Chapter 106: Nicola Trains + Round Of 32
The morning light came through the high windows of the League headquarters like diluted gold, pale and watery, striping the polished concrete floor with long rectangles of warmth that did nothing to cut the chill in the air.
Nicola Sunfall stood alone in Training Room Seven.
The room was vast and empty. High ceilings. Reinforced walls scarred from years of elemental blasts. Scorch marks near the far corner. A fissure in the floor that had been patched with steel plating. The League had built these rooms for champions and challengers alike, and the scars on the walls told stories that nobody had bothered to record.
Nicola didn't care about the walls.
She cared about the Pokémon hovering in front of her.
Magneton floated at eye level, its three linked bodies rotating slowly around a central axis, each Magnemite scanning the room with mechanical precision. The horseshoe magnets on its sides crackled with faint static. Its single eye—shared across all three units—blinked in perfect synchronization.
It had been restless since the opening ceremony.
Nicola had noticed it during the matches. Magneton had hovered at the edge of her belt, its magnets twitching, its eye fixed on the arena as if it wanted to be out there, as if it could feel the electricity in the air and wanted to taste it.
She understood.
She felt the same way.
"We're going to work," she said.
Magneton hummed. The sound was low and metallic, like a tuning fork pressed against stone.
Nicola reached into her bag and pulled out a small device—a portable current regulator, the kind used by electric-type specialists to create controlled discharge fields. She set it on the floor and activated it.
A web of blue light spread across the room.
Magneton's eye brightened.
"Discharge," Nicola said. "Full output. Let's see what you've got."
Magneton's magnets spun faster. Electricity arced from its body in jagged bolts, slamming into the walls, the floor, the ceiling. The blue light from the regulator flickered but held.
"Again."
Another discharge. Stronger. The air in the room crackled. Nicola's hair lifted at the roots.
She didn't flinch.
She had trained this Magneton for three years. She had caught it as a Magnemite in the ruins of an abandoned power plant outside Sunyshore City, back when she was nineteen and angry at the world and looking for something to prove. It had been weak then—small, undersized, its magnets barely able to generate a spark.
She had fed it electricity from her own hands. She had slept beside it in the dark. She had whispered to it when she thought no one was listening.
It had grown strong.
But it hadn't grown strong enough.
"Again," she said.
Magneton discharged. The regulator sparked. The blue light died.
Magneton's eye dimmed.
"Don't stop," Nicola said. "Again."
Magneton tried. A weak arc of electricity sputtered from its magnets. It faded before it reached the wall.
The Pokémon's eye flickered. Its body rotated slower.
Nicola's jaw tightened.
She had seen the replay of Elsa's Regice. She had watched it absorb everything Julye's Bisharp threw at it without flinching. She had watched it destroy the dark type with a single Blizzard.
Magneton couldn't do that. Not yet.
But it could.
She knew it could.
She reached into her bag again.
Her fingers brushed against the smooth, warm surface of a stone she had been carrying for months. She had bought it from a merchant in Canalave City. She had paid more than she could afford. She had told herself she was saving it for the right moment.
The right moment was now.
She pulled out the Thunder Stone.
It was yellow and gold, veined with cracks that glowed faintly, like lightning frozen in amber. Heat radiated from its surface. It pulsed in her palm like a second heartbeat.
Magneton's eye snapped to the stone.
The Pokémon's magnets twitched. Its body rotated faster. The hum it made was no longer metallic and low—it was high and sharp, almost a whine.
Nicola held the stone up.
"You feel it," she said. "Don't you."
Magneton's eye widened. Its magnets pointed toward the stone like compass needles finding north.
"You've been ready for a long time," Nicola said. "I was the one who wasn't."
She had seen trainers evolve their Pokémon before. She had seen the flash of light, the reshaping of flesh and bone and metal. She had seen the power that came after.
She had also seen the Pokémon that never came back from it. The ones that changed too much. The ones that forgot who they were.
Magneton had been her first Pokémon. Her first real partner. The first thing in her life that had chosen to stay.
She couldn't lose it.
But she couldn't hold it back either.
