113 The Mallowville Tournament

"...Are you girls all pumped up?"

{Of course, we are.} Bonny replied, shadow boxing vigorously. {That ticket to Ullos is as good as ours.}

"Hehe, glad to hear it," said Max, chuckling at Bonny's confidence. "Don't overdo it, by the way, our first match is this afternoon, and we don't wanna reveal too much of your strength."

Today was the opening day of the Mallowville city tournament, where the group is currently undergoing preparations after eating breakfast. Ever since the incident with the doublade, Max learned that the tournament was organized into different stages, meaning he has to go through preliminary battles in order to advance. Today would be considered a warm-up for the team, sweeping whoever had the misfortune of facing them before moving on to face stronger opponents tomorrow. Of course, that was the easy part, at least in Max's eyes. The hard part was getting his more "eager" pokémon to hold back enough to keep his foes in the dark about their true strength.

{I can't help it, master. This'll be the first time I get into some real battles with other trained pokémon.} said Bonny as she hopped in place, loosening her muscles by shaking from side to side. {We won't know who they're gonna send out, and everyone will be looking at us when it's our turn to fight. This is our chance to show them how strong we really are. Just thinking about it gets me all fired up, right Sally?!}

Sally jerked up and nervously looked at her "sister" as she called out to her. {Uh, y-yeah. Um… How different will it be from a regular trainer battle?} she asked.

{With trainer battles, it's no big deal since losing to them means relatively little. In tournaments, however, you only get one shot, so you can't afford to make any mistakes.} Aurora specified.

"Yeah. If you lose a trainer battle, we can learn from that brief loss and move on. Here, if we lose, it's game over," Max added, nodding in agreement.

{Oh no.} The cinderace replied, starting to feel a little stressed. {I hope… I won't mess up.}

"Don't take it too seriously, though," Max reassured her. "It's a local tournament, so it's not the end of the world if we lose."

{B-But the amusement park ticket-}

"That's just a prize, Sally," Max said, going near her to pet her. "Besides, I have full faith that we'll win, so don't even think that you'll disappoint us."

{...Um…}

"Just do your best, like you always have. That's a win in itself, okay?"

Sally was still doubtful that she'll contribute as much as Max says she will, but was relieved of that doubt as she stared into his eyes. {...Okay.}

"Good. Now let's go get us some breakfast and we can head to the stadium afterward, alright?" Max announced to the rest of the team.

{Why? Didn't you say that our matches aren't until this afternoon?} Bonny reminded him.

"Yeah, but there's nothing wrong with scoping out the competition," Max explained, looking at the lopunny. "The other trainers will be doing the same for the preliminaries, watching from the sidelines. Spectators will likely flood the seats tomorrow since that's when the real tournament starts."

{The closer we get to the finals, the more packed the stadium will be.} Scarlet added.

Max then looked towards Scarlet with a look of caution. "Speaking of which… How will you hold up since you want to fight in this?"

{…I can't make any promises, master. I won't like being the center of attention of humans, but… anything to make you win.}

"Make us win, you mean. If anything, you guys win more than I do," Max corrected.

{Well, that's not untrue, but…} The gardevoir replied, exaggerating a proud tone.

"*sigh* So much for trying to be nice," Max jested.

{That's actually not a bad idea. We'd learn what 'mons everyone else will be using.} May pointed out.

"Ehhh, yes and no. It's a common strategy to not use the same pokemon for each match. Unless it's like regionals or worlds where everyone knows your whole team, trainers usually keep one or two pokemon secrets until the last match. Or whenever they reach a high-stakes match, whichever comes first."

{But, that would mean that they'd still use the same pokemon throughout the tournament until then.} Scarlet remarked.

"Exactly, that's why that strategy isn't for everyone," Max reiterated.

{What kind of strategy will you use, master?} May asked, curious.

Max crossed his arms and thoughtfully bit his lip. "Hmm… I managed to come up with a few, but I don't know which to use. Should I run them by you guys and see what you think?"

{I think it's best to leave that part to you, love.} Scarlet said. {You're smart, and I'm confident you'll pick the best one out for us.}

"Or I can be indecisive as hell," Max retorted before flipping her the bird, to which Scarlet replied with a brief shadow licking. "Oh well. I guess I'll have to review them, or just come up with a new one on the spot."

{Aww. Can we go yet? I'm hungry.} Sally complained.

{Me too, we need our energy, master. Food! Food! Food!} Bonny chanted with Sally joining in with similar energy.

