[X] My Assistant

[Kamaitachi]

Cacnea and Sunflora stood, glaring at Justin. To be fair though, Sunflora always seemed to have a permanent smile on its sunny face, making its glare seem incredibly creepy as a result. They reared back as if to strike, but blinked momentarily as Suzu floated in front of Justin, panting heavily from the poison and the beating she'd taken thus far.

Then, almost out of the blue, her two black eyes began to glow a fierce red. A little aura surrounded her, wisps of energy gathering around her and floating about her little body. It appeared that her innate ability, Swarm, had activated. Tag's Suzu shot forward, latching down on the Cacnea with her teeth in a powerful, boosted Bug Bite. The Cacnea screeched and went down hard from the surprisingly powerful attack from Suzu. However, this power boost did not last long as a barrage of seeds shot forth from the nearby Sunflora, slamming hard into Suzu. The ladybug pokemon fell backwards, landing with a heavy thud at Justin's feet and lay virtually unmoving.

However, Kyoko, spurred by Suzu's defence of Justin, ran/waddled over, placing herself between the Sunflora and Justin, waving her little frond threateningly. Pink spores burst upwards in a cloud, alighting gently on the immobile Sunflora (Due to its Ingrain), and immediately put it to sleep. With the trainer and his two pokemon out of commission, Kyoko looked up at Justin with her tiny, beady black eyes.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

Justin finally cracked a smile when Tag's pokemon came brilliantly to his rescue. Though Suzu was unfortunately knocked out, Kyoko remained as Tag's final standing pokemon. The opposing trainer's pokemon were all either unconscious or trapped in their pokeballs, which was a good thing, except that Sunflora could wake up at any moment. Justin took the rare opportunity of the enemy trainer being knocked out to snatch up both of his empty pokeballs and call back both Sunflora and Cacnea.

"Good work, Kyoko," he said, looking down at the little oddish. "And, uh, yeah, thanks." He bent over and picked up Suzu's pokeball, which Tag had temporarily granted him. He called her back and then reluctantly turned to see how the battle behind him was fairing.

Breloom and Hitmontop were still locked in close quarters combat, speeding around the center of the room wildly, maneuvering around the fainted nidorino. It was hard to really make out what was going on, and things were moving so quickly, Justin figured he'd be getting in the way by shouting commands at Hitmontop, who clearly knew what he was doing. Breloom's trainer seemed to be along the same line of thinking, and was letting Breloom just do his thing.

To his left, beyond where Tag seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness, Alec's Scyther was flying overhead, along with what looked like three skiplooms. From just below, he was able to make out a persian leaping, trying to get its claws on one of the flying plants, but it ended up being unnecessary. Scyther's immense speed and precision attacks caused him to practically teleport between all three images, slashing as he went, until he finally knocked the real deal to the side, then finished off by throwing it to the ground where Persian pounced, finishing it off. That particular trainer's grovyle had, naturally, already been knocked out by Scyther.

To his right, it was Jill's doduo against a weepinbel. Her opponent's ivysaur had already been knocked out by a combination of Baltoy's psychic attacks and Doduo's flying attacks, but Ivysaur's and Weepinbel's grass attacks were able to quickly finish off Baltoy, leaving these two. Weepinbell shot out a ball of purple goo, which hit one of Doduo's two heads, while the other head jetted forward, pecking at the grass type. The other head followed suit once it shook off the acid and that seemed to be enough to knock the poisonous plant over.

This left one final trainer, whose remaining pokemon was locked in epic combat with Hitmontop. Justin walked around a large circle where they were fighting, and calmly approached the opposing trainer. "Your friends are all either knocked out or have no pokemon capable of fighting," he said, not looking at the trainer as he spoke, but at the fight. "And I know none of you are about to fight me man to man. So why don't you just stop this fight."

"I know," the trainer said. "I know, but don't you wanna see how this turns out? These two have been fighting nonstop since you guys attacked. I just really wanna see how it ends."

Justin crossed his arms as he couldn't help but agree with the trainer. Hitmontop and Breloom were still going at it, easily the two strongest pokemon in the room. Justin silently cheered his pokemon on, but not showing it in his face. Hitmontop knew, though. Finally, after another thirty seconds, Hitmontop got a decent distance away from Breloom, who lunged towards him. Before he landed his Mach Punch, however, one of Hitmontop's feet (it was impossible to tell which) knocked Breloom in the face. Still spinning, his other foot hit Breloom a little to the side, and Hitmontop followed up, still spinning rapidly on its head, landing a third and more powerful hit straight to Breloom's face, knocking it over. When it refused to stand back up, it was clear the battle was over.

[Kamaitachi]

((Joint Post between me and Yzarc.))

As the Breloom fell, the other Sons of Lenoilia finally let it settle that they had lost to the minor insurrection of four trainers and their pokemon. Their Pokemon Center Coup had been cautiously planned, and it fell to the seems of trainers with more powerful pokemon, and the early gambit from Taggarty Lee, and the somewhat charismatic lead of Justin Smart.

The Petropolis Police, noting the dying down of noise, finally burst in, apprehending the criminals. A few gathered up the confiscated pokeballs and returned the enemy pokemon to their holds. The freshly awakened Nurse Joy, however, insisted on treating the injured enemy pokemon, and the police begrudgingly allowed her to do so.

Tag's pokemon were all safely returned to their pokeballs, and placed under Joy's care, while Tag himself was seen to by some paramedics. He glanced up as the medics fussed over him, ripping open his shirt to see signs of bruising or any signs of internal damage. In a brief moment, Tag raised his head, and weakly nodded at Justin. His eyes seemed to say: "Well done, idiot.". C'mon, it's Tag. Did you expect any less?

