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One Last Try, part 1

copyright 2019 comidacomida

Pokemon and species thereof copyright their respective owners

Reed slammed both fists down on the registration desk. "What do you mean we're too late to sign up?"

Beside him, his Pancham glared daggers at the registration attendant, a young girl about Reed's own age didn't even bother looking at the Pokemon, preferring instead to just gaze blankly back at the trainer. "Registration ended at noon. It's almost one o clock... Mr. Winnin."

Slamming his open left palm down on the table again he pointed to the sign next to him with his right that clearly declared that registration was open until four. "I still have another three hours!"

The girl leaned forward, pushing a clipboard in his direction; she pointed half way down on what appeared to be page two of the official tournament rules. "Final-year trainers have to be registered by noon.

Reminded again that he was on his last year of valid Pokemon battling, Reed pushed the clipboard back at her. "Come on-- it's not like I--"

Her fake smile disappeared, as if she didn't have the energy to keep it up anymore. "Those are the rules, Mr. Winnin..." the neutral expression actually turned sour at that point. "But, honestly... if you were really going to place in a tournament don't you think you would have done so by now?"

Reed's little panda-like Pancham hopped up onto the table, glaring down the attendant as he chewed on a leaf, declaring with certainty. "Pancham."

The poketrainer nodded, clenching his fist in front of him in determination. "Right! We've been training since the last one. We GOT this."

The girl made no more attempt to provide any degree of courtesy as she stated flatly "Well apparently not; you aren't registered for this tournament and it looks like you're turning nineteen before next season... so would you please step aside so I can continue registering valid trainers?"

Reed wasn't about to give up. "But I--"

She shouted over him "NEXT!"

His Pancham was just as unwilling to give up. It held up a clenched paw, shaking with rage as it challenged the attendant "Pancham!"

Although Reed Winnin wasn't usually the kind of young man who would resort to intimidation, he also hadn't spent the better part of a decade giving up, especially not when he was so close to finally having a winning season. He took a step closer to the table, looming in front of the girl as he announced "My name is Reed Winnin, and I am NOT leaving until I--"

She spoke right over him again. "SECURITY!"

The faint shudder of the ground was enough to make him realize he was in trouble, but that sensation only got worse when he heard the deep, imposing voice declare "Machamp."

Turning to his right, Reed looked down to see the gray-skinned, heavily muscled, four-armed Pokemon looking up at him. Despite being a few inches shorter than Reed, the Machamp had at least thirty pounds on him. Swallowing his fear, the teen scowled. "What're YOU lookin' at, shorty?"

Off to Reed's side, Pancham hopped off the table and came to his rescue, glaring at the Machamp with a death gaze; trainer and Pokemon both ended up sailing out of the registration building and onto the street together.

* * * * * *

It started raining before Reed got back to his motel. Having spent the entirety of his teenage years pursuing poketraining as a full time occupation he'd barely managed to make ends meet and the funds he'd raised with a combination of help from his parents and doing odd-jobs at each of his touring stops were rapidly dwindling. The motel where he was staying wasn't exactly in the nicest part of town and retreating to his dilapidated room with his metaphorical tail between his legs did nothing to comfort or console him.

Unlocking the door, he stepped inside and waited for Pancham to join him before closing off the rest of the world by sealing the door with a sigh. "I guess we blew it, buddy."

His Pokemon was, as usual, optimistic. "Pancham."

Reed collapsed into the threadbare armchair just inside the door. "Nah... not this time, Pancham... you heard her; we missed the deadline to sign up."

The little panda-like Pokemon hopped up onto the small table next to the chair and backhanded his shoulder in condemnation. "Pan! Pancham. Pan!"

Fighting back tears, Reed stood up and walked away from the objection. "I know! But we haven't won a single tournament fight since we started!"

"Pancham."

The trainer kept from looking back at his pokemon, sighing as he reached up with one hand to wipe the dampness from his eyes. His other hand reached for the pokeball at his belt. "That doesn't count, and you know it... that was an exhibition fight and her Mankey had already been in a pokebattle earlier in the day-- she just wanted to make us feel better."

