Private/Closed The Lottery Tournament Semi finals

[Martin Pine]

Finion smiled as Toby’s Mr.mime began to float, eliminating the option of being able to hear them. Spuddy was now completely relying on Finion’s direction, though maybe if they landed a leech seed ... would he be able to feel where the flow of health was coming from? He’d have to try again another time. For now he needed to attack.

Toby was a challenging opponent, an almost impassable wall that at first Finion only wanted to dent but now wanted to climb it, overcome and conquer it. “You’re good Toby!” He called putting to his opponent, his Sceptile waiting for his commands. “But you probably shouldn’t of given me the advice you just did! Spuddy, Frenzy plant!” The Sceptile grinned, leaning back as his clawed hands began to steam and curl. He lurched forwards, slamming his palms into the ground with a cry. All around him huge thick vines erupted from the earth, snaking upwards and outwards then beginning to wildly whip around. It was definitely a formidable and intimidating attack, covering almost the whole pitch with powerful swift swings ... but it was blind. A delicate path of dodging could be forged through the lashing and overlapping vines which protectively surrounded Spuddy asides from directly above him, a small opening for a counter attack.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Toby's eyes widened as he whistled in surprise. "Frenzy Plant? Now we're talking! Light Screen!" Marionette conjured up a glass wall to protect it from the raging vines, but some managed to reach over the Light Screen and smack the Mr. Mime on the head. Even though Mr. Mimes had exceptional special defense, the attack still hurt more than expected. Staggering, the Psychic type took a step back whilst trying to keep the Light Screen from breaking. In the meantime, Toby crossed his arms and searched the battlefield in the hope that he could find something to stop this assault. There was plenty of rubble, but a wall would be broken down in no time by the vines. It had been one of the few times that he had been pushed into a corner, and the adrenaline felt good in the Johtonian's veins. That's when his eye caught something purple on the ground, the remains of Spectre's Sludge Wave. An idea sparked in Toby's mind, but he was not going to smile until he was sure that the plan worked.

"Marionette, horizontal Light Screen. Feel free to drop the one you're holding up now." The Mr. Mime was confused, but decided to follow the instructions nontheless. "Jump on the Light Screen and make a new one, higher than the previous one." Suddenly it clicked inside of the head of the mime and it showed as she picked up speed and made her way to Spuddy, the Light Screens keeping her somewhat safe from the raging vines underneath her. The Mr. Mime was almost directly above of the Sceptile, ready to make a new platform when Toby's voice rang through the arena. "Stop there. Spectre left you a present, and I know how much you two get along. Make sure to share it though, greed never got anyone anywhere else than the fourth ring of hell. Psychic!" The remaining sludge began to jiggle and move, rising up and molding into a dragon's head with a long body. The poisonous waste appeared to be alive, but it was merely manipulated by the puppet master in the air.

"Send it crashing down!" Toby instructed Marionette with his left arm, making a slamming motion with it. This fight was making him excited, something he couldn't say about the rest of the matches of this tournament. Finion was more than just a lucky runt, he was actually somewhat capable. Whilst he was by no means a wall to break through, he was still something to overcove. Besides, rivers can have a current that is a lot stronger than one might think. One slip up could shift this match in the favor of Finion, but he refused to give him that satisfaction. Marionette raised both of her hands before bringing them both down, the sludge dragon following the motion as it descended onto Spuddy like the grim reaper onto an unsuspecting fool.

 

[Martin Pine]

Through the raging whirlwind of green Finion could just about make out Marrionette, spotting her recoil from the hefty grassy attacks. It was bitter sweet. Yes he'd landed a hit but he'd most certainly used a trump card, something he was hoping to save until later on in the battle. "Keep it up Spuddy!" It seemed to be going well and Finion couldn't think of anything that Toby could do to get out of the situation. He remained vigilant though as he dared not to underestimate his opponenet.

At first Finion saw nothing, his vision of the battlefield partially blocked by the enormous vines. He soon caught a glimpse of the Mr.Mime, a surprised but impressed expression on his face as he watched the psychic type dance through the air, hopping from platform to platform. An attack from above, exactly what he had done to his Spectre. Ironic and hilariously it was about to become even more so. "Swing high Spuddy!" The thick and flexible trunks swung upwards at the Mr.Mime, beginning to slow and falter as they lost energy. "Come on, knock her off that platform!" Finion's attention was too focused on Toby's Pokemon. He didn't see the venomous dragon head until it was much to late. "Whoa!" His mind raced but all he could give as a simple command. "Cover yourself Spuddy!"

The thick vines ceased their blind flailing, lifting up and folding inwards in a hasty attempt to cover the Sceptile from the descending sludge. Not all of the planty appendages doubled over in time and the ones that did were burnt through by the Spectre's aftermath. It fell onto Spuddy, the Sceptile letting out a pained cry as he ceased the frenzy plant. Huge vines collapsed all around the pitch, beginning to decay shrivel into nothing. Spuddy hadn't fainted but he was certainly on his way to it, crouched down and taking a moment to recover. Finion hummed to himself, looking up to the Mr.mime before looking back to his Pokemon. The Sceptile looked back at him. "!"

