Char vs Cherry (Part One of Two)
Me and Char sit in the lounge area eating french fries as we watch the battle happening on the stadium on the TV. It's practically one sided, the man with the Mega Lopunny absolutely destroying the opposing man with a Mega Garchomp.
"Well there goes 50 bucks," I say with a sigh, stuffing another hand full of fries into my mouth. Char, my Charizard, gives me a glare and growls. I roll my eyes and chuckle. "Okay, so I know we agreed that I wouldn't gamble on matches anymore, but come on! Garchomp versus Lopunny? I thought it was obvious who was going to win so I felt that it was going to be a prosperous deal for us."
As I give my explanation Char just shakes its head at me. I just shrug. "Fifty dollars won't hurt anything anyways, so what's it matter," I ask it, which it just grumbles at, looking back at the screen. Being champion of every region has many benefits, cash being one of the biggest. Fifty is nothing on billions.
"What a surprising outcome," the announcer states, his voice booming throughout the whole building. "I bet absolutely nobody saw that coming!"
"Actually, somebody did," I mutter to myself. "Some random dude named Jerry."
"For the last match of round one we have our, as well as every other region's, champion Izzy versus the trainer who's name is known by anyone that's been on the internet, Vince," the announcer declares and the audience bursts into cheers of excitement.
I look at Char, an eyebrow raised. "Who," I ask, and Char shrugs. The doors behind us open.
"Vince," says a deep, raspy voice. I turn around and see a tall, bulky man. He's wearing a black sleeveless leather jacket with a white shirt beneath it. He has black biker gloves, one with a Key Stone in the back of his hand. His tight dark blue jeans wrap around his thighs tightly, showing off his muscles perfectly. His black boots travel up to right below his knees, the outline of flames in gold.
"I'm assuming that's you," I say with question, standing up and approaching him. As a 5'11 guy I shouldn't only see chest when standing at my full height. I have to lift my head like I'm trying to see an air plane above me, and even then I can't see his eyes, just his dark brown beard. He looks down at me with a smirk, his brown eyes shining with amusement.
"You assume right," he replies. He watches me like he's waiting for something. Something I obviously don't give him. He looks at me, offended. "Why aren't you impressed?"
"Am I supposed to be," I ask, genuinely confused. Vince nods his head.
"Do you not know who I am," he asks me, sighing with disappointment when I shake my head no. "I'm Vince, the new trainer that's taken the world by storm. I've been in over 300 battles and still haven't lost," he says, crossing his arms and grinning proudly.
"So you think three hundred means something against my entire life," I say, more as a statement than a question. Vince chuckles.
"Of coarse I do," he states arrogantly, grabbing a Pokéball. "Especially when I have this as my partner."
He tosses his ball out, and from it comes a Charizard. It stands up tall, howling powerfully. "Undefeated and has a Charizard partner," I say with tone of amusement. "Seems to me like you're trying to copy me."
Vince shakes his head. "No way. I'm far above your level. It's more like you're copying me," he says and I burst into laughter.
"What kind of fantasy are you living in," practically shout at him. "There's no way you actually believe that!"
Vinve's eyebrows furrow and his face scrunches up. He looks like a mix of confusion and offense. "You should be more worried than you are. Char and Cherry came from the same ranch, and you know what the professor told me? He said Cherry was the strongest one there! She's obviously better than yours, and it's going to be known by the whole world after this battle."
I glance up at Char and to my surprise it actually looks intimidated looking at Cherry, who's smirking smugly at it. I don't show that I noticed it, not wanting to draw attention to it. I instead stand up taller and put my hands on my hips. "What the world will know is that me and Char are still the best and even people like you who has a good win steak going will lose to us."
Vince scoffs and rolls his eyes. "We'll see," he says, walking past me. Cherry follow behind, pushing her shoulder into Char, who doesn't do anything and instead just moves or the way. They go down the hall to the field, where the crowd greets them with screams of joy.
Char's P.O.V
"What is wrong with you," Izzy shouts at me. I snap my head down at him and spread my wings, but I relax when I see him. His eyes are filled with concern as he stares at me, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "This isn't my Charizard. My Char would have pushed back."
I look at the ground and growl sadly. "Does this have to do with the thing about best Charmander," he asks. I just continue to stare at the ground silently.
Honestly, it's not only about that. I was actually the weakest Charmander on the ranch. Every battle we had I lost. Every time a trainer would come looking for a partner they would ignore me for the more impressive Charmanders. The professor was the first person to even look at me, which is when he took me to his lab for starter trainers.
Even when I got there, nobody chose me. They always went for Bulbasaur or Squirtle, barely even glancing at me. I still remember the day Izzy came in. When he saw me it was like I was the most amazing thing on this planet. His young face shined so brightly when he picked me up, his smile so wide t must have hurt. He picked me almost immediately, never giving his other two options a second glance. After this my entire life changed.
He treated me like I was the strongest Pokémon out there, and it might sound dumb, but it made me feel like the strongest. His confidence gave me confidence. It never mattered the trainer, or the type match up, or even the level difference. He always smirked with his signature arrogance and sent me out like I was a Legendary. Not wanting to disappoint him, I always pushed past my limits, making sure to give us victory. After a while, I got used to being the best and our wins became easy.
