Alright, since the other one wasn't as sleek and sweet as it could be, I am reposting it, with some other stuff. XD 8D With LilyPichu's permission.

Firstly, we must thank ESS for giving this to us and laying the groundwork.

Groundwork:

Extra: In the other thread, we decided that to write in this, you have to have written a FanFic that was NOT closed because of poor quality. This is to prevent *gasp* n00b content.

Now comes the good stuff:

If there's a line through a name, that writer's end is done. If a name is glowing, that writer was the winner. Please PM me with any questions(because I'm the thread starter, and the Mods get enough SPAM, and the others are too mean 8D). Thank you and have a nice day.

Current 'Battling Partners':
SilverBlaze09
vs.
Casual Billy
^VOTING CURRENTLY UNDERWAY

Negrek
vs.
SilverBlaze09:

Frostweaver
Trainer: Yuki

Pok�mon:
Quagsire- Quira
Dewgong- Jugon
Lapras- Enmu
Vaporeon- Moana
Sealeo- Glacy
Ditto- Mimic
vs.
SilverBlaze09
SuperTrainer

Description: A.D.
Pok�mon:
Charizard(Airzord)
Gyarados(Poseidon)
Dragonite(Drako)
Aggron(Destoroyah)
Aerodactyl(Rodan)
Snorlax(Hammer)

Yamato-San
trainer: Jamaht
preference: full 6-on-6 battles, single or double

Hakuryuu (Dragonair) [female]: 10,000 Bolt (Thunderbolt), Flamethrower, Freeze Beam (Ice Beam), Water Surge (Water Pulse)*
Jukain (Sceptile) [male]: Dragon Claw, Dragon Breath, Focus Punch
Yamikarasu (Murkrow) [male]: Shadow Ball, Parroting (Mirror Move)
Arbok [female]: Hole Digging (Dig), Earthquake, Iron Tail, Poison Poison (Toxic)
Kyuukon (Ninetales) [female]: Reflector (Reflect)
Nyaasu (Meowth) [male]: Cat's Hand (Assist)
Vs.
Negrek
Name: Lindsey
Pok�mon:
Duskrider the Dustox
Electrolyte the Lanturn
Freyalise the Bellossom
Negrek the Slugma
Mandarb the Absol
Jupiter the Pidgeot

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Updates as the info comes in.

�SilverBlaze09�

This is my end, reposted from the other thread:

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Average Bob.

That�s what they all called him. He narrowed his brown eyes angrily. Today he�d show them. He�d show them all. They�d all leave saying �Bob the League Master�. �Master Bob�. He smirked, clearing his face with his trademark expression.

Round twelve of a fifteen-round endurance match and still going strong. He and his partners weren�t going anywhere but up. He cracked his knuckles and stood on the rectangular white area indicated by a referee. He set his feet fourteen inches apart, as he always did. He stared across the arena at his opponent, a kid called Billy. He smirked. The kid was confident; his stance casual, his green eyes staring purposefully back into his. They smirked at each other as the referee announced the rules they had agreed upon beforehand.

"Welcome to the twelfth round of the Orre League! This shall be a Pok�mon battle between Billy of Littleroot town in Hoenn," he stopped as the crowd began roaring, waiting until the cheering died down before he continued, "and Bob of Johto!"

More cheers, and a lot of laughter as the accursed name was thrown around the crowd, falling from the lips of the people and turning into acid as it fell in his ears. His smirk turned to a snarl, then disappeared as he clamped down on all emotion. His brown ponytail swished behind him as he turned his head back and forth, gauging his terrain. It appeared to be a normal cement-and-dirt arena, but there were some strange orbs on either side, six along each wall.

"This shall be a six-on-six match. Each inter-round shall be decided by a knockout. If one trainer has defeated three of his opponent�s Pok�mon without losing one of his own, he shall be declared the winner. This is a Random stadium, so please be advised. Begin the countdown!"

The ten-second timer began counting as Billy started the traditional taunting.

"Hey, Bobbo, I�m gonna paste ya!"

Bob smirked, but didn�t reply. He�d found that silence was a better taunt than anything he could speak was. Besides, he was trying to figure out what a �random stadium� was.

Eight seconds left on the clock.

Billy looked uncertain, then obviously decided to keep with tradition. "Aw, you�re scared! Scaredy-cat!"

Billy must have been flustered; in all of Billy�s battles that Bob had seen, the kid had been extremely witty and creative with his taunting. The taunt was very traditional; it helped to discover who was inexperienced and who was more seasoned. The goal was to try to fluster or anger your opponent so much that they couldn�t think clearly. Billy had scored two wins on the muddled thinking of his opponents alone.

Bob looked up at the clock, putting a bored look on. Four seconds to launch.

Billy smirked, a cocky expression. His black eyebrows went down until they seemed to touch his eyes, while the corner of his mouth pulled back almost to his ear.

"What�s the matter, BOB? Afraid that you�re gonna lose to someone with a COOL name?"

The short young man held his gaze on the timer for one second before he lowered it to Billy�s. He said nothing; verbally, at least. His eyes, however, said one thing: Prepare to be afraid.

Billy cracked a smile and, as the timer hit �zero�, grabbed a pok�ball off of his vest and threw it in one smooth motion. Bob smirked as his hand released his white-and-red sphere into its arch.

"GO! BLAZIKEN!"

Billy�s ball exploded in red light, the capsule releasing its contents before returning to his waiting hand. The reddish beast that emerged was almost six feet tall, with a beaked mouth and two slender arms ending in triple-clawed hands.

Its second most prominent features, and its most powerful weapons, were its long legs. They ended in triple-clawed feet, much like the hands. They were covered in red, shaggy feather-fur.

Its most prominent feature had little to no use in a battle, but it gave it the appearance of a lousy attempt at wings: long hair on the back of its head that was split into a boomerang shape.

This strange creature caused Bob to groan inwardly. Most of his Pok�mon were technically weak to the dual-type. He�d have to use strategy for this one.

He hated strategy.

His pok�ball erupted in light a mere half-second after Billy�s did, but the creature that emerged was decidedly less awe-inspiring. Fluttering gently on multi-colored wings, it had big blue eyes and a long proboscis. Its arms and feet were nonexistent, but the tiny paws contributed to its cuteness. It looked sternly at the Blaziken, its entire manner suggesting contempt for such an obnoxious entrance. Shaking itself once, it stopped glaring long enough to twitter at its trainer.

"Beeeauuuutifly!"

Bob smiled. "That�s right, Dexter, he isn�t very refined. And, he believes he can beat you, too."

The butterfly snorted once, or snorted as much as he could. He twittered again as he nonchalantly dodged a sudden attack coming from the bird opposite him, dancing around the stream of fire elegantly.

"Remember, Dex, this isn�t a contest. Flatten it with a Stun Spore!"

The bug spun around once and went skyward, his wings flapping rapidly as they released a cloud of glittering powder over the big biped. Billy snorted loudly and crossed his arms.

"Blaziken, show him why that was a dumb move."

The creature smirked, roared, and then, spinning around, it flung its arms skyward. Fire formed around its wrists, and then a ball of fire flew from them, morphing into a five-pointed star made of fire speeding right at the butterfly, all within seconds. It hit him dead center, leaving a cloud of burning spores drifting to the ground. A small form fell from it and hit the ground in a heap. The crowd began roaring again.

Bob had, by now, stuck his battling face on. Which meant no emotion got in or out. He still groaned inwardly as he recalled his Beautifly, but they didn�t get the satisfaction of hearing him. He thought his options over.

