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Science and Snakes
Battle Frontier, Hoenn Region, 2:49pm
The Hoenn vs Sinnoh Battle Frontier Tournament had all of its spectators on the edges of their seats! 6 battles had been run, and to the shock of all, the two teams were perfectly even! Palmer had bested Noland, Lucy’s luck was far greater than Dahlia’s, Thornton outsmarted Greta, and Brandon beat Darach. Argenta and Tucker proved themselves to be equal in skill somehow. Not even the inclusion of Former Frontier Brain turned Elite 4 member, Caitlin, could tip the scales in the Sinnoh team’s favor! She could only manage a tie with Spenser! A tiebreaker was in order!
The memories of the tournament ran through the Pike Queen’s mind. About 3 days had passed since that tiebreaker match occurred. It was definitely a good fight, but that face. That nerdy face. That knowledgeable trainer that claimed to have analyzed her. That mug was burned into her brain. She wanted to eradicate that confident grin off it. “...” She sat down on a bench to contemplate.
“Hey! Lucy!” The voice of Greta hit Lucy’s ears, interrupting her deep thought session. The Arena Tycoon sat down right next to the Pike Queen. Out of all of the frontier brains, Greta was the first one Lucy would acknowledge as a friend. Somehow, she found herself talking more than usual when Greta’s around.
“Oh. It’s you.” Lucy said. Today, she wasn’t quite sure about whether she could speak with her friend right now. Not after her defeat at the hands of Thorton. “...I let you down. I’m sorry.” Lucy added with crossed arms.
Greta patted the Pike Queen’s back. “No way, girl! You fought great! That fight was awesome! Really really awesome!” She knew Lucy didn’t like to lose. In fact, she was pretty sure nobody liked losing. However, she was still gonna praise her friend for giving a great fight.
Lucy grumbled as she looked around. “When I find him, I want to have another battle with him. I WILL have another battle with him.”
“Whoa whoa whoa girl, cool yourself!” Greta said as she patted Lucy’s back. “I get you want a round two, but did you really think about that match?” She asked. “Like, think about why it ended like that?”
Lucy went back to contemplating. Thorton’s comments about data and analysis rang in her mind. She brought her fist up to her forehead, lightly tapping her knuckles against her skin. “Hmmmrph…” All of that nonsense about data interpreting machines and analyses and studying… Was it really nonsense if it helped him win? Then it clicked. “...I underestimated him.”
Greta snapped her fingers. “Figured you’d say that, Lucy.” She said, “That guy wasn’t kidding about his knowledge and stuff. He must’ve studied a lot about Pokémon, optimizing them well. At least, I think so.” She couldn’t say for certain. “He must’ve been through a lot too, since he’s a Frontier Brain like the rest of us.”
From the corners of her eye, Lucy noticed a familiar spiky hairdo and turned her attention to it. There he was. Thorton. But what business did he have here in Hoenn’s Battle Frontier? “What’s he doing here?”
“Probably to meet with Noland? They’re both Factory Heads.” Greta commented. She didn’t know the real reason, so she was just making a guess there.
It seems their gaze was caught by the tech head. After giving a small wave, Thorton walked over. “Hey! I fought you two the other day. Greta and Lucy, right?” He asked.
Greta gave a nod. “Uh huh! I’m Greta and she’s Lucy. Good to see you again, Thorton!” She said as she looked at the Factory Head’s form. “Whatcha doing here?”
“I just compared knowledge with Noland and figured I’d look around this place more before leaving. None of my analyses lived up to the truth of this place. Trainers here are a bit stronger than I thought.” Thorton replied with fists planted on his hips.
A bit? Just a bit? Lucy felt a little… offended by that. “You. Thorton. You want to challenge the Battle Pike?” She asked.
Thorton shrugged. “Eh, sure why not? I got time.” He said with a nod. “I hear the Battle Pike is all about luck though. And according to my data interpreting machine…” He pulled out a small device, about the size of a smartphone, and checked it intensely. Then he frowned. “My luck is kinda in the gutter…”
Lucy cracked a small smirk. “Sucks to be you then.” She said before laughing briefly.
“Admit it girl, you just wanted to rematch him. Or maybe… just match him?” Greta whispered to the pike queen.
Lucy lightly flicked Greta away. “You know my reasons are my own.” She said before turning on her heel and walking into the Battle Pike.
Greta only shrugged to Thorton before smiling. “Well, give my girl a good fight, alright?” She said before giving him a little slap on the back. “Good luck!”
“Thanks. I’m gonna need it, it seems.” Thorton said with a nervous chuckle before he stepped up and entered the facility. For once, he was hoping his data was incorrect.