[X] My Assistant

[Master Houndoom]

"It feels like we've been sitting here for months!" Meiko shifted in her seat, crossing her arms in irritation. Next to her, adding to that irritation, Jaima smiled, flipping through a magazine.

"It hasn't been that long, Mei-chan," he said, not even having the decency to sound ironic. He flipped the page in the magazine, and that was the only indication to Meiko that he was nervous at all; he was flipping far too fast to be reading it, and Meiko knew that he couldn't read when he was nervous.

"I bet we could have watched that contest, no problem," she tried again. Even if he were annoyed at her, it would be worth it just so that someone was annoyed with her. He merely chuckled and didn't answer, causing Meiko to huff.

When they had entered, they had been treated to two events. The secretary from before commented on Meiko's hair and hat (a cute little hat!), and that had pleased Meiko, especially since the comment had been positive. Then Mercury had quailed a bit, subdued. Rather than surprise or concern, Jaima had nodded and engaged in what was, almost obviously, a short telepathic conversation with her. Though this seemed to calm her, even sweeter was when Shadow stepped up next to her, allowing her to lean against him.

Meiko usually wasn't impatient, but she had wanted to see the contest as well as Jaima's gym battle. She sighed, softly, and Jaima looked over at her, smiling patiently.

The jerk.

"Mei-chan, why don't you go get a soda and see if there's any news about the contest. Have a walk?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me, Jai-chan," she asked, icily, but felt a thrill of exhilaration for the chance to do something.

Jaima leaned over and kissed her nose. "Hai," he said, simply, causing her to mock gasp. "You're making the pokémon nervous." Meiko raised her brow, and Jaima smiled thinly. "And me."

"OK, Jai-chan," she said, standing up. She looked down at the poke he held out to her. "You don't have to pay me," she quipped, "I'll come back for free!"

Jaima chuckled. "I would like a soda as well."

Meiko nodded and took the cash, slipping it into her purse, then, before he could stop her, even though it had been his suggestion, she stepped out and walked down the street.

She hadn't gone far when she heard a commotion, coming from an alleyway. Cautiously, she approached, and just before she stuck her head into the corner, she heard a loud clang and saw a trash can slam into a wall. Startled, she watched a tiny black and pink pokémon totter to the smashed and upended trash receptacle and start picking through the spilled refuse. As Meiko watched, the little one found a discarded patty of some kind of breaded poultry, and, picking the breading off, begin to eat it, plopping down forlornly.

"Oh, you poor thing," she said softly.

The pokémon must have had good hearing, because it popped up and squeaked out, "gothi!"

"It's OK," Meiko said softly. "I won't hurt you..."

The little one peered up at her with her enormous sky blue eyes, then, amazingly, took what looked like a stance. Meiko had almost laughed; it looked like little more than a tiny baby girl in a black and white onesy, with bows in its short hair.

Meiko dug into her purse and let out her sandshrew, Desertdancer. "Go talk to her, please," she said. The sandshrew nodded, and approached.

<Now, little one, there's nothing to be afraid of,> he started, gesturing when he got close. He grazed it with his paw and it squeaked, loudly, and keeled over.

"Oh, no!" Meiko said, dashing toward the little pokémon who lay on the ground, moaning, shivering, and rolling on the alley floor. "She must be sick! Desertdancer, follow me! We have to get her to the pokecenter!" Meiko grabbed one of the empty pokéballs in her purse, a dusk ball she had picked up when re-supplying, and looked at it, pausing in catching the little one.

Desertdancer, from his vantage, saw what Meiko, who's vision was blocked by the ball, could not: The little pokémon opened her eyes, turned her head and winked at Desertdancer, and reached up, touching the pokéball at the control stud. With little fanfare, she was drawn into the ball, and Meiko stared at it in shock as it clicked almost instantly.

"Huh... I must have gotten too close. No time now!" She hurried toward the center, hoping that she would be able to heal this one and still be back in time to see Jaima's battle.

Desertdancer scampered behind her, chuckling to himself. <That little scamp!>

Meiko caught herself a :gothita: gothita!

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Tuesday tried to assure Dante that she was fine, but the moment she attempted to push herself off of her seat, the charmeleon growled softly and pushed her back with a clawed hand. So she sat next to him, sipping quietly at a cup of water, and watching as people fluttered excitedly in their seats, awaiting the results to the contest.

It wasn't that she, herself, wasn't excited about what would be announced. She couldn't wait to see what the results were, but not really for herself. She hoped that Darryn would move on to the next part of the contest. She didn't get to see his appeal, as she had been unconscious, but she knew that Darryn put a lot of effort into training his pokemon, and he was very... flashy. That was good, she thought, for this kind of thing. He was at home here, on the stage, in front of an audience.

It was pretty obvious from the way she had reacted when the lights came back on that this was not for her. Yes, training Dante for the appeal had been a lot of fun, and she had enjoyed teaching Tempest and Zorro some new combinations for use in the battle part of the contest. She had done her best to train them like they would get there, but she didn't really expect to. Tuesday knew she was a decent battler. People had been telling her that for a while, and while she didn't think she was nearly as great as some people claimed, she knew she was good enough to beat some of the trainers - even experienced ones - who had come to Pallet Town to talk to Professor Oak.

Tuesday hadn't had her first battle with a Gym Leader yet, but she was excited for it. She had more faith in herself facing off against an opponent in a battle than trying to thrill and delight a crowd of people who were all staring at her. Darryn's enthusiasm for Contests, and especially his excitement after winning the first one, had drawn her in, and she'd wanted to try it out, but really, she didn't expect much.

So when the announcement came over the intercom that she was moving onto the next round in the contest, Tuesday could only blink in stupid surprise. Until a light flashed and she realized that everyone in the hall, audience, contester, or judge, was trying to get a look at her, and her stomach dropped down somewhere around her toes. She swallowed thickly and ducked her head, her skin flushing.

I'm not gonna pass out again... not passing out not passing out not passing out... and not throwing up, please please please.

Tuesday relaxed minutely when Darryn's name was called as the final contestant moving onward and the attention moved to him. She swallowed again and shuddered, wrapping her arms around Dante's neck when the charmeleon shuffled a little closer to her.

"I guess we're moving on, Dante," she murmured quietly to him. He hissed softly in agreement. "This is... unexpected."

[Living Arrow]

With the contestants arranged backstage, it was agreed that Tuesday should face Rio last so that she could get her energy back up after fainting on stage not long before. Then, between the three of them, Darryn, Shalim and Tyron all drew straws to see who would go first and decide the order of matches that were about to take place… Darryn’s was the shortest…

It was one thing to watch Shalim make an Appeal but to battle? Well, that was a whole other Pokeball game. To the shock and surprise of nearly every person in the Contest Hall, her choice of not one but two completely foreign Pokemon was one that would claim victory in almost no time at all.

Her deadly combination of Snivy and Pansage and their double Leech Seed had set the pace of the battle straight away and their excellent double Vine Whip provided an amazing defence that even Rio’s Ghost Pokemon could not breakthrough. The explosive battle was brought to a conclusion well within the time limit, both of Shalim’s opponents taken completely off guard by the unexpected strategy from two unexpected Pokemon. It was incredibly impressive – Darryn was awestruck as his friend assumed her position on the winner’s bench on the far side of the arena and Tyron took up his place in the challenger’s circle.

Unlike Shalim, it turned out that Tyron’s battle style was not intended to fight guns blazing for a KO win but instead to put on a show that would dwindle the Hall Leader’s points throughout the match.

