Music
Golden Dewgong Arena - The Ring
This is where the action really starts. As in all major gyms and stadiums, a huge, neon-lit pokeball image has been set into the floor. This one looks a bit rippled, as though it's trapped under a huge sheet of ice, and in a way, it is-a thick layer of slightly pebbled, impact/heat/cold resistant plastic has been laid down to give battling pokemon optimum grip on the expansive floor. The trainer boxes are the exception. Opulent padded counters with...tasteful twelve inch tall golden statues of Dewgongs on the front corners await the team members' pokeballs, and skid resistant mats have been laid to keep exuberant winners or sore losers on their feet. Microphones have been placed before the counters to broadcast trainers' commands. At each end of the arena, large black and gold pokeballs await, opening and closing to allow trainers to pass to and from the battle floor, and to one side, a well-shielded commentators box sits, nondescript amidst all of the lavish decoration.
Sophia's stats changes have been set to 0. She is ready to battle.
Zachary's stats changes have been set to 0. He is ready to battle.
Rick's stats changes have been set to 0. He is ready to battle.
Janelle's stats changes have been set to 0. She is ready to battle.
The opening sequence of the HRTC begins, complete with exploding logos, wailing guitar riffs, and an aerial shot of the Neon Strip and the stadium. As the live feed begins, the ever-present color-coded announcers are in their box. "Good evening," begins the man in pink, "and welcome to another night of the High Roller Tournament of Champions. I'm Jake Masters, and with me as always is Tony Strong." "Pleasure to be here, Jake," replies the man in blue. "Tonight's match," continues Masters, "is a Crazy Eights battle between newcomers the Dynamic Duo, and tournament frontrunners Team Musouka. Let's go down to the floor, where things are about to get underway." The arena is dark, the air charged with anticipation. A vertical slash of bright light splits the side wall of the battlefield, the door sliding open. Two figures emerge from the field of brilliant illumination, both large men dressed as hospital orderlies. Between them, they push a vertical gurney, bearing another figure restrained by numerous straps. Wheeling the cart to centerfield, the orderlies cautiously unhook the 'patient' from the gurney, and quickly retreat from the arena floor. When released, the patient, dressed in straight jacket and muzzle, slumps to his knees, head lolling. Suddenly, the man stands abruptly, casting his mad gaze about the stadium feverishly. In a flurry of practiced, well-orchestrated movements, the patient bursts free of his straight jacket, flipping the garment inside-out to reveal a silver spangled cape, and casts off the muzzle, the grim half-mask spinning into the audience. In a matter of moments, the mental patient transforms into the Master of Ceremonies, clothing, bearing, and demeanor all altering sharply. "Ladies and Gentlemen," the flamboyant man proclaims, "I give you your High Rollers! Entering from the East end of the arena...Team Musouka! And from the West end of the arena...It's The Dynamic Duo!" As the emcee motions to either side, the stylized pokeball doors swing open, deploying their normal payload of swirling fog, flashing lasers, and driving techno-rock.
After a pleasant bus ride, Sophia seems a bit calmer than usual. She even wears a slight smile. Her hair is done up in one massive french braid, an odd change. Maybe it's for luck? As the doors to their podiums open, Sophia winces at the lasers, sparkles and gaudy displays. Her gray eyes sparkle with just a bit of amusement at the whole affair. Do they ever run out of tricks? She just shakes her head and grins. Sophia looks happy to be here, even if the techno-rock makes her ears ring a bit. Such is life. Instead of being worn, her HRTC jacket is tied about her waist. Apparently, the weather is warm enough for her to do without the jacket. She moves with slight, almost unnoticeable movements. She's not twitching like usual. How odd. Though, one eye looks a little swollen. Did it get poked or something? Her glasses reflect the light from things well, and if anyone takes a picture of her, it may look quite odd, as all they'd get is two circles of light, not her eyes. It takes her a moment, but soon she nears her podium, blinking her gray eyes a bit as they water. All the pollen in the air must be getting to her. At any rate, here she is. Sophia waves slightly and rubs her eyes, looking more humble than usual, but at least she's happy.
As the doors swing open, Rick, the cheery young trainer from Saffron walks with his teammate towards the arena. For once, liberal amounts of hair-gel force the trainer's unruly dark brown mop of hair into stylish curtains. Surprisingly, the cheeky trainer looks smart in the black jacket, making quite a change from the usual blue one. Unsurprisingly, he still has his hands in his pockets, until he remembers not to do that, as his mother has told him. Rick looks about him, appearing thoroughly astounded at the whole affair. Amazingly, he doesn't look the least bit intimidated, for such a late entry. Obviously, he's been watching this on television.