"You choose," she said. "Not me. You."
She set the stone on the floor.
Magneton hovered.
The three linked bodies rotated slowly, their single eye fixed on the stone. The magnets crackled. The air in the room grew thick with static.
Then Magneton moved.
It descended toward the stone, its body tilting forward, its eye never leaving the glowing surface. The magnets on its sides extended, reaching for the stone like hands reaching for a flame.
The moment they touched, the world went white.
Nicola threw her arm over her eyes.
The light was blinding, searing, brighter than anything she had ever seen. It filled the room from floor to ceiling, from wall to wall. It pressed against her skin like heat from an open furnace.
Thunder cracked. The floor shook. The regulator exploded in a shower of sparks.
And then the light began to change.
It shifted from white to gold, then to blue, then to a deep, electric violet that pulsed with the rhythm of a heartbeat. The light grew limbs. It grew weight. It grew mass.
Magneton's three bodies—the three linked Magnemite—began to merge.
The central unit expanded. The two outer units slid into place, one on each side, fusing into the larger body with a sound like metal being forged. The horseshoe magnets on the sides grew wider, heavier, their tips glowing red-hot.
The single eye remained.
But now it was set in a larger face, a broader frame, a body shaped like a UFO with a central hump and two powerful magnetic wings. Red and blue lights blinked along its surface. A low, resonant hum filled the room.
The light faded.
Magnezone hovered in the center of the room.
It was massive—easily three times Magneton's size, its metallic body gleaming, its central eye fixed on Nicola with an intensity that made her breath catch. Its magnets crackled with electricity. Its wings hummed with magnetic power.
It was beautiful.
It was terrifying.
Nicola didn't move.
Magnezone's eye blinked. Once. Twice.
Then it drifted toward her.
It stopped a foot away. Its body lowered until its central eye was level with her face. The hum softened. The static in the air faded.
Nicola raised a hand.
She touched the smooth, warm metal of its body.
Magnezone's eye closed.
Nicola's throat tightened.
"You're still you," she whispered.
Magnezone's eye opened. It blinked once.
It was.
The door to the training room opened.
Briv stood in the doorway, his brown hair messy, his brown eyes wide. Behind him, Patricia and Dariana crowded into the frame.
"Holy shit," Briv said.
Magnezone turned. Its magnets crackled.
"Easy," Nicola said. Her voice was hoarse. "It's just them."
Magnezone's eye studied the three trainers. Then it hummed and floated back, giving them space.
Patricia stepped inside. Her blue eyes were fixed on Magnezone.
"You evolved it," she said.
"It evolved itself," Nicola said. "I just gave it the chance."
Dariana walked in behind Patricia, her dark eyes gleaming.
"He's huge," she said. "I've never seen a Magnezone that big."
"Sit," Nicola said.
Dariana blinked.
"What?"
"Sit down. All of you. He wants to study you."
The three trainers glanced at each other. Then they sat on the cold concrete floor.
Magnezone floated toward them. Its eye scanned each of them in turn—Patricia first, then Dariana, then Briv. Its magnets twitched. Its hum changed pitch.
Nicola watched.
She had seen Magnezone do this before. The first day she caught it, as a Magnemite, it had hovered around her apartment for hours, scanning every object, every surface, every corner. It was cataloguing. Learning. Understanding.
Now it was doing the same to her friends.
The hum changed again. Softer. Warmer.
Magnezone floated back to Nicola and settled beside her, its body lowering until it rested a few inches off the floor.
Briv exhaled.
"That was incredible," he said.
"Yeah," Nicola said.
"How do you feel?"
She thought about it.
"Heavy," she said. "And light."
Patricia's expression softened.
"That makes sense," she said.
"Does it?"
"Evolution is a big deal. Especially for a Pokémon you've had for that long. It's like watching your kid grow up."
Nicola snorted.
"He's not my kid."
"He's your partner," Dariana said. "Same thing."
Nicola didn't answer.
Magnezone's eye blinked. Its magnets crackled softly.
