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.
<OOC> Nemo says "Okay. Time to get started. Ahem. Because everyone on the MUSH (Except for you here, those who legitimately can't be here, and one other person) is a bad person, who doesn't care about drama, excitement, or supporting novel ideas, we have a change of plans. For lack of a judging panel, the battle will, in fact, be +attempted."
<OOC> Sophia says "Ooooo."
<OOC> Nemo mutters something about slackers.
<OOC> Nemo says "Moving along. Have you divided your pokemon amongst yourselves?"
<OOC> Lark says "We're using our own."
<OOC> Valentino says "You probably don't need me to say I'll be controlling them all until Grayson can get here."
<OOC> Sophia says "We each control our own."
<OOC> Rick nods.
<OOC> Nemo says "Now, if I could please get an initiative roll from a representative of each team?"
Lark rolls 1 die: <6>
Sophia rolls 1 die: <1>
Zachary rolls 1 die: <6>
<OOC> Zachary says "I'll probably be controlling them all until Janelle arrives."
Valentino rolls 1 die: <2>
<OOC> Nemo says "Lark and Zachary, again?"
Zachary rolls 1 die: <3>
Lark rolls 1 die: <4>
<OOC> Sophia pokes her dice roll.
<OOC> Nemo says "And in-team pose order?"
<OOC> Lark says "Dalton, then me."
<OOC> Dalton nods.
<OOC> Sophia says "I guess myself, then Rick."
<OOC> Rick nods.
<OOC> Valentino says "Uh, when Grayson gets here... he'll go before me. :)"
<OOC> Valentino says "Until then, well... duh."
<OOC> Zachary snickers, "Same here, only that Janelle will go after me after she comes on."
<OOC> Nemo says "Then the pose order will be Dalton, Zachary, (Grayson), Sophia, Lark, (Janelle), Valentino, Rick. If everyone could please +startbattle?"
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.
Dalton's stats changes have been set to 0. He is ready to battle.
Valentino's stats changes have been set to 0. He is ready to battle.
Lark's stats changes have been set to 0. She is ready to battle.
<OOC> Nemo says "Great. Now, this is going to be just a little different. First, with respect to the size of the event, please try to be timely with your poses. Second, the first round is going to be non-standard. I will make a scenepose, and then each team will pose their sequence. Only one pose per team the first round. After that, it's business as usual. Clear so far?"
<OOC> Sophia says "I think so."
<OOC> Rick nods.
<OOC> Dalton nods.
<OOC> Lark nods.
<OOC> Zachary says "Yup."
<OOC> Valentino says "Yes."
<OOC> Nemo says "Okay. I've been made aware that Valentino will be posing for Grayson until he gets here. So Grayson, while not here in body, is here and spirit, and reserves a place in the pose order. Now, are there any questions before we get started? This is definitely the time to ask them."
<OOC> Valentino says "No questions yet."
<OOC> Zachary says "None so far..."
<OOC> Rick says "No questions."
<OOC> Dalton says "None that I can think of."
<OOC> Lark says "Assuming that this is pretty much the same as the other rounds have been, minus the first pose round and the fact that there's more people, no questions."
The scene opens on an aerial view of Neon Town, slowly gathering music in the background. The view gradually closes into a shot of the casino strip, and the bright lights and massive form of the stadium. "Live," states a voice-over, "from the Golden Dewgong Arena in scenic Neon Town...The High Roller Tournament of Champions! Final Battle!" The musical accompaniment flares to life, in an energetic fanfare, as images and symbols dominate the screen, the HRTC logo dominant. The live feed cuts in on the two announcers in their box, dressed, as always, in pink and blue. The tuxedos worn by the commentators are different this time, however, dressier, and liberally trimmed with sequins. "Good evening, fight fans," begins the thin man in pink, "and welcome back to the Golden Dewgong Arena. Tonight's battle is the one we've all been waiting for. Last Call, The Final Showdown, The Big--" Masters is interrupted by his partner, clearing his throat. "Right," continues Masters, straightening his lapels. "I'm Jake Masters, and with me, as always, is Tony Strong." "Great to be here, Jake," The athlete rasps affably. "Months of blood, sweat, and tears," resumes Masters, "have gone into this unrivalled pageant. And finally, it's all come down to this moment. Tonight, we will determine which team has what it takes to be called High Rollers. Now, let's meet our would-be champions." The view shifts to a series of taped sequences, each set to motivational music and devoted to one of the participating teams.
The video for team Down But Not Out starts out simply enough, first focusing with a shot of each of the two trainers in the team, Lark can be seen looking off into the distance, seemingly in thought about one thing or another, while Dalton, aside from looking like he's about to have some sort of nervous breakdown, seems to have his attention focused on something slightly off camera. The camera pans over to reveal what has his attention, a group of pokemon in training. A Winneedee can just barely be seen in the distance, flying in and generally looking to be in a rather good mood, and also a short distance from all the action is an Onix, which appears to just be watching for the moment. A bit closer to the camera, a Scyther can be seen battling an imaginary foe, and a Ditto watches the 'battle' quite intently. After a few moments, the Ditto begins to glow, and eventually forms herself into a copy of the Scyther, calling out to get the attention of the other. The scene pans back to the trainers, whom both happen to be doing roughly the same thing they had been before. Dalton's mouth moves, but the boy doesn't speak loud enough for the words to be clear, and Lark doesn't have much of a response to them at all. The camera pans back to the two Scythers, who have changed their positions and appear to be staring each other down. In a movement almost too fast to see clearly, the two Scythers charge each other and their blades collide with a clashing of metal, then the scene turns back to the trainers one last time. Lark turns her head in a rather vague sign of acknowledgement, still looking like she's more than a little preoccupied, and the video fades with a final comment from Dalton. "This is it..."
Grayson's stats changes have been set to 0. He is ready to battle.
Highlighted in varying shades of blues, greens and silvers, the team name 'Musouka' then replaces whatever had last been on the arena's main television display, and across thousands of TVs across the islands, the speakers silent at first, only to blast with the music 'The Eye of the Tigore', an inspirational piece from a well known set of movies from ten years back. It's an inspirational piece, that matches along with the scene that then follows, that of the two trainers that make up the team of dreamers, Zachary and Janelle, apparently battling against one another in a training session, with Zach's Tearwulf lunging towards a Winneedee, with the forms of a Pikachu and a Charmander standing watch off to one side. However, the video doesn't show if the hit lands or not, as it then cuts to the two trainers, sitting side by side on a park-bench, no pokemon visible at the time. A microphone is held out in front of the two, with the owner of the hand unseen, as the interviewer asks a simple, single question, "What do you two think will be the outcome of this final battle?" Through this part of the video, the music quiets down slightly, letting the older, Janelle, to speak, as she glances towards the younger trainer beside her, "I have complete faith in my partner, and our pokemon... It's been a long, grueling tournament, and it could go either way. The point is that we all have fun, and give it our all." And apparently that's it, as it then cuts off to the next team.
Then comes the video for the Dashing Blades. The voice is female, low and sultry, and the screen shows crossed rapiers and domino masks in gold and silver against a deep red background, four Golden Chips in the four corners of the image and the golden pins awarded to the crowd favourites in the centre. "The Dashing Blades," she purrs. "Two men of mystery, united in purpose." The rapiers and masks fade as another scene comes to the fore, the Blue Blade looking worried over the defeat of one of his pokemon. "Devoted trainers." The two in defeat and then in victory. "Sportsmen." A picture of a flashy entrance, the Blades dropping from the dome overhead and waving to the crowd. "Showmen." The pair in black, walking with heads bowed. "Friends." And last, a still picture of the Blue Blade held for a few moments, showing him in the midst of foiling the hostage-taking 'detective'. "And last but never least, heroes. Ladies and gentlemen, please bring your hands together for those men of mystery, those paragons of virtue, the swashbuckling knaves of hearts and showmen supreme... the Dashing Blades!"
The Duo's video opens on a cocky, confident trainer who flashes the camera a grin. No flashy special effects here. "Hiya! Rick here!" He practically shouts, looking more thrilled than nervous. Then, the shot pans to a taller, more slender and definitely shakier looking trainer, who closes her eyes and waves gently. "Hello there, um, oh, I'm Sophia... Um, I guess that makes us the Dynamic Duo," The girl smiles softly as a faint red tinge creeps on her cheeks. Training like this apparently isn't her thing. Abruptly, the camera pans to two pokemon. A Machop and a Ponyta, who seem to be battling. The smaller of the trainers is faster with his command, because he won the coin flip. "Alright, Seismic Toss!" The Machop bobs his head quickly and moving with startling alarcity, lunges to Raine, who looks caught off gaurd by the Machop's speedy offensive. With that, the Machop manages to quite literally pick the Ponyta off the ground, grunting and tosses it into the air. Neighing frantically, as Sophia winces in the background and cries out "Raine!", the Ponyta manages to right itself before it hits, but landing right side up doesn't help much as her knees buckle slightly from the painful toss. "Try a Firespin?" Sophia suggests to her pokemon, who takes a moment to recover and flares her nostrils unhappily. The fire horse lowers her head, parts her lips and opens her mouth, then unleashing a spiraling column of vibrant scarlet, fierce orange and flashing yellows towards the Machop, who raises his arms to defend himself. It isn't enough, and burn marks are apparent on the pokemon's skin, who flinches. "I think we can do this, we'll try our best and put on the best show we can," Sophia nods to Rick, who grins and nods for the camera one last time as the shot fades out.
The scene cuts back once more to the announcers' box. "These brave teams have a serious fight ahead of them," states Masters. "Now, one last time, let's go down to the floor, where things are about to get underway." The arena lies dormant, still and dimly lit, and the air is charged with anticipation. Suddenly, the side wall is split by a vertical line of light. The brilliant slash widens as the doors slide open, becoming a field of bright illumination. From the light emerges a series of large shapes, broad and muscular. The four creatures, Machokes, bear between them an opulent palanquin, paneled in ebony and gilded in elegant golden scrollwork. Statuettes of rampant golden Dewgongs clutch the corners of the box, and a larger one lounges atop. With an even, stately stride, the Machoke litter-bearers carry the palanquin out to center stage, then smoothly lower it to the ground. The cloth-of-gold curtain on the side of the box begins to part...and then the entire palanquin explodes, with a thunderous report and blinding flash. Four bodies of red light streak up from the explosion to the dome of the stadium, as smoke and scintillating glitter fill the arena. The glittering smoke slowly swirls away, revealing the stately form of the Master of Ceremonies, silver-spangled cape fluttering behind him. "Ladies and Gentlemen," the emcee proclaims, "I give you your High Rollers! Down, But Not Out! The Dynamic Duo! Team Musouka! And The Dashing Blades!" The pokeball doors to either side of the battlefield slowly rise open, disgorging swirling fog, flashing lasers, and dramatic fanfares.
As the doors open up along with the typical smoke and lasers, Dalton is the first member of Down, But Not Out to appear from within it. Unsurprisingly, the boy -still- looks very much like he's about the have a stroke from his nervousness, and the boy is a few shades paler than he normally is, something which is quite easily apparent against his totally black wardrobe. The boy makes his way down to the area his team is going to be residing at for this battle at a rather brisk pace, and once he arrives at the proper spot, he stops and waits for everything to get started. While he waits, the boy fidgets almost endlessly, looking around at the audience, the arena, the emcee... anything around him that can help get his mind off what's coming up until it actually gets started. "Calm down... calm down..." he tells himself quietly, though it doesn't seem to actually have any effect on him.
<OOC> Nemo says "Ah. There are two additional boxes set up, to clarify."
It hasn't been long since the last time those pokeball doorways have been opened, with the last hand of the tournament, dislodging the thick layer of fog that lays about them, and for a moment, making things clear to see beyond their openings. At first, Team Musouka are just two shadows within that fog, as they slowly make their way up, and out of the opening, the tallest, Janelle, taking the space in front, smiling nervously as she waves towards the crowds, her HRTC jacket covering over her silvery shirt. Hanging to the rear behind his team-mate, Zachary attempts to keep up with the longer-legged trainer, his expression blank, and appearing a little green about the collar in nerves tonight, but still waving rather exaggeratedly towards the crowds, making his way slowly up to the trainer box assigned to his team. "Wow... Lookit all the people. Even more than with the normal hands," Zach murmurs softly, as he steps into the box, and stands, fidgeting somewhat now and again, to his team-mates side, attempting to keep his eyes on the arena before him.
By now most spectators would probably know that the duo known as the Dashing Blades aren't going to settle for just any old entrance. There's a pause between entrances, long enough to probably cause a few folks less familiar with the antics of the pair to wonder what on earth is going on. It's the Blue Blade who appears first, drifting down from some unseen perch close to the ceiling, aided by a golden parachute. His attire differs slightly from nights past; the brown has been shed in favour of more blue, with blue and gold sequins making him truly a spectacle to be seen. Compared to his current garb, his previous outfit was no more outlandish than anyone else's gear - he's pulled out all the stops tonight to make a real show of himself, glittery and glamorous and tasteless enough to be true showbusiness style, as has his orange-clad partner. Another parachute follows the first, silver where the Blue Blade's is gold. The two head for the empty arena floor, the Blue Blade landing first and taking a couple of steps forward to make sure his parachute doesn't land on his head; he's already waving to the crowd, and when he's clear of the 'chute he draws his rapier with a flourish.
Sophia winces a bit as their doors open, with the more than the usual fanfares. This is the big one, Sophia sighs slightly, looking quite pale. Her cheeks are ashen, her gray eyes wide, mostly out of nervousness. Her body trembles slightly as she moves out, coming from the west side of the arena, Sophia appears first, thanks to her long, lanky legs. She looks like a spring, coiled and tensed. Even her hair seems flattened, trying to squirm away from all of this ceremony. She wears a viridian shirt, with a Caterpie iron on in the front and her usual black pants. It's her lucky green shirt, an odd departure from her normal robe. Swallowing, then licking her lips, Sophia moves to one of the boxes, set aside for their team. Sophia wrings her hands, making her knuckles go white, she even looks to be cringing slightly. "I can do this, it's okay, I can do this, oh my god, I can't do this, can I?" She squeaks softly to herself, then sighs and stands up straight. With that, Sophia smiles softly, her pale lips coloring slightly as she struggles to regain her composure and waves to the audience. There are lots of people around, she notes uneasily. Looking to the pokeballs on her belt, she nods. "We can do it, guys," She then looks up, glancing about nervously, waiting for things to start. Rick's presence seems to calm the nerd, but even so, her nostrils flare occasionally and she rears back and forth a step or two every so often. Sophia is very squirmy right now... Though, she does manage a weak grin at the Blades. They never disappoint, do they?
Like her partner, Lark looks so close to her video form that she could have stepped right from the film into the arena. Though her clothing is slightly different from the tape, the expression is identical, making it seem rather like she's only physically present, not mentally. Mechanically, she moves after Dalton, her pace slower than his quick, nervous one, bringing her to the box noticeably later than her partner. Once there, she positions herself facing the center of the arena, then falls still, her violet eyes staring unblinkingly at the empty space in front of her. Dalton's uneasy mutterings have as little effect on her as they do on himself.
The Orange Blade lands shortly after his partner, broad smile beneath his sequined mask as he waves upon landing safely. With fluid motions, they both pull strings attached to the packs on their backs, causing the parachutes to retract. One final energetic wave from both, and they're living up to their name by dashing off to their box, making graceful leaps over any obstacles that may be in their way. In moments they're positioned, giving dramatic bows to all gathered.
As usual, a smart young trainer strides confidently from the pokeball doors, dressed up nicely in his black jacket, with liberal amounts of gel applied to the usually unrully brown mop on the top of his head. Richard Jomarr, or Rick to those that know him, shows his usual grin as he walks to his team's box. However, his face is slightly paler than usual, and the grin is not quite as pronounced, signs that this, the proverbial 'it', is making him slightly nervous. Around his neck shows the occasional glint of a silvery chain. Revealing what the chain is, Rick reaches for it, pulling a replica of a pokeball out and clasping it in his right hand. Closing his eyes, he silently wishes that the charm bring him luck tonight. "My dad's lucky charm..." he mouths to his teammate, before giving the audience a slightly hesitant but nonetheless energetic wave, allowing the charm to rest against his collar again.
