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The World of Arceus

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Only the idea and OC's.

Author Notes:

-X-This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.

~xXx~ This will identify where each paragraph breaks.

"Human Speech" 'Character Thought' {Pokémon Speech}

The following is a side story taking place in the same world as the story "Watcher of Arceus".

~xXx~

Side Stories

Norva : Part 6

An hour in the Adamant Sky Lounge and Norva was just in awe of what all she had seen. The high up vantage point showing her so many of the islands, the clear skies and clean moon light which highlighted the islands but not too much, the brights lights of the major cities on the islands giving them life even this late into the night, and finally the fire works shows bringing color and shapes she could have only thought to see in her imagination now.

An hour of wonderful sights just made things seem so normal for her for once, and then to top it off the care and treats from Adamant was just a night to remember. As Malcolm paid for their night, Norva was more then happy for what would have been a nearly perfect night as it was.

It was a little after ten, but with the Orange League in full swing, the city wasn't even close to slowing down just yet. Normally Malcolm would have avoided the city as much as he could during the Orange League, but he had gone out of his way to plan this for Norva, wanting to give her something wonderful to see.

Malcolm paid and once more returned to the express elevator to the ground floor with Norva. As they left though, Malcolm had intended to make one last quick stop on the way back home. Leaving the elevator, there was still a bit of yelling, something of a scene going on, but Malcolm just did his best to ignore things.

As he went to leave with Norva, something wooden just snapped and someone bumped into him, nearly knocking them both over, ripping Malcolm from Norva's hands. A few employees were already there and helping both Malcolm and the other person up. "What is wrong with you people!" The other person screamed, and Malcolm swore he recognized the voice, only for it to dawn on him that this was the woman who had tried calling him out just getting to the Adamant Sky Cafe to begin with.

"I should sue you all! What kind of stupid place doesn't even have good chairs. You say that this is the Orange Island equivalent of the Gilded Glass, and yet you worthless people don't even have proper chairs. You just let me fall over, and try to get me to break my arm and legs?!" The woman was screaming loudly as the employees helped her up, and a pair of other people rushed as well.

"Are you okay ma'am? We apologize for the chair, are you hurt. We-" One of the two employees started wearing the usual Adamant Cafe outfit, a semi-fancy suit and vest clearly labeled with a name tag and the Adamant Cafe, intending to try and help the woman up while the other employee helped Malcolm up.

"My apologies sir, broken chair. Are you alright?" The other employee tried to ask Malcolm, only for the lady to scream out.

"You dare to ask some bumbling idiot who needs to get fired if he's alright but not me!" The woman screamed as the she looked at Malcolm.

"Yeah, how dare you!" One of the other two people who had come up tried to shout, only for Malcolm to dust himself off and look around for Norva, quickly checking on her. He made it a point to just push out the rest of the commotion only wanting to focus on Norva despite the yelling.

"You okay there Norva?" Malcolm asked quickly though, Norva giving a small nod if highly annoyed.

Malcolm quickly tried to push everything else out of his mind though, going to take a step with Norva to get out of the middle of the entrance hall and stop blocking people from coming and going. Norva was annoyed, but took his arm again as he tried to get them out of the way.

The employee trying to work with Malcolm followed him though. "Are you sure you're fine sir?" The man asked, and Malcolm nodded.

"Minor bumps, nothing to worry about." Malcolm responded. "Just trying to leave. Am I free to go?"

"If you're sure you're fine." The employee stated, only for a finger to get jabbed in Malcolm's chest.

"Oh no no no, he does not just get to leave. He needs to be fired right now! I recognize this clown. This is the clown who refused to the fix the elevators for me, left me waiting for help, lied to me about the Gilded Glass Sky Lounge being here, and tried to assault me! I demand you fire him and don't give him any pay at all! I deserve his paycheck, hand it over to me now and ban him from ever working in the city again!" The lady who had fallen into Malcolm screamed, clearly over whatever had happened at first. She pushed her way up close to them, and at this point wasn't so easy to ignore anymore.

"Lady, I don't work here." Malcolm stated, trying to be nice, but mostly for Norva so that the two of them could get on their way. While she was aggressive, the great night with Malcolm had already greatly calmed down Norva for now so she mostly restrained herself.

Finally though, the man helping Malcolm finally recognized him and Norva. "Oh... oh my apologies Mr. Silverwinds and Norva. I'm sorry for not recognizing you sooner. Yes, yes of course, come on. I'll lead you out while this gets taken care of." The employee stated with a small smile, going to lead them out quickly to help them along since they were fine. He quickly got between the lady and Malcolm, making sure not to give her an inch to get at Malcolm.

Malcolm was attempted to be get escorted out of the building rather politely by the employee who happily opened the door for him with a smile while still blocking the other lady. "Please have a wonderful night Malcolm and Norva."

"Hey! What are you doing! Don't be nice to that sucmbag employee! I want him arrested! And that's not Norva and her trainer, there's no way some celebrity pokemon would belong to a third rate peasant! Here! I'll prove it! I need another boost on my trainer card, it'll be easy to take on such a mockery anyway! Here, battle reques-" The lady yelled, only for a specialized ding to sound, a unique alert sounding from Malcolm's pokedex that made the lady quickly look on at him a bit confused.