Max laughed at the goofy display from his two rabbit 'mons. "Haha! You two really are sisters, it's adorable. Yes, I'm ready to go."

{Awesome!} the two bunnies exclaimed as everybody went outside, Max grabbing his stuff before calling out to Dusk.

"Dusk? Can we talk for a minute?" Max requested from his delphox.

{Sure.} Dusk accepted as she stopped just before the door, joining Max.

{We'll wait for you two outside.} Scarlet told them before they all proceeded through the hallway of the hotel.

"...How are you feeling?" Max asked after closing the door, concerned about her condition.

{...If I were to be honest… better, actually.}

"Really? I'm happy to hear that," Max said with a smile, making Dusk blush a little.

{Well, it's not perfect, but… our talks and Scarlet helping me and-}

"Which are the exact reasons why you're better than you were a few days ago?"

{W-Well… I don't want to sound presumptuous, but…} Dusk said, looking away in embarrassment, her blush now brighter.

"It's okay, Dusk. No one will blame you if you are this one time," Max assured her, gently tapping her nose with his finger, making her blush even more. "I'm glad you're feeling okay, but I also wanted to ask you if you're still fine with not participating in the tournament."

Dusk slowly nodded her head as her blush faded. {I am, master, don't worry about that. As much as I want to help you win the ticket, it's probably for the best if I stay benched for now. Besides, I helped Scarlet prepare for the tournament in a way, so it'll make me feel like I somewhat deserve to go to that amusement park with you.}

"I understand your feelings, but—"

{I'm in no condition to fight, I know. It still hurts me a little.}

Max placed his hand on her shoulders and rubbed them in an attempt to comfort her. "The timing was just unfortunate Dusk, don't blame yourself for that. Did you choose to develop a sort of 'devil trigger' during all this?"

{Of course not.} Dusk insisted, shaking her head frantically.

"Then why all this doubt? If Bonny or Aurora had broken their legs prior to this and couldn't compete, are you saying that they don't deserve to have fun later?"

{No! N-Not at all! I-} Dusk stuttered for a moment with Max staring at her with a raised eyebrow, silently contradicting her argument.

"See what I'm getting at now?"

{...Yeah…} Dusk admitted, her ears drooping down while holding one of her arms.

Max then brought his hand to her chin and caressed it before gently lifting it up to make Dusk look at him. "You have a temporary medical condition Dusk, one that was completely out of your control. You shouldn't think less of yourself for that, okay?"

{...Yeah. I'm sorry, i-it's hard to get rid of old habits.} Dusk said, looking away in shame.

"Hey…" Max said, pulling her face back. "Give it some time, alright? I'm here with you and so are the rest of our friends. We'll help you get through this, together."

Dusk smiled as Max's words touched her heart, knowing full well that they were true. {...Why are you so amazing, master?}

"According to all of you, I just am," he replied with a smile, making Dusk giggle. "There we go. Did you know you're adorable when you laugh?"

{D-Don't make fun of me.} She stammered as her face turned red again.

"I'm not, I'm just saying how beautiful your smile is."

With Dusk smiling once more, she and Max exchanged a passionate kiss which lasted a few seconds before joining the rest of the gang outside the hotel. Oddly enough, they couldn't find any nearby restaurants that were pokémon-friendly, especially since the tournament will be occupying the stadium for at least a few days. Luckily, there was a food truck near the stadium that was selling fast food for both parties, to which they all agreed to try given the circumstances. After Max bought lunch for everyone, they agreed to enjoy their meals in the bleachers, where Max handed them their respective boxes.

"And there you go," Max said, giving the last box to Scarlet.

{I still can't believe how much of a scam this is.} The gardevoir complained as she grabbed her food. {The only thing we can eat around here is this overpriced junk.}

"That's exactly it, Scarlet, to make extra money for that tournament," Max replied as he sat down next to her. {It's not just here; Carnivals, concerts, any time there's a social event, they raise the prices to get more profit.}

{Pff. No surprise there, humans will always stay a bunch of greedy, money-grubbing bastards.}

Max chuckled at her little hissy fit before opening his box. "You never know… Maybe we'll all turn into zombies, or robots will wipe us all out and become the dominant species, or something."

{Ha! That'll be the day…} Scarlet said as she opened her box, revealing it to be a small strawberry funnel cake. She then took the fork that was already in the box and used it to cut a piece.

