Private/Closed Annual Almia Tournament (RP)

[Ninian]

Raising a brow at the hyperactive Jolteon, the blonde automaton responded, "It would be inappropriate to schedule fun at this time." She may have said more on the matter, or perhaps elaborated on her decision, however that was when the host began to speak. She noted that Guzma and Atty made it to the orientation just in time, giving them a nod.

Both scientist and assistant listened to the host's words quietly. The apparently attempt at humor didn't seem to get any sort of reaction from the pair, though Colress was already wearing a smile which seemed to be his default. Instead, they were focused on the rules and brackets, taking notes both mentally and physically.

Once the informational session finished, Colress gave the boy a nod, accompanied by a smile, "So it would seem! I am certain you will bring out the power in your Pokémon."

⟶ Near the Host/Orientation

 

[vaultie]

Both Guzma and Atty listened in as the Host did his speech, though both were rather unimpressed with his attempts at humor. Guzma deadpanned, his expression looking fairly grumpy. Atty squeezed his hand and attempted to smile, but a bit of her internal cringe was showing through. Once he was finally done, however, the couple actually paid attention to the bracket. With Atty up second, there was an extremely high chance she would be going today. She was up against someone named "Rozalind".

Guzma, on the other hand, had a few matches to go before it was his turn, but it was likely he wasn't going to have to wait until tomorrow to battle. He was paired with someone simply named "Sam". He had a gut feeling there was a good chance both he and Atty could make it to the next round after the 1v1, but there was also the possibility of them ending up battling against one another. If they both made it that far, that is.

The two looked over the crowd at Sean, Colress, and Seven, Guzma giving the group a nod of acknowledgement and Atty giving a small wave. After most of the crowd dispersed, they headed over, Atty beaming as she was the first to speak up. "Ooh, hi, you guys!" Despite her original distrust for Colress because of his affiliation with Plasma, Atty had grown to accept the man, mainly with the help of Guzma and learning how he was redeeming himself through his helpful technology. "Guz told me about your battle last night, sorry I wasn't around to see it. I'm looking forward to watching you all in the tourney, though!"

 

[Fire Mana]

Parker turned his attention from Max to Host as he announced the rules and the brackets. Parker was in the second group, so chances were that he was gonna be waiting quite some time before his battle. His opponent was named Xavier, he looked around at the other contestants and made eye contact with a young man. He had black hair with streaks of yellow and neon blue, his outfit had the same colors and suspenders hung from his waist.

Something tells me that might be him...

Parker sighed and looked to his partner. King seemed bummed, probably upset that they wouldn't be battling right away. Parker understood how he felt, to be honest he wanted to battle as well.

"Well it's a shame for us that we have to wait longer to get a battle in, but it's a shame for Xavier that he got paired up against us! I'm rarin' to go, we'll give him a thrashing he won't soon forget!"

King nodded at Parker's comment and now seemed equally as excited.

"Until then we'll just have to watch the others battle, doing some scouting of future opponents is always a good idea."

 

[Ninian]

Seven's eyes caught nearby movement, and looked to see that it was both Atty and Guzma. Once they were within proper earshot, the automaton spoke up, giving them a nod of acknowledgement, "Atlas Bennett and Guzma."

Unlike his partner who lacked enthusiasm, Colress beamed at the pair, "It is good to see you both again!" Smiling, he continued, "Ah yes, Sean and I participated in a sparring match. I am pleased to know that Seven of Nine is still capable of combat. I too am looking forward to your participation, and I will be sure to relay any interesting information gathered from your battles."

⟶ Near the Host/Orientation

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sean looked over to see Atty and Guzma from earlier and smiled at them. He waved ecstatically, with the Jolteon bounding towards Atty and Guzma playfully. Arboria shrugged her shoulders and walked calmly over, waving a paw at the two in greeting. Sean chuckled and his Jumpluff, known as Wata, broke free from her Poke Ball. She calmly floated over and waved a dandelion puff. She looked over to Sean and then to Atty and raised her puffs wide, wanting a hug. Sean just chuckled and walked over, finding her actions adorable. "She wants to cuddle with one of you. Don't worry, she's surprisingly hypoallergenic. Meaning she doesn't have the same stuff in other Jumpluffs that make others sneeze around her."

 

[Fire Mana]

Parker and King approached the small group of tournament goers that was forming near him. He recognized a few of them from the other day, the boy named Sean and Colress a.k.a. Science Man was here as well. The other two looked familiar, but he didn't quite remember where he saw them.

"Hey guys, I'm not super comfortable here... Rather afraid that I stand out actually, would it be cool if I just hang around here for a bit?"

As Parker announced himself and talked to the others, King poked a curios hand at Wata. He still wore a serious expression on his face which made him look even funnier trying to play with the Jumpluff.

 

[vaultie]

Guzma, already knowing where this would go after seeing the Jumpluff, let go of Atty's hand. The young woman practically squealed at the sight of the puffball, eyes bright as she grinned. "Eeee! Mememe!" She brought her arms out so Wata could float over, giving herself over to the Pokemon for much needed cuddles. "I actually really love Jumpluff, y'know! I had one on my team when I traveled Johto, but she's at home now. Her name is Muffin!"

Guzma couldn't help but grin at her enthusiasm over the Cottonweed, fondly remembering how eager Muffin was for cuddles the first time he visited her home. "'Least this one is hypo-whatever. The one you got kept makin' me sneeze."

"Oh it's not that bad," Atty giggled. "You get used to it after actually raising one." She smiled, suddenly looking over to the newcomers, a boy and his Bisharp. "Hi, hi! Feel free to hang around here, I don't mind at all. I think I've seen you around here, but we haven't actually met yet, so hi! My name's Atty, and this is Guzma."

With his introduction out of the way, Guzma made no effort to say much, simply giving a nod. "Yo."

 

[FrostCrispz]

Max did nothing but ignore most of what the host said, jokes or not. The main thing which got her attention was the Brackets. Her battle was set about halfway through, which gave Max a little confusion if she would be battling today or not. But one thing was sure, her first opponent was a boy named 'Luke' who seemed to be rocking with a Rotom. The boy didn't notice her before the Host ended.

Max walked up next to Parker, who had just seemed quite nervous around her. "Did I offend you earlier?" She asked simply. G stood slightly off from her, but not to far to see he's with her. "You seemed quite flushed before 'Host' began his speech."

 

[Fire Mana]

Parker smiled at the girl's reaction to the Jumpluff. She was still holding on to it, even when she introduced herself.

"It's nice to meet you Atty," He said while bowing. "Thanks for being so kind."

Parker was about to jump back into a conversation with the others when Max showed up. His face instantly grew a shade redder when he remembered what had happened.

"I-I did, didn't I? Sorry about that, not the best at the whole people thing. I spend 99% of my time alone or with King here."

Parker put one hand on his Bisharp's shoulder. He might have been overexagerating it, but King was his only traveling companion for the most part. Suddenly his expression changed as he turned to Atty and Guzma.

"By the way, did you say his name was Guzma? I could have sworn I read about that name somewhere..."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sean looked over at Parker and smiled, nodding in response. "Sure, come stay with us." The Jumpluff poked King back before hugging and cuddling Atty, snuggling into her. She spread about her little seeds a bit as she came in the for the hug, making adorable cooing noises. At the mention of Atty's Muffin, Sean chuckled and responded back. "Oh, pretty sure Wata would love to see Muffin. I am pretty sure they won't let go of each other, though."

Sean overheard Parker talking about how he recognized Guzma. He looked back at Guzma, a little worried of how he'd react to that. It seemed like the man was running on some sort of short fuse or was just kind of emotionally jumpy when it came to his past. That must've meant he had a rough past that he didn't want to look on, or he had some kind of reputation he didn't want to uphold anymore. Whatever the case was, he didn't want to make the guy nervous.

Joltz bounced over to the Garchomp and tried to pounce on G's tail, playfully sparking it. Luckily, G was a part Ground-Type. Arboria just serenely walked over to Guzma and rubbed up against his leg. Probably anticipating some kind of disturbance and the fact that she really didn't like tension, her mix of smells from fresh grass and fallen leaves permeated the air around Guzma to give a sense of calm. She did the same for Parker and walked up to him, rubbing her scent all over Parker's leg to calm him down.

 

[Ninian]

The cloaked figures made their way over, to which Seven responded with a raised brow. Say they stood out was certainly an understatement, their dress was certainly conspicuous. At his question, the blonde automaton responded bluntly, "Do what you will."

Atty's shriek caught the blonde duo off guard, both of them looking to the woman with some confusion. However it didn't take them long to realize the cause of the outburst.

Introductions went around, but the cloaked boy still neglected to introduce himself, despite Atty's insistance. Either it was intentonal, or he forgot yet again. With a raised brow, Seven continued to monitor him.

Not wanting an incident to occur, Colress responded to Parker in reference to Guzma, "In Alola, Guzma is a powerful Trainer; one of the best. Certainly the strongest Bug-type specialist I have ever encountered."

⟶ Near the Host/Orientation

 

[Fire Mana]

Parker bent down, rubbing the Leafeon's head. The Pokemon was surprisingly soft, especially since he expected her to feel more like a plant. At Colress's mention of Guzma, Parker returned his attention to the other trainers.

"Ah, that must be it then. I do read a lot about strong trainers from other regions. Reading is my main pastime aside from battling, so I like to combine the two and read up on trainers and different leagues."

The cloaked boy stood back up, dusting himself off and fixing pushing his glasses up.

"Forgot to give my name, didn't I? Well you guys seem like a good group, the name's Parker."

 

[vaultie]

Atty graciously returned the cuddles with Wata, nuzzling her face into the top cotton puff. "Mmh-! You're just so adorable and soft, aren't you?" She couldn't help but babytalk the Cottonweed, now wishing Muffin was here to add onto the adorableness of the scene. However, her attention was suddenly on Guzma when Parker suddenly spoke up about recognizing him, looking up to the man. She was about to interject, but Colress had stepped in first.

