697The table shook as Crasher Wake pounded his fist against it, letting loose a hearty laugh that jostled his taut gut. Thad barely managed to downed the rest of his glass of water as others at the table sputtered at the Water-type specialists grand tale.
"Wait, wait, wait," Falkner said with heavy skepticism. "You are telling us that's how you escaped from the stomach of a Gastrodon. And it was seriously as big as a school bus?"
Crasher Wake wiped his mouth and let out a mirthless chuckle. "Kid, when you've been around as long as I have, you see some stuff. That's why I always carry an extra salt pack with me. It's just good luck."
"This is why I could never be convinced to have a Water-type gym," Whitney chimed in. "It sounds nice in theory with the pools and cute swimsuits, but then you tell us stuff like that."
A waiter came by with another platter of decadent banana themed treats. A large banana split dominated the center with a ring of banana parfaits lining the edge of the tray. A few extra plates were left on the table as beverages were refilled amidst the laughter. Thad eyed one of the parfaits with narrowed eyes, sipping his water.
"You okay?" Jasmine leaned closer to Thad's ear, nestling up to him. "It's just fruit. You don't have to eat it if you don't want to. We can always order a protein dish."
"It's not that. I'm just trying to decide if this stuff is technically protein or not."
"Huh?"
"Think about it, Jazzy. You said some duderino named Tropius grew this stuff, right?"
"It's a Pokemon, but you're correct."
Thad tapped his forehead with his index finger. "And a Tropius is made of meat, yeah?"
"I believe so?" Jasmine paused, her brow furrowing as she considered the implication. "I can't confirm for sure their biology, but I'd presume as much."
"And fruit grows off plants, and this came from an animal. So is it actually fruit?"
An icy wind washed over the table, slowing the other conversations to a halt. Falkner pursed his lips but remained quiet while Whitney opened her mouth and then promptly closed it several times. Crasher Wake simply hummed in agreement, though even Thad was unsure what the masked man was exactly agreeing to. The mystery of it all or simply that they lacked the proper word. Marley, who had been quiet most the meal, ignored Thad's ramblings and helped herself to a sliver of the banana split and dug with a dainty grace.
Byron the last one to look around at the befuddlement and finally coughed into his fist to break the silence. "Son, it's best you leave those thoughts to the Pokemon researchers. Universities have several papers covering these kinds of subjects. We just know that the bananas from a Tropius are virtually identical from normal bananas."
"And that doesn't weird you out that someone might bamboozle a vegan with a meat banana?" Thad asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Please don't say it like that," Whitney pleaded, mid scoop of some of the banana split. "For a jock you sure ask a lot of questions."
Thad threw his hands up and gave an incredulous look to Whitney. "When it comes to my food, I'd like to know how it's sourced. It's how I keep these mad gains rolling."
"How about we switch topics?" Falkner said, turning to Thad. "Do you have a plan for tomorrow's match?"
"That roly-poly dweeb from Kanto?" Thad replied. "Sure, I'mma give him the business. I've got a few dudes in my squad that some folks ain't ready for."
Jasmine nodded. "I have no doubts, but remember why they suggest 9-11 Pokemon be registered for Worlds. It's a 3v3 format for the next three matches with no repeats being able to be called upon, and you only have nine Pokemon. You need to choose carefully."
"Mhmm, I getcha," Thad acknowledged with a playful wave of his hand. "I've already brewed up a solid plan for that Brad dude."
Marley polished off the last of her parfait and then shot Thad a skeptical look, raising an eyebrow. "Do you even know what Pokemon he has registered?"
Thad began counting on his fingers. "Well he's got a pink fox-cat, the pink blob, the blue mouse, a set of haunted keys, a ring of flowers, a bigger flower lady thing, hammer time, big hat pinkie, and a bagel dog." He tapped the side of his head. "It's all in the ole brain bucket."
"I hate that I know what at least half of those are," Marley groaned, laying her forehead against the table.
Jasmine rubbed Thad's back, smiling at him. "We did watch some of his regional matches on the cruise over here, so I'm not shocked. Motivating you more than usual tends to be a dangerous combination."
