The Dragons Games Update

While my nebula project sizzles for a bit, i worked on my favourite Garchomp story and bring to you the next chapter in the tale. Thank you so much for supporting me and hope this little early preview can do you justice.

(8218 words btw)

Chapter 6

Season High

1

By the end of the week, most of the construction equipment had departed, and to say the hall had been refurbished would have been an understatement, it was practically a whole new building. The front lawns had been layered with a healthy bed of mulch, already home to pockets of fresh seedlings and colourful bromeliads. The concrete path ringing three of the buildings four sides were smooth and grey, the noticeable cracks from before covered over. The external bricks, weathered by months of weather and neglect, had been either replaced or painted over, the windows that spaced them apart refitted with glass that was actually intact, foregoing the preciously crack-house-like appearance Jim had come to expect from the structure.

The sloped roof was painted blue, the angled tiles contrasting neatly against the brown bricks and white outlines of the pair of glass entry doors, which had been upgraded with silver locks built into the handles, replacing the faded padlocks of old with some modern security.

“It feels like they’ve knocked it over and built it back up, but it’s still the same building,” Cassidy mused, craning her long head up to examine the building just as he was. For the last few days the pair had been studying and submitting their assignments, the Garchomp’s critical eye keeping Jim’s grades from slacking. There’d been a moment of silent reflection for the young man at one point, when he’d taken the initiative and asked the Garchomp if they could go over their last report. Not because he was worried it needed more work, but because he’d had an epiphany to try and make his arguments stronger, Cassidy blinking when she added his own ideas to her papers.

He’d actually had… fun, while doing it. It was truly a wonder for the ages, and when they’d heard the hall was ready for students again, a part of him was a little disappointed they had to hop off the study grind. Was this what it felt like to be inspired to learn?

They walked into the main lobby, which sort of looked like an airlock with the two pairs of doors, designed so that the sound outside didn’t bleed so much inside. Someone had installed a bag rack against one of the walls, a certain Typhlosion squatting there as she fished through her bag.

When she looked up at the pair, Jim recoiled at the sight. Not only was her face a shade lighter than her usual demeanour exuberated, but she was exposing her teeth, her lips pulled up and backwards. Some would call that expression a smile, but it was a bit too sinister for Jim’s taste.

“Cass, Jim! Have you seen what they’ve done to this place?!” Kendra asked.

“No we just got here,” Jim replied. “Any good?”

“Good is an understatement. Come on, I’ll give you the tour, the rest of the club is already inside.”

She moved over and pushed the next set of doors aside, the pair following behind her. Too many things stood out to Jim all at once, the young man blinking in surprise as he regarded the new and very much improved interior.

First thing of note was the smell. Gone was that musty, wood-saw riddled stench that lingered like a bad odour, instead replaced with a cool, air-conditioned room temperature that smelled as clean as a greenhouse.

Second was the stage. Huge velvet drapes as red as wine flanked the sides of the raised, wooden platform that seemed a little grander than before. He could just make out tall support columns behind and above the stage, connect by walkways that people could use to manoeuvre about the stage without being seen by the audience.

A huge empty space before the stage acted as a buffer between it and the stands, the varnished wood shining as it caught the light of the ceiling floodlights, which were tinted blue instead of yellow now, making the whole scene easier on the eyes.

Last was the audience stands, and even Cinemax would have been jealous of the accommodations. The chairs were big enough to support Pokémon, with comfortable-looking leather backrests cushioned in all the right places, the seats closer to the walls curving slightly inward so the people sitting there wouldn’t have to turn their heads so much to look at the stage. Over a hundred people easy could fit inside, double that if they were to fill the empty buffer zone with extra chairs.

“As you can see, we’ve got a lot more space to work with,” Kendra said, turning to the pair like a tourguide as she gestured behind her. “To help with this, we can control the floodlights to get just the right amount of light and the perfect angle, using this handy control panel over here.”

To the right side of the stage, there was a square box mounted on the wall, the buttons inside labelled with different functions for the lights. “These buttons only work if you insert this key the principal provided me with, so there’s less chance of someone pranking us.” Kendra demonstrated how to dim the lights.

“Is that a coffee machine?” Jim asked, leaving the tour to examine said appliance. It was set up on a simple trestle table along with a tray of finger foods Jim helped himself to. “You guys got the proper digs now, huh?”

“Quite,” Kendra muttered. “Take one beverage only thank you. They’ve also installed a couple of technical features for the stage, follow me.”

Passing a group of Pokémon reciting a group dance, watched over by a few new faces, they moved up the side of the stage, until they were on a metal platform hidden behind one of the curtains. From here Jim got a clean look at the stage and the overarching walkways. This looked like some kind of control area, where one could keep track of everything happening behind the scenes.

“This control board does a lot of the hard work for us,” Kendra continued, moving over to a circular desk that looked as complicated as an airliner cockpit, hundreds of different coloured buttons blinking away at random. Kendra started pointing at different switches. “This one closes and opens the curtains, so we don’t have to have designate someone to do that for us. This one is a master switch for all the lights, and this one controls the speaker volumes.”

