SwSh rewrite- First Match
“After all this time, we are brought back to our two beloved rivals brought by our sponsors, Macro Cosmos, I’m Rally!”
“And welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the annual exhibition match!”
Thousands of adoring fans and watchers cheer and shout at the recognizable silhouette amongst the smoke and sparks of technicolor fireworks. Leon, a champion with a decade-long winning streak, took in his annual applause as he did his iconic pose, raising his hand with three fingers reigning up to the sky. The crowd's response mimicked the same gesture.
Ahead of him, a sandstorm was kicking up along with the raised “oohs” and “ahhs” amongst everyone as a man adorned in orange and indigo breezed past the storm as if it was a light breeze. What followed was a green and red Pokemon, soaring through with speeds and agility like no other.
“You’re soaking up the attention this time because you know it’s about to be the last?”
“Not at all! In fact, I’m saving you the embarrassment of your three followers”
“That’s THIRTY MILLION followers to you, Lelon!”
“Lelon? I don’t know if you’ve checked recently, but there’s only one L in my name”
“Trust me, you’ll need it after this battle”
With a chuckle, the two opponents threw out their ultraballs, an Aegislash opposing brutal blows from Flygon with an indomitable shield. But as soon as it let her guard down, it was whipped by the long flaked green tail. Wounded, but not down just yet.
The audience split their chants, one boosting the energy of the limber Flygon, while the other half strengthened the king shield of Aegislash. But amongst the thousands, two seats towered above them. Behind an ornate set of opera glasses were the piercing black eyes of a woman adorned in a three-piece suit of white, velvet, and cherry and golden jewelry. With one leg resting on the other, right below her elite seat was her Furfrou, matching her trainer down to the personality. A pooch resting on a £600 velvet pillow, so uninterested in the scene in front of her, not even an ear was lifted by either the sparks or lights of the show.
As the lady viewed the ongoing spectacle, she could feel her unoccupied hand be lifted from her lap and a pair of lips gently touch her knuckles.
“How are you enjoying the show, my lady?”
A man of similar standing, dressed down in steel-grey and hair slicked back except for a long curl, green eyes looked lovingly at the beautifully dark face in front of him.
“It sure is different from what I’m accustomed to”, Her fingers swayed with her eyes to lighten her implications.
“I bet they don’t have stadiums this big in Kalos, huh?”
“They don’t have any stadiums in Kalos”
Her words were barren of any light blows. The only response her partner could muster was,
“OOH, and that's gotta be a critical OHKO hit from Leon’s Seismitoad!”
The cringed, pitiful remark was spewed from one of the commentators as Torkoal fell to his side. But in Torkoal’s place stood a purplish-mauve dragon with sticky and slimy skin, roaring a high-pitched cry to strengthen himself. However, the cry was cut short by the shaking and rumbling of the ground below him and he lost his balance. The Goodra was so busy trying to find steady ground, that he couldn’t even pay attention to the 2 m tall brick wall of a toad rapidly approaching with full pent-up strength behind those fists. The dragon reared his head back up only to be met with the force of a truck directly in the face. For a wingless dragon, it flew the ring of the stadium, hitting the Macro Cosmos’s C-like logo that glowed behind him. But, somehow, it still stood with only 1 hp to his name. He shook off any rubble that littered its skin before hearing his trainer call out, “GOODRA, USE ENDEAVOR!”. Like a bullet, it darted back at his foe with a force equal to what he had faced mere moments ago. With a clean uppercut, the Seismitoad that took out his friend and nearly himself was vanquished
Leon was faced with his long-standing Seismitoad, belly up, and fainted. With a subtle sigh, Leon returned his Pokémon back to her ball. With a moment of relief, Raihan rushed to heal his resilient Pokémon back to green. Like clockwork, Goodra was up and moving like early morning. The two trainers were at a standstill. Each of them left with only two Pokémon, a fair man’s game
For all of those 20 minutes, the woman beside him didn’t even mutter as a snort. It’s only now she says anything.
“Leon is going to win the battle”
“What led you to say that? They’re both left with only two Pokémon”
“What Pokémon does Raihan have left?”