"Swift Spuddy, up there and bring her down!" With his vision restored Spuddy confidently fired the normal attack, 5 whining stars of energy flying up to Marionette. They weren't aimed at her however, instead they were aimed at the light screen she stood upon, Finion and Spuddy hoping to destroy the platform and bring her plummeting downwards. "X-Scissor, no time to wait!" Spuddy sprang forwards, crossing his arms in front of him and leaping up into the air to attack the Mime halfway through her fall.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"Marionette!" Toby let out a cry of surprise as the Mr. Mime was knocked down and nailed by an X-Scissor. The Psychic type hurdled to the ground and slammed into it, kicking up a dust cloud. The Johtonian grunted as his eyes glistened with determination. "Clever, but I am not out of the match yet! The crowd wants more Marionette, let's give them what they want!" He began to clap, his Pokémon quickly falling in rhythm with him. The sludge began to fly towards the Mr. Mime, hiding in the dust cloud before a lance of sludge was sent flying at the Sceptile. "I don't believe that I can recall the last time someone managed to hurt Marionette after getting Flashed, so congratulations." Toby clapped some more, seemingly taking the match less seriously and focusing more on annoying Finion. "I sure hope that the camera is capturing this, it would be a shame if the people had to miss this match."

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Shiori watched the battle, relishing the thrill and excitement of two powerful teams facing off against each other. The actor was very vocal in his support for Finion, cheering loudly when Sparky managed to K.O. Toby's Hydregon and wincing when each of the trainer's Pokemon would take a rather painful hit. For most of the battle, Raza watched with a silent smile. However the Zoroark did cheer, just like her trainer, when Sparky K.O.'d the large Dark Dragon. Taking a moment, Shiori looked over to study how Toby was doing. Although the trainer hadn't seemed to change all that much, Shiori couldn't help but to get the feeling that he was having fun with this battle. And that was something that Shiori couldn't help but to smile at. It looked like there was hope for that guy after all...

 

[Martin Pine]

Spuddy let out a shout as the X-scissor connected with Marionette, the Grass type finishing off the slicing attack and then landing on the battlefield with a skid. The Sceptile smirked a little, a confident grin growing across his face as his eyes gleamed with determination. "Eyes sharp Spuddy!" Finion called out to his Pokemon, the both of them having noticed the reuse of the sludge. "Dragon claw! Burn it up!" Cyan energy sprouted from Spuddy's claws, forming three sharp protrusions of draconian energy on each hand. He drew them back then threw them forwards, viscously slicing through the psychically launched spear of poison.

"Gotta say, that flash caught the both of us off guard! Spuddy's got some sharp eyesight so he struggled a little without it!" By now the grass type had finishing tearing through the lance, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. Splotches of the poison sludge had landed on him but he took the time to flick them off himself, shaking his whole body for a moment "But he's got it back now so you better watch out! Slam em Spuddy" Once again the Sceptile raced forwards, still having dragon claw at the ready as he closed the distance. Finion seemed a lot more talkative than before, answering back at Toby's attempt to annoy him "Keep talking Toby, I'm taking a risk!" Spuddy was almost upon Marionette, left arm raised above his right shoulder, ready to swing downwards. "Dragon's a powerful type but if I had to guess steel would be more effective!" Spuddy swung at Marionette, but not with the dragon claw. The draconian energy disappeared and the Sceptile threw his body forwards, front flipping and swinging down an iron tail at the Mr.Mime.

Finion didn't know the Pokemon, but the use of dazzling gleam and how it looked made him think it was possibly a fairy type. It was better to be safe than sorry and if he could trick Toby for just a moment it was all he needed.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"You're taking a risk, and it shall not pay off!" The sludge that Spuddy cut apart was oil-like in nature, quickly being set ablaze by the flaming carnage that Scylla left behind in her chase with Sparky. There was a lot of fire after the lance burned up, and Toby planned on using it! "Psychic, burn this fool up!" Marionette spun her hands around as the flames were outlined by a blue glow, obeying her every command. As of now, that command was to protect Marionette and take down Spuddy. The flames lunged at the space between the Psychic type and incoming Grass type, removing her from Spuddy's sight as they were sent straight at the Sceptile. Toby was taking a gamble with this move, and he knew it. Marionette was not good in head-on combat and should Spuddy manage to get through the flames, that is a heavy blow to take. It seemed that Finion knew about Marionette's second type and planned on using that knowledge to his advantage. It all came down to this, and Toby for one did not like that a match came down to the wire this early after Scylla went down. He enjoyed the match, as it actually was a bit of a struggle, but there were some troubling signs if this was going to be the norm for the other matches. "I hope you can take the heat Finion, because I refuse to let up!"

 

[Martin Pine]

Despite the pools of flaming sludge that surrounded them, Finion and Spuddy had continued their assault. The pair had taken the exact same actions as before until psychically controlled fire sprung between Spuddy and his target. Finion stepped back, surprised by the sudden wall of fire that blocked his Pokemon's path. "Spuddy!?" He called out to his Pokemon, not commanding him but questioning him. The Sceptile continued. Draconian claws swiped at the fire and created a slim opening, for just a second, which the Sceptile used.

