[X] My Assistant

[rt117]

With a nod, Tikal returned her Pokemon to their resting places, except for Igglybuff who wanted to be carried instead. Juggling the two in her arms, she walked over to Tyson, before setting Igglybuff and her doll down before hugging him. "Thanks for the practice... you did great." she reassured him.

Meanwhile, Igglybuff stared at the plush with some concern, poking its lifeless fabric before puffing out. Suddenly it seemed as if she would have some competition against this... thing.

Tyson began to blush, scratching the back of his head, slightly aggravated by the hair in his way. If anything, he wanted to finally get rid of long ponytail, in place of it something more...compact. In other words: It was time for a haircut.

Tikal looked up at him, before brushing the hair from his eyes with a smile. "Come on, we should go get everyone patched back up." she advised, moving to gather her belongings once more. However as she went to get her plush, she couldn't help but laugh as Igglybuff was attempting to wrestle with the doll, seeming disgruntled by it. She picked them both up, making sure to keep the two separated as she waited for Tyson to get himself ready. Glaring at the doll one last time, Igglybuff pouted, puffed out, and crossed her arms while looking away.

Tyson chuckled, wondering how a Pokemon could show jealousy towards an inanimate object. Without another word, Tyson reached for Tikal's hand, ready to walk to the Pokemon Center with her.

Tikal couldn't help but blush slightly as they continued on their journey toward the Pokemon Center. Eventually Igglybuff behaved as she sat on her trainer's shoulder, but only because she had to, for fear of being sent back to her Pokeball. She enjoyed her freedom, but hated having to share it with the red and white soft thing that Tikal carried as well. Entering into the Pokemon Center, she walked over to the counter to see Nurse Joy, and to get a check-up on her Pokemon. Igglybuff was quite unhappy about being removed from her perch on her trainer's shoulder, but at the offer of a sweet from Nurse Joy, the Pokemon seemed more than happy to follow along. As her Pokemon were taken away, Tikal walked back over to Tyson with a smile, taking his hand once more.

As his face grew warm, he was sure that she would notice, and possibly start commenting about his reaction to her holding his hand. He took the Pokemon from his belt, placing all four spheres on the table as he waited for them to be healed.

"To be honest, I was quite surprised about your decision to bring out your new Pokemon." Tikal told him, following him over to the counter as she waited for Nurse Joy to finish tending to her Pokemon. She hadn't even known he had a new Pokemon until the battle was halfway over, and even he seemed rather surprised about the change. Then again it seemed like a good strategy, to trick your opponent into thinking you were sending something out.

"That's the funny part," Tyson began to explain to Tikal, "when I first caught Houdini, he took the form of a Kangaskhan that he had seen. Then, in my battle with Melissa, he took the form of Hydro." He placed his hand on his chin, still trying to ponder what was going on at this very moment. "Is it me, or is Houdini a doppelganger?"

"Maybe that's his thing." Tikal reasoned, thinking back to his earlier transformation of Aero. "Every Pokemon has something about them that makes them unique, just like people. Except theirs are more obvious. Maybe his is the ability to copy the appearance of others?" she reasoned. Then again that sounded like another Pokemon she had heard about long ago. There was apparently a Pokemon who could copy everything about another, even their attacks. But apparently unlike Tyson's mystery Pokemon, this one couldn't get the face right.

"Appearance, yes," Tyson agreed, but something was off about Houdini. His attacks were nothing like the Pokemon he owned. It made it seem as if the other Pokemon had learned new moves overnight. Was it possible that Houdini was only a perfect image copy and couldn't learn the moves correctly?

"I remember something long ago about another Pokemon that could do this exact same thing. However unlike yours, it could use their moves as well. Maybe it's possible that the two share a similar ability. However I suppose the thing that would set them apart is that yours cant use the copy's attacks, only appearance."

"Possibly," Tyson responded, hoping that things would begin to make more sense as they progressed. His train of thought came to a halt as he received his Poke Balls back as did Tikal. "I can think about it later, right," Tyson asked as he clipped his Poke Balls onto his belt. He then asked Nurse Joy if she had some scissors, receiving a pair for him to use. He handed the scissors to Tikal, pointing at his ponytail.

Tikal looked a little uncertain as she was handed the scissors, looking down at them before glancing up at him as he indicated toward his tied-back hair. “You want me to cut it?” she asked, seeming a little baffled by his request. She liked his long hair, but now it seemed he wanted to change his mind. So leaning to his left and right to further investigate where to cut, she brought the scissors to his hair, a small ways away from his ponytail, and began to make the cut. She made sure to cut outside the ponytail, so that his hair wouldn’t be very short, and he could always decide on styling later.

As she nearly finished the cut, Tikal wondered why exactly he had wanted her to make this adjustment. Couldn’t he have gotten someone who actually knew what they were doing to fix it instead of her? Watching as the last snip was made, the clump falling to the ground, Tikal stepped back with scissors still in hand, hoping that she had done a half-decent job.

Tyson, who only needed to reach back and touch his head, knew that she had done a great job, removing the ponytail entirely. He smiled widely and looked at her.

"Thanks," Tyson told her sweetly, "it's been getting on my nerves for a while now. It feels good to have short hair again." Sighing with relief, he looked at Tikal again with a smile. "Ready to go to the festival?" He asked patiently.

After cleaning up her mess and getting her Pokemon back, Tikal collected her plus Pokemon once more before moving to Tyson's side, hands clasped together as her gift rested in her arms. She couldn't wait to see more of this festival, knowing that it would be the perfect opportunity to get a few great pictures in. Especially since she had been lacking some nice shots of her earlier battles. Then again, fighting and photography didn't always mix together so well, especially when one was more of a distraction.

"Well... I'm ready when you are."

This post has been edited by rt117: Jul 19 2011, 12:55 PM

[Chroma]

Mel felt as if a thousand things had happened at once. Maybe they did, but who knows?

She was pulled left and right to practically everywhere until the Alex kid said that they were at a festival of some sort. It seemed so odd of her to be so quiet out of nowhere. She was going to change that in a flash, surely! Although, she was left alone with Alex, who apparently seemed a lot like herself. The Trainer still felt bummed about the poor battle that she had before. She also never got the chance to show off Phoebe. She gave a somewhat disturbing grin at the thought of another battle. Maybe, just maybe, the chance was right before her. And that opportunity's name was Alex. As Mel followed Alex, seeing that there wasn't much for her to do around the place and that Tyson ran off with a friend of his, she kept thinking of simple strategies that would possibly win her a battle.

It wasn't long before she accidentally bumped into the guy. There seemed to be something going on, but Mel wasn't sure what the event was. Well, she was about to find out. As the lights on the stage began to dim, a Trainer who went by the name of Harry threw out three Poké Balls while calling out commands. They burst in a spectacularly colorful light, introducing three Pokémon she never saw. One looked like a shrew with a brick-like pattern, another looked like a small fox with small curls on its head and had multiple tails, and the last one was a small, steel turtle. They worked together in a synchronized movement to show off their styles. It was all a big pretty show that captured Mel's eyes. It was certainly beautiful, that's for sure.

All thoughts about her planned battle vanished without a trace as Mel tapped Alex's shoulder. A childish question flowed out of her mouth simply and innocently.

"What are they doing?"

[Captain Combuske...]

Alex noticed that Tikal and Tyson were still not sitting there with them. Oh well, he reasoned with himself, they must be... doing something together. They're like, going out aren't they?

The truth was, Alex was no idea what people did in a relationship. he'd never experienced one. All he knew of them was his mother and father and Tyson and Tikal. And Alex wasn't sure if the latter were in a relationship or not.
"It'll happen when it happens." he told himself. "And I suppose you'll know what to do when it does. No point in dwelling on the future when there's the present to deal with."

Alex suddenly realized Mel was still there.
"Oh... sorry. I easily get distracted."

Mel seemed to accept this, but Alex thought she was probably busy watching the amazing spectacle in front of them. This thought was confirmed when Mel turned round to him, and, quite childishly, asked with awe what the guy on stage was doing. Alex laughed kindly.