Fire was weak to water, and Fighting was weak to-he grinned.

Slowly, deliberately, he replaced Dexter�s pok�ball on his belt and grabbed one from the opposite side.

"Claudia! Go get �im!"

With a reverberating call, a large bird-of-prey erupted from the black-yellow-and-white capsule, its brown-and-white feathers rustling with every move it made. Its curved beak opened in another piercing scream. Its massive wings beat the air as it began climbing into the sky.

"Blaziken! Jump and grab that bird!"

"Claudia, amscray!"

The red bird-creature crouched, then shot skyward almost too fast for the eye to follow.

The human eye, that is.

By the time the Blaziken got to where the bird had been, she was already behind him. Her wings began glowing, then she rammed him in the center of his back. He roared and dropped, managing, just barely, to squirm around and land on his feet. He roared and spun, looking for his attacker.

She was behind him again, her wings glowing again.

Billy, noticing the bird, yelled, "JUMP!"

That command finished the round, for instead of running him into the ground, Claudia only managed to hit him in the back of the legs. He used the impact to assist his backward summersault, while his arms began glowing again. As he hit the ground, he shot a river of fire at the Pidgeot, who was banking for another sweep. It hit her dead center, knocking her against the wall. She hit it and slid down to lie in a heap at the wall'� base.

Bob�s face twitched. Normally, his eagle-creature could have taken another hit or two, but, this being an endurance match, she was already weakened by her earlier battles. His smirk wasn�t there as he recalled her, his mind already agonizing over defeat.

"Whassa matter, BOB? Can�t take the heat?"

Bob shot a glare at his long, lean opponent. Then his mind caught up with him.

He laughed. And laughed, and laughed. The crowd stopped its noise in shock. This was the first time ever that he had laughed in a match, his entire mood usually being locked behind his expressionless face. Whispers about �cracking up� and �stress-induced mania� began fluttering around the stadium.

He straightened painfully, a cramp having formed in his side. He didn�t give a hoot.

He smirked, plucking a pok�ball from his belt. "I think today is gonna be a good one� For me!"

He spun the sphere on the tip of his index finger, then threw it up and plucked it from the air as it fell, his right arm now resting across his chest. He backhanded the ball towards his opponent and his Pok�mon, which was breathing raggedly, albeit not very.

"Go, Claps!"

A massive brown wad of muscle and energy bounced out of the pok�ball, its entire manner that of a nuclear generator: explosive and powerful. It stood about five feet, six inches tall, with the rounded body of a sumo wrestler. Its tiny feet and huge hands were in odd contrast, but the thick head attached directly to the rest of the body was somehow fitting. It slammed one huge fist into the other, then roared a challenge.

"HARRRRRRIYYYYAMA!"

As it finished, it slammed its fists together again, then spread them to its sides, ready to attack.

Bob smirked at Billy�s determined expression. If he had calculated correctly, he was going to win.

He�d realized that the only way the Blaziken could be this strong was if Billy hadn�t used him in any other battles. He�d remembered the two or three battles that the other trainer had won, and they had all been one with one Pok�mon apiece. He couldn�t remember the exact creatures, but it wasn�t worth thinking about. With only six Pok�mon and eleven battles, they had to be pretty pooped.

He grinned. He�d done almost the same thing, but he had gone with the more traditional way of battling; namely, switching his Pok�mon around to suit the opponent�s weaknesses. So, he had maybe two creatures that had seen no action, and the rest were equally tired.

Claps was one of the unused ones. Which made this all the more potent, the Blaziken having been damaged by its two previous opponents, while the massive, muscle-bound creature opposing it was undamaged and raring to go.

The earthbound bird roared in reply to Claps� challenge and shot forward, his powerful legs churning the ground into mud.

"What?!"

Billy�s questioning shout was elicited by the sudden appearance of moisture. It suddenly clicked in Bob�s head what a random stadium was: nothing less than a bunch of terrain types rolled into one giant building. He grinned; no matter what it would throw at him later, it was giving him and Claps the advantage.

The fiery bird suddenly dropped to one knee in the mud, which was steadily rising. Over the roaring crowd, Bob heard the announcer clearly yell, "Looks like Blaziken has been taken down by the sudden muddy assault from the Swamp Terrain setting! Will he recover enough to battle, or is this the end for this two-in-a-row winner?"

Bob felt a swell of professional impatience. Couldn�t they ban announcers from all matches? They always seemed to pick on the current winner.

He shook his head, burying that detail beneath the rest of the options swarming his mind. This was his chance.

"Claps! Seismic Toss!"

The massive fighter plowed through the by-now-swampland. Grabbing a tuft of grass perched on what appeared to be solid ground, he leaped up, preparatory to flying over and dropping down right in front of the fire-bird, which was starting to get exhausted by all the mud it had to wade through and its weakness to dampness.

Unfortunately for Claps, it wasn�t solid ground. Or maybe unfortunate for Blaziken.

Claps and the grass clump disappeared beneath the mud and standing water, only to reappear behind Blaziken. The wad of muscle grabbed the long-legged beast by the waist and, after spinning him around several times above his head, he slammed him into the mud.

Or rather, tried to slam him into the mud.

The giant bird had grabbed his wrists while he spun it around. When he raised his arms to slam it into the quagmire, it heated its entire body. When the heat hit Claps� hands, they reflexively twitched a little, just enough for it to rotate its entire body so that it stood on its hands above the massive head of its opponent. When Claps swung his arms down, it dropped over backwards and kicked Claps in the face. He jerked back, but it kept a strong grip on his wrists and began ramming him with its feet.

Was Bob worried about the fact that he could lose?

Nope.

"Claps, Attract!"

When Claps heard the rather bored sound of his trainer�s voice, he smirked and turned his eyes on the Blaziken. He made some suggestive remarks in pok�speak, as he and his trainer had worked tirelessly on.

The Blaziken screwed its face up as it tried to disengage from the apparently perverted beast it was fighting, but Claps merely reversed his wrists and grabbed Blaziken�s.

"Blaziken, use Flamethrower on the mud! Bake it!"

It flung its head around and opened it mouth preparatory to cooking the mud around it.

Claps let go of its wrists, giving it a mouthful of mud to choke on. He then grabbed the bird-like creature again and propped it upright.

"Claps, finish this with Arm Thrust."

Claps nodded once, then stood the still-sputtering Blaziken on its feet. Keeping one hand wrapped around the big biped, he drew the other back and waited for the other to clear its eyes.

"BLAZIKEN! JUMP!"

It heard the command, it crouched-

-And lost contact with the ground, the massive arms of Claps keeping him suspended above the ground. It cleared its eyes and mentally ordered it legs to shoot downward.

Then it saw the hand.

By a wonderful piece of good fortune, at least in Bob�s eyes, the red missile struck the announcer�s booth, collapsing one wall and sending the vile person flying out the side door.

Bob smirked as Billy ran toward the smashed structure. Things were looking up.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After the referees swiftly decided that it was unintentional of Claps to send the Blaziken through the announcer�s stall, they declared it a knockout.

Billy was worried. He�d had it all sewn up until the blasted stadium floor had gone sour. He mentally listed his options.

Not many of those.

"Go, Espeon!"

The small, purple-furred creature emerged quietly from the capsule, its twin tails slowly weaving back and forth behind it. The jewels on its head glowed in a subdued fashion, while its catlike ears twitched gently.

All the silence told Billy how tired his Espeon was, for the Psychic-type was normally his most energetic partner, appearing from her ball bouncing and scurrying back and forth.

He sighed and yelled the first command, since Bob seemed content to allow him to make the first move.