Spuddy burst through the flames whilst front flipping, thankfully not having to crash through the fire but having to endure the burning element rake his sides. The iron tail still swung down at Marionette, it's wielder hissing in pain from the psychic flames. Regardless of whether the blow landed or not Spuddy jumped away, clearing the wall of flames in a graceful backflip. His landing was less graceful, the partially charred grass type stumbling back a little before crouching down. The Pokemon was tense, with a scrunched up face like it could faint at any moment.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"What?" Toby was surprised that the Sceptile decided to go through with his attack instead of breaking it off. Marionette was surprised too, quickly whipping up a Barrier that broke after a good hit. The Iron Tail hurt like mad, but the Barrier mitigated the damage enough to hang on. Silence. Then a chuckle that became laughter. "Hahahahaha! You're a toughie, huh? I like that in my opponents, the will to go through with their decisions. Perhaps I thought too little of you, not that I can be blamed. You're not exactly the most intimidating opponent, but you're at the very least capable enough to take down Scylla. It will be a honor to take you down, Dragon Slayer Finion!" Shifting himself into an offensive stance, his Pokémon did the same. Bruised and battered, she was not beaten yet and closed her eyes to strengthen her Psychic powers. The fires had gotten rid of the sludge and were all burnt out, but there was more to work with. The walls that gave the pitch its name of ruins were broken down to singular rocks by the fights, and they were prime material for Marionette to control. A drop of sweat fell on the floor as about 50 rocks began levitating and flying at Spuddy at high speed in groups of ten. It all came down to this final move, as Marionette could never outrun Sceptile and she was too weak to lift her adversary with Psychic. Regardless of the result of the attack, someone was going down here.

"Marionette, you've improved. You're using your surroundings to your advantage, just like I told you to. Well done, I'm proud of you no matter the outcome." Toby complimented his Mr. Mime who turned her head and smiled at her trainer, getting a small smile and nod in return. "Now, let's end this shall we? I for one can use a break, how about you?" He asked Finion, the same smile still on his face. It would appear that Toby's icy facade began to melt after the clash of heated spirits between him and Finion.

 

[Martin Pine]

Dragon Slayer Finion ... he somewhat liked that name. As much as he appreciated the praise it admittedly wasn't Finion's choice to go through the wall of fire, that was a decision Spuddy had made on his own. He didn't hesitate like his trainer but was now facing the consequences of his actions ... which weren't all bad. A green aura began to surrounding Spuddy, the critical health Sceptile loosening up and rising back onto his feet as his ability took hold. Overgrow, his grass type moves were now boosted. "One last push Spuddy! I'm proud of you whatever happens you absolutey crazy gecko!" The grass type grinned, eyes flaring with determination and energy as he looked across the ruined pitch at the Mr.Mime.

"Frenzy plant! One last time!" It was either that or leaf blade and whilst the physical move was faster there was too much rubble for the Sceptile to slice up. Frenzy plant would take a second longer to perform ... would it cost them? The glowing Sceptile slammed his arms together, separated them and then sent his claws plummeting towards the floor. With a growl that grew into a shout he summoned forth the enormous plants, brown vines erupting from the earth. With his sight restored he was able to use the attack more accurately than before. Most of the vines didn't grow long, surrounding Spuddy in a defensive manner, lashing and whipping at the stones that came close. Two vines headed straight towards the Mr.Mime, churning up the ground as they arc upwards and arose from the earth. When they finally reached the Mr.Mime they flicked upwards, rising high then flopping to the ground.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Permission to land hits granted by @Martin Pine

Toby stroked his chin. Overgrow, an ability that gave Grass moves more strength when the user was low on health. He'd considered using a Pokémon with such comeback potential, but none of them really lived up to his demands. This could get very nasty very fast, but it was a telltale sign that the Sceptile was low on fuel. "Take the risk Marionette, finish it!" The Frenzy Plant attack was scarier than ever before, but there was an opportunity that had to be taken. Marionette pushed on with her attack, even though rocks were swatted out of the air whenever they came close. A direct attack was not going to work, she had to set a trap and that trap had a price. Gathering all the rocks above Spuddy, the Mr.Mime prepared herself for incoming pain and she had every reason to. The Frenzy Plant slammed down on the Psychic type, taking it out with arguably the strongest Grass type attack to be used in the tournament. Although half of his team had fainted, Toby didn't seem that concerned. He'd seen what Marionette had planned and Finion would soon see it too. Without the psychic powers lifting the rocks up, they hurdled to the ground on which Spuddy was standing, effectively replicating the move Rock Slide and burying the Grass type underneath rubble. "A worthy sacrifice, you did well Marionette. You're shaping up to be a strong and capable battler." With a smirk and a shrug as commentary on the situation, Toby recalled his Pokémon and waited to see what the effects were of the last ditch effort.

 

[Martin Pine]

Finion noticed the build up of boulders hovering over Spuddy, realising what Marionette was up to and calling out to his Pokemon. "Spuddy above you!" The Sceptile lifted his head up as the rocks began raining down, the vines moving to intercept them but being too short to do so. The grass type became buried in a mound of rubble and a shroud of dust. It settled after a few moments, revealing a fainted Sceptile poking out from underneath the stones.

"CEASE BATTLING! WITH MORE THAN 6 POKEMON FAINTED IT'S OFFICIALLY HALF TIME! TRAINERS, RETURN YOUR POKEMON AND RETIRE TO THE WAITING AREA FOR TEN MINUTES" ~

The Sinnohlian returned his Pokemon, an exasperated look on his face as his stance become loose and somewhat relaxed. There was a small smile on his face as he began to catch his breath again, having only lost it a little. He hadn't noticed how tense he'd become, so completely focused on the battle that it was somewhat jarring to have it end. But it had ended and the practically destroyed pitch was beginning to sink into the floor as the waiting room opened up for Finion and Toby. The orange haired trainer bent down, scooping up the scruffy Pachirisu in his arms before turning and making his way towards the training room.