He summoned his Pokemon – a vibrant Weezing and an off-colour, chestnut brown Vulpix to do battle and almost immediately, Darryn felt something course through his body. An uneasy feeling of worry clammed up in his throat and it took him some time to realise it was the projections of Lady within her Heal Ball that he was feeling. Could she be nervous for the upcoming battle? That was unlike her… Darryn would have to reassure her later.

With his attention back on the Contest Battle, Darryn’s eyes were held captive as Tyron utilised Weezing’s flammable gases and sludge along with his Vulpix’s fire attacks to create wow-inspiring displays that were used not only as offensive explosive but also as defensive barriers of flame that Rio had some difficulty in countering throughout the match. It was, however, a close battle as the timer ticked down to zero and everyones’ eyes turned to the score board to see who had won…

“And that’s it! The second Ribbon to be handed out in this Contest goes to Tyron Jildare!” Gillian declared, the crowd going wild with the adrenaline they had built up throughout the intense battle. Darryn, also tense as a bowstring, watched on from the green room backstage. First Shalim, now Tyron. Both had gained Contest Ribbons in the past twenty minutes and next it would be the Celadonian’s opportunity to best the Hall Leader on stage.

Darryn gulped down his nerves and clutched at the Heal and Premier Balls in his hands, surrounded by Ball Capsules and seals. This was it. Time to battle for Ribbon number two… He rose to his feet and nodded to Tuesday with a smile that said “let’s do this!” and moved to the edge of the stage to wait for his name to be called…

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"Good luck, Darryn," Tuesday said quietly, as her friend rose from his seat and moved to take his position in the arena. Tuesday had finally convinced Dante that she wasn't going to fall over if she stood up, and she was holding both Tempest and Zorro's pokeballs in her hands, rolling them together in a nervous gesture. This was going to be completely new. She wasn't battling just to defeat her opponent - she had to make sure that her tactics were both effective and visually appealing enough to please the audience, and her opponent, himself.

While Tempest and Zorro were both competent battlers, Tuesday was well aware that the two weren't always on the best of terms with one another. Tempest was too serious, and Zorro too silly. The two of them were the opposite of each other, but Tuesday had done her best to train them for this. Whatever the outcome of the battle, she hoped they worked well together. As far as she was concerned, the learning experience they could gain from this was far more important than whether or not they won.

She hoped Zorro and Tempest would see it that way, too, no matter what happened.

~*~

Dante was riding a high. He had totally rocked the appeal, and now that Tuesday was conscious again and able to stand, he could allow himself to bask in the glory of his epic win. His part of the contest was complete, and he had done an epic job. There was no way Zorro or Tempest could hope to rock as much as he had.

The fire lizard pokemon puffed out his chest and fairly preened at the memory of the awe the audience had shown during his appeal. He hissed in delight, waving his tail back and forth, as the battle part of the contest raged on for the flashy boy they traveled with.

The pop and swish of a pokeball opening alerted him to one of his teammates appearing behind him, but he ignored their presence. None of them had bothered to watch they appeal and they had missed how totally awesome he was. He didn't need to bother with them at all.

"Yer mighty pleased wit' yerself, lad." Dante chuffed in annoyance at the sound of the buizel's voice. "I take i' the fashion show went well?"

Dante hissed angrily, turning to face the otter pokemon. "It was a contest appeal, not a fashion show!"

"Right, lad, my mistake."

Dante huffed a smoky breath and spun away from the sea otter. "What do you want?"

"Jes' checking up on things," Odysseus said casually, leaning against the wall and studying the charmeleon with a passive expression. "Ye lookin' forward to th' battle?"

Dante snorted. "And watch Pest and the fox try to kill each other? Yeah, that should be fun." He didn't see Odysseus shake his head softly. "You planning on sticking around to watch the fox, or are you going to hide back in your pokeball and not bother like you did with me?"

"Ye think a lot o' yerself, Lizard - too much, I think, t' let people close." A snort and Dante turned his head away roughly. "Of course I will watch the kit perform." He refrained from telling the charmeleon that he had been outside of his pokeball during the appeal, and had watched him, as well. Dante wasn't able to understand, yet, that other people cared for him besides the runt. When he was ready, Odysseus would let him know, but first, he had a lot to learn.

[Kamaitachi]

Dishonor. It was something like dishonor to have lost two contest matches in a row. Both Shallim and Tyron had proceeded to trounce him in his field with two very different sets of strategies. The Double KO from the foreign grass pokemon had been unexpected, and perhaps he had geared his strategy towards defending against that with Tyson. The result was a loss due to the whittling away of his points, thanks to the beautiful coordination between the Vulpix and Weezing.

Straightening his glasses, Rio gazed across the darkened field. The vibrant displays of flame from the Vulpix had lit it up so vividly. He'd almost forgotten that the bookcases themselves had been lined with grimoires and tomes about ghost pokemon and their abilities. He'd read them all, of course. Now it was time to remember his roots.

Rio turned his gaze upwards, to the 'floating' candles all above the field. For a brief moment, the pinpoint lights from the ceiling reflected off of his glasses, casting an eerie glow over his eyes.

"Darryn Kellor, please take the stage".

Darryn Kellor. He had by far the flashiest, gaudiest appeal. Of course, that made perfect sense, since Troy had claimed the boy all for himself. Troy liked shiny things, after all. However, Rio was about to show Darryn that natural synergy between pokemon was also helpful in putting on a show battle.

As Darryn approached the field, Rio took a moment to introduce himself:

"I'm the Hall Leader, Rio. Prepare yourself." It was a very brief moment of introduction. "Appear now, Exploud, Mismagius!" Both pokeballs had been fixed with smoke seals, so as they struck the ground, twin columns of smoke shot out into the air. Likewise, a constructive column spotlight of a red hue fell over the two, creating a rather scintillating and haunting effect. As the smoke faded, Rio's two pokemon stood and floated respectively in their pools of soft red light.

This was not bright and gaudy, nor was it sundry and cheap, but rather it served to highlight the darker features of his two pokemon, increasing their intimidating appearance somewhat.

"Summon your pokemon." He commanded, pushing the bridge of his glasses back up his nose.

[Living Arrow]

Atop his podium with the crowd focusing their collective gaze on him, Darryn began to have flashbacks to his first Contest Battle back in Arasam. Still relatively new to the Contest track, Darryn was not yet used to having so much attention all on him and the weight of expectation sat heavily on his shoulders - following up from Shalim and Tyron wouldn't be easy. Rio's calm demeanour and straight-to-the-point attitude was unlike Darryn's first exposure to Gym and Hall Leaders in Arasam but it was a welcome change from the lofty formal greetings of Otis and mocking laughter of Troy.

Ghost and Normal type Pokemon were his opponents - typical selections for this Hall - so powerful combinations were bound to be in Rio's arsenal. Darryn had fought against Ghosts before but he'd not seen an Exploud on his journey yet... Would it come with unexpected surprise attacks? He'd have to wait and see.

"Summon your Pokemon."

*Well, that was blunt...*

"Lady and Bravo, the stage is yours!" Darryn announced as he threw the capsules onto the stage. Flame seals below and smoke seals above created the effect of a snorting dragon as his Vulpix stepped proudly from the fire and Pidgeotto dispelled the smoke into hair-like threads of dust that trailed in his wake as he climbed into the air, ready to battle.

"With all of our points on the board, our battlers ready and the judges set, let's get started on Contest Battle Number Three! Rio of Petropolis versus Darryn Kellor of Celadon City!" Gillian wailed into her microphone. With that, Darryn began his first attack.

