The main arena, a gargantuan colliseum overlooking the vast sea, has separated into 8 fields, each with its own set of stands, while the higher seats have a lovely view of all eight battles. Each battle is televised on the giant screens located along the walls, giving spectators the nitty gritty close-up views of each battle.
The battles to come would be fierce, and with so many raging simultaneously, and to be distracted by the neighboring fights could easily spell a loss.
The Match for this field was slated for Taggarty Lee and Tikal Faylen. The field appeared to be several concentric circles, making the field almost look like a target, with the center holding the traditional pokeball design. However, the three other circular platforms slowly moved in opposite directions. Occasionally, the center would lift, turning the field into a cone, or depress, forming it into a funnel. The movements seemed to rotate regularly, meaning that there was a sort of pattern, but the constantly moving field would prove difficult to manage.
The referee, holding the trademark flags, floated nearby on what could only be described as a hovering disc; yet another technological marvel of Daioh Scientists. The ref tapped his fingers on his poketch, which revealed a rotating triangular pyramid on the main screen. Once it stopped rotating, it revealed a large number 2:
"This will be a three on three battle conducted in Doubles-Style, with One Pokemon in Reserve. If one of the combatants falls, the reserve must be sent in immediately. Trainers, summon your pokemon now!"
This battle seemed ready to erupt. The stakes? Continuing participation in the tournament.
The crowd roared in anticipation.
Having to make a mad dash toward a stadium was never fun, especially when the lost time had resulted in her inability to get a good strategy planned out for her team. Then again, she hadn't been given any information about what she was up against prior to the match, or even the fact that the round was going to be a doubles battle. Her new friend was pretty starstruck by her opponent, which didn't help boost her confidence either. Only time would tell it seemed.
As she went through the checkpoint to screen and ready her Pokemon, Tikal had found that, rather than being late as she had feared, the girl was actually on time, with her name being called moments later. As she stepped into the stadium, she found that the stands were bustling with activity, more so than her previous match had been. Apparently there was more excitement involved in the second round than the preliminaries. And with all of the battlefields neighboring one another, any distraction could easily be made, and spell error for the faltering party.
As the referee appeared between the pair, he began his announcement on the rules of the battle.
"This will be a three on three battle conducted in Doubles-Style, with One Pokemon in Reserve. If one of the combatants falls, the reserve must be sent in immediately. Trainers, summon your pokemon now!"
"Doubles? Damn... I hadn't thought of that..." Tikal frowned, digging through her pockets and pulling out four Pokeballs. She wouldn't have enough time to strategize or plan, so she'd have to go with her gut. Her first two choices, as she tossed their Pokeballs up, were her Croconaw and Charmeleon.
Her reasoning was simple: their elements were opposing, allowing them to logically cover one another's weaknesses. Appearing at her side as a surprise, was her Jigglypuff. Being a normal type, she was mostly neutral for battle, as Fighting was the only thing she would have to watch for. Not to mention that her Sing attack would be able to help, should the battle fall to the advantage of her opponent.
"Alright guys... go out there, and do your best. Win or lose, we just have to try."
Having arrived early, Tag stood out on the platform, feeling a bit groggy. The cacophonous cheers from the ground were doing nothing to help his mini-hangover, and he'd even taken the time to fill up his flask with plenty of pure water to help keep himself hydrated. Drinking with Jill had been a bad idea, but he hadn't been prepared for the second round to happen so soon.
The girl, presumably Tikal, bustled onto the field, and Tag's hand subconsciously shifted to his pokeball belt.
So far, in the competition, Tag had used Tonbo, Suzu, Bachi, and Tobi. While a part of his OCD disliked utilizing the same pokemon twice in a competition, he had to focus moreso on the prize than anything else. He was ready to take a page or two from Jill, his last opponent, and had already selected the three Pokemon he'd be using in the match. Though, when he saw the rotating platforms, he wondered whether or not he'd made a good choice.
"Kyoko. Tobi."
As Tikal's Charmeleon and Croconaw appeared on the field, Tag's Bellossom and Ninetales appeared across from them.
"Tikal Faylen" Tag called across the field, fixing his rather intense stare on her. "Let's make this an excellent battle."
Within the audience, Darius was at the edge of his seat as he awaited the participants to emerge. He stood up as Taggarty Lee entered his platform. Granted, he looked less epic than the dragon trainer imagined him being: a white tank and faded jeans did not exactly portray the title of “Dragon Master”.
Then there was the girl he met, Tikal. She was rather brave taking on someone who had nearly destroyed an entire city. He doubted that she knew that, however. He saw her summon a charmeleon and croconaw, both certainly strong choices in Darius’ eyes. He was more interested in what Tag had raised since his exile. Did he raise another dragonite? Perhaps a hydreigon? Or maybe it was some undiscovered species that no one else had seen. Anticipation built as Tag revealed his pokemon, certainly the last pokemon Darius’ was expecting to come out of his side.
“But…what? Bellossum? Ninetales? Where are the dragons?”
The dragon trainer was dumbfounded. Instead of mighty dragons, Tag released a cutesy grass type and a fox. What madness was this?
“You know what? His dragons must have been so powerful, they banned them from the tournament. That’s it! He’s forced to use rentals. What kind of tournament doesn’t allow dragon pokemon?! This is outrageous!”
Darius sulked back into his seat, trying to enjoy the match as best as he could.
Tikal wasn't given much of an opportunity to come up with a strategy by the time Tag began calling out attacks. The sun that illuminated the entire area began to brighten considerably, until it was almost blinding. The heat was enough to cause the girl's skin to itch, perhaps resulting in a burn some time later. From what she could remember, Sunny Day was meant to improve the attacks of Fire Pokemon, while reducing the power of Water-based moves. While it essentially eliminated the ability for her Croconaw to take advantage of its typing, it would improve the power of her Charmeleon.
This however was apparently calculated by her opponent, who was quick to try and shut down her Charmeleon with Confuse Ray. She had to try and cut off the attack before her Pokemon could become confused.
"Charmeleon, use Smokescreen and avoid the gaze and block out the sun!"
Immediately the Fire Pokemon opened his maw, a haze of black smoke quickly covering the field, and blocking the opponent's ability to see her Pokemon. While it would serve as an effective way to disrupt the opposing Confuse Ray, it also meant that her own Pokemon would find difficulty in striking back, as any form of ranged attack would result in either a boost for the Ninetales, or a barely visible sputter of water from her Croconaw.
As she tried to think, the haze of smoke soon drifted upward, the battlefield covered in dark soot. The smoke would only be temporary, as it would continue to drift and disperse, shapes visible on the other side. However with any luck, it could put a damper on the Sunny Day long enough to get a few strikes in.
"Croconaw, aim at the Bellossom with Ice Fang, and Charmeleon, use Slash on the Ninetales!"
