Pokémon: Dark Armor

Chapter 11

I chewed on my lip, staring out at the field as Marnie and Orchid neared the center. Marnie had won against Raihan, much to everyone's surprise, which meant she would face off with the challenger one last time for the right to challenge me.

Orchid and Marnie stared each other down, each taking out a Pokéball. As soon as they heard the announcer's voice, they threw out Gallade and Morpeko respectively.

"Brick Break!"

"Aura Wheel!"

The two Pokémon exchanged blows, with both left standing.

"Brick Break again!" Orchid yelled.

"Seed Bomb!" Marnie cried, throwing her hand out for emphasis.

Morpeko barely held on from the chop, spitting out several seeds that exploded as they hit Gallade, knocking it out. Marnie gritted her teeth, hovering her hand around another Pokéball before deciding to keep Morpeko out.

Orchid sent out Sandaconda, which finished off Morpeko with an Earthquake, but not before Morpeko got a lucky Seed Bomb out, badly damaging the Sandaconda.

Marnie sent out her Scrafty, and Orchid did something unexpected, returning the Sandaconda and filling the ball with Dynamax energy, tossing out the Gigantamax Sandaconda only a couple of minutes into the battle. "G-max Sandblast!"

"Ice punch!" Marnie exlaimed.

Sandaconda fired off its move first, but it didn't stop the Scrafty, whose chilled fist drove straight into the giant snake, causing it to explode and shrink, earning lots of commotion from the audience.

Orchid sent out Luxray. "Superpower!" Scrafty stood its ground to the best of its ability, but was knocked down and returned by Marnie, who sent out Toxicroak next.

"Earthquake!"

"Thunderbolt!"

Surprisingly, the Luxray held on, and Toxicroak was knocked out in one hit by the electricity.

Marnie stepped back in surprise, returning Toxicroak and taking another Pokéball off of her belt, tossing it out. Even from the stand, I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. Liepard soared out of its Pokéball. "Fake out!"

Luxray fell, and Orchid responded with Hydreigon. "Dragon Pulse!"

The beam of blue wiped out Liepard easily, causing Marnie to switch to Bisharp. "Iron head!"

Bisharp headbutted the Hydreigon, throwing it off balance, but not taking it out.

"Fire blast!" Orchid commanded.

"X-scissor!" Marnie responded.

Both Pokémon fell in the following clash, and both girls took out another Pokéball. Orchid sent out Talonflame, but Marnie filled her ball with Dynamax energy, sending out her Gigantamax Grimmsnarl.

"G-max Snooze!"

"Brave bird!"

Talonflame soared through the air, ramming into the giant Pokémon, and, with a luvky critical hit, the Grimmsnarl fainted.

Both trainers stood for a moment, breathing heavily. They returned their Pokémon, and Orchid cheered as her victory was announced. Marnie lowered her head, setting her Pokéball back on her belt. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause for Orchid, and I quickly left the stand as I saw Marnie leaving the field.

*****

I tackled Marnie in a hug, which surprised both her and me. "You did amazing out there," I said.

"Uh- thank you," Marnie said. I stepped away from her, both of us blushing slightly.

"Well, she's gonna give you one hell of a time," Raihan said.

"Yes. She is quite a formidable opponent," Bea agreed.

"Well," I said, grabbing my cape from my locker, "I'll see what I can do."

My phone started to ring, and I answered it as I draped my cape around my shoulders with my other hand. "Hey mum, could you make this qui-"

I stopped talking when I heard her crying, trying to say something. "Mum? What's..." Dread started to claw its way through my body. Please. Please Arceus, not now.

"Sh-Shield. Your dad just had an attack. He's-"

My cape dropped to the floor as I ran for the door of the locker room, taking my phone away from my ear to send for a taxi to the hospital. The Gym Leaders all made noises of surprise, and Marnie called my name as I sprinted out of the room. I ran through the halls of the stadium, bursting into the lobby to find Hop and Sonia waiting near the front. Sonia was about to say something when she saw how panicked I was.

"Shield-" Hop started. I ignored him, running past him and out of the stadium. He followed me out the door, and I heard him call "Shield! Wait!" as I clambered into the taxi.

I pressed my phone against my ear again. "Mum?! Are you still there?!"

I didn't get a response. Her phone had probably died, she wouldn't just hang up on me like that.

"SHIT!" I screamed, dropping my phone next to me.

I had never considered Corviknight taxi's slow, but the flight over to the hospital was agonizing. I hopped out before we had even landed, running into the hospital, past the startled nurse, and towards the room my dad was in. Tears escaped my eyes as I ran, and finally I entered the room, panting and wide-eyed. There wasn't a nurse in sight, just my mum crying in a chair, holding my dad's hand, whose breathing was shallow and forced. He weakly looked over as I ran over.

"Shield... you made it," He tried to laugh, but coughing was all that came out. "Thank... Arceus."

I took his hand, tears starting to flood from my eyes, the pain in my chest too great to bear. "D-Dad," I choked out.

"Well... looks like... I won't be able...to watch your match... after all," he said between strained breaths. I sobbed, burying my face in the bed beside him.

I wanted to say so many things, but my throat felt closed, not letting any words through. "Dad, I-" I broke down crying again, unable to finish a sentence.

"Just... listen to me for a second, will you?" he asked. I nodded.

"I love you both more than anything. You know that. Sure, I wasn't the best father in the universe, but I think I did alright."

I shook my head vehemently. "No, D-dad, you were-"

"Shhhh, let me talk." I quieted down. "Shield, I couldn't be more proud of you. I mean, you're the Champion! What else could I ask for?"

"Dad, I..." I tried to control my crying, only managing to stifle it slightly. "What do I- I don't know what to do without you."

"Well that's just it. Shield, would you look at me?" he asked gently.

I looked up, staring right at his soft brown eyes.

"I want you to promise me something. Can you do that?" he asked.

I nodded, listening intently as he continued. "All I've ever wanted is for you to be successful and happy, and that's still all I want right now. So I want you to promise me that you'll do what you want after I'm gone. Don't question yourself anymore. Win that championship match. Ask that girl out. Will you do that for me, please?"

I nodded. "Of course. Of course I will."

"Oh, and one more thing, and this is to both of you," he said, looking between Mum and me. "Keep smiling."

His words sunk into me, and despite all the pain in my chest, the lump in my throat, and the tears streaming from my eyes, my mouth turned up into a smile, and I looked right at his face. When he saw me, he too smiled, and leaned his head back on his pillow, closing his eyes.

Beep

Beep

Beep

Beep

Beeeeeeeeee-