The pokemon center was abuzz with activity now that the melee had ended, and all the wounded pokemon were being attended to, as well as the trainer who'd received the dose of Bachi's poison.

* * *

Everyone was taken into the Petropolis Police Station at the edge of that district for questioning. Each person gave witness and testament to the hostage situation enacted by the Sons of Lenoilia, and they were rightfully imprisoned. Their pokemon were confiscated and sent to a Pokemon Center as wards of the State. Tag eventually had to have a short stay at a hospital, where it turned out none of the damage from the Breloom punch was permanent thanks to his amazing abs. He got out just a day later, and was retrieving his pokemon at the pokemon center when who else should he run into but Justin Smart.

Tag waved somewhat awkwardly. He wasn't quite used to exchanging pleasantries, but he attempted to converse anyways as he re-clipped the pokemon belt around his waist. "Oh. Hey."

Justin cracked half a smile and raised an eyebrow. This was certainly a new experience, Tag being friendly. They did go through that craziness the day before, however, so it made a little sense. Justin raised his head slightly. "Sup?"

Tag's initial instinct was to end the conversation by walking away, but slowly, he'd been beginning to develop a sort of fondness, even camraderie with this idiot teenager. Tag was a creature of battle, ultimately, and in a spur of the moment, he'd entrusted Justin with two of his pokemon. This had obviously been an incredible sign of a battle bond, and to a certain degree, a level of trust. "Not much. Just got out of hospital. Had a little internal bruising. In case you missed it, I got gut-punched by a Breloom."

Justin laughed for a good few seconds. "Yeah, I caught it, actually," he said. "Surprised such a skinny guy like you isn't dead." Though Tag was not by any means small, Justin was fairly gargantuan.

Tag rolled his eyes, appearing slightly insulted. "Not all of us are poster-children for 'Steroids Weekly'" he shot back, "Although I would've liked to have seen you take a knock or two from a pokemon: That thick skull of yours would've saved you, I'm sure."

Justin continued grinning while Tag spoke. "Probably," he added. "So, what brings you back here?"

"Challenging the Petropolis Gym." He stated fairly curtly "My pokemon partners are in top shape, so I figure why not?" He looked down at the belt, fingering Suzu's pokeball "You worked surprisingly well with them. They must like you or something."

Justin forced a chuckle. "You wouldn't be saying that if you saw the fight," he said. "They're good. They might have saved my life."

"Suzu and Bachi were with me before I even came to Furoh. They're very loyal friends." Tag allowed himself a ghost of a smile "Kyoko is new, but she will be formidable, I have no doubt." He looked over to Justin. "I have no doubt they saved your life, either. We'll call it even then, for you saving Bachi's."

Justin had to think for a second about what Tag was talking about. When did he save Bachi's life? Oh, he was talking about Pinsir. His smile faded after that reminder of this baggage he was carrying around. This constant reminder that he was a member of an organization which had complete dominance over him. Perfect, considering he couldn't even control the damn thing. He thought it odd that Tag wasn't angry at Justin for what happened, but spun it into a positive because he stopped it from getting worse. But Tag called it even, meaning maybe he'd stop thanking Justin for that. "Right, even." he nodded. "Hey, do you think me and my friend could join you at the gym?"

Tag looked pensive for a moment. He didn't particularly need a cheering squad, but it would do wonders for Suzu and Kyoko's morale. They had, after all, taken a liking to Justin, and at the very least, he wouldn't begrudge them his presence cheering them on. "It's fine, so long as you aren't a bother. Meet me at the Petropolis gym in an hour. I'm going to prep for a bit."

"See ya there." Justin nodded.

* * *

An hour later, the three met at the gym, Tag merely nodding in greeting as he proceeded past the door into the gym for his challenge.

((Cue, Umbrae Calamitas)

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Vega had loved battling since he was a child. The other trainers concentrated sometimes on contests for beauty or coolness, other traded, and a few raised their pokemon to learn tricks, but Vega was all about battling. That hadn't changed over the years of battling every trainer he came across and challenging every gym he came to. He fought with strength, with power, and utmost, with passion. He loved not just the fight, but the challenge it represented. So anytime a challenger walked through the doors of his gym, Vega's blood began to boil in excitement and expectation.

Vega was sitting cross-legged on the floor when the challenger walked into the gym. His eyes closed and hands curled into loose fists, each resting palm-down on a knee, Vega sat listening as his opponent stepped up to their side of the arena.

Without opening his eyes or moving, Vega spoke up.

"Taggarty Lee," he called, his tone low and dangerous. "I have been waiting for you to come." He opened his eyes, peering at his challenger without expression. Slowly, he opened his hands, a minimized pokeball resting in each. "I specializes in dark and psychic pokemon. A force of shadows and of mind." He rose to his feet, the pokeball on a chain around his neck swinging as he stood up straight. Facing his opponent with an expressionless face, he said, "Call out your first pokemon, Taggarty Lee, and we will see who you shall face."

[Kamaitachi]

The gym leader, whose name Tag did not know, was seated on the floor at the edge of the arena. Eyes closed, he seemed to know Tag's name as he walked in. The miniature spectacle should've been intimidating, and in a sense, it most certainly was, but Tag was a seasoned trainer. Though he no longer had access to his trusted dragon companions, he had no doubt that his new comrades would more than suffice. They'd risen admirably to all challenges so far (save facing Justin's wonderfully overpowered Hitmontop).

