Music in media: The Past Is Another Land from "Aida" the musical

14 January, Friday, 9 a.m. | Winter

"You're in no position to worry about Icosa," said Cheren to Rae when Professor Juniper took Icosa to the Small Court to watch a tennis match.

Lenora rubbed her hands together in delight and massaged Rae's shoulders. "You, my dear, have to brush up your battling skills! We're headed for the Battle Subway!"

It was Lenora's idea to separate Rae and Icosa that day upon sensing the tension between them during breakfast. She knew they weren't the type to spill the beans when nudged and it would be more productive if they focused on what they had to separately. Besides, this was a great excuse to introduce Rae to Unova's best battling facility.

Located in the middle of Nimbasa City, the Battle Subway served as part of Gear Station, a fancy building with a circular hall. There were eight train platforms in total: one for Single Trains, one for Super Single Trains, one for Double Trains, one for Super Double Trains, one for trains bound for Anville Town, one for Multi Trains, one for Super Multi Trains and finally, one for Wi-Fi Trains. Multi Trains, as explained on the boards, allowed any two Trainers to use the Train as a battlefield. Wi-Fi Trains, on the other hand, boasted technology that made battles involving people from anywhere in the world possible in the Train through holograms and teleporting their Pokémon to the cabin.

"You have to fight 21 battles to reach the Subway Boss!" Cheren straightened his tie. "It'll be an enriching experience!"

Battling on a train was unheard of in Johto. There was but one train connecting Johto's Goldenrod City and Kanto's Saffron City, though battles were forbidden. Rae wondered how it would be like battling in a narrow space. It would be her first time.

"We've registered you for the Single Train," said Lenora. "Go on and enjoy!"

"Wait," Cheren called out to Rae as she stepped into the train. "We're coming with you. After all, we are your mentors."

"Am I?"

"Yes, Lenora, you are." Cheren made himself comfortable on a seat and Lenora sat from across him. Rae hung on to the dangling handle. "Listen, you need to do more than stall. Show me your creativity. Show me innovation. Show me adaptability."

Rae surveyed the cabin. "I will do what I can."

The trainers came in one after another. Three-on-three battles ensued and ended one after another. Rae displayed flair and determination in her battles, opting to think out of the box, pushing away the first idea that came to mind, often also the most familiar. At times, Noko-Noko would flap her wings hard enough to use Air Slash, made possible after countless attempts. Or Chilchil would make use of his Grit Dust to add friction and lower accuracy in his foes. Otherwise, Tabutabu would focus her mind and unleash Psychic attacks. Her Pokémon overcame themselves or tapped into their strengths, which allowed a wider range of tactics. When the last Trainer fell, Rae had regained her cheerful disposition. She hadn't felt this much joy in a while it came as a relief to break routine, to shatter the autopilot mode within.

All that remained was the final boss. Lenora told her about the Subway Bosses Ingo and Emmet, though Ingo was the one she would go against. He was a man draped in a black and brown striped coat which was tattered at the seams. He had a cap with the Battle Subway logo on it, though unlike his twin brother Emmet, who wore a white and brown striped coat and spotted a tie, he wore a traditional garb underneath his coat with a purple wheel symbol that reminded Rae of Palkia.

"Are you alright?" Lenora asked when Emmet supported Ingo to his spot.

"Yeah... Don't worry about me. I just came back from the past, that's all."

That piqued Rae's interest. "The past?"

"There was a period of time when Ingo went missing," Emmet filled them in, "but yesterday, he came back like this."

"The past is another land. The people called it Hisui, and it seemed to be ancient Sinnoh," mumbled Ingo. "When I returned to modern Unova, the music became wonky and some Pokémon came with me from Hisui, some of whom I befriended, others, not so much."

"Is it alright for you to battle?" Cheren asked.

"Thanks for your concern, Cheren, but I'm fine and dandy. So, come on out, Klinklang!"

A Pokémon that seemed like an assemblage of gears popped out of his Poké Ball. Great. A Steel-type. Normal-type moves wouldn't do much here. Rae thought long and hard before summoning Tabutabu's help.

"Oh? The Hearing Pokémon? Are you sure?" Ingo blinked. "Don't you know, Klinklang makes grating noises?"

Rae nodded.

"Very well! Klinklang, Gear Grind!"

Screeches filled the cabin as the Steel-type flung gears at Tabutabu who ran about the cabin to dodge, pouncing onto seats, bouncing off walls, hanging on the handles... Gears pierced glass, pierced walls and concrete. A few of them struck the tunnel.

"Don't think we're on the defence here! Tabutabu, Fling!"

"But she's not holding anything!" Cheren cried.

The Audino certainly was now, lifting the gears with Psychic and hurling them back at Klinklang. It was the melody of home, the sound of metal against metal.

"Dodge it!"

But the influence of Psychic brought a wedge into Klinklang as the gears pushed him into the floor, creating a dent.