"But of course," comments Masters, "where would we be without wise judgement? The official for tonights fight is AAA Rated Pokemon Battle Officiate, Bruce "Iron Horse" Dupree." Down on the sidelines, Iron Horse looks critically at his flags for the match, spangled with sequins and flashing fiberoptic lights. Grunting irritably, the grizzled old referee nods to the cameras, then stumps off to his duties. "Everyone's excited about this fight," notes Masters, "but Iron Horse is positively bouncing off the walls. Down, boy!" Down on the floor, the emcee sweeps his limbs up into a dramatic pose. "The Final Round is a battle royale," the flamboyant man declares. "All teams will fight simultaneously until only one team's pokemon remain! Lock decks...And rrrrelease pokemon!" In the trainers' boxes, the pokeball sockets snap tight around their contents with a hiss and click, securely locking their contents into the podium, and signaling acceptance with a soft tone and faint neon glow.
Dalton sends his partner a quick glance, but his head snaps back in the direction of the pokeballs for his team as the sockets lock in with the usual hiss. Someone is obviously quite far from calm and collected, to say the least. "Keep cool..." he tells himself again, carefully reaching out to touch two of the pokeballs for his team. No surprises are in store from this trainer, as both of the pokemon released are ones that anyone who has been keeping up with the tournament has seen before. The first is a Scyther, showcased in the video from before, who takes a look around the arena with twitching wings as she appears. The second is the pink, indistinct form of a Ditto, opening her black, slot-like eyes to take a look around as she fully forms. "Just do your best..." Dalton says quietly, and the pokemon give no obvious response to his words.
Slowly, Zachary turns his gaze away from the emcee, and away from the arena, locking his attention on the older trainer beside him, as he bites at his upper lip, his one hand clutching tightly upon three, small red and white spheres. "Here goes nothing..." the young boy sighs softly, though attempts to put on a faint, but far from excited grin, while placing each of the three poke-balls into the appropriate slots on the Dewgong statue before him. With a hiss and a click, all three of them are activated, and from the statue three red beams of light flash down towards the arena. The first reforms into the terrifying form of a dark black ghost dog, the Tearwulf from the video, while the other two reform into those shapes of a small Pikachu, and beside it a Charmander, the two in complete contrast to the large, snarling 'wulf beside them. "We'll do fine, kid, don't worry," Comes Janelle's voice, as she as well locks in one, single pokeball on the statue near her, with a beam of light then spilling out from the top of the statue, condensing into that form of a winged horse, a Winneedee, neighing, and pawing at the air. "We'll do fine..." Janelle repeats, more to herself then her partner.
The Blue Blade waves to the crowd one last time, then reaches forwards to touch two of the pokeballs in front of him. Twin red glares spring into being as usual, the two brilliant lights coalescing into solid matter. When the glow dies away two pokemon are revealed; the deep green battle-hardened Scyther brings his blades together with a ringing clash, and the brightly-purple coils of the deadly Ekans shift, the snakelike pokemon adopting the conical pose characteristic of his kind. The Blue Blade stands back, arms folding over his chest; with his head up and a proud smile on his face, he appears to be delighted to be here and actively looking forward to the coming battle. The two pokemon eye their opponents cooly, watching as yet more pokemon join the field.
<OOC> Rick says "Skip Sophia's turn for now. I'm including her in my pose."
If Lark notices her partner's glance, she makes no sign of it, continuing to stare. In fact, by her look, she hasn't even heard the announcements or instructions so far. It's only when a number of pokemon begin appearing on the field in front of her that she blinks and starts as if waking from a dream. Shaking her head a bit as if to clear it, she taps the two pokeballs in front of her. The pokemon that appear are no more surprising than Dalton's, though some experienced against the pair might want to quail a bit more in nervousness at the sight of the silvery, muscular, winged stallion and boulder-like snake. It's Balder the Winneedee and Flint the Onix. Both seem well-prepared despite their trainer, the equine just shying a tiny bit at the sight of the crowd and all the other pokemon before settling down, ready. Flint simply grins dumbly at his soon-to-be opponents.
Before reaching over to touch the two pokeballs on his side, Orange Blade raises a hand to push a few stray strands of raven-black hair from out of his face. He then strides forth slowly and deliberately, even tapping the pokeballs with a certain grace. From his pokeballs two pokemon emerge, varying quite a bit in size. The first spark of red forms into the almost human-like figure of a Kadabra, bowing his head somewhat and raising one spoon high above himself. The second figure towers above the first, eventually fading into the gargantuan form of the rock serpent Onix. It gives a rumbling roar, before lowering itself somewhat to get a better look at its opponents. Orange Blade gives a small smirk before he too folds his arms over his chest and waits for the battle to commence.
Rick seems to know the routine by now. Both trainers of the Dynamic Duo lock their pokeballs into the podium, Rick giving a slight sigh as he does so. Only three pokemon emerge on the arena floor, a Venonat, a Rhyhorn and a Magneton. The Rhyhorn looks about as joyful as a pokemon with a rock hard hide can. The Magneton looks just the opposite. His eyes are all half closed, a slight frown showing on each of them, and flashes of electricity jump hastily across his metallic shell and between the various appendages on display. Evidently, Zeus enjoys flaunting his power. The Venonat glances across the battlefield with its multi-faceted eyes, seemingly analysing their opponents. Back in the box, Rick sighs once more and surveys their opponents. This is going to be tough... It seems that Sophia is thinking the same thing, as she glances nervously at the assorted pokemon, particularly the looming form of the Onix.
"The pokemon are out," states Masters, "and it looks like this is going to be one heck of a fight!" "No question, Jake," agrees Strong. "Down But Not Out has released Winneedee, Scyther, Onix, and Ditto. The Dynamic Duo has sent out Magneton, Rhyhorn, and Venonat. Team Musouka has summoned Winneedee, Pikachu, Charmander, and Tearwulf, and for The Dashing Blades, it's Ekans, Scyther, Kadabra, and Onix. Strong pokemon, all." Down on the field, the emcee sweeps his gaze across all of the combatants and their pokemon, and nods curtly. "Teams," he inquires with all due gravity, "ready?"
Dalton takes a few moments to survey the field and all of the pokemon within it, looking a tad calmer now that things are actually getting started. While the opposing Onix and Scyther get a few moments worth of attention, the Tearwulf is the one that seems to have most of the boy's thoughts, mostly because he's never seen one in the 'flesh', so to speak. "Hmm..." he murmurs, nodding slowly as he considers one thing or another. As the call for readiness comes out, the boy finally returns his attention to the emcee, and he nods one more time. "Down, But Not Out is ready..." he states verbally for clarification, before sending another quick look to his partner to make sure he wasn't jumping the gun a little too much.
A low, shallow growl escapes from the throat of the large, incorporeal canine, as she glares out at her opponents, ears flickering back. Both 'Chu and 'mander glance at each other, after peering down at their team-mate, before the Pikachu shrugs slightly, and settles down upon all fours, preparing, the Charmander turning her glare out on the other combatants in general. "Hrm..." Zachary murmurs softly, his arms folding up over his chest, as he begins to shake his head, "Well... It'll be tough, for sure... But Musouka's ready!" The last part is called out in a loud shout, as his grin widens just slightly. Out on the field, Musouka's Winneedee kicks at the ground gently, as if to test the flooring, before ruffling up her feathers, and whinnying, ready to get this over already. "Calm down, Myst, we'll do fine..." Janelle offers the winged horse gently, sighing.
The Blue Blade looks over the pokemon the other teams have set out, then nods to his partner. At the emcee's question he nods again, tugging a lace-edged white handkerchief from his top pocket and waving it to the man to show that he is indeed ready, and so are his team. The Ekans hisses quietly to itself, tongue flickering out and back in as it tastes the air, and the Scyther draws the back of one blade down the side of the other almost as if sharpening it. The eyes of both pokemon narrow as they prepare to leap into action and help get the battle started; the Ekans' tail lifts and begins to rattle as he uncoils, and the Scyther's knees bend ever so slightly as he prepares to defend himself or attack as needs be.
Lucky smirks. Great, a ghost, a rather long *ahem* rock snake, a flying horse and other assorted goodies. The bug wriggles her antennae, sensing the vibrations in the air and getting a feel for the area. Her gemmed eyes glitter magnificently under the arena's lights and she rocks from heel to toe, pondering her moves and jokes. She does look a bit worried about the Onix. <Oh geez, a long, hard snake. Just what I need,> The bug mumbles, only audible to herself really. Minerva quivers a little, some from nerves and some from anticipation. <Will this battling bring my true love to me?> She inquires gently, her eyes looking wide and sighing happily. <Oh, Miss Wizard, I hope this is the right way!> She exclaims quietly, turning back to the battlefield before her. "It's alright, Minerva," Sophia smiles to her pokemon, encouraging the pair. "Lucky, no dirty jokes, please," Sophia groans and Lucky looks ready to bust a one-liner. The Venonat mutters a few curses best left untranslated. Sophia nods to the man, "Ready over here," She states quietly. She's pretty sure Rick and Zeus are ready too, but just in case, she leaves her response intentionally vague. She wrings her hands quietly, in awe of the pokemon before her. Glancing at the Kadabra, she tilts her head, wishing now were an appropriate time to use her pokedex, but it'd be improper, so she stifles her curiosity. Before all is said and done, Lucky looks up to Minerva. <You know that the diet clubs have an APB out on you, right?> Calmly, Minerva turns to Lucky and sighs. <If you weren't on my team, I'd stomp you myself,> The rhino warns, which surprisingly, shuts the bug up.
Lark seems a little more lively as the arena floor gets crowded with pokemon after pokemon, most of them rather large and powerful, her eyes darting from one to another. Despite this sudden show of interest, she still is completely aware of her surroundings, as it takes her an awkward, too long beat or two to nod and agree with her partner's declaration. "Right, ready," she says hastily in a quiet voice.
The Orange Blade gives a sharp nod to agree with the gesture of his partner, showing that he too is ready. The two pokemon he's released don't do all that much moving, as they seem to busy sizing up the competition. The Onix peers at the other of his species with exceptional interest, while the Kadabra gives everyone an equal chance to be inspected.
Rick looks slightly intimidated by the various pokemon on display. Correction, he looks -very- intimidated. Two rock-snakes, two bladed green bugs, a ghostly canine... "Eeesh..." the young trainer murmers. Involuntarily, the trainer's left hand grasps the silver pokeball on the chain around his neck, as if it will do him any good. At least the charm seems to calm him down somewhat. Down on the arena floor, Zeus seems as confident as ever, as the three eyes scan systematically across the opposing pokemon. Both Onixes get more than a passing glance, but that is all. He seems to disregard all the others as a mere nuisance. Still, he hovers smugly in the same spot, giving off the air of superiority that he always does. Rick nods to the emcee, before uttering a clear "Ready!"
As each team confirms their readiness, the Master of Ceremonies gestures powerfully in their direction, and their image appears on the scoreboard. When every team has been locked in, the emcee throws up his arms. "Iiiit's Time to Throw Down," the flamboyany man proclaims with extreme animation. "Rrready?" At that, he folds his arms, and is silent. The crowd noise slowly dies down, the audience somewhat accustomed to suspense plays by this individual, and not wanting to miss a thing. The silence lasts for several long moments, until anticipation is about to bubble over into confusion and irritation, until the emcee finally shatters it. "Fight!" The emcee thrusts his fist up into the air, and the arena lights take on an angrier red cast. And the battle is underway.
As the battle finally begins, Dalton both closes his eyes for a moment as the lights change color, and clenches both of his hands into fists for a moment as well. The boy opens his eyes again, and once more surveys the field, looking for the best opening move to make. Knightess, however, already has an agenda of her own. After staring intently at the other Scyther on the field for a few short moments, she flies into action with a buzzing of her insect wings, flying towards her counterpart while staying low to the ground for the time being. "Knightess..!" Dalton begins to protest, but he doesn't actually finish the statement. Dalton's always trusted her judgement before, why should now be any different. "Right, Copier! Change into the ghost... dog..!" the boy commands, though he sounds a little bit unsure of himself as he finishes it off. In response, the Ditto looks over at the Tearwulf, concentrating intently on it as she attempts to Transform herself into a replica of it. Knightess, meanwhile, rises a little higher as she approaches her opponent, intending to dive down and try to give the other Scyther a quick bash with a Wing Attack as she buzzes by him.
The Wing Attack hits Grayson's Scyther.
The Transform does work.
It's time to begin, finally... It's the last battle, and every pokemon will be giving it their all. It all becomes somewhat surreal, like it isn't really taking place, but it is.. and it's about time. "Alright, it's show time!" The younger trainer of team Musouka suddenly, bringing both of his hands down on the rope before him, fingers clutching tightly. It apparently isn't much of a surprise to the lad as the Ditto takes on the form of his own Tearwulf, but it does cause him to sigh softly, before shaking his head vigorously. "Well, that changes things a bit... Ethereal, you know what to do, take down that fake. Altair, Mista, go after the... Um..." Zach then hesitates for a moment, arching an eyebrow, "Go after either Scyther." Disgruntled that the Ditto had the nerve to transform into her, Ethereal makes it her priority to disable it first, and lifts her head up high in the air, muzzle parting, emitting the terrible sound of her Psionic Howl, as the other two of Zach's pokemon set out quickly, distancing themselves from each other and Ethereal, and choosing which Scyther to pick, and they both pick the same one... Altair flickers his ears back slightly, as little sparks of electricity form from his cheeks, only to pulled into a small, nearly insubstantial spark of lightning, sent jolting towards Dalton's Scyther in a Thunder Wave attack, as the Charmander opens her mouth wide, only to let loose a brilliant spray of flame. "Myst, work on that Scyther too, let's do this one by one!" Janelle calls, and with a whinny, Musouka's ice-horse takes to the air, wings flapping hard, a chill wind spilling down from her area, mixed with little particles of ice here and there, as she uses her Blizzard on the offending Scyther.
The Psionic Howl misses Dalton's Tearwulf.
The Thunder Wave affects Dalton's Scyther. This attack does not include a hit. Dalton's Scyther is now paralyzed.
The Flamethrower hits Dalton's Scyther.
The Blizzard hits Dalton's Scyther.
The sudden red light reflects dully of the Ekans' purple scales and turns the deep green Scyther near-black along with his trainer, though the Blue Blade does glitter darkly thanks to all the sequins. The Blue Blade calls, "Scyther! Go!" At the two commands the pokemon move, the Scyther leaping into the air with a spiteful buzz from his sharp-edged wings, wings that blur red with reflections of the light. He's not quick enough to get out of the way of the Wing Attack that the other Scyther has launched, but he uses the close range to his own advantage and lashes out with his blades in a Slash attack. The Ekans slithers forwards and pulls his head back, looking up and watching the Scythers in the air; when the two seperate again, he's there to spit a stream of poisoned goo at one of them, a Sludge attack aimed squarely at the female and hoping to take advantage of her distraction and paralysis.
The Slash hits Dalton's Scyther.
The Sludge hits Dalton's Scyther. The Sludge side effect (poison) doesn't work.
Sophia blinks as the mad melee begins. Glancing to Rick, she sighs softly. "Well, here goes," Sophia bites her lips nervously, then grimacing slightly, begins to issue orders, based on the current situation. "Okay, Lucky! Hit those ghosts with Stun Spore if you can!" The bug grunts, looking a bit shaken by the ghost's eerie howl. Her fur stands on end slightly, the purple strands rising in fright. <Oh, geez, I don't see why you're so nervous, you're not the one about to get the crap beaten out of you,> Lucky mutters darkly and begins to shake spores loose from her fur. Saffron colored spores with an acrid, stinging smell drift through the air in a large cloud of paralyzing particles. Any creature unfortunate to inhale them is going to be very unhappy. After her attack, the bug's fur looks noticeably more golden. Meanwhile, Sophia closes her eyes. "Try to hit that Kadabra with Stomp, Minerva," She encourages the Rhyhorn, but already, Minerva eyes the Kadabra. <Oh, it's /you/ again! Well! Strange powers or not, you won't stomp me from finding true love!> At that, the large beast pushes off the ground with her hindlegs, launching herself with a dull whomp, and lumbers at decent speed towards the Kadabra. The arena floor rumbles slightly as her body thunders towards the psychic pokemon, hard armor clacking together with amazing flexibility. Not thinking about it, she lets out her battlecry and rears into the air, slamming her forelegs down towards the Kadabra, ignoring the Winneedee, Scyther and others battling overhead. Thankfully for Sophia, Minerva is still commandable. She hasn't gone into a fury yet.