Immediately the Croconaw's powerful jaws began to glow blue as it made a headlong dash at the Grass Pokemon, exposing icy cold fangs. In the mean time, Charmeleon barreled toward the Ninetales, swiping its claws to keep its attention.
As the Smokescreen went up, Tag waited for the next set of moves. Not watching the Smokescreen, but he kept his ears focused intently on the girl on the other side of the smoke.
When he heard her orders he immediately reacted. Sunny Day had not only given Kyoko a boost to her grass attacks, it had also actived her Chlorophyll ability, making her easily the fastest Pokemon on the field.
"Kyoko, Toxic!"
Before the Ice Fang impacted, Kyoko honed in on the Croconaw as he burst out of his smoke cover, firing off a glob of viscous, toxic poison. To Tag's surprise, the Crocodile charged through it, receiving the poison, but still manging to clamp down and send chilling energy through Kyoko's little body.
The Slash from Charmeleon impacted Tobi in a painful way, forcing a screech from the otherwise regally postured Ninetales.
"Confuse Ray."
Without the smoke cover to hide it again, Tobi's eyes glowed brilliant blue once more, tapping into his mystical psychic powers. Shooting out another confuse ray, this time at point blank, hopefully would keep the Charmeleon off balance. Tag had, in one turn, hopefully poisoned and confused both of his opponents.
The Croconaw veered in anger and pain as it was overcome by the Toxic spray, its jaws clamping even tighter down on the small Bellossom in anger. Where his teeth made contact, small bits of ice could be seen forming on the surface of the targeted Pokemon. While the Poisoning slowly ate away at his health, it also served to throw the Pokemon in an enraged state. Meanwhile his partner Charmeleon had failed to look away at the close-range Confuse Ray, sending the fire-type reeling back, and stepping around dizzily. He proceeded to swing and swipe his claws, though in his disoriented state was unable to land a hit.
With the Smokescreen fading away, Tikal was able to see the state in which both of her Pokemon were in. Charmeleon wasn't fairing well, but there was little she could do for him until he snapped out of things. Meanwhile she could see her Croconaw was hurting visibly, but he remained clamped down onto his foe, refusing to let go.
"Croconaw, use Rage!" she called, watching as her Water Pokemon needed very little to get set off the edge at this point. Biting down even harder, the Water Pokemon proceeded to swing his head about, intent on tearing into his foe, like an attack dog against a target. Tikal soon turned her attention onto the spinning Charmeleon, trying to find some way to snap him out of things. "Charmeleon, use Swords Dance!" she called, in an attempt to have him focus on a non-damaging attack, and perhaps regain some focus. The Fire Pokemon tried, only succeeding without a lack of grace, as his claws glowed as a result of the partially intricate moves that were made.
Kyoko's cries pierced the air as the Ice Fang sank into her. Now, coupled with the Rage that began to clamp down on her, it appeared that she would soon be in a predicament. Luckily, Tag knew from experience that Rage was a move that started out weak, and only grew in strength as damage was absorbed. The ferocious Croconaw would grow more and more powerful the more damage he received, much like the Reavers of old.
"Be strong, Pretty Girl." Tag didn't need to raise his voice, nor did he really need anyone but Kyoko to hear. His mind raced through her move repertoire, attempting to figure out a way to turn the tables around. It appeared that he had no choice but to move to the offensive. But with what? Kyoko was in no position to deliver an effective Leaf Blade, and her 'skirt' was pinned down, leaving Magical Leaf an ineffective attack. That left...
"Target Croconaw. Kyoko, Venoshock. Tobi, Hex."
Tag had spent his first two turns setting up the field, and now he was ready to let loose. While both moves were type-neutral to the Water Pokemon, both techniques doubled in strength with a pre-existing poison condition. With Toxic in effect, Venoshock and Hex would both do double their damage.
From her position Kyoko summoned up the special venom from within her body. With a lurch forward, she sprayed it directly at the Crocnaw who had imprisoned her in his mouth, attempting to cover as much of his body with the poison as he could. Hopefully, that would force him to let go.
As she struggled to wriggle free, Tobi began charging up his ghostly Hex attack. Dark energy swirled up around him as all nine of his tail fanned out. His eyes pulsed with an ominous energy as the darkness lanced forward like a vengeful demon.
With any luck, the barrage of terrifyingly powerful techniques would take the Croconaw out before he caused any further damage. With any luck, then Tag would only have to worry about keeping the Charmeleon away from Kyoko, as the boosted fire attacks would be troublesome to her. Tobi's Flash Fire was there to help cover that, but Tag also had no idea as to what Tikal's final Pokemon was.
With both attacks aimed at knocking out her Pokemon, Tikal realized that there was no way her Croconaw was getting out of the predicament without being knocked out, especially with both moves becoming more powerful as her Pokemon was poisoned. While Rage would still build up and become more powerful, it could be too late for him to make use of the attack before being knocked out. This just left one more option.
"Croconaw, use Flail when Venoshock hits!" Tikal called out, watching as he was sprayed by the noxious purple poison, which seemed to serve to further hamper his poisoning. It was the only move that she could think of that would help at a time like this. Since Croconaw was nearly knocked out and low on health, it would serve to make the attack even more powerful. Even if he was going to get knocked out, perhaps he could take one of them with him.
With a few wild shakes of his head, followed by the flurry of his claws swiping, the Croconaw tossed the entrapped Bellossom straight into Tobi and his charging Hex. Moments later, the Croconaw lost his footing, collapsing onto his front in a state of unconsciousness, after having used the last of his strength in his Flail attack.
"Croconaw is unable to battle!" The referee called out, the image of her Pokemon up on the screen darkening to reflect the knockout. "Please send in your reserve Pokemon now!"
"Alright Jigglypuff, you're up." Tikal smiled, glancing down at her small pink Pokemon moments after recalling her fainted Croconaw. "It's up to him and you now, so do your best!"
With a confident nod, Tikal's Jigglypuff bounced onto the field to aid her partner Charmeleon, who had finally snapped out of his confusion.
Feeling his hands tighten into fists, Tag watched as the Venoshock impacted. But Tikal's reaction had been most unwelcome; the Croconaw had thrown a last ditch effort out in the form of Flail. Bellossom had taken damage from the Ice Fang, and the weak Rage attack, but Flail was an attack on an entirely different level, given that the enemy was on the verge of unconsciousness.
All of the Pokemon were evenly leveled. Tag usually counted on the fact that his well-trained pokemon were more powerful across the board that most of the trainers he encountered. Here, for what felt like the first time in a long while, he did not have that advantage to rely on. He had made the same errors in battling Jill; his reflexive muscle memory of Pokemon battling had grown to include maintaining his advantage.
