Anonymous {2nd Place in Miscellaneous (PWA 2018)}

Chapter 10: Beckoning Conflict

"That's ridiculous!" one of the senior officers spouted at the two anxious men.

"We're telling the truth!" Terry cried in defense. He heightened his stance as if to terrify the tall members before him despite his short stature. "I swear, the Pokémon was mutating yesterday! The thing was transforming before our eyes! There's more to that place than we realize!"

One of the officers, a woman, let out an entertained scoff. "It was probably a Ditto for all you know," she retaliated with her hands on her hips. Some of the other seniors began murmuring to themselves.

"It's their first days and they assume they know what they're doing?" muttered one. "This generation thinks they're so experienced."

"I can't believe the academy thought those three were their top students if he couldn't even knock out that thing," chortled another.

Rage flared in Terry's electric glare. "The hell?! I know for a fact my Incineroar can take down a mother f—"

"That's enough, Wolfhart," a gravelly voice resonated through the room. Charles trudged into the area, papers in hand and a cold stare replacing his usually composed manner. Behind him was a poisonous-looking Jaderine with her velvet arms crossed against her bust. Terry snarled, stepping back at the presence of the superiors. "We've told you, we need physical evidence before we decide to take any action."

"Evidence?! My Incineroar almost fainted! Shin was injured!" Terry exclaimed in wild anger. "Do you need any more evidence than that?" Shin cast a concerned look to his friend.

Terry...

Jaderine rapped her fingers like deadly claws. "Maybe that could have been a stray Pokémon. Maybe you all don't want to embarrass yourselves in front of us and are lying as we speak." Her frigid glower was like a bloodied blade. "The possibilities are inconsistent so long as we don't have solid proof." Cold shivers slithered up Shin's back, both of irritation and deep disquiet. He barely noticed himself clenching his fists to the point of them trembling by his sides. "Not to mention that these dealers weren't sighted at all yet at that site— our main concern."

Terry looked as if he were struggling to come up with a viable answer. He only stood, his lips quivering as they yearned to fight back against the chief's words. Charles let out a disheartened exhale, throwing away his gaze from the two men. What looked to be slight sympathy began exposing itself from his eyes. "We sent another dispatch of officers down to the area. If they find something of the sort, we'll take a look at it and decide from there," he proposed. With a quick motion of his finger, he, Jaderine, and the rest of the officers filed out of the room, giving last-minute peers at the humiliated Shin and Terry left alone to wander within their quarreling temptations.

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"You idiot..." Terry grumbled as he grabbed the metal tweezers that lay next to him and pinched at a cotton swab.

Shin gave him a bothered glance. "What's wrong?" He watched the ripples in the puddle of umber alcohol dance the light around like a ribbon when Terry dipped the white ball, wondering what he could have done to deserve that chastize. "Look, I didn't think they would react like that. I was hoping at least someone would--"

"Why did you try to attack that Pokémon last evening?" Terry rectified halfway through his sentence, glancing down as if he were in some way embarrassed at his statement. His voice became hushed. "O'Malley could've gotten it no problem."

Shin caught his words at the unexpected statement. He gave a short sigh of distress before hardening his expression. "Because this—" he gestured to his lacerated chest that had been exposed, "—would have happened to you rather than me. And O'Malley was down then, remember? No way he could've gotten to you in time."