The Stun Spore misses Dalton's Tearwulf.
The Stun Spore affects Zachary's Tearwulf. This attack does not include a hit. Zachary's Tearwulf is now paralyzed.
The Stomp hits Grayson's Kadabra. The attack's effect (flinch) doesn't work.
As soon as the words leave Lark's mouth, her dreamy gaze is drawn back to the battlefield and the plethora of pokemon exhibited in it. There she stares until suddenly, the lights redden and the action begins suddenly with the actions of her teammate's pokemon. Once again, the woman blinks in surprise, but training and habit take over and she calls out orders to her own pokemon. For the Winneedee, she lets out a shrill, two toned whistle and points at the battling, bladed bugs, and for the Onix, she spells things out. "Flint, Rock Slide the other Scyther. Not Knightess, the other one. The one with lots of scars," she says, her explanation getting rather long-winded in her attempt to get the correct pokemon targeted. Balder takes a few trotting steps and leaps into the air, wings beating powerfully as he quickly climbs high above most of the other pokemon at the same time as Flint slithers towards the clashing bugs. The quick blows and sudden paralysis of Knightess confuse him, and he blinks. "The one that's moving!" Lark calls out in clarification, and with comprehension dawning on his face, the Onix sweeps his head in the direction of the airborne insect, trying to angle it so that his weight pushes the carapaced pokemon between the floor and his rocky skull in a Rock Slide. Either way, once his teammate is cleared and he's high enough in the air, Balder's wings swoop forward and a white and blue ball of energy forms in the air between them, shooting off in an Aurora Beam half a second later.
The Rock slide misses Grayson's Scyther.
The Aurora beam hits Grayson's Scyther.
The Orange Blade is quick to give guidance to his pokemon as to whom he wants them to target, thrusting his index finger forward theatrically "Onix! Pick a flying horse! Kadabra, take the ghost canine." No more instruction is given aside from that, however it doesn't seem like this bothers the pokemon any. The Onix tears his attention away from the other of his kind and eyes Balder the Winneedee with deep concentration. Suddenly, his massive tail is lifted into the air, a deep roar escaping from the rock serpent's throw. That is the only warning given before the stony appendage goes soaring through the air at the feathery equine in a rather unorthodox Rock Throw. Meanwhile the Kadabra is staring coldly at the Ditto-Tearwulf, eyes narrowing before starting to glow eerily. Just before he's about to make his move, he's hit hard by the feet of the Rhyhorn, which send him crashing hard into the arena floor. When he gets back up, a nasty glare is sent the Rhyhorn's way, but no move is made in the rocky rhino's direction. Instead, the Kadara looks about to find the Ditto Tearwulf again, and upon spotting the facsimile his eyes once again start to glow. There's a sudden flurry of movement as the psychic gives a loud proclamation of "Kadabra!" and sends a beam of red Psychic energy the false spirit's way.
The Rock Throw hits Lark's Winneedee.
The Psychic hits Dalton's Tearwulf.
Rick watches as all the other team's pokemon go to work. Amidst the fighting, it will be difficult to choose targets. "Zeus! Go after that Scyther! Get something else too if you can!" Rick instructs in a clear voice, pointing towards the two of the Blades' pokemon. The metal pokemon turns slowly in the direction Rick is pointing, fixing all three eyes on the winged creature. Judging eyes glance between the two pokemon nearest the target, the Ekans and the Onix. Fixing his sights on the two non-ground pokemon, he focuses the various strands of electrical energy into his antennae. Aiming forwards, a pulsating field of paralyzing energy forming between them. <Behold! My power!> he booms, releasing the field of energy towards the Ekans and the Scyther. If it works, the effect could turn the tide of battle.
The Thunder Wave misses Grayson's Ekans.
The Thunder Wave affects Grayson's Scyther. This attack does not include a hit. Grayson's Scyther is now paralyzed.
Grayson does an effect check. He has failed to break it.
"And here we go," exclaims Masters. "The battle of the year is -on-! The action is fast and furious, and impossible to follow completely, but it looks like a bad day to be a Scyther! As the Blade's Scyther goes toe to toe with his counterpart, attacks from all corners bear down on the two nimble duelists, some striking to terrible effect! Both mantis warriors are rendered paralyzed by the furious assualt!" "That kind of concerted strike is surprising," comments Strong, "but is to be expected. In a battle like this, alliances are constantly formed and dissolved." "Meanwhile," continues Masters, "Ditto is changing shape, and has taken the form of Tearwulf! How about that! And all around, rocks fly and energy blasts through the air! It's difficult to make one pokemon out from another! Mercy, mercy me!"
Dalton does an effect check. He has succeeded to break it.
Knightess, rendered completely immobile after her attack from an electrical wave that blindsided her in her single minded attack on the opposing Scyther, is rendered into little more than a sitting duck, which leads to an impressive pounding from all sides and numerous elements. The end result is a rather frazzled looking bug, knocked to the floor from the force of the strikes. Copier, meanwhile, seems to be completely unaffected by the howl of the true ghost, as she moves out of the way of the cloud of spores. Unfortunately, she hasn't managed to get completely used to her new form, and the psychic energy connects quite squarely, sending the fake ghost reeling a little bit. "Knightess! Try and get away from there! Copier... attack the real ghost!" Dalton calls out, keeping his commands short and simple in the midst of all the chaos. Despite the fierce beating she took, Knightess slowly manages to climb back to her feet, and then she begins to make a slow retreat from all the action, trying to catch a breather while she regains full control of her body. Copier, meanwhile, turns her now cold gaze on the true Tearwulf, and after a few moments a few tendrils of her newfound ghostly energy begin to snake their way towards the real ghost. Should they manage to touch the 'Wulf and break through its defenses, they'll do their best to implant images never meant to be seen into her mind, forming a classic Nightshade attack.
The Nightshade misses Zachary's Tearwulf.
Zachary does an effect check. He has succeeded to break it.
As the battle ensues, things get a little confusing. It becomes a little difficult to tell just who is who. But Zachary can for sure figure out which Tearwulf is his... It's the one that continues to growl, even if just faintly, as she gets a whiff of those annoying spores, her movements suddenly becoming slow, and seemingly difficult to make, but she won't even let those nasty spores stop her. "Come on... Don't let it get to you! Fight it!" The boy shouts, his fingers clenching harder on the rope, then proceeds to call out, "Altair, Mista, focus on that other Winneedee..." Beside him, Janelle peers out at the battles taking place, "one of her hands clutching at the rope in front of her, the other remaining at her side, "Okay, change of tactics. Myst, go after that fake Tearwulf. Freeze it in it's tracks!" Standing still on all four paws, the Pikachu closes it's eyes, sparks generating from it's cheek-sacs, which soon generate into a large bolt of electricity, that flows through the air, arcing towards the opposing ice-horse, while nearly on the opposite side of the arena, the Charmander bares her teeth at the large horse for a moment, only to them spit out a fiery-hot ball of flame, an Ember, bouncing towards the Winneedee. Higher up in the air, Myst takes aim, and with a high-pitched neigh, releases a dazzling, white beam of pure ice, streaking down towards the fake Tearwulf.
The Thundershock hits Lark's Winneedee.
The Ember hits Lark's Winneedee.
The Aurora Beam hits Dalton's Tearwulf.
The Blue Blade's Scyther manages to dodge the Onix's charge, but he only manages to dodge into the path of the Aurora Beam. Staggered, his wings miss a few beats - and then he's hit by a Thunder Wave. Stunned, he takes a dive, sprawling on the arena floor with sparks crackling over his carapace and a faint wisp of smoke beginning to rise from his back. The Ekans manages to slither out of the path of the Thunder Wave, if only barely, turning to face the rest of the field and lifting his tail up high. "Onix, Fake!", the Blue Blade calls and his pokemon hisses agreement. The poison-type's eyes begin to glow green as he stares at the enemy Onix and the fake Tearwulf beyond it; when his tail slaps down again he creates an Earthquake directed squarely at those two stalwart combatants. The Blue Blade hastily grabs the railing around his enclosure, hanging on for dear life as he tries not to fall over under the impetus of his pokemon's powerful attack.
The Earthquake hits Lark's Onix.
The Earthquake hits Dalton's Tearwulf.
Thankfully, Sophia seems to be having fairly decent luck with things. She looks a little relieved and some of the pale seems to give way to a light color. Lucky watches the bugs combat one another with wide eyes, almost envious of their wings and flight. Sighing softly, she is thankful no one has decided to beat her brains out. Maybe she should reconsider her career as comedienne extraordinare. "Use Supersonic, please," Sophia requests politely, trying to keep her bug from getting any material to spout out her usual array of insults with. The bug wrings her paws nervously and glances about, finally setting her insectoid eyes on the Kadabra. Opening her mouth, she lets out a ululation, sending a cone, at first small, but then the rings/soundwaves widen as they reverberate off the arena walls, coming to focus on the Kadabra. While the humans would be unfazed by the sound, to the target, it's a rather irritating noise coming from the fuzz bug. Meanwhile, Minerva keeps trying to pummel the Kadabra. This time though, she takes no orders, as Sophia opens her mouth to protest, then shuts it. Minerva backs away from the Kadabra, trotting along, then abruptly, she spins around, using the momentum gained and roaring, rips through the arena amidst the hail of fire, ice, rocks and electricity to lunge savagely at the Kadabra, her wild nature overcoming the normally docile Rhyhorn. She's going to Take Down the Kadabra for some reason, known only to herself, though it unnerves Sophia quite a bit.
The Supersonic misses Valentino's Kadabra.
The Take Down hits Valentino's Kadabra.
Balder's well-aimed attack shows a lot of skill in the winged ice equine, but all the skill in the world seems unable to save him from the sudden barrage of attacks. The tail of the Onix knocks him around, and before he can get his bearings back, electricity and fire dance and tangle around his body, leaving scorched bits of fur behind. The baffled Flint is tossed around by the Earthquake of the unusual Ekans, causing him to grumble in protest. "Defense!" Lark screams rather shrilly, what's left of her reverie shattered by the intense blows to her pokemon. "Harden," she adds hastily, a more understandable order for the Onix. The Winneedee, with a vast effort, manages to pull his wings back, turning his fall into a dive. At the very last second, he spreads them again just a bit, sending him strafing over the Ekans, his speed increasing every moment as he tries to get some more Agility. Flint, meanwhile, simply curls up into a ball and begins to glow slightly as he tries to Harden.
The Agility affects Grayson's Ekans.
The Harden affects Grayson's Ekans.
Janelle has arrived.
The Orange Blade says nothing, serious expression on what little can be seen of his face as bi-colored eyes peer out from behind the mask, observing the mayhem of the battle. He too clutches the railing to avoid being bowled over by the ground-shaking attack of the Ekans, but even through this his expression never changes. The two pokemon continue to focus on their original targets, relying on steady concentration to avoid any effects from the Earthquake. The Onix gives another growl, and once more his tail is lifted off the arena floor. The mass is hurled at Balder again, however this time the rock serpent seems to be concentrating heavily on hitting his target with an area between his tail segments for a 'Fissure' attack. The Kadabra meanwhile never lets the fake Tearwulf out of his site, eyes narrowing as his eyes start to glow once more. As before, he's not allowed to unleash his attack on the first try. He's able to totally tune out the Supersonic, but the same can't be said for the hard feet of the Rhyhorn. Yet again he ends up hitting the ground hard, although this time he's not so quick to right himself again and the glare at Minerva is spared. Before he can make any attacks however, Orange Blade gives a stern order "Kadabra, go for the other team's Scyther instead." There's a sage nod from the psychic before he moves his attentions to Knightness, clutching his singular spoon tightly in one hand. As he closes his eyes and concentrates, the spoon starts to bend ever so slightly. Without warning the Kadabra opens his eyes again, but this time they glow blue. A lengthy beam of psychic energy spills from his pupils, flying through the air in the direction of Knightness. It's a Psybeam, no doubt about that.
The Fissure has no effect. Lark's Winneedee is immune to all ground attacks.
The Psybeam hits Dalton's Scyther.
The Magneton looks as smug as ever at seeing his attack succeed. Lowering his bulky form towards the ground, he fixes his eyes on the Scyther he was ordered to attack. In the box, Rick mutters to Sophia. "Cover your ears..." Turning to his pokemon again, he issues his command clearly. "Zeus, show them what you've got! Use your Supersonic attack against... them!" he finishes, pointing at the Kadabra and Onix. Zeus obeys, floating slowly towards his targets, a low whine coming from within the three orbs. The sound grows in both pitch and amplitude, until it becomes loud enough to hurt. Thankfully, it is focused around the two targets, and isn't as loud everywhere else. The shriek of the Supersonic finally reaches a pitch whereby it can cause confusion in an opponent's mind unless they concentrate enough.
The Supersonic misses Valentino's Onix.
The Supersonic misses Valentino's Kadabra.
Grayson does an effect check. He has failed to break it.
"One of the Scyther is back up," observes Masters. "I believe that's Down But Not Out's Scyther," notes Strong. "I think you're right, Tony," resumes Masters, with a nod to his partner. "Meanwhile, Ditto-Tearwulf is closing in on the real McCoy, and letting loose with some spectral effects...But a well-aimed Aurora Beam from Winneedee gives her pause, while the Blades's Ekans knocks her and Onix for a loop with an Earthquake!" "In a battle this huge, an Earthquake is an unpredictable element," notes Strong, as the crowd is busy whooping and cheering for the battle getting, in their estimation, that much better. "You just don't know how the mob is going to react...and I'm noting that in addition to that Ekans, there are fully five other pokemon capable of Earthquake. Things could get very dangerous." "You're not kidding, Tony," agrees Masters excitedly, "this is one battle sure to rock the house! Down But Not Out's crew, meanwhile, having taken the brunt of the offense so far, is regrouping, and attempting to reassemble their offense. Just a second...Ouch! Rhyhorn has come out of nowhere to flatten Kadabra with a crushing blow! One more example of the Fog of War at work! But he recovers, and blasts the retreating Scyther with a beam of psychic energy! It's a riot of light, sound, and fierce blows, ladies and gentlemen! A veritable madhouse!"
Zachary has disconnected.
Janelle's stats changes have been set to 0. She is ready to battle.
After being the focus of nearly every attack thrown since the start of the battle, taking numerous hits from them in the process, both Knightess and Copier look like they're on their last legs, the Scyther using her blades to balance herself and the false Tearwulf wavering on its feet. Dalton, meanwhile, just takes a quick glance around at the chaos on the field, and slowly nods his head as he makes a decision on what to do next. "Geez... you'd think we insulted their parents with the way they're attacking..." he notes quietly, chuckling a little bit. "Alright, here we go. Knightess, try and get the Ekans with a Twineedle, and Copier, follow her and send a second attack towards the Ekans when you can!" he calls, clenching one of his hands into a fist once more. With a buzzing of wings, Knightess weakly lifts herself off the ground, clangs her blades together, and hovers towards the snake pokemon as best she can, wavering a little bit as she goes. Once she gets close enough to her target, she'll stab outwards with both her blades, trying to strike the poison pokemon with the requested attack. Copier, meanwhile, slowly begins to follow her partner, closing in on the Ekans for herself. Once she gets a bit closer, however, she leaps into the air, crashing down to the ground between the Ekans and the Blades Onix with an unearthly weight, sending a shockwave through the ground towards both pokemon in an Earthquake attack.
The Twineedle misses Grayson's Ekans.
The Earthquake hits Grayson's Ekans.
The Earthquake hits Valentino's Onix.