"Lady, Imprison the Mismagius." He ordered first, knowing all too well that Ghost-type Pokemon had the annoying likelihood of knowing the Confuse Ray move - too many times had that been used against him. "And Bravo, use Heat Wave on Lady!" As with his Gym Battle of Arasam, Darryn planned for his Vulpix (the natural powerhouse that she had come to be) to take the lead in the battle.

Blinding ray flashed out in a scintillating swirl of blue and pink from Lady's eyes towards her opponent as her body was swamped in a column of flames that poured down from Bravo's shining wings. Her body triggered Flash Fire and her crimson fur instantly became intensely red - like that of a roaring blacksmith's forge.

<I feel the power, Prince Darryn.> Lady confirmed that the attack had done the trick.

<Good. Then let's get ready to blow the audience away.> Darryn sent back hopefully.

[Kamaitachi]

All of the Leaders, Jockeys, and notable battlers in Furoh shared information. They weren't precisely friends, but they were essentially co-workers. Darryn's use of Heat Wave in his match against Troy was something to be expect.

Nevertheless, Rio was impressed with the visual effect. Flashy, yes, but it definitely drowned out the red light effect he had on his side of the field. At the same time, Mismagius fluttered a little as the Imprison attack shut off her access to several of her moves. He watched as the points on his side fell ever so slightly.

First Blood.

Now it was time to counterattack. Without gaudiness or any unnecessary movement, he raised his hand into the air, the other remaining on the brim of his glasses.

"Mismagius, Skill Swap with the Vulpix." Mismagius' eyes glowed a vibrant purple before shooting out a brilliant pair of beams directly at Lady Foxtrot, passing through her and returning to the floating ghost. The shadows of a Vulpix and a Mismagius appeared behind the opposing pair before swapping places through the beam.

First, Lady would find herself floating in the air. For a fox pokemon, used to using her feet as propulsion, this would make her maneuvering difficult. Mismagius, on the other hand, floated much lower to the ground, but was now in possession of Lady's dangerous Flash Fire Ability.

"Exploud, Hyper Voice."

One of Exploud's most powerful moves had been commanded right off the bat, and was one of Rio's favourite combos. Hyper Voice hit every other pokemon on the field with an intense blast of sound. Exploud, the loud noise pokemon, was built like a pipe organ, and part of his body burst forth in an incredible wave of sound, so loud it was concussive.

Rio had let his guard down against the other trainers, and he certainly wasn't about to let this gaudy showman walk away with an easy win.

[Living Arrow]

<Prince Darryn!>

Lady's immediate panic rolled off her in startled waves, stinging at her master's own fears that he wouldn't be able to counter such a well planned move. The use of Levitate to remove further power-ups from lady was impressive but to send her floating upwards and blocking off access to her speed attacks was another completely. Points fell on Darryn's side of the scoreboard. Furthermore, using the Fire-type combos that they had been planned between Vulpix and Pidgeotto were completely ruined.

<Please try to stay calm, Lady!> Darryn urged, praying that his own rising panic was not seeping out to her. How could he possibly counter now? They had been caught off guard far too early in the match!

"Exploud, Hyper Voice."

Darryn clapped his hands to his ears as the mega-voice of the Exploud ripped through the air with shockwaves that almost seemed visible. Airborne, both Lady and Bravo backflipped awkwardly as they screamed - their voices masked by the din that harmed them.

*This is impossible! Hitting them back will just be blocked by that Mismagius from a distance and Bravo's wings are too tied up to use a Gust or a Twister... His wings?*

One of their practised combinations would work!

"BRAVO!" Darryn yelled over the Hyper Voice. "Use Featherdance!"

"PIDGEOOOH!" The bird pokemon screamed in response, spinning into the shockwaves of sound and expelling glittering golden feathers into the air. Taken up by the Hyper Voice, these spiralled rapidly in ever-expanding rays that shone like a firework.

"And Lady, use your Extrasensory on the feathers!" Darryn caught movement on the scoreboard from the corner of his eye but did not have time to look. "Set up a Golden Highway!"

<Yes, Prince Darryn!> Lady's voice carried a hint of hopeful confidence but it wasstill shaky - being in the air concerned her.

Even as they fell, Bravo's golden feathers caught a faint blue hue and in unison, all sped to gather under Lady's dangling feet. Her eyes, glowing an equal shade of azure, narrowed slightly and all of the feathers immediately hardened and aligned themselves at her feet. Even off the ground, her feet now had support.
In a great pincer movement, a golden bird shot out in a blaznig trail of white around one side of the arena while a crimson Vulpix dashed along a road of gold feathers that miraculously built itself through the air by her command - feathers from behind her flying forwards to take their place in the lead for her dainty paws to flicker across.

"Excellent, guys!" Darryn couldn't believe it! One of their combos was being pulled off perfectly! "Now, before they can recover, Double Quick Attack on the Exploud!"

*****

"This cannot be allowed." Belladonna hissed, her dainty finger tracing the outline of the rim of the porcelain cup in her hands. "We three must put an end to her growth - before long she shall surpass Laurel and it won't be long after before it is one of us."

On the Plane of Vul, a private realm on the Psychic Plane, three of the Seven Vulpix Sisters were in attendance. Three more were tamed beasts of Pokemon trainers. The final was... presumed dead? It had been a long time since any of them had thought about her.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Primrose retorted from her lofty throne. Golden rain glittered around her body to form her ethereal dress, barely masking the large breasts that she chose to have in her Dream form. Eldest and golden not only on the Plane but also in reality, Primrose was to be considered their leader. Belladonna did not like that fact. True, Primrose was arguably the most powerful in battle but Belladonna was the most talented psychically.

"End her connection with the boy." Campion stated cooly. Her icy cloak was apt for her real body was forever shrouded in Winter. "He is the one that has continued to fertilise her confidence and train her body and mind to strengthen itself. Without his influence, she shall wither."

"But he has a capture device for her." Primrose could not bear to bring herself to say the word 'Pokeball'. "We can never separate them."

"Maybe we do not need to..." Belladonna's black nails tapped her pursed lips thoughtfully. "Leave this with me - Camellia will be a stunted sapling before dusk."

[Kamaitachi]

Golden Highway. It sounded vaguely sexual. Perhaps because Rio had heard almost non-stop about Troy's exploits with the young Kellor that it came across that way. Unsurprisingly, Rio figured that that was definite innuendo behind the name of the combination.

The golden bridge was giving Lady, the Vulpix, a better means of conveyance than simply levitating off the ground. Although she was limited to how well she could hold her Extrasensory move in place. She showed surprising concentration in pulling off the Quick Attack in conjunction with it, and Rio was glad to see that the pokemon were well trained.

He had very little time to react to the Quick Attack barrage, and Exploud was forced to weather the brunt of the attacks. Mismagius could've intercepted, but they would've simply passed through and struck Exploud anyway. It was time to reveal one of his own combinations.

"First Position!" Rio commanded, using the musical terminology not as a means to confuse his opponent, but rather simply to get his pokemon into their rehearsed spaces. Exploud trundled forward while Mismagius floated behind it a few paces back. "Exploud, Strength! Mismagius, Power Gem!"

Exploud reached down and slammed his massive fists into the ground, knocking up several chunks of detritus into the air towards Lady and Bravo. His partner, Mismagius, floated through him, launching several glittering gems forward into the cloud of debris. The gems ricocheted about within the storm of rocks, lancing out towards Darryn's pokemon in a beautiful array, whilst the larger chunks flew forward at a much slower rate. Hopefully, the smaller, supereffective gems would hinder Lady and Bravo's mobility whilst the bigger rocks wobbled through the air at them.

