[X] My Assistant

[Living Arrow]

Assuming his place on the winner’s bench alongside Shalim and Tyron, Darryn settled himself to watch Tuesday’s battle. Butterfree still jostled each other in his gut but the tension in his shoulders was finally starting to drift away only to be replaced with exhaustion and extreme relief. The Mirrormist Ribbon was his.

“Oh. Em. Gee, Darryn!” Shalim stretched across the front of Tyron to pat her friend’s brother’s leg. “That was so cool! Your Pidgeotto’s Featherdance is unlike any that I’ve seen before and that Vulpix is just the cutest little thing!”

“Uh, thanks!” Darryn blushed for the first time after winning. “I raised them all the way.”

“That Vulpix,” Tyron spoke up, “where did you catch it?”

Darryn blinked. What an odd thing to ask.

“Just outside Lenoilia.” Darryn admitted, recalling the way Lady had led a bunch of angry Ghost and Psychic-type Pokemon to attack himself and his fellow travellers in the middle of the night. “She was a difficult capture and didn’t gel with the team right away but she’s doing great now.”

“Is that right?” Tyron mused. “Not as strong as my Laurel, though.” Darryn arched an eyebrow. Laurel must be that chestnut-furred Vulpix that Tyron had used in his own battle.

“I didn’t see yours using Energy Ball.” Shalim cut in angrily. “Darryn’s must be really talented to use a grass-type attack.”

“Just because she didn’t use it, doesn’t mean she can’t.” Tyron lifted his nose.

“You mean yours can?” Darryn’s eyes widened. He thought Lady was extremely rare to have been able to learn the attack.

“Of course, Laurel can.” Tyron snorted. “And a whole bunch of other attacks that I bet that Lady of yours couldn’t even dream of.”

“Wha- but…” Darryn was at a loss for words. Why was this guy so hostile towards him and Lady?

“What the heck is your problem?” Shalim demanded. “We all got through so why not just pass on congratulations like any other normal kid would?”

“Huh. You want to know why?” Tyron turned on Darryn, his face pinched together angrily. His Emotaglow burned a fiery red and dark green in Darryn’s eyes – not an attractive combination. “Because this Darryn Kellor is so stuck up and self obsessed that he doesn’t even recognise someone that he has battled before not even that long ago. Someone who he deliberately prevented from having a Gym Match just because it wasn’t in keeping with his schedule. Someone that he humiliated without a second thought.”

“Ooohhh…” Darryn breathed.

“What? You know what he’s jabbering on about, Darryn?”

“Um, yeah.” Darryn sighed. “I think Tyron is the first trainer I met on my Pokemon journey. We battled in Gigarte to settle who was going to have a Gym match first – him or my friends. I’ve not seen him since.”

“No, but I’ve seen you.” Tyron hissed. He was not a happy Lopunny. “You swan around, defeating real Pokemon Trainers with your poncey moves and suck up all the false praise and admiration that the media exude on you like a giant Swalot. You don’t care about anything else other than pleasing the papers and looking good while you’re at it.”

“Now, hold on a second-” Darryn started.

“No. I won’t.” Tyron was adamant to get this off his chest now. His face was red and sweaty, eyes boring holes into Darryn’s skull. “People like you need to be taught that even behind glitz and fame, real trainers still come out on top. That’s why, Darryn Kellor, I decided to become a Pokemon Co-Ordinator. To beat people like you at their own game and show that anyone can achieve their dreams without flaunting a disgraceful lifestyle before cameras like a fame-hungry idiot. We’re rivals from now on and you better not forget it.”

Darryn’s jaw hung wide open, his brown eyes wide. Did he hear all of that right?

“OooooOOOooooo.” Shalim held her hands to her face in mock horror. “Whatever will Darryn do now that you’re his, wait for it, rival?!” Tyron rounded on Shalim like an Arbok on Ratatta.

“Butt out, PIGtails.”

“Oh no, you di’ent!” Shalim raised a hand.

“Guys! Calm down!” Darryn hushed them, waving a hand to get their attention. “Whatever issues we have can be sorted later – we should be respecting Tuesday and Rio and watching them perform right now.”

“Ugh. He even calls a battle a ‘performance’.” Tyron groaned.

Both Darryn and Shalim ignored that utterance and turned back to the stage to see Tuesday and the Hall Leader assuming their positions either side of the Contest field. The fourth and final battle for a Mirrormist Ribbon was about to begin…

[Kamaitachi]

Three losses in a row. This was not in the least acceptable to Rio, who now felt that his pride as a Hall Leader had been sorely wounded. Three different sets of tactics had been used effectively on him, and he'd now handed out Three Mirrormist Ribbons.

The last contender, however, was the one who had fainted after her appeal. Part of Rio hoped that his pokemon would scare her back into unconsciousness. The more sane part of him hushed the first part.

"Tuesday Berdison" was all he needed to hear. Now he knew her name, and was for no reason at all reminded of Wednesday Addams. At least this girl had a much nicer face that the other girl with a day for a name.

