Capítulo 16: The Day Before the Long Night.
Standing up to look at his attacker, the boy's eyes widened, "You're..."
Taking a good look, Jared recognized the boy from the thwarted ambush a few days ago. " you're one of the kids from the other day," he said, "Sorry about knocking you over, I should have watched where I was going. Are you hurt?" Jared asked.
The boy seemed defensive, so Jared bent down to meet the boy's eye level. "My name is Jared, can I ask your name?"
"K-Kai," the boy stuttered, "But my friends, they didn't come back. I saw you when we ran away. Tell me what happened?"
Jared was taken aback. It was surprising that the boy was still unaware of what had happened, but then he realized that the boy likely knew already, and just wanted confirmation from another source.
"I saw it happen right in front of me," Jared replied, his voice softening with sympathy. "With that much blood, I'm afraid... I'm sorry."
The boy's face contorted with grief, but he seemed to already expect it, "They were my brothers... and they're dead," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Jared nodded solemnly. The boy's expression then shifted, turning into a furious glare. "And you just watched it happen?" he spat out.
"I did," Jared admitted.
"Why?" The boy's single-word question echoed in the narrow alleyway, as if he couldn't find the words to express his anger and his grief. Jared sighed, feeling a pang of empathy for the boy's pain.
"Why huh... because I'm weak, because I'm pathetic, because I froze, because I was scared. Because I'm a commoner, you are one as well right?" Jared replied, his voice heavy.
The boy seemed to deflate, his anger dissipating as quickly as it had flared up. "Because I'm weak... They... because I'm weak..." he repeated, more to himself than to Jared.
Jared wanted to reach out and console the boy, but he found himself at a loss for words. "What gives me the right to say anything to him now?" he muttered, watching the boy retreat into another alleyway. As he walked away, Jared couldn't help but feel a sense of meloncholy wash over him. "Even if I have been reborn, even if I have changed, it doesn't change what I have done."
Then he chuckled to himself drily. "He probably hates my guts, huh? And he should. Even if I believe I can change things, I haven't accomplished a single thing yet. That's right. No matter how great my cause is, what good have I done so far?" His mind began to wander. "Maybe I should try to get revenge on the bastards who killed Kai's brothers?" But then Jared slapped his cheeks at the dangerous thought. "No, wrong. Your path is not this shallow. Don't get arrogant and stop looking for small gains to prove something to yourself. If you rashly seek revenge and get caught, what will become of your goals, and who will be there to carry it on when you're gone?" Jared shook his head and said, "Nobody. They aren't the chosen one after all; you are!"
.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another 'thrilling' match here at the Tapu Village Battlegrounds! With our contenders first pokemon already being defeated, now it's up to his Marill to take on Pidgeotto!
"As the battle begins, Marill takes the first move with a water gun attack, but Pidgeotto quickly dodges it with a swift aerial maneuver."
"Pidgeotto is quick on its feet, or rather, quick on its wings, and takes to the sky, circling around Marill. With an intimidating screech, Pidgeotto tries to shake Marill's confidence, but the blue mouse Pokemon remains unfazed."
Marill shoots a high-speed jet of water towards Pidgeotto, but the bird Pokemon is quick to predict the attack and dodges it with a swift turn. Pidgeotto smirks, confident in its agility, and responds with a powerful gust of wind that catches Marill off guard. The force of the wind causes Marill to stumble and lose balance, much to the amusement of Pidgeotto who seems to squawk with laughter.
Pidgeotto takes advantage of the opportunity and swoops down with a rapid peck attack, hitting Marill solidly. Marill tries to counter with another water gun, but Pidgeotto easily dodges it with an impressive aerial display.
The announcer declares, "Pidgeotto has the upper hand in this battle, and Marill is struggling to keep up. Pidgeotto relentlessly attacks with a combination of quick pecks and aerial dodges, while Marill is doing its best to fight back, but with little success."
Despite the one-sided battle, Marill refuses to give up and charges towards Pidgeotto with a burst of determination, shooting a water gun to turn the tide of the battle. However, Pidgeotto is prepared and deftly maneuvers to dodge the attack, landing a final peck on Marill. The blue mouse Pokemon falls to the ground, unable to stand up.
An older man with rough hands, wearing a flannel shirt with suspenders and worn boots, recalled his Marill back with a sigh. Despite his initial confidence, reality had been cruel, and he was now facing defeat.
His opponent, a teenager wearing a sunhat and a mask that covered his lower face, showed boredom in his tone. "Let's get this over with. Bring out your last one," he said, his shaggy hair not hiding the indifference in his eyes.
With an embarrassed expression the old man shook his head, "I forfeit."
"And there you have it, folks, Pidgeotto wins this round... once again, and that makes eighteen wins in a row for our mysterious young trainer here," the announcer exclaimed with excitement, as the crowd booed the victorious bird Pokemon.
Jared had seen many matches like this before, and they often ended up being one-sided beatdowns instead of competitive battles. Although there were plenty of trainers around, only a handful of them were strong. The teen trainer below was a notable example; all morning, he had been demolishing everyone he faced by sending out no more than one Pokémon at a time, despite being able to use up to three. His Pidgeotto, in particular, had single-handedly defeated more than five trainers in a row now and showed no signs of defeat.
"Sigh, so that's all this city amounts to huh... why did I even bother coming here."
As the teen's words reached their ears, the crowd grew increasingly annoyed at his cockiness. They longed for someone, anyone, to step up and take him down. Hushed conversations broke out among them, with each person speculating on who might have what it takes to finally defeat him. However, no one was willing to challenge him at the moment. Unlike the other arenas, this one had stakes. While five hundred poke wasn't an exorbitant amount, no one wanted to be taken advantage of by this powerful foreigner.
