“Wak!”
Nina cheered as Kaipo the Marowak burst into flames and sent Will-O-Wisp to line the air, leaving little room for Falkner’s Pidgeotto to maneuver without setting itself aflame.
“Thankfully this is only the intermediate tier, so he’s taking it easy on Kerry.” The arena they were in was spacious but still a confined space. “Only Star battles take place above the tower if I’m not mistaken.” And what a nasty arena the top of the Sprout Tower was. Nina was almost glad to have missed it.
“Aim for the wings, Kaipo!” Kerry called, causing her Marowak to spin her bone staff around with a fanciful flourish.
Then, with a violent throw, Kaipo sent out a flaming Bonemerang towards her opponent. Which the Pidgeotto handily dodged at the expense of running straight into a ghastly green ember.
But it did not end there, because with a sharp jerking motion, Kaipo forcefully altered the direction of the Bonemerang to get back on target, only for it to be dodged again, prompting another abrupt shift in a different direction to finally smash the Pidgeotto on one of its wings.
Nina and the rest of her friends sitting in the stands cheered at the sight.
The modified Bonemerang that Kaipo just demonstrated was the result of their joint training. Although two shifts was her current limit, and it came at the cost of the return trip losing enough momentum as to be neutered, it was enough to serve as a nasty surprise for the wily Flyers of the Violet City Gym.
With the Pidgeotto’s wings clipped and grounded, Kaipo bombarded the bird Pokemon with a convergence of Will-O-Wisp then moved in to finish it off.
“Match set! Winner is… Kerry-Anne Joy, representing the Joy clan!”
“Yeaaahhh!!! You go, Kerry! Show ‘em who’s boss!”
The nurse apprentice blushed and shrivelled up in embarrassment at her friends’ cheers.
“Well fought,” Falkner began as the two Pokemon Trainers met in the center of the arena. “Congratulations, Miss Joy, you have earned yourself a Zephyr Badge.”
“Thank you for your guidance, Lord Falkner. I feel honored to receive this badge from you.”
Kerry’s gain from this Gym battle was substantial. Not only did she win her Zephyr badge, but Rocky, her Geodude, had evolved into a Graveler as well. Much to Nina’s elation as she cheered excitedly until her voice broke.
The stoic patriarch let out a genial chuckle. “Your Pokemon are very well-trained in terms of battle prowess — a rarity among the members of your clan. So stand proud, knowing that you are head and shoulders above most of your cousins.”
Kerry returned the praise with a fiery blush.
“Now then, it is now time that I face your companion.” Falkner shifted and turned to look at Nina in the audience stand. “Come, Cerulean girl! Let us change the venue for our bout.”
Nina frowned. She had a very bad feeling about this.
***
“Wow…”
Nina couldn’t help but gasp in spite of herself. Falkner’s signature arena was a simple wooden platform crowning the top of the Sprout Tower, with nary a single banister lining the edge, making for a very precarious sight that made her weak at the knees.
The weather was beautifully clear today; vast blue skies and sparse clouds hung high above Nina’s head, imparting a sense of nihilism and existential inconsequence to all the insignificant beings who dared gaze upon its grand visage.
A warm spring breeze brushed past Nina’s hair and ruffled her jacket as she gingerly peered over the edge.
Beyond the hill that housed the ancient pagoda tower was the awe inspiring sight of a dark purple cityscape that opened up before her, wooden roof tiles interspersed between pink stained, verdant treetops and veins of silver cobblestone, its denizens like tiny disorganized ants leisurely streaming down the streets.
The scenic view prompted Nina to begin furiously snapping pictures with her Pokedex.
“This is the Heaven’s Gate.” Falkner proclaimed, his voice powerful and clear despite the wide open space.
“My colleagues will serve as referees for our bout — each of them will monitor the match at different altitudes to ensure fair play and take recordings for the Indigo League.” Falkner's smirk deepened. “However, there shall be no live feed.” He added, eliciting an audible groan from Nina this time.
Not having a live feed meant that trainers would be unable to see what was happening to their Pokemon high above the sky. Not to mention how they would even be able to communicate with each other across such vast distances.
This was a test. A test on how well trained a Pokemon was and a measure of the bonds between a trainer and their team. It was no wonder why Falkner was so feared as a Gym Leader.