Guzma's hand went to the back of his neck to awkwardly scratch at his undercut, a habit he had when he was anxious "Uh-" He opened his mouth to say something, suddenly drawing a blank. The feeling of something against his leg made him momentarily flinch, realizing he was spacing out. He sniffed the sudden wooded scent in the air and peered down to Aboria, reminded all too much of how Nanu's Meowths would act with him whenever he showed up to the station. He gave a rough swallow, his gaze suddenly hitting Colress when he spoke up. Thankfully, the other man seemed to catch on quick enough to the situation. Even though what he said wasn't a lie, it wasn't exactly the full truth, either. Guzma suddenly cleared his throat and put the attention back onto himself, feeling a bit better thanks to Aboria. "Yeah, yeah. It's uh- The Battle Tree, y'know? Me n' Atty, we tend to do Multis, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's been a little news about us goin' around, 'specially with how popular it's been ever since those guys from Kanto showed up. We kick some pretty good ass from time to time, not to brag." He let out a relieved huff that he didn't completely butcher anything, stuffing his hands back into his pockets.

 

[Fire Mana]

Parker's face wrinkled a little bit at the mention of the Battle Tree. He knew of it, but he wasn't super fond of the idea of it.

"Battle Tree huh? That's on Poni Island in Alola right? It's overhyped in my opinion... the format is kind of wonky and it's only popular because of those famous Kanto trainers."

King nodded his head in agreement to everything his trainer was saying. The Pokemon League format was the only one that the pair had liked participating in. All of the other formats seemed gimmicky to them. That's why they participated in tournaments like this one, no fancy rules.

"Not to say that it makes you two any less qualified, I still have a great deal of respect for any trainers that are making headlines from their battling skills."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Arboria made this purring noise when Parker scratched her soft, fur and she rolled over like a Lillipup wanting their belly to be rubbed. Luckily though, Arboria made Guzma feel a little better. Sean just kind of listened on as the others talked about the Battle Tree, while Wata nodded and cuddled with Atty, making adorable cooing noises. Sean had never participated in a single Battle Tree round, nor anything that has to do with the Battle Tycoon or anything. He liked the Battle Tree in Alola, and enjoyed watching the matches in there, but never really had the courage to try the Battle Tree himself. Although, he stretched and looked over at the boards. It seemed that the battle between Serena and Dennis were highlighted, meaning that they were scheduled to battle at this very moment. Well, that's cool. Maybe he could grab something to eat before he goes to see them battle.

 

[vaultie]

"That's fine!" Atty nodded, nuzzling Wata one more time before she let go, pushing the Jumpluff and letting her float back over to Sean. "We're gonna go grab some seats before the first match starts, it'd be nice if you guys wanted to come with and sit near us!" She beamed, grabbing Guzma's hand once more and letting their fingers entwine. "Right, Guz?"

His face glowed a soft pink as he felt the girl back on him, letting out a soft breath as things were calming down and the focus on him was dropped. "Yeah, that's fine." He nodded towards the stairs that would take them up to the second floor and out to the bridge. He already began walking, Atty in tow as she waved back to the group.

--

The couple sat, watching the first matchup as it went underway. Although Dennis was a new face, they both recognized Serena from earlier on the gondola. Guzma leaned back in his chair, secretly hoping she would lose, considering he was still holding a bit of a grudge on how the boy she was with was inconsiderately loud.

Things got heated quick enough as both trainers sent out their Pokemon for the first 1v1 of the tournament, Serena leading with her Absol and Dennis with an Aggron. Given that both Pokemon looked relatively powerful, Atty made sure to pay attention to each of their commands and strategies, carefully watching the battle as it went underway.

Serena attempted to start off with a strong lead, already commanding her Absol to attack with a Night Slash, but the Pokemon seemed to have other ideas in mind. It ignored it's trainer, going for a Double Team instead, only to be countered with an Earthquake from Dennis' Aggron. Within the first turn, it was clear that Dennis had the upper hand, given that he had a better handle on his own Pokemon. Despite Serena's efforts to comply with the Absol's own strategies, the two weren't completely in sync. After exchanging a couple of attacks, they finally settled on a Swords Dance into a Psycho Cut, only for the Aggron to tank the attack and retaliate with a Metal Burst. With the damage inflicted being too much to bear, the Absol was down, ending the 1v1 as Dennis was declared the winner.

Atty, knowing she was up next, took a deep breath, Guzma squeezing her hand in response. "'Ey," He pulled her in closer, a large hand quickly rubbing her back. "You got this, okay? I've seen you battle plenty a' times before, y'got nothin' to worry about."

She silently nodded, lips turning upwards before giving the man a quick peck, much to his slight embarrassment. "Make sure to watch me out there, okay everyone?" She grinned, looking towards the group before heading out of the row of seats and down to where the competitors were supposed to wait while the field was cleaned.

--

As the doors to the field opened, Atty was blinded by the sudden light of the stadium, knuckles almost white as she clutched her Pokeball. She stepped out, heels tapping softly against the floor of the area, gazing around at the stands before her eyes rested on her opponent in front of her. Rozalind stood facing her way, a beach-blonde, tanned girl only a couple years younger than Atty herself. The two met in the middle to shake hands, Rozalind seeming even more shook up and nervous than her. As their display of good sportsmanship ended, they returned to their sides of the field, sending out their Pokemon as the battle began.

Atty was the first to react, tossing up her Pokeball and sending out her Weavile, Ruby. Although Ruby had potentially quite a few weaknesses, using her almost-lifetime partner was her best shot of a surefire way to make it into the next round. Rozalind responded by sending out her own Heliolisk, it's neck frills flaring up as it got ready for battle. Ruby was the first to strike, testing the waters with and Ice Shard to lead. Sharpened ice struck the Heliolisk before it could move out of the way, staggering backwards until it could firmly plant itself on the ground. It responded not with an attack, but by Electrifying itself. It's neck flared out as it took in energy, it's body glowing a soft yellow as it filled with electricity, static crackling around it. Before Ruby could head in for another attack, however, the Heliolisk was ahead of her and struck with a Quick attack, sending Ruby rolling back as it made contact with her. She dug her claws into the floor, claw marks stretching back until she could stop herself. She gave a quick pant, shaking off the static on her fur, before honing in with another attack. She balled her claws up into a fist, the white of her fur suddenly drenched in a purple ooze. She ran straight at the Heliolisk, before suddenly jumping to the side and changing her traction. With the other Pokemon suddenly caught off guard by the change in direction, it hissed as it was attacked with a Poison Jab, Ruby's knuckles colliding with it's side. It fell, the poison seeping through and remaining, staggering back upwards. It sent out waves of electricity as it managed to work it's way through the pain, taking advantage of Ruby's close range. She was shocked by a Thunderbolt, dust rising as the battleground took damage as well. When it cleared, she was kneeling, shivering as the electricity moved it's way through and out of her body, dark fur tussled and dirtied. With the Heliolisk poisoned, however, time was ticking away for the Pokemon, and Ruby was planning to end it quick. The same hand that was once coated in poison gleamed as it was covered with a sheet of ice, the stage lights reflecting off of the crystalline coating. She launched herself at the opposing Pokemon, though this time the Heliolisk was ready for her to suddenly switch up directions. Ruby had managed to duck and get herself behind the other, only for the lizard to begin fleeing in the other direction. What it wasn't expecting, however, was to suddenly be stopped and pinned down by something, turning to see Ruby standing there with a foot firmly planted on it's tail. Without any further time to react, it's jaw was suddenly sacked by an ice-covered fist, getting launched back as the weasel uppercutted with an Ice Punch. Dust and small shards of ice scattered as the Heliolisk rolled back, unable to get up any further. With the combination of the final Ice Punch and the poison inflicting damage, it was enough to secure Atty the win.

As things settled and the crowd erupted into cheers, there was one voice she could definitely make out- Of course he would be louder than the rest. She felt bad for anyone sitting near him.

Meanwhile...

Guzma practically roared with excitement as he watched Ruby's Ice Punch connect, leaning forward to grip the back of the seat in front of him. He rose out of his own chair when the battle was declared finished, putting his hands to his mouth. "Hell fuckin' YEAH! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!!" It was more or less obvious that the eyes on him were due to his volume, but no one was about to get up and tell a man like him to quiet down.

 

[Fire Mana]

Parker and King watched both battles from the stands, they weren't able to find April before hand but they were sure she was here somewhere. Parker knewthat Dennis' Aggron was going to win before the trainers could even do much of anything. Dennis clearly had a better grip of his Pokemon's capabilities and battle style, it wasn't even a contest. The other fight was a little closer, but Atty still had an obvious upper hand. Parker could tell that Atty and her Weavile were close, and the Weavile was strong to boot. Not as strong as King though, Parker had it in good faith that King was unbeatable in a 1v1.

"Pretty amusing fights, huh? Getting you fired up right?"

King nodded, he had a shine in his eye that clearly said he was excited for their battle. After all, the pair hadn't battled since before they left Sinnoh.

"Well we'll get our turn soon enough, that's when we'll show everyone how strong we are."

 

[Ninian]

With the small congregation going their separate ways in light of the tournament starting, Colress and Seven took their leave, saying their goodbyes before filing into the arena's seating area, taking care to get as close to the battle as possible.

Though they made no attempt to sit with any of the others they had met up with, they weren't intentionally avoiding them, either.

The first fight certainly did not go the way the pair had predicted. Why enter into a tournament with such an unruly Pokémon simply did not make sense. Unfortunately, the battle was not intense enough for them to gather any data on the victor, Dennis.

Next up, however, was Atty. Surely this would be a fascinating battle, and the scientific duo were sure to record as much information as possible. It was curious that Atty sent out an Ice-type, however as the battle progressed, the logic behind her choice became clear. The pair battled as one, and the Weavile was quick to take any advantage on the battlefield.

With Atty's victory, Colress clapped loudly, a smile upon his lips.

⟶ Stands (Front)

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sean smiled and returned Wata into her Poke Ball. He followed Atty and Guzma up the stairs to the stands to watch the show, with Joltz and Arboria following along behind him.

As Serena's Absol and Dennis' Aggron fought each other, Sean couldn't help but wonder why Serena used a Pokemon that wouldn't listen to her. He could already foresee that Aggron was going to win, mainly because Absol didn't follow his trainer's orders. He just watched with a dissatisfied look at the battle, as it wasn't something he would normally like to see. Although, that didn't stop him from clapping after the battle was over.

When it was Atty's turn, he told her "good luck" and watched as she fought Rozalind's Heliolisk with her Weavile, Ruby. He smiled when he saw a contrast from Atty's fight and the fight he watched before. It was nice to see Pokemon fighting alongside their trainers harmoniously. It was so riveting that he was at the edge of his seat, and had made a high-pitched whistle while Guzma yelled from the stands. His loud yelling didn't exactly hurt Sean, but it made both Arboria and Joltz cover their ears a bit, and even more so when Sean had whistled.