"Autotomize and use Magnetic Flux!"

"Tabutabu, Simple Beam, quick!"

Before Klinklang could use Magnetic Flux, its ability was rendered Simple instead of Plus. Still, it managed to shed some weight and raise its speed.

"Discharge!"

Klinklang released a ball of electricity from its red core and directed it to hit Tabutabu. The Audino groaned and steadied herself. Rae was tempted to have her use Life Dew, but water wouldn't be a great asset to have when electricity stood in the way. Instead, she opted for Fire Punch.

"Gear Grind at point blank!"

"Burn the gears!"

"Metal Sound and Screech!"

"Amnesia!"

"Amnesia?" cried everyone else at once. This was one of the moves most people would avoid, due to the creeping sensation it offered to the Pokémon, despite a boost in Special Defence.

Tabutabu stood her ground and wrapped her legs on the only pole in the cabin and danced to the rhythm of screeching gears.

"That's taking metal to the next level," mumbled Emmet.

"Are we really just going to watch her pole-dance?"

"It's kinda cute," said Ingo. "What's with the hands?"

As Tabutabu spun round and round, her body parallel to the floor, her hands were coated with a lavender light. She shut her eyes and ignored the rocking motion of the train.

"Enough! Klinklang, Discharge once again!"

"Tabutabu, Life Dew!"

While the Audino healed itself, droplets of water scattered about the cabin. Klinklang went ahead with its attack and zapped Tabutabu off the pole.

"It was a mistake, right?" Cheren looked at Rae, flabbergasted. Of course she should know water was a great conductor of electricity. Of course that should cross her mind. She didn't have Amnesia too, did she?

"It wasn't. Look." Rae's words directed everyone to turn to Klinklang, now soaked in Life Dew. But it made no sense. This move could only heal the Pokémon and its allies. So why bother sprinkling Life Dew on Klinklang?

"Hold on! That's..."

Rust. Rust spread all over the Gear Pokémon, giving it a bronze-like sheen. Rust was the bane of all metals, making them brittle and unclean.

"Now, Drain Punch!"

"Klinklang, Steel Beam!"

A resounding collision broke through as Tabutabu drained the beam of steel manifested out of Klinklang's core and bent it to hit the Steel-type.

"Low Kick."

That did the job.

Ingo sighed and sent out his next Pokémon. Rae contragulated Tabutabu and let Chilchil take the spotlight against his Excadrill. It was dust against dust.

"Let's go, Chilchil!" shouted Lenora in the sidelines.

The Minccino smiled and waved his tail in appreciation.

"Chilchil, start it off with Aqua Tail!"

"Excadrill, Brick Break!"

Excadrill's sharpened claws met Chilchil's water-coated tail. Both Pokémon skidded away from each other at once.

"Smart Strike!"

A move that bypassed accuracy checks? Rae squinted at the Pokémon lumbering towards hers. "Dig."

"Switch up to Earthquake!"

"No, you don't! Chilchil, make for the handles instead!"

The train shook violently, but the train was Pokémon-proof so it wouldn't be derailed. Still, the people inside were hurtled left and right.

"Oops!" Ingo cracked a smile.

Rae gritted her teeth and told Chilchil to stop the Earthquake with Seed Bomb. A barrage of seeds exploded onto Excadrill's flesh, leaving it burnt.

"Rain Dance!" Rae added. In no time the seeds grew into seedlings, then leaves sprouted all over Excadrill's skin.

"Use Fury Swipes on the seeds."

But the seeds were relentless in their growth.

"Now, Grass Knot!"

"Ex—"

The battle was done and dusted.

Both sides were down to their final Pokémon. For Rae, it was none other than her trusty Dunsparce, Noko-Noko. Ingo, on the other hand, fumbled for his Poké Ball, and released his choice.

A mantis-like Pokémon composed of rocks appeared in the cabin. It had a rock shard growing out of its head and black axes for appendages. This was nothing like Rae had seen before. She could make an educated guess that this was no doubt a Pokémon from Hisui. Like Overqwil, it seemed to have grown out of a familiar Pokémon, this one of Kantonian origin, Scyther. Scyther. Scyther.

"For Harmonia."

"You're messed up, girl."

"Messed up."

"Rae!" She felt Lenora's strong hold on her. Her knees had buckled, she slowly realised.

"Is she afraid of Kleavor?" Ingo frowned. "But this is a nice guy! Menacing, yes, but nice!"

Cheren coughed. "I'm sorry. She had an... incident involving Bug-type Pokémon recently."

"You could've told me earlier..." Ingo reached for his Poké Ball but Rae held out a hand, gesturing him to stop that train of thought. "Wha... You want to go on."

Rae nodded with a whimper and got up with Lenora's help.

"Noko-Noko, shall we?" Rae asked and the Dunsparce squealed. Kleavor would be a challenge, but from the looks of its making, Rae figured it had to be a Bug/Rock-type. It might just be sturdier than a Shuckle, but nothing she couldn't handle. "Drill Run!"

