((Sorry about those earlier posts. I kinda underestimated the character limit. That's the problem with belonging to multiple forums...))
Seeing Jupiter's intentions, Lindsey hastily cried, "No, Jupiter! At the dusclops! At the dusclops!"
Surprised, Jupiter stopped himself, thinking the order over in his mind uncertainly. At the dusclops? The gust below him had finally dissipated, Soul-reaper slowly levitating back to his feet from the undignified position that the attack had dropped him in, spread-eagled on the pitted metal floor. There was no time to question orders, he decided. Changing the angle of his wings he sent the tiny sun spinning downwards instead of up, the tiny speck of brilliance seeming even more pitifully small compared to the shadowy bulk of the dusclops. The sunny day struck the now-righted Soul-reaper in the chest and disappeared.
Soul-reaper, who had been charging another ice beam, paused momentarily out of surprise. That was it? The tiny sunny day wasn't even enough to do more than make him flinch.
"Well, folks, I can't honestly say that I understood what Echo was trying to pull there, but whatever it was, it doesn't look like it worked to me. With Jupiter clearly tired, I'd say that Death and Soul-reaper have a definite advantage," the announcer boomed.
Lindsey's hands clenched despite her best efforts to remain calm. If it didn't work, she was certain to lose this round. Soul-reaper released another ice beam, and Jupiter, too busy wondering what his trainer had been playing at, wasn't paying adequate attention to his opponent. The powerful attack struck him square in the chest, and he went spinning tail over beak through the air. Death didn't even issue any further commands, waiting patiently as Soul-reaper charged another ice beam.
Suddenly, the dusclops stopped, appearing puzzled. "Ice beam," Death said, not understanding why his pok?mon hesitated. If he wasn't a ghost, Lindsey would have sworn that Soul-reaper looked ill.
An instant later, Soul-reaper suddenly lit up, illuminated from within by a powerful brilliance. The light intensified, and Soul-reaper began to flail about in confused agony, unable to understand what was causing the strange burning sensation that consumed him from within. The rest of the onlookers were similarly stunned, with the exception of Lindsey, who smirked triumphantly.
The radiance that had awoken inside of Soul-reaper grew still brighter, beaming from every crack in his gaseous form, turning his single eye into a spotlight. The ghost-type's writhing grew more frantic as he was burned away from within.
"Return, Soul-reaper," Death said quickly, and as the dusclops was dissolved into red energy, the light within him burst free of the bonds of his body, rising on a cushion of warm air to hang near the low ceiling. The miniature sun grew still larger and brighter as it traveled upward, transforming the dingy arena into a warm, almost welcoming place. Jupiter hovered in midair, oblivious to the coat of ice his chest feathers had acquired as he admired the miniature sun with shocked awe.
"Amazing!" the announcer yelled appreciatively. "Lindsey used the tendency of dusclops to absorb everything that touches them into the vacuum that they carry within themselves to plant a miniature sun inside of her opponent! Now that's some slick strategy." A belated cheer rose from the crowd, most of the members of which were still not quite sure what had happened.
Death, however, wasn't about to wait around until they figured it out. Pulling another ball from his belt, he sent it spinning onto the field. "Demonhound, fry that stupid bird," he commanded.
As his next fighter appeared, Lindsey wished that Electrolyte hadn't already been eliminated. Sunlight gleamed off of the houndoom's bony horns, the dark dog raising her snout to the sun above and searching for her opponent.
For a moment, the only sound was the quiet patter of water droplets on metal as the ice encasing the giant ceiling fan slowly melted. Then both trainers got the next round started.
"Jupiter, fly as close as you can to the sun so you can melt that ice off of your feathers."
"Demonhound, solarbeam the fan."
Jupiter obligingly swooped over to the miniature sun he had created, exposing his frosted feathers to its warmth. Water ran off of them in dozens of small rivulets as the pidgeot basked in the heat, feeling rejuvenated.
Demonhound made use of the sun, too. Though most dark-types hated and feared the light of Sol, Demonhound was half fire-type and drew many of her powers from the distant fires of the sun. Absorbing as much of the heat and light of the sun as she could through the bony protrusions that bulged out from her black skin, she focused on converting and concentrating the sun's energy into a more useful form.
