Earthford Showdown Ch. 2 of 3: Fighting in Riddles
#2 of Earthford Showdown
Earthford Showdown Ch. 2 of 3: Fighting in Riddles
By Anonymless
The stands of the stadium were nearly packed with all manner of people, and more were on their way to the seats. The noise of casual conversation filled the air as the crowd waited for the game to begin. There were four tiers of seats on the northern side of the stadium, and on the other side was a podium with a microphone attached to it. The arena itself was currently empty. The short grass inside the arena had many scorch marks strewn across it, and in some places there were cracks in the dirt, signifying that many battles had happened here.
A middle-aged man in a gray suit stepped onto the podium and started adjusting the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen!" The man's words were quickly drowned out by applause, and he smiled and stood still on the platform, waiting for it to die down.
"Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen! I hereby welcome you to the thirtyfifth annual Trainer's Showdown in Earthford! My name is Matthew and I will be your host during this event. We have gathered here to witness a breathtaking display of combat prowess by the finest trainers of our city. There are eight contestants in total and they will compete in a single elimination tournament to decide the winner. The first four matches will be followed by two semifinal matches, and the winner of each will proceed to the final match, which will be held tomorrow. Between each of these battles, there will be a short pause to let the combatants ready themselves, and for both trainers and guests to get refreshments in the cafe. The two first contestants have already prepared themselves for their battle. So, without further ado, they shall now enter the arena!"
The crowd started to cheer loudly as a blond young man entered the stadium from the entrance on the left side of the announcer, with a red and white ball held in one hand; he walked all the way to the center before he stopped, clutching the ball and smiling at the noisy crowd. "The first trainer has entered... Jonathan and his Blaziken!"
Another person walked in from the same entrance. This one was a young adult woman with red hair and a black handbag over her shoulder; she also went to the center of the arena, standing a small distance away from her opponent. "The challenger has entered the arena! Rachel and her Flygon! The battle will begin in five! Four..."
Rachel pulled out a striped ball from the handbag and threw it at the ground, causing her green insect-dragon to be released in a flash of light. Just after that Jonathan threw his pokeball, and another flash revealed a beaked humanoid in red colors with claws for hands; it made a loud roar before turning towards its challenger. "Three... two... one... fight!"
The Blaziken inhaled quickly and let loose a jet of flame, which singed the dragon in its face and around the neck. Flygon shrugged it off and reopened its eyes, then emitted a sharp, piercing cry in the direction of Blaziken, who flinched at the sound and covered its ears just a little too late.
The Blaziken scowled and readied itself for another attack. It clenched both of its clawed hands and held them out towards its sides, and suddenly they caught fire. Then it gestured with its hands in a circle, and a wheel of fire appeared in the air, and with another gesture it was sent flying in Flygon's direction. But half a second before it made contact, Flygon jumped straight up and flapped its wings, and the flame wheel passed harmlessly beneath it. Flygon kept flying upwards, until a few seconds later when it stopped and fell freely with its feet first. It stomped the ground, and a tremendous shock wave rippled around the dragon; the Blaziken roared and collapsed onto its knees, then fell forwards and fainted.
"We have a winner!" The crowd cheered wildly, and Flygon stood triumphant in the center of the arena, while his opponent retreated into its ball. "Rachel and her Flygon have won the first match! Will they make it into the finals? We'll find out this evening!"
The cafe of the stadium contained a dozen identical tables and a long counter on which drinks and snacks were served. Various people sat around the tables eating and conversing, both competing trainers and spectators. When Rachel entered the room, she looked around and found some empty seats next to a table near the entrance as well as a familiar young man sitting on the other side of it.
"Hello again, Peter. I take it these aren't occupied?" Rachel gestured toward the seats near his table.
Peter looked up from his half-finished shake and smiled. "Oh, no, I don't mind. Congratulations on your victory, by the way! You looked pretty strong."
Rachel chuckled. "Surely you didn't expect me to be eliminated in the first round." She took one of the seats and placed her handbag on another. "In all honesty, though, I don't think I will win, and I don't care too much about it."
"Same here." Peter slurped up the remains of his shake and placed the empty glass on the table. "I'm glad we get some time to chat between the battles at least. There's someone else I've been looking for, but I don't think she'll show up."
"A contestant?" Rachel looked quizzically at him.
