With round one over, in theory, there would be no more easy opponents left. It was more of a preliminary round in that sense, and the real tournament began in round two. I was hoping my opponent wouldn’t be someone like that Zuzu girl. I’d looked her up on the trainer database in the evening and found out she’d only registered as a trainer that year. It was a little frightening thinking she was a first year like me. Even more perturbing was finding nothing about either this ‘Magearna’ Pokémon, or the quadruped I saw her use in another battle. Granted, I didn’t look too deep, but the fact that they weren’t in the Webdex was already worrying enough.

  The healthy thing to do was to not think of Zuzu and her strange team and get a good night’s sleep to be in tip-top shape for round two. Fortunately, I was young and could handle the unhealthy option to some degree. The encounter with Zuzu got under my skin. Everything about her was weird, and on top of that, she was ridiculously strong. Were all true Pokémon trainers like that? Was I going to meet another Zuzu in round two who’d blow away the now very fragile remnants of my pride? The questions circled inside my head, keeping my precious sleep at bay. Which is why, when I was on the battlefield again, I was dead tired and under more pressure than I’d been in during my last few battles. I needed to win. I wanted to show Elaine I was capable enough to go with her.

  I wasn’t the only one tired. Looking across the field, I saw a man with dark bags under his eyes, and a tattered outfit that had seen years of use. Briefly, I wondered what was on his mind before I shut the thought away. Now wasn’t the time for empathy.

  The whistle blew, and Junior landed heavily on the ground as a large, winged shape burst into the air. The Fearow looked at me and Junior with cruel eyes. Sound drained away from the world around me, and my vision narrowed to the feathered freak before me. I was conscious, for the first time in a while, of my scars burning the side of my head.

  The Fearow sped towards Junior and lashed out with its beak. Junior dodged and retaliated with Karate Chop but missed. Both Pokémon were annoyed by the exchange, and Fearow attacked again with Drill Peck. Junior put up a Protect, but she still wasn’t proficient with the move and it broke, though it gave her just enough time to leap out of the way again.

  All I could hear was a deep rumble which I realised was my breathing. I was watching the fight as if through a screen.

  With Fearow’s next dive, Junior landed the first hit, slamming down a Karate Chop on the long, outstretched neck. Fearow cried out and was grounded for the moment, but with a quick spin and a flap, it smacked Junior with an earthbound Wing Attack which nonetheless sent her flying. I recovered my voice enough to croak, but Junior was too angry to notice, even if the sound reached her. She used Rage, a move we generally avoided because of how it caused her to lose control. It hit, however, and the Fearow staggered back. Fearow, another Pokémon infamous for losing its cool, fought back with Fury Attack, its beak jabbing like Grandma’s sewing machine. They brawled long enough for me to regain some semblance of control over myself. My breathing, heavy, but steady, calmed to the point where I could observe the battle critically, even if pinpricks of sweat were still gathering on the base of my neck.

  Both sides were taking plenty of hits, but there was little power behind any of them. If anything, Junior was getting stronger every moment, Rage increasing her attack with every Fury Attack that pierced her. My opponent, the man across the field, was also not speaking. He had a look of grim resignation on his face. This wasn’t, then, part of a larger strategy. I could think of no reason to insist with Fury Attack in this situation. He didn’t have control over Fearow.

  It wasn’t like I was much better. Junior usually listened to me, but she was far too worked up at the moment. She was also getting tired, and even with the boost Rage was giving her, I could see she wouldn’t outlast Fearow. It was simply a stronger, more battle-hardened Pokémon than her. But even if I managed to call out for her to retreat, it wouldn’t get through to her while they were embroiled in their brawl. My chance was, thankfully, given to me by Fearow.

  Tired by being pelted by Junior’s fists, it took to the skies, disappearing into the blue. Fly was coming, and with the state Junior was in, a hit could potentially knock her out. But it did give me time.

  “Junior, focus!” I yelled. “Use Protect.”

  Perhaps it was all the training we’d done together, or maybe the lack of an opponent directly in front of her released some of her built up tension, but she glanced back at me and gathered herself enough to create a barrier around her. It was visibly weak. Hopefully, it would be enough to take the sting out of Fly.

  “Ready, Junior. The next chance you get, switch.”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  I’d hardly finished talking when Fearow crashed down like a meteor, shattering Protect like glass. Junior received a glancing blow, having used the precious split second Protect gave her to shift out of the way of a direct impact. She sprung forwards, her foot connecting with Fearow. U-Turn activated, but as she was glowing in the act of returning to her pokeball, Fearow rushed her, turning into a dark shade, getting one last hit in with Pursuit. Flaaffy took Junior’s place on the field as I inspected Junior’s pokeball. She was still conscious, I was fairly sure, but very hurt. I’d forgotten about Pursuit and could only count with Chansey’s luck that fighting resisted dark.

  “Alright, Flaaffy, Cotton Spore and Thunder Wave,” I said, going back to an old strategy. It should work well against Fearow, who was fighting on pure instinct.

