MATURE: Nori Carino: Official In-Training [COMPLETE!!]

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Spoiler: Bulbagarden Exclusive Spitballing

I randomly thought of what might've happened if Nori and Sofie were at the other Gym.

- There would be not much to say about school. He'd have friends there, not sure what.
- Alicia would attend the same school, wouldn't be in his friend circle. He would theoretically be closest to her due to being the same age, but she could be dismissive. She'd develop a crush on him and express it in the worst way. He'd find out from Candice, even though she's more his type (she wouldn't come between them even if she likes him too). Definite RomCom elements here. And drama.
- Kimmy would be similar to his dynamic with Maylene: a young girl who looks up to him. Minus the precocious crush.
- Firuz would in turn be one who Nori primarily looks up to himself, which in turn does a lot for Firuz's confidence.
- Nori would ship Flint+Hinata. He would get along fine with her, maybe sometimes come to her for advice with Alicia. As her divorce goes along, he'd encourage the relationship after.
- It would take some time for Tai Ying to accept him, because it can't all be nice. I'd use him to flesh out the Mitsutri Shrine.
- The March meeting would still happen with Nori roadtripping to Sunyshore. Not sure how I'd play that.
- Nori would accompany Flint to Galar. This might make him move by his "I don't want to catch anything" issue he has.
- I would still find a way to {SPOILER}

Sofie at Sunyshore would also go well. She'd fit right in with them, but there'd be friction when she wants to hook up with Eddie and/or Tono or Kallisto, and none of them accept her. Still, they wouldn't stop her, and Kallisto's criticisms would be something she'd listen do and do her a lot of good.

In short, things would've turned out better. But the way things are have the potential to be even better. Adversity brings growth.

Spoiler: Notes

One final aside before moving onto "Act" 3: Alicia in the previous Gaidens is actually sort of a canon character! She's a Gym Trainer in Candice's Gym, and indeed - has a Tentacruel. And actually, she's the third DPP Gym Trainer to show up or get mentioned, but first in a more notable role.

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Month 5: May of Ordinance (first part)​

May 14th, 2015​

Nori involuntarily stepped back as Volkner lowly snickered like an evil overlord. It was more than a little unnerving. "What's so funny?" he hesitantly asked, despite being a little afraid to get an answer. Did he say something stupid again?

Volkner flashed a wicked grin. "What you said just now," he explained. "Reminds me of myself."

Nori tilted his head. He said he wanted to crush Tono and rub it in his face. "Against Flint?"

The Gym Leader nodded to confirm this. "He's always been better than me at everything. Except battling. That's the one thing I can hold over him."

The boy understood what Volkner was getting at here. "Just like how Kallisto's better than me at everything. Except I don't know if I can hold anything over him."

"Your integrity," came the quick reply.

"Maybe. But I'm curious," Nori said, briefly changing the subject. "What's with you and Flint?"

"You've seen him. He talks too much. He goes on about stuff, like how to improve my life, or bragging a lot. Know it's not on purpose. He's always...kinda...been an all right friend I guess. But he still pisses me off sometimes..."

"So you shut him up by challenging him to battles?"

"Exactly."

"I did that once before when training the Demon, when this youth protest group was mad at me. Or well, tried to."

"Hate can be a good motivator. Just don't let it blind you."

Nori absolutely hated Kallisto and his friends. Losing Lux was bad enough. But losing Betsy-Ann, just because they were paranoid? He was sick and tired of this. He'd already shut up Eddie and earned his respect, so if he could crush Tono too, even better! Even if it didn't change anything, it'd feel good at the very least!

Volkner stretched, pulling up a chair and motioning for Nori to sit at his workbench with him. The boy commandeered a scrap of paper and a pencil.

"All right. First thing. Know your enemy," he started out. "Tono's Jolteon favors fighting at range and staying out of harm's way with high speed, augmenting it with Agility and paralysis to gain an even greater advantage. Its moves include Thunderbolt, Pin Missile, Hyper Voice, and Shadow Ball. It's weaker, but not defenseless at close range, and can use Double Kick, Thunder Fang, and Iron Tail."

He jotted this down. "Okay, okay. What else?"

"Tono is unafraid to use moves in creative ways. For example, spreading Pin Missile to use as a trap, or combining Electric moves with Agility."

"Mhm! What else? What else?"

The Gym Leader paused, tapping the table. "You're fighting an uphill battle. He managed to defeat Kallisto."

Nori nearly dropped the pencil. "What?!" he gasped, leaning over with both hands. "How?! I didn't know about this!"

"It was a private battle, last December. After hours on exhibition day, last day the Gym was open that year. Stayed between the three of us. Until now. One-on-one. Raitora vs. Jolteon." Volkner leaned back. "He'd taught his Jolteon Reflect. He had a concise plan for dealing with Raitora and countering Kallisto's go-tos. Kallisto adapted, but it was close. They both did brilliant combos at the end. He called his Thunderous Iron Tail. Raitora fell. Jolteon was more hurt, but held on long enough to get called the winner."

Tono defeated the super invincible Kallisto?! That was insane! He'd never come close to beating him, and the supposed third-strongest in the Gym pulled it off?! What the hell was he dealing with here?

"He had a concise plan for dealing with Raitora. And he'll do the same for the Demon."

"Randomly curious, how did Kallisto take the loss?" asked Nori.

"He took it fine. He thanked Tono for the battle, and exposing some of his weaknesses."

Ugh, so much for the thought of him getting humbled, even if it was by a friend and just between them and Volkner. "So should I throw him off by using Pachi instead?"

"Hm." Volkner gave this some thought, yet shook his head. "No. It's a good idea, but Pachi isn't experienced enough. Furthermore, your own Electric moves will be useless."

That must mean his Jolteon had an ability like Volt Absorb. "So don't try Shock Wave either, got it. So what should I do?"

"Let me think." Volkner shut his eyes. After a minute, he nodded and opened them. "See three options for you."

"Okay, what are they?"

"One, evolve the Demon."

"How?" he countered. She was ultra experienced and hadn't changed yet, so he wasn't sure how she was supposed to evolve. "And won't a new body throw her off if it's sudden like it should be so he can't plan for it ahead of time?"

"I was just stating it for completionist's sake. Impressed you realized that about evolution, however." Well, yes. That just seemed logical. If his body suddenly changed on him, it'd take him a while to get used to it. "Second option, change your strategy."

"There's only so much the Demon can do." She wasn't good at ranged moves herself, and they didn't have time to master another TM. It'd taken them this long to get Shock Wave down pat.

"There's ways. Leading into option three, your best bet." Nori gripped the pencil tightly to get this down as Volkner said a single word, "Attrition."

"Attrition?" he repeated.

"His Jolteon is faster than the Demon. It's a match in power, and that Reflect can give it comparable toughness. He's uh, also smarter." Volkner scratched his cheek. "No offense. But you're angrier. And the Demon has more staying power. The longer the fight goes on, the more it's in your favor."

Huh, attrition. He got what Volkner was saying. He heard a few boxing matches on the radio, where the winner beat the loser by...well. They called it dragging them into the deep end, but that's not a metaphor he wanted to think about. But the point was, they outlasted their opponent. Could he and the Demon do the same?

"Any other weaknesses?" he asked.

Volkner simply looked. "Besides Ground?"

"Oh, right." That was obvious. "But it won't be easy to land Earth Power."

"Reflect won't help them there."

"Hm." It was a special attack, and Reflect only guarded against physical ones. Maybe if they were to catch it off-guard...

"As a species, Jolteon have weak defenses. Trainers of them rely on having them avoid attacks, rather than enduring them. He'll most likely open with Reflect, and use Light Clay to ensure it lasts longer."

"Tono likes those items, doesn't he?" Even Kallisto didn't regularly make as much use of them as he did. "Maybe I should use one too. What would you recommend?"

"A simple Cheri Berry."

"That's the one that heals paralysis if eaten, right?" He was certain it was, but wanted to double-check.

"Along with its relative, the Przcure. You can conceal it and have her eat it at the right moment. He's going to try to paralyze the Demon. Make sure you delay that happening for as long as you can."

Exactly how he was thinking to use it. "Okay. Try to outlast him, use a berry to heal paralysis to surprise him, try to land Earth Power, and go crazy once Reflect's down. What else?"

"Keep up with his strategies, counter them as best you can, and change your own routine up a bit." Volkner smiled. "I think you have a good chance at this if you do those things."

"I can try, but..." But he still wasn't sure. Tono beat freaking Kallisto! Could he really keep up with and counter those kinds of strategies?!

"Above all, remember. This is brawn versus brains," assured Volkner. "It does not mean you have to strictly rely on brawn. And Tono's biggest weakness as a trainer is that he can overrely on strategy."

"Wait, that's a thing?" Strategy was a huge part of Pokemon. Even he knew that! And Volkner was saying it was possible to have too much of it?

Volkner confirmed. "It's a trap a lot of seasoned trainers fall into. To reach the very top, you can't neglect power. It's just as important, if not moreso. You already get that."

"My cynicism and fighting Kallisto beat that into my head," Nori sheepishly replied. He thought he had to toughen his Pokemon up to even come close to that kind of level. With Volkner putting it that way, he felt maybe there was hope of winning after all. Tono relied on strategy too much. So if he could nullify that...or maybe defy his expectations...

"We'll do a bit of practice sparring in a little while." Volkner looked up and whistled. "Galvantula," Nori glanced and recoiled at sight of the electric spider on the roof above. He wasn't afraid of bugs, but seeing it right over his head was startling. "Your style's the closest, so you can help. And we'll practice with Luxray later, since he has a similar body style."

"Right!" The Gym was even closed for the day, so they wouldn't have to worry about any of them coming in and watching! "I'll feed her and Pachi and let them know, then we'll get to it!" He clapped his hands and turned to leave.

"One more thing," Volkner called out to him. "Tono is being challenged for the position of captain of his school's battling team tomorrow. He's been training all month for it. It'll give you a chance to see how he performs at his best."

He paused and turned around. "I heard, it's tomorrow afternoon during class. I'm not sure if I can watch it."

"You're in the news club. You can."

"I know, they're going." He shook his head. "But everyone but Arumi and this other guy hates me now, and probably wouldn't want me there."

Volkner smirked. "She's all the support you need."

---​

Three of the Gym Trainers of Sunyshore were going for an afternoon drive to nowhere in particular. It was highly unusual to be doing so on a non-holiday; their job was one you had to commit to. There were no days off when it came to training Pokemon for a living. Even though this wasn't the first time the Gym had been unexpectedly closed for the day, this was the first time any of them had been told to not come in at all. Worse, the absence of one of their number was hanging over them.

"Still can't believe Eddie left like that!" Ollie was the first to bring it up. "Do you think he's gonna quit?"

Kallisto shook his head. "No, he'll be back." The only reason, at least Kallisto was hoping, was that he wanted to avoid being grouped in with them. The head Gym Trainer didn't doubt he'd be blamed anyway, at least by Nori for not stopping them.

"Volkner said the Gym's closed for the day, too!" squawked Ollie. "I mean, can't blame'em, but still!"

"One of the staff had to be let go, for sensitive reasons," Kallisto said. "If it were anyone but Volkner, the Gym might be closed even longer."

Ollie leaned back. "Glad it's over, at least."

Tono agreed. "Yes, I am glad your crusade has ended."

Such was Kallisto's surprise that he nearly slammed on the breaks and pulled over. He glanced at his best friend through the rear-view, eyes wide. "Tono?" he asked, holding things together enough to keep driving. "Did you not want to do this?"

"Since you are asking, I was indifferent towards the issue at best. But I chose to support you as your friend." He pushed up his glasses. "It took time out of my training that I rather it would not have. For me, as I have stated, the rest of today will be preparing for tomorrow."

That was a huge relief. He wouldn't know what he would've done if even his best friend didn't have his back on this one. "I need to take my mind off this, too. Mind if I join you?"

"Yes, let's go."

"Guess I'll come too..." Ollie agreed. "And yeah, also glad this is done."

There was nothing else. Kallisto took the next left and started off towards Tono's home. As he sat at a red light, self-doubts started to seep in.

This wasn't over as his friends thought it was. Nori was going to make sure of that. Was this not the right thing to do? Kallisto didn't think it was wrong either. If he was right and he didn't act, that would've been even worse than acting when he shouldn't have. You can never be too careful, and yet you can't act recklessly either. Maybe this was one of those things where there was no right answer.

Yet it was what he did. And he was fully willing to accept the consequences of his actions.

##########​

May 15th, 2015​

To Nori's relief, Volkner's assertation turned out to be correct. Regardless of his actions yesterday or prior, Nori simply asked Arumi if he could attend with the rest of the club. She said the more the merrier, which got Mr. Rekted to agree to it. He would have to make up the work he missed in his afternoon class, but this was nothing new to Nori.

Halfway through lunch, they met up in the video production room. After some prep, it was off to the senior school to watch the battle. Arumi led the way, or more specifically, was running ahead of everyone. The teacher was in behind. Gino and Lorant were carrying most of the equipment, with Nori taking what remained. The others only had little things on their person.

He spoke up. "So–"

"Save it," a bitter Beau interrupted. "You are here to learn, so be quiet and listen."

Gino looked as if he wanted to cross his arms, if not for holding a boom and camera. "That's uncalled for, Beau."

She turned her head. "Perhaps, but I would rather not speak with him."

"Same to you!" Nori fired back.

The teacher peered back. "Is there a problem?"

"It's nothing," he waved off. Exactly as he thought, the others were barely tolerating him. Well, except for two. Arumi and Yuki. He glanced back at the frowning strawberry blond boy trailing behind. He smiled, slowing his pace to walk alongside him.

They gradually fell further behind the group. After about a minute, Yuki finally spoke. "Sorry, Nori..."

"It's okay," he assured him. "I get it."

"No, I mean, about what happened."

"Oh."

He couldn't blame Yuki if he didn't want to openly speak in his support. Arumi could get away with it because of who she is, but Yuki? A whole different story. This must've been what Lux was feeling about him, Nori thought. Not everyone could get away with associating with someone hated.

"Kallisto really stepped over the line there," the strawberry blond boy remarked.

"He did."

After a moment's thought, Yuki quietly remarked. "So it is true...everything you said about him."

"Unfortunately."

It took another long pause for him to process this. "I know Kallisto isn't a bad person. I know he wouldn't do things like that for a good reason, but..."

As he trailed off, Nori cut in. "No buts, not this time. He was assuming things, and he may have ruined Betsy-Ann's life because of it. And I know at least some of this goes back to not wanting me to get with someone before he does."

"Well, um, did you...like her?"

Nori shook his head. "Not like that, no."

"So...do you have anyone you like?"

"Not yet." Well, Claris, but that was in the past. This was a weird change of subject, but anything to get away from talking about Kallisto. After some consideration, he returned the question. "What about you?"

"Well," Yuki pressed his fingers together, blushing slightly. "There is one person I've had my eye on for a while..."

"Really? Who?"

He smiled. "It's a secret."

"Well, I guess not everyone's like Arumi." He stole a glance at her; she was nearly in the building at this point. "Sure she'd shout her love for Sato from the roof if she got the chance."

"Well, I'll tell you someday," he said with a soft giggle.

"When you're ready?" he asked, getting a nod. That'd make the second person he'd be a wingman for. But whoever Yuki liked, he'd be there to support him through it.

"Thanks, Nori," Yuki blurted.

He tilted his head. "What for?"

"For being you."

"Oh, um, no problem." Nori rubbed his head, flustered by the sudden praise. "And thank you for being a good friend."

"I wish I could be more of one..." he thought he heard Yuki mumble under his breath.

"Well, do you want to hang out when we can?"

After some initial surprise, Yuki grinned. "Yes! I'd love that!" he said with delight. "I'd ask if you want to hang out today, but know you're going to be busy training the next little while."

"Yeah, so after the 20th."

"You wanted to come to watch Tono at his best, right?"

He laughed. "Saw right through me, huh?"

"It's fine! I really wanted to watch this battle, too!"

Nori could only smile at this. That picked his mood up a lot! It was great knowing he really did have a friend in Yuki! He could tell right away that this was going to make things a lot easier for him.

---​

Just as being in a middle school was different from elementary, a high school was very different from middle school. They walked into a wide hallway where many students were congregating. There were two stairways up to the second floor of the three-storey building. The offices were in an open space to the left, and hallways leading to classrooms were on the right and directly ahead.

"Wow, so this is the high school!" Yuki marveled aloud.

"Sure is!" Arumi confirmed. "It's where my darling Sato goes to!"

The strawberry blond boy pumped a fist. "I wanna go look around!"

"And I want to go see Sato!"

