

“I only ask that you give him a chance to prove himself. I wasn’t the best parent to him growing up having been too self-involved during that period of my life. Just like him I pursued strength for its own sake, wisdom only truly reaches the members of my family as we mature. I hope that in time he too will experience that same change in perspective.”

“I can’t trust him right away. If he starts taking being a parent more seriously, I’ll consider it. Zinnia’s little brother is set to compete in the conference as well, perhaps if he showed some genuine interest in the people who are important to her…?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”