"They're co-ordinators, the trainers there. What they do is they dress up their Pokemon and get them to perform and make a lovely spectacle and in the end the judges judge who was best. Some places are different from others. In Hoenn, where I was born, there are no extra things, just appeal to the judges, but in Sinnoh, the Pokemon are also made to compete in a dance competition. In Unova, this Dance has become the Musical, and it takes up the major part of the contest life over there. Here in Furoh, the rules vary from Contest to contest. The Fidona festival starts with an appeal round. Then, the Pokemon have to overcome an obstacle course before showing an obedience trial."

Presently, Harry's Pokemon were running the obstacle course now their appeal round had finished. His Vulpix expertly jumped over the hurdle, his Sandshrew managed the "under" hurdle, which were basically like Limbo but going front-ways. His Aron was particularly talented in the mini cave. All in all they finished the course in an impressive 57 seconds.
"Tom can do it faster." said Alex to Mel. "But that's pretty good." Alex sounded like a contest expert, but really, he'd just listened to Tom quite a bit and watched him practising.

Harry's Pokemon now came back to the stage. The Judge handed the trainer a card with some orders on it. The crowd could see the orders due to a big screen overhead, but the Pokemon could not.
"Aron, use Harden!" the co-ordinator said. Aron nodded and his exterior shone slightly.
"That looked too much like Iron Defence to me. The Judges will mark each Pokemon on how well they perform the move." Alex said to Mel.

Next, Harry instructed his Vulpix to perform the move Will-o-wisp. It worked to perfection, which made Alex a little nervous. Harry's strongest Pokemon looked like Vulpix. If he continued into the next round, which seemed likely considering how well he was doing, Tom would have a rough ride.

The final obedience show was Sandshrew's. The little desert shrew tried a hone claws, but went over the top and ended up doing a Slash attack.

Alex watched the rest of the group with interest. There were plenty of talented budding young co-ordinators, but none of them managed to stand up to Harry's impressive display.

During group B, Alex decided that he needed some food and drink.
"I'm hungry." he said to Mel. "Wanna come? There's a nice restaurant that I saw earlier."

[Captain Combuske...]

~Accidentally doubled posted. Please ignore this post.

This post has been edited by Proby: Aug 1 2011, 09:26 AM

[rt117]

ooc: once more, collab post to get everyone hopefully back together again.

Stepping outside of the Pokemon Center beside Tyson, she took one last glance inside to make sure she hadn't left anything behind, before following him back toward the festival. The short hair certainly looked more comfortable in the warmer climate, though she never considered cutting her own short. She liked it that way, having always had longer hair as a child. "So where do you think Alex could have gone to?" she asked Tyson as the Pokemon Center soon vanished behind them.

"Alex is probably waiting on us," Tyson began, looking around as he talked to her. He looked around as they walked, observing his surroundings as they continued to walk towards the arena. Lights began to flash in the corner of Tyson's left eye, causing him to be distracted.

"I suppose he would be." she replied, watching as Tyson glanced around, wondering if something had caught his attention. She had noticed that one of the booths back at the festival seemed to do a good job at attracting attention that way. Glancing out toward the arena, she began to wonder what it was exactly that he was planning on doing. "Do you know what kind of competition exactly he's participating in?" Having almost completely forgotten about the competition, Tikal had accidentally mixed up Alex and Tom in her train of thought.

"Tom's the one participating," Tyson said, now wandering towards where the glow was coming from. Soon, he stopped himself, deciding to focus more on getting to the festival.

"Oh... " Tikal replied with a sheepish smile, suddenly remembering how Tom had left the group earlier to get ready. Though at this point the girl's face became quizzical again when she tried to recall what exactly he had left to go participate in. "But what exactly is he doing? Is it a normal Pokemon battle or something else?" As far as she knew, there was only battles. She had never seen a contest before, so the entire concept of some other type of competition made her curious. Being from the country, there wasn't much else for entertainment.

He focused more on what Tikal was saying, with the light fading out of sight.
"Well," Tyson began, "contests are more of a showcase of a Pokemon's talents, allowing them to be graded on grace, attack, and how synchronized they are.

"So basically, it's something similar to a battle..." Tikal stated, trying hard to conceive such an idea with the information Tyson had given to her. "...but rather than the focus on being knocking out the opponent, it's how well they do it?" she questioned, still a little curious about the entire idea. Perhaps it would be easier to understand it if she saw the event first hand. At least that's how she learned how to battle when she was younger, having watched her father train his Pokemon a few times before he had went off to continuing his training.

"Basically," Tyson responded, "but you'll be able to see for yourself in a minute." They continued to walk towards the festival.

"Well then I can't wait. I'm sure I'll understand it better when I see it." she replied with an enthusiastic smile, following him into the festival once more, which was still as busy as ever. Possibly more so, as Tikal started to realize that it was becoming harder to keep track of her boyfriend amongst the rest of the crowd. She was quick to correct this by making sure to stick close to Tyson, afraid of losing him again. They had been separated once already, and she was afraid of him having a headache in the crowd. Unfortunately she sometimes had a habit of fearing the worst.

By the time they got there, Block B had been halfway finished. Tyson could only hope that they didn't miss Tom's performance.

Tikal had managed to stay close to Tyson despite the crowds, though as they approached she found a slight problem: she couldn't see the competition. Only rarely did being shorter have its advantages, but she never had the benefit of running into those situations. And so as they stopped to watch the competition, Tikal found herself moving side to side, trying to find some way to peek through to watch her first Contest. Eventually she managed to get in to see, after poking her shoulder through between Tyson and someone else, allowing her to squeeze through and watch with a better view.

This post has been edited by rt117: Aug 7 2011, 08:46 PM

[Captain Combuske...]

Mel didn't answer Alex's question, seemingly enthralled by the beautiful display of Co-ordinating skills. Alex found them equally fascinating, but his stomach was calling out to him. Big time. If there was one thing Alex had learned in his Fifteen years as a human being, it was that when your stomach says you're hungry, it's best to listen to it. So he got out of his seat and went on an epic crusade to find some badly needed nutrition.

... Well, not exactly epic. And not a Crusade either. But it was definitely an important journey.

Alex quickly found his way to the "Restaurant", which turned out to be ideal for him- a Take In/ Take Out cafe which sold some lovely- looking hot meals. And the speed they were making them! Yeah, sure, they had a lot of Pokemon help. Alex was in awe, as Mel was with the contest, in this new idea: Fast Food that both tasted good and was healthy. And actually healthy too, unlike Tauros King and Kanto Fried Combusken, two popular but simply vile to eat in Fats Food Restaurants.

Alex scanned the list of meals, and saw one he loved the look of.
"Oh my Arceus..." he said, closing his eyes and imagining the taste of the food as it hit his taste buds, setting off a beautiful tingling sensation and making Alex's Stomach purr as it got given what it asked for.

"Sir? Can I help?" asked a man. Alex's eyes snapped open again. He then realized he was starting to drool a little. He quickly wiped the corner of his mouth and cleared his throat.

"Uh-hum! Yes, sorry." said Alex, hoping the guy hadn't noticed. "Erm, I would simply love one of your Egg, Mushroom and Sweetcorn pizzas. With Garlic Bread side dish, a Dr. Pepper and Va-va-vanillite Rice pudding with jam."

"Coming right up!" said the Man. He looked at Alex and raised his eyebrows slightly.
Well, he noticed then. Thought Alex to himself, sighing inside his head.

Alex was only there two minutes. it was that quick. And they made it from scratch. it wasn't already ready like some places Alex had dined at where they took ten minutes to make a sandwich and then the bread was too crusty, the egg mayo was just sliced eggs with Mayonnaise dribbled at the opening of the bread, and where they charged you extra for accidentally tripping up and knocking a tray of food into the waiter's chest. He hated those places.

