Pokémon Scarlet Stained Violet Vengeance

Going Supernova Badge One: Blaze of Glory

Mela looked at an old photo on a desk in her tent, she pet her Torak, who nudged her with concern. She assured her Pokemon , "It's OK. I'm just... thinking is all."

There was the sound of a loud bell in the distance, prompting Mela to look outside, over the edge of the wall to see who was challenging the base, and, unsurprisingly, to Marshal, who called out, "Hey! How you been?"

"I've been alright!" Marshal responded, "Hey! Open up will ya? We had a deal!"

A grunt whispered, "He only has two Pokemon."

"You need three Pokemon!" Mela replied.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes! You do!" Mela sighed.

Marshal shrugged, "OK I guess. I'll be right back!

With that Marshal left to go find just that, stumped on where to begin. Sparky and WIck frolicked through the grassy fields, playfully wrestling with each other, kicking up blades of emerald green grass into the air and barking happily a few steps behind Marshal.

Marshal's stomach growled. He turned towards his two playful puppy Pokemon and called to them, "Hey! You two ready for lunch?"

Sparky and Wick sprinted over to Marshal's side as he set up a picnic table, sitting with their tails wagging. Sparky panted, tired from playing with WIck. Marshal chuckled and pet both of them on the head, "Aww aren't you two just the cutest!"

Marshal began to prepare a sandwich, tossing each of his furry friends a piece of ham as he prepared the meal. He made his favorite sandwich. A BLT with extra tomatoes, a serving of ham, and mayonnaise. He took a large bite from one end before breaking off sizable chunks from the other and handing one to each of his Pokemon. Sparky and Wick wolfed it down happily as he continued to eat. As the dogs then ran off to continue playing, he spotted a little brown paw reach up at the end of the table. Marshal looked over to see the smallest Teddiursa he had ever seen pawing for his sandwich.

"Aw where's your mama lil guy?" He asked. "Or your papa?"

Marshal looked around for any sign of an Ursaring, only to see none in sight.

"Are you alone?" Marshal inquired as he handed the Teddiursa the last of his sandwich which it greedily gobbled down before smiling at him.

"Well you can come with us," Marshal offered, "I'm a trainer and I need a third pokemon. Do you wanna tag along?"

Teddiursa smiled happily and hugged Marshal's leg, like a teddy bear. Marshal picked him up like he was an infant and gave him a gentle hug before offering him a Pokeball. "Let's go little buddy."

Teddiursa entered the Pokeball willingly before reemerging instantly. He extended his paws, wanting to be picked up again. Marshal chuckled and picked up the small Pokemon. "Imma call you Paws."

Paws smiled happily. Marshal lifted Paws onto his shoulders and called to the others, "Sparky! Wick! It's time to go!"

The two dogs scampered behind him eagerly as he walked back towards the base. He approached the bell at the front gate of the Team Star base. He lifted up Paws and asked, "Hey you're cool with battles right? I won't force you to fight."

Paws smiled and slapped the bell, sending its loud ring echoing through the base. Mela exited her tent and mumbled to herself, "Is he back already?"

She looked over the edge of the outer wall to see Marshal holding up PAws. He called out, "Hey Mela! I got one!"

"Is that a teddy bear?" Mela inquired.

"No he's just small!" Marshal assured. Paws waved to Mela, who chuckled and waved back. "Isn't he a little sweetie pie?"

"Heh," Mela chuckled, "Sure is, but can he fight?"

Paws leapt from Marshal's arms and began boxing the air in an attempt to show off, imitating the movements of a Hitmonchan. Mela laughed, "Ha ha! He's got a lot of spirit! I like him! So you know how this works right?"

Marshal nodded, "Take out thirty Pokemon was it?"

Mela nodded, "Yeah. Good luck dude!"

The gates opened, and Marshal's Pokemon rushed into the fray. SParky dashed ahead with extreme prejudice, burning the resistant enemies including Torkals and CHarcadets with Ember, as Wick disappeared into the shadows, ambushing with Shadow Sneak before the enemies could react. Finally there was Paws, who struck with his sharp claws, ripping enemies apart with Slash.

And thus thirty Pokemon fell with relative ease. Mela emerged from her tent on her Starmoble, and exclaimed, "Well it's been a while since I whipped this baby out! You ready for this?"

"I was born ready!" Marshal exclaimed.

The battle began with Mela sending out a Torkoal, there was an air of levity to the duel, a vague notion of a distant but forming friendship. They had clearly met before this ordeal...

But that was a matter for another time as Wick and Marshal exchanged a knowing look.

Torkal surrounded itself in fire and lunged with Flare Blitz, only ot be caught off guard as Marshal predicted this and switched in Sparky, who absorbed the flames without a scratch on him, activating his Flash Fire.