"Espeon, use Psychic! Get him out of there and into the air!"

She nodded and swung her gaze to Claps, who was lounging chest-deep in the mud. Her eyes began glowing purple, and then it cried out and collapsed.

Claps, in a surprisingly quick movement, ducked under the mud and water. A surging wave told Billy where it was going: the small grass clump that his Espeon was on. He reached to his vest for her ball, but knew he wouldn�t get it in time.

Then the bow wave reached Espeon.

It passed her clump, causing her to bounce up and down. A massive head boiled out of the mud next to her clump, rising slowly, and, if Billy wasn�t sure it intended to attack, carefully.

Then it grabbed her in one massive fist.

Billy closed his eyes, not wanting to see the following attack. If the crowd wasn�t so loudly booing Claps and Bob, he would have at least tried to get it to let her go and still have the knockout�

Something touched his foot.

He opened his eyes and started at the huge face within a foot of his. Claps gestured at the ground and Billy looked down to see Espeon lying on his foot. He glanced back up, startled, to see the Hariyama moving back into the swamp, seeming to be enjoying the mud. He saw Bob nod respectfully at him from across the dank, dismal setting.

He laughed. Recalling Espeon, he set himself in his Hero pose, the one his fans adored. His feet set firmly on the ground exactly eighteen inches apart, he posted his hands on his hips and threw his shoulders back and his chest out. A sneer spread across his face, and then he said but one word. One word, very loud.

"LOSER!"



Bob�s smirk froze on his face and Claps suddenly jerked around to stare at him. He laughed again and, plucking a ball from his vest, threw it with all his might out over the swamp.

"I choose you, Banette!"

Out popped a dark gray biped with short arms and legs that looked almost interchangeable. It had what looked to be a nightcap on, but its main feature was the zipper that replaced its mouth.

Billy smirked, then stretched languidly. "Banette, deal with this."

It nodded, then smiled. Raising its arms above its head, it began humming calmly to itself as it began conjuring a dark mass above its head.

Then a bunch of mud struck it in the stomach, flinging it back at Billy.

He sighed as he belatedly remembered that Banette, being tired itself from a few battles, wasn�t going to be able to do its ghostly thing; namely, avoid physical attacks by dematerializing. At least, not quickly enough to keep from getting damaged.

He grimaced as he mentally noted to himself to avoid endurance matches in the future.

Meanwhile, Claps continued his mud barrage. Banette was clearly weakening, but it seemed content. Suddenly, the floor groaned beneath them, and then the orbs along the sides began glowing. Spray nozzles appeared everywhere, washing the mud down through gaping holes that materialized from out of nowhere.

It took just seconds for the swamp to get washed away, and then the arena dropped down, forming a hole for the water to collect. It was raining from holes in the stadium roof and from the nozzles, making it difficult to see. Billy finally decided that the rain was one of the obstacles here and was opening his mouth to tell Banette to use another Shadow Ball while Claps was distracted, but, with a groan, the deluge lightened and then stopped.

Leaving a pool of water where a swamp used to be, the gentle ripples formed by Claps� gentle bobbing interrupted only by some randomly sized hovering platforms randomly placed in random areas on the water. Something was glowing around Claps, but it disappeared with the rain.

Billy could see a smirk threatening to break through the imperturbable mask on Bob�s face. Claps bellowed a challenge at the ghost, then began windmilling his hands through the water, forming a sort of Water Gun attack spraying down Banette. The ghost snickered once, then collapsed.

The crowd went wild. Bob had won with a three-in-a-row!

Billy bowed his head, heaving a relieved-yet-depressed sigh. He held a sphere out and recalled the now-comatose ghost. He turned and was about to leave when he heard Bob yell, "CLAPS!?"

Billy jerked his head around as if he�d been slapped. There was the massive creature bobbing in the water, scorch marks covering its body. Its massive body shuddered and it flopped on its back in the water, its eyes closing.

Billy belatedly remembered the glow around Claps when the sprinklers stopped. His Banette must have used Will-o-Wisp while the wad of muscle was distracted, knowing it had no other chance. It was typical of the psychotic ghost.

As Bob recalled his Hariyama, Billy smirked, feeling a rush of adrenaline as he realized he wasn�t out yet. He whooped and, in one smooth motion, fired off his favorite.

"Milotic, let�s rock and roll!"

Out burst a long, sinuous creature. It had a gentle face set on a head bearing two long, brown, ear-like appendages. Its long, white body ended in a multicolored, scaled tail that bore three scaly feathers arranged in a fan. It let out a long, resonating call before it disappeared beneath the water.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Bob grimaced. He hated draconic types. They always got him in trouble. He decided that it was time to institute his normal strategy.

"Alright, Lucy, c�mon out!"

He fired off another pokeball, this one releasing a pink-skinned sheep with yellowish wool. It had a long tail with pink and black stripes running in circles down to the small blue ball on the end.

"Flaafy. FLAAFY!"

The small sheep landed on one of the platforms over the water and bleated again.

"FLAAAAAAFYYYYY!"

With only the rippling of the water as warning, the dragon-snake shot out of the water directly in front of the sheep and shot straight toward her, its entire body emerging from the water. Bob grinned at the simplicity of the maneuver. If that snake thought it was doing something original, it was going to get a nasty shock. Literally.

The snake suddenly found itself flying back over the water, its body sparking and crackling from the Thunderbolt. It hit the back wall and slumped down, just in time to receive a Thundershock in the tail. It cried out and collapsed on the floor.

Bob smirked as Billy recalled his Milotic. The trainer from Hoenn was gonna lose this match.

Billy smiled as he flung another pokeball at the floor. Out of it burst a small, yellow, dog-like creature with spikes for hair. Its beady black eyes focused on its opponent, but, before it could launch an attack, Bob recalled Lucy and shot another pokeball out.

"C�mon, Speedo!"

Before anybody could see what he�d sent out, the orbs began glowing again and a sudden wave covered the platform where the new arrival was. The pool drained within seconds and was replaced with blue-and-white tiles. Large orbs erupted from holes that were formed in the floor by missing tiles, two on each end of the arena. Rings were suspended around the large posts holding the orbs up. As the dust that had mysteriously appeared settled, the rings and orbs began glowing with an internal light. Bob grimaced as a reverberating "clank" flew over the area. He hated electrical gyms, and an electrical stadium was bound to be nasty.

Fortunately, his fastest Pok�mon was on the case.

Facing the electric dog was a rat. A short rat, with armless hands and legless feet, but still a rat. There were a couple of squeals from some female members of the audience, but the rest was laughter. He had no chance now, they thought. He felt like rearing his head back and laughing. They hadn�t seen the squirt in action yet.

"Watch out, Billy!"

Bob looked over at the shouter. He furrowed his brow, then, in a rush of adrenaline, recognized the face of Ash Ketchum, Master Trainer and former League Champion, a title lost by him to Bob himself.

Billy looked oddly at the famous man. "Why, sir?

The black-haired man snorted. "Nothing is faster than Speedo. But, since you don�t know that, just pretend I never said a word. I wanna see this."

Billy looked uncertainly at the rat, which was now grooming its tail unconcernedly. He was obviously undecided at to what course of action he should take. Bob decided to help him along.

"Speedo?"

The rat glanced at his trainer�s bored tone. Bob examined his fingernails; they needed their weekly cleaning. "Would you mind dispatching that?"

He gestured at the Jolteon, which was recharging itself with the generators on its side of the stadium. The Raticate snorted and nodded once. It then disappeared.

Bob watched Billy jerk, and then begin yelling orders at his spiked dog.