"So, what are you going to lead with?" Falkner asked, leaning forward over the table. "Give us a little bit of a hint at least."
Thad considered spilling some of his master plan, but years of competition had taught him better. He restrained himself and pushed away from the table, gently guiding Jasmine's hand to his own as he stood up. He gave a quick nod to the rest of the table.
"I know it's time to bow out. If I stick around, y'all will probably convince me. Just trust in me that it'll be an absolute banger tomorrow. Enjoy the meat bananas my dudes."
A few awkward glances were shared across the table as Thad exited the restaurant with Jasmine in tow. Thad waved to the group as he stepped out into the main atrium of the Pokemon League. The pinkish glow of the Pokemon Center sign illuminated the area, clashing with the bluish neon signage from the nearby PokeMart; most trainers' final chance before stocking up before the biggest challenge of their lives.
"So, what would you like to do with the rest of the evening? It's been a long day after everything and-"
"You want to talk about today for a bit? You hardly touched the banana stuff," Thad interrupted. He wrapped a bulky arm around her shoulders. He gestured with his free arm toward the entrance to the league; large glass double doors that led out to the waterfront. "I know we were planning to meet in the finals and all, but I just wanted to check in with ya since you're my coach and my girl."
Jasmine's eyes started to well up with water, yet no tears came. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. "It's fine, Thad. It was a very close match. Well fought in the end."
"Doesn't mean ya don't feel it. I remember the first big match I lost against Morty," Thad looked up at the high vaulted ceiling and scratched the back of his head, "man, I thought I got straight up tricked for a sec there. Ghosts weird me out. Had to reevaluate and refocus. You helped me do that. So, maybe I can help you refocus."
"Thad, I can't just exercise my problems away like you."
Thad shrugged. "You'd be surprised, but I'll give that one to ya." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "So, what about a different kind of distraction?"
A faint blush crept upon Jasmine's cheeks. Her mouth formed a thin line as she struggled to keep her composure. "That… is certainly tempting, but this also sounds like another ploy to get me to exercise."
"I'm not hearing a no?"
"Alright, but only if you carry me up to the suite."
Thad scoped Jasmine up into his arms bridal style and bolted toward the stairs, blatantly passing by the elevator. He skipped a step bounding up the switchback staircase for each floor, both he and Jasmine laughing all the while at the absurdity of it all. Sometimes when under the greatest pressure in the public eye, a little rest and recovery were necessary to decompress and refresh oneself. Tomorrow would hold new challenges, but the night would be theirs to indulge in.
The roof to the Pokemon arena was lifted letting the morning sun shine down upon the dirt. With the sun out, it was only natural Thad trotted out to the field shirtless. He didn't even have shoes on, but that was more of an oversight caused by sleeping beside Jasmine after an eventful night. A belt around his waist with all nine of his team members lined, and of course, the vaunted tactical fanny pack attached above Thad's glutes. With a plastic playsheet in hand, he waved to the crowd and struck a few poses to show off his bronze bod of stacked muscle.
"And welcome back folks to the World Tournament!" Mary's voice echoed over the speaker system as the crowd chattered in the background. "For this round, rotating in as our guest announcer, we have none other than the wonderful matron of flowers and beauty, Erica from Celadon City! Go ahead and say hello to the listeners at home."
A brief pause lingered over the airwaves followed by a shuffling sound. "Ah, hello there," Erica's soft voice whispered into the microphone, "It's truly a pleasure to be invited here. Refreshingly less stressful than competition."
"Speaking of competition, what do you think of our competitors in this first match? One being from your very own region of Kanto."
"It's anyone's match," Erica candidly replied. "Brad Wheeler has been a perennial top contender for the past half decade, but I think this may be his greatest challenge yet in Thaddeus Makri of Johto. He's a relatively unknown pseudo-type specialist known for unconventional tactics."
Mary clapped her hands together and hummed in agreement. "Well said from a seasoned veteran. Let's go to our ground cams, as it looks like Brad is exiting the tunnel just now!"
