Obvious exits:
South <S> leads to Mystery Path: Bare Coast.
North <N> leads to Mystery Path: Silent Hills.

Vixen has arrived.

Acuario has arrived.

Dark City is not close. The average trainer would not waltz out into the desolate wastelands so close to nighttime - but Melissa Barlette, a visitor from Pewter City, is not your average trainer. Her hands stuffed into her pockets, the teenager steps across the land, careful to dodge any holes in her path. The girl approaches the table - not the first one she's seen on her walk, but the first one with nobody battling nearby. "I should take a rest," she mumbles to herself, making her way over to the table. Upon reaching it, she'll lean upon it for a bit and glance about the area.

Running from the south is an adolescent trainer, a Venonat on his backpack. He rubs his brow with his cap as he comes to the area, not having forgot the appointment he's made for the Tournament. He finally reaches the battlefield and huffs and puffs as he catches his breath. He then looks up and says, "Sorry. Hope I didn't keep you..."

Walking onto the prairie; Vixen travels alongside Acuario, whistling with every step. A Vulpix trots by her side, his six tails swaying as he skips merrily along. "This is so awesome! I'm happy you're letting me come with you. I'll be able to see one of these battles live. Plus, I'll finally be able to watch you battle. It's about time eh?" she asks jokingly, giving him a slight shove on the shoulder.

Melissa blinks as Acuario comes rushing towards her, raising up her right hand to adjust her glasses. "Oh," she mumbles softly, blushing a tad as she brings her left hand up - not her right, for some reason - to shake Acuario's. "I, um, it's okay, I... I just got here, so, um, it's okay." She doesn't offer to start the battle, however - she seems very shy and timid about this. Perhaps it's one of her first battles? Or perhaps she's only skittish.

Acuario shakes the offered hand. "Hi. Acuario Rosewater of Cerulean. Water-type trainer by hobby. But I guess we'll have to see what I get here." The Venonat watches the Sandshrew on Vixen's shoulder very closely, an evil look in his eyes.

The trainer than backs off, wanting to give Acuario and Melissa room. But maybe she is trying to create a distance between herself and that frightening Venonat. Finding a seat a few feet away, she waves to Acuario. "Good luck!"

"Oh!" Melissa shakes a little, retracting her hand, blushing even further. "Um, I'm sorry, so sorry, didn't, um, didn't introduce myself... Melissa Barlette, Cerulean City. My mom writes children's books, maybe, um, maybe you've heard of her." A tiny little pause. "Um, I, um, you... Um, you know what to do? We just, um, take a ball? That's it?" She takes a look at the table - so many choices. Who knows what's contained in each one? Maybe she'll get a Gloom! Or Butterfree!

Acuario nods and looks at all the pokeballs on the table. He looks them over carefully, hopeful for a water pokemon. After much consideration, he takes a ball. "This looks like a winner to me." He then looks at Melissa as she chooses hers.

Acuario rolls and gets: 125 (Venonat)
Melissa rolls and gets: 114 (Starmie)

Melissa nods, following Acuario's example. Taking a moment or two to consider, she takes a few steps towards the middle of the table, and snatches up a pokeball. "I hope it's a good one," she whispers to herself, suddenly wishing Wesley was her to help her out. But then she remembers - it's not a test of Wesley's skill, it's a test of her own. "I'm ready," she whispers with a little nod. A moment passes, and she takes a few steps to her respective area.

Acuario turns and heads for the opposite side. He then looks at Melissa and says, "I guess the best thing to do is to count to three and release our pokemon together." He goes into a wind-up, waiting for you to comply.

Melissa nods, trembling very, very softly. "Please be good," she whispers to herself, reddening even more. "Please be something I know. Pokeball, go." Lightly, the girl tosses her pokeball out onto the field: and in a brilliant flash of light glowing softly in the dying sunlight, out emerges a Starmie, who glances left and right before turning to her 'trainer'. <Oh, is it my turn?> she asks, drawing a blank face from the girl. <Oh, goodie! Oh, boy! Oh, joy!> She turns to face Acuario. <... Oh, no. He looks tough.> Melissa stretches her mind. Starmie... If it's like Staryu... She remembers about two attacks. ... ... She's dead meat.