Slowly the crowd began to settle, the energy and excitement that had gripped the audience now diffusing into the air and disappearing. The decently sized waiting room that awaited Finion and Toby was furnished with a chair and a counter and offered complete privacy for them unless another contestant wished to visit them in this intermission.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Toby looked up to the speakers as he straightened his back. "Huh, over already? It was just starting to get good, oh well. Finion probably needs to catch his breath after that." The Johtonian cracked a grin at Finion as he rolled his shoulders which were getting stiff. "See you in ten minutes, Dragon Slayer." Putting Marionette's Premier Ball away, he waved shortly at Finion before walking away to the waiting room, adrenaline rushing through his veins. Yes, this was what he was looking for when entering the tournament, the thrill of the battle! It seemed that he finally found someone who was capable of meeting his expectations, taking Spectre down is not something a lot of people in the tournament could claim they did and Finion was the only one who beat both his Gengar and Hydreigon. Indeed, Dragon Slayer Finion was unique among the contestants and the audience did well by letting him return. With half his team revealed and fainted, it was about time for the veil of mystery around Toby and his team to lift. He'd make sure that the grand reveal would leave everyone with a lasting impression, Scylla was not the only impressive Pokémon around after all. An echoing laugh was heard in the hallways as the stone cold competitor entered the waiting room. Perhaps it was time for a new title, but he'd leave that decision to the audience. Pouring himself a glass of orange juice, Toby let himself relax as he sat down on a high quality couch. With the initial rush of the adrenaline fading, he basked in the afterglow of the excitement. For now, he'd take it easy with a glass of juice and some silence. However, all good things come to an end eventually. He could only imagine when this moment would pass.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Shiori sat back in his seat as the break was announced. Although Finion's Pokemon had just been crushed under a rockslide attack, the Pokemon had managed to K.O. each other at the same time. What a wild and crazy battle. He just had to talk to these guys.
"Come on, Raza! Let's go!" The actor exclaimed, jumping over the couch. The Zoroark watched her trainer with a raised eyebrow as he sprinted out of the room before shaking her head and allowing herself a small smile. Her form shimmered, and Raza used her Illusion ability to make herself look like a human punk woman once again. However, when Raza walked out into the hallway Shiori was nowhere to be seen. With a shrug, the disguised Zoroark began to make her way over to the break room Finion was staying in.

Meanwhile, Shiori wasn't visiting Finion first. No, first he wanted to visit Toby. It was probably a rather stupid idea, and the other trainer would probably kick him out or something. But Shiori couldn't help himself. The guy was really good! The actor sprinted through the halls of the stadium, hoping to make it over to both Toby's and Finion's waiting rooms in time to talk to both of them.

The actor slid to a stop in front of Toby's waiting room, practically kicking the door open. Breathing heavily from the sprint, Shiori probably looked quite the sight. The actor pointed at Toby.
"Hey!" Shiori exclaimed. "I just want to say that you're very skilled! I'm enjoying watching your battle with Finion, and I'm glad you seem to be enjoying it as well! I hope we get to battle, because you seem like a fun opponent to go up against even if you are kind of the more brooding type. Good luck, but I'm going to be cheering on Finion! Okay, bye!"
With that, Shiori turned and started to run towards Finion's waiting room.

By now, Raza had made her way over to Finion's waiting room. It was strangely quiet, as she would have expected Shiori to beat her here. The Zoroark knocked on the door to Finion's waiting room.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Brace groaned as Sceptile was knocked out. As much as he hated to admit it, Toby was good. His overconfidence and overall rude behavior was backed up by his skill. The monkey quartet all gave mocking expression and sticking out their tongues as Toby left the field.

“Welp. Just in case Finion isn’t able to teach him a lesson, looks like we’ll have to take that torch!”

It was decided. They were gonna take Toby down. Weather Finion did or not. He decided to use this break to go see the trainer in question, gong down the steps with his mini monkey legion in tow. Peeking into the room, he spotted Finion and his electric squirrel companion.

“Heya!” Brace exclaimed as he fully popped out from the corner. “That last part of the battle was sooo rough! You shouldn’t let him beat you around like that!”

 

[DarkHydraT]

Toby was about to take a sip from his juice when Shiori just about crashed through the door and rattled something about the match before bolting off. Frozen with his glass on his lips, he lowered the glass after getting his act together and cocked an eyebrow. "What on earth was that about? If you're gonna cheer on the opponent, why even bother telling me? Is it supposed to make me feel confident or something?" Shrugging at the strange antics of Shiori and frankly not willing to spend more of his time thinking about the effort the actor made by talking to him, the Johtonian took a sip from his juice before furrowing his brow. If that Magikarp user could visit him, that kid could too and he really did not want to add another interaction with him to the activity list of this day.

 

[Martin Pine]

Finion sat patiently in the waiting room, a somewhat tense hand wrapped around his final unopened Pokeball. Sparky was sat next to him on the counter, watching his trainer with curiosity before moving. The injured Pokemon slowly hopped down onto his lap, then down one of his legs until he could reach his hand. Finion first felt a comforting and gentle nuzzle, his hold of the crucial Pokeball relaxing. Next was a inquisitive sniff, Sparky recognising what Pokeball it was and then looking to Finion who answered calmly. “Mmhhmmm, she’s not all too experienced but she’ll blow them away”

His chances did not look good, but he somewhat enjoyed that. Besides it was a war to win, not just a battle. Two other chances would present themselves, two other potential victories. A knock on the door brought Finion back from his thoughts, the trainer placing his Pokeball and his Pachirisu on the side before heading over to the entrance. He clicked a button, the sliding door opening to reveal a punk girl?