"No, but she was talking about some strange business going on in the tournament, and I wanted to ask a few things..."
There was a cough behind Peter, and a feminine voice addressed him. "I'm afraid I don't have much to tell."
Peter turned around and smiled. "Oh, there you are, Glacia! So you're still searching for that thief?"
"Yes." Glacia leaned against the wall. "I am now fairly certain that he's not alone in his schemes, and that at least one accomplice of his is present in this building. That's all I can say. Don't look so nervous, though! This is nothing the greatest trainer of Hoenn can't handle."
Rachel scoffed and turned away. "What a nutcase."
There was a ringing sound, and the trainers looked up. In the corner of the cafeteria was a television that displayed several lines of text. It said "Match 2: Peter vs. Simon", and underneath that text was a digital clock that showed the current time, or rather a time about three minutes from now. Peter stood up and smiled. "I guess I'd better get going."
When Peter entered the arena, he looked around himself hesitantly. He saw the announcer speaking his name, he saw the cheering crowd on the stands, and they were all watching him. He also saw his opponent standing in the center of the arena, waiting for him. That opponent was a boy with shorts, a blank t-shirt and a cap with a Pokeball symbol on the front. Peter smiled and walked forward to meet him.
"Hey Peter!" The kid smiled back at him. "Are you ready for this?"
Peter nodded, and turned toward the announcer again, waiting for the signal. He heard a "Five!", and pulled out his Pokeball, then quickly threw it at the ground, revealing his Espeon in a bright flash, its eyes closed and its forked tail waving behind it. He heard a "Four!", and Simon did the same, and another bright flash revealed a Linoone; a striped quadruped, like a cross between a ferret and a badger with a thick tail and long, sharp claws. It watched the Espeon silently.
"Three! Two! One..." Espeon glanced at Peter, and he nodded. Both of them turned toward their opponent. "Fight!"
The Linoone immediately raised itself on its hind legs and snarled, then drummed on its belly twice with each of its paws. When it was on all fours again, its eyes were reddened and it was growling almost continuously.
Seeing this, the Espeon closed its eyes and straightened itself. The gem on its forehead shined for a short moment, and the Espeon remained completely still during that time, after which it opened its eyes again and calmly, almost nonchalantly watched its opponent.
This seemed to agitate the Linoone even further, and it took a few quick steps forward, then without warning lunged into its opponent, swiping the Espeon's side with its right claw, then its left claw, and then jumped away just before the Espeon had a chance to retaliate. The Espeon regained its posture and narrowed its eyes, again watching the Linoone at a distance, and without making a sound despite being severely wounded.
The Espeon's gem began to glow brightly, and Linoone grunted a little, as if to ridicule her. Shortly after, the purple cat took a single step forward, and Linoone yelped as it was hit by an invisible force, something that struck it like a punch out of nowhere and sent it flying backwards, which made the crowd gasp. The Linoone sprawled only for a moment before jumping back into ready position, but it was still visibly dazed by the attack.
The Linoone stepped forward a bit slower than before, and started to make another lunge toward its opponent. However, the ferret creature's limbs did not obey it and it stumbled weakly over itself, its head smacking the dirty ground. Still not defeated, the Linoone got up and staggered somewhat before turning toward the Espeon again, ostensibly having recovered from its paralysis.
However the Linoone had spent enough time on its unsuccessful attack attempt to allow the Espeon another psychic blast, and this time the last bit of Linoone's endurance was depleted; it let out a short whine and rolled backwards in the short grass, slowing down from the friction until it came to a halt, lying on its side and taking tired breaths.
"We have a winner!" The announcer spoke up again, and the crowd cheered, while Peter watched in disbelief. "Peter and his Espeon have won the second match and will advance to the next round! What will happen to them there? We'll find out very soon!"
Peter entered the cafe again, and took a glance at the table where he and Rachel had been before, but found that it was empty. He looked around at the other tables and saw various trainers; he saw Simon sitting with two other youngsters and what appeared to be his parents, and around the next table sat some women chitchatting, and after that another empty table. He scratched his head and went to get something to drink.
It was when he reached the counter and was about to make his order when he noticed that Rachel was standing near the corner of the room, leaning against the wall and glaring at something without a motion. He quickly walked over to her to see what was up, and she hushed at him.