Acuario says, "1...2...3! Pokeball, go!" e tosses the ball at the same time as Melissa. And what should pop from his own ball but a Venonat. "Venonat! <I'm ready!> Acuario's jaw drops. "Oh, no, not another one." Upon seeing Melissa's Starmie, his draw drops more. "No! That should've been *mine*!" He looks quite dejected...and the match has yet to start.

Acuario rolls 1 die: <4>
Melissa rolls 1 die: <1>

Acuario's stats changes have been set to 0. He is ready to battle.
Melissa's stats changes have been set to 0. She is ready to battle.

Melissa bites her lower lip, glancing at her opponent's pokemon. "I've never seen that before..." she whispers to herself, curiously glancing to her side. "I'm... um, I'm counting on you, Staryu! ... I mean, Starmie!" She reddens fiercely. The Starmie does 'glance' at her trainer, before shaking her body. <All right! I'm going to Wate-> "Stay defensive for now, Stary...mie. I... need a plan." The Starmie grumbles, but complies.

A pack of Growlithe puppies play Tug-of-War with the database. Better save! (Saving)

Acuario sighs a bit and says, "Well, at least catching a Venonat has helped me learn some of its attacks. Let's see...doesn't have any physical attacks...but he does have...right! Venonat, use Confusion!" The Venonat leaps into the air and fires a psychic ray at the Starmie...

The Starmie, rippin' and rarin' to go, has prepared herself for the attack - and, as a result, the ray is easily dodged. <Ha! Now watch this, trainer, I'm going to-> "Use... um, Light Screen, Starmie!" One of the two attacks the girl knows! The Starmie just stares at Melissa. <Light Screen? ... *Light Screen*? I want to Tackle!> "... C'mon, Starmie!" Though she doesn't have eyes, it seems almost as if the Starmie rolls them. <All right, all right.> Her limbs spread out and wave softly, and in front of her a large transparent shield slowly manifests. Light Screen attack! ... <This is so dumb.>

<Hey, what kind of attack is that?> "C'mon, Venonat. He's trying to boost his defenses. He has twice as much stamina as you, so you have to hit him hard and fast. Try a Psybeam." The Venonat looks at the trainer like he's lost his mind, but he complies, sending a more powerful beam at the Starmie.

This attack the Starmie doesn't even bother dodging. Melissa sort of peers at the pokemon. "S... Starmie! Dodge!" The Psybeam smashes right into the Starmie! ... And she barely even feels it. <Ha ha!> she cries, beaming. <Nothing can withstand my power!> Melissa rubs the back of her neck, reddening softly. "Well, um, try a-" But the Starmie has already burst into an attack! <But take a little something right back, why don't ya?> The Starmie dives forward and launches five bursts of water - one from each limb! It's a Water Gun attack! Melissa blinks. "... a... Water Gun... attack..." Just what she had in mind.

Acuario smacks his head as the Psybeam misses and the Water Gun does the same. "What am I *doing*? A Starmie is resistant to Psychic-type attacks! Stupid, stupid...OK, Venonat. Let's try a different route. Uh,...I know...try a Poison Powder!" The Venonat grins, as if the trainer is finally getting it. His body shakes, sending orange powder towards the large starfish pokemon...

Melissa rubs the back of her neck, and just sort of shrugs her shoulders. "Um... just... do whatever, Starmie!" The Starmie would grin evilly if she had a face, and emits, <This is going to be good.> She takes into the air once again - going right through the poison powder cloud! She emerges from it unharmed, however - heading straight towards the Venonat, spinning around at great speed! It's a Tackle attack! Melissa just sort of smiles uneasily.

<OOC> Vixen says "Acuario/Venonat 2, Melissa/ Starmie 6."

The Venonat rolls to a stop. <Ouch!> it mutters. Acuario gulps and says, "C'mon, Venonat. Try something else. Try a...a...a Sleep Powder!" Again the puffy pokemon shakes, this time a blue powder heading towards the Starmie. Acuario moans, hating to do this to a water pokemon...

<OOC> Vixen says "Acuario/Venonat 2, Melissa/Starmie 6 and sleeping."

