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Chapter 224: Pewter Tech Ace exhibition
Chapter 224: Pewter Tech Ace exhibition
Giselle stood in the tunnel and tried not to fidget.
She couldn’t. No! That wasn’t right, it was more like she wouldn’t fidget.
She was in control and at peace.
So what did it matter that so far only fifteen of the thirty-six students that had challenged the Gym had passed? That would change. The rest of the students, all ten of them, were going to pass after today, herself included. Then there would be twenty-five out of the forty-six students.
Which... was a passing mark. Not a great one, but still a passing mark.
So what if more people had failed than she’d expected? It wasn’t the worst scenario.
She’d need to revise the club activities, reorganise funding and make sure that the slackers were motivated to pick up their act! She and the others needed them to! They also represented Pewter Technical Institute and would be linked with her. Their poor performance meant she’d be tarred with the same brush of defeat!
She was not going to be the year that was found lacking!
Giselle shook her head to dispel the thoughts. None of that mattered for now!
She was going to show them how to do it. She was going to lead the way.
Only... she wet her lips and shifted slightly. She didn’t fidget. No, she just adjusted her position, that was all.
She swallowed. It was looking like it hadn’t been a good idea to demand that she face a gauntlet like regular trainers did.
She’d just have to back herself now. She’d talked the talk, and now she’d need to walk the walk as her cousin liked to say. He was a rougher sort but he was amusing at times.
One of the helpers of the Gym approached her, the woman’s rainbow-coloured hair catching in the lights with each step taken. When she reached Giselle she offered a wink. “Alright, so it’s standard that we give trainers undergoing a normal challenge the right to be introduced. Your school didn’t want that for everyone else as they just wanted to shuffle you all through. But seeing as you’re going the extra effort we’ll do the personalised introduction if you want it?”
“Personalised introduction?” Giselle queried as calmly as she could. What was this about the school stopping introductions? People had been introduced, hadn’t they? “Do you mean my student identification number?” she asked.
The woman snorted. “What? No! Something lively! Like how the champion is introduced? We don’t just leave it as ‘This is Lance Third Champion of the League’ do we?”
Giselle shook her head.
Rachel grinned. “People hype him up. That’s what the introduction is all about, hype.”
The woman swept her arm about and Giselle caught sight of a badge stating her name was Rachel. “It’s all about personal brand if you would. This is one of the ways to set yourself out from the crowd. Tell people who you are!” Rachel shook her head and sent her hair bouncing. “Colour in the lines of what people know of Giselle, the student of Pewter Tech.”
Rachel tilted her head. “Let’s start by what your friends call you, maybe?”
Giselle stiffened. “Ah! Well, t-that is to say,” Gisells said, suddenly stammering.
Rachel’s grin faltered a little only to wave her hand. “No worries no worries if you don’t have nicknames for each other. Let’s think of something else,” she said.
Giselle relaxed. It wasn’t that she didn’t have friends, it was just that... well they were in Johto.. Or other academies!
Yes! That’s right! She thought to herself, perking up.
She turned her mind to the new assignment of creating some ‘hype’ around herself.
She could see the appeal. “I would like it known that I am the top student!” she said proudly, drawing herself as tall as she could. She almost stood taller than Rachel.
Giselle considered going to her tiptoes but held off.
Rachel nodded, smile still in place even as the woman looked at her more carefully now. “Alright, that’s a good start, what else?”
Giselle blinked. “Oh that’s...” she suddenly felt unsure. Was that really all she had to her name when asked?
She cast her mind for more options. She was the Student Council president? But that wouldn’t matter here. She was the daughter of Stuart Richie entrepreneur, but that was her father’s title.
She...
“Yes?” she said quietly. Was that all she had?
Rachel hummed in thought, tilting her head this way and that before shaking her head. “How about playing up your potential? You’re a young woman after all, so if you wanted to announce that you were the prettiest lass of Pewter, no one would really get too hurt.”
“Eh?” Giselle said. “But, what? No, I couldn’t! There hasn’t been an official vote!”
Rachel snorted. “I’m pretty sure if a vote happened for who’s the prettiest lass, Officer Jenny would be coming down on the organisers for being so pervy.”
