The Jubilee Cup Finals

With the pressure subsided into that little flickering orb, ticklishly dancing around the end of my fingertips, I found walking easier than it had been all day. It had a tail as it hopped from one of my hands to the other, mindless but intentional. It almost followed my gaze as I paced around the outside of my room.

Against me, Chii would look to weaken whatever Capmon I had in the lead with her own leads. In a straight fight, my Capmon were more experienced, more powerful, and in all ways some of the strongest in the world. Nyaro was frightening to me when I was a Kichi, roughly the height of a human’s ankle. Birtsie could overcome a beginner’s Capmon with sheer speed. Pachu was clearly well trained, but was still small and physically unimpressive. The three of them together couldn’t overcome Nidlord, but they probably could exhaust him.

Then, there was Twiglo, who wasn’t a powerhouse of any sort. But, he was immune to all harm except for a few specifics. I thought about them. Direct attacks from the air could break through the abandoned exoskeleton and break through. Fire could burn through it but electricity would bounce off it harmlessly. Hard rocks could crush it, but metal couldn’t. Magic couldn’t pierce it, but other ghostly forces or even pure darkness could penetrate it. There was one other thing. Its magic only deflected direct attacks, and any kind of indirect harm would be lethal to it. The magic surrounding Twiglo’s spectral form was unique but highly fickle, and I was unsure if even Chii fully knew all of its intricacies.

I stopped to look out the window, the light of the setting sun flashing across my forehead. That was it, she would try to scout against my first Capmon, even at the expense of her other two party members. She would never beat me by fighting fair, but if Chii weakened my team just enough that they couldn’t exploit Twiglo’s weaknesses, he would become unstoppable.

If I sent Ummerfron out first, she’d think it was in preparation to contend with Twiglo in the back. Then, she would expend her resources against Ummerfron too quickly, and I keep a flame type in the back to come out at the last second. Most likely, Ummerfron could handle all three of her Capmon, but I’d make sure both of my other two had an option for Twiglo… just in case.

Fire was helping her. She has those four Capmon and no others, I gritted my teeth, what kind of insane gambit would he come up with. He could lead Twiglo, but into my Ummerfron, that would spell disaster. I was sure to win as soon as that one piece was removed from the board. Nyaro could go first and just run around to try and cause as much exhaustion as possible. She would have to act like a little, biting insect and just waste my time. It wouldn’t be the worst thing she’d ever done to me. Ummerfron was fast enough to catch up to Nyaro quickly, so that wouldn’t work. Maybe Birtsie could hold out longer. Pachu was too small and too slow.

Ummerfron was my best choice against any lead Chii could send in, and could handle Twiglo. I could cleanly sweep. Pachu… I clicked my tongue as I kept thinking. Pachu was related to Kichi, and it had some of the same abilities. If Chii wanted to win with it, its job wouldn’t be to knock Ummerfron out. That would be almost impossible. But, it could stun Ummerfron with electricity. Then, Ummerfron would struggle to face Twiglo because he was partially paralyzed. That’s what Fire would go for.

Nidlord was immune to electric attacks. I bring him out first, then she recalls Pachu for Twiglo as soon as he attacks. The little ball of electricity swirled past my shoulder before spinning straight around my back. A sparkling tail followed it. If Nidlord left toxic debris all over the field, then Twiglo couldn’t even join the fight without getting hurt. It wasn’t a direct attack, so he wouldn’t be invincible. Anything that broke through his invulnerability would be enough to bring him down.

A reporter ran up to me as I walked toward the match. The little ball of electricity hadn’t gone away, zipping around me and following my movements. Sparks radiated out of my fingertips and off my hair as I walked. She held a microphone before me, “Champion Cyan, anything special for this match?”

“I have a fever. I’ve got to get it over with quickly.”

“Oh, well… Just that?”

“Yes.”

“I see!” She corrected her posture, “Feel better. Good luck!”

I could only really see the grassy and muddy field in front of me. The stands may as well have been long shadows, silhouettes of my own tunnel vision. Chii met me halfway in the middle to shake hands, only cautiously grabbing my hand for a moment as sparks flashed away from me.

Nyaro rested on Chii’s shoulder. She leaned forward, sniffing at me, then growled, “What is this? What is this?” I understood her voice as clearly as I ever had.

Chii raised an eyebrow, “Ignore her. She’s just nervous… Fighting a champion and all.”

I nodded, “Best of luck.” The field had been scarred from all the matches throughout the day. There were lines in what had once been pristine grass that had been reduced to black ashes. Much of the grass had been ripped out or turned over in the mud. The walls had stains from blood and other fluids on them.

There was Pachu, exactly as I predicted. Chii scratched her head as she saw Nidlord. Pachu was helpless against it. “Cover the ground in toxins,” I swung my arm forward as I gave the command. It was a dramatic flair that had become a force of habit over all the matches I’d fought in. A long sparkling streak followed my movement, flashing past where my hand stopped and swirling around my body like a hula hoop. The audience, who I’d intentionally been ignoring, filled with oohs and aahs like they were watching a firework show.