Nina sighed as she looked around the vast empty space, and at the wooden platform on which she was standing, with not a single speck of dirt in sight.
“Welp, that mostly rules out Clody then…” Her Clodsire was heavily nerfed without Ground. That aside, his limited mobility wouldn’t have been an issue in a confined space. But in the vast open skies where a Flying Type Pokemon could act with impudence, he was basically a sitting Psyduck.
Then there was the glaring sun angrily watching over them, leaving just a smidgen of shadow in the form of her silhouette. “That rules out Haunter as well.”
Nina’s rookie Popplio aside, that left her with only three viable Pokemon and only Nitey who could perform at full spec, since Brucey was limited in how high he could Fly and the wide open space lessened the effectiveness of his usual sound based tactics.
As Nina desperately racked her brain to come up with a plan, she was interrupted by the cheers of her friends who were spectating by the side on their respective Flyers.
“Wooo!!! Kick his ass, Nina! Don’t you dare lose!”
The girl hid her frown and looked towards the boisterous Justin with a brittle smile.
“This will be a match between Lord Falkner of the Violet City Gym and challenger Melina Jones, representing the laboratories of Professors Bill and Oak, the Cerulean Gym, and the PKQLO clothing company… Trainers, are you ready?!”
“Ready.” Falkner declared.
“R-ready.”
“3, 2, 1… And, begin!”
Nina threw out her Pokeball at the same time as Falkner. It wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. Her first pick was Espy, who was met with a Staraptor from Falkner.
“STARR!!!” The Staraptor cawed and immediately shot towards the open sky, only to slam into the purple Psychic barrier that suddenly materialized before it.
“If there are no boundaries then we just gotta lock down the arena! Ground ‘em, Espy!”
An oppressive aura filled the spherical barrier that was now encompassing the wooden platform as Staraptor plummeted, suddenly feeling like its weight was quintupled under the influence of Espy’s Gravity.
“We need to be quick, Espy. Can’t let Falkner and his Pokemon pull any tricks.”
With a mental wave of affirmation, Espy launched herself towards the black and brown predator bird with a Quick Attack and Bite, her powerful jaws crunching down on the Staraptor’s feathery shoulder with a sickening crunch.
“STARR!!!” Staraptor cried out in pain as the salty taste of blood filled Nina’s mouth. Her picky eating Espeon was not happy about having to taint her mouth in such an uncouth manner and wanted to share her displeasure, eliciting giggles from the girl.
“Don’t let him recover!”
“Es.”
With a chilling cry, Espy brandished her feline claws covered in razor sharp Psychic blades and began the process of skillfully depriving the Staraptor of his downy feathers. This was Espy’s application of Psycho Cut, a move that she learned after her match with Mob the Alakazam last year.
Staraptor flailed and struck at Espy with Struggle Bug to get away from the malicious Espeon, his feathers all ruffled and bloodied by the end of it. But more important was that one of his wings was now bald and limping.
A pulse of sadistic glee permeated Nina’s mind as Espy landed gracefully on the floor, only to immediately launch into another unrelenting series of Quick Attacks. The Espeon’s gleaming claws slashed at the Staraptor at every pass while he was being held down by the Gravity field.
And by the end of Espy’s savage assault, The Staraptor — now looking thinner than he was at the start — let out a pitiful screech and fell limp onto the floor.
Nina sighed in relief, glad that the first match ended in her favor. Meanwhile, Falkner just returned his Staraptor with an impassive gaze and sent out his next pick — a Honchkrow.
“Shit—”
“KAAAW!!!”
Before Nina and Espy could respond to the Honchkrow’s presence, the sinister crow Pokemon exploded in a wave of Darkness, sending an indiscriminate barrage of Dark Pulses crashing into Espy and at the surrounding Psychic barrier.
“Hang in there Espy! Don’t get caught in the shower!” Nina yelled as her brain fired up in Extreme Speed to find a way out of this predicament.
***
Author's note:
I hereby declare that "The Greatest Estate Developer" is a master piece. I do love myself a cyclical ending where everything loops back around in a neat little knot.
The manhwa, not the novel. I've never read the novel before.
Now if only it was easier to purchase it. I don't even know if there's an official translation of it. Take my money, dammit!