The flail threw Kyoko towards Tobi, who, due to the moving platform, stopped charging his Hex attack and jumped into Kyoko's trajectory. Bracing himself, he used his body to keep her from slamming into the harder floor. Both of Tag's Pokemon stood back up shakily, but Tag payed particular close attention to Kyoko's ragged breathing. Flail had just about taken her out; she had strength for probably one more attack, and they had to make it count.
The flag went up, announcing Croconaw's defeat, but a Jigglypuff appeared on the field. Tag's body tensed. Sing was the signature move of Jigglypuff, and he needed to be careful against that. Jigglypuff was fresh on the field, and Charmeleon had not yet taken any damage, even from the quick bout of confusion. However, both of Tag's Pokemon had sustained damage at this point, which meant Tag had the perfect means of evening the playing field.
"Tobi, Pain Split."
The Ninetales nodded, eyes glowing with ghostly energy once more. His tails flared out as what appeared to be life energy poured out from Jigglypuff and Charmeleon, setting them all at the same lowered level of health. Tag's Pokemon had been regenerated slightly, thanks to Tikal's Pokemon.
"Kyoko, Sleep Powder on Charmeleon!"
Kyoko, still the fastest Pokemon on the field thanks to Sunny Day, nodded resolutely before charging forward. Even with the healing from Pain Split, she was still hurting, and Charmeleon was the biggest threat to her on the field. Using her speed to get in close, she launched a Sleep Powder. It was still an inaccurate attack, but getting closer meant it would be more difficult for the fire-lizard to dodge.
With the advent of Pain Split, all of the Pokemon on the field were brought down to the same amount of health. This could prove to be a problem, as while they would all be evenly matched, Tag's final Pokemon would still be at full health. Tikal would have to try and deal the most damage, while taking the least if she wanted to win this close battle. She watched as the Bellossom darted in close, with the intent of putting her Charmeleon to sleep using Sleep Powder. While it was fast, the need to move in to use the attack was an opportunity she could use.
"Charmeleon, Fire Fang and take out that Bellossom!"
Following his predecessor Croconaw, Charmeleon's mouth glowed with flames, rushing straight in to meet his opponent with fiery teeth. The movement in would cover the lizard in the powder, but not before he could clamp down hard, combining the super-effectiveness of his Fire attack with his heightened attack power from the earlier Swords Dance. He bit down hard, ensuring to cause the most damage to knock out Kyoko with the double whammy, before tossing her away, falling over in sleep.
"Jigglypuff, use Sing to put them to sleep, and follow along until you see every last Pokemon napping!" Tikal called. She couldn't see if her Charmeleon had been able to knock out the Bellossom, but she had to be ready in case Tag brought out his next Pokemon. Clearing her throat, the pink Pokemon began to perform its beautiful melody, lulling notes drifting across the battlefield, and soothing her opponents into slumber.
Once again, a hated Elemental Fang clamped onto Kyoko. With the Sun still in effect, the Swords Danced, STABed and Sun Boosted Fire Fang proved to be an incredibly formidable attack. Tag's breath caught fast as Kyoko sailed through the air after being released from the flaming grip. His hands balled into fists as she landed on the ground with a thud.
"Bellossom is una-"
"Return." Tag didn't need to hear the rest of the statement. His hand had already snapped out the pokeball.
"Enka." He declared simply, once again foregoing the typical trainer summons; he'd given that up ages ago. Occasionally, old habit snuck into his repertoire.
Tag's Mareep appeared on the field, gleefully braying out in happiness as she settled onto the rotating stage. As soon as Tag heard the command for sing, he launched into his reaction:
"Tobi, Safeguard! Enka, Thunder Wave!"
The former dragon trainer's entire strategy often revolved around the commanding the battlefield through status effects, quite contrary to his original profession. Without the raw power of dragons to harness in battle, he had to rely on the best tactics possible.
The veil shimmered into view, gently diverting the devastating sing attack around him and his comrade. As the sun faded, Tag was at least secure in the fact that status effects would not be a problem for his own team, while he continued to barrage Tikal with his own vast arsenal of debiliating moves.
"Jigglypuff, get out of the way with Rollout!"
Spinning on the spot, the pink ball of fluff quickly darted out of the way of the oncoming Thunder Wave, narrowly avoiding the spray of electrical energy which would have otherwise kept her in place. Tikal hadn't realized that Safeguard would have prevented her Pokemon from using Sing. She would have to deal with the already weakened Ninetales before moving on to the Mareep. Which of course meant waking up her sleeping Charmeleon.
"Now use Uproar." she called out quickly, her eyes soon turning to the dozing Charmeleon. Puffing out her small form, the Jigglypuff let loose a horrendous sound, which even made her trainer cringe a bit with discomfort. Upon hearing the sound, the sleeping Charmeleon soon snapped awake, rubbing his eyes quickly with one claw before jumping upright, snorting out a small bit of flame.
"Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage and get out of there!" Tikal called out, needing her Pokemon back over by its partner before he could be singled out. Jumping back as far as he could, the fire Pokemon unleashed a blast of blue flame, vaguely in the shape of a fearsome dragon with jaws wide open toward the pair, aimed more so at the Ninetales. With the effects of Sunny Day now gone, both fire types would be at an even power.
Tikal pulled herself out of the sticky situation with a quick series of commands to her Jigglypuff. Now Charmeleon was back up, and Jigglypuff was decidedly un-paralyzed.
The summoned Dragon Rage flew towards his Ninetales, who braced himself for impact.
"Tobi, take it."
His former profession greatly factored into his response. Dragon Rage always had the same attack power, despite its appearance. From the lowliest Dratini to the mightiest Garchomp, it would always do the same amount of damage. This, apparantly, was no exception. With the Pokemon at such high levels, it seemed like a waste of a turn.
The move impacted Tobi, who stood fast.
Meanwhile, Tag prepared to issue another set of commands when he noticed Enka staring back at him with her little beady Mareep eyes. She appeared to be waiting for him, asking his permission for something. It seemed that she had an idea.
Not entirely sure what she could be up to, he nodded, giving his approval.
With a happy bray, she leaned back onto her hind legs before bursting into a brilliant white light. Tag raised a hand to his eyes, shielding them from the glow. This wasn't a Flash attack. He knew exactly what this was.
When the light faded, Enka revealed her new, slightly more lithe form. The tufts of wool had moved around, becoming more concentrated, and allowing a more streamlined look to the Pokemon.
"Flaafy!"
Without wasting a moment, Tag's hand swept up through the air:
"Enka, Power Gem on Charmeleon. Tobi, Flamethrower on Jigglypuff."
Tag had launched decidedly fewer attacks than his opponent, having focused on spreading status effects. Now he launched his next offensive, this time, hopefully without interrupt.