As Jupiter finished melting the ice off of his feathers and Lindsey prepared to issue another command, Demonhound raised her metabolism to an incredibly high level, fueling the extreme change to her inner chemistry with now-abundant solar energy. As her cells worked at top speed, releasing tremendous amounts of energy, they also produced vast amounts of waste--heat energy, too much to be absorbed by the houndoom's flame pouch. The uncontrolled power built up rapidly in the dark-type's body, begging for release.
Release it she did, raising her snout once more and aiming for the hub of the fan. She let out a howl, and a huge beam of light burst from her mouth along with the echoing cry. The incredible bolt of heat and light, an echo of the tiny sun that had fueled it, leapt upwards to strike the fan dead center.
The much-abused mechanism, already flash-frozen, could not withstand the force of the beam of pure energy that struck it. Metal groaned as it expanded rapidly, too rapidly after its sudden contraction in response to the ice beam attacks. It fractured under the strain and the entire contraption came loose from the ceiling, carving a deadly path through the air as it journeyed towards the floor.
Jupiter, dazed and partially blinded by the searing solar beam that had nearly clipped him, dodged as best he could, but failed to make it far enough out of the fan's path. One massive blade caught him as it fell, and he was slammed hard into the floor, tail trapped beneath the heavy metal arm.
Jupiter struggled to get back to his feet, pain searing through his body as he did so. He was certain that he had broken at least a couple of ribs in the fall; with his lightweight, flight-ready skeleton, he'd be lucky if it wasn't more. The old burn on his chest, no longer chilled by the ice beam, throbbed once more, adding to the general cacophony of aches that assaulted his consciousness. Still, he wasn't done for yet, though he was undeniably in a tight spot.
"I hope Death's prepared to pay for damage to that fan," the announcer joked. "Even if he does, it'd be worth it, because destroying it has completely immobilized the swift Jupiter. The pidgeot's at his mercy now, but I doubt that Death is going to show any!"
"Flamethrower, Demonhound," Death ordered, confirming the announcer's assumption.
"Protect, Jupiter," Lindsey commanded, trying to think of a way out of the seemingly hopeless situation. The crowd booed heartily; it was growing very tired of her using that attack.
The pidgeot threw his wings up to cover his face, freezing in place as Demonhound sent a powerful column of flame in his direction. The focused flamethrower attack frayed as it struck the invisible barrier in front of pidgeot, small tongues of flame spraying out in all directions while most of the flamethrower continued on, completely encasing the protected pidgeot in fire. As the attack died down, however, Jupiter was still standing.
?Hit it with a gust,? Lindsey suggested, hoping to play for time again. Jupiter whipped up another quick funnel cloud, launching it straight at Demonhound. She leapt out of the way quickly, though not quickly enough. The swirling winds caught the houndoom?s hindquarters and she flipped awkwardly in the air, landing hard and sliding along the metal floor on her back.
Jupiter took the lapse in attacks to try to work himself free of his predicament. It was no use, however; his tailfeathers were caught fast beneath the heavy fan, and he couldn?t just pull them out; he needed them for balance and steering while in flight.
?Flamethrower, Demonhound,? Death commanded.
The houndoom rolled back to her feet and spun around to face her opponent, loosing another flamethrower in the same motion. The powerful fire attack was poorly aimed but most of it hit Jupiter. The pidgeot shrieked and beat his wings frantically, trying to put out the flames that were consuming his tan plumage. Lindsey recalled him, recognizing that he wouldn?t be able to continue the fight after the devastating fire attack.
She was in quite a tight spot now; she had only three pok?mon left, and Demonhound had a great advantage while the miniature sun hung in the sky, increasing the power of his fire attacks and allowing him to charge and release solarbeams with almost unnatural speed. Fryealise would be no good here and neither would Negrek, but she wanted to save Mandarb for later. Her hand hovered uncertainly over her belt as she frantically scoured her mind for a strategy.
?Echo is in a tight spot,? the announcer observed. ?She?s still behind by one pok?mon, and with sunny day heating up the field Demonhound?s gone from dangerous to deadly.?