But nevertheless, it was time to command the stage once more. His Mismagius/Exploud team had been defeated. Now it was time to take yet another approach, once again synchronizing the various strengths of his pokemon. He was almost tempted to try his fairly new Castform/Froslass team, but he decided that he really wanted to strike for a win. It was slightly different from his usual strategies. He had seen Tuesday's registered pokemon to be strong on the offensive, but weak defensively. (This was, at least, as far as a Pikachu and Riolu go.) He decided to meet their offense head on with what would hopefully be an even stronger one. Perhaps this was a war of attrition. Either way, it would hopefully have the audience in the grip of his palm, as great mystery novels tended to do.

"Banette. Zangoose."

The pokeballs popped open on the field, bursting forth their eager charges. As the two pokemon took their place on the stage, spotlights from underneath shot up in their faces, illuminating them in a way that a camper tells a scary story with a flashlight.

Rio adjusted his glasses once more, sweeping his hand in a wide gesture so as to indicate that Tuesday had received the rights of the first move.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Apologies for the delay. Work erupted and took my brain with it. I'll try to be faster for the rest.

Tuesday blinked at the pokemon that Rio had chosen for their battle. The zangoose didn't give her much interest. She had never found them to be particularly intriguing, beyond their curious antagonistic relationship with the seviper species. The banette, however, was a far more interesting pokemon to consider. The marionette pokemon had always been one of her favorite ghost-type pokemon, second only to mismagius. She thought it had something to do with being doll-like, but she tried not to humor that thought too far along. Briefly, she recalled the pokemon's weaknesses and resistances in her mind, hiding a grimace when she recalled that fighting type attacks did no affect. Zorro would be facing the zangoose, then, primarily.

Pity I never liked them enough to remember much about them. Were they a normal type? She failed in hiding her grimace entirely, but bit back on her disappointment. She wasn't here to watch. She was here to participate. And have fun. Must remember that.

She rolled the two pokeballs she held in her hands, drew a deep breath, and tossed one high into the air, while she rolled the other to the ground under it. Both opened at the same time, and Tuesday was glad that Meiko had helped her to program both pokeballs with seals a few days prior, giving the two pokemon time to get used to the new addition to their entrances. It added an effect she, unfortunately, wouldn't have for her other pokemon until she could adjust their pokeballs.

Tuesday had tossed Zorro's pokeball high, so when the pokeball opened, it unleashed a cloud of thick black smoke that looked like a thundercloud. It went perfectly with the loud crack of thunder that came from the pokeball she had unleashed upon the floor, and the bright flash that looked like lightning as the pikachu emerged and landed on the stage, crouched low to the ground in a position preparatory for attack. A dark blue and black blur trailed smoke as Zorro let gravity yank him down from where his pokeball had opened in midair. He landed in a crouch beside Tempest, and then fell into a defensive position like Jaima had shown Tuesday to do, before starting her katas.

"All right," Tuesday whispered under her breath, watching as Tempest's ears twitched at the sound of her voice, and Zorro cocked his head just slightly to the right. "You remember this." Louder, she called out, "Ring Around the Riolu!"

Tuesday kept her hands lax, even though she wanted to clench them into nervous fists as she chanted the mantra in her head, Don't trip, don't trip, don't trip, don't trip. It had taken them hours to finally get this combination to work without Zorro getting dizzy or Tempest not moving fast enough and tripping the riolu, but the two had gotten it down as well as they could in the limited time they'd had to practice.

After she called out the combination name, Tempest immediately performed her double team attack, and two pikachus ran around the riolu in a wide circle. Zorro, for his part, completely ignored the dashing rodent, while he bolted forward in a quick attack, dashing speedily across the stage, right for the zangoose. Tempest kept pace with him, and when he grew close to the opposing pokemon, she dashed right around them and circled all three, while Zorro rushed in for his attack.

[Kamaitachi]

No worries. I'm busy too, you know?

Rio nodded at Tuesday's opening display. The reveal of her pokemon was very nicely...(he sighed at this thought)...coordinated. He did find it rather odd that the two pokemon took fairly defensive positions as they landed on the ground. He wondered briefly if those were the stances that they would be utilizing during this match. If so, it would be fairly difficult. Zangoose and Banette were a bit larger than the Pikachu and Riolu, and the fact that the two smaller pokemon were decreasing their openings made it even harder.

Tuesday threw him off guard with her opening move. It was not the 'code word' strategy that threw him off, of course. He'd seen so many of those, and as an avid reader and analyst, he knew quite well how to decipher them. What threw him off was the defensive stance into an offensive move. The girl was already misdirecting him at the outset of the battle, which meant that this would most likely be a fun match, full of subtlety and planned ahead moves.

The first thing he noted was that there were now two Tempests, meaning that Double Team had been initiated. Banette, however, had a special remedy for this.

"Banette, Snatch."

