The day of the finals came, and as luck would have it, Jade was facing off against Baltazar. As a first-year, Jade had made quite the splash. Getting to the finals of a ‘proper’ tournament (by which, the online comments were excluding Rondo) was an amazing feat. Indeed, scrolling through forums and videos, everybody seemed to have an opinion. As a model, Jade had a substantial fanbase that could get a little weird. They defended her from those who, for reasons unbeknownst to me, sought to undermine and discredit her. They said Baltazar had all the tough matches and Jade had had easy opponents, and, anyway, Silverwind barely counted as a tournament. None of the big names went there, the village was too small, and the prestige not enough to attract serious circuit contenders. I had no idea who these people were, and had no desire to learn. They were annoying me to the point where I couldn’t wait to be on the road again, where my internet connection was less reliable. That was a story of the days leading up to the encounter. On the day, there was little in my head besides the excitement of seeing, potentially, the greatest live battle I’d seen, excluding life and death situations and exhibition matches, which just hit different.

  The crowd at the match was dense and buzzing. Already a celebrity in her hometown, Jade’s popularity had skyrocketed with her battling prowess. All the locals had shown up and were keen on exhibiting their support boisterously. I’d separated from the others and pushed up to the front, taking advantage of the perks of being a small girl who, oh, pitiful me, wouldn’t be able to see if I wasn’t pressed against the barrier, and I swear I wouldn’t block anyone’s line of sight. Once there, I released Flaaffy to watch beside me.

  Jade opened with her Ninjask, Ena, as she usually did. Baltazar’s first choice was, predictably, Infernape. The arbiter blew the whistle and the battle began.

  Before the shrill of the whistle had faded, there were dozens of Ninjask buzzing everywhere on the field. Jade called out Double Team, Harden, and Swords Dance, one after the other. Baltazar responded with Fire Blast. Flames ballooned out of Infernape’s mouth, swelling like a blister about to pop. It burst in every direction, turning the pitch into a hellscape. When the heat subsided, and I could look again without burning my face, Ena was there, Protect crumbling around her, but unharmed. Her doubles had vanished, though, and Infernape rushed in with a Fire Punch. Ena was quicker, and as her opponent closed in, her doubles spread out once more. Ninjask only grew faster as a battle dragged on. With the trouble Infernape had with hitting her at the beginning of the battle, it was hard to see how she’d hit Ena as time went on. Meanwhile, Ena was getting ready with a variety of status-boosting moves. Another two Fire Blasts were fired off, both blocked by Protect, before Baltazar switched strategies, telling Infernape to Bulk Up. The tension mounted as the two Pokémon prepped.

  “Aerial Ace,” yelled Jade. I didn’t have time to blink. Infernape was laid out on the ground, a surprised yelp dying in her throat. She wasn’t down for long, though. She climbed to her feet and growled at the bug-type. Despite it having only been one hit, it had been a hard one.

  “Ready, Infernape,” said Baltazar. She growled again.

  The Pokémon moved too fast to follow what was happening in the moment. I didn’t see Ena land the first hit on Infernape, and I wouldn’t see the next, but later, when I was watching a recording on point five speed, I could just about follow. Ena used Aerial Ace again. This time, Infernape was able to react. Fire coated her completely as Flare Blitz took effect. She didn’t get much momentum, but she hardly needed it. When they were about to collide, Ena, predicting she was going to get the worst of the exchange, changed moves and used Endure. Infernape hit her with all the rage of a burning counterattack, and the hit sent her flying. She crashed into the ground. After a bare second of silence, she buzzed weakly into the air.

  “Baton Pass,” said Jade, before the battle could continue. Ena disappeared in a flash, and Golly, her Golisopod, took her place. The change was almost instantaneous, and smooth enough that Infernape was once more bowled over when Golly crashed into her with First Impression. Powerful as the move was, Infernape’s high resistance to bug-types let her off without taking too much damage. When Jade called out Razor Shell, however, and Golly looked about to split rocks with his claws, Baltazar recalled Infernape.

  “Come back, Infernape. You’ve done well,” he said.

  “Baltazar uses his first substitution,” announced the arbiter. “Choose your next Pokémon.”

  Baltazar picked a pokeball from his belt and released Pawmot onto the field.

  Typically, a trainer was permitted two substitutions during a six-on-six match. The exceptions were moves like U-turn, Volt Switch, and yes, Baton Pass. The reasoning was twofold: in the former, the trainer had to interfere, which wasn’t quite the same as a Pokémon initiating a swap. The second reason was that when a Pokémon used one of those moves, the pacing of the battle was barely affected. The change was quick, and the fight could go on without missing a beat. When a trainer did a manual substitution, the battle had to be paused, and it wouldn’t continue until the arbiter allowed it to resume. Naturally, most trainers tried to take advantage of these moves, but they were surprisingly difficult to pull off, especially in battle. Part of Jade’s growing fame was the mastery she and her Pokémon exhibited of those switches. In any case, Pawmot landed on the burnt grass, and the arbiter blew his whistle.

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  “Razor Shell,” said Jade.

  “Thunder Punch,” said Baltazar at the same time.

  The usually slow Golisopod, boosted by Ena’s Speed Boost, was able to match Pawmot’s movements, and their attacks landed at the same time. Pawmot was badly hurt, Swords Dance also still working on Golly. He was still standing, though, while for Golly, his ability Emergency Exit kicked in, and he was replaced by Bébé, Jade’s Beedrill. Unlike Baton Pass and the like, Emergency Exit didn’t allow for a choice to be made on which Pokémon replaced Golly. From Jade’s face, it was clear Bébé wasn’t who she had hoped for.

