Rematch

Green Town was connected to Garden City by a single, unbothered trail. It cut through quiet, groomed woods, and was so easy to cross that Green Town may as well have been a suburb of the nearby city. Zanes boots crunched into the grass. I kept trying to point him back onto the gravel path, but he ignored me. Trying to trailblaze through the bushes was basically the only way something could go wrong here, even for a complete amateur. It should never have taken more than an hour to get from one end to another, but the sun was already reaching its apex. We’d entered the forest early in the morning.

“Ow! Bianca, it’s trying to eat me!” Zane bounced around wildly. A wormy green Capmon clung to his leg with its teeth. Cattalett were one of the quintessential species of beginner Capmon. I’d seen a four year old commanding one before. Its orange antennae flicked up and down as it continued chewing on his shin. They weren’t carnivores, but they were rudely territorial and halfway to brainless. Its tiny teeth couldn’t draw more blood than a skinned knee.

I hopped down beside it, “Go away. Please.” I had a Cattalett, myself. In its more mature form, it had helped me win the championship. I was generally fond of them, even if they started out weak. I’d always tried to avoid hurting them if I could.

It spoke with its mouth full, “You! Leave! My place!” I could barely make out those words. Being able to actually understand what Capmon were saying was a nice change. It kept biting Zane’s leg.

“Come on! Zap it or something!” He kept bouncing his legs up and down. The constant movement, jostling its tiny, thorn teeth up and down couldn’t have helped with however little this hurt. I’d been bitten by a far bigger Capmon, and he didn’t see me whining about it. Besides, if I electrocuted the Cattalett, the shock would course through its body and straight into his. I began laughing at his command, and the electricity just flowed out of me, flashing through the Cattalett and surging straight into Zane.

The Cattalett fell to the ground, hissing with black smoke. I winced at it. It looked like it might have been barely alive. Zane coughed. His arms and legs twitched as the electricity shook through him. I shrugged. It was his stupid idea. I still expected him to yell at me. Instead, he fiddled through his bag and grabbed a Capture Ball. He pressed it against the unconscious Cattalett and watched as the little bug was sucked inside. The ball clicked vibrantly, and he snapped the full ball onto his belt. I nodded. That’s exactly what I would have done. He limped a step toward me, then lifted me back onto his shoulder, “N-nice job…” He coughed, “We got a Cattalett!” At least he knew what it was.

I took a deep breath long enough to hear three slow claps. The grass shook behind us as slow footsteps moved in our direction. I turned to see Chii standing there. The drills in her hair bounced down, swaying in the slight breeze. “Oooh! I didn’t know ya knew how to actually catch a Capmon, Zane! I bet it was a really cool one and not… Oh, wait… I’m talking to Zane. I bet it’s nothing good.”

He spun around, little drops of blood covering the circular wound just over his ankle, “W-well I have three Capmon, now! And you?”

“Th-three!” She yelled, “Someone must have helped ya!” Her hand twitched near the two Capture Balls on her belt. “N-no matter. There is such a thing as beginner’s luck.”

“Beginners luck?” Zane smirked, “Yeah, I bet you knew all about that last time we battled.”

She yawned, “I just got done picking Kichi fur out of Nyaro’s litter box. Just admit that I’m better and we don’t have to battle again. I don’t want my little cousin to get hurt, now do I?”

“Little?” He threw his arms up. “I’m older than you!”

“O-only by a month!” Her face flushed red, “I’ll crush ya!” She snatched a Capture Ball in her hand and planted her feet. Her arm cast behind her like a pitcher’s and she flung the ball forward as hard as she could. It split open, and the light inside of it formed into a little feathered ball with a wide, orange beak. It flipped open two wings and flew up, circling over Chii’s head.

“Alright, here’s my new one. Meet… Uh… Squirm!” Zane made up the name on the spot. He proudly sent the Cattalett out of its Capture Ball. It woke up, but could barely make itself slither forward. It wasn’t nearly recovered from fighting just a minute ago.