“Turtonator and Duraladon”
“Then I said what I said. He has two dragon types while Leon’s standing Pokémon can utilize both Ice Beam and Dazzling Gleam”
“Yet you seem to forget that both of those Pokémon are not just dragon type”
As he whispered that, the mime-like Pokémon was blown off his rhythm by both a fire blast and a shell trap, mistaken for safe grass. The once fully healthy Mr Rime is now left with zero hp.
“Don’t tell me you’re getting rusty already, Ms. ‘champion’s duchess’?”
“My point stands nonetheless. He would’ve won minutes ago if he had just diversified his team a little bit”
“So what, you’re expecting him to throw away his whole gimmick?”
“No, not necessarily, just adding to it. Perhaps getting a rain setter – an Azumarill would be a good pick. It’d certainly help that Goodra and deal some good damage."
“We don’t really have any Azumarills over here in Galar. But there’s probably a couple on that one island if my memory serves correctly. You think I should tip him on that?”
The same hand that the man kissed was soon raised to halt his voice,” Let’s not be hasty. What if Raihan does win? All anticipation of him winning or not would be lost just like that. They’d already have their prize, and they'd all be off to chase something new and shiny.” Her eyes drifted from the ongoing battle and higher at the scenery around it. Thousands of people, the audience yearning for the next jaw-dropping move. One move can make or break the audience. Every move those two trainers make is no different than two dancers entertaining judges; Both must give it their all and synchronize their all lest they’d be thrown off their rhythm. But instead of a handful of judges in a small isolated room, it’s a region’s worth of people in and out of the stadium, watching their every second, speculating on their teams, abilities, movesets, and strategies. That thought almost made the duchess respect the two, almost.
“You must not know Leon at all if you think he’d give all of this up for his only rival”, he sneered with a gentle smirk,” If anything, he’s come back swinging twice as hard, just for him”
That inclination gave the man something he didn’t expect but never realized he longed for: a curious raised brow.
“Instead of Leon keeping that crown for himself, it’d be a back-and-forth of them fighting for the crown. It’d almost be like we’d have two champions. Surely, that’s more engaging for the masses, wouldn’t you say?”
The woman almost curled her lips to what could be a smile, eyes more taking in the feast of this riveting battle. Two men, stuck in their opposing corners. With all their Pokémon fallen, they were left with one Pokémon each, their aces. Like duels preceding their time, they drew their Pokémon. The crowd cheered and whistled. But those praises would be short-lived with the once vibrant light being consumed.
The couple stared at the onslaught of distress brewing. One stood unamused, damn near disappointed witnessing her spouse lead staff to a directionless scramble. He could only save face with a pitiful smile in response, having to hear those same commentators apologizing to the sea of disappointing faces.
“I’m so sorry, Cinna, this doesn’t usually happen. It’s getting handled within no time”
“None of the power seems to be working, Mr. Rose, sir. We fear the stadiums or the surrounding dynamaxing may be consuming energy more quickly”
“I know. I will address it eventually. Are the backup generators still up and moving?”
“There are people already working on it”
With two formal nods, the stressed-out worker excused herself before scurrying off before anything else dire could happen
The now confused, weary, and disappointed masses surrounded them. But amidst the dark, they looked at each other, Pokémon still facing them and their opponents. Maybe it was an archaic ability, perhaps the true rivalry bond they shared for two decades, but even with everything obscured, Leon knew Raihan gave him a nod. A nod of agreement unbeknownst to anyone but the two foes on the field. And without any further words, Leon nodded back.
It sparked; maybe it was one or two Dynamax stars or even a hundred before one of the commentators grabbed the attention of everyone. No artificial light could replicate the now magenta-tinted titans standing guard. Igniting the scene, Charizard blazed the skyscraper with wildfire. But much to her dismay, not even an ounce of metal melted off of Duraladon. He steered his head up, charging up for a finishing move. So much so that Wyrmwind was nothing but a mere second thought. Even if Duraladon was losing HP, even if he had one Pokémon standing, Raihan was determined to take Leon with this defeat. But as the steel serpent took aim, the ground shook in the wake of Leon’s request. The last thing everyone saw before the earth consumed Duraladon was a force more powerful than the stars themselves charging at Charizard. Duralodon succumbed to the earthquake as the last Pokémon that remained was Charizard. 0-1 once again. But with a victory at a hand’s reach, Raihan sealed their rivalry with Leon with a firm handshake and a promise to defeat him soon.