Noko-Noko drilled into the floor and made a hole, then slipped out to fit herself between the train and the rails.

"Escaping, are we?" Ingo swivelled his cap. "Stone Axe."

Kleavor cleft the floor and stone splinters pierced through, causing the train to screech against the rails. A game of whack-a-Dunsparce soon began as Kleavor pushed several splinters at once down in hopes of snagging its target. Rae gasped at the sight, but chose to remain steadfast in her faith in Noko-Noko.

"Hear me, Noko-Noko," she said, "we'll fight back with Screech!"

"Lowering my Kleavor's defence? Not bad. But it wouldn't help much! Kleavor, Aerial Ace on the splinters!"

The stone splinters were pulled out by a gust of wind and through the numerous holes, Noko-Noko's location became apparent.

"Noko-Noko, Glare!"

"Agility!"

But Noko-Noko was faster in paralysing Kleavor. The Dunsparce, knowing she was exposed, took the opportunity to smack an Aqua Tail upwards. Geysers shot up at Kleavor, drenching it from head to toe.

"Get away from there! Use Rock Slide to cover the holes!"

Kleavor waved his axe-like arms and rocks fell onto the holes, putting an end to the geysers.

Ingo sighed. "What will you do now, Rae?"

She gazed at her feet, then at the state of the cabin. Shattered glass windows, dust and stones, a few broken handles, a few scratched seats... Kleavor stood amid the rocks like a guardian. Behind her, Cheren and Lenora cheered her on with tiny smiles.

"I ain't giving it up just yet!" She channeled Lenora's optimistic resolve and fixed her eyes on Kleavor. "Aqua Tail once more! Drive it up with Hyper Voice!"

The train quaked and everyone held on for safety. Kleavor glanced around uneasily. With the holes all covered there was no way to determine from where Noko-Noko would emerge.

A roaring surge shot the rocks up, causing them to crash into a stumbling Kleavor. Ingo looked on wide-eyed as his Pokémon met with the onslaught of water.

"Slash the rocks!"

"Noko-Noko, Ancient Power!"

More rocks appeared from both sides of the train, coming in through the broken windows.

"Agility and Slash! Keep it up, Kleavor!"

"Defense Curl! Then use Double-Edge!"

"D-Double Edge?" Cheren repeated. "But Rae's never used a move like that before!" He scrolled through his phone. "Yeah... She's always against inflicting damage on her own Pokémon!"

"That means she's ready to give it her all and believe in her Pokémon, no?" Lenora gave Rae a thumbs-up as Noko-Noko pore through the rocks and smashed into Kleavor, causing it to hit the coarse edges of the surrounding rocks and faint.

"You fight with gusto." Ingo applauded and Emmet followed along. "Very well. We shall now return to the Gear Station."

"And the train?" Rae asked apprehensively.

"No matter. We can fix that," assured Emmet.

The train soon reached full circle at the Gear Station and everyone alighted.

"You're improving by leaps and bounds," said Cheren as he shook Rae's hand.

"You're being too serious about this," said Lenora.

"You have to be serious about battling."

Rae beamed at them and turned to the Subway Bosses.

"You did great out there, and it was your first time too," Ingo told her. Then he raised his index finger. "That's it! You love Normal-types, don't you?"

"Uh-huh."

"There's a Pokémon that came along with me."

"Take me to it!"

Ingo glanced at the garbage bin at the corner of the Gear Station. "I must warn you, it's very feral. But I believe you have what it takes to earn its trust."

Cheren and Lenora shared glances when Rae lifted the lid of the garbage bin. Before they could ask why she wanted to rummage through trash, a sleek Pokémon leapt out of the bin and snapped at her. It had light grey fur with red and white accents. Split cuts adorned its red-tipped ears. Wispy fur crowned its head and snaked out of its tail. A heavy melancholy ran across its visage and Rae squatted down to pet it. Her hand couldn't reach its head, however, as the Pokémon threatened to clamp its teeth down on her fingers and Noko-Noko slammed it aside.

"That's a Zorua. Did it come from Hisui too?" Lenora asked Ingo.

Ingo nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. "That's a Hisuian Zorua. Full of resentment. I do not know what to make of it, but I suppose the girl could. She is a compassionate one."

Rae averted her attention to Ingo. "I can't just take it home, can it?"

"You would have to do more than that."

Rae sighed. "I would love to battle it, but my Pokémon are exhausted..."

"I could heal them," Emmet offered.

"It's okay..." Rae's eyes twinkled. "I know another way."

"What would that be?" Cheren blinked. "You want to use my Pokémon?"

Rae shook her head. "I will face it head-on."

"A word of caution, Rae. It's unusual. It has a Normal/Ghost-type," said Ingo.

"Thank you, Ingo. I think I know what I must do now."