"Jolteon, Thunder all around you-NO!"

The exclamation was elicited by the rat appearing behind the dog and ramming it in the only area of its body not protected by spikes- the rear. The dog flew across the arena and crashed into the wall behind Bob. It jumped to its feet and snarled, whirling toward where it had last seen the creature. But the rat was already gone, a small swirl of dust being the only marker of its former position.

"Shadow Ball, Speedo. Please."

The rat suddenly appeared above the dog and, with a flick of its nose, formed a dark ball and smashed it into the dog from above. The dog snorted angrily and fired a bolt of electricity at the rat.

Bob smirked. The dog would expend its energy on a pointless assault with electricity on the speeding form of Speedo, and then the squirt would chew its up.

Suddenly, a bolt of blue light flew from the generators and was absorbed by Jolteon�s skin. Bob mentally kicked himself; he�d forgotten about the blasted generators. Nuisances, but he�d dealt with those before.

"Jolteon, Thunder everywhere!"

"Speedo, Wattson maneuver!"

The rat suddenly appeared in front of the generator nearest Jolteon, making nasty faces at it and making some other, less wholesome motions with its hands. The dog bellowed and unleashed a full-power blast at the insulting creature, but the rat shot out of the way, causing the attack to hit the generator. The machine was only built to generate, not absorb. The explosion was satisfying.

Speedo appeared right in front of Jolteon, making even more demeaning gestures at it. With a bellow, the dog fired millions of tiny needles at the rat, which pulled its disappearing maneuver again. The needles, failing to find a softer target, rammed into the conveniently placed generator, hacking through the wiring and metalwork in it like a heated knife through butter. The generator tilted, then fell, smashing into the ground with a loud �boom�. Speedo, of course, perched on top of it and continued its campaign of insultment.

"Jolteon, get next to one of the generators so you don�t hit it!"

The yellow dog nodded, then sped over to the leftmost one. It turned and looked condescendingly at its opponent.

Bob sighed inwardly, then nodded at Speedo. The rat chattered at him, and then launched a Shadow Ball at Jolteon, blasting it back and away from the generator and causing it to skid around. Before the dog could get its balance back, the rat shot over and kicked it from behind. The dog yelped and, spinning around, ignored its trainer�s "NO!" and fired a full-power Thunder at the rat.

Everybody knew what would happen one second before it fired.

The third generator toppled over, but the rat still didn�t appear. Jolteon looked around suspiciously, seeking its opponent. Suddenly, the fourth generator tilted, spun, and fell. Speedo�s leering face rose from the stump of the generator, its teeth glistening evilly.

"Speedo, wipe it off the face of the earth. Please."

The rat bowed, then disappeared. Billy�s groan could be heard all over the stadium.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Billy did not like this. He watched Jolteon sag and collapse on the ground from the barrage of Shadow Balls coming from nowhere. He recalled the spiked dog and drew his last pok�ball.

"Heracross, mosh time!"

A giant, dark blue stag beetle appeared. It shook its long, dual-pointed horn, wiggled its wing covers, then set itself in a strange position that reminded Billy of something from �The Matrix�. He snorted as the beetle began bobbing its head.

The Raticate cocked its head to the side, obviously a little put out by the bug�s strange behavior.

Billy signaled for a ref. Master Ash trotted over.

"I thought you weren�t a participant in this challenge, Master." Billy raised an eyebrow. "Especially since you prefer battling over refereeing."

The Master Trainer shrugged. "It�s battling. What do you need?"

"I�m calling in my item. Could I have a radio with a CD player?"

Master Ash shrugged. "Sure. What for, if I may ask?"

Billy grinned. "It�s a surprise."

Ash gave him a mock-glare. "I hate surprises."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Bob watched curiously as Billy fiddled with the radio he�d gotten from Ash. Suddenly, the speakers around the stadium began crackling, the first noise they�d made since the announcer�s stand met its demise. And then, out of the blue-

"HE COULDN�T BELIEVE WHAT THEY�D DONE,

SO THEY DIED FROM THE LEAD OF HIS GUUUUUUNNN!!"

Bob jerked as he heard the popular heavy-metal song begin blaring over the speakers at full volume. The song, �Lead of the gun�, was purely about vengeance and death. He couldn�t understand why Billy would play that song, unless it was for distraction. But that would work on his Heracross, too, so�

Suddenly, Bob noticed the beetle.

It was dancing. Or rather, moshing.

Bouncing up and down, it jerked its head up and down with the rhythm of the song. Then, it spun and, its wings speeding like mad, slammed into Speedo.

Bob grimaced as the squirt hit the wall. He needed more power. And he had it.

"Speedo, return!"

The rat disappeared in a flash of light. Bob placed the sphere on his belt and plucked the last one off. "Blaze, mop-up time!"

With an ear-splitting roar, a massive beast materialized from the red beam of light. Almost six feet tall, it had blue fur covering its back and the top of his head, and whitish-orange fur on its abdomen and the under part of his throat. With another roar, he jetted flames from the tiny nozzle-like extrusions in its back. He turned toward the stag beetle, who was now really jamming with the music. He roared and, with a snort, finished the match with a Fire Blast. The beetle, too busy dancing, was run down and cooked.

In the silence following the final blow, the referee could be heard clearly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our winner: Bob!"

The crowd went nuts.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"So, why�d you start that music up?"

Bob, Billy, and Ash were seated around a table in the Stadium Lounge. Steaming mugs of something rested in front of them as they discussed the battle.

Billy grinned sheepishly at Ash�s question. "Heracross loves dancing and battling, but he can�t do one without the other. If you�d waited two seconds, he would have mopped the floor. He used to live near a Rock-n-Roll coliseum, and at every concert he�d go and hit the mosh pits. He got pretty skilled with his strength, but to the point where he can�t use his power without music."

Bob nodded and glanced at his cup. "Huh, �Deadly Addiction�, right?"

The trio laughed. Then Ash asked, "How does your Raticate do that disappearing thing? I never figured that one out."

It was Bob�s turn to grin sheepishly. "It�s nothing. We�ve just developed his Quick Attack to the point of no return." He looked contentedly at the twelve refreshed Pok�mon lounging out in the afternoon sun. Since he was in the Final Three, he was allowed to heal his team to full health. Billy had just had his healed at the PokeCenter in town, but had returned to do the handshake thing with everybody.

Suddenly, a blaring horn signaled the end of break. The trio looked regretfully at their empty cups as they rose and went outside, where Bob and Billy recalled their respective Pok�mon. The three of them shook hands, and then wordlessly split, Billy heading down the trail to Pyrite and Ash striding off to the ref�s entrance in the side of the stadium wall. Bob stood enjoying the sunlight for a few minutes, then turned and entered the lounge, his head already filled with plans. His next opponent was rumored to be a fire freak, so he should start with Blaze, and then�

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Billy strode out of Pyrite Town with determination on his face. He�d get better, much better, then come back and mop the floor with the Endurance Challenge. Maybe Bob would be there, and Billy would get to test himself against him again.

He turned his face south. He�d heard a rumor in town that some kid named �Brandon� or �Brendan� or something Birch was the current Champion in Hoenn, and thought the new Champion needed a proper challenger�

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Act declined my offer in favor of challenging Dragonfree, who had posted in the thread. However, I took Dragonfree's post to mean that she was interested, but would not be participating. Therefore, I do not believe that she accepted Act's challenge, and thus neither of them are officially fighting anybody, as far as I know.

I still have a challenge going with Act. :|

I wrote up two paragraphs so far. I really should go back and finish that.

btw I'm not dead.