{While I wouldn't mind zombies all that much, since they're fairly easy to handle for us pokémon, I'm not sure how I'd feel about robots.} Luna shared. {From what I know, being mechanical is far worse than being human.}

Scarlet looked at Luna skeptically as she ate her funnel cake, unsure of what to think of her opinion. {Is it really possible for humanity to be worse than it already is?}

"So long as we stay a bunch of 'greedy, money-grubbing bastards,' then yes," Max stated while inspecting the contents of his box.

{If you say so. What did you order again?} Scarlet asked, looking into his box.

"Two sausage biscuit sandwiches with cheese and extra bacon. You girls might wanna keep your distance, it's gonna be messy."

{Obviously, I can smell the grease from here.} Aurora called out a few feet away, sitting in between Sally and May, with Bonny sitting at the very end.

"Fast food, in a nutshell, everybody," Max said before biting into his breakfast sandwich, eyeing his gardevoir's food. "Yours, on the other hand…"

{What's wrong with my food?} Scarlet asked defensively

"Nothing, besides the fact that they sprinkled so much sugar on it, it almost looks crusty, and not in a good way," he pointed out after swallowing.

{Ugh, gross. Thanks for almost cutting my appetite.} she complained.

"What? You've been frowning every time you look at my food, so…"

{I didn't, I just… *sigh* Nevermind, enjoy having your arteries clogged. I'll be here, eating my more nutritious meal if you need anything.} Scarlet retorted before sitting up straight and taking another bite.

"If that happens, will you give me CPR?" Max asked after eating another bite.

{Hm… if you wiped your mouth first, then maybe.}

"*gulp* So you'd leave me to die if my mouth was dirty?"

{Yup.} Scarlet replied before digging in her food as well.

"You petty bitch," Max playfully scolded while shaking his head.

{I know what I am.}

As the group ate their breakfast, Max looked around to see the stadium slowly beginning to fill up with people. Given how much competitive pokémon battling had declined in recent years, Max was still surprised by the number of people present, especially at their current time of day. Further down at the center, trainers were already fighting each other across 4 different battlefields. This was to speed up the process, each one having a personal referee and drones to create a protective dome around the fighters. After observing the few matches that played out, Max realized that everyone was limited to only one pokémon for each preliminary match, which he then assumed was to help speed things up even more. This made sense, since there were a lot of participants that showed up on the first day, and it would take too long if everyone were using multiple 'mons.

{One pokémon each match… that's kinda harsh.} May commented.

Max shrugged in agreement. "Yeah. I don't know how many matches we'll be having today, either… Should I stick to one of you or change every battle?"

{I think you should stick to one as much as possible.} Scarlet suggested. {It would be counterproductive to show all of your cards this early on.}

"Ahh, good point. It would also help a lot if you guys don't go full power right off the bat."

{Mmhmm, the more our opponents underestimate us, the better our chances are.} Aurora approved.

"True, but I doubt any of you will get overwhelmed so easily," Max proclaimed, not showing any worry.

{Let's not get serious unless we need to.} Scarlet advised.

Max looked at Scarlet with a knowing grin. "You really want to win that ticket, huh?"

{Don't you?}

"Hell yeah."

{Hey, isn't that the jerk we saw a few days ago?} Bonny remarked while pointing at a battlefield.

On one of the smaller battlefields, the group managed to spot the guy that gave them attitude the day they arrived. Since one battle was already finished, he and another trainer were getting ready for the next one.

{Looks like it. I'm curious to see if he can back up his misplaced arrogance.} Scarlet commented.

"Watch him lose in the first round, that'll be hilarious," Max boasted, hoping that was actually the case.

{Hmm… I wonder…} The gardevoir replied, curiously crossing her arms.

Max wasn't sure why she wasn't entirely convinced, but being a gardevoir, she probably sensed something in him. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if this guy was actually someone to watch out for.

After the referee briefly explained the rules, both combatants stepped back onto their respective sides of the battlefield. It was at that moment that the referee made the call to start the match, the opposing trainer releasing a venusaur soon after, with the edgy trainer calling out a seismitoad.

{Did he really send a water-type against a grass-type? Is he an idiot?} Bonny commented.

{I doubt it.} Scarlet replied. {My guess is he's showing off his superiority at the very start.}

"What a dick. I hope he makes a fool of himself," Max scoffed.

{Isn't ground-type strong against poison-type?} Bonny inquired.

{Yes, but it's weak against grass-type, so it pretty much balances out.}

"Seismitoad vs venusaur!" The referee declared out loud before raising his hand and swinging it down. "Fight!"