Enka lashed forward with her tail, appearing to shatter it on the ground as a barrage of glittering gems launched towards her Charmeleon opponent. Meanwhile, Tobi's Flamethrower burst through the air, lancing towards the little pink puffball.
The evolution caught Tikal off guard, and as the light faded, the more powerful form of the small electrical Pokemon was visible from the other end of the battlefield. The girl couldn't help but smile, for while Tag was still her opponent, she couldn't help but be happy for him. She on the other hand could not hope for such a miracle, for her Jigglypuff required a Moon Stone to evolve, while Charmeleon had only evolved recently, needing more experience still to obtain his final form.
With her pair of Pokemon facing oncoming attacks, it dawned on Tikal that she had been using the wrong strategy with her pair. She needed them to be up in the face of their opponents, especially since Jigglypuff would flounder at ranged combat. Pushing forward could prove to be difficult however, as her opponent shifted to offensive attacks.
"Jigglypuff, use Gyro Ball to deflect Charmeleon's Power Gem! Charmeleon, you do likewise: Flamethrower on Flamethrower!"
With the pair fairly close to one another, it didn't take much for them to switch spots. Jigglypuff's arms began to glow blue, as she proceeded to spin around at high speeds, boring into the oncoming beam with her super effective Steel type move. Meanwhile a geyser of flame erupted from Charmeleon's mouth, meeting the opposing Fire Pokemon's flame head on in a blaze of flames.
"Jigglypuff, return to sender: Mimic the Power Gem and send it to Ninetales!"
Stumbling a bit as she exited her high speed spin, her body was encased in a light blue aura, before jumping to attention as if having remembered something important. Raising her small stubby arms over her head, she proceeded to recreate the actions of the opposing Flaffy, a ball of energy forming over her head, which she soon directed across the field toward Tag's Ninetales.
"Charmeleon, break away as soon as Ninetales tries to dodge, and use Smokescreen!"
Black fumes emitted from Charmeleon's nose, indicating his readiness as he struggled to hold back the oncoming Flamethrower.
"Tobi! Cut Flamethrower!"
With that, the Fire Fox extinguished his blast, allowing himself to be bathed in Charmeleon's own. As the flames cleared, Tobi was glowing with a brilliant red aura. His special ability, Flash Fire, had activated.
Tikal's next set of commands came before Tag issued his; she was laying into the defense, and quickly shifting it to offense, which Tag needed to counter, and quickly.
With Power Gem now hurtling towards Tobi, the Ninetales immedately moved to dodge. The smokescreen shot out once more, covering the field in the thick black smoke. From the pained cry the resounded through the field, it was clear that Tobi had not quite cleared the essentially reflected attack. This was most likely due to the rotating field throwing off his team's dodging abilities.
Tag huffed for a second, crossing his arms. If Tikal was going to call out double sets of commands, then he needed to as well. He wasn't about to fall behind just because the younger trainer was faster than him. He'd have to combat her youthful energy with his experience.
"Enka. Agility. Tobi! Imprison!"
With the brief respite from the smoke-screen, Tag prepared for a set up. While his Pokemon couldn't see Tikal's, he was sure the reverse was also true for the moment. He would have to capitalize on the opportunity. Enka glowed a fierce yellow for a moment, before beginning to move with a greater speed. Her muscles had relaxed, effectively doubling her speed. Meanwhile, Tobi's eyes glowed with a fierce psychic energy, locking on to Charmeleon with his mental power rather than his eyes. The Imprison technique would shut down all of the moves they had in common, notably the dangerous Flamethrower and Flame Burst moves, forcing Charmeleon to rely on his physical attacks...which is what Tag had prepared his set up for.
"Enka, Cotton Guard. Tobi, Psych Up!"
Using her newfound speed, Enka immediately puffed up her wool, sending cotton spores all around her that immediately clung back to her body like an armor. Cotton Guard had the reputation of being one of the only moves that raised a statistic by three stages, and now Enka's defenses and speed were boosted tremendously. Tobi, meanwhile, utilizing the Psych Up technique, gained the same boosts. His speed had now doubled, and his defense had skyrocketed as well. Combined with the Flash Fire Boost, Tobi was more formidable than when he started the battle. Now that Charmeleon, the main attacker on the other team, had to rely on physical attacks, he would find it difficult to land any sort of significant hit.
With Jigglypuff having used Mimic on Power Gem, it meant that she had retained that move in her arsenal. Unlike Copycat, Tag had no fear of Jigglypuff using Mimic to copy the stat-changes. He lucked out on the timely use, but now he had to contend with super effective Rock Attacks flying his way. Once the smoke cleared, he'd be ready once more to attack.
As the match went on Darius became more impressed with the battle. Tikal was employing multiple commands in order to defend and attack simultaneously. Instead of hitting back hard like most dragon trainers, Taggarty Lee was issuing moves that did no damage. Rather, such commands were boosting stats, making his pokemon last longer in the match. He was even disabling Tikal's charmeleon to make the match more difficult for her. Darius's approach was to hit hard and make sure the other guy didn't get up in the first place. This match showed that there was much more to be learned.
Needless to say, Darius was taking note.
"I never heard of Taggarty Lee as being so cunning. And that's with a walking plant, a fox, and a sheep! Imagine such a battle when he's armed with his own dragons!"
This isn't good." Tikal frowned, hearing the commands the opposing trainer spoke from the other side of the wall of smoke. The increased Defense and Speed would spell trouble, as even if she could land the hits she needed, the attacks would barely put a dent into their health. She needed them to come to her, while her team hid behind the wall of smoke that her Charmeleon had conjured up.
"Charmeleon, use Swords Dance and catch up to their Defense. Jigglypuff, Defense Curl!"
Once more the Charmeleon's claws emitted a light glow, the fire type following with intricate movements to increase his attack strength. Meanwhile her Jigglypuff proceeded to scrunch down into a small ball, a light sheen covering her figure as she proceeded to raise her defense.
"Good job. Now, Jigglypuff, use Hyper Voice. And Charmeleon, stick to Dragon Rage!"
While Dragon Rage was not as effective before, Tikal realized that with the raise in defense, the attack power of the Dragon Move would be unaffected. Once more the fire lizard shot out a powered ball of blue flame, while the Jigglypuf hunkered down, emitting a hyper sonic pitch. Hopefully the horrible sound emitted from her attack would make it difficult to determine the true origin of the attack.
"Enka! Light Screen!"
Tag's quick reaction call, coupled with his Flaafy's boosted speed, Team Tag managed to drum up a form of special defense as well. The Hyper Voice and Dragon Rage slammed into the newly formed shields, which weakened the Hyper Voice. The sonic soundwaves still passed through, doing damage to Enka and Tobi, while the Dragon Rage passed through the shields undaunted. Tobi weathered yet another Dragon Rage. Even with the fairly minimal amount of damage, Tobi would be out of the fight fairly soon, turning the tables in Tikal's favour.