Parlor tricks don't frighten me thought Tag as he shrugged coolly, hands in his pockets as he settled into the space. He looked around for a moment without moving his head: his eyes quickly scanned the room, as if he were attempting to peer into its timbre and aura. Before long, they settled on the eyes of his opponent. Tag returned fire with a similar expressionless face and drew his first pokeball. "I accept the honour" he stated formally as he gave a sort of half bow, attempting to show some level of deference and respect to his opponent. He had battled many trainers in his journey, but here was a man he could appreciate. Perhaps it was because he sensed the kindred battling spirit they shared...yet it both settled and unsettled him at the same time. At that moment, Tag knew, at the very least, he would enjoy this battle. When something pushes and pulls on you at the same time, it truly is considered sacred, and this battle was definitely just that.

"Suzu" he declared proudly as he tossed the pokeball forward. It thudded on the ground, releasing its passenger skywards. Suzu drifted up into the air, hovering softly on her side of the field as she awaited her opponent.

"Before we begin, Gym Leader, what is your name?" Tag asked, the expression on his face unchanging.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Vega had to admit, he was impressed. Most trainers were obvious in their discomfort at his knowing their name without them having been announced. If Taggarty Lee felt uncomfortable, however, he did not show it, and it just proved that this battle would be fun.

"Before we begin, Gym Leader, what is your name?"

Vega gave a respectable nod to the boy, impressed by his equally-expressionless face. Giving the opponent no more than he received. Some were not able to pull it off. It was always fun to find someone who both could, and did.

Vega tucked the pokeball in his left hand up the long black sleeve of his kimono as he spoke. "I am the holder of the Twilight Badge." Although his tone was still sharp, he was clearly at ease as he tossed the pokeball in his right hand into the field before him. It hit the arena with a ring that echoed in the otherwise silent gym, releasing its burden and then returning to his waiting hand. "They call me Vega."

He held out his arm and the murkrow he had just summoned flew over to take perch. He replaced the now-empty pokeball in a pocket within the red robe he was wearing over his kimono and pulled out a glimmering badge. He held it up so that Taggarty Lee could see it - the Twilight Badge. The murkrow released a caw of longing, eyes never leaving the badge. When Vega handed it to him, the murkrow clasped it tightly in his claws and shot for the ceiling.

"Allow me to explain," Vega said, turning back to Taggarty. "Raptor there is your third opponent. If you defeat my first two and are then able to defeat him, you will receive the Twilight Badge. But not before." Tucking his hands into their opposing sleeves, he clasped the pokeballs that rested in each. "You have summoned your ledian, and I will give her a fine opponent, but let us strengthen the challenge. Call out a second pokemon, Taggarty Lee, and you will face my first two. If you can beat them, then you shall face Raptor, and he will decide whether you are worthy or not of the Twilight Badge he holds."

[Kamaitachi]

"Vega" Tag repeated the name, almost blankly. There was the appearance of contemplation, but Tag was momentarily trying to remember what constellation the star Vega was in. It was a fitting name, at least. He watched with rapt attention as the Murkrow, Raptor, took the ceiling with the badge. Upon seeing the Murkrow, he confirmed the fact that he would be at a huge disadvantage in the battle. Suzu's bug-typing gave her an advantage over Psychic and Dark pokemon, naturally, but that was moot if pokemon like Murkrow, Solrock and Houndour appeared. Bachi was at the mercy of any psychic pokemon, and Kyoko would have a hard time against Murkrow, due to her grass typing, and against any psychic pokemon due to her poison typing.

Tag allowed himself a grim smile as Murkrow disappeared upwards and Vega explained the rules. This would be an uphill battle. Since Vega was using three pokemon, he figured that he'd be allowed three as well, but to be on the safe side.

"Will I be allowed a third pokemon as well, or am I limited to two?" Tag asked, hands in his pockets as he stared calmly across the silent gym. "And will I be allowed to substitute?" His right hand slipped out of its pocket and rested on his belt. His fingers idly tapped the two remaining pokeballs there.

Once he received some answers, regardless of what they were, Tag flipped out a pokeball and tossed it forwards, revealing Bachi, his Nidorino, next to Suzu. The two had been longtime partners now, and the battle experience would be necessary to attempt to gain an upper hand early on in the match.

"Using all my ability, I shall show you my worth. I can tell Raptor is not an easy pokemon to impress, thus I eagerly await the challenge. At your behest, Vega."

This post has been edited by Kamaitachi: Aug 5 2010, 02:05 AM

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"You may also have three pokemon," Vega said quietly. "Two may fight at the same time, and you may substitute if you so choose." He held his hands palms upward, a pokeball balanced on each. "And now, let us begin." Twisting both hands inward at the wrist, he let the pokeballs drop to the floor with dual clatters. "Come now, my comrades. This will be quite the fight."

The purple pig pokemon bounced around excitedly on a spring, his pearl balanced between his ears, while the poochyena growled challengingly, his thick fur standing on end.

"Taggarty Lee, please allow me to introduce you to your first two opponents. Ivory here," he made a motion toward the poochyena, who looked more than ready to fight, "will be battling your Suzu." He waved a hand at the spoink, still bouncing in glee. "Slink here will face your Bachi."

Vega smiled. "I will fight with everything that my spirit has to offer, Taggarty Lee. I ask nothing less of you." He folded his right hand around his left fist at his abdomen and bowed in respect. "Let us begin.

"Ivory, sand attack. Slink, psywave."

[Kamaitachi]

Tag felt his blood boiling in anticipation for the match. He studied the Spoink and Poochyena in front of him as quickly as he could, looking for any tells in their abilities or weaknesses beyond the usual typing. The primary thought in his head though was simply this: the opposing pokemon were incredibly cute.