Now, it was the next contestants. Who was it going to be this time?

 

[FrostCrispz]

Max wandered up with the others to watch the battles. Her and G's seats were happened to be next to Atty and Guzma, to which Atty had next battle after the one being done.
The battle was from two trainers she didn't really meet, Serena and Dennis. The battle was completely one sided. The fact that Serena's Absol didn't listen gave Dennis the advantage, one that would not be taken. But when the duo did agree, it was not, well, well centered. More like one was struggling to the wants of another, the trainer being the struggled.
Atty had battle numero dos, or number two. The selection of Weavile, a dark ice type was a gamble at start, with its many weaknesses. But the battle soon let on why the choice was made. The two must have been partners for a long time, granting them bonds that cannot be learned by anything less than years of friendship. It ended in Atty's victory, and a Guzma cussing more than Gordan Ramsey from 'Mirror World's Kitchen,' To which G did not like at all.
The Garchomp happened to be seated next to the bug type trainer, and decided that Guzma should shut up. He reached forward, placing the sharp claw on Guzma's shoulder pulling back slightly. The force used wouldn't break the skin, but show that he wasn't afraid to, while giving a low growl. Another quick jerk of the head to Max, who G and others would thing was to young to hear those words, in a protective way as well.

 

[vaultie]

Guzma watched as his partner left the field, beaming with excitement up until he felt someone- or something- jerk him back. His head turned, coming face to face with an annoyed Garchomp, his trainer in the other seat down. He listened to the dragon give a low growl as warning, but the man didn't look afraid, either. His grey eyes glared at the other as he sat back down in his chair, crossing his arms and grumbling. "Tch, fine. Give a guy a break, won'tcha? I'm celebratin' here."

It took a few minutes for her to come back, but Guzma's smile returned when he saw the familiar figure of Atty making her way back down the row. She gave Sean a wave as she passed his chair, sitting right back down next to her large companion. Not having enough time to speak up, she was instantly pulled into a kiss, their lips connecting for a brief moment before Guzma himself spoke up again. "See, what'd I tell ya? Nothin' to worry about."

It prompted a laugh out of the young woman, cheeks dusted a light rose. "What's with the sudden affection? What happened to "laying low and playing it safe", huh?" Not that she was complaining, however. Seeing him genuinely happy was always a relief.

He simply shrugged and leaned back. "What can I say? 'M proud of my girl." His gaze quickly flicked back to G next to him. Hopefully something as simple as a kiss wouldn't get the Pokemon riled up.

 

[Le Marsouin]

(OOC: Okay, so thanks to the time and other things here not exactly working in this RP until I was suddenly tagged and having 20+ alerts all of a sudden, I suppose I might need to do a bit of fast forwarding after having a talk with you know who. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.)

BIC:
After managing to quell the shadow Pokémon's anger from the incident earlier, Scott made his way into the stadium after everything was taken care of earlier; from registering at the front desk to gathering some information about the evaluation round about to commence. The little Pokémon walked by his trainer's side, wondering what the nearby commotion was about.

"Alright, please try to remain calm, and don't destroy everything okay? Remember, don't push yourself if you can't take it alright?" Scott said to the Oshawott in a calm manner while taking in several deep breaths.

The shadow Pokémon inclined his head towards his trainer for a brief moment, while grabbing the dark purple seashell on his stomach. A malevolent, violet blade was unsheathed from the shell before the doors to the battlefield parted ways for the two soon after the previous battler left the battling area. There was no turning back the moment they stepped on the land of action.

"Hey you, yeah you over there! Birdie's gonna show you who rules this place!" A man in his young adult years asserted while pointing two fingers at his eyes and then at Scott's a split second later. A Hawlucha was sent from its Poké Ball onto the field after the two trainers went in their respective sides.

"Please don't destroy the place, please don't man," Scott thought while the shadow Pokémon released a wicked blade of air towards the Hawlucha! Utilizing her swift thinking, the Hawlucha slid under the blades while covering her head and underside with her clawed hands to minimize as much harm as possible from the powerful move. The bird Pokémon opened her wings after getting back on her feet and rushed towards the Oshawott at sonic speed!

A purplish ring appeared on the Oshawott's body at ground level, as the ring rose above his body until it faded the moment it reached the top of his head. His body became surrounded with a baleful, violet barrier within a quarter of a second. A resounding, crashing noise echoed throughout the arena another split second later, as the field of shadowy matter erupted into a barrage of dark, exploding fragments! The Hawlucha was sent flying towards her trainer followed by a loud squawk directed towards the shadow Pokémon!

"Come on Birdie, are you really going to let a little otter win over you?" The man queried at the wrestling Pokémon while noticing her struggling to stand straight up on her feet.

"Just... give up... You, no win," A babyish voice retorted from the orb that was sent towards the trainer from the Oshawott.

"Oh yeah baby? Just because you can speak like a kid doesn't mean that you're better, and Birdie's gonna prove that!" The man countered while the Hawlucha took in a series of shallow breaths.

"Give him a nice blast he won't forget!" The trainer proclaimed with a stern tone.

The Hawlucha emitted a moan towards her trainer while placing her hands together as hard as she could. A faint, yellow ball of energy appeared in her hands a brief moment later, as the Oshawott took in a deep breath and speared the blade in the ground! A series of sparks came from the radiant edge of dark energy, as the field became enveloped in a thick, malign cloud of dark matter!

Scott shielded his face with his arms the moment the harsh cloud covered his body, while the other trainer backed away on their side as quickly as they could. The malevolent aura from the inhospitable environment took a huge toll on the Hawlucha's body! The avian Pokémon staggered to her feet before being able to fire off the small ball of weakly condensed energy towards the shadow Pokémon, followed by a series of heavy coughs much to her trainer's dismay.

Unfortunately, the orb missed the Oshawott by several feet; colliding in with the bottom area of the protective barrier and giving off an explosion of mental energy! A lengthy moan followed soon after, as a loud thud could be heard about a few seconds later. Some parts of the crowd appeared to be cheering on, while others had looks of puzzlement and alarm towards the shadow Pokémon. Then there was of course, a few having pity towards the torpid Pokémon being recalled back in her ball after the dark cloud dissipated several minutes later.

Scott glanced over at the Oshawott, while thinking, "Okay, I guess he didn't destroy the place after all... but I'm not too sure if he should exactly be battling like this. Maybe I should go to the nurse and see if she can help him out or anything." There was no word directed towards the dispirited contender or the audience. The Oshawott slowly walked towards his trainer with a blank expression on his face after the blade was sheathed and the shell being holstered on his stomach.

 

[Ry_Burst]

"Ry Burst, a trainer from Veilstone city. Made his official debut at age 15 in the Sinnoh League, making it into the top 16. After that there are records of him taking part in various tournaments, and over the last year or so, no activity was reported. Two staples of his team have been his partner an Infernape and a Sceptile with the ability to Mega Evolve. However while his team has varied, he also keeps a dosage of Fighting Types, and has claimed of wanting to be a great fighting type master." The man finished his analysis as the last battle came to a close. So now with his research from the tournament records completed, it would be time to knock out that kid.
-
"Next up on the stage we have Ry Burst from Veilstone city!" The announcer roared as soon as the new stage was set into place. Ry watched as there was large pillars dotting the stage. It would a be a good stage for Pax. The small Pokemon could jump back and forth and use them to increase his speed.

And with the arrival of his opponent, James, the battle would begin. Ry sent forward Pax who kept from Ry's head and into the battlefield. James gave a chuckle and sent out a Swellow that circled over the pillars. Ry clenched his knuckles, this was gonna be a great fight. With the small Pokemon fighting a airborne bird with a type advantage. Ry knew he would have to choose his attacks carefully.

"Pax! Climb the pillars and go back and forth among them! Keep up your speed!" The black and white Pancham responded with a nod and rushed towards the pillar and began to climb. Once he reached the top, James made his attack.

The Swellow was given various Wing Attack commands as the Pancham leapt from pillar to pillar to dodge attacks. Some were close calls, but the pillars gave the small Fighting Type a better chance than he would have without it. However while Ry seemed to be fully invested in the fight and enjoying it, James seemed to be getting more and more angry with every missed attacks.

"Steel Wing! Smash those pillars!" The blueish bird's wings went from glowing white to silver, as the Swellow got even more aggressive, smashing pillar after pillar in succession. Pax was slowly having more trouble to jump back and forth among the shattered and broken pillars. Each landing would take more thought and luck to avoid it falling out from under him.

However, bad luck still reared its head. As Pax jumped once more to land, the pillar he landed on began to crumble and he began to fall backwards. "Stone Edge Surf!" While the move wasn't an official move, it was one that Ry had worked on with the Panda Pokemon, time and time again. Splinters from the pillar were stripped free and flew under Pax's feet. Raising his arms in a way to keep balance, the small Pokemon flew towards the ground. Ry knew he would have to think of another strategy to knock out this bird.

 

[Fire Mana]

Parker watched as the small panda Pokemon leapt around the pillars in the arena. The Pokemon's trainer, Ry, was at a serious disadvantage here. It would be pretty cool if he could actually manage to win against the Swellow. King looked like he assumed that the Pancham would lose and had stopped paying attention to the battle. Suddenly, one of the Pokeballs on Parker's waist started to shake. He looked down and realized who's exactly it was.

"Ahh..."

He sighed and handed the Pokeball to King, who looked up at Parker with a somewhat annoyed expression. King knew who it was too, there would only be one reason for Parker to hand the ball to King in the first placed.

"Sorry bud, you're gonna have to deal with it for now. I know we're in public and you wanna keep up your appearance, but if she wants out I can't really keep her from it."

King hung his head and pressed the button in the middle of the device. There was a bright flash of light before a smaller figure appeared in King's lap. The figure latched onto him and brought him into a tight hug. The cloaked Pokemon forced a smile and put his hand on the figures head before returning to the battle, deciding that watching it was a better alternative to his current situation.

 

[Le Marsouin]

Scott decided to take a seat on the Castform’s right side to watch the next battle. The Castform took a sip of his bottle of water while the Oshawott silently napped in his trainer’s lap.

