Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Boundless Sky ❯ Decide! The Tumultuous End of Spring! ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4
Decide! The Tumultuous End of Spring!

Kouta turned around slowly to face the two girls, who were waiting for him to give an answer. Chiori looked shocked, and a bit afraid. Laurel had her hands on her hips, staring intently at Kouta. "Well?" she spoke again. "Are you giving my Ralts away, or not?"

Kouta sighed. "It's been two years since you even mentioned it," he said. "Since you haven't asked me for the trade in all that time, I assumed you weren't interested anymore."

Laurel stamped her foot impatiently. "Just because I don't say something out loud doesn't mean I don't still mean it! You of all people know that!"

"You're a water specialist now. Why do you need a psychic-type? Chiori's the one building a team, and she only has two pokémon so far."

"Because you promised! You said I could have it!"

"You never traded with me! You had plenty of opportunities, too!" Other people in the pokémon center were staring. Kouta had never felt more embarrassed -- first she tackled him to the floor, now this.

"Well, I'll trade with you now!" Laurel declared. "She'd still only have two pokémon after she gives up one for Ralts. I've got plenty to spare."

"That's not true!" Chiori blurted out. "I caught this one just to trade!" She held out the pokéball containing the random Wurmple.

Laurel scowled. "Well, Kouta?"

He ran his fingers through his dark, messy hair and sighed again.

"Let's battle for it!" Chiori said. Kouta and Laurel both stared at her. "To see who's the better trainer. That one should have Ralts."

Laurel raised a dark green eyebrow. "All right," she agreed.

"Let me run home and get my pokémon," Chiori said.

"What!? You don't have them with you?"

"I wasn't going to take them to school with me," Chiori said in a matter-of-fact way. "My house is only a few blocks away. I"ll be right back!" She raced out of the center.

Laurel watched her go with a thoughtful look. "A middle-school girl with only two pokémon against me and my evolved water-types," she mused to Kouta. "Who's the better trainer, indeed."

Chiori burst through the door and pounded up the stairs to her bedroom. Isis was curled up in her basket, licking a forepaw, while Malik sat idly on the floor beside her. He squeaked a welcome as Chiori ran in.

"It's time for a battle!" she said breathlessly, fetching their pokéballs from the night stand. The pokémon looked at her curiously as she called them inside.

"Chiori?" Mrs. Rougan called from the kitchen as her daughter came downstairs.

"'Bye, Mom! I'm going to have a pokémon battle!"

"A battle? With whom?"

"Uh... this girl I just met. I'll be back soon!"

"Make sure you're in time for dinner!"

Chiori didn't even change out of her school uniform, the first thing she usually did upon arriving home. She ran all the way back to the center, where Kouta and Laurel were waiting outside.

"Ready now?" Laurel asked.

Chiori nodded, catching her breath.

"Just two, Laurel," Kouta said. He held on to Ralts's pokéball protectively.

"Of course," she said sweetly. She raised her arms high over her head and twirled in place, her short, blue skirt fanning out. From the pokéball in her hand -- which was teal and white with a black, criss-cross pattern on top -- came a huge, purple starfish with a faceted, red jewel in its center.

"Wow," Chiori whispered as she watched it materialize. "What was that?" she asked as Laurel stopped twirling.

The short girl gave her an incredulous look. "My Starmie? Your opponent?" she answered, as though it was obvious.

"No, that spinning you did. What was that for?" Chiori circled her finger in mid-air.

Laurel brushed her hand over a tiny pigtail. "My signature move. Did you like it, Kouta? I've been practicing." She smiled saccharinely at him.

"Yes, it was very nice," he said hastily.

"Well, I'm here to battle, not dance," Chiori said, grinning. If Laurel was more preoccupied with how she appeared, maybe this would be easy. She glanced at Kouta, who gave her an amused look. Then Chiori whipped Isis's pokéball in the air. The Poochyena emerged above the ground and landed gracefully on her feet, licking her arm quickly.

"That's it?" Laurel asked. "That little thing?"

"Less talk, more battle!" Chiori commanded. "Isis, sand-attack!"

"Haven't you ever heard of 'ladies first'?" The other girl sniffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Laurel smiled smugly as Isis kicked a dirt shower over the Starmie. "Too bad Celena really doesn't have eyes to blind," she said. "Ah, well. Celena, psychic!"

Nothing happened. Both trainers stood dumbfounded.

"Psychic attacks are useless against dark-type pokémon," Kouta supplied. "I thought you knew that."

"I did!" Laurel shouted, flushing. "Fine. Celena, rapid spin!"

"Look out!" Chiori cried. Her Poochyena couldn't dodge the whirling, flying Starmie, and she yelped as she was struck. "Bite it, Isis!" Chiori ordered.