The Blue Blade's Scyther continues to lie twitching on the floor, sparks crackling across his deep green carapace as another wisp of smoke begins to rise from his right shoulder, the shoulder already hit by another attack. The Blue Blade recovers from the Earthquake as his Ekans does, the human standing straight again where the pokemon's head lifts back to a more usual position and then pulls back. "Scyther, Fake!", the Blue Blade calls to his pokemon; the Ekans hisses agreement again, head turning as he looks for the agile bug pokemon that isn't lying twitching on the ground. When he finds her it's just that little bit too late, and in wriggling out of the way of her blades he can't avoid the Earthquake that's launched at him. The second Earthquake has the Blue Blade grabbing for the railing again, but the Ekans has his orders; while the fake Tearwulf and the Scyther are both recovering from their attacks he opens his mouth, attempting to hose the pair of them down with a single spray of Acid.
The Acid misses Dalton's Scyther.
The Acid hits Dalton's Tearwulf.
Again, the pair of pokemon are ignored, but Minerva grunts, sounding satisfied as her Take Down hits home. Not content to let things be, she skids past the Kadabra, heavy feet digging rows into the arena floor, she whips her body around and makes a quick dash towards the psychic, horn lowered. <Aaiyyaaa! For my wizard!> She cheers herself on as Sophia beams. "Good girl! Use Horn Attack!" Sophia cheers for her Rhyhorn as well, leaning forward against her podium. Her gray eyes lighten a little as the rhino gets to work. It's apparent Sophia dearly loves the rock pokemon. Lucky goes green with envy and mutters to herself. <Blah, well, watch this!> The bug grins and starts shaking her butt towards Sophia, scattering mint green spores into the air, that float towards the Blades' Onix. Oddly, the green spores smell sweet and calming, not unlike say, chamomile. The cloud of spores uses the wild rushes of air caused by fire blasts, and so on to travel more quickly towards the victim. "Sleep Powder works," Sophia nods approvingly, then a bit louder, "Good girls! That's my pair!" She cheers on some more, looking rattled by the ferocity of the battles and the fact they're attacking the Blades. Come on, they're celebrities! And Sophia looks up to their skill. Of course, this is battle... So she just sighs and folds her arms, watching nervously.
The Horn Attack hits Valentino's Kadabra.
The Sleep Powder affects Valentino's Onix. This attack does not include a hit. Valentino's Onix is now sleeping.
Valentino does an effect check. He has succeeded to break it.
Zachary has connected.
"Yeah...," Lark replies faintly to her partner as she surveys the carnage. As the pseudo-Tearwulf goes down, she winces a bit, but quickly focuses on her own pokemon again. "Okay, Flint, Fissure the Onix and the Ekans. The two other snakes. Balder, circle and Blizzard the same," she murmurs into the microphone just loudly enough for her pokemon to hear. Flint beams at her, then with a heave, lifts and smashes each section of his body into the ground in turn, causing it to ripple and shake in an almost woozy fashion. Above, Balder circles for a moment, letting his teammate act, then dives towards his targeted foes, wings sweeping mightily. Bits of down and freezing snow drift from the white limbs, and by the time his sculpted body is right above his opponents, a full-fledged Blizzard snows from his pristine feathers. Using his momentum, he sweeps past and soars back into the air, not looking back to see how successful his attack was.
The Blizzard misses Grayson's Ekans.
The Blizzard misses Grayson's Onix.
The Fissure misses Grayson's Onix.
The Fissure hits Grayson's Ekans.
Janelle bites her lip a bit and does her best to try and think. At her side, Zach is also looking pensive. The duo hesitates only a moment before deciding on a game plan and calling out orders to their scattered pokemon. "Myst! Blizzaard, aim for that Scyther," the athlete calls to her mare. With furious wing beats, Myst summons a Blizzard and hurls it at the bug type. Zach adds his commands after he sees which direction his teammate takes. "Mista, Flamethrower that Venonat! Altair, go after the Winnedee stallion!" he calls, pausing as the pair hop to it. Mista's flames shoot out hot and dangerous. Altair's cheeks crackle and he uses a Thunder attack. "Piiiika!" "Alright now, Ethereal, Nightshade that faker!" he says, indicating the Ditto in disguise. Ethereal lowers her head, shaking it form side to side now that she has control of her body again and sneers at the Tearwulf wannabe. She tosses her head back, eyes closed and then spews a stream of Nightshade at the Ditto in Tearwulf's clothing.
The Thunder hits Lark's Winneedee.
The Flamethrower hits Sophia's Venonat.
The Blizzard hits Dalton's Scyther.
The Orange Blade frowns somewhat at the actions of the Onix, speaking to the serpent sharply "Come on now, Onix. That isn't going to work, and you know better." The Onix gives a small nod in reply to the man's words, looking back upon his flying target. His concentration is broken when the ground below him starts to shake, causing him to take a tumble into the arena floor. A loud groan of pain can be heard once the serpent is down, but he still tries to keep Balder in his sights from his position on the floor. It is then that the green spores from the Venonat appear seemingly from nowhere, causing the rock serpent to emit a colossal yawn. He then seems to have some trouble keeping his eyes open, and he comes quite close to falling into slumber a number of times. "Onix! Fight it!" Orange Blade snaps, causing the rock snake's eyes to open in shock. The Kadabra meanwhile hovers just a few feet above the ground long enough to avoid the shaking area below his feet. One would think that by now he'd remember to keep an eye out for Minerva, however the psychic doesn't seem to have learned his lesson. The Rhyhorn hits him hard once more, a surprised gasp of "Kadab!" escaping as the horn hits him hard. While he's no doubt in pain, when he reels back from the attack his first thought it to locate the offending Rhyhorn and seek his revenge. Raising clawed hands above his head, a multi-colored ball of energy is formed between his palms. The ball becomes larger and larger until it's thrown at the Rhyhorn in much the same manner as one would throw a baseball. The only difference is that this is a ball of 'Confusion'.
The Confusion misses Sophia's Rhyhorn.
The Magneton frowns down on his opponents as the attack just washes over them as if it wasn't there. His eyes narrow even more and he backs up ever so slightly, back towards his trainer's box. "Zeus, show them your power! Go for the Scyther again!" Rick commands, his voice showing extreme excitement. Zeus begins to crackle with electricity again, facing the Scyther once more. Again the antennae swivel towards the Scyther, but this time, the paralyzing field does not form. Instead, twin jolts of electricity jump towards the insect, becoming one Thunderbolt en route. Shocking...
The Thunderbolt hits Grayson's Scyther.
"Down But Not Out seems to have had enough," comments Masters, "and attack with a vengeance! Scyther flashes in, blades leading, but Ekans manages to evade...But here comes Ditto-wulf! Taking advantage of Scyther's apparent feint, Ditto-wulf strikes the ground with meteoric impact, knocking Ekans and Onix for a loop! But Ekans reacts quickly, spraying his attackers with a reflexive blast of powerful vitriol! And Ditto is down!" Iron Horse, viewing the battle from safety, scrutinizes the fallen Ditto, before raising a flag. "Ditto is unable to battle," he declares gruffly, the pink blob's image vanishing from the scoreboard. "And there goes Rhyhorn again," continues Masters, "delivering another telling blow to the distracted Kadabra! The Psychic retaliates, but that's one surprisingly nimble Rhyhorn! And Venonat, almost invisible in this tremendous fracas, manages to get in close and slip Onix a mickey! The granite goliath teeters, teeters...And Down But Not Out are quick to seize the moment, bringing the power of earth and ice to bear on Onix! But against all odds, Onix manages to weather the storm, and recovers! What constitution! Charmander, meanwhile, one of the only pokemon of a size with Venonat, scorches the sneaky littel bug with a blast of flame, while Winneedee...Winneedee dives in with icy winds and takes down Scyther! Scyther is down!" Sure enough, Iron Horse declares the Scyther out of the match, and the bug's image grows dim.
While Knightess is able to pull herself away from the Acid bath, Copier ends up getting completely drenched in the caustic liquid. With a final howl, the fake Tearwulf collapses to the ground, reverting to her normal, blobby form as she falls unconscious. Knightess, meanwhile still looks like she's ready to take on the world despite her fatigue... at least until the freezing Blizzard washes over her. With one last "Scythe..." and a wave of one of her blades, she drops unconscious as well, and two beams of red remove both defeated pokemon from the field. "Well, well..." Dalton says quietly, backing off a little bit. "I don't know if I should feel discouraged about being destroyed so fast, or good about the fact that everyone saw me as enough of a threat to strike like that..." he notes, grinning a little bit despite everything that happened.
<OOC> Dalton says "For the sake of keeping things moving along at a decent clip, I'll bow out of the posing rounds until the end, if I'm still awake for it."
"Good work, gang," Zachary murmurs softly back in the trainer's box, his fingers tightening slightly about the railing before him, knuckles whitening with the strength of his grip, "Now let's keep it up..." For a moment, the lad goes silent, peering out at the battles taking place before him, one of his toes tapping softly against the floor of the trainer's box, his nerves becoming a little unbundled before he shouts out, "Alright, the Scyther and Ditto are out... Let's heat things up! Mista, Ember the remaining Scyther, and Altair, focus on that other Winneedee..." He doesn't need to give Ethereal a command he knows she'll do better on her own. Slowly, the large ghost-dog settles back a little, her head raising high in the air, as she emits a penetrating howl, a piercing sort of scream, focusing it on the only true Psychic type on the field, as Altair brings himself up onto his haunches, ears folded back, little jolts of electricity becoming visible on his cheek-sacs, before forming a sizable bolt of electricity, streaking towards Lark's Winneedee. Back some ways from the others, the Charmander takes a little time to form up the amount of flame needed to attack the remaining Scyther, but within seconds, she spits out a fairly large fire-ball, bouncing towards the sword-bug.
The Psionic Howl affects Valentino's Kadabra. This attack does not include a hit. Valentino's Kadabra is now paralyzed.
The Thundershock hits Lark's Winneedee.
The Ember hits Grayson's Scyther.
The Blue Blade's Ekans is fast enough to get away from the cold and the ice, but not fast enough to evade the Fissure. He's opened up a fair gap between himself and the friendly Onix, though, hopefully enough to help avoid them being caught in the same attack again. He turns, eyeing the other pokemon; his trainer calls, "Winneedee," and he moves to comply, slithering closer to one of the flying horses and then letting fly with another stream of poisonous, gooey 'liquid' in another Sludge attack. Meanwhile the Thunderbolt slams into the still-downed Scyther, making him jerk and twitch on the floor - but perhaps unintentionally the charge earthing through the paralysed pokemon draws the last effects of the Thunder Wave with it, and the Scyther begins to stagger to his feet looking rather the worse for wear, wings starting to vibrate again with a low-key buzz that steadily increases in volume and pitch until he's hit squarely by the fireball, at which he staggers but finishes coming out of the paralysis. The Blue Blade looks over in Rick's general direction for a few moments, unsmiling, then turns his attention back to the battle at hand. Did his eyes flick to somewhere in the stands? With the mask over his upper face, it's impossible to tell.
The Sludge hits Janelle's Winneedee. The attack's effect (poison) doesn't work.
Valentino does an effect check. He has succeeded to break it.
Lucky never saw it coming. Her buggy eyes widen as she squeals in pain, the embers dancing along her fur. That /hurts/. And it's more than enough to shut the bug up. She howls and darts comically to and fro, her purple fur still on fire, then at last, the flames die down. With a wipe of her brow, the bug looks relieved, even if she is smoking. Thankfully, Minerva manages to lower her head, letting the psychic energy go to waste as it soars above her. "No, no Minerva! Earthquake on the Charmander!" Sophia pleads, to no avail. Minerva is unhappy with the Kadabra's attempts to fight back and has gone utterly bonkers, though her eyes glitter softly, acknowledging Sophia and she settles down a bit. With a gutteral growl, she rears up again, her armor plates clacking together, with no less ferocity and speed than before and kicking out violently with her earthen feet towards the psychic, . She does pause a moment in her attack though, to shiver at the unearthly scream, as does Lucky, who seems perturbed by the dead pokemon's wail. The bug coughs and glowers at the Charmander. <That was /not/ cool,> Lucky snarls, fangs wriggling and she holds her body tense, still as a taut spring. Her body glows with a flickering, wispy golden aura of built up psychic energy. She holds her buggy paws up and antennae straight out, like two radar dishes. With a brilliant flash of light, the energy is released towards the Charmander, an awkward version of Disable. "Stomp and Disable, not bad, keep it up guys!" Sophia roots for her team, though she does calm it down once the Blue Blade looks at them. Uh oh.
The Stomp hits Valentino's Kadabra. The attack's effect (flinch) does work.
The Disable misses Janelle's Charmander.
Lark, despite how distracted she's seemed through most of the battle, manages to give her partner a wan smile when both his pokemon are knocked out within moments. "They did good. So did you," she whispers to him, then once again turns her eyes to the battle. As more electricity races through his body, Balder falters, his wings twitching uncontrollably for just a moment. "Balder, more speed! Flint, Harden," Lark calls out anxiously. The Winneedee strives to do his best. He wheels in the air and circles in the air, still above the Blades's pokemon thanks to the Thunder that cut off his retreat. Flint simply curls up again, eyes closing a bit as he concentrates on his defensive maneuver.
The Agility affects Grayson's Ekans.
The Harden does not affect Grayson's Ekans.
Momentarily pleased with herself, the winged equine does a small loop -de-loop in the air and then looks to her trainer in a 'see, mom!' fashion. Unfortunately for her, the nasty goo which the Ekans has aimed at her catches her in the chest as she does so, causing her to reel and scream in pain. Janelle cringes and then snarls a bit, hating to see the Winneedee injured. "It's ok. You've gotta keep your focus. Attack the Scyther before it gets itself together!" Janelle calls to the flailing mare. Myst shudders and twitches, lifting a bit higher. She searches out the Scyther and then swoops down toward it, her eyes swirling with blue and purple as she summons an arctic blast. With a cry, the Aurora Beams blasts from her and she follows it in a dive before pulling up and heading back into heights of the arena.
The Aurora Beam hits Grayson's Scyther.
"Kadabra, go for the real ghost canine. Onix, go for the other flying horse." the Orange Blade addresses his pokemon strictly, arms remaining crosses firmly over his chest. The Kadabra does not acknowledge that he has heard the man's words, but looks over the Tearwulf carefully before closing his eyes to concentrate. He isn't allowed to do this long before the ghostly howl of the Tearwulf cuts through the air, straight to his pointy ears. For but a moment he's dizzy, getting to his feet and stumbling around in a state of confusion. This allows Minerva to once again strike the Kadabra, although this time he's stunned to the point of not being able to get up right away. The Onix meanwhile has switched his focus from one airborne pony to another, lifting his massive tail into the air and hurling it at Janelle's Winneedee in another Rock Throw.
The Rock Throw hits Janelle's Winneedee.
"Okay, Zeus! Go for that Scyther again!" Rick commands, pointing at the bladed creature. Zeus selects an attack himself as he turns towards the horse, his shell once again sparking and crackling with energy. The metallic pokemon hums slightly as he narrows his eyes at the Scyther, the energy not focusing at any particular point on his body. Suddenly, he unleashes all the stored electricity at once, various streams all darting randomly towards the winged creature. This is Zeus's Thundershock attack, similar to his Thunderbolt, but more random in nature. The young trainer's grin is gone, and his steely expression shows he is contemplating his next move.
The Thundershock hits Grayson's Scyther.
"And one half of Down But Not Out's force is down," observes Masters, "but The Dashing Blades have taken their share of blows as well. The Dynamic Duo and especially Team Musouka, however, are nigh-untouched! Could there be an alliance here?" "Possibly," comments Strong. "But more likely, it's happenstance, impromptu strategy, and the heat of the moment." "You're probably right, Tony," admits Masters grudgingly. "Maybe. And it looks like the attention of the mob has been turned to The Dashing Blades! Kadabra is given pause by the terrible keening of Tearwulf, and then sent reeling by yet another attack from the persistent Kadabra! Scyther, struggling to rise, is blasted by a gout of flame from Charmander and a frigid beam of icy doom from Wineedee, before an arc of crackling electricity from Magneton finishes him off! And he is out for the count!" Iron Horse's verdict supports this assertion, and the bladed bug is called out. "Onix comes to his comrade's aid," continues Masters, "slamming Winneedee with his fearsome tail!" "Team Musouka is in a very good place here," notes Strong. "With so much attention given to the Blades and Down But Not Out, they've managed to go this long without being attacked at all."
