Pokemon Pathos

Talia and Ester took to their sides of the area, seeing that a new battle was starting. Both young aspiring trainers and old trainers decided to spectate, interested in how the battle was going to turn out.

Ester shouting over to Talia, "You ready for this battle, Tali?" Talia seemed a bit nervous seeing the crowd slowly form. Ester walked back over to her friend, seeing a sense of fear on her friend's face, and said, "Hey... don't mind the crowd right now. What's happening right now is that we're having a Pokémon battle just like the old days, alright?" Talia takes a deep breath and recomposes herself. "Alright, let's do this, Ester, like the old days."

◓The battle begins.◓

Ester calls for Espeon to use Psychic. Marill is lifted in the air, with a loud thud, slammed hard into the ground. Marill immediately gets back up, as the attack seemed as if it didn't do much damage to the Pokémon. Ester having battled her friend before. She thinks for a moment how Marill could have taken such little damage from the attack.

The Pokémon with a smug look of confidence on its face shows off an item that it has hidden inside of its ear. It was Evolite; it put the held item back where it stored it as Marill took a more serious stance. Talia takes a deep breath and begins to focus; she gets ready to make her move as she says to Marill, "Belly Drum."

Marill braces its gut as it proceeds to slam its belly not once, not twice, but three times as a faint red aura emits off Marill. It seems as if the Pokémon after using this move became more powerful. Marill then stares down its foe, waiting on its next move. Ester shouting to her Espeon "Don't let that intimidate you; just keep your distance and use Shadow Ball!"

Espeon summons a ball of purple matter and launches it towards its foe. Talia quickly shouts over to Marill, "Launch yourself into the air, Marill; use Aqua Jet now!" Marill channels a bubble of water around its body and launches itself high into the air. Reaching the ship's ceiling, it began to fall back down.

Talia shouts up to her partner, "Marill, dive straight down at Espeon; brace yourself." Marill positions its body as if it were a diver making its way down towards Espeon. Espeon looks back at its trainer, waiting on her to say what their next move should be. Ester, seeing Espeon looking for its next command, says, "Not yet; let's wait for a bit. I got an idea."

The battle for a moment turned into a waiting game as Marill got closer and closer to Espeon. Ester shouted, "NOW! Use teleport to get behind Marill." Espeon red gem begins to glow as it teleports off the ground, immediately appearing behind Marill, but before it could make an attack, Talia shouted to Marill as fast as she could, "NOW IT'S IN RANGE; USE IRON TAIL!!!"

Marill, as the tip of its tail turns grey and hard as iron, maneuvers its flexible tail, smacking Espeon directly in its face, dealing a critical hit. Espeon falls back down to the ground as a loud thud is heard. Marill gets its feet back onto the ground, facing its foe, and it sees Espeon is unable to battle.

◓Marill has won the battle.◓

The crowd that slowly formed around them began to cheer for both trainers. While the battle may have been fast, they had found it quite entertaining. Talia, seeing people cheer for her, remembers her memories of her time as a Pokémon Trainer. She missed it as a smile forms on her face. Her Marill rolls up towards her and gives her leg a hug.

Talia picks up her Marill and reciprocates as she begins to walk over to Ester. Ester returns Espeon to its Poké Ball as she sees Talia approaching her. Disappointed, at her loss, saying, "Well, Tali, I guess you still..." Cutting her off mid-conversation, Talia goes to give Ester a hug. "Thank you, Ester. I couldn't remember the last time I felt like this. Thank you."

After the battle, both Ester and Talia find a mini Pokémon center on the ship to heal their Pokémon. A Nurse Joy running the mini booth takes their Pokémon and tells them, "Alright, just give me a moment, and I'll take care of your Pokémon." During that time, Talia and Ester have a bit of a chat in the meantime.

Ester starting the conversation "By the way, Tali never got to ask, How's little Clyde?" Talia had replied, "I'll be honest with you, Ester. Clyde, well, he's become very introverted. Anthony and I haven't been able to be around much due to work. He doesn't really leave his room much unless it's for school or we're all going somewhere."

Ester, hearing this, says, "That's not the best thing to hear. Guessing that's one of the reasons you guys are all on vacation?" "Exactly," Talia said."

Aww, that's so sweet of you guys, Tali. How old is he now?" Ester asked. Talia replied, "He's going to be 15 quite soon. Why do you ask?" Ester replied, "Curious is all. I haven't seen him in years." Talia, hearing this, says, "How about we go see the boys right now?" As they hear a Nurse Joy approaching them, "Your Pokémon are at full health. I hope to see you two again," she replied.

After this, an announcement is made for all of the ship to hear: TRAVELLERS, THE SS. ANNE, IS READY TO LEAVE IN ONE MINUTE.

After hearing the message, Ester says, "Ahhhh, I got to get back to my booth. Okay, Talia, I'll come to see you all on Clyde's birthday, and I'll help you all surprise him. I'll even bring a gift of my own. Sounds good?"

Talia is happy to hear her friend wanting to help her. "Yes, of course, then I'll see you later, Ester; I'll contact you when it's time." They gave each other a hug and went their separate ways, unaware that during their battle someone was stalking them.