Thad squinted across the arena, holding up a hand to block out the morning sun from his eyes. Brad, in a gaudy pink and black tracksuit strutted out onto the field. His round face looked supremely arrogant and punchable to Thad, but he merely squeezed his hands into fists and let go. It was still strange to be on the sideline and not the one to be partaking directly in the action, but he'd prepared for this moment perhaps more than any other match-up.
"You ready to get spanked back to loser town?" Thad shouted with a manic grin. He plucked free one of the Pokeballs from his belt and gently tossed it up and down.
Brad visibly bristled at the comment and turned his nose up at Thad, giving him a supremely condescending glare. "Try all you want, meathead, but this is where the real trainers belong. This will be quick."
"Both trainers," Mary's voice echoed across the field as the crowd came to a hush, "You will be competing in a best of three set. No switches. No staying in when victory has been achieved for the round. Please release your first Pokemon and begin the contest!"
Thad and Brad wasted no further time and hurled their chosen toward the center of the painted ring. First, a large boulder formed in the flash of light on Thad's side, to which stubby arms and legs sprouted out. The ground quaked as Dwayne let out a battle cry. Opposing the rocky Pokemon a sleek white and pink feline-like Pokemon emerged from the red light; ribbons dangled from their ears as a slight breeze blew.
"Let's do it, Dwayne. Time to rock their world!"
"No mercy, Sylvie! Audio suite nine!"
Dwayne wasted no time rotating at a high velocity and burrowed his way underground, narrowly missing a blast of sound waves that emitted from the Sylveon. Thad could feel the melodic tones in his very bones, as even the air seemed to warp with each successive note. A slight ringing in his head began to creep up on him.
Just like he did in the Fuschia tape…
A lesser trainer would have been unnerved or even stunned into submission by the sound based move that spared neither trainer nor Pokemon. Thad, looked at his playsheet and a smirk worked its way forward. There would be no verbal communication on his side for the first round, but it was accounted for. He'd crunched the numbers with a little mathematical help from Marley, and the plan was to fight music with music.
Thad dropped to his knees and held his hands up with his palms open. Time for some reverse whack-a-mole. Thad began to slap the ground in a rapid motion like a drummer possessed as Slyveon continued their song and hopped around the battlefield, waiting for Dwayne to resurface.
Up, up, left, right, down, left, up, up, right, Thad thought to himself as he kept his eyes fixated squarely on Brad's noisy Pokemon. Sure, the melody was that of a warm lullaby, but it made his ears itch something fierce and the front of his head ache.
After a few calculated slaps to the ground, Dwayne emerged right behind Sylvie and delivered a headbutt squarely into their hind-legs, then retreated back into the ground. Sylveon danced around frantically as Dwayne continued his subterranean assault delivering blow after blow, whittling down Sylveon's defense through the persistent combination of Protect and Wish. Through calculated application of Headbutt, Earthquake, and even a Dynamic Punch mixed in for good measure Thad knew he had the true advantage in the long game. There was something to be said for home field advantage, and the moment he saw the soft dirt for the arena used in previous rounds, it was as good as done.
Steady and sturdy as ever, Dwayne leapt from the ground again; the arena was littered with holes like it'd been assaulted by a legion of Excadrill, and spun right into Sylveon's face. The crowd let out a loud 'oooh' as Sylveon struggled to back away, but collapsed underneath their own power. Battered and bruised, they'd been tired out and thoroughly walloped. Restorative moves could only do so much when under such stress.
"Incredible, after nearly ten minutes of cat and mouse, it seems the mouse, or rock I should say, has claimed victory. Slyveon has passed out due to its injuries and exhaustion!" Mary exclaimed.
"Sylveon is known for special defense, not necessarily for physical prowess," Erica added. "Granted, the same could be said about Golem in the opposite sense. These are the kinds of match-ups where coaching really is highlighted."
Brad recalled his Sylveon back into its Pokeball, shooting a glare at Thad from across the arena. Thad spread his arms out and beckoned toward the crowd, flexing for good measure as the chants and cheers intensified, nearly shaking the stands. After a moment of basking in the glory, Thad withdrew Dwyane and gave his Pokeball a pat as he reattached it to his belt.