This would hopefully serve to shatter Lady's concentration, as well as sully up the pristine coats of both Lady and Bravo. Such a glitzy and glamorous duo would suffer from the dirt and debris, and it would serve to hurt the spirits of the trainer as well. At least, he hoped so.

[Living Arrow]

"Woah..." Darryn breathed, unable to look away from the swirling storm of rocks. Not only was the attack powerful, but it looked amazing - the combination of rough boulders and glittering gems had a startling contrast that had been almost completely unexpected after Rio's initial tactician-style moves.

"PIDGEOOOH!" Bravo was struck hard in the back as he attempted to evade the move, catapulting him back towards Darryn where he managed to flare his wings just in time to skim along at ground level and burst straight up like an arrow. Lady, also attempting a dodge, gathered the hardened feathers before her to create a make-shift wall of gold to repel the incoming attack in the combo known as Feather-Facade. One, two, three small and shiny rocks punched the feather shield before the final massive rock broke through. Lady was struck harshly, her feathers dispelled as she twisted and tumbled through the air.

<No, Lady! Use the effect of that attack!> Darryn willed his Vulpix to turn. She did so but her eyes searched the arena with confusion. <The feathers! Before they fall!>

<Yes, Prince Darryn!>

"Flame Burst, now!"

Lady spat a small Flame Burst back the way she had come, its exploding embers catching the fluttering feathers mid-air. As one, the golden plumes ignited and shattered into sparkling motes of dust that the crowd 'Oooh'ed and 'Aaah'ed in response to. Darryn breathed an almost-sigh of relief. His Pokemon were fast enough to respond to a dazzling attack so that his points were not the only ones to suffer. That said, Rio's Pokemon were still fighting fit but Darryn's had taken a heavy hit.

<Lady, how are you doing?>

<I am still able to battle, Prince Darryn.> Lady confirmed. <But this ridiculous Ability is preventing me from using several of the combinations that we practised.>

<That doesn't matter.> Darryn frowned across at the opponent Pokemon. <We can still use some of them even with you in the back and Bravo doing the leg work. But first, we've got to battle harder - defending won't be enough and we need to put the pressure on the Leader.>

<Yes, Prince Darryn.>

"Bravo, wrap them up with Twister!" Came Darryn's next command. From high above, the Pidgeotto swept great glittering wings down harshly, creating a swirling blue whirlwind that expanded as it touched down on the field. "And Lady, rapid fire Energy Ball into the vortex!" Caught up in the attack, the Energy Balls bounced around like pinballs but were confined to the space of the attack. "Now, Bravo! Do it!"

With a great cry, Bravo swept the Energister combo across the Hall toward the Mismagius and Exploud.

[Kamaitachi]

An Energy Ball - Twister combination. Rio was certainly impressed by the synergy put forth by the two opposing pokemon. The second Vulpix he faced, and there was a completely new set of tactics. This is why he loved coordinator battles. As the glittering cyclone approached his pokemon, Mismagius floated in close behind her comrade, Exploud.

Once the conflagration was nearly upon them, Exploud drew in a deep breath once more, already intuiting the next set of commands from his coordinator.

"Exploud, Hyper Voice. Mismagius, Ominous Wind!" Once again, the concussive sound ripped through the pipe-organ like orifices of the Loud Noise pokemon, sending out a shockwave of great intensity. Shortly in its wake, a ghostly, black wind whipped up in a sinister cyclone. The attacks passed through Exploud and Mismagius with no discernible effect, as Rio was a master of the divide between Normal and Ghost pokemon. However, the Energy Ball Twister was destroyed in a brilliant display, eliciting several Oohs and Aahs from the crowd in response. It was flashy, but that was only because the initial attack had been so terribly showy. (Albeit, effective). A few of the energy ball remains landed on Exploud and Mismagius, causing some minor irritation. Doubly so, a few of his points lowered as his pokemon took some damage.

However, the dual shockwaves of sound and ghostly wind swept across the entire battlefield. Rio knew the Ominous Wind would have no effect on Bravo, a Pidgeotto. However, unless Darryn took quick action, his Vulpix would suffer some severe damage.

He knew in his mind that somewhere, Troy was watching with great interest, and would probably congratulate him on the showiness of this particular battle. That irritated him ever so slightly.

[Living Arrow]

Another Hyper Voice blended with an Ominous Wind?! Darryn was dumbfounded that the combination of such powerful moves worked so well together and was lost in the display for several moments, unable to focus on what he should do next. Yet again, Rio had shown that his own Pokemon were stronger and extremely well paired - their typings were perfectly synchronised to sweep the field with devastating attacks that should normally hurt their battle partner. And now, his Pokemon were going to take another hit... bringing them another step towards technical KO.

Another hit? Didn't Lady have a move that...

"Take the hit, Lady!" Darryn ordered, clutching his fists in tight balls at his sides.

<Trust me.>

<Yes... Prince Darryn...> Lady responded, lowering her head and bracing for impact. Both Vulpix and Pidgeotto tumbled and rolled through the air above the arena before slowly coming to a halt where they regrouped at Darryn's end of the field. Lady's chestnut eyes were squinting from the strain that she was exerting to keep going with the battle - she had taken some major hits already. Darryn mentally punched himself for not packing a Tank-type in this battle. Both Lady and Bravo were speed attackers - taking a few well-placed powerful moves would put them down in no time.

<We're going Gym style this round.> Darryn warned Lady as he set up the next move in his head.

"Bravo, grab Lady!" Completely obedient, the large bird snagged the Vulpix from above and shot towards the Ghost and Normal pair. "Now, focus on the Mismagius! Bravo, Wing Attack! Lady, time to show them what revenge is like! Use Payback!"

[Kamaitachi]

Payback. That was a troublesome move. Rio placed a hand to his chin as he watched the battle continue to unfold. His powerful attacks had swept the field, but here the two dogged pokemon were mounting a dangerous counterattack. Exploud could not intercept, due to his slow speed, and his Mismagius' own lackluster agility made her an easy target for the two faster pokemon.

However, there was still a way to tip the scales back to even, especially after this sortie. Rio would never admit it to his fellow Hall Leaders, but he had a definite flair for the suspenseful and dramatic. He didn't normally wow the crowds with dazzling displays, but rather liked to let them read like a mystery novel. Darryn Kellor had drawn him into a fight of glamour, and it was paying him no heed.

He watched as Mismagius accepted both attacks, emitting a horrifying screech as she sailed through the air. She floated back up, shaking herself as if to regain her steadiness. The Wing Attack Payback combo had done a number on Rio's points, putting him at just under a third, while Darren was just over a third. It was a close match.

Rio had watched as in one move, the flow of battle shifted back to Team Kellor, and he knew that he had to now pull off one of his most dangerous gambits yet.



"Second Position! Mismagius. Perish Song!"

Mismagius and Exploud swapped places, with the Witchcraft pokemon taking full on center stage. She floated upwards for a moment, spinning slowly as she sang a haunting, eerie melody, full of tri-tones and dissonant minor sixths. Any pokemon hearing Perish Song (including those in the audience if they weren't careful), would faint after a matter of time. With only two minutes remaining, it was a good gambit to play for the double KO.

Once again, Rio had expertly played into his pokemon's complimentary natures. Exploud possessed the ability "Soundproof" making him immune to the effects of Perish Song. In the mean time, he allowed his heavy hitter to...well...continue to hit heavily.