"Settle down, you two," Beau the killjoy said. "We are here on club business, after all."

Arumi smirked. "Sato should be where we're going, shouldn't he?"

"Just remember not to smother him too hard," Nori reminded her.

"Oh! Right!" She'd forgotten?!

Gino checked his watch. "Mr. Rekted's already gone on ahead. We should get moving ourselves."

"Actually," said Nori, moving a little closer to Yuki. They'd talked about doing something together on the way here. "We were thinking of going to find the competitors to see if we could get a pre-battle interview with them."

Beau shook her head. "Interviews are more traditionally done after the battle. Furthermore, do you even know how to conduct an interview?"

He winked and snapped his fingers. "I learned from the best!" He flashed a grin at Arumi.

She cheered. "Atta boy, Nor'!"

Exasperated, Beau lowered her hand into a hand. "And how, pray tell, are you going to find them?"

"We'll just wing it!" he affirmed.

"Ugh." She used both hands this time.

"Leave'em be, Beau." To his relief, Gino took their side in this. "The video production room's straight ahead down that hall. You can't miss it. Just be back before the warning bell, all right?"

"We will!" said Yuki.

"Gotcha." Nori passed the stuff he was carrying to Beau, who begrudgingly accepted. He had a notepad and pencil in his pocket.

As the others set off, Yuki shuffled a little closer to him with a happy beam. "So we're doing this, just you and me, Nori!"

"Mhm." He couldn't think of anyone else he'd rather be doing this with. Even Arumi, who'd probably be too overwhelming with her technique. It was a chance to learn, get some practical experience, and maybe get some extra insight into Tono as a trainer for the 20th. Not to mention, a chance to get to know Yuki a little more. "Let's get to work."

"Yes, let's!" The strawberry blond boy's head darted around in excitement. "So where should we start looking for Tono?" he asked, as they started to walk.

Nori considered this. "If I had to guess, he's either getting some last minute practice in or browsing the internet somewhere. Or he's with Kallisto and Ollie."

"Maybe." Yuki's eyes caught something and he pointed. "Wait, that's them!"

Whoa, that easy?! No, unfortunately, it was simply Kallisto and Ollie hanging out behind the stairwell together. Still, maybe the next best people to run into here. The two Gym Trainers waved as they approached.

"Nori!" greeted Kallisto. "And a friend of yours?"

Yuki's arms fell slack. It was a good thing he wasn't holding anything. "K-Kallisto Keravnos!"

The orange and pink haired teenager laughed. "That's me!"

"I-i-i-it's s-so good to meet y-y-you!" He bowed and bowed, and anxiously stuck out a quivering hand. "I'm Y-Y-Y-Yuki! Yuki Omi!"

"Yuki." His friend jumped as he gently pulled him away. "Give the guy his space."

"A...ah," Yuki sputtered nervously until Nori took his hand off. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Nori. I'm used to this." And with this, Kallisto snatched Yuki's hand and gave it a firm shake. His friend was left starstruck.

"What're you doing here, man!?" Ollie inquired.

Nori saluted, miming one of Arumi's poses. "We're here on behalf of the news club."

"Oh yeah, the understudy thing," Kallisto understood what they were talking about. He rubbed the nape of his neck. "It's not just the two of you today, is it?"

"There's others," Norl clarified. "We're just striking out on our own for a bit."

Yuki grinned, putting an arm around Nori and holding him by the shoulder. "The two of us are looking to get an interview with Tono before the battle!"

"And Haruna."

"Right, and Haruna," repeated Yuki, as if it slipped his mind or he didn't care. "Do you know where they are?"

Kallisto nodded. He glanced up at the ceiling, tapping a foot. "Well, I couldn't tell you where Okazaki is. As for Tono, go upstairs that way." He gestured to one of the sets of steps. "Hang a right, then the first left down the hall. Keep going until you come to an open area. He's probably in the office off to the side."

"He has an office here?" Nori inquired.

Ollie and Kallisto chuckled at his question. Even Yuki laughed with them. Come on, he thought! It was a legitimate question! "No, he's just allowed to use it," Kallisto clarified. "Actually, want me to show you the way in case you get lost?"

Yuki beamed, placing his palms together. "Yes!"

"No, it's fine," the boy disagreed. "I think I can follow that. I'm good when it comes to finding these things! Did it all the time as a kid."

Mercifully, Kallisto accepted his request. For once. "All right. Good luck."

"Thank you!" Yuki again bowed politely. At least he was also fine with doing this without help.

"You're quite welcome. See you soon." He went back to talking with Ollie as they got on their way.

As they went up the stairs, Yuki couldn't help but gush. "I can't believe I got to talk with Kallisto!"

Nori glared at him. Friend or not, that was still annoying. Maybe it was a little unfair, but seeing someone talk about Kallisto that way always bothered him. Moreso if they knew what Kallisto was really like!

Yuki picked up on his disdain. "Oh. I'm sorry, Nori. I know what he did, but still, he's Kallisto Keravnos! I still really respect him! And I know he's done some bad things to you, but he wasn't doing it out of malice or because he hates you."

Unfortunately, true. Everything Kallisto did was some sort of accident or with good intentions, at least from his perspective. And it wasn't out of hostility - at least, he hoped not. He didn't want to think about Kallisto being openly against him.

"Besides," Yuki again put a hand on him. "That doesn't erase his talent or all the good things he's done!"

Nori yanked away. "And all the good doesn't erase the bad."

Yuki sighed. "I guess not," he conceded. "Sorry, I just can't hate him like you do."

He closed his eyes. "I get it. Can we at least not talk about him?"

His friend accepted this. "Okay. For you, Nori."

"Thanks." He smiled back at his friend. He wasn't going to let something petty like this come between them. "Let's go get that interview."

"Yes, let's. You and me together, Nori."

---​

Before long, Nori and Yuki came to what appeared to be the place. The end of the hallway in question opened up into a hexagonal area that led into three classrooms. And the office in was just off into a tiny hallway to the right, a dead-end if not for the emergency door.

"Nice and quiet over here..." mused Yuki.

"Yeah, it is. Reminds me of where I used to eat lunch with my friend Lux back in elementary." He totally got why Tono might want to hang out over here. He found himself trying to find similar places in middle school, with no luck.

Yuki checked around. "Is that what Kallisto was talking about?" he asked, gesturing to the office.

"Let's find out." He marched up and knocked. "Tono!" he called out, peering through the window. "Are you in–what the frick!?"

Nori nearly fell over as he stumbled away from the grotesque sight on the monitor. "What's wrong?" asked Yuki, looking inside as well. "Yikes!" He had roughly the same reaction. The door flew open seconds later.

"Do you not know how to give someone their privacy?" an enraged Tono barked.

"You weren't looking at that in a very private spot!" Nori fired back. "And what the hell was with that guy and weird Lopunny?!" It had boy and girl parts! And he thought Rashid was weird with those magazines with Cynthia naked in them!

"I'm surprised the internet filters let you do that..." Yuki nervously remarked.

"They do not. I hacked them to allow it." The nerd crossed his arms. "Now. What are you doing here, what do you want, and why is she with you?"

Nori sneered. "Why are you asking that many questions?! I have a lot myself! And what do you mean she?!"

He turned around and got at least one answer, finding a teenaged girl with fiery orange hair and equally ablaze blue eyes. She was in what Nori could only describe as a battle gown: a dark green dress tied at the waist, with frills on the bottom, neck line, and arms. It had a vague military feel to it, giving a powerful yet flashy vibe.

"I thought I'd find him if I tailed you two," she replied. "Ohoho, this is rich."

"Haruna..." Yuki whispered, both intimidated by and in awe of her presence.

"What about you?" Tono demanded. "And what's with the ridiculous outfit? Are you battling me today, or competing in a contest?"

Haruna chuckle dripped with derision. "For as smart as you claim to be, you don't understand simple style and grace."

Tono lowered his gaze, fiercely glaring at his opponent and rival. "Hmph. It's a waste of time."

"But to answer? I thought I'd come by and talk before the battle. And I walk in on you playing with your other Seviper."

The nerd glared. "Don't act as if you haven't ever pleasured yourself. The only difference is, I willingly do so, and no one will touch you."

"Hmph." Haruna turned cold. Did Tono hit on the mark? "Maybe if you weren't so busy pleasing Kallisto, you could've," she retaliated. And, she may have known why Tono rejected her?

"Hmph. This is why 2D is better."

Whereas Yuki appeared overwhelmed by these two trainers exchanging barbs, Nori was more stunned at Tono's attitude. Usually he was so formal, and here he was talking more like Eddie would.

"Well," he jumped in, not so much to mediate as to get down to business. "It's a good thing you're here, Haruna. We were hoping to get an interview with both of you beforehand."

The Gym Trainer scoffed. "What, are you taking after Ms. Overcompensation now?!"

"Yes," he replied without a shred of irony.

"Pft," went Tono, followed by yet another harrumph. He started walking off. "A foolish waste. My results will speak for themselves."

Nori jotted that down. "Foolish waste, results will speak for themselves," he repeated under his breath. "Got it, thanks." Wasn't much, but it was something at least. That said, he hoped Tono ate those words.

"What about after?" Yuki called out to the departing Gym Trainer.

"We shall see." Tono did not even look back.

That just left Haruna. "How about you?" Nori asked her. "You want to give us an interview, or a statement like he just did?"

The fiery-haired teen laughed. "But of course," she agreed.

He turned to Yuki. "You have the tape recorder, right? It might be easier to use that and write it down after."

"Right here!" The strawberry blond took it out of his front right pocket and passed it to Nori. He in turn handed his fellow news club member the pencil and notepad.

"Good! Let's start!" He switched the device on and started speaking. "Hello, Gama Junior! I'm Nori Carino, here with Yuki Omi, to bring you an exclusive interview with one of the competitors in today's battle to determine the captain of Gama Senior's battling team!"

He got funny looks from both Yuki and Haruna. Hey! He may as well, in case they ended up doing an audio version!

"So!" Nori declared. "Let's start off with an introduction!"

The fiery orange-haired teen chuckled. "I'll play along, sure. My name's Haruna Okazaki. Eighteen years old, born and raised in Sunyshore. People call me the Empress of Gama Senior."

"Interesting!" quipped Yuki. "Compare that to Tono's title, ‘The Shocking Genius,’ being self-given!"

"What are some of the ways you've been preparing for this battle?" asked Nori.

"I know a lot of people in the tournament have been getting ready for it since before it started. Me? I've been getting ready since last year for this very moment. Golden Week, I was at it all day, every waking hour. Practicing at Mynwest Court, the Fight Pits, random guys on the street, you name it. When I wasn't practicing, I was plotting strategy in my head. I always knew it was going to come down to me and Tono in the end. I'm ready for anything he throws at me, and have a few surprises that he'd better be ready for."

Yuki jumped in with a question. "Any insight to your strategy?" the strawberry blond asked.

Haruna simply chuckled. "Now that's one thing I can agree with him on. Sit back and enjoy the show today."

Nori had a different question. It had been on his mind for a while, and now was the chance to get it from the source in an official capacity. "Can you tell us some of the personal history between you and Tono?"

"Wait, no!" protested Yuki, "We can't ask her that!"

"Nah, I'm fine with it," she said, not upset by it. "It's true. Some of this goes back to tenth grade. Yes, I thought he was hot. A scrawny little nerd with a tough side." She unabashedly declared her tastes for the record. "Asked him out, and he rejected me. It was how he did it that got me. Called me quote unquote, ‘a domineering bitch who no man would want.’ You believe that?"

"No." Nori couldn't. He could see him rejecting her, just not with those words. Again, it seemed out of character for Tono. but maybe he didn't know him as well as he figured.

Yuki nudged him. "Can we even print that?" he pondered.

"We'll ask." Maybe they could simply censor out the word. He turned back to Haruna. "So your rivalry is a personal thing stemming from that incident?"

She waved a hand. "Oh, I'm long since over that. Our rivalry really began last year, when Kallisto Keravnos stepped back from the club and Tono got chosen as the successor." Haruna's lips scrunched up. "He didn't earn that, he had it handed to him. I have nothing but respect for Kallisto, but as for Tono? He wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for his best friend."

"But Tono won whenever you challenged him, didn't he?" Yuki protested, with a hint of anger. "He won against everyone!"

"Make no mistake," she said. "Tono Takuma is an excellent trainer, and he managed to keep hold of his spot last year no matter what came his way. But that ends today. I'm going to become the captain for Gama Memorial Senior, and lead our team to their third consecutive victory in the nationals! And that's something you can believe in."

Haruna took this moment to walk off, informally concluding the interview. As good a note as any to end on, Nori figured. "Good luck out there!" he said, after switching off the tape. She waved without looking back and disappeared down the hallway.

Nori glanced up at a clock on the wall, seeing it was around eight minutes before the warning bell. "Well, we should get moving too. Don't want to be late, or the others will yell at us about it."

"Oh! Uh, y-yes." Yuki said, as if he was momentarily distracted by something. Even though there seemed to be nothing else here besides them. "Let's go, Nori." His arm flinched as they set out.

Nori wasn't sure what to expect out of Haruna. He thought she'd be harsh and serious, but certainly didn't think she'd be a little showy. All the more reason to cheer for her in today's battle.

 

[Juliko]

Yay! Volkner is actually teaching Nori important stuff for a change! Glad to see Volkner actually bothering to teach Nori stuff on-page for once. I also appreciate that even though Yuki is on Nori's side in regards to what Kallisto did, he still finds himself head over heels for Kallisto. A person's behavior doesn't exactly change on a dime, and having Yuki still idolize Kallisto even knowing what he did to Nori is fairly realistic. But I have to admit, I did not expect Tono to be the type to masturbate to Pokemon furry porn. I mean, hacking into the school's internet just so you can look at furry porn? That speaks volumes about him as a person. Yeah, I can totally see why Haruna would dislike Tono after the way he rejected her. More a low key chapter than the other ones, but a nice change of pace. Looking forward to more!

 

[Daren]

Wow, Volkner's help is going deeper than I expected. Outright telling Nori about Tono's weaknesses and giving him ideas.
Hnnng...I guess the Gym Leader should be impartial but Tono needs to be taken down a few pegs, and surely Volkner realizes this.

So Yuki has a crush on Nori, too? Or am I misreading their interactions? Still, at least Nori has someone else in their corner. That's been going his way, atleast.
A nice little discussion about how good and bad actions do not cancel each other out.

As for that scene near the end...geez, Tono. That's really careless. And he gives himself a title with the word "genius" in it. Zero class.

This was something of a build up chapter so I don't have a ton to write about it. I expect Haruna to lose her match but I'm curious to see her battle.

 

[System Error]

Yay! Volkner is actually teaching Nori important stuff for a change! Glad to see Volkner actually bothering to teach Nori stuff on-page for once.

Volkner knows battling. When it comes to that, he absolutely is one of the best teachers around, especially when it comes to specific strategy. He's pretty much Raihan tier in my books. Also, he answered your question about why he doesn't like Flint.

I also appreciate that even though Yuki is on Nori's side in regards to what Kallisto did, he still finds himself head over heels for Kallisto. A person's behavior doesn't exactly change on a dime, and having Yuki still idolize Kallisto even knowing what he did to Nori is fairly realistic.

As I mentioned to Daren and to SilverJojo on FFnet too, Yuki is also very much head over heels for Nori. He's certainly going to have to decide between his friend/crush and his idol someday...

But I have to admit, I did not expect Tono to be the type to masturbate to Pokemon furry porn. I mean, hacking into the school's internet just so you can look at furry porn? That speaks volumes about him as a person.

This is more of a characterization thing out of him. Tono is very much a hormone-addled nerd, and not wanting to bother with real women and/or respecting his best friend's request, he has to get it elsewhere. And yeah, arguably very degenerate. Of course, that's okay - everyone has their tastes (even if this would be weirder in-universe). It's the hacking to do it at school which is supposed to be the real eyebrow-raising and important thing.

Aside, I didn't want to be too explicit in describing it, but the Lopunny was on top. This is a subtle hint about something that's been suggested at before. And no, not wanting to do that in real life.

Yeah, I can totally see why Haruna would dislike Tono after the way he rejected her.

Tono is your stereotypical nerd with way too high standards. I pondered keeping the "2D is better" line since it was very corny, doing so because it was supposed to be a mildly humorous scene and I have heard someone say that before.

More a low key chapter than the other ones, but a nice change of pace. Looking forward to more!

Indeed, this in particular let me show off more of Nori's goofy side. Intended to be a stark contrast to the previous something bad happens chapters, to show he's absolutely not deterred by Betsy-Ann being gone.