“This is like Jigsaw’s control room,” Jim noted. “All you need now is to set up a bunch of cameras.”

“I’ve never seen that movie, so I’ll take that as a compliment,” Kendra replied. “I’ve never realised just how much I’ve needed this until now, especially with all these new members and the extra room. With this intercom I might as well be my own little principal inside these walls.”

“Intercom?” Cassidy asked.

The Typhlosion gestured at a microphone stand jutting from the control dash. “It’s only one way, and I can reach everyone from here without having to run around like a chicken without its head. There’s a setting here to control which rooms can hear me.”

“Neat,” Jim said, leaning down and hitting the onbutton, his mouth against the microphone. “Breaker 1-9. Breaker. Breaker.”

His voice reverberated throughout the hall through several unseen speakers, loud and a little distorted, Kendra slapping him away while Cassidy stifled a chuckle. “That thing is not a toy, you dolt,” Kendra scolded. “Mrs. Felix is backstage!”

“There’s a backstage now?” Cassidy asked.

“Indeed there is,” Kendra said, perking up as she resumed the tour. They ringed around the stage proper, a corridor curving round until a long corridor with several doors stood before them, each frame labelled with a sign.

“We have dedicated change and makeup rooms,” Kendra said, raising a hand. “along with a planning room and recital area. A break room too. All airconditioned,” she added, grinning as Jim nodded in admiration.

They went into one of the makeup rooms, the far wall completely mirrored, depicting the rows of stools setup before a couple pairs of sinks and shelves stacked with eyeliner and makeup, along with other facial cosmetics Jim couldn’t identify. He whistled in surprise as he took it all in.

“They went all out with this place,” he said. “Don’t you think Cass?”

“It’s a little overwhelming,” she said with a nervous chuckle. “We’ll have to really pull off something big to make sure this wasn’t all for nothing. Speaking of which…” She turned knowingly to the Typhlosion. “what is our play going to be about?”

“We’ll get to that,” Kendra replied. “For now I want to make sure the new people know what they’re doing, and I’ll need your help determining who gets the major and minor roles. Both of you,” she added, giving Jim a look.

“You’re not going to snag the main character for yourself?” Jim asked. “I’ve just realised I’ve never seen you act before, Kendra.”

“I am the leader,” Kendra snapped, raising a defensive hand. “if it wasn’t for me none of us would be here right now. And I can act,” she added, like she needed to justify herself. “I’d act your feedback right into the ground if we had the time.”

“You’d make a good villain, no doubt about that,” Jim replied.

They ended the tour and returned to the foyer. The rest of the drama club assembled around the stage, most of them in high spirits thanks to the refurbishments. Jim had only briefly seen the hall in such a sorry state, so the effect must be doubly so for the original members.

“Listen up everybody,” Kendra began, clambering onto the stage, standing head and shoulders above the club like an announcer. “I’ve typed out a list of scenes we’re going to rehearse today, Cassidy’s handing them out. We’re going to split into two groups, mine and Jim’s. We’ll be marking down who’s working well in which area, and who’ll be playing what in our final play.”

“Please tell me these are drafts,” Sasha said, the Salazzle holding her sheet like it was a dirty loo roll.

“Prototypes,” Kendra added, scowling at her old friend. “nothing solid yet, but these are the general ideas.”

“So you haven’t even written what we’ll be doing on the big day?” Sasha sighed. “Old habits die hard, huh?”

It was unfortunate that Cassidy got put in Kendra’s group, the Typhlosion probably wanting Jim to concentrate rather than chat her up, but at least he got to know some of the new faces. He felt a sense of power when people found out they were being put in hisgroup and no the surly Typhlosion’s, like he was the cool teacher or something.

As Kendra separated the last of the club, he felt a pang of apprehension as Sasha walked his way, the Salazzle’s gaze falling on his own. She’d certainly been provocative the last time they’d spoken, and he worried over what she might try now that Cassidy wasn’t around.

She cocked her hips in a way his eyes couldn’t resist, raising an arm at him. “What position do you want me in, Jim?”

“I beg your pardon?” he asked incredulously.

“Our lines,” she clarified, a knowing grin on her long snout as she held up her sheet. “All these characters are unnamed. Are we picking our lines, or are you?”

He looked at his group of ten or so, a mix of mostly Pokémon with a few human girls. He glanced at Kendra’s side of the hall, seeing she was already bossing them around. Maybe he should lead by example. “I’ll pick,” he said, looking at his script. Each line was colour-coded for each character, typed out like a transcript in a bland font. “Red looks like they’ve got a lot of words, think you can handle that, Sasha?”

“I’m a big girl, of course I can,” she replied. He assigned the rest of the group to a different colour, then had them act out the scene. It was some medieval play with a few sci-fi spins here and there, some of the characters clearly made for the Pokémon specifically, the rest of the generic cast going to the humans. Jim guessed having the dragon burning down the village while talking would be an interesting twist.