"Atta dude, ya rocked that shit hard," Thad said. He plucked off another Pokeball from his belt as he shifted his focus to Brad; the man's face flush and scrunched up. "Ya gotta take a poop?"
"Oh, cram it, meathead. That was lucky. This time it'll be different! Go, Zuzu!"
Thad and Brad released their second combatants in tandem, and the buzz of the crowd toned down. Near Thad, a winged Pokemon shot into the skies with a heroic screech. Nacho swooped around in intricate loops high above Brad's Azumarill; a little blue blobby aqua mouse that stared up at Nacho with zeal.
"Alright, Nacho, do your thing! Get in there and slap 'em around!"
Brad crossed his arms and scoffed. "Zuzu, belly drum!"
The Zuzu gave its round tummy a few syncopated pats as Nacho pitched themselves into a nosedive, clipping the Azumarill with a well struck wing attack. Zuzu recoiled backward, tumbling end over end as it finished its slapping ritual. A pale white aura emanated around Zuzu as their eyes lit up. Zuzu raised its stubby left arm and tucked inside their armpit was a yellow spotted berry that had been nestled inside, to which they let fall into their other palm and gobbled down quickly.
"Berries are always a staple of Pokemon battles," Erica's soothing voice explained over the intercom. "Whether you are elite or a novice, just because they are widely accessible doesn't mean they don't have wide applications. Reasons why I love to cultivate my own."
"Belly drum has amped this Azumarill up, but will it be fast enough to keep up with a Hawlucha?" Mary said. "They took a wicked wing attack to get that set off."
Brad shot a dirty grin towards Thad. "Now, you'll see the difference in our prep!"
Thad rolled his shoulders and ignored the jeer. His eyes flicked to his playsheet, scanning as quickly as possible for notes on what the Belly Drum did. Most of his notes covered type match-ups and specific status conditions. A creeping dread raised the hairs on the back of the jocks neck as he noticed a lacking section on ability modifiers.
"Nacho, you gotta get in there quick before more bad stuff happens! Time to unload!"
With wings spread wide, Nacho took on a silvery hue as they began to dive towards the Azumarill. To Thad surprise, the Azumarill dug in their heels and seemed to wait for Nacho to build momentum from their Sky Attack.
A battle cry rang through the arena as wind blasted the stands and arena. Nacho was little more than a blur in the air as it raced toward Zuzu, looking to capitalize for the winning blow.
A blow that never came. The crowd let out a collection of 'oof' as Zuzu had shot a jet of water from its mouth that clipped Nacho right on the tip of the beak before impact. Nacho spun out of control and skid against the dirt; a single dazed caw emanated from them before consciousness left them.
"And that's a knock out! Incredible timing and trust from Brad and his Azumarill!"
"Agreed, Mary," Erica replied. "Aqua Jet is normally a weak but incredibly fast move, but when combined with Belly Drum it's a deadly combination. This kind of interaction points to Brad's experience and Thad's unfortunate inexperience."
Thad dug into his short pocket for a small marker, scribbling a note onto his laminated playsheet. He let out a sigh and recalled Nacho back to their Pokeball to rest up.
"Guess it's time for the big guns, eh," Thad muttered to himself, holding up a new Pokeball. He clenched his free hand and placed the Pokeball against his forehead. "Alright, Butterbean, let's stunt on these hoes."
Butterbean erupted from their Pokeball, appearing in a flash of brilliant light. The crowd 'ooo' and 'awed' at the mountainous Snorlax. Brad's Azumarill craned its head up and pinned its ears back as it took in full scope of the behemoth. Butterbean spread his bulbous legs and pressed their arms out, ready to catch whatever the Water-type dared through at it.
"Thad's final Pokemon is a Snorlax… and by Arcues, that must be the largest one I've seen," Erica whispered over the intercom.
"Intimidation won't work on lowering our offensive prowess, Thad!" Brad shouted across the arena. "We've already activated the Belly Drum technique, it's as good as over."
