"Mama... Mama..."
The little boy cried, shaking a woman passed out on the ground.
The fire was spreading fast. Soon, there will be no escape. But this innocent little boy doesn't know that.
The little boy's cries were swallowed by the roar of the flames. His small hands shook his mother, but her eyes remained closed, a dark stain spreading across her temple.
Smoke choked the air, turning the familiar living room into a hazy, orange nightmare.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Heavy, frantic footsteps sounded from the hallway.
"Damn that Monarch! I can't believe he'll set this building on fire!"
A tall, broad-shouldered man stumbled into the room, his suit jacket torn, his face smeared with soot. He was clutching a briefcase to his chest, his eyes wild, scanning for an exit.
The little boy's eyes latched onto him.
"M-Mister! Mama won't wake up! Help!"
The man's gaze snapped to the boy, then to the unconscious woman.
Wait... this boy...
His eyes darted between them, to the cracked door leading to the hallway, then back to the fire climbing the curtains. Saving the woman would mean carrying dead weight, fighting through flame, a risk that could doom them all. But the boy was small.
He hesitated for only a second, his jaw tightening.
With a grunt of effort, he dropped his briefcase. It hit the floor with a thud, papers spilling out, immediately beginning to curl at the edges from the heat. He strode over, roughly scooped the crying boy under one arm, and turned towards the door.
"W-Wait! Mama!" The boy wailed, reaching a tiny hand back towards the still form on the floor.
The man didn't look back. He drove his shoulder into the cracked door, breaking it. Then, he started to run through the hallway with the boy crying on his arms.
***
Back to the lounge...
Elias sat on the corner, his eyes widened in terror. His gaze was on the floor, but his mind was playing tricks on him.
What is that memory?Is it mine? Elias thought, lifting a palm on his right eye.
The light of the lounge seemed to warp, pulsing in time with the sudden, vicious throb behind Elias's right eye. The victory and Ellen's confrontation—it all collapsed under the weight of the phantom memory.
A woman on the floor. The roar of flames. And a man… a man whose face was blurred by smoke, but whose voice laced with fury echoed with a chilling clarity.
But it couldn't be real. His own memory, the one he knew, was different. The Boss, finding him alone in the smoke, carrying him to safety. There was no unconscious woman.
A cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck. His breathing, usually so controlled, hitched slightly. He pressed the heel of his palm harder against his eye, as if he could physically push the images back into the dark.
"Elias?"
A voice pulled him back to reality.
Elias looked up and saw the attendant standing in front of him.
"You're up next. You'll open the third round against Ellen. Please, go to the tunnel immediately."
The words cut through the haze like a knife. Third round against Ellen.
Elias slowly lowered his hand and he stood up. He walked past the concerned-looking attendant, his boots echoing on the floor.
The roar of the crowd grew louder with each step, a wave of sound waiting to crash over him. The bright light of the arena beckoned at the end of the tunnel.
He stepped into the light.
"And here they are, folks!" The announcer's voice boomed. "Kicking off the third round! In the right corner, Elias!"
A mix of cheers and apprehensive murmurs rose for him.
"And facing him! The radiant challenger from Kanto! Give it up for Ellen!"
The eruption for Ellen was warmer, brighter. She walked to her trainer's box, a small, determined smile on her face. But her eyes, as they met Elias's across the field, held no trace of their earlier confrontation.
The referee raised her flags.
"Trainers! Release your pokemon on my signal!"
Elias's hand closed around Krokorok's pokeball.
Ellen's fingers brushed the ball holding her Pikachu.
"BEGIN!"
"Go! Pikachu!"
"Come out, Krokorok."
The two pokemon materialized. Pikachu landed lightly on its feet, cheeks sparking, its entire body humming with electric potential. Krokorok hit the ground with a ground-shaking thud, its gaze immediately locking onto the smaller, faster threat.
"Pikachu! Quick, use Iron Tail!" Ellen's voice rang out, sharp and clear.
Pikachu shot forward in a blur, its tail hardening into a silvery sheen.
Elias's mind was forced to focus onto the present.
"Krokorok, Dragon Claw!"
Krokorok's claws erupted in a shimmering, purple aura. It lunged forward to meet the charge, one clawed arm swinging in a wide, powerful arc.
CLASH!!
The clash was a deafening screech of metal on spectral energy.
Tail met claws in a shower of sparks. Pikachu was bounced by the force, but it quickly regained its momentum and landed on its feet.
But Krokorok didn't give it a moment to breathe. It surged forward, its other claw already swinging in a backhanded strike aimed to swat the yellow mouse away.
"Under it, now! Then, use Iron Tail again!" Ellen's command was sharp.
Pikachu dropped flat, the purple energy whistling over its head, and shot between Krokorok's legs again, its tail sweeping upwards in a vicious uppercut towards Krokorok's belly.
"Under you, Krokorok!"
Krokorok looked down, but it didn't try to dodge. Instead, it drove its claw straight down.
The timing was a fraction off.
Pikachu's upward-tailing strike already scraped against its tough underbelly, drawing a pained grunt. Then, it twisted at the last millisecond, and Krokorok's claw only slammed into the ground where it had been, cratering the floor and sending a shockwave through the stadium.
The two Pokémon rebounded from the impact, dust swirling around them.
They stood poised, fifteen feet apart, their eyes locked.
Krokorok's chest heaved, a faint scorch mark on its scales.
"Krokorok, that Pikachu is much faster than Sandlash. Don't force yourself in." Elias said, his gaze locked on Ellen.