Zachary cringes visibly as the attack to his team's own Winneedee lands, his hands tightening their grips just barely upon the railing before him, though he offers the older trainer beside him a faint grin, "She'll be okay," He states simply, nodding a little, before turning his attention back at the battle at hand. "That Winneedee is still standing though... How is it still standing?..." Slowly he shakes his head, bringing one of his hands off of the railing, for just a moment, only to bring it back down in a fist, "Okay, Mista! Knock that horse out of the sky! Flamethrower! Altair, switch off the juice for a bit, hit that Kadabra with a Quick Attack. Ethereal, go ground that Magneton..." Quickly, Altair sets into motion, plopping down onto all four paws, as he jolts towards the Kadabra, attempting to undermine it with his speed, as the Charmander takes careful aim of the tough Winneedee, and sets forth a rather large plume of flame, sizzling towards the ice-horse, all while Ethereal lowers herself slightly closer to the ground, focusing her energies into the earth below her, making it shake, and quake in the general area of that evolved electric type.
The Flamethrower hits Lark's Winneedee.
The Quick Attack hits Valentino's Kadabra.
The Earthquake hits Rick's Magneton.
Staggered by one blow after another when he's helpless to defend himself, the Scyther drops to the ground, smoking. The Blue Blade reaches out to tap the Scyther's pokeball and the bladed pokemon vanishes. He definitely doesn't look too happy about this development, but he looks back to the battle. "The group!", the Blue Blade calls again, and the Ekans signals assent once more, pulling his head back as if in preparation for another ranged poison attack and then lifting his tail high. The Ekans' eyes glow green and his tail slams back down again, sending a shockwave through the earth in an Earthquake attack.
The Earthquake misses Zachary's Tearwulf.
The Earthquake hits Zachary's Pikachu.
The Earthquake hits Zachary's Charmander.
The earth shakes around Lucky, but she holds tight and awaits orders, antennae swiveling forward to bear towards the Tearwulf. "Sleep Powder!" Sophia points towards the ghost, her eyes wide. The announcer has a point, and now the nerdy girl seems to be entering another alliance. Sophia watches as the bug rustles her fur, shaking loose another tsunami of the sweet smelling green spores towards the ghost. Inhaled or not, the spores certainly are sweet and oh, so like the wonderful pollen of an overly flowered field. The powder glistens and sparkles as it settles earthward towards the Tearwulf. "Minerva, back off that Kadabra and aim an Earthquake towards the Pikachu and Charmander," Sophia frowns at turning on a friend, but Janelle's team is just too powerful. Growling lightly, Minerva backs away from the Kadabra, warily eyeing him and roars towards the Pikachu and Charmander. <For love! And hope!> She cries, slamming her hooves into the ground, causing rifts and a deep rumbling as the earth trembles, rocking the arena near her. Her body is an instrument, thrumming the earth like some ancient drum as she pounds again and again in an odd Earthquake attack.
The Sleep Powder misses Zachary's Tearwulf.
The Earthquake hits Zachary's Pikachu.
The Earthquake hits Zachary's Charmander.
Balder showed incredible strength, as emphasized by Zachary's quiet remark, but even the most powerful of Winneedee couldn't stand up to endless bouts of electricity. As another blast of shocking power shoots for him, he collapses, feathers fluttering helplessly as the unconscious equine plummets to the earth. Fortunately, the red beam of his pokeball reaches out and plucks him from the air right before he hits the ground. Lark takes a moment to look pained, then calls, "Earthquake whatever you can!" Flint, either unaware or uncaring of his teammate's fall, grins and begins bashing his tail against the ground, up and down and up and down. His shockwaves follow those of the other Onix and Minerva, bouncing towards Zachary's three pokemon.
The Earthquake hits Zachary's Tearwulf.
The Earthquake hits Zachary's Pikachu.
The Earthquake misses Zachary's Charmander.
Myst soars about, eyeing the havoc below her. "Oh, man! Ok, Myst try and sweep the area with a Blizzard, Myst sweeps in low, sucking in air and exhaling a breath of icy wind, her wings beat and the ice storm beats down on those below her as she sweeps over, raining down shards of frozen material on the Rhyhorn and the Venonat. "Go Myst! Janelle encourages as the mare soars just out of reach of the mob of battling pokemon.
The Blizzard hits Sophia's Rhyhorn.
The Blizzard misses Sophia's Venonat.
The poor Kadabra can't seem to catch a break. As soon as he recovers from the Stomp that caused him to be stunned for such a lengthy period, he's cut into with a Quick Attack from out of the blue. Stumbling backwards a few paces, it's clear that he's quite exhausted. Without warning his crashes to the ground, closing his eyes and taking a 'Rest' right in the middle of all the action. The Onix seems quite overwhelmed by all the action going on, head turning every which way as he gives a roar of frustration. The shaking ground, while he manages to avoid being knocked down, annoys him greatly. Due to this he seeks out the source, and eventually focuses on the other Onix. With a rumbling battle cry he swings his tail at Lark's Onix, aiming to hit him with the area between his rock segments via a 'Fissure'. The Orange Blade gives a small frown, obviously not totally pleased with the fact the rock serpent isn't concentrating on the Winneedee.
The Fissure misses Lark's Onix.
Zeus is caught by the Earthquake attack and is battered by the lumps of stray rocks, even though he is hovering. A few dents are now visible, but they serve only to anger the pokemon even further. "Zeus, focus! Get the Winneedee with a Thunder Wave!" Rick calls, pointing towards Janelle's formidable equine pokemon, his voice showing grim determination. The Magneton turns towards Janelle's Winneedee, a slight blue glow emitting from behind his eyes. Once again, the antennae swivel forwards, aiming for the graceful mare, as the pulsing electrical field forms once more between them. With one motion, the antennae draw back as the electrical field flies forwards towards the equine.
The Thunder Wave misses Janelle's Winneedee.
The Rest does work.
"And it looks like Musouka is making their big play," observes Masters. "Charmander strikes out with lambent flame, and strikes Winneedee square-on! And it looks like that could be it for Winneedee!" Iron Horse, after a moment of scrutiny, declares Winneedee unable to continue. "And Ekans is out for payback," declares Masters. "Some heavy ground-pounding by the supple snake takes the feet from Pikachu and Charmander! And the last remaining battler of Down But Not Out joins in, as does...As does Rhyhorn! Two more Earthquakes! There's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on!" The crowd goes absolutely berzerk as the arena floor buckles and rolls, briefly resembling a storm-tossed sea more than a battlefield. "Mercy, mercy me," exclaims Masters, rising to his feet, "a three-fold Earthquake attack rips through Musouka's lines, and suddenly, things aren't quite so uneven!" "It just goes to show you," notes Strong, "that anything can happen, here in the HRTC." "No doubt about it, Tony," agrees Masters. "Fortunes can change in an instant. Musouka is fighting back, but they seem to have officially garnered the attention of the mob. Kadabra, meanwhile, is taking advantage of the lull in Rhyhorn's assault to fall back and refocus. And he's definitely looking better!"
Rick has disconnected.
It seemed as if there had been some sort of alliance, for up until that point, Musouka had not taken very many hits at all... Which didn't make sense, as they didn't have any alliances... But the lack of hits had definitely made Zachary's pokemon a little too sure of themselves. Not once, not twice, but three times, Earthquakes rumble through their numbers, and unable to evade each one, several of them are forced to take hits... And when it's all over, Altair looks like the one who had gotten the brunt of all of them, bruises marking all across of him, but he's still standing. Mista is much the same, bruised, but not that bad... And even though it is difficult to tell, even Ethereal has a few scrapes here and there. "That was just plain nasty..." Zachary mutters softly, his head hanging a little, as he begins to shake his head, "But we're still in this. Okay, you know what to do on the bug, Ethereal! Mista, you too... And Altair, if you still got it in you, use a Thunder on that Kadabra, give it a headache when it wakes up!" A low growl emanates from within Ethereal's throat as she remains lowered, close to the ground, focusing her abilities through the earth far beneath the stadium, conjuring forth a single, rather large rock, which levitates in mid-air for a moment, only to be flung at the Venonat, while Mista, panting softly from the heavy barrage from earlier, still some left in her, as she opens her mouth, her tailflame brightening for a moment, before letting loose a bright ball of fire, spit towards the same bug. Altair, even though fighting some injuries of his own, mutters softly, his cheek-sacs brightening as he begins to charge energy about them, only to discharge it in a bright, brilliant flash of electricity, arcing for the Psychic.
The Rock Throw hits Sophia's Venonat.
The Ember hits Sophia's Venonat.
The Thunder misses Valentino's Kadabra.
The Dashing Blades' Ekans takes a few moments to recover from the power of his own attack, then eyes the remaining pokemon balefully. "Tearwulf! Charmander!", his trainer calls out to him again, and again the Ekans signals his assent. Another stream of liquid is aimed at the closest two pokemon, the Ekans trying his best to level the playing field a little more with a healthy dose of something that has the arena floor sizzling quietly when droplets land on it. The snakelike pokemon is starting to look tired, not quite as quick as he was at the start of the battle, but he's still up and he's still fighting, ready and raring to go for whatever his trainer points him at.
The Acid misses Zachary's Tearwulf.
The Acid hits Zachary's Charmander.
Minerva shivers violently, her stony body used to the warmth of the Safari Zone and this is an unpleasant change. She rears back, rumbling softly deep within her throat, she's not very happy about that at all. Lucky is more nimble and manages to move out of the way of the snow, only to get nailed by a rock and a ball of fire, squealing, the Venonat goes down, shuddering. Sophia cringes and recalls her battered bug, whose fur smoulders from the burns. The Joy's going to have her hands full. The bug disappears in the pokeball, where mercifully, her pain is ended. Minerva is just fine though and grunting, shaking ice from her body, she moves at a swift canter towards the Pikachu. "Try a Stomp on the Pikachu!" Sophia calls to her Rhyhorn, who rears up and slams a heavy foot down towards the electric mouse. Though her efforts are far less frenzied than when she was attacking the Kadabra, she's putting no less force than usual behind her stomp and it's going to hurt if the mouse doesn't move. Beside her, Rick looks focused. Even if he does have to lean on the podium a little. "Oookay, try a Thunder!" The perky trainer calls to his Magneton, who holds his floating body still in the air, the magnets on the end of his body spin once, then sparks flare from each end as the smell of ozone rises through the air and crrrrack! An immense pillar of Thunder roars from the Magneton's metallic body, dancing through the atmosphere as it surges towards the Winneedee. <Feel the power of the Immortal One!> Zeus cries.
The Thunder hits Janelle's Winneedee.
The Stomp hits Zachary's Pikachu. The attack's effect (flinch) does work.
When Flint is targeted by the other team's Onix, Lark calls out, "Retreat," then, barely giving her pokemon a chance to give her a puzzled look, she simply corrects herself with, "Harden!" This the rock snake understands and he curls up tightly, trying to concentrate and cause his body to glow a bit. At the very least, his position allows him to weather the rolling ground beneath him, and perhaps it will even strengthen him a bit.
The Harden affects Grayson's Ekans.
Janelle paces nervously, her brows are furrowed and she gnaws on her lip. "Myst! Come here!" the trainer calls, pacing and leaning to wait for the mare to draw near. Form her pocket she pulls a fast acting potion and fumbles with it as the flying type returns to her.
It seems that for once in this battle, the Kadabra is enjoying some relaxation. His nap continues without a hitch, save for him rolling over once or twice in his sleep. It is one of these lucky rolls that helps him evade the Thunder from electric-type. The Onix meanwhile is becoming more and more agitated. Lifting his heavy tail into the air again, he raises his head to roar at the ceiling before bringing it down hard into the arena floor. By now the 'Earthquake' should be recognizable to anyone watching this match. The powerful slam seems to be targeted chiefly in the direction of Flint the Onix. The Orange Blade mumbles quietly as he must once again cling for dear life to his railing.
The Earthquake hits Lark's Onix.
"Venonat is made the target of a brutal assault," observes Masters, "Tearwulf and Charmander teaming up to deliver some heavy damage. Pikachu, meanwhile, attempts to knock Kadabra out of his meditative trance, to no avail. Now -that's- mind over matter! But Ekans delivers a little acrid retribution, and Charmander is looking less than vigorous. And Musouka is calling back her Winneedee, apparently for a some battlefield medicine. Definitely a risky proposition." "No doubt," agrees Strong. "That's not going to earn Winneedee any friends out on the floor." "Meanwhile," continues Masters, "it seems like the Blades' Onix has chosen his rocky counterpart as his designated opponent...We could be looking at a truly earth-shaking duel!"
After all of those Earthquakes, there isn't much left that Altair can exactly stand up to, and the sudden barrage of a hoof is one of them. The little, electric mouse is sent sprawling out across the ground, several feet from where he last was, but before the 'chu can breath a sigh, Zachary's hand finds it's way to the mouse's pokeball, and in a flash of light, Altair is recalled back into it's pokeball, where it's safe. Ethereal, on the other hand, has just enough energy left in her to flicker out of the physical realm, and then back again. Sighing softly, Zachary begins to shake his head, "You did good, Altair... Now rest. Alright... Ethereal! Earthquake that Ekans, and Mista, Slash as well." Grumbling to herself, the large ghost-dog begins to focus her energy through the earth below again, making it shake, and rattle in the general direction of the Ekans, and just as it begins to ease off, Mista comes in running towards the snake, talons bared, but remaining far from the pair of Musouka's pokemon still fighting.
The Earthquake misses Grayson's Ekans.
The Slash misses Grayson's Ekans.
The Blades' Ekans hunkers down, almost sticking to the ground as he endures the Earthquake without getting shaken around too much and then slips out of the way of the Slash. "Onix!", the Blue Blade calls over to his pokemon; this time, the Ekans doesn't bother with a signal, just turning his head wearily in the appropriate direction and not retaliating against his current attackers. It takes him a couple of moments to decide which Onix is the one he's supposed to be attacking, but when he works it out he pulls his head back and opens his mouth, coughing out a large lump of viscous, gluey poison. Yet another Sludge attack.
The Sludge misses Lark's Onix
Minerva is far from done with the Charmander, instead she lowers her head, and begins to furiously kick at the Charmander, losing her target as the Pikachu vanishes, venting a Fury Attack on the electric mouse, as clouds of dust rise from the earth as she tries to finish the mouse off. For now, she is beyond command, ignoring Sophia calling out to her. Sweat drips from the rocky pokemon's body as she huffs and puffs, trying to stamp out the Charmander. Sophia is beginning to look worn from her constant nervousness, her gray eyes looking slightly sunken. She could use a good drink of water right about now... Rick looks more vivacious, his Magneton still eyeing the Winneedee. <You do not bow before Zeus? Preposterous!> The Magneton declares, and sparks menacingly. "Thunder Wave! Again!" By now, even the Magneton is looking tired and a weaker, but no less tingling blast of electricity towards the flying horse.
The Fury Attack hits Zachary's Charmander.
The Thunder Wave affects Janelle's Winneedee. This attack does not include a hit. Janelle's Winneedee is now paralyzed.
Flint glows brightly for a brief moment, then begins to uncurl. His timing is unfortunate, as he does so right as the other Onix causes the earth to rattle and shake once again. The rock pokemon bellows in surprise and a bit of pain, but before his slow reaction time is overcome and he can counterattack, Lark calls, "Rock Slide the Winneedee!" Flint slithers as far as necessary, then slides his massive tail across the ground, the boulders cracking and sounding loudly as they hit against each other in the attempt to knock over the flying horse before she can return to the battlefield and take advantage of her newfound strength.
The Rock slide misses Janelle's Winneedee.
As the Winneedee takes the nasty assault of electricity, coming to a bumpy landing as the paralysis grips her body. Janelle descends, rushing out to administer the potion that will restore some of her pokemon's strength. "Easy, girl. Here, this will help some," she says soothingly as she opens the FAP and tends to the tired Winneedee. "You can do it. You have to stay tough," she whispers to the mare before hustling back up to her spot.