"Shh! I saw someone who's not supposed to be here. I don't want her to notice me."
Peter looked baffled. "What do you mean, not supposed to..."
"I said quiet." Rachel sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. It's Jennifer. She is... not my friend."
Peter turned to see what Rachel was looking at, and saw the table with the chatting young women around it. He opened his mouth, but couldn't really think of anything to say, so he just looked back at Rachel again.
"Jennifer is not a trainer. She's about as far away from a trainer as you can get. It is highly likely, however, that she's here to get revenge for... something I did earlier."
The ringing sound returned, and Peter looked up at the television to see the current matchup. It said "Match 3: Chris vs. Jennifer", followed by the imminent starting time.
Peter raised an eyebrow. "Now wait a minute... didn't you just say that Jennifer was not a trainer? Because it looks like she's in the competition." As he finished his sentence, one of the young women at the nearby table stood up. She had long hair similar to Rachel's, only it was completely black; the woman quickly walked out of the cafe.
Rachel stepped away from the wall and straightened herself. "Oh, whatever. I've had enough of this. I'm going to get something to eat."
"If you say so..." Peter watched her walking out, and after she was gone, he turned to look at the television, which had changed from displaying information about the current matchup to showing a live recording of the arena. "I think I want to watch this."
The camera gave a bird's eye view of the two contestants who entered the arena. One of them was the black-haired woman, and the other was a man in his twenties with his hair dyed blue. They faced each other at the center of the arena and waited for the announcer to give the signal.
Peter walked over to a table and sat down while keeping an eye on the television. The two contestants pulled out the pokeballs that contained their fighters. Chris was the first to release his Pokemon: a giant cream-colored serpent called Milotic, with red eyes, red eyebrow-like appendages extending from above its eyes and a pair of red-colored fins draping from the sides of its head. The lower part of its tail was covered in blue and pink scales. It coiled into an upright position in front of its owner and waited for a command.
Soon after, Jennifer released her Pokemon; an enormous blue-colored dragon with red wings and spikes jutting out from the sides of its head. It opened its mouth and Peter could see it roar, although there was no sound on the television. He laughed a little. "Really, now? A Salamence? So much for not being a trainer..."
He watched with renewed interest as the game started, and the Salamence quickly pounced on the Milotic, attacking it with its claws. The serpent was not quick enough in its movements to dodge the attack and was severely injured by the time Salamence returned to its position. The Milotic turned toward the dragon, and it seemed to be readying itself for an attack of its own, but did so at a sluggish pace and the Salamence managed to get in another attack with its fiery breath before the serpent could make its move. The same thing happened another time; the Milotic did nothing, and the Salamence stomped the ground and finished it off with a powerful earthquake.
Peter looked baffled at the screen while the winner was announced and the crowd cheered. "That... could barely be called a battle. What the hell just happened?"
A moment later, the television changed back to showing a few lines of text that described the two participants in the next match and when it would begin. Peter's attention was elsewhere. He stood up and walked out of the cafeteria into the lobby of the building. In that room were two large doors that led outside to the arena; they opened at that exact moment and the trainers walked in. Jennifer was looking in a hand mirror and fixing her hair. When she was done, she started walking towards the entrance of the cafeteria.
Peter waited for Jennifer to come close enough to him and then cleared his throat. "Excuse me! You're Jennifer, aren't you?"
The black-haired woman was a bit surprised to be addressed. "Oh, yeah. And you are?"
Peter smiled and thought for a second, then replied. "I'm Peter, another trainer in the tournament. I watched you battle and I couldn't help being amazed by your impressive performance. You've got quite a rare Pokemon there. If I may ask, how did you acquire this Salamence?"
Jennifer laughed nervously from the praise. "Haha, well, that's... uh. I evolved it from a... uh..." She cleared her throat. "I found it in a cave somewhere... and then I trained it until it was a Salamence. Isn't it awesome?"
Peter stifled a laugh. "Only the first stage of its evolution, Bagon, can be found in the wild. It usually hides deep within caves in the mountains on the western side of this continent, which is quite a long distance away from our little city."
"Yeah." Jennifer composed herself. "Exactly. It's really powerful. I'm sure I'll win the tournament with it."
"No doubt." Peter smiled again. "Say, that reminds me... I think Rachel will return soon. I want to tell her something. Thanks for your time."