Rahel waved her hand back and forth. “No this is all creative licence. We take something true,” here Rachel indicated Giselle with an up and down sweep of her hand. “And then we stretch it for all its worth. You may or may not be, but no one’s going to mind. You’re a young woman who’s confident, is what doing this says!” she said as she adopted a superheroine pose with her chest puffed out and her head through back.
Giselle’s lips twitched. “Creative licence, hmmm?”
She considered it for a moment. She did like the sound of being seen as confident. She nodded. “Yes that would work I think,” she said, deciding to commit to a little bit of bravado before she could second-guess herself too much.
Rachel nodded. “Alright, so you’re going to face two trainers that will each have two to three pokemon to them. You’re allowed to use items to heal up between matches and interchange any of your pokemon with the six you started with. If you send out a Rattata and it is the last out as a match ends you’re not locked into using that same pokemon first next time. Does that make sense?”
Giselle nodded firmly. She was well aware of the details of the match. She’d reviewed them extensively. She had a very good idea of what sorts of styles and pokemon Brock could use along with his little Gym assistants.
She just needed to calm down and show the world her best. This was no different than another lesson in Advanced pokemon battling classes. Specifically the practical component.
If she didn’t emerge victorious, what good were all the lessons that she attended? What good was all the training she put in. She wasn’t the Ace of Pewter Tech for nothing.
Giselle glanced around and when she noted that Rachel was at the end of the tunnel working on her transceiver at a wall-mounted console she relaxed.
She then very quietly said.
“I am woman, and I am strong!” she whispered.
“Hear me roar!” shouted Rachel, causing Giselle to flinch, having not realised she was so vocal.
“Ah! I’m, I was just—” Giselle said, her face flushing red.
Rachel just waved her off. “Hey, there’s no need to justify anything to me. I get it. Self Empowerment yo!” she said, raising her fist to the sky. “I’ll give you the tunnel and five minutes before I announce you. Watch for the strobing lights, alright? I’ll announce you with a roar if you want!”
Before Giselle could say anything else Rachel stepped out, leaving her alone.
Giselle put her hands to her face in mortification.
She’d have to consider silencing the woman permanently.
It was the only feasible solution at this stage.
No one could know her shame.
Perhaps a ghost pokemon in the dead of night? They were in a graveyard yes? There was one nearby.
She’d just need to break away from her minders and whip a few into shape.
Or there were always Hypno. Pokemon that were known to drain their victims with how proficient they were at eating Dreams. Where does one find a pack of Hypno to send at an unsuspecting woman?
No... that was too far.
Rachel leaned back in. “I won’t do that though we’ll stick with what you wanted,” she said.
Giselle blinked. “Oh... good,” she said mentally deescalating her plans to silence the other woman.
Rachel smiled and nodded before vanishing back down the tunnel. Giselle pushed aside thoughts of justified murder, something that her mother assured her all women spent serious time on each day.
It was why true crime stories and crime shows were so well-rated.
Or at least according to her mother, that was the case.
Giselle threw back her shoulders and stared at herself in a mirror in the tunnel.
She looked good in her Institute uniform. Like any serious trainee of the social debutant society, she had her uniforms tailored to her.
So what if they needed to be taken in fortnightly as she grew? Such was the price of being well-dressed and presented.
She gave herself a fine inspection as the tunnel lights began to pulse, signalling that it was time. Giselle turned toward the exit and met Rachel just out of sight of the crowd.
Rachel nodded and stepped forward.
“Ladies, Gentlemen and pokemon of all ages! Welcome to this afternoon’s final challenge from the Pewter Technical Institute! Today we have the school’s jewel! The prettiest lass in the land and the Academy’s top student in academics and battling! Giselle!”
Giselle swallowed. That was a bit more than she’d been anticipating but she should have realised that Rachel was one of those sorts that when given an inch, they ran a marathon with the slack.
Giselle ignored it and advanced her head aloft. She deigned to give Rachel a nod of consideration. Then she moved past her and towards the podium as the crowd applauded for her. Sadly the numbers of said supporters were slightly diminished with a few of them whiting out.
She’d visit them before the day was done as was her duty as Ace. She needed to talk with a few of them about upping their efforts with training their pokemon and also their studies if they were faltering here.