The Starmie's jewel beams proudly as her Tackle attack hits, and she dances back and forth. <I rule! I rule!> she taunts, leaving Melissa to simply peer at the water-type. Even if she can't understand the evolved one, she can understand that she's braggining. "H... Hey, Starmie..." The Starmie turns around. <What?> And that's when she lets down her guard. <I... I...> The Sleep Powder envelops her. She yawns. <I'm... sorta... sleepy...> With a little emitted yawn, the Starmie drops down to the ground to take a nap. Melissa blinks.

Melissa does an effect check. She has succeeded to break it.

Acuario says, "All right! At last! Now, Venonat, try a Leech Life! And, hurry! He's waking up again!" The Venonat is enveloped in light, and the light extends to the Starmie, willing to suck the life out the starfish...

The moment she hits the ground, however, the Starmie bursts back to life, crying, <Lemme me at 'im! Lemme at 'im!> Melissa blinks again. "U... Um... Um... Use... Do something, Starmie!" cries the girl. It seems to work well. With a nod, the Starmie spins around and takes into flight - quite accidentally missing the Leech Life! She spins around rapidly now, but this is not her Tackle attack, oh no - she bursts huge streams of water from her limbs as she spins, creating a kind of gigantic twister. It's a Hydro Pump attack!

<OOC> Vixen says "Acuario/Venonat 1, Melissa/Starmie 6."

The Venonat rolls to a stop at Acuario's feet. He shakes off the water and says, <Ewwww! I'm all wet!> Acuario sighs deeply. "C'mon, Venonat! One more and you're gone! Stun Spore!" Another shake by the Venonat, this time the powder is red...

"Starmie!" cries out the girl, finally doing something for herself. "Retreat... retreat a bit! You're... very vulnerable!" The Starmie 'glances' at her trainer, giving off a light laugh. <Me? Vulnerable? I'm afraid, dear, that you don't know who you'r... Say, what's that funny smell? ... And this cloud?>The Starmie tries to turn around to look at where the spores came from, but... surprise: she can't move! <... Hey!> Melissa gulps, and calls, "I... it's... it's a paralyzation, Starmie. Just... try to... break free!" Melissa nervously lifts a hand to adjust her glasses.

Melissa does an effect check. She has failed to break it.

Towering white clouds drift slowly through the blue sky. It's hazy and hot, and the glare of the sun seems to drain the color from the landscape. Here and there, groups of colorful Butterfree can be seen flying towards the ocean.

The trainer wipes his brow as the Starmie is paralyzed. "One more time with Con...er, I mean...Leech Life, Venonat!" The Venonat, happy he did something right, hops up and down and cheers. Acuario yells, "Venonat, Leech Life!" The pokemon blushes a bit and glows again, ready to suck the life again...

By some stroke of miraculous luck, the Leech Life does not hit the Starmie; it falls just a little short. Melissa exhales, but know she might not quite get so lucky next time. "Starmie..." she whispers, though her pokemon does not hear it, and nor does the girl say anything else. The Starmie, meanwhile, is having quite a fit. <Why can't I-> Grunt! <Move? This is stupid! Dumb! Lemme at him! Lem-me-at-him!>

Melissa does an effect check. She has succeeded to break it.

Acuario nearly pulls his hair out...right through his cap, no less. "Do something!" The Venonat doesn't quite know what to make of it. So he waits, allowing Starmie the time to start moving again. "Venonat! Poison Powder again!" Another orange cloud heads for the resilient Starmie...

The Starmie does finally burst free of her paralyzation, but in her stiff state, she's not fast enough to make it away from the cloud of poison. <Gah!> she coughs, causing Melissa to gasp and twitch forward. <What is this? Yuck!> "Oh, Starmie! Quickly - it... it looks... tired! Do something! Anything! Go! Now! Fight!" Melissa rarely has this kind of frenzied passion, and after she barks the last 'Fight!', she sort of blushes fiercely and crosses her arms across her chest. The Starmie just glares. <You will pay...> With that, her gem lights up. Large golden stars emerge from the jewel, flying through the air towards the bug. It's a Swift attack. Melissa has never seen it before.