Jennifer sneered when she heard that name, and without a word she went into the cafeteria. Peter remained outside the entrance, still smiling broadly and talking to himself. "Great job, Peter. I think we have another mystery on our hands..."
Having finished her lunch break, Rachel walked back into the cafeteria to wait for her turn to fight. She saw that Peter was sitting at a table by himself and watching a battle on the television. She thought for a moment, and then decided to go sit with him.
The current battle was between one trainer with a Breloom and another with a Raichu. Peter had purchased a bag of chips and was snacking on them while he watched the TV. The Breloom had initiated with a spore attack that caused the Raichu to doze off quickly. When Rachel sat down next to Peter, he turned toward her. "Hey, Rachel. While you were gone, I did some detective work and discovered a few interesting things."
"I get the feeling you're about to feed me some conspiratorial nonsense again, but alright. Hit me."
"Firstly, you were right. Jennifer is not a trainer. It was painfully obvious when I talked to her earlier. Secondly... she has somehow come into possession of one of the most rare Pokemon of the Hoenn region, and she's using it in the tournament."
Rachel shrugged. "She's completely clueless. Whatever Pokemon you're talking about, she can't have caught it herself."
"I agree." Peter glanced at the television and saw the Breloom dealing the finishing blow on the Raichu with a powerful punch. "Someone must have given it to her. Still... with that kind of power, even a complete idiot could just win with brute force."
A bell rang, and the television started displaying a few lines of text, which kindled Peter's interest. "Look. It says every match in the first round is over, and that means semifinals will start now."
Rachel turned toward the television and smiled somewhat. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Huh...?" Peter looked confused at her.
Rachel stood up and twirled her Ultra Ball on one finger, then placed it back in her handbag. "You'd better prepare yourself, because this is when the real game begins."
With that, she turned away and walked out of the cafe. Peter looked over at the television again, and just that moment the text changed and said "Semifinal 1: Peter vs. Rachel", which made Peter smile too.
"So this is it, huh? Whoever wins will get to the final match..." He stood up and closed his eyes for a moment, drawing a deep breath. "I'm prepared."
He was familiar with the procedure now, but it still somehow felt strange to be fighting a good friend. With the loud cheers of the crowd filling his ears, he walked over the short grass and toward the center of the arena where his opponent waited. When he had reached the correct position, he stood still while facing Rachel, and their eyes met. Both of them were silent.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The two trainers have entered the arena. Peter and his Espeon will compete with Rachel and her Flygon for a place in the final match. Are you all ready for this?"
The crowd responded with thunderous cheers, and the announcer smiled broadly. "Then let the battle begin!"
Peter and Rachel both extended their right hands, Rachel holding her Ultra Ball, and Peter holding his Poke Ball. As soon as they heard a "Five", Rachel threw her ball and released the Flygon, which stood up and flapped its wings. Then, on the "Four", Peter released his Espeon, which turned toward the dragon, eyes blinking calmly and slowly waving its forked tail.
Peter looked at his Espeon, and it glanced back at him. They simply nodded, and both of them turned toward the opposing team. "Three... two... one... fight!"
In a split second, Espeon had charged up her attack and took one step forward. An invisible force struck the Flygon, and it staggered backwards, then quickly composed itself and started drawing a deep breath. It exhaled and let out a jet of flame in the direction of the Espeon, who sidestepped just in time but still got singed by part of the fire.
The two combatants watched each other carefully for a moment, and Espeon closed its eyes. Flygon lunged head-first at its opponent, ready to slash with its dragon claws, but collided with a transparent screen just before it could do so. The Espeon took this opportunity to get in another psychic attack, and Flygon was hurt badly by the impact, but steadfastly shrugged it off.
The Espeon started to ready another attack, and Flygon jumped straight up into the air. Before Espeon could react, the Flygon had landed again and unleashed an earthquake, smaller than before, but enough to throw the Espeon off guard. Right after landing, the Flygon dashed forward and made another attempt at slashing with its claws. This time it managed to connect, and Espeon reeled from the impact, then fell to the ground and fainted.
"Once again, we have a winner!" The crowd cheered loudly, and Rachel and Peter watched each other, smiling. "Rachel has emerged victorious, and will proceed to the final! There is only one match left for today. One more match, and after that, all that remains is the final Showdown between the city's two most talented trainers. Don't miss it, my friends!"