Thrilled to be back in the ring again, as odd as that may sound, Janelle bounces out of the East entrance, her smaller teammate taking his time behind her. Janelle walks confidently, but her cheeks are flushed with a nervous blush and she tugs at the bottom of her HRTC jacket nervously as she makes her appearance. Decked out in a skirt, a man's dress shirt and tie and heels, the teen appears to be ready to face the glamour tonight. Janelle steps into the both and locks her pokeball into its place. Zach follows suit with a matching pokeball. Looking out at the crowd now, Janelle waves, scanning the sea of faces as best she can through the flashing lights, wondering who might be out there. Fastened around their upper arms, each member of Musouka wears an arm band of simple brown material with red lettering stitched neatly in place. Apex, it reads in red blocks letters.
"The Dynamic Duo is made up of the fairer half of the erstwhile Saffron City Connection," notes Masters. "Yes," adds Strong. "Apparently, Sophia Smith has re-entered the tournament with a new partner after a disagreement with her teammate." "In a game this tense," states Masters, "it's bound to happen from time to time." "Indeed it is," replies Strong. "And entering with only two hands remaining is a bold move, to be sure." Masters shifts gears, turning the topic back to pre-fight formalities. "The official for tonight's match," Masters continues, "is Bruce 'Iron Horse' Dupree." In keeping with standard protocol, the gruff old referee gives the cameras a cursory acknowledgement, before returning to his pre-fight tasks. "Iron Horse," jokes Masters, "is really getting into the Crazy Eights spirit. Down, boy!" Down on the floor, the emcee strikes a dynamic pose. "By popular demand," he declares, "and by order of the Neon Town Gaming Commission, this Crazy Eights battle has been declared a grand melee! Total simultaneous release! This battle will end when all of one team's pokemon are unable to battle, or upon concession! Lock decks...and rrrelease -all- pokemon!" In the trainers' boxes, the pokeball sockets snap tight around their contents with a hiss and click, securely locking the spheres into the podium. This time, however, all of the balls glow with a bright neon glow, flashing expectantly.
Fairer half, huh? Sophia blushes slightly and grins sheepishly. It's a bold move, but it's one Sophia's happy to make. At any rate, she steps up to the podium, a bit worried about her shorter partner's ability to see over said podium. She just keeps a light grin on her face. She looks semi-happy, but a bit of solemnity hangs over her. Those poor girls of the Apex team... Unless asked, Sophia's not going to mention it, but something similar happened to... She just shakes her head, shutting out those memories and glances to the awaiting pokeball that was somehow set there. It's more of a reflex now and Sophia shakes her head. Of course she put it there. She just doesn't have to think about it. With a slight sigh and a grin to her partner, she releases her pokemon, who appears in the arena. But oddly, the form isn't that of a normal pokemon. It's a boy! He has floppy brown hair and sparkling brown eyes, but his clothes are odd. So odd, they can only be from a period, nearly 100 years ago... Another odd thing about him is how his skin is so pale, it's practically translucent. His feet make no noise on the ground as he taps them impatiently and grins to his opponents. This Gastly is apparently uneager to abandon this form. "Rayne, please! Take this seriously, okay?" Sophia calls to her pokemon, but Rayne, the pokemon, doesn't listen. Instead, he stays as a boy for now... He isn't too ready to abandon his guise. Hmmm.
Grinning brightly, Zachary steps up into the trainer's box just a step or two behind the older member of team Musouka, the knuckles of his one hand white as he clutches tightly onto the pokeball within them, though once the single red and white sphere is locked into place, both of his hands find their customary position on the railing in front of him. Eyebrows arching slightly, the lad peers out onto the arena curiously, the toe of his right foot tapping gently upon the floor. "This is new," he glances expectantly up towards Janelle, half-expecting her to say something, his shoulders raising and falling with a faint shrug, "Guess this'll be quicker then we expected, eh?" Zach's expression becomes slightly solemn, however, as the first competitor appears on the scene. Both eyebrows raise on that one, and the lad tilts his head a little to one side, watching the strange creature, but with the shake of his head, he brings his right hand down upon the nearby pokeball, sending out a bright arch of white light from the podium, only to spill out onto the arena, and compress into the one pokemon that team Musouka has not brought out before, a cute little Pikachu. Settled on all fours, Altair peers about the stadium, ears flickering back and forth at the noise of the crowd, <Dude... That's a lot of people.>
Once on the podium, Rick continues to look about at the arena, the stands, and their opponents. Thankfully, he is tall enough to see over the top, but only just, only the upper half of his torso is visible from the front. Rick gives a quick smile to Janelle, once he recognises her, before turning to his teammate. The smaller trainer mouths a 'thank you' to Sophia, and his face takes on the usual grin. Taking a deep breath, he too releases his pokemon from the ball set in the arena. There is nothing unusual about this pokemon. It is a Charmander, and quite a tough-looking one at that. Of course, that may just be a guise, like the Gastly's boy form, but who's to say? "Afterglow, give it your best!" Rick calls to his pokemon, who just flashes a smile back toward the podium, then fixing her gaze on her opponents, a truly serious expression on her face. She looks prepared to take on just about anything.