Eventually, the old man with the Marill returned to his seat, still shaken by his defeat. He sighed to Jared, "I'm ashamed. I thought I could teach that young upstart a lesson, but I only made a fool of myself."
Jared and Keola had crossed paths a few days prior, when Jared had asked about the commotion in the streets. Though their initial meeting was brief, fate had brought them together again in the stands. With no one else to sit next to, Jared took a seat beside the old fisherman and introduced himself.
As Jared's time was running out, he spent a couple more days studying and learned that he would be pulled into the greater shadow that very night. With only one day left, he decided to spend it watching some Pokemon battles. Despite the cost of 30$ poke for the day, he spent his remaining money with the hope of gaining some knowledge from the battles.
While the old man was sighing, those nearby tried to console him with words of comfort. "It happens to the best of us," they said. "Nobody can beat him, he's just too good." They reassured him that there was no shame in losing to such a skilled opponent and that he shouldn't be too hard on himself.
The old man's spirits lifted thanks to the consoling words from the crowd, and he responded, "You're right, there's no shame in it. Maybe I was a bit too overconfident, and maybe I'm getting old, hahah, but you should have seen me back in my heyday."
A man in the crowd gave a thumbs up but didn't say anything else.
After administering a potion to his pokemon, and seeing nobody else stepping up right away, the young man returned to his folding chair and sat at his side of the arena, waiting. Meanwhile, Pidgeotto rested calmly by his side.
Jared's curiosity was piqued as he asked Keola, "Do many trainers participate with a hidden identity? Can anyone do it?"
With a chuckle, Keola turned to Jared and replied, "Oh, it's not common, but it's not unheard of either. Some trainers like to keep their identity hidden for various reasons. It's not against the rules, so anyone can do it if they want. Of course, it's not always easy to keep your identity a secret, especially if you become famous."
The two became aware of some commotion, prompting them to shift their focus towards a man who was entering the arena.
Dressed in black slacks and polished leather shoes, the man exuded an aura of sophistication. His perfectly styled hair and trendy reflective sunglasses were popular amongst the crowd. However, what really grabbed Jared's attention was the shirt he wore. The shirt was designed to look like a swimming Gyarados, meticulously crafted with an embroidered logo of the Tapu Wavecrashers inside the giant white mouth of the Pokémon, which roared on the back of the shirt. The logo was stitched in bold blue thread that stood out against the giant white mouth and was clearly meant to be noticed.
Whispers began to circulate throughout the crowd, and Jared overheard someone ask, "Is that Hanini?" Another person chimed in gleefully, "Obviously. This little kid is finally in for a beating today!"
The man in question stopped at his side of the arena, removed his sunglasses, and looked at his opponent with a confident smirk. Flipping his hair back, he said, "Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Another little foreigner newbie trying to make a name for himself. I don't know where you're from, but don't worry, kid. I'll go easy on you...maybe." His tone was condescending and arrogant, as if he was already certain of his victory.
The crowd erupted in cheers as Hanani's words seemed to resonate with them. They were tired of seeing that teen's dominance, especially when he wasn't even going up against real opponents, winning all the time. Many had already left to watch other matches. But Hanani's appearance gave them hope, and they began chanting his name with enthusiasm, "HANANI! HANANI! HANANI!"
The masked teen, who had been sitting quietly in his chair, stood up and made his way to the starting line. He looked Hanani up and down before speaking, "About time someone with a backbone showed up. But can you walk the walk?" His words were met with murmurs and more booing from the crowd.
Hanani began to boast, "After I defeat you, remember my name, and remember it well, I am Hanani, team cap-"
But before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted, "Save it for later, let's just battle."
Hanani choked on his words and managed to mutter, "Fine." He then hurled his red and white Pokeball onto the ground, and his Croconaw emerged, a large and tough-looking Pokemon with a blue armored body and sharp teeth. The creature surveyed the area with a sense of entitlement, showing no interest in its opponent.
"Pidgeotto, you're up."
The announcer seemed to finally show what he was made of, as he put his full effort into his commentary, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have an intense match-up between the masked man's Pidgeotto and Captain Hanani's of the Tapu Wave crasher's Croconaw! As usual, the trainers are allowed only one swap throughout the duration of the match, so please keep that in mind. Any breaches of this rule will result in immediate disqualification!"
With a few powerful flaps of its wings, Pidgeotto ascended to a decent height, but the stadium's ceiling prevented it from going any higher.
Ever the arrogant one, Hanani gave a sly smirk and taunted, "Go ahead, I'll give you the first move. You'll need it."
The masked teen saw through his opponent's bravado and thought to himself, "All talk." He then commanded, "Pidgeotto, knock him off his feet with a gust."
As Pidgeotto's wings flapped with great force, a sharp gust of wind was sent towards Croconaw, picking up debris from the ground and blowing sand and small rocks into the air. The gust grew stronger as it approached Croconaw, buffeting him with strong winds that made it difficult for him to keep his footing. The crocodile Pokemon grunted as he tried to push against the gust, but it was too strong, pushing him back a few feet and pelting his skin with rocks and sand, causing him to shield his eyes.
Despite the attack, Croconaw remained mostly unscathed, his scaly skin easily repelling the debris. He dug his feet into the ground, steadying himself against the wind and glared up at Pidgeotto with narrowed eyes, his jaws dripping with saliva, clearly wanting nothing more than to tear into his opponent's flesh.
"Heh, now it's my turn. Croconaw... Ice Beam," Hanani said with a cocky smirk.
"Shit, Pidgeotto, evade at all costs!" the masked teen commanded urgently.
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