While Malcolm had all the basic battle requests blocked by default, there were some higher tier battle requests that could get through. Most common trainers never used these higher class battle requests though because of the large price tag involved including the prize money wagered between the trainers and fees for stadium use. Almost every major trainer local to the islands respected Norva as well so they didn't use these requests, but to hear it go off anyway, that league battle theme that announced such a battle request was unmistakable and showed just how crazy the trainer was.

Hearing the pokedex go off, and fed up with the woman, Norva finally acted, dropping all pretenses of nice now. She was using Malcolm's eyes again as he pulled out his pokedex hearing the direct trainer to trainer battle request, and before Malcolm could deny it, Norva's hand shot up tilting his pokedex a bit, and accepted.

[Bring it!] Norva snapped, not caring that no one would actually understand her, but still half way stomping her foot down towards the aggressive trainer. Malcolm, despite not being understand her still knew what she just did and that it wasn't a mistake. Norva was competitive and if she could see now, then he knew that she felt that she battle ready again. For someone to insult her, challenge her directly, and then call her a mockery, Malcolm had hoped to avoid trouble but he was too slow.

Malcolm just slowly lowered his head with a slight shake, almost slapping himself with how hard his hand met his face, just quietly muttering to himself. "Norva... Norva... Norva...Please stop throwing things..." Malcolm very quietly muttered under his breath. The default phrase of asking or even telling Norva to stop throwing things whenever she acted up or caused trouble just didn't seem like enough though, doubly so knowing that a "tantrum" was one of the worse things she could throw before turning to face her.

"Norva... we can't-" Malcolm tried to reason with her, only for her to turn and glare at him some, and ball up one of her hands to slam it into her other open hand making it clear what she thought about that kind of thinking, that this wasn't something she would take sitting down. "If... IF we try this... it has to be one hundred percent by the books, regulation match, no maiming her pokemon!" Malcolm tried to reason with her as the scene around him only grew but Malcolm was so focused on Norva that he ignored everything else.

"Regulation rules, no over doing it, accepting the outcome no matter what, and you can't assault her or anyone else. Any fighting can only be done in the arena, no where else... and you'll need to be in your pokeball for a bit." Malcolm stated, trying to reason with her, but Norva grabbed his belt, found the only pokeball he had on him right now, can almost slammed it into his hand.

She usually disliked the pokeball, even the fairly high end luxury model he got for her to be comfortable in. In this case however, if it meant having the chance to bring this arrogant and insulting trainer down a few pegs, Norva would be happy to tolerate the isolation for a while. A little discomfort was well worth the chance of the returning to the arena again, and Norva couldn't think of a better person to show up then this arrogant trainer.

"No fucking way... what... No No... No, you can't be Malcolm Silverwinds, and Norva? And you seriously work as some server? Oh, I am so gonna kick your ass and teach you some manners. And once I take a full two months salary from you for winning, maybe then you'll learn that you have treat customers with respect!" The lady snapped her fingers above her head, and then jerked her hand down to point at him, her other hand on her hip full of nothing but attitude, and even two the people with her had matched her movements like some kind of stupid coordinated dance routine.

~xXx~

For whatever reason, the trainer who had challenged Malcolm seemed to be in a major rush, and even paid for immediate access to one of the major pokemon arena stadiums in the city, a fee she swore she would make him pay back once she won. Direct Trainer to Trainer Battle requests were a very specific type of battle, only to be held in a regulation arena or other such event location, always presided by an official judge. With the Orange League in full swing, every official judge on the Orange Islands were on call, and two stadiums in Tangelo City were dedicate to specialized matches even.

With the request sent out, and the opposing trainer's minions suddenly advertising what was going on, there wasn't much of a wait to say nothing of the crowds that were being drawn. With just two matches ahead of them once they arrived, the stadium had a bit of time to get packed to the point of standing room only once word got out who was coming up for a special match. Malcolm had just barely managed to contact Christina and had Velin show up in time to make for him to keep the terms of the two on two match with this aggressive trainer, who he had just realized that he still didn't know what their name was.

Malcolm was waiting in a private locker room, watching the last match before his finish up, and then the announcer did a few ads as the field was cleaned up and reset. Even before they had gotten to announcing who could be coming up for the next match, Malcolm could hear the cheering though. Norva's name echoed weakly reaching him even in the private locker room, Norva waiting on a bench in meditation. With them up next finally, Malcolm finally figured out what he wanted to tell her before the start of the match though.

"We haven't practiced this whole sight-sharing thing for a battle, but you've gotten good at reading where people are with your mind. I can't be right next to you... you'll need to keep yourself lined up with my sight and their pokemon to keep both of you in view. Since you're clearly keen on returning to battling, we'll have to get back to training. I know you're more than ready, but stay focused, stay precise, stay on your toes. Don't root yourself in place, stay nimble." Malcolm said, before giving Norva a small kiss to her forehead. "And don't beat the pokemon she brings out too bad, they didn't ask for this, but that bitch's pride will be hurt plenty."