“Raza!” Of course! His exclamation had been one of surprise and gladness, the trainer leaning forwards to give a quick hug. Afterwards he stepped aside to reveal a waving Sparky sat on the counter. “No moving okay, you gotta conserve all the energy you can” The Pachirisu folded his tiny arms, a confident look and a smirk on his face as he playfully murmured to himself. “The Hydregion, straight to his head it’s went” Finion spoke to Raza, a mild shake of his head accompanying his smile.

Brace’s sudden appearance caused Finion to jump a little, the Sinnohlian looking and listening to the younger trainer’s advice. “I know, I know, I didn’t mean too but I definitely messed up in the beginning” Lapuer would forgive him, Roger ... probably wouldn’t. “I got a plan though, plans- more like ideas really. The point is we aren’t not going down without giving him a fight” Sparky showed his support of Finion’s statement, hopping onto his feet with a confident shout before wincing and gently lowering himself back down.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Raza waved at Finion when he opened the door, giving the trainer a small smirk. However, she was taken aback when the human suddenly hugged her. The disguised Zoroark just stood there awkwardly, deciding to simply pat Finion on the head. Letting down her Illusion, Raza stepped into the waiting room. The Zoroark flinched at the sudden appearance of Brace and crew, not having seen the group leave the room. Rolling her eyes at the smaller trainer, the Zoroark made her way over to the Pachirisu.

Raza knelt down to Sparky's level, giving the Pachirisu a thumbs up and a smirk. In growling tones, she congratulated Sparky on taking down the Hydregon. Taking a moment, the Zoroark reached into one of the pockets of her Assault Vest and produced a small piece of a RageCandyBar. She broke the piece in half before handing one to her small electric buddy.

Meanwhile, Shiori was still sprinting full force around the stadium to Finion's break room. It was a bit of a long run...

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Brace admired the confidence Finion displayed. Getting beat down but still having the strength to get back up and continue the fight until it’s over. This made the boy grin and get into the fighting stance.

“Aw yeah! Now we are playing with fire! You better show him what for, or I’ll never let you hear the end of it! And when it’s all over, you’ll get all the sweets you want! If they have those here.”

Blue immediately went over to the Zoroark in the room, Raza. It slid right next to Sparky, treating it as if Raza were flirting with him instead. He gave a wink and held out his hand out to graciously accept it.

 

[Martin Pine]

Sparky gave a little wave to Raza as she approached, almost humbly accepting her congratulations but not being able to help putting his hands on his hips and puffing his chest out a bit. The little squirrel giggled afterwards until his nose began to twitch, catching the scent candy bar and reaching out his little paws to accept it until Blue barged in. Sparky was a shocked, with an expression to match. The audacity! This water type would dare deny him his treat! Sparky the dragon slayer! The electric gave a small growl, his cheeks sparking in a warning to Blue.

Brace's praise was something Finion was thankful for as this level of confidence from Finion was not typically out on display. The orange haired trainer smiled, raising an eyebrow as he spoke a careful response. "Thanks, though for my last Pokemon ... I'm going to be playing with ice" He turned around to face the counter, too gaze upon the Pokeball but all he saw was Sparky getting agitated by Blue. Finion swiftly moved over to the Pokemon, scooping up Sparky in his arms and separating him from Panpour before anything happened. "Save it for the battle, alright" The trainer gave his Pachirisu and scritch on the cheek. The Pachirisu glared grumpy daggers at Blue.

His attention returned to Brace, deciding that sending a compliment his way would be nice to . "You seem like a really amazing trainer, I can't wait to face you at some point during all of this"

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Blue put a hand to his chin and gave a cat-like coy grin toward Sparky, knowing exactly what he was doing. The other monkeys seemed to roll their eyes at this display, looks like they had seen this play out many times before. Brace wiped his thumb across the bridge of his nose before pointing right at Finion.

“Yeah! Just one condition! No holding back! We’ll go all out against each other! Rooooar!!”

He gave a bellow from his chest beating his fists into the air. Seemed like he was really getting pumped for the matches to come!

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Raza blinked at the sudden appearance of the Panpour, frowning. This guy again? A slight purple blush formed on her cheeks when Blue winked at her, and for a moment the Zoroark hesitated. But Raza simply huffed and rolled her eyes, and using her other paw attempted to gently push the Panpour aside. Watching as Sparky was picked up, Raza stood up as well. The Zoroark tossed the Pachirisu the piece of the RageCandyBar, delibrately looking away from Blue.

Breathing heavily, Shiori finally made it to Finion's wait room. The actor staggered up to the door, gasping for air and doubled over as he put a hand against the doorframe.
"That... was... farther than I... expected..." Shiori said. The actor looked up at Brace and Finion, grinning at the two trainers and giving Finion a thumbs up.
"Awesome jobs... with the battles..." Shiori said. Leaning against the doorframe, he nodded at Sparky. "You're both really kicking ass out there! It's incredible!"

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Blue let himself be brushed aside by Zoroark, seemingly floating in the breeze like a feather, flopping on his back with a wistful smile on his face. Red decided to sigh, grabbing him by the tail and dragging him back to the rest of the quartet. Brace was surprised by Shiori’s vocabulary, but was no less giggly at the assessment.