"Thank you!" he said to the guy running the shop, who'd cooked the meal using help from his Chansey for the eggs, his Gallade for shopping up the vegetables, bread and eggs, his Magmar for cooking everything, and his Ninjask for carrying everything all over the place really quickly and carefully.

As Alex left the shop, he saw something shiny on the floor. It looked very much like a coin, so he bent down to pick it up, not knowing that his bag was still open. One of Alex's Pokeballs fell out of the bag and hit the floor on the switch, causing it to open. Alex realized this straight away and stood up properly again to stop it happening once more. He took his bag off his back and did the zip up.

He then looked at who had been sent out. He saw a Green Gecko-like Pokemon. Treecky. His Grumpy but very strong Treecko.

"Oh, hey, Buddy. Want some food? I gots plenty in here."

Treecko looked up at him. His expression had seemed rather nonchalant and uncaring when he's been sent out, but now his eyes opened wide and he smiled, nodding his head frantically. It was then that Alex remembered his Pokemon hadn't had a proper meal since two days ago on the boat to Fidona.

"Ok then, dude!" Alex said, smiling at his Pokemon. "Here, have some Pizza." Alex took out a slice of Pizza, which was all chopped up already thanks to the Gallade once more. He handed it to Treecky, and the Tree Gecko Pokemon seemed to thank him before starting to eat the pizza. It was odd for Alex. Treecky was actually happy for once.

But Alex knew something was up with his Pokemon. As he ate more of the Pizza, his body started to glow, until it started to glow really brightly, making Alex look away to stop himself from getting blind. Alex eventually felt that the light had gone off and he turned to face his Pokemon. He wasn't surprised. There, in front of him, was not a Treecko, but a Grovyle.
"Gro!" said Treecky fiercely, proving his power to Alex.

"Huh. Will ya look at that. Even Treecky's evolved. Nice one, bud! Dia, all of my Pokemon evolving within the space of a couple of days. Neato."

Then, Treecky remaining outside his Pokeball, the two made their way back towards the stands. Alex saw Tyson and Tikal rushing inside, presumably to find Alex.

"Hehe." said Alex, slightly maliciously, to Treecky, but also to himself. "You won't find me in there!"

But he headed inside, eager to have everyone together and to watch Tom's performance.

When he got inside, he immediately saw Tikal and Tyson again, struggling to get a view. He saw they weren't at their seats, so he went over to them.

"Hey, guys." he said. "Seats are over there. We got a nice view."

He then indicated to them to follow him, and they did, sitting down in their seats at least. Alex looked on stage at the Judge, watching. He took out his food and started eating the Pizza. It really WAS delicious.

"Mmmm..." he said. "Right guys, *chew*" he said to his companions whilst eating, "This next group, *chew*, is Tom's."

The first trainer to make their way onto the stage was not Tom, but a young girl. She had an impressive team of fully evolved Pokemon, and was clearly a trainer in the past. She had a Nidoqueen, a Togekiss and a Rapidash.They very impressive Pokemon, but Alex was sure she was very new to co-ordinating. She wouldn't do too well.
---
Tom, meanwhile, was backstage, putting the finishing touches to his all of his Pokemon's costumes. Rai looked cool his his red Headband and Red cape, Rose looked beautiful with her luscious flowers and sparkly powder, Tweet looked impeccably smart with his top hat and bow-tie,and Staa's shiny colours shone brilliantly.

"Well... guys, this is it. In just a few minutes, we'll be exploding onto the stage. This is massively important, guys. This could be the start of massive success for us. We've been entering contests for ages now, with little success. Never even made it to the semis. I'm hoping to rectify that today."

"So, for my first round, I'm going to be using Rai, Staa and Rose. Sorry Tweet."

Tweet looked at Tom, and seemed to shrug his shoulders. He didn't mind at all. The Taillow just looked happy to be Tom's Pokemon really. Tom smiled. That made him glad for sure.

Tom then proceeded to start strategizing with his Pokemon who were competing, telling them exactly what they had to do.

[rt117]

"You won't find me in there!"

Hearing the shout of a familiar voice, Tikal attempted to look behind her to see the source, unsure whether or not she wanted to give up the spot she had fought to get. Though as she caught a brief glimpse of Alex's familiar face, she quickly squeezed back out of the crowd, finding it much easier to get out than in.

"Oh hey!" she greeted with a smile, finding herself standing next to Tyson once more as they finally regrouped. "We were looking for you guys!" She hadn't said anything about the large Pokedoll she held happily in her arms, figuring he would have guessed before asking where it had come from. The revelation that there was regular seating rather than fighting crowds was music to the girl's ears, as she quickly grabbed Tyson's hand and dragged him into following Alex toward the new seats.

Once the group had finally gotten settled in, Tikal figured that they could at least chat before the competition actually started, actually quite interested in seeing what the contest looked like.

"So what have you been up to since you took off?" she asked, placing the Pokedoll in her lap as she leaned upon it, not so much into a straight posture. As she asked, a bright flash appeared at her side as Igglybuff came out, quickly becoming infuriated at the plush that had taken her position. Immediately the baby Pokemon attempted to squeeze under her arm, and push the Latias pokedoll out of Tikal's grasp.

However the attempt quickly ended in vein as the Balloon Pokemon simply slid onto the ground, having been unsuccessful in moving the doll from her trainer's arms. However before she could sulk any further, Tikal picked up the small Pokemon with a smile, allowing her to nestle into one arm while the plush remained in the other.

This post has been edited by rt117: Oct 13 2011, 01:02 PM

[Captain Combuske...]

"Oh hey!" Tikal said, smiling.. "We were looking for you guys!"

"Yep, and me you!" said Alex warmly.

When the group were finally sitting down, there was a chance to chat for a little while. Alex noticed the massive soft toy of a Latias in Tikal's lap.

"So what have you been up to since you took off?" asked the girl.

"Oh, I was just hungry, so I went out and got some lovely food!" he exclaimed, his stomach purring with joy as he took another bite out of his Piazza. It truly was divine. "Also, Treecky here evolved." He said this pointing to his now-Grovyle.

Alex watched, chuckling slightly, as Tikal's Igglybuff, clearly jealous of the attention the Latias plush was getting, tried to push it out of her trainer's grasp, before failing miserably and falling on the floor. It was quite cute how the little Balloon Pokemon acted. Tikal picked her Igglybuff up and placed her into the other arm. Igglybuff finally looked happy.

Alex watched as the next guy came on stage. He was an old man, but was clearly rather good at contests. He sent out a Starly, a Pidgey and a Pidove. Together the three of them looked majestic and they were very appealing. The man clearly knew exactly how to co-ordinate his Pokemon to the bets of his ability. However, though the three birds were excellent in the appeal round and quite strong in the obedience round, when it came to the obstacle round, they failed. Alex realised that the three bird Pokemon were likely to be around the age of the old man. As such, they had many sores and aches that old creatures did. They were not strong in the physical aspect of the obstacle and only the Pidove who, though still old, seemed the youngest, actually managed to cross the finish line before the three minuets that were the maximum on the clock had elapsed.

The old and and his Pokemon left the stage and the third co-ordinator, a middle-aged woman, came onto the stage. She threw her Pokeballs, revealing a Marill, a Pichu and a Mime Jr. Their appeal round was spectacular, their Obedience was flawless, especially with Mime Jr. on the woman's team, and they were excellent at the obstacle course. Alex watched in concern. This woman, whose name was Helen, would be a tough opponent for Tom to beat.
---
The woman named Helen left the stage. Tom's expression turned worried. he had absolutely no idea how he could top that. Helen and her team had been astounding. They'd been perfect. For the first time since arriving in Fidona Tom doubted his abilities. He doubted that he would be able to win this contest. He didn't know why he was so nervous. He didn't HAVE to win, right? It wasn't important, after all. But somehow, he felt that if he didn't win this, then everything would be bad for him. He felt he couldn't face Alex and Tikal and Tyson or even that new girl, Mel.