Meanwhile, a Pachirisu snuck out of the Pokémon Center, as he decided to slink his way towards the nearest vending machine. The machine towered over his tiny body, as he decided to take an upward glance to see its contents. The machine contained an assortment of drinks, while the legal way to obtain them was to insert a note, press a series of buttons and allow the machine to take the drink down into the receiving area.

A devious smile flashed towards the machine, as his cheeks sparked for a split second. A concentrated bundle of electricity was directed towards the machine, as the device suddenly crackled and spat a series of sparks! The squirrel Pokémon backed away for a few moments, while the display decided to have a brief session of spinning its letters and digits around. After the machine returned back to normal conditions a minute after, the money counter read in the number of seventy-five thousand, nine hundred sixty-four.

The Pachirisu jumped up towards the arrangement of buttons with the help of his tail. He pressed the two buttons in the second to last row, as a soft thud emitted from the machine several seconds later. He retrieved the drink shortly after, as it appeared to be his favorite, a chill can of sweet lemonade.

“Hey there little troublemaker, aren’t you going to pay up or what?” A ranger scorned while fiddling with her styler.

The Pachirisu pointed towards the money counter reading such a large number, as the ranger retorted, “You know, I saw what you did while I was walking around. You better tell me where your trainer is if you got one, or else this spinning thing is going to kick your freakin’ ass!”

Sensing a stern sensation from the ranger’s voice, the Pachirisu decided to launch a jolt of electricity! The ranger emitted a loud cry of pain towards the fleeing squirrel Pokémon! A brief ring came from the styler, followed by some static a split second later. The ranger fell on her knees, as she was hardly able to move any parts of her body soon after.

“Hey! Is everything alright?” A police officer called while a Growlithe rushed along his left side.

“T- tch... does... it look like... I’M ALRIGHT?!” The ranger roared.

“Woah woah! Take a deep breath. Tell me what happened please,” The officer calmly replied.

“I- I saw a white squirrel... h- he shocked that machine over there a- and he got the thing without p- pa- paying! H- he shocked me r- really hard... a- and my m- machine’s not w- wo- working!” The ranger cried.

 

[Ry_Burst]

"Stone Edge Barrage!" Ry gave the command, that to James seemed like an obvious maneuver. The only confirmed move that the Pancham had that would really hurt his Swellow. It was a longer range attack and was super effective. So he knew that these stones were Ry's best bet for winning. As the rocks were stripped from the pillar and shot towards the airborne bird, James smiled.

"Whirlwind!" With that command, the Swellow flapped his wings heavily creating a large gale of wind. Once it smacked the stones, they were scattered in various directions.

However Ry gave a grin. "Double Team and let's repeat the Stone Edge again! Let's go! Surprise Rush!" Hundreds of Panchams littered the area. And they all had a massive grin. Stones were variously ripped from the pillars and rushed towards the Swellow from all directions. With the direction of the various stones, it would be impossible to tell where they were coming from.
"Don't think you can trick me like that. Spin and use Whirlwind!" James shouted. Swellow spun and flapped it's wings furiously, knocking back everything coming its way.

"Now Dark Pulse!" Ry gave this command, that would shock James. With all of the clones and the rocks, James didn't notice Pax getting into position and climbing a pillar below Swellow. Pax jumped up and with a shadowy purple energy around his paw, jabbed Swellow in the gut, stunning the bird. As it began to fall, Ry was ready. "Body Slam!" Pax, whirled around and tackled the mid-air bird. This attack was just enough to knock out the bird. The Swellow had been defeated.

"Return!" Both trainers said, as they returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs.

"And that's the battle folks! And our winner is Ry and Pax, letting him move on to the next round!" The announcer shouted. Ry gave a smile and shook the snarling James' hand and walked away. That was a nice battle, and he couldn't wait for the next one.

 

[vaultie]

With their hands linked together across their seats, both Atty and Guzma continued to watch the day's battles unfold. There were many interesting trainers and Pokemon out on the field, one of them being what looked like a Shadow Pokemon. Atty had always heard rumors of those types of Pokemon- But never had she actually seen one in real life. She had always just assumed they were modern myths, but seeing the little water-type show up with an array of new attacks proved that wrong. Her brows furrowed, knowing that there was a chance she would have to end up battling this trainer if they both won their next rounds. Going up against a Pokemon like that was not something on her bucket list, so she paid careful attention to the next set of trainers.

James seemed to have an advantage with his Swellow as the stage suddenly changed, giving way to a pillar-filled field of some sort. On top of that, the bird Pokemon also had the type advantage over the Pancham. However, the panda Pokemon proved to be more agile and packing more of a punch than what Atty had assumed originally, even moreso when Ry called out a series of combo attacks. The two had clearly been practicing, and it showed as the Swellow went down, netting Ry the victory. Next round, it would be between him and Scott.

The next battle came and went, being a bit uneventful, unfortunately. It was a Gogoat versus a Girafarig, and with both Pokemon having similar body types, there wasn't much of a sway towards either side. Not to mention both trainers had a difficult time utilizing the sudden change in the field. Guzma kept a close eye on what would be his future opponent, however, knowing that as the battle finished and the Girafarig trainer emerged victorious, it was his turn next. He didn't even have to say anything before Atty gave his hand a squeeze, leaning over. Her hand found it's way under his chin, turning his head towards her as they shared another kiss, the young woman pulling back. "Good luck out there."

"As if I'll need it," He grinned at the affection, standing up before Atty could give him a playful smack. Although, outwardly, he was the same as ever, his internal anxiety was creeping up as he made his way out of the stands and back towards where the competitors needed to enter. He wiped his hands on his sweats, feeling tense and clammy as he made his way into the hall and up towards the ring, nearly white-knuckled as he held onto an Ultra Ball. Take it easy, G, He mentally berated himself for getting so caught up in the moment, taking a deep breath as he finally stepped out onto the field. It was a new sensation, the feeling of being watched by hundreds of people- And in a positive way, too. At least... He hoped so. For all he knew, there could be someone out there in the crowd of faces that recognized him, ready to suddenly call out that a criminal was participating. It didn't help when the announcer boomed out his name, either, practically giving his identity away.

His opponent for the day was Sam. He was expecting some kid, but what he got was different. The guy had to be around his own age, maybe even a year or two older. He looked the swimmerly type, a very lean build but stronger arms. He was no stranger to this type of person, however, thanks to growing up in Alola. He just hoped his own Pokemon would be able to outsmart whatever was about to get sent out.

After an awkward handshake in the middle of the field, the two trainers returned to their sides, and the battle began. On Guzma's side, Masquerain, and on Sam's, a Floatzel. Guzma tensed as he saw the water type- there was no doubt in his mind that it knew an Ice type move. There was an advantage he had, however. Masquerain's Intimidate. At the appearance of the bug Pokemon, the Floatzel seemed to grimace, watching uncomfortably as the wings of the Masquerain stared him down, red eyes watching it's every move. However, his trainer wasn't as phased and order off the first move- Already launching an Aqua Jet at his Masquerain. Thankfully, Guzma got his callout in time, and the bug was able to flutter up and just nearly dodge the attack. Figuring his best option was to set up, he ordered his Masquerain to use Quiver Dance, and the Pokemon responded with a series of twirls. He flicked and twitched his eye-patterned wings as he danced, and it was obvious that, in comparison with traditional Quiver Dances, this one had definitely acquired a different taste thanks to his trainer. With a statistical advantage now, he was able to get the next attack out quick. The bug type began to hum, growing louder and louder the faster his wings flapped, sending out waves of noise in the form of a Bug Buzz. With the attack being more sound based, the Floatzel had no real chance of dodging, and was forced to take the attack. It winced, it's paws holding onto it's head as it was blasted with an intense noise, Sam not looking too hot either. Guzma could just shrug it off- After raising so many bug Pokemon, he was used to the drones and buzzes of them.
It didn't last forever, though, and the Floatzel was quick in making a retaliation. It took aim at the other Pokemon, squinting and firing an Ice Beam in the direction of the Masquerain, using the wings like targets. Guzma wasn't about to have any of that, however, and the more strategical side of him began to show through. He had purposely picked his speedy flier for this field, utilizing what speed his Pokemon naturally had in combination with the set up from earlier. Masquerain, at his trainer's orders, began to dart and fly around the field, escaping behind the pillars. The Floatzel continued it's barrage of Ice Beams, trying to get a hit on the other, but only ending up coating the stone pillars in ice. The bug darted and weaved through the field, popping out once it was finally clear and sending an Air Slash the water-type's way. Razor-sharp air grazed the other Pokemon, as it was caught off guard now that the Masquerain had suddenly moved up closer without the Floatzel realizing it. It got knocked back from the force of the wind, flipping back onto all fours. It was ready this time, however, and shot off from the ground like a bullet, aiming another Aqua Jet in the bug's direction. There was hesitation as the attack collided this time, however, and it showed as Guzma's Masquerain quickly recovered from the hit. The white-haired man was growing impatient, wanting to finish this already now that the space between the two Pokemon significantly decreased. He dropped whatever strategy he had, going back to his own ways of strong, headfirst attacks, calling out to his Pokemon to use an Energy Ball.
Masquerain responded in record time, whipping up an orb of natural energy and firing it right at the Floatzel. The Energy Ball made a direct hit, crashing right into the water-type's stomach. It doubled over, getting sent flying from the sudden knockback of the boosted, super effective attack, crashing into the earth and causing a bit of dust to raise over the specialized field. It's trainer's shouting and callouts were all for naught, however, as the Floatzel could no longer get up. With Sam's only Pokemon being unable to battle and with Guzma's Masquerain still healthy and prideful, there was no contest. Guzma was declared the winner, allowed to move on in the tournament.

The man couldn't actually believe it. His first time in a real tournament, and he absolutely steamrolls his first opponent. All that training with Plumeria and Hala was actually paying off, and he was surprised at by how effective a bit of strategy could be. There was no doubt in his mind that if he had rushed in with attacks, his Masquerain would've been knocked out by an ice attack, but thankfully that wasn't the case. Realizing his mouth was still open, he quickly shut it, going back to a sleazy grin and acting as if he wasn't even worried in the first place. He proudly returned his Pokemon, Sam doing the same, and the two met one last time in the middle as a sign of good sportsmanship. Guzma was far more focused on the crowd, though. The cheers that erupted when he was announced the winner felt so good, not even mentioning all the praise Atty would give him when he returned back to his spot in the stands. He left the field feeling a positive high, actually looking forward to whatever would come his way next.