“Yeah! We really did kick some A-word!” Brace nodded up and down. “We just blaze on, each fight getting better than the last till we hit it off at the grand finale!”

 

[Martin Pine]

“I don’t intend too” Finion’s response to Brace’s conditions was more chilled out and Lax, Finion watching the boy pumping himself before musing slightly. He did have the results, perhaps such excessive energy did help. Shiori finally arrived, Finion noticing his exasperated appearance and grabbing a cup of water to bring over to the actor as he replied. “Thank you Shiori”

Sparky was still in one of Finion’s arms, catching the rage Candy bar and quickly shoving it in his mouth with a glare directed at at the Panpour.

“You two got any tips on how to increase my chanc-“ A buzzer went off above their heads, as did a similar alarm in Toby’s room. Half time was almost up and it was time for the both of them to come back into the pitch. “Damn”

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Shiori gratefully took the cup of water and drank from it, nodding to Finion. Shiori looked up as the buzzer went off before giving Finion another thumbs up. Raza watched with a raised eyebrow as Blue was grabbed by his tail and dragged back to the group of monkeys before turning her attention back to Sparky.
"Remember! Relax, and enjoy yourself! You can do it!" Shiori said. Raza growled a similar thing to Sparky, giving the Pachirisu a thumbs up and a smirk. Her form shimmered once again, and Raza's appearance changed to that of a human punk woman. Shiori waved at Finion and Sparky as he walked out of the waiting room, Raza trailing behind him.

 

[Martin Pine]

"I will. Thank you for coming to see me, both of you" He offered a grateful nod to both Shiori and Brace, watching them leave before taking a deep breath in and then exhaling. "Alright, lets do this" Finion made his way over to the counter, picking up his final Pokeball in one hand whilst still cradling Sparky with his other arm. The doors back onto the pitch open and Finion slowly made his way onto the walkway and then up to the podium.

"WELCOME BACK TO THE SECOND HALF" The announcers voice reverberated through the stadium, it's floor slightly rumbling as the new pitch rose from the open abyss. "THE PITCH FOR THE SECOND HALF WILL BE ... MOUNTAIN VALLEY" Two vast cliffsides resided on either side of the pitch, leaving a big, flat and open area in-between them. A waterfall trickled out from one of the escarpments, crossing the level area in a shallow stream before disappearing into the other cliff. The pitch shared a striking resembling to the one used in the Kalos match between Ash and Alain, in fact it was practically the same pitch. There was enough space in the middle of the pitch for a battle but agile Pokemon would be able too scale and move along the mini mountainsides.

Finion stood on top of the slightly elevated podium, having laid Sparky down to rest whilst he examined the terrain. It was less than ideal, but it could've been a lot worse, at least he could work with this. His attention went to Toby for a moment, giving the other trainer a small and friendly wave before the battle began. "Alright, relax and enjoy myself" Finion mumbled to himself as he prepared to release his Pokemon.

"TRAINERS, RELEASE YOUR POKEMON!"

 

[DarkHydraT]

Toby looked up at the buzzer before closing his eyes and smiling as he put his glass down. "It's time then. Let's see what he's got left, it surely can't beat all three of my remaining Pokémon by itself." Getting up from the couch, the Johtonian made his way to the pitch and looked around. Finion waved at him, and he got greeted with a nod. The pitch was something he could work with, Powerwash could certainly use that stream to their advantage. "I guess I'll take the first move, it's not like you have any options other than that rodent and the unknown Pokémon and I know for sure that Pachirisu is running on fumes." Grabbing a Love Ball, he looked at with a smile before looking up at Finion. "Alright Dragon Slayer, how about I introduce you to my own Dragon Slayer? Cecilia, grace them with your presence!" Pointing the ball at the pitch, the bottom popped open and released a blue Florges.

"Heh heh, surprised? I'm not just a brute, I know how to appreciate the fine things in life as well. Some good food, nice drinks, a beautiful garden, I enjoy them all. I feel like there's one thing missing on that list, but what was it?" Tapping his chin, Toby acted as if he was thinking. "Oh, that's right! Your defeat, I'll enjoy that too. Send out your Pokémon, and don't hold back. Cecilia is far from a damsel in distress, she can hold her own in any match-up. Why don't you come and find out?" Cecilia held her head head not in arrogance, but in elegance. It was a stark contrast with the other female Pokémon on Toby's team, both the violent Scylla and trickster Marionette seemed like uncivilized brutes when compared to the Fairy type.

 

[Martin Pine]

Sparky grumbled a little upon being called out, moving to rise to his feet but paying attention to his trainers command. Finion had directed his palm at the Pachirisu, motioning for him to stop and talking gently "You'll get your time just wait ... and hope" Would Toby have an electric type? His selection of Pokemon hadn't exactly been predictable so Finion could only wish that he did. Upon seeing the blue fairy type Finion looked somewhat surprised, a smile soon spreading across his face in response to Toby's taunts. "I don't have any intentions on holding on back Toby, or making my defeat something that's gonna be easy for you! Let's go Frilly!"