Onix is one determined fellow, not missing a beat to get close enough to Flint so that he may swing a tail his way with yet another 'Fissure'. Kadabra continues to snooze, ears flicking as he dreams about whatever it is that psychic types dream about when they're snoozing. All the commotion however is starting to get to him. His eyes flutter open slowly, and he gives a huge yawn as he wakes. The Orange Blade's fingers tap against the railing in a mixture of nervousness and impatience at the time it takes the Kadabra to wake up.
The Fissure hits Lark's Onix.
"That Ekans is quite the mover," observes Masters. "The supple serpent smoothly sidesteps the savage assaults of the opposition! Meanwhile, Rhyhorn turns her attentions from the fallen Pikachu to Charmander, and gives the lambent lizard the same business, soundly knocking it into next Arbor Day!" Sure enough, Iron Horse declares the Charmander unable to battle. "And as Winneedee returns to her trainer, it takes the full brunt of a crackling Thunder Wave! What a play by the Duo...Paralyzing the Winneedee even as it is healed!" "Only to be expected," notes Strong, "but still a masterful stroke." "And even as the Onix battle it out in seismic style," continues Masters, "Kadabra rises from his slumber, and is back in the match!"
At first things seemed to be going so well, but now there are only two of Musouka's pokemon left. It doesn't look as great as it did in the first place. Much like the Pikachu before her, Mista goes skidding across the arena floor, leaving only Ethereal to battle the remaing pokemon, as well as Myst... Quickly, Zachary brings his hand down upon Mista's pokeball, recalling the fire-lizard in a flash of white light. "Well dang..." Zach mutters softly, as he brings his hands up from the railing, his arms folding over his chest. "Well, there seems to be one thing to do to even out this match... Ethereal! Give them all you got..." And giving them all she has is right... Quickly, she fades out of existence, but only for a brief second or two, as she then reappears near where the combatants are grouped, her head raising high, muzzle parting, as she emits the most terrifying, frightening sound out from her throat, her ears folded back hard against her skull, pouring her entire vileness into a Psionic Howl.
The Psionic Howl affects Valentino's Kadabra. This attack does not include a hit. Valentino's Kadabra is now paralyzed.
The Psionic Howl misses Valentino's Onix.
Dalton has disconnected.
Valentino does an effect check. He has succeeded to break it.
"Stay with the Onix," the Blue Blade commands his Ekans. "We can't let it get any harder to hurt!" The Ekans pulls his head back yet again, preparing another attack. The Blue Blade himself reaches up to touch his top pocket, apparently to reassure himself that something is in there, then lowers his hand back down to the railing again, watching the battle with a fair amount of anxiety. At the sound of the Howl the Ekans hunkers down, waiting until it's over before launching a spray of poisoned needles at the opposing Onix; the Blue Blade reacts rather differently to the noise, though. He doesn't seem to even think about sticking his fingers in his ears...
The Poison sting misses Lark's Onix.
Minerva lets out no roar this time, instead she summons her energy from within and rears her body up, throwing her weight earthward, all acting on her own, no orders from Sophia are given. The earth rolls, like the tides beneath the moon, under Minerva's feet towards the Tearwulf, determined to eradicate any threats to her beloved wizard, Sophia. <Take my love, my hate, my pain and all of my sorrow!> The Rhyhorn bellows, now throwing her apparently easy to channel rage into her attack. The Earthquake is no less powerful than the one early in the match, yet the efforts are wearing on the Rhyhorn, white foam running to the ground as she huffs, her eyes glazed with exhaustion. "Good girl, Minerva!" Meanwhile, Rick beams a little and orders his weary Magneton. "Hit it with a Thundershock!" Zeus whines softly, his magnets whirring, but sure enough, the familiar yellow glow dances from magnet to magnet, through the sky over the combatants and towards the flying horse. Minerva and Zeus cringe at the noise, as do Sophia and Rick, but soon things settle...
The Earthquake misses Zachary's Tearwulf.
The Thundershock misses Janelle's Winneedee.
Janelle does an effect check. She has succeeded to break it.
Despite Flint moving farther away from the main part of the battle and going after the Winneedee, he manages to be a sitting duck for the powerful ground attack that ripples towards him. He groans, but before he manages to turn to look at his attacker, he's sprayed with a shower of sharp needles. Fortunately, they bounce harmlessly off his Hardened skin, and by the time he's turned around, Lark calls out, "Earthquake the Onix and Ekans!" The rock pokemon complies, smashing his tail against the ground, though not was powerfully as before.
The Earthquake hits Grayson's Ekans.
The Earthquake hits Valentino's Onix.
Safely back in the trainer's box, Janelle clings to the rail and watches Myst, hoping that she can shake off the effects of the paralysis and get moving again. "You can do it," she whispers. The air is shattered as Ethereal howls angrily and the lanky teen turns to stare at the Tearwulf, before looking to her partner anxiously. Myst shrugs her shoulders and gives a mighty shake before spreading her wings and pumping mightily, trotting a few steps and then soaring back up into the sky.
The Kadabra manages to come to his feet, looking a tad less stressed than he was when he went down for his nap. The Orange Blade wastes no time in instructing the psychic, voice loud and clear as he speaks to him "Go after the Tearwulf." The Kadabra does just that, bowing his head and concentrating as best he can. Before he can summon any attack however, the Psionic Howl pierces the air, and causes the Kadabra to be momentarily paralyzed. Shortly afterwards, the Onix is sent crashing to the ground thanks to the force of Flint's Earthquake. The Blades's Onix roars angrily at the other of his species as he slowly slinks back up from the floor of the arena. He seems to quite enjoying throwing the weight of his tail around, as he does so once again, causing the ground beneath him to tremble. It seems that he's attempting to send another Earthquake Flint's way.
The Earthquake hits Lark's Onix.
"Tearwulf rears back with another chilling Howl," comments Masters, "and Kadabra seems briefly taken aback. Musouka seems intent on dragging this out as long as possible...Could they have some sort of plan? Winneedee does seem to be recovering. The Dynamic Duo, meanwhile, launches an assault on Musouka, to no avail. And Down But Not Out's Onix, apparently unwilling to ignore the other any further, fights back with another thunderous tremor...which is immediately returned by the other! Ekans, however, seems to have been in the radius of the destruction, and takes a rattling."
As quickly as she had appeared, Ethereal then again fades out the physical realm, only to appear safely out of the radius of the rattling earth, yet her ears remain folded tight against the back of her head. She isn't happy, and she shows it... "Easy there... It's okay Eth. Just keep fighting," Zachary mutters softly, before biting at his upper lip, and glancing up towards his older team-mate, "Well, it sure is a good battle, at least... Lets keep this up," A faint grin forms across the boy's lips, before turning his attention back out on the field, his head nodding sharply, "Fight back, Ethereal! Don't just dodge... Hit that Ekans with an Earthquake!" Grumbling softly to herself, the large ghost-dog lowers her ears farther back against her head, focusing her energies through to the earth, causing for it to shake in the area about the Ekans, slowly at first, but then increasing with every passing second.
The Earthquake hits Grayson's Ekans.
Again, the Blades' Ekans' eyes glow green, and again the snakelike pokemon's tail lifts. With no new instructions apparently forthcoming from his trainer, the bright purple pokemon is following the last command and trying to do as much damage as he can to the Onix. He's not looking too healthy, though - he's tired from all the damage he's taken and all the attacks he's been dealing out, and now the ground beneath him is shaking yet again, throwing him from side to side and hurting him some more. Wearily he slams his tail back down again, launching an Earthquake of his own at the opposing rock-snake.
The Earthquake hits Lark's Onix.
Finding her attacks useless against the ghost, Minerva looks up to Sophia for guidance. "Try a Horn Drill on the Winneedee!" Sophia calls to her pokemon, who grunts, nods and turns away from her trainer, ignoring the Tearwulf and trots towards the Winneedee, picking up speed as she goes. Throwing her head high into the air, the Rhyhorn tries to hit the winged pokemon's side or underbelly. Alas, Rick watches his Magneton and pouts. "Okay, no more lightning, try Supersonic on the Winneedee and ghost!" He points excitedly to the pokemon, though even the ongoing match is draining him. The godlike pokemon quivers as his body begins to vibrate quickly, sending a wave of painful soundwaves towards the two pokemon. Sound tends to spread out, after all, and the main reason the attack seems to be moving towards the two pokemon is the fact is bounces off of wall, and ground. Echoes!
The Horn Drill hits Janelle's Winneedee.
The Supersonic affects Janelle's Winneedee. This attack does not include a hit. Janelle's Winneedee is now confused.
The Supersonic has no effect. Zachary's Tearwulf is immune to Supersonic and all Normal attacks.
Flint continues to be assailed from all sides by powerful ground attacks. Though the giant had looked tired before, now he looks absolutely exhausted. Nevertheless, he is still conscious, and after a moment's thought, Lark continues. "Fissure the same," she says, sounding almost as tired as her pokemon looks. Feebly, Flint lifts his head, then lets it drop to the ground, causing it to rumble again, though not nearly as powerfully as in the past.
The Fissure hits Grayson's Ekans.
The Fissure misses Valentino's Onix.
The Winneedee soars through the arena, now feeling better than she had. The mare tosses her mane and gives little bucks as she flies. Her frustration and anxiety showing in her tolling eyes. Before she can get vary far, apparently, the Rhyhorn catches her in the belly with her horn an dMyst flails and squeals, the retaliates with an Aurora Beam, aiming at the ground type angrily. "Oh man!" Janelle groans, not sure how something like the behemoth of a Rhyhorn could actually catch Myst.
The Aurora beam misses Sophia's Rhyhorn.
The Kadabra shakes his head around a bit, bringing himself back to reality and this time not closing his eyes to concentrate. Instead he raises his hands above his head again, and forms another ball of Confusion. He looks around for a prime target, eventually settling on the Tearwulf. That done, the Confusion is tossed as quickly as possible in the direction of the spirit dog. Thanks perhaps in part to his smaller brain, the rock serpent has fallen into a pattern when assaulting his fellow Onix. One could quite easily predict the swinging tail will end in an attempt at a Fissure aimed at Flint.
The Confusion hits Zachary's Tearwulf.
The Fissure hits Lark's Onix.
"It's more rocking and rolling," comments Masters, "as the fighters slug it out with tectonic force! These Onix don't kid around, and their battle is one of epic proportions! But it looks like Ekans has simply had a little too much, and goes down!" Iron Horse and the scoreboard support this claim. "But wait! One of the Onix is toppling! Yes, with a thunderous roar, Down But Not Out's Onix topples like a mighty oak, and takes the team out of the match! What a development! Venonat opens up with what are decidedly -not- good vibrations...And Winneedee, especially after a nasty blow from the deceptively mobile Rhyhorn, seems disoriented!"
Here, we adjourned for the night, and picked up again on Tuesday.
Even with the first of the teams gone, the arena is still just one bundle of confusion. With all the blasts going this way and that, it becomes hard for Zachary to figure out who is hitting who, and who is doing what. "This isn't going to be easy..." Zach mutters softly, as he peers out at the field, his head shaking a little, "That one Onix is gone, but there is still one there. Ethereal! Time to regroup and get your bearings. Agility!" By this time, the ghost-dog has nearly gotten it into her head that sometimes the kid can be right, and with a low growl, she flickers out of reality, briefly, only to reappear several feet where she was, and repeating the process all about the arena, attempting to make it difficult to find out just where she is at all.
The Agility does not affect Valentino's Onix.
"Kadabra on me," the Blue Blade commands; a flick of the pokemon's spoon signalls that he understands. "Recover," the trainer orders, and his pokemon hunkers down to do just that. Motes of green energy flicker into being around him, swirling out through the air into a globe-like shape and then contracting again to settle on the psychic pokemon's armour. With any luck, they're revitalise him and help him recover from the effects of the battle so far.
The Recover works. Heals two of its own hits.
Minerva blinks a little as the ground stops shaking from the fallen Onix's tumble. Her eyes widen a moment, then she shifts her weight, settling back in. "Back off the Winneedee," Sophia instructs her ever faithful behemoth. "I think the ghost is more of a threat," Sophia peers tiredly over the wire frames of her glasses, a little bit of exhaustion starting to wear through the nerd's bearing. Minerva lowers her head, looking away from the rapidly vanishing ghost, regrouping herself, so she won't be fooled by the spectral illusion. "Try an Earthquake," Sophia sighs slightly, knowing the Rhyhorn must be wearing down a little by now. Throwing her head into the air, the normally docile beast lets out a primal roar. <I am here!> She announces, then throwing her weight back, and leaning on her hind legs, the plates on her body clicking and clacking loudly, sounding not unlike two boulders rubbing together, she then slams her body earthward, rocking it violently. The earth rolls, rumbles and cracks beneath the behemoth's massive bulk and furious thrumming. Despite the fury of the Earthquake, there is an odd rhythm to it. A primitive, long lost to time rhythm that beats ever on.
The Earthquake hits Zachary's Tearwulf.
Janelle's eyes flicker across the arena and then up to toward the ceiling where Myst is flying in evasive circles. She sighs thoughtfully, unhinged by so much going on everywhere. "Yeah, this is a bit much for my brain to hand," she addresses her partner in return. The Tearwulf attempts to be sneaky, yet still takes a hit. "Ow," Janelle sympathizes. "Myst, use Blizzard on the Onix!" she cries hopefully. The slightly drooping mare bobs her head and tosses her mane, then soars about and dips over the rock snake, trying to pelt it with a blast of icy wind and hail.
The Blizzard hits Valentino's Onix.
The Onix is not a very happy camper right now. He swings his front end around in a rage, not seeming sure whom he should be focusing his anger on at the moment. It is then that he gets hit from the icy blast from above, letting out a loud and baneful moan of pain as it tries to shake off some of the hail. Orange Blade, stoic as ever, observes the stone serpent's plight with his usual expressionless stare for a moment before clearing his throat and directing his charge "Keep attacking the flying horse." He mutters something too quiet for the microphone to pick up after this, eyes narrowing just a tad. The Onix, now with direction again, gives a growl in the direction of the Winneedee before sliding his massive tail along the ground to try and trip the equine should it come near the ground while still confused. It is, as one would imagine, a Rock Slide.
The Rock Slide hits Janelle's Winneedee. The Rock Slide side effect (flinch) does work.
The eyes of Rick seem to brighten even more as he sees more of his opponents fall, prompting him to continue. "Alright, Zeus! Let's bring the rest of them down! Go after the Winneedee again! Thunderbolt!" The trainer seems to be right into the rhythm of battle now, his face as determined as ever. "Yeah! Nice one Minerva!" the pint-sized trainer cheers upon the Rhyhorn's successful attack. The Magneton pivots upwards to face the Winneedee high in the air and again unleashes his lightning fury, throwing thousands of volts of electricity arcing towards the flying equine from his protruding vanes. <Bow down to the almighty!> he drones. Oddly, he doesn't seem to be tiring at all. Obviously he is so keen to prove his sovereignty that he keeps battling regardless.
The Thunderbolt hits Janelle's Winneedee.
"With Down But Not Out gone," comments Masters, "and the focus of aggression shifted to it, Tearwulf attempts some evasive maneuvers, but is caught off-guard by the rocky ramapage of the Duo's rowdy Rhydon! The Blades are quick to take advantage of the brief lull, as Kadabra refocuses, Recovering his spent energy! And Winneedee picks up where the fallen Onix left off, whittling away at the Blades' granite goliath, this time with thousands of glittering knives of sparkling ice!" "You're certainly poetic tonight, Jake" offers Strong. "What can I say," replies Masters. "It's not every day you get to call a fight like this one! And Onix strikes back, sending Winneedee into a tailspin, and, with a thunderous report, Magneton strikes down the winged horse with divine thunder! She is outta there!" Sure enough, Iron Horse declares the Winneedee unable to battle, and the horse's picture vanishes from the board.