Wow, Volkner's help is going deeper than I expected. Outright telling Nori about Tono's weaknesses and giving him ideas.
Hnnng...I guess the Gym Leader should be impartial but Tono needs to be taken down a few pegs, and surely Volkner realizes this.

Volkner's job is to train and help Nori. He doesn't necessarily have an obligation to be partial to his Gym Trainers. April proves he can do the opposite, but he's not going to give Nori an unfair advantage here. But since Nori came to him asking for help, and reminded him of himself back in the day with his words, and Volkner certainly doesn't approve of what they did (even of Tono was only complicit at best), and he likes Nori's sudden new drive to win, he absolutely wants to help.

Contrast the previous gaiden with Flint and Sofie, too.

So Yuki has a crush on Nori, too? Or am I misreading their interactions? Still, at least Nori has someone else in their corner. That's been going his way, atleast.

You are reading it very correctly! Forgot where I came up with this angle though, heh. Of course it comes with the asterisks mentioned above...not to mention others. Writing it different from the others, too

A nice little discussion about how good and bad actions do not cancel each other out.

They're separate from one another. Kallisto is a guy who's done a lot of good things, but he's done a little bit of bad to Nori. He certainly isn't a bad person at least, but...

As for that scene near the end...geez, Tono. That's really careless. And he gives himself a title with the word "genius" in it. Zero class.

To be fair to him, he was looking at it in about as private spot as he was able to at school. There's always a risk of getting caught of course, and he was. Book genius is more of an accurate way to describe him.

This was something of a build up chapter so I don't have a ton to write about it. I expect Haruna to lose her match but I'm curious to see her battle.

Battle chapter next time. Get ready for it!

 

[creativelover93]

Tono is your stereotypical nerd with way too high standards. I pondered keeping the "2D is better" line since it was very corny, doing so because it was supposed to be a mildly humorous scene and I have heard someone say that before.

Sounds like a typical internet animated reviewer and a typical genius fictional character to me (at least several of them don't like Tono).

Indeed, this in particular let me show off more of Nori's goofy side. Intended to be a stark contrast to the previous something bad happens chapters, to show he's absolutely not deterred by Betsy-Ann being gone.

I'm glad we're seeing this side of Nori.

As I mentioned to Daren and to SilverJojo on FFnet too, Yuki is also very much head over heels for Nori. He's certainly going to have to decide between his friend/crush and his idol someday...

That would be an interesting storyline. I hope Yuki doesn't fall into depression or even worse.

 

[Welkamo]

Apologizes for no reviews the past few days. I had a bunch of stuff that kept me from sitting down and reading this story.

Valentines Day

"Valentines" should have an apostrophe s, since it's technically "Saint Valentine's Day".

Everyone's desk was labeled with their name, and had bags attached for cards.

Ooooooh

Nori appreciated the peace and quiet. It was nice to have it sometimes, just to clear your thoughts.

The use of "your" seems a bit off. "His" would probably work better.

A card? "Oh, thanks."

"Sorry if it's...weird."

"Why would it be?"

"Because we're both boys."

"What's wrong with friends giving each other cards?"

The purple-haired boy shuffled his feet. "I don't know, but, you know..."

"People getting the wrong idea?"

Lux glanced away. "You're just...too good to me. I...didn't know how to say it, so I wrote it down."

So I've made it pretty clear that I really like romantic ships, but I love platonic ships just as much, and I think platonic ships are super underrated, especially in fandom culture. Nori and Lux's friendship is really sweet and makes me happy.

You're important to me.
You're strong-willed.
You're brave.
You're elegant.
You're unflappable.
You're my protector.
You're irreplaceable.
You're the world to me.
You're my best friend.
You're the best.

Not much to say on this except that it's good stuff.

"Though that said, people will think it's weird and get the wrong idea if they see us doing this." Nori never minded. He'd be lying if he said it didn't feel good to hug Lux.

"Never minded" seems a bit weird, but then again, I once used "hmmed" as a dialogue tag, so I'll just assume this was a stylistic choice.

When they returned, Nori was met with a surprise. His Valentines card bag was stuffed full. He and Lux exchanged amazed, wordless glances with each other.

Wow Nori seems popular.

They were just on time

"On" should probably be "in".

He never had a chance to meet her

So this is a bit complex to explain, but basically, because this story is in present tense, tthere should probably be a "had" before "never".

"Heard she's in a meetin' with Mr. Tauch," he stated. That made sense. Teachers go to meetings all the time.

...Why is she meeting with Mr. Tauch on Valentine's Day?

Nori examined the card. Storebought. It had an illustration of a cartoony Cherrim with its leaves closed in a meadow, with the caption ‘When I'm with you, I don't need the sun...’ On the inside, the Pokemon was in full bloom, as well as finishing the statement: ‘...because you brighten up my world!’ It also had a poem from Jamie printed beneath.

These kids are pretty committed to the school Valentine's thing. I would always get those packages of Star Wars Valentine's square cards and hand them out.

My card to my crush that I put in his "Fill a Bucket" bucket, however, was hand drawn, but that's a story for another time.

The lowercase i had been dotted with a heart.

The "i" should be in quotations.

The lowercase i had been dotted with a heart. "Well?" the girl asked, leaning in close. "What'd you think?"

I think you should make the dialogue a separate paragraph, but I could be wrong.

Also, this scene reminds me of that American Girl website quiz that told you your personality based on how and where you dot your eyes. Sadly, I believe they got rid of that specific quiz when they overhauled My American Girl and renamed it "Truly Me".

"Well, I'd have to ask Volkner. He makes me train all day at the Gym most of the time. Even on weekends." At once, Jamie's arms dropped. "Yeah, I know," he followed up. "It's stupid and I hate it. I'm not saying no, I'm saying you should've asked me a couple days earlier."

Volkner being a reluctant parent/guardian is something I never thought I needed or wanted, but now I realize just how much I needed/wanted it.

They continued to walk along in silence, although something still seemed to be bothering Lux. His friend paused before the front doors, eyes cast down.

The use of "his" seems a bit off since it immediately follows "Lux". Maybe replace it with "Nori's friend" or even just "he".

thinking about all that happened today.

The tense here is a bit weird. It would probably be better as:
Thinking about all that had happened that day.

Besides getting cards in school like he did yesterday, he ignored the holiday.

Using words like "yesterday" and "today" in past tense prose gets a bit tricky and weird. I don't know the exact details of how to use it, and Googling it isn't helping at all, but the use of "yesterday" here is a bit weird.

The large teen let out a shrill, "Pft!" He dismissively waved a hand. "Only babies care about that. It's a kid thing!"

Now that I think about it, I have a question: in the NoriCarinoverse, do Gym Leaders exchange Valentine's? Does Crasher Wake give cards with sappy things like "you're my rolling sea"? Does Roark just buy packages of cards and calls it a day? Does Volkner say, "Please stop bothering me. I don't want your cards"?

"Just a fun thing we do every year around this time," Kallisto said. "We hold a vote on the Gym's website for most attractive guy in the Gym." He looked over at the bespectacled boy. "Tono runs it."

Woah woah what

"He runs the Gym's website?" Nori didn't even know the Gym had a website. Then again, he hardly knew the internet, either. He only used it in school, and it was really restricted there.

Search "Run unblocked", Nori. worked at my school.

"We all pitch in a bit to help run the Gym," Kallisto explained. "Tono helps with electronics and the site, I help with publicity, Eddie takes after and catches some of the Gym Pokemon, and Ollie's family is a sponsor of ours. Supplies us with those sandwiches you like."

Woah a sponsor

He told them both they were nice, but didn't want to commit to someone he didn't know.

Either remove the comma, or add a conjunction.

One couple came in wanting to challenge the Gym together. They were turned down and told they'd have to qualify separately.

Aw man

He continued on. "I got 486 votes." He nodded to himself in satisfaction. "Volkner, you're next with 1093." The Gym Leader didn't react to this, one way or another. "Eddie, you got 1117. And Nori got 1649."

Woahhhhhhhhhh

Edward

Cullen

He wasn't actually smirking. And pretty boy?! "If it's a fistfight you want–"

"Hell no." He gestured to the door. "Battlefield. Now."

"This is stupid."

"Nori," Volkner scolded. "A trainer is expected to accept all challenges that come his or her way."

"You. Me. Behind the Denny's at 3."

The match turned out to be more foregone than expected.

Uh oh

It just spat a blast of saliva or something!

Ewwwww

Nidorina against Magneton had been going on for a few minutes now. Compared to last time, it wasn't going so well. Eddie was fighting much more conservatively, having Magneton escape whenever they got a combo going. Both Pokemon were in bad shape, and Magneton had just used Lock-On. Nori knew what was coming next. "Only a matter of time now!" shouted Eddie. "You're toast, kid!"

I think the dialogue should be a separate paragraph.

It was fun, but could also make you look ridiculous.

Again, either remove the comma, or add a conjunction.

She jumped onto and off it in one ninja-like motion, catching one of the bodies in its mouth and throwing it to the ground.

Woah the heads can separate?

Nidorina heard and tried to duck behind the pillar, but was just struck from behind.

Again, either remove the comma, or add a conjunction.

In one spiteful motion she lunged and swung a claw

Comma after "motion".

Nori had picked up on a few consistencies in her vocalizations. That was something akin to ‘Fuck you.’

Oooooooh

Volkner too, did not look pleased.

Comma after "Volkner".

He flipped Eddie the bird before leaving to get his Pokemon treated.

Ooooooooooooooooooooh

He comically crashed into the wall behind the treadmill, his tail flopping onto his body.

I can imagine this in a very fluid animation.

Nori laughed. A genuine one. He hadn't been having enough of those lately.

Darn, Nori needs more laughs.

Kallisto was on the floor in front of the couch in a daze. A blue and white blanket was awkwardly draped over him.

"What happened?!" Nori asked. He'd been taking a nap in here. Did he roll off in his sleep? "Are you okay?"

"I..." Kallisto sat up, pressing a hand to his forehead. "I'm fine, just a nightmare."

OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS MY FAVORITE TROPE!!! WHERE CHARACTER A HAS A NIGHTMARE AND CHARACTER B IS LIKE "What's wrong?" AND TRIES TO COMFORT CHARACTER A!!!!!

The orange and pink haired teen awkwardly stood, turning away in shame. "Sorry you had to see me like this."

Eeeeeeeeeh this is good stuff.

What's the harm in asking? The worst he could say was that it was none of his business.

What was

"Bad memories..." mused the head Gym Trainer.

"Yeah...I know what you mean. Get that sometimes myself." His were infrequent, but they still sometimes came up. "A bad trip, let's just say."

Oooooh bonding over emotional baggage

"Mine are from when I was homeless." At this, Kallisto cracked open the Poke Ball. His Raitora formed, and instantly understood what happened. The feline creature started rubbing up against his trainer affectionately.

Woah, he was homeless?

My Pokemon were occupied with the others. I thought I was a goner, but." He eyed his Pokemon, who was now exchanging playful bursts of electricity with Pachirisu. "A certain special Kotora came to my rescue. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be here today."

I think this would be better formatted as:
...but"— He eyed his Pokemon, who was now exchanging playful bursts of electricity with Pachirisu. —"A certain special Kotora came to my rescue..."
Unless this was a stylistic choice.

He'd forgotten how he was going to word it, but he got out all of his points.

Me on my AP Language test.

Good stuff. Not much else to say.

 

[System Error]

Spoiler: Replying to CL93

Sounds like a typical internet animated reviewer and a typical genius fictional character to me (at least several of them don't like Tono).

Didn't base Tono on anyone in particular. However, I did hear "2D is better" from a Japanese speedrunner a couple times. Pretty cool guy, even if he did have degenerate tastes.

I'm glad we're seeing this side of Nori.

You actually see it pop up every now and then, particularly in the first chapter.

That would be an interesting storyline. I hope Yuki doesn't fall into depression or even worse.

Rejection can be harsh...

So I've made it pretty clear that I really like romantic ships, but I love platonic ships just as much, and I think platonic ships are super underrated, especially in fandom culture. Nori and Lux's friendship is really sweet and makes me happy.

It is a fun little friendship that I enjoy writing.

Not much to say on this except that it's good stuff.

It's definitely something of a different poem.

Wow Nori seems popular.

Well, he is the famous Demon Tamer. He's good looking with a decent personality. Only natural he'd be popular.

...Why is she meeting with Mr. Tauch on Valentine's Day?

Say his name out loud.

These kids are pretty committed to the school Valentine's thing. I would always get those packages of Star Wars Valentine's square cards and hand them out.

My card to my crush that I put in his "Fill a Bucket" bucket, however, was hand drawn, but that's a story for another time.

Hee. I think I got a bunch of bulk ones too. Didn't have a crush though, at least, not at school at a time when we were doing the Valentines thing.

Also, this scene reminds me of that American Girl website quiz that told you your personality based on how and where you dot your eyes. Sadly, I believe they got rid of that specific quiz when they overhauled My American Girl and renamed it "Truly Me".

The early internet was a very different place. So much has been lost to time. Like one that stands out to me is Ask Jeeves, and the various Easter Egg questions you could put in. One of the more (in)famous being "Is Jeeves gay?" He gave different responses to that depending on the version of the site: he said "That is none of your business" on the European one, but "Actually, I prefer the term jovial" on the US one.

Volkner being a reluctant parent/guardian is something I never thought I needed or wanted, but now I realize just how much I needed/wanted it.

It's fun putting characters in situations that are out of their depth in a humorous way.

Now that I think about it, I have a question: in the NoriCarinoverse, do Gym Leaders exchange Valentine's? Does Crasher Wake give cards with sappy things like "you're my rolling sea"? Does Roark just buy packages of cards and calls it a day? Does Volkner say, "Please stop bothering me. I don't want your cards"?

There's implications later on that they are something of a loose band of acquaintances. But nothing like card exchanges. Roark isn't a Gym Leader yet either, too

Search "Run unblocked", Nori. worked at my school.

This is probably a line I'm going to tweak to make it more consistent, Nori wouldn't know what to search. He's bizarrely technologically inexperienced for a kid in 2015.

Woah a sponsor

I figured Gyms would have some to help with operating costs.

Cullen

Imagine Tono saying "Edward" with the most derision possible.

Ewwwww

Believe it or not, it can in fact learn Hydro Pump. I gave it a slightly disgusting interpretation of the move!

Woah the heads can separate?

Technically in Snap and Stadium they're shown that way, but no: the Demon grabbed it and threw the entire thing to the ground.

I can imagine this in a very fluid animation.

Whoops indeed.

OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS MY FAVORITE TROPE!!! WHERE CHARACTER A HAS A NIGHTMARE AND CHARACTER B IS LIKE "What's wrong?" AND TRIES TO COMFORT CHARACTER A!!!!!

Eeeeeeeeeh this is good stuff.

Heh.

Unless this was a stylistic choice.

Some of this is stylistic choice, this being one of them. Full sentence pause.

 

[System Error]

May of Ordinance (second part)​

May 15th, 2015​

Nori and Yuki had no problems with finding the video production room at Gama High. While Nori had been looking forward to meeting this Sato, he had apparently come down with a cold and wasn't here today. Beau seemed to think it was a case of Arumititis, but the Schrader girl was more optimistic. In any event, the older students seemed to refute Beau's claim.

Eventually, the bell rang. Nori and the others had gone to the gymnasium to watch the battle unfold. The crowd was reasonably packed; it was mostly students, yet there were a good number of adults who didn't seem to be teachers.

The showdown was going to be a full battle, six-on-six. Each trainer had a maximum of three noncompulsory Pokemon substitutions at their disposal. Due to losing a coin toss, Haruna had to send out her Pokemon first. Nori didn't get that. Sending out both at the same time like Volkner's rules always did made sense. Why give someone an advantage based on luck?

As the formalities and introductions ended, the two trainers took their positions. The battling team's coach was a bulky man with a handlebar mustache, and would be serving as the judge. "This full battle to determine the captain for this year's Battling Team at Gama Memorial Senior will now commence. Haruna Okazaki, send out your first Pokemon."

"Right," the crimson orange-haired teen declared. "Go, Dusknoir!" A massive black cyclops emerged before her. Its body appeared to have another face on it, and it had a cyclone-like wisp instead of legs.

Tono's eyes narrowed, and he wavered on his choice. "Drake, I believe I should begin with you." His Golduck. Tono explained his logic. "I know for a fact that your Dusknoir only has the Fire and Ice Punches. Not Thunder Punch."

Haruna returned the facial expression. "And how do you know I haven't taught it since then?"

The nerd briefly flinched. "Because you would not announce it. Ergo, you are bluffing." He concluded this, and yet there was some tiny doubt in his voice.