With a careful tap of one long finger, Janelle releases her own pokemon from its ball. She frowns out at the ghostly boy in the stadium for a moment, and then turns her eyes to the red light as it solidifies into the form a Gastly. Apparently, Dame is in a more serious mood. At least he just appeared this time. The ghost hovers in a circle pulling faces at the crowd and the cameras and then peering at the 'boy' intently. "Gaaaassstly," he cackles gleefully. Janelle bites her lower lip and sighs. "Looks like this is gonna be tense," she tells her teammate, smiling at him warmly.
"We're getting our first look at the lay of the battle," comments Masters. "On the Dynamic Duo side, we're looking at a Gastly and a Charmander, while Team Musouka has sent forth a Pikachu...and another Gastly! This could get interesting." "No question," agrees Strong. "Gastly are tricky enough without the added consideration of this hand. All in all, it looks like a pretty even matchup. Should be a good fight." Down on the floor, the emcee sweeps his gaze across both teams, their pokemon, and the audience. Nodding in dramatized approval, the flamboyant man crosses his arms, and brings his feet together, standing ramrod straight. His cape slides back from his shoulders, the material draping down his back in a glittery cascade. "Teams," he inquires with all due gravity, "ready?"
Blink. Double blink. Sophia tilts her head. Now that's interesting. Oh well, she grins lightly. Rayne sticks his tongue out at Janelle. <Can't catch me!> He giggles wildly. He's not fooling the other ghost with his disguise, but maybe he can trick a few of the audience members, until the announcers blow his cover and he pouts, lower lip sticking out and a few brown hairs flopping over. <No fair!> Sophia nods to the man who calls for her. "Ready as I'll ever be," She smiles slightly and looks to her pokemon. At least it's an even match this time... Rayne just wiggles impatiently as Sophia adjusts her glasses, watching the arena calmly. Even match. Who knows? She seems to be planning what to do battlewise instead of just being told what to do. It certainly makes her happy and even though she still shakes nervously, she wears a lingering smile. Maybe the pint-sized trainer besides her is calming the nerd a bit. Rayne yawns boredly. <This isn't much fun, when do I get to play? I wanna play!> He whines.
"Oooh, So it's a Gastly..." Zachary states with the air of someone who had just figured out a particularly difficult question after the announcers make it clear, as his arms raise up from the ropes in front of him, only to fold over each other on his chest. However, a faint smile remains upon Zach's lips. He's always had a positive attitude about the entire thing, and he apparently has not lost it yet. "Tense, yeah," Zachary admits with a faint nodding of his head, his right foot tapping once against the floor below him, "And quick. Okay, Altair..." At the last part, the boy raises his voice just slightly, so the electric rodent could hear him, "Try to keep your head about you. I know this is going to be really confusing," In the literal sense, "But just keep at it." Still smiling, Zach then raises one hand, giving the flamboyant man a thumbs up sign, shouting, "Musouka's ready!" <Dude!> ears flickered forward, the 'chu agrees on that.
Dame floats in place, bobbing gently and snickering at Altair for no apparent reason. Janelle looks to her teammate anxiously and then back out at the emcee. "Here goes nothing. Give it your best guys!" she cheers on the pair of pokemon that represents her team in the ring. The ghost type just rolls his eyes. Janelle beams as Zach affirms that they are ready and then takes a deep breath and settles in to strategize. "Gotta keep on our toes," she tells herself, shifting in her stiff shoes nervously.
Rick looks at the opponent's pokemon as they are released. Hmm. A Pikachu and another Gastly. "Watch out for that Gasty, Afterglow." Rick says to his pokemon on the arena floor. <Which one? Oh, okay!> the Charmander replies, seeing the layout of the arena, and assuming (correctly) that she's allied with the strange boy/ghost. "Ready!" Rick chirps at the emcee, giving a thumbs up signal to clarify. Not that he needs clarifying... The Charmander has been briefed on the battle rules, and although she's unsettled by the thought of the confusion, she still looks ready to go.