Vega allowed him little time to think, as the two pokemon immediately sprung into action. Without belying his surprise at the sudden rush, Tag looked casually over to the stands where Justin and Jill were seated. Holding an arm out lazily, with a bored expression on his face, Tag issued his first set of commands for the two simultaneous 1 on 1 battles. Since Vega had put it that way, he assumed that Suzu could only face Ivory, and Bachi could only face Slink. It would be interesting, as the two worked mostly as a team.

"Suzu, Encore. Bachi, Leer."

Tag hadn't been fazed by the choice of Psywave. He'd figured that Vega would choose a psychic pokemon against the poison pin pokemon, as it was only natural and advantageous to do so. Bachi weathered the psywave with a grunt of pain as it washed over him, but he resumed his stance, not terribly deterred by the attack. In return, his eyes glowed a fierce red, hoping to make eye contact with the bouncing spring-pig in order to startle him a bit (and hopefully lower its defenses). Suzu, meanwhile, fly forward through the flying sand. Her eyes were essentially sunglasses, so she didn't find herself too terribly affected by the sand aimed at her eyes (though for true, it still stung quite a bit.) As she floated over the Poochyena, she clapped her four hands together rapidly. The mysterious effect of the encore would cause Ivory to continually launch sand in his sand attack, effectively giving the Ledian a little time to perhaps set up a defense for herself to hide behind, while risking a constant loss of her accuracy

It was risky business, though. To the onlookers, it definitely appeared as if the first round had gone to Vega, but Tag was carefully monitoring the flow of this battle, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. What worried him most was the Murkrow waiting in the rafters. Its flying-type rendered most of the attacks from Suzu and Kyoko useless, and the super effective double kick from Bachi would be reduced to simply normal damage. It was a worrisome pokemon indeed. Tag turned his head sideways a little, eyes coldly calculating the battle in front of his as his hands returned to his pockets, waiting patiently for Vega to issue the next set of orders.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Ivory's crimson irises shimmered as the ledian performed her encore, dulling in color as the hypnotic effects of the attack took over. The fur on his tail fluffed outward, making him seem larger than he was. He growled low and then, with a ferocity that did not fit his size, attacked with a vicious... sand attack.

Vega smiled to himself in amusement. "The possibilities of battle are endless." He gave Ivory a fond look when he snarled viciously and kicked sand at the ledian again, who flew through the attack with little harm to show for it. "I'm afraid this was my mistake, Ivory. Please just bear this until you return to your true power. I promise, time will take the effects, as it does all things."

He turned his attention to the other battle occurring on the same field. Slink was bouncing radically across his side of the field, not in concern or terror, but excitement. He had met the nidorino's eyes when Bachi used a leer attack, but had shaken the effects off as best he could. Now the pearl balanced between his ears glittered brightly as he danced around.

"Slink, your excitement is energizing, but hold still, my comrade. Calm your mind."

The spoink closed his eyes and remained bouncing on one point as the pearl on his head began to glow with the force of his enhanced psychic powers. A soft purple aura pulsed around him for a moment, before being absorbed into his body and then abruptly thrust outward as Slink unleased a psywave attack. The air around him was distorted as psychic energy was thrust outward in a fierce ray before him.

"Very well done, my friend," Vega said softly, smiling gently. Slink continued to bounce happily in the same spot, grinning widely in excitement. "Ivory, how are those nice chompers of yours?" Ivory tried to snap his teeth in a bite attack at Suzu, but despite his attempts, he remained steadfastly incapable of preforming anything but sand attack as the battle raged on.

[Kamaitachi]

With Ivory in nonstop Sand Attack mode, and Tag's Ledian suffering for the accuracy slightly, Tag decided to go ahead and play the battle defensively. "Suzu, Reflect." The sand began to strike the transparent little barrier, effectively not reaching the floating bug. As another sand attack flew at the barrier, Tag smiled "Suzu, supersonic"

The Ledian floated above the barrier, emitting a horrific screech, the visible sound waves of which floated ominously towards the Poochyena, potentially rattling its brain and causing confusion.

Figuring that there'd be another sand attack or a moment of confusion for the Poochyena, he waited for the Reflect screen to weather it before he commanded: "Suzu, Mach Punch" He figured that at first he'd test the defenses of the pup with the wickedly fast punch, then perhaps follow up with the more powerful Bug Bite move that Suzu possessed...but first things first. Hopefully there was not enough sand in Suzu's eyes to render her attacks useless. If that turned out to be the case, he'd have to swap in Kyoko over to that side to face the rather cute puppy pokemon.

Meanwhile, yet another curious psywave washed over Bachi. If Tag recalled correctly, they did damage in proportion to the level of the pokemon, so the psywave, while 'super effective', would not deal too terribly much damage to his sturdy Nidorino.

"Bachi, Poison Sting." With an assuring nod, the poison pin pokemon charged forward at full force, his horn glowing a venomous purple as he lanced forward, hoping to land a blow on the bouncing pig before him. Hopefully, his defenses were low enough that it would deal some heavy damage, and there was always the added potential of poisoning the Pig Pokemon.

Tag had to admit it, he was enjoying the battle immensely, hence his lack of chatter as he focused solely on the happenings around him. Vega was no slouch, and he'd need every ounce of his skill in order to pull out a victory. But in the back of his mind, he remembered the Murkrow still perched up in the rafters. It was potentially a psychological trick, with such an ominous pokemon peering down from such a height, but Tag attempted to maintain his focus on the battle before him, carefully plotting out his next few moves.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"A wise move," Vega said, as he stood with his arms crossed, watching the ledian perform her supersonic on Ivory. From his experience, he knew that the encore the ladybug beetle had previously used would not have lasted much longer. Attempting to further dampen the his opponent's powers while the chances were in his favor was a good move on the part of Taggarty Lee. And Ivory's hotheadedness and temper had always made him particularly prone to confusion.

