Nakano Saito
Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 17
Location: Eterna City Gym, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Ludwig the Ludicolo, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous, Silenus the Sceptile
Battling: Gardenia (kyuukestu) vs Ludwig the Ludicolo
Mentions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro), Gwen Tucker, Ozzy the Deino, and Cobalt the Piplup (IDKWhatUserNameToDo), Hana Ikarri, Levy the Munna, Majesty the Servine, and Hertz the Noibat (JoyPaws)
She stood at the doors. Unmoving. The last bit of nerves eased up as the liquid courage made her looser. She sighed, shaking out her arms and taking in deep breaths. Earlier, she had changed out her camouflage coat from around her waist to wear one of her white lab coats for comfort and good luck, having put it in her backpack. This was Gardenia, a young lady who used the same Pokémon in almost every single important battle. Roserade.
She was definitely going to be meeting that infamous Roserade, who would prove to be extremely troublesome. Then there was that Mega Venusaur she remembered from many serious battles Gardenia did. That thing barely left her side either. But now that she knew only two of six, she didn’t know what Gardenia was going to use. Torterra? Maybe. But it was four times weak to Ice, and she had two other Pokémon who were that weak to Ice. Tangrowth was a possible one. She recalled it was more defensive. If she had two Grass/Poison-Types, it was likely she wouldn't have another, so any of those were out of the window. It was far easier to think of the rest of her team in types, and it was likely she was going for dual-typed Pokémon to make it harder for Naka, so erase all those pure Grass-Types.
But she remembered that type chart like the back of her hand.
It was very possible she might go for Leafeon, but that depended on other Pokémon she may go with. Either way, Naka was certain it was all dual-types from here. She also knew Cherrim - while good - only shined brighter in double battles, so she was certain that wouldn’t be used here. If she had two Pokémon weak to Psychic, she most likely had a Grass/Dark-Type. Of what, she had no idea. Shiftry? Cacturne? Maybe that cool Meowscarada? Okay, maybe not that last one.
Crazy, how there were only three, fully-evolved, non-legendary Grass/Dark-Types.
It was very likely she would have a part Flying-Type to cover for Bug-Types. Jumpluff? Tropius? She’d just have to wait. As for battling Ice-Types, she’d have to have a Pokémon strong against it without being severely weak to it, like Torterra. She didn’t know what that would be, however. As for covering Fire… Could be a Pokémon that may also know Ground-Type moves, but most large Grass-Types were able to learn Earthquake.
She had
some idea as to what her team make up would be, but she very much could throw her for a loop and send out a pure Grass-Type. She would just have to think on her feet, keep her Froslass, Infernape, Zweilous, and Sceptile from being knocked out as they were the ones she was sure would net her the win if she was careful.
Once she saw any other Pokémon that wasn’t her Venusaur or Roserade, it should fall all into place.
For now, it was time. The receptionist told her it was time, so she opened the doors and walked onto the battlefield.
Naka walked towards that battlefield, each step making her feel hollow. Light. As if she were on clouds. No gravity. She felt like the entire world was echoing around her. She stepped onto that battlefield, into the trainer’s square, and took in a deep breath.
With a release, she was brought back to reality, the world crashing in as she saw a few fans of hers in the stands. Then Ron, Gwen, and Hana. Then their Pokemon. Naka closed her eyes, and breathed in deeply, then out, the alcohol really helping her.
She tapped her foot to an imaginary beat in her head. A small smile creeped over her face. She remembered nights when she came home from a really bad day from having to do public speeches as a kid or when people bothered her as she fought others. She sang with her Pokémon to let it melt away, singing to rock songs or trying to scream out lyrics to those death metal songs on the radio. While it wasn’t a passion, it helped cool her jets. Last night showed that to her, the raw thrill of singing out to a possible crowd of people, just as long as she had fun doing it and she was with someone, everything was going to be okay.
Last night, she was with Ron, but he was in the stands. No, she will be doing this with her Pokémon. She grinned. “Let’s have fun.” She uttered, the six containers at her hip wiggling in agreement. She looked towards the other side of the field with a smile. Snapping her fingers to that same beat she was tapping her foot to, she pulled out a Pokéball from her belt and twirled it on her fingertip while it enlarged. Snatching it from the air as the finger left it, she sent out her first Pokémon with a jubilant toss, Ludicolo.
Ludwig twirled about and danced, looking back at his trainer and seeing her snapping to a beat. He took it, and danced to it, humming to himself. Naka’s confidence came back in full swing after seeing that trusting gaze from her Ludicolo, and she stared ahead, absolutely ready.
……
Meanwhile, Fluffy let out soft whines. He was worried for Naka and how she’d do in the battle. Upon seeing how loose she was, he furrowed his brow. Was she drunk? She never did this, especially not in the crowd. Who took Naka away? Who was she? He looked up at Luz, then whined and rested his head, his body tense as there were now more people nearby.
Chu didn’t mind the more packed area. She found it exhilarating! She giggled as Hana waved back and she wanted to hop near her, only to hear the crowd get excited about something. She whirled around to see Naka, who looked far more confident than before. With excited cheers, she ran up to Ron’s lap and jumped on his knee, pointing to his PokeBalls and pushing her cheeks in, electrifying herself painlessly and making sure the shocks didn’t touch Ron or Gwen. She wanted Marley to come out so she could teach her how to cheer.