"Dynamic Duo," declares the emcee, raising his arm in a demonstrative fashion, "ready!" At the signal from the other team, the flamboyant man does likewise with his other arm. "Team Musouka...ready!" A faint smile creases the emcee's face, and he delivers a curt nod to Iron Horse. "Initiate Subsonic Pulse Modules," he states firmly. The grizzled old referee nods, and throws a knife switch mounted on the side of the arena, surrounded by brightly colored warning labels. At all four corners of the arena, odd cylindrical devices rise from apertures in the floor. They appear to be poles, a few feet in height, topped with a coppery-colored sphere. The sides of the objects bear odd vanes, making them appear more at home in a mad scientist's laboratory. Electricity crackles along the length of the modules, and they begin to thrum with a deep, subsonic vibration, more felt than heard. To the pokemon, however, the pulse is maddening. It fragments thought, and forcefully addles the mind. Meanwhile, the scoreboard lights up with mugshots of both teams, beneath which lie images of their pokemon. "Iiiit's Time to Throw Down," proclaims the emcee, to wild audience appreciation. "Rrready? Fight!"
Rayne lets out a light wail at the noise. <Owwww! Cheaters! No fair!> He whines and Sophia winces. That can't be good... She frowns slightly and looks at the opposing Gastly. "Try a Nightshade Rayne!" She points to the other Gastly, then thinking quickly... "He wants to play tag! Play tag!" She tries an alternate strategy. Almost immediately Rayne's face brightens. <Tag! Oh boy!> He grins devilishly as Sophia smiles in approval and rubs his hands together. With that, he draws on some ghostly energy within, but as he does so, he loses his human form, becoming a purple ball of gas himself... <Ready or not!> Apparently, the confusion has gotten to the Gastly... Hovering in the air, he stops bobbing a moment as the area around him darkens considerably and the temperature in the arena would probably drop just a bit to those sensitive to it. Rayne seems to solidify, but it's only an illusion, he's building energy. Purple, royal purple and black energy that seems to eat at the light around him. Spooky looking, indeed. With a slight grin, purple tendrils, hungry for a victim, lash violently into the air around the other Gastly, trying to hit it with the whips. If the other Gastly gets hit, it won't be pleasant, but Rayne looks as happy as ever. <Tag, you're it!>
The Nightshade misses Janelle's Gastly.
Grumbling, the 'chu flattens himself down upon the ground, ears flattened back against his head. <Dude, I don't like this... That hurts!> Zachary just sighs softly, his head slowly shaking back and forth as he watches the Pikachu out on the field. "I warned you about that, but I wasn't use how they'd do it," The lad admits, as he proceeds to bite at his upper lip, "Sorry, Altair... Give it your all, like Janie said." Smiling a little, the lad then glances up towards the older trainer, before focusing completely on the battle, hands falling at his sides, "Maybe... Yeah. Okay, Double Team on 'em!" "Chhuu..." The little mouse straightens himself up once again rather unsteadily, tailtip flickering against the air, then begins to run, as quickly as he can about the Gastly. Wherever his paws touch the ground, another image of himself appears, attempting to confuse the ghost further, and buy his team some time... But trying not to trip in his own confusion in the process is another thing that he has to deal with at the same time.
The Double Team does not affect Sophia's Gastly.
Rick again takes a deep breath, perhaps to calm himself, even though he seems fairly calm anyway. Afterglow meanwhile, has lost her brave image for now, as the pulsing tones rattle through her skull like marbles. What results is the poor little lizard holding her head, trying to make sense of the world around her once more. "Afterglow! Fire Spin! Capture that Gastly!" Rick calls out. The Charmander looks slightly unsteady, but she fights to regain her 'little toughie' pose. She looks around and spots what she thinks is the opponent Gastly, and she opens her mouth, flames erupting from within, more than should be possible for such a small pokemon. If successful, the flames will strike the ground and curl themselves upwards, forming a spiralling cage.
The Fire Spin affects Janelle's Gastly. This attack does not include a hit. Janelle's Gastly is now captured.
Janelle does an effect check. She has failed to break it.
Janelle's face locks into a look of rigid concentration, as if she can concentrate for her pokemon. The thrumming echoes in Dame's head and he wails in agony and anger, his mood of impish humor slowly melting into one of frustration and anger. The ghost type's eyes flash a dangerous shade of glowing lavender and he dodges to the side, zigzagging and swirling to evade the Nightshade attack. "Now, use Lick. Careful in close rang," Janelle yells forcefully to the confused Gastly. <Tag is it?> Dame grumbles, spinning and then blinking of sight for a moment, using his speed to try and get in close enough to the other specter to run his tongue over it. He can't hide from this opponent, but he can attempt to out maneuver it. Dame is zooming toward his foe when suddenly caught in a ring of fire. <Where the?> he exclaims. Janelle clamps her hands on the box and stares, she hadn't seen that one coming.
