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Emmet's routine was simple. He didn't like it being disrupted. Small deviations were fine, accounted for-trains would never run perfectly on time every day, after all.
Wake up at precisely 5. Make breakfast (3 Unfezant eggs, scrambled). Feed his Pokémon. Shower. Dress in his uniform-the same outfit every day. He didn't take breaks, so he didn't need anything else.
His Pokémon got more frequent rest, of course. He cycled his team regularly, both to keep them healthy and to keep opponents on their toes. But Emmet? He didn’t even know what he’d do with a break. Battling was his whole life, day in and day out. A simple routine with minimal deviations.
At the Battle Subway, preparation was easy. Choose his team for the day, make sure they are fit for battle. Archeops, Chandelure, and Haxorus. Garbodor as backup, he hadn’t battled in a while.
And then? He was prepared. An announcement over the subway’s speakers—“Everything's ready! Aim for victory! All aboard!"
Honestly, Emmet himself was unable to battle much. Most trainers didn’t make it 20 battles, and even if they did, Ingo took some of them.
His most recent opponent was one he’d seen around quite often. A young man, maybe a few years younger than himself. He didn’t seem into the battles—Emmet wasn’t entirely sure why he kept coming back.
But clearly he was strong. He had made it through 20 battles in a row. His main partner appeared to be an Arcanine. Archeops would be a good counter. Emmet made sure she was healed up before the fight.
As the two prepared for battle, Emmet spoke.
“I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss. I like Double Battles. I like combinations of two Pokémon. And I like winning more than anything else. So let's start a great battle in which every Pokémon uses various moves.”
“‘M Jay. Nice to meetcha.” The man—Jay, apparently—tossed a quick ball back and forth.
"I’ll do my best with various moves, hah. Tend ta stick to the same ones.”
Emmet paused for a moment before nodding and sending out Archeops and Chandelure without another word. He, of course, expected Jay to do what he always seemed to—To lead with Arcanine.
That was not the case.
He tossed the Quick Ball with a flick of his wrist, and in a flash and crackle of electricity, a Raichu stood in front of him. She (the tip of the tail was blunt, so Emmet assumed it was a she) was around the height of Jay’s waist, a soft expression on her plump face.
Emmet clapped once, smiling widely. “Unexpected! Who will be your second partner?”
Jay hesitated, as if he’d forgotten he was on the Double Train.
Either of his options were bad. Arcanine had the weakness to Rock, while Scolipede had the Fire weakness from Chandelure and the Flying from Archeops.
It seems he decided on Scolipede, sending out the bug with a crash that caused the train car to rattle.
"I am Emmet. That’s quite a bold choice you’ve made! Raichu and Scolipede, verrry interesting!” His ever-present smile widened.
“Archeops and Chandelure is pretty sick too, I gotta say. ‘M biased, though, I’ve always wanted an Archen.”
Jay shrugged, before flinging his hand out towards his Pokémon. “Shall we?”
Emmet nodded, taking his usual battle position. “All aboard! Let’s begin!”
In an instant, Archeops rushed at the Raichu with a Bite at the ready. The mouse jumped just a moment too late, the raptor latching onto the tip of her tail. A mistake.
“Folly, Discharge!” Jay yelled. Raichu’s cheeks crackled, and she dug her claws into the fluffy on Archeops’ neck. A wave of electricity rolled down her back and through her tail, zapping Archeops thoroughly from the inside out.
Archeops stumbled backwards, feathers singed. He hissed quietly, small teeth bared. But it was clear the Discharge had taken quite a toll.
“Bugbo, guard. Bite if either of them get close. And Folly, Charge, please.” Jay seemed almost bored.
But Emmet was having fun. That’s what he cared about.
“Chandelure. Use Fire Blast. Target the Scolipede.”
Scolipede clearly knew it wouldn't be able to dodge it in time, simply settling down to brace itself against the oncoming super-effective attack. Its bulk was enough to shield the Raichu, who launched herself upwards to latch onto one of the handholds dangling from the ceiling. Her blunted tail lashed, cheeks crackling with overfilled electricity.
"Wild Charge. Target the Archeops."
The crackling increased, cascading down Raichu's back and tail in waves. Her small claws dug sharply into the plastic of the handle as she readied herself, swinging slightly to gain momentum before leaping. Archeops tried to dodge, but Raichu had timed it perfectly, knocking the raptor backwards a few meters with her sheer bulk. He tried to struggle to his feet, bright feathers puffed out, but he collapsed soon after. One out.
The battle continued like this, going by quickly, almost too quickly for Emmet's tastes. No time to savor it, the skill of his opponent. The end was nealy anticlimactic, Jay's Arcanine passing out from Poison damage before Garbodor could finish him off with a Body Slam.
But either way, Emmet siezed victory.
After the battle, he strode forward to shake Jay’s hand.
"I am Emmet. I won this time, but it was close. You are a verrry powerful trainer. Win 20 times in a row, and battle me again! It was fun!"
Jay smiled. “Yeah, it was pretty fun. Would love to see you again some time.” He winked, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets.
“Win 20 battles. Then we can fight again!”
“Oh, I meant, um. Outside of battle? Just, like… er. Hanging out?” Jay shrugged. “‘S chill if not.”
Oh. People didn’t usually… want to hang out with Emmet. He didn’t speak to many people outside of battles and his brother. They thought he was overbearing, usually.
“I think… that would be nice. I will ask Ingo. Could I have… your phone number?”
Jay nodded quickly, shuffling around in his back to produce a pad of sticky notes and a fancy pen. He scrawled down his number in messy writing that Emmet could barely decipher.
Hm. Maybe Emmet could spare a day off.