"And now, the last of this final group, Thomas Haaaaaaaaaaawk!" called the MC. Tom put on his brave and confident smile and leapt onto the stage, his three Pokemon in Pokeballs in his hand. He'd changed clothes form his usual green hoodie and jeans and was now wearing his contest clothes. These consisted of smart green trousers, a white shirt with a green tie and green waistcoat on top. He had white shoes and a white hat. he paused for a few seconds as a sudden realization came to him and as he accepted the wild applause from the crowd. he now knew exactly how to win this. he'd spotted a flaw in Helen's game.

"Hello!" he yelled to the crows. "GO, STAA, RAI AND ROSE!"

Tom then threw each Pokeball up into the air a millisecond after the previous one and then jumped up and flipped, landing in a handstand. He'd planned and practised this many times. The then span round, his hat making it ridiculously easy. He kept spinning until the first Pokeball was about to land, and, as it did, he kicked it forwards onto the stage, before doing the same to the other two balls. His timing was flawless and the balls landed exactly where they were meant to in front of him. His worked done he stopped spinning, facing away form the audience. He then jumped up expertly and landed on his feet. He then pointed to Staa, who had been in the first Pokeball. The shiny Staryu needed little costume due to its bold blue colour. It started spinning, orbiting around Tom, producing its "fountain" attack. It sprayed water in the air and started spinning quicker and quicker, until it was so quick that the fountain appeared as a massive halo of water above Tom's head.

Tom then pointed to Rose. The Roselia's petals were painted with beautiful white stripes and she wore her sparkly powder. She pirouetted, landing inside of the halo of water. She then pointed to the sky with her flowers and leaves of all the colours of the rainbow darted outwards until they were caught in the fountain, which now turned into a stunning rainbow halo. When this was in place Tom pointed at Rai. The Pikachu wore his read cape and bandanna an an immensely cool manner. He also back-flipped inside the halo of water and stood on his trainer's head. He then proceeded to use Double team, creating a ring of himself around Tom and Rose. Rai then ran around in a circle, his duplicates following him. After a dizzying sprint the Pikachu stopped suddenly in front of Tom and Rose. He then yelled "PIKAAAAAAA!" and used an almighty thunderbolt attack, creating a ring of electricity just above the halo of rainbow water. It stayed there for a while, for dramatic effect. Then in one motion Staa stopped spinning, stopping abruptly directly in front of Rai;. The Pikachu then brought his Thunderbolt halo down onto the water, causing the rainbow halo to epxlode. The electricity and water disappeared and the leaves shot outwards briefly before falling down slowly onto the ground, forming a ring around Tom and his three Pokemon.

The crowd erupted into a deafening roar. Tom bowed, as did his three Pokemon, before the Rai and Staa jumped backwards forming a horizontal line in front of Tom with Rose. The MC stepped out from backstage and stood in front of the three of the Pokemon.

"Well done Thomas! Now, we must continue onwards to the Obedience round. I will give Tom an envelope with three commands on it, one for each of his Pokemon. The Pokemon will then perform these moves, and, base don how well they do, they will be marked."

The MC handed the envelope to Tom, who carefully slid out the little card. It read:
"Rai [Pikachu]- Thunder Wave
Staa [Staryu]- Recover
Rose [Roeslia]- Growth"

In turn, Tom ordered each of his Pokemon to perform their moves. They completed this excellently and flawlessly.

"And now" said the MC, taking the envelope back "Is the Obstacle course. Your Pokemon have three minutes to clear the course. Each Pokemon must clear each obstacle."

Tom and his Pokemon stepped back as most of the stage fell down and was drawn back in by clever mechanics that Tom knew nothing about. The stage was much smaller now, but it revealed Tom's third and final challenge in this contest- the Obstacle Course. Tom's three Pokemon stepped forward to the starting line. When they were in place, the MC held the stopwatch up.

"You may start.......... NOW!"

And with that, He pressed the button to start the clock and Tom's trio were off. First they had to clear three hurdles and three limbo hurdles, arranged alternatively. They did this expertly and with hardly any fuss. Then came the second obstacle. It was a slalom, with Pokeballs precariously placed on top of each pole. If anyone were to hit a pole too hard the Pokeball would fall, releasing the Pokemon inside, who had been trained to hinder the offending Pokemon's progress. There was a tense moment when Staa nearly hit a Pole, but Tom sighed a sigh of relief and the Staryu carried on, along with hi team-mates, unhindered.

Next up, there was the tunnel of gloom. It was a dark tunnel with three exits. Two exits took you to a Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee. You would have to defeat these foes to advance. His Pokemon cleared this too, avoiding the enemies. Then, they came to the see-saw. Then task here was tricky: in turn, the three of them had to go up the ramp of one side of the see-saw. They couldn't jump at all during the whole thing and had to use their body-weight to push the other side down before they could go down it. There was another tense moment, because Rose was a little too light for the task, but she eventually managed.

Then was the final obstacle, possibly the hardest one. You had to run. Simply a sprint finish. But you had Tennis balls being thrown by deadly accurate Pokemon from the sides. If a ball hit you even once, you had to return to the start. The only advantage was that the throwers couldn't retrieve their balls once thrown and had a limited amount. Tom watched; breathless, as his three Pokemon started making their way across the stretch. Staa was fats with his spinning, and managed to draw the fire a little dodging every ball. But he eventually got bored and went over the finish line. Rose also crossed with little problem, But Rai was in trouble. You could only use one of your attacks to help you in the whole obstacle course, and Rai had chosen Double team. He crated many doubles and they all started running towards the finish line, but within seconds they had been destroyed, leaving only Rai. He jumped through the air and a ball flew towards him. Tom tensed. Just as the ball was about to hit the electric mouse, Rai twisted in the air and the ball flew harmlessly past. he flew over the finish line, and Tom relaxed, extremely relieved that he had finally managed to succeed.
---
Alex watched, minutes later, as the four members of Tom's group lined up on the stage. They all looked nervous, slightly, but had determined looks on their face,s Tom included.

"And the winner of this group and advancing through to the Semi-finals is...... THOMAS HAWK!" roared the MC.

"YEAH!" yelled Alex, another voice amongst the crowd. he smiled- this was going to be great. Tom was advancing. Maybe his friend would even win the festival. That made Alex smile.

This post has been edited by Captain Combusken: Dec 11 2011, 03:41 PM

[rt117]

Tikal cheered along with Tyson, quite happy to see their friend advance onto the next round. Even Igglybuff seemed to clap, though noticing the distraction the applause caused, she tried to take over more of her trainer's arm space, and shove out the Latias doll again, with little success. With that she let out a huff, slumping in her trainer's lap with a pout.

As the crowd began to settle again, Tikal took a moment to glance over at Alex. "Are these competitions always this hard?" she asked. Seeing the obstacle course alone would have been enough to scare her away from such competition. It all seemed quite challenging to her, but perhaps the success and victory from succeeding would be worth it. And maybe it only looked so challenging to those on the outside, the spectators. With some practice maybe such events would be easier.

Then again it would be her Pokemon doing the work, and she was clueless on such training. Perhaps when the competition was over, she could ask Alex or Tom more about the contests, and even get a chance to try things out. The only thing she worried about though was her lack of focus.

Tikal had some difficulty on focusing on a single thing for a long time, especially when she had nothing better to do. It was one of the reasons she hated going on longer walks by herself, as she tended to get distracted by smaller things, and get lost in the process. It was part of the reason she didn't stray too far from home as a child, her mother having worried about her getting lost whenever she went out. Odds were she wouldn't fare so well if she had to focus on a contest, or even worse forget what to do.

At least battles were somewhat entertaining.

This post has been edited by rt117: Dec 11 2011, 08:22 PM

[Captain Combuske...]

"The Semi finals," said Thomas Hawk to the four of them during the break, "works differently to the heats. Firstly, none of the three events make a re-appearance. There are now only two head-to-head events. If each player wins one, there is a tiebreaker mixing the two together. The events are a Dance-off and a Battle. The final consists of an appeal round, another new round of disc throwing and catching and a final round of battling."