When she reached the podium Giselle looked up as a light thrummed to life, shining down onto her opponent. Across from her another young girl stood with her arms crossed and a giant smile across her face.
Ah, they were copying their Gym Leader, if they thought that was going to intimidate her they were wrong. She’d faced down bigger men in her time.
She’d taken them all without any issues.
“—defending the Gym first! Greta Evergreen!” cheered Rachel.
Greta dropped her pose and jogged down the stairs and onto the podium she locked eyes with Giselle and Giselle felt the spark of battle ignite within her.
The referee ran through the normal prematch announcements and then raised his flags. “Trainers are you ready?” They both nodded and the man dropped his flags. “Release and begin!” he shouted.
“Go Tangela,” Giselle said. Basically the same thing for the moment.
Yolanda‘s smile grew. “Rachel did warn you that we had three pokemon sometimes yeah?” she said.
Giselle only had a moment to frown before Yolanda’s smile turned evil. “Self Destruct!” she called and her electric-rock graveler went straight into meltdown.
Giselle ran through all her options and realised that she had nothing. She could only watch as Yolanda struck down one of her strongest pokemon for this Gym.
As the referee raised his flags to announce both pokemon were knocked out, Giselle levelled an annoyed glare at the other girl. “Does this make you feel strong?”
“Nope! It’s not about me being strong, not while I’m acting as a Gym trainer, this is about you,” said Yolanda.
Giselle blinked. “Whatever do you mean?”
“This is about exposing weaknesses that you have now, while you can fix them. We’ve only seen you fight against four pokemon now, and we already have an idea of certain matchups that would work against you and interrupt your flow. That’s part of what fighting a gauntlet match is about,” Yolanda said, her arms sliding into a crossed-over pose.
Giselle frowned. They’d already picked apart her fighting style from so little information?
They had to be bluffing.
Giselle returned her pokemon. “So you say!” said Giselle, pocketing her pokeball.
Yolanda’s eyes dipped to Giselle’s pokebelt for a second, a small frown marring her features before they dipped back up. “Hmmm,” she replied cryptically as she palmed her third pokeball.
“Go Onix!” called Yolanda.
Giselle exhaled in relief. Onix, a brute of a pokemon typically but one that she could handle.
“Go Wigglytuff!” Giselle commanded, revealing her rarest pokemon. Wigglytuff appeared and locked eyes with the much larger pokemon before adopting a smirk.
“Sandstorm,” announced Yolanda casually and Giselle wanted to stop her feet. She did not want to be whittled down like...
She stopped, finding herself already reaching for her pokeball.
That’s what Yolanda had meant.
They’d picked up that she didn’t like to take unnecessary damage, from things like Stealth Rocks, or from weather effects like Sandstorm.
She could have her pokemon weather it but it would be harder, something she tried to avoid where possible but Yolanda was forcing her hand while pointing it out to her. She would have shot the other girl an annoyed look if it weren’t for the forming Sandstorm blocking sight.
She settled for a scowl while taking her hand off her pokeball for Graveler. “Wigglytuff! We’re enduring this! Go in with Stockpile first off!”
Wigglytuff made a gulping action and then seemed to shake itself off as sand swept past it.
“Again!” Giselle ordered, waiting for the Onix to appear from the sandstorm.
Her Wigglytuff continued to make a gulping motion until the third time but then, from beneath them Onix emerged roaring and throwing Wigglytuff into the air.
“While you’re in the air! Use Disable to stop it from digging again!” commanded Giselle.
A flash overtook Wigglytuff that lanced into Onix causing it to twitch, with that secured Giselle moved onto the next part of her plan. “Swallow!”
Wigglytuff made a huge gulping sound this time before shaking herself off as colour and strength returned to her limbs.
With this, she’d be set!
Then Onix whirled around with a gleaming tail and slammed it into Wigglytuff sending her soaring with a pained cry.
Giselle blinked in surprise only for a memory from the recent talk that Brock gave to the students of the Institute to rise up unbidden. There had been some older gentlemen who were all researchers. Some of them had mentioned Fairy typings and their weaknesses.
Steel was strong against Fairy.
