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Gold rolled the plastic ball around in his hand, flicking over the release button with his thumb. Silver instead stood motionless on the opposite side of the arena, his hand poised over his belt.
“Three on three, you know the rules?” Silver asked him, staring down his rival from across the clearing. At least a dozen children from the orphanage-- along with a more or less approving Crystal-- watched in amazement as the two trainers prepared for an all out brawl.
“There are no rules,” Gold replied, able to see the slight grin on Silver’s face from all these meters away. The trainers nodded to each other, throwing their pokeballs up into the air with a performer’s flourish. They gleamed in the light, hovering for a second before bursting open and releasing the Pokemon within. The light that came from Gold’s pokeball hit the ground with a thud before rising up and taking form like giant emerging from the shadows. The beast cracked its neck as the shine and shadows faded away, rolling its shoulders and allowing gentle sparks to fly from its back. The children ooh-ed and aah-ed, all to Exbo’s amusement. The massive Typhlosion flicked his ears, giving a happy glance back at his trainer. While they were preparing, Silver’s Honchkrow had already taken shape, hovering close to the ground and stirring the dust and leaves with the steady beat of her wings.
“Ready Exbo?” Gold asked, and the Typhlosion snorted in response. “Steady….”
“Go,” Silver interrupted as Honchkrow launched herself forward, leaving swirling dust clouds in her wake. Gold didn’t even have time to yell at Silver for interrupting him before the ethereal purple of a Sucker Punch cracked against Exbo’s nose and forced him to stagger backwards. Honchkrow herself ricocheted off Exbo’s head from the shock, using the momentum to launch herself higher in the air, dancing just out of reach of a counterattack. Blood dripping from his nose, Exbo snarled at the Honchkrow. Gold rolled his shoulders, nodding at Exbo while Silver watched them and tried to decipher what they were doing. Exbo played along, acting out on his anger by leaping in the air and swiping at Honchkrow, becoming ‘increasingly frustrated’ as his attacks missed. Honchkrow, despite her build, was a physical attacker and they both knew it. If they could just get her to swoop in close, well…
“Honchkrow, dive.”
Yes. Honchkrow flattened her wings against her chest and swooped into a deep dive, charging straight for Exbo, who stood tall with his back to Gold and his arms outstretched as though ready to wrap her in a bear hug. The children watched with bated breath as Honchkrow zipped through the air, her body merely a blur as she plummeted to the ground.
At the last second, Exbo dropped to all fours, back arched, and unleashed Explosion on Honchkrow, who was already moving too fast to change course. She crashed, screeching, into Exbo’s back as she was engulfed in white hot flames. He stood up and threw her off so that she might crash again into the ground. Instead, she managed to pull herself back into flight, clumsily flapping her wings and plucking at singed feathers with an angry clacking of her beak. Exbo wasted no time, immediately swiping and snapping at Honchkrow as she struggled to avoid him. They continued in the high speed game of cat and mouse, Honchkrow barely able to escape Exbo’s snapping jaws. She cawed in fear, but Silver did nothing, allowing her to fly and dodge like her life depended on it. Exbo only ever came away with a feather at most, but it was definitely tiring for them both. Finally, Honchkrow ducked back into the fray and returned to the offensive.
She opted low this time, gliding mere inches from the ground and pecking at Exbo’s ankles. Too bulky to outmaneuver her, Exbo stomped around, making the ground quake from his efforts. The circular motions and Exbo’s limited mobility allowed Honchkrow to pick up speed, flying circles around Exbo’s paws as his anger grew and grew. Finally he snapped, sheathing his fangs in electricity and lunging down to clamp his jaws around Honchkrow’s neck. She let out a surprised squak as Exbo lifted her into the air and bit down with a crunch, shaking her around like a chew toy as she convulsed from the might of Thunder Fang. Silver didn’t move, but shouted at Honchkrow to attack again. At least three of the orphans had started wailing, and Crystal shot the two boys a death glare, as if to say ‘calm down’. They ignored her.
Despite the massive amounts of pain coursing through her body, Honchkrow drew back and stretched out her wings. Exbo hadn’t noticed that each ebony feather had begun to a brilliant white until it was too late. With a powerful flap, Honchkrow unleashed a point-blank Superpower directly into Exbo’s face. The brute force of the attack ripped the two pokemon apart, crimson blood squirting from Honchkrow’s neck as Exbo’s jaws were torn away. Both pokemon were blasted away from the pure power, somersaulting backwards across the battlefield as feathers, fur, and uncontrolled fireballs flew in every direction (including at Crystal, who narrowly avoided having her pigtail burnt off by one of Exbo’s stray sparks). Exbo landed with a dull thump at Silver’s feet; the trainer gently nudged him with his foot as Exbo pushed himself to his paws. The Typhlosion made a show of deliberately licking Honchkrow’s blood from his lips. Silver glared at him, so Exbo snarled back.