After the better part of an hour practicing, Jim called for a break, helping himself to a coffee Amelia the Lapras was glad to make for him. As his group split off to chit-chat, he saw that Sasha was sitting by herself in the stands, her script in hand. If what she’d told him about her and Kendra’s past was true, maybe some of the club was still wary of her, or perhaps she was a loner. Either way, he decided to be tactful and walk over.

“You don’t have to commit the lines to memory,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee. “you heard Kendra, they’re just prototypes.”

“Knowing her, this won’t go through many changes until it’s finished,” the Salazzle replied, not looking away from the paper.

“You were pretty good as Red, by the way,” he continued. “I might just recommend you the part.”

“Is that a compliment?” she asked, deigning to glance up at him. “Red is the villain of the act. She manipulates and schemes, even turns one of the good characters to the dark side. How original.”

“If it ain’t broke,” he said, but the saying seemed lost on Sasha. “I’m just saying it wouldn’t make sense to have a Lapras or a Sylveon be the bad guy.”

“Oh, and I suppose you think myType are more suited to being evil, hmm?” Sasha asked, glaring up at him.

He began to shake his head. “Well… I am, yes,” he relented. “But that’s only because you guys can do that stink thing.”

“‘Stink thing’?” She shrugged.

“You know, the whole mind-trick stuff. Funny enough my friend wanted to know if Salazzles could really take control of people with their smells.”

“Oh right, your ‘friend’ wants to know.” She gave him a knowing smile.

“No, really! His name’s Isaac, bit of a dick, anyway as soon as he heard me talk about you he wanted to know if it was a thing.”

“You were talking about me? I knew I was infectious, but this is quick for a human to be so enamoured.”

“So is it true or not?” he asked, ignoring her comment. He couldn’t tell if Sasha was angry or was flirting with him, maybe the lines were blurred for Salazzles.

“Why don’t you tell him yourself?” she asked, patting the seat beside her. “Sit down.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her, wary of whatever she was planning but still moving over to sit beside her, his curiosity overpowering his logic. The leather creaked as he leaned back into the seat, his earlier remark about the chairs confirmed – these were really comfy seats.

“Calling it a stink is a simplistic explanation,” Sasha explained, crossing one long leg over the other. “Our pheromones are a lot more potent than a humans and even most other Pokémon’s are. And even though your sense of smell is lacking, we can regulate the potency to something your body reacts to all the same. Think of it like changing a thermostat to just the right temperature.”

“How do you do that?” he asked, his nose twitching as a scent permeated him. Now that he was so close, he realised a certain floral smell lingered around the Salazzle like a perfume. He hadn’t noticed it back when they first met, maybe because she wasn’t making a conscious effort like she was now.

“Like that,” she said, grinning at his reaction. “It’s a hard process to describe to someone who isn’t a Salazzle. Imagine if… you could sweat at will, you could control your pores, it’s a little like that, only instead of sweat, it’s my pheromones. It takes a little experimenting to gauge how potent a smell needs to be to influence someone, everyone’s different.”

“So how hard do you have to fart to get me to dance?” he asked, Sasha giggling as she scratched her snout thoughtfully.

“Give me a few minutes and we’ll find out,” she cooed. “I don’t think your dragon friend would appreciate me making you my toy, though.”

“So you can control minds?”

“Not exactly. I can coerce your impulses, but nothing so dramatic. I once made this complete whiskey dick of a guy pour his drink over his friend’s head, but that was only after months of adjusting my pheromones to get just the right scent he couldn’t resist.”

“That’s sick,” he said. “Can’t be an easy skill to train. Think of all the good grades you could get if you could woo a professor.”

“You sweet boy, Jim, that’s only the tip of the iceberg of what I could do. With time I could influence anyone to do a lot more interesting things. Getting a certain someone to stop ogling a certain Garchomp, for example.”

“And would that certain someone start ogling a certain farting lizardess? Keep dreaming,” he said with a grin. “I’m wearing nose plugs from here on out.”

“Don’t play so hard to get, it won’t do you any favours.”

He found himself laughing along with her, her lilting giggles infectious for some reason. They chatted for a while longer, Jim finding out that Sasha was studying medicine for her subjects, a career her mother was a part of.

“You could be one of those, ah, what are they called?” Jim mused. “The people who put people under before surgery and stuff?”

“An anesthesiologst?” Sasha tried.

“Yeah, anesthosi… anesthe… those guys! Only you could just stink all over them and keep them happy, save the docs some money on the gas.”

“Stop calling it stink,” Sasha sighed, smiling despite her obvious annoyance. They started talking about himself, but before they got very far they heard footsteps approach, the pair turning to see Cassidy coming over, her heavy feet rumbling the wooden floor.

“What are you doing?” the Garchomp asked, hands planted on her wide hips. “This is rehearsals, not lunch.”