Vega watched as his poochyena paused in his voracious attempted to bury the ledian in sand - A failed attempt, he noted to himself - and cock his head to the side. The telltale signs of a return to the poochyena's own strength and mind were there: his tail fluffed outward, the fur on his back stood up, his eyes narrowed and he growled viciously. There was, however, little focus in the poochyena's eyes, and that was what told Vega that he had, once again, lost Ivory to the whims of a supersonic attack. Perhaps he would calm as a mightyena. Time would tell.

With a howl that was not as fierce as some other canines, and which could often be labeled as "cute," the poochyena snarled viciously and, with teeth glimmering under the reflection of light against saliva, turned on himself and began gnawing on his own forepaw.

The pain of the self-inflicted attack caused the poochyena to yelp loudly, growl, and snap his teeth sharply at the fur sticking up from his chest. Turning his head, he bit hard on the skin above his rear left leg and shook himself free of the clawing done to his face by his own paws. He did not hear the attempted commands of his trainer and continued to thrash himself to the best of his abilities, defeating the opponent that he had somehow found within the confines of his own body.

Slink was handling things slightly better in his battle. Where Ivory was a fierce and offensive battler who fought half to prove himself, with a cockiness that threatened to trip him, the spoink was a battler who took on opponents for his trainer out of pure enjoyment. Every moment spent bouncing on the arena was one filled with pure joy, and so, while their was a desire to win, there was no rage that weakened his perceptions and mind.

As the nidorino charged at Slink, Vega found his lips pulling back in a mild smirk. "Slink," he said, watching as the spoink did a quick double-tap bounce as a way of showing that he was listening. "Use splash, to your left."

With a squeal of delight, the spoink leapt to his left and began bouncing and shaking in erratic motions that made up the bounce pokemon's splash attack. It did absolutely nothing, looked even less effective than a magikarp's version of the attack, and successfully managed to get the spoink out of the way of the charging nidorino's poison sting attack. Vega could have laughed, but refrained. He did not want Taggarty to think that he was insulting him, but the thought of the attack being labeled useless. Useless, indeed.

His opponent did have the right idea, however. Vega was quite aware of the fact that he faced an opponent who was no mere pushover, and it thrilled him. "Slink, a confuse ray should be a nice mirrored effect to your comrade's battle." He turn his attention back to Ivory's battle with the ledian as the pearl on Slink's head glowed and a ray of psychic energy was released toward the nidorino.

Ivory yelped as he bit the tender flesh just under his right foreleg, piercing the skin with sharp fangs. He dropped to the ground and rolled in an attempt to escape his own attacks and so was no coherent enough or prepared for the mach punch that flew from the ledian's fists. He yelped as he was tossed and rolled by the doubly-effective fighting type move.

With a growl released throw slathering, clenched jaws, the poochyena pushed himself to his feet with a fierce determination and a light for battle in his eyes.

And then promptly collapsed to the ground, unconscious, before he could offer up even one more sand attack.

"Hm," Vega murmured, removing Ivory's pokeball from within the sleeve of his kimono and recalling the fainted poochyena. "That was an impressive battle," he said, as he minimized Ivory's pokeball. "I am as impressed with your Suzu as I am proud of Ivory for the fight he gave." He gave a soft nod of acknowledgment to the ledian's strength. "I'm afraid, however, that your Suzu will not be remaining on the field for much longer now."

He raised his hand skyward, fingers slightly splayed as they outstretched, as though beseeching someone. "Raptor, my friend, if you would."

There was a sharp cawing nose from the rafters and then a flash of dark and feathers as the murkrow suddenly shot downward, wings clasped tightly against his body as he performed a freefall right for the ledian. As his sharp body plummeted toward the arena floor, his feathers alighted and he suddenly burst into flames. With a screech of rage for battle and an attempt to avenge his fainted comrade, the murkrow threw open his wings and the fire was dispelled and replaced with a blue aura as he aimed for the ledian's body with his own.

Vega crossed his arms again, amused at Raptor's brave bird attack. "He always did like to make an entrance."

[Kamaitachi]

On one side of the field, the battle was clearly moving in his favour; Suzu disposed of Ivory with very little damage taken. As Vega lauded her with some brief praise, she seemed quite pleased and move back to float around Tag's head in an excited, happy manner. (Her trainer was pleased as well, but his approval came in the form of a stoic nod.) However, both of their sentiments faded as they knew the next part of the battle would be difficult.

Tag watched almost helplessly as Raptor, the Murkrow, launched into an impressive brave bird attack, flames sprouting up everywhere. For just a moment, Tag's well honed poker-face was broken as his eyes widened in surprise as the Murkrow launched himself forward. Dedicated Suzu had barely a split second to think through any sort of action, and decided to essentially move towards Murkrow while he charged. Though luckily for her, the reflect screen she had formed several turns earlier still remained...and it held just enough force to dampen the oncoming blow slightly, though the screen still shattered as Raptor impacted. Suzu went tumbling backwards, landing on the ground in front of Tag. At best, the reflect had kept her from fainting outright, and it appeared that she was on her very last leg. She struggled for a moment, but slowly rose to her feet, buzzing weakly. Tag felt woefully underprepared for an attack of such a fierce magnitude. He'd figured that Raptor had been the last choice in Vega's team for a reason, but he had no idea the crow pokemon had such a powerful attack in his arsenal.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Bachi had just taken a confuse ray, and had charged headlong, full force into the nearest wall. Figuring he needed a moment to swap things around, Taggarty Lee intiated his next turn by recalling both of his pokemon before they were completely defeated. Swiftly, he clipped Suzu's pokeball to his belt, swapping it for Kyoko, and in a moment, tossed two pokeballs forward again, with Bachi in front of Raptor, and Kyoko, his adorable little oddish, facing the bouncing pig. This had served Tag particularly well...he now had Suzu resting for a brief moment, with her special ability Swarm most likely activated, he'd swapped around the type match-up slightly more in his favour, and returning Bachi to his pokeball seemed to have removed any signs of confusion.