"Tobi! Disable on Jigglypuff!"
With his eyes glowing blue once more, Jigglypuff would find her most devastating special attack completely useless for a few rounds. Tag noted, sadly, that the Safeguard veil dissipated, rendering his team vulnerable to Jigglypuff's sing once more. He needed to actually deal some damage this time, but with the Smokescreen in place, it would be hard for him to land a hit.
"Time to counterattack. Enka, Electro Ball on Jigglypuff! Tobi! Extrasensory on Charmeleon!"
Electro Ball functioned on similar, but opposite of Jigglypuff's Gyro Ball. With Enka's doubled speed, the move would have a tremendous base power over Jigglypuff, meaning Electro Ball would be a powerful hit if it landed. Tobi's Extrasensory aimed at Charmeleon, but even that was a bit iffy. If it landed, there was also a chance that it would flinch the Charmeleon, stifling Tikal's onslaught briefly.
Tag stared across the field at his opponent. Something about the way she fought seemed very familiar, even if they'd never met. He crossed his arms as he felt a small smile spreading on his face; Taggarty Lee realized that he'd been enjoying the battle, and he wasn't about to let it end quickly.
Jigglypuff was unable to get away in time, getting hit by the supercharged Energy Ball. Falling on her back, the pink puffball struggled to get back up. Charmeleon attempted to block the attack with Fire Fang, but it was a futile effort as the close range attack struggled against the abnormal Extrasensory attack.
"Hang in there you guys! We can't give up this easily!" she called out, knowing that Tobi's Safeguard should have faded by now. "Jigglypuff, I want you to use Rollout, and use the spinning battle field to help dodge incoming attacks. Charmeleon, follow in behind with Slash."
On cue, the pair of Pokemon rushed off into the smoke, the pink puff flying through as a rolling ball, using the added benefit of her previous Defense Curl to add to her attack power. Meanwhile the Charmeleon followed behind, not too close as his companion sped off toward the Ninetales. Tikal knew she had to either knock out the Fire Type, or at least cause enough of a distraction to get her plan into action. Until then she was a sitting duck, as she couldn't rely on the Fire type moves, or the status effects that her pair specialized in.
Flying in off to Tobi's side, Jigglypuff used the spinning exterior of the arena to add to her speed, coming in seemingly out of nowhere to barrel into the regal Pokemon, while the Charmeleon was still nowhere to be seen.
As he heard the commands, Tag's arms uncrossed as he stepped into his signature position. Hands in pockets, eyes calmly watching the field. As Jigglypuff burst from the smokescreen, his counters shot into the field in his stentorian baritone.
"Tobi, Faint Attack. Enka, Electro Ball!"
Tobi disappeared from sight, just as the Jigglypuff rolled by. As the Rollout continued past its intended target, Enka swung her tail in an upwards arc. The Electro Ball shot forward on a collision course towards Jigglypuff's Rollout.
Meanwhile, whether Charmeleon appeared on the field from the smokescreen or not, Tobi appeared behind him, his tails glowing with dark energy as he lashed out once more.
Having come from such snapshot commands and from his Pokemon's reactions, they weren't exactly as powerful as they could've been. The goal was hopefully to stagger the pokemon in the first of a one two combo. The moves were designed to push them together in the field, pincering them between the Flaafy and Ninetales.
"Now! Inferno! Thunder!"
"Flaaaaaaa-"
"Niiiiiiiii-"
Trading accuracy for raw power, in the true style of a Dragon Trainer, Tag's next set of commands aimed at dealing the heaviest damage he could muster. At the issue of the commands, the sky above Tag and Tikal's arena darkened severely with heavy black clouds. Tobi's tails flared out, whipping around as a fierce red aura burst from his eyes, shrouding his entire body. The floor beneath Jigglypuff and Charmeleon burst upwards in a veritable explosion of flames. As they reached skyward, a massive Thunderbolt fell from the clouds, summoned by Enka, forming one of the most devastating combinations Tag had utilized since his arrival in Furoh.
Clutching her hands into fists, Tikal was grasping at straws at this point. She had not considered that such power would be able to sprawl across the entire battlefield. There was no way her Charmeleon would survive the attack, but her Jigglypuff, if timed right, might have a chance.
"Charmeleon, try to finish off Ninetales with Dragon Rage!" Tikal called, just as Inferno had been called. Blue flame burst out from his mouth once more, lancing toward the attacking Ninetales. As the pair were thrown up, and the clouds darkened, Tikal quickly shifted her attention to her Jigglypuff.
"Jigglypuff, use Rest!"
Tossed upward, the command from her trainer put the Pokemon into a peaceful sleep, even while the battle raged on about her, and the pair were soon to be struck by the Thunder attack. With any hope, Jigglypuff could survive the attack after having fully recovered, her foes possibly tired out from the attack, giving the pink puff a chance to awaken from her slumber to fight back.
Unconsciously, Tag's eyebrow raised as he heard Tikal's orders over the raging cacophony of his Pokemon's attacks. The timing of the combo felt...wrong. Charmeleon's Dragon Rage shot out at Tobi, impacting the Ninetales at his highest point of vulnerability. The mystic fox took the hit. Once the blast cleared, the regal beast was still doggedly standing. However, the shaking of the legs inevitably brought the Ninetales down. Tobi collapsed in a dignified heap on the floor, and the flag shot up on Tag's side of the field.
The spectacular clash of Fire and Lightning on the field roared throughout the entire Colosseum. Spectators, having grown bored of the stillness in a few of the other matches, snapped their attention over to the terrifying display. Once it had cleared, it revealed a defeated Charmeleon, and a peacefully sleeping Jigglypuff.
Rest.
Tag was surprised that Jigglypuff had weathered Electro Ball, Inferno and Thunder in order to use Rest, but that simply showed the determination of Tikal's final Pokemon.
Enka, luckily, was likewise still at full strength, if only lacking in stamina now. She had yet to receive a single hit, especially since Tikal's focus had been on the resolute Tobi. Now, they were on equal playing fields, with both Pokemon at full health. But Jigglypuff was asleep, which gave Tag the current advantage.
"Tobi, return."
Once Tobi had been safely returned to his pokeball, and Charmeleon his, Tag prepared for Enka to attack with Impunity. No close range attacks, as Jigglypuff more than likely possessed that damned Cute Charm ability. With Jigglypuff asleep on the rotating platform, Thunder would be difficult to aim. Yet, there were still options. With Enka's speed boosted well above Jigglypuff's, her Electro Ball attack had comparable, if not equal, power to Thunder.
"Electro Ball."
Once again, the wildly rotating ball of electrical energy rolled along the arc towards the resting Jigglypuff. At least while she was asleep, she was an easy target.