Ionem, you'll hafta take that up with Act. I'm getting screwed up. XD

I think she decided you're dead, sooo... XP XD

Yeah. Drop her a line. XD

�SilverBlaze09�

Bwahahahaha! I bes done! FINALLY!

I apologize in advance for the length. Next time I am NOT doing a one-on-one battle...


The UFO purred quietly as it sank deeper into the bowels of the Under, its descent slow and smooth. Though the high-tech vehicle had made this journey hundreds of times before, for its lone passenger the plunge into the depths of Orre was an entirely new experience.

Lindsey stood squarely in the middle of the circular transportation device, ignoring the low metal railing that ran around its outer edge. She watched apprehensively as the gaudy neon lights of the underground city above her disappeared, replaced by the cold, uniform darkness of the mysterious chasm that separated the inner city from the outlying venues of the Under. Almost immediately, however, the illumination from above was replaced by a faint light from below, a weak echo of the riotous city that she had left so completely behind in a matter of mere seconds. The UFO seemed to crawl downwards as the light slowly, far too slowly for Lindsey's taste, grew brighter and the UFO neared its destination.

Lindsey was almost surprised when the UFO reached its destination, settling into the subterranean docking ring with an almost imperceptible jolt. The narrow passage into which it had deposited her was far removed from what she had expected one of the Deep Colosseum�s entrances to be like; it was a narrow, dingy tunnel nestled deep within the city�s foundations. The constant drip of water echoed from all sides, accompanied by the faint smell of mildew. A weak, flickering row of fluorescent lights marked a path through the steel girders and coiling pipes that formed the roots of the Under.

Stepping off of the UFO apprehensively, Lindsey slowly made her way forward. Despite the careful directions she had been given, this just didn�t seem right. Sure, they had to do their best to camouflage the Deep Colosseum to keep it away from the prying eyes of such unsavory people as the Under police, but still�

Take the UFO down, all the way down, the voice of the head of the Under Colosseum repeated in her mind as she nervously proceeded down the narrow path through the Under�s bowels. Follow the lights� the door will open for you.

But no door opened as Lindsey approached a dead end, a massive wall of metal that indicated she had reached the end of the line, the place where the struts and girders that held the city up ended, the pipes that now snaked amongst them diving into solid rock for the last leg of their journey up to the Under Colosseum or the TV station, whatever it was that they serviced.

But much to her surprise, as she hesitantly stepped up right in front of the wall, gazing upwards and trying to see where the huge sheet of metal disappeared into concrete foundation, a door did open. The hiss of pneumatic pistons was suddenly added to the constant dripping of water, only to be overpowered by a low grinding as the wall split along a jagged seam, its halves slowly sliding back to reveal the challenger reception area of the Deep Colosseum.

It looked surprisingly like the reception area for the Under Colosseum, though it was carved out of solid rock and even farther underground than its sister structure. A few of gladiators were already there, chatting amongst themselves and leaning up against the walls of the small room as they waited for the night�s tournament to begin. Another female gladiator was making use of the network machine in the corner, probably selecting her team.

Lindsey approached the registration desk nervously, suddenly even more aware of where she was. This was the Deep Colosseum, the arena of the very best gladiators in all of Orre. They had conquered at least one of the other Colosseums scattered around the desert region before receiving an invitation to show off their skills in this, the most difficult arena that the region had to offer. It had taken Lindsey nearly a year to rise far enough in the ranks of contestants at the Under Colosseum to even hear about the town�s secret, elite battling venue, and another year past that to receive her invitation. She was about to engage in her first battle in the toughest arena around.

�Name?� the receptionist behind the desk asked in a bored tone. She could tell Lindsey was a greenhorn on sight, and was irritated by her obvious awe and fascination with the opportunity presented her, and with the obvious sense of accomplishment she felt at being invited down here. To the receptionist working at the Colosseum was just a job, and it was no more exciting than being a receptionist at any other Colosseum. She�d seen more than one hopeful gladiator walk out of the ring with their dreams torn to ribbons, not to mention their pok�mon, and she fancied that the girl in front of her would be doing just that tonight.

The girl didn�t appear to have heard her. �Name?� the receptionist repeated, her tone icy.

Lindsey jerked guiltily, realizing that she had just been standing at the desk, gazing around stupidly. �Err, Echo,� she stammered, blushing. No Colosseum gladiator went by their real name. Not even the so-called �respectable� Colosseums, such as the Pyrite Colosseum or even Phenac Stadium, were considered appropriate places for trainers to spend most of their time, and some trainers didn�t want to tarnish their reputation by having too many Colosseum connections. The Deep Colosseum was even more dodgy, a secret arena where only the most elite gathered, and these elite did not always wish to be recognized as such on the surface. Everyone battled incognito, concealing their real names and sometimes their appearances from their opponents.

�License, please,� the receptionist said.

Lindsey slid her PDA across the counter, the receptionist taking it and sliding it into a slot at the base of her computer. Lindsey's ID number was matched to her gladiator name, confirming that she was who she claimed to be and that she had the right to compete in tonight�s tournament. The receptionist returned her PDA and opened the tournament tree, the gladiators registered for the tonight�s tournament having already been randomized and assigned opponents.

�Well, miss Echo, it looks as though you�re in luck,� she said in a bored tone, �you�ll be fighting in the first round. Your first opponent will be Death. I�ll call you when it�s your turn to enter to arena.�

Startled, Lindsey only managed a forced smile and a small nod as she backed away from the counter. Death? Who on earth would name themselves Death? she wondered as she looked for a place to stand and wait for her name to be called. She didn�t know any of the other gladiators here yet, and timidly looked for a place as far away from them as possible. At least the wait wouldn�t be long; the first round would begin within ten minutes, according to her PDA�s clock. Finding an unoccupied spot along the wall, Lindsey leaned up against the cold stone and tried to calm down.

If Death had chosen his name in an attempt to psych out his opponents even before he met them in person, he had certainly succeeded, Lindsey thought. It seemed an arrogant sort of thing to name yourself, and ordinarily if she had heard of a gladiator by that name she would have just snorted and dismissed him or her as an arrogant braggart who probably couldn�t back their name with battling skills. But here in the Deep Colosseum it wasn�t as easy to dismiss the mystery gladiator as an amateurish showoff. The wait for the match to start was a harrowing experience as Lindsey alternately wished that she could just walk into the ring now and get it over with and that the fight would never come.

�Echo, you�re up,� the receptionist called finally, and Lindsey hurried up to the desk once again as the woman raised the bar that normally blocked the entrance to the arena. As Lindsey stepped beyond it and behind the counter, the gate to the Colosseum began to slide open, and the distant noise of the crowd reached her ears at last. The receptionist wished her luck in a thoroughly unconvincing tone and Lindsey apprehensively stepped forward and began the journey through the short tunnel that separated the reception area from the ring. She tried to build a fa�ade of calm assurance as she walked towards the light at the end of the tunnel, not having any idea what she would find when she emerged from the darkness. An announcer boomed in the arena, and though Lindsey couldn't make out what he was saying, she guessed that he was introducing her to the crowd.

As it turned out, the Deep Colosseum arena was claustrophobic, featuring a huge fan suspended no more than twenty feet above the arena floor, quite different from the high, domed ceiling of that she had become accustomed to in the Under Colosseum. The fan�s pockmarked blades turned slowly, doing little to relieve the stuffiness of the arena's stale air. Very large pok�mon and flying-types would clearly not be at home here, constantly at risk of sticking their head, or body, for that matter, into the fan.