Yuki took out the notepad and nudged Nori. "That's Haruna's second strongest Pokemon!"

"Really?" he asked. "Why is she using it right away?"

"She must have something in mind. I don't know what, though."

"Hm." Nori mulled this over, and came up with something. "She's starting things off strong." This would force Tono to use something of similar strength. Nori got out his own personal notepad and jotted that down. Even if it had nothing to do with Tono, it was an interesting approach.

"Trainers, begin!" The team coach raised his flags.

"Trick Room, Dusknoir!"

"Of course." Tono rolled his eyes. "Bubblebeam, Drake."

Dusknoir started miming shoving walls out everywhere. It was blasted by a stream of bubbles in the interim by Drake, which Nori assumed was a male due to the name. However, a strange translucent purple cage enveloped the battlefield. Whatever it was, Tono didn't seem too concerned.

"Next," said Haruna, as Tono patiently awaited. "A Shadow Punch!"

A fist pummeled Drake from the floor beneath, knocking him off-balance. Tono shook his head.

"Disable."

The duck stared down the phantom. The green jewel on its forehead gleamed, and the Dusknoir flickered monochrome for a moment. It wouldn't be able to use that move until it wore off.

"Predictable," Haruna dismissed, as though fully expecting this. "Will-O-Wisp!" A ball of ghostly blue flame formed in Dusknoir's hands, which it hurled at its foe.

"Just as predictable. Push it back with Psychic." Focusing, Drake was able to mentally grab hold of the fire when it was three-quarters of the way there, and return it.

"Night Shade to extinguish it." Haruna had her Pokemon answer back with a black laser that seemed to suck the light out of the air around it. It made contact with the flames, and sure enough, they flickered out of existence.

Yet as it was doing so, Tono's glasses gleamed as he adjusted them. "Trap it with Whirlpool."

Dusknoir was very fast and got on the move as soon as it heard what was coming, but Drake was too accurate. It found itself enveloped in a swirling vortex of water that made Nori sick. He had to cover his eyes.

"No, no, Nori," he whispered to himself. "It's on the battlefield, nowhere near you."

Haruna cackled. "Escape with Darkest Lariat!"

Nori peeked out from between his fingers, turning to where Tono was. The nerd was actually taken off-guard by this. He heard the sound of something whipping about, and saw Drake get knocked into his field of vision. Cautiously, he lowered his hands. No more whirlpool. He could relax.

"Why you..." Tono cursed. "Ready yourself, Drake!"

"Crash through with Body Slam."

Tono pushed up his glasses in sinister irritation. "Now is the time. Shadow Claw."

Now it was Haruna who was taken aback. Drake sidestepped the phantom as it went for a belly-flop. The duck slashed the air, carving darkness in the wake of his claws. The swipe cleaved right across the mouth on Dusknoir's body, making it writhe in agony. No doubt, a critical hit.

"Knew you had a new move, should've known it was that." Haruna growled. "But you're open!"

The eyes on Dusknoir's body flashed. Drake had no chance to avoid the abrupt Confuse Ray, swaying around in a stupor.

"Get it together!" Tono yelled, but his Pokemon simply flapped his hands like a bird, to the laughter of some of the audience and Haruna.

"Now! Thunder Punch!" she said with a sick grin. Tono balled his fists, completely seething at the command. Sure enough, the move was real. Dusknoir uppercutted Drake, sparks crackling and thunder booming as it made impact, vicious enough to send it careening away.

"You..." Tono cursed. He reflexively reached for Drake's ball, but seemed to catch himself. "No, Pursuit. I can't."

"You're still finished! Darkest Lariat!"

"Drake, pull it together!" Tono urged. "HYDRO PUMP!"

Dusknoir stuck out its arms and began to spin like a dervish. It whirled towards its opponent, which was struggling to even stand. This was over.

It ran down Drake, no! It was blasted by a huge stream of water spat from the Golduck's mouth! Dusknoir lost control, getting launched into the air while still spinning. It came down on its shoulders and head, flopped down like a noodle, and stopped moving. That surprisingly ended it!

"Dusknoir is unable to battle!" ruled the coach, to the crowd's delight.

"You crafty bastard!" Haruna cursed.

"Say what you will about me," Tono said, shaking his head. "But brains will always triumph over brawn."

"Yeah?" Haruna asked. "Let's see how you handle this. Go, Medicham!"

Tono was stone-faced as Haruna sent out her next Pokemon, a pinkish-red Pokemon with a dull gray body, poofy legs with yellow spots, and some...protruding thing sticking out the top of its head. Its trainer cracked her knuckles.

Tono mused this. "This is a risk, but I need you later, Drake." It was still very much confused, despite fighting through for a brief moment there. "Come back for now. Mothula, you're in."

Haruna raised an eyebrow as the Golduck left and the Mothim emerged. "Are you insane?"

"Were you listening? I just said this is a calculated risk," he repeated. "There may be no better time than now to use Mothula, given your Roserade's Hidden Power. And with proper, intelligent strategy, we can avoid your Pokemon's elemental punches."

She smirked. "A risk to be using it over your Raichu or even your Seviper, too." Nori quickly understood, Haruna knew exactly what six Pokemon Tono was using. Or at least, she thought she did. "And you know full well you can't avoid us forever."

---​

The battle proceeded from here. The two started off by buffing in front of each other using Quiver Dance and Acupressure. Haruna's Medicham charged in with Zen Headbutt, only to be intercepted by Air Slash. She returned the favor in kind with Psycho Cut, striking from afar with blades of psychic energy which were able to rip right through the blades of air and landing a hit. Tono surprised them with a divebomb and Electroweb. The Medicham tried to land an Ice Punch, but had been slowed enough by the netting for Mothula to escape and drop Poison Powder all over them. Then Haruna ordered Mind Reader - saying she told him they couldn't keep running. Tono wavered, recalled Mothim, and immediately cursed his choice. Yet it was done, and he could only send out his next Pokemon.

It was another that Nori hadn't seen before in his life. It was a huge blackish-purple beast, bipedal with crooked claws, with similarly wavy hair sticking out from its backside and shoulders. It had a horn-like nose, pointy arced ears, and a thin midsection. Parts of its body - like its nose, lips, and feet - were green. Tono had nicknamed it Zoma. Yuki was able to give Nori its species name: Grimmsnarl.

Haruna kept in her Medicham, having it start off with Force Palm. Around this time, the Trick Room petered out. However, Tono ordered Swagger, which Zoma executed with unnatural speed. The Prankster ability, Yuki remarked. Medicham was dazed, but Haruna played her hand.

"Saw that coming," she said. "Medicham, eat your Bitter Berry!"

The Fighting and Psychic type instinctively reached for a satchel and chewed what was inside. It cringed at the taste, but the confusion faded just like that.

Tono nodded in approval, but was undeterred. "Wise. You must know what's next, too. Foul Play, Zoma!"

The dark fairy charged in and did some sort of twisting tripping maneuver, using Medicham's own power against it. It fell over in agony, severely injured from that one attack. Haruna ordered Recover, only to be stopped instantly by a Taunt done with the same unusual speed. So she had it rush in with Brick Break, being met with Play Rough. The two Pokemon tussled, but ultimately, it was Zoma who came out on top. Literally, standing with a foot on an unconscious Medicham. Noticeably hurt from the exchange, however.

Haruna's next Pokemon was the Roserade that was mentioned earlier. Her first order was Leech Seed. Tono said to Taunt, only for his Pokemon to eat a full force Dazzling Gleam. "Do as I ask, not as I say," Haruna explained the deception. An annoyed Tono commanded a Thunder Wave, which Roserade easily dodged and returned fire with Magical Leaf. Tono in reply ordered False Surrender. Zoma lowered its head as it was struck by the homing rainbow leaves, and suddenly lashed out with the hair on its body. It came from all directions, hitting true.

As it made contact, however, the wicked fairy cringed and clutched its shoulders. The Poison Point ability. Haruna remarked, "Eat shit," and promptly finished it off with a Petal Blizzard, bringing down her first Pokemon in the match.

"Do not be so smug. It is still four Pokemon to five," Tono warned. "Tiki, it is your time."

Nori had seen this one from Tono in the past. It was this insect and dragon-like green Pokemon with ruby eyes, two long tufts on its head, a striped tail, and two rhombus-shaped wings with red trim. It was one of Tono's stronger Pokemon. And apparently a Ground and Dragon type, not a Bug type in any way.

"Let us not waste time," the nerd said. "Flamethrower, Tiki." The dragon reared back and started to spew fire.

"Dodge and use Toxic!"

Roserade hopped back and focused. Noxious gases and goop appeared from nowhere over Tiki. Nori...wasn't sure if it was a boy or girl, but it winced and cried out as it the toxins took hold in its body. Tono tapped his foot, glaring.

"Try dodging this. Bug Buzz."

Tiki let out a shrill shriek while flapping its wings in an irritating way. This made Roserade cringe, not to mention about a third of the audience (Yuki included).

Haruna's lip curled. "Leech Seed."

"Shoot it down with Dragon Breath, and use Aerial Ace!"

"Block it and Giga Drain!"

A series of commands and counter-commands. Indeed, both executed what they were asked flawlessly. The seeds that Roserade launched from the bouquets on its arms were burned away. Yet as Tiki came in with its tail to whip and slice with precision, Roserade got its guard up and avoided the brunt of it. It tried to start siphoning, but...

"Fly up, Tiki."

With its bouquets right there, Haruna's Roserade had no problem sucking a tiny bit energy before its opponent could escape to the skies. Tono smirked.

"Now, Scorching Sands."

A circle of dirt instantly formed beneath Roserade. It looked similar to Earth Power, except more subdued and blistering hot. So hot, in fact, that the masked Pokemon was left with a burn.

Haruna weighed her options for a second, before deciding to make a switch. "Return, Roserade. Go, Ankylophone!"

Haruna's Pokemon was another Nori was completely unfamiliar with. The indigo creature had two flippers, like a Lapras - the thought of which reminded Nori of Lux given it being his favorite Pokemon. Its long prehensile tail had a white bone-like tip, vaguely like a mallet. It wore a golden helmet with a short hollow prong on top, with plating or scales on its back that vaguely resembled a xylophone. Maybe that's how it got its name?

"What is this?!" Yuki asked.

"What do you mean?" Nori said. "She said it was an Ankylophone." She was using it, so it's not like it was some kind of unused Pokemon.

Yuki whipped out his phone and snapped a picture of it. He looked it up on some kind of thing. Nori leaned in to see. It had a variety of pages, but the strawberry blond boy simply went to the basic information.

Ankylophone: A Dragon/Rock Pokemon. A Pokemon that roamed the land in prehistoric times, now only found revived from fossils or in remote areas. Protects itself with armored plating while attacking with its tail and ramming its body into foes. Can store energy within its body and expel it as energy. The scales on its back are capable of producing various sounds, depending on how they are struck. Imperfect fossil regeneration technology has caused specimens to gain a secondary Rock type, but better preserved fossils and wild species maintain their original Steel typing.

"Hmph. Foolish," Tono remarked. "Tiki, begin by trapping it with Sand Tomb."

The poison was starting to wear on the other dragon; it coughed before executing the move. Once more, some dirt and dust encircled Haruna's Pokemon. Another whirlpool formed, this one made of sand. Less frightening, at least, Nori thought.

"Too bad, loser," Haruna taunted. "Clanging Scales!"

Ankylophone started running its tail back and forth along its backside. This produced a loud, chiming noise that wracked Tiki's body. The flying dragon fell, yet still had some fight left.

"Now light it up with Scorching Sands!" Tono said, starting to get fired up. As his Pokemon was trying to pull itself together to execute this, however, Haruna launched another move.

"Eerie Impulse!"

"What!?" Tono sneered. "It can learn that?" Sure enough, it opened its maw and launched something barely visible at Tiki. It was still able to turn the otherwise inert Sand Tomb into a blazing desert storm, but this was not hurting the Rock-type as much as it should've.

"Damn! I knew I should've taught you more physical moves, Tiki!"

He weighed his options. He didn't have a lot, Nori thought. His Pokemon was weak and poisoned, and he only had the one switch left.

"Screw it. Tiki, BOOMBURST!"

Haruna smirked. "You too, Ankylophone!"

The two Pokemon wound up. Tiki flapped its wings harshly, and Ankylophone smashed its tail into its scales. Both actions produced deafening blasts of sound. Nori's ears were left ringing as the cacophonous symphonies collided, passed through, and went for their respective targets. And while Ankylophone stood firm with only a little discomfort, the Flygon was blown backwards towards its trainer. It was left completely spent.

"Now flourish!" said Haruna, as Tiki tried and failed to get up. "Heal Bell!"

"Tiki is unable to battle!" The coach raised his arm, as Ankylophone played a soothing melody on its back. Maybe a dirge, Nori chuckled to himself.

"Now we're even," said Haruna. "What's next, incel?"

---​

Tono switched his Golduck back in to face off against the dinosaur. Haruna wasted no time ordering Thunderbolt; Ankylophone produced electricity with its tail and fired it out of its mouth. It hit hard, but Tono promptly used Disable. Haruna didn't care and ordered Clanging Scales. Tono countered this with Psychic, preventing the tail from moving. So Haruna just ordered Headbutt instead. Drake was caught off-guard, and a devastating Bone Club that smashed the duck against the floor ended it. Just like that, she'd taken the lead.

Gracie the Girafarig was Tono's next choice of Pokemon. Right away, Haruna had her Pokemon use Perish Song. Tono's Pokemon managed to land a Shadow Ball while their foe was playing a haunting melody on its scales. Haruna instantly recalled Ankylophone afterward as Tono was giving his next order. Interesting, Nori noted. She was exhausting his last switch, and still had one of her own left. So once Ankylophone was back, she could do that at will and switch out again, and Tono would just have to let his Pokemon faint.

Haruna brought in the Roserade - healed of its burn - and immediately ordered it to start throwing down Spikes. Tono chanced it, having Gracie blast it with a full-force Psychic. The rose Pokemon was knocked down but not out, and Haruna followed up with Toxic Spikes. Tono hesitated for a split-second before deciding to switch to Mothula to keep Gracie in play.

This ended before it even began. They tried to use Air Slash, but were promptly destroyed by Hidden Power and finished with Sludge Bomb. Tono shook his head at himself.

Suddenly, it was 2-4 in favor of Haruna, but as Yuki mentioned, Tono's two best Pokemon were still in this, and he'd taken down her second best, which was Dusknoir. The various spikes took hold as Gracie came back in. Haruna wasted no time in pouncing with Venoshock, but Tono used Light Screen. The two Pokemon traded shots with Psybeam and Magical Leaf. When the Roserade used Leech Seed, Tono quickly ordered Psychic to stop them. Haruna used the chance to have her Pokemon rush in with Giga Drain. Tono ordered a dodge and Psychic Fangs. Gracie barely pulled this off, sidestepping and seizing it in its back tail's jaws. This finished Roserade.

Haruna considered before sending out her next Pokemon. It was a black penguin with blue trim on its flippers and running down the center of its body. The white on its belly appeared like a tuxedo, and a gold trident was embedded in its face. It had tiny claws on the back of each flipper.

"Her starter Pokemon," mused Yuki. "And her best, too."

"Emp! Let's do this thing!" Haruna declared. It even had a nickname, which came as a surprise to Nori given her other Pokemon didn't have them.

Tono led things off with a Thunderbolt. However, Haruna had her Pokemon evade away with Aqua Jet. The penguin whirled around, and though Tono was able to have Gracie hold it back from a collision with Psychic, Haruna had her Pokemon shoot a Brine from there. This caught Gracie off-guard, and between that and the poison, allowed them to finish it with an Aerial Ace upside the head.

"Damn it!" screamed Tono, clenching his fists as he trembled. He stared at the floor. The reality of the situation sunk in. He had one Pokemon left against her three, two of which were completely fresh. And as for the other...

"Haruna's got this!" Nori said to his friend. "Once Ankylophone's back out, they'll Perish Song and that'll be it!"

"Don't be so sure!" replied Yuki. "That's only if he lets them do that!"

Maybe. The downside was if that happened, he wasn't going to see much of what Tono could do with his best Pokemon. But it'd be so worth it to see him go down so anticlimactically! He'd definitely be facing McCloud on the 20th, so Nori vowed to pay as much attention as possible here. Even if it was only a little, whatever he could get out of this would be useful. He had his pencil and notepad at the ready.

Tono gripped his final Poke Ball in his right hand. "It's time, my friend," he said, as he squeezed it. "McCloud! It's time to win this! Get ready!"