Banette's eyes glowed a sinister red, enveloping Tempest briefly and immediately nullifying her double team technique as he 'snatched' it for himself. Suddenly, double images of Banette appeared in front of the speeding Riolu. It served no purpose except to distract that Aura pokemon, since Quick Attack did no damage to Banette at all. However, the disorientation would hopefully serve to throw Riolu off course.

"Zangoose, Accept. Taunt on Pikachu."

The disorientation had little effect on Zorro. Perhaps his speed and trajectory were too focused, and the attack hit Zangoose. She merely brushed this off though, having grounded herself to weather the attack. In return though, she sought out Tempest. With one claw raised in a beckoning position, she made a most horrible face, jeering and leering at the yellow rodent in an attempt to make her lose her cool.

A small fraction of points disappeared on Rio's wheel, but Tuesday's suffered a larger amount, as her combination had been easily broken by some quick, thoughtful moves.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Oh crap, Taunt - Tempest won't keep her cool with the zangoose jeering at her like that.

The hot-headed pikachu could barely keep her cool at the best of times, so it was hardly a stretch to assume she would take the bait of that attack instantly. She would have the zangoose in her sights, instead of focusing on the banette like Tuesday had wanted.

Were this a gym battle, Tuesday would have simply called Zorro to use foresight and then sicked him on the banette with a fervor she knew the riolu would match with his enthusiasm.

However, this was a contest battle, and the rules were different. Tuesday was just going to have to improvise. She just hoped Tempest wasn't so angry that she wouldn't listen to her. Stubborn and hot-blooded as she was, though, Tempest was loyal.

"Mirror Storm!" Tuesday called out the name of another combination.

Unfortunately, Tempest had been hot-headed a lot longer than she had been loyal.

The pikachu dashed forward in a maneuver that was becoming increasingly (ominously) familiar. The pikachu's fur lit up as it stood on end, crackling with electricity as she raced at the zangoose, anger in her eyes.

Unfortunately, the combination Mirror Storm called for Tempest to use Thunderbolt and Zorro to use Copycat, so while Zorro followed through spectacularly on time, Tempest didn't as she was supposed to. Zorro's blue and black fur puffed up wildly and crackled with static running through the strands of hair.

Both pokemon raced toward their opponents, perfectly in tandem, but as Tempest lunged toward the zangoose with Volt Tackle sparking in her blood, Zorro flew at the banette with the same attack.. and continued to fly on through him. There was a crackling flash of lightning as the electricity hit the banette, but Zorro's physical body took no hold on the ghost pokemon, and he hit the ground on the other side of the marionette with a surprised bark of pain.

Clenching her fists briefly, Tuesday bit her lip. This wasn't going anything like she had planned...

And she so hated that move.

[Kamaitachi]

"Zangoose, counter!" Tempest struck Zangoose head on, dealing some considerable damag from both the rushing tackle and the electricity. However, Rio had recognized the move as Volt Tackle immediately (an unfortunately popular move), and had acted accordingly. Not only had the Pikachu dealt great damage, she had most likely received some severe recoil as well. Now Zangoose would deal double the damage back in return. She leapt back at the Pikachu, her clasing flashing menacingly as she moved to strike back in full force.

Hoping to ensure a very early head start, Rio turned his attention to his Banette.

"Banette, Shadow Sneak!" As Zangoose charged towards Tempest with her claws at ready, the Banette suddenly appeared through Zangoose's chest, bursting out and slapping at the Pikachu with surprising speed. As soon as the Banette's attack had lashed out, he appeared to disappear back into the Zangoose. The mongoose pokemon charged through her comrade, slashing both sets of her claws downwards in a ferocious strike.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Tuesday's mind was trying to flicker in six different directions at once, but she needed to focus. She watched as Tempest staggered drunkenly to her feet after the zangoose's attack, clearly dazed and nearing the last of her strength. A thousand titles flashed through Tuesday's head, bringing with them quotes to mark the occasion. She settled on something short, simple, and perfectly fitting for the occasion.

Crap.

Was this situation even salvageable? Tempest was on her last leg and they'd only successfully completed one combination. The pikachu had botched the second, which got her a recoil and two attacks for her stubbornness, and Zorro a face-full of stage floor.

Tuesday hated being pessimistic about a situation... or even realistic, sometimes, but this was definitely not going as she had planned, and she didn't know if she could command Tempest to perform a move, or if the stubborn rat would just do that stupid, foolish, hated, disgusting, self-damning move again.

I really need to figure out what that move is and somehow... vanish it. She shook her head lightly. Complications for another time, Tuesday. Your mind mustn't wander - not here. You need to be here, now.

If she'd allowed her mind to wander a little bit, she may have stumbled upon the thought that she always seemed to do better when she wasn't entirely focused, because when she wasn't entirely focused, somehow she was. But she didn't let her mind wander, so she didn't consider it, and so she focused, and forewent the combinations for individual attacks.

"Tempest, Thunderbolt! Zorro, Force Palm!"