"Exploud, Uproar!"

Continuing with his deluge of sound based attacks, Exploud began to pitch a tantrum on the field behind Mismagius, piercing the Perish Song with several loud, staccato, punctuated notes. Each blast of sound shot off like a bullet from one of his many pipes, passing cleanly through his partner and towards his foes.

Rio calmly placed his finger back onto his glasses, watching to see the effects of this next thrilling combination. With Perish Song now in effect, he effectively halved the time it took for Kellor to win. The boy had little more than a minute, despite the two minutes on the clock, to knock out both of his Pokemon if he wanted to win. He noted idly that the amount of panache each of the attacks had from earlier was dropping. Perhaps that meant Kellor was getting serious. It was time to see just how much mettle the boy had.

[Living Arrow]

"You can not be serious!" Darryn's shoulders slumped. "Perish Song?" He'd heard of the move before but never seen it used in battle. Once, he had been told that the attack limited the amount of time left on the field that the opponent would have before automatically being knocked out. Just how long that was...? Darryn had no idea.

The Uproar of Exploud, though notably weaker than Hyper Voice, was enough to make Bravo falter in the air as the sound waves racked his body and Lady seemed to shrink as she tightened into a crimson floating ball that kicked away at the intense vibrations that rattled her bones.

<Prince Darryn...> Lady wobbled in the air. <I cannot fight for much longer...> Even her telepathy was breathless. Darryn felt sick to his stomach. Battling Ghost type Pokemon was never easy but to have such a perfect partner? This was completely different to battling Troy - that had been more like a Gym Match.

<Please, just try to hang on.> Darryn pleaded with her, summoning a ball of glowing golden confidence before his eyes and touching it mentally to the Vulpix's Emotaglow. She visibly relaxed almost immediately. <We've got to knock them out now - there's now way we have enough time to get his points to zero. We'll take out the Ghost first and then use that move to finish off the Exploud but you'll have to be quick and accurate. Keep your distance and aim well, Lady.>

<Yes, Prince Darryn.> Came the ever-faithful response.

"Lady, Extrasensory on the Mismagius! Make sure it can't get away! Bravo, finish it with a Wing Attack!"

[Kamaitachi]

<Yes, Prince Darryn> a voice rang mockingly through the air. Mismagius was a highly intelligent pokemon, but her grasp of thought-speak was fairly limited. It had taken her the length of the battle to focus in on the frequencies, and at best she could only parrot a few words here and there. Still, it's pretty freaky when a creepy voice interrupts any conversation, telepathic or otherwise. Rio, of course, was oblivious to this.

"Lady, Extrasensory on Mismagius. Make sure it can't get away! Bravo! Finish it with Wing Attack!"


They were aiming for Mismagius, which was an odd choice. Mismagius would also faint with the Perish Song, and so Exploud would've been a better target. However, Mismagius had been severely weakened by the earlier barrage. Rio couldn't help but be amazed at how much more intense the fight had gone now that Darryn had apparently given up on the notion of showmanship and focused on the goal at hand. Rio much preferred this, because it meant that his own attacks did not have to be as showy either.

Mismagius was now held in place by the Extrasensory, which seemed to be the move that was saving Darryn's team. The poor ghost, for all her taunts, was now on the brink of fading completely. As Bravo flashed forward, Rio uttered a command:

"Mismagius, Skill Swap with Exploud". Mismagius would faint, of course. At least this way she would pass on her Fire Immunity to her partner, further hindering the Vulpix's flame arsenal's effectiveness. Mismagius inherited the now moot Soundproof ability, but it didn't matter. The shattering blow from Bravo's glowing wings struck dead on as she was unable to move. Mismagius fell to the ground with another piercing shriek. However, even in her fading consciousness, she muttered once more: <Y-yes...Prince...D-Darryn.>

Rio proudly recalled his Mismagius, noting just how much of a hullabaloo she had seeded amongst the enemy ranks. She was definitely one of the trickiest of his pokemon, and it definitely showed in this battle, even if Lady Foxtrot had shut off most of her abilities.

Meanwhile, Rio did not need to command Exploud. Uproar was a move that lasted several turns, and was functioning as a simultaneous offense and defense. The bullets of sound continued to shoot around wildly, almost haphazardly, as there was very little way to aim the concentrated din. In the meantime, though, Both Rio's and Darryn's points dropped further, leaving them with just about a quarter set each. Time was still ticking down, and somewhere in the back of his mind, Rio heard "Perish Count has fallen to two."

Two more turns, and both Vulpix and Pidgeotto would be out.

How will you deal with that, Kellor? Rio sneered inwardly, retaining his veneer of calm outside.

[Living Arrow]

From Lyla’s position in the audience, she had a clear view of the stage and the wonderful display that her and the other spectators were being treated to. How her dear cousin had come so far with his training was one thing but his relationship with Pokemon was another entirely. She brought the camera back into focus and passed it across the view of the combatants and back to their masters, capturing the essence of the harmony that was Co-Ordination.

“Great job, Dar,” Lyla whispered to herself, taking mental note to scribble down all that she had learned so far, “but don’t let that Rio get to you… The scoreboard is in your favour.”

“Plus, pluh!” Kaki, Lyla’s partner Plusle, waved and cheered from the empty seat next to her… In the front row.

Lyla couldn’t believe her luck when she had been ushered to the immediate row of seats at the start of the performance as one of Darryn’s “cheering section” but to prevent them from realising the mistake, she had Kaki do his stuff. Oh, and her other Pokemon: Ume (a Smoochum), Anzu (a Magby) and Suika (an Azuril). Beside her, the cheering force of the four Pokemon was more than enough to support Darryn… Well, along with the other banners and screaming fans in the audience. For nowhere, her cousin had developed a fan base that she doubted even he was aware of. One banner in particular, held by three hysterical girls, read “I am the next Mrs Kellor”… Lyla decided to save that nugget for him later.

The battle unfolded as an eye-opener for Lyla as she had never sat through a Contest before but her eyes were certainly wide with admiration. Such beautiful moves, skilled timing and genius combination were a wonderful way for her to witness just what her cousin had decided to do with her life and she couldn’t think of anything that suited him better. Sadly for him, however, he was starting to lose. After all that work to lower Rio’s score and now he was cornered…

“Oh no…” Lyla whispered under her breath as the Exploud’s Uproar weakened Darryn’s Pokemon even as they were counting down the seconds before Persih Song would claim the match. Such a tactic was undoubtedly one that he wouldn’t be forgetting in a hurry – his face said it all. “How can he win, now?”

“Pluh!” Kaki wailed with delight, rocking back and forth like a loon. Lyla tutted. The Plusle’s unending uproar was enough to-

“Darryn!” Lyla squealed, jumping up from her seat and waving her arms overhead. “Darryn! Uproar doesn’t end right away! Darryn! You’re close on points! You’re close on points!”

*****

Darryn caught a flash of fast-moving pink from the corner of his eye and chanced a glance. His cousin Lyla was waving at him manically, the camcorder in her hand completely forgotten. A bunch of baby Pokemon at her side all bounced along with her, laughing and singing like a row of clowns.

“Uproar doesn’t end right away! You’re close on points!!!!”

“I- Wha-?” Darryn frowned. He was equal on points with Rio but not very many remained… and Uproar? “Yes!” Exploud’s Uproar, though strong enough to perform and all-directional attack and defense, was completely wild. Rio was certainly not gaining ground on points anymore with a chaotic move like that – maybe that would be enough for Darryn to close off the rest of his points!