 

[Le Marsouin]

"Hello ma'am, have you seen a white squirrel Pokémon around here?" The police officer enquired after entering the Pokémon Center and carrying the injured ranger.

"Yes, he was right here, sitting on the count- Ahh! He's gone!” Angelina replied before suddenly letting out a sudden cry of fear.

"M- Mag... Ni, Ni?" The Meganium blurted before realizing that the Pachirisu was gone.

"Dang it! That little squirrel is always running off when I turn my eyes away! I should of gotten out my highchair earlier!" Angelina thought while looking over at the Meganium rubbing her antennae with her vines.

"It sounds like he might be your Pokémon, and if he is... then I would hate to break this but, he stole something from the vending machine a few minutes ago," The officer stated.

"He stole something already? Bring him over if you find him, I need to talk to the little guy. I know that he eats and drinks more than usual, but I can't be having him taking things like that," Angelica requested while the ranger gave a slight nod.

"I'll have the ranger sit here, is that okay?" The officer asked while gently placing the ranger down in a cushioned seat.

"Yes, that's fine. She looks like she's paralyzed, so have her take it easy until she's better," Angelica responded.

"Meganium, please use Aromatherapy on that ranger over there," Angelica commanded.

The Meganium gave a nod of approval towards the nurse and released a cleansing mist towards the ranger.

"Gee thanks... it smells good and I can sort of move, but my legs are still sore. I'll just sit here for a bit I guess," The ranger quietly said while the Meganium twinkled a smile before the officer left the Pokémon Center.

Meanwhile, the Pachirisu performed the same, crafty procedure to obtain a bottle of orange flavored soda pop after encountering another vending machine not too far from the previous one. After throwing the empty can of lemonade into the bin with narrow odds, the squirrel Pokémon sat near the machine and proceeded to drink his bottle after managing to get the lid off with his paws.

"Well now, finishing something there kid?" The officer calmly asked after the Pachirisu attempted to gulp down his drink.

The Pachirisu bolted off to the Poké Mart without a word, as the officer sprinted after the squirrel Pokémon!

“GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW YA LITTLE PUNK!” The officer yelled while rushing for the Pachirisu at breakneck speed!

As soon as the Pachirisu finished the last drop, he tossed the bottle towards the officer's feet. A loud thud followed a split second later, as the officer screeched, "YOU THINK YOU CAN PLAY SMART HUH? I'M GONNA GET YOU RIGHT NOW!"

The officer pulled out his baton while darting in the Pachirisu's direction after managing to get back on his feet. The Pachirisu turned around for a brief moment and noticed the officer wildly swinging the baton towards the squirrel Pokémon. The Pachirisu squealed in terror and jumped inside the market before the door was shut! The officer bumped into the entryway's closed opening several second later, as the Pachirisu ran towards a trainer with Lopunny!

"Y- you gotta help me! T- th- there's a mad dude that's chasing me and wanting to beat the crap out of me!" The Pachirisu cried while his cheeks loudly sparked.

"Are you sure about that? I don't know since it looks like that guy over there was the one chasing you. I'm sorry, but I can't exactly be helping you if you're going to be causing trouble," The Lopunny replied while dusting off her pale yellow fur.

The Pachirisu gulped, as he decided to hide in a shelf full of Pokémon dolls with some of them resembling his appearance. He sat perfectly still like a frozen statue while taking in silent, shallow breaths every now and then. He could only hope that the officer was the only one on his tail.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sean watched as person upon person entered the field, his attention drawn to the battles and not the Garchomp getting mad at Guzma for saying such words. He congratulated Atty when she came back before she got pulled into a kiss and kept watching the show. He saw the Shadow Oshawott and raised an eyebrow at how strong this Pokemon was, but then realized that Hawlucha's aren't exactly meant to have the greatest defenses. Didn't he also hear from someone that Shadow-Typed attacks are stronger against Pokemon who aren't Shadow Pokemon? Maybe. Certainly explains why he won so quickly.

When Ry came up to battle, he was at the edge of his seat, unable to keep his excitement down. His Jolteon and Leafeon soon got tired of the people around them and hid in their Poke Balls. Even though they would love to watch the battles, the roaring audience around them was starting to hurt their ears. Sean watched as the Pancham took the field and used it to its advantage against a type disadvantage, and he hollered as he won.

Then Guzma was up and he gave him a good luck thumbs up before watching him fight. The man's Masquerain proved too much for his opponent's Floatzel and he was whooping and hollering again, happy that he had won something that looked to be a disadvantage. Excited, he put his fist in the air and then took it down to blow out a sharp whistle with his two fingers, causing some Pokemon and people nearby to cover their ears or make louder noise to drown out his whistling. He really was having a blast watching this, that he had forgotten he was going to be up soon. He'll just have to have a reminder.

 

[Le Marsouin]

The Pachirisu took a deep breath and snuck out of the market once he heard the officer stomping away soon after. Noticing that he was already thirsty after a good run from a recent pursuit, the squirrel Pokémon made his way towards the vending machine near the spectators’ entryway. He performed the same action done on the previous machines to obtain a free drink of his choice.

He snatched the bottle of soda pop from the receiving slot and made his way into the spectators’ area of the arena after gulping down his drink and throwing the bottle into the closest bin he could find. He emitted a sigh of relief when there appeared to be no sort of security nearby.

Suddenly, the squirrel Pokémon bumped into a man’s leg! The Pachirisu winced the moment the man whistled in excitement. He curled up while his cheeks quietly sparked towards the man.

“Do you know where Pachirisu went?” Angelica asked the ranger.

“No, unfortunately I don’t... though I’m guessing the officer is on him since he looked like he was in a hurry,” The ranger answered while attempting to break free of her stasis.

 

[Hydreigonborn]

Danny entered the arena. He took a deep breath and looked towards the battlefield. It was a large tank of water. He looked over the tank to see his opponent walk into the battlefield also. Danny didn't like talking to his opponent during battles, as it would cause him to become overly emotional about the battle. Without saying a word, Danny released his strongest and most loyal Pokemon, Greninja. Greninja leapt from the ground into the large tank of water. Danny's opponent released their Pokemon as well, a Sharpedo.

Since the Sharpedo was faster it would be the first to attack. The shark lunged towards Greninja and attempted to use Poison Fang on Greninja. Gerninja dodged the attack by bouncing out of the water. Sharpedo landed in the water and Danny shouted,"Greninja, use Night Slash!"

The frog Pokemon quickly obeyed his trainers commands. Greninja created a played of darkness and struck the Sharpedo. The shark spiraled towards the bottom of the tank, crashing hard on the bottom. The bottom of the tank began to crack slightly, but it was nothing to major. Sharpedo weakly swam to the top and readied it's next move, which was Aqua Jet. Sharpedo sped towards Greninja and slammed in to the frog Pokemon. Greninja flung back towards the side of the tank. "Greninja, Use Water Shuriken!"

Danny's Pokemon stilled himself in the air and flung four liquid stars towards the shark Pokemon. The stars collided with the Sharpedo causing it to faint.

 

[Ninian]

Colress and his companion had been quietly observing the fights up until this point, making notes on the various combatants, and creating profiles of their battlers. One that drew his attention was the unusual Oshawott from earlier who was giving off bizarre energy readings associated with Orre's Shadow Pokémon. All reports indicated that the affliction had been neutralized some years ago, but clearly that was not the case.

Some time passed, and it was finally his turn. Leaving Seven of Nine behind at the stands, he took his place in the arena facing a rather youthful looking opponent. The girl's eyes were furrowed in determination.

Beaming, the scientist spoke, "Ah! Your name is Idyna, is it not? I am excited to collect data from this match, shall we begin?"

The battle then commenced. Taking a look over the battlefield, Colress determined that it was Configuration 3; a frozen lake. It hardly effected his choice, as he sent out his strongest fighter—One of Nine, the Metagross.

The blue-haired girl, Idyna sent forth a Lapras. Though it was normally accustomed to swimming through water, it quickly showed its proficiency at skating. With the match starting, it instinctively knew to skate quickly across the surface, attempting to confound One with its unusual display of agility.

Still, despite its opponent's swiftness, the Metagross took the initiative. "Precision Hammer Arm." Colress' command reached the large metal behemoth, who began to make its own intricate skating patterns in an attempt to close in the distance between itself and the Lapras. Finally, it was with in striking range. Taking a long arm it struck the Lapras across the bridge of its 'nose', sending it's head downward on a diagonal.

A shriek of dismay escaped the girl's lips ass she scrambled to think of a way to recover. Given that they were in close proximity, she called out her attack, "Drill Run!" Quickly recovering from the initial attack, Lapras lept up, using the power from the horn on its head to send it spiraling towards the Metagross.

"Defensive Maneuver Gamma."

Watching the drill, the Metagross waited for the perfect moment before catching the Water-type's horn between its large metal arms. The rotation of the horn began to carve painfully into its metallic hide, and it was obvious to those watching that the attack certainly hit home.

"Attack Pattern Omega."

With the Lapras still in its grasp, One of Nine launched a powerful Hyper Beam directly forward, striking the Lapras and throwing it across the field, unconcious. Idyna's Lapras was declared unable to battle, with the victory going to Colress!

Reviewing the information gathered throughout the battle, the heavily coated man made his way off the battlefield, tapping furiously into his PADD.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Now that three pairs of people have fought, with Danny, another person whose name had escaped him, and Colress had won, Sean couldn't wait for his own battle. He rushed down and out of the stands, zooming right through people as they grumble or yell at him for bumping into them so harshly. He ran across the lifted bridge that hung over the plexiglass tube underneath and slammed open the doors. He then rushed down the stairs into the main lobby and asked if he was able to go to the host, who had just exited the plexiglass tube. Surprised, the man shook away his shock and smiled before responding.

"The place will be cleaned in a short bit. By the way... Do you want to try that tub of water? It's got one more round before we switch it up a bit for the next contestants-"

"Sure thing! I got the perfect Pokemon for it!" yelled Sean. He then ran outside and jogged around outside, waiting for the arena to get cleaned and ready for his battle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~[30 minutes later]~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a short while of resting and eating some lunch, he ran back inside the lobby to find the host waiting for him to enter the tube. Smiling he rushed up, but was stopped short of the man, who chuckled and ticked at him with his tongue.

"Now, now. I know you are excited, but you must wait for your opponent. I shall go on ahead and take my spot as the referee while you wait until Damien arrives," smiled the man before he left, leaving a slightly disheartened Sean groaning in agony.