Ethereal was perhaps a little too sure of herself, a little too sure that her tactics would work. But they don't work this time. Below her, the ground begins to shake, and rattle in a very familiar motion, and in her concentration, she is unable to flicker back out of the physical realm once again to avoid the shaking of the land, and by the time that Zachary calls out for her, it's already too late, and she is knocked down to the ground, for however a brief moment. With a sigh, Zach begins to shake his head, as he fumbles for something in one of the pockets of his HRTC jacket, "I didn't want to use this... But with Myst down, looks like I gotta." As he pulls the small FAP bottle out of his pocket, the lad raises a hand towards the ghost-canine, waving it towards her, "Come back, Ethereal!" At first, the canine is reluctant, not yet willing to admit that she needs assistance, but she knows that she does, and with her ears flickered back slightly, she begins to run towards her trainer.
When the Kadabra's eyes reopen, his trainer nods. "Tearwulf," the Blue Blade commands, and the Kadabra turns to face the evolved ghost and brings his spoon to bear. Beams of brilliant blue energy lance from the psychic pokemon's eyes and forehead, focusing on the spoon; moments later a thicker beam lances out from the gleaming metal, the Kadabra seeking out the running Tearwulf with a powerful Psybeam attack. The Blue Blade himself is watching anxiously, casting a glance up at the scoreboard and then looking back out at the battle again; he's looking tired but not excessively so, unlike his recently revitalised pokemon.
The Psybeam hits Zachary's Tearwulf.
"Lower its defense if you can!" Sophia calls to her Rhyhorn, who bobs her head in acknowledgement of her 'wizard'. Her body shuddering slightly from all of the exertion, Minerva is pleased to have some respite in her assault of the Tearwulf. The earth stops shuddering beneath her, her heavy body no longer bending it to her will. The nerd sighs softly, leaning against the podium heavily, her gray eyes dimming slightly, but she soon jerks up, eyes wide. Minerva doesn't look happy as the ghost runs. <Do you fear what you cannot conquer?> She asks the ghost quietly, sweat and foam running from the channels that form her joints, dampening the ground slightly, but only if one looks closely. Minerva fixes the Tearwulf with a steely gaze, full of contempt, pent up battle fury and a swirl of other emotions built up during the battle. Her eyes glow an angry red, a gutteral, harsh rumbling escapes her throat as she Leers at the other pokemon.
The Leer affects Zachary's Tearwulf.
With a cry, the white mare is knocked from the sky and Janelle shudders, sad to see her go down. "Well, we've worked hard. Hang in there and go down fighting," she tells her peppy little teammate, clapping him on the shoulder with one hand while the mare is returned.
<OOC> Janelle will stop posing from here on out.
When the Winneedee falls, the Orange Blade can be seen wearing a small smirk, although it doesn't dwell on his lips for very long. "Onix, go for the ghost canine!" he commands the rock serpent, giving a small nod of his head. The Onix turns his head around to locate the Tearwulf, fresh out of getting blasted by the Kadabra. Once more the hefty tail of the Onix is lifted up off the ground, causing the Orange Blade to reach out for the railing and clutch it tight. A moment later the rock serpent drops his rocky appendage upon the arena floor, causing it to tremble and shake in an Earthquake aimed at the departing Tearwulf.
The Earthquake hits Zachary's Tearwulf.
Rick blinks as Zeus scores another hit, surprised that his pokemon is performing so well. "Go Zeus! We need to even things out again! Paralyze that Kadabra!" Rick commands clearly. The electric pokemon shifts his focus onto the psychic pokemon once again, leveling his antennae at it. The antennae form the boundary markers for the field of static electricity once more, a crackling, pulsing field of energy forming between them once more. <You bow down too! The almighty deserves and commands worship!> the metallic voice of the pokemon escapes the silvery shell even as the field escapes the grasp of the antennae, making its way hungrily towards its victim.
The Thunder Wave affects Grayson's Kadabra. This attack does not include a hit. Grayson's Kadabra is now paralyzed.
Grayson does an effect check. He has succeeded to break it.
Each attack, one by one, hits straight home on that already bruised Tearwulf. It's bad enough that the Kadabra had to penetrate her mind, giving her one whalup of a headache, but then the ground begins to shake once more beneath her paws, causing Ethereal to loose her footing, and fall flat down into her muzzle. Just a few more bounds and she would've been able to reach the box, but enough was enough. Slowly, Ethereal picks herself back up onto her paws, her ears flickered back against her skull as she glares at the nearest of opponents. Her trainer nearby is completely ignored as he attempts to call her in the rest of the way as pride gets in the way of her judgement. Ethereal begins to focus her ghostly energies through the earth, making it shake, and rattle near the vicinity of the final, large rock snake in an Earthquake attack, her throat vibrating with a low, haunting growl, <I'm going down fighting this time, boy.>
The Earthquake misses Valentino's Onix.
The Blue Blade's Kadabra is blindsided by the Thunder Wave, but with a snarl and a blue glow from his eyes he succeeds in breaking free of the electricity that tries to confine him before it can do more than inconvenience him. It takes a little time for the Kadabra to recover fully, though, time enough for the battle to go on around him. The Blue Blade grimaces slightly, but keeps silent while his pokemon recovers his strength.
"Don't charge at it, you'll just go right through it!" Sophia warns her pokemon, who looks a little startled by the earth quaking beneath her, she steps back, somehow managing to keep herself upright through the whole thing. <I can do that, too!> She gloats slightly. "Don't get too full of yourself," Sophia cautions. That causes the Rhyhorn to stop tensing her hind quarters for a lunge and she blinks, trying to run that idea through her brain. You can go /through/ another pokemon? Minerva has never dealt with a ghostly opponent before. Hrm, well, her wizard knows best! Minerva pulls through at last. Earthquake again! It's her only attack that really seems to hurt the pokemon... Sophia blinks as the Rhyhorn starts pounding the earth again, while not as graceful as the Tearwulf, her attack is more antediluvian, more furious and more in tune with the forces of the earth below her feet. Shaped by time itself, her attack sends the earth rolling in waves beneath the ghost.
The Earthquake hits Zachary's Tearwulf.
With the Tearwulf down, the Orange Blade's eyes scan around the arena for a moment before another pokemon catches his eye. "Onix," he speaks in his typical stern tone "Go for the Magneton, now." The rock serpent nods his head and doesn't waste a moment before trying to loom over the electric-type. It doesn't take him long, thanks to his sheer size, to get close enough to the Magneton, lifting his tail end off the ground again. With a booming proclamation of "Onniiiiix!" the massive string of rock swings his tail at the Magneton and attempts to hit him with an area between segments in a Fissure.
The Fissure hits Rick's Magneton.
Rick shifts his gaze between the opposing pokemon, ideas forming and fading in his eyes. "Good, Zeus! Go after the Kadabra again! We can't have it Recovering again!" Rick calls. Zeus lowers himself towards the ground slightly, his shell still glinting, despite the few dents sustained earlier. Unexpectedly, the Fissure catches him offguard, and being so close to the floor, he sustains a few more dents, sending him wobbling upwards again. <You! You will pay for your insolence!> he almost shrieks at the Onix. "Zeus! Kadabra, not Onix!" Rick calls from the podium, seeing his point of focus and hearing the pitch in the Magneton's voice. Not understanding the pokemon isn't an inconvenience, as Rick guesses what the Magneton was about to do. <Grrr... Fine! You will be spared, for now, snake.> The electric type again focuses his antennae at the psychic pokemon, a vicious Thunderbolt arcing towards the Psychic pokemon.
The Thunderbolt hits Grayson's Kadabra.
"Tearwulf has stopped," exclaims Masters. "Enraged by the parting attacks of her foes, Tearwulf has ceased her withdrawl, and launches a thunderous attack against the offending Onix! But Rhyhorn intercepts, and takes down the furious ghost with a resounding 'Not in my house!' And it looks like this ghost is -busted-!" Down on the rapidly-clearing field, Iron Horse raises his flag. "Tearwulf is unable to battle," he declares gruffly, the image of Team Musouka fading from the board. "And then there were two," observes Masters. "Two teams," notes Strong, "two mighty pokemon each." "And Onix wastes no time," observes Masters, "turning his attention to Magneton! And what crushing consideration it is! But Magneton, wisely, chooses a less impervious target for his vengeance, striking Kadabra with another crackling arc of electrical might! It's the eleventh hour, and things are heating up!"
And that was all she wrote. Without a sound, Ethereal falls down to the ground, in an almost slow-motion sort of manner, and even then, she doesn't seem to completely hit the ground, as her ghostly nature keeps her hovering just barely an inch from it. Eyes closed, Zachary brings his hand down upon the ghost's pokeball, rather forcibly, as if he was trying to hold back his disappointment. However, as the canine is swept away back into the sanctuary of her pokeball, a grim, yet almost satisfied smirk forms across the lad's face, before shaking his head, "You all did so well. Take a break, Ethereal. Sorry that I tried to make you rest... I ought to have known better," the boy murmurs softly, replacing the FAP bottle back into his pocket, before settling back, to watch the rest of the battle.
The Blue Blade's Kadabra is hit squarely by the Thunderbolt, left looking a little dazed and smoking gently when the afterglow has cleared. Undaunted he gathers his scattered wits; when his trainer calls, "Magneton!" the Kadabra spreads his arms out and gestures. Glowing blue bands of energy spring out of the ground around the Magneton at a gesture from the evolved psychic-type; the Kadabra brings his hands together and the bands start to contract rapidly, the powerful psychic trying to catch and immobilise his opponent with a Disable attack. The Blue Blade watches intently, hands clenching tightly on the railing of his box.
The Disable misses Rick's Magneton.
Minerva rears her head up, glancing about as the Tearwulf goes down, her eyes narrowing as the Magneton gets hit. Magneton=Ally. Right? At any rate, the Rhyhorn is eager to find an opponent she can grapple with more fairly, and managing an awkward turnabout, the Rhyhorn turns, lumbering off at a brisk pace towards the Onix. At last, someone she's on equal grounds with! <I-I I'm going to battle you!> The Rhyhorn announces, trying to summon her fury up, but it seems she is wearing down slightly. Picking up speed as she charges across the arena, she nears the Onix and crying out savagely, she rears up, violently striking at the Onix's tender joints, where the boulders interlock. Hopefully, she'll make some progress in Stomping the bigger rock pokemon, but she's at a definite size disadvantage. Sophia blinks as her Rhyhorn acts without command and smiles lightly. "Good girl, Minerva! I believe in you!" Sophia cheers for her pokemon, looking worn down slightly, and she sighs, leaning again on the podium.
The Stomp misses Valentino's Onix
<OOC> Zachary says "Just skip my turn for the rest of the battle. :)"
The Onix doesn't seem to mind that the Magneton is ignoring him, he just keeps on with his assault of the electric-type as his 'boss' ordered. So focused is he that the Rhyhorn's attempt of an attack on him goes ignored, as he raises his mighty tail off the ground again and roars at the evolved pokemon. It probably won't be too difficult for those watching to figure out what's going to happen next-- it seems as if the Onix has worked his way into a pattern. The rocky hindquarters slam down hard on the arena floor, sending massive tremors that signal an Earthquake. Yes, Magneton float above the ground, but do you expect a dim creature like an Onix to know that?
The Earthquake hits Rick's Magneton.
Rick glances at the ghost as it is recalled. "Good, Zeus! We can win this yet! Go after the Kadabra again! Supersonic!" And once again, the 'deity' finds himself the victim of a ground attack, one of his few weaknesses. Reeling, he doesn't shift his focus from the Kadabra this time. He has his orders. Zeus continues to stare at the Kadabra, the three unblinking eyes not wavering from their focus. The Magneton begins to hum once more, the din rising in pitch until it becomes infuriating. Then all at once, he sends the maddening wave of high-pitched sound at the psychic pokemon, aiming to confuse him.
The Supersonic affects Grayson's Kadabra. This attack does not include a hit. Grayson's Kadabra is now confused.
"The Dashing Blades and the Dynamic Duo square off," observes Masters, "as we enter the final phase of this final battle." "Regardless of outcome," comments Strong, "both teams have done very well to come so far." "No doubt about it, Tony," replies Masters. "And the crowd couldn't be happier about this outcome. Both teams are great competitors, and favorites to take the match. And the first sortie of this new, reduced duel ends with Magneton taking another crushing blow from Onix, before blasting Kadabra with a maddening sonic attack!"
The Kadabra physically staggers at the sounds of the Supersonic attack, clapping his hands over his ears - but not in time to prevent the damage. His trainer either has faster reactions or is luckier, the Blue Blade's own hands managing to get there quicker - the trainer is fine, but the pokemon is dazed and reeling. The Kadabra blinks at the opposition, dazed, then gathers together a multicoloured ball of energy from nowhere and hurls it at where he thinks the Magneton is. It's a Confusion attack, the power drawn from the Supersonic's effects - but the telling point will be whether it's targeted well enough to hit...
The Confusion misses Rick's Magneton.
Ignoring an angry Rhyhorn? Probably not too bright. Sophia blinks as Minerva's thrashing is in vain. Huffing and puffing, she steps back once, more than a little irked at being ignored. <Why-- Why you!> Her rocky nostrils would flare if they were flexible enough, but as it is, she makes do with several irritated puffs of air, sending up a little dust with each breath. She cringes a little at the nearby waves of sonic energy, but she's able to shunt enough rage to ignore it. Apparently, there's only one way to get this rockhead's attention... "Minerva!" Sophia squeals as her Rhyhorn's attack is ignored. Minerva throws out another maddened roar, altering her tone to sound furious, she's not a Rhyhorn to be messed with, female though she may be! The rhino huffs, and she puffs, and at last she starts to hop, thrash and generally cause the earth beneath her to rumble, roll and splinter beneath her, much to the aggravation of her aching knees. Luckily, the pain is ignored for now, but how much more she can take is unknown. "No more Earthquakes after this! You'll hurt yourself," Sophia frowns, noticing that with each slam, the rhino's knees buckle a little. Furious, yes, invincible, no. Minerva acknowledges the truth in Sophia's words, but she's too intent on drawing the Onix's attention to herself for now.
The Earthquake hits Valentino's Onix.
The Orange Blade observes the goings on with continued stony-faced silence, arms crossed over his chest in a position that has probably become ingrained in the heads of anyone who has seen him during this whole shebang. The Onix meanwhile does his thing, literally throwing his weight around and hoping to smack into his target. Shortly after the Magneton makes its attack on the Kadabra, the rock serpent is sending his tail flying at the electric-type once again. The Rhyhorn keeps being overlooked by the Onix in the same way that humans ignore ants. That is until the rhino starts making the ground shake beneath him. There's a loud roar as the giant comes tumbling down, causing the arena to do yet more shaking. Still his tail thrashes out as he falls, attempting to collide with the Magneton in another Fissure.
The Fissure misses Rick's Magneton.
"Now you can go after the Onix, Zeus! Weaken him for Minerva!" Rick calls, finally allowing the Magneton to carry out his vengeance. As he shifts his focus, he floats upwards once more, the Confusion passing harmlessly underneath. <Now, snake! You will suffer!> Again, a whining sound begins inside the Magneton's shell, although this one is different. It is not maddenning, but it is intended to weaken the defenses of an opponent, a Screech attack. Thankfully, the Magneton is high enough to avoid the attack, not interrupting his focus. Whether the Screech will affect the stone pokemon is another matter. Its defenses are so tough, not much will be able to break them. Zeus is determined, however. He sends the Screech reverberating through the air towards the Onix, grim determination clearly showing across his eyes.
The Screech affects Valentino's Onix. .
"Kadabra harnesses a mighty gathering of energy," observes Masters, "and makes to assault Magneton, but in his disorientation, manages to take the worst of the attack himself! Rhyhorn, meanwhile, seems hell-bent on being noticed, and lays a savage seismic slam on her stony foe! And Onix certainly noticed that one! The basalt behemoth is looking less than peak, especially after a nasty retributive Screech from Magneton, and simply can't afford to ignore this rampaging rhino any longer!"