Chii giggled as she saw it, “T-that’s adorable! Birtsie, peck it!” Her Capmon’s tan wings parted widely, catching the air in them. Its tail feathers flicked downward slightly, and the wind spun behind the Birtsie pushing it forward. It swooped down over Squirm the Cattalett before the little insect could react, and the bird grabbed Zane’s Capmon in its beak. It flicked its head back and slurped the Cattalett down like a candy.

“Th-that’s not fair!” Zane yelled out.

“I told ya to just say I was better,” Chii shrugged, “Ya can send out another Capmon if you really wanna keep going.”

“Bianca,” he muttered to me, “Think you can do this?” The Birtsie was twice my size. It could fly and I couldn’t. I was starting to like Chii better than I liked Zane, at least she had some clue what she was doing. Besides, I remembered saying those same kinds of things to Fire when he was a newbie.

She yawned, “Oh, Kichi again… Cute.” She flicked her wrist forward, “Just wrap this up, Birtsie. He doesn’t have any tricks up his sleeve.”

I raced out of the way as the Birtsie dove toward me, my fur rustling in the breeze caused by its dive. There was no time to counterattack, and I was struggling to force any electricity out. I had already used it. If I could force another shock, then that could knock my opponent right out of the sky.

It swirled ahead, then dove again. Chii carefully watched as I moved out of the way. She tapped her foot as she waited patiently for Birtsie to make another pass. This time, as it was halfway into its dive, she kept her eyes directly on me. “Right!” She yelled to her Capmon. It turned midair, but flew in the wrong direction. Chii had made the exact call I would have based on my last two dodges. I only changed it up because I was used to facing strong trainers who would have made that call.

She glared at me, “Zane, are ya gonna give any commands?”

I straightened myself out as he stared at the Birtsie, “Zap it! Get it back for Squirm!” I held my ground as it got closer. I’d gone the opposite way before, and now Chii would anticipate a trick. If I went left or right, it would be left to a coin toss.

“Left!” She yelled out. I stood right where I was, watching the confused Birtsie pass me by. Finally, I felt that pressure building up in my chest again, and before my opponent could get back up, a spark flashed out of me and surrounded the bird in crackling electricity. Its wings gave out and it tumbled into the ground, tearing up the grass as it crashed through the dirt.

“Birtsie!” She yelled as she recalled it to its Capture Ball. She rolled her eyes, “Give up now, Zane. You already know how this fight ends.” She let her Nyaro out of its ball.

Zane nodded to me, “Come back.” He said clearly. His hand flicked down to the other Capture Ball on his belt. He released the Pengli his mother gave to him, “Go, Prince!” This time he was more sure of the name. I’d heard him muttering words like it to himself all day, now I knew why.

Chii looked at the little Pengli. It was a soft, blue-feathered bird about twice my height with a sharp, yellow beak. Its belly was a slick black. Little bubbles of water formed around the points of its talons, mixing into the ground and forming mud under the Pengli’s feet. It beat its wings up and down as Nyaro strutted on the opposite side of the battlefield. I was just glad not to fight that little monster again.

“Bite it!” Chii called out.

“Uhh… Hit it back!” Prince flinched at Zane’s direction. It waited for the Nyaro to get close, then opened its beak. A stream of water sprayed out from inside of the Pengli’s mouth. It splashed forward with such pressure, the brunt of it striking Nyaro, that Nyaro was thrown back onto the ground. It barely picked itself up before it ran back to Chii in a panic. Its back arched up and it hissed wildly.

Chii ran her hand along Nyaro’s back, “Come on… It’s just water!” Nyaro refused to keep fighting. She stomped against the ground, “It’s unfair! It’s so unfair! Stupid, lucky Zane!” She recalled Nyaro and ran away before Zane could say anything.

“Prince! Bianca!” Zane sat down on the ground, “That was awesome!” He looked at Squirm’s empty Capture Ball, “Come on. We’ve got to get to the hospital in Garden City.”