The thump of Reed's Pancham landing on the floor preceded the objection. "Cham! Pancham!"

Turning back to regard his Pokemon, Reed shook his head. "No! I KNOW you try your best. You're a good Pokemon, Pancham, and, besides you're my best friend! There's no way I'd want any Pokemon other than you. I just-- I...." he paused, his throat constricting as his emotions threatened to choke him. "I think maybe I'M the problem..."

He looked down at the Pokemon, who stood there looking back up at him. Pancham's severe expression softened slightly, furry eyebrows rising up from their usual downward slant over his eyes. the fighting Pokemon reached up and pulled the leaf out of its mouth as it regarded him, taking a step closer before reaching out and resting its other paw on his calf. It patted him softly before declaring "Pancham." followed by an Arm Thrust to his shin; it was super effective.

Falling over, Reed grabbed his leg. "Ow! FUCK!"

Pancham wasted no time and hopped up onto Reed's chest, glaring down at him with double severity, sticking its leaf back into its muzzle before declaring "Pancham!"

Reed continued rubbing his shin. "I KNOW you would've won, Pancham... you were training extra hard, but there's nothing we can--"

His objection was interrupted by a knock at the motel room door followed by a female voice calling out his name. "Mr. Winnin? Are you in? Hello?"

The trainer wasn't expecting anyone. "Who is it?"

Although she spoke from the other side of the door, her voice came through incredibly clear "I'm from the Pokemon Tournament wildcard committee."

Reed honestly had no idea what a 'wildcard committee' was, but he recognized the term 'Pokemon Tournament' readily. Jumping to his feet, he hobbled to the door still favoring his leg and he opened it. Standing beyond was a well-dressed, finely-put-together woman some three or four years his senior, and, for some reason, she looked vaguely familiar. She had long blonde hair pulled back into a professional ponytail and her ample-but-not-excessive make-up gave her a decidedly more professional, mature appearance. Reed, however, was neither professional nor mature. "Uh... hi."

She offered a polite smile. "May I come in?"

Taking a step back, Reed moved to the side, allowing the woman entry. She stepped into the motel room, pausing just within the threshold as she glance to where Pancham was standing on the floor, glaring daggers at her as he chewed on his leaf. Realizing that his Pokemon didn't take too kindly to guests, the young poketrainer quickly stepped between them, turning to regard the visitor. "So... um... what's this about, exactly? The lady at the registration desk said that I--"

The woman got right down to business. "You didn't sign up in time so you can't enter the tournament in the traditional manner... but this is the last tournament of the season, and there are four wildcard seeds that the committee needs to fill."

Reed rubbed the back of his head. "But... I thought those come from the trainers who lost a match."

Moving to what amounted to a dining room in the small space, the woman made herself at home, taking a seat as she set a cloth attaché onto the small table. "Usually, yes... but a very influential sponsor wanted to keep this tournament single elimination and though it would spice things up if there was more of a chaotic component to things. This works in your favor... so why worry so much about it?"

Moving to sit across from her at the table, the poketrainer held his hand down toward the floor and was joined by Pancham. He picked his partner up and set the panda-like Pokemon into his lap so they could both look at her; Reed didn't need to glance down to tell that Pancham was still probably glaring at her. "My dad told me once that if something seems too good to be true then it probably is."

The woman smiled. "That's some very good advice, from a very smart man."

Reed nodded, easing back in his chair just a little. "Right... so are you gonna tell me the catch?"

Her smile never faltered. "You're Reed Winnin', son of Albert Winnin', hall of fame Pokemon Trainer. I'd think that having your name show up unexpectedly would be an incredible selling point... wouldn't you?"

Letting out a sigh, Reed deflated immediately; of course it had to do with his father. Closing his eyes and taking in a steadying breath, Reed leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. Pancham had since climbed out of his lap and stood right next to his hands, a death-glare focused right on their guest. In case his Pokemon's stare didn't say enough, the trainer put it into words "I'm not my dad, and I'm not going to ride on his coat tails."

