IPL| Chapter 2, Mission 2a| VS Melanie

Untz, untz, untz.

A blissful sky of golds and purples lay stretched out overhead as dusk set upon the challenger chain. Soft clouds peppered the horizon. Hardly foreboding, they merely painted a prettier picture. Lead scratched furiously on paper, desperate to not leave behind a single detail. A couple of birds – taillow, or wingull maybe – flew overhead. Those were jotted down too.

The beat thrummed louder. UNTZ, UNTZ, UNTZ. The pencil moved quicker.

Finally, the artist sat back, smiled, and admired his work. He’d always heard it was better to be humble than proud, but really, there was no reason he couldn't be both. With a grin, he reached over to pat the dozing mightyena at his feet. The grassy knoll they had settled on was comfortable enough, and there was little to fear. Plus, it was remarkably private…

… or so Remien had thought. Tilting his sketchbook, he quirked a brow. Okay. That line wasn’t quite right… Bobbing his head to the music, he moved his hand to fix his work.

“Staying clear of webs this time, I see.”

Remien jumped. Glancing down at his page, he frowned, noticing how his hand had slipped. A long, black line was strewn haphazardly across his sketch now. Hugging the book to himself, he turned around. He wore an amiable smile despite his fast fading frustration – Remien was hardly one to hold a grudge. He even lowered his headphones.

“It’s a work in progress. Nice haircut,” Remien answered the newcomer, and was rewarded for his friendliness with a simple… look he could not quite describe. Was this woman not accustomed to compliments, perhaps? “… Mmmmelanie Knight, if I recall? I also sorta remember that you’ve a knack for creeping up on people. Hmmm…” He fell to pondering.

Miss Knight filled in the silence. “You remember correctly on both counts, douche.” It was a curt response, even when it didn’t have to be. She looked about to continue, when Rem interrupted with a passing thought:

“Heh, ‘douche’ means ‘shower ‘in French, ahahaha.”

“I’m aware.” Melanie’s eyes narrowed. If Rem didn’t know any better, he’d say he was under scrutiny – but for what? As though reading his mind, the answer was made clear: “Hey idiot, you’ve heard of coalitions I presume?”

The distant pulse of music could still be heard from Rem’s headphones. It was his turn to consider his company, and instead of answering her question right away, he decided to reply with one of his own: “You know French?”

“Some.”

Another pause followed. The two stared each other down, unyielding. Nash was finally stirring, and it was clear from her relaxed demeanour she hadn’t sensed much of a threat. That and her large, canine yawn were easy tells. Rem reached to scratch her behind the ears – a practised, familiar gesture. Finally, he gave in.

“Yes, I have heard of coalitions.” He left it at that. He looked down at his sketchbook, and after a moment’s thought flipped the cover back over it, almost protectively. He looked back up, expectantly.

Seeing this was going nowhere fast, Melanie decided to speed things up. “We’re recruiting, dumbass. We’re about research and exploring, expanding your mind and horizons. ‘Effort Values in Learning,’ that’s us. Thought you might be a good fit.”

Silence followed once more. Melanie had Remien’s full attention now. The last time he’d been part of any sort of ‘team,’ he… … That had been back in his Magma days. He’d taken something of a ‘lone wolf’ approach ever since, but it hadn’t been so much by choice as subconscious, he suspected. Sure, it had led to a load of trouble – not so much for himself, having been a lowly, inconspicuous grunt at the time – but it had also been a lot of fun. He remembered the camaraderie fondly, and not without a smile.

“How do I get in on this?”

Melanie’s smirk smelled of victory. Too easy. “Initiation is at nine P.M. sharp, at the Grand Prix arena. Bring your A game, scrub.”

Remien’s face fell.  The Grand Prix arena… on the main island? “That means… crossing the water…”

“Suck it up, princess.”

Shouldering her pack, Melanie Knight turned and was gone.




He counted the stars just starting to poke into the evening sky. He ran a hand through his floppy mohawk. He was not anxious about the crowd populating the large stadium, nor the noise they produced, most of which was drowned out by his trusty music. All of this stuff reminded him of his days spent at various Battle Frontiers - it seemed today was meant for reminiscing. Rather, what had him on edge was the trip he’d had to undertake, not hours ago, on the bullet train speeding across the sea. He still felt clammy. Nash, ever his trusty partner, sat at his side and nudged him comfortingly.