Out came the Jolteon. This was a seeming mismatch. A Water type against an Electric type. The only advantage Haruna would have here was McCloud getting poisoned right away from Roserade's caltrops. But it didn't need to be that way, and indeed, Haruna was already reaching for her belt.

As the coach waved the flags to restart the battle, she indeed made the switch. "Come back, Emp! And go, Ankylophone! Perish Song!" Right away, right as expected!

Tono pointed. "McCloud, NOW! Agility!"

At once, the Jolteon crouched and made a huge leap. He jumped directly onto Ankylophone's back, blocking the tail from striking its scales, thereby stopping the move.

"What?!" cursed Haruna. "How?" Nori had to agree, that was executed too perfectly for something on the spot.

"I foresaw this happening, so we trained a countermeasure in advance!" The audience screamed in delight. Nori could only stare in shock. Tono was ready for a situation like this? "Now, Iron Tail!"

"Bone Club!"

A tail strike against a tail strike. However, McCloud used his move by dashing backwards into the appendage and jumping off right after. He evaded the follow-up, and...

"Finish it! Double Kick!"

"Clanging Scales!"

The exhausted dinosaur was barely able to start running its tail over its scales before McCloud started laying into it. One kick, and the second knocked it down. As the dinosaur struggled to get back up, Haruna stomped the floor.

"Don't give up!" she said. "Perish Song!"

Tono confidently crossed his arms. "Refresh."

Ankylophone tried to execute the move, but its strength gave out. Meanwhile, the relieved McCloud's form glowed a faint white, and the poison steadily faded from his body.

"Ankylophone is unable to battle!" said the coach, over the roar of the crowd.

"Been a while since we have had to use that, though I wish we could have employed it sooner. But you gave us the perfect opportunity to do so," said Tono with a wry smile, glasses sparkling in the light. Haruna harrumphed in irritation.

Okay, thought Nori. So he beat the Pokemon that could've instantly ended things. But Haruna still had two fresh ones left; Emp hadn't been touched the brief time it was out for what that was worth, and McCloud had still had to endure the poison for a little bit. This was still over for Tono.

Nori was already smiling in delight at the prospect of seeing the nerd get destroyed, and it only became deeper when saw what Haruna sent out. Auburn fur, bulky body, a volcano-like rump on its back. The sight of the Camerupt took the air out of the audience. A Ground type against a Jolteon! He didn't doubt Tono would find a way to make this close, but this was in the bag!

Haruna cackled as she gave her first command. "Eruption, Camerupt!" A move that was at its most powerful at full health! A massive rain of boiling liquid and stones were fired out of its one hump.

"Dodge around it and throw up a Reflect!" said Tono. Haruna shook her head, and why wouldn't she? However, to her (and Nori's) chagrin, McCloud expertly weaved between the rain of debris while managing to erect a wall of shining light as he did so.

Haruna rolled her eyes. "Try and dodge an Earthquake."

Tono smirked. "Brace through it and use Hidden Power."

Camerupt bucked up and violently rattled the floor. McCloud stood firm and launched a series of mysterious pellets at his foe. The camel groaned in agony on impact.

"Yes, I remembered that's Water type," interrupted Haruna in an ominous tone, as Tono was opening his mouth to boast. "But it doesn't matter. Camerupt, Yawn!"

The red and brown Pokemon opened its mouth. Something flew out at McCloud, and just like that, he started to become drowsy.

"Rouse yourself up, McCloud," Tono urged. "Hyper Voice again!"

Managing to get it together, the Jolteon screamed at his foe. Camerupt was powerless against this, unable to cover its ears from the ear-splitting wail.

Nori noticed something else, however. That also should've been bad news for Tono, yet he was unusually unconcerned. Something was up.

"Mud Bomb!" Haruna said.

"Agility to get some distance," countered Tono.

McCloud perfectly avoided the move. However, tiredness quickly overwhelmed him. He collapsed mid-run...only to quickly get back up?

"A Chesto Berry as well," Tono grinned maliciously. He anticipated this too?!

Haruna took a couple steps forward, brandishing a fist. "You asshole! Yawn again!"

"Shadow Ball!"

As Camerupt opened its mouth once more, the lightning-quick McCloud formed a sphere of dark energy and threw it right down the hatch. The status move halted instantly as the camel began coughing violently.

"Shit! Camerupt–"

"You're done," Tono interrupted. "Hidden Power."

Maybe there was a chance to avoid this at the distance they were at, but not while Camerupt was choking on dark energies. This final shot of mysterious pellets was able to finish them off.

"Camerupt is unable to battle."

The crowd screamed like maniacs, even the other members of the news club getting in on it. Nori couldn't believe it. Tono had a serious disadvantage, and just like that, he'd made it even. McCloud had ridden out the poison and fought back an Earthquake, and didn't show the slightest sign of slowing down. This was what he was going to be up against in a few days? He couldn't beat this!

Both were down to their last Pokemon. Haruna grumbled as she recalled her Camerupt and took out her final ball. Emp's Poke Ball. She gave it a good, hard look before throwing it out.

"I think Tono's gonna win this!" Yuki squeed.

"I'm cheering for her." Maybe it was dumb blind faith, but he didn't care! He stood up and raised his left arm, hollering through his right's fist. "KICK HIS ASS, HARUNA!"

He got some funny looks from people, but the crimson orange-haired teen actually gave this a nod of acknowledgment and answered, "I will."

Tono harrumphed. "If you truly believe you are able to win, your ignorance is even more boundless than I thought."

Realistically, this was not looking good. Well, sure. An Electric type just beat a Ground type. But this was way different! Especially when this Electric type was that crazy!

"We're gonna serve you some humble pie," Haruna fired back. Nori was hoping she would! If anyone deserved to eat some, it was Tono!

The coach nodded. "Each trainer is down to their last Pokemon. Restart the battle!"

"Get rid of that Reflect, Emp!" she said. Emp flapped its flippers, producing a strange wind of some kind. It took Nori a moment to recognize it as a Defog move.

"Of course," Tono shook his head as the wall faded from existence. "But you're open. Thunder Wave!"

Haruna snickered. "Not so. Escape with Aqua Jet!"

Before the weak jolt of electricity could hit, Emp rocketed away, riding a wave. It wasn't necessarily using it to attack, just as a way to move.

"Overtake it with Agility."

And with this, Jolteon blitzed forth. The two Pokemon raced around the battlefield, making no attempt to attack each other. That is, until the electric fox got ahead of the penguin.

"Lay some Pin Missiles, McCloud," the nerd said.

"Swerve!"

Emp tried, but it couldn't course correct in time. It ran right over the spikes that McCloud left in his wake, coming out of its Aqua Jet in the process.

That gave McCloud time to leap behind. "Thunderbolt."

Nori cringed. Emp was lit up by the powerful move. The boy breathed a sigh of relief as the penguin mostly shook it off. It was going to take more than that to do Haruna in. Still, Emp hadn't landed a single attack yet. She needed to change that, and fast.

"Aqua Jet!" This time, the move was aimed squarely at the Jolteon.

"Counter with Hyper Voice," replied Tono. While it was able to scream menacingly at the charging Empleon, this did not deter the penguin from crashing into him. One hit, and they were in position to get more.

Tono pushed up his glasses, unconcerned. "We can fight up close. Double Kick."

Nori quickly looked to Haruna. He was relieved to see her mouthing, "Gotcha," right before she gave the order: "Grass Knot!"

"Nani?!"

And this surprised Tono. Emp tapped his flippers, and a mass of vines came out and grabbed at McCloud's front legs, right as he was rearing back to perform a mule kick.

"Quick, McCloud! Thunderbolt again before they use Earthquake!"

"Avoid it," said Haruna. It didn't take much effort with McCloud being welded to the ground. "And you heard him, Emp!"

"Refle–"

There was no stopping it. Emp jumped and stomped down. The ground shook violently beneath the battlefield. McCloud groaned in pain, affected much worse without its barrier. The one silver lining for the nerd was that this ended up freeing his Pokemon from the vines, which was fortunate for him, as another attack was on the way.

"Follow up, Emp! Brine!"

"Dodge!" Tono was getting uncharacteristically fired up in this battle.

The electric fox was just able to escape the blast of water, going on the move yet again. Nori sniffed. It reeked of the sea. He suppressed thoughts of the start of the month.

"All that running around is pissing us off, isn't it, Emp?" Haruna asked her Pokemon, which sort of chirped in agreement. "Let's fix that. Ice Beam all over the ground!"

"Stop them, McCloud!" Tono shouted, suddenly very concerned. "Shadow Ball!"

The electric fox angrily bristled, launching a blob of darkness at its foe. It stunned, but did not deter. A sizable amount of the floor was coated in ice. A penguin could slide around on it, but a fox would just slip and fall!

"Try breaking some with Thunderbolt!" Tono asked, even as Emp was catching its breath after all. McCloud complied, managing to shatter a bit of the ice, but not enough. "Damn it...can't do that any further." Nori smirked in approval. Take that!

"Now, Brine!"

"Jump from partition to partition!" To the boy's chagrin, the nerd had already thought up a counter. McCloud was agile enough to make the leaps between the frozen sections of the floor. "And, lay Pin Missiles on the ice as you do!"

The battlefield became a huge mess in short order, ice and thorns everywhere. The latter was going to fade after a period, but it was going to make motion just as difficult for Emp as it was for McCloud.

There was a brief pause as both trainers tried to figure out their next move. Nori wondered, why wasn't Haruna just attacking? There had to be a good reason. Eventually, Tono ordered, "McCloud, Thunderbolt!"

"Slide away and use Mist, Emp! Avoid, but go through the pins if you need to!"

Nori didn't get this. As if what was already there wasn't enough, now the penguin started spreading a thick fog everywhere. It was making it hard to tell what was going on.

"It's coming soon, McCloud," Tono warned. "Get ready to dodge when you hear it."

"Just try!" Haruna yelled. "Headbutt!"

Nori watched carefully, on the edge of his seat like nearly all of the audience was. Like a torpedo from the ocean, Emp came rocketing towards McCloud. They were just as silhouettes from where he was watching. The Jolteon appeared to sidestep...then stepped back in surprise as Emp halted and rose to its full height over him.

"Thunder Fang!" Tono yelled.

"Counter with Steel Wing!"

The two attacks met with a crack, both getting injured from trading blows. How much longer was this going to go on? How healthy was Emp? Could Haruna and her starter pull this off?

"Ice Beam!"

"Thunderbolt!"

Both Pokemon fired their respective powerful elemental moves at each other, point blank. The attacks were briefer than usual, as both were knocked back from the backlash of being struck, the penguin moreso. The Mist started to fade save for a passive swirl around Emp, and the audience was able to see the situation.

"Come on..." urged Nori, as Emp was struggling to get to a vertical base. McCloud wasn't much better, upright yet partially encased in ice.

"Damn it, Emp! Get up!" Haruna shouted. "We can't lose this!"

"I'm not taking any chances!" yelled Tono. "One more Thunderbolt!"

While trapped and in pain, McCloud managed to gather the energies in his body, launching them at the Empoleon.

"EMP!" Haruna pleaded. Nori turned away. He couldn't look!

He heard nothing but gasps. He turned to see that Emp had slid away! The ice was completely shattered where the lightning had struck.

"Hell yeah!"

"No, no, no!" Tono muttered.

"Finish this! EARTHQUAKE!"

Tono defiantly glared. "McCloud, Refresh and Agility! Into the air!"

What the?! That was insane! But it happened. The electric fox's body started glowing white as before, purging the ice. Emp jumped, but before it could come down, McCloud rocketed into the air. Seemingly flying!

"This battle is over!" Tono hot-bloodedly screamed. "THUNDEROUS IRON TAIL!!"

Many were confused. Haruna glared, trying to discern what was going to happen. But Nori was one of the few who knew what that was. That was how they'd defeated Kallisto's Raitora! If that landed, Emp was finished!

McCloud let out a battle cry at the apex of his jump. Lightning started arcing out of his short spiny tail, creating an illusion that it was much larger than it actually was. The vicious sparking and crackling cut through the air. The electric fox flipped over and came rocketing down like a guided missile.

"Emp, HYDRO CANNON!" a panicked Haruna shouted. She was going to try to counter it?! With a Water move?! The penguin stood firm and defiant, ready to try.

It all happened so fast that it didn't register with anyone immediately. There was a blinding flash and deafening boom as McCloud made impact. Nori anticipated this and had shut his eyes in time. He opened them to see a gargantuan blast of water headed all the way to the ceiling. He looked to Emp, right as it fell to its claws and flippers.

And as for McCloud, he hit the roof and started falling.

"McCloud, NO!"

Tono could only scream as his Pokemon plunged several meters to the floor, crashing down hard. He immediately ran over to check on McCloud. The electric fox was out, if not from the Hydro Cannon, then certainly from the fall. The Gym Trainer desperately ran his hands over McCloud's legs and body, checking for any serious injuries.

"Emp's out!" he eventually yelled, lightly relieved. "He can't battle, either!"

The coach came over and checked on McCloud. He only needed a brief glance before heading over to Emp. He kneeled down, and though the penguin couldn't stand, it managed to give a nod.

"Emp is still conscious. McCloud is unable to battle."

"No..."

Haruna started to laugh in triumph. It started as a lull, just like the crowd.

"This means that your winner, and captain of the Gama Memorial Senior Battling Team for 2015, Haruna Okazaki!"

Nori leaped to his feet with a wild beam, maybe making the most noise out of anyone in the audience - no mean feat, given there were a surprising amount of them cheering this outcome. She'd done it! Haruna had won! And more importantly, Tono had lost!

"No!" Tono screamed, to the delight of Nori, Haruna, and her fans. "Ridiculous! This battle should've been a draw! And I should've stayed captain as incumbent! This is absolutely ridiculous!"

But his complaints were drowned out by the cheers of the audience. He eventually threw up his arms, recalled his Pokemon, and walked away. It didn't seem like he was going to stick around. This only made Nori laugh harder, no matter how wrong it might've objectively been. Coming here to see that nerd get destroyed and throw a temper tantrum was completely worth it!

---​

Haruna gave a small speech after her victory. Nori actually paid attention to the stuff by the senior club at this point, what little he could glean anyway. After this, there were some final formalities before they got on their way - it didn't look like they were going to be able to get a post-battle interview, unfortunately.

"That. Was. Awesome!" gushed Yuki as they left.

"I know, right?" Nori remarked. He was starting to see how someone could get so invested in a battle they weren't a part of. Although he figured he'd think differently had Tono won.

"I gotta admit," Yuki remarked. "Haruna made a fan of me today."

"You two."

Yuki froze up. Nori merely smiled as Gino and the others approached them. "Yes?"

"Um, this is kind of awkward, guys," Arumi said. "Sorry."

Gino had no such sympathy towards them. "You know the reason why we came to watch this battle, don't you?" he asked, a hand on his hip.

"Well..." Yuki nervously laughed.

"I see that you understand," the poofy-haired girl coldly stated.

Nori smiled. "Of course we were paying attention!"

"Only to the battle," said Beau.

"Exactly," he didn't miss a beat. "We're going to write a report about it! You know, battle analysis."

"Th-that's right!" Yuki affirmed. They considered having to say and do this, though the strawberry blond boy wasn't confident enough to tell them that. It was something of a crazy excuse, really. But Nori knew a way to get at least one person on their side.

"Okazaki Defeats Takuma, Becomes Team Captain in Wild Full Battle at Gama Senior!"

"Haha!" Sure enough, she applauded. "My name is Arumi Schrader, and I approve this headline!"

Beau rolled her eyes. "Do you even know how to do such a thing?"

"Isn't it about giving your opinions on a battle? I'm being trained by pros, so I know battles! Besides, I've seen Tono himself do it!"

Gino sighed and shook his head. "You're a master of excuses, you know that?"

"Thanks!" He grinned. It was nice to get a little bit of positive reinforcement for once!

"That wasn't intended as a compliment!" Beau snapped.

He tilted his head. It wasn't?

"Don't forget why we came here, guys!" Arumi reminded them. She caught on!

"Yes," said Beau. "We came here to learn the professional filming, production, and coverage–oh, for the love of God."

And it visibly hit them all at once, right as Beau said the word. She slumped, Lorant stared down, and Gino buried his face in his hands. He eventually looked up. "You'd just better make sure you do it, in that case."

Yuki put an arm around his shoulders, pulling Nori in a little. "We'll work on it together, right on it after school!" he eagerly declared. News to him, but he had no problem with it. More time away from the Gym Trainers, after all. He'd just have to tell Eddie or Kallisto the plan, or call the Gym if that didn't work out. He...could probably find a phone book for the phone number, right?