"Pikachu, be careful. Krokorok is a powerful pokemon. Don't let yourself get hit." Ellen said, her gaze locked on Elias.
"Krokorok, use Sandstorm!"
The command was so sudden.
Krokorok threw its head back, opened its maw wide, and let out a guttural roar. From deep within its body, a whirlwind of sand erupted. It exploded outwards in a furious, expanding vortex, howling as it swallowed the center of the arena.
In a heartbeat, the clear battlefield vanished. The swirling cloud of brown particles reduced visibility to mere feet. The crowd gasped as the two Pokemon were swallowed from view. The only sounds were the roar of the artificial storm and the sharp sound of sand pelting the arena's energy barriers.
Inside the maelstrom, Krokorok's form was a hulking, indistinct shadow. The stinging sand was nothing to its tough hide. But for Pikachu, it was a sudden, hostile world. It cried out as the abrasive particles needled its sensitive skin and eyes.
"Pikachu, don't panic!" Ellen's voice rang out, clear but edged with new tension. "Listen for it! Use Quick Attack to keep moving!"
But movement in the sandstorm was perilous. Pikachu zipped in a short burst, but the swirling winds buffeted it off-course. It landed, disoriented, its ears twitching desperately to locate the predator it knew was closing in.
Thud.
A heavy footfall, muffled by the sand, to the left.
"Iron Tail, to your left!" Ellen shrieked.
Pikachu spun, its flashing out in a defensive arc. It connected with nothing but the swirling sand.
The footfall had been a feint. From directly behind, Krokorok emerged like a nightmare. Its claws, free of the distracting Dragon Claw aura, were aimed to grab.
"Now, Sand Tomb." Elias's voice was calm through the storm.
As Krokorok's claws seized the disoriented Pikachu, the ground beneath them erupted. The swirling sandstorm condensed into a single, furious vortex directly under Pikachu's feet, transforming from a blinding haze into a grinding, constricting prison.
The sand coiled around Pikachu, pinning its limbs and dragging it downwards. Pikachu shrieked, a sound of pure pain that cut through the storm's roar.
"Pikachu, no!" Ellen cried, her knuckles white on the railing.
Krokorok released its grip and took a step back, its red eyes gleaming from within the storm.
The storm began to die, the sand losing its energy and settling. As the air cleared, the crowd saw the result. Pikachu lay in the center of a shallow, spinning pit of sand, its body limp, its eyes swirling.
Ellen's face was pale, but her jaw was set.
"Return, Pikachu. You were amazing." The red beam recalled her fallen partner. She clutched the pokeball to her chest for a brief second, feeling its warm, weary energy.
Her mind raced. Krokorok was strong, grounded, and now had momentum. She had one pokemon left who hadn't fought. It was a terrible match-up, but forfeiting is not an option. She had to try. She had to believe in her pokemon.
"Go! Gastly!" She called, throwing the pokeball.
The purple specter materialized with its wide, mischievous grin.
A murmur of confusion ran through the crowd. A Gastly? Against a Krokorok? It was a type disadvantage so severe it bordered on surrender.
"Gastly, use Confuse Ray!" Ellen commanded, her voice firm despite the hopeless odds.
Gastly's eyes glowed a sinister pink, and a wavy, disorienting beam of light shot towards Krokorok.
"Evade it. Then, Crunch." Elias ordered, his tone flat.
Krokorok ducked to the side with surprising speed. The Confuse Ray sailed past, dissipating in the air. In the same motion, Krokorok lunged, its jaws snapping shut with dark energy that rippled around its teeth.
Gastly yelped and phased backwards, but the tip of Krokorok's snapping jaws grazed its gaseous body. Gastly's form flickered violently, its grin turning into a wince of pain.
Ellen's heart sank. She knew it was a long shot, but seeing the reality was crushing. Gastly simply couldn't withstand Krokorok's attacks, and its own moves were too weak to break through its defenses. She should've train it beforehand instead of relying to Pikachu.
The realization was cold in her stomach as Krokorok advanced, its eyes locked on the wavering Gastly, ready to deliver the final blow.
"I forfeit!"
Krokorok stopped instantly.
The referee, looking from Ellen's resigned face to Elias's impassive one, gave a slow nod.
"Trainer Ellen has forfeited the match. The winner, and advancing to the fourth and final round is Elias!"
Elias recalled Krokorok without looking at the ball. His eyes were fixed on Ellen as she recalled her Gastly, her shoulders slumping slightly. She met his gaze across the field. There was no anger there now, only a disappointment that had nothing to do with losing a tournament match.
She turned and walked off the field, the tunnel swallowing her figure quickly.
***
The lounge was nearly empty now. Only Faith remained, sitting alone on a couch, polishing her glasses with a small cloth. Her Floragato lay curled at her feet, purring softly, while her Glaceon stood beside her, its crystalline fur shimmering under the lights. She looked up as he entered, her expression unreadable behind the clean lenses.
"Congratulations." She said, her voice soft but clear. "I knew it will be you."
Elias gave a curt nod, moving to his isolated corner.
"So you're not going to talk to me." Faith said, putting on her glasses. "We never had the chance to meet in this lounge before. But I've watched you fight. Don't expect me to be a pushover like the rest."
Elias met her gaze. Behind the lenses, her eyes were sharp and analytical. He stood, leaning against the wall, watching her.
The attendant arrived sooner than expected.
"Finalists. It's time."
Faith stood and recalled her pokemon. She walked towards the tunnel, passing Elias without a word, a quiet certainty in her step.
Elias followed shortly.
It's time for the final round.
This will decide whether he will be able to come with the Boss or stay as a lower grunt.