The Barefoot, Fighting Genius!

[Kyuuketsuki]

As she followed Pryce back to Mahogany, Candice pondered on the display of strength. Glalie must have been his strongest Pokémon, and if it wasn’t, then the thought of the amount of power his other Pokémon possessed scared Candice. She never cared for becoming stronger, and never seriously thought about evolving her Pokémon. What frightened Candice more than anything was how Pryce seemed to defy her theory; his Glalie was strong, seemingly with no emotional connection.

Maylene was begging Pryce to train her, slowly becoming focused on her training again, but Candice couldn’t care less about being trained; Crasher Wake told her to come here for a reason, and it certainly wasn’t for getting strong, as it wasn’t her goal.

Swinub was now in her arms, and while she was a very new capture, not having spent a full day in her Trainer’s possession yet, she knew that Candice was concerned about something, and tried as hard as she could to comfort her. Candice was obviously a great person, the minute she captured her, she offered her the food she was seeking, and if Swinub hadn’t started attacking, Candice probably wouldn’t have ordered an attack in response.

The group eventually reached Mahogany, where the Pokémon Center’s door was unlocked, as well as the Gym’s. Pryce and Maylene took the lead, the latter still begging him for his secret of strength, while Candice and Swinub were right behind them, and Riolu walked at the end of the group.

Snorunt jumped in happiness at the sight of her Trainer, but quickly realised that Candice’s thoughts were distant. She nevertheless approached her Trainer and stood by her. Pryce quickly told Maylene off, and went into his Gym, denying her entry again.

“What happened?” Roark said, slightly nudging Candice.

“Just some bad people,” she replied. “He defeated them.”

“His name is Pryce,” Roark said, looking at Maylene. “Was he really that strong?”

“Yes!” Maylene exclaimed. “He was very strong! I know why Chuck told me to meet him. If I want to be a Gym Leader, an Aura Master, and a Champion, then I need to be stronger than him! I have to train harder than ever!”

“I don’t think he’ll train you,” Candice said. “And I don’t think I’m here to train.”

Without another word, she pushed through the door, and walked towards Pryce, who was at the far end of the Gym. Maylene and Roark struggled, but Candice found her way easily through the ice, and stopped just in front of the old man, who hadn’t noticed her, and was scolding a Gym Trainer.

“Hello,” she said as the Gym Trainer began retreating, but not before she was out of ear’s shot. “I’m a challenger. Battle me.”

“Where is your Trainer Card?” Pryce said, not wanting to waste any time with an unofficial challenge. “You can not challenge me without a Trainer Card, nor any other Gym for that matter.”

“I’m not challenging you for a Badge,” Candice said. “I want a normal battle, between two Trainers, and I will defeat you.”

“You will not,” Pryce said. “But let me demonstrate my strength to you, and hopefully your weak Pokémon will learn something.”

He threw a Poké Ball to the ground, and the Glalie the pair had seen earlier emerged. “Go, Snorunt,” Candice told her Pokémon. “We can win this.”

Snorunt stepped into the arena, and as soon as she did, Glalie flew towards her and smashed against her small body, sending her skidding across the ice, already knocked out. Glalie turned to face Candice, who was at close proximity to him. He turned to her Swinub, and shot a quick beam that froze the Pokémon in her arms.

“You have lost,” Pryce said. “The battle did not last five seconds.”

“Snorunt,” Candice ignored Pryce, and hurried to her fallen Pokémon. “Are you alright?”

The Pokémon slowly nodded in response, and struggled up to her feet, hanging onto Candice to stand, and she eventually picked Snorunt up, before walking back to face Pryce. She held her fallen Pokémon in her arms, and comforted them with words of encouragement.

“Do not be ridiculous,” Pryce scoffed. “Your Pokémon have lost, and there is no use in telling them they did a good job; they did not.”

“It’s important,” Candice said. “Otherwise, they’ll just feel bad. I honestly feel that they did good in the battle.”

“What have they possibly done right in this battle?”