"Okay, Hemlock! Cut them to pieces!" The grass/poison-type pokémon's trainer commanded.

{On it, boss!} The venusaur barked before using Razor Leaf, creating a storm of leaves that launched at the seismitoad.

With the water/ground-type pokémon shielding his face with his arms, he couldn't see the oncoming Headbutt from Hemlock and took the full hit, making him skid back a couple of feet. Surprisingly enough, the attack didn't seem to affect the seismitoad at all as he lowered his arms slowly.

"You know what to do, Froggen. Make some noise," The seismitoad's trainer said.

A second later, Froggen used a powerful Hyper Voice which echoed throughout the entire stadium, almost deafening everyone in the process.

"Fucking hell!" Max expressed with his hands over his ears.

While taking physical damage from the shockwaves, Hemlock used the vines on his ears to try to block out the noise, but to no avail. Froggen saw this opportunity to attack with Sludge Wave, which wasn't very effective given the venusaur's poison typing. However, as he was distracted, Froggen followed up with Giga Impact, connecting onto the venusaur's face and sending it flying past his trainer. Concerned for his partner, the trainer and the referee went to check on him, only to find out that he'd been knocked out in one blow.

"Venusaur is unable to battle, which makes Rory the winner," the referee announced as the edgy trainer recalled Froggen.

{So that's the prick… Rory.} Bonny said.

"Rory… at least we have a name to put on that stupid face of his," Max replied.

{His pokémon does look pretty strong…} Sally shared.

{Yeah. Despite our own strength, he's not someone to take lightly.} Scarlet pointed out, making Max look at her with a hint of suspicion.

"You make it sound like he could actually beat us," Max said.

{No shit we're stronger, but remember what you said about "dark horse dominance", and how we'll lose if we don't try harder than them?} Scarlet reminded Max as she pointed to Rory, who was walking away from the battlefield. {I have a feeling that our dark horse over there has some dirty tricks up his sleeve.}

"…Shit, you're right. Y'know, it's rare to see you act so chivalrous about all this," Max jested.

{Yet, it can happen. Look at you; you have a shitty attitude, but you have a golden heart to make up for it.} Scarlet affirmed with a small grin.

"Took you long enough to figure it out, and here I thought you were smart." Max played along.

{To a certain extent. I learn fast, but sometimes you have to explain certain stuff to me to understand.}

"Hehe, I love you," Max said, briefly stroking her hair.

A couple of hours had passed until they were finally called to do their match, with the group not seeing Rory again. He probably already left the arena after completing his matches, meaning that they would probably face each other later on in the tournament. Max looked up at the jumbotron with all of the current contestants listed, noticing that he had five minutes to spare.

{So? Who are you gonna pick for the first round?} Scarlet asked.

"Hm… good question," Max answered, looking at his companion. "...Someone who doesn't look like much of a threat, maybe…"

{Why not May?} Bonny proposed. {She's too cute to be taken seriously.}

{Hey! I take offense to that!} The mawile complained, looking up at the lopunny with a pout.

"Haha. She didn't mean that in a bad way, sweetie." Max reassured her, reaching over to pat her head.

{Still!} May huffed as she crossed her arms.

"She's not wrong, May. Since you're small and cute by nature, most people and pokémon tend to underestimate you. It's like they forgot you got a giant maw on your head, and that's when you strike! Use your species' deceiving nature to hit them where it really hurts!" Max explained, sounding slightly sadistic at the end, making Scarlet twitch in her seat. This didn't escape Max's notice, since she was currently biting her lip. "You okay there, Scarlet?"

{Y-Yeah… Y-Your last sentence kinda turned me on for a moment there.}

"Oh… Sorry about that,"

{Oh no no no, don't stop for my sake, please keep going.} Scarlet said eagerly, making Max roll his eyes before looking back at May.

"So what do you say, May? Think you can fool your enemies to make us win?"

{Hmm…} May pondered with her eyes closed, before letting out a brief sigh upon opening them again. {...Alright, I'll fight first, but I'm doing this because I want to, not because you asked me.} She accepted, still pouting like a little kid.

"Great. I'll call you out in a moment," Max told her before putting May in her pokéball and standing up from his seat. "Later, gators!" He added before leaving the bleachers to head down to the battlefield.

{Oh my god, he can be such a corny loser sometimes.} Scarlet sighed, closing her eyes for a short moment.