Suddenly, bright lights flashed and drowned out the stars above. Squinting, Remien glanced out from ‘neath a shielding arm. The stadium sprang to life.

“And now presenting, our next battle! Battle Frontier Frequenter Remien Dacourix, aka ‘Remix,’ versuuuus... the Moonlit Badge Gym Leader, Melanie Aurora Knight! This will be a three-on-three, singles match.”

Upon her introduction, Melanie fell into a bow and rose with a flourish, punctuated with a twirl. It seemed she knew how to put on a show. Rem merely smiled and casually waved to the crowd, in the same fluid motion thereafter removing his headphones.

“Hope you prepared like I told you to,” Melanie said, a smug grin on her face. Game time.

“I was supposed to prepare?” Rem’s feigned innocence was contradicted with a teasing grin of his own.

“Begin!”

Two poke balls flew into the arena, revealing the debuting parties for both sides. A tall, blue frog stood poised on Melanie’s end of the field. A short, purple goblin-like creature sat on Remien’s side, scratching idly under her chin. The sableye yawned. It was difficult to tell if her gem-like eyes were focused on anything in particular.

“Kai.” It certainly didn’t sound like a command coming out of Melanie’s mouth, but the greninja got the hint. The greninja brought her hands back, concentrated a moment, and let loose – then vanished.

The beam of ice she had summoned raced towards the sableye, who seemingly remained blissfully oblivious. Then, just before it hit, the sableye vanished as well, looping into her own shadow and darting across the space separating both opponents. Remien breathed a visible sigh of relief, even as he felt a few shards of shattered ice skitter past him. Most of his team had always been keen on doing their own thing, but Na’Mi often turned out the most unpredictable.

For a moment, everything was still. The crowd rustled in anticipation. Then they gasped in unison, for a sharp cracking sound heralded the return of the battle at hand. Dark pulse clashed against nightshade in a flurry of violet and crimson light, once, twice, thrice, the movement of the two pokemon near too fast to follow.

Melanie uttered a quick phrase in Japanese, and this time it was indeed a command.

A new quiet stilled the area, but this time the crowd leaned forward with impatience. Then, as one, they squinted and tried to make out the strange things growing about the arena. As though a veil were lifted, understanding befell them. Vines. Grass knot. The grass-type attack preceded one of another type altogether: a huge wave was summoned out of nowhere, and began to traverse the arena. At its top was Kai, who having steeled herself rode with courage.

The strategy worked beautifully, at first. Surf flushed out Na’mi handily, and the grass knot was quick to entangle the little imp, trapping her before the wave’s approach. Struggling to escape even through her shadows, Na’mi went with the next best approach. A sudden wave of energy bore down on the entirety of the arena. Even the trainers and referee felt it. The intense pressure smothered the wave, flattening most of the attack before it hit.

Briefly disoriented, Kai looked to her foe at the end of the gravity’s spell, only to realize she was no longer there in the vines. The only memento remaining in her opponent’s prison was the sableye’s reaper cloth. The greninja shuddered. Out here in the open, she was out of her element. She had to get out of sight, out of mind. It was as she turned, however, that she came face first with a strange, floating flame – a will-o-the-wisp. Flinching in panic, she turned back to look for her opponent, only to find…

A spider?

Remien looked down at the ball that now held Na’Mi, his face pensive. They were too evenly matched, save for one difference: Na’Mi didn’t have much for finishing moves, while the greninja had at least three. The sableye would be better served later in battle, he hoped.

“Laval! Do your thing.”

Melanie merely quirked a brow.

The ariados was already on the move. Web after web Laval spun. Meanwhile, Kai had made herself scarce. One might think there was little place to hide on a flat, wide open plain, but the greninja had seemingly found a way. Skittering along the field, Laval’s masterpiece grew.

“Laval, behind you!”