"And here we go," announces Masters. "Crazy Eights is officially underway. And how about those Science Poles? Wild." "You mean the Subsonic Pulse Modules," offers Strong. "Sure, sure," responds Masters. "Potato, po-tah-to. Either way, we've got some wigged-out warriors on the field. This can't help but be interesting." "True enough, Jake," states Strong. "True enough." "Gastly," continues Masters, "starting things off with a display of ghostly might...But only manages to spook himself!" "Maybe he got the two Gastlies mixed up," offers Strong. "That's one helluva mixup," replies Masters. "Pikachu makes with some fancy footwork, in an attempt to further vex his addled foe, but only manages to trip himself up! Charmander, meanwhile, lets loose with the pyrotechnics, catching his befuddled foe offguard and enclosing her in lambent coils of flame! It's a madhouse!"
Rayne looks surprised at his mistake, and shakes violently as the tendrils hit himself, not his opponent. "Gaaaasss!" he wails, but he continues smiling after he regains his bearing, eyes crossed but a moment. "Rayne, use your Lick attack! Um, I mean... he's coming to play! Show him how much you like to play! He's playing Hide and Seek!" In response, Rayne turns towards the captured opponent, and he draws closer, extending his tongue through the flames. Perhaps the sticky, paralyzing goo on the tongue will buffer the flames. <Ready or not, here I come!!> If he's not careful, he'll burn himself... But who cares? The other Gastly can't run, can it? Rayne giggles slightly as his eyes close to give the other Gastly a big happy Lick! Spread the love! Sophia just tilts her head slightly the other way. Apparently, she doesn't understand Gastly-ese yet and the ghost's antics confuse her to no end. He's using Lick alright, but uh... He looks way too happy about it. His marbles are still rattled by the sound waves that reverberate through the arena. Slurp!
The Lick hits Janelle's Gastly. The Lick side effect (paralysis) does work.
Zachary does an effect check. He has succeeded to break it.
Zachary saw that one coming himself... It's one of the more useful attacks that a Charmander has, and it's going to be a pain in the neck. It doesn't help at all that Altair just cannot keep the rhythm of his paws together, and ends up flat on his face, tail sticking straight up in the air, <Like... dude.> Back at the trainer's box, Zachary slowly begins to shake his head, a hand coming up from the railing in front of him to rest gently upon his forehead, though for only a moment, as his hand soon falls back down upon the rope. "Well, this isn't looking too bad," The lad admits with a faint smile up towards the older trainer, who just shakes her head. "Right... Okay, Altair. Slow that Gastly down with a Thunder Wave!" It takes several seconds for the little mouse to figure out which way is up, and which is down, but once he does, he growls at the nearest of opponents, his cheek-sacks sparking slightly, before emitting a brief 'spark' of electricity at the Gastly, attempting to short out whatever sort of nervous-system the ghost has. Beside the younger trainer, Janelle is cheering on her own Gastly, trying to pull him out of the sudden paralyses with her words, and succeeding, as the ghost sluggishly continues it's movements just moments after the paralyses took effect.
The Thunder Wave misses Sophia's Gastly.
Afterglow's face brightens as her attack succeeds, encasing the ghost in a swirling fiery prison. "Good one, buddy!" calls Rick, as he waits for the attack to take its full effect. Thankfully, this is going better than Afterglow's last match, against the Gastly she is now allied with. Looking sideways, the Charmander watches as her companion seems to be having fun while battling. The little orange lizard approaches the cage to watch her opponent more closely. Why? Maybe she's studying her opponent. Maybe she's taunting him, who knows? However, in her state of confusion, she may get a little too close to the flames...
The Fire Spin affects Janelle's Gastly. This attack does not include a hit. Janelle's Gastly is now captured.
"In comes Gastly," observes Masters, "and is he insane? Wait, what am I saying? Of course he is! We're all mad here! Gastly braves the flames to give his counterpart a little tongue action...But there's no affection there!" "Musouka's Gastly is in quite a spot," notes Strong. "You're not kidding," agrees Masters. "Not only has it been briefly incapacitated by the ghostly tongue of its opponent, but it's still locked in the scorching embrace of Charmander's Fire Spin! Meanwhile, Pikachu somehow manages to short circuit himself, while Charmander turns up the heat on the opposition!"