Jim checked his watch, his smile faltering. “Damn, lost track of time.”

“We’ve already decided our roles,” Sasha said, meeting the Garchomp’s gaze and touching her chest. “I will be bringing this club some much needed beauty and stage presence.”

“How? Got a friend coming in late?” Cassidy asked, Sasha giving her a scowl. Jim glanced between the two Pokémon, not sure who he should look at.

“Simple joke from a simple girl,” Sasha replied. “Who will you be playing, the girl who can’t sing, or the girl who can’t play? Maybe both? If you want to save this club you’ll need more than a stupid banjo to do it.”

“It’s a ukelele, and I don’t think sitting around chatting will help anyone, you’re lucky Kendra hasn’t come over yet.”

“Sure, she might actually have a reason to interrupt us besides your petty interests,” Sasha waved a disinterested hand. Cassidy bared her teeth as she growled, a sound so low Jim felt it more in his bones than his ears. Sasha likewise exposed her pearly teeth as the two stared each other down.

“Okaaaay,” Jim interrupted, stepping between them. “I think we should get back to it, all of us. Kendra will start flaming out if we’re all out here doing nothing.”

Cassidy immediately hid her teeth from his view, while Sasha took a few moments longer, sighing as she spun on the spot. “Whatever,” the Salazzle said. “Come on, Jim, lets leave before the ‘ness tells on us.”

Before he followed her back to their group, he turned to Cassidy, the dragoness fixing him with an impatient glare. “Everything okay, Cass? We were just talking.”

“She was using her pheromones on you, I could smell them from the other side of the hall.”

He was feeling a little different now that Sasha wasn’t nearby. “Really? I couldn’t smell anything.

“Exactly.” She rolled her eyes at him.

“I guess she was, then. Sorry,” he added, though he wasn’t sure why he did. Was he and Cass a thing yet? She’d given him that lick, they worked together well, he was definitely attracted to her, but did she reciprocate those feelings?

Her expression softened instantly, like the Garchomp knew exactly what he was thinking, quick to change to subject. “How’s the Mythics going?” she asked. “You’ve all got a game in two days, right?”

Although she’d made a point of him and Sasha wasting time chatting, it seemed whatever she had to say was more important, not that Jim minded. “Two, yep, another home game. You gonna be there?”

“I believe the cheerleaders go wherever the team goes, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, feeling silly for asking. “I guess I haven’t really thought about that before.”

“I wonder why,” she replied coyly, giving him a playful shove on the arm that turned him towards his group of actors. “Now get back to it, Jim, we’ll talk more after.”

“I’m going, I’m going.”

2

With the initial qualifier games weeks behind them, the real meat of the season was coming into play, bringing the attention of more and more people with each game that passed. The stands were close to capacity this time around, the spectators sitting in huge dualities of colours, numerous mums wearing oversized jerseys to show their support for their boys, fathers holding beers as they stood around waiting for the kick-off, and of course, the sisters and brothers who were more interested in their phones than watching their siblings chase balls around.

It wasn’t as popular as the national games one would see on TV, with packed stadiums surrounding consistently mowed grass that met government regulations, but it was still a massive turn out, as the Novas were quite the rival team of the Mythics, second only to the hardened Spartans. In the years prior the Novas and Mythics always had a similar matchup, one never taking a good lead over the other in terms of wins.

“File in everyone,” Mr Bahril grumbled, the boys plucking at their purple jerseys as they settled in before the whiteboard. Jim had arrived at the change rooms just in time, no drama club holdups unlike last game, something the coach was pleased to see. He had only been yelled at three times since changing.

“As you’re all aware, the Nova’s are our next targets, and you’ve all smashed them at least three times before,” Mr Bahril continued, holding up his coloured marker. “But that means they’ve smashed us three times in the past as well! They drove all the way down here with smiles on their faces, so let’s send them back upstate frowning like a bunch of Squidwards.”

With those inspiring words, it was time to play, a round of applause welcoming the Mythics as they jogged onto the field. There was no welcoming banner this time, but the cheerleaders were all Jim could ask for, set up in a V-shaped pair of lines just outside the change room exit, pom-poms shaking in the air, each strand glittering as they caught the light, their legs pointing in differing angles with all the finesse of ballerina dancers.

To say that Cassidy was the star of the parade need not be said, the Garchomp donning her usual white tank top and purple skirt, the getup barely containing her impressive figure. She flashed him a particularly sultry smile as he jogged by, her skirt revealing portions of her thighs as she rolled her waist from side to side, Jim almost tripping as he forgot what he was supposed to be doing for a second.

Gavin and the Nova’s captain headed over to the referee, the other team jogging on at roughly the same time, the crowd going suspiciously quiet despite their fair share of Nova supporters. Who won the coin flip was an important factor in any game, but that wasn’t what Jim and the other boys were looking at.

“Guys?” Matty asked. “Look.”

In the middle of the Nova team was a spot of orange, one of the players strolling into view, and unlike the rest of the team, this one wasn’t a human.