After a few minutes of what felt like hours, a man had walked up to Sean. Judging by his glasses, black hair, and pale skin, he seemed to live in a library, but his behavior was a complete stark contrast to what his face looked like: studious. No, the man was actually quite energetic and probably more ambitious than Sean.

"Why, hello, young chap. You must be Sean. I'm Damien. Pleasure to meet you. We should get going, everyone is waiting," greeted the young man and he walked through the doors after he slid his card in, with Sean tailing behind him.

After a few minutes of chitter-chatter, Sean was really liking the guy. This guy was all about Fighting- and Water-Types. They finally made it to the battleground, where a huge column of water met them. They walked to the edge of the battlefield, shook hands and gave each other some good luck in this round.

After the two made their ways to their respective sides, the host yelled out to get the crowd's attention. "Alright, our next battle will be between Sean McLoughlin from Saffron City, Kanto and Damien Campbell from Dewford Town, Hoenn. Get ready for a shocking showdown between the aspiring Grass- and Electric-Type Gym Leader and the aspiring scientist and researcher from the Hoenn region. Let's get ready to rumble!"

As soon as he was done riling up the crowd, Sean threw his Poke Ball high in the air, and a beam of energy went into the large basin of water, with his Luxray being revealed. The Luxray smiled and growled playfully as she began to expertly swim in the water, sparks emanating from her legs and tail and bouncing about on the water's surface. Grinning, the man threw up his Poke Ball and a beam went into the waters. A large Pokemon arose from beneath the water and a large Swampert appeared. It looked like it was a foot and a half bigger than its usual species. Interesting.

Knowing that these Pokemon were part-Ground, Sean gritted his teeth. How was he going to damage it? Even Tora, his Luxray, widened her eyes at the sight and practically frowned. Great....

Damien then shouted from across the basin. "Since you've made quite a wonderful impression on me Sean, how about you take the first move?"

Sean smirked and the adrenaline surged through his veins once again. "Sure thing, Damien! Rush forward with Quick Attack and use Double Kick!"

Smirking, Tora held her breath and rushed forward, expertly swimming towards the large Pokemon with streaks flying past her mane. She then dove in the water, something that the Swampert wasn't expecting, and Tora had spun around, her hind legs actually connecting with the large Pokemon. The Swampert got hit by both kicks but grabbed the Luxray by the tail, eliciting a painful shock to emanate from the Luxray and all throughout the water, but the Swampert only smirked. Sean took him a moment before shouting out for Tora to use "Throat Chop!"

Tora curled up and used her powerful hind legs to kick her paw right in the Swampert's throat, causing the Pokemon to stagger and drop her, causing her to splash right in the water. Luckily, she had held her breath, but now Swampert wasn't happy. Damien commanded him to use Hammer Arm. The Swampert's arm began to glow a little as he immediately swung it into the water, actually connecting with the Luxray. Tora got sent to the bottom, but used her Double Kick to push herself quickly to the surface for some fresh air. As soon as she got some air, Sean told her to use Double Night Slash.

She dove into the water again, but then kicked off with her hind legs before the Swampert could grab her again, coasting right over him and attaching herself with her claws on his back. She then pulled herself towards the Swampert and her claws glowed a dark purple as they flexed out. She quickly swiped twice on the back of the neck of the Swampert, but he immediately grabbed her. Grunting in pain, he rose to the surface, granting her some fresh air before...

"Focus Blast!"

The Swampert's hand that he wasn't using to hold Tora had a sphere growing in it, while the other hand was holding her by the scruff of the neck. Startled, Tora acted of her own accord, using Signal Beam to blast the Focus Blast into a little explosion. The beam of multicolored energy left her mouth in strange angles before suddenly shooting straight for the little sphere, causing the Swampert to let go again. Tora then rushed forward with Quick Attack to get close, and then used Return as her body began to glow a soft pink, her love of her trainer causing the attack to be beefed and cause the Swampert to move back.

Swampert used Hammer Arm again, but this time, used it on the water. It caused a huge wave to wash over Tora and push her back into the middle of the basin. Now, she had no edges to push herself off of. It was then that her teeth began to mist over, and she swam up quickly, grabbing some fresh air before diving again and swerving to the right while the Swampert zoomed past, his fist was ready to strike in a Focus Punch, but missed. Tora used this opportunity to attach herself to the Pokemon's back and bite his neck, now that her teeth were solid frozen for the move Ice Fang. The Swampert flinched in pain, which allowed Tora to hop off and then dive to down to two more Night Slash attacks on the face, and then one more Double Kick in the chest, causing the Swampert to drift on the water, exhausted from getting pummeled.

He slowly got up and tried one last thing.

"Hydro Cannon!"

A sphere of water formed at his mouth and grew as Tora released a series of stars in the form of Swift from her mouth to interrupt the attack. The Hydro Cannon then got expelled, heading towards Tora, but the stars attacked Swampert in the face, causing him to faint. The Hydro Cannon made its mark though, pushing Tora against the wall, battered and bruised. Although, the Swampert was the first to faint, Tora came a close second, her stomach facing up at the sky and knocked out.

Silence befell for a moment before the host reviewed the camera footage and rose his hand up on Sean's side. "Damien's Swampert was the first one to faint, with Sean's Tora the Luxray coming a close second. That makes Sean the winner and able to move on to the next round! Congratulations. Give them a round of applause."

Sean was astounded. He quietly returned his Luxray, dumbfounded that he was that close to failing, but he had won! He jumped in the air and fist pumped, extremely excited about his success. He ran over and met Damien in the middle, who had returned his Swampert. "Awesome battle, man!"

"Likewise, Sean. I think it's time for me to hit the hay. That took a lot out of me. Have a nice day, Sean," smiled Damien, as he left the stadium.

Sean, still super happy he made it, had whooped in the air and ran through the plexiglass tube, reaching the stands in record time, making Damien chuckle as he saw the young man rush past him.

Sean found his original seat and his face was absolutely beaming. "I did it, guys! That was close!"

He sent out his Luxray, who was tired and soaked, but was happy to have won. She licked Sean on the face as he giggled and pet her, helping her dry off by allowing her to lay all over him, causing him to giggle a little. She then zapped the water off, causing her body to become poofed as steam flew off of her for a second, and Sean's poor hair matched her spiky mane. He giggled and couldn't have been happier, hugging her around her neck, with her purring every minute of it.

 

[Fire Mana]

"Okay King, we're up next. This Xavier guy doesn't have a chance against us!" Parker announced to his partner as the pair rose from their seats in the crowd.

The two of them entered the corridor that lead to the arena, meeting Xavier in the center and shaking hands. Xavier's handshake was rather aggressive, putting all of his pressure into his palm and squeezing Parker's hand. The two of them proceeded to make their way onto the battlefield. The battlefield had changed again starting the previous battle. It was now large sandy area, covered in very minimal vegetation and rocks.

The referee of the battle stepped forward and gave them another rundown of the rules. Xavier had a smug expression on his face the entire time, and when the ref was done talking he threw his Pokeball forward revealing a strong looking Zebstrika. Parker turned to King and nodded as the cloaked Pokemon stepped forward onto the desert field. Both trainers actually looked similar to their Pokemon, the team outfits finally made sense.

"Begin!"

Xavier's face grew a smirk as he pointed to his Pokemon

"Use Spark Zebstrika!"

The opposing trainer's Zebstrika came full speed at King, electricity flying off of it's body. King dropped his knees a bit, changing his center of gravity and preparing to meet the charge head on. He reached his bladed arms out, and lowered his head so that his eyes met the other Pokemon's.

"Grab him!"

King's left arm reached around the Pokemon's neck while his right lowered and went under Zebstrika's body. He heaved upwards, flinging the electric type over his head and into the air.

"Follow him King!"

The Bisharp leapt up, reaching the Zebstrika who had just reached the apex of his arc in the air.

"Now drop him!"

King lifted his leg, dropping it down on the opposing Pokemon's head. The force from the blow sent the Zebstrika flying downwards, hitting the ground and sending dust and sand around the arena. King landed, with a glint in his eyes and grin on his face.

Xavier's face shifted from confidence into anger. "Zebstrika, Wild Charge!"

A veil of electricity flowed over the Pokemon as he stamped his hoof on the ground. King took off his cloak, brandishing it over his arm like a matador preparing to receive a charging bull. The Zebstrika reared up on it's back legs and flew forward at incredible speed. It reached King within seconds, barely missing as King spun out of the way with his cloak still over his arm. The Zebsrtika looked equally as angry as it's trainer now, and charged forward once again. The time however, instead of spinning out of the way, King dropped his cloak at the last second. Now it was Parker's turn to smirk.

"Night Slash!"

King's arm erupted in shadow as he too lunged forward, meeting the enemy head on. There was a flash of light and both Pokemon stood still for an anxiety ridden second before the Zebstrika fell to the ground.

The referee stepped forward, raising a green flag to Parker's side of the arena. "Zebstrika is unable to battle, therefore the winner is Parker!"

Xavier fell to his knees, clutching his head with one hand and raising a Pokeball to return his Zebstrika with the other. Parker and King stepped forward and high-fived. The fight wasn't very difficult, but it satisfied them for the time being.

"How could he have been expected to beat us?" Parker said while giving a shrug to King.

The duo sauntered back to their seats, clearly happy about their victory. Parker seemed to have turned into a completely different person when battling. His usual withdrawn and somewhat awkward self was replaced with a calm and confident fighter. He could only guess how April would be reacting right about now.

------------------------------------------------------

April was on the edge of her seat for the entirety of Parker's battle. His opponent, Xavier, certainly seemed strong... but Parker was way out of his league. At least that's how the peppy blonde saw it. As soon as the battle was over she wanted to jump out of her seat and hug the cloaked duo, but it would have to wait until they met back up after all of today's fights were over. Until then, she was content with the fact they would be moving on and she could watch them battle more.

 

[Le Marsouin]

“Are you alright? I’ll give you some medicine if you’re not too great,” Angelica asked while the Meganium wiggled her antennae for a brief moment.

“I’m fine, thanks for helping me out,” The ranger replied before slowly getting on her feet, waving to the nurse and exiting the Poké Center.

“Can you go into the care room and check on the little Pokémon?” Angelica requested.

