Chapter 204: Let them see...
The audience froze when they heard the analysis. They looked at Harry with pity in their eyes.
"He already lost to base Scizor. Facing an empowered version is just bullying." A young woman complained softly.
"What do you mean?! It was already bullying! That Exeggutor got annihilated from the beginning!" her husband retorted.
Hearing the multitude of whispers around him, Harry began to sink, his legs losing strength and his eyes losing the spark they once held.
'Is this the end? Am I really just going to fade away like this? How unfair.' His head tilted back, an eyeful of blue.
'Fight Harry! We are all watching you!'
A childish voice he could recognise by pitch alone echoed in his head, replacing the growing emptiness inside.
"Go, big brother!!!"
His eyes widened in disbelief as he pinpointed the source, for that same voice now split the sea of whispers around him; like Moses, a blond boy in crutches appeared. His eyes were resolute, unflinching. It showed him the way; it showered him in light.
He had seen that gaze only once before, in a hospital, when that same blond boy swore he would walk once more. That he would be there in person to cheer for his brother when he eventually won the league. The siblings needn't talk to understand what the other thought.
The scene was projected on every screen around the region, a sort of poetic moment that impassioned the audience.
"Good try!"
"Don't mind!"
~~~
As if catching a disease from the blond boy, hundreds of people began to shout down from the stands above, repeating the exact four words. Unorganised and out of sync, it was grating to the ears. But slowly, as if becoming aware of each other's presence, their voices began to unify, and a beast emerged. Two hundred thousand people chanting the same words made the stadium tremble.
Elesa looked on in shock, incapable of remaining calm. The scene before her was akin to something out of a movie.
'Holy shit.'
She looked down at Rex, worried he might be disheartened, only to choke on her saliva moments later.
"God, what a little bastard. And here I thought you would be affected." She mumbled.
Below, Rex stood silently, watching the scene develop before his eyes. A Relaxed expression, one you would only see on someone resting at the beach. Not one amidst a battle where the whole stadium was rooting for your opponent.
'Ah, the story of the underdog, one as old as story itself. Of the weak, determined to strike a blow, a deciding blow, a blow that ushers victory. One so unexpected that it can only be called fate. Unfortunately, that is only what the weak propagate, to convince themselves of a false existence that stretches beyond the futility of their struggles. All these people, I can see the desire in their eyes, the craving for a comeback.'
Harry was mesmerised, energy pooling within him. He felt reinvigorated, the words of two hundred thousand people hammering into his body. Reforging his crumbling determination anew.
'Right, this isn't over. No matter what happens, I will give it my all; I will have no regrets in this battle.'
He looked at Scizor, only now realising that it stood centimetres from the barrier, staring at him, mimicking its trainers' unfazed attitude. No sounds except that of the engine roaring at its back, like a mad dog without any semblance of rationality. Its cold eyes bore holes into his skull, its deathly fingers tracing circles around the edges of his fragile mind.
Yet he did not crack, only clenching onto a new Pokeball.
"We have only just begun! Charizard, GO!"
The red and white sphere flew past Scizor's head, exploding into a dozen flickering lights, coalescing into a tall dragon of flame.
[Nice choice! Charizard has a typing and flight advantage, with powerful ranged attacks. It seems the scales have shif-]
{-Sadly, that is too naïve.} Elesa interjected yet refused to elaborate. But her words succeeded, recasting the shadow in the crowd's hearts. Worry swirled within their eyes.
"Charizard, use overheat!" Harry yelled, his gaze still locked with Scizor's. Yet, the reaper remained even as the temperature began to rise, the blistering heat undulating in waves, spreading in every direction.
"Stand still." The same whisper danced into the ears of everyone present, sending their hearts on another sequence of flips.
[Is this man crazy? This is a super effective move, not to mention overheat is one of the most potent fire-type attacks there are!] James yelled, echoing the fervent thoughts of the crowd.
All eyes now lasered onto Scizor, waiting to see if it would actually obey. If it would willingly throw itself into the crucible at the whims of its trainer. Rare were the few who succeeded in raising such trusting companions.
A searing heat like a volcanic explosion submerged the stadium. Forcefield raised the ocean contained, all the energy directed at the only remaining entity within.
Yet, it didn't turn around, only continuing to stare at the trainer, unfazed by the monstrous temperature rising at its back.
Crash!
Like a flood, it drowned Scizor within before exploding entirely. Smoke within a tube, a twister was created. With the crowd on tenterhooks and no result in sight, they shifted their interest towards the trainer whose brazen command might have cost him his victory, and, more importantly, the trust of his companion.