At last, Lindsey made her choice. If she could just stall until the artificial sun faded, perhaps she?d have a better chance of bringing down the powerful houndoom. ?Negrek, you?re up next,? she announced, tossing out his ball.
Negrek?s materialization was accompanied by laughter and catcalls from the crowd. The slugma seemed largely oblivious to their cries, oozing slowly out towards the arena?s center, or as close as he could get to the arena?s center, now that the fan lay spread out across the floor. In fact, he seemed largely oblivious to the battle in general; his half-lidded eyes and bored expression conveyed a sort of blas? air that was rarely seen in fighters in the Deep Colosseum.
Though you?d normally not be seeing a slugma in the Deep Colosseum under any circumstances. The combatants here used highly trained pok?mon, champions that they had used to ascend through the challenges in other Colosseums. You almost never saw underevolved pok?mon here. Negrek was a difficult pok?mon to handle, with a maddeningly superior air and a stubborn streak three miles wide. Lindsey only kept him on her team as a novelty, as the crowds loved spectacles, and because she swore that even if she deliberately put him away in the PC storage system or released him he?d get himself into a match somehow if he really wanted to be there.
Flushing slightly in response to the derisive laughter and hooting of the crowd, Lindsey tried to regain her focus. ?Negrek, let?s begin with?"
The pok?mon in question cut her off with an enormous yawn, obviously ignoring her. Demonhound, eyeing her opponent with amused wariness, was caught off guard. Unable to resist the infectiousness of the yawn, she responded in kind, fully revealing her dazzling set of oh-so-sharp teeth as she did so.
?It looks as though Negrek doesn?t think much of Echo?s orders,? the announcer said, unable to suppress a slight chuckle. ?And who knows? Maybe he?s got a better plan up his sleeve.? Lindsey fumed quietly in response to the comment. Let Negrek go his own way for the moment, she decided. It would look less embarrassing to do that than to issue orders only to have her pok?mon completely disregard them.
Death recognized the danger of the move immediately and determined to finish off the little slug as quickly as he could. ?Crunch, Demonhound.?
Shaking her head slightly, the houndoom leapt forward, exposing her fangs again as her lips drew back in a snarl. Dark energy ran in rivulets down her teeth, contrasting sharply with their pearly white enamel. As she charged, blobs of dark power dripped from her jaws like saliva, eating away metal as they struck the floor and leaving still more pockmarks in the arena.
Anxiety and frustration built up inside Lindsey as she watched the houndoom charge towards Negrek, who sat as still as his species could manage without allowing their magma bodies to cool and harden, watching his oncoming opponent impassively. Do something, do something, do something! she shrieked mentally at her pok?mon. Don?t just let her get you! Negrek wasn?t picking up her mental broadcasts, however, not even flinching as Demonhound bounded over the fan blade that lay just in front of him and lunged, jaws wide.
Unable to take it any more, Lindsey burst out with, ?Negrek, use??
Demonhound smacked solidly against an invisible barrier while still in midair; dazed and in pain, she collapsed to the floor in a heap. Negrek allowed the protect barrier to diffuse, looking extremely self-satisfied. The crowd laughed again as Lindsey reddened with rage and embarrassment.
?Negrek goes it alone again and seems to have succeeded in neutralizing the threat posed by Demonhound!? the announcer cried appreciatively.
Indeed, small snores emanated from the crumpled form of Demonhound, the inevitable fatigue created by yawn and the dazing blow she had suffered from running headfirst into a rock-solid protect combining to put her out despite the bright light bathing the arena courtesy of sunny day, though the miniature sun was beginning to fade, its light not quite so searing as before.
?Rock slide,? Lindsey hissed through gritted teeth, determined to get at least one order out, whether or not Negrek obeyed.
Whether because it was what he had intended to do anyway or because he decided that it would be unwise to continue harassing his trainer, Negrek complied. Deep beneath the earth as he was now it was much easier to call upon the powers of rock, which now surrounded the slugma on all sides.
?Ugggmaaa?? he gurgled, raising his eyes to stare at the ceiling. As he did so, cracks spread through the metal frame that had surrounded the now-destroyed fan. Chunks of metal began to fall, small pieces at first, though gradually larger and larger bits gave in to gravity and heeded the slugma?s call.