Briv got to his feet. He walked to the window and looked out at the city. The crystal towers of Aethelburg glinted in the morning light. The floating bridges hummed with traffic. The canals glowed even in the daytime, their waters bright with bioluminescent algae.
"We're going to win," he said.
"Who?" Nicola asked. All of us. This tournament."
Patricia stood up. She walked to Briv and slipped her hand into his.
"You think so?"
"I know so."
Dariana stayed on the floor. Her dark eyes were on Nicola.
"What about you?" she asked. "You think we can win?"
Nicola looked at Magnezone.
The Pokémon's eye met hers.
It was the same eye she had seen three years ago, in the ruins of an abandoned power plant, when a tiny, frightened Magnemite had stared up at her from a pile of rusted machinery.
She had held out her hand.
It had taken it.
"I think," she said, "we have a chance."
=====
(The draw:
Joel VS Iris =
Patricia VS Jack =
Jasmine VS Dariana =
Alejandro VS Rhomir =
Raze VS Malva =
Briv VS Chigusa =
Egnar VS Elsa =
Samuel VS Niklaus =
Samantha VS Malik =
Jenny VS Nicoleta =
Courtney VS Kim =
Belle VS Malcolm =
Ennui VS Crimson =
Nicola VS Drew =
Bianca VS Mert =
Gwen VS John =)
The buzzer tore through the training room like a blade through silk. Magnezone's eye snapped open, its magnets crackling with defensive electricity. Nicola felt the shift in the air before she understood it—a pressure change, a vibration in the walls.
"What the hell?" Briv said.
The intercom crackled overhead.
"ALL TRAINERS REPORT TO THE MAIN HALL. IMMEDIATELY."
Nicola was already moving.
Magnezone floated behind her, its massive body navigating the corridor with surprising grace. The hallway filled with trainers pouring from every door, a river of bodies and Pokémon flowing toward the central chamber.
Patricia grabbed Briv's hand. Dariana fell into step beside them.
The main hall was chaos.
Hundreds of trainers packed the space, their voices a wall of noise that bounced off the crystal ceiling and echoed through the floating archways. Banners hung from every pillar, each one bearing the League's insignia—a golden starburst over a mountain silhouette.
Briv spotted Samuel near the front. His dreadlocks swayed as he turned, his warm eyes finding them across the crowd.
He waved.
They pushed toward him.
The stage at the far end of the hall was empty except for a single podium and a massive screen that dominated the back wall. The screen flickered with static, waiting.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Dariana shouted over the noise.
"NO IDEA," Samuel shouted back.
The screen blazed to life.
The host's face appeared—a middle-aged man with silver hair and a grin that had been polished by decades of television appearances. He wore a crimson suit and held a microphone like it was an extension of his arm.
"TRAINERS OF THE ELYSIAN LEAGUE!" His voice boomed through the speakers. "CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING IT THIS FAR!"
The crowd cheered.
"BUT I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING!"
The cheering faded. A nervous hush rippled through the hall.
"REMEMBER TEAMS FORMAT?"
A pause.
"FORGET IT!"
The screen split. The team brackets dissolved into static, replaced by a single word in gold letters.
SOLO.
"FROM NOW ON, YOU COMPETE ON YOUR OWN!" The host spread his arms wide. "NO TEAMMATES! NO BACKUP! JUST YOU AND YOUR POKÉMON AGAINST THE WORLD!"
The hall erupted.
Trainers shouted. Some cheered. Others stared in stunned silence. A few grabbed their teammates, their faces pale.
Briv's stomach dropped.
He looked at Patricia. Her blue eyes were wide.
He looked at Nicola. Her jaw was tight.
He looked at Dariana. Her dark eyes were unreadable.
Samuel was already shaking his head.
"THE DRAW HAS BEEN MADE!" The host gestured to the screen.
The word SOLO collapsed. In its place, a bracket appeared—sixteen matches, thirty-two names, arranged in a tree that spiraled outward from the center.
Briv scanned it.
His eyes found his own name first.
BRIV VS CHIGUSA.