He felt that this had essentially used up his turn, and braced himself for Vega's next set of commands. Things were beginning to look quite grim. Suzu would essentially faint the moment she appeared on field, so perhaps there was the chance of her launching one, final last ditch attack. Bachi was heading in the direction of defeat as well, having not inflicted a single point of damage on the Spoink. Kyoko was fresh, but she was still a relatively unexperienced battling pokemon. He'd have to use all his wit and cunning to pull a win out of this.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"Hm," Vega murmured, as he watched Raptor regard his new opponent with a less-vengeful eye. The murkrow, as one of the oldest pokemon Vega had in that particular batch, had always been protective of the others. No doubt when the ledian was put back on the field, Raptor would do all he could to take the pokemon down and avenge his fallen comrade. Until then, however, he would fight as he always did against the nidorino - with a ferocity often attributed to dark types, but a sense of honor he had gained from his trainer and a life spent for some years in a monastery.

Fluttering his wings, Raptor moved backward, out of leaping range of the nidorino, but remained airbourne. He released a sharp caw, his feathers swishing deeply through the air.

"Raptor, wing attack." The murkrow gave a heavy flap and whooshed upward, circling backward into a dive and shooting toward the nidorino with his wings pressed tightly against his sides. At the last moment, he flared both wings open and rushed at the poison pin pokemon to slap him in the face with the feathered appendages.

On the other side of the field, Slink was as excited to be facing the oddish as he had been to face the nidorino. He bounced on his spring with a grin on his face, awaiting the command to attack with no hint of impatience.

Vega regarded the two pokemon for a moment. He knew that the oddish would have a natural disadvantage against Slink's psychic attacks, and it probably wouldn't take much to faint the creature because of that. In the time that the oddish had between Slink's attacks, however, there was an arsenal of powder and spore attacks that were draining and often worked to restrain a pokemon. The best way for him to take on this opponent would be to make the first move to disorient the other.

"Slink, confuse ray."

[Kamaitachi]

Tag immediately took to Kyoko's side of the field, watching as the sinister ray impacted with his little oddish. The poor little weed pokemon staggered about, now essentially at the mercy of Slink's attacks. Despite the fact that he was potentially on the losing end of this, Tag showed almost no sign of frustration, though he was struggling to produce a winner of a strategy.

On the other side of the field, Bachi had simply lowered his head, spreading his stance out so as to deal with the oncoming aerial attack. His pins bristly sharply as he shook slightly, hoping for the chance to have the Murkrow scratch himself on the venomous spines. The impact came solidly, and the Nidorino slid back along the ground, panting visibly upon receiving the blow. Tag calculated sadly that Bachi was a breath away from being knocked down now...thus he very calmly ordered a leer attack. The pokemon's eyes glowed red as he glared at Raptor, hoping to get him to lower his guard a bit. However, after a moment, Bachi simply collapsed on the ground, exhausted and defeated. The Leer had evidently taken too much of his already taxed energy, thus removing him from the battle all together. Tag could only hope that the little poison/defense lowering gambit had succeeded on the more powerful Murkrow.

On the other side of the field, Kyoko had taken to hitting her head repeatedly on the ground while spraying her sweet scent nonsensically, and non threateningly above her. Luckily for Slink the Spoink, the pink, sickly sweet cloud went nowhere near him, simply floating upwards and dispersing in the air. Kyoko's confusion was evidently quite solid.

Tag reached out, drawing the Bachi's pokeball, recalling the defeated pokemon back to his home. He nodded gently at the pokeball before re-clipping it to his belt.

With that, he summoned Suzu once more on the side of battle as the Murkrow. She appeared incredibly weary, but still looked forward towards her opponent with a determined look glinting across her sunglasses like eyes. A fierce buzzing seemed to be emanating from her as she floated in the air, and a thin green aura seemed to seep out of her. Tag could only assume that this was her Swarm ability in full form.

By this point, the ferocious Brave Bird had caused Murkrow some recoil, and hopefully Bachi's poison point ability and leer attack had gone into effect. Resting his hopes on this potentially final attack, Tag raised one hand into the air.

"Suzu, Bug Bite."

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"There is a price to be paid for the show you put on, Raptor," Vega said calmly, as he watched the murkrow falter in the air. The brave bird attack that Raptor had used upon his entrance into battle had taken its toll on him, cutting sharply into his strength with such a fierce recoil. It was a foolish move to begin a battle with and Vega, personally, would never have commanded such an attack initially. Raptor, however, was impulsive and would do things his own way, regardless of the danger it posed him.

His response to the poisonous horns on Bachi was only adding to the problem, of course. It was foolish of Vega to have ignored such a possibility as poisoning when he told Raptor to use a wing attack, but there was nothing to be done about it now. He didn't use items while battling. Although he didn't care that others might, he had always preferred the fight to be straight, without interference otherwise, and that meant that Raptor would have to handle the poison in his system. It was tiring him, however - the falter in his flight and the slightly sluggish rotation of his wings showed that clearly.

Huh. Perhaps he had underestimated this Taggarty Lee.

Still...