As much as Rose can thank the hero of Galar himself for saving the battle and his business, his true regard should be forced on the two trainers who never ceased to fail him. But by the look of the crowded lobby, the two were receiving more thanks than Rose could ever think of. That’s not to say Rose and Cinna weren’t crowded as well. But while the two greatest trainers received love mail and banners, Rose and Cinna were bombarded with questions that invaded the very air they breathed.
“How long have you known Mr. Rose?”
“Is Macro Cosmos going to expand to Kalos?”
“What’s going on with the power?”
“How do you plan to stop these ongoing outages?”
“Are you working with Rose to stop these incidents from continuing?”
“I do apologize, but neither of us will be answering questions for the time being", The businessman kept a kind face despite the flashing camera and invading reporters. Silent as she is, Rose’s companion did nothing but stare at them with a demeanor unlike her husband’s. With a strong grip on Furfrou’s bedazzled leash, the couple left without a further word.
The flight back to their abode was a breath of fresh air. The sound of incessant yammering would be engulfed by the flapping of Corviknight’s wings. Cinna stared out, elbow on windowsill, hand on chin. She stares out at the sky, the stadium that could shelter a town reduced to the size of a speck. Streetlights and cars, and people looking like the constellations for the ground. Turning to the opposite side, she once again meets her husband focused on a call.
“We shouldn’t have to delay. We’re already pushing back enough events as it is! Do you know how much we’ll lose if we push the challenge for another month?”
“I know, I know, maybe I can talk to Milo or Nessa. I don’t think they’d have any problem.”
“Okay, thank you, thank you so much”
Even with his back turned Rose could still sense the burning ire from his love. And with nothing to say, he stood still, waiting for her next move.
“Do you care to explain to me what that was?”
“It was nothing, just a call from Oleana”
“Not the call, the outage!”
“Listen, I’m sorry, I really am, but we’re trying to fix them.”
“Oh really, by the looks of it, your little 'postponing' plans have already run their course”
Rose struggled to let out a single word, let alone a sentence
“Honestly, look at yourself. For a man who was able to build a multi-billion-dollar business conglomerate and call himself a philanthropist, you sure can’t give the people the energy they need. What’s going to happen when you can’t call it a ‘rare occurrence’? What’s going to happen when you can’t drag any more battles? What are you going to do when everything is drained?"
“We don’t need to worry about that because trying to find a solution, is just a slow process that’s all”
“‘A slow process’? Do you think the people of Galar are looking for a slow process?"
“And do you think rushing things is any better? Listen to yourself, if we try to force a solution out of nowhere, we’d be doing more harm than good”
“Well, I would’ve considered your ‘slow process’ if I had nipped te source by the bud already”
“You’re saying that as if we’re any closer to the source then we were months ago”
“What? Is it not a shortage?”
“Like I said before. Honestly, I’m just as lost as you”, His eyes could only focus on the lights that flicked and danced below them. The stress of her led him to massage the side of his forehead with his fingers. Cinna, however, was not as concerned.
“Then have your men investigate the mines then”
“ They’ve ventured those mines long enough. Any deeper would endanger their lives”
“And risk leaving Galar powerless?”
“I’d rather we have none at all than by getting any energy by blood”, The face that was once drained of energy, stared back at her with umbrage. Cinna could only sneer at the utter audacity her own husband could respond with. But even she could admit that prolonging their conversation would only damage her in the end.
“Fine, have it your way.”
Those minutes of silence multiplied to hours by the tension of the situation. As the once Durant-sized buildings gained their true height and the pushing winds dissolved, Cinna only muttered one thing to herself,” Didn’t know this region needed more saving than I bargained for”