A small buzzer in the room sounded, and Malcom called back Norva, Velin still in his pokeball already just in case. Getting up, a stadium aid opened the door, confirmed who he was again and went over the rules once more with him while walking him up to the gate that would lead him to spot over the arena.

The rules of this match were simple. It would be a two on two single battle event. Both trainers would be allowed to use two pokemon for the match in single combat, on a basic flat battlefield with the center circle of the battlefield being a pool of water. The trainers would not know what pokemon the other trainer were bringing with them, which left Malcolm at rather large disadvantage. He was kind of forced to use Norva, and besides that, he only had Cree and Velin anyway, which limited his options since only Velin could reach him in time for this. Additionally, they could only swap out pokemon once in the middle of a fight, unless of course their current active pokemon was knocked out.

"And let's hear it for our next match, a Direct Trainer to Trainer Battle. On the Blue Stand, five time Japanese Turbo League Contender, two time winner of the Tour de Alto Mare races, and Master Rank trainer, Rivers Aquatis. A trainer with nearly thirteen years of experience, nearly two hundred badges and three hundred and fifty-four ribbons, Rivers has thrown the gauntlet for today's match." The announcer started, and across the way, Malcolm could make out Rivers heading up to her designated stand for the battle. He could make out Rivers doing a bunch of fake kisses to the crowd, trying to draw cheers for herself, but there was still the echoing cries of Norva.

Even from here, Malcolm had to grin a bit, seeing the trainer start to get angry that it wasn't her name getting called out, that she wasn't getting all the attention despite supposedly being owed it during her entrance. Her entire career was exclusively outside the Orange Islands so no one knew her, and right now it showed with everyone screaming the name of someone they did know, that they did want to see in the arena.

"And answering the call of battle in our Direct Trainer to Trainer Battle... On the Red Stand, former Invitational nominee... huh!? Wait a minute... hold on folks... if I'm... " The announcer started, before gasping out, only to read the prompt card in full and then ignore it.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls of all ages, a treat you may never see again, a special event that marks the return of a trainer you would not have expected me to announce to you tonight, let's all give a big, proper, loud, and generous applause for Malcolm Silverwinds!" The announcer suddenly doubled his energy, far more eager for this match that any other that day and it showed in spades.

"Let's hear it folks, that's right, Malcolm Silverwinds is here on the Red Stand, with who else but the one, the only, a true star in the making, a Tangelo Island Celebrity that we know and love, a pokemon that will over come any challenge, even losing her eyes... NORVA!" The announcer screamed and Malcolm walked forward where the chant of Norva only grew louder and louder.

Malcolm couldn't lie, listening to the crowds, to hear the energy in their cheers, their cries for Malcolm to win the match, to show off even. It brought back a flood of memories from better times when he was actively trying to be a trainer and went for the gym challenges back in Hoenn. Malcolm walked out slow down the ramp leading his elevated trainer stand. Hearing the echoing cries and cheers for him and Norva, it only showed how much he had missed this, of how much of a career his mistakes had cost. Thinking about it though, with what all was going on and Norva's sudden new means of seeing again, he couldn't help but think that maybe he had another chance, that he could give Norva what both of them wanted.

Looking out from the stand he was on, he couldn't help but give a devilish, almost mocking grin. From the crowd, it was clear who the favorite was, and even if he somehow lost, they would keep cheering for him more. The crowded stadium wanted him, the crowd had gathered for Norva and to see her return, and every bit of excitement in the stadium seemed to just ignore Rivers entirely.

For Rivers, hearing that some punk whose only claim to fame was some blind shiny gardevoir was getting more praise than her was like poison. She had poured thirteen years of work into getting where she was, a professional high class trainer with dozens of medals for placing in invitational only events, to say nothing of her hundreds of badges and ribbons. She clenched her fists, having to stop herself from stomping her foot in anger and screaming and Malcolm could almost swear that she was turning so red in rage, he could see the flames of spite spilling from her ears.

"When I'm done with you, you won't ever be able to step foot in a city out of shame for the rest of your life!" Rivers screamed, almost slamming her pokedex into the slot before as Malcolm did the same in a much more calm manner. The giant screens on the stadium quickly showed off their trainer cards, and showed two large pokeballs beneath them ready for the fight.

With that, it was showtime and Malcolm quickly sorted himself out. As far as he was concerned, the rest of the world went blank around him, there was nothing but him and Rivers, and the battlefield between them. "Come on out and put this jerk in his place! Shikoko, I choose you!" Rivers screamed, throwing a pokeball up and into the field, the bright white flash of a pokemon appearing and already Malcolm was weary.

A jellicent was released into the arena, right in the pool of water in the middle. Bright purple, and with a large frilly crown around its head, Malcolm had to guess that this was a female jellicent, just shiny. The lack of mustache like feature was his only clue at the moment, but color and gender didn't mean much right now. Malcolm knew exactly how deadly wild jellicent were as it spun around in the water, one of its arms coming up to its lips and blowing him a taunting kiss before smashing into the water, no doubt just for class and to try and unnerve Malcolm.