The Meganium nodded at her trainer before strolling over towards the hallway. She made her way into the care room and noticed a fire mouse Pokémon lying as motionless as a lifeless statue in a peculiar, complex machine. The infantile Pokémon lied on an area of soft padding while the top of his head, chest and and right arm appeared to be covered with a liberal layering of bandaging.

The Meganium approached the machine and used her right vine to press the green button, causing the glass door to unfold. A thin cloud of warm, mellow air was released from the machine. The Meganium inclined her head towards the young Pokémon, noticing several wires being connected on his chest. The machine emitted a low, continuous beep while showcasing a display of the fire mouse’s condition on a small screen.

The Meganium gave a sigh of slight relief, as she turned towards the table on the opposite side of the room. The table had a folder containing several documents, along with a wooden, ancient weapon of some sort and several types of arrows lying next to the piece. The Meganium decided to focus her gaze back at the baby Pokémon before gently stroking the little Pokémon’s body with her vine for a brief moment.

 

[FrostCrispz]

Max had watched the previous battles, each turning out similarly. One side had a definitive lead on the other, the other loosing. The only questionable one was Sean's battle, which ended in a suprise to most everyone. And now, it was her turn.

Max walked forward to the trainer spot of the battlefield. It was a desert landscape, dunes and cacti were littered everywhere. Across the field, Luke, her opponent, stood ready for battle. Max zoned out for introductions, chosing a pokeball from her belt.

Cheers signaled when the battle began to Max, as Luke sent out a Flygon. Max twisted her wrist around the Nest Ball holding her pokemon choice. A slight flick from the wrist sent out X the Xatu. The bird landed on the ground, not moving anything but its feet upon landing. The battle had begun.

Luke began the battle with a Dragon Breath attack, where Flygon seemed to contain the attack until the last second before releasing the attack in one strong burst. Max made no action to call a dodge, as she could tell X had already seen it happen. The Xatu launched itself up into the air inches above the blast moving as little as possible. "Future Sight." Max commanded as X opened its right eye. Myth said that the Xatu's right eye could see the future as the left eye the past. It's hard to dodge X's future sight when it's seen parts of the battle. "And now Air Slash." X swung one single wing forward sending a blade of Air moving at speeds making it look white.

"Dodge Flygon!" Luke commanded as Flygon launched itself away. "Now Dragon Breath again!" Flygon once more began its attack by holding the attack and releasing it in a stronger burst like last time, leaning back while containing and forward as releasing. Max took note of that.

Xatu took the hit, making only a slight movement from the attack. It took more damage than it seemed, but still not enough to drastically end the battle. "X, Sand-Tornado." She commanded, using a move they perfected while on water. Sand and water acted similarly when dry, and the heat confirmed the lack of water. X began its first real action this entire battle by launching itself forward and striking the ground around the Flygon with Air Slashes. Sand was sent up everywhere making it even harder to see the battle in the first place, but cleared up soon after when Xatu used a combination of Ominous Wind and Psycic to form a ring around Flygon, swirling extremely fast. The Flygon attempted to excape, a wing or leg showing before being thrown back in by momentum.

Luke was worried. He had no idea what to do. Flygon was stuck in a tight sand-tornado as his opponent called it. The problem was that it wasn't naturally being held together, as the Xatu was holding it together with Physic and Ominous Wind to make it spin. Then, what looked like a magic circle from TV appeared above the tornado.

X made a call, one that desert towns feared. It was the cry of a calamity, or danger. The danger wasn't for X, but for the Flygon. Above it, the Future Sight activated. A silver disk formed above the tornado, sending balls down inside. Some hit the Flygon, others were caught within the vortex. X then began shrinking the tornado smaller, it soon becoming smaller than the Flygon itself. The tornado didn't contain it for longer, as it exploded into a big gust of sand that blew in all directions. "Game." Max stated as the sand dissapated to show the Flygon laid across the ground, fainted.

"Flygon is unable to continue, leaving Xatu the winner!" The announcer claimed, sending loud cheers through the stands. X then flew over back to its exact spot from the start of the battle. "Good game!" Max called over with a wave before exiting the battlefield.

 

[Le Marsouin]

The Meganium used her left vine to grab a clipboard, while utilizing her right one to take a long, thick pencil. She began filling out the empty page, as the text read upon finishing:

Patient Summary:

Name: Unknown
DOB: Unknown
HT: 48.2 cm
WT: 7.6 kg
Description: Patient has no response to touch or sound, and remained this way for five days. Injuries were treated and bandaged, patient appears to be in moderate condition.

The clipboard and pencil were placed back on the shelf a brief moment later, as the Meganium noticed the fire mouse Pokémon wiggling his left arm in a slight manner.

“H- hey... a- are you alright?” The Meganium asked while poking the baby Pokémon’s snout with her right vine.

“Come on, try to wake up!” The Meganium contended while gently brushing her vine on the little Pokémon’s chest, taking care to avoid the bandaged area.

“Usually, something like this lasts around several days to about a week. I’m not sure what to even feed him if he wakes up,” The Meganium thought while stroking the infantile Pokémon for a lengthy moment.

“So, the little squirrel’s back huh?” The ranger enquired while noting the Pachirisu’s raised tail and his petrified outlook.

“Where have you been Pachirisu? You made me very worried!” Angelica cried while scooping the squirrel Pokémon in her arms.

There was no response from the Pachirisu, as Angelica asked, “Did you steal something from the machine?”

Before the Pachirisu could answer, the ranger blurted, “Yes! He did! I saw him earlier shocking it and a can fell when he pressed some buttons!”

“I was talking to Pachirisu, and I’ll hear what he has to say,” Angelica declared while tightening her grip after noticing the Pachirisu flailing his paws.

“So, you’re practicing your right to be silent huh?” Angelica queried after the Pachirisu kicked her in the chest.

“Oh stop that! It’s tickling me!” Angelica remarked while the ranger stood up and stared down at the Pachirisu.

“He looks too suspicious. He’s sweating a lot and he looks pretty nervous for someone trying to tell the so called truth,” The ranger stated after noting the Pachirisu’s watery eyes.

“P- Pachi! Pachirisu! Pachirisu!” The Pachirisu shouted in a rather weak tone.

“Eek! He’s really mad now! You gotta calm him or something!” Angelica shrieked.

“Right... hope my spinning thing doesn’t break!” The ranger asserted while taking out her capture styler.

“Capture on! Loopy loop around that squirrel!” The ranger cried while the capture disk was launched from the styler.

“Pachi Pachi!” The Pachirisu squalled while the disk slowly looped around the squirrel Pokémon, causing feelings of friendship to surge throughout his body. The Pachirisu sprinted past the bright blue line, causing it to break upon contact!

“Urgh! Just hold still already dammit!” The ranger muttered after the capture line broke apart and faded away.

 

[Eis]

While most of the other competitors were spectating the preliminary matches, Nina busied herself doing some last minute training with Patch before their own match. The cruise to Almia had been a bit long, and since there really weren't any appropriate areas for sparring on the ship Patch hadn't had any practice in days. In light of this, Nina decided that missing the preliminaries was a small price to pay to make sure that her partner was 100% prepared for his match. Besides, the athletic trainer enjoyed their spars even if they were dreadfully one-sided (especially since Patch had evolved into a Primeape). After wiping the sweat from her brow, Nina bent her knees and raised her fists in front of her face. Across from her, Patch stepped out of his own battle stance, giving his trainer a confused and slightly concerned look.

"Ah, don't be like that! I've still got a little fight in me." Nina barely kept her breathing steady as she spoke, panting between every few words. "One more round, let's go!" While the Primeape admired Nina's spirit, he could clearly see that she was lying through her teeth. The two had been training for quite a while, with nearly half that time spent sparring. Patch wouldn't dream of hitting Nina at full force, so of course he held back quite a bit; the training was more focused on Patch's stance and posture anyway. However, Nina was still only human, and like it or not humans are just not built to keep up with Pokémon. Patch suspected that Nina knew this just as well as he did, but was just too stubborn to back down from the challenge she made for herself. Turning to his side, Patch began to rummage through Nina's bag, emerging with a water bottle and lightly tossing it toward her. The exhausted trainer caught it with both hands, and drained the bottle in record time. "Hah...I needed that. Thanks."

After taking a few minutes to catch her breath, Nina pulled out her PokeNav and scrolled through the various competitors until she found her match-up. Her opponent was a slightly older woman named Catherine Santoro, hailing from Mauville City in the Hoenn region. From her profile it seemed that while she only started the gym challenge a few years ago, Catherine had been battling Pokémon since childhood. No particular type specialties, though a slight preference for electric types was noted in her statistics. Looking at her team, Nina wasn't able to find any glaring weaknesses. Whoever this lady was, she definitely knew what she was doing. A part of Nina was hoping that she would get an easy win against a rookie or something for her first match, but she didn't mind having a real battle one bit either.

"Better stay sharp, Patch. Our first match won't be such a breeze after all." The Primeape only nodded a bit. He hadn't been expecting an easy battle in the first place. "We got about an hour before our match starts, so rest up mate. We're gonna rock that stadium like never before!"

-------

"And now we move on to the next exciting battle!" The announcer's voice resonated across the stadium, booming over the roar of the crowd. "For our next match, we have Catherine Santoro of Mauville City, facing Nina Schulz of Snowpoint City!" As Nina entered the arena, she noticed the field begin to change around her. Where there once stood a standard battleground was now what looked to be a rocky field filled with steam. Boulders radiating heat littered the battlefield, giving it the impression of a hot spring, or maybe even a volcano. It reminded her a bit of Lavaridge Town, and not in a good way. At least she was much more acclimated to heat and humidity than she was as a novice trainer. At the same time, Nina watched her opponent with a critical gaze as she made her way to her position on the field. Unlike Nina, she seemed completely unfazed by the change in scenery. The woman had an air of confidence about her that radiated with every move she made. It was almost enough to send shivers down Nina's spine. If the Sinnoh trainer hadn't already read the woman's profile, she never would have guessed that this was only her second tournament.

"Well, so much for having a bit of fun in the first round." Nina muttered to herself before calling out to her opponent. "We don't really gotta introduce ourselves, do we? I'm ready to throw down whenever you are." In response, Catherine gave a crooked grin and placed one hand on her hip.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Skip the pleasantries and get down to business." She grabbed a Great-Ball from her vest, juggling it from right to left as she spoke. "May the best trainer win, and all that."