<Yikes!> The Venonat deftly dodges the stars as they approach. "All right, Venonat! You poisoned him! Keep it up! Uh...how about...Supersonic?" The Venonat vibrates rapid, screaming as the shockwaves approach the Starmie...

The Starmie feels very yucky, but still manages to just resist the Supersonic attack by barely moving. "Starmie!" Melissa cries, her brain racing for a way out of this. Um. She can... hm. "You're poisoned," she states, as though this is some new, revolutionary thing. "Prepare a defense! Try a... a... a defensive attack, like Lig-" She doesn't get to finish, however. <Defensive attack? Fine.> The Starmie is in no mood to argue. Suddenly, the Starmie uses the stiffness lingering from the paralyzation as an advantage as she tries to make herself more sturdy. She's using her Harden attack. Melissa lingers off into silence.

The Venonat is a little stunned that the Starmie isn't going for the knockout blow. "Take advantage of this, Venonat. Go for a...a...oh, heck, try a Psybeam again." <Didn't you learn from *last* time?> Still, the pokemon stays obedient and fires the powerful psychic wave.

And yet again, the Starmie simply takes the blow, her jewel glowing softly. <I enjoy the pain in my head, dear,> she emits, and would grin if she had a mouth. "Um, um, go, um, go Starmie! Do... something!" And something the water type does. She bursts into the air, a sharp contrast from her slow, clumsy movements of the past few moments. Hovering a few inches off the ground, the Starmie begins to twirl around rapidly, directing herself right at the Venonat to Tackle him.

<OOC> Vixen says "Acuario/Venonat K.O."

The physical attack is too much for the Venonat, who again rolls to a stop by Acuario's feet. The trainer's own Venonat snuggles under the other Venonat and chirrs. <Good pillow, huh?> Acuario sighs. Then he looks up at Melissa. "Well, you won. You got the luck of that great Starmie...and I had this...Venonat." He takes the pokeball and says, "Venonat, return." The pokemon is retracted, much to Acuario's own Venonat's chagrin.

A pack of Growlithe puppies play Tug-of-War with the database. Better save! (Saving)

... And that's it? "Oh... Um, I... um..." The girl blushes a little bit, not quite sure of what to do. "Um... Um, Starmie... You did good." <Good?> cries the Starmie, beaming proudly. <Good? I did great! Ha! Once again, the mighty Starmie defends her ti-> Melissa recalls the Starmie right about now. She sighs softly, then looks at Acuario. "It was... it was a really nice battle," she whispers softly, smiling a little bit. "I... Um... At least you knew... the attacks."

Acuario smirks as he approaches Melissa. "Barely. I mean, I only got *my* Venonat a week ago. I knew Starmie's a lot better." He sighs and holds out his hand. "Well, I'd feel worse it were my own pokemon that lost, but I'll be fine. Good luck with the rest of the Tournament, Melissa."

Melissa nods softly. For the victor of this battle, the girl doesn't seem to be overly happy of her accomplishment. "I... um, thank you. I'll do my best." As she shakes Acuario's hand, she blushes and turns her head to side, and adds with her voice low and almost afraid, "Please... don't... hate me. This... means a lot to me." She doesn't look at Acuario while she speaks.

Acuario grins. "Hey,...if this were Cerulean, I'd be heartbroken. If that Venonat, I'd be angry with him. But this isn't Cerulean and that wasn't even my pokemon. It was just a bad draw. No hard feelings at all."

"All right..." Melissa nods softly, gently running her hand through her hair nervously. "Good... luck in the future." Now she does glance at Mr. Rosewater. "Maybe we'll meet again someday." A light pause. "Goodbye." She nods, and makes her way to the table. She sets the pokeball down on the table, turns to Acuario once again, and mumbles another, "Goodbye," before heading back north - back to the Pokemon Center.

Acuario nods and waves as the trainer goes away. His own Venonat jumps on his head, yelling, <Sleep! Go to sleep!> The trainer gets out another pokeball and says, "Oh, stop it! Medio, return!" He holsters the ball after the Venonat disappears (making sure it's the right one) and give the losing Venonat back to the officials, thanking them for the opportunity.