Honchkrow, meanwhile, landed in a sad feathery heap at Gold’s feet. He reached out gently, trying to help her up, but she whirled around to peck at his hand, staggering to her feet and not looking back. She spread her wings, puffed out her feathers, and screeched loudly in anger and triumph even as her white neck ruff was slowly staining red. Gold put his injured finger in his mouth to try and dull the pain. That insolent little bird had drawn blood!
Gold assessed the situation of the current battle. Exbo looked angry, which was bad. He could be as reckless as Gold when upset. He didn’t want to risk it, so…
“Exbo, return.” The Typhlosion looked hurt. Gold held out the pokeball and withdrew his partner, ignoring Silver’s cocky sneer as Gold sucked on the finger Honchkrow had pecked.
“You can play again later, ok buddy? You did good.”
“Congratulating your pokemon on a fight they didn’t even win? That’s pathetic, even for you. Come on Honchkrow, take a breather. We have to go easy on him, remember?”
Gold would never admit how much he missed Silver’s trash talk (or how much it turned him on but honestly that’s a story for another time), so instead he pulled another pokeball from his belt before he could say something embarrassing. Then he noticed, with a giddiness that shone on his face, that Silver couldn’t recall Honchkrow.
“ Return ,” he said for probably the fourth time. But Honchkrow shook her head and stuck out her tongue at her trainer, shifting on her talons and flapping her wings in preparation for another fight. Adamant nature indeed.
“Let’s go Ataro,” Gold said, not ready to let Silver waste time with his pokemon’s obedience issues. Leaping from his Gold’s pokeball, the Ambipom landed lightly on his feet, balling his hands (and tails) into fists. Honchkrow took off without warning, flying straight towards Ambipom as Silver yelled at her to change course. It was obvious that she wanted to use Sucker Punch by her movements and the purple energy that cloaked her wing, but unlike her trainer, she didn’t seem to take abilities into account.
“ Honchkrow !” Silver spat, stamping his foot. Once again, she ignored his directions, and now it was going to cost her.
“Ataro, Fake out!”
With surprising speed, the Ambipom leapt out of range and whirled his twin tails around to deliver a sharp punch to Honchkrow’s side. She let out a squak of surprise as she was flung to the side, where she hit the ground and skidded across the dirt. By the time she stopped, she was humiliated and covered in dust, feebly trying to push herself up on splayed wings even as her whole body flinched.
“Technician gives moves like Fake Out priority,” Gold explained to the disgraced bird, still struggling to stand as Ataro leaped in for another hit.
“Honchkrow, use Roost,” Silver said. Honchkrow ignored him even as Ataro leapt upwards, both tails glowing with energy. Instead, she pushed herself into flight with a mighty flap of her wings. Her whole body was cloaked in the blue and red energy of attack as she crashed into Ataro with a messy Brave Bird. Time seemed to go in slow motion for a moment, the pure power keeping Ataro stuck on Honchkrow’s face. With a single flap of her wings, they shot upwards with incredible speed. The children cried out with excitement and surprise as the attack blew strong gusts of wind and clouds of dust flying past them with enough force to blow a few of the sitting children onto their backs.
Silver didn’t seem so amused. Gold thought he could hear him mutter to himself.
“That’s not… This is why you don’t battle.”
Despite the risky maneuver, Brave Bird hit Ataro for ridiculous damage. When they reached the height of the attack, Honchkrow threw Ataro off her face, spreading her wings out for another attack, likely Superpower. But the recoil damage from Brave Bird had caught up to her, and she found herself dizzy and weak enough that even flying was a struggle, nevermind an aerial attack. Both pokemon were so high in the air they looked like specks of dust. A fall from that height… yikes.
Regardless, Gold smiled. It would be near impossible to issue a command their pokemon could hear from that distance, but he trusted Ataro. The Ambipom didn’t need Gold’s guidance to make the right decision anymore. But Honchkrow on the other hand…
“Roost!” Silver shouted again, but Honchkrow could not even hear his command before Ataro’s two tails slammed into the small of her back with Knock Off. Screeching, she was sent rocketing to the ground. It seemed every trainer and pokemon alike flinched as she hit the arena-- with enough force to shatter the ground beneath her-- and bounced before laying still. Ataro landed next to her as the dust cleared a few moments later, having used his tails like propellers to slow his descent. He covered his mouth guiltily when he saw Honchkrow; her spiral eyes and strangled caw weren’t needed to tell the final verdict.