  Fearow was still recovering from U-Turn, not from the hit itself, but from the sudden switch-up of opponents. It raised its beak and let out a dreadful caw. Flaaffy’s foot shifted back. She had yet to act on my instructions. I restrained myself from cursing myself out loud. She was fine with flying-types, leading me to think she didn’t have the same kind of baggage I had, but this was the first Fearow we’d seen up close since then.

  “It’s alright, Flaaffy,” I said. “We’ve got this.”

  Fearow darted forward, its neck like a spring. In the last moment, Flaaffy raised Protect between them. Unlike with Junior, Fearow wasn’t able to break through as easily, and the already enraged Pokémon shrieked in anger. It left the ground again, this time hovering a few metres in the air.

  Flaaffy lowered Protect and a cloud of cotton billowed towards Fearow. It didn’t bother dodging, instead diving right through the middle of it. Flaaffy’s follow-up Thunder Wave caught it head on, and it crumpled, its wing cramping causing it to fall out of the air and land heavily on the ground.

  “Now Thunderbolt,” I said.

  The electricity arced from Flaaffy, striking Fearow directly. It cawed again and rushed Flaaffy while spinning, turning into a vicious drill. Drill Run caught Flaaffy on the shoulder and she fell. Even as she stumbled, she fired another Thunderbolt, again shocking Fearow. She stood back up quickly, expecting another attack, but Fearow, while still standing, was near its end. A final Thunderbolt caused it to collapse.

  “Fearow is unable to battle,” said the arbiter. “James Heartcrow, please send out your second Pokémon.”

  All the tension dissolved from my shoulders when I saw Fearow returned to its pokeball. We were doing good. And that was under all the psychological pressure we were under. No other opponent could be as bad, I thought.

  They weren’t, but only because I was biased against Fearow. A massive Ursaring took to the field. Almost two metres tall, and with claws sharp as swords, it cut quite an intimidating figure.

  “Ursa,” said James. “Bulldoze.”

  The earth trembled under his feet, and Flaaffy stumbled.

  “Hang in there, Flaaffy,” I said. “Use Confuse Ray.”

  It was a new move we’d been working on, and she wasn’t entirely comfortable using it yet, but it was likely our best shot. It was too risky attacking him directly, too many of Flaaffy’s moves could leave him with paralysis, and whether he had Guts or Quick Feet, either ability could end our chances. Flaaffy was the best, though, because in these situations, she always pulled through. In a show of lights to put a disco ball to shame, Flaaffy fired off Confuse Ray even as Bulldoze was ongoing. Ursa roared and began flailing.

  “Get out of there, Flaaffy, Volt Switch,” I called.

  A surge of electricity headed towards Ursa, even as Flaaffy returned to her pokeball. Junior panted as she took to the field.

  “Cross Chop,” I said and she wasted no time in complying. Dodging under Ursa’s still flailing arms, she delivered the Cross Chop directly at the iconic, yellow circle. Ursa bent over in pain, the hit also snapping her out of confusion, but Junior was in her element now; when she had the initiative, she didn’t let go easily. She followed up the Cross Chop with a Karate Chop to the back of Ursa’s head and dodged the retaliatory Slash. Low Kick downed the Ursaring, and Junior took advantage of it to land another Cross Chop on his head. She delivered a last, probably unnecessary, Karate Chop, and Ursaring was unable to battle.

  “Ursaring is unable to battle,” said the arbiter, echoing my thoughts. “The match goes to Calla Greyberry!”

  The high that I felt came all at once. Only the fact that Junior could barely remain standing made me stay calm, return her, shake hands with James, and walk out as cool as a cucumber, instead of squealing in delight. It wasn’t just that I’d won a tough match, but that I’d won convincingly, and against a Fearow of all things. Moreover, it proved all the training and planning we’d done with Jade was paying off big time. True, the start had been a bit rocky, but Junior bought me enough time to set myself straight, and from there things went pretty smooth. Okay, Drill Run had scared me, and three Thunderbolts to take out a Fearow were far too many. But our opponents relied purely on brute force, and we’d outplayed them.

  I made my way out of the tournament area and looked for an unoccupied bench in the more peaceful parts of Petilil Park. There, I let out my Pokémon, and let Comfey check over the heroes of the day. Flaaffy had only been hit by Drill Run and Bulldoze, but both had dealt severe blows to her. It wasn’t anything she wouldn’t recover quickly from, though, especially with Comfey looking over her. By the next day, she’d be as good as new.

  I was a little less sure about Junior. She had wounds all over her. Fearow’s beak was a lethal weapon, as I could well attest. She didn’t even have the energy to try to ward off Comfey as she jumped on her and started frantically healing her with the nicest smelling rose petals I’d ever smelled. It showed how tired she was, but her pride was clear and well deserved. When Comfey had finished patching her up, I asked her if she was good for the third round coming, and she looked at me as if I’d pulled a Zweilous and grown another head.

  My fault, of course she was always spoiling for a fight.