"Ok..." said Alex. "That's cool. I get it. So who are you using?"

Tom looked at Alex mischievously.

"Well, that would be telling now, wouldn't it?" he said.

"Damn you, man, damn you!" said Alex, slightly exasperated, but mostly jokingly.

The group carried on chatting and shrinking milkshakes down in the festival area, where they were now, until the announcer spoke throughout the stadium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he said over the microphone, "Semi-final contestants, report to the dress up rooms!"

With that, Tom left for the dressing rooms, and Alex lead Tikal, Tyson and Mel back to their place in the stands, drinking his coconut milkshake noisily as he did.
---
Tom won his semi-final. He truly was brilliant. He used Tweet for his dancing. Despite logical thinking that the bird Pokemon would be less agile, he was an excellent dancer. In the dancing round, a music track was played. A Belossom stood in the middle and danced to the music, her moves getting more and more complicated towards the end of the performance. Then, at the same time on stage, each Pokemon repeated the performance as accurately as they could. Tom's opponent, a young and rather arrogant trainer with annoying spiky hair named Gerry, had fielded his Ponyta, Mane. The Pony Pokemon was as young and inexperienced as her annoying trainer, and this lack or experience was her downfall. She clumsily attempted to mimic the steps, but it was hopeless, and she kept stumbling. She missed several steps and there was no fluidity to her moves.

Tweet, on the other hand, was brilliant. Alex knew form watching them train that Rai and Rose were better dancers than Tweet, but even so, Tweet was awesome. He didn't miss a single step, not even the extremely complicated ones towards the end. He moved comfortably and fluidly, and, something that was even better; he added his own movements and personality into the routine. Nobody could ever hope to live up to a Belossom, but Tweet came really close to it. He was actually rather inspiring making even Alex, who loathed dancing, want to get on the stage and dance with him.

Tweet won the dance round easily. The battle round was just as good for Tom. New Pokemon had to be chosen. Gerry sent out a Sandshrew named Desert. Tom sent out Rose. It was over very quickly. Rose only needed one Razor Leaf and the much weaker Sandsrew fainted instantly to the strong super-effective attack.

The final took place immediately after the semis. The aim was obviously to attempt to tire out the trainers to make the final a much harder and more gruelling affair.

The finalists were Tom Hawk and Janine Johnson. Janine was a 26-year-old woman, and was in the prime of her co-ordinating career. She was extremely famous due to her many successes. It was rumoured she might be setting up her own contest hall, she was that good. She'd already beaten the four Hall leaders. She used lots of Dragon types, and her style was extremely graceful and elegant. She herself wore exquisite dresses made of a material designed to mirror a dragon's scales, so she constantly appeared to be sparkling slightly in the light. Her main three Pokemon were Dragonair, Kingdra and Vibrava, but she did also own a Hydreigon and an Altaria that she'd used in the heats.

"ROUND ONE, APPEAL!" roared the MC.

And then, Tom Hawk went onto the stage for a second time. He stood in the middle of the stage, a single spotlight on him, wearing his green shirt, white tie, white jacket, white trousers and Green Hat. His head was bowed, and his arms and legs were crossed. A piece of music started playing. Alex recognized it almost immediately as the Pink Panther theme tune. Tom started bobbing up and down slightly to the music. He then stood up straight, snapped his fingers on his left hand, then the ones on his right and then both of them, all in time with the music. At about 24 seconds into the music, three Pokeballs dropped from the sky. On each individual beat, they landed, first in his left hand, then in his right, and then on his hat. He then casually flicked the ones in his hands forward, before spinning his hat on his head, taking off the remaining Pokeball, and flicking that forward too. Out came Tweet, Rai and Staa. Rai was dressed up as a detective, and he held a magnifying glass in his hand, he along with Tom, continued the finger snapping and light bobbing up and down, before Tweet, dressed as a Robber with a balaclava and holding a fake bag of money, appeared, joining them. Finally came Staa, Who was not dressed up, but lay down between Tweet and Rai, pointing upwards, jerking upwards and downwards softly.

Then, Rai turned round, spotting Tweet. What then ensued was a skilful chase where Rai chased Tweet round Staa in the middle. Rai used his electricity to form bright lights, exposing Tweet, who was doing his bets to stay shadowed. Finally, to finish off the routine, Staa suddenly jumped up, spraying both with water, allowing tweet to fly away, with Rai staring at the sky, shaking his head in disbelief. It was very funny and displayed the Pokemon very well. But Alex was nervous. he just wasn't sure that it was appealing enough. Staa hadn't been properly showcased and it was a little bit cheesy.

But there was little time for such thoughts as Janine made her way onto the stage. Her appeal round was completely stunning. She, like Tom, seemed to have a bit of an obsession with circles and rings, and did much the same as Tom's routine in the heats. She twirled round in her scintillating dress whilst her Dragonair used Dragonbreath, forming a halo round her head, her Vibrava created a Sand tomb that both didn't touch the others and looked stunning, and her Kingdra mirrored Staa's fountain-like Water Gun. Altogether it was a beautiful performance, but Alex felt cheated. Tom had done this earlier! But as he watched the performance, he became sure that people would forget it. Janine looked the very image of perfection, and her beauty and the beauty of her Pokemon shone across the stage. She would win the appeal round. But that wouldn't be revealed until the end.

However, Tom excelled at the Disc-throwing. Janine's Pokemon found catching the things challenging, and it was clear she had little sporting ability as her Pokemon's movement was very static. The aim of the disc-throwing competition was simple; there was a circle in the middle of the arena. Around this circle were several rings. The aim was to throw a disc into the middle of that circle. The trainer would throw three discs, and each Pokemon that the trainer was using had to go and catch it. The closer in the middle it was, the better. Janine's Pokemon managed to catch all three, but they landed in relatively low-scoring zones. Tom, however, was excellent. Staa caught a low-score, But Rai's speed and agility and Tweet's expert flying meant that they caught the discs right in the centre. A jumping catch was even better, which both Pokemon did. Tom came out of that round winning spectacularly.

And now, all that was left was the battle. And an important battle it was too. This battle would determine the festival. With Janine up by one round and Tom up by one too, all that was left was this. A Battle. Alex couldn't help laughing. In the end, it all came down to battling. Regardless of how you put it, no matter how much sparkly glitter you put on, trainers battling one another was ultimately the way the Pokemon world worked. And that was why Alex,a battle,r was worried for Tom, who had no real battler son his team. His Pokemon were low-levelled and quite weak.

Tom's first Pokemon was Rai. This made sense really. Tom had an odd interest in getting the worst done first. Rai stood no chance against Dragon types. His electric attacks weren't very effective and his only other attacks, normal types, were weak and would barely even scratch the scaly dragons. So Alex was extremely surprised when Janine sent out Kingdra, possibly the only Pokemon that Rai stood a reasonable chance of winning against. But then, Alex remembered his Gym battle with Maxi Z!. Alex had had the advantage there, yet he'd lost, because Maxi had used super-effective types. Alex's thoughts and mood darkened as memories of his defeat welled up again. It would be a while before he recovered properly once more. Alex was entering a minor depression, full of self-doubt. It would be a while before he exited it properly.
---
At first Tom was confused Then he became elated, before becoming worried and suspicious. Rai stood a chance against this Kingdra. But why did Janine bother to send it out? She probably thought she could humiliate Tom, show up his inexperience. Well, Tom wasn't going to fall for that trick.

"Rai, Double Team!" he exclaimed, and the electric mouse obliged, running in a circle around the Kingdra, forming several clones, who stared at him.

"Kingdra, use Dragon Pulse!" ordered Janine, and the Kingdra nodded. It let out a navy blue glowing pulse of energy form its mouth, and it fired it as if one would fire a gun at each Pikachu in turn. The pulses hit, and the clones disappeared. Rai was flung through the air and landed on the floor. He rapidly got back up though.