"That was really awesome." Peter took a seat opposite to Rachel at their usual table near the cafe entrance. "I guess this means you have a shot at the title now, if you can win just one more time..."
Rachel smiled and opened her can of soda with a loud pop. "And if Jennifer wins her match, I'll get to crush her personally in the final."
Peter laughed. "We'll see. The guy with the Breloom had an interesting strategy. I'm hoping that he'll put up a good fight, but I have this nagging suspicion that it'll turn out just like the fight against Milotic..."
"I didn't watch that one. Anything remarkable about it?"
"Yeah. It wasn't even much of a fight. The Milotic was just standing there like it was in hypnosis. And no, that's not a move Salamence can learn."
"Hmph." Rachel took a sip from her soda. "A lot of things here just don't make sense. As much as I hate to admit it, your curiosity is starting to rub off on me."
The ringing sound returned, and the TV displayed some lines of text that said "Match 6: Jennifer vs. William". Peter took a quick glance at the other tables in the cafeteria, but didn't see Jennifer anywhere this time. He shrugged and went back to watching the television screen patiently.
"Hey, Peter." Rachel managed to get Peter's attention away from the TV, and their eyes met. "You know those rumors you mentioned earlier, about how Mew makes an appearance here once every five years, and this is one of those years?"
"I'm not saying it's one hundred percent certain, but yeah, that's the story... what about it?"
Rachel smiled. "I can't say I know much about it either, but it sounds like just the kind of thing a Pokemon thief would be interested in. Don't you agree?"
"Holy crap, you're right! I should tell Glacia..." Peter paused, slightly confused. "Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Glacia anywhere for quite a while. I wonder what she's up to now."
"Quit being so dependent. If you really want to know the truth behind this mystery, you should take action yourself."
"I guess, but..." Peter glanced at the TV and saw that the match between Jennifer and William had just started. "...I remember Glacia told me not to get into any trouble. I do want to know more, though. What do you suggest?"
Rachel straightened herself. "We'll just need a little bit more information to work with. The only thing we know at this point is that someone's planning to steal something, and that something might be Mew. If only we can find out where the thief is hiding..."
Peter's eyes were fixed on the TV, and the Pokemon battle that was being shown on it. The Breloom had initiated with a Spore attack, but its movements were so slow that the Salamence was able to evade being hit. The Salamence then swooped upon the Breloom and swiped it with its massive claws, which finished it off within seconds. "We also know that Jennifer is definitely cheating her way to the top, but I guess that's not relevant to the thief issue."
"Probably not." Rachel sighed. "So that's the end of today. If you want, we could search the building and its environs for clues regarding the thief. If not, I'll spend the rest of the evening training for the final match tomorrow. I can assure you *my* Pokemon won't fall prey to her pathetic schemes so easily."
Peter shrugged. "I guess you should train a bit. I don't think we'll find anything anyway... huh?" He pulled out his cellphone and looked at it. "A message from an unknown sender...?"
Rachel smiled. "It's from that woman, isn't it?"
"I don't remember telling her my... wait." Peter stared silently at the screen for a moment. "It says: 'I found the culprit. I need your help. Meet me at midnight in the training area.'"
"Sounds like it. So, are you gonna do this? Do I even have to ask?"
Peter laughed. "Haha, well, it's not like I have anything better to do now that you've defeated me in the tournament!"
Rachel stood up and picked up her handbag, hanging it over her shoulder. "Then good luck."
With that, she walked out of the cafeteria, through the main entrance and out on the grassy hill. The day's entertainment was over, and a steady stream of people were pouring out of the building in the direction of the parking lot, while the sun started to set on the horizon. Rachel gazed at the road leading to the training area for a moment and sighed.
"On second thought, training is incredibly dull."
The streets of Earthford were dimly lit at night, and many of the lamps that lined the sidewalks were in disrepair, which caused portions of the city to be blanketed in relative darkness. The outskirts were especially unfrequented at this hour, and any pedestrians were few and far between. A distant meow and the sound of a passing car pierced an otherwise complete silence.
Even if there were other people on this street, they probably wouldn't have noticed Rachel. She was standing in between two buildings where the lamps couldn't reach, pressed firmly against a wall, and had made no sound or movement in the last couple of minutes. In her hand was an Ultra Ball. She glanced out on the street from her hiding place, saw nothing, and resumed waiting.