The Kadabra manages to drop his own Confusion on himself, the energy keeping the attack focused snapping apart just before it's launched. The Blue Blade's hands go back over his ears when the Screech begins, the swashbuckler visibly wincing away from the sonic attack. The Kadabra blinks dazedly at the racket, then lifts his spoon and starts to wave it drunkenly, bringing it down a few seconds later to point in the direction he thinks the Magneton is in. Sparks of glowing blue power flicker into life at the head of the spoon, released moments later in a Psychic attack.
The Psychic misses Rick's Magneton.
<Ugh!> Minerva winces, one knee collapsing momentarily beneath her. Apparently, she's taken little damage, but her legs /hurt/ from the repeated Earthquakes. Sophia winces. "Hang in there, Minerva, you can do it!" Sophia tries to bolster her pokemon's morale, but she keeps a tight grip on the podium. Minerva meanwhile, manages to regain her balance, then stands a moment. She gasps, greedily taking in gulps of air, then picks her head up, eyeing the Onix. <This ends now,> She narrows her eyes and thrusting the pointy end of her horn upwards, trying to nail the Onix in a vulnerable spot with a Horn Attack. She's going to ease up on charging for now, but her ferocity doesn't let up as she expertly jabs her horn at the boulders, trying to find a weak spot in the iron defenses of the rock snake before her.
The Horn Attack hits Valentino's Onix.
As the loud sound pierces his ears (wherever those are), the Onix gives another loud roar and raises from his former downed state. A glare of pure malevolence is sent the Magneton's way. The Onix starts to slam his tail against the ground repeatedly, trying to conjure up another Earthquake to try and make the mighty Magneton fall. Orange Blade, hands pressed against his ears to keep out the Screech attack, turns to look at his partner briefly, a questioning glance thrown his way. In the midst of all of the thrashing around, Onix is hit hard by the charging Minerva. There's a sharp cry of pain as the Onix turns around to see who has struck him-- will this action foil his Earthquake?
The Earthquake hits Rick's Magneton.
The Magneton once again succeeds to avoid the attack of the Kadabra, proving that despite his bulk, he can be quite nimble midair when he wants to be. Surprisingly, not nimble enough though, as the rumbling rocks catch him once more, sending him spinning again. Regaining his balance, he glares at the Onix. <You have quite some nerve there! Feel my fury!> At this, the three frowning eyes begin to glow blue, making him look the picture of power he is meant to be. All at once, three lancing blue beams of light flash forth from the eyes, directed at the object of his rage, the Onix. This is a furious Tri Attack.
The Tri Attack hits Valentino's Onix.
"Magneton's disorienting pulses seem to be doing a number on Kadabra," comments Masters, "and the powerful psychic just can't seem to keep it together! But Rhyhorn is right on top of things, furiously driving her mighty horn betwixt the stony segments of her foe! Onix roars in pain, but continues his assault on Magneton...And Magneton seems to have had enough. With steely resolve and awesome power, the evolved electric lets loose with three lethal beams of energy, taking Onix -down-! Yes, Onix has fallen!"
Though half of the Psychic attack went lancing out towards the Magneton, the other half went back into the Kadabra, throwing him off his feet. The confused pokemon starts to pick himself back up again, but not before the Blue Blade has caught his partner's glance and nodded in response. "Hold," the swashbuckler tells his pokemon, and the Kadabra sags in relief. The Blue Blade turns to face his opponents, a faint but accepting smile on his lips. "The Dashing Blades concede the match, and the tournament. Congratulations to the Dynamic Duo!"
Minerva blinks as the Onix flops over. <Well... I didn't think it would /work/,> She admits quickly. But the midst of battle is no time to ponder fate and fortune. But, it's over! The Rhyhorn looks positively pole axed. <Guh, whoa? I won?> The immense behemoth tries to put all of this together, but Sophia simply blinks. "Wha- We... huh...?" The nerdy girl nearly falls from her podium, but fortunately, her grip holds. "We w-w-won...? Wow, th-thanks," Sophia blinks rapidly, trying to keep herself from just tottering over. Both human and Rhyhorn look to be on an even keel here. They won...? Sophia blushes slightly, shrinking back and glancing to the Blades. "You were wonderful opponents," She manages to squeak out without stammering too much. As it is, Sophia is still thrown through a loop. "And heh, um, your costumes were neat," She grins wryly, still as pale as a sheet. Minerva lets out a sigh of relief over her own, kneeling to rest a moment. Let her bask for now. <Thank you,> The Rhyhorn bobs her head towards the Kadabra from her resting spot. For now, Sophia just looks eternally grateful to the Blades, but first, she looks to Rick, and hopefully before he can escape, she'll try to hug the little guy. He's been a loyal partner through and through!
As the Onix takes a great fall, he's recalled via a flash of red light back into his pokeball by the Orange Blade. As is usually the case, he allows his partner to do the talking, and gives a sharp nod at Blue's words. Anyone observing him would notice that there's a rather irate quality to his gaze, even if his lips are in a small smile. Sophia's comment at their costumes however, causes his smile to widen just that little bit, and he gives a deep bow to the girl, accompanied by a blown kiss.
Rick clasps his lucky charm tightly, preparing his next moves. Sweat forms droplets on his forehead as he looks over the battered form of his pokemon. As the announcement comes, the young trainer looks taken aback. What else could be expected? "I... uh... wha? We won?" he stammers, a look of disbelief showing plainly on his face for all to see. Rick looks down at his clasped hand, then at the silvery pokeball as he opens his palm. Looking at the nearest camera, he mouths a 'Thank you dad' into it, knowing his father will be watching, or more likely trying to revive his fainted mother. "Um... Thanks! You were really tough, and I liked your style too!" he addresses the Blades, scratching his forehead. It is plain that this fellow hasn't won anything before, save for curses from others. Rick doesn't get chance to avoid being hugged by Sophia, and he returns the embrace as soon as he can twist round. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he says to his older teammate. Is that a tear forming in his eye? No, it's gone now, replaced by the usual twinkle of joy.
"Kadabra is still reeling," observes Masters, "and is now alone against both of the Duo's powerful pokemon. But what's this? Yes, the Blue Blade has thrown in the towel, and condeded the match to the Dynamic Duo! Not a moment too soon for Kadabra, who looks to be on his last legs." With a flourish of trumpets and a flash of silver, the Master of Ceremonies retakes the field. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he proclaims, arms spread wide. "The Winner, and New Champion...The Dynamic Duo!" The image of the winning team on the scoreboard flashes to bright life, growing incredibly bright for a moment, before the lights explode in a shower of sparks. Geysers of brightly colored pyrotechnics erupt around the periphery of the arena, and up above the dome, fireworks explode in the night sky as triumphant music flares. In the midst of the riot of light, sound, and smoke, the center of the battlefield slowly rises, becoming a platform with the emcee standing proudly at the peak, and a walkway leading up to the Duo's box. Lights along the edge of the walkway and platform spring to life, beckoning the winners down the gold-paved victory walk.
The Blue Blade touches the last of the empty pokeballs, recalling the Kadabra with a soft, sad little smile and then nodding to his partner again. At Sophia's compliment he too bows, doffing his hat to reveal a moderately long head of silver-streaked brown hair and then straightening up again and putting his hat back on. He watches, applauding along with the crowd.
Minerva is soon recalled by Sophia, so she won't be pained by her throbbing knees or the loud music and such. The Rhyhorn sighs softly as she vanishes. It's a brief red flash, then the Rhyhorn is gone. Sophia blinks, startled by the gaudy displays and overwhelmed by the fact that she /won/ something takes a moment to gather herself. Sophia smiles to her younger partner, finally releasing him. "We're a good team," She smiles to him, refusing to take more credit than she is due. She may be older, but she's by no means an expert. At any rate, Sophia takes a deep breath and looks to Rick. "I guess we go over there, huh?" She blushes more than ever, then gives the Blades a small bow, being mindful not to hit her head on the podium. Valentino's bow and blown kiss don't go unnoticed. She just blinks and freezes up, then smiles. Sophia has gone from semi-calm to utterly jittery. Sophia takes her pokeballs, if she can, then she'll quietly, quickly and quite humbly will walk, probably following Rick, down the victory walk. She's not usually considered champion, but she does seem pretty happy about all of this. "Thank you," She whispers softly.
It seems as if Orange Blade is not nearly as quick to applaud the winners as his associate, but eventually he too starts to clap. His eyes don't remain on Sophia and Rick though, rather they wander about the arena, at all the people. When he notices what he's doing though, his head snaps back into the direction of the Dynamic Duo, and he allows his full attention to be on them.
Rick should be revelling in the show, as would be fitting of his nature, but the shy side of the trainer picks a perfect time to emerge, stopping him from giving waves galore to the audience. He nods in response to Sophia. "We did good, huh? Saffron forever!" After touching the pokeball that will return the Magneton to his pokeball, the trainer joins his partner in the walk from their podium, habitually running his right hand through his hair. The silver pokeball rests neatly against his shirt, on display for all to see. On the walkway the true side of the trainer comes forth once more and he beams at the audience, grinning and waving vigorously. If he gets the opportunity, Rick will put his arm around Sophia's waist, the highest place he can reach.
The crowd cheers wildly for the winning team, the massive SilphTron following the two trainers up the victory walk. The red carpet leads up a set of gilded steps, to the peak of the platform, where the Master of Ceremonies awaits. Rising at the emcee's side is an ornate podium in the style of a fluted column, held on either side by stately golden Dewgongs. Upon the pedestal at its top is an aperture, revealed to be a holographic projector as an image flickers to life. The ghostly image rotating above the pedestal is of a belt of of fine and stylish black leather, bearing the black and gold-flourished pokeballs iconic of the HRTC. "As champions of the High Roller Tournament of Champions," the emcee informs the winning pair, "you have earned the right to bear the badge of your accomplishment. The brave and noble pokemon you entered into the tournament will be transplanted into new pokeballs, so that all may look upon them and know of their bold exploits." The emcee nods approvingly, and sweeps his hand over the podium. The image flickers, and is replaced by three more...this time, pokemon. A powerful-looking Hitmonchan, a pair of Eevee, and a Porygon whose pink segments are the color of jet. "In addition," he continues, "you may claim for your team one of these three fine selections from the best breeders Pokemon Island has to offer." The audience proceeds to go wild, shouting out suggestions as to which the trainers should choose.
The Blue Blade watches, casting the occasional glance at his partner but keeping most of his attention on the podium. This show belongs to the Dynamic Duo, and he doesn't try to steal any of the limelight for himself or his partner.
Sophia looks just a little surprised as Rick latches onto her and grins shyly, patting him on the back. "We did very well," She agrees. "But so did our opponents," She reminds him quietly, glancing towards the Blades quickly. Her eyes widen, and she steps back hestitantly, then glances to Rick. "Really...?" She breathes softly. Hmmm, it's a tough choice. Sophia does seem pleased about the new pokeballs, but she has her partner to consider when choosing a pokemon. Oh! Her eyes fall on the Porygon longingly, what a lovely pokemon, she notes, but she shuts her eyes and shakes her head. "What do you think? The Porygon and Eevee look nice," She adds. Fighting pokemon aren't her thing. She winces as the audience shouts suggestions, she hates to disappoint people, but... Sophia's not the only one to consider here. She'll wait till Rick adds his input to make her decision, though again, the Porygon grabs her eye. It's so tempting... Biting her lip, it's apparent she's not going to move on her own without Rick. Another thought nags her, will there be anything for the other team? No time to worry about it now, so she shrugs the thought off. Eevee, Porygon, Eevee... Eeny, meeny...
The Orange Blade's eyes don't wander anymore when he views the choices put before the Dynamic Duo. At this point he seems genuinely interested in what the pair will choose, eyes glued to the young trainers.
Rick looks up at Sophia, the one who granted him this incredible opportunity. "What do you think? They all look cool! Umm..." he trails off, looking for suggestions, both from the audience and from Sophia. The audience isn't much help, as all the trainer can hear is a din. "Porygon? That looks cool all black and stuff. Hmm... We'd have to share it though. The Hitmonchan? Zack could use a sparring partner. I can't imagine Yuri is much fun to fight against... I say the Eevee, then we can have one each!" He looks pleased with all the choices. Decisions decisions...
The Master of Ceremonies smiles cryptically, and nods in approval. "A fine choice," the man confides, as his well-manicured hand brushes the podium once more. This time, the hologram disappears, and in its place, two pokeballs rise from the column. They are the same black and gold as the other HRTC balls, but the ornamentation is specially molded to allow the two balls to snap together if desired. The emcee makes a permissive gesture towards the trainers, and smiles again. "Go ahead," the flamboyant man encourages, "with your fine teamwork and dedication, you've earned your reward." Suddenly, a bright light streaks down from the dome above, and the beating of a helicopter's rotors can barely be heard above the din. A cable snakes down from the heights, pooling at the well-dressed feet of the emcee. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he proclaims, turning to the audience, "your dedication has made the HRTC what it is, and we thank each and every one of you! And to all the trainers...your perserverence and resolve are truly an inspiration!" With that, the emcee seizes the rope, and takes a flying leap off the podium. "Good night, Neon Town," the man exclaims, as he is whisked away into the night, cape sparkling and billowing behind him.
Grayson applauds the two winning trainers one last time, then nods to his partner and turns towards the doors at the back of their podium. In a swirl of blue and gold he's gone, vanishing from the arena while everyone else's attention remains on the emcee and the Dynamic Duo.
Sophia frowns a little as it becomes apparent there is no second prize. Her watery eyes glance again toward the Blades. Blood for blood, and sweat for sweat, they worked just as hard... Sophia takes a deep breath, her slender hands shaking slightly. "Well, here goes," She smiles slightly to Rick, then looks up towards the man before her. "Thank you," She hesitantly reaches out and takes the pokeball nearest to her. Will her Eevee be male or female? She wonders. At that, she will look at the pokeball, utterly in awe. They're pretty looking, too! Sophia winces at the man's words. "We did, but others worked just as hard as we did," She whispers softly. Sophia's not much of a spotlight sort of person. She holds the new pokeball in her hand, running it across her hand gently. She glances to Rick and grins. "I wonder if mine's a boy or girl?" She tries to relieve some of her nervousness. Before she can say any more, the man is whisked away in a flurry of... sparkles? Sophia waves gently.
Valentino takes a bit longer to exit than his partner, taking one last long look at the arena. Most of the time is spent looking over the crowd before he too vanishes, head bowed and solemn. When he leaves the scene however, it's in a swirl of orange and silver.
Rick hesitantly moves one hand over to the pokeballs, picking the one nearest to him. Grinning as always, he responds to the emcee. "Thanks! It was great fun to be here!" The trainer looks up to his partner, in more ways than one. "Thanks again, Sophie! If you hadn't found me in Fuschia that day, I wouldn't be here!" His glance shifts back to his ball, all elegantly crafted, and designed to be able to fit with its partner. "Is this what all our pokeballs will be like? Cool! I wonder if there'll be another tournament like this..." he wonders aloud. The answer? Only time will tell. One thing is certain, he will be back if there is. Even with his cheerful personality, Rick is showing signs of tiredness now. This has been a long night.
"What an ending to what has truly been a one of a kind tournament," states Masters. "Four teams emerged from the herd, and battled bravely. But in the end, it was underdogs The Dynamic Duo that came out on top, displaying pluck and dedication far above and beyond the call." "Absolutely," agrees Strong. "We've seen some great competitors...Happiness, tragedy, and excitement, and I think everyone involved has learned a little something about themselves." "Well, Tony," continues Masters, "you know what they say...Fortune favors the bold. And tonight, it's done just that, raising Sophia Smith and Richard Jomarr to a new level. From this day forth, they can look into the mirror and see what they have truly proven themselves to be...Champions." The two announcers warmly shake hands, and look proudly forward. "It's been a great ride," continues Masters, "and I'm proud to have been a part of it. Whaddaya say, Tony? One more time, for the road?" Strong grins amiably, and nods. "For the Golden Dewgong Hotel and Casino," states Masters with a beaming grin, "and the Neon Town Gaming Commission, I'm Jake Masters." "And I'm Tony Strong," picks up the athlete. Both commentators then look squarely into the camera and shoot the viewers an enthusiastic thumbs up, before declaring, in unison, "...And we'll see you next time!"
And todays lesson is... Don't ignore the underdogs!
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