"Trainers, you may now call out your Pokemon! Let the battle begin!" Great! No more talking, time for battling.

"Patch, you're up!"

"Czar, it's go time!"

As Patch's pokeball burst open on Nina's side of the field, Catherine revealed her Pokemon. A tall, sleek red Pokemon with small wings and claws that looked to be made for pummeling rather than slashing. A Scizor! The Snowpoint trainer quickly sized up the opposition; it was clear that this match could go either way. Neither Pokemon had a distinct advantage over the other. Well, other than that move...but that was a bit risky. If Nina was going down that route, she only had one shot. She had to make it count. Suddenly, the announcer's voice shook Nina out of her thoughts.

"What's this? In the blink of an eye, Scizor is already unleashing a flurry of blows on Primeape!" What?! Nina hadn't even seen the thing move, and it already closed the distance? Luckily it didn't seem to be hitting very hard, since Patch was able to shrug off most of the attacks without too much issue. Still, the Scizor was too fast for even Patch to block. Nina had to get that thing to back off.

"Patch, throw 'em off balance with Low Kick!" With a glint in his eye, Patch swiftly ducked beneath the Scizor and struck its knee, sweeping it off balance and nearly knocking it too the floor. While Catherine seemed surprised, that confidence of her's didn't waver.
"Czar, get outta there with Agility!" As quickly as he appeared, the winged Pokemon was back to its trainer's side of the field. "Looks like we're not hitting hard enough. Power up with Swords Dance!" On Catherine's command, Scizor began to flutter back and forth as it was enveloped in a red aura. Well, this was definitely an issue. Patch was fast, but there was no way he could keep up with that kind of speed. And after a Swords Dance, Nina doubted her partner would be able to take too many hits. Approaching it head on would be a death sentence, so their only option was to slow Scizor down somehow. Luckily, Nina knew just how to do it.

"Patch, start breaking down those boulders, stat!" While still keeping an eye on Czar, who was still powering up, Patch went to work crushing up the boulders into smaller rocks, each a bit bigger than Patch himself. By the time the Scizor had finished boosting its strength, Patch had amassed a sizable stack of stones. "Great work, now launch them at Scizor with Rock Tomb!"

Across the stage, Catherine had seemed like she had pieced together Nina's strategy already. She didn't so much as flinch at the oncoming rocks. "Czar, charge with U-Turn while dodging side to side!" While the zig-zag pattern slowed down Czar's approach by quite a bit, it managed to avoid being hit even once. It was almost as if Patch wasn't aiming for Czar at all...but that was ridiculous, wasn't it? It hardly mattered now that Czar was mere inches away from knocking out the Primeape with his U-Turn attack.

"Patch, take cover!" At the last moment before impact, Patch slammed his final rock in front of him and ducked underneath it, using the stone as a makeshift shield and protecting him from harm. The Scizor's metal coating protected him from any damage, and the rock was shattered upon impact. However, the force of the blow combined with the nature of U-Turn sent the armored Pokemon flying back to Catherine. Only then did Catherine notice the true purpose of Patch's Rock Tomb; the boulders had formed a narrow alley between Czar and Patch, heavily limiting Czar's movement options. A clever play, but not clever enough. After all, Nina just gave Czar a clear shot for victory.

"I see what you're planning. Too bad for you that we don't have to get close to you! Czar, Flash Cannon!" The Scizor held out its arms and opened its mouth-like claws as they both began to shine with a brilliant power. Nina's eyes went wide as the beam of energy hurdled toward Patch at blistering speed. The rock walls had boxed Patch in as well, so he couldn't dodge to the side...but maybe the walls could still help!

"Patch, leap on top of the wall and charge toward Scizor. Run!" The Primeape was able to dodge the incoming Flash Cannon, and began dashing across the rock wall at full speed. Meanwhile, Czar was redirecting his attack as Patch moved, shattering the rocks beneath him as soon as he moved on to the next. Ultimately though, the Scizor's Flash Cannon couldn't keep up with Patch's speed. Soon enough they were right next to each other. "Now, pin him to the other wall! Seismic Pin!" Leaping toward Czar at the last possible moment, Patch grabbed the Scizor by its neck and slammed it headfirst into the opposite stone wall. The Seismic Pin was a deviation Nina had been working on for about half a year now, where the force of a Seismic Toss is instead used to smash an opponent against a floor or wall, keeping them pinned down if they didn't have the brute strength to resist. While Czar could certainly hit hard with momentum built up, the Bug-Type was notably lacking in actual muscle. It would be staying there for as long as the Primeape held it there.
Now was the perfect time for their special move.

"Time for the finishing blow! Patch, Overheat!"

With an ear-piercing wail, Patch unleashed a wave of intense, scorching flames, fueled from the boiling rage attributed to all Primeape. The flames completely engulfed Czar as sparks and embers clashed against the Scizor's now fragile exoskeleton. Patch was able to sustain the fire for only a few moments before dispelling them, recoiling from pure exhaustion. Those few moments were more than enough to knock out Czar though. After uncovering his ears, the referee made the final call.

"Scizor is unable to battle, leaving Primeape as the winner! Nina Schulz will advance to the next round!"

Nina breathed a sigh of relief. For a second there it looked like they were goners. Somehow though, she and Patch managed to pull through. "Patch, great job bud. Now, return and rest up." After recalling Patch, Nina turned to Catherine, giving her a peace sign and a grin. "That was a great match! Hope you'll stick around for the rest of the tourney! Peace out, mate." As she turned to leave and flipped on her shades, Nina realized that she hadn't even flirted with this lady yet. Well, she still had that date today, so she wouldn't have anyway. But still, the thought didn't even occur to her...there was something strange with this woman. Nina would definitely have to speak with her sometime.

For now though, she had a date to prepare for!

 

[Sukoku]

After getting the information that his match was the next, Mike walked to a zone near the bleachers, where the battlefield could be clearly seen, and it turned into a mossy swamp before his very eyes, and he got shocked, that was one of the most incredible things he had ever seen. Mike then focused, He placed his hand inside his picked, pulling out three PokéBalls, heavily breathing while looking at them. "I think that the best choice for this match is AK-74, but this Pokémon isn't the best one I have in my party, maybe I should-" Mike said before getting interrupted by the announcer, "The next round is Mike vs Justin!!!"

Mike stared at the exit, and his eyes widened. "Uhh! I think I need to hurry!" He said, nodding and placing AK-74's PokéBall inside his pocket, and getting Dewott's PokéBall. "I think that Potter can handle this. I wish I was in the water tank, even tho Potter can't breathe inside the water," Mike said, walking out of the tunnel, getting into his spot and looking at Justin. "Alright, Potter, I choose you!" Mike said, throwing Potter's PokéBall in the air, and the Pokémon later got out, landing on the ground, near a tree.

"Hmph, looks like your choice wasn't so clever! Stunfisk, I choose you!" Justin said, throwing Stunfisk's PokéBall in the air, and the Pokémon then fell down, landing on the moss. The Stunkfisk smiled, and Justin smirked along. "Now, it is time to say goodbye to your chances in the next rounds, Mike! Stunfisk, Thunderbolt!!!" Justin said, and Stunfisk's body started to glow, and it sent a bolt towards Potter.

"Not today, Justin! Potter, evade it and use Razor Shell!" Mike said. Potter nodded, and jumped, pulling out one of its shells, going down towards Stunfisk and slashing its body, sending it back. Potter then placed his shell back on its place, looking back at Mike and nodding, and then looking back at Stunfisk.

Justin smirked, and he looked down at Stunfisk, crossing his arms. "That's just the start, Stunfisk, now that it is closer, use Discharge!!!" Justin said. The Stunfisk started to glow once again, and multiple bolts came out of Stunfisk's body. "Now, let's see if you can escape this," Justin said, looking at Mike and smirking.

Mike's eyes widened, and he started to think of ways to evade that, but, in the meantime, Potter was hit by the bolts, being sent back, extremely harmed. "Potter! Are you ok?!?!" Mike screamed, and Potter kneeled, nodding to Mike and then focusing on Stunfisk. "Alright then. Potter, use Aqua Jet!!!" Mike said. Potter got up, getting coated by a thick layer of pure water, and it then launched itself towards Stunfisk, hitting it and sending it towards the wall. Stunfisk then got sent flying towards the middle of the battlefield, and Mike saw the chance to win. "NOW, POTTER, USE AQUA JET TO GET CLOSER AND END THIS WITH A RAZOR SHELL!" Mike screamed.

"NOT SO FAST!!! STUNFISK, USE DISCHARGE!!!" Justin screamed, and Potter hit a tall tree, launching itself down towards Stunfisk, picking one of its shells and frowning. The Stunfisk gasped, and it started to glow, but, Potter quickly swung its shell at the Stunfisk, hitting it and sending it towards the water below it, and, as the Stunfisk hit it, it sent out moss and the dirty water around, and Justin couldn't see if it had fainted or not. As the moss and the water dropped, Stunfisk could be seen, and it was clearly fainted.

"And the winner of the match is Mike!" The announcer said, and Mike smiled, waving to the people watching him, he then retrieved Potter to its PokéBall, walking back to the open zone and sending it out. "Good job, man! You did awesome when you fought that Stunfisk, I owe all this to you! You will eventually get awarded for your hard work, buddy!" Mike said, closing his eyes and cheerfully smiling.

Justin walked into the open zone, crossing his arms and looking at the sky, thinking of what he had done that wasn't right. Mike then hopped the fence that led to the battlefield, running to the other side of the battlefield and hopping the fence once again, patting Justin's right shoulder and smiling, and then looking down at Potter. Justin turned his hed back, gasping, but, he quickly changed nhis expression to a grin, and he then walked out.

"That guy is tough, I think he has potential, I hope I meet him again! Potter, let's go back and watch the others fighting!!!" Mike said, walking towards the bleachers and taking a seat, waiting for his next battle to come. Meanwhile, he just fed his Pokémon and discussed some plans with them.

 

[Ninian]

Quite a number of promising Trainers had fought in the qualifying rounds, and of course only the strongest amongst them proceeded onto the next round. Colress was rather pleased at his observations, now working hurriedly to complete each Trainer's respective battle profiles.

The pair were still sitting in the stands, not having moved since they returned from their battle. Seven looked over to her Master, "The Preliminary Round has completed."

Beaming, the scientist nodded, "I am aware! Please give me a moment, this shouldn't take much longer..."

⟶ Stands (Front)