Giselle stared at her struggling pokemon. Wigglytuff must be part Fairy, and not just normal typed. Damn! She hadn’t been expecting that. The researchers spoke about Brock knowing more, but for him to teach his Gym trainers as well? That wasn’t good. Were any other pokemon on her roster Fairy typed?
She’d need to enquire after her match.
“Wigglytuff is unable to battle!” announced the referee, prompting Giselle to return her pokemon.
Giselle stood, rooted on the spot as she realised she might have bitten off more than she could swallow. What was her next move? Did she have a move?
She realised then and there that... she didn’t know. She’d never been pressured like this at the academy. Never when things mattered. They were lessons with set parameters. The tutors had controlled it and praised her before ending the session. They never spoke of being this far in over their heads.
They taught about taking strong positions and converting them into victories by closing out the match.
What did that mean for her? She’d thought she’d started in a strong position but that had turned out to be a lie. So.. what should she do?
She inhaled and considered what her mother or father would say.
So, she decided to straighten her spine and face what was coming with as much grace as she could as a member of the Bridger family.
“Giselle!” shouted a voice from the crowd.
Giselle ignored them, she needed to focus and put her best foot forward. For that she’d need to send out Graveler.
“Giselle!” shouted the voice.
Giselle spared them a glance only to blink in surprise when she spotted Joe of all people with what looked like a bandage wrapped around his head. He stood on the railing with one foot raised and his chest puffed out.
Was this Joe, the boy that she spent hours each week tutoring to help boost his grades and battling performances? Was this the boy who whimpered and cowered?
He was a twig of a boy, that most of the academy either pitied, or looked down on.
And here he was daring to put himself out there to cheer her on.
He looked ridiculous.
What was he trying to be? A one man cheer squad? Or a cheesy action hero with that pose?
Joe opened his mouth. “Giselle if I can fight on so can—”
Giselle couldn’t help it, she giggled.
Joe stalled, thrown off by this reaction.
His dopey reaction only made Giselle giggle harder. Giselle crouched down to avoid the crowd’s gaze as she lost control of herself, her emotions flooding out of her in a fit of giggles.
She had to struggle to breath and not wet herself with how ridiculous this entire scene had gotten. She stood, wiping the tears from her eyes. She granted Joe a nod.
“My thanks,” she said as she found herself reset. She turned her attention back to Yolanda, the girl waiting patiently with her Onix. Giselle firmed her resolve and sent out Graveler.
“Go! Earthquake opening act!” she called.
Gravler landed and leapt into a powerful attack which caused the field to quake.
Onix was hurled about resulting in its quick dismissal. Giselle prepared herself for the next pokemon only for Yolanda to nod.
Giselle blinked. Wait... had she really been about to admit defeat this close from victory?
Giselle found herself stunned. She went through the motions of lowering her podium and spraying a healing potion over her Graveler before returning to her previous spot.
Before she could get too lost in her own mind the lights of the Gym shut off and revealed Brock standing at the top of the podium in his signature pose.
Giselle wasn’t...
She swallowed as the darkness around Brock seemed to stare back at her. His form towered from the top of the stadium as his gaze bore into hers with those twin dark orbs.
Giselle swallowed. It had looked goofy on the girls, but when he did it... it had a very different effect.
“So, you want to prove yourself?” Brock said and Giselle could only nod.
Brock snorted. “I’ve seen what you have to offer so far. Time to show you how far you still have to go,” said Brock as he advanced.
Giselle watched him. He didn’t do anything but walk down the stairs compared to Greta’s skip, and Yolanda’s jog. But speed wasn’t something he needed. Like a glacier he moved in a manner that was inevitable.
Giselle palmed the first pokeball of the match. She’d need to back herself with some of her ... less than optimal pokemon choices but they were still strong.
She just needed to back herself and her pokemon.
Brock raised up his own pokeball. What would it be? Another Onix? A Lairon? One of his rarer pokemon like Cradily? Or even his Solrock?
“Go Persian!” Giselle said sending out a pokemon she hoped would eke out a win or two to start the match off.
Brock responded by sending out Sudowoodo.
Giselle blinked and felt her heart sink. Oh dear.
She’d forgotten about this pokemon.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have laughed at Joe’s twiggy form earlier.
Still, she raised her head and prepared herself to fight to the last.