The Starmie stumbled as Isis sank her teeth in its side. It twitched, and Laurel called, "Use recover!"

"Looks like it's scared stiff," Chiori said, pleased that Isis was doing so well.

"Celena's still twice as strong as that puny thing!" Laurel protested.

"I'd say with its weakness to dark, they're about even. Isis, keep biting!"

Isis's fervent bites overpowered the Starmie. Its jewel blinked, and its arms started to go limp. "No!" Laurel shouted. She thrust out its pokéball, recalling it, and looked to the side sourly.

"Good job!" Chiori knelt down and held out her arms. Isis bounded into them, licking Chiori's face.

"Fine," Laurel said, holding up another pokéball, this one black with thin rings of red and gold around the top and center. "I'm sure this one won't have any weaknesses against you." She did her twirling act and called out, "Let's go, Merle!" The pokémon released was a plump rabbit-like creature with bright blue fur and a white bubble-and-water pattern on its belly. It had a sweet face, but determined, battle-ready eyes.

"Awww!" Chiori couldn't help herself. "Okay, I'll switch, too!"

"There's no need. Keep your puppy in this battle."

"No, I want to give Malik a fair chance!" Chiori pointed to her side, beckoning Isis to sit by her feet and watch. She released Malik from his ball. Laurel raised her eyebrows and gawked at him. Kouta just looked surprised, and possibly a little impressed. Chiori beamed with pride.

"Ladies first," she said to Laurel, smirking.

The short girl's green eyes flashed. "Merle, your strongest bubblebeam, please." The Azumarill unleashed a jet of bubbles, which burst all around Malik, who shielded his eyes.

Chiori mentally ran through Malik's attacks. She chuckled. "Well, can't go wrong again. Bite!"

Laurel watched in horror as the Mawile's huge, jaw-like horn clamped down on her Azumarill's side. It squealed and rolled to the side. "Is that all your pokémon know how to do?" Laurel snapped. "How barbaric!"

"Pretty effective, though!" Chiori defended her battle technique. Merle the Azumarill flinched at its next command of another bubblebeam. "All right, then, how about some fake tears?" Chiori suggested. Malik caught her eye knowingly, then faced Merle and buried its face in its paws, feigning pain. The Azumarill, striving to stand up, stared at the Mawile with pity.

"Don't be fooled, Merle!" Laurel ordered. "In fact... let's see if we can turn the tables. Use attract."

Merle looked over at her, then back at Malik with a bizarre expression. Chiori watched, perplexed. It seemed like nothing happened.

"Try another bite, Malik," she told him. She'd have to train him some more, so he could learn new attacks. Malik, however, stood rooted to the ground, eyes transfixed on Merle.

Laurel laughed triumphantly. "I guessed right. Your pokémon is in love with mine now. His chances of attacking her are greatly reduced." She struck a confident pose, her chest protruding especially. Chiori tried not to glare, already feeling jealous that this petite girl had a better figure than she did.

"Malik! Snap out of it!" she commanded. Isis barked along with her, offering encouragement. "You can do it! Bite!"

Unfortunately, it wasn't working out for the impressionable Malik. Laurel smirked. "Well, that's that. Time for a rollout, Merle."

The Azumarill curled herself up in a tight ball and hurled herself at Malik. The enthralled Mawile only watched as she approached, knocking him to the ground. She continued to roll, circling around Chiori and coming up to Malik again from the opposite direction and colliding with him once more. She continued her roll to Laurel and turned around to attack again.

"He's still too weak," Chiori said to herself. He was wearing the same bandage from the Dewford pokémon center -- Malik's skirmish in the cave hindered his battle ability. In a panic, Chiori recalled him back to his ball. "Get in there, Isis!" she said. "You can't fall for attract!"

Isis ran into the battle, leaping over Merle as she charged. "Try a tackle!" Chiori said. The Poochyena gathered all her strength and rammed into Merle, knocking the Azumarill out of her rolling. She staggered around dizzily, a confused look on her face.

"Merle! It's right in front of you!" Laurel shouted.

"So rollout does more damage to your pokémon in the end, huh?" Chiori asked. "Isis, bite!"

"That's not true! Look out, Merle!"

But the wobbly Azumarill did nothing as Isis attacked. She toppled over from the bite, lying still on the ground despite Laurel's frantic cries.

Kouta stared at his watch, and, after a few seconds, declared, "Merle is unable to battle!"

Chiori gasped, holding her hands to her mouth.

"No! That's not possible!" Laurel protested. "Merle's just a little tired. She'll get back up!"