So absorbed in his work, the ariados almost didn’t notice the ice beam on time. Thanks to his trainer’s head’s up, however, he was able to counter. The ice was smashed aside with his two front legs, a twinneedle attack demonstrated at dizzying speeds. His opponent was within sight now too, even if briefly, and Laval seized that opportunity. All at once, the webs he’d strewn about the field began to spark. One length of the threads was attached to another of his legs. Everything was connected. He heaved on the thread, shifting much of it about the field.

Caught in the net, the greninja squealed in pain from overwhelming surge of electrical power. It, along with the burn she sported from earlier, was enough.

Melanie called her back. It was time for a different kind of dance.

A sharp whistle announced her next choice. A houndoom appeared on the field in a flash of red light. The next whistle saw him in motion. Melanie wasted no time. “Dà!”

Laval barely had any time to react. The fire blast had brewed almost immediately, and at once he realized his array of webs would work against him. He skittered aside, avoiding the most of the heat, but his webs were aflame and there was nowhere to go. Glaring, the spider sent electricity through his webs once more, for the houndoom had defiantly stepped into his net. But Battler seemed unperturbed, fearless even as he began to close the distance.

“Dà!”

Again?

This time, Laval couldn’t dodge. He accepted his fate. Remien knew Laval much preferred interesting battlegrounds anyway, where he could use and manipulate the settings to his advantage. This flat arena was no doubt a little boring for the pokemon’s tastes. The spider awaited the fire blast with little satisfaction.

“Ariados is unable to battle!”

Rem sighed and called his pokemon back. He considered his options. He’d known before the battle that Melanie was a dark type trainer, but dual types often threw any consideration of advantages out the window. Besides, she was a specialist – no doubt she knew her way around that kind of stuff much better than he did. He was sorely tempted to bring out Samuel. Houndoom versus houndoom? How cool would that be? But…

No. Sammy wasn’t anywhere near disciplined enough. The last thing Rem wanted on his hands in front of such a large crowd was a loose cannon.

Another flash of red light revealed his third, final, and somewhat unconventional choice.
The one-eyed cacturne stood tall.  He turned his foreboding gaze on the fire dog, as though in challenge. To this, the houndoom responded with what could be construed as canine laughter. A grass type? Hah! But a curt whistle from Melanie and a vague command from Rem put an end to the posturing.

The cacturne stood in wait, as though concentrating. It looked skyward. Battler the houndoom shot forth an eerie lick of purple flame, a will-o-wisp. His will like iron, O’Connor did not so much as flinch as the flame spread over part of his arm and burned at plant-like flesh. He moved only when his current order had been completed. He eventually shook his arm slightly, warding away the flame.

Fire blast seemed tried and true, and here the most advantageous move to use, so Battler kept with it. But as the flames dispersed from his mouth, he noticed something odd: there were now five of the creepy cacturne running about. And he was surrounded. It was too late to stop his own attack though. The flames spewed forth in their five-pronged kanji shape and dissipated with little fanfare against the stadium floor.

“Pin missile!”

Normally, Rem was fine to let O’Connor do as he pleased. Remien trusted him… about as much as the pokemon trusted him perhaps, or any human for that matter. He had no doubt about the cacturne’s loyalty. What he did not know for sure, however, was the extent to which the pokemon would push in a type matchup like this. As far as Remien understood, the cacturne had had a less than savoury past. He always tried his best to make sure it didn’t surface in battle, which meant maintaining a tighter control than he usually afforded most of his team.

O’Connor didn’t seem to mind. He spread his thick arms wide open and rained thin spikes down on Battler from every direction. Every movement the cacturne made looked surreal, almost as though he were floating. The stone around his neck was to blame for that. On and on the pin missile went. Their victim thrashed about, fangs snapping at one copy after another in vain. A sharp whistle brought him back on track. The onslaught had ended. Somehow, there were more copies by its end than there had been at the start. The houndoom’s temper simmered. Then another whistle came.

The houndoom closed his eyes. The first thing he noticed, when he did, was that he felt warm – not like the usual warmness most fire types appreciated, but like something was heating him up from the outside. Had he looked up, he might have noticed the large, artificial sun in the night sky that had been growing since the start of the match. He had to focus now, though-

Except the strategy was not to be completed. Even with his early bird ability, the houndoom was jarred from his rest by a sudden keen whistle, much more intense than the previous ones had been. Before even opening his eyes Battler leaped to the left, as instructed. Unfortunately, the beam he’d dodged had not been real. Battler looked upon the world once more, just in time for the sunny day-powered solar beam to hit him right in the side.