But seeing Cherry and the way she looked at me, it sent me back to the ranch, feeling small and insignificant. Like I'm nothing and there's no chance for me to win.
"This is ridiculous!"
Izzy's voice snaps me out off my flashback. He's looking at me with complete confusion, like it's the first time he's seen me.
"Does seven years of flawless victories mean nothing? She was the best Charmander on the ranch. Awesome. But you know what you are," he asks, pausing for a response. I just shrug. He sighs. "You're the best Charizard in the world!"
I roll my eyes and scoff, which Izzy smacks me in the shoulder for. "Don't do that, I'm being serious. I am the most powerful trainer to ever live. You being my ace practically makes you the most powerful Pokémon," he explains to me. The logic is there, but right now I just don't believe it. It must be obvious that I don't, because Izzy sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.
"Alright, look. I have no idea of what happened on that ranch, but that's the past now. It's been years since then and you've changed completely. You're a Charizard. One that always secures a win, no matter the opponent. Heck, we've beat Arceus before! What's some Charizard got on that," he asks, looking at me with that wide, glowing smile. I can feel his energy as I stands up straighter, spreading my wings out. But then the thought of Cherry being out there makes me lose it, my body drooping with a sigh. Izzy opens his mouth to say something, but the referee comes in.
"We're waiting for you," she says, pointing down the hall. Izzy groans.
"Five more minutes," he responds and the woman nods her head and walks out.
"You want to know what I do when I get worried about a battle," he asks me, and at that I perk up, growling with question.
Izzy? Worried about a battle? Preposterous! Izzy chuckles. "Bet you didn't even know that happens to me, and that's my secret to it. You know my arrogance that annoys you and everyone around me so much?"
I nod in agreement. It's one of my least favorite things about him. Nobody likes someone with a big head. "Yeah, well that's how I keep my cool. If I let my doubts fill my head, I'll lose without a doubt. So instead, I act cocky. I smirk, I brag, I talk about how great I am. It may seem like I'm just rubbing my achievements in everyone's face, and I'll admit, that is some of the reason I do it. But for the most part it's to reminds myself of how amazing I am and get positive thoughts in my head."
I nod along with what he's saying. It makes sense, but I don't get how that applies to me. "That is what you're about to do. When we get out there, I want you to let out your loudest, strongest, most powerful roar. Show everyone who they're dealing with."
I open my mouth to growl with refusal, but Izzy sticks out his index finger. "Unless it's the most powerful sound I've heard in my life then I don't want to hear it," he says and I shut my mouth. "Alright, now let's go win."
I follow him down the hall to the field. He has the smirk everybody knows him for on his face. He walks with confidence, each step thudding strongly against the ground. Even in such a dark space he seems to just shine with power. I stand up straighter. I won't disappoint him.
Back to Izzy
We walk out into the stadium and the audience bursts into a roar of excitement, everyone cheering and whopping as we make our way to the end of the stadium. Vince and Cherry watch us closely as we take our place.
"Thought you were giving up," Vince shouts to me, Cherry nodding in agreement. The Mega Stone in her bow on her right horn catches the light, gleaming brightly. I just shrug.
"Eh. We just didn't see a need to hurry. The outcome will be a victory for us no matter what. Why rush it," I reply, smirking as Vince's face scrunches up with anger.
Cherry growls something at Char and it looks back at me, looking unsure again. I give it a small nod. It takes a deep breath. Then, it releases it with the greatest roar I've ever heard.
The force of it is so great that the entire stadium shaked. Waves of power blow everywhere, pushing everyone back. Vince holds onto his jacket tightly and shields his face and Cherry digs her feet into the ground, using all her might to not blow away. I just stand there unfazed, smiling proudly as I watch Char assert its dominance, showing the world its might.
When Char finishes, it looks back at me, panting heavily. "That's my Char," I exclaim, pointing at it happily. It nods and turns back to our opponents.
"What an impressive display of power," the announcer shouts through the stadium speakers. "After that I don't think anyone in their right minds would willing go against that!"
Cherry stares at Char, dumbfounded. I grin, knowing she just realized that Char isn't the weakling she thought it was. Her shock turns to aggression. She crouches down a bit and spreads her wings, her eyes narrowed in on Char as she growls lowly. Char spreads its wings and keeps its head held high, glaring down at her.
"Both Pokémon are ready for the fight," the announcer exclaims excitedly. "Don't make us wait any longer, ref! Get this battle started!"
The referee walks to the middle of the court. Her once neat blonde hair is now an absolute mess, sticking up in random places and constantly falls into her face. She looks like she's been standing in heavy wind all day.
"I'm sure y'all know the rules, but I will explain them anyways," she says to us, looking back and forth to make eye contact every now and then. "You will each get one Pokémon and one gimmick. Your Pokémon will be restricted to four moves and first one to knock out the other wins. Is each trainer ready?"
"Yup," I shout, Char growling with a nod.
"Have been," Vince responds, Cherry just grunts to agree, not leaving her battle stance.
The ref nods with a grunt. "Then three..." she quickly exits the field. "Two..." Vince cracks his knuckles intimidatingly, which I then copy, but no sound comes out so I make it with my mouth. "One..." Char and Cherry glare at each other, their eyes unblinking. "Battle begin!"