"I'd say rolling willingly into a steel-type pokémon is liable to do more damage to the one attacking," Kouta told her. "You should have gone for the bubblebeams. I'm sorry, Laurel, but Chiori wins."

"But... but..." Laurel's shoulders drooped, and she finally accepted her loss by leaving her words unfinished. She recalled her Azumarill sullenly. "Go on with your trade, then," she said. "I'll be waiting by the school for you, Kouta. Don't take too long." She spun around on her heel and stalked off.

"Will she be all right?" Chiori asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. She'll forget she ever wanted the Ralts in a little while." Kouta smiled at the pokéball in his hand. "Well, shall we?"

Chiori retracted Isis to her ball and eagerly followed Kouta into the center and up the stairs to the trading center, where they approached a strange machine. "It's pretty simple," Kouta explained. "Just put your ball on one end, and I'll have mine on the other here. The computer reads the information and does the exchange."

Chiori nodded and placed the Wurmple's pokéball in the slotted tray before her. The machine lit up as Kouta pushed a button, and the trays lifted up to a two-way tube. After a beep, they came down again, and Chiori picked up her new ball slowly, filled with wonder.

"Thank you so much," she whispered. "I promise I'll take the best care of it."

"It's a female," Kouta supplied.

Chiori looked down at the ball in thought. "Mai!" she announced. "Her nickname is Mai!"

"Well, not really," said Kouta. "You can call her that all you want, but you can't have it registered, not like you could for Isis and Malik. A traded pokémon keeps the name its original trainer gave it, and if he didn't name it, then it stays that way. She'll probably never respond to 'Mai', either."

"What? That's silly. Everyone knows when they're being called by name, even pokémon."

Kouta chuckled. "You're a good trainer, you know. Isis and Malik really look up to you."

"Thanks! I hope Mai... um, my Ralts will, too."

"What are you doing this summer?"

"Hmm? I dunno... I might go on a gym journey and collect the badges. Roxanne suggested it, and my parents want me to get out more."

"Oh? That's too bad. I'll be here half the time, and I was hoping we could hang out. Maybe have some battles of our own."

Chiori grinned widely. "Really? I'll have to make some stops back home now and then. Then I can show you how Ralts is doing."

"Yeah." Kouta grinned back, unzipping a pocket on the side of his pants leg. He retrieved a scrap of paper and a pen. "Here's my email address," he said, writing it down and handing the slip to her. "We'll keep in touch so we know when to meet for battles."

"Only if you're not too busy to check your email." Chiori remembered what Laurel had told him.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I always check it. Sometimes I just don't feel like replying."

She giggled and looked at what he'd written. "'Van_the_Absol'?" she asked.

"Old online roleplay. I never bothered to get a new address." He shrugged, looking a little embarrassed.

Chiori moved her hand to her skirt, meaning to stick the paper into a pocket she forgot wasn't there. "Oh yeah," she said, laughing for no reason. She clung to the paper more tightly. "Um... should you go find her? She said she'd be waiting by the school."

"You're probably right." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay. You get your pokémon healed, and I guess I'll take off."

"I can't wait to get home and meet my Ralts now!" Chiori gushed as they went downstairs.

"I'm glad I could help you out."

"You sure did! Thanks so much! I think I owe you a favor."

Kouta smiled. "We'll see about that. I'll talk to you later." He waved and left. Chiori waved back, and went to the counter to ask for a healing. She was giggling all the way home.

"You're so sweet!" she gushed when Ralts was out of her ball at last, glancing around the bedroom. Isis and Malik, sitting near the basket, looked at Ralts with curiosity and welcome.

The refreshed Chiori -- changed and washed for dinner -- sat on her knees and held her arms out to her new pokémon. "I just know you'll be happy here! Welcome to your new family, Mai!"

The Ralts stared up at her -- at least, it appeared that way, even though her eyes were shielded by green hair. "That's your nickname," Chiori said. "Mai. Never mind what Kouta says."

Ralts stayed put. Chiori's smile faded with concern, and she lowered her hands to her thighs. "I battled for you," she said. "I'm so glad I won. I don't think Laurel wanted you because she likes Ralts as much as I do. She only wanted you because Kouta promised her a long time ago, which she forgot about. She probably wouldn't have taken very good care of you." She paused in thought. "She's kind of weird. She came all this way from Sootopolis to spend summer with Kouta, but he doesn't seem to want her around."

Mrs. Rougan called her downstairs. "Dinner's ready!" Chiori said, leaping to her feet. "You get acquainted here, Mai. I'll be back soon!"

She thought she saw a flash of light from the corner of her eye as she started downstairs. She paused, looking over her shoulder, then shrugged and continued on her way.

