"WHY ARE YOU BUYING CLOTHES AT THE SOUP-Oh hey, you got a challenger!"

Hideo was a bit annoyed the video he was listening to got interrupted, but that was due to the H✩T App, which meant he had another battle lined up! "Says here it's from a Lloyd Kvar. Here, I'll show you where it'll be."

Hideo stood back up, guided along by his Rotomdex to the stage of his next battle. "Is he here?" Hideo asked.

"Yeah. He's a big guy, but a bit older than the other people you've fought." Hideo felt the Rotomdex pat him on the back. "I'm sure you can take him."

Hideo smiled, waving to the man as he took out a Pokeball. This time, he was using his Cinderace, the large bunny hopping from foot to foot as they waited for their opponent to get his Pokemon ready. "Good luck!" Hideo shouted.

Raphael Pryde

Most of his previous opponents either gave him the first move, or gave him the opportunity to act first in a battle.

Lloyd didn’t seem to be one of them. The moment Hideo heard his opponent let out a Pokemon, he heard it charging ahead, the crackle of fire reaching the boy’s ears shortly before it reached his Cinderace’s body. His Pokemon let out a yelp, stepping back; even if he resisted the fire portion, he did just get bitten.

“Starting off aggressive!” Hideo’s Rotomdex commented, “It’s a Pyroar, and it just bit into Messi!”

Hideo didn’t have enough time to get any more info from his Rotomdex. He had to act now. “Get’em off you, Messi!” Hideo ordered. His Cinderace would’ve nodded, but he was already readying his attack: a solid Headbutt straight for the Pyroar.

Cinderace was hit by the Fire Fang

Cinderace used Headbutt

Raphael Pryde

Hideo raised an eyebrow at the man’s comment. “You have trouble seeing too?” It was the first thing he assumed, anyways; that little hint of sympathy made him assume it was a vision problem the man referred to. But if that were true, it probably wasn't total blindness; if the man had a Psychic Pokemon around helping him, his Rotomdex would’ve notified him, and it didn’t sound like he had someone telling him anything going on in the fight.

Hideo wasn’t too sure how to take the second part of what the man said. It seemed to be meant as a genuine compliment, so he'd take it as one. “Well...yeah, thanks. I’ve been blind since I was born. If I never had the will to go in the first place, I never would have started doing this.”

Even if he didn’t fully acknowledge it, being blind was a big reason why he wanted to be a Trainer.

Hideo felt his Rotomdex cover his ears - just in time for that Hyper Voice to ring through the air. Hideo could still hear it, but his hearing was muffled enough that it didn’t hurt.

One couldn’t say the same for the Cinderace, who covered his ears a second too late, getting the full ear-ringing pain of that attack. Out of annoyance, he kicked a nearby rock straight ahead. the stone immediately ignited, and the now-Pyro-Ball was headed straight for the Pyroar.

Cinderace was hit by the Hyper Voice

Cinderace used Pyro Ball

Raphael Pryde

“Oh.” Well, it was worth a guess. He could still see the relation there; only having one arm must’ve been rough to deal with. He could barely imagine trying to move around with only one arm to probe around with, or to be guided by. “Did you lose your arm somehow? Or did you never have it to begin with?”

Maybe a silly question to some, and maybe a little insensitive, but to Hideo, losing something you had was a lot worse than never having it in the first place.

That comment about making himself stronger brought a smile to his face. It was nice being recognized for his efforts.

Though he wouldn’t get (too) distracted from his current effort; he heard the Pyro Ball hit the Pyroar. Even if it was fire against fire, a hit was a hit. He wasn’t too surprised when he heard the Pyroar charging again (though he could’ve sworn he heard a click there), and he was ready to order his Cinderace to dodge.

Unfortunately, that Pyroar was fast, Crunching down on Messi before Hideo could say anything, earning a yelp from the large rabbit. But Hideo could work with it. “Messi, hit’em back!”

The Cinderace, with a metaphorical fire in his eyes, aimed a knee right at the Pyroar: a Counter-attack meant to hit her hard in retaliation for that bite.

Cinderace was hit by the Crunch

Cinderace used Counter

Raphael Pryde

In a way, he felt kind of bad for Lloyd, but he knew better than to say it out loud; he’d already gotten tired of people saying they felt bad for him for not being able to see. He wouldn’t patronize his opponent.

Instead, he'd indulge his curiosity. “So how good’s your prosthetic?” he asked, his tact leaving him just as suddenly as it appeared. “Is it just kinda...there? Or is it something you can move around freely?” He at least had enough control to not straight-up say “like before”, instead moving one of his arms around as comparison.

As Hideo learned more about his opponent, his Cinderace was focused on the match. That Counter was a solid knee, and it gave the two some distance. And it gave him time to notice that his opponent was preparing that shout again. Right before it came, he covered his ears...

Which didn’t do much to stop the force of the attack itself from hitting his body, but at least he would stave off tinnitus.

And with this distance, he kicked another rock at the Pyroar, the Pyro Ball igniting quickly.

Cinderace was hit by the Hyper Voice

Cinderace used Pyro Ball

Raphael Pryde

“Ooooh! That’s pretty cool!” Hideo turned to his Rotomdex. “Ever thinking about going into a prosthetic arm, Nosey?”

“Ew, no.” The digital face on the Rotomdex cringed. “I’ve seen what people do with their hands: they do stuff like punch with them, and touch hot stoves with them. I’m fine with just being in a Pokedex and scanning stuff and telling you stuff, thank you very much.”

Hideo couldn’t resist a snort. “We do more than just punch or touch stuff.” But he wasn’t going to argue any further with his own Rotom.

It was best that his Cinderace knew to act on his own, and was much more willing to get his hands dirty (literally and figuratively); he leapt over the Flamethrower, bouncing his way towards the Pyroar, aiming to deliver a solid pair of Double Kicks to her from above.

Cinderace dodged the Flamethrower

Cinderace used Double Kick

Raphael Pryde

Hideo nodded. "Yup! We can make stuff with our hands, change stuff with our hands, find stuff with our hands, and more! They're not just for violence or icky stuff!"

"Yeah, whatever," the Rotomdex said, rolling its eyes as its attention moved back to the battle. "I'll stick to being a Rotomdex. Someone else can be a Rotomarm."

Messi had been fortunate before: the Flamethrower had been at a distance, it wasn't a tall attack, his feet were were unoccupied. It was an easy attack to avoid and counter, and he grinned as both kicks landed.

But as he soon found out, there was no such luck this time: with his left foot mid-kick, there was no way for him to avoid the incoming Crunch on his ankle.

His back hit the ground as he held back a scream (his face turning red in the process). He desperately tried to get out of the Pyroar's hold, furiously trying to Double Kick with his right foot to make her let go.

Hideo's Rotomdex relayed the situation to him, the boy anxiously balling a fist as he hoped Messi could get out of it. There wasn't anything else he could order him to do at this point, and if he couldn't get the Pyroar to get go...

Cinderace was hit by Crunch and fell down

Cinderace is trying to Double Kick the Pyroar off him

Raphael Pryde