The smile disappeared from the woman's face and she unzipped her bag. "I wouldn't expect you to, Mr. Winnin... which is why you're not being invited to be a wild card seed-- you're being invited to fight for the right to a spot."

Pancham glanced his way, the statement having obviously caught the Pokemon's attention; it was only natural for Reed to also glance to his partner. It took less than a second for them to come to a wordless consensus, at which point the young man looked back to their guest. "How does this work, exactly?"

The woman's smile returned. "I have the paperwork right here."

* * * * * *

Reed had trouble sitting still in the staging room; his restless energy was overflowing and it was all he could do to focus on Pancham as his Pokemon finished off the complimentary super potion. Non-sanctioned pokebattles weren't something either had experience with but Reed was surprised to see just how generous the company staging the fight had been. Then again, he reasoned, four fights in one day did call for SOMETHING to keep the winners going between matches.

He just couldn't keep the word from coming out aloud. "Winners!"

Pancham set down the empty bottle, smacking a close fisted paw into the palm of his other one. "Cham!"

Just one day ago neither had actually won an official match and, even though the strange qualifier tournament for a wildcard seed wasn't exactly official, the wins had been theirs-- all three of them. Reed jumped up off the bench, pumping his arm in the air excitedly. "We won THREE matches today, buddy... THREE! And did you HEAR how much the prize purses were for each of them?"

His Pokemon splayed out on the bench Reed had just vacated. "Pancham."

The human looked back at his partner. "No... the announcer said that we get to keep the money even if we lose, so long as we don't forfeit or withdraw."

A voice from the entrance to the staging room pulled Reed's attention from his Pokemon. "And that's how they trap you, Reed. You didn't read the fine print... did you?"

Reed turned to regard the woman who had visited him in his motel. She was dressed exactly as she had been the prior day although her hair, rather than free-flowing, was pulled back neatly. He sat back down next to Pancham, who sat back up upon her entrance. The Pokemon said enough for both of them. "Cham."

She smiled courteously at Pancham before looking right back at Reed and sighing. "Wendy said that'd probably be the case."

It was a name from his past, and one he hadn't expected to hear. "Windy? You know Windy Fitegoud?

The woman's smile returned and it looked just a little more genuine. "I should. She's my younger sister."

The family resemblance was suddenly that much more obvious. "You're Karen... Wendy's sister?"

"I suppose I never did introduce myself... did I? Karen Fitegoud-Fitzgerald."

Pancham pointed out the obvious. "Cham. Pancham. Cham."

Reed gave the Pokemon a scowl declaring "Well of COURSE I COULD have asked who she was... but I was busy hearing about her offer! Priorities, buddy... geez!"

Karen sighed. "And I suppose that also means you didn't bother going through the contract to see anything about this qualifying tournament... like who runs it?"

The Pokemon trainer shrugged. "I figured the Pokemon Tournament Board... they're the ones who usually do this kinda thing."

Shaking her head, Karen said only "Sid Venderson."

All of Reed's thoughts froze; he'd heard that name before. He started to piece the puzzle together, speaking even as his brain processed the news. "The guy who runs..." his voice lowered to a whisper right when everything connected ".... 'Pokey-Man Pokemon'?"

Although Reed's father was usually a very open, accepting, and progressive individual, one thing that he never accepted and was an outspoken opponent of was Human/Pokemon pornography. Reed knew about the 'Pokey-Man Pokemon' company and Sid Vinderson because the entire undertaking was essentially his dad's arch nemesis. Karen confirmed his worst fears. "Exactly."

Numerous questions popped into Reed's mind but the most pressing one found its way to his mouth. "But... why would a pokeporn producer run a poketournament?"

Karen took in a deep breath and held it. She brought a hand to her forehead and proceeded to rub her temples with her thumb and middle finger. "Reed... when Wendy told me you were... 'obtuse', I thought she meant more like a Snorlax and less like a Magikarp."

Reed couldn't get past the feeling that she had insulted him. "Whadda you mean by that, exactly?"