"Aerial Ace, Raptor. Give us your best, my friend."

It was a foolish move on Vega's part.

Raptor flew into his move with grace, cutting through the air and executing the move perfectly, but Vega hadn't considered the effects it would have on the air in the arena, and the direction in which the attack was done. As it was, the aerial ace attack cut through the wind precisely, creating a draft that rushed across the field, and directly toward the battle between Kyoko and Slink.

The sweet scent powder that Kyoko had harmlessly tossed up into the air during her confusion was caught in the wind and blown right into Slink's face. Slink shuddered and bounced back, shaking himself to try and get rid the effects of the powder. His movements, however, were slower than they had been, much thanks to the sweet scent.

"Psywave, Slink." Vega turned his attention back to Raptor's battle with the ledian, Suzu. The murkrow was circling his opponent in the air, glaring darkly. Vega crossed his arms. He knew the attack to finish this battle. "Raptor, Dark Pulse."

Raptor didn't even flap his wings. He simply leaned into the right and swept downward, opening his beak as he sailed through the air. A dark ball of energy formed between his beak, glittering in a malignant light. He steadied his flight, balancing in the air until he was flying directly toward Suzu, and then unleashed his attack, rings of darkness rushing from his beak and pulsing through the air.

They missed their target when the ledian dodged to the side and struck behind her. Slink, who had at that moment been initiating his psywave attack, had only the chance to see his attack nullified by the dark rings, before he was hit was his ally's attack. The dark pulse tossed him backward and knocked him out instantly.

Shrieking in surprise and anger, Raptor swooped upward and hovered over the field as he realized that the rest of the battle would consist of two against one. The odds definitely weren't in his favor.

[Kamaitachi]

The flow of the battle had evidently done an immediate "heel-face-turn", and now the uphill battle seemed a wholly winnable one.

Tag had watched as proud Raptor flew towards weary Suzu, but seemed more interested in the flow of the sweet scent over to bouncing Slink. With Suzu hanging on by what felt like a mere thread, the Aerial Ace seemed quite devastating, but Tag had underestimated his most loyal partner and friend. Suzu clung tenaciously to her consciousness as she readied herself for battle again, still buzzing with the fierce aura of Swarm.

On the other side of the battle, Slink slowed down considerably due to Kyoko's haphazard Sweet Scent attack, but Raptor's aerial ace had shifted it from harmless to deadly in a heartbeat, and now the Spoink was suffering for it. Atop this, the Murkrow's incredibly powerful dark pulse attack struck Slink as well, rendering him senseless in just one hit. Tag was mildly confounded, and it showed on his face: He had not landed a single hit on the enemy Spoink, and Vega simply took it out for him, by crazy random happenstance.

Though the joyous light in his eyes was quite visible, he showed no signs in his body of what he felt to be impending victory. Before him, a poisoned and weakened Raptor hovered in the air, facing Suzu and Kyoko (who'd lasted in her battle against Slink with some impunity). However, Suzu was considerably weakened, and Kyoko still confused. Victory was in sight, but he still felt that there would be quite the struggle for it.

Remaining calm still, just as his opponent had, Taggarty Lee issued his next commands.

"Suzu, Mach Punch, Kyoko, follow it up with Acid!" Compliantly, his two pokemon nodded. Suzu flashed towards Raptor with blinding speed, but poor confused Kyoko was attempting to use her absorb attack on the floor in front of her. Hopefully, she'd snap out of the confusion soon; Tag would need the combined effort of both of his pokemon in order to claim himself a win.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"Raptor, focus on the oddish. Avoid the ledian and use peck on Kyoko. She's your bigger threat."

While grass-type pokemon did not have a type advantage - quite the opposite - over Raptor, the abilities that oddish had to use powder and poison attacks could be extremely detrimental, even if the pokemon was confused. The ledian was on her last leg, but the oddish, despite having done herself some damage in her confusion, was the more rested of the lot. Vega thought it best to get rid of that threat before she regained her mind.

Raptor flipped gracefully in the air and swooped into a dive, shooting toward the ground and rushing past the ledian. His diving speed had always been one of his greatest advantages, so it was quite a surprise for him to find someone who was even slightly faster.

The ledian's fist connected solidly against his side, crushing his wind against his body. Raptor let out a squawk as he lost his equilibrium. He threw out his wings, but his left faltered, numb and possibly broken from the punch, while his right wing caught the air in a deft grip. The unequal force of wind sent the murkrow into a spin and, unable to see where he was headed or regain control, he crashed into Kyoko and rolled across the floor of the arena for a good five feet before he finally regained his senses enough to stop himself.

Rising to is feet appeared a difficult tactic and, once up, Raptor staggered uncertainly but ruffled his feathers and squawked angrily. Spreading his wings, he gave them an experimental flap and shot into the air when he found that his left wing was, thankfully, not broken. The same, however, could not be said for his pride.

[Kamaitachi]

The look written on Tag's face went from: joyous at the connection of Mach Punch to incredibly worried once Raptor tumbled into Kyoko. His eyes widened in potential horror, once again subverting his poker face (He ain't bluffin' with his muffin).

Kyoko rose back to her feet, though the motion was slightly staggered and somewhat ungainly. Other than that, she seemed okay. The mere sight of her beady, smiling eyes allowed a wave of relief to wash over her trainer. Not only was she okay, but the confusion from Slink's earlier Psywave seemed to have been shaken off.

Vega was focusing Raptor's efforts on Kyoko, which was somewhat of a relief. While earlier, her powder attacks might've simply been blown away by Raptor's wings, it appeared that Suzu had clipped one of them with her last Mach Punch, and now the crow was poisoned and maybe hurt in his wing, giving Suzu the advantage of mobility. Raptor's flying-type attacks, notably the more damaging Wing Attack and Brave Bird seemed quite out of the question now, but Dark Pulse still seemed like a looming threat.