Tempest seemed to think that Thunderbolt was an acceptably powerful attack (that, or even she realized she was on her last ounce of strength, though that had never stopped her before), because all of her fur abruptly stood on end and she let out a shrieking cry as she both summoned the lightning to her and set it loose. The attack was wildly aimed, no doubt called forth in the same rage as the pikachu had done that loathsome attack prior, and so the blinding bolt of lightning streaked past the zangoose and toward the banette.

Zorro, for his part, dodged the electricity with his usually gleeful grace. He raced across the stage floor, paws in front of him, as though he intended to run full-on into the zangoose and Force Palm the great beast right in the chest. Tuesday knew better, of course, and could not stall a small smile as the fox abruptly jumped, flipped in the air, and came down on top of the zangoose's head, forepaws settled right in the center of the creature's cranium. The Force Palm lit under his paws with a blue flash of light, and then the riolu pushed off, flipped through the air again, and landed on the ground.

Tuesday rolled her eyes as he flashed a fanged grin and abruptly gave a bow to the audience. She resisted the urge to berate his carelessness and merely settled for groaning softly. Zorro was such a show-off.

[Kamaitachi]

Rio made no move to issue commands as his pokemon found themselves under assault. He easily could've played it defensively, but with one pokemon nearly down, it was time to take things on the offensive. While the Riolu would be providing super effective hits on his Zangoose, he really wanted to remove the Pikachu from the field. She had shown that she was capable of devastating attacks. The Riolu was more of a showman, and he was definitely dwindling points down from Rio's score.

Zangoose moved to block the attack aimed at her by crossing her arms in front of her chest. However, Zorro's feint had been a successful one, and she found herself reeling backwards from the Force Palm. Rio monitered her closely, looking for any signs of paralysis, but there appeared to be none at this rate. He was lucky; the next time it would definitely go sour. Murphy's law demanded it.

On the other end, Banette received the thunderbolt, and seemed quite...well...shocked. Rio calculated that his Banette could only receive one or two more of the Pikachu's attacks at best, which meant the Pikachu had to be removed.

"Double Shadow Claw on the Pikachu!" the command slipped easily from Rio's mouth as he re-adjusted his glasses once more. It wasn't a necessity, really. He could see just fine over and through them, but it definitely had the effect of reflecting the dim stage-lights, which gave him a much cooler veneer than he normally possessed.

Banette and Zangoose rushed forward, all four of their arms glowing with a sinister dark energy. Shadow Claw was a powerful attack, prone to critical hits, and Tempest was about to receive a double dosage. Once in range, the due slashed in tandem, leaving shadowy trails in the wake of their claws as their attacks honed in on the yellow mouse. Once again, points dwindled from Tuesday's meter.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

When the zangoose and banette moved to perform a double-attack, Tuesday had a brief idea that could possibly avoid Tempest receiving the full hit.

"Zorro, copycat the banette!" she said quickly. "Tempest, dodge to the left!"

She knew, of course, that dodging to the left would not remove the pikachu from the entirety of the attack, but would avoid the banette's attack and place the rodent into full line of the zangoose's attack. She would have been hit, of course, but not nearly as bad, and it might have worked as well as she had hoped.

If she had spoken the command in time.

Unfortunately, the zangoose and banette were faster, and Tempest didn't move quickly enough out of the way. The duo struck with their Shadow Claw attack, slashing viciously at the pikachu and sending her sprawling backward onto the stage floor with a pained squeak.

Tuesday sighed shakily and bit her lip as she gripped Tempest's pokeball at her belt. Tempest, however, was nothing if not stubborn.

"Chuuuu..." the pikachu growled, ears quivering as she pushed herself to her feet shakily.

"You sure, Pest?" Tuesday asked quietly - nothing more than a mere murmur that the rodent would hear.

"Kaaa..."

Tuesday could imagine the eyeroll, and so she sighed and removed her hand from the pokeball. "All right." Frankly, she was stunned that Tempest hadn't been knocked out completely, with Shadow Claw being a powerful attack. However, it was a ghost-type move and Tempest wouldn't have been super-effected by it. Foolish sometimes she might be with her stubborn bravado, the pikachu wasn't weak.

Tuesday's eyes flicked to Zorro just as the riolu, paws glowing with black claws from the copied attack, grabbed the banette from behind. Black shadow claws sinking into the creature's shoulder, Zorro fell back and dragged the creature with it.

"Tempest, thunderbolt!" Tuesday snapped, realizing what Zorro was about to do from having seen him do it before. Tempest seemed to realize, as well, for she hesitated just a moment before letting her fur stand on end as electricity crackled through it.

That moment was enough for the riolu to land on his back on the ground and slash hard with the remainder of the single shadow claw attack, momentum sending the banette spinning back over his head. The thunderbolt that Tempest released arced right over Zorro as the riolu turned his face into the floor of the stage to protect it, and crackled right for the banette.