The crowd roared in the distance, individual screams of encouragement or derision occasionally breaking away from the general clamor to reach Lindsey's ears. New challengers were somewhat of a novelty in the Deep Colosseum, and the colosseum regulars were excited to see a new face in the arena. Lindsey nodded slightly to acknowledge the reception as she stepped out into the arena and strode towards her position at one end of the field marked out on the metal flor. She wasn�t accustomed to making a big show for the crowd. They would get enough of a show when she battled.

"And now let's hear it for Echo's first opponent here in the Deep Colosseum, the notorious Death!"

The crowd howled in appreciation at the sight of the popular gladiator as he strode calmly out onto the pitted metal floor of the arena, his eyes locking onto Lindsey the instant he stepped out into the light.

Lindsey did her best to maintain a passive demeanor as the young man approached. What with his melodramatic gladiator name, she had half-expected him to come out onto the arena in full grim reaper regalia, scythe and all. But where she had anticipated a somewhat eccentric battler, or at least a brooding, grim sort of figure, she found instead a startlingly normal-looking kid.

He was probably a couple of years older than herself, she guessed, but certainly no more than twenty, with straw-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Nothing terribly grim or brooding there at all. There was a hint of hardness in his eyes, though, for all that he did his best to radiate a sort of genial confidence, and he smiled slightly as he noticed Lindsey's shock and discomfort.

Fuming, Lindsey pulled the first pok�ball off of her belt. "The challenger throws out first," the unseen announcer boomed unnecessarily. All parties present were quite familiar with the colosseum rules. "Let's see what Echo's got to show us tonight!"

"Duskrider, get out there," Lindsey said, lobbing her pok�ball into the center of arena. It burst open midair, her first pok�mon exploding out of it eagerly, ready to do battle.

"And it looks as though Echo's chosen a dustox!" the announcer said exuberantly as Duskrider fluttered around the arena on silent green wings.

Smile still intact, Death selected a pok�ball from his own belt and flicked it causally out onto the floor. A dark figure slowly condensed out of the shower of light released by the pok�ball, its glittering gold smile showing up in sharp contrast to its shadowy form.

"Death leads with his deadly banette, Soulless!" the announcer bellowed over resounding cheers. The ghost-type was clearly a crowd favorite.

"Soulless, let's begin with psychic," Death said calmly.

"Dusky, protect!" Lindsey countered, drawing boos from the crowd for the cowardly maneuver.

The banette's red eyes gleamed, its small hands waving hypnotically in the air before it, its movements followed by smears of bloodred energy. The ghost doll's mouth worked silently, as though it was struggling to speak around the zipper that bound its soul within what was left of its body.

Duskrider froze midair, hanging suspended impossibly above the arena floor, apparently doing nothing. Suddenly, the air around him grew alive with red energy as Soulless attempted to wrap the poison-type's body in a sheet of psychic energy. Only then did the transparent dome of protect become apparent, the psychic attack splashing up against its shielding energy field with considerable force. Red energy encircled the protective shield, appearing to be garish, glowing blood as it spattered across Duskrider's spherical defense, temporarily blocking him from sight.

"It looks as though Death's ready to go all out this fight, and he's got Echo on the defensive already! Could this battle be over before it's even started?"

Lindsey gritted her teeth. Already on the defensive, was she? Well, it was time to take a little action.

"Duskrider, let's show them a little strategy! Gust!"

"Out of the way, Soulless," was the calm response.

Duskrider suddenly snapped back to life, wings beating once more. Working rapidly, he stirred the stagnant air into a cyclone. The miniature tornado soared through the dissipating psychic energy in the direction of the leering ghost.

Soulless drifted casually to the side, the gust attack barreling past him. Duskrider had launched another attack, however, though not at the ghost; he vomited a stream of foul bile as a follow up to the gust attack. The stream of liquid hit the fierce cyclone and was thrown off in all directions, spraying out across the arena. Several blobs of airborne filth smacked into Soulless and promptly began to erode his spectral flesh. Duskrider received parts of his attack back as well, but, being immune to his own poison, he ignored the foul liquid that coated his purple carapace.

"Follow up with toxic," Lindsey said belatedly, grinning nastily across at Death. Mild applause sounded in appreciation of her combo attack, and the announcer said something inane.

"Thunerbolt," Death said in the same flat voice that he had used before, apparently unimpressed.

Lindsey barely had time for shock as the banette left off trying to scrape the foul liquid from his ghostly flesh and began again to draw strange patterns in the air with his hands.

"Dodge and psybeam, Dusky!" Lindsey cried, but it was too late.

Electricity leapt from thin air at the banette's bidding, jagging across the arena at an incredible speed. Duskrider screeched in pain and convulsed midair as the powerful bolt ripped through him, and was only able to manage to fire a weak pysbeam in return. The crowd responded exuberantly to the powerful attack.

The jagged ray of mental energy smacked the gloating Soulless in the forehead and sending him tumbling backward in the air, but he seemed largely unharmed. At least, his glimmering smile was still intact as he righted himself once more.

Not one for subtlety, is he? Lindsey thought resentfully as she glared daggers at death. Still, trying to barrel his way through the match wouldn't get him anywhere.

"Come on Dusky, give me a good shadow ball!" she called.

"Shadow ball as well, Soulless."

Duskrider righted himself with difficulty, flapping wearily. His huge, faceted eyes danced with energy as he warped reality in order to transfer energy from the dead plane to the corporeal one. A roiling, seething ball of malicious living darkness appeared in the air before him, and with a flap of his wings Duskrider sent it spinning towards Soulless.

It promptly struck the banette's own attack, the ghostly energy in the two shadow balls colliding and consuming itself almost instantaneously.

All right, different tactic, then. "Psychic, Duskrider!"

"Faint attack, Soulless."

Again Duskrider's eyes glowed as he charged an attack, this time drawing on life rather than death. Surrounded by a purple haze of power, he reached out with his mind and sought to transfer the energy to his opponent. The banette was beyond his reach, however, having called upon a shroud of dark energy to protect him from the psychic attack. The ghost disappeared from the field as though swallowed up by some unseen beast.

He reappeared all too quickly just to Duskrider's left, grabbing hold of the moth's wing with hands still charged with dark energy. Duskrider shrieked in agony as his fragile wing disintegrated in the banette's grasp. Twisting about in the air, he instinctively fired a blind psybeam at his opponent.

The direct strike did considerably more damage to the ghost than Duskrider's previous attempt had, but Soulless refused to let go, moving inwards along the dustox's wing as poison-coated scales crumbled beneath his fingers.

"Will-o-wisp now!" Death shouted, voice showing emotion for the first time since the match had begun.

"Get him off you, Dusky! Flash!" Lindsey cried desperately.

The fire in the banette's eyes seemed to leap outward, a glowing ball of flame forming in the air before his face. It suddenly rocketed forward and struck Duskrider's right wing, setting it alight.

Still shrieking with pain, Duskrider sent frantic pulses of energy through his compound eyes, creating a series of blinding flashes. Now it was Soulless' turn to scream as the bright, hated light assaulted him repeatedly. He let go of the Dustox, who fell away beneath him, unable to stay aloft on his tattered wings, one of which continued to smolder.

Soulless reeled back, throwing his hands up to shield his eyes as Dustox continued to release flash after flash as he spiraled to the floor. He never hit, however, a rapid bolt of energy lancing out to snatch him away from the battlefield just before he touched down.

"And the first round goes to Death!" the announcer proclaimed to resounding cheers from the crowd. "It looks like Echo's first battle here in Deep Colosseum isn't going so well for her. Will she be able to come back and steal a win?"