"Welcome back to the battlefield... come on out, Norva!" Malcolm yelled out, calling out his own pokemon. Norva landed in the arena and immediately took to looking over the battlefield with Malcolm's eyes, Malcolm focusing fully on the pool of water.

"And the Battle... Starts now!" The judge on the side of the arena shouted, raising up both flags to start, and then bringing both down quickly from his own stand.

"Shikoko, poison sting!" Rivers shouted out and her jellicent blasted up out of the water, its under side facing Norva. The five limbs on its underside all spread out before lashing forwards unleashing a large collection of bright glowing purple spines.

"Dodge and counter with Energy Ball!" Malcolm quickly called out, paying close attention to the attack as it was coming for Norva. With her using his eyes though, Norva jumped up and to left in a spin, hands to her chest horn gathering energy, not just making one, but two bright green balls of light between her hands. Even before her spin was over she threw both of the balls of light forward and Malcolm could see a major change in Norva now, a determination and patience he had not seen in her since before she lost her eyes.

The twin glowing green spheres quickly flew up and past jellicent who easily dodged back down, but was forced to end its attack early. Only one of the twin energy balls really came close to hitting the jellicent, and River's just laughed. "What happened to all this legendary skill about striking pokemon from fifty feet away!" Rivers taunted, pointing and giving a haughty and high class laugh to mock him. "Follow up with hex, Shikoko! We'll make him regret this match!"

The jellicent's eyes suddenly flashed a dark purple and black as Norva just barely landed, the jellicent throwing its limbs out in all directions and Norva spasmed some, her body attacked directly, but her mind was still at work. Malcolm split his vision between looking on Norva, and following the twin energy balls still in the sky rising higher and higher before slowing.

Norva worked to defend herself against the hex move, starting to regain control quickly, Rivers staring in shock and anger. "Wha... hey hey. Shikoko, now, while she's busy! Sledge Bomb!"

Malcolm almost recoiled from the name of the move himself, Norva going still for just a second, and then shattering the control that the jellicent tried to exert over her body. The jellicent had dashed forward, once more turning its underside towards Norva, limbs spread out to launch the attack at Norva.

"Shadow ball!" Malcolm just yelled out, and Norva was already on it. She rushed forwards towards the jellicent and slammed a very sudden dark ball of energy right at the jellicent, its giant pile of toxic sludge launched forward only to collide in the air between them. Norva's attack entirely canceled the jellicent's attack out, but above them, the two energy balls were now making their return.

Rivers went to try and issue another command, only for the twin energy balls to just barely come into her field of view. "Shikoko, use pois... wha, SCALD! Use Scald Above you!" Rivers yelled out loudly and suddenly, the jellicent just barely having time to react. A stream of boiling hot water erupted from the mouth of the jellicent, impacting one of the two energy balls coming down on it. The first ball exploded, and a steamy blast of water scattered over the battlefield. Rivers's and Malcolm's view was obstructed, but Norva still tracked the jellicent anyway.

The second energy ball hit its mark and the second explosive blast cleared a lot of the steam around them, River's jellicent smashed into the pool in the middle. "Don't give them a chance to recover! Shadow Ball!" Malcolm yelled out and Norva rushed the pool of water. Arms out, a pair of shadow balls at each hand like before, she rushed towards the jellicent, starting to throw the first.

"Night Shade! Hurry up, Night Shade! Night shade!" Rivers screamed out in a partial panic, her jellicent quickly gaining a dark purple glow over its body. It waved its fins up and down towards Norva, a burst of shadowy jellicent images tried to rush Norva, but she slid down under them. The first shadow ball flew to the side and up and Rivers focused on that.

As Norva hit the side of the pool though, she blasted the other shadow ball into the pool of water causing a sudden and rather large pillar of water to rise up under the jellicent. The sudden pillar of water blocked River's view of her jellicent and worse, attracted her attention away from the still rising, but quickly returning shadow ball that was launched first.

"Acid Armor!" Rivers tried to yell out and as the water fell down, the jellicent was gone, but not for Norva who was tracking its mind. The second shadow ball impacted the water hard, making another pillar of water and once it fell, Norva slowly stood up, a scowl on her face.

There, in the pool of water was a knocked out jellicent, just floating there, a few bubbles rising from its mouth as Norva slowly turned towards Rivers. "Knock out!" The voice of the judge rung out, a flag thrust towards Malcolm showing his victory in the first stage of the battle. "Point to Malcolm Silverwinds!" They continued, Norva just glaring in the direct of Rivers and Malcolm's former worry about what sledge bomb might have done now turned to confidence, a smile crossing his face.

Norva's form seemed to radiate her control, restraint, and power. The pokemon that he had trained so hard from a raltz to be a pokemon league contender was once again standing before him and Malcolm couldn't be prouder. Across from him, Norva's sudden show of power and control unnerved Rivers though who had taken a step back.

"Wha-what! How!? I... Shikoko, return!" Rivers gasped out, quickly returning her jellicent to its pokeball while Norva slowly backed up towards the center of her side of the field. Even without looking, she just walked backwards into position, not even a stumble as she used Malcolm's eyes to watch her movement and get back into position.