Rayne looks pleased by the outcome of his attacks and giggles. <Okay, I found you. Now to tag you!> "Try another Nightshade! That should give you the edge you need," Sophia calls to her Gastly. Even if he misses, Sophia feels confident her little partner's tough as nails Charmander can help. She's gaining more and more respect for the little fire lizards by the day... Rayne bobs up and down happily, eyes rolling comically as he does so. <Hehehehe. Look out, 'cuz here I come!> The Gastly manages to draw on the energy that only the dead can touch, the energy that powers so much envy of the living, and that often terrifies said living mortals. If they can finish off the Gastly, they should be gain a good edge on things. Sophia looks quite happy, though her happiness is held in, for respect of Janelle and Zachary. Mostly Janelle because she knows her better. Rayne almost seems to disappear in the dark orb of energy that engulfs his etheral body, but he soon reappears as the Nightshade, however manifested, is launched off towards the other spectre. Behind the Nightshade, the air feels cooler, almost as though... Something is missing.
The Nightshade hits Janelle's Gastly.
Altair's attack not only fizzles away, but also comes right back at him, giving him a nice, nasty shock. However, thankfully due to his electric nature, he is quick to shrug it off, but for the moment that it did hit, it /hurt/. But the little mouse was lucky enough not to be the one targeted by the Nightshade attack made by the opposing Gastly. He knows what those types of attacks can do to someone's mind, not like he could be in any worse condition at the moment. "I'm going to really owe you one for this once this is over, Altair..." Zachary sighs in a meek voce, his hands gripping harder on the rope before him, knuckles becoming somewhat white from the tension, "But for now, Thunder! It's our best shot..." The lad gives a weak little smile up at his team-mate, his shoulders shrugging a little, as the little 'chu prepares the attack. Though looking a little beat up, Altair's cheeks begin to spark, growing in charge second after second, until a brilliant flash of lightning forms before the mouse, which hopefully hits it's target, instead of the one who created it.
The Thunder hits Sophia's Gastly.
"Yeah! Afterglow, go, go, go! You can do it!" Rick cheers. Afterglow seems pleased too, although the confusion is still evident in her unsteady eyes. She watches as the Gastly falls within the flames as the full effect of the Nightshade clamps down on the unfortunate pokemon. Only then do the fiery spirals disperse, leaving behind only a tell-tale scorched ring on the ground. Strangely, Afterglow gives a salute to the fallen ghost, as a sign of respect, perhaps? "Right, now go for a Flamethrower on the Pikachu!" Rick calls out. The Charmander again opens her mouth, the flames rising from within to form a stream of searing heat, aimed at the unfortunate lone pokemon.
The Flamethrower misses Zachary's Pikachu.
Janelle sighs mightly as her confused Gastly is trapped in flames and then blasted with ghostly energy. Tonight he is getting a taste of his own medicine. "You gave it a good shot, Dame. Return and rest up," Janelle calls as the pokeball automatically recalls the weary Gastly. "Come on, Altair. Keep your chin up," Janelle encourages Zach's pokemon.
"The Duo's Gastly," observes Masters, "despite being in his own little world, seems to have it more or less together, and blasts Musouka's Gastly right out of the fight!" Iron Horse has to spend a moment or two longer than normal peering at the fallen Gastly, before finally raising his flag. "Gastly," he declares gruffly, "is...unable to battle." Up on the scoreboard, the ghost's image grows dim. "Gastly is down," comments Masters. "A merciful thing," offers Strong, "after being confused, paralyzed, and enveloped by fire." "Maybe so, Tony," Masters chuckles. "But meanwhile, Pikachu finally gets his feet firmly beneath him, and blasts Gastly with some serious amperage! Charmander rushes to the offensive, but seems to be contending with a serious case of heartburn...Yowch."
Rayne does -not- look pleased as the Thunder blasts him. Thanks to the gas that composes him, he lights up a lot like a lightbulb, glowing slightly. His eyes bug out slightly and he wails noisily. "/Gassssssssssss/!" </Ooooooooooowww/!> He squeals and blinks a bit, sizzling slightly. Mmm. Warm ghost. The stench of ozone and ...Gastly gas rises through the air. Not a pleasant aroma to be sure. Rayne finally gets his composure back and glowers at the Pikachu. <You don't play fair!> "Try Poison Gas!" Sophia calls to her Gastly, "Hang in there Afterglow. You two can do it!" She cheers their team pokemon on. With that, Rayne releases a bit of himself, wisps of purple gas towards the Pikachu. It doesn't smell, nor would it have a taste. It's just gaseous poison, pure and simple, but Rayne's not going to let this chance slide. <Hee hee, what was in that PokeChow!?> Would a childish Gastly let a chance for a flatulence joke slide? Never! Sophia just slaps her forehead... Whatever Rayne titters about, he keeps flooding the air of the arena with his poisonous gas. PokeChow related or not.