"Ok, Rai, Thundershock!" said Tom and Rai let a bolt of electricity loose on the Kingdra. It hit with such lightning speed that the Kingdra was stunned. And paralysed, by the look of the attack. Luck was all of a sudden much more on Tom's side, and he ordered his fast little Pikachu to use Quick attack, Thundershock, Tackle, several times, gradually denting the Kingdra's defences as it moved around painfully due to the paralysis. Eventually though, the Kingdra fell, due to one last powerful Thundershock attack. Against the odds, Tom had defeated his first foe.

The next one-on-one did not go well. Janine sent out her Vibrava, and Tom sent out Tweet. It went wrong almost immediately. Tom used a couple of successful Quick attacks and dodged moves for a while, but it was clear that nothing was really happening. Then, Vibrava used Rock Slide, bringing down a super-effective wall of rocks down on Tweet. He was K.Oed instantly.

And then it was down to the last two Pokemon. Tom's Staryu, Staa, versus Janine's Dragonair. The outlook looked bleak for Tom. But would he manage to win this one too? Only time would tell.

Staa started out with a Water gun, spraying the dragonair with water. It did very little, but at least took a little bit of health back. Dragonair followed up with an Agility attack, boosting her speed. Staa used a Rapid Spin attack, sending the Dragonair flying briefly through the air, before coming back at Staa with an Aqua Tail attack. It made Staa lie down for a while, unable to rise briefly, so Tom ordered a Harden attack from his Staryu. It came just in time, too, as a Dragon Tail attack followed up. Most of the blow was absorbed by the hard coat that Staa now had, but some penetrated, hitting Staa further. Staa then used Rapid Spin while Dragonair was still close, which had a large effect on the Dragonair. But it was nowhere near fainted and it used Slam, forcing Staa to be immobile briefly once more. Tom once again ordered Harden, and this time, it absorbed all of the attack. Staa barely felt anything. Instead of getting another attack, Tom used Harden again, and again. Attack after attack from Dragonair bounced off Staa as if nothing had hit it. It looked liek Tom might win. Dragonair was tiring, and Staa still had a lot of energy. But then, he did something stupid. Tom ordered a Rapid Spin attack, and Staa hit the Dragonair. But then, before Staa could move, Dragonair used a powerful Dragon tail attack form behind, on Staa's weak spot. Staa clattered to the ground, its shiny blue gem in the middle buzzing on and off, signalling it had fainted. And that was that. Tom had placed second in the festival, and Janine had won. Tom took the defeat excellently. Alex could see that he was disappointed, but he knew that Tom would be happy at how far he'd managed to come.
---
The awards ceremony was a grand affair. Huge ribbons adorned the theatre, and everything looked beautiful and extremely elegant. The MC stepped onto the stage, followed by the contestants since the heats. It looked really nice and was an excellent end to the festival. In the break, Alex had gone to the dress-up stand and the ball capsules stand. He's bought ball capsules for all his Pokemon, as well as extra ones and some awesome dress-up costumes. Amongst the genuine dress-up nonsense there were some accessories that Alex knew his Pokemon would keep for a long time. Blaze had a cool bandanna. Swamps got given a pair of humorous glasses. Leo got a farmer's hat. Stryk got a simple Rose for her head feathers. Treecky got a fake shruikan.

Now, it was time for the ceremony. Each competitor was presented with a certificate and given some items like a set of Great Balls, some Potions, some nice berries. But it was the prizes for first, second and third place that were the main event.

"In third place," said the MC to the crowd, "Is Gerry Yew!"

Gerry, who Tom had beat in his semi-final, had won the third-place contest. He came up onto the podium, shook the hand of the MC, who then handed him his certificate, and a bronze medal.

"For his efforts, Gerry receives: Ten Pokeballs, Ten Super Potion, a Set of basic berries, a Fire Gem and a Water Stone!" exclaimed the MC, and a little kart of the items was drawn onto the stage.

"In second place, is Tom Hawk!" continued the MC, handing Tom his certificate and his silver medal, "Who receives Ten Great Balls, Ten Super Potions, a set of basic berries, an Electric Gem, a Water Gem and a Sky gem, as well as a Fire Stone and of course his very own Pokemon egg!"

Alex's eyes widened. Wow. These were serious prizes. Tom even got an egg for his troubles! Alex immediately pondered what could be inside. It was certainly exciting.

"And finally, last but by no means least, in first and the winner of the Fidona Festival is.... Janine Johnson!"

Janine stepped onto the first place position on the podium, accepted her certificate and gold medal.

"Janine receives: 10 ultra Balls, 10 Hyper potions, a set of basic and uncommon berries, five dragon gems, a dragon scale, a water stone, a fire stone and a leaf stone as well as three Pokemon eggs!"

Woof. That was a lot of prizes. Janine accepted them and then the ceremony was over. Everyone was cheering, it was truly a fantastic experience. Alex was glad to be part of it all. Tom had done brilliantly. Alex was proud of his friend. As Tom approached them, his new items now stashed safely inside his bad and with his four Pokemon outside of their Pokeballs, Tom was beaming. He was truly happy, and for a moment, Alex was too. Until he remembered his Gym defeat.

This post has been edited by Captain Combusken: Jan 1 2012, 06:44 AM

[rt117]

For this section of the competition, Tikal had remembered her camera, and the lack of pictures she had taken on her journey. So this time she decided to take pictures for the rest of the competiton, so that they would have something to reflect on, and give the girl something to study for when she decided she wanted to give such a competition a try. Fumbling with her camera, she pulled it out after having spotted a small space between the two people in front of her that she could take the pictures.

Upon noticing the distraction of the camera, and that both of her hands were taken in steadying the device she held to her eye, Igglybuff took the opportunity to push the Latias doll off by her feet, before making herself at home upon her trainer's lap, letting out a small content sigh before dozing off, her victory short lived as she fell into a light slumber.

While she had been taking pictures of Tom for the most part, Tikal's attention was pulled toward the sight of the Dragon Pokemon that were performing, taking just as many pictures of them as she had of Tom's team. Tikal loved Dragon Pokemon more than anything, having been no surprise as she could recall that her father was a great Dragon trainer, her mother telling her many stories long ago about his journies across the land. The last time she had seen him was when she was still a young child, having received her Charmander as a gift from him before his departure. Since that day her dream had been simple: to become a great trainer in the eyes of her father.

Out of the three Dragon Pokemon that Janine had owned, her favourite was definately the Dragonair. As a child she had bonded closely with her father's Dratini before he had left, and she had always wanted one of her own. It had always been the favourite of her father's Pokemon, the youngest out of all of them. And with its large adoring eyes, there was never a reason she could be mad at the Dragon Pokemon, even when it left its shed skin around the house. So it was no wonder that she took most of her pictures of Janine's team of Dragonair, as it rekindled old memories of her childhood. She was too drawn into her pictures and memories that she hadn't noticed Alex's expression changed as he pondered back upon his earlier gym battle, one that she had likely made to look easy with her own victory.

As the battle between Janine and Tom came to an end, the Dragon Pokemon winning flawlessly, Tikal took a couple more pictures before sighing. While she loved them, she still rooted for Tom, who unfortunately did not come out as the victor.

"At least he got this far, right?" she questioned, looking over to Alex, who she noticed had left, along with a few other people. His absence dawned on her a few seconds later, before turning off her camera and putting it away, standing up abruptly. This caused Igglybuff to tumble off, but before she could touch the ground Tikal grabbed her and lifted her up into her arms, bending down again to retrieve the poke doll that had been resting on the ground for awhile now, about to go looking for him. Though it didn't take long for her to see him coming back, as did other people as the award ceremony was soon to start. In her confusion she had thought that they would be going elsewhere for the ceremony, but it appeared that wouldn't be the case. So with that she got out her camera again, taking a few more pictures as each of the three winning trainers were called and received their prizes.

