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"Good job, team! Now come back and get some well earned rest," the young brunette praised her Pokemon. It responded with a cheerful nod, closing its eyes and letting the red beam pull it back into its ball.
The girl smiled at the man across from her. "That was a great battle! I thought I was done for when you sent out Bisharp," she said with a laugh.
"But your Pokemon pulled through, and I've lost once again." The man known as Grimsley let out a sigh. "It seems I could have played my cards better in this game."
"Don't worry, the score is still two to three in your favour. We both know you'll make up for it next time," the young trainer said with a wink.
"You'd win that bet," the Dark type Elite Four member said with a grin. "Until then, farewell." He stepped aside, giving Touko access to the portal.
Touko waved goodbye as she bounced towards Alder. If she won this last match she'd finally be the Champion of Unova! Before she reached the current Champion's room, she stopped.
"Come on out, guys! We have to be ready if we're gonna win." She called out her Pokemon and distributed revives and potions as needed. Satisfied, she nodded and turned once more towards the Champion's room. "Alright, let's go!"
When she finally reached Alder, he was grinning.
"Finally! I've been waiting for you," he told her. "Grimsley held you up again?" he guessed.
"Yeah," the young challenger agreed, her smiling face taking on a pink hue. "He's good, and I don't have any Pokemon with type advantage over dark. But I'm more than ready to take you on!"
"Well hurry up about it. Unlike some crazy young trainers, I actually want to get some sleep tonight." Alder laughed.
"Tonight?" Something in Touko's mind clicked. "What time is it?" she asked, already pulling up her C-Gear. "8:45?!" she read in shock. "Damn, I'm late!" She grabbed her bag and took off running.
"But what about our battle?" Alder called after her.
"I forfeit! For now," she added. "I'll take your title tomorrow." And with that she was gone, leaving Alder both befuddled and bemused.
"Quick, Volcarona, fly me to Nimbasa!" she called, bringing out the large sun bug and grabbing onto its back as it took off. In no time, she saw the coloured lights of Nimbasa growing closer. She guided Volcarona to the ground and ran towards the amusement park's gates.
Please say he's still here! she thought, mentally crossing her fingers as the large, brightly lit wheel grew closer. But the wheel wasn't where her attention was focused. No, her attention was focused on something at the wheel's base. Specifically, the space in front of the doorway.
It was empty. She had missed him.
A part of her had known she would, that there was no way he would have waited almost three extra hours for her. But part of her had hoped.
I failed him... she realized. I broke my promise. How will I ever--
"Touko?" a familiar voice called from behind her, the name sounding groggy and tired.
Despite the lack of energy in the voice itself, it instantly made Touko perk up.
"Austin?" She jumped up and turned around to see the blue haired Ace Trainer lying half on the bench across from the ride. "It's you. You're still here!" she exclaimed as the infamous Touko smile spread across her face.
"Of course I am. Today's the day I finally overcome my fear," the young Ace Trainer said, determined. "I just got a little tired, that's all."
"I can see that," Touko teased. "Well, come on! Are we gonna have our battle so we can ride?"
"No, let's just go," Austin insisted, surprising Touko. They always battled, even though Touko always won. "I... Whenever we battled, I was always hoping you would lose so I wouldn't have to ride. And I kind of hoped that by battling you I could somehow get some of your fearlessness," he admitted. "But I don't need that today, because I'm an Ace Trainer and I'm not going to let some foolish fear get in my way! Now, come on."
He grabbed Touko's hand and pulled her towards the ferris wheel. Despite his bravado, Touko could tell he was nervous. She squeezed his hand and followed as the attendant let them into the Pokeball shaped cart and closed the door.
The two trainers sat in silence, Austin staring ahead with a look of stubborn determination and Touko smiling in amusement at her friend's attitude.
Finally, the ride clicked into motion. Austin jumped, his hands tightening around the edge of the seat.
"For a while there I didn't think you were coming," he said at last, starting a conversation to distract himself from the gradually increasing heights.
"Sorry about that," Touko said, her happy smile replaced by an apologetic grin. "I was at the Elite Four. Grimsley was pretty determined not to let me win. I didn't even look at a clock until Alder mentioned it was night time. I swear it was just past lunch the last time I checked." Touko laughed.
"Alder, the Champion? How'd it go, did you beat him this time?" Austin asked, muscles relaxing as his eyes shone with excitement for his friend.
"It didn't go. I left when I realized how late it was," she explained.
"Wait, so you forfeited the match?" Austin's eyes widened in surprise. "But doesn't that mean you'll have to beat the Elite Four all over again?"
"Yeah, but it's no big deal." She waved his concerns off. "Besides, I already promised Grimsley a rematch."
Austin was silent for a while. When he spoke his voice was soft.
"You gave up your chance at Alder's title just to come see me?" he asked, sounding bewildered.
"Not gave up, just pushed to a later date," she insisted, causing Austin to roll his eyes. "And of course I did! I promised you I would come every day to help you get over your fear of heights," she reminded him.
"Well, I'm glad you came. As I said, today's the day I finally get over this weakness! I can feel it." Austin grinned.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Touko smiled back. "You are doing great, though. You don't look scared at all."
"Of course not! I'm an Ace Trainer, I can't let something as foolish as this hold me back," he said with a confident smirk. "I don't know why I was ever afraid of this thing," he added, patting the wall of the pod.
The force of his action caused the cart to rock. Austin's eyes widened in panic and he lurched forward, grabbing Touko's hand in a death grip.
Touko bit her lip and tried to keep herself from giggling at her blue haired friend.
He noticed her bemused look and quickly let go, sitting back in his chair as his faced flushed to Pokeball red.
"Sorry. Habit," he offered weakly, his eyes glued to the window.
"It's okay, I understand," Touko assured him. "I believe in you," she added.
"Y-yeah," her friend nodded, but his gaze was still glued to the window. "Was it always this high? There's no way... Maybe they renovated it last night? This is way higher than I remember it," he insisted.
Suddenly, a huge gust of wind came, rocking the car they were sitting in.
"Gah!" Austin let out a strangled scream and practically threw himself at Touko, gripping her arm tightly and squeezing his eyes shut.
Again, Touko struggled not to laugh. It wasn't that she found his fear amusing, she wasn't cruel. He was just so darned cute!
"Austin?" she called gently, smiling at the man clutching her hand. "You okay?"
"S-sorry. It seems I still can't control this fear," he admitted. "I'm at my limit for today." With that he resigned himself to clinging to Touko and counting the seconds until the ride was over. He didn't open his eyes until they were safe on the ground.
"Sorry," he apologized again. "I made you forfeit your battle for nothing."
"Don't worry about it! I told you I'd come whether you succeed or not," she reminded him. "Besides, there's always tomorrow. Or the next day. I know you'll beat this."
"You can count on that," he smiled at her.
She smiled back. "And you can count on me to be here."