Demonhound winced in her sleep and whimpered softly as the falling debris struck her, though she did not awaken. On his side of the field Death was yelling as loud as he could, desperately trying to awaken his partner.
The metal frame had fallen away, exposing what Negrek was really looking for: solid rock. Tiny pebbles rained from above like petrified hail, followed by small rocks and working up to large boulders as a section of the ceiling fell away, showering Demonhound and the surrounding area. Soon a large pile of rocks had accumulated over the slumbering houndoom and Negrek allowed the attack to stop, gauging that Demonhound, trapped beneath the boulders, was no longer a threat.
Death apparently had the same opinion as he recalled Demonhound with a sigh, the red beam of energy released by his pok?ball somehow finding a crack within the huge rock pile and reaching the pok?mon within. The mound of rocks shifted subtly as the houndoom at their base was rendered immaterial and returned to safety.
Death didn?t take long to consider his next choice of pok?mon. Negrek, his view of the other side of the arena now obscured by the rock pile of his own creation, was not fast enough in oozing up and over the obstacle to catch sight of his new opponent right away.
?Mindripper, finish that slugma off,? Death cried, calling on yet another dark-type to aid him.
Mindripper hissed in irritation as she materialized on the field, shading her gem eyes from sunlight with one of her small paws. The sunny day was almost gone, however, Jupiter?s miniature sun having taken on a faded, washed-out look.
Negrek crested the top of the rock pile and unleashed an abrupt flamethrower at the sableye, apparently intent on making use of the last remnants of the sunny day?s power before it faded entirely. The sableye was utterly unprepared for the attack and was bowled over by the powerful flaming column, her entire front seared.
Chittering angrily, she scrabbled back to her feet, waving her paws menacingly at the Slugma.
?Looks like Negrek?s gotten Mindripper all riled up,? the announcer noted. ?That might be a big mistake on his part; Sableye are perfectly at home in subterranean arenas like this, and with the sunny day gone, she?ll be in her element.?
Indeed, the sun gave out at last as he spoke, fading from existence as Death gave Mindripper her first order. ?Get in there with faint attack,? he commanded, and the sableye was only too pleased to oblige. She grinned widely, exposing two rows of sharp, triangular teeth, and faded from existence quickly, the last thing to disappear her Cheshire grin.
Negrek was already countering the move, his mouth wide open as he expelled a cloud of foul-smelling purple smoke that quickly swathed him in a billowing cloak of foul haze, greatly reducing visibility. Soon he was nothing more than a blurry shadow at the heart of the stifling gases. Suddenly, another shadowy form joined him, appearing behind the slugma?s back and slamming into him. The attack was accompanied by a small cry of pain from the sableye as contact with the fire-type?s searing skin aggravated the burns that already marred her spectral flesh.
For his part, Negrek jerked forward, clearly taking some damage from the dark-type attack. He didn?t even turn around, though, merely giving a small cough as he spat out a couple of embers.
Instantly he was surrounded in a raging firestorm as the volatile gases that he had spewed out with his smog attack ignited, going up with a whoosh. For an instant it was impossible to see either fighter, the center of the arena having become nothing more than a giant fireball. In a second it was over, however, revealing Mindripper, severely charred and lying on her back just behind Negrek, and the slugma waiting patiently in the same attitude he had been before.
The sableye shuddered and tried to stand, scrabbling painfully at the rocks beneath her. Negrek started to turn, and Death quickly cried, ?Recover, Mindripper!?
Hearing her trainer?s voice, Mindripper stopped her pitiful struggles and instead lay still as a warm glow emanated from the red gem set into the center of her torso, her wounds melting away as it spread across her small form. Negrek unleashed a powerful flamethrower at point-blank range, but she was rejuvenated enough to roll quickly to the side even as her recover attack continued. Her feet were caught in the flaming attack, however, and she hissed, chittering angrily as she pulled herself up, looking irate and considerably better than she had mere moments before.
?A surprise comeback from Death! What?s he got in mind for fighting Negrek at close range??
?Cut, Mindripper,? Death ordered, apparently having planned this out already.