O’Connor cocked his right arm back, charging another attack. The houndoom’s aggravated snarl was greeted with another beam, this time to the chest. There were only three of the copies left now, the energy used to upkeep them having gone into the cacturne’s main attacks. The burn had taken its toll on the pokemon as well.

Both sides were wearing thin. O’Connor was a hard hitter, but he’d never been much for stamina – stealth had, in the past, been much more his game. Getting around to opponents before they ever saw you coming. Subterfuge. Rem wasn’t sure why he had a tendency of behaving more aggressively in battle. Cockiness, maybe? Pent up frustration? Whatever the case, the cacturne had taken things into his own hands now, and Rem was content to leave him be. Spikes began to bulge from the spines along O’Connor’s arms and chest in preparation for another pin missile. Flames brewed at the houndoom’s maw.

Both attacks connected squarely.

“Both pokemon are unable to battle!”

Cringing, Rem recalled O’Connor. The cacturne was likely to sulk the next while about his loss. Then again, the cacturne was moody most of the time… Shaking his head, Rem pulled back his final – and first – pokemon of the match. Looking down at Na’Mi’s poke ball, he smiled.

The imp reappeared on the battlefield in much the same manner as before. She yawned. There was nothing shiny here, nothing of much interest-

Wait. Shiny.

The arena’s lights glinted off sword and shield. An aegislash. Remien and Na’Mi both tilted their heads simultaneously, albeit for completely different reasons no doubt. Na’Mi, Rem mused, probably wanted the shiny thing. Little did she know… The thought was enough to make him chuckle. For his part, though, he wondered at Melanie’s choice in type, especially when she knew his last pokemon had the type advantage. Was she going easy on him? He certainly hoped not. Maybe she knew something he didn’t. Besides, aegislash were not known to hold the reputation of being pushovers.

“Careful out there, Na’Mi!”

The little purple pokemon chittered in annoyance. In the distance, the sword swung high, preparing a sword’s dance. Melanie moved as one with her partner. Watching the two, one might note a special sort of synchronization at play. Rem simply crossed his arms over his stomach, somewhat anxious. Usually the epitome of laid-back, he couldn’t help getting nervous when his precious pokemon were involved.

The sableye had already taken to transportation via shadows. She appeared behind the aegislash, who immediately dropped his shield to intercept the nightshade attack sent his way. Na’Mi balked in disappointment when her attack didn’t hit. But that wasn’t the end of it. She squealed in terror as her opponent’s large shield came towards her and - crack! - smashed into her.

Down, but not out, the sableye looked and, with a vindictive glare, shot a nightshade point blank at the aegislash. The blade pokemon seemed discomfited, and for this inconvenience, he simply awarded the sableye with another smack of his shield.

“Sableye is unable to battle!”

Wasting little time, Rem recalled his friend. He took a deep breath.

“Melanie Knight is the winner!” The crowd went wild.

Remien reached for his head phones. He’d lost. That was that. So much for initiation, yeah? Oh well. He’d been on his own most of his life, and it was fine if that didn’t change now.  But as he went to turn away he looked up, and he paused as he saw the gym leader heading towards him.

“Where you going, loser?”

Rem blinked. “Home. Well, not home per se, but. Was just thinking I should probably stick to battle frontiers, is all.”

“Oh? You’re not interested in joining anymore?” Her face was impassive – it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. Remien suspected she hid much calculating thought behind that mask of hers.

“Well, yeah, but that, the match-“

“-Was weak in some areas, but adequate in others. I never said you had to win.”

Right. Because expecting all members to beat a gym leader of some renown was a very winning method of recruiting new members. Rem grinned at his own silliness. “Well, sure then. If I passed, I mean. I’m still game.”

It was Melanie’s turn to grin. “Welcome to EVIL, then.”

“Woo!” It was time to go celebrate the start of a new chapter. “Drinks are on me, let’s go!”

“I don’t drink.”

“And I don’t care! Let’s go anyway!”


And all the while, Rem’s ear phones still played way too loud,
untz, untz, untz.