The ball collided despite the moving platforms, though it only served to rudely awaken the small pink Pokemon, who rolled backward from the hit. Hopping to her feet, a mixed look of annoyance and determination showed on her face, ready to end this fight.
"Our turn Jigglypuff. Use Disable on Electro Ball!"
Jigglypuff's eyes turned blue, waving its stubby hands as a light blue aura encased the opposing Flaffy. The pesky Electro Ball would become unusable at this point, as Jigglypuff's Hyper Voice had been rendered not too long ago. With the annoyingly powerful move dealt with, it was time for Tikal to show the true power of her Normal Pokemon.
"Jigglypuff, use Sing! We're going to end this!"
Closing her eyes, the Jigglypuff began to ring out a charming tune, which would fill the ears of the Electric type, and send it napping. Not that it was a cruel move, as the Pokemon was likely already exhausted, which meant it was probably all the more willing to take a nap in battle.
Electro Ball had become Enka's #1 form of attack with her speed boosted in such a way, but Tikal had disabled it in the same way that Tobi had disabled her Jigglypuff's Hyper Voice.
As soon as the command for Sing soared out, Tag had only one means to counter; and he had been wracking his brain to find it.
"Enka, Screech!"
One of her egg moves, a move not usually possessed by her species, Screech rended out into the air, providing enough of a sonic barrier for the moment to keep Sing from actually reaching Enka's ears for the time being. Though, to be fair, the horrifying screech would most likely not reach Jigglypuff's ears either, unless somehow the piercing, shrill cry managed to cut through Jigglypuff's soothing melody.
As for counter-attack, if Tikal thought she'd shut off Enka's offense via Disable, she would've been severely underestimating Tag and Enka. The Electric Sheep had an entire dazzling array of Electric Attacks, one of which Enka could now use with impunity now that she had no partner on the field.
"Discharge!"
While not as powerful as Electro Ball or Thunder, Discharge still packed a wallop, as well as the potential to paralyze her opponent. With another fierce cry, Enka charged up, sending terrifying blast of thunder in all directions, attempting to cover as much of the field as possible with her electricity.
"Jigglypuff, onto the moving rings! Avoid those shocks!" Tikal called. Her hope of putting her foe to sleep had been shut down by the opposing Screech, and with the advent of Discharge, she would need to find another way to stall her opponent to make her attacks precise. While Safeguard was out of the picture, it would appear that putting her foe to sleep was still going to be challenging. Especially with the storm of sparks
Hopping backward, Jigglypuff landed on one of the spinning rings, using the movement to help make herself harder to hit as the arena shifted, sloping upward and making a hill of sorts. Using the height to her advantage, the small Pokemon moved to the tip, standing well above the Flaffy. Taking a step forward, Tikal called out:
"Now, while its tiring itself out! Scatter your Sweet Kiss and follow up with Sing!"
Tikal watched, fingers mentally crossed as she hoped to make the hit land. There was obviously some reason she wanted to put her foe to sleep, and not just for the battle advantage.
Blowing kisses at the discharging Flaffy, the pink ball blew forth a storm of small hearts at the target, the charming effect meant to cause Confusion and prevent a reaction to the following melody.
Tikal seemed desperate to get Enka to fall asleep, which, in Tag's mind, meant that Jigglypuff was beginning to falter from the damage. To be fair, if it hadn't been for Rest, the little puffball would be defeated twice over.
But there she was, doggedly throwing out Sweet Kiss hearts and Sing notes like her life depended on it. Tag could try to stall them out, but his Flaafy was not the most agile of creatures.
While the attacks were incoming, Enka was still the faster Pokemon in this match-up. The discharged stopped as the incoming hearts and notes floated in, but Tag had other plans.
"Enka. Thunder."
The ominous black clouds swiftly regathered, blasting yet another immense thunderbolt from the sky aimed down at the Jigglypuff. As soon as the attack had launched, the sweet kiss and sing notes, both of which that had been unguarded, landed on the Flaafy, who fell into an immediate confused sleep.
The blast from the Thunder attack landed a direct hit on the Jigglypuff, causing a large blast on the field. Once the flashing light from the attack had paused, everyone present witnessed the total destruction of the rotating rings, with Tikal's Jigglypuff laying unconscious atop the wreckage.
The referee's flag shot up, announcing Tag to be the winner. Carefully, Tag recalled his Enka, thanking her sleeping self quietly, before moving across the field to Tikal and extending his hand.
"You're an impressive trainer, Miss Faylen." A rare smile (not a smirk!) crossed his face as he shook her hand. "A truly enjoyable match, don't you think?"
* * *
As soon as the match had ended, millions of lights burst out all over the stadium. Radiating from every single trainer's belts, purses, pouches, etc, light shot out, blinding everyone for the moment in its brilliance.
As the light began to fade, a shout pointed everyone's attention skywards, where a hover of helicopters had appeared in the sky. Without warning, several objects began to fall from them, flung from the helicopters.
As they fell closer to the stadium, the sharper eyes began to note the perfectly spherical shape. The sharper ears would hear the bone-chilling monotone cry of:
"ELECTRODE."
Dozens. Hundreds of the Pokemon fell to the stadium. The swiftly reacting trainers threw out their pokeballs, yelling commands...only to realize that the Pokemon they released were not the ones they had summoned. In fact, they weren't even Pokemon they had caught.
The flashes of light had randomized and shuffled everyone's pokemon.
With the confusion at hand, the Electrode began to impact in the various stadiums, exploding on contact, causing widespread panic throughout the arena.
Though her plan to have both of the attacks land did follow through, it ended up costing her the match, as the Thunder attack took out of Jigglypuff, knocking her unconscious. As the match ended, the stadium soon returned to its original flat form, leaving her pink Pokemon to lay in the middle. With that, she made her way out to the center, scooping up her unconscious Pokemon.
"You did well..." she thought to her Jigglypuff.
With that, she recalled her Jigglypuff and stood upright, when she saw Tag walk out to her, extending his hand with a smile.
"You're an impressive trainer, Miss Faylen." A rare smile (not a smirk!) crossed his face as he shook her hand. "A truly enjoyable match, don't you think?"
Nodding with a small smile, she shook his hand with her own. "Of course. Though it looks like I've still got a long ways to go still." the girl replied, suddenly grinning. While it would have been nice to win, the fact that she had come this far was good enough for her. It was the first time since her first gym match that she was able to gauge the abilities of her team, and give her a sense of direction.
The area soon broke out into chaos, as Electrodes dropped down from the sky, people shouting and screaming as the orb-shaped Pokemon screeched out "ELECTRODE", before promptly Self-destructing. Glancing around in panic, Tikal had no clue what the heck was going on.
"Um... we should probably get out of here..."