An elongated head with two horns sprouting from the back turned its gaze on the Mythics, held upright by a long neck. A pair of thick, muscular arms sprouted from a torso as wide as an engine block, the scales the colour of a sunset, three clawed fingers rubbing against the palms expectantly. Legs that were comparable to telephone poles shifted on the painted grass, ending in three white talons that dug into the turf with each step.

From its back sprouted a pair of small, blue wings, seemingly disproportionate to the rest of the large creature, flapping like flags in the wind. What looked like an orange anaconda trailed along the ground behind it, but this was actually the things tail, the very tip of it ignited in perpetual flame.

The Charizard stood a head taller than the rest of the humans, regarding the Mythics with an icy glare. With all the varying capabilities of Pokémon, it was very difficult to fairly balance two sports teams with differing Types – a team with a Lucario would fare better than one without one, for example – and ever since Jim could remember sports had been mostly constricted to humans only when it came to official games like this one.

“What the fuck is that, ref?!” Isaac exclaimed, the rest of the Mythics joining in as they complained. “Why the hell does that Charizard have a jersey on?”

It explained why the crowd hadn’t been cheering all that much, Jim turning to see some of the spectators were throwing their hands up in exasperation, some of them shouting out very impolite things directed to the dragon.

“Don’t raise your voice at me,” the referee chided. “We’re here to play, and no rules have been broken. You got a problem with that you deal with it off my field.”

“Are you stupid?” Isaac asked. “This is complete bullshit, we don’t have a fucking dragon on our side! How come they do?”

“Enough, man,” Jim said, pulling his friend back by the shoulder. “He’ll send you off if you keep swearing at him.”

“This is bullshit,” Isaac repeated. “I’m calling a time out.”

He held his hands up, making the letter T with his hands. The crowd was getting restless, whether because of the delay or the Charizard, it wasn’t clear. Mr. Bahril came jogging over to the team, Matty raising a hand at him. “Coach did you know about this?”

“No, I didn’t,” Mr. Bahril replied. Jim had never seen him so concerned before, outside of a bad practice session, that is. “I’ve put in a call to the principal, but he’s not answering. I don’t think he’ll want to can the game now, anyway, it’s too late.”

“But what are we supposed to do against that orange fuck?” Isaac asked, his hands raised in confusion.

“You do what you always do, and kick their asses,” the coach said. “Their whole team could be dragons and it wouldn’t matter, you boys have trained for this. Wherever he goes, back up whoever gets in his way, support each other. You’ve got this, show these Nova’s not even a Pokémon will help get them to the finals.”

It seemed there was no other choice, and with those final words, the Mythics set up their standard positions, Jim heading to the left sideline, turning to watch the Charizard fall out with his own team. Please don’t come left, please don’t come left, please don’t-

The Charizard took up the left centre, Jim cursing under his breath as he basically faced off against the dragon. He could see Cassidy and the cheerleaders just off to the side, the girls scowling in confusion. When he met Cassidy’s eyes she just shrugged, this whole game had turned on its head.

The grating noise of the play off siren sounded off from the score box, Gavin booting the ball well over to the right. The Nova’s gradually gave up space for breathing room, but the Charizard held its ground, and Jim stopped in his tracks, a deep fear in his guts keeping him from getting close to the Pokémon. He could crush Jim like a bug, and the Charizard knew it, flashing Jim an irritating grin despite being offside.

The Nova’s worked up the field after one of them caught the ball, gaining ground every tackle, the ball passing slowly off to the right until it landed in the Charizard’s hands, who gunned it for the Mythics centre. Matty and one of the other boys stood bravely in his way, but the Charizard ploughed through them, the boys knocked aside like bowling pins as the dragon dove for the tryline, throwing up its arms in victory as the referee whistled for a successful try.

Matty and the others shouted all manner of obscenities, the referee holding up a defensive hand as they crowded him to argue, Jim too far away to hear what they were saying. The Charizard high-fived his team as he sauntered over to the sideline, flexing his powerful muscles at the crowd. Some were impressed, but the fanatic Mythic supporters booed him off, yet the dragon’s attention was elsewhere. He was gazing right at the cheerleaders, and he called out to them with his low, rumbling voice.

“Why don’t you girls come cheer on a real team?”

Jim wasn’t a perceptive guy, but he knew the Charizard’s eyes were lingering on Cassidy as he ran back to position, a pang of jealousy swelling up in his chest. He wanted to call out something, but he was too far away, and the crowd was right there – who knew if those government sponsors were here watching right now.

The next kick-off dragged over to the right, the Mythics trying to keep the ball away from the Charizard. A poor call from the ref cut the advance short, apparently Isaac had forward-passed to someone, and the ball turned over. The Nova’s passed the ball gently down the field, the Charizard waiting with his claws open, gunning it into Gavin and a few boys who came to intercept, the humans managing to bring the Pokémon down together after the dragon crawled a few extra meters.