<Lady! We can win now! He’s stuck in Uproar so can’t defend against our combos like before – get ready to pull off a finisher!> Darryn sent to his Vulpix desperately. She panted and heaved as she floated nearby.

<But… I cannot battle for much longer…> She gasped. If thought-speak was getting tiring for her, she must be at her limit.

<That’s OK, Lady.> Darryn replied eagerly. <Just one move and Bravo can finish it. One move and you can take a rest.>
There was a long pause.

<Yes… Prince Darryn.>
“Bravo, get above Exploud and use Featherdance one more time!” Darryn commanded, suddenly confident that the bird Pokemon would have what was needed to finish of Rio’s points before Perish Song could claim him from the field. Was it Lyla’s emotion that was reaching him? Or maybe Lady was right – he felt fear less if he just concentrated hard enough… Who knew? Right now, he had to have faith in his Pokemon and what they were capable of. Before his eyes only, a strong gold Emotaglow lanced out to connect him with both fox and bird. Their postures improved immediately and Bravo began the attack.

“PIDGEOOOH!”

High above Exploud, Bravo drew back his wings and beat down a flurry of swirling, glittering golden feathers. Step one. <Lady, get ready.> Exploud’s Uproar let loose again, Bravo’s feathers getting caught up in the streams of pressurised air that were randomly blasting here, there and everywhere over the stage. Scattered like rapidly spinning stars, Darryn ordered Lady’s last move.

“Bursting Flame, fast!”

“VUUUL!” Lady screamed the attack high over the field, a brilliant ball of scarlet flame shooting from her mouth to hang poised over everything like a demonic glitter ball before exploding in a rain of fire that hit the swirling stars and shattered them into motes of gold dust like a sky of fireworks.

<Prince Dar-!>
Lady was cut off as the Uproar swept through her, slamming her down to the ground where her tails flicked once before lying still. She had fallen before Perish Song had taken her… That’s didn’t leave Bravo much time to seal the deal on this Contest. Darryn just hoped that he could use the final move well enough to impress the judges. Two had given him perfect 10s in the Appeal round but would all three be sufficiently amazed to take enough points from Rio?

“Lady, return!” Darryn swept the Heal Ball back under his belt as soon as she was successfully recalled. “And Bravo, wrap this up with Twister! Use that dust to full effect!”

“PI-PI-PIDGEOOOH!”

After taking his own glancing blow from Uproar, Bravo unleashed a storm of swirling blue that descended upon the Exploud from above. Dispersed by the randomly firing Uproar, swathes of blue and silver shot out to fire through the curtain of gold all over the arena. Shooting stars of gold, followed by trailing tails of silver and royal blue, dashed all over the audience in rays like a shower of comets that fizzled to tiny sparks that winked out like stars saying goodbye while morning approached.

It was done. Darryn’s eyes shot to the score screen. It was now or never. Either he would have won or Bravo was about to fall to Perish Song and the Contest was a failure. It was down to the wire.

[Kamaitachi]

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a fat lady was singing. Rio gently shrugged that off as Exploud's Uproar finally subsided. However, Kellor's team was now unleashing its limit break move. The boy's Vulpix fell to Exploud's powerful Uproar, and a set of X's appeared on the judges panels, indicating her defeat.

It was down to Pidgeotto and Exploud. It appeared, at least, that Kellor was using another twister combo. The Loud noise Pokemon wasn't taking any damage from the flaming feathers, due to inheriting Lady Foxtrot's Flash Fire skill, and seemed to be shrugging off the effects of the twister admirably.

"Exploud, Thunder Fang!" Exploud burst forth from the twister, leaving a blazing trail in his wake. His newfound Flash Fire Ability gave him an unearthly, flaming glow, while the feather/flames trailed out behind him. With a mighty leap, he hurtled through the air, electrified maw aimed at the Pidgeotto.

Several things happened all at once. Just before Exploud reached Bravo with his attack, the buzzer sounded, indicating the end of the match. Exloud landed on the ground, screeching to a halt. Rio snapped his head over to the scoreboard to see what was going on.

As everyone looked up to the scoreboard, the final count of the Perish Song had taken effect, rendering Pidgeotto unconscious. However, the scoreboard clearly showed that there was still time remaining, and that Rio's part of the scoreboard was clearly depleted, whilst Darryn's showed just a mere fraction of the total wheel.

After a moment, the crowd burst into applause as Darryn's image came up on the screen, indicating that he'd won the match.

Rio recalled his confused pokemon to the pokeball, nodding his head at Darryn with a small smile of approval. The fight had been flashy, but it was the spectacle that had won Darryn the contest.

[Living Arrow]

“We did it…” Darryn half-moaned as he collapsed to his knees and the crowd went wild. “We did it…” The battle had been incredibly difficult and to be honest, Darryn was convinced that the result was going to swing the other way, but somehow his naturally flashy appeals shone through. The glitz and glamour of bright lights and awe-inspiring moves had snagged the win in the nick of time, despite what Troy had warned him for both rounds. He had won it his way.

“PIGEOOOH!” Bravo slammed the deck in a puff of yellow feathers.

“Oh, Bravo! Return!” Darryn flashed the Premier Ball and reclaimed his worn out Pokemon. “You were amazing out there.”

“Yes, Darryn! Yes!” Lyla screamed from the side of the stage, her following of babies screaming their support. He grinned and waved to her, shrugging his shoulders in a ‘I don’t know how we did it’ gesture.

*****

Backstage, Darryn laid a hand on Tuesday’s shoulder. Even from that slight touch he could feel she was shaking. Those bright eyes that had drawn down in focused frowns when they battled hooligans in the Arapet Forest were filled with worry and apprehension. It didn’t matter that she wore the outfit of a gladiator about to do battle – she was more like a Buneary in the headlights.

“It’ll be alright, Tuesday,” he reassured her, “we all believe in you and Tempest and Zorro…”

*Tempest and Zorro?! Really? Couldn’t she have picked Ashleigh to go with one of them? Or Odysseus? I hope she knows what she’s doing…*

“Mhmm…” Tuesday made a grunting sort of sound of acknowledgement.

“It really will be alright.” Darryn insisted as they stared into each others’ eyes. In a flash, Darryn dived simultaneously into the back of his Empathic space and into the back of Tuesday’s mind. After he had broken through the walls of the woman who had tried to kill them in the Arapet Forest, this was marginally easier as Tuesday’s defences were not up around him. Passing into the dark void between them did, however, take some focus as her natural abilities held a sort of thick wool around the small girl which made Darryn’s Empath senses a little more dull than usual. Passing through, however, was simple enough – especially since they had physical contact.

Whirling a ball of pure white and gold and shining green, Darryn extracted the seething masses of sickly brown, red and grey and replaced them with his collated courage and joy. Rather annoyingly, they were soon crushed under swathes of native emotion as soon as he inserted them. He tried again twice, thrice. Four times. Nothing. Only a very slight glow of his own work sparked in the fearful emotion of his friend. Whatever her natural abilities were, they were stronger than his and came with an in-built security system that he had not expected. He could do nothing more than give her a tiny spark.

“Darryn.” Tuesday’s voice in the dark caused him to start, flashing out of the Empath space and back into the present. “I’ll..I…” She blinked and breathed heavily, looking past Darryn toward the stage. “I’ll be alright…. Thank you, though.” She cracked a wobbly smile.