Tuesday watched Zorro roll lithely to his feet once the thunderbolt has passed him for its target and leap over to stand in front of Tempest, who staggered drunkenly to the side before barely catching herself on her paws. Tuesday grimaced and hoped that would be enough to finish the banette. Once Tempest was done, there was no way that Zorro could defeat the zangoose and the banette without the use of foresight.

[Kamaitachi]

Rio blinked at the combination of moves. This appeared almost more like a gym battle than a contest battle, and it showed. The points were dwindling at a fairly slow pace on both sides, though at current, Rio's combinations had inflicted more damage to Tuesday's points.

Either way, he had to make this a little more interesting. At this point, the taunt would wear off fairly soon, and the Pikachu would have her full range of abilities back. The Riolu seemed to be in fairly good standing at the moment. On the other hand, his Banette, after receiving the Copycat-Shadow Claw into a Thunderbolt, was teetering on the brink of unconsciousness. The doll-like ghost creature stood there, just barely maintaining his upright position. It appeared that Tuesday's pokemon had aimed to finish him off, but he was in there for at least one more round. Perhaps it was enough for a suicide gambit.

"Banette, grudge." Banette turned to Zorro and flashed forward, appearing before him wrapping his arms around the fox-like pokemon in a sort of hug. His eyes glowed a bright red for a moment, then he simply fainted, falling off of the Riolu onto the ground.

A loud buzzing sound occurred, and the Judges indicated that the Banette had been beaten. Although the effects were fairly unseen, Banette had completely depowered Zorro's Copycat maneuver, essentially disallowing its use for the remainder of the battle.

"Zangoose, X-Scissor on Pikachu!" Zangoose nodded, charing forward. Her claws once more glowed with energy as she unleashed them in a ferocious dual cross slash, leaving a glowing trail in the form of an X. Tempest had taken quite the beating through this contest, and hopefully that would be enough to knock her out completely. Rio did not fancy his chances of a 2 on 1.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Tuesday bit her lip hard as the zangoose unleashed an attack on Tempest. She dared to hope for only a moment that Tempest could withstand the attack, but then the pikachu was knocked backward and to the ground, unconscious.

Tuesday recalled Tempest quickly and held the pokeball between her hands, frowning over it. She was glad that whatever the attack Grudge had been that Rio had commanded his banette to perform, it had clearly failed before the pokemon fainted. With the banette down, even with Tempest out of the game, she still had a small chance to win.

She had used up a couple of her faux pas maneuvers, and Tuesday knew better than to use the same trick more than once in the same battle. She did have another one, though. They hadn't practiced it for very long, more because it had been a brief idea that passed quickly, but still...

"Zorro, polar bear the zangoose!"

Eyes narrowed, clearly angry, the riolu rushed forward. They had practiced the trick only a few times, but it wasn't a difficult one to remember. Zorro, however, seemed to have forgotten what he was supposed to do.

Never slowing down, the riolu ran headlong at the zangoose with a sharp, angry cry, paws glowing in a force palm attack that he held out in front of him, intent on slamming the white and red pokemon right in the chest.

It occurred to Tuesday, as she watched Zorro perform the attack, that her pokemon had begun to grow accustomed to fighting people who meant them harm, and defending and avenging each other against opponents that had no sense of honor. That was something, she decided, they would have to work on, and maybe once her pokemon understood that not everyone was out to destroy them, they would listen a little better.

Of course, considering that her choices here had been hotheaded Tempest and foolhardy Zorro... maybe not.

[Living Arrow]

"Come on, Tuesday..." Darryn whispered to himself, uncertain of what was really going on in the heads of either trainer. To his own eyes, this Contest battle was nothing of the sort - it appeared to be more like a doubles Gym match. Two Pokemon were down but both sides still had more than half of their total points left - leaving a lot of room for the match to go in either the direction of a double KO or a technical win via posts/timeout - and yet it appeared neither side had any attention for their scoreboards.

*If Tuesday doesn't think of better moves to please the judges, Rio will take her out despite the type advantage she has...* Darryn looked over at the three pairs of eyes scrutinising each Pokemon left on the stage. *A Force Palm is still only a Force Palm even if she did give it a flashy name... *

He chewed his lip and watched on, unable to to change a thing... Unless... Could he bring himself to alter the course of battle? Make that Zangoose feel what real fear was like? Sew the seeds of uncertainty into her heart and fertilise them until that blossomed into monstrous flowers of despair? How far would he go for one of his friends to feel good, for him to watch them smile, for him to feel good too...?

*No. That's not why I learned how to do that. That's for protection, only.* He remembered the look on the woman's face in the Arapet Forest - the blank innocence of a child that he had taken the adult emotions from completely. He felt sick. *Protection, only.*

*****

Belladonna settled herself in the midnight fur of her Waking Form and rested patiently in the shadow of the Contest Hall, her eyes and ears alert. It would only be a matter of time now. Once Camellia was freed from that capture device once more and her guard was down, Belladonna would make one simple cut and watch the house of cards tumble down. Yes, little Camellia would regret making fools of her sisters and learn her place within The Seven once more.