Butterbean made a small motion with his paw toward the Azumarill, and Thad restrained himself to a half-cocked smile. "I think my dude wants you to prove it. Show your moves!"
"Zuzu, go for Play Rough!"
"Butterbean, it's time for skadoosh!"
Brad's coaxing won out over Zuzu's immediate hesitation in regarding the snorlax. They burst into action and a faint pink glow encapsulated them. Butterbean held his arms forward as if to catch the oncoming attack, but the Azumarill slipped past his cumbersome guard. Brad jumped in the air and pumped a fist as Azumarill made contact with the center of Butterbean's stomach.
There was a ripple, vibrating Butterbean from head to toe, and then the soft pillow middle flexed and became a sheet of steel. There was a faint click that echoed through the arena and for a moment, time and space seemed to freeze. Thad grinned.
Zuzu flew back at double the force, empowered by the stacking effect of its own Belly Drum. They were naught but a blur as they soared through the air, embedding themselves into the opposite wall of the arena just below the stands. Sounds of confusion echoed from the onlookers as people tried to track the movement.
"That… was probably the nastiest use of Counter any of us had the pleasure to witness," Mary said. "Wow."
There was a small cough over the intercom. "Agreed. Snorlax does seem to have some bruising on their abdomen, but I doubt any Pokemon could walk back into the fight after a deflection like that. A bold call by Thad to put his tournament on the line like that."
Brad recalled his Azumarill into their Pokeball and shook his head while deliberating over his final selection. Thad cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "how ya feeling big guy?"
"Snore."
"Claire!" Brad shouted, holding up an Ultra Ball. He opened it in his hand and let the red light stream from it, revealing a pink Pokemon with fairy wings and pointed ears manifest on the field before him. "This is my final choice. My Clefable against your Snorlax, Thad. I doubt they can weather the coming storm after they took that damage. I know Counter doesn't cancel out the attack!"
"Ah, good point," Thad agreed. He pat Butterbean on the back. "Nap time then buddy."
"Lax." Butterbean tumbled to the side and began snoring loudly. Murmurs of dissent and confusion echoed from the crowd.
Brad narrowed his eyes at the sleeping behemoth while Thad simply gave an innocent shrug that screamed 'Well, what are you gonna do about it?'.
"Claire," Brad pointed at the sleeping Snorlax. "Let's use this opportunity to use Calm Mind and prepare to wipe them out before they wake up."
"Risky, but probably a needed risk," Erica's voice drawled. "Brad's analysis is correct, and Thad had put himself in a corner. Granted, it's a very safe corner."
"Safe?" Mary asked. "How?"
"RestLax is the technique," Erica explained, "Most trainers put their own spin on it, but the concept remains the same. Take advantage of Snorlax's immense bulk."
Thad looked toward the announcer's booth and rolled his eyes. They thought they knew what his take on it was? Sure he'd used the internet in the hotel to look up techniques a few nights ago. Hell, he didn't even know what a Snorlax was all that long ago. So why try to reinvent the wheel when you can just rent a really nice car anyway? But they were right about one thing: a good spin on a technique for a match-up made all the difference in the world, and when combined with endless hours of tape to scout the opponent it made for a solid as rock combination.
"Butterbean, it's time!" Thad shouted. "Secret snack stash, let's go!"
"Butterbean rumbled, but their arms seemed to absently follow Thad's key words. They tilted their neck back and out from underneath their bulbous neck folds, a deep purple berry rolled out. Sleep eating was no new feat for any Snorlax, and instinct took over as they gobbled up the treat.
"Lax!"
With a bit of effort, Butterbean rolled back to his feet, awake and alert. Brad uttered a curse as his Clefable had just finished its first chant of Calm Mind, preparing for an easy win.
Thad pointed at the Clefable. "Time to block out the sun, big guy. You got this!"
Butterbean's body went taut; layers of hidden muscle pulsing underneath their protective layer of thick fat. Like a spring wound up, Butterbean shot into the sky. Darkness enveloped Clefable as the pink blob looked up in horror at the wide body of Butterbean that spoke of inevitable doom.
