Chapter 249
“Mr Alfred!” Nina exclaimed as she stepped foot onto the private balcony overlooking the arena, the space already lined with a buffet of luxurious food and drinks. No doubt the exceptional work of Lilian’s super butler.
“Miss Jones,” the old servant bowed. “A pleasure to see you as always. Hello to Lady Joy and Mr Mayo as well.”
“Hey, Alfred!” Justin beamed and dashed straight towards the buffet. “Is all this food for us? Awesome! You’re the best!”
“Didn’t you just have lunch, Husdin? You’ll give yourself a stomachache at this rate.” Kerry remarked with a helpless sigh. But then, just as abruptly, sparkled at the sight of the various sweets and confectionaries on offer.
“I made sure to procure an excess of your favored canelés, Lady Joy.”
“Thank you, Mr Alfred. You truly are the best!”
“Heh. What was that about stomachaches again?” Justin said with an insufferably smug grin, earning him a furious poke on his flank and a scoff from Kerry.
“Hmph! There’s always room for dessert!” The nurse girl proclaimed as she went about picking at the colorful selection on offer with Nitey, Brinny and Lynxie in tow, the sweets-loving Dragonite was practically drooling at the seams.
Nina giggled at the sight, feeling glad that her friend’s vigour had been restored. Incidentally, she also noticed a few of the pastries mysteriously vanishing from their trays, likely the work of a certain oversized brussel sprout.
“Good… She’s finally awake.” Nina sighed in relief. When Celebi wouldn’t wake up from her sleep, Nina had to return the Myth into the GS Ball which, surprisingly, worked.
“A plate for you, Miss Jones. And my gratitude for placating Milady earlier. Your company was a much needed boon for her in the precipice of such a challenging trial.”
The girl smiled and accepted the proffered porcelain with grace. “No worries, Mr Alfred. It was through sheer happenstance that we bumped into each other last night. And besides, I have no doubts that Lilian would have done the same for me, in her own way.”
The old butler responded with a chuckle. “Quite so. But regardless, I would like to express my gratitude all the same. I’ve procured a selection of vintage Shuckle Juices that I think you will enjoy. One of which, I believe, was produced by an acquaintance of yours.”
“Bobby? What a surprise, I knew he had been selling small batches of his work but I didn’t think they’d have made their way to the collection of the Blackthorn clan so soon.” Nina grinned as she admired the emerald bottle adorned with an artistically drawn label featuring the pastel figures of a boy and his Shuckle. “Thank you, Mr Alfred. I’ve really missed these flavors.”
Nina had actually stocked up on a few bottles of her friend’s experimental work before she left on her journey. But their numbers had since been whittled, owing to the demanding taste of her precious Espeon. So she and Espy had come to an agreement at some point that their last two bottles should be saved only for special occasions.
“It is my pleasure, Miss Jones.”
After grabbing their fill of refreshments, Nina and her friends settled down to await the start of their friend’s Star battle.
***
“Laaaaadies… and gentleman! We are back once again with another Star battle here in the Cianwood Fight Arena.” The caster shouted, eliciting fervent cheers from the packed audience.
“And boy do we have a special battle for you today, folks! But before that, let us give a warm welcome to our most charismatic Leader. The magnificent, the magnanimous, the majestically mustachioed… CHUUUUCK NORRISSSS!!!!”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“””WOOOOO!!!”””
The crowd went wild as the lights dimmed and music blared, setting off a dizzying array of lights and fireworks on one end of the arena, to pave the way for the rotund figure of Chuck in a velvet bathrobe and flashy briefs walking down the aisle, on his waist was a black sash with gleaming stars sewn onto its surface — the Star Crusher they called him, each mark on the sash denoting the hopes and dream of every challenger left in his wake.
All the while, the flamboyant Gym Leader punched, jumped and mimed while reaching out to smack the hands of his adoring fans as he ran past. Before leaping onto the arena with a deftness that betrayed his cumbersome frame.
And finally, in a triumphant pose, the arena exploded once more in a cacophony of music and fire, further stoking the audience’s fervour.
“””WOOOOO!!!”””
“And our challenger today… From the prestigious, the prolific, the preeeeeeminent Clan Blackthorn… LILIAN BLACKTHORN!!!”
“WOOOO!!! Kick some ass, Lil!!!” Nina hollered alongside Kerry and Justin.
With a brief glance at her friends, the Blackthorn girl walked down the aisle with a regal smile while waving elegantly at the surrounding audience, opting to keep to herself and eschew the physical contact that her opponent doled out.
“She’s nervous.” Nina thought as she watched her friend ascend stiffly onto her side of the arena.
“What do you think, Nins?” Kerry asked. “With all of her Type Advantages, Lilian has to win right?”
“I dunno… I wouldn’t exactly count Chuck out just yet.”