The Poison Gas misses Zachary's Pikachu.
Team Musouka is not going to go down with a fight, well, at least this one lone Pikachu won't. Altair ducks, he weaves, and all in all, he just sort of accidently tumbles out of the way of the gas, letting it float back to whence it came. <Dude, that reeks... You can kill plants with that one, and that's bad, man> Despite the fact that he's paws-deep in battle, Altair still finds a way to promote his 'preserve the forest' attitude, even as the Gastly tries to gas him out. A bright grin remains upon Zachary's lips as he watches the battle, his fingers releasing their grasp on the rope before him. The 'chu might look a little beaten up, but there's energy in him still, obvious by the way his cheek-sacks continue to spark. "Good job, Altair! Now see if you can keep it up... Don't try and move too much, else you'll get yourself all mixed up again, so just hunker down and throw a Thundershock at it!" <Hmph, try and gas me out, willya? Dude, that's just... just... dude...> The confusion has the little mouse at a lack of words apparently, but not at a lack of electricity, as it begins to build up at his sacs, only to discharge moments later what could almost be called a trickle of electricity compared to what it was last time... Hopefully the 'chu has grounded himself, and is able to hit his mark with the bolt.
The Thundershock hits Sophia's Gastly.
In the act of summoning up her inner fire, Afterglow's throat muscles refuse to budge in her confusion, causing the welling up fire to burn herself on the inside. Blinking, the Charmander swallows, then opens her mouth again, a wisp of smoke curling out. Rick winces as he realizes what just happened, and he involuntarily swallows too. "Okay, Afterglow, try another Fire Spin!" Rick calls out from the podium. Afterglow doesn't listen however, after burning herself once already, she isn't about to do it again. Instead, fuelled by her frustration with herself, she launches herself at the Pikachu, claws flailing wildly in a furious Rage attack.
The Rage misses Zachary's Pikachu.
"Gastly seems to have been thrown for a loop by the thunderous assault of his foe," observes Masters, "and appears even more disoriented than before! In his eagerness to...spread the wealth, as it were, he seems to have spread himself a bit thin." "The problem with being confused and gaseous," notes Strong, "is the risk of over-dispersion." "And that leaves Gastly wide open," continues Masters, "for Pikachu's followup attack! He lights up Gastly like the Neon Strip, and this ghost is outta here!" The judgement of Iron Horse backs up the announcer's claim, and the ghost's image fades from the scoreboard. "Now it's down to Pikachu and Charmander," observes Masters, "both looking tired and out of sorts. Can the plucky electric mouse stage a shocking comeback? Or will Charmander blaze her way into the winner's circle?"
With a glorious cry, Rayne disappears into the pokeball that rests on Sophia's side of the podium. Actually, it's less of a cry and more of an <Owch!> Sophia nods to Rick. "Good luck you two!" Sophia looks to her pokeball with approval. Rayne did well given the circumstances and she knows that, so for now, she cheers on Rick and his Charmander. Sophia's gray eyes soon move from the pokeball to the arena, now dancing with interest. This is going to be a close one...
With the Charmander lost in it's on confusion, it take very much at all for the little mouse to avoid being tromped on, and/or slashed at with those quite dangerous appearing claws. The only thing he really needs to do, is not really move at all. The Charmander hardly comes close, but Altair decides to leap back several feet, just in case. "That was interesting..." Zachary mutters softly, bringing one hand up from the rope to gently begin to rub at the back of his neck, before shaking his head slowly, "Enough with the electricity... Now that you've gotten yourself under control a bit, go for a Quick Attack!" Uncertainly, the little Pikachu twitches his ears backwards a little, but slowly at first, begins to bound forward, moving quicker by the moment, barreling towards his opponent, while trying to keep track of his own legs at the same time.
The Quick Attack misses Rick's Charmander.
"Damn..." Rick quietly mutters. Afterglow trips over herself in her approach, injuring herself in the process. In this position, she is prone to any attacks the Pikachu might throw at her. Thankfully, the confusion of the Pikachu prevents the Quick Attack from connecting. Rick sighs as the Charmander staggers back to her feet. "It's all up to you now, Afterglow. -Please- use your Flamethrower..." Rick calls, pitying the pokemon who is now forced to use a sore throat to spew flames. She swallows again, and prepares herself. Opening her mouth again, she throws the flames once more, this time towards the electric pokemon. Rick can only pray that she doesn't hurt herself again, or Joy will have some stern words for him...
The Flamethrower hits Zachary's Pikachu.