Honchkrow is unable to battle .
“You wanna keep going?” Gold asked Ataro, who turned and nodded eagerly. Silver merely grumbled as he recalled Honchkrow, probably whispering some kind words to her that no one else could hear. He may be prideful in battle, but he wasn’t a total asshole.
Silver held out a hand, the figure released from his pokeball growing, and growing, and growing until it towered over Ataro. The Ambipom stepped back in fear as Silver’s next pokemon took form: one very large, very angry Feraligatr. Ataro’s will crumbled as the Feraligatr gnashed his jaws and swept his tail side to side. Somehow, Gold knew Fake Out wouldn’t work twice.
Gold kicked out, scuffing the ground with his shoe as Ataro leapt forward, his foot cloaked in red energy. Dropping into a squat, Ataro lashed out, trying to sweep Feraligatr off his feet with Low Kick. But Feraligatr reached down, grabbing Ataro’s head in a single, scaly hand and lifting him off the ground. The Ambipom kicked at empty air, his arms and legs too short to actually hit anything. Ataro was frozen for a moment, too distracted by the pain of a giant crocodile squeezing his skull to formulate an actual attack plan.
“Feraligatr, Ice Punch,” Silver said, confident enough in his rival’s inability to counter he would announce his attack out loud.
Feraligatr tightened his grip, sending tendrils of ice freezing down Ataro’s body until his entire form was caked in ice and frost. He drew back his other fist, letting blue energy sparkle around it like snowflakes and swinging it forward as hard as he could. At the last second, he released Ataro, spiking the poor Ambipom like a volleyball.
Ataro went flying, the frost covering his body incapacitating his movements despite his thrashing. Only painfully crashing into the ground broke the ice, which flew into pieces as Ataro bounced down the arena. Not one to be defeated so easily, Ataro jumped to his feet, shaking the last flecks of frost from his fur. Feraligatr had already puffed up his chest, and judging by the way he inflated his cheeks, Ataro already knew what was coming. Without wasting a moment on thinking or strategy, he bolted towards Feraligatr as the hulking beast shot Liquidation straight at him. Clear blue water blasted from Feraligatr’s mouth like a cannon, the steady stream enough to knock a Dragonite off their feet. Ataro leapt safely above the attack before it hit (his trainer was not as lucky).
Twirling in the air, the Ambipom landed with a flourish on Feraligatr’s nose, forcing his jaws shut and sending water crashing against the inside of his now closed mouth. The force of the attack jerked Feraligatr’s head forward, pulling his legs out from under him. With water leaking out the sides of his lips, he crashed to the ground with a thump.
“Get him off,” Silver instructed, which was in all honesty easier than expected; Ataro was pushed away with a mere swat of Feraligatr’s paw. Before Ataro could get a secure footing, Feraligatr pushed forward with his back feet, trying to close his jaws around Ataro. Gold knew that if he succeeded, Ataro would be done for.
“Roll!” Gold shouted. The Ambipom fell into a somersault, rolling away as Feraligatr’s jaws snapped mere centimeters from his paws. He squealed, popping to his feet. The match unfolding in the middle of the battlefield had all the children captivated. To see Ataro narrowly avoiding the jaws of a huge beast like Feraligatr made their eyes widen in anticipation. Perhaps they related to the little underdog. Feraligatr lunged again.
This time, Ataro was ready, leaping across Feraligatr’s open jaws to grab his tongue and yank it out of his mouth. Feraligatr’s jaws clamped not on Ataro, but around his own tongue. The huge, powerful pokemon let out an uncharacteristically pitiful cry. Falling back on his haunches, Feraligatr balled his fists and began to wail. Ataro looked horrified as big, fat tears rolled down Feraligatr's face. Cautiously, he tiptoed towards the beast as it sniffled and pawed at the blood trickling out the side of its mouth. He addressed him softly, placing a paw on Feraligatr’s scaly arm in a comforting gesture.
The favor was returned by a Dragon Tail.
Feraligatr had struck out with such speed that Ataro didn’t have enough time to register what was happening; by the time he had even noticed the pain from the powerful attack he was already sailing through the air, flipping over himself as the world around him spun in circles. He still had a confused look on his face as he hit the ground. Feraligatr wiped the crocodile tears from his face, grinning as Ataro remained sprawled out. He wouldn’t be getting up again today.
Ataro is unable to battle .
“I want to keep you in battle,” Silver said, and Feraligatr looked overjoyed at the opportunity to continue, wagging his tail in excitement.