Finion lifted up his final Pokeball, opening in it and releasing the beautiful fossil Pokemon onto pitch. No blizzard was summoned as the Aurorus materialized, standing tall and proud as it looked across the pitch at her opponenet. "Seems we've both sent out our graceful mistresses huh?" Finion spoke to buy time and think. From what he could tell Florges was probably going to be a special attacker, just like Frilly. He was struggling to decide whether to play aggressively or defensively. "Let's open things up Frilly, ancient power!" The eyes of the saurian Pokemon glowed purple, as did chunks of rock that began to float up from the earth and hover around the Aurorus. She stepped forwards with a cry and launched the rock type attack across the pitch at the Florges

 

[DarkHydraT]

"An Aurorus? So I see you managed to get your hands on quite the rare species, and what a fine one it is. She looks gorgeous, but appearance does not mean everything." Toby complimented Finion on his Pokémon before focusing on the fight. "Magical Leaf, cut those rocks up!" Cecilia spun around as glowing leaves came from the large flower that covered her head, sending them flying to the Ancient Power rocks and slicing them in pieces. "A nice trick, how about I show you one of my own? Bring down the fury of the sun, Solar Beam!" The Florges looked at the lamps and closed her eyes, the blue flower glowing brightly as a red light began shining underneath her head. It was a Power Herb, an item that made the charging time of Solar Beam much shorter without cutting the power of the attack. The only drawback was that the herb was only usable once, and Toby had only packed three of them for the tournament. The glow of Cecilia's flower was gone, but the energy wasn't. The Fairy type opened up her mouth and fired off a blinding beam of light straight at Frilly. "Let's see how your Rock type can take this!"

 

[Martin Pine]

Finion didn't pay much attention to the rocks being destroyed, instead keeping his eyes glued on the Florges and her counter attack. Solar beam. For a moment Finion thought he'd have time but the red glow of the power herb was something he recognised and he knew he had to act fast. "Substitute Frilly!" A misty aura began to surround the Aurorus, who's graceful steps back became jagged frigid until stopping with a subtle frosty flash. Frilly stood still ... right behind the icy substitute she'd made, a perfect statue of herself. The usually normal defensive move seemed different, more frozen and frosty like it was an ice type move.

The substitute took the intense beam of energy, not moving an inch but beginning to crack and melt. It shattered just as Cecilia's attack finished, collapsing into a pile of frozen rubble in front of the true Frilly. "Fire it!" There had been an ice beam charging in her mouth which she fired back at the Florges upon Finion's command.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"Clever, very clever." Toby noted as Cecilia got hit with the Ice Beam, taking it surprisingly well for what appeared to be a Grass type. Although she shivered, she was still standing. "It's getting cold in here, or is it just me? Oh well, I'm sure it's nothing. Cecilia, give them a little treat! Magical Leaf!" Dozens of rainbow-colored leaves appeared from the flower and were launched at Frilly. Whilst the Florges was a Fairy type, Toby refrained from using any Fairy moves as to keep Finion in the dark and to make his Pokémon look more formidable. A 'Grass' type tanking an Ice Beam without much pain and that wasn't a Ferrothorn? Who could imagine that? He certainly couldn't, and he doubted that Finion could. Hopefully his opponent would be so confused that the Magical Leaf would hit the Aurorus for some nice damage.

 

[Martin Pine]

Frilly finishing firing her ice beam with a triumphant look, raising her head up high again and she looked towards her opponent. The Aurorus seemed surprised at how well Florges' had taken the damage but Finion wasn't so easily fooled. He remembered this Pokemon, he remembered mistaking it for a grass type in the past but he couldn't remember the actual type of it. A Kalos Pokemon, He'd fought it with Daisy before ... think! A sigh escaped his lips, a small sign of the mild frustration Finion felt. "Watch out! Take out those leaves with a blizzard!" The saurian Pokemon took in a brief breath, rearing her head back and then releasing a torrent of snow and wind from her mouth.

Unfortunately the timing had been a bit late and whilst half of the leaves were blown back by the blizzard, the other half sliced across Frilly's body. The snowstorm she was unleashing petered out, Frilly stumbling to the side and shaking her body in an attempt to fight off the leaves. "I know what you're doing Toby!" Finion called out across pitch he was surveying, stalling as his mind raced. "You're sudowodo-ing me, I know your Pokemon isn't a grass type but it's not going to matter!" Ideas exploded in Finion's mind like fireworks, two sparklingly rather brightly. "We don't need a type advantage, we'll make our own! Ancient power at stream!" The Aurorus once again pulled the aged stones from out the earth, lifting them high and sending them slamming down into the shallow river. Water was sent splashing high into the air, harmlessly spraying across Toby's half of the pitch and possibly his Pokemon if he chose to do nothing about it. It wouldn't cause any damage but the orange haired trainer was up to something.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Toby shrugged. "Welp, it was worth a shot. I thought I could fool you like you fooled me with that Zoroark. Cecilia is indeed not a Grass type, but that does not mean I will let you do whatever you want. Cecilia, turn up the heat! Sunny Day!" The Florges created two balls of light in her hands and raised them, beams flying from the balls and gathering high above the pitch. A miniature sun was created, increasing the temperature in the room by a significant margin. It would not be enough to evaporate the water in an instant, but it would warm the water up and speed the process up. Plus, it would make the water harder to freeze as it was farther away from the freezing point. "Ah, I always enjoy the sun on my face. Would your Aurorus like to feel it as well? Oh, don't bother answering, I'll do the honors for you. Cecilia, bring them some solar goodness! Oh sorry, solar goodness? I meant Solar Beam!" The Fairy Type charged another Solar Beam, even without the Power Herb it charged faster than usual. "You won't freeze this field or my Pokémon, you hear me?"

