Chapter Text
“Alright, Razor! Nothin’ to it but to do it! Finish her off with another Acrobatics!” Adriana belted out, smiling to herself as the falcon darted in. Dancing circles around Erika’s fighting type Lilligant, it elegantly dodged every single attempted kick, sweeping the plant creature off its feet. Once its balance was lost, Talonflame dove in for a finishing blow, assaulting it with alternating pecks and slashes from its wings. The taste of victory was fresh on her tongue… again. Yet it got stale the second time around.
This wasn’t the first time that Adriana and Erika had met in the gym challenge. As it turned out, Koga had business to resolve with his daughter in the Johto region, leaving the Fuchsia City gym closed until further notice. With nothing else to do but wait… Adriana had returned to all her past opponents, attempting to “run the gauntlet” once again. Sabrina had turned her down, but Brock, Misty, and Surge all accepted. They shared in the same quick and ruthless defeat… A fate which Erika had now met as well.
“That was a good fight! I should probably get going by now, though… Gotta check in on Koga. Hopefully he’s back from Johto by now, I was looking forward t–” Adriana cut herself off, eyebrows raising as she glanced over at Erika. The nature lover was known to be quite sleepy, but typically, a battle like this helped to energize her… So why had she not spoken at all? “Uh… Hey, Erika. You good?” Maybe not the most sensitive phrasing, but whatever.
“Mmm… Yes, my apologies. You fought well, Adriana, just as you had done before. I see your bond with Razor has deepened… Cherish that bond. It is quite a special connection.” Erika wasn’t wrong , but something about that phrasing made Adriana’s mind start to wander. The emphasis on cherishing that bond, as if something might happen to it… It left Adriana uneasy.
Taking a few steps towards the gym leader, she extended a hand, hoping that Erika wouldn’t be too bothered by the gesture. “C’mon, I can tell something’s on your mind. And I know you’ve got your gym trainers here, if you really need to talk about it, but… I dunno, I just. I want to help. What’s got you down, Erika?”
She said nothing at first, avoiding Adriana’s gaze… but as a few moments passed, she slowly sank to the floor, patting down the grass next to her. The gym trainers, who had gathered around to witness this battle, all quickly dispersed - they had seen this before. “Today has been… quite difficult for me. I must thank you again, of course, for fetching my Gloom that medicine. But even with my little darling feeling better, it can’t undo the worry that it caused me.”
“Ohhh, right…” Adriana murmured, sitting cross-legged by Erika’s side. Razor the Talonflame approached very tentatively, as if it wanted to apologize to the grass leader for sweeping through her entire team twice … but it just settled down on Adriana’s other side, keeping a bit of distance. “That’s got to be pretty scary. One of your Pokemon being sick, but you’ve got to maintain gym leader duties and all…”
“It’s… a bit more complex than that,” Erika responded, still looking down towards the ground. Drawing in a shaky breath, she continued to speak, her voice growing softer as she went on. “See, my Bellossom… was actually one of two siblings. I raised both her, and her twin sister, who became a Vileplume, from tiny little Oddish eggs. The two were inseparable, and I was inseparable from them. But… As time went on, Vileplume seemed to lose her strength. I tried everything I could, but nothing would help. And… Today marks one year since her passing. I had planned to visit her at the Pokemon Tower, to send my love to her departed soul…”
“... but Gloom got sick. And you were so worried about taking care of it, that you never got the chance to travel to Lavender Town. Especially not with me running in here for a rematch.”
A small smile dawned on Erika’s face. Not much, but it marked an improvement. “That is correct. Normally, I take my losses in stride, but you must understand that the circumstances caused me more despair than usual. It is nothing against you, however - you are a marvelous battler.”
That sort of compliment usually brought an idiotic smile to Adriana’s face. But here, now, with everything that had happened… It felt hollow. Undeserved. “No, no, come on - you’re just as amazing a battler as I am. You know that, right? Please tell me you know that.” Admittedly, Adriana was starting to feel a bit… cheap . She had resources, after all, that helped her to prepare for each of these gym battles. Erika had to go in blind - she did amazing in spite of that, almost taking out a couple of her stronger team members. Shade the Accelgor would certainly be taking a long rest after this.
“If I were truly as amazing as you… Would I still have lost?”
Erika’s voice seemed to quiver for a moment there. Nothing in her face indicated a moment of weakness, but Adriana still caught the hint of insecurity. And it tore her apart. Koga could wait; she needed to make things right. Rising from the grassy floor, she silently offered the other woman her hand. Erika pulled herself up without a word, assuming this to be a bittersweet goodbye…
… though she nearly stumbled and fell when she felt a tug from Adriana. Barely catching herself in time, she trailed this odd challenger to the door, eyes now wide open with surprise. “Wh-Where are we going…?” Erika asked shakily, hoping for some clarity - she didn’t mind if Adriana intended to show her something, but the question of what still remained.
“The sun hasn’t set. We can still make it to Pokemon Tower before the day’s over.”
Oh.
Oh.