{Hihi, that's cold.} Dusk giggled, a bit amused at her jab at him. {Wait, I just thought of something; Wouldn't it be better if we were all in our pokéball? Everyone can see us like this. They probably know we're his pokémon. Not exactly practical for the 'effect of surprise' if you ask me.}

Scarlet waved her hand dismissively before looking down at Max. {I doubt it we'll even need it at this point, everyone has their eyes glued to the battlefields. Besides, it's a bit too late to do anything about it now, we've been exposed for a while now.}

{If you say so. I guess seeing us and knowing what we can do are two different things.} the delphox concluded.

{Exactly.} Scarlet nodded.

Luna crossed her arms and stared at Max, smiling with a hint of pride. {I may already know the outcome, but good luck, little tike.} she muttered to herself.

{Whooo! Go, master and May!} Sally cheered.

{Kick their asses for us!} Bonny called out just as loud.

{But not too hard, okay? Go a bit easy on them!} Aurora added.

Upon hearing their cheers and raising his fist, Max walked back inside the stadium towards the main hallway. As he was about to reach the entrance to the battlefield, he spotted a middle-aged woman behind a desk.

"You are a trainer?" asked the woman.

"Yeah, my match starts in about five minutes."

"So you're…" The woman said, looking at her papers. "Mr. Elms, correct?"

Max flinched at the mention of his last name but instead rolled with it. "Yes…"

"Perfect. Your spot will be battle zone number three, which is the furthest one on your left," the lady gestured, pointing towards the doors. "Good luck in your match."

"Got it, thanks," Max said before stepping outside.

As he walked outside, he quickly tried to find where his companions were on the bleachers. Unfortunately, his battlefield was the furthest away from them, but he briefly waved at their general direction before assuming his post on his side of the field. There, he was greeted by another referee who was waiting alongside a young adult girl with ginger hair on the other side.

"What took you so long?" The girl engaged, a bit upset.

"The stairs," Max retorted, not liking her attitude already.

The girl scoffed at Max's response. "...Whatever. Besides, it doesn't matter much since I'm gonna win this fight anyway."

"You already battled?" Max asked, lightly tossing May's pokéball into the air a couple of times.

"Yep, and I wiped the floor with my last opponent, and I'm gonna do it again with you."

[Tsk. Now I have the sudden urge to have May destroy her in one shot.] Max thought to himself.

[You said so yourself to keep a low profile, but if you just use May today, then I guess it won't matter much.] Scarlet said in his head.

[You sure that's a good idea? If they see May's true strength, they're gonna be wise about the rest of my team.]

[True.]

"...You seem confident in your pokémon," Max told the girl, still tossing May's ball around. "But don't expect all your opponents to be that easy, and since you're facing me, your luck just ran out," he taunted while catching May's ball one last time.

"Hmph. We'll see about that."

The referee raised his hands at both of them to signal the start of the match. "Are both trainers ready?" The referee asked.

The girl pulled out her own pokéball while giving Max an annoyed grin. "As ever. Do you—"

Not even listening to her, Max casually opened his pokéball and released May, who swung her arms from side to side and got into a basic fighting stance, ready to rumble.

"Not even gonna try for a type advantage? You're either dumb or messed up in the head," The girl said before showing him her pokéball.

"Eh, could be both. Or neither, not that you could tell," Max replied coyly, not really offended by her, which made her even more annoyed.

"Are you mocking me?" she accused.

Max shrugged his shoulders. "Not really, but my mawile came here to fight and she gets bored easily, so if we can just…?"

"Why you- *sigh* Alright, you asked for it, so no crying when it's over," she replied, annoyed while opening her ball and releasing a flareon.

"A fire-type, huh?" Max muttered to himself with a raised eyebrow. "And apparently, I'm the dumb one here."

The girl placed a hand on her hip in a sassy manner. "This is his second match and I was planning on using him until I was at a type disadvantage, which you yourself denied."

"Damn, do all girl trainers talk a lot, or is it just you?" said Max, his taunt making May giggle a little bit.

"What? I… Ghaa! I'm gonna destroy you!" The girl claimed while pointing at him.

"Whatever."

"Ready?" The referee asked both sides, the two trainers nodding.

[Remember, May; Don't show your true power just yet. Make the battle last a little.]

[Yes, master.]

The referee lowered his hands to start the match. "...Fight!"

"Okay, Boko! Engage with Fire Fang!"

{Right away!} The flareon obeyed before inflaming his teeth and rushing towards May.