However, Tag quickly formulated an idea. He had realized that Raptor's potentially hurt left wing would be an impediment in performing his aerial moves, and Tag had just the plan to MAKE him perform attacks with his injured wings. Perhaps it was cruel, but it was potentially a surefire way to stifle the offense, allowing him a little more breathing room before the finishing blows.

"Suzu, encore." His ever loyal Ledian buzzed over, clapping her hands in raucous applause, essentially giving Raptor a One-Bug-Standing-Ovation. Hopefully this would ensure that Vega's pokemon would attempt to use Peck again and again. While this could be potentially detrimental to his bug and grass type partners, it would keep Raptor from using the more devastating moves in his arsenal. Once Encore took effect, Tag calmly placed his hands back in his pockets, surveying the outcome before commanding: "Kyoko, Acid." Once Suzu had floated back away from the opposing pokemon, Tag's little Oddish buddy took the opportunity to launch a viscous, toxic goo towards Raptor, hoping to incite his clipped wing and poisoned system. This, too, almost seemed a little cruel, but Tag was not about to let up, even with the dark crow pokemon in his weakened state as he was. He was not about to start celebrating just because he could smell a win. No, quite the contrary: He was going to make absolutely sure that there was no possibility of a loss.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Raptor let out a squawk of rage as the encore took hold and his eyes gained that faded appearance. Flapping his wings sluggishly, he flew toward the oddish in an attack that, against his will, turned into a peck attack. The attack turned into an involuntary retreat, as the acid attack from Kyoko hit him dead-on and flung him backward.

With a shriek, the murkrow dove toward the ground, trying to use the force of the wind to cool the burning sensation that the acid had caused. His free-fall became the initiation of another attack, as he swooped low, racing against the ground, and headed toward Kyoko again in another peck attack.

He was a foot away from the oddish when his eyes slipped closed and, his wings sagging slightly, he lost consciousness mere seconds before he slammed heavily into the ground, and the battle came to an abrupt, but fitting, end.

Vega uncrossed his arms slowly, watching Raptor closely, in case the stubborn murkrow chose to beat off unconscious and rise again to the fight. It was wishful thinking on his part. Raptor was out cold, and Taggarty Lee had clearly one this battle.

Pulling the murkrow's ball from within his sleeve, Vega recalled his pokemon and replaced the device in his kimono. Still without speaking or looking at his opponent, he removed the pokeball from the chain that hung around his neck. Maximizing it, he tossed the ball against the ground and summoned a fourth pokemon.

The sableye appeared in a flash of red and turned its large, glimmering gemstone eyes to look at Vega. "Tanzanite," he said quietly, "I believe Raptor left something in the rafters that belongs to Taggarty, here."

With a glance at Vega's opponent, Tanzanite moved to the wall and, with the deft grace that comes from being born to live in a cave, scrambled swiftly up the wall of the building until he disappeared into the shadows of the rafters.

Vega crossed his arms and, with a sigh, began to make his way over to where his opponent was standing.

"Taggarty Lee," he said, his voice back to its serious tone, not cruel, but with a hard edge, "I have to admit that I am severely disappointed." He stopped in front of Tag and grinned suddenly. "I had really been hoping we could drag that battle out a few more turns.

"You're quite an impressive battler, my young friend. Not only did you defeat me, but you did so with a type disadvantage. That takes more than luck and ambition - you need skill. I am pleased to have had the honor of battling you." Fisting one hand inside the other over his stomach, he bowed to Tag in respect, before rising to meet his eyes once more.

"In honor of your success in defeating me, please, allow me to grant you the Twilight Badge of Petropolis, so that all whom you encounter may know that you have successfully defeated me in battle." There was a flash of violet skin and gleaming eyes, as Tanzanite leapt down from the rafters to land on his feet in front of Tag. The sableye held out his paws, in which rested the glittering Twilight Badge.

"Perhaps, Taggarty Lee, if you come to Petropolis in the future, you might stop in again. I would enjoy a good battle from a worthy opponent." He bowed again in respect, during which time Tanzanite leapt up to sit on Vega's shoulders. The gym leader rose back to his full height and slipped his hands into the opposing sleeves of his kimono. "I would enjoy seeing you in the future, Taggarty Lee. It would please me greatly to see how you will grow. We, as humans, often base our pokemon's strength off of their evolutionary status, but we must remember that we, too, evolve. You have proven in this battle that strength can be found even where the eyes see weakness. Who would have thought that an oddish could ever defeat a murkrow?

"I hope that you continue to hold such views, Taggarty Lee, and that whether or not your pokemon evolve in the future, I hope that you choose to evolve yourself and to grow with them. I can see it happening, Taggarty Lee, and it is a beautiful and powerful thing." He nodded gratefully to the trainer. "Taggarty Lee... I wish you much luck and prosperity in your journey and battles to come. Fight well, Taggarty Lee, and grow, even if you do not always win." He bowed his head and slowly sank down into a cross-legged position on the floor. His eyes closed, he began to meditate again, returning to how he had been before the battle began, and it was clear that their discussion was over.

When Tag had left the arena, his battle complete, Vega, still sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed, spoke aloud for those sitting in the audience to hear. His voice, hard again in seriousness, echoed within the vast gym. "I welcome any and all challengers," he called out, his expression once again emotionless. "If there are any in the stands who wish to face me, make your way to the field and we shall commence our battle." That said, he drew a deep, cleansing breath, and fell back into his meditation.