Darting around to the back of the slow-moving Negrek, Mindripper lashed out with a clawed hand, cutting a deep gash in the fire-type?s puttylike skin. She cried out and clutched the hand to her chest a second later, as it had become badly burned. The magma flowing through Negrek?s veins welled out, sealing the wound over almost instantly, but the slugma was clearly annoyed. He rounded on the sableye and unleashed another flamethrower, and this time Mindripper didn?t get up after being blown backwards and off of the rock pile by the force of the fiery assault.
?It looks like Negrek?s a tougher customer than he looks, folks!? the announcer said gleefully.
Death was clearly enraged as he recalled Mindripper and tore another ball from his belt. Though pleased that her opponent?s calm fa?ade was crumbling, Lindsey wished that it wasn?t the result of the feats of her arrogant slugma. As though he needed a bigger ego?
?Don?t mess around, Bloodfang,? Death snarled, hurling another ball into the arena.
The pok?mon didn?t that emerged didn?t look much like one for messing around. The wiry mightyena regarded Negrek with determined eyes, baring his fangs and snarling.
?Hyper beam!? Death roared, and Bloodfang lifted his muzzle to what would be the heavens if they had been aboveground and howled. Brilliant white light beamed from his open mouth as he did so, and as he lowered his head once more, a huge bolt of energy burst free of his jaws and rocketed across the arena, striking the confused Negrek head on. Shards of rock flew in all directions as the incredibly powerful attack pulverized the top layer of the rock pile, a cloud of dust billowing from the point of impact.
Lindsey blinked furiously, trying to dispel the afterimage that the blazing attack had left floating before her eyes. As the dust cleared, it revealed that Negrek had been thrown back several feet, no longer in possession of most of his body mass. Small pieces of swiftly-cooling Negrek were splattered across a wide radius, and the pok?mon himself looked considerably worse for wear after the attack, not to mention smaller in stature after having shed so much magma. His eyes were tightly shut and he didn?t move. Lindsey recalled him hastily, worried that he might start hardening.
?Well, that was certainly a decisive blow,? the announcer said. ?That was the shortest round this match has seen yet, in fact.?
Lindsey selected her next pok?mon quickly, knowing that Bloodfang would take a moment to recover from the massive energy expenditure associated with hyper beam and intending to make good on that pause. ?Get out there, Freyalise!?
The pok?mon that appeared on her side of the field seemed very out of place in the dingy Deep Colosseum, her vibrant green skin and brightly colored flowers an exotic splash of color amongst the fallen rocks and broken metal that littered the arena. ?Lossom!? she chirped, not daunted by her surroundings in the least.
?Use swords dance, quick,? Lindsey ordered, aware that Bloodfang had nearly recuperated enough to launch another attack.
Freyalise couldn?t see her opponent over the mound of rock that still dominated the center of the arena but carried out the order unperturbed. She performed an exotic dance, swaying gracefully as she swept around and around the arena, dodging small boulders and still-warm magma effortlessly, almost as though the sharp twirls that she employed to skirt them were a part of the dance and not taken out of necessity. Though its effects were not at all apparent to the onlookers, the dance was designed to heighten Freyalise?s focus and put her more in tune with her natural powers.
?Bloodfang, start off with a poison fang,? came death?s order from across the arena. A scrabbling noise indicated that the mightyena had started to scale the pile of rubble, and he soon appeared at its crest, staring down at his opponent hungrily.
Freyalise ended her dance and glared defiantly up at the dark-type, undaunted as he charged down the side of the rock pile, leaping from boulder to boulder as he made his descent. His mouth lolled open, exposing envenomed canines that he intended to drive into his small, flowery opponent.
Lindsey had other plans. ?Sludge bomb, Freyalise" she ordered.
As Bloodfang reached the arena floor once more, charging towards the belossom, Fryealise calmly drew on her own powers of poison. She coughed up a sticky glob of foul sludge, catching it with one delicate green hand before throwing it straight into Bloodfang?s face.
The gooey missile exploded on contact, splattering across the mightyena?s muzzle and getting into her eyes, still more sludge filling her mouth. Blinded and spluttering, the mightyena allowed her attack to degenerate into a mad charge. Freyalise was knocked away as the mightyena barreled past her, shaking his head and coughing. He shambled to a halt, pawing at his face and trying to get the disgusting sludge out of his eyes and mouth.