[Kamaitachi]

The Riolu, Zorro, began attacking with a newfound intensity. The moves lacked the panache they held earlier, as if the defeat of his partner had roused a primal sense of vengeance within him. Rio placed his finger on the bridge of his glasses once more, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Zangoose, Aerial Ace." The Cat-Ferret pokemon crossed her arms in front of her, waiting for the Riolu to get within range. As he thrusted forward with his glowing palm, she dropped into a crouch and slashed upwards with both of her claws, catching the Riolu from underneath and tossing him skywards. Before he could even regain a sense of what was going on, Rio's Zangoose sprang from her crouch upwards, slashing at Riolu as she passed on the upwards, then once again as she passed falling on the other side of him. It was a brutal series of claw-attacks, and a surprisingly beautiful one at that, showing an agility that the Zangoose Species often lacked.

Not only did Tuesday's points suffer terribly, but it was most likely a super-effective sort of hit.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"Oh..." Tuesday bit her lip as Zorro landed with a heavy thud on the ground after the ferocious attack from the zangoose. She watched with worried eyes as he pushed himself to his feet, staggering back and forth as he tried to right himself. Finally, however, he regained his equilibrium and stood facing the zangoose.

And abruptly fainted.

He seemed to do that a lot, for some reason. His sense of determination was much greater than his stamina, for the moment, it seemed. Tuesday sighed softly as she grasped his pokeball and recalled him, cradling his pokeball in her hands.

She had been surprised to make it past the appeal round and into the battle, so it did not overly shock her that she had lost. She had a feeling that she had done more than a few things wrong, but it had been... interesting, at least. She hoped she hadn't made too much of a fool of herself, though. She was the last of the contestants that had been set to battle Rio, and the only one who lost.

Chasing her frown away, Tuesday offered Rio an appreciative smile. Maybe it wasn't the right way to do things - this wasn't a gym battle, after all - but she meant it, just the same. "Thank you for the opportunity," she said quietly, as she hooked Zorro's pokeball to her belt, and did her level best to ignore the audience.

[Kamaitachi]

The air was tense in the arena. The audience seemed to be on the edges of their seats as the Riolu hit the ground. This was potentially the end of the match.

Slowly, painstakingly, the little fox pokemon stood up. It was shaky, and he appeared to be at the end of his stamina. Rio knew that if that hadn't been the last move, he had one more Aerial Ace prepared, and that would surely end the match.

As the command began to form on his lips, he drew back, watching as Zorro tumbled to the ground, out of the match. A trio of X's appeared on the Judges' panels, and the match was over. Rio breathed a heavy sigh of relief; he'd won at least one of the four matches. Even still, 25% of the day's matches were won, which meant he still had a lot of work to do.

"Thank you for the opportunity."

"You're welcome." Rio hadn't exactly been sure as to what to say, so that seemed like an appropriate response. Either way, the matches for the day were over. That meant it was time to rest, regroup then begin his training once again. He'd have to work out a few new moves for the Zangoose/Banette combination.

He turned to the Winner's booth and gave them a small nod. He made his way over, with long, stalking strides, then stepped up into it. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a small case and opened it, presenting the highly coveted Mirrormist Ribbons.

"With my congratulations." He said, handing one to Tyron, Shalim and Darryn. With a slow turn, he faced the audience, and raised one arm, indicating the three winners. Their names and headshots appeared up on the big screen, with "WINNERS" written in large, gaudy letters. Rio hated that display. He'd have to have a word about changing it to fit the timbre of his arena.

With no further words, Rio left the stadium. Decorum really wasn't his thing.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Tuesday had made a quick exit from the stage after she had thanked Rio, and she waited behind it for Darryn and the two other winners to receive their ribbons. Once they had done so, she quickly joined her friend and Lyla in the audience, smiling at the boy who was quickly proving himself to be an incredible coordinator.

"Congratulations, Darryn," she said softly, smiling up at him. She shied away a little as members of the audience began to rise and leave.

"Jaima should be done with his gym battle by now," Tuesday said. "Meiko was going to record that, too, so we can watch." She reached into her pockets and touched Tempest and Zorro's pokeballs. "

Darryn smiled at her. "We should head back to the pokemon centre and see how his battle went."

[Living Arrow]

That was it. Tuesday's Riolu, Zorro, collapsed to the deck, triggering the technical KO and end of match buzzer. The crowd, split in their support, grew to a frenzy of cheers and mock boo-ing for Rio and camera bulbs flashed like striking lightning. Darryn could feel Tuesday's disappointment and relief from where he sat but rapidly pushed them and the rest of the Emotaglows on stage out of his vision and to the back of his mind. With the uproar and fuss of the end of the four matches, Darryn was able to take his place on the winner's podium with Shalim and Tyron without too much hassle, and was awarded the Mirrormist Ribbon that he had coveted for so long.