"Great!" said Arumi, flashing a thumbs-up. "And I'll be right there to help you, so it's ready to go on Monday!" Nori remembered Arumi pretty much always stuck around after hours, even on Fridays.

Yuki let go, nodding slightly. That settled things.

##########
=========
##########

Spoiler: Notes

A/N: No, Ankylophone is still not technically a Fakemon, and that term is still dumb. It's actually from the 98-05-06 sprite leaks, #415 specifically. I gave it an egregious pun for a name and the color. As with Raitora, picked several moves for it that fit, going for partial sound-theme as well.

Hopefully this battle was entertaining enough. Not fully satisified with it myself, particularly due to a rewritten part of it feeling awkward to me. One of the stranger battles I've written, with the POV character simply watching and all the glossing over.

Aside, I've written nearly up through Month 7: one or two scenes left in that and it's drafted. Good thing, dunno how much forward progress I'm going to be able to make once Super Robot Wars 30 is out in a couple days; depends on how long my copy takes to reach me though.

 

[Daren]

So I guess the "Zoma" nickname a Dragon Quest III reference?

In any case I loved this one; I really wasn't sure what was going to happen in the end. Had to force myself to read through and not skip ahead to see who won. Battle was great in general, too.
The outcome does make me a bit nervous about Nori's battle for some reason.

Haruna had won! And more importantly, Tono had lost!

I think a lot of us have been there, heh.

Though...hnnng. I have a weird feeling Tono might find a way to get the resulted reversed on an appeal or something. We'll see.

 

[System Error]

So I guess the "Zoma" nickname a Dragon Quest III reference?

Yup. As mentioned, all of Tono's nicknames are a reference to some video game entity or character.

In any case I loved this one; I really wasn't sure what was going to happen in the end. Had to force myself to read through and not skip ahead to see who won. Battle was great in general, too.

Bit of a relief to hear that. I suppose that's what counts most.

The outcome does make me a bit nervous about Nori's battle for some reason.

But howso?

I think a lot of us have been there, heh.

The key to any good villain in wrestling is wanting to see them lose. The same applies in real life, and in fiction.

Though...hnnng. I have a weird feeling Tono might find a way to get the resulted reversed on an appeal or something. We'll see.

Heh heh heh. Well, I'll answer this in full later. But now, have a bit of canon supplementary material.

 

[Daren]

But howso?

Well, a few things:
*Tono's gonna be furious and over this defeat and I expect him train and prepare extra hard for Nori. It might just make him angry and sloppy, but counting on that would be dangerous.
*He and Haruna both seem to be operating on a much higher level as trainers than Nori. Even with Volkner's help Nori had better get some serious training and planning if he wants to stand up to Tono.

 

[Juliko]

This turned out to be easier to read and review than I thought. I do find myself liking Haruna, and seeing Tono lose and throw a tantrum was pretty satisfying. I liked the battle. Certainly better than all of my attempts at writing battle scenes, that's for sure. Not surprised you'd use a beta Pokemon again, though one I don't recognize, though I managed to find a sprite of the Pokemon in question. But I do have a feeling that things might turn sour for Nori after this, considering how events like this have gone before. I doubt Tono is going to take this loss quietly, and for all we know, he might wind up doing something to Nori. But I'll have to read more to find out. Good job as always!

 

[System Error]

This turned out to be easier to read and review than I thought. I do find myself liking Haruna, and seeing Tono lose and throw a tantrum was pretty satisfying.

Haruna is objectively kind of a jerk herself (she calls Tono all sorts of things). But when the people they're insulting are even worse, that's when even someone such as yourself can like these sorts of characters.

I liked the battle. Certainly better than all of my attempts at writing battle scenes, that's for sure.

Glad you did.

But yeah, for the record: in the original draft, Haruna switched Ankylophone back in and drew with the Girafarig. I decided it made no sense for her to throw away an instant win condition, so Empoleon made a brief appearance. This made me Ankylophone vs Jolteon a thing, and changed Camerupt vs Jolteon slightly - before normalizing. Not entirely satisfied myself, but I guess if the readers are...

Not surprised you'd use a beta Pokemon again, though one I don't recognize, though I managed to find a sprite of the Pokemon in question.

I posted it in the thread here, though I guess you mostly read these on FFNet.

But I do have a feeling that things might turn sour for Nori after this, considering how events like this have gone before. I doubt Tono is going to take this loss quietly, and for all we know, he might wind up doing something to Nori. But I'll have to read more to find out.

Heh heh heh...

 

[System Error]

May of Ordinance (third part)​

May 16th, 2015​

Saturday started off early, yet slowly. There was a lot to take in about the battle the day prior. The biggest thing it proved to Nori that Tono was not infallible, let alone invincible. No matter how much planning he did, it wasn't a guarantee. And since Tono had beaten Kallisto...well. That was something to keep in mind for later.

He went downstairs before the Gym Trainers arrived for some training with Volkner. Nori had concluded that surprises were among the best ways of defeating Tono - to which the Gym Leader responded with approval. Yes, he said, that is a big weakness of Tono as well, and he congratulated Nori on figuring that one out. They spent the morning having their Pokemon spar and brainstorming ideas. He also noticed the Demon was more evenly matched with Volkner's Luxray at this point. Per his training, she started varying up her approach, making it more erratic and tougher to figure out.

Ollie showed up first, greeting them before going upstairs for some oatmeal. The other three came in twenty minutes later. Nori was in the hallway at the time, walking out when he heard Tono rambling in the lobby.

"I still cannot get over this ridiculous loss," the nerd said. Eddie rolled his eyes and turned away. Kallisto watched his friend with concern. "Haruna got lucky. Her Pokemon landed a counter at the last possible moment, and she only won on a technicality. Regardless of consciousness, Emp was in no condition to continue! I have given it thought, and it is looking more and more like there actually was a conspiracy between her and the faculty."

"Oh yeah?" Nori taunted as he pranced in. "You're sounding more and more like a sore loser to me!"

Tono sneered. "No one asked for your opinion on this, Nori Carino."

"You know," Kallisto interrupted, "I hate to admit it, but Nori is right." The nerd's jaw dropped, and for that matter, Nori's almost did as well. Kallisto, agreeing with him? "Tono, it isn't reflecting well on you to be complaining this much. I know you have strong feelings against Haruna and are frustrated at yourself about losing - especially since it means you're working under her, but this just isn't you. You're way better than this."

Eddie concurred. "Yeah, you're starting to bitch a little much. Like, whining on Tweeter and saying there's a conspiracy? The fuck, man?"

The bespectacled teen sighed and lowered his head. "I suppose you're right. No matter." He rubbed his hands together. "I will simply have to challenge her to a rematch and reclaim what's mine."

"Actually," Kallisto spoke up, somewhat awkwardly. "I heard they're not doing battles to replace the captain this year, barring exceptional circumstances. What with the controversy with me a couple years ago, and your feud with her last year."

Tono growled. "Ridiculous! She causes that to happen, and wins one battle when it matters?! This is exactly why single elimination is antiquated! One performance is NOT indicative of someone's true ability! When I see that fraud again, I am going to have words with her!"

Eddie snickered. "She's right outside," he said, pointing behind them.

Sure enough, Haruna was present, waiting for the Gym to open. She was in an frilly white tank top and expensive-looking blue jeans. Tono seethed and went outside. Nori decided to follow along with the others. This should be entertaining.

"And what are you doing here?!" he demanded.

Haruna smirked and crossed her arms. "I came to laugh at you."

Tono sarcastically applauded. "Oh, ha, ha, ha. Very funny. Did you look that reference up? The only Chars you actually know about are Zard and Chim." She started to speak, when Tono started talking over her. "Never mind. It is good that you are here, because I wanted to tell you to your face, that victory was nothing more than a fluke!"

"Actually," said Nori. "I analyzed the battle for my school's newsletter. And I can say–"

"I told you! No. One. Cares!" punctuated Tono. "Furthermore, what do you know about battle analysis?!"

"Enough, I hope!" he cheerfully replied.

Eddie blinked. Kallisto tilted his head. "Huh, got me interested," the former quipped. "May have to get a copy of that for once."

"Yeah, bring it back. I'll have to have a look at it too," Kallisto agreed.

"Silence!" said Tono, irritated even more by the other Gym Trainers actually expressing interest in the analysis. "Haruna Okazaki, I challenging you to a rematch this exhibition day! You may be captain for the year barring something unfortunate, but I can show the world who really deserved the position!"

"Sure, I'll accept your little challenge," said Haruna.

There was chatter among the onlookers. Nori nervously bit his lip. Did no one else pick up on that subtle threat Tono just made? Was he going to try to disqualify Haruna somehow? Also, there was something else. "I thought we were battling on exhibition day?"

"I will be facing you both!" he brashly declared.

More intrigue. Kallisto in particular clapped his friend on the back in approval. Haruna's mouth curled into a wry smirk. She turned to Nori.

"Well, since we'll both be fighting this incel on the 20th, want to train together?"

"Sounds good! We can strategize together!" he turned to the Gym Trainers. "Just let Volkner know for me."

Tono seethed. He breathed in and out, but it didn't help. "Are you serious?!" he screeched through gritted teeth. Yeah, he brought that on himself. It was great.

Kallisto put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Relax, Tono." He smiled and nodded at Nori. "We'll let him know. Good luck with your training."

"Thanks, I guess."

He hated Kallisto, and maybe it was mutual, but he did trust him to do that. But getting tips from and practicing with an excellent trainer from outside of the Gym, especially one with a lot of experience in facing Tono? It was going to help a lot! His chances at winning were suddenly looking better than ever.

---​

Kallisto Keravnos entered the arena with Tono and Eddie. Volkner was already in there waiting. And to all of their surprise, Ollie was running laps around the arena!

"Yo!" he huffed, waving to them. It was obvious he was struggling, but he was actually trying!

"Hey, Ollie!" Kallisto greeted. "Good to see you exercising."

"Finally tired of being the tub 'o goo, eh?" joked Eddie.

Ollie took it in stride, even as he ran out of breath as if on cue. "You'll...have to think...of a new nickname...soon!"

All of them except Tono laughed; even Volkner snickered. Kallisto said, "Soon's a misnomner, but as long as you keep working at it, you'll get there eventually."

"As they say, it's a marathon. Not a sprint," the Gym Leader mused.

"All this over Nori Carino," muttered Tono. "Ridiculous that you did not work towards self-improvement sooner."

Kallisto shrugged. "Everyone has different motivations and inspirations. Besides, that's just on the Pokemon end of things." Ollie had always wanted to, he just never found the motivation to stick with it until recently. The head Gym Trainer would say the ‘drunkenness’ incident at Eddie's birthday party played an even bigger role, actually.

"Speaking of. Where's Nori?" the Gym Leader asked.

"He went out." Kallisto glanced at his best friend. "Tono challenged Haruna Okazaki to a rematch this exhibition day, and she invited him to train together."

"Sounds good," said Volkner with a proud smile. He checked his watch. "Gym opens in a couple minutes, so get ready."

They all nodded. It appeared there were a couple challengers outside waiting. No real hotshots, so it was a chance for Tono to work off some steam or Ollie to practice.

Or maybe not. Tono was storming off towards the side doors. Kallisto quickly caught up with him.

"Tono, seriously. Relax," he urged his best friend.

"How am I supposed to relax?!" he snapped. "I have two battles to be prepared for in several days. And with those two making the ridiculous decision to consolidate their efforts against me, I need to be absolutely sure I am ready!"

"You're overworking yourself," he advised. "You don't want to burn out before 20th, or worse yet, burn your Pokemon out. Besides, your birthday is the day before." He'd be seventeen. While they were both in twelfth grade, Tono had skipped fourth way back when.

Tono sighed. "Perhaps you are right." He sat down, leaning against the wall. "I have been thinking about it, and I have been working hard, when I should be working smart. Will you help me get ready for this?"

"Always, my friend."

If his best friend needed the help, Kallisto was more than happy to offer it. And perhaps he could prevent Tono from second-guessing himself into oblivion, as he occasionally did in these situations...

---​

Nori got into Haruna's black car, and went with her to this battling place called Mynwest Court. Before they even got through the doors, they had all sorts of people challenging them. Thankfully, Haruna told them off and rented one of the private training rooms for an hour. Nori made a note to remember this place for later, if he could get out this far with his skateboard.

"So this is the Demon," Haruna remarked after ten minutes of practice. They had been doing something Haruna called ‘two hitters’ which she assured was nothing like ‘one-hit outs’. The objective was to land two hits in a row on your opponent without your Pokemon being hit in-between. And with the Demon, one hit usually meant a second. "She's as tough as I heard."

"Thanks," Nori replied.

"Would love to have a real battle with you someday, when you get better and have more Pokemon."

"Sure," he accepted, "Although I'm not sure how long that'll take. I only have the Demon and Pachi for now." The little squirrel was watching and cheering on the sidelines, to her fellow Pokemon's annoyance.

"Why not catch one?" she asked the obvious.

"Well, I'm going to be assigned Pokemon to train and look after, right? So anything I catch myself, I might not get a chance to use them."

"If you're like that, hope for your sake you can make a balanced team out of whatever you're given," she pretty much dismissed. Well sure, it was a problem, but only for a serious trainer. "But I'm curious about something else. What's your deal with Kallisto?"

Nori opened his mouth to speak his mind, but something made him think better of saying it how he wanted to. Maybe it was the look in Haruna's narrowed eyes.

"Just what I said at his ceremony," he replied. Best to keep it simple. "He's a good trainer. And he pisses me off a lot. But he's not...completely bad, I guess?"

He hated admitting that last part. Things would be so much easier if Kallisto was a malicious jerk behind the scenes. But he wasn't. And Nori got the feeling the head Gym Trainer's interactions with him were the exception, rather than indicative of his true personality. Maybe. No, well. He wanted to scream he hated him anyway, especially over what he did to Betsy-Ann. But the truth was, he wasn't sure what to make of him anymore.

"Close to what I think of him, then," Haruna remarked.

"Really?"

"He's stuck up and full of himself," the crimson-orange haired teen remarked. "Don't like him, but I respect him."

Nori shrugged. He hardly respected Kallisto! But he got the feeling maybe this wasn't the time or place to say that.

"Anyway, really don't want to talk about him." Easiest way was to change the subject.

"Right," she agreed. "So let's talk strategy. Any preview of that analysis you did?"

"What are you asking?"

"What you got from Tono."

Nori glanced up. "Well, we were going to do it in a point-by-point, but it got condensed into the five key moments in the battle. Yuki's idea, not mine." He shrugged. "Those in order were his Golduck's defeat of Dusknoir, Tono impulsively switching his Mothim, Poison Point triggering on that...thing he called Zoma, McCloud's Hidden Power, and Emp countering Thunderous Iron Tail with Hydro Cannon." He ruffled his hair. "I also thought you trying to order a last minute Perish Song giving McCloud time to heal his poison, but that didn't affect the outcome."

Haruna tapped her foot. "Not what I had in mind."

"What were you thinking?"

"Weaknesses. As an outsider looking in, you get anything out of him? Anything that could humiliate him?"

"Not anything more than I knew, though I think just winning alone will humiliate him." Especially given how bad he took this one loss. "Besides that, I took notes, but they're back at the Gym. I don't know if they'll be any help."

She grumbled. "Well, I can tell you one thing. He's inflexible. Especially against those he's too familiar with or those he's unfamiliar with."

The opposite ends of the spectrum. "Huh. I've only had one serious battle against him, which I...sort of won."

"Sort of?"

"I wasn't in the mood, because I was down due to my friend Lux being gone, but the Demon beat his Raichu by herself with just basic stuff out of me."

She nodded. "I can say this. You're exactly the sort of dangerous amateur he'd have problems with."

"Amateur!?"

"Or defy his expectations."

Nori thought about it. "Tono doesn't seem to think much of me," he thought aloud. "Which means he might not be expecting much. So if I do try..."

"He's going 0-2 on exhibition day."

The boy nodded. Maybe he was stupid and hopeful to think he had a chance, but on the other hand, both Haruna and Volkner seemed to think he could do this. And he still wanted to crush Tono and rub it in for everything he'd said and done to him. That's why he was here training with Haruna.

---​

The two left the room after an hour, only to find some people waiting outside in ambush.

"What's this?" Nori asked.

"You're here at a Mynwest, so you're here to battle," said a black-haired teenager, younger than Haruna. He had a light Italian accent, and was wearing a shirt with a classical painting design with some dude on it. A label on it said Titian?

"We want to battle you!"

"Yeah, you Kallisto-hating jerk!"

"Umm..." the boy groaned, awkwardly turning away.