In a stunning flash of thunder, the match was over. Even with Tag's eclectic mix of pokemon, he still managed to best Tikal. That being said, she brought him to his last pokemon, proving she was no mere newb. Indeed, a worthy apprentice. Between Liz and Tikal, Darius was on his way to making a league of extraordinary dragon trainers, a "Dragon Force" if you will. The thought of starting such a team filled the dragon trainer with glee.
Then, in a flash of light, everything changed. Helicopters flew overhead and began bombarding the area with electrodes. Explosions ensued, threatening to seriously hurt all who attended the battles. Naturally, people went for their pokeballs, only to find out that their own pokemon were gone! Indeed, they were replaced by a completely random set of pokemon. Both trainers and pokemon were left in a state of confusion, which led to a state of panic, which would inevitably lead to a stampede. Darius, instead of fleeing to the exit, headed straight into the arena. Along the way, he found random pokeballs tossed on the ground. They would be crushed during the hysteria, so he managed to grab four of them before jumping into the stage area. Once there, his first thought was to defend Tikal; it would be a shame to lose such a promising trainer in a random explosion. Using his cape, Darius blocked several small rocks from impacting her.
"We've got to get out of the open. We're sitting ducks out here!" Darius said, before looking to Tag. For a few seconds, Darius just stood there with an awkward grin on his face. It was really him! If anyone could save the day, it was him.
"Taggarty Lee!" Darius said with proud exclamation, "Summon your mighty dragons and end these brigands!"
<Ly->
<Darryn!?!?> Lyla sent back to her cousin wildly, lying prone under the bench in the stands where she had been watching the battle between Tag Lee (he was still looking as meaty and manly as ever) and the talented trainer called Tikal Faylen. She had felt bad after choosing another part of the arena to sit in after her argument with Darryn but had stuck to her guns not to cheer him on after being such a cheat in the last round.
<Darryn!? DARRYN!?> She screamed back in her head but found no response as more and more Electrodes destroyed everything in sight. Terrified, she pushed herself back further under the benches and hoped desperately that someone would come for her and her tear-stained cheeks.
“Help! Help me!”
Tikal looked between the suddenly appearing Darius, to the now apparently worried Tag. There was no time to ask if he was okay, for he already sprung into action, finding to his horror that his entire team had been switched out. Her hands dropped down to her own Pokeballs, making her worry about her own Pokemon.
She had no time to linger on the thought, as Tag soon called for them to follow. With a small nod and an acknowledgement of thanks to Darius, the girl quickly followed tightly behind him, toward the source of the shrill cry. Though unfamiliar to her, it appeared as if Tag knew who the girl was, and she sounded as if in trouble. As they approached the stands, Tikal spotted two Electrode rolling their way, dot-like eyes narrowing at the sight of the trainers. Her hand snapped down to her pocket, quickly withdrawing a Pokeball.
"Here goes nothing..." she spoke under her breath, tossing out the Pokeball to engage the pair. In a flash of white light, a tall humanoid figure appeared before her, flames licking out from its cuffs. Before her stood an almost intimidating looking Blaziken, which brought its hands into fists, letting out a small jet of flame in challenge.
"Let's see... Blaziken's a Fire and Fighting type... so..."
The pair of Electrode began to glow a white light, signalling their Explosion attacks.
"Blaziken, use Double Kick to send them away!" Tikal called, a little startled by the suddenness of their reaction. Stepping forward in a blaze of speed, the Fire and Fighting Pokemon swept out with its legs, kicking each one high into the air with a mixture of grace and ease, sending the pair flying high into the air, where their Explosions simply parted the two apart, before they fell onto the battlefield, unconscious.
Letting out a small sigh of relief, she turned to the rest of the group, eyes focusing on the girl under the bleachers. "Come on, you'll be safe with us!" she assured the stranger.
“All of our pokemon are gone?!” Darius looked at his belt in outrage “I wasn’t even in the match! Bindy, Snake! Come to me!”
“Slowbro!”
Darius looked on in horror as two of the most undragon pokemon appeared before him: Slowbro and Cherrim. The latter was still wrapped up in her petals, unable to see…well…anything. Her charge caused her to bump into Darius’ leg several times, which made the dragon trainer very sad. After several seconds of awkward silence, the slowbro pointed and laughed.
“No, impossible. Maybe they’re in these other ones. Everyone come out!”
All of his pokemon were unleashed, but none of them were his own. Teddiursa, Glaceon, Beautifly- did these belong to some twelve year old girl? They were not worthy of a dragon trainer. The last one however…
“GIBLE!”
“Yes! Dragon! Finally! Come on Gible! We’re gonna save the day with the might of dragons- ah gawd my hand!”
The little dragon pokemon chomped down hard on Darius’ hand. Fortunately, he was wearing gauntlets, so it didn’t do lasting damage. Still hurt though.
“We’re allies! Why do you hurt me so?!” Darius cried out, attempting to swing the gible off his hand. The rest of his pokemon gathered around at his feet, unsure what to do about their new trainer. Except for Cherrim, who mistakenly followed Tikal due to being as blind as a bat.
“Tag?” Lyla whimpered, accepting his hand and struggling out from the benches to huddle close to him. Her tears burned like fire but at least they weren’t on fire like some of the other areas of the arena. “What’s happening? It’s, like, Starfall Field all over again!” She wailed while pressing herself deep into the dragon trainer’s manly chest. “Please can we leave!? Please!?”
“Chu chu…” A Pichu, cradled in Tag’s arms, fussed Lyla’s golden locks that were hanging in disarray around her neck. She softened slightly at the touch and fondled his ears right back.
“Th-thanks.” Lyla sniffed, holding tightly to Tag’s waist.
“Come on, you’ll be safe with us!” A female trainer called from the battlefield where she fought the destructive Electrode. Lyla blinked. It was that Tikal girl. Was she friends with Tag? Then again, was Lyla even friends with Tag? They’d only met the one time, after all… But because of the channel four news she felt like she knew him a whole lot more.
*And he’s not too bad on the eyes, either.*
A shriek from beyond Tikal announced the presence of Darius – the knight from before who had been so brave in rescuing Lyla from the Arbok at the Breeding stall. He flailed wildly around, shaking his arm desperately in an attempt to dislodge a blue lizard Pokemon that was biting him. Lyla gasped and shrank back.
“It’s attacking him! Someone, like, do something!” She cried despearetly. “It’s EATING HIM!”
For a moment, Taggarty Lee was the picture of intense awkwardness. He, in his late twenties, had a girl most likely in her teens, wrapped around his waist. He wasn't quite sure quite what to do, and it showed.
Luckily, the scared Pichu in his arms reached out to her, which solved just a bit of the awkwardness.
"C'mon Lyla, we're getting out of here."
And at that moment, amidst all of the chaos already occuring, it appeared that their caped Ally had gotten a Gible stuck on his hands.
