Chapter 8
“Come on, Salazar. Move it! Nice pace there Forza; keep it up. Daniel, no flying! That’s cheating.” The Vaporeon had a whistle around his neck and was shouting. I thought the name “Loch” was hilarious considering he looked a bit like Nessie. I tried not to smirk as I passed Salazar, again, and finished my last lap around the gym. This gym was about the size of one football field, which made me wonder: just how big was this place? Coach blew his whistle and everyone crowded into the center of the room.
“My feet are sore already.” Igna complained. I giggled.
“Alright, listen up. Today we’re going to be playing Type Dodgeball. For those of you aren’t familiar with it, let me explain the rules. The object of this game is to learn how to work together as a team. Once you touch a ball, its type will change to match yours. Hitting someone will make the damage done to them equal to if they were in a real battle. Once you faint, you’re out and once you’re out, you’re out. Say I hit Jack over here.” Coach picked up a ball and it turned a deep blue. He tossed it at the Blaziken, who ended up soaking wet.
“Since he is a fire type, my attack did extra damage. If I hit Blake with the same one, he’d take half as much damage since he’s a Treeko. Everyone understand?” There were a few mumbled “okays”, but for the most part everyone seemed bored.
“Good. Regular dodgeball rules apply when it comes to catching and Jack, you can sit out this one. Forza, you can play.” I leaped into the air with a cry of joy.
“Finally! We get to play dodgeball! Prepare to be annihilated!” All this pent-up energy was, not that I hadn’t been before, starting to make me really competitive. Coach picked teams and I ended up against Igna and Salazar. There were others on the teams, but I didn’t remember their names. Of course, Fortis was on my team, but I was too excited to really talk to him.
“Hey Forza, maybe after classes you want to take a tour around the base?” The Treeko, Blake I think, asked.
“Sure. I was wondering how big this place was anyway. Truce?” I stuck out my paw for him to shake and he did just as Coach blew his whistle for the game to start. Instead of running to grab a ball, I jumped back. No one else followed my lead. I mostly just watched and dodged a few times. Nothing hit me. Eventually it got down to me and Salazar.
“Hey Blue. Back from the dead, huh?” He taunted. My blood started to boil, but I plastered on the same smile I gave him when we met.
“Ready for another rodeo? Or do you want to save the chit-chat for the loser’s circle?” Fortis snickered at our banter and Salazar’s eyes blazed with fury.
“The only one going to the loser’s circle is you!” He shouted and threw a dark purple ball at me. Dragon type. I easily side-stepped it.
“If your comebacks are a good as your aim, then I guess I could sit down and still win. You call that a throw?” I laughed and Salazar threw more at me. I dodged every single one of them. Eventually, he only had one ball on his side. I had the rest. A new glint in his eyes made me nervous.
“I’d like to see you dodge this, Zombie!” He launched a Flying Type ball at me and I leaped to the side. The ball followed me. I turned and attempted to catch it. It launched me into the wall.
“Forza!” Fortis called out and ran to me. I stood up, twirling the ball on my finger. I smirked.
“Who’s going to the loser circle again?” I asked, feigning innocence. He just glowered at me and stormed off the field while Fortis lifted me into the air.
“You did it Forza! You beat Salazar in dodgeball!” I laughed at his playfulness.
“Put me down before I make you fall over.” I said giggling. Fortis blushed and put me down. Blake came up to me, and we high-fived. I still had the ball in my hands when Igna took it. I immediately noticed the color switch. It had never turned dark brown for my Dark type. My victory smile fell. I’m more broken than I realized. Fortis noticed my distress and squeezed my hand reassuringly. I smiled as a loud ringing filled my head. This wasn’t the base’s bell…
***
“Forza, you should get back. The humans will wonder where you’ve run off to.” The Aggron snapped her out of her reverie and she glanced at the boy before turning away.
“Wait! What’s going to happen to me?” The boy asked. Forza turned back to the Aggron for a moment.
“Don’t hurt him too bad.” She said and bolted through the trees, back to the high school. She kept telling herself she didn’t care what happened to the boy, but she was only lying to herself to make her feel better. Luckily, the school year was almost over, so if he had to go missing for a few months…
“Forza Braken, please report to the main office. Forza Braken, please come to the main office.” The PA system screeched. Forza ducked behind one of the cars in the parking lot and slipped her ring onto her finger. Once convinced her disguise was properly on, she stepped into the main building. The usual whispered followed her as she made her way to the front office.
Let them think what they want. None of them would even dream of the truth. Forza opened the office door and froze in her tracks. A man she recognized stood at the desk, waiting for her.
“What are you doing here?” She growled. The man opened his arms for a hug, but he wouldn’t get one.
“What? Can’t I say hello to my daughter after all these years?”
Chapter 9: Coming Soon!