The judge quickly turned towards Rivers and waited, before calling out. "Rivers Aquatis... Your second pokemon." The judge called out, Rivers quickly shaking her head and then almost snarling.

"Slicer.... We finish this joke of a trainer now! You think you've seen power, but you can't do a think about this walking mega-tank! We're gonna blend you into a bloody pulp!" Rivers screamed out in rage, throwing up a second pokeball, and once more the right white light revealed a pokemon appearing on the battlefield.

"Slicer, sword's dance! We're going in heavy!" Rivers yelled and as soon as the bisharp was on the field, half a dozen bright blue and golden blades appeared around it, circling around it, before fading away. The bisharps blades on his body were all now glowing a little bit though, a vicious red glow, almost like an outline over its entire body.

It gave an angry cry and Rivers was ready for war. "Iron head!" Rivers yelled out and the glow around its body focused on its head as it charged forward, its entire helmet glowing bright.

"Dodge and use-" Malcolm started to order, only for the bisharp to double down and just close the gap before Malcolm could finish. It had just cleanly jumped the pool entirely to rush them and Norva didn't even have much time to move. She moved to the side a bit to avoid the worse of the attack, the bisharp catching her gown and just barely grazing her leg in the attack as its head came down where she was.

"Get some room! Will-o-wisp and get out of dodge, we can take those hits with that swords dance up!" Malcolm yelled out as a fire formed in Norva's hands, constantly trying to back up, but the bisharp was constantly with her. Norva still managed to launch the fiery attack at the bisharp, and it tried blocking with it arms. The attack still connected though and a fiery warmth spread over the bisharp, it starting to glow a red hot.

"Metal Claw, don't give them an inch!" Rivers yelled and already the bisharp was swinging a sharpened bladed arm at Norva. Norva back flipped away, and then rolled to the side, before having to roll to the side.

"Shadow Ball, try to get to some room!" Malcolm yelled out. He knew that the attack would be less effective against a bisharp, but it was also pretty much Norva's bread and butter move, the one she could repeatedly use with ease and right now, they just needed the space.

Norva already called up another dark glowing orbs and threw the first towards the bisharp's chest, and the second into the air during another acrobatic flip trying to get some room. It shrugged off the first one, just slamming it to the side with another metal claw, but River's was wising up.

She tried to watch the sky now as another two shadow balls were launched upwards and Norva tried jumping over the pool herself. A small glow over herself, she landed just barely inside the pool, one leg on the inside of the pool, and then jumping back out controlling herself much she did with her thrown attacks to jump right past the bisharp as it tried jumping across the pool itself to catch her.

"Hit it with shadow claw! Before she can bring those things back down!" Rivers yelled.

One of the shadow balls came down, but Norva caught it as she jumped again, throwing it into its face rather then its back and struck it, disrupting its shadow claw just in time. The bisharp rolled harshly over the top of the pool of water and back into River's side of the arena as Norva rushed to get some room.

The other two shadow balls in the air came down and pelted it as it got back up, but it seemed to just ignore them. "Moonblast!" Malcolm yelled out taking the chance while they hand it and Norva threw her arms up gathering energy from the moon as as the bisharp started to rush in again, arms crossed in front of its chest to block the attack, Norva jumped up again.

The bisharp jumped with her, not realizing that the gathered ball of pink light was below them where Norva had been still. "Energy Ball!" Malcolm yelled out and Norva charged the bright green ball of energy up, throwing it right away as the bisharp drew closer. With River's looking to the sky for any thrown attacks, the one on the ground suddenly bolting towards her bisharp went unseen.

"Metal Claw!" Rivers yelled again, her bisharp knocked the energy ball to the side, going in for another metal claw only to get struck from underneath.

Malcolm quickly knew that Norva couldn't win this fight up close without gaining some kind of edge, they had to do something. "Future Sight!" He called out as Norva landed, and quickly fell into a small trance, gathering energy and then nothing. Malcolm knew that they needed an opening. They had a move that could win this in a pinch, but Norva always had a little trouble with it, and it wasn't something she was able to do a lot. If Norva could connect with it though, there was a chance that it could the end match alone.

They just needed to by a little time and waited now, not that it would be easy. "Shadow Ball, keep him busy!" Malcolm yelled, only for Rivers to yell out her own attack.

"Sand Storm followed by Substitute!" Rivers yelled out and a sudden storm was raging in the arena. Contained to just the middle section of the arena, Norva tried to rush out of it, throwing another few shadow balls into the air. The four of them joined the two still floating energy balls still in the air over the arena.

"Find her and smash her!" Rivers yelled, Malcolm just barely make out something on the right side of the sand storm.

"My right side!" Malcolm yelled out trying to be loud enough over the sand storm before the group of the shadow balls and energy balls all came down at once, pelting a small area trying to find its target. The multiple blasts cleared up some of the sand storm for just a few, but Malcolm knew that it was bad.