"Fight us!"

"Come on!"

"We want to battle you too, Haruna!"

Nori looked to the teen girl for help, who simply laughed. "Settle down. I know you're insecure and desperate for validation, but we just came here to train."

"That's right!" Nori added, as they complained.

"So that's why you'll make the perfect punching bags!" she declared with an evil grin. "I'll get us both day passes."

"What?!"

"It'll be good practice stomping them out," she explained as she disappeared down the hall.

"Oh, come on!" The boy tried not to whine. "I had my share of these stupid morons back home!"

"You scared of losing?" the Italian teen asked. "If not, face us!"

Nori glared. "No way," he said, set off yet still exasperated. "Three of you - including you," he pointed at the Italian-sounding guy. "And that's it. Fight amongst yourselves to decide who the other two are."

Okay, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come back here, he thought. He wasn't going to be like one of those super strong trainers who indulges every group of maniacs who comes up looking for a battle. What kind of person puts up with insanity like this? He couldn't imagine this being a regular thing. At least it was a chance to get Pachi some exercise...

##########​

May 17th, 2015​

When Nori's training didn't consist of crushing annoying people or having his Pokemon use the workout equipment, he was being personally tutored by Volkner on how to counter specific strategies. Volkner had a small arena in the back - sort of like the room at that place he went to with Haruna - to practice in.

They had been working on techniques to stall a couple days prior. Volkner acknowledged Nori already had a general idea of how to do so given he employed such a strategy against Eddie's Electabuzz. The differences in application here were the Demon not being as likely to play it cool, Tono possibly factoring this into his own plans, and his likely use of Light Clay to extend Reflect's duration. As attrition was the name of the game, finding ways to draw the battle out when possible was important.

They decided the best way to go about it would be mixing in aggressive tactics with stalling ones. They might as well deal damage when they were able to, and to stave off as much damage as possible when it was unsafe. Volkner warned Nori about Tono using moves creatively. They practiced against some of his staple combos, such as Pin Missile traps. Volkner even had them avoid a swooping Chatot or Galvantula, as rough analogues to acrobatic strikes.

Today, they were working on specific attacks. "Double Team," said Volkner. "It's a common move by fast or ninja-like Pokemon. While it can look intimidating, only one of the copies is real."

"So hit them all at once! Um, if you can."

The Gym Leader nodded. "Moves like Discharge are a good answer, yes. If the Pokemon has a capable and powerful enough move. Furthermore, some crafty applications of the move will hide the real one."

"So what can you do? Especially if you don't have that option?"

Volkner pointed at his own eyes. "Look. The real one moves a fraction of a second before the copies."

The boy nodded. "So working with your Pokemon? Sounds good." Well, he assumed it was possible to train the Pokemon to do it too, but a second set of eyes didn't hurt. "What else?"

"First, we're going to practice that. Minun?" He called out to the yellow and blue Pika, who squeaked and came running over. The Gym Leader said he was a gift from Flint one year, but he only used the little mouse against weaker challengers - when they weren't so weak that he had to use Gym Pokemon, that is. "In most cases, hitting the real one will eliminate the copies. You still have that laser pointer, right?"

"Er, yes. It's in my room, but I can go get it."

"Minun will use Double Team. You aim where you think he is."

The boy nodded. "Got it."

---​

The boy proceeded to impress the Gym Leader and surprise himself by hitting it 21 out of 25 times. He knew he would be good at this, just not that good. Volkner's Minun was capable of using Double Team in several different ways: encircling, orderly rows, and scattering copies haphazard.

"That's enough," Volkner said. "Good."

"Thanks." The boy gave the laser pointer a twirl and pocketed it.

"Double Team is a simple move to counter. It's often called a beginner's trap, in both senses of the term."

"You mean a move good to use on beginners, and not as reliable as a beginner might think?"

"Yes. Tono might try it on you for that reason."

Nori grinned. "He'll be in for a surprise if he does."

"It's not a bad move, simply one that takes skill and training to effectively use." He glanced at his Minun, who had ran back over to play with Pachi. "If you choose to use it yourself, be aware of its limitations."

"If I do, what's the best way to use it? And are there any other ways to counter it? If I somehow can't find the real one?" He imagined the visual trick wouldn't always work.

Volkner nodded. "Easier to explain both together. Against encircling Double Teams, your best counter are moves like Discharge that can hit them all, or moves like Vine Whip or Earth Power that could get in the way. Disrupting the ground in some way is also effective if they're on it. If you can get out of the circle, even better - but watch for being tackled if you're attempting a melee escape. Your best bet when using it in this fashion is either a beam move directed inwards, or something wide-area like, again, Discharge. They're easy to use, but easy to counter.

"Against line-based Double Teams, the best counter is to charge forward and attack one. If you have a ground-shaking move or one like Sludge Wave, use it. This pattern is best used as a mind-game offensively. Don't be afraid to have your Pokemon miss on purpose. If they try a sweeping move as a counter, that's your chance to attack."

Nori tapped his chin. "When I was out in..." He shuddered. Thinking of that day only brought bad memories. "Well, on the 3rd, I fought someone who used a line. I tried having Pachi use Discharge right in front, but he still missed. The real one was way off to the side."

"It's one of the better places to be. Even if it's predictable, it's still a 50/50 shot which side you're on. It's why moves that hit along the whole ground are the best counter."

He nodded. "Got it."

"As for scattered Double Teams, defensive moves shine more than anywhere else. If you can hit them all or find the real one, do so. Otherwise, keep in motion. They work best for landing an attack, but are very easily seen through once you use one."

Nori nodded. "It sounds like it's more trouble than it's worth."

"True," said Volkner. "Easy to use, hard to master. They're best used against a Pokemon that would have trouble countering it."

"So what next?"

Volkner leaned back. "Hm. We'll keep practicing that in a bit, just with pointing for your Pokemon this time."

"Sounds good to me." Not like he could shine a laser pointer at something in a real battle like he could in practice.

---​

Nori went to the lobby after that training session, finding the Gym Trainers gathered there. A couple staff members and people he didn't recognize - trainers, maybe? - were also present, seemingly loitering.

"Er, what are you guys doing?" he asked the group. Weird to see so many people just hanging out.

Kallisto answered. "Just a bit of planning for Tono's birthday."

"It's his birthday this month?"

"Yeah, on the 19th!" Ollie confirmed. "Eddie's was last month, his is this month, and Kallisto's is next month."

"And mine's in July." A bit amusing in how four of them had birthdays on successive months. "What about you?" he asked Ollie.

"November 25th!"

So much for making it five, and he already knew Volkner's was in late October. Which made theirs successive. "So is he going to have a big party here too? And I take it I'm not invited to this one?" He glanced away. "Not that I care."

"Wrong on the first account, right on the second," replied Kallisto. "He's always preferred low key things with his friends. He's eating right now, so it's a good chance to get some planning in when he's not here."

"If he wants it low key, why do you need to plan?"

Eddie snorted. "Still our friend, kid. Gonna do stuff for him anyway."

Yeah, that sort of made sense. He heard some people were so modest that you had to do what you wanted for them no matter what, because they'd always tell you not to bother. He didn't really get those types.

The conversation was interrupted as a challenger entered the Gym. Nori had learned to spot them out right away from their body language - they almost always entered with either purpose or hesitation, and this chunky teenager was the former. He had to be close to 200cm tall. Equal parts fat and muscle, he had cobalt blue hair in a bowl cut and fierce red eyes.

"Hey, come here to challenge de Gym," said the teen. He had a thick accent, reminding Nori vaguely of this Unovan kid he used to know. Only this guy's was stronger.

Volkner had walked in from the halls at some point during the conversation. He gave a nod. "All right."

Kallisto chuckled, walking up to compare height. "Not often I'm looking up to face a challenger," he remarked. Indeed, it was by 20-25cm. He had to tilt his head to go eye-to-eye with the blue-haired teenager.

"Ain't dat de troof, Kallisto K?" The challenger walked over to the front desk, remarking as he went, "So we gonna fight, or what?"

"Maybe!" he replied. Whenever a particularly strong trainer came to the Gym, Kallisto was always the one who took their challenge. For some, he'd let one of the other Gym Trainers have a crack at them for the inevitable rematch. Others, like that guy from Alola, he kept fighting until they quit.

The head receptionist looked over the blue-haired teen's information. "All right, it says on your card you have seven badges. I see this is your fourth League challenge, you've been all over Japan." The head Gym Trainer nodded and smirked at the guy. Seemed like prime Kallisto Keravnos challenger material, all right. "Eighteen years old. And your name is...!"

As Mrs. Stetcher gasped and trailed off, the teenager said it for her. "Radovan Richard Raines, ya dig?"

All of a sudden, it was quiet. The only sounds were the hum of the lights and vending machines. Nori looked around. Everyone had been stilled, including those from the Gym.

Nori scratched his head. "What's with all you guys?"

"Yeah, wit' Nori C here," Radovan agreed. Huh, this guy knew him? "What's de problem?"

Kallisto nervously shuffled his feet. "Well. Sorry, but..."

"Whatcha sorry 'bout?" asked Radovan.

Mrs. Stetcher leaned away. "Um. Mr. Takuma?" she asked over the intercom. "Report to the front immediately."

This did nothing to answer his question, but Radovan snapped to. Was this person important to Tono in some way? Everyone was holding their breath, some literally.

The glasses-wearing teenager eventually came downstairs in a huff. "What could be so important that you would interrupt...!" His eyes locked onto Radovan. "YOU!!" he screamed at the top of the lungs.

"Ah, if it ain't Tono T," came the greeting. "So ya work at de Gym now? Huh?"

Tono rubbed his hands together. "Oh, I have been waiting far too long for this. I always knew you would come here some day."

"Yeah? Said I would. T'ought home'd be a good swansong for journeyin', least in de country."

"Do not talk like we are old friends." Now that he mentioned it, it kind of did remind him of what Kallisto was doing. Only a little. "For all you have done before. Radovan Raines, you face me! When and if you pass the puzzle, I challenge you to a full battle!"

Tono's bold challenge hung in the air. All eyes went to Radovan to see what he would do.

For several long seconds, he rubbed his chin with two fingers while looking up at the ceiling. Soon, he nodded. "So lemme see if I'm gettin' dis. Ya got all pissy at me makin' fun of ya, so ya got a job as a Gym Trainer. Ya came and worked under Volkner here. Got me so far? Ya trained your Pokemon. And it was all ta face me here at de Gym in front of a crowd? Okay? Dat right?"

This insight quieted everyone. Even Nori was surprised, especially at how this rough-looking guy gleaned that. More proof that appearances could be deceiving. With that, everyone was looking at Tono for his reply.

"That true, man?" asked Eddie.

"That's none of your business!" the nerd bitterly snapped.

"That's making it seem like it is true..." Nori remarked.

"Shut up, Nori Carino! In fact..." And with this he turned to the Gym Leader. "Volkner, I would like to make a special request."

"Yeah, what?" the blond man queried.

"Assuming this oversized oaf can put two brain cells together for long enough to complete the puzzle, I would like his qualifier to be a full battle held in three days time, against myself!"

Volkner scratched his cheek. "That would be on exhibition day..."

Radovan chuckled. "Yeah, I'd be down for dat."

"Wait! Don't we not do qualifiers then?" Ollie asked.

"And wouldn't you be fighting three people seriously in one day?" added Nori.

Eddie counted them up on his fingers. "Nori, Haruna, and this guy."

Finally, his best friend looked at him in concern. "Are you sure you can handle that much, Tono?"

Tono cringed. He took several steps away. He inhaled in and out several times. "A fair point. I will delay the battle against this fraud, in that case." He gestured to Nori as he said this.

Volkner shook his head. "No, you committed to that. In fact, I have a better idea." The Gym Leader flashed a cunning smirk. "Tono Takuma day. We can promote that."

Intrigued chatter. "Huh. I can see that," mused Kallisto. "The Gym's never done anything like that before, has it? The same person in the three major battles of each day?"

"Never," confirmed Volkner.

Tono brushed this off. "That would be unwise on my behalf. Even with Nori Carino's being a one-on-one and Haruna's being a standard three-on-three, adding a full battle would be a bit much on my Pokemon, even factoring in all of them."

"Ya scared?" taunted Radovan. "Little chicken, sayin' big t'ings den t'inkin' ya can't handle."

Tono turned around, crossing his arms. "I am not going to be provoked by such childish insults." When Radovan started clucking like a chicken, he covered his face with a palm. "You are making an embarrassment of yourself."

The chunky teenager shrugged. "Ya so borin' dese days, Tono T. Got it? Ya take a class in bein' borin'?"

Volkner sighed. There was a lot of disappointment, including from the other Gym Trainers. But Nori had an idea.

"How's this?" he asked, jumping on one of the seats. "Who wants to see Tono Takuma day? Raise a hand!"

Indeed, just about everyone in the lobby raised a hand. Some even raised two. Tono turned around in irritation, only to be taken aback by one of them.

"Kallisto?!" he practically squeaked, mouth agape.

"I think it would be a great idea, Tono," urged the head Gym Trainer. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you. Not even I can say I've been in three serious battles in one day. And I know if anyone can pull it off, it's you. Maybe it will be taxing on your Pokemon, yet the chance to raise your stock isn't something you want to pass up."

Tono reluctantly nodded, sold by his friend's thoughts on the matter. "Very well, I will go through with it. So long as you help me prepare." Kallisto grinned in confirmation. The nerd spun around and wagged a finger at Radovan. "But that is again assuming you can solve the Gym's puzzle."

That's just being assumptive, thought Nori. He solved all the other puzzles, and even though not all regions use them in their Gyms, he still solved at least seven here.

Radovan clapped. "Now dat's de spirit, Tono T. Let's get crackin'."

"That is the spirit!" Kallisto agreed. "I know someone at school who can draw up a poster for it quickly, I'll get to that ASAP."

"And I'll spread the word at my school, too!" Nori said. He was sure this would be a great addition to his article! "I'm sure you will too, Eddie."

"Uh, sure, kid," came the passive reply. He was too focused processing what was happening.

"Okay. I'll write it on the site," said Volkner, leaving for the back. Besides Tono, he also maintained the Gym's website at times.

As Kallisto went upstairs and Tono escorted Radovan to the puzzle, Nori was left with Eddie and Ollie. The crowd started to disperse. No doubt, they'd be spreading the word about this as well.

"The fuck did I just see?" the dark-skinned teen pondered aloud. "Knew he had problems with that guy, but didn't think it was this bad."

"Ask him yourself!" shouted Volkner from the hallway.

Ollie scratched his butt. "So he's having three battles? I wonder if he'll get all the important slots?"

"Knowing Volkner and what he said, he probably will," remarked Eddie.

"That was implied," said Nori. "I think I'll head to my room to get a draft on this started." It was probably better than getting to school early tomorrow and having to wing it within an hour.

 

[Daren]

Haruna smirked and crossed her arms. "I came to laugh at you."

Tono sarcastically applauded. "Oh, ha, ha, ha. Very funny. Did you look that reference up? The only Chars you actually know about are Zard and Chim."

You know I've never seen a single Gundam series (I have vague memories of catching part of an episode of one while waiting for another show to come on but I'm not sure which one it was) but I still understood that exchange thanks to pop culture osmosis.

Still, I have to say (in agreement with your comment no Juliko) that despite being on the same side as Nori on this issue Haruna isn't exactly pleasant herself. Although considering the exact phrasing Tono apparently used when turning her down it's easy to see why she keeps insulting him. I'm going to have to reread where she's mentioned in prior chapters and see if there's some particular reason he was so venomous there.

I have to admit despite Tono's issues it does feel like at some point someone should have stopped this "Tono Takuma day" thing, even if he carelessly issued all three challenges himself. If only for the sake of his Pokémon (unless he has more than six? I can't recall). I suppose Volkner is hoping to deflate his ego before it gets too bad.
In any case it's going to be an interesting day...

This may seem to be a bit of a side note, but Nori really does seem to be struggling to figure Kallisto out considering his shock at the latter agreeing with him about Tono's conspiratorial rambling. I suppose he's both "too close" to the issue and still young.

 

[System Error]

You know I've never seen a single Gundam series (I have vague memories of catching part of an episode of one while waiting for another show to come on but I'm not sure which one it was) but I still understood that exchange thanks to pop culture osmosis.

A Char Clone is pretty much a famous enough archetype that the man himself is recognizable by name. And the "I came (here) to laugh at you" meme is popular enough.

Still, I have to say (in agreement with your comment no Juliko) that despite being on the same side as Nori on this issue Haruna isn't exactly pleasant herself. Although considering the exact phrasing Tono apparently used when turning her down it's easy to see why she keeps insulting him. I'm going to have to reread where she's mentioned in prior chapters and see if there's some particular reason he was so venomous there.

