Music in Media: Ball of Confusion by The Temptations

10 January, Monday, 1 p.m. | Winter

The staircase really meant one of the best places in Aspertia City, bordering on Route 19, known for its scenic view of trees and a mountain, and here, there, everywhere were dainty little snowflakes in a whistling breeze. If not for the music distortion, Rae knew her enjoyment of the place would be doubled.

The woman before her introduced herself as Lenora who was very glad to meet a lover of Normal-type like Rae. No time like the present to show her the new artifacts lying at the bottom of an ocean, held captive in an undersea temple called Abyssal Ruins. Surely that would leave an indelible mark on Rae's life?

"This is the Relic Crown." Lenora presented them the crown. "And I believe it has to do with the musical crisis we're currently facing."

The students marvelled at the legendary item, even Icosa and Rae. After all, the crown was only ever mentioned in textbooks and plays revolving around the legend of the Twin Heroes of Unova, the Hero of Truth and the Hero of Ideals, who were twin princes hoping to be king. In the end, both became kings of their own rights because equality for equality's sake, or the like, as the modern retelling would have it.

"But it's just a crown, right, Mrs Lenora?" A girl beside Rae twirled her hair and puckered her lips. "How can some old thing do anything to our world?"

Rae knew it was possible, especially if Ancient Power existed.

"You'll come to see that the old and the new aren't so separate after all," replied Lenora with a triumphant smile. "Besides, I can't put it back where it came from. Anyone else could retrieve it again."

"So you'll let it terrorise us?" A white boy raised his voice and ran about hollering to the world that "Mrs Lenora is being a bitch just 'cause she's got a crown now" before Cheren could stop him. His friends joined in and dashed down the stairs to call upon the residents of Aspertia. Elsewhere, a few students were recording the situation 'live' for giggles.

Lenora craned her neck and frowned when people pooled at the stairs. "That's not true! You know it ain't true! I will research and see what I can do about it!"

"Says every Professor ever!" Another boy stuck his tongue at her.

Rae grimaced at the racuous youths and turned to Icosa for help, but he, too, was at a loss, picking at his hair, wrapping his scarf twice, thrice round his lips till the top touched his flaring nostrils. Was this his way of calming down? Rae felt the urge to laugh. She didn't.

"Boys! Girls! Calm down!" Cheren cupped his mouth as he projected his voice across the area. Sweat dotted his brows as he gawked left and right. His students still occupied in "black terrorist alert!" and "I hate Mrs Lenora!" and "I wanna go home!" and other discomforting lines, he had no other choice but to declare an extraordinary battle would soon commence between him and Rae.

That did the trick.

Lenora gave him a ghost of a smile, her gratitude short-lived for the rancour merely took a backseat. Once the battle was over, they would no doubt bark at her like the insolent privileged brats they were. Save for the handful of students who were people of colour, who did little much to stop their peers from overreacting as they were awfully accustomed to their behaviour.

Yet such behaviour wasn't restricted to the children. Among the adults there were glares and arms thrown into the air and saliva spits and vulgar remarks. Rae was no stranger to racism, not when it was also an everyday occurrence in Johto, as it was in every other region, only that it didn't seem as hostile back at home. Or the grass was just greener on the other side, a wicked shade of green coated with an Applin's Apple Acid.

"We should have a warm-up battle before that," said Icosa to Rae as he stepped out of the silenced crowd. "Is that fine with you, Cheren?"

Cheren nodded with a harrumph.

"Very well," continued Icosa with his chest puffed up. "Form a circle 'round us if you wanna watch. This is the Johtonian Champion we have with us right here!"

A perfunctory round of applause and cheers rang through the discordant music. Rae figured they must be too uncomfortable with the change and had to distract themselves at all costs. She would certainly do her best. Noko-Noko wriggled out of her arms and slid onto the space before her. Icosa sent out his Whismur. At the corner of her eye, Cheren and Lenora backed away.

Icosa extended a hand to Rae. "You may have the first move."