For a brief glimpse, he saw some kind of doll like object there on the field, before it shattered in a large puff of smoke proving to be the substitute decoy, before hearing Norva cry out in pain. He couldn't see through the sand storm, but still had to do something. "Get to my side! I can't help you over there!" Malcolm yelled out, and all he could was wait for a moment.

"Metal Claw, and follow up with Iron Head!" Rivers scream sounded over the sand storm, and Malcolm could barely make out something in the sands, before the smallest glimmer around the area caught his attention.

"Norva! This side now! Its coming!" Malcolm yelled out. They had one chance to end this quickly, or he would be forced to swap out Norva for Velin. He didn't want to risk Norva getting too hurt after all, not with how raging Rivers was getting. Norva threw up another two shadow balls to figure out where she was inside the sand storm, relying on Malcolm to watch them fly up and then she could tell where she was in comparison to Malcolm. She had to avoid the pool in the middle of the arena still, and falling into that right now would be a big mistake.

She roughly remembered how large the pool was, and just moved to avoid it while also trying to stay inside the arena when she felt something behind her and just barely dodged the metal claw attack. Malcolm just could barely make it out as they drew closer, and with Malcolm able to see now, Norva plunged to last two shadow balls down.

"Incoming!" Rivers yelled out and the bisharp moved to block them out, slamming them to the sides of the arena. "The sand storm is dying, get ready to renew it!"

The sand storm was starting to die down, but Malcolm wasn't going to let it happen. "Norva, Taunt!" Malcolm yelled out, and Norva turned as a small surge of power rushed off Norva like a giant shadowy doppelganger above her. Norva turned, flipped the bisharp off and stuck her tongue out at him, and then even blew a raspberry at him. The shadowy doppleganger over her did the same thing, before its form faded and rushed the bisharp having an easy time getting into its head.

"Who the hell uses taunt! Its a worthless move!" Rivers snapped just annoyed having seen the taunt as the sand storm died down. "Sand storm again, she's got to be using his eyes, blind them both, hide the entire arena!" Rivers shouted out, but her bisharp no longer had any intention doing anything but attacking directly.

It rushed Norva and Malcolm grinned. Although taunt was actually a move that Norva had learned all on her own that he never would have taught Norva himself, it certainly had its uses. He was however annoyed that Rivers was screaming about Norva was using his eyes, showing at least how observant she was. "We need to hurry, Shadow Ball and Energy Ball!" Malcolm screamed out, Norva charging both attacks. She threw the second one right at the bisharp just to make him block and buy her a few more seconds while the shadow ball flew up into the air.

"Hey! I said sandstorm! Listen to me... damn you Slicer. Fine, use night slash!" Rivers tried to yell out, but the bisharp just ignored it, too riled up the taunting.

A second glimmer around the battlefield and Malcolm knew it had to be now or never. "Focus Blast!" He yelled out, Norva quickly charging the attack. The bisharp was closing in fast, Norva trying to run and charge it at the same time, just barely ducking under a metal claw.

Norva dashed forwards, the bright light in her hands at the ready as she finished charging her attack. The last shadow ball she threw came rushing back towards them, the bisharp just bouncing it to the side with its arm once more and Norva caught it with her free hand. Jumping up over him and jumping off his shoulders as it tried to slash her with another metal claw missing again.

She threw the shadow ball back down at it, the bisharp countering with a vicious jab that caught and dissipated the shadow ball, only for a strong wind to over take the arena. This was the opportunity that Norva and Malcolm were for, both knowing what was coming having learned long ago how to predict its arrival.

"Finish this Slicer, end he-" Rivers screamed as a rainbow colored shiny ball of light came out of nowhere behind the bisharp catching it dead in the back. Disoriented, in pain, and thrust forward from the hit as Norva was still above it, Norva plunged the charged focus blast right into its face at point blank.

There was a small shockwave from the joined attacks, followed by a loud crash as the bisharp was launched from the arena and into the wall. The walls of the arena held, and it stayed stuck in the wall for a moment trying to move a bit, before falling free of the wall, onto its knees.

The bisharp tried to stand, only fall forward, face first down in the ground and not moving. The judge looked on for a moment, before raising the flag back towards Malcolm again. "Knock Out! Point to Malcolm Silverwinds. Match Over, Zero to Two, Malcolm Silverwinds is the Winner." The judge called out.

Malcolm just jumped in joy. "Good Job! Way to do it Norva!" He screamed out, and the entire stadium was with him.

An echoing growing chorus of cheering fans chanted Norva's name over and over again. Norva finally aware of them as she had won, and calmed down a little. Rivers threw her hat to the ground in disgust and then started screaming, before rushing off the stand. Malcolm was just content with the meager words of rejoice however, rushing behind him and right for the ladder on the trainer stand. He slid down in a hurry, rushing onto the field and almost tackling Norva in a hug.

Even more, he hugged for just a moment, before grabbing and lifting her up, right up onto his shoulders, facing the crowds and cheering with them. "I still can't believe it folks! Norva is back! A double take down, a battle for the ages, Norva has won her come back battle!" The announcer cheered, and Malcolm slowly made his way back towards his stand, taking the field access entrance out of the stadium.