"Ribbon number two..." He whispered to himself, stroking the black and silver bow and fastening the pin to the lapel of his shirt. Its surface glistened like an actual looking glass but underneath the surface, strange shadows swirled and shimmered like a gathering fog. It was simply beautiful. "I could definitely get used to this..."

He said a swift goodbye to Shalim and wished her luck for her final Ribbon and she hugged him close, reassuring him that Cleo would be the proudest big sister in all of Kanto. He hoped she was right. Tyron glared at them and stalked away before Darryn could catch him but Shalim dismissed his absence quickly and lost herself in the gathering crowds, asking for autographs.

Back with Lyla and Tuesday, Darryn could finally allow himself to cool down a little and take some time to plan his next move for Ribbon number three... Well, after they had caught up with Jaima and Meiko. Heading toward the Pokemon Center, the trio left the Contest Hall with one Mirrormist Ribbon in hand.

[Master Houndoom]

MEANWHILE...

Jaima looked up as Meiko entered the gym at a run. He had just stood up in order to go down to the arena, and the look of pure relief on his face took away the worry lines that he'd had on them before. "What happened?"

"Sorry, sorry," Meiko said softly, hugging Jaima before checking to be sure that the camera was in position. "Crap," she muttered, "this is running... Anyway, I went to gt a drink and found a poor sick pokemon, so I caught her to take to the pokecenter. I didn't think I'd be as long as I was..."

Jaima nodded. "Well, I guess I can forgive you... saving a pokemon and all." He winked at her as she smiled.

"I'll introduce you after your battle. You'll love her. She's a new kind of pokemon from that region that's so popular now. I'm naming her Nightwish!"

Meiko reached for the recorder, but Jaima stopped her. "Keep that. Tuesday might be interested to see that battle," he said enigmatically. Meiko blinked, but nodded, and to his surprise, reached up and gave him a kiss before she sat down.

"For luck," she said, winking, then shooed him down to the arena.

The pokemon that Jaima had elected not to use in this battle sat near her, with Mercury in the seat Jaima had been in, her arms crossed. The look on the kirlia's face was stormy. This would be the second time she was left out of a gym battle, and though she implored, Trainer Jaima's response each time had been patient and well reasoned (much to her dismay). "One, Merc, you are a psychic type and have no advantage over anything in this gym. Two, while I admire you for being willing to stand up to the dark type this gym is known for, there's no reason to put you through that..."

So it is my phobia--

"Partially. You fought admirably against Chloe's cacturne. You handled the dark types in those battles in the forest beautifully. I have no doubt you would make me proud this time. But the first time we had no idea what we were facing, and the other times were out of necessity. There is no reason to make you do what you fear this time."

Mercury had sat and pouted then, and Shadow, in sympathy, put a paw on her crest. There is no dishonor in fighting from a position of strength, Mercury...

For a full second, it seemed, to the unique perception of the lucario, that Mercury would snap at him. Then the turmoil in her aura faded like a storm quelling, and she slumped.

I just feel so useless...

That simply isn't true...

Now, she sat, arms crossed, feeling cross and grumpy. Meiko paid her little attention, but that was fine with the kirlia: she had been subtly sending waves of "don't bother me" to anyone around her. Unfortunately, the pokemon Meiko had caught still enthralled the girl, causing Meiko to release the gothita, and just as unfortunately, gothita is a psychic type pokemon.

Oooo, Someone's cwanky!

Mercury looked over, narrowed her eyes, and looked back toward the arena. Hush.

The little gothita looked at Mercury, then up at her trainer. Neither of them saw the spread of a tiny, evil grin over the gothic-baby's small features, but Mercury felt a sudden surge in psychic power and turned just as the little one began wailing and crying huge tears.

"Oh!" Meiko looked down at the gothita and patted her back. "What's wrong? Are you hungry? I think I have some berries in my pack!"

The gothita blinked, having been put over Meiko's shoulder like a real baby, looking confusedly at Mercury. What de heww? I'm sending obvious signaws dat you psychicawwy hit me, and she tinks I'm hungwy?!

Mercury's eyes narrowed. It isn't nice to mess with your trainer that way..! Let alone blame other pokemon for things they didn't do!

It isn't nice to mess wiff youw twainew that way..! Wet awone bwame othew pokemon for tings dey didn't do! the gothita mocked with a sneer. Why isn't she weading my psychic signaws? she wondered with a scowl, more or less rhetorically.

Mercury chose to answer anyway. Probably because she isn't a psychic, she said with a look and feeling of smug satisfaction. The gothita gaped at her, then slumped against the girl's shoulder.

Weww cwap! She perked up, however, when Meiko offered her an aspear berry. Oh weww, fwee food!

Mercury regarded the Nightwish with a look of barely concealed contempt. You're evil...

Not eviw! I just wike to get my way!