On the reset, the Charizard would hang back until he was onside, then the ball would fly into his hands the next tackle. Jim knew what they were doing, the Novas were using the Charizard to spear themselves forward using his sheer brute-force, and there was little the Mythics could do if one of the bigger centres wasn’t there to stop him.

The set continued, the Novas coming right up against the try line, scoring by the limited distance alone as one of the human Novas barreled through, they were down two to none already. As the Novas cheered themselves on Matty jabbed a finger at one of them. “You’d all be fucked without that orange asshole carrying you, so shut the hell up!”

The Novas cursed Matty back, one of them pushing the Mythic away roughly, Isaac and the others nearby coming to his aid. The two teams exchanged heated words, the referee coming in to break it up. In the next kick-off, the tackles slowly started getting rougher, both the Mythics and the Novas purposefully digging their boots into the other team’s players, feigning ignorance if the ref called them out, grasping for any penalty they could get, things were getting hairy.

Once more the ball found itself in the Charizard’s hands, the Novas pulling to the right, or Jim’s left, the Mythics pulling back into a stronger defence. The Mythic to Jim’s right darted in to stop the charging dragon, but he couldn’t find a grip on the Pokémon’s scaley arm, falling to the ground while the Charizard barrelled through.

Jim found himself in the Charizard’s path, the Pokémon charging him down like an oncoming, orange freight train. Every bone in his body urged him to get out of the way, but if he did they’d be down three to nothing. He had to do something.

Rather than fall back, he would lunge forward, try and stop the dragon in his tracks. That was all well and good, but his legs decided they’d sit this one out, and he just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights of an incoming eighteen-wheeler as the Charizard get closer and closer.

At least his arms went out to brace himself, but all he felt in the next moment was pain. The Charizard led with his shoulder, planting it dead centre in Jim’s chest. It was like he’d been hit with a cannonball, his lungs emptying as he momentarily lost contact with the ground, his limbs trailing after his torso as he was launched backwards, sheer momentum from the dragon sending him flying meters away.

Pain shot up through his spine as he hit the ground, his head snapping onto the dirt a second after. He left a streak mark of upturned dirt in the field, marking his travel path before he settled there, his ears ringing and his vision blurring. He had just enough awareness to sense the Charizard off to his right, slowed down just enough by Jim’s freezing up for another Mythic to intercept, the bodies piling up somewhere nearby.

He grappled at a scaley, orange leg as he flipped over, joining the tackle even as the worst headache he’d ever felt pulsed through his skull. An irritating whistle sounded off nearby, the referee gesturing there was a knock-on. The Charizard must have dropped it.

The crowd booed and jeered, clearly unimpressed with the display, the Charizard ignoring them as he grinned down at Jim, satisfied with himself. Someone put a hand on Jim’s back, sitting him up, Isaac kneeling beside him as he snapped his fingers.

“Jim? Jim can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Fuck off, dude,” Jim said, slapping his hand away. “I’m… good.” Jim shook his head to clear the dizziness, stumbling to his feet. There was a flurry of purple movement from the side, Jim’s scowl lifting as Cassidy gripped him by the arm.

“My god, are you okay?” she asked. “That looked… very painful.”

“Okay, shmokay,” he slurred, blinking as her face went all blurry. “Don’t know why there are two of you, though…”

“Don’t be such a pussy,” the Charizard grumbled, turning his gaze on Cassidy. There was a certain desire in his reptilian eyes that made Jim feel sick. “Hey, Garchomp, forget this wimp, he’s not worthy of a dragon’s attention.”

“Get lost, chubs,” Cassidy snarled, the Charizard shrugging indifferently as he turned away, flexing his muscles for the rest of the cheerleaders as he and his team moved out.

Mr. Bahril called for a time-out, throwing his hands up as he argued with the ref, likely trying to get the Charizard off the field, but the ref wasn’t budging. When the ref signalled for the game to continue, Jim stumbling as he got back to position, the crowd was near unanimous in its displeasure, booing and even throwing empty cups onto the field.

The two teams didn’t look quite sure if they should keep going or not, but after the ref whistled again, more harshly this time, they played ball, their growing distaste for each other fuelling their efforts. Luck eventually swung in the Mythics favour, scoring a try as they closed in on half-time, but Jim didn’t feel confident about dashing up field if and when the ball came to his possession, he was feeling nauseous, random bouts of dizziness coursing through him even when he was standing still.

The clock slowly ticked, and Jim caught the ball when it came his way, dashing for the opening in the Novas defence. The Charizard was there on his left, but power didn’t equal speed for the dragon, and Jim managed to fake out the dragon and dash the other way, the Charizard going down hard as he tried too hard to change his momentum.

The field ahead was clear, but Jim’s foot caught on something. The Charizard had extended his tail out and caught his boot, Jim falling flat on his face as the Novas tackled him down, his growing frustration with the dragon only increasing as he rolled the ball between his legs for the next play.