The last few chapters are only the second time actually seeing Haruna. She made a brief appearance in M5-3, but other than that, it was simply namedropping for the most part. As for why he's so venomous, well. Don't really get into this, but Tono is implicitly a nerd with standards way out of his league. In any case, Haruna is absolutely NOT his type. Tono prefers sweet, timid girls or something else.

I have to admit despite Tono's issues it does feel like at some point someone should have stopped this "Tono Takuma day" thing, even if he carelessly issued all three challenges himself. If only for the sake of his Pokémon (unless he has more than six? I can't recall). I suppose Volkner is hoping to deflate his ego before it gets too bad.
In any case it's going to be an interesting day...

Well, the biggest person who could've stopped it - Kallisto - was in support of it after Volkner proposed the idea. Like he said, it's absolutely a chance for Tono to shine bright. His best friend's trust got him to go along with it. Of course as you suspect, the opposite could easily happen as well.

And Tono absolutely has more than six: eight have been shown off in battles so far (the six he used against Haruna, plus Raichu and Pincurchin), and at least one other (Seviper) has gotten a mention. Of course not all of them are top level - he implicitly has some for playing Gym Trainer to weaker trainers. One more shows up and he may have a couple more: Tono is more of a strategist, so having more Pokemon available is a thing he'd do.

This may seem to be a bit of a side note, but Nori really does seem to be struggling to figure Kallisto out considering his shock at the latter agreeing with him about Tono's conspiratorial rambling. I suppose he's both "too close" to the issue and still young.

Kallisto is supposed to be something of a difficult character to fully figure out. This is even factoring in that he's sometimes a viewpoint character.

 

[Juliko]

Huh, didn't expect Haruna of all people to be training with Nori. It's good that they're becoming friends, and I actually have been wondering why Nori hasn't caught more Pokemon. Thank you for answering that question for me! And hey! Radovan is that guy Tono mentioned as reminding him of Nori way back when. Can't remember which chapter it was, though. Surprised to see this guy randomly show up at the gym, and it sounds like Tono hates him with the fury of a thousand Volcaronas. Can't really see why, but I bet you'll elaborate in a later chapter or something. But I gotta say, Tono battling against three different trainers in a row? I can't imagine that being good for his Pokemon, especially if they're going to probably use more than two. The ideal solution to that would be a triple battle, with all three of them versus Tono, but I doubt Radovan, Haruna, and Nori would work that well in a battle together since they first met and all. Anyway, this was a good chapter. Looking forward to more!

 

[System Error]

Huh, didn't expect Haruna of all people to be training with Nori. It's good that they're becoming friends

Well, acquaintances, but still a step above how most people have been treating Nori.

I actually have been wondering why Nori hasn't caught more Pokemon. Thank you for answering that question for me!

May have alluded to it once or twice before, but he makes it explicit and gives his reasons this time. I did theorycraft a few ideas for giving him a third, but there's really no reason to at this point. Nori's well aware of the unique challenges he'll face if he strictly sticks to doing this this way, however.

And hey! Radovan is that guy Tono mentioned as reminding him of Nori way back when. Can't remember which chapter it was, though. Surprised to see this guy randomly show up at the gym, and it sounds like Tono hates him with the fury of a thousand Volcaronas. Can't really see why, but I bet you'll elaborate in a later chapter or something.

Hey, you remembered! He was brought up way back in Month 3 Part 4. And yeah, backstory will definitely get explained. In Kallisto's viewpoint narration though, it is known that Radovan was Tono's childhood bully.

But I gotta say, Tono battling against three different trainers in a row? I can't imagine that being good for his Pokemon, especially if they're going to probably use more than two.

Well, not all in a row. The battles will be spread out through the day. Still a very true point, however. I have established that healing machines can only do so much - being closer to a good night's rest. So things could easily go wrong. As I said to Daren of course, he does have more than six who are in competent shape. Still only goes so far, but he's not THAT bad off.

The ideal solution to that would be a triple battle, with all three of them versus Tono, but I doubt Radovan, Haruna, and Nori would work that well in a battle together since they first met and all.

If he was creative and not stubborn, this is what he would've suggested.

 

[Welkamo]

Well, I'm back.

The Vicious Gutsnik was a vessel built for power and practicality.

The names of ships are italicized.

the air gently massaging the skin of anyone outdoors

Interesting description

Byzantium-colored hair

Never seen "Byzantium" used to describe purple hair, but hey, I do research on the Byzantine Empire for fanfic purposes (don't ask. Or do. idk), so I'll accept it.

Lux got up, delicately putting his bag around his shoulders and side of his neck.

Put a "the" before "side".

The only place that came to mind would be battlefields.

Battlefields on a ship? Makes sense lol.

"Fuckin' watch where ya fuckin' steppin', ya little shit."

Woahhhhh swearing like a sailor, I see (sea).

soft red eyes

softly take warning

"Just..." Nori looked away. He briefly glanced out at the sea, but quickly looked down. "...hanging around here."

"Alone and by yourself?"

"I'm...not good with ships."

Lux crouched down beside his friend. "Do you get seasick?"

"Something like that, yes..." Nori turned away.

Hydrophobia, I see.

I've always sort of wanted to write a seasickness fic, but logically, I really don't ever get a chance.

A chime made up of three pleasant tones came from the PA system. The captain was about to say something.

The first sound that came to my mind was the notes of a C Major chord. Or the Star Tours chime, the greatest sound of all time.

Pale blue bodies with white sections, sharp horns, teeth in their swaying jaws, and a bed of icy spikes on their back. "My favorite Pokemon!"

Woah regional variants!

They also don't sing

They scream

As the leader surfaced once more, it vocalized. On that cue, they all jumped and dove at once, generating an impressive wave. One that was headed right for them!

Uh oh

His friend had taken a direct hit. Nori was completely drenched, squatted down in a fetal position, except his arms were wrapped around his head. He was shaking and breathing heavily, nearly hyperventilating.

Uh oh

The classes arrived near the Survival Area in the afternoon.

Ohhhh that place!

When bedtime came, they went to a hostel or community center of some kind.

I like to imagine they're at the YMCA.

Instead of rooms though, they were all brought into this big gymnasium with sleeping bags and pillows.

Put a comma after "rooms" I think.

Also sleeping in a gymnasium? My worst nightmare.

The only thing he was worried about was Nidorina causing trouble. It was out of his control for now.

She's gonna star in a spin off series with Volkner, except we couldn't get Volkner on set, so we need Zac Efron.

So, what are you doing still up?"

"That's none of your business."

Uh oh is she seeing Mr. Tauch

He looked around to see if there were any comfy chairs in the lobby, like there were at the Gym. He was in luck - there were some here. He sat down in a single seater and quickly fell asleep.

He's gonna have neck pain

Nori faced no consequences for doing that.

Oh good.

Thankfully, the receptionist didn't bother or snitch on him.

My favorite character

Nori never had these before

He also felt these were better suited for dessert than breakfast.

"These" is a bit of a weird word to use in the past tense.

It was a water park. An indoor hot spring water park!

Woah!

So instead of this he could...play outside? Just sit and watch? Flood the bathrooms as a prank? All preferable options!

All of those things in the opposite order.

A muscular man close to two meters hopped down from a tall white chair. His black hair was shaved thin, and he was wearing flip-flops, partially transparent sunglasses, a yellow and white shirt that didn't cover his chest, and really tight swim briefs that seemed like his private parts could fall out of at any time.

Is this the surfer dude you were talking about?

"I can see that," Mrs. DeWood remarked, studying the man's abs. She made a weird noise, as if trying to imitate a cat Pokemon.

Oh shit.

The lifeguard chuckled at her. "Like'em? Can show ya more later." he asked with a smug-looking grin that didn't seem completely smug.

Oh fuck.

Volkner had given him some pocket change for the trip.

Awwwww

"What're you doin' in the kiddy pool?" the chunky boy mocked.

Listen, buddy. All of the slides are in the kiddie pool.

"Jigoku Kyūkō. The Hell Express. Seventh tallest waterslide in the world at 35 meters. You can hit up to 60 kilometers an hour on it." He grinned devilishly. "Everyone else is too chicken to ride it."

Ooooooooooooh

Nori was out of the water in an instant. "Fine! I'll show you!"

He started marching over in its general direction, only to be stopped by someone grabbing at him. "Nori, no!"

Nori, no!

"I'm not backing down." He couldn't say no, not here!

Yes you can! Remember what the Cartoon All Stars taught you!

"It...wouldn't be here if it could hurt people," he reasoned, voice trembling. If it was dangerous, it'd have been shut down. "Right?"

I mean, Action Park was around for a while.

It was a soft horizontal incline, but at the speed he was going it made Nori feel like he was going to ride on the ceiling.

Comma after "going".

Nori felt like a bird gliding through the air! It was like he was weightless, yet gracefully moving about as the massive waterslide took him in every direction imaginable. To boot, he was getting an amazing view of the entire park as the pipe seemingly took him all around it. Even as he was getting closer to the bottom–

Woah birds!

He remembered. There was water at the bottom.

Oh no.

It was that chlorine stuff they put in swimming pools.

Apparently, Disney rides use bromine, which is why they smell like they do. This has nothing to do with the story; I just thought it was neat.

He knocked his head on something hard and fell back in.

OH NO

Lux's head and eyes around.

This might be a typo.

No lifeguard or any other adult in sight! Not even the teacher!

That's illegal! (I think).

He was had only a single arm draped on the ledge.

Another maybe typo.

one girl assisting on his side and a tall guy taking Nori's other arm. A third in the water was swimming over, but they had already extracted him from the pool by then.

Oh good! More friends!

"I found him!" Another girl came rushing in. "He was naked with the teacher in some room!"

OH SHIT OH FUCK

The lifeguard grasped his face. "Oh shit, I am so screwed!" he muttered, pacing about. "Ain't a way outta this. My job's headed straight over the falls."

Moral of the story: no holding hands on the job.

Lux could only hope he was actually going to do so. His friend needed help, and the best he could do was comfort and console him until it arrived. He turned his attention back to him, who was still sitting there holding his temple, completely out of it. He sat down beside him. "Don't worry Nori, help's coming."

Ahhhhh hurt/comfort I love it

Well, looks like you have a little concussion,"

Uh oh

Whoever helped him had purple hair, but that isn't rare.

This sentence is a bit weird, both with the use of "isn't" and the fact that it sort of sounds like he's thinking that it's common for people with purple hair to save people.

He'd never told this to anyone before, not even Maylene or Rashid.

Oh wow trust

"I nearly drowned when I was eight. My ma won a cruise in some contest, but she couldn't afford a babysitter or trust anyone else. So she took me along."

Uh oh

"I don't know how it happened," he said. Nori remembered that day well, yet it was hazy. "I think I was leaning over a railing when the ship rocked. Ma was off somewhere. I heard shouting. I don't know if it was me or other people or both. Then I remember trying to swim to the ship, but going under. I couldn't hold my breath long."

Ma'am watch your child.

like how he knew a few people squirmed when gross things like bugs or surgery were mentioned.

I'm one of those people

The next thing he knew, Lux's arms were around him. His friend was holding onto him lightly, comfortingly. Nori could take no more. He hugged Lux back, clutching him as tight as he could. He fought back his tears and urge to scream as he hyperventilated into his friend's shoulder.

Awwwwwww

He gently stroked his friend's back as he quietly sobbed into his shoulder.

A bit of pronoun confusion here

Nori was feeling a lot of regrets at the moment, but one thing he didn't regret was standing up for Lux that day in January. They'd known each other for less than a month, but they'd already formed a strong, deep bond. And Lux was Nori's calm in this storm...

Ooooooh friendship. I will say that I also form really deep friendships with people I've only known for a short while, to the point where I can tell them things I wouldn't tell my family.

 

[System Error]

Never seen "Byzantium" used to describe purple hair, but hey, I do research on the Byzantine Empire for fanfic purposes (don't ask. Or do. idk), so I'll accept it.

It actually is a legitimate color name, capitalized as such.

Battlefields on a ship? Makes sense lol.

I mean you have battles in ships on the games all the time, and this is Pokemon. It only made sense for there to be a place for people to battle safely on the deck. Some of the other description and things on them come from ferries I've been on.

softly take warning

Heh, so now this. As you made a note of, red eyes are often associated with dangerous people. And dark hair/red eyes is a pretty edgy combination. That said, Nori defies this in how he's not really either - sometimes the latter, but only as much as an angry kid would be. This fits when others are the viewpoint character: you can tell what a person is like by their eyes sometimes, and Nori's are soft, gentle, use fruit to describe them, etc. instead of things like fire or calling them harsh.

Hydrophobia, I see.

AHA, NOW IT IS MY TURN TO CORRECT!! The technical term is 'aquaphobia', believe it or not. Hydrophobia refers to rabies, probably because of some idiot naming it that. Although hydro- is so common it's usually accepted anyway. So, shrug. I think I might've even mixed it up in the fic once or twice - besides dialogue; dunno if I had a character make the mixup.

I've always sort of wanted to write a seasickness fic, but logically, I really don't ever get a chance.

Sounds like a drabble idea if you can get someone associated with Wallace on a boat or aquatic Pokemon.

The first sound that came to my mind was the notes of a C Major chord. Or the Star Tours chime, the greatest sound of all time.

Probably closest to a C Major chord.

Woah regional variants!

Yup. Serves a purpose more than anything, while also worldbuilding.

Ohhhh that place!

Yup. And now it should be clear that "Batalson" is a corrupt of Battle Zone. Although in this fic's universe, it's the other way around. I kept Survival Area the same (and it's likely more of a nickname), but certainly changing Resort and Fight areas.

I like to imagine they're at the YMCA.

Well some are used as community centers...

Also sleeping in a gymnasium? My worst nightmare.

Now you got my curious about the context. But can say the inspirational context for this was my middle school's dance. There was a sleepover after it, boys and girls separated by sides and a teacher up all night watching. I never went, didn't have anyone to go there with.

She's gonna star in a spin off series with Volkner, except we couldn't get Volkner on set, so we need Zac Efron.

Uh oh is she seeing Mr. Tauch

Tiny spoiler for the next chapter, but actually no. I thought about it, and he was there in the original draft as the other sixth grade teacher, but given the events at Tonsen Land, I figured it didn't make sense. So he's not there, and she was seeing someone else.

He's gonna have neck pain

I slept in a chair a couple times before. It was fine. Really depends on the chair and your posture. Nori given his background may have done it before.

Woah!

It's a very crazy setpiece idea I had.

All of those things in the opposite order.

I may have done the last of those in middle school, except at an ice rink when I couldn't get money to rent skates. And was forced to come along and sit and watch doing nothing. >_> Yeah, I could be a hellraiser sometimes. Didn't get caught. Told some acquaintances and they were like "whoa, you're a rebel".

Is this the surfer dude you were talking about?

That's him, Billy Ordride himself.

Oh fuck.

"Fuck" indeed.

Listen, buddy. All of the slides are in the kiddie pool.

Probably a reference I'm not getting here.

Nori, no!

Yes you can! Remember what the Cartoon All Stars taught you!

Sadly, he never had TV. And it probably never aired up there at his age in Japan.

I mean, Action Park was around for a while.

Heh, I remember that place. Legendary.

Apparently, Disney rides use bromine, which is why they smell like they do. This has nothing to do with the story; I just thought it was neat.

Probably for toxicity reasons. And less eye-stingingly reasons.

OH NO

<insert Knuckles saying 'oh no' in Sonic Adventure here>

This was inspired by two separate incidents, as an aside: going down a waterslide at a park during a visit there at middle school and having to flounder to the shore (although in this case it was my own whims, not being challenged), and when having swim lessons as a kid hitting my head on a diving board and getting a concussion.

That's illegal! (I think).

It most certainly is.

Oh good! More friends!

Good samaritans at least.

Ahhhhh hurt/comfort I love it

I technically classify it as such on FFNet, even though Slice of Life would've fit better if they had it as an option (technically). There is a lot of it going on in the fic.

Oh wow trust

Not something to read this much into. It's mostly him not wanting to talk about it. The fact that neither really would get it is only incidental.

I'm one of those people

Same here when it comes to blood and such.

Ooooooh friendship. I will say that I also form really deep friendships with people I've only known for a short while, to the point where I can tell them things I wouldn't tell my family.

Interesting stuff. So it sort of lines up like that. But can get the latter, sometimes an outsider's or non-family's opinion can mean more.

Also surprised you had nothing to say on the very last part. Lots of stuff going on there.