He blinked. He knew Chigusa. He had watched her fight in the qualifiers. She was a fighting-type specialist from a small town, known for her pink hair and her relentless aggression. Her Pokémon were fast, disciplined, and relentless.
He would have to face her alone.
His eyes moved down the bracket.
PATRICIA VS JACK.
His blood went cold.
Jack Haywire.
The name hit him like a physical blow. He remembered the match. He remembered the humiliation. He remembered what Jack had made Nicola do afterward—the blowjob in the locker room, the smug smile on his face when he walked away.
Patricia's hand tightened around his.
She had seen it too.
"Patricia—" Briv started.
"I know," she said. Her voice was steady. Too steady.
"I'm going to kill him."
"You're not going to do anything. You're going to focus on your own match."
"I'm going to—"
"Briv." She looked at him. Her blue eyes were hard. "I can handle Jack Haywire. I've been waiting for this."
He wanted to argue. He wanted to promise her something. But the look on her face stopped him.
She wasn't afraid.
She was ready.
His eyes moved back to the bracket.
JASMINE VS DARIANA.
Dariana's name. Against Jasmine—the steel-type specialist from Olivine City. The woman who had swept through the qualifiers with her Milotic and her Steelix, who had dismantled Lindsay without breaking a sweat.
Dariana was already staring at the screen. Her face was calm.
"I fight Jasmine," she said.
"You do," Nicola said.
"She's strong."
"She is."
Dariana smiled. It was a thin smile, but it was real.
"I've been wanting to test myself against her."
Briv kept scanning.
RAZE VS MALVA.
Raze Stormcloud. His rival. Against Malva—the Elite Four member, the fire-type legend, the woman who had once been a newscaster and had burned her way through every league she'd ever entered.
Briv winced.
Raze was good. But Malva was on another level.
He found more names.
EGNAR VS ELSA.
Elsa. The ice queen. Against Egnar—the grumpy, muscular trainer with a grudge. Briv didn't know much about Egnar. He knew the man was 35 and held grudges like they were family heirlooms.
He didn't envy Elsa's opponent.
SAMUEL VS NIKLAUS.
Samuel. Against Niklaus Eterngust. The cold-eyed strategist from the Eclipse Squad. The man who had watched Samuel's match with curiosity, like a scientist studying a specimen.
Briv looked at Samuel.
Samuel's face was pale. His dreadlocks hung still. His hands were clenched at his sides.
"I fight Niklaus," Samuel said.
"Yeah," Briv said.
"I lost to him before. In the qualifiers."
"You don't have to lose again."
Samuel didn't answer.
Briv found more names.
NICOLA VS DREW.
Nicola. Against Drew Saturday—the white-haired strategist with the tactical suit and the piercing pink eyes. A woman who combined scientific insight with field expertise.
Nicola was staring at the screen. Her expression hadn't changed.
"You fight Drew," Briv said.
"I know."
"She's smart."
"I know."
"She's—"
"Briv." Nicola looked at him. Her brown eyes were sharp. "I know who she is. I've studied her. I know what she does. And I'm going to beat her."
Briv nodded.
He believed her.
His eyes moved down the bracket again.
JENNY VS NICOLETA.
Nicoleta. The gothic party animal. Against Officer Jenny. The policewoman who had swept through Team Fifteen like a storm.
Briv didn't know Nicoleta well. But he had seen her around the League village—always surrounded by people, always laughing, always in control.
She would need that control against Jenny.
BELLE VS MALCOLM.
Belle. The bookish woman with the golden gown and the curious eyes. Against Malcolm Vane—the Eclipse Squad member who had dismantled Minnie without blinking.
Briv hadn't seen Belle fight. He didn't know what she was capable of.
But he knew Malcolm.
Malcolm was dangerous.
ENNUI VS CRIMSON.
Two members of the Angry Antelopes. Teammates. Friends. Now opponents.
Ennui—the tall, monotone goth with the bored expression. Crimson—the dark red dress, the fishnet tights, the stoic face.
They were standing near each other in the crowd. Neither one looked at the other.
Briv wondered what that felt like.
BIANCA VS MERT.