Rae nodded. Whismur seemed like an easy opponent. She's faced worse.

"Noko-Noko, start off with Glare!"

The Dunsparce heeded her trainer and gave Whismur a paralysing glare.

"What speed! Whismur, Echoed Voice!"

Whismur's cries broke through the air. Rar had expected this. What else was Whismur capable of but sonorous moves?

"Noko-Noko, burrow time!"

This sent a series of outcries across the spectators. No one knew what "burrow time" meant except it was likely Dig, which then implied that this lil' Johtonian was just being fancy for nothing. Yes, Johtonians must enjoy exhibiting themselves, they concluded as Noko-Noko dug backwards into the ground with her drill-like tail, her eyes still fixed on her opponent.

"Don't let it get away, Whismur! Echoed Voice!"

The compound effect of Echoed Voice had just begun and Noko-Noko, a tad unnerved by the growing volume of the move, was for a moment arrested.

"Now's the chance! Echoed Voice to throw it out of its burrow!" Icosa ordered.

Rae refused to back down. "Counter with Screech!"

Now in midair, Noko-Noko released a ear-splitting screech and the sound waves both Pokémon emitted clashed and dissipated.

"So this is how a Champion battles," wondered a girl aloud. "But no one can defeat Big Bro Icosa!"

"Of course!" Icosa smirked. "Whismur, you know what happens if you lose this battle! Echoed Voice!"

What would happen to Whismur? Rae wondered as she analysed Icosa's battling style. Her brows knitted when she recalled that when frightened, Whismur's shrieks would be as deafening as having a jet plane pass overhead. And that would not do.

Noko-Noko somersaulted at least five times in the air before crashing into her burrow, having calculated the sweet landing spot. Rae gritted her teeth. If Screech did nothing to Whismur, it only confirmed her suspicions that the Pokémon had the Soundproof ability.

"Noko-Noko, Dig down!"

Rae didn't like running away, but she needed to bide her time. She had to understand the kind of person Icosa was. To manipulate his Pokémon through fear was to say he wasn't so decent a trainer, and hence, couldn't be a nice person. He was crafty, so to speak.

"Whismur, hold on a little."

The unusual order perturbed Rae. What was he planning exactly? What could Whismur be capable of? Another Echoed Voice to push Noko-Noko out of the ground? Well, this was soil and concrete they were dealing with. Sure, it was harsh of her to put Noko-Noko through this but the Pokémon was trained to drill her way through anything and no doubt could drill to the heavens and beyond. Besides, Noko-Noko trusted her more than anyone else.

The Dunsparce remained unseen for minutes. Everyone found Rae to be the most disgusting trainer in the universe, for which ruly trainer would play for time and keep everyone in suspense? If a battle was made for suspense then the only spectators would be Snorlax and Slaking. No, the point of Pokémon battles was thrill, was action. The inaction coming from both Rae and Icosa did nothing but aggravate the spectators. They would definitely understand a fellow Unovan, even if he migrated here, and would do little to understand a complete foreigner like Rae.

Then, at last, Icosa spoke. "Water Pulse into the burrow."

His tone was as cold as the water surging into the soil and concrete. Rae bit her lip. As long as Noko-Noko was down under, there was a chance the Dunsparce would suffer from the attack. Can a complex nest save her? Was it time to give another command? Should she wait it out?

Her eyes shook. Licking her lips, Rae decided to believe in Noko-Noko.

One minute passed without an outcome.

Then two.

Soon, five minutes had ticked by, and there was still no movement besides Whismur's non-stop Water Pulse. What kind of training regime did the Pokémon go through to achieve such stamina? Rae winced at the thought of any whipping and lashing, scolding and kicking from Icosa. But he couldn't be that cruel, right? He did seem like he prioritised rationale and reason, but he must preserve an ounce of sensibility and sensitivity within him.

"Stop."