As the event came to an end, and the three of them getting back together, Tikal smiled and offered Tom her hand in a handshake, her Latias plush in her other arm, with Igglybuff standing on her shoulder while holding her head. "Congratulations! You did great up there!" she told him, clearly quite impressed on how he had performed, even though he had only come in second place. "What do you think will hatch from the egg?"

Having never seen a Pokemon's egg up close, Tikal had no idea on how to identify what would come from it, which only made her all the more curious about it. Meanwhile upon seeing the rest of the team, Igglybuff jumped down from her perch to go greet her friends, not having seen much of the competition for herself.

This post has been edited by rt117: Jan 1 2012, 01:05 PM

[Captain Combuske...]

Alex could not help but wallow slightly in sadness. Here he was standing next to his friends, and yet all he could think about was how useless he felt. Tom had been so brilliant out there, it was hard for Alex to remember just how bad he'd been in that gym battle. Maxi Z! had completely outclassed him. He was a gym leader, and that was to a degree be expected, especially with Alex so young in his trainer career, but it didn't stop the orange-haired boy from feeling sad. He had been feeling so much better earlier, and now, all of a sudden, the emotions came flooding back. He didn't cry. He didn't want Tikal or Tom to see he was upset, because he knew that it would detract from Tom's win. He missed Tikal's question, and Tom's answer, though Tom later told him that he has merely said that he didn't know.

Alex stood there for a while, totally silent, whilst Tom and Tikal conversed. Then, he managed to bring himself out of his self-inflicted mini-depression, and looked at his two friends. They were laughing, and talking animatedly.

"So, it's decided then!" said Tom "We'll go to those awesome ruins now. Alex?"

"Yeah, sure!" said Alex, smiling warmly. He had to put on a brave face, and show his friends that he wasn't ashamed, wasn't upset.

The three of them set out towards the ruins there and then. It was a warm afternoon in Fidona, and the sun was shining down upon their backs. They chatted as they walked through the green kingdom of Fidona, its mighty trees rustling slightly as a light breeze swept through its leafy terraces. The three of them forced themselves to look away and focus on their path, because otherwise, they knew that they would get lost. And whilst the jungle was beautiful, it was also infamously dangerous.

None of them wanted to get lost.

They carried walking for a while, talking like average teenagers do about seemingly pointless and frivolous things, and Alex's mood began to lighten up. He was enjoying himself. There was still the feeling inside of him, but for now he managed to be happy and actually enjoy the moment.

They were about halfway to the ruins when Tom stopped suddenly, and indicated silently to the other two to do the same. It took a while for Alex to spot the furry shape ahead of them. It was a young-looking Eevee. It was playing cheerfully by itself in the tall grass by the side of the path to the ruins. The look on Tom's face told Alex eveything about his intentions, but Tom felt the need to say it out loud anyway.

"I'm going to capture that Eevee" he said.

And with that, he walked up to the grass. The Eevee suddenly jumped, looking startled. Tom quickly took a Pokeball from his belt and threw it, releasing his Pokemon.

Rai, Tom's Pikachu, appeared, looking brave, cheerful and strong.

"Rai, use Thundershock!" ordered Tom, and the electric mouse obliged, sending a powerful jolt of electricity towards the small Eevee. The Eevee returned the attack with a strong powerful attack that sent Rai flying slighlty through the air.

"Now use Quick Attack!" said Tom and once again Rai set about his task straight away. With lightning speed he hit the Eevee. It was clear that after these two strong attacks it wasn't going to be able to fight longer, so Tom decided that he would capture it there and then. He took out one of the Great Balls he'd received from coming second in the Fidona Festival and threw it towards the Eevee. The ball opened, the Eevee was sent inside and the ball closed, dropping to the floor. It shook a few times, but Rai had done enough damage to it, and it soon settled down, indicating that the Eevee had successfully been caught.

Tom picked up the ball and placed it with his other Pokeballs. He then started walking once more in the direction of the ruins. Alex stared at the place the battle had been just a few seconds ago and nodded in respect. Tom certainly didn't mess around in battle. He smiled and rushed to join up with Tom.

[Tom caught an Eevee]

This post has been edited by Captain Combusken: May 22 2012, 04:11 AM

[rt117]

Tikal was rather surprised by the speed at which Tom set out to capture the Eevee, his Pokemon only needing a couple of attacks to weaken the foe enough for capture. Surely his team had to be strong in order to knock out a Pokemon so quickly. She reminded herself to ask Tom and Alex later on about the possibility of helping her train before her next gym battle.

Despite the beautiful scenery that surrounded the group, Tikal's Igglybuff proved to be quite bored with the rather uneventful trip down the path. She let out a yawn, before being awakened by Tom's battle with the wild Eevee. She took this chance to hop down from Tikal's grasp, noticing a white spiky tuft of something sticking out from a dense bush. Mistaking it for a berry, she quickly hopped over toward it, jumping up and grabbing the star-burst shape with both hands. Too late did she realize that it wasn't a berry.

"So what's so special about these ruins?" Tikal asked, wondering what she could expect to find in such a place. Before either Alex or Tom could answer however, an angered cry arose from the bushes, as a black and white figure launched out of it. Standing just a fraction under her height, the sudden appearance of the enraged Pokemon made Tikal jump back a bit, separated from the others by the new foe. Just behind the Pokemon, she noticed Igglybuff finally let go of Zebstrika's tail, having recovered from the sudden shock of being tossed around while clinging for her life. Upon seeing Igglybuff move, the Zebstrika turned its attention onto her, angry yellow and blue eyes narrowing.

Tikal too recovered, and upon seeing her Pokemon in danger, she quickly grabbed a Pokeball from her pocket, tossing it forward. "Nidorino, defend Igglybuff with Double Kick!"

In a blur of white light, Nidorino appeared between the two, quickly raising its back feet as Zebstrika charged forth into the attack. The electric Pokemon didn't seem too hurt by the attack, instead stomping its front hooves down, electricity crackling from its lightning bolt-shaped mane as it leered at the new foe. "Quickly, close in with Poison Sting before it attacks again!" Tikal shouted, not liking the look of what her foe was preparing for. Before Nidorino could make contact with his attack, the Zebstrika let loose a powerful Shock Wave attack, the powerful lightning bolt arcing through the air and making contact with the Poison Pokemon, the force of the blow stopping him in his tracks.

Despite being badly hurt from the powerful attack, the need to protect seemed to strengthen him, at least enough to endure the direct hit he had taken. Once more standing upright, he charged again, digging his long sharp horn into the enemy's side, poisoning the Pokemon with Poison Sting. Even with his own direct hit, it wasn't enough to slow the foe, as he was soon knocked out by Zebstrika's Quick Attack, having been tossed into the base of a nearby tree.

By then Tikal had managed to get over to Igglybuff, quickly returning Nidorino back to her Pokeball, before calling out her next Pokemon, Charmander. However upon coming out from his Pokeball, Charmander had obviously been taking a nap, still asleep upon being called into combat. A Quick Attack from the foe quickly stirred him from his slumber though, the flame on his tail burning brighter as he realized the situation, and a chance to show his strength. Since Nidorino had been her strongest Pokemon, she knew that it wouldn't take too much for this Zebstrika to knock out her other Pokemon, so she had to choose a different strategy.

"Charmander, use Smokescreen to obscure the foe's vision!" Tikal called, knowing that if the Zebstrika couldn't see, then her Pokemon should have the advantage. Remaining brave before the much larger Pokemon, Charmander spewed forth a great cloud of smoke from his mouth, quickly hindering the Pokemon's vision. It retaliated with a Quick Attack, but rather than hit Charmander, it slammed into one of the trees instead. This brought a smile to Tikal's face, as she had Charmander quickly follow up with an Ember attack. Small red hot embers erupted from her fire Pokemon's mouth, scorching the poisoned Pokemon to cause further harm.

Before either could celebrate from the direct hit however, another Shock Wave erupted from the cloud of smoke, seeming to jump in the direction of Charmander, despite the user's inability to see. Despite Charmander's best efforts to avoid the attack, the bolt of lightning locked onto its target, hitting him dead on, and knocking him out.