Afterwards, she raced back to her room, only to find Isis napping in her basket, Malik staring at an open nature magazine, and a pokéball in the middle of the floor. "Where's Mai?" Chiori asked.

Isis cracked open a red eye and yawned. Malik looked from the ball to his trainer, concerned. "Oh," Chiori whispered, remembering the flash. "I guess she let herself back in." She picked up the ball and gently set it on her night stand. "Maybe she's still scared. Who knows how long Kouta kept her in storage?"

Malik squeaked, and Chiori sat on the floor next to him, patting his head. "You like the pictures?" she asked, flipping the magazine's page. The Mawile leaned forward and smacked his paws on a picture of a sandy desert, looking up at Chiori with a very amused expression. She giggled and scratched behind his ears, looking at the bandage wrapped around his chest. It would be awhile before those scars from his former pack mate healed.

"I'm so glad I can take care of you," she told him. "And when you're all better, I'll train you really well, so no one can beat you so easily again." She glanced at Ralts's pokéball. "We'll have a great time, whatever we do..."

---

Her middle school's graduation was the following Friday, and she wandered alone through the chattering crowd outside. Her classmates were making plans with friends, saying goodbyes, laughing, crying, thanking their relatives. Chiori noticed none of this, her attention divided between looking for her parents, her only guests for the event, and gazing at the falling cherry blossoms, one of her favorite sights.

Her eyes fell on Roxanne, who also appeared to be searching. Chiori rushed to meet her, calling her name.

"Hi, Chiori," Roxanne greeted. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," said the younger girl with a grin. "I'm so glad to see you! I didn't expect you to come here. I stopped by your classroom every day this week, but you weren't there."

"I know. I've had a lot of final reports to grade, so I took them home. Plus my own schoolwork... and there's another week to go for us."

"If you didn't want me to visit, you should have said so!"

"I tried," Roxanne mumbled.

"What?"

"I tried to... then Kouta came by, and you ran off with him."

The full meaning of Roxanne's words sank in slowly. The brown-haired girl clasped her hands in front of her, turning her head to the side. "Was that what you wanted to tell me?" Chiori asked. "I don't mind! If I'd known I was more of a nuisance than a help, I would've gone straight home months ago! Wow." She giggled.

"There's something else," Roxanne said, her head still facing away. Chiori's laughter stopped instantly at her tone. "I was just told yesterday. They want me to teach summer classes, all on my own. Not just helping a real teacher. It's a test of my abilities."

"Wh... that's great," Chiori said, puzzled at her friend's foreboding voice.

"It is. But it also means no trip to the Gym Leaders' Convention. I can't vouch for Aspen's position. I won't be a gym leader."

Chiori's mouth hung open.

"I know what you're thinking," Roxanne spoke for her. "Yes, it was a nice dream, but we have to be realistic. I've worked as a teacher's aide since I started at the academy, and I can't blow off this chance for some trip across Hoenn, for the mere possibility of being chosen to lead a gym. I have a future right here. I'm not ruining that or my health by running off to Lilycove."

Chiori found her voice at last. "Then why did we risk our necks in Dewford?" she blurted out. "What about the Nosepass you longed for, or the Aron you saved? Don't you owe it to them?"

"It doesn't mean I can't still be a good trainer!" Roxanne argued. "I might devote my life to the study of rock-types, did you ever think of that? I still love them!"

"It's not going to kill you to go to Lilycove! You can take a boat, or fly there in a matter of hours, even! You don't have to hike across the region!"

Roxanne flinched. "I thought you would have understood by now. I'm not like you. It's easy for you to take things like running from your school to mine to home every day for granted, but I am practically disabled!"

"No, you're not! You climbed through three sub-levels of Granite Cave, and you only had to rest a couple of times! We all did!"

"Don't remind me of that place, or that sorry excuse of a gym leader!" Roxanne snarled.

"Brawly's a fine gym leader!" Chiori snapped back. "Are you afraid they'll all be like him at the convention? Is that why you want to shut yourself in a classroom for the rest of your life, and blame it all on some made-up disability?"

Roxanne gave her a horrified look. Chiori stared at her directly, waiting for confirmation that she was right. The older girl turned her head aside again, silently defeated.

"Do you treat everyone who cares about you like this?" Brawly had asked Roxanne.

"I'm--" Chiori started to apologize instantly. The last thing she wanted to do was fight with her best friend.

"I'd better get home and work on my final," Roxanne said, cutting her off. "I'll talk to you later." She was leaving before Chiori could even say goodbye. Chiori watched the cherry blossoms flutter before her eyes, just as they gracefully fell over the dark head of her departing friend, who soon vanished into the crowd.

She heard her father call her name from behind. Taking in a deep breath, she faced her approaching parents with a very brave smile.