"Claire," Brad sputtered, his eyes wide at the Snorlax during the crest of their leap, "you have to time Protect properly. Then we can counter attack!"
Thad confidently placed his hands on his hips and watched Butterbean go to work. Despite being a late arrival, the Snorlax had maybe more battle experience than any of his other Pokemon. Once he had confirmed the immense 'Mon knew Heavy Slam and most of Brad's team was Fairy-type, it was always going to be his ace in the hole.
Go big or go home, and Thad wanted to go the biggest.
The crowd held their breath as Butterbean dropped from the sky much like a Golem flew; like a rock. The air whistled around Butterbean's fold and their jowls quivered as he careened toward Claire the Clefable. They were nearly touching noses when Claire popped a small protective barrier of translucent light around them.
And Butterbean froze in the air, puffing up their cheeks and their stomach inflating with air.
Brad's jaw dropped and Thad gave an innocent shrug once more. "Sorry mate, but we played a little red-light, green-light with Ali for this one. Perfect defense magic wumbo-jumbo is boring, so we figured a little work around just for you since you have a tendency to not dodge." Thad scratched the back of his neck and chuckled. "Good thing too, because Butterbean aint all that good at steering when he's falling."
In three heartbeats, the translucent barrier around Clefable vanished and Butterbean opened his mouth. The sound of air rushing out was akin to a waterfall, and despite the pink blobs' effort to dash away, they were enveloped by Butterbean's stomach and pressed into the ground.
Butterbean rolled off of the Clefable, showing little more than a mural on the dirt floor that looked like the Clefable. Dazed and completely squashed by the Heavy Slam, the crowd began to clap at the display of technique. Brad blinked and looked at his prized Fairy-type in disbelief as the applause became louder.
"And there you have it folks, with Clefable unable to continue, Victory goes to Thad and his Snorlax!" Mary exclaimed. "And here we all thought it was a mismatch from the type disadvantage."
"This is why you see trainers, even those who have tendencies, seek variety. It's invaluable," Erica added.
Thad recalled Butterbean into his Pokeball and gave a quick bicep and glute flex to the crowd. More cheers roared in as he waved to them, beginning to walk toward the tunnel for the next match. He considered talking with Brad to celebrate the match, but something about how the man's eyes were transfixed told him that he'd need some time to reconcile the defeat. It wasn't new for Thad; he'd seen many great athletes break on the biggest stages, so space would be preferable for now.
Inside the tunnel, Thad spotted Jasmine leaning against the wall. She was shaking her head, wiping a tear away from her cheek as she smiled.
"You," Jasmine said, "are insane, Thad. That strategy took balls."
"That's why I started with the best ball in Dwayne," Thad casually replied. "Besides, the tape kinda made the game plan easy."
"Sure it did," Jasmine drawled. "Sure it wasn't you wanting to prove a point against that guy?"
"There's always a point to prove when ya got an opponent." Thad pointed at his bare chest with a thumb. "Like how I'm awesome with a team of awesomer dudes."
"I'll accept that. So, your next match has already been announced but it's not until tonight."
"So soon?"
Jasmine offered a sympathetic smile. "Things move quickly, and they won just before you in another arena. You prepared to battle against some as good as Wallace?"
"Oh yeah, I totally got this." Thad gave a little bicep flex for good measure. "Ain't nobody getting through me and my homies."
"Do you even know who Wallace is?"
Thad scrunched his nose and scoffed. "Oh yeah. He's obviously a dude in this tournament. Unless… wait, can Wallace be a ladies last name?"
Jasmine closed her eyes and Thad swore he could hear her internally groan. "You have no idea."
"Like zero."
"That's fine," Jasmine said. "I'll walk you through the match-up over some lunch. Since you won I'll let you pick."
"Dope," Thad squatted down and lifted Jasmine onto his shoulder. She didn't flinch and simply smiled, accepting that this was his way of showing affection. "I know just the place. Crasher was talking mad about it last night."
Jasmine's face paled as Thad dashed deeper into the tunnel toward whatever madness Crasher Wake had bestowed upon Thad. The most talented always ended up the most eccentric, and Thad was no exception.