The ball switched sides with minimal ground gained, and it was only a matter of time before the Charizard barrelled his team through to victory. Each tackle was chased by a push-and-shove bout that got more and more heated with each change over, the Charizard laughing it off all the while as he revelled in his success. Jim hated this dragon, something had to be done, but what? Jim was lighter than the Charizard, and way smaller, and they’d run out of time outs to discuss strategy, what could they do?

Then it came to him, the memory of him and Cassidy walking down to the fields, right after they’d helped out Edwardo from the bullies. She’d said something about dragon’s having a weak spot, but his head was killing him as he struggled to remember. The horns, that was it! She’d said the hearing drums went right up into them. Consequences be dammed, he had to teach this dragon a lesson.

The next time the Charizard came charging in towards Jim, the young man was ready. If the Novas wanted to play dirty, he’d do the same. He didn’t freeze up this time, Jim stepping to the side as the dragon came running. His horns looked like a pair of bicycle handles jutting from his skull, and that’s exactly how Jim treated them, snapping his hands out to grip the two prongs, and pulling down hard.

He'd watched videos of people pulling the reins on a wild horse, and now he knew how they felt, the Charizard snarling loudly as he tried to buck the human off, rearing into the air as he arched his powerful spin, but Jim’s grip was firm, and he couldn’t believe his eyes as he literally brought a dragon down with nothing but a hard tug.

The ball tumbled away as the Charizard clutched his head, elbowing Jim in the ribs, the young man finally falling away and thumping to the turf. Now the dragon looked like how Jim felt, his orange hands clutching his head like he’d suddenly had a migraine.

“Who’s the wimp now, huh?” Jim jeered, the Charizard rubbing his temple as he muttered under his breath. It felt good to see the dragon like that, and he wasn’t about to waste making him eat his own words.

The Pokémon glared at him, his teeth parting to expose a throat broiling with fire. Before Jim had time to react, the Charizard pounced, rolling on top of him and clocking him in the jaw. Jim’s face exploded with pain, but he managed to brace his arm just in time from a follow-up, vaguely hearing the crowd going hog-wild as he delivered a swift jab into the side of the Charizard’s skull. Sensitive was an understatement, he might as well have crushed the dragon’s brain from the following reaction, the Pokemon growling furiously as he clutched at his face.

He rolled on the ground to try and kick the dragon off him, dirt getting in his eyes as he struggled with the dragon’s horrendous weight, and then someone came flying in from the side. Isaac looked like a diver from Jim’s perspective, torpedoing into the Charizard’s side and sending the both of them falling away, Jim sucking in a breath as the weight on his chest lifted.

His friend started laying into the dragon, another Nova player pulling Isaac off the dragon, proceeding to punch Isaac in the stomach.The rest of the Mythics came in as a tide of flying fists, which the Novas met with their own, a full-blown brawl beginning right there where the dragon was laying.

Jim didn’t have much time to collect himself, being hauled to his feet by the referee who felt the need to blow his whistle right in Jim’s ear. “You’re off!” the man yelled. “No punching on my field! Break it up, all of you!”

The ref pushed Jim towards the sideline, delving into the team fight and failing to stop it, not that there was much he could do, not after so much growing distaste the teams had for each other.

Holding his head, Jim gave the brawl a wide berth. He wanted to join in, but something was definitely wrong, everything was off balance, like he could feel the world spinning beneath him, and he felt like he’d throw up any second. Plus, his lip stung when he licked it, it was probably cut.

Cassidy came running over, and for once Jim didn’t want her around to see him like this. She gripped him by the arm and looked him up and down, her expression hardening as she examined him.

“Your nose,” she said. “Damn it, Jim why’d you hit that Charizard? He could have killed you!”

“Asshole deserved it,” he said, but what actually came out was: “Ass, derves it.” Complete gibberish.

Her face softened as she took his arm into hers, supporting his weight as she led him off the field. “My god. Alright, come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

3

Cassidy brought Jim into the bathroom next to the Mythics locker room, glad to find both of them empty. The Charizard had done a number on him the way his mangled face stared back at him from the mirror – his nose was bent and bloodied, there was blood trailing from his lip, and he was covered in dirt and sweat.

The Garchomp wet a piece of paper beneath the faucet, Jim wincing as she pushed it against his nose. “Don’t move,” she warned, wiping the blood away. “Is this a regular thing for you, Jim? Fighting every guy you come across? First the bullies, now this…”

“You saw how the game was going,” he protested, though there wasn’t much conviction behind his words. “We were getting smashed, and he knew we couldn’t beat him.”

“That’s no reason to get in a fight over some stupid game,” she sighed, glancing at him as her words echoed through the bathroom. “I’m sorry,” she added. “I know this all means a lot to you, but you shouldn’t have let him provoke you like that.”

“… I know,” he relented. “Hitting another player could get me banned for life, not to mention those sponsors will hear about this…”

“That’s not what I… never mind.” She dropped the bloodied paper in the sink and fetched a new one. “Hold this on your lip,” she said, passing it to him as she washed her hands. “It was a silly idea I admit, letting a dragon on their team.. I had no idea games could get so rough.”