(Okay, this girl's an actual idiot) Max thought to himself. [May, I think he's gonna bite you.]

[You don't say.] May replied before effortlessly dodging the flareon, making him slide across the field.

[Let's start smoothly with a few pound attacks.] Max told May as the flareon turned to face her. The mawile was already on him, receiving a few Pound attacks to the face before jumping away, staring him down. [Nice one.]

"A physical attacker? Good. Go for Baby-Doll Eyes, Boko," The girl commanded.

The flareon then sat up and looked at May with all pitiful glints in his eyes whimpering with a quivering lip. The move proved to be effective as May was now feeling a bit bad about hitting the poor guy.

"Now Quick Attack!"

Despite her calling out the move, Boko moved too fast for May to dodge the hit and tanked the hit. Luckily for her, it barely left a single scratch.

[…Is that all he's got? Wow, now I actually do feel bad for him, I barely felt it.] May pitied in her thoughts.

[Then why don't we make this quick and give him a taste of his own medicine? Hit him with a Fire Fang.] Max commanded.

With that, May grinned at the flareon before dashing towards him in the blink of an eye, biting down the fire-type with her inflamed maw. Due to the reduced power of using a fire-type move, the damage wasn't as much as it seemed, with Boko escaping the fiery jaws rather easily.

"Don't flee! Use Fire Fang again!" The girl ordered, sounding a bit more desperate.

"Oh boy, she's that kind of trainer," Max mumbled. [Okay May, I'm just about done with her, finish him with Brick Break.]

[Understood.]

Then, as soon as the flareon was in May's face, she dodged at the last second and delivered a powerful Brick Break to the head, knocking him out with one hit while sending him tumbling towards his trainer's feet.

"...W-What?" The girl stammered, baffled by what just happened. "B-Boko wasn't supposed to-"

Upon staring at the flareon to see if he will stand up again, the referee declared the results. "Flareon is unable to battle. Trainer Max is the victor!"

"H-How? It's… impossible," the girl muttered.

"Y'know, if you had treated your pokémon as something other than a tool to win battles, you might have stood a chance," Max said while patting May on the back, making her smile up at him before being recalled. "You should try it sometime," he added before leaving.

"No. Boko! Wake up! We can still win!" The girl said before getting next to her pokemon to shake him gently, looking up at the referee in desperation. "W-We weren't ready! Restart the match!"

"Tsk. It could be worse, but that kind of trainer gets on my nerves," Max mumbled. "Good job again, sweetie," he praised while briefly pressing May's pokéball to his forehead. Max then went back the way he came and joined his team back up at the bleachers.

{You're the best, master!} Sally exclaimed enthusiastically.

{You both really showed her.} Aurora said.

"Thanks," Max replied, releasing May back on the bleachers before sitting down. "Unfortunately, I couldn't make May hold back any longer."

{It's okay. I doubt you showed too much power to attract too much attention.} Scarlet assured him.

"Yeah. That flareon's trainer was kind of a dick, not even that pretty either."

{Hmpf. Compared to me, all human females look like feebas.} Scarlet boasted nonchalantly.

"Haha. I admit that as soon as we compare your beauty, you're hard to beat."

{*sigh* What can I say, I'm just that pretty.} said the gardevoir, flicking her hair to the side.

"Hehe. If only you weren't allergic to modesty and compliments, though," Max retorted, making Scarlet tense up a bit but waving it off right afterwards.

{Are you done with the battles yet?} Dusk asked.

"Not quite. I'm supposed to have another one in a couple of hours."

{How many battles do you need to win to get into the real tournament?} Luna questioned.

"I'm not sure. The preliminaries last until 9 pm, so maybe a few more."

"Nice going, man. Way to give that presumptuous bitch a reality check," said another female voice from behind Max.

Upon recognizing that voice, Max turned and saw Julia, the trainer girl they met a couple of weeks ago.

"...Julia?" Max said, not sure if he remembered her name correctly.

"That's my name, don't wear it out. Mind if I sit?"

"S-Sure. Go ahead."

"Thanks. Oof," Julia expressed while sitting in a not-so-girly way.

"What brings you here?"

"What do you think? Probably the same reason as you," Julia jested.

"Ah, so you're after that ticket as well," Max presumed, with Julia relaxing as much as possible.

"There's barely any other reason why people would participate in this tournament in the first place. I mean, have you seen the most recent prices on Poké-Man Wonderland tickets?" she exclaimed.

[Hmpf. Still rude in your way of speaking, I see.] Scarlet told Julia with her telepathy, a bit annoyed by her presence.