Quickly running out of Pokemon, Tikal returned her Charmander and called out Totodile instead. While the cloud of smoke began to dissipate, Tikal called upon her Water-type: "Use Headbutt before it recovers!" With a toothy grin, Totodile quickly rushed toward the Zebstrika, launching himself head-first into his target. Even with the hit, a quick retaliation of Shock Wave was quick to send Totodile flying, and resulted in yet another knock-out. Now able to see once more, the Zebstrika glared at Tikal, Igglybuff suddenly squirming out of her grasp to face the intimidating foe. With a snort, the Zebstrika once more released a bolt of electricity from its mane, but before the attack could contact, Tikal quickly scooped up her Baby Pokemon, turning her back to the attack. Almost instantly she was struck by the Shock Wave, gritting her teeth as the need to protect her youngest drove her to keep shielding the smaller Pokemon. The Zebstrika was indifferent to the action, mane sparking still with electricity as it readied a charge.

Opening her eyes, Tikal loosened her grip on her Igglybuff, simply smiling down at the smaller Pokemon, who was quite shocked at what had happened. The shock soon turned to sadness upon seeing her pained look, then determination to return the favour. Before either of them could react, Igglybuff was suddenly bathed in a bright white light, forcing Tikal to shield her eyes. Zebstrika was unfazed, instead stomping its hooves down, coating the Pokemon in a fiery inferno as it charged forward with a Flame Charge. A figure suddenly flew out from in front of Tikal to meet the attacking Pokemon, a pink rolling ball rolling into the Zebstrika's feet, knocking it to the ground. Tikal watched with a look of glee, as the rolling Pokemon stopped its attack. Her Igglybuff had evolved into Jigglypuff upon recognizing her trainer's deep feelings.

Despite being tired out from the first three competitors, and the lingering poisoning from Nidorino, Zebstrika still had some fight left in it, as the electric Pokemon readied itself to launch another Shock Wave at its new foe. Tikal, knowing that such an attack could knock out her newly-evolved Jigglypuff, she remembered her Pokemon's key move, as it could turn the tide of the battle.

"Jigglypuff, Sing your foe to slumber!" Eyes lighting up at the chance to sing its enticing melody, she puffed her small body up, before releasing a string a beautiful notes, lulling the still-enraged Zebstrika to slumber. The sparks appeared to vanish from its mane as it crumpled to the ground, fast asleep. Following the Sing attack, Jigglypuff unleashed a flurry of Pound attacks upon her sleeping foe, knowing that it could not retaliate while in its slumber.

By the time her foe had awakened, Jigglypuff was quick to deliver the finishing blow with a final Pound attack. Too hurt to continue the fight, the Zebstrika quickly fled, vanishing into the thick greenery of the jungle. Making a face at the fleeing Pokemon, Jigglypuff was quickly scooped up by Tikal, who gave her a hug. "You did great, thank you." she smiled, watching as her newly evolved Pokemon seemed quite pleased with the newly found attention, before quickly hurrying over to her two friends.

Igglybuff evolved into Jigglypuff

[Captain Combuske...]

Alex did not have long to react to Tom's capture before another shocking event occurred. They were calmly walking when suddenly an enraged Zebstrika charged out from the trees, with Tikal's Igglybuff clinging on and crying at its peril. It charged, knocking Tom and Alex, stunning them. Clearly Tikal hadn't seen this, because Alex saw the flame burning in Tikal's eyes. She was determined to win this fight. She had to protect her Pokemon. But from the start, the battle did not go well, as the powerful beats deflected attacks as if they were nothing. Despite her bets efforts including some ingenious tactics, Alex watched, grimacing, as one by one Tikal's Pokemon were knocked out by the mad beast.

Once her Totodile was knocked out, Alex knew that soon he would have to act, if only to help Tikal from getting harmed. But he still couldn't move very easily. The Zebstrika's electric body hitting him at force had truly stunned him. He could see Tom lying next to him unconscious, his eyes closed. Alex desperately wanted to help Tikal, but he couldn't. He watched with anguish as he took the Shock Wave attack, protecting her Igglybuff. He admired her resilience. But then, something pleasantly surprising happened. Her Igglybuff evolved. Alex already knew what was happening, so he put his hands firmly over his ears. The Sing attack did not affect him, but the angry thrashing Zebstrika calmed down and went to sleep. Tikal removed his hands form his ears and shook Tom. It was enough to wake him up, thankfully, and Alex quickly related the events to him as Tikal rushed over.

"Tikal, you were great there! Congratulations on evolving your Igglybuff!" said Alex.

From there, the three of them carried on towards the ruins, Eventually, they arrived there without any further obstacles or deviations. The ruins truly were majestic things. So ancient that you could see the stone crumbling in places and covered in vines from the forest. There were intriguing depictions of various Pokemon on the walls of the ruins. The three adventurers approached the ruins slowly and quietly, taking in its majesty. They entered the ruins and began exploring.

Inside the ruins was a very similar affair to outside. The walls had paintings of trainers and Pokemon and historic Fidonian events. Tom looked at them with interest, but Alex was far more concerned with the little items laying on the floor. There were little spheres and small items. Alex picked up a few revives and lots of spheres as he travelled through the ruins. Soon though, in his excitement, Alex strayed from his path. Akll he could think about was his gym loss. If he could just collect loads of sweet trinkets, he could somehow prove himself to be good at something. He desperately wanted to be accepted and to feel like a winner. He carried on walking, distancing himself further and further away from Tom and Tikal.

Alex stopped at one point and looked up. He panicked as he realised that Tom and Tikal were gone. He was lost. He started walking around, hoping to find them again. The one thing Alex wanted least of all was to get lost in this strange world.

[rt117]

Oblivious to Alex's disappearance, Tikal stopped every now and then to examine the ageing paintings on the walls with greater detail, trying to scrutinize what Pokemon exactly she was looking at. The figures were quite crude, as she examined what she thought was a Xatu, but had strange curling plumage and an oddly shaped head instead.

Meanwhile, Tikal's Jigglypuff stood by her feet, clearly bored with all of the stopping and staring. She watched as Alex wandered off into another room, Tom seeming too distracted by the drawings on the wall as well to notice that he left. Turning back to her trainer, Jigglypuff tugged on Tikal's clothes, only for her to shift slightly. "Just a sec." she replied, much to her Pokemon's distaste. With a pout, Jigglybuff wandered over to Tom, and tried the same tactic again, only to be shrugged off once more. With a huff, she returned back over to Tikal, crawling up her back before jumping onto her head, proceeding to mess up her hair until she gained her trainers attention.

Realizing her Pokemon was attacking her head, Tikal stepped back and removed her pink companion, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "What's wrong?" she asked, still a bit baffled as she watched Jigglypuff squirm from her grasp, falling to the ground before pointing at the walls in a seemingly random way. Rubbing the back of her head, Tikal had no idea what message was trying to be conveyed, before she looked over at Tom and Alex, only to find that Alex was no longer with them.

"Alex...? Where did you go?" she called, but found no answer in the still air. Worried, she hurried over to Tom, who had finished examining one potion of the wall depicting a portion of the area's history. "I can't find Alex anywhere, I think he wandered off." she frowned, looking a bit worried as she glanced around the room they stood in. This was not the place to get lost in, as none of them knew their way around the ruins.

Without hesitation, she grabbed Jigglypuff (who was annoyed at the fact that her trainer had ignored her earlier message then deciphered it without thanks), grabbed Tom by the arm before he could ask what she was doing, and took off through a hallway she thought that their companion had gone through. Releasing him once they travelled through part of the area, she continued ahead, not realizing that Tom had decided to take a different direction, until Tikal stopped minutes later, finding herself alone with Jigglypuff.

"Oh great... now we're lost too..." Tikal groaned, sliding to the floor.

(ooc: permission was given through PM to control Tom for this post [though not much was done in this sense] )