“I… just had to do something, you know?” he said. “The way he was talking to you, a-and what he said…” he trailed off, feeling so stupid. He’d lashed out and what had it gotten him? A bloodied face and a bad rep in front of all those people, including Cassidy. They might not even win the game anyway, to top it all off.

“Said, what?” Cassidy asked, cupping her scaley palm in the water, then rubbing it on his cheek, washing more of his drying blood off.

“The whole thing about a dragon’s attention,” he mumbled. “I saw the way he was looking at you, I couldn’t just… stand by that.”

“Oh, Jim,” she sighed. “you think just because he’s a dragon like me I’d be into that?”

Jim didn’t even have the dignity to shrug, glaring at the mirror as he scolded himself. Now he had to act like a jealous kid in front of her, good going…

“Dragon couples are very common,” she continued, giving him a timid grin. “But, I think I’m more into humans lately…”

“Huh?” he asked, Cassidy cupping his chin in her clawed hand. She drew him closer, her generous bosom squashing against his chest as their frames pressed together. Angling his head up so that he faced her, she brought his lips to hers, Jim’s heart stopping as she started to kiss him. She did not possess lips in the normal sense, but her scales were flush and as smooth as glass, their texture pleasant against his skin as she gently bit on his lower lip, doing her best to use her snout like a mouth. She had closed her eyes during the movement, but Jim had not, looking around wildly as she deepened her kiss, too surprised to do any reciprocating on his end.

She broke away, grinning down at him as he regained his senses. He went to speak, sputtering out the first few words before coming to. “D-Do I have a concussion, or did that just happen?”

She giggled, grabbing his hand and washing away the dirt and grim on it. “I don’t know about the concussion, but yes, it did. You might have acted the fool out there, but you’re sweet, and you listen to me. That thing about our horns being sensitive? I didn’t think you’d actually need to use that information. I have to admit some part of me was impressed you brought that Charizard down.”

“Swept him right off his horns,” he chuckled, reaching up to mime the gesture. “if that’s what it takes for another one of those kisses, maybe I should fight other guys more often.”

“Please don’t,” Cassidy chided, her words betrayed by her soothing touch as she held his hand in hers. “There are other ways you can get to kiss me, but not now, not while you’re, well…”

“Covered in blood?” he finished for her, the dragoness nodding. Was this really happening? Was this all just a dream sequence like out of the movies, and he’d wake up at home in bed any second now? It had happened before.

But it was all real, the kiss, the painespecially, but that felt more like an afterthought right now, Cassidy was all he could think about.

He opened his mouth to speak, but an opening door behind them made the two look around like kids caught snooping around after dark. Mr. Bahril was standing in the doorway, looking between the couple before addressing Jim. “How’s the head, Jim?”

“Numb, like my brain’s full of pop rocks. Feel a little dumber than I usually am, too.”

“You should head down to the sick bay, get checked up. I can’t put you back on even if I wanted to, not after that whole stunt, that asswipe of a referee will make sure you’re off for good.”

“Sorry about that,” he said, not sure what else to say.

“You realise how stupid that was, right? I cannot officially commend you for attacking another student and starting that fight. It was dumb and rash, and now look at you.”

Jim felt humiliated, getting chewed out in front of Cassidy, even despite their kiss, it was still horrible.

“But you gave that dragon a good ass-kicking, no doubt about that,” Mr. Bahril continued, Jim looking up in surprise. “He won’t be heading onto the field any time soon either, so the boys might still make it through. Don’t worry about the ban, it won’t be forever, maybe the next game or two at most. Think you can make it down to the sick bay? I can call for first aid if you can’t.”

“I’ll make sure he gets there,” Cassidy answered, wrapping his arm in hers, Jim’s face getting warmer.

“Good, thank you.” The coach nodded. “I gotta get back out there, I’ll leave you two to it.” With that, Mr. Bahril left, the door slowly closing behind him.

“Maybe he’s not so scary after all,” Cassidy mused, elbowing him in the side. “Looks like I get the rest of the day off with my new boyfriend once we get you fixed up.”

“B-Boyfiend?” he slurred, a moment of pain coursing through him making him fumble his words.

“Boyfiend sounds like a name of a monster,” she giggled. “And yes, that’s what I said, kind of, remember the last fifteen seconds? Maybe you do have a concussion.”

“N-No. As in, no I remember.”

“Well?” she asked. “What do you say, Jim? You want to be boyfiend and girlfiend?”

She was teasing him, but not in a bad way, Jim knew he was no poet when it came to words, and he always liked it when she laughed.

“I’d like that,” he said, perhaps the most smoothest thing he’d ever said to the dragoness. Not like his very first words to her: Hi, I’m okay. Thank the lord she seemed to find his severe charismatic handicap humorous.

“I would too,” she said.