Nidlord spit toxic saliva into his claws. It hardened into thick, pointed spikes dripping with venom that he threw onto the ground like caltrops. Any Capmon that tried to move around quickly would be stuck with them. Chii watched it errantly, “A-ah… I…” She recalled Pachu. It couldn’t have hurt Nidlord anyway, and any movement it made would have been ruined by the spikes. She reached for one of her Capture Balls before she realized my trap.
“N-Nyaro, you’re up!” She set Nyaro down carefully, “Be careful. Stay away from those claws!”

Nyaro weaved between the spikes and ran right toward Nidlord. I took a deep breath as I watched her, “Now.” I said calmly. Nidlord swung down toward her, but she dipped down, escaping between his legs. She neglected to counterattack at all, and simply ran up to me, sniffing more.

“What is this!” She swung her claw forward, slashing my leg. Sparks flashed out of my wound as a line of hot blood dripped down my sock.

I yelped. “Cut that out!” It was against the rules for a Capmon to attack the other trainer, but Chii hadn’t ordered this. Nyaro just did it on her own.

Chii yelled across the field, “What are you doing?”

Nidlord lumbered back toward me. I tired to command him, but I froze in place as the electricity swirling around me flashed outward all at once. It was such a bright spark that when I opened my eyes again, I could see Nidlord still holding his claws up over his face. My heart was racing, my breath creaked in my throat.

“Not now… Just another… I’ll win…” I huffed. I didn’t believe myself. The surge burned in my neck and head, spreading out everywhere. My hand hesitated over Nidlord’s Capture Ball, but I pressed the button and recalled him. Then, I sprinted out of the stadium to a series of gasps and confused outcries. Nyaro chased after me.

I turned around a bend just inside the stadium where nobody was looking. I didn’t see Nyaro behind me as I collapsed. Another breath entered my lungs, and my eyes popped open. The fur along my arms and legs was back, my tail was pressed on the ground under my body.

Nyaro raced around the corner and stopped just in front of me, “What did ya do? That sorcery?”

“What do you mean?’

“The champion! Ya were pretending to be the champion! I could smell you.”

“That wasn’t me!” I shook my head. She hopped closer to me and grabbed my leg in her paws. She pushed my leg out from under me, revealing a long, swollen gash in the same place where she’d cut my human body.

“Oh, what’s this wild Kichi doing here, then?” She put her paws down on my chest, “Wild Capmon aren’t supposed to be here. I guess it wouldn't be wrong for me to hunt a rodent that's just wandering around.”

“I’m not! You know me! I’m looking for Zane!”

She walked away, “If ya try and trick my Chii like that again, I’ll snip your neck in my teeth.”

“Wait!” I ran after her, my leg screaming, “You don’t know the whole story!”

Her tail flicked back and forth, “You’re right. I don’t get it at all. How? Why?”

“I was Cyan, a human, a champion, my whole life. I woke up as a Kichi- I don’t know how or why- right before you and I met. I’ve been stuck like this, but I turned back into a human twice for about a day.”

She mewed, “Okay then.”

“I mean I wasn’t lying!”

“I get it,” she padded over to me, her tail swinging around my back, “you’re cuter like this. I like you like this better.”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“What?” She hissed, “I beat a champion- a real champion- in a battle before and you don’t want me to tell anybody!”

“I mean it!” I shot back, “Besides, it’s crazy-talk. A champion looking like me. Even if you did go bragging about it, nobody would believe you.”

Nyaro rubbed her head against mine, “Then you need to tell them with me. They’ll believe you, won’t they?”

“If people still don’t know the truth by the time I turn back for real- for good- then I’ll tell people, Nyaro,” I promised, “and, I’m going to turn back. So, people will know someday.”

“Fine,” Nyaro strutted back out toward the field. She made a point of spreading her mouth as wide as she could to yawn, her fangs shining in the artificial light, “I’ll give you one year because you’re cute. I’ll get bored after that, so I’ll have to say something.”

“Thank you.” I went quiet as Chii raced around the corner.

She was shaking, “Nyaro!” She yelled, “You almost got us disqualified, what are you doing here?”

Nyaro mewed innocently, then starting purring as she rubbed on Chii’s ankle. A little, gold medal was hanging down from the trainer’s neck. She reached down at pet her Capmon quietly, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled.” She spotted me, “Oh, Bianca. Nyaro wasn’t causing you trouble, was she?”

I shook my head and started walking away. I knew where Zane’s room was, so I quietly slipped inside. He’d taken to leaving his door open like I had been. Unlike me, he had no reason to do such a thing other than that I had been. “Hey, I’m back…” I mumbled.

He looked down at me, “Oh, Bianca. I guess Cyan was in a rush.” A bronze medal was hanging from his neck and a silver one dangled from his fingertips, “They wanted me to give this to her when I saw her again. It’s pretty isn’t it.” The silver necklace flashed in the light. I didn’t want it. It was just some token from the Jubilee Cup. I should have won first.