“Come on, Salazar. Move it! Nice pace there Forza; keep it up. Daniel, no flying! That’s cheating.” The Vaporeon had a whistle around his neck and was shouting. I thought the name “Loch” was hilarious considering he looked a bit like Nessie. I tried not to smirk as I passed Salazar, again, and finished my last lap around the gym. This gym was about the size of one football field, which made me wonder: just how big was this place? Coach blew his whistle and everyone crowded into the center of the room.
“My feet are sore already.” Igna complained. I giggled.
“Alright, listen up. Today we’re going to be playing Type Dodgeball. For those of you aren’t familiar with it, let me explain the rules. The object of this game is to learn how to work together as a team. Once you touch a ball, its type will change to match yours. Hitting someone will make the damage done to them equal to if they were in a real battle. Once you faint, you’re out and once you’re out, you’re out. Say I hit Jack over here.” Coach picked up a ball and it turned a deep blue. He tossed it at the Blaziken, who ended up soaking wet.
“Since he is a fire type, my attack did extra damage. If I hit Blake with the same one, he’d take half as much damage since he’s a Treeko. Everyone understand?” There were a few mumbled “okays”, but for the most part everyone seemed bored.
“Good. Regular dodgeball rules apply when it comes to catching and Jack, you can sit out this one. Forza, you can play.” I leaped into the air with a cry of joy.
“Finally! We get to play dodgeball! Prepare to be annihilated!” All this pent-up energy was, not that I hadn’t been before, starting to make me really competitive. Coach picked teams and I ended up against Igna and Salazar. There were others on the teams, but I didn’t remember their names. Of course, Fortis was on my team, but I was too excited to really talk to him.
“Hey Forza, maybe after classes you want to take a tour around the base?” The Treeko, Blake I think, asked.
“Sure. I was wondering how big this place was anyway. Truce?” I stuck out my paw for him to shake and he did just as Coach blew his whistle for the game to start. Instead of running to grab a ball, I jumped back. No one else followed my lead. I mostly just watched and dodged a few times. Nothing hit me. Eventually it got down to me and Salazar.
“Hey Blue. Back from the dead, huh?” He taunted. My blood started to boil, but I plastered on the same smile I gave him when we met.
“Ready for another rodeo? Or do you want to save the chit-chat for the loser’s circle?” Fortis snickered at our banter and Salazar’s eyes blazed with fury.
“The only one going to the loser’s circle is you!” He shouted and threw a dark purple ball at me. Dragon type. I easily side-stepped it.
“If your comebacks are a good as your aim, then I guess I could sit down and still win. You call that a throw?” I laughed and Salazar threw more at me. I dodged every single one of them. Eventually, he only had one ball on his side. I had the rest. A new glint in his eyes made me nervous.
“I’d like to see you dodge this, Zombie!” He launched a Flying Type ball at me and I leaped to the side. The ball followed me. I turned and attempted to catch it. It launched me into the wall.
“Forza!” Fortis called out and ran to me. I stood up, twirling the ball on my finger. I smirked.
“Who’s going to the loser circle again?” I asked, feigning innocence. He just glowered at me and stormed off the field while Fortis lifted me into the air.
“You did it Forza! You beat Salazar in dodgeball!” I laughed at his playfulness.
“Put me down before I make you fall over.” I said giggling. Fortis blushed and put me down. Blake came up to me, and we high-fived. I still had the ball in my hands when Igna took it. I immediately noticed the color switch. It had never turned dark brown for my Dark type. My victory smile fell. I’m more broken than I realized. Fortis noticed my distress and squeezed my hand reassuringly. I smiled as a loud ringing filled my head. This wasn’t the base’s bell…
***
“Forza, you should get back. The humans will wonder where you’ve run off to.” The Aggron snapped her out of her reverie and she glanced at the boy before turning away.
“Wait! What’s going to happen to me?” The boy asked. Forza turned back to the Aggron for a moment.
“Don’t hurt him too bad.” She said and bolted through the trees, back to the high school. She kept telling herself she didn’t care what happened to the boy, but she was only lying to herself to make her feel better. Luckily, the school year was almost over, so if he had to go missing for a few months…
“Forza Braken, please report to the main office. Forza Braken, please come to the main office.” The PA system screeched. Forza ducked behind one of the cars in the parking lot and slipped her ring onto her finger. Once convinced her disguise was properly on, she stepped into the main building. The usual whispered followed her as she made her way to the front office.
Let them think what they want. None of them would even dream of the truth. Forza opened the office door and froze in her tracks. A man she recognized stood at the desk, waiting for her.
“What are you doing here?” She growled. The man opened his arms for a hug, but he wouldn’t get one.
“What? Can’t I say hello to my daughter after all these years?”
Chapter 9: Coming Soon!