“Good job,” Gold whispered to Ataro as he recalled him. “Take it easy for now, we can spike his drink later.” He swore he could hear Ataro chuckle weakly from inside the pokeball, but he could never be sure. Shaking the water from his hair, Gold picked his third pokemon.
“Togebo, let’s go!” he said, throwing his last pokeball into the air. A stunningly beautiful Togekiss burst from inside, fluttering to the ground and sitting in the dirt. He stared up at Feraligatr, watching as the hulking beast snarled in an effort to intimidate him.
He was unimpressed.
“Togebo, Nasty Plot.”
Togebo turned back to glare at his trainer, then shifted in an effort to make himself more comfortable. Without warning, Feraligatr attacked, dousing Togebo with water. The Togekiss was thrown backwards, tumbling over and over before being left in a wet heap at Gold’s feet. Angrily, he stood up and shook the water from his feathers, ignoring how all the kids laughed at him.
“You can kick his ass if you want,” Gold offered as Togebo took to the skies.
“ Language !” Crystal hissed.
Togebo seemed obliged now to get his revenge.
“Knock him out of the air,” Silver said, watching as Togebo dove at Feraligatr. The water type took a swing at the approaching Togekiss, his Ice Punch missing by a mile. Togebo was much too fast for him. And thus it began.
Feraligatr swiped at empty air, Ice Punch always missing by a few centimeters as Togebo danced around him mockingly. The children laughed and clapped as Togebo made escapes that were more and more daring, allowing the ice to graze his belly as he swooped this way and that. Finally, he turned and perched on Silver’s head, swatting the trainer’s attempts to shoo him away. Feraligatr whirled around, blind in his rage, and swung an Ice Punch down as hard as he could. Togekiss hopped away at the last second, and though Feraligatr tried desperately to stop himself, the Ice Punch collided with his trainer’s head (though not with the same force he had started with, that would have shattered Silver’s skull). Silver flinched, grabbing his aching head with both hands and trying to hide the blood that dripped down his forehead from beneath his scarlet bangs.
“ Togebo ! That wasn’t nice!” Gold chided, but the Togekiss didn’t seem to care. Feraligatr, on the other hand, did. He let out a loud wail, sobbing and trying to tend to his injured trainer. Thrashing his tail in distress, Feraligatr screamed and cried at the idea he had even lightly hit his trainer.
“It’s ok, it’s ok…… ok you know what, you’re taking a break,” Silver muttered, clutching his bloody head with one hand and recalling Feraligatr with the other.
“Crystal, do all pokemon battles hurt their trainers?” one of the children asked, clutching at her skirt in distress. She sighed.
“No Camille, they don’t. These two boys are very mean and don’t play by the rules.”
“So I can beat them up?” Camille asked.
“Wha- did Blue teach you that?” Crystal chided, leading Camille away to explain that violence was never the answer. She would also need to give Blue a stern talking to later about what it means to be ‘child-friendly’.
“Weavile, let’s clean this up,” Silver said. She leapt from her ball, walking up to Togebo and crossing her arms sternly. He stared back defiantly, looking like a impudent toddler being scolded by their aunt.
Weavile growled something that made his feathers ruffle in fear. He turned to her, eyes wide, as she unsheathed her claws and took a menacing step towards him. Togebo took off to the skies, hoping to slash at Weavile with the same tactics.
He was not so lucky. Weavile wasn’t goaded as easily as Feraligatr, instead buffing herself up with Swords Dance while Togebo did acrobatics in the air.
“Togebo, attack from the air!” Gold said as Togebo flew higher. Flapping his wings, he sent a flurry of Air Slashes in Weavile’s direction. She sidestepped them all with ease, letting them bounce harmlessly over the ground before fading away. She looked up at Togebo, then shrugged. He didn’t appreciate it.
Squaking obscenities at her, he sent a new barrage of Air Slashes, charging up something in his beak as she tried to avoid the new wave. Weavile didn’t try to stop him, even slashing a few of the attacks with her claws to amuse her audience. As she gave a little bow, Togebo unleashed his new attack, a shot of glimmering light that zipped towards Weavile’s face.
“Break it,” Silver instructed. Nonchalantly, Weavile drew back a paw, then karate chopped the attack with Brick Break in hopes of slicing the attack in half.
It didn’t go as planned. Instead of splitting, the attack burst in an explosion of light and color that blinded Weavile. She let out a pained cry and pawed at her face as the memory of the flash was still fresh in her mind. Togebo wasted no time for sympathy, launching another volley of Air Slashes at the struggling dark type. Unfortunately, Weavile didn’t need to see to battle, and used Knock Off to return the attacks to their sender. Most collided with each other, but a few cut their way through the smoke and hit Togebo, bringing him to the ground.