"Hehe. Still very protective over your trainer, I see," Julia replied, somewhat challenging Scarlet's authority.

[That's just how I am. I would do anything for him, and I mean anything.] The gardevoir proclaimed with both females glaring at each other.

"Hem, ladies…?" Max said, not sure of what was going on, alongside the other girls, looking at them, fearing an incoming catastrophe. However, their worries were then put to rest as the two smiled at each other and looked away.

"Heh heh. Nice to see you again, Scarlet." Julia finally said.

[...Same.] The gardevoir said, half meaning it.

"Phew…" Max breathed softly. "Did you come all by yourself?"

"More or less. I came across a friend on my way here, so she's here with me."

"Oh. Shouldn't you be with her?"

"Nah, she's fine. She has some friends of her own in this city, so she can afford to lose me for a moment. More specifically, I don't mind taking a small break from her."

"A break? From your friend?"

"Yeah, well, that's kinda complicated. She's a nice girl, but hella dumb sometimes. A real blonde, in short."

"What is your friendship based on, then?"

"A few things actually, but it's mostly because we were there for each other a few years at school when we were younger."

"I see. Have you had your match yet?"

"Yup, and I won fairly easily. I tell you, the competition is looking rather frail this year."

"Yeah. Most matches are won in more or less one shot."

"It was to be expected. A prize like the one we are fighting for attracts newbies as well as veterans. Freshman trainers have practically no chance today."

"Kind of a shame, though. Poor them."

"That's part of the game."

"I guess."

"I saw your match. Besides the joy that your win against that cunt brought me, it was quickly wrapped up."

"You know that girl?"

"Not really, but let's say that I've been around her a few times. Tss, obnoxious as fuck."

"Ah, I can tell. I had a small glimpse of it. Anyway, our victories mean that we may have a chance to face each other later on."

"Yep. If none of us lose in the elimination rounds, that is."

[Ha. Not a chance.] Scarlet boasted.

"Confidence, huh? That's good. I can get behind that." Julia said.

"These girls trained like special force soldiers," Max mentioned, stroking Aurora's hair, who was the one next to him. "We won't go down easily."

"Hehe. Let's do our best, then."

Until the evening, the battles continued one by one, reducing the number of participants constantly. Then, at nearly 9 pm, Max and Julia had completed their final matches, alongside fourteen other trainers. All were now gathered in the middle of the stadium with a representative of the event before them.

"Congratulations to all sixteen trainers and their pokémon for making it to the next stage of the Mallowville City tournament. The next step won't be any different from today, except you'll all be battling in front of a larger audience in a three-on-three single-elimination bracket. Be sure to know which pokémon you'll be using, for the final two trainers that make it to the grand finals will do battle in a six-on-six format, the winner taking home the grand prize."

"I knew it…" Max mumbled.

"The matchups will be decided tomorrow morning at 7 am. There will be a 10-minute grace period after seven, so you better be here when the bracket draw begins, as any latecomers will be immediately disqualified."

"Damn, they don't goof around here," Julia whispered to Max. "Guess we gotta set our alarms early."

"Yeah, but I can understand why. People who pay a rather expensive ticket for an event such as this aren't known to be very patient."

"I guess…"

"...Also, since only two trainers will fight at once, your pokémon will have more space to move around, so we encourage them to put up a nice show. With that, good night and see you tomorrow. Don't forget to go heal your teams at the pokémon center before heading home," the representative announced before leaving.

As soon as he was done, the group then dismissed, all heading outside the stadium. As Max was doing the same with Julia next to him, he spotted Rory a bit further, walking faster than anyone else.

"Of course, that jerk would make it," Max groaned.

"Huh? Who are you talking about?"

"That guy over there," Max said, pointing at Rory.

"A friend of yours?" Julia presumed.

"Not really. Just an asshole who thinks he's better than everyone else."

"Ah. Well, some think they are invincible until they meet their match. Looks like he hasn't yet," Julia reassured him.

"Yeah, but he's about to. Never mind that, in which hotel are you staying at?"

"Why? Want me to invite you to my room?" Julia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What? No! I'm just curious, that's all," Max replied a little nervously, Julia laughing it off.

"Haha. Just kidding, dude. I'm actually gonna stay at a friend's house."

"Really? That's nice. I heard freeloading is all the rage nowadays," Max jested.

"Depends on where you are. I appreciate that my friend agreed to help me out since I'm not filthy rich, but…"

"...But what?"