A winged creature darted across the sky and landed on the opposite side of the street. It looked around, flicking the antennae on its head. Rachel waved to gain its attention, and when it noticed, it flew over to her side of the street and stood still in front of the gap between the buildings. Rachel walked closer and addressed it in a low voice.
"Did you see anything unusual, Flygon?"
The creature shook its head.
"Then it's time to move. I need to be quiet now, Flygon. It's best if you stay in the ball for now. This might get ugly, so be prepared for a fight."
Flygon nodded, and Rachel pressed the button on her Ultra Ball, causing the dragon to disappear in a flash of light. Afterwards, she put the ball back in her handbag.
She checked her wristwatch. "Shit, it's midnight already...?" She walked out on the sidewalk and looked around. With no one in sight, she dashed over to the other side and began walking on the sidewalk in the direction of the training area.
Once she had reached the corner of the block, she stopped to take a look around again. Once again seeing nothing, she started to get a little more confident. She walked around the corner and continued on the next street, passing many buildings on the way. The next time she reached a corner, she quickly walked around it and right into a hooded man.
"Ah!" She bumped into the side of the man and drew back startled. "I'm sorry, I didn't see... huh?"
Before she could even react, the man had walked away. She cursed under her breath for being so careless, and looked around again. She was only one block away from her destination now. She dashed over the street, walked along until she reached the next corner, and looked around it to make sure no one was there.
She could see most of the training area from this vantage point, and it was empty. Checking her watch again, she saw that it was a quarter past midnight, and thought to herself. "Shouldn't they be somewhere around here...?"
She walked around the corner and slowly walked closer to the training area. She saw the familiar wooden benches and the high metal pole wedged into the asphalt. She walked closer to one of the walls on the side of the area and listened carefully. Then, she heard something.
It was a distant sound, like that of a man's footsteps, but with some other noise to it. The sound seemed to grow slightly louder, and when she listened more closely, she realized that it was actually the sounds of two things. One human, and a quadruped, likely some sort of Pokemon. Her heart started beating faster. She looked around in the training area, and saw that there was a gap in there between the large buildings where she could possibly hide or make an escape.
She dashed over to the gap and looked inside. It was a dead end, because a high wooden fence blocked passage inside. But the sound of footsteps grew closer, and she had no choice but to dart into the alley and wait. She heard the two unknown things walk into the training area. Once there, they stopped. She held her breath and stood as close to the wall as she could, hoping that no one would notice her...
"Well, well." The sound of the man's voice sent chills down Rachel's spine. "What do we have here?"
Rachel withdrew into the alley and stood near the fence. The quadrupedal Pokemon walked over to the opening of the alley, revealing itself to be a canine with a mixture of black and gray-colored fur. It growled menacingly at her. The man followed and stood next to the wolflike creature. He was middle-aged and bald, but had a thin beard and a wicked grin on his face.
"One of the two finalists in the Showdown, if I'm not mistaken! Good work, Mightyena."
Rachel didn't say a word. She reached into her handbag and would have pulled out her Ultra Ball from it... if it weren't for the fact that the bag was empty. She was paralyzed by terror.
"Oh, have you lost something?" The man laughed evilly. "I'm sorry. Things like that happen to the best of us. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jim, and I run a small business around here that pursues wealth in all its forms."
Rachel stuttered, her back glued to the fence behind her. "You... you're that thief!"
"Semantics, my friend. I like to think of myself as a stimulator of the local economy." The man smiled broadly. "And I must admit I couldn't do this without the help of my trusted colleague. I'd ask him to come and meet you as well, but he is busy at the moment. He told me he had found a rare Pokemon that might fetch a good price with the right buyer, and he is in the middle of examining it. I'm sure you understand."
Realizing her mistake, Rachel was overcome by anger and despair. "No! Flygon...!" She stepped away from the fence, and the wolf immediately growled at her, which made her stop.
"Easy now. I just need you to stay here for a moment. My colleague does not wish to be interrupted." The man watched Rachel carefully. "I had received word that someone would come and disturb us. I didn't expect it to be you, but it doesn't matter. One way or another, things would turn out in our favor. It just happened a bit faster this way."
