章 16: A Rematch.
The end of the summer classes was near. So to finish up Georges wanted to have a tournament amongst his students. I had grown to be way more skilled thanks to starting to spar daily with Maylene. Before she was somewhat distant, but after the day when we had watched Georges practicing she had become a close friend of mine. I had yet to be able to defeat her, but I was getting closer, mainly due to adapting to her fighting style.
Practicing with someone that was stronger than you, but not stronger to the point of having to hold back, was a great help. We both could go all out in our battles. Thanks to this I slowly climbed my way to second place in the gym.
I had to admit that the journey to get here was an absolute misery, but you know, sometimes that's just how it is.
An unexpected surprise was the fact that I learned how to use precognition. It only worked to see one second into the future, but during a battle, one second was a long time.
"Soon, the school's gonna be ending. But that doesn't mean you have to stop training, if anything it means that you have to work even harder." Georges said while giving a motivational speech.
The matches all went by pretty fast, the placements ended up as Darren in last, then Jeffery, then Rafael, and then Colby. The last match would be to decide who would be in first and second place. Me vs Maylene.
Standing in the middle of the ring we both looked ready. I was slightly nervous, but I also had confidence.
"Ready to get your ass kicked?" I asked before the match.
"I've been ready, you just never seem to succeed." She said as she readied her hands.
"Alright! Start!" Georges said as he rang a bell.
— — —
(Georges Pov)
In the hushed expanse of the martial arts arena, all eyes were on the two fighters who stood poised for combat. On one side was Maylene, a girl who was a master when it came to her agility and precision. And on the other was Lucas, a boy I thought wouldn't be able to make it in class. Yet after he began to incorporate his psychic powers into his fighting style he was an entirely different fighter.
The kid didn't notice it, but whenever he began a fight with his psychic powers activated his expression would become calm yet focused. An intimidating sight for opponents who might not be familiar with his fighting style.
As I rang the bell, signaling the start of the battle, Maylene wasted no time and lunged forward with her characteristic speed and grace. Her movements were swift, blending fluidity with dexterity, as she attempted to outmaneuver her opponent. Lucas, with his foresight glided in response, effortlessly predicting her every motion and gracefully evading each strike.
The dance of combat unfolded, the few of Maylene's quick attacks that were able to hit being met by Lucas's seemingly uncanny defenses. Each moment felt like an eternity as they exchanged blows with a synergy that mesmerized the crowd. Maylene's agility and skills allowed her to keep pace with Lucas's foresight, making it increasingly difficult for him to maintain any sort of advantage.
I couldn't help but let another nod of approval. The two had grown a lot since their first day here. Yet as I looked at the scar on her arm that remained from the day she had been attacked I was filled with great shame. I had almost caused her to give up on her talents by not being there on time. I could only thank the blue-haired boy for getting her back on track. Because when I had tried to talk to her about the incident I only made things worse. As I gave a sigh I focused back on the battle.
Lucas' gaze remained steady, even his growth was not thanks to me, it was mostly Medichamp. As Maylene adapted her tactics, he adjusted his movements in perfect synchrony with her, anticipating her every shift in strategy. Probably thanks to the many spar sessions they had in the past, they both had been able to learn each other's strategies.
Maylene, undeterred by the challenges presented by Lucas' foresight, sought to create openings through her agile maneuvers. She twisted and turned with uncanny flexibility, daring Lucas to keep track of her every twist.
I saw my students looking on with amazement as they pumped their fists in excitement. This fight was also a great motivation for them to improve.
The intensity of the duel intensified, drawing both combatants deeper into the symphony of combat. As the fight progressed, Maylene's movements became more unpredictable, testing the limits of Lucas's gift. With swift spins, acrobatics, and feints, she aimed to challenge his foresight, disrupting the predictability he relied upon.
Lucas's face displayed a momentary flicker of surprise, the first crack in his otherwise composed facade. As Lucas had moved to evade one of her strikes, she swiftly closed the distance, deftly grappling him in a display of strength and technique. Before Lucas could react, she brought him to the ground, pinning him with skillful precision.
As I rang the bell to signify the end of combat I heard Lucas say while being pinned to the ground.
"We really have to stop meeting like this, you know?"
He got a smack on the head from Maylene before she stood up.
I raised her hand into the air before announcing.
"We have our winner!"
For a long time, I had been looking for someone to take the mantle of Gym Leader. I had been at the helm for a long time and I felt like I had stagnated. I knew there was a group of criminals in my backyard but I couldn't do anything to them. And that inability had almost cost me my best student.
Once the crowd had dispersed I asked Maylene one simple question.
"Do you want to become the next gym leader?"
I knew it was time to change, to stand up against team Galactic. But I would wait, at least until my successor was ready. I had waited this long with them openly being in my city, I could wait a bit more. Once I knew the gym was in safe hands I would make sure to get rid of this pest.
— — —
(Lucas Pov)
After exchanging numbers with my fellow classmates my time at camp had come to an end. I hadn't beaten Maylene, but I had been close to winning.
'It's those freaking grapples, once I am grabbed I am beaten.' I thought to myself. I am going to practice grappling from now on so I can pull an uno reverse card on her later.
We had agreed to meet in the fighting tournament that would be happening once we both turned 16. The tournaments occurred once every four years, sort of like the Olympics, and fate would have it that it would happen when we both qualify to enter. From what Georges had told me there was a lot of promising new talent that would be entering the tournament, so it would be quite a difficult contest.
This had been my last big excursion before my pokemon trainer journey began. So all I had to do now was keep on working until my 14th birthday. The day I would get my starter. From what I had heard, it was quite a fierce battle between Rowan and Carolina to see who would be the one to give me my starter. To be honest I was quite curious as to what both of them were going to offer me. But I wanted to start my journey with either a psychic type or a fairy type.
Thinking about starters for so long had made me think back on my musketeers. From what I had heard they had been quite busy working with Rowan. He felt like he was incredibly close to pinpointing what made a pokemon's dormant alpha gene awaken. His research had taken him all the way down to Alola to study the Totem Pokemon that overlooked the trials on the islands.
In theory, he was capable of awakening the gene in psychic-type pokemon with the assistance of a psychic trainer. Though actual results were somewhat hit or miss he had successfully awakened the gene in another two pokemon. Right now all that was left was to crack the code on awakening the gene in pokemon of different types.
The research was being kept very private right now, and it would probably stay that way once it was completed. It was a big risk to let people with bad intentions get ahold of the information as their pokemon would get a boost in power. However, it would also become a good tool for those with noble intentions.
Arriving home for the last time I took a big deep breath of air before heading over to my bedroom, and as was routine, collapsing and falling asleep.
~Author's note~
Thanks to your power stones I was able to create a new identity. When I arrived in my new city with my new identity I met the most wonderful person. Please send your power stones so I can take them on a date.
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