Lindsey grimly selected her next fighter. The banette wouldn't take much more damage, she could tell. Still reeling from the flash attacks, the ghost-type was weaving drunkenly through the air. Several deep pits in his insubstantial form marked areas where toxic continued to eat away at his body. It was only a matter of time before he succumbed to poison entirely.

"Finish him off, Electrolyte!" Lindsey cried, tossing out her next fighter. The lanturn that emerged from the pok�ball was obviously unsuited to the arena, having extremely limited mobility on the metal floor. Nevertheless, he gave the recovering ghost-type a cool, appraising look, appearing confident that the battle would go his way. "Soulless is on his last legs, Electrolyte. Take him out with a thunderbolt."

"A surprise move from Lindsey, who sends a water-type out to battle next. It looks like it won't take much to bring Soulless down, though, so who knows if it'll pay off?" the announcer asked.

Death remained impassive, merely watching with apparent disinterest as sparks danced and crackled around the glowing orbs suspended from Electrolyte's antenna. Soulless hung motionless, awaiting some sort of order.

None came until the thunderbolt leapt free of Electrolyte's antenna with a crackling snarl. "Destiny bond."

Lindsey realized her mistake too late. The banette remained motionless in the face of the oncoming attack, motionless save for the zipper that bound its mouth shut. The tab, moved by some unseen hand, glided to the right, unbinding the ghost's mouth. As the powerful thunderbolt connected, billowing clouds of black haze began to pour from the aperture.

"Protect now!" Lindsey cried, but the dark haze moved like a living creature, twining around the surprised water-type before he could react. Still more of the strange smoke gushed from the banette's open mouth. The ghost himself shuddered convulsively as electricity coursed across his frame but seemed beyond feeling any pain.

Electrolyte, on the other hand, began to writhe as the dark cloud continued to twine around him, doing no apparent damage but causing excruciating pain as it slowly drained life force from big fish. The lanturn instinctively sent arcs of electricity hissing outward, trying to drive back the dark cloud, but it was no use.

Banette, having expelled most of its insides, was deflated, drifting slowly towards the arena floor before he, too, was rescued as Dusrider had been, returned to solitary confinement. Lindsey recalled Electrolyte as well, knowing that there was no escape from the power of the destiny bond and that leaving the lanturn in play would only cause him further pain.

"A surprise comeback from Death!" the announcer said appreciatively. "Eliminating two pok�mon with one! And now we're right back where we started, with Echo selecting another fighter." The crowd was quiet for once, waiting with bated breath to see what the trainers would do.

Things really weren't going her way, Lindsey had to admit. Still, she hadn't exactly opened with her big guns. "Jupiter, you're up!"

The pidgeot soared free of captivity as eagerly as ever, stretching his powerful wings and taking a couple of warm-up laps around the arena. Shrieking a challenge to the opposing trainer, he barrel rolled multiple times before pulling back into position in front of Lindsey. She had to grin at Jupiter's antics; the pidgeot was an excellent battler and couldn't help but show off now and then.

"And Echo chooses her pidgeot, Jupiter!" the announcer stated enthusiastically over the crowd's applause. He really is one for stating the obvious, Lindsey thought snidely. "Jupiter's going to have some big problems in this arena, though," the announcer continued. "The low ceiling isn't exactly a flying-type's paradise. Let's see what Death chooses to counter with."

"Soul-reaper, it's your turn," Death said coolly. From his pok�ball emerged a very bulky ghost, lone eye staring blankly at the pidgeot hovering across the arena.

"Clops," the ghost-type mumbled.

A dusclops, then. Lindsey couldn't tell what Death was playing at. After all, dusclops were terribly slow. There was no way one could match Jupiter speed.

"Jupiter, start off with a good aerial ace. Show him your speed," Lindsey said, talking right over the announcer.

Jupiter obliged, going into a steep dive, accelerating all the while. He struck the opposing ghost beak-first at an incredible speed, gouging a long furrow in its malleable front and angling up into the safety of the air once more.

"Ice beam, Soul-reaper," Death commanded.

"Get out of there, Jupiter," Lindsey said. Ice beam... Death really did like to give his pok�mon some unusual moves, didn't he?

"Dusclops," the ghost-type acknowledged, cupping his bizarre, disembodied hands and allowing the chill of the grave to flow through them. The temperature of the air between them dropped dramatically, water vapor condensing out of thin air and then freezing almost as quickly. With a little nudge of ghostly energy, Soul-reaper sent the frozen missile rocketing towards Jupiter.

The pidgeot spun out of the way, the ice beam attack sailing on behind him to strike the huge fan with a dull clang, coating the midsection of one of its blades with ice.

"Double team, Jupiter," Lindsey said. How would the slow ghost-type deal with several nimble pidgeot copies harrying him?

"Just keep using ice beam," Death said calmly.

Jupiter executed a quick, complicated series of aerial maneuvers, oblivious to the ice beam that whistled past his left wing and smashed into the fan. He worked his speed up until he was moving too quickly for the eye to follow, too quickly for the bolt of ice that nearly clipped his tailfeathers. He was so quick that he could manage to be several places at once, or at least, give the illusion of being able to do so.

Where there had been a single pidgeot there were suddenly four, spinning and rolling in perfect sync. An ice beam struck one of the graceful forms and sailed right through it, impacting on ceiling fan as the false pidgeot disappeared in a puff of feathers.

"Time to go on the offensive, Jupiter," Lindsey said. "Faint attack."

The three Jupiters dove towards the ground but fizzled out of existence several feet before striking the metal floor, leaving only a trio of contrails sparking with dark energy.

"Faint attack as well, Soul-reaper," Death ordered.

The dusclops seemed to fade into its own shadow, leaving its semblance of form in favor of complete immateriality.

Several seconds passed, neither pok�mon reappearing.

"Well, folks, it looks as though the fighters have taken the battle to another plane," the announcer observed. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens when they return!"

And reappear they did shortly after, Soul-reaper having somehow made it to the center of the arena. Jupiter's clones were gone, and Soul-reaper had grabbed one of his legs in a surprisingly powerful grip. The pidgeot was struggling mightily, shrieking curses at the impassive ghost and beating him about the head with repeated wing attacks.

The ghost looked somewhat worse for wear, large pockmarks marring his body from where it had been ravaged by dark energy, the bane of ghost-types. Nevertheless, he clung to Jupiter grimly, despite the fact that the pidgeot's frantic wing beats were starting to lift him off of the ground.

"Will-o-wisp, Soul-reaper," Death commanded, seeing that once again he had his opponent's pok�mon at his mercy.

"Get out of there, Jupiter! Use hidden power!"

Soul-reaper's sole eye lit up, glowing a baleful red before shedding a single flaming tear. The ball of blue flames shot forward and struck Jupiter squarely in the chest.

The pidgeot didn't notice, however, as he seemed to go into a trance. His frantic flapping ceased and he hung passively in the ghost's grip. Suddenly he let out a warbling cry, extending his wings to their fullest as mysterious energy radiated from his every feather. Bringing his wings together sharply, Jupiter threw every particle of his strange power forward, sending a beam of purple light straight into Soul-reaper's eye.

The dusclops let out a gurgling cry and instinctively let go of Jupiter, his hands traveling to his burning eye, which felt as though it had been struck by a stream of acid.

With a triumphant cry, Jupiter surged upwards once more, though he winced slightly as the burn on his chest made every wingbeat painful.

"Bring him down with ice beam, Soul-reaper," Death said calmly. He seemed confident that Jupiter's burn would slow the flying-type down enough for the powerful ice attack to connect.