"W-what are you talking about?" Rachel said weakly.
The man laughed gleefully. "My, I believe I've said too much. It's a personal weakness of mine. I was only supposed to keep you occupied for a while. At any rate, I believe my colleague is almost done now. I should check what he's up to..."
The man pulled out a cellphone from his pocket and pressed some buttons on it. Meanwhile, the Mightyena's eyes were fixed on Rachel, who stood by the fence unsure of what to do, or if it was even possible to do anything.
They stood in silence for a moment. The man stared at the screen of his cellphone, apparently reading something, and then frowned. "God DAMN IT!"
Rachel watched in confusion while the man put back his cellphone into his pocket and shouted an order to his Pokemon. "You stay here, Mightyena! Make sure she doesn't get away until I come back!"
After that, Jim ran away, leaving Rachel and the Mightyena alone in the alleyway. The wolf continued to growl at her, and she gulped. She was still a bit confused by what had happened, but now that only the Mightyena remained she felt more confident, even though escape still seemed all but impossible.
"Be still now, Mightyena. I'm not going to harm you..."
The wolf ignored her talk and kept on growling at her. She thought to herself, "Great... now what?"
She looked inside her handbag again. The Ultra Ball wasn't there, but there were some other smaller things in it, like a few paper tissues, a comb, some lipstick, and a vial.
"The pheromones...?" Rachel looked at the contents of the bag again. There was a vial with a translucent liquid inside it. She picked it up and uncorked it, then smelled it for a moment. "Brilliant! This might work!"
She poured some of the sticky liquid into one of her hands and began smearing it over her skin. The Mightyena growled, but once the smell became noticeable, it stopped. The wolf just watched her silently, and seemed disoriented by the conflict of its senses; it saw a human female, but smelled the strong scent of a Pokemon in heat. It barked and growled irregularly.
Rachel smiled dumbfounded. "I can't believe it..." She looked at the wolf, which seemed to start getting angry again. "Uh oh. Maybe I need a bit more..."
She poured out some more of the liquid and started to wet her clothes in it, laughing all the while. "Gross. But I'd rather be gross than dead!"
Finally, the vial was empty, and Rachel was totally drenched in its contents. The Mightyena had stopped growling now, but it barked in a confused manner and stayed in its position near the opening of the alley. Rachel smiled and tried to persuade the wolf again. "Relax. I'm not going to harm you. I just want to leave..."
She started walking out of the alley, but the Mightyena barked and blocked her path. She gulped. "Why are you stopping me?"
Rachel tried to move out of the alley again, but this time Mightyena pushed her back with its muzzle, and she stumbled and fell to the ground. "Ouch! Alright! I get it!"
She sat up and looked at the Mightyena in front of her. It barked at her once, then pushed her with its muzzle again, and she mumbled to herself. "Jesus. I guess this is going to be a bit harder than I thought..."
Without thinking, she started unzipping her pants. She pulled them off, and then pulled off her undergarments, until she was completely naked from the waist down. She positioned herself so that she was on all fours with her nude behind right in front of the Mightyena. "Do it. Quickly!"
Soon enough, she felt two paws on her shirt. The Mightyena was adjusting its position, and put its front paws further up on Rachel's back. She moved her knees away from each other a little, and looked under herself.
"Wait... this is...!" Rachel saw the canine's member sticking out from its sheath, but it was too late now to do anything about it. With a quick thrust, the Mightyena buried its dick in her, and she gasped. The Mightyena started humping her forcefully, its inhuman penis rubbing against her insides while she was lost in rapture.
The Mightyena buried its claws in her shirt, which caused the fabric to tear, although Rachel didn't really notice, for her mind was more than occupied by Mightyena shoving its large member in her pussy. The wolf's dick was swelling, and the bigger it became the more lustful pleasure filled her, causing her to forget all about her current predicament.
The Mightyena breathed noisily above her, and she felt the dick in her grow even larger. For a moment she regained rational thought, and mumbled between heavy breaths. "Hh... the knot... I shouldn't..."
Once again the Mightyena pushed into her, and she couldn't think anymore. She collapsed in exhaustion, stopped her resistance and let the wolf have its way with her. The Mightyena's dick had now swelled completely and lodged itself within Rachel, and spurt after spurt of canine semen started gushing deep into her. The swollen knot kept the semen in place, and not a single drop of it hit the ground.