"*sigh* Like I said earlier today, she's not mean, but it's like she never grew up, so when she became aware that a friend was staying at her place, she wanted to throw a 'sleepover' kind-of night with a few of her other friends."

"Ooh, yikes…" Max expressed, feeling a bit bad for her.

"Yeah, but it could be worse. Better than sleeping on a wooden bench in the park."

"It's not that bad, summer nights are pretty great."

"Maybe for the weather, but a wooden bench isn't very comfortable. Having slept on those many times, it's rough on the back."

"You've slept on a park bench many times?"

"Yeah, well… it's a part of my life that I don't like to talk about much."

"Ah, I understand. I too have some episodes like that."

"Hehe. It's nice having someone that doesn't pretend to be interested so I would drop my panties."

"People do that? That's horrible." Max exclaimed exaggeratingly in a joking way.

"Haha. You tell me. Well, see you tomorrow, then." Julia said before walking in the opposite direction from Max, who was approaching his companions outside, near the entrance.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

{My, my. You two seem to be getting along quite well.} Luna teased with a smug smile.

{Hihi. Maybe in the near future, we will see tiny versions of our master running around.} Dusk added, smiling as well.

{*Gasp* Master having kids? That would be so cool and cute!} Sally exclaimed with stars eyes.

"I—"

{Keep dreaming girls!} Scarlet blurted, quickly hugging Max's arm. {His dick isn't made for the human vagina, so forget it.}

{Haha. That sounds pretty hypocritical of you, Scarlet~.} Bonny replied sarcastically, amused by her reaction.

Scarlet did a double take. {…What?}

{Weren't you the one saying that it would be cruel to prevent master from procreating if he wanted to?} Aurora mentioned.

{Well… Y-Yeah, it's true, but… doing that would mean…}

Instantly, Max felt Scarlet tightening her grasp on Max's arm.

"...Don't worry about that, love." The human reassured while stroking her hair. "It won't happen anytime soon. Kids are not in the cards right now."

{...I mean, I would accept it if you really want to have a family of your own, but… I wouldn't… W-What I'm trying to say is-.}

Max placed a finger to her lips, silencing her for a moment. "What are you talking about? I already got one, right here."

{That's… not what I really meant, but… yeah. I suppose, and I'm happy about it.}

"I thought you would have been more touched by my declaration of that." Max said while caressing her hair some more.

{I am, but…}

"But?"

{...}

{...I think she meant that having pokemon as a family and continuing your legacy isn't really something that's compatible. Am I right?} Aurora said, looking at the gardevoir.

{...More or less…}

"I see…" Max replied before stopping for a short moment.

{Something wrong, master?} Scarlet asked after everyone stopped as well.

Max said nothing as he looked at the dark sky with a somber smile.

"I don't know if I told you guys this, but… I wouldn't mind if my family legacy dies with me."

A bit confused and surprised by the declaration, the girls looked at each other.

{Are you sure about that?} Luna asked, a bit concerned. {Those are rather heavy words.}

"Yes. Don't worry, guys. My last name, Elms… That's all it'll ever be, a name. A name that wasn't meant to go down in history or achieve some kind of destiny or anything along those lines. As far as I can tell, I'm here to live to the fullest, fulfilling a goal I didn't know I had before meeting all of you. If living the way I want to means falling into the void of the forgotten at my death, then I have no regrets."

{Well, I won't forget about you, master.} Scarlet affirmed.

{Me neither.} Bonny acknowledged, followed by everyone else.

"Hehe, I didn't expect less of you. Does that mean that you all don't mind following me into that void?"

{You should know it by now; We'll follow you anywhere, to kingdom come and back again.} Aurora said fervently.

"Then you all should be able to understand how I feel about this. That might change in the future, but unless there's a way for humans and pokémon to safely breed with one another, I'm not planning on leaving a legacy behind. For now, living and dying as an anonymous pokémon molester is good enough for me," Max concluded before resuming his walking.

{...*sigh* Sorry everyone.} Luna apologized very softly to the rest of the group. {I supposed things got gloomy because of my joke.}

{Hehe. It's okay, Luna.} Bonny reassured her with an elbow nudge. {Now that you'll be around us more often, you'll get used to that like the rest of us.} She finished before she resumed her walk with everyone else, Luna looking onward at Max, as she couldn't help but feel something else behind his words.

{*sigh* It's like I'm meeting him all over again.} Luna mumbled before doing the same.