[Living Arrow]

"Well, well!" Vega of Petropolis held his hands wide to welcome his latest challenger, a wide smile on his face to greet them. Another battle for the Twilight badge was about to begin and his excitement was not to be controlled - not with such a challenger coming to his door. The other Gym Leaders had talked about this one - the one with the golden braid who battled with belief in his Pokemon rather than a strategy in his mind. It was an extraordinary thing to see in the flesh, according to his contemporaries, but now it was the turn of the Petropolis leader to face the boy.

"Master Kuonji!" Vega clapped his hands together warmly and trotted down the back steps of the hall to come to his place in the Gym Leader's box of the arena. "Or can I call you Jaima? Well, Jaima, I have heard that you defeated not only Chloe in Gigarte but also Otis atop Mount Carello in Arasam. That makes you a skilled trainer, indeed, but I have been wondering how you will fare against myself for a while - I do watch the Channel 4 News, after all."

He swept his arms to the ceiling, his gesture acknowledged by a flurry of midnight wings and a great black crow Pokemon swooped low to perch on a wooden beam next to the Gym Leader.

"My name is Vega and I am the Petropolis Gym Leader." He tilted his head. "I dare say you've probably researched this Gym and my specialities but I feel reading about them is nothing like experiencing them for yourself, no? I warn you though - a calm mind is needed when fighting with the shadows but dealing with both is no easy feat. So, without wasting any more time with the formalities, I'll introduce you to the rules of my Gym."
Two Pokeballs flourished in his palms and maximised at a touch.

"We shall begin with a simple double battle. The combatants that are remaining on the winning side once one side's pair is defeated shall remain on the field and face Raptor here, or indeed your third selection of Pokemon." He signalled the Honchkrow at his shoulder. "But be warned - Raptor is a fierce defender of his precious Twilight Badges. Right, Raptor?"
The Honchkrow gave a shrill scream and spread its wings, displaying tiny glittering pins amid the midnight pinions.

"If everything is clear, then we shall begin!" Vega tossed his two Pokeballs. "Venus and Pluto!"

Amid a flash of white energy, two lithe shapes stepped onto the field. One, a bright spark with a split tail raised her nose loftily and eyed Jaima lazily. She was Venus, a beautiful Espeon whose power was not to be underestimated after seeing her dainty form. The other, a shadow amid the gloomy gym, rings of energy on his form glowing softly with each beat of his steadfast heart. He was Pluto, a focused Umbreon with eyes that saw everything and ears that twitched with every sound to pick out anything that he could not see. Both were ready.

"You have the first move!"

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima licked his lips as Vega spoke, keeping his attention on the gym leader even as he put the pokeball of the three pokemon he had chosen onto the podium. Of the three, only Shadow was out of his pokeball, sizing up the competition as well.

In comparison to his first two battles, this Leader seemed to be a bit more laid back and a bit less... condescending. Jaima liked him immediately, and had to stuff the emotion into the back of his mind. Like or not, respect or not, this was going to be his toughest battle yet.

Briefly, he thought of his training. He'd understood that he'd been lucky in his first two battles. Against Chloe of Gigarte, he'd not taken into account all of the possibilities, revealing, possibly resulting in Mercury's abject terror of dark types. In Arasam, Otis had only fallen due to Tsunami's revelation of a move he didn't realize she had had and sheer unadulterated luck. This time, Jaima had taken time to train his pokemon, both to strengthen their weaknesses and accentuate their prowess. For Mercury, he'd concentrated on her psychic abilities as well as having her physical defenses worked on. Grondir, too, took some defenses against attacks that relied on more energy than brute strength. Fang worked on his speed and attack, and Tsunami on her defenses. Shadow enhanced his ability to strike up close, and Ember worked on special abilities, both enduring them and using them. Further, he had learned what his pokemon could do and tried to work out tactics that would help him defend against the most combinations.

His master work, or at least the one that gave him the most pleasure, wasn't the strangest tactic in his arsenal. It had fail points, and could be figured out given enough time, but it would be a surprise, and it might mean the difference in a win and a loss.

He had wanted to rely on Mercury's psychic abilities to communicate silently with his pokemon, sending commands through her, but that had two drawbacks. There would be a delay, ever so slight, in when the command was sent, and when it was relayed to the pokemon who was to execute it. Further, Jaima felt that if Mercury were not on the field, battling, that it would be cheating to have her relay messages. It would be just as bad, to him, as sending one extra pokemon on the field than the combat stipulations called for. Meiko had reminded him, unaware of his intent, that he had a second option simply by asking him what he wanted for breakfast.

As Vega finished, Jaima bowed, lifted Ember's pokeball, and called her out. She stood in line with the umbreon while Shadow took his place across from the espeon. "I, Kuonji Jaima of Cherrygrove City, accept your terms. Venus, Pluto, your opponents shall be Shadow and Ember. I hope that our battle does all of us honor."

Then, closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. "Shadow! Hakkei! Migi! Ember! Midare Hikkaki! Hidari!" Pointing, he gave the final command. "Ossu!"

As Jaima finished vocalizing, Shadow charge toward the umbreon to the right, and Ember toward the espeon to the left.