"Gible!" Tag frowned, turning his stare on the mouthy little pokemon "Off, now!"
With that, the tattoed man froze, surprised at his immediate reaction to the Gible. Back when he had trained his own, he had used that exact phrase many, many times. The gnashy little Pokemon was a different one entirely, but between Tag's current Dratini, and Darius' little Gible, the former dragon trainer was having difficulty telling reality from his memory.
Except that there were still explosions going on all around him.
"Tikal! See if you and your new friend there can cut a path for us! Mighty Dragon Trainer, watch her back! I'll bring up the rear!" He wasn't sure what to call the caped man, but between his fangirl smile at Tag, the enthusiasm for Dragons, and, well, the cape and sword, Tag figured he was looking at something of a former kinsman. Hopefully he wasn't wrong, especially given the Gible.
"Lyla, Lyla we're moving, okay? Stay with me. I'll keep you safe, I promise."
He turned and started moving with the group, barking orders at his Pokemon as he continued to glance down at his Pokedex, studying their moves and adding them to his codex like memory.
The Pichu in his arms pointed up at the sky, chattering wildly in his surprisingly adorable voice. Tag fought off the urge to coo at the cuteness, instead following the little stubby hand. It appeared that a fresh group of Electrode were raining down on them.
"Togekiss! Aura Sphere! Golett! Shadow Punch! Dartini! Twister! Squirtle! Hydro Pump!" The Four Pokemon roared in unison, launching out the projectiles into the air, scattering the bulk of the descending barrage.
"Excadrill, clean up! Rock Slide!"
Any Electrode that had gotten past Tag's surface to air defense were met with a heavy rock, knocking it aside before the resultant explosion. Tag was singlehandedly managing to hold off the death rain from above, but how long he could hold out as the group moved towards the exit?
"Tikal! What other Pokemon have you got?"
Seeing that Tag was taking care of Lyla, Tikal nodded, digging out the remaining Pokeballs, and tossing them out, not even seeming to care that the last two normally in her possession should have been empty. Apparently the team scramble had given her a full roster to work with. As beans of light burst out from the multitude of orbs, the silhouettes they produced formed Pokemon of all sizes.
Having replaced her original roster were now a Blaziken, a Castform, a Meganium, an Escavalier, a Meganium, and an Oshawott, all of which were a little confused on the chaos that was raining down from above them. Tikal didn't waste a moment however, as the longer they waited around, the more danger they'd be in from recovering Electrode.
"Let's see what we can do! Castform, use your Sunny Day to help out the team! Blaziken and Escavalier, use Blaze Kick and X Scissor to clear the way! Meganium and Toxicroak, use Energy Ball and Mud Bomb to help repel the ones falling from above!"
With that, she turned to the small figure of Oshawott, who was apparently wearing a Focus Band as a head band, scalchop in hand as he beat it against his chest. Apparently the little otter didn't want to get left out of the fighting because of his small stature. With that the girl smiled.
Oshawott, make sure the Electrode that have already been knocked out of the way don't retaliate."
With that, her plan was set into motion. Any sign of clouds in the air would be overshadowed by the increasingly strong sunlight, enhancing the power of any Fire Types used. The hasty duo of Blaziken and Escavalier set off quickly into the fray, knocking aside a pair of Electrode that landed in front of them, before they had a chance to explode. Toxicroak and Meganium aided Tag in his efforts to help his team keep the falling electric types from landing, knocking them out before they touched the ground. Meanwhile the small figure of Oshawott could be seen hopping from chair to chair, looking for any recovering Electrode to knock away with Hydro Pump.
The speedy form of Escavalier disappeared down the path for a moment, pushing aside any force that would oppose it like a bulldozer, before flying back and poking at the girl's side, pointing to the path. Apparently the speedy Bug Pokemon had found a sheltered way out of the arena, away from the chaos that surrounded them.
"Everyone, follow us!" she called to the rest of the group, before making her way in the direction that her Escavalier had pointed out.
The gible submitted to the voice of authority, releasing his grip upon Darius’s hand. The trainer massaged the area in an effort to relieve the pain. This process was greatly expedited when the cherrim rejoined the party, unleashing a healing pulse on her new trainer.
“Er, thanks,” Darius said to the plant pokemon. It was then that he looked upon his new team and saw a great challenge to overcome. Clearly, Tag had no issue commanding pokemon of any type. If he were to ever even hope to be a dragon master, Darius would first have to handle the bunch of creatures he had now. Tag alerted him to help with the escape effort, something Darius did not question. This was a time for action, which meant it was time for a roaring battle speech.
“These men in helicopters and their electrodes,” he said to his pokemon. “They want us to panic! They want us to turn on each other. I say no! I say we combine our differences and turn them into the ultimate strength! Let this be the hour that we draw swords!”
The dragon trainer unsheathed his sword, causing his pokemon team to back up in surprise (except for the slowbro). He pointed the weapon down for the creatures to examine. First the teddiursa rested his paw on the blade, followed by the glaceon. The beautifly was next, as was the cherrim. The gible, seeing Darius finally assert authority, also joined his team. Finally, after cheering for the speech, the slowbro put his hand on the blade.
“I, Darius Dovakin of Opelucid, Descendant of the Dragonborn, vow to you to get you back to your trainers. We must first protect these people. To battle! FUS RO DAH!”
The pokemon cheered after him as Darius led the way behind Tikal. Once she ordered a sunny day, the dragon trainer noticed something strange about cherrim. It was blooming! The creature revealed itself to be a pink and yellow flower with a maniacal smile.
“CHERRIM! HEHEHEHE!” she cried with terrifying laughter.
“Well now! You look…crazy. Er…ah!” Darius took a look at his own pokedex to find some moves. “Cherrim, that’s your name! And you should use solarbeam on that copter!”
“HEHEHEHE!”
Using his sword like a conductor’s baton, Darius pointed to the target that cherrim was attacking. Because of the increased sunlight, the effects of the attack was immediate. A giant laser sprung out of the flower, decimating the tail rotor of the helicopter. The pilot had no choice but to retreat, reducing the amount of explosive electrodes further. In addition, the cherrim’s sadistic pleasure it got from watching the flaming enemy retreat boosted the moral of the other pokemon and allies, boosting their attack and special defense in the process. It also creeped the hell out of them.
“DAAAAMN…” Darius replied, with nothing more to comment. That little flower just became his favorite of the bunch. Just then, Tikal revealed a clear path ahead. Darius directed his pokemon to follow. As they rushed for the exit, a charging electrode was coming at them from the side.
“Beautifly, whirlwind!”
The butterfly pokemon flew above the group, directing a mighty blast of wind at the enemy. The electrode was quickly blown back before charging into another electrode and exploding harmlessly in the middle of the arena.
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