Her voice was feeble, but sudden. It was enough to jolt everyone out of their daydreams, yet another distraction from the combo of flat and sharp xylophone notes lingering in the breeze. Cheren and Lenora whispered to one another that the battle was going on for too long, and perhaps Rae was right to stop it. After all, the crowd seemed to have been distracted enough to forget their attacks on Lenora.

Icosa crossed his arms. "Why should we stop? Are you that scared of losing?"

Rae pointed at Whismur. "Can't you see that your Pokémon's hurting?"

Rae recalled the Glare attack by Dunsparce earlier. To have been paralysed and act as if one were in perfect condition... Whismur can only be hurt in the process.

"It's not hurting. It's harnessing its fear. Watch." Icosa snapped his fingers. "Hyper Voice."

By now, the water must have flowed almost everywhere underground. Where there was a tunnel, there was probably water, and Noko-Noko wouldn't survive unscathed. In a matter of seconds, the Land Snake Pokémon shot out of the concrete steps, summoning a string of curses out of the nearby spectators who were now not only covered in shock but also copious amounts of dirt water.

"Noko-Noko!" Rae gasped as the Dunsparce hit an apple tree, causing it to rustle and drop a few apples. Some of the students picked them up and fought for the biggest apple. Their parents watched on, proud of their sons and daughters, born fighters who would claw their way up to victory. The white boy who insulted Lenora got the apple in the end, not before a tiny Caterpie poked out of its flesh. He screamed and threw the apple without watching. It hit Icosa on the chest, prompting a shriek.

"This is it! Whismur, Pound the tree till that Dunsparce falls off."

"No!" Rae skipped her way down the steps. Deep down, she wished for someone to intervene. Cheren was up there comforting the children. Lenora could do little because she was prejudiced against. She was on her own. "Noko-Noko! Roost!"

"Give it up, Champ," said Icosa as he meandered towards her and put a hand on her shoulder. Rae swatted it aside. "Woah, woah. Look, it's just a battle. I'm sorry if we shocked you, but Unovans are on a whole 'nother level."

Rae's mouth ran dry.

"Fine." Icosa sighed. "Whismur, get Dunsparce down. Safely."

Whismur climbed the tree and called out to Noko-Noko. Noko-Noko, rattled from the Water Pulse and its consequences, refused to budge.

"Heh. Your Pokemon's just like you," quipped Icosa.

"That's not true." Rae exhaled through her nose. "You went too far."

"I told you, Rae, it's how we battle here. There's no limit. You have to get used to this if you wanna challenge the League."

Rae's heart thumped. The League. If this was how the typical trainer in Unova was like, could she crawl her way into the League? Unova tossed to her a ball of confusion and she caught it. She didn't know what else to do with it now.

Noko-Noko slid her way down the bark to Rae after a while and Whismur gave Rae and Noko-Noko a sideways glance.

"Is that true? Are Pokémon battles in Unova always like this?" Rae lifted her chin at Icosa.

"Battles between the strong tend to be epic," Icosa said as he returned Whismur to its Poké Ball. "I misjudged you. You're too soft to be a Champion. Either that, or the trainers in Johto are weak."

Rae wanted to retort that this wasn't true. But what if it was, relatively? She didn't cross paths with many extraordinary trainers back at home. Everyone were just doing their best and spent more time forging bonds with their Pokémon. It was what they prioritised. It was why everyone was so riled up with breeding and caring for their Pokémon, encouraged by Professor Elm who discovered Pokémon lay eggs, as well as an interest in evolution, though the former took the bulk of his time. Could this have weakened them on the competitive edge?

"No, you're wrong, Icosa. You're wrong."

In Kanto, it was well known that Red's rival, Blue, didn't care for his Pokémon enough and merely trained them to be strong to best his rival. In Johto, there was Silver, who was cold and calculating. And now, she met someone on their calibre: Icosa Kalomiris.

She would show him what it meant to be a rival, alright. And a person, at that.

Rae caught the ball of confusion with her bare hands. She would polish it as she pleased.