"Huh well played!" Mela smiled.

"I'm just getting warmed up!" Marshal responded. He ordered Sparky to bite Torkoal, to which he chomped down on the Pokemon's neck with a harsh chomp, using Bite. The Torkoal flinched. Sparky followed up by lighting its teeth ablaze, a roaring flame spewed her mouth, boosted by Flash Fire as she used FIre Fang, fainting the Torkoal.

Mela exclaimed, "Well, not bad but this isn't over yet!"

The Starmobile roared to life and prepared to attack. However, it could do little to Sparky, who was immune to its fire, and its acceleration from Speed Boost meant nothing when it could not do any real damage to Sparky. It was easy for Sparky to wear it down until it broke down, stopping dead in its tracks.

Mela leapt down from it and marched over, not bending her knees as they were restricted by her boots. She shook Marshal's hand and expal;ined, handing him a badge, "Well that's one down but you do have to battle the others."

"I know," Marshal assured, "It was great seeing you again by the way. SOrry I haven't like, called you or the others recently, I just..."

"I would have a lot on my mind too," Mela assured, "It's OK."

Mela took a sadder tone as she continued, looking downward, her smile dissipated, "I miss her too. We all do."

"Ubel is gonna pay for what he did," Marshal assured.

"Wait, it was him?" Mela demanded, "That was a rumor I thought."

"Come on Mela, who else could it be?" Marshal demanded. "Besides, he's a known bigot. Do you expect better from him?"

"I always suspected," Mela conceded.

The two fell silent for a moment, Mela got lost in thought for a moment, remembering an incident from back when Team Star was gearing up to take on the bullies at the Academy.

There was another member her and the others were close with. It was the young woman who confronted Ubel that day, and she spoke with the other leaders just after Team Star had formed.

She looked a lot like Marshal, with the same hair color and eyes, but dressed like a member of Team Star. "Look guys I know this is a sketchy plan but what choice do we have?"

Penny added over the phone, "That is why I've gathered you all here."

Giacomo nodded, "I'm in, as long as it fixes things."

Eri protested, "But... we don't wanna hurt anyone, right?"

Mela shook her head, "It's not like we're sicking our Pokemon on people, if anything we'll just be stomping them in a Pokemon battle, giving them a good scare."

Penny continued, "Precisely. Besides, it's not like Ubel is gonna do anything. The man is an incompetent prick."

"And to be candid a bigot," the young woman added. "If he finds out about my little brother he-"

"Wait, do you really think he's try to harm you or your brother?" Ortega demanded, "That's horrible!"

Eri shook her head, "If it's that serious... what choice do we have?"

Atticus inquired, "So your brother is-"

The young woman snapped back, "Is that an issue?"

Atticus shook his head and assured her, "No. Not at all. He's as much of a man as I am."

Penny continued, "Ubel and the director won't save us and is an active threat. We have to handle this ourselves."

"If anyone asks though," the young woman continued, "I am the one who Ubel would have beef with, not my brother. He knows one of us is but not which, so we need to spread that rumor."

"But what if he tries to hurt YOU?" Eri demanded.

"I'll defend myself," the young woman assured.

Mela took the young woman's hand, and pleaded, "You promise..." She spoke with a deep genuine worry, "Madeline?"

Madeline took Mela in a one arm hug and assured her, "I promise Mela. I'll be OK..."Mela back in the present sighed, "I guess... I'm sorry for being snippy with you back at the school. I was really stressed and... when you kinda ghosted everyone after Madeline died we all kinda felt... abandoned. I know I did and I felt like it wasn't your business because we weren't friends anymore. You know?"Marshal opened his arms for a hug, "We were always friends, I just... needed some time."Mela gave him a bear hug and smiled, he could feel her crushing his ribs. She laughed happily, "Good to have you back dude." "Good to have you back too," Marshal chuckled as he was let down, "But I guess I do owe the others an apology.""Yeah," Mela conceded, "I was holding back because I felt bad but the others are... they're hurt dude. They felt abandoned.""I don't blame them," Marshal admitted, "I'll mend things here. Don't worry."Mela nodded in understanding before looking at the setting SUn and offering, "hey, maybe you should crash here. Probably not safe to sleep in your dorm now. We have a spare tent.""I think I will," Marshal replied, "Thanks. Good night Mela.""Sweet dreams," Mela replied.Marshal went towards the empty tent and lay down on the white cot. The blankets were thin but it was warm. He didn't need much more than a sheet. His Pokemon curled up next to him, Wick by his head, at the edge of the pillow, Paws on his chest, clinging to his shirt, and Sparky at the foot of his bed. He assured the three, "You three did great today, but we have a ways to go. After all,..."Marshal clenched his fist, "I won't stop until I have Ubel's head..."