Even Norva was cheering with the crowds until at last Malcolm left the field with her, calming down a bit, and hopping off his shoulder on her own once they out of the view of the stands. She took Malcolm's arm though, holding onto him a bit possessively with a grin as they walked up the ramp back up to the locker room Malcolm had. An aid was already there waiting for him with a smile themselves.

"I know that I'm supposed to be entirely impartial... but that was a damned good battle. I hope to see more from you and Norva." The aid smiled, opening the door for them again, and letting Malcolm go and collect his things. With that, the aid then lead him to another room.

As they approached the battle chambers, Rivers was already there with some of the stadium staff, and she wasn't being even remotely quiet or respectful. "I want that match disqualified! It wasn't legal! I'm not paying some shitty waiter when they cheat and do nothing but disrespect people!" Rivers was carrying a fair bit as they approached.

"Ma'am... disqualifying a match is no simple measure, as it implies some serious allegations." Someone stated back as Malcolm approached and the aid opened the door for them. The large room was filled with various people, but with the scene that Rivers was making, all attention was on them. Rivers was arguing with an extremely tall man and Malcolm could easily identify the man she was arguing with as one of the stadium managers. He easily stood out in a full high class suit with the stadium logo on the back.

"His pokemon was using his eyes! He was tracking everything for it! She's supposed to be blind, but there is no way that a blind pokemon could move like that! I've seen psychic types follow other pokemon before, but what that pokemon did! Those acrobatic stunts without being able to see, jumping off the pool, attacking my substitute that has no mind to track so she never should have been able to find it!" Rivers snapped.

"Ma'am... that was a legal match. A trainer assisting their pokemon is not against the rules as long as the trainer personally stayed safe on the side lines. Watching the fight and giving guidance to their pokemon in a battle is exactly what trainers do actually." The manager stated firmly.

"He's lying! He can't use his own eyes to see for his pokemon! That's illegal, and he's nothing but disrespectful!" Rivers yelled again stomping her foot, almost on the manager's foot, perhaps intentionally.

"Rivers Aquatis... Whether or not Norva can see using Malcolm's eyes is irrelevant. That was a legal battle, the medi-stations confirmed that there were no illegal substances in use, the rules of the match were followed, and the only trainer who can be considered rude during their time here in the Tangelo City Legends Stadium was you." The manager stated firmly, knowing full well how close Rivers's foot came to his.

"Now... as Malcolm is here, there is the matter of the after battle procedures. To spare Malcolm the indignity of dealing with you, I am prepared to ignore the customary hand shake between trainers for a battle well done, but this was a Direct Trainer to Trainer Battle Request. There is the matter of pay out for such a match, and the fees associated with paying for the stadium's services." The manager stated.

"I'm NOT paying some cheating bastard! That match didn't count! He sharked me, he cheated, I'm not liable to pay!" Rivers screamed even more loudly.

"Rivers Aquatis..." The manager raised his own voice now, and even with her yelling, his bellowing firm announcement of her name put her voice to shame. The nearly seven foot tall man, already extremely tall before hand giving a firm shout of his own made Rivers seem to shrink down a bit.

"Failure to pay out on the match will result in massive consequences. The minimum payout for a Direct Trainer to Trainer Battle Request is 35000 pokedollars. At the start of the battle, you upped your bet to 65000, while Malcolm didn't raise at all, sticking to the minimum bid. In accordance with the rules set by Orange League Pokemon Trainer Regulations Offices, that means that pay out for either winner will be the minimum sum, 35000 pokedollars. Make arrangements for the payment to sent to Malcolm within the allotted two week payment period and I will consider this matter closed." The manager warned, no longer yelling but still keeping a very firm tone.

"If you choose to fight this matter, as a stadium manager acting on behalf of the Orange League Pokemon Trainer Regulations Offices, I am allowed to make some level of changes to the payout when disputes arise. I am within my rights as a manager to change to the amount to a sum between the wagered amounts, and in this case, I am allowed to set your payout to Malcolm to the higher of the two amounts, the amount that you had tried to bet, 65000 pokedollars." The manager continued firmly, holding up the tablet he was using, prepared to make a few changes if needed.

"The choice is yours Rivers. The match was a legal battle, you have no grounds to disqualify the match or make changes to it now that it is over. You have lost in your battle, and now you owe Malcolm the payout of your battle. Any arguments and I will adjust the payout to what you had wagered. And if you fail to pay Malcolm the full amount within the next two weeks, I will file a formal request for investigation into your trainer license and place an immediate temporary ban on your license removing you from all forms of official pokemon events on the Orange Islands until it is resolved." The manager finished, glaring at Rivers.

"You wouldn't dare... do you know who I am!?" Rivers yelled, and with a few taps of the tablet, Rivers pokedex sounded an alert, which she quickly looked at. "WHAT!?" She screamed out in anger now.