“Head up and keep smiling.” Darryn nodded. “I’ll be right here at the side of the stage if you decide to faint again.” He joked, trying to set her at ease.

“Mhmm.”

*Damn… She’s worse than I was at my first Contest.*

“Tuesday Berdison, please take the stage.” Gillian Meridian’s excited tones rang on the speakers.

“Go for it, Tuesday.” Darryn patted her again on the shoulder. As she turned away, however, he had to run a concerned hand back through his hair and send out a prayer that ‘Silence’ wouldn’t stay true to her namesake when she made it out onto the stage.

[Master Houndoom]

INTERLUDE

It was a typical Shadow Council, and the man standing before it fought the urge to roll his eyes at the display. A bright beam of light shone down on him, effectively isolating him without barriers. The shadows of men and women on the raised arena seating around him held no concern for him.

He flicked his gaze to the right and left of him. In smaller, similar pools of light stood a large, imposing man, standing casually with his hands in the pockets of his long leather coat, and a smaller man, leaning slightly against a construct that looked like a court's witness box, looking unconcernedly through round glasses at the man in the center. These two did concern him, because the council seemed to trust them, and they were a higher unit than he was, but an order of ten at least.

"You are called," came the oddly soft voice from the center of the shadowy figures, "to answer for the events that occurred on the Petropolis side of the Arapet Forest. You stand accused of gross negligence, incompetence, and losing an important asset. What have you to say for this?"

Despite his confidence, the man swallowed thickly. For all of its high drama, the shadow council had powers beyond the norm, and often those judged by faced consequences much, much worse than simply being expelled from the Team.

"Sirs and Madams," he started, inwardly cursing at his wording. He was more afraid than he even let himself acknowledge, if he was using such formal words. "I can only point out that this... group... has already faced many of our most specialized units and, through virtue, skill, or plain fortune, won the day."

Another voice from the shadows, a woman's voice, throaty with a slow drawl, sounded. "Let's dispense with the formalities, fellows. There are specific problems we would like to discuss." The sound of shuffling papers and clearing throats wafted toward the man in the middle, but the new voice won the day. "One of your... charges in this new, supposedly elite unit, was lost to us, given much the same treatments as we give to failures, without our hand in it. How," she said, leaning forward, but still out of the light, "did this happen?"

The man pulled lightly at his collar. "Yes. She... broke from the group relatively early as the ERB intervened."

"Broke from the group," sounded a deep, rumbling bass voice. The so called accused, for that is how he began to see himself, could practically hear the eyebrow raising.

"Yes, sir. I, myself, chose the "Break and Scatter" method of egress should something go wrong. She was one of the first to break after the backups from the ERB arrived. One of the Targets took off after her."

"And this target," said a nasal voice, its owners gender indiscernible, "was it the blonde boy with the reportedly powerful kirlia?"

"No, s-... ma-... no, it wasn't." The man's eyes narrowed, but he did not allow himself to look abashed. These people responded to weakness. "It was the coordinator."

"So how did she end up in the state she is in?"

The man shook his head. "I don't know."

There was a general murmuring, but no further questions on that matter followed. A new voice, soft and high, like a little girl's, asked the next question. "Who's idea was it to scatter the Targets?"

"I would like to point out that, at the time of the mission, there was one Target."

"The girl, yes," giggled the child-like voice, "But there was also the re-acquisition of the kirlia, and the riolu who managed to defeat the shadow process..."

"They were the Collector's mission, ma'am, not mine. I had one Target, and the Collector had the kirlia and riolu... who has since evolved into a lucario."

"Fair enough," the voice sighed offhandedly. "Who's idea was it to scatter the group?"

"Mine, ma'am. Separating the Target from the rest seemed wise. My second was to handle the implementation, but didn't account for the... randomness of the method." He stopped and ground his teeth: He was still speaking too formally, giving them strength!

"Mm," the little girl responded. "He has been punished?"

"Of course."

"I'm satisfied!" The voice giggled again, and a new voice took over.

"You used a gun." The voice was brusque, out and out accusing, and the man in the center of the room bristled.

"I beg to differ."

"You'll beg, all righ-"

"That's enough," the deep voice boomed. "Let him explain."

The man pulled his shirt taut, then raised his brows. "With your permission, Council?"

A back-gloved hand extended into the pool of light and waved assent, disappearing into the shadows again right after. The man reached behind him and pulled out his gun, eliciting a scream, which he would have believed to be from the girlish sounding voice had that same voice not expressed immediate disdain.

"Oh, GAWD,"

"Sorry," the nasal-toned voice whispered, abashed.

The slip gave the man more confidence. He held the gun up, pointed it to the side, well away from the council or the two lit witnesses, and pulled the trigger, once, twice, three times, each one ending in a loud yet impotent "click!"

"It's not loaded. It's not even functional." He held the gun up in on hand, flat across his palm, as he continued. "The firing pin's been removed. The clip is full of aluminum to give it the right feel in someone else's hands. It is the least dangerous thing I carry."

"Then why carry it?"

"When a person is faced with a pokémon, their instinct is to fight. These four are especially prone to this, being trainers in their own lands even before they came here. Pokémon are equal until proven better in the eyes of any trainer. But when faced with a gun, they freeze. Television has shown them that guns are dangerous, and too fast to be countered by a command. And if that person is some kind of hero, they still won't act if they have someone they care about nearby. That's the problem with heroes: They can't allow people to get hurt because of them." The accused grinned. "That's power, in my hands, from what amounts to a heavy, broken machine.

Another murmur sounded from the council, and this sounded more positive. The man in the middle light thought he caught an approving nod from the witness in the trench coat.

"Very well," the first voice from the shadows called, quieting the din. "You have answered all of the charges save for one..." The voice dropped, a chill flowing through it enough to make the Collector's eyes narrow in surprise. "These... children," he spat icily, "know the Name."

The man in the middle swallowed, but straightened. "Before my time, sir. None of us used the Name. Not one."

"Sir," The Collector spoke, softly, "Unit Eighty Four used the name in front of the Coordinator when he was first... ah... caught."

"Yes," the man said, impatiently, "But they're a low Unit. Fools, all of them. No one should have taken that seriously."

"And they came running right to me," said the man in the trench coat, "leading him and his twerp friends to us. I tested the Shadow pokémon, but they stalled me long enough to get the police there."

Silence reigned, until the gruff voiced one swore loudly, and the nasal androgynous voice squeaked again. "Ah," the central man said, finally, "I remember."

"Steps have been taken to make sure that the name is treated as it always has been. Including the Joy and Jenny in our hire working to keep it from being taken seriously."

"Is it working?"

"Yes."

"Then we are satisfied. You two may have him."

There was no motion from the shadows, but the man was too nervous. The Trench Coat and the Collector stepped into his pool of light, and he swallowed. But the Trench Coat smiled.

"Welcome Unit Twenty One," he said, the Collector giving him a once over with no exchange of expression.

"Wait, what," the man said, his heart pounding in relief.

"You're in the big leagues now, kid. The game changes. Again." The Trench Coat smirked. "First, Unit Tetra is gone. It was an experiment, and it failed. One person passed the test, and that was you."

"That was a TEST?!"

"It's all a test," the Collector said coolly. "The Testing doesn't end."

The man looked down and nodded. "So the council..?"

"Yeah," the Trench Coated man chuckled. "Real enough, but you did pass their test, too. You didn't fold. You were fooled, but, really, I think that's just 'cause he gets off on it."

"He..?"