?Return, Freyalise,? Lindsey said, temporarily confusing the crowd, who wondered why she was returning her bellossom when she had barely taken any damage.
Freyalise understood the order perfectly, however. ?Belll!? she shrieked, leaping onto Bloodfang?s back and pummeling him with her tiny fists.
The confused mightyena, who was still partially blind, twisted and turned in an attempt to see his opponent. Freyalise started tearing handfuls of his thick black fur out and he yelped in pain, snapping at his green tormentor. At last he managed to snag one of the leaves making up Freyalise?s skirt and tear her off of him, though more fur came away with the little grass-type. Tossing her up in the air he caught her again in his jaws as she came back down, biting down viciously and driving poison into her system.
Freyalise shrieked and responded with another sludge bomb to the face. Bloodfang dropped her instinctively and tried to clear his eyes again. Freyalise rolled away and scrambled back to her feet, incensed. Sap-blood flowed sluggishly from several deep punctures in her torso, and Lindsey hoped that not enough poison had been delivered to her system to cause a damaging reaction.
Death had by now realized that he was at a severe disadvantage in that he couldn't see what was going on between the two pok?mon, his view blocked by the large rock pile. ?Aerial ace,? he commanded, deciding to rely on attacks that he could be sure would hit.
?Hidden power, Freyalise,? Lindsey countered.
Bloodfang leapt into the air, spinning and twisting midair in a complex aerial gymnastics routine as he sent repeated blasts of wind out across the arena. One struck Freyalise and she was bowled backwards, smacking up against a large boulder. Dazed but still determined, she picked herself up and charged for the mightyena as he came to earth once more.
?Crunch!? Death called. Bloodfang opened his mouth, the last remnants of purple sludge mixing with viscous black liquid as dark energy filled the mightyena?s mouth. Freyalise kept coming, and as Bloodfang dived forward, she delivered a hard uppercut to his jaw. His head snapped back, dark energy spraying out to either side as his mouth was closed unexpectedly.
?Hidden power again,? Lindsey called gleefully, and Freyalise delivered a powerful karate chop to one of the reeling Bloodfang?s forelegs.
The Mightyena?s leg gave out, and he staggered back, whining piteously.
?Shadow ball,? Death called, sounding worried.
Bloodfang halted his retreat and tried to regain his focus, his open mouth becoming a dark pit of emptiness as ghost-type energy filled it. Snapping his head forward, he sent the ball of energy flying at his smugly grinning opponent.
Freyalise rolled to the side but failed to avoid the attack, sliding back along the floor as the shadow ball hit her in the chest. She got to her feet quickly, but fatigue was evident in her grim face. The sap leaking from her earlier poison fang wound had turned an ugly yellow pus color, and Lindsey grimaced. The attack had been successful, and Freyalise was being steadily weakened by the poison coursing through her veins.
?Return, Freyalise. Flip him onto his back,? Lindsey ordered, realizing that she had to work quickly against her opponent.
?Don?t let her knock you off your feet, Bloodfang,? Death responded, hearing her order. ?Poison fang once more.?
Bloodfang limped forward, snarling defiantly as Freyalise charged. Suddenly, he lunged, showing an unexpected burst of speed. Freyalise could only just barely avoid the attack by dropping down as the mightyena snapped at the air above.
Lindsey didn?t mind; the maneuver had accomplished what she had wanted it to, anyway. ?Razor leaf from below!? she cried excitedly.
?Get out of there, Bloodfang!? Death cried, sounding worried.
The Mightyena?s sudden attack had taken its toll, however, and Bloodfang landed hard on his injured leg. It crumpled beneath his weight and he collapsed to the side, whining. Freyalise, seeing that she would no longer be able to carry out her order to the letter, caught on to their intent anyway. Standing up slowly, wincing as the infected wounds on her chest throbbed, she began another dance, shaking leaves loose from her skirt. She flicked them into the air with a touch of grass-type energy, and they flew forward, slicing into Bloodfang?s exposed belly.