 

[Martin Pine]

Cecilia's Sunny day caught Finion of guard, the Sinnohlian grinning slightly as he watched the miniature sun form and heat up the pitch. It was a brilliant counter, one he didn't see coming at all. "Trust Toby to make things hard" Finion mused to himself, not feeling an ounce of dread but rather being filled with excitement. "How about burying you instead!" He called over to Toby just before giving Frilly a command, the Aurorus quickly shooting an ice beam she'd already been charging. It was originally intended to be fired at the stream, pitch and then Florges but with the increased temprature it would be pointless to try and freeze them now.

Frilly fired the beam from her mouth, aiming it at the cliffside on Toby's half and cutting into it. The icy energy sliced into the rock, the Aurorus slowly moving the beam across the cliff until Finion shouted out to her. "Stop and use protect!" It was a hasty shout, Finion knowing Frilly wouldn't have enough time to execute his plan before the solar beam. The sunny day was weakening Aura's ice type moves, mist having flowed from the ice beam whilst steam gently began to waft from the stream. His plan had to put on ice for a moment, protecting Frilly was more important than doing damage. A protect popped up around the Aurorus, this too having an icy appearance as the miniature sun was reflected off it's partially melting edge.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Toby chuckled. "Clever, aren't you? I see what you're doing, you're trying to let the cliffside cave in and fall down on me. I'll have to keep an eye on that, but for now I will do this. Grass Knot!" Cecilia fluttered the petal-like appendages that were at the bottom of her body and sent seeds flying around Frilly. Should the Aurorus touch one, she'd trip and all that weight would come crashing down. Finion was not stupid though, he would not have Frilly move when it wasn't necessary and with moves like Ice Beam at its disposal, there was no reason for her to move. Toby would give them one though, there's only so much damage that Finion would allow his Pokémon to take. "Magical Leaf, send them running!"

 

[Martin Pine]

The protect managed to hold off the solar beam, though it shattered into thin icy shards once Frilly stopped holding it up. There wasn't anything the Aurorus could do about the grass knots, Finion watched as his Pokemon was surrounded by a field of potential damage. She was stuck and whilst she was by no means fast being immobile was not good. He looked up to the miniature sun, knowing he either needed to outlast it or get rid of it. For now though he needed to keep Frilly alive and healthy if they were to have any chance of winning.

"Not again! Blizzard it away!" Frilly had learnt from last time to be fast, countering the flurry of magical leaves with a blast of blizzard from her mouth which she directed towards the Florges after dealing with the grass type attack. Finion looked up to the miniature sun whilst Frilly continued the assault. He used Sunny day with Coconut and whilst she usually held a heat rock to lengths its duration he felt like he had a pretty good idea as to how long they usually lasted. From his guess the sun was about half way through? He needed to outlast it and then counter with heavy attacks before Florges could get another one up. By no means did he wish to use his trump card, not yet.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"Solar Beam!" Cecilia fired off another powerful attack at the Blizzard, hoping to overpower it with the Sunny Day up. As soon as that petered out though, Toby knew that Finion would abuse it to full power. Clenching his teeth, he changed the order. "Attack the wall to the left of Aurors, get them to move!" The Florges obeyed, sending the beam of solar energy into the wall and doing more damage than Frilly's Ice Beam before getting blasted with the remains of the Blizzard. Florges were naturally defensive in the special department, but the risk of slowing down from the cold or even freezing was not to be ignored. He wasn't sure what to do if Cecilia would go down, Millennium was weak to Ice moves and he had a sneaking suspicion that Finion was prepared for Water types. Powerwash would be his most reliable answer, but even that was a gamble. He just hoped that it did not come to that point.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Shiori and Raza began to make their way back up to the competitor's box, Shiori glancing over to Brace with a smile. Shiori hadn't expected Brace to visit Finion, but having battled the kid it didn't surprise him. The actor seemed to have recovered quickly from his daunty sprint around the arena, but was still taking it slow as they made their way back to the competitor resting area.
"So, you met Finion and Sparky? What did you think?" The actor asked Brace as they walked. Raza simply stuck with Shiori, still disguised as a human and keeping her hands in her pockets.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Brace had made his way back from the break room where he met Finion and his Squirrel like companion, going up to the competitor’s box. Purple and Green climbed onto his head and shoulders whilst Red dragged Blue behind him. That’s when Shiori approached him, popping his question.

“Oh? Finion is chill! Seems totally into his fights. I’d cheer for him any day over Toby if that tells ya anything!” He affirmed. “But I don’t know too much about Sparky there, but I think i’m gonna learn real soon on the stage!”

 

[Martin Pine]

"Keep up the blizzard!" The solar beam was quickly going through Frilly's blizzard, threatening to make contact with saurian Pokemon and deal a lot of damage. At the last minute though Toby redirected his attack, Finion narrowing his eyes in confusion as he followed where the grass attack went. "Oh no" He saw what Toby was doing. The mountainside crumbled away under the raw power of the grass move, sending a flurry of earth and mud cascading towards Frilly. She stopped the blizzard and turned to face the oncoming mudslide. "Ancient power around yourself! Like a wall Frilly!"

The Aurorus' eyes lit up purple as once again the large boulders were pulled out of the ground. They formed a cone in-between her and the rockfall, thankfully protecting her from the stolen attack. There was just one problem though. The force behind the collapsing cliff had pushed against the ancient boulders protecting Frilly, moving her ever so slightly out of position but enough. A blade of grass snaked around the Aurorus' back legs, tightening and then pulling. She lost balance, falling over with a cry and then a loud thud. "Frilly!"