But again, they were shocked by his utter indifference, bored eyes and suppressed yawn, causing the audience to simmer in angry disbelief.
[This is absurd, Charizard is a ranged powerhouse, to let your pokemon tank such a move is sheer ARROGANCE. Might as well declare the result now.] James proclaimed in frustration, waving his hand dismissively.
Smoke thinning, shadows lurking within, the people's attention was drawn back to the battlefield.
Harry was equally expectant, three parts anxious, two parts excited. He looked at the screens, Rex's face upon them, and let out a small grin.
"No matter how strong your Pokémon is, getting hit by a stab overheat that's super effective is guaranteed to leave a mar-"
His hushed words froze as the same chilling sensation fell upon his body like gravity, the air in his lungs growing heavy, struggling to escape the parting of his chapped lips. His eyes trembled as they slowly slid toward the charred landscape where those same blue eyes lingered- floating amidst the smoke, hauntingly still.
The now clear result made the crowd's heart palpitate as their nails dug into their knees and their teeth chattered uncontrollably.
Scizor remained upright, a statue impervious to flame. Not a single trace of damage visible on his body.
'Let them see... the fragility of story.'
"Use fell stinger."
The audience recoiled at his words, horror filling their eyes as the statue finally moved, ash falling from its body as it turned into a blue laser, the air bubbling- boiling at the heat of the thrusters as it disappeared with a flash of light. Twice as fast as before.
BOOM!
Charizard, who stood there, equally shocked, began to fly involuntarily, rocketing past Harry and smashing right into the wall beneath the first row of spectators, shattering it as chunks of concrete flew in all directions. The wind generated by the momentum alone caused Harry's hair to ripple furiously. The torrent of air progressed up the rows of spectators like an unstoppable hurricane, finally blowing the unwavering audience back into their seats.
"…"
There was another bout of silence. One which Rex took much pleasure in, revelling in the feeling it gave him. 'The moment when reality sinks in, such magnificence.'
But his brows soon crease as his eyes land on the referee.
"The verdict, please," his penetrating voice jolting flag bearer.
"Ri-Right, Charizard is unable to battle. Scizor is the winner!"
Once again, no cheer thundered within the confines of the stadium, only eyes casting mixed emotions. None of which were joy or excitement.
Rex grinned, 'a colosseum's audience, huh?'
Unsurprised, he turned to Elesa and waved charmingly, a stark contrast to how he carried himself previously.
Elesa waved back with a gentle smile, giving him a playful wink before purposefully tilting her head to the side and raising her eyebrows as if saying, 'did you really have to go so far?'.
He pulled down an eyelid and stuck out his tongue before turning towards Harry, still frozen in place, his gaze absent.
"Hey! Wakey-wakey, still got one more to go." Rex reminded in a loud voice, a playful smile surfacing.
His opponent's eyes regained some light as his vision readjusted. His hand listlessly emerged from behind his back, another Pokeball in his hand.
Rex stretched his neck, 'one more pig to slaught--'
"You can do this!"
Go for it, Harry!"
"We believe in you!"
Hundreds of similar phrases were thrown down from the stands above, thousands of people rising to their feet, chanting his name vigorously. Harry's movements paused as he looked around, surprise painting his face.
'Man, people really do love this cliché setting, huh?' Rex thought in amusement.
Noticing that his opponent was now looking at him, he raised a hand and taunted him, opening and closing it. This instantly infuriated the crowd as they shouted with even more might.
A muffled chuckle escaped from his mouth as he observed the developments. His eyebrows twisting into an odd expression of interest.
'Somehow… it seems I have turned into the villain. Who could have seen this coming?' he pondered, his playful smile growing even more pronounced.
"Well, since I'm playing the part of villain…" his whispers trailing off.
"HAHA~" a peel of thunderous laughter quelled the various chants bouncing around the stadium as everyone focused on the source, Rex himself.
"Weakness disgusts me," his face contorting into a deep frown, "you stand no chance; quit while you still can and avoid shaming your Pokémon any further."
Words as sharp as knives pierced through Harry, his bright eyes instantly darkened, his hand freezing in place, unable to rise anymore.
For the first time, the crowd erupted with noise, unintelligible on first impression; they all had two things in common: they encouraged Harry while simultaneously bombarding Rex with verbal abuse. All within the same sentence.
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An: It took me a while to really settle on how I wanted to construct the battle so far. I was split between making it light and fun, and making it very shocking and descriptive. I also struggled to really find the right moments for James and Elesa's comments. But I think that overall, it turned out good. Tell me what you think.
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