  “Fire Punch,” said Baltazar, to which Jade replied with Poison Jab. Bébé didn’t listen to her, though, and used Fury Attack, bloodlust in her beady little eyes. The clash went as well for her as could be expected, and while Pawmot looked to be on his last legs, Bébé was knocked out within the minute, despite every attempt by Jade to get her to do anything other than a blind, suicidal attack. It was a poor showing by her. I guess her internet haters had to be kept fed somehow.

  “Beedrill is unable to battle,” said the arbiter. “Choose your next Pokémon.”

  Her choice was Ena. Both Pokémon were barely able to continue, but Ena was faster. Quick Attack was enough to gain victory. Mienshao was up next, and almost as a mirror of the previous exchange, Fake Out took out Ena.

  From there, the battle slipped out of Jade's control. She tried facing Mienshao with Ane, Ena’s twin. Flowing like rain in a thunderstorm, Mienshao hit it with Aerial Ace. To its credit, Ane did manage to Protect the first couple of times. However, unable to counterattack, the outcome was inevitable. One Aerial Ace slipped through its barrier. The Shedinja seemed to fade from existence, becoming pale and translucent. It fell with an almost comical clunk from the air. Jade recalled it and chose Shucks, the Shuckle next.

  He looked cute, with his blocky body and blobby head, before the much bigger Mienshao. As soon as the whistle blew, he opened by spitting a glob of purple goo at his opponent. Mienshao dodged the Toxic with Detect and countered with Force Palm, which Shucks blocked with Protect. They fired off another few moves at each other, none of Shucks' landing, and his barrier was far too strong for Mienshao to break through, no matter what she threw at him.

  “Mienshao, use Calm Mind and Hone Claws,” said Baltazar. She switched to setting up, only interrupting herself to use Detect to dodge a last Toxic Shucks fired at her. Then something weird happened on the field. It looked, from the outside, like the haze of warm air above a radiator. Thankfully, a series of commands from Jade explained her plan.

  “Shucks, use Power Split, followed by Power Trick, Shell Smash, and Guard Split, then Dig!”

  The outcome of the combination was devastating to Mienshao. She grew visibly weaker, trembling as her strength flowed from her body, while Shucks burst from his shell. I had no opportunity to see his body though, even as splinters from his shell were flying, he dove underground and disappeared from view.

  “Mienshao, ready with Swords Dance,” said Baltazar after a moment of stillness on the field. Mienshao stretched, her movements following the steps of one of her katas. Shucks burst from the ground beneath her. She reacted well, still faster than the bug-type, and leapt out of the way. She didn’t have a chance to attack him, though, as he buried underground as fast as he came out of it. The next time he emerged, whether from the tension that was building up or because she was growing tired, Shucks did hit her, landing the first strike between them. Off balance, and perhaps more psychologically than physically on the defensive, Mienshao was unable to Detect the next two strikes either, and with the third, a cry of pain escaped her mouth. She was panting, the puffs of condensation from her breath visible in the clear air.

  “Ready for the next one,” said Baltazar. A crack on the ground, a small deformation, was all the hint Mienshao had for where the next Dig was coming from. She saw it, dodged, and attacked with Baltazar’s scream.

  “Reversal!” he roared, and her whip-like arms smacked Shuckle across the battlefield.

  “Shuckle is unable to battle,” said the arbiter. “Choose your next Pokémon.”

  “Ephi, you’re up,” said Jade, sending out her Forretress. She was disheartened; it was obvious in her voice. She knew she was losing, and she didn’t have a way of coming back. As if to cement his win, Baltazar didn’t even give her a chance.

  “Mienshao, return. Infernape, let's finish the job,” he said.

  The whistle blew. Jade called for Volt Switch.

  “Don’t let them, Flamethrower!”

  Her tried and true skill with switching moves failed her then. Infernape was faster. Flames covered Ephi completely, and I was so sure of the result, I completely forgot he had Sturdy as an ability. Volt Switch connected, and Golly appeared in his place. Infernape mustn’t have expected him to survive Flamethrower either. She was caught on her back foot, and before she recovered from Volt Switch, Golly’s claws, coated by a layer of unnaturally sharp-looking water, slashed her across the chest.

  “Razor Shell, again,” cried Jade. In a moment of catharsis for her, the fight between Golly and Infernape quickly became a one-sided beatdown in her favour, Infernape never regaining her pace after the initial strike.

  “Well done, Golly,” she said as the arbiter called the outcome.

  “Mienshao, you're up again. My apologies,” said Baltazar.

  “Golly, Poison Jab!” said Jade when the whistle sounded.

  “Bounce,” said Baltazar.

  One moment, Mienshao was there, the next, she was gone, disappearing so high into the air that, thanks to the sun’s glare, it was impossible to see her.

  “Protect,” said Jade. Golly curled up in a ball, the telltale glimmer of Protect skating along his shell.

  “Break through!” shouted Baltazar.

  Mienshao came like a meteor, crashing from the sky with a force that flattened Golly, shattered Protect, and formed a crater around them on top of that.

  “Golisopod is unable to battle,” said the arbiter. “Choose your last Pokémon.”

  Jade returned Golly. She hesitated before sending out Ephi again. She did, with a determined look on her face.

  “Ephi, let’s go out with a bang,” she said. The usually stoic Forretress chuckled, grim resignation in his eyes. I wasn’t imagining things, I swear. The final whistle blew.

  “Ephi, Explosion!” said Jade.

  No amount of Detects, or anything else, could save Mienshao from the blast that rocked the pitch, a cloud of dust and flame bellowing up, obscuring all vision. When it settled, both Pokémon were laid out unconscious on the earth.

  “Forretress and Mienshao are unable to battle,” said the arbiter. “The match goes to Baltazar Black!”