The Collector lifted a remote and pressed the single button, illuminating the entire chamber in light. The seating where the "council" had stood was full of eerie burlap dolls, life size, in vague shapes matching what the man had matched to each voice; a pig tailed little girl in one chair, a tall, slender frame in another, a bulky, broad "shouldered" one in yet another, and so on. Only one chair, in the direct center, was empty.

"But--"

"It's better not to think of it." Guiding him to the door, the larger of his two new unit-mates squeezed his shoulder, just hard enough for the man to sense the power in his frame. "So, you're going to be called the Gentleman." The man did not find any reason why not, and wouldn't have argued if he had. "You know the Collector..."

"Yes, but what call you?"

The man in the trench coat turned and grinned at him. "Boss."

"Right," The Gentleman said, swallowing. "So when do we go after the Target again?"

"We give them time," intoned the Collector, "while you get training. You learn to work with us, they let their guard down... then we get the Target, and anyone else we need."

"Anyone else?"

"Yeah. They've all got talents," the Boss said. "It's just a matter of them realizing they want to use it for us."

"And if they don't?"

The Boss shook his head. "Accidents happen."

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Despite her own concerns about her impending contest battle, Tuesday had made certain to watch Darryn's to the fullest. It wasn't merely because he was her friend and she was excited to see him win it, as she was certain he would, but she'd had some small hope that watching his might give her some ideas about her own. Despite her training and planning for the contest, now that her battle was almost upon her, she felt completely unprepared. She had once heard someone in school describe their preparation for tests as being utterly futile, as no matter how much they studied, once the exams were upon them, they sat poised over the paper with no recollection of any of the material. Tuesday had never felt that way in school and hadn't understood the girl's predicament at the time, but she had a fair comprehension of it now. Couldn't she maybe have, say, another week?

Tuesday crossed her arms over her chest and shuffled her feet a little, trying to find a comfortable position as she watched Darryn recall Bravo. The battle had been... extraordinary. Gym battles Tuesday had seen. She had been watching them long before coming to Furoh, and though the participants and tactics changed, most everything else remained the same. Predictable.

Contest battles were not like gym battles. She had known that. Darryn had explained that to her when she asked. Contest battles judged on visual effect and effectiveness, and all under a time limit. It wasn't like a gym battle, where all you had to do was knock out the opposing pokemon. As Darryn and Rio's battle had clearly demonstrated, it was the points for flashiness as much as anything that could lead to a victory.

Tempest isn't flashy in the least. The little pikachu was a stubborn, hot-tempered firecracker. Zorro may well have succeeded in his flashiness, what with his love of costumes and visual effects, but combining him with Tempest...

No. No, it had been a good idea, and Tuesday was glad that she had done it. Tempest and Zorro might not get along at the best of times, but the two had a determination that matched the other, and fighting styles that were complimentary. They would do well together, and Tuesday wasn't going to back down now, even if running did sound like a stunning idea.

Still... it would be interesting to see, wouldn't it? Not only her own contest battle, once they were all back together and could take the time to watch Lyla's recording, but also whatever Rio came up with to contradict her styles. It would be a miracle if she could defeat him. She was good at combinations for pokemon battles, but restrictions on available moves and flashiness? It was... impossible.

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." Tuesday closed her eyes and tried to laugh around the lump of nervousness in her throat. Thank you, Walt Disney. She swallowed. Well, Darryn's battle had been a joy to watch. More than that, as close as the score had remained, as unpredictable as the outcome had been, it had been like reading a ridiculously good book - unable to put it down, for then the words would stop moving through one's mind and the ending would remain so far away. Tuesday had been drawn into watching, and though she did love to observe and to read and live in the worlds her mind created for her, it was becoming increasingly apparent to her that participating could be just as interesting - perhaps even moreso.

Yes... this will be fun.

Still, she was horribly nervous and she couldn't shake that sensation, even as she was excited. The nervousness remained paramount within her. Everyone would be looking at her, after all - at least for a time. They would become concentrated upon her pokemon, once she released them, but she would still call out combinations for Zorro and Tempest, despite their knowledge of battles and what she had trained them to accomplish. Her voice would draw the eyes of the audience back to her, and she just hoped she wouldn't pass out again.

At least not until it's all over.

Tuesday recalled Dante as Darryn made his way off the stage and headed backstage and out of sight of the audience. It was nice of him to stop and reassure Tuesday, and the warmth of his hand on her shoulder had a way of grounding her in the moment. Her mind wanted very much to float off and be somewhere else, but his steady hand called her back, and she was grateful for it. She wasn't sure he would understand what she meant if she mentioned it, though, so she said nothing.

“It really will be alright.”

Tuesday met the older boy's gaze. Perhaps it was because she rarely met people's eyes, but Darryn seemed to have such strange eyes. They were dark brown, but there was an strange glimmer in them that wasn't quite there, and yet she was sure she could see it. How odd...

And there was such a strangeness inside of her. She was terrified of standing in front of all of those people. Horrified by the possibility that she might faint again in full view of an audience and who knows how many cameras. Nervous to the point of nausea about pitting two of her most-trusted pokemon against the champion of a type of battle she had never before participated in.

But beneath there, buried within that, somewhere where also dwelt the small flecks of excitement, something stirred. A calmness that she had never felt before facing a crowd of people. And truly, that was the real opponent here. Rio she could face easily enough. She might lose, yes, but she could face him with little hassle and much trust in her pokemon. The true enemy of her at the moment were the crowds of people waiting to settle their eyes on her, burdening her with their gazes. She still, despite the fear that roiled within her at that prospect, she felt something else fighting for calm before the storm of her unease, and it wasn't hers, and it didn't want to remain within her, this alien emotion that did not fit, and-

Oh. Is that...?

“Darryn,” Tuesday said quietly. She blinked her eyes, surprised to find that she had been staring unblinkingly into Darryn dark brown eyes the whole time her emotions had been warring. She shook her head lightly as his eyes came back into focus upon her. "I'll... I..." She swallowed thickly and blinked her eyes a couple of times, trying to catch her breath. Please, she wasn't going to have a panic attack, was she? She'd rather faint.

She met his gaze again. “I’ll be alright… Thank you, though.” She tried to smile at him. It might have ended up as more of a grimace, though.

"Head up and keep smiling." He offered her a grin that she just couldn't bring herself to return. His faith in her was touching, though - all of theirs was, and she knew the others would be certain she knew of their encouragement and trust, were they backstage with her as well. And if her brother were there, Brone would be certain to be huffy about her self-doubt. What was it he always said?

"Faith in oneself is the best and safest course." He had always enjoyed the fact that he could quote a painter to her. Michaelangelo. He was right, too, of course, but she couldn't help but doubt. She had never had a contest battle before, and she was facing a champion. Still, she trusted her pokemon, they had trained well, and they were two of the best she had.

At the very least, I will have fun.

“Tuesday Berdison, please take the stage.”

“Go for it, Tuesday," Darryn said, as he patted her on the shoulder one final time. She drew a deep breath as she stepped away from him.

Funny, though, how her mind worked, as she wondered about him. Her nervousness faded a little as she wondered on Darryn Kellor. He didn't seem concerned at all, and she was curious that he didn't realize that he had given himself away. Emotional manipulation? She appreciated the effort he had made, but her mind had always been too stubborn. It was likely that stubbornness, less than his touch, which had revealed him.

And as she stepped onto the stage, she didn't even notice the crowds around her, as her mind mused over the idea that she would keep solely to herself, wrapped up in her silence. Empathy, Darryn? What secrets you have hidden in your strange eyes?