Their conversation was quickly interrupted by the booming cheers of the audience as the referee called for the start of the battle and Chuck unveiled his first pick — a Hitmonchan.
“Show me what you’ve got, Blackthorn girl! Or are you just a little baby Kangaskhan all along, suckling at Clair’s teat.”
“That’s LADY Clair to you, swine!” Lilian howled as she threw out her Pokeball, to unveil the angry visage of her Gyarados.
“DOSSSSS!!!”
Thunder rumbled as dark clouds gathered, a veritable tsunami formed at the sea serpent’s call and drowned the field in water.
After much deliberation, Lilian ultimately decided to keep it simple by abusing her Pokemon’s overwhelming elemental prowess. Playing to Chuck’s acknowledgement would only be worth it to hedge against a potential loss. Better to go straight for the win — much more in line with the Blackthorn creed.
“Is that Hitmonchan standing on water?!” Justin exclaimed in disbelief.
And indeed, amidst a raging storm and tumultuous waves, Chuck’s Hitmonchan stood unbothered, his face looking almost serene in contrast to all the chaos surrounding it. Wisps of bright orange Aura swirled around the elite Fighting Pokemon while steam emanated from his skin. The heat of Hitmonchan’s boiling hot blood was so intense as to almost distort the air in a barely perceptible haze.
“Inner Focus taken to its most logical extreme.” Nina remarked with an admiring tone. “The standing on water bit isn’t anything special, just deft application of Aura. Your Pokemon’ll be able to do it too, with enough practice.”
Then, they blinked, and the Hitmonchan was gone.
“RAAAAA!!!”
With a devastating boom, Malachite the Gyarados howled in pain as a Mach Punch shot up her jaw in a crushing uppercut. The seven meter long sea serpent came crashing down into the water while Hitmonchan casually landed on her head.
“What a powerful display from Gym Leader Norris! An instant K.O perhaps?! Has Lady Lilian’s Gyarados been put down for good?!”
The audience cheered and Chuck smirked, much to his opponent’s consternation.
“Insolent cur!” Lilian growled. “Tear him to shreds, Malachite!”
“DOOSSS!!!” The winds churned as Lilian’s Gyarados Lash Out to remove the interloper above her head, then summoned a Hurricane onto the field and blew Chuck’s Hitmonchan into the air.
“Chan.” The boxing Pokemon winced at the sharp winds tearing into his being. But remained calm while steadily repositioning himself in the violent vortex. All the while, Focus Energy continued to cycle through his veins with a Focus Punch in his fist, just waiting to be unleashed at the right moment.
“Malachite!” Lilian called. And with another angry howl, an orb of pure Type Energy coalesced in her Gyarados’ maw and surged towards Hitmonchan in the form of destructive light.
“Heh.” Chuck scoffed while his Pokemon’s eyes glowed. Then, in an absolutely jaw-dropping moment, Hitmonchan wound up a bright red arm and punched down on the encroaching Hyper Beam, dispersing the ray of death into harmless motes of light.
“DOOSSS!!!”
But more crucially, the shockwave from that Focus Punch was so dense and potent that it crashed into Lilian’s Gyarados with overwhelming might, even superheating the surrounding water into fog and steam.
The end result was a fainted Gyarados laying in shallow waters and an exhausted Hitmonchan sitting in a meditative stance.
“INNNNNCREDIBLE!!! Absolutely incredible! What overwhelming might! How will our plucky little challenger even compete?! As expected of Cianwood’s pride! First round goes to the master himself! CHUUUUCK NORRIIIIIISSSS!!!”
“The fuck was that?!” Nina couldn’t help but curse. She was expecting Chuck’s Pokemon to be powerful. But not that powerful.
“Gahahaha!” The Gym Leader in question guffawed. “How’dya like that? Ain’t my Saitama just the strongest?! And in case you’re wondering, that’s our Gym’s signature move — the One Punch. Heh, the name’s a bit of a giveaway but good luck trying to figure it out. Took us forever to get to that point.”
Nina frowned. “The One Punch…” The girl hummed as she tried to dissect the move. “Focus Punch, most definitely. What else? Vacuum Wave and Mach Punch? But there should be more… What do you think, Espy?”
“Es.”
“Giga Impact or Mega Punch huh? That makes sense. Otherwise there wouldn’t be enough power behind it.” Especially considering the fact that Hitmonchan was suspended midair. Logically, the lack of any leverage should have diminished the force behind that punch. Nina shuddered to even think how much more powerful it would have been had Hitmonchan’s feet been on the ground.
“That’s… SO COOOL!!!” While Nina was busy plotting to recreate Chuck’s signature move, Justin’s eyes sparkled in excitement. “That does it! I’m definitely catching myself a Fighting Type Pokemon after this! I wonder if there’re any Mankeys around in the caves…”
“Is Lilian going to be okay, Mr Alfred?” asked a concerned Kerry. But the butler simply responded with an enigmatic smile.