Bianca. The psychologist. The blonde with the warm smile. Against Mert—the drunk, the sex addict, the brute. A 54-year-old man who called women names when he was inside them.
Briv's stomach turned.
He didn't know Bianca well. But he knew she didn't deserve that.
GWEN VS JOHN.
Gwen. The goth with the turquoise streaks. Against John—Kay's father, the researcher, the scientist.
That was going to be interesting.
JOEL VS IRIS.
Joel. The eighteen-year-old with the PokeWatch and the arrogant smirk. Against Iris—the dragon-type trainer with the purple hair and the wild smile.
Joel was about to learn something.
ALEJANDRO VS RHOMIR.
Alejandro—the charming manipulator with the green eyes and open shirts. Against Rhomir—the mysterious, muscular, blonde-haired man with the dry humor.
Two men who knew how to play games.
COURTNEY VS KIM.
Courtney—the disciplined, ambitious trainer from the Angry Antelopes. Against Kim Possible—the athletic, resourceful hero with the auburn hair and the cargo pants.
Both of them were fighters.
Briv finished scanning the bracket.
His heart was pounding.
The host's voice boomed again.
"THE MATCHES WILL BEGIN SOON! BE READY, TRAINERS!"
The screen went dark.
The hall exploded into noise.
Briv turned to face his friends.
Patricia was already looking at him. Her blue eyes were calm. Her jaw was set.
"Jack Haywire," she said.
"Patricia—"
"I know what he did to Nicola." Her voice was quiet. "I know what he is. And I'm going to destroy him."
Briv reached for her hand. She let him take it.
"I'll be there," he said. "Watching. Every second."
"I know."
Dariana stepped closer. Her face was pale, but her smile was steady.
"I fight Jasmine," she said. "She's strong. But I've got Toxicroak now. And Gallade. And Vespiquen."
"You've got this," Nicola said.
"I know."
Samuel was still staring at the dark screen. His hands were shaking.
"Niklaus," he said. "Again."
"You can beat him," Briv said.
"I couldn't before."
"That was before. You've grown."
Samuel looked at him. His warm eyes were tired.
"Have I?"
Briv didn't answer.
Nicola stepped forward. Her Magnezone floated behind her, its magnets crackling with faint electricity.
"I fight Drew Saturday," she said. "She's smart. She's prepared. She's probably studied every match I've ever fought."
"And?" Patricia asked.
"And I'm going to do something she's never seen before."
She turned to Briv.
"You fight Chigusa."
"I know."
"She's fast. She's aggressive. She doesn't let up."
"I know."
"Don't underestimate her."
"I won't."
Nicola nodded. Her expression softened, just for a moment.
"Good."
The crowd was still buzzing. Trainers were already pulling out their phones, checking stats, reviewing old matches. The League village would be a warzone of preparation for the next few days.
Briv looked at his friends—his team, his family.
They were all going to fight alone now.
But they weren't alone.
Not really.
He pulled Patricia closer. He nodded at Nicola. He clapped Samuel on the shoulder. He smiled at Dariana.
"Let's go win," he said.
They went.
The night was cold when Briv stepped onto the balcony of the League dormitory. Aethelburg sprawled below him, a galaxy of crystal and light, the canals glowing blue, the floating bridges humming with traffic.
Patricia stood at the railing. Her blond hair moved in the wind. Her hands were wrapped around a cup of tea.
She didn't turn when he approached.
"Can't sleep?" he asked.
"No."
He stood beside her. The city stretched to the horizon, a monument to everything they were fighting for.
"I'm not afraid of Jack," she said. "I want you to know that."
"I know."
"I'm not."
"I believe you."
She turned. Her blue eyes glistened.
"But I'm angry," she said. "I'm so angry, Briv. Not just for Nicola. For everyone he's hurt. For everyone he's going to hurt if someone doesn't stop him."
Briv didn't answer. He just pulled her into his arms.
She pressed her face against his chest.
"I'm going to end him," she whispered.
"I know."
He held her tighter.
The city glowed below them.
Tomorrow, the matches would begin.
Tomorrow, everything would change.