The roar of the crowds and the tension of the battle have Janelle's stomach in knots. The teen places both hands just under her ribs and closes her eyes for a moment, catching her breath. While the nervous energy and thought that go into these battles is like a fuel for her, there have been too many stimuli tonight and the lanky teen feels a bit overwhelmed. As her teammate's pokemon is charred mightily, the girl reaches over to pat at Zach's shoulder. "We gave it a shot, kid," she says, her heart still aching from her mistake the previous week.
"Pikachu boldly charges forward, darting towards Charmander with blinding speed! Unfortunately, Pikachu's mind and feet seem to be operating on different wavelengths, and down he goes! That can't feel good! And Charmander capitalizes on the situation to deliver a blistering blast of flame to his fallen foe!" Iron Horse, after a moment of scrutiny, raises his flag. "Pikachu is unable to battle," he declares, as Team Musouka's images fade from the scoreboard. The lighting in the arena resumes its normal hue, and the emcee retakes the field. "The winner," he proclaims, "of this Crazy Eights battle...The Dynamic Duo!" The crowd erupts in a frenzy of cheering, the massive SilphTron screen displaying a closeup of the winners.
Sophia looks quite happy. "We did it Rick!" She reaches over to give the little guy a hug. "Way to go Afterglow!" The little Charmander really is a tough scrapper when she needs to be. Sophia smiles to their opponents. "Thank you, Janelle," She whispers softly. Sophia lets go of Rick, not wanting to squish the smaller trainer and backs down. She gets her pokeball from the podium. "I'm gonna have to take Rayne to the PokeCenter, want to go together?" She asks Rick. She's a bit eager to get out of here before any interviewers swarm her or anything. Sophia's not terribly fond of cameras... She seems to revel in their victory more quietly, but a warm happiness still eminates from the nerdy trainer. When Rick starts to move away, Sophia will quietly follow him.
Char broiled, the Pikachu goes down, like a rock. He was just getting back up on his feet after his unwilling fall, when the fire-lizard's blast hit him, point blank, and taking out whatever strength Altair had left. <Dude...> The mouse mutters weakly, just as Zachary's hand comes down on the pokeball, returning the garden-loving 'chu back within the sphere's confines, and safely away from any other attacks. For a moment, Zachary's head hangs low, his chin gently resting upon his chest, but as he raises his head again, a bright grin forms across his lips, and he turns his gaze over towards his teammate. "Eh, it's just one battle. No worries, there's still one left, and the final, y'know," Always full of optimism he is, and with a slight nod, he brings his hand to rest gently upon the hand Janelle had on his shoulder, only to then give her a thumbs-up sign with the same hand, "Next time, we plan for everything."
Even though she was victorious, Afterglow looks about ready to collapse herself. Her head sags forward and she swallows a few times, her tail almost touching the floor. Rick is surprised by the hug from Sophia, but he returns the embrace just the same. However, he can't take his eye off Afterglow still out there on the arena. Taking the pokeball from the podium like his teammate, he recalls the exhausted lizard manually, glad to have her safely back in her ball. At the suggestion from Sophia, Rick nods. "Yeah, sure. I hope Afterglow's alright... Burning yourself on the inside must hurt..." Involuntarily, the trainer gulps once more as he looks at the ball in his hand. Finally, he looks up at his opponents, a friendly smile on his face. "Janelle, that's one all!" he says with a grin. Rick isn't as quick as Sophia to try and avoid the cameras, but he goes with her all the same. Oddly, he isn't showing much recognition of their victory. Maybe it hasn't properly sunk in yet...
Janelle relaxes some and nods. "Always so positive!" the teen says, attempting to muss the boy's hair quickly before throwing a wave to the other team, and her friend. "Yeah, we need to get planning," she affirms, then pats at her pocket gently, smiling as it clunks heavily. Janelle bobs her head at Rick's comment and tosses him a salute and then an overly dramatic bow. "Great job, kid!" she calls back, taking one last look around the arena.
The maddening modules, now silent, retract back into the floor as Iron Horse toggles the switch. "An exciting match," comments Masters, "full of bedlam and surprises. The Dynamic Duo took an early lead, but Team Musouka staged a daring comeback. In the end, it's the Duo that takes the day and the chip, in a tense, last-minute duel." "If this is the sort of battle we can expect from this hand," notes Strong, "then I think we're in for some great fights." "Absolutely," agrees Masters. "Be sure to stay tuned tomorrow night, as we bring you a Crazy Eights grudge match, between tournament powerhouse Down, But Not Out, and crowd favorites The Dashing Blades. It's sure to be a blast. Until then, for the Golden Dewgong Hotel and Casino, and the Neon Town Gaming Commission, I'm Jake Masters." "And I'm Tony Strong." "And we'll see you next time."
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