“They didn’t run,” Candice said, and Roark placed a hand of support on her shoulder. “What if your Pokémon lose? Won’t you try to encourage them as well?”

“Friendship is meaningless, young girl,” Pryce said, noticing Candice’s way of thinking. “If you keep relying on it, you will never become strong.”

“I can become strong, and you will hear of me when I do,” Candice said. “I will follow my own path in training my Pokémon, and I will be strong enough to hold your position.”

“You will fail,” Pryce said. “A bond is not strong enough to win you a battle.”

“It is, and you will see,” Candice said. “Unlike you, I won’t push everyone away from me, and act so cold towards them. You have to have friends to encourage you just as you encourage your Pokémon!”

“Do not believe the fairytales,” Pryce said. “There has never been a strong Trainer who held your same beliefs. You will never be strong.”

Candice realised that it was useless to argue with Pryce any further; his mindset wasn’t going to change anytime soon, and her best bet was to prove him wrong. “There’s always a first time,” Candice said. “This won’t be the last you hear of me. Good luck with your life, Pryce.”

With a single wave, she walked back the way she came, determined more than ever to prove that it was possible to become strong through friendship, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. Maylene and Roark followed through the door, and into the Pokémon Center, where Candice gave her fallen friends to the nurse, and sat with Maylene and Roark around the table they had been sitting around earlier in the day.

“That was quite an interesting speech,” Roark started. “I wonder what Gardenia would have though of it. I especially liked the part where you told him to stop pushing people away.”

“I know,” Candice said. “I was wrong; I never gave Gardenia a chance. I judged her too quickly, and I will apologise for it; I always wanted to, but I was just too stubborn to do it. I didn’t want to seem weak, but if I remain like that, I might become like Pryce.”

“But, Candice,” Maylene started, her voice lower than usual. “What will you do?”

“If I see Gardenia, I’ll apologise,” Candice said. “And I will prove that I can be strong, and not by becoming the type of Trainer Pryce is. I’ll become a Gym Leader, and prove him wrong.”

“But, what you said,” Maylene said, still in her low voice, almost avoiding Candice’s gaze. “I don’t think it’s possible. You have to train to be strong; that’s what I’ve been doing for months.”

“I’m sure this is what Crasher Wake told me to come here for,” Candice said. “He wanted to make me realise that what I did was wrong; maybe that’s why Chuck told you to come here as well.”

Maylene nodded slowly. The nurse returned Candice’s Pokémon to her, and as she greeted them and encouraged them for their performance, Maylene couldn’t help but feel that she was missing the point. Chuck told her to come here for a reason, and it wasn’t to train; he must have known that Pryce wouldn’t take any apprentices. If it was to realise what Candice had said, then it must have been Maylene’s fault, because she still believed in strength over the bond with her Pokémon.

As Roark started telling the pair about the woman he had met, and the story she told him, Maylene’s thoughts travelled towards Pryce, and if she wanted to be as strong as him. She looked at Riolu, and tried to recall the time when she and Riolu had not been training, to no avail. Almost every moment the pair spent with each other was spent training, or hoping for the future. She never took the time to know her Pokémon, and who he was, even though he never hesitated in helping her, even lying for her.

Even though she still kept her mindset, Maylene began to doubt.

*

The group made the long trip to Cianwood, where Candice thanked Crasher Wake for sending her to meet Pryce, before going to teach Swinub how to skate across water. Roark spent his time with Brawly, learning more about what it is to be a Gym Leader, and occasionally battling, even winning a few battles.

Candice and Roark, as well as Crasher Wake, planned on going back to Sinnoh in a few days, and two nights before their trip, Maylene approached Crasher Wake.

“I want to come to Sinnoh with you,” Maylene said. “When I went to Pryce, he mentioned someone from Sinnoh called Riley, and that he was strong. I want to ask him how he became so strong.”

“I’ll take you,” Crasher Wake said. “You never told me what you learned from Pryce, but that doesn’t matter. If you want to meet Riley, I’ll take you to him.”