Pancham didn't miss a beat. "Cham. Pancham-cham."

The young man shot a glare at his Pokemon. "Lazy or useless? I'm not lazy OR useless."

Glancing back to Karen, he saw that she'd stopped whatever melodrama she'd started. "You really CAN understand him, can't you?"

Sometimes people made less sense to Reed than Pokemon. "Yeah-- he's my partner, after all... of course I can understand him."

The way she looked at him made Reed feel uncomfortable; her expression was nigh unreadable. Only when she spoke up did anything get put in perspective. "You don't realize just how few trainers can understand their Pokemon... do you?"

Reed shrugged in response. "I guess not... I mean, I know most trainers are just worried about getting the perfect team and training them all the time so they can be the best, but I think that the way to be the best is to enter single Pokemon tournaments and just focus on helping your one partner be the greatest they can be."

"Pancham."

The trainer shot his Pokemon a withering stare "Well that's not JUST my fault you know! We're losing TOGETHER."

Karen's tone turned less accusatory and suddenly more sympathetic. "You DO know that almost no trainer out there looks at it that way... right?"

Reed scowled as her statement brought back an unpleasant memory. "Well my DAD certainly doesn't..."

The woman let out a deep sigh and opened her cloth briefcase, sifting through the papers until she pulled one out. "Reed... the next fight is your last one for today. If you lose it then you--"

The trainer smirked. "Don't go talking negative now! We've won three matches in a row!"

Her free hand returned to her head and her shoulders slumped. "You've never heard of 'bait fights' before, Reed?"

Reed shook his head. "No... what's that?"

Karen took a seat on a nearby bench. "Your first match was against an Aron.

The trainer nodded blankly. "Yeah... I know. I was there."

She pressed him. "An Aron is a Rock/Steel Pokemon."

Reed had trouble figuring out what she was getting at. "Okay... and?"

Rolling her eyes, she continued on her tirade. "And your second win? That was a--"

The young man spoke over her. "I know. I know. It was a Poochyena. So?"

Karen leaned forward. "A Poochyena is a Dark type Pokemon."

Reed sat down opposite her his bench, resting a had on Pancham's head; the little Pokemon leaned against him, sliding up under his arm as it glared daggers at Karen. Truth be told, Reed was starting to feel the same way. "Yeah? What's your point, Karen? Pancham and I are supposed to be getting ready for--"

She flipped the papers in her hand to cut him off and declared. "Your third fight was a Geodode, Reed! Don't you know what all of these Pokemon have in common?"

He still didn't know what she was getting at. "Well... I know Geodode is a Rock Pokemon like Aron, but Poochyena isn't, so.... no?"

Pancham let out a yawn, stating dismissively "Pancham."

Reed glanced down at his partner. "They are? They're ALL weak to Fighting Pokemon?"

Karen stared at him in disbelief. "You've been a Pokemon Trainer for over six years and you didn't know that?"

The teen shrugged. "It's never come up. So... you're saying that this tournament has been so easy because they've put us up against Pokemon that're weak against Pancham? You mean they're basically HANDING us money then? Where's the problem with that?"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Karen flipped past a few more pages. "Reed... your final fight is NOT going to be easy, and if you lose--"

He interrupted her. "If I lose we still get to keep the money, and I don't get to take part in the Poketournament. I know."

Springing to her feet, Karen let out a wordless cry of frustration and dropped the contract next to Reed. "No, Reed... you DON'T know."

Turning to watch Karen storm off across to the other side of the staging room; he had trouble trying to figure out what her deal was-- until he looked down at page eight of the contact, and what she'd highlighted with a marker. Reaching down to pick it up, he re-read the line again... and again.... and again. His hands suddenly started shaking and he spoke out with a quiet, whimpering voice. "T-the winning P-pokemon..."

Karen about-faced, turning back to look at him as she leaned against the wall, motioning to the papers he held. "That's why Sid runs this off-league qualifier tournament. The winning Pokemon of the final match has sex with the losing trainer."

Reed froze in place. "I--"

She wasn't done. "And it's recorded on video."