Rachel panted noisily, trying to do something, or at least trying to think of something to do, but was still overwhelmed by the Mightyena's repeated jets into her. It was making her feel so filled, she felt like she was going to burst. With great effort, she straightened her arms and stood again on all fours, but the Mightyena was a heavy weight on her back. Suddenly, the Mightyena started to move. It moved to the side, and got off Rachel's back. With its swollen cock still firmly in her pussy, the wolf rotated so that it was facing the opposite direction. The Mightyena now stood on the ground as well, its butt connected to Rachel's, and its face turned toward the rest of the training area.
She was still stuck, but now that the Mightyena had stopped coming, she could at least think rationally. Putting a bit of effort into it, she tried to move away from the Mightyena and separate herself from it, but she found that the wolf was still too hard. She looked inside her handbag, but there was no longer anything useful in it, so she decided to simply wait for the moment.
Some minutes passed, and she listened carefully in case someone was nearby. The Mightyena suddenly seemed agitated. It barked a bit and looked at the outside of the area. Rachel thought she heard some footsteps again, but they seemed very distant. Then, without a warning, the Mightyena pushed itself forward, causing the knotted member to emerge with a painful pop, and their fluids to spill messily on the ground.
Soon after that the Mightyena hightailed it, leaving her sitting alone in the alley, still shaken by the event. In the distance, she heard something make a loud crack, followed by a yowl. And then, she heard the noise of someone running closer to her.
She put on her clothes again and winced, since they were dirty and soaked in smelly pheromones. When she was clothed again, she stood up near the wall and listened. She heard someone calling nearby.
"Hey... hey! Is anyone there? Hello?"
She was relieved to recognize this voice, and walked out of her hiding place. "Peter! Over here!"
She walked forward and sat down on one of the benches when Peter arrived. He was accompanied by his Espeon, which looked up at Rachel and grimaced, noticing the heavy odor.
Peter stood in front of the bench, and the cat sat down beside him. "What are you doing here, Rachel? You never told me you were coming with us."
Rachel sighed. "Ah, well, I changed my mind. Sorry."
"I don't really mind it myself, but it could have been very dangerous for you. We still haven't found the thief and he could be anywhere around here."
"Oh. Well, I kind of found him." Rachel straightened her soppy clothes. "It didn't turn out very well."
Peter stared at her. "Really? Well, thank God you're alright in that case. I don't care if you were defeated, as long as you're not injured or anything..."
Rachel sighed again. "He stole Flygon from me."
Peter smiled. "I know. Don't worry."
"What...?"
Before she could say anything, Peter reached out with his arm and exhibited an Ultra Ball. "I'm pretty sure this is yours. I got into a fight with one of the grunts, and he dropped this during his flight afterwards."
Rachel grasped the pokeball quickly and immediately pressed the button. To her great relief, it unleashed a flash of light and her Flygon appeared before her. The insect dragon looked around, flapping its wings a little. Its eyes were half-open in a fatigued state, and its movements were very slow.
"Flygon!" Rachel stood up and walked over to the dragon, embracing it. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?"
Peter watched the two of them nervously. "Uh oh. This is bad..."
Rachel looked back at Peter. "Huh? What is it?"
"He looks just like the Pokemon who fought Jennifer before. They were slow, tired, unable to fight at all."
Rachel watched the Flygon in shock, now realizing the same thing. "For God's sake. He can't fight like this. We have to get him to a Pokemon Center immediately."
Peter shrugged. "If it's a man-made drug, I don't know if they can cure it. But we'll have to try. Why is it so important to win the tournament anyway? Can't you just let Jennifer win?"
Rachel glared at Peter. "It's not that. We have proof now. Jennifer and the thief are working together. For some reason, they're trying to win the tournament, and we have to stop them."
"I see..." Peter glanced at his Espeon, then back at Rachel. "We should leave. It's no use trying to search for the thief anymore, now that he is aware of our presence. And you should put Flygon back in his ball. We can stop by the Center on our way home."
Rachel looked at her Flygon again, and it looked back at her with dazed eyes. She hugged it one more time before pressing the button and withdrawing the dragon into its ball. Then, Rachel walked over to Peter and they started walking away together. Their journey to the Center was a silent one.