Auxtrema: The Clash at Indigo

The Stadium Stands Ready

The last time Elliot had been to the Indigo Plateau was during a school tour he'd taken over a year ago. On that day, it had been teetering on monsoon season, (great weather for Poliwags, his dad would say), fairly humid and more of a figurative ghost town than Lavender itself.
He and his class could walk from the tram stop on Victory Road all the way up to the gates without so much as having to look at another human being.

Today could not have been more different.
The sun blazed in the sky like a giant Moltres egg, burning down out of the blue. Thankfully, he noted as they stepped off of the tram, there was a nice following wind. It wasn't intrusive; just enough to tug at their hair and cool the trio as they walked. Myra whined about her make-up starting to melt off of her face and Holt grunted about having worn the wrong binder for this kind of heat but Elliot wasn't too bothered. He'd tied his jacket around his waist about seven stops prior.
It was he, Myra and Holt making their way into the stadium at glacial speed. This time- a far cry from the day of their school trip- they in the midst of an unfathomable crowd with no choice but to be dragged along by the pace and preference of those around them.

"Got the tickets, My?" Holt asked, eyes hidden behind his mirror sunglasses and hands in his pockets.
"For the fortieth time, yes I do."
Holt shrugged his broad shoulders lazily as he peered over the tops of heads, easily the tallest in the area. "Just making sure. We've come a long, bloody way to get turned away at the gates."
"You always talk to me as if I'm unreliable or something," she pouted, squinting in the sunlight.
"Well you did almost make us late for the train," Elliot pointed out only to be met by a playful punch in the arm.
"Traitor!" Myra cried, though her playful glee was evident beneath the thin façade of annoyance.
"Don't hit the man for speaking the truth," Holt chided her, looking sideways at Elliot. "At least we got here in one piece, eh, El?"
"Yeah," Elliot breathed, proud that he was now able to look Holt in the eye. The train ride had been drawn from one of his sweetest dreams and his worst nightmares simultaneously. He'd been sitting directly opposite Holt and more than once, their bare knees had knocked together. Elliot's heart had subsequently almost leapt out of his throat.
Thankfully some back and forth banter and some local gossip courtesy of Myra had put him at ease and soon, his stammer had subsided along with his body temperature.

A flock of Spearow soared overhead, almost directing the crowd of people towards the huge, shining stadium. The closer they got, the denser the crowd became. Myra grabbed both of their arms and forcibly linked them, muttering something about not wanting to get separated. Feeling a little like one third of a Magneton, Elliot let himself be hauled into step with the other two. It was hard, however, considering Holt's irreverently massive strides and Myra's inability to decide which direction she wanted to walk in.
"It says that we have to go into entrance B, I think?"
"Yeah, it does. That's on the west side of the stadium."
"So...left then?"
"No, to the right."
"Ah...so that side? Where the Gyrados statue is?"
"No, that side. Where the Charizard statue is."

As they got closer to the entrance, they were herded into zig-zagging queues by a smattering of Officer Jennies and Officer Johnnies. The azure-haired officers strode up and down the outside of the lines, some of them with a trusty Growlithe trotting at their feet.
"Have your bags ready for inspection up ahead!" a nearby Jenny shouted, her gloved hand cupping around her mouth. "Remember that outside food and drink is not permitted so be prepared to use the trash-cans if you have any."

Elliot looked up at the massive Charizard statue that cast its shadow over them. "Do you think we'll get to see Heath Wave's Charizard today?"
"We'd bloody better," Holt grunted, shrugging his rucksack to his front. "Or else I'm asking for a refund."
"So are you most excited to see Heath then?" Elliot asked, following suit in light of the ever-tightening crowd. "Is he like, your gym leader bias?"
"Him or Rex or Nelson. It's damn hard to choose. It kind of depends on what strategies they're running. But yeah, I guess Heath would be who I'm the most pumped about seeing today."
"Heath's a dish," swooned Myra, pretending to fan herself. "But my bias is Marissa. Water type loyalty, y'know? What about you, El?"
Elliot shrugged. "I don't know if I know enough about any of them to really have a favourite. I guess Leif Legion is pretty cool? He used to be a ranger, I think..."