Weavile leapt onto Togebo’s back, digging her claws and teeth into Togebo’s neck. Though he thrashed and beat his wings, she would not come off. The children started to howl with laughter as Togebo’s attempts grew more desperate; the Togekiss bucked about like a Tauros trying to launch a bronco from their back. Weavile played along, waving her front paw playfully as though twirling a hat. Togebo screeched in rage, then swept the two of them into the air with a beat of his wings.
“Hold on!” Silver reminded her as they soared up and out of sight.
Within the clouds, the two pokemon warred. Weavile focused, constantly creating ice around the flying duo and smashing the icicles into Togebo’s wings with Icicle Crash. At the same time, Togebo pulled the two of them into a Double-Edge nosedive, each pokemon causing massive damage to the other as they plummeted to earth. With all the ice and energy surrounding them, they were indistinguishable in a white-hot blur. Both trainers and all the children watched in anticipation, hoping Togebo would pull up and soar over the arena.
But Togebo was distracted.
So Togebo crashed.
With a crack so loud and painful-sounding it made everyone flinch, both pokemon slammed into the ground. When the dust cleared and the wind resided, both trainers saw their pokemon, sprawled out unconscious in the crater their attacks had created. The noise of the impact had drawn Crystal back to the arena, where she stared in shock at the mutual destruction.
Togebo and Weavile are unable to battle!
Gold laughed bitterly as he recalled Togebo. Silver, who was recalling Weavile while whispering gentle praise to her pokeball, cocked an eyebrow.
“Kind of ironic, huh?” Gold said, letting Exbo out of his ball. Silver likewise released his own starter. “A good ol fashioned battle between rivals.”
“If only you had a chance,” Silver said. “It’s simple type advantages, you’re bound to lose.”
“I’d be more worried if the trash talk came from someone who could actually control their pokemon,” Gold retorted. Typhlosion huffed, taking a step forward and shooting up the flames on his back.
“At least I direct my pokemon! I’d not just some lousy excuse of a trainer who lets his pokemon fight his battles for him!” Feraligatr stepped forward, clenching his fists and baring his teeth. At this point, Crystal began to corral all the children and herd them inside.
“Alright,” she chirped, “it’s time to go back inside!” The kids all groaned. “Because….. It’s snacktime!” Crystal looked over her shoulder in concern as the boy’s argument grew more heightened and the children cheered, following Crystal inside like a family of ducklings.
“So you don’t think I’m a good trainer?!” Gold asked, offended.
“I don’t know, you’ve never won a battle against me or any gym leader so how would I know?” Silver retorted, his lips drawn back in a snarl. At this point, even Exbo and Feraligatr exchanged a worried glance, looking back at their trainers as the battle was all but forgotten.
“At least I didn’t steal gym badges like someone I know!!”
“This is why they based Proteam Omega on Red instead of you!!”
“ That’s it ,” Gold roared. “I’m gonna kick your ass!!”
With the grace of a Rhyperior, Gold charged across the battlefield. Exbo, horrified, tried to stop him, but it was too late: Silver had likewise sprinted across the field at his rival, avoiding Feraligatr’s attempts to hold him back. The boys met in a whirlwind of fists and flesh, attacking each other like animals. Exbo and Feraligatr tried desperately to keep them apart, but the boys ignored their pokemon’s pleas: kicking, punching, and slapping each other to try and defend their wounded pride.
A black eye here, a broken nose there; there was no stopping the onslaught of violence that all the orphanage children watched gleefully, as though tuning in to a live wrestling match that unfolded outside their window. Except here the blood wasn’t fake. Exbo and Feraligatr’s frantic attempts to separate their trainers were futile, but there was still hope yet. Both pokemon saw a figure approaching and immediately backed away, their eyes sparkling.
This was the intervention they needed.
“ Hey !” Crystal shouted, her hands on her hips as she looked down at the fighting boys with the same kind of angry, disapproving glare one might find on a Kangaskhan. They ignored her, as they always did, still screeching profanities and tugging at each other’s clothes and hair with the ferocity of wild pokemon. Her rage reaching a boiling point, Crystal joined the fray, lashing out with moves powerful enough to be called Mega Kick. Exbo and Feraligatr attempted to shield the orphanage children from the grisly scene without any luck; they all watched in awe and horror at the might of their caretaker.
“I- is this what a super-effective move looks like?” one of them asked the others as Crystal delivered the finishing blows. They were all too captivated to respond.
Gold and Silver are unable to battle!