Pokemon: Midnight's Story (A Fanfiction)

Chapter 20

[Love you all. <3]

The next morning, I took an extra lap around the campus. It was the last day that we would be in our Homerooms, before our normal classes began. And today, my Homeroom was finally finishing up our little tournament. And, I wanted to be extra warmed up to win this thing.
As soon as school started, I was all ready and warmed up.
"So, Midnight," Jet the Honchkrow said to me later in the Homeroom, "You all set for semi-finals?"
"Yeah, definitely. Speaking of that, who was I battling again?" I wondered.
"Well, I'm battling Zane the Accelgor, so, you're up against-"
"Solana," I finished for him, and all of a sudden, my spirits sank. I've... never fought against a girl before. How was I supposed fight one now, who was also technically my friend?
"Well, good luck. We'll be heading out in a few minutes," Jet informed me, and walked away.
I just sighed and tried to figure out ways of how to beat a girl in a battle, and also not be judged and have her hate your guts.
While I was lost in thought, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped and turned to come face to face with Jinx the Purrloin. My tail bristled. I just don't know what about this girl made me feel on edge.
"Um, Midnight, right?" she asked me, looking thoughtful.
"Yeah, that's me..," I said, shifting from paw to paw nervously. I suddenly wished Star was there with me. I was on a whole other level of uncomfortable... Oh Arceus. I technically just admitted Star helps me feel comfortable.
"Well, I just wanted to wish you good luck in the tournament. I know you'll do great," she said, with a tiny smile.
"Um, thanks," I replied, feeling seriously confused. I started wondering what happened to that energetic, over-excited energy she had when I first met her. I couldn't help but arch an eyebrow.
"Come on, students! Battlegrounds, now!" our Shiftry teacher called out to all of us.
In about 6 minutes, I found myself on one side of a battlefield, facing my opponent, and I still didn't know I was going to go about fighting her.
At the last moment, I turned to the side, and found Star and the others, coming to cheer me on during their Break Period. Star gave me a nod and a wink, and I started to feel a bit less nervous. Only a little.
I turned back and faced Solana, who gave me a smile and nodded. I simply nodded back. But, I couldn't help but think, would there be no hard feelings after this match?
"Battles, begin!" the Shiftry shouted. Well, now was time to find out.
Before I could decide what to do, Solana ran up, and whipped up a Razor Wind. To stop her in her tracks, I shot a Shadow Ball at her. She stopped running, and hopped back at the last second, and the dark blob hit the ground in front of her, causing a cloud of dust to rise up. Both of the possible scenarios worked in my favor, and this one gave me a chance to reposition myself and really think of a battle plan. When, the dust and smoke finally cleared, Solana was still shaking herself off. Taking another chance, I shot another Shadow Ball at her. At the last second she moved and turned her head in the blob's direction, and it hit her straight in the face. I couldn't help but wince at the impact.
"S-sorry," was all I said.
She suddenly burst out of the dark smoke at me, the horn on her head big and glowing. Oh crap. She was furious.
I ducked, jumped, rolled, and sidestepped, doing my best to evade the slashes of her Megahorn. I felt the attack graze my shoulder for a second, but, ignoring the slight pain, I jumped back away from her, somersaulted in the air, and rapid-fired Shadow Ball at her.
But, I knew she wouldn't back down. She simply sliced all of them, turning them into nothing but smoke. When, I landed back on my feet, I saw that she was frowning at me.
"Why are you only using Shadow Ball?" she asked, looking really... disappointed.
"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to play dumb. I seriously needed help.
"I've seen your other moves, Midnight. Are you afraid to hit me with a physical attack, just because I'm a girl?"
"W-well, I... Uh..," I stammered, not sure what to say. When she put it that way, I seriously started to wonder why Star and her friends were even friends with me. Not gonna lie.
Solana sighed and closed her eyes. "I gave you the 'no hard feelings' nod for a reason. So," she started, giving me a low-lidded glare that made me feel very... nervous,"Battle me for real."
I sighed, and took a minute to get rid of my nerves. She was right. A battle is a battle. Genders shouldn't matter at all. With this new lesson, I wasn't feeling nervous at all anymore.
I rushed her, and used Scratch, a move in my memory I decided to learn again in my free time to replace my Fury Swipes move. I struck her hard, but, she simply shook it off and Scratched me back.
And, that's all we did, trading Scratches back and forth, wearing each other down more and more. With her bigger paws and claws, she was definitely hitting me harder. So, in the end, I used that. She struck me one more time, I endured it, and struck back with Revenge, the impact sending her flying back and sliding across the ground.
She struggled to get back on her feet, clearly affected by the attack, but she fell back down on her side. Fainted.
I was about to take a nap myself, because I was extremely tired and beaten up, before I felt Star tackle me playfully, squealing her congratulations, and again, about how strong I was.
When she finally let me go, I looked over to Solana, to see her getting helped up by Beat the Scrafty. I walked over to the two.
"Good battle. You really put up a good fight," I told Solana, with a grin.
She laughed softly, but also a bit painfully. "Thanks. But, you were still just too strong for me."
"Yeah, you really gave it to her!" Beat agreed. "We've gotta battle sometime, man."
I nodded. "For sure. Just let me know."
"All right!" the Shiftry announced. I looked towards him, and observed the other battle that had just ended as well. And, I became oddly hyped.
"It looks like our finalists will be Midnight the Zorua... and Jet the Honchkrow!"