"If nothing else, I am a man of my word. Your current payout to Malcolm Silverwinds is 65000 pokedollars. With an amount over 50000 pokedollars, I am requested to give you two weeks to make arrangements for a payment plan to ensure that Malcolm gets the full amount in a timely manner. I have also filed a report with the Orange League Pokemon Trainer Regulations Offices, and I feel the need to remind you that all stadium staff are required to wear body cams including audio recording equipment. Copies of all associated regarding your actions are being collected as we speak to attach to this report. My next action will be placing a temporary ban your trainer's license until payment is made and has been confirmed paid in full." The manager stated, glaring at Rivers now.

"You unholy-" Rivers started before an emergency alert sounded form her pokedex, and checking it again, she had a temporary ban in place pending payment on high value pokemon battle.

"Miss Ortana, please escort Rivers Aquatis over to Banking Services." The manager stated firmly, pointing towards the back of the battle chambers where there were a few stalls set up to help trainers make arrangements for large pay outs in a timely manner. "I will be along shortly after I congratulate Mr. Silverwinds on his victory and answer any questions he might have. If she argues at all, start a formal investigation into her actions today. There is clearly more to this then just the battle today and I'm sure that the officers at the regulations office would love to hear it."

With that, one of the people at the manager's side moved up, taking the tablet from the manager and motioning for Rivers to begin walking. Rivers looked like she was going to argue again, until a pair of officers and a pokemon ranger walked up, the ranger just shaking their head.

"My apologies, Mr. Silverwinds." The manager finally stated as Rivers was escorted over to banking section of the chamber. "Congratulations on your win. It was wonderful to see that it actually was you and Norva on the battlefield today. When the request first came in, I was rather skeptical of the request given Norva's condition. If you would like an escort out of the facility, by all means, you need only ask. I will attempt to keep the peace, but as this is a high tier facility, there are always reporters, sponsorship recruiters, and other people who might try to make a scene. Rivers here has proven that she is a problem above them however, and my presence will be needed to keep her in line." The manager sighed, before giving Malcolm a firm respectful handshake.

"You are welcome to stick around for the last few matches of the night if you want, we still have room and I can get you a seat in the champion's box." The manager offered, but Malcolm just gently shook his head.

"Thanks, but I think I've had enough excitement for today. I'm just going to try leaving for the night and getting back home." Malcolm said, the manager understanding.

"Very well. If you need any assistance, merely ask for some security and they will be happy to assist you." The manager stated, and Malcolm went to leave. As soon as he exited the battle chambers though, he was just in a rush to try and get out of the stadium before too many people noticed him. He barely made it a few steps though before he almost bumped into someone who just seemed to stand there.

Jordan stood over Malcolm now, looking carefully at him and Norva. A clearly annoyed look on his face, Jordan stood there for a moment as Malcolm just gave a small smile. "Oh... uh... Hi Jordan. I guess you saw the match." Malcolm started, not really sure what to say right now.

"So... Norva won a high tier pokemon battle, swept a two party team by herself... Care to explain this part about her using your eyes." Jordan asked, extremely concerned and worried about things. Hearing that Malcolm was apparently in a high tier pokemon battle was worrying enough by itself, but to find out that Norva was his main pokemon for the battle only made him worry even more.

Jordan had made sure to get access to the champion's box just to watch the match uninterrupted and if needed make a scene to get the battle stopped, but Norva had surprised him greatly in the battle. Malcolm and Norva made a powerful team just now, and while it was a powerful win and sent quite the message, Jordan couldn't help but be very concerned, something that his face conveyed very easily even now.

Malcolm just sighed a bit, but he understood. Jordan was just as concerned about Norva he was, and seeing Norva in such a high tier pokemon battle out of nowhere with no prior warning wasn't the best idea obviously. "So you remember those two guys who forced their way in the house with the swords? They had a tiara that blocks pokemon with psychic like traits that can sense minds or intent from actually being able to use that power on whoever wears it. Norva... did not like that... It was why she had that panic attack. Well, once we found the tiara and found out that was how Norva didn't know about them, she's been in the process of training to beat it. And along the way, she apparently started to use my eyes and beat me in Mario Kart using them. Professor Ivy has run tests and verified it..."

Jordan just looked at Malcolm and Norva slowly, doubting them heavily. It was easy to see that Malcolm's quick explanation left a lot to talked about, to say nothing of the absurdity of the claims. "Are you high right now?" Jordan just rather bluntly asked, grabbing Malcolm carefully, and giving him a quick check over for any signs of tampering, even looking him dead in the eyes, making sure that they clear.

"I'm fine Jordan... and Norva is too. I already made sure that she wasn't hurt in the battle. And its all true, just call professor Ivy. She can verify it, Norva somehow uses my eyes. Whatever I see, she can see, and I had a great view to help her out. That sand storm was annoying, but we made it through." Malcolm stated.

Jordan was still confused though, at least until Norva reached out. Jordan usually carried a bag of candy on him in his shirt pocket, some kind of small bite size candy for him to snack as the day went by. Norva, deciding to prove she could see, just reached up, slipped his jacket to the side a bit, and upon seeing that he had peanut m&ms in his pocket today, let got of Malcolm and just grabbed the bag of candy, holding the bag in her hands. She then held it up to her face a little with a sweet innocent smile as if asking that she could have it.

"Still think I'm high?" Malcolm asked with a smug smirk.