It looked as though he might be right. Soul-reaper, now truly enraged, began another icy barrage, charging and launching beam after beam of ice. Jupiter dodged them with difficulty, each miss becoming narrower as the great bird tired quickly. It was an effort just to stay aloft, the burn on his chest making every movement agony. The fan was becoming more an ice sculpture than anything else, rocked by ice beam after ice beam. Yet another frigid attack struck, this time hitting the side of fan's hub. The huge mechanism froze, the fan grinding to a halt. The announcer commented on how it was clear that Jupiter couldn't keep his dodges up much longer, but Lindsey was beginning to block his words out instinctively and hardly heard him.

She had to do something fast. "Gust, Jupiter," she ordered, playing for time. Her weary pok�mon obliged, a few powerful wingbeats stirring up a raging tornado. An ice beam clipped his right wing as he did so, and he winced. Releasing the gust attack, the pideot watched in grim satisfaction as the howling gale bore down upon Soul-reaper, snatching him up in its swirling winds.

Ordinarily a pok�mon of the dusclops' apparent bulk would be largely unaffected by the gust attack, too heavy to be picked up and thrown around by such a minor tornado. The ghost-type, however, was far from solid and much lighter than he appeared. Spinning wildly through the air in the throes of the gust attack, he tried to fire off another ice beam, but the attack went wild, the bolt of ice shattering against the protective barrier around the arena meant to protect the crowd from just such mishaps.

With the dusclops momentarily distracted, Lindsey knew that she had to act quickly. "Jupiter, sunny day," she ordered.

Jupiter, who had been watching the spinning dusclops with grim amusement, returned to battle mode almost instantaneously. He traveled back through the halls of his memory, recalling long flights out under the sun, hot summer days spent basking in its warmth and the searing power of its brilliance in the empty dome of the sky. Drawing on his powers of weather control, Jupiter allowed the energy of these memories to flow through him. Heat, light, fiery fury... he forced them into being in the dim Deep Colosseum, and a tiny spark formed before him, nothing more than a small flicker of light and far less than a trillionth of the real sun. As he watched, however, the spark grew, feeding off of its own light and heat to expand, grow in power. Pleased, Jupiter cupped his wings underneath the tiny speck and prepared to flick it up towards the ceiling, where it would slowly expand until it bathed the entire arena in warmth and light.

((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.

The mightyena howled and curled up, blood flowing from the numerous deep gashes left by the surprisingly sharp leaves. �Talk about kicking a �mon while he�s down,� the announcer joked. �It looks to me as though Bloodfang is unable to battle�yes, the judges have given the signal. Death�s down to his last pok�mon now. I wonder what surprise he�s saved for last?�

A bolt of red light burst through the rock pile and encircled the shivering mightyena, dissolving him completely. Far across the arena, Death released his final pok�mon. �Deathclaw, finish her off,� he snarled, realizing that it was now he who was behind by a pok�mon.

Lindsey couldn�t see what he sent out, but the creature�s roar of �Tarrrr!� announced that it was a tyranitar, a formidable opponent indeed.

�Freyalise, make him come to you. Rest,� Lindsey commanded. Her beleaguered fighter gratefully lay down and, despite the uncomfortable nature of the floor, was soon sound asleep. The rest was clearly doing her good as her bruises disappeared and the fang marks on her side scabbed over, her body valiantly fighting off the poison.

�Deathclaw, clear this arena out,� Death said. �I want to be able to see you fight.�

The floor shook with each running step that the tyranitar took on the metal floor, each tremor accompanied by a loud clang as nearly a quarter-ton of rocky tyranitar struck the floor. Lindsey guessed that the metal was acquiring some new dents as a result.

Soon the sound of shifting rock was heard, along with repeated crashes as Deathclaw tore boulders from the rock pile and tossed them away carelessly. The noises drew closer, and the pile rapidly decreased in height. Freyalise slumbered contentedly as her opponent became visible over the top of the pile, hefting a particularly large rock.

�Come on, Freyalise, wake up,� Lindsey muttered nervously. As he picked up the next rock, Deathclaw caught sight of his opponent over the top of the pile, which had been reduced to a five-foot rock wall. A nasty grin spread across armored face, and he hefted the boulder overhead before tossing it straight at the slumbering bellossom.

Freyalise got a rude awakening as the huge rock smashed into her, sending her flying. Lindsey winced as she skidded to a halt, clearly very damaged. Deathclaw reached for the next boulder as Freyalise picked herself up shakily.

�Look out!� Lindsey cried desperately, and Freyalise was forced to dive out of the way as another boulder struck the spot where she had just been standing. Deathclaw grabbed more ammo. Freyalise had to retaliate. �Razor leaf,� Lindsey gulped.

A huge boulder soared through the cloud of leaves that Freyalise created, smashing into the bellossom herself. The razor leaf attack was scattered, only a few stray leaves actually hitting Deathclaw. The tyranitar hardly flinched as the attack cut deep fissures in his armor.

This time Freyalise didn�t get up. �And with just two attacks, Deathclaw manages to overcome the feisty Freyalise!� the announcer cried. �It looks as though Death�s definitely saved the best for last, folks�but we�ve still yet to see what else Lindsey's got on her belt!�

Disheartened, Lindsey recalled Freyalise and pulled the final ball off of her belt. Mandarb was her favorite fighter, but Lindsey just didn�t know whether the delicate absol would be able to stand up to the hulking tyranitar. �You�re batting cleanup, Mandarb,� Lindsey announced, trying to sound confident as she sent the ultra ball spinning into the ring.

Mandarb leapt out of confinement eagerly, landing gracefully in a battle-ready stance.

�Deathclaw, just keep going with the rock throws,� Death said, realizing that he had the advantage.

�Get out of there with quick attack, Mandarb,� Lindsey commanded.

As Deathclaw heaved his next rock forward, Mandarb lunged in a blur of motion, easily dodging the airborne rock and slamming into Deathclaw at top speed. The mountain of craggy muscle hardly felt the attack, but Mandarb used him as a springboard, pushing off and executing a neat midair backflip before landing on the rock pile in front of the tyranitar.

�Slow that absol down, Deathclaw. Thunder wave!�

�Mirror coat,� Lindsey said exultantly.

Electricity arced back and forth between the twin rows of spikes running down Deathclaw�s back, filling the air with the pops and snaps of static electricity. Channeling the electricity into his arms, Deathclaw prepared to fire it at his opponent. Turning his attention to Mandarb, the tyranitar hesitated, brought up short by what he saw.

Mandarb was staring calmly up at her massive opponent, and Deathclaw saw himself reflected in her eyes. No longer was he massive and powerful, but small enough to be contained by the absol's red irises, trapped in her dark, fathomless pupils and staring helplessly back at himself. He saw himself wreathed in his own electricity, the thunder wave turned back upon its caster.

His distraction cost him dearly. Deathclaw lost control of the electrical charge that he had built up in his craggy paws, and it backfired, raging back into his body as the attack meant for Mandarb ravaged his own nervous system.

Seeing that her attack had been successful, Mandarb leapt lightly off of the rock pile and darted around to the back of the tyranitar, leaping nimbly over a fan blade in the process.

�Water pulse,� Lindsey ordered, and Mandarb obliged, sending a swirling blast of water at her shuddering opponent.

Deathclaw struggled to draw a bead on his opponent, his limbs locking up and every breath an effort as a result of his paralysis. Mandarb ran in circles around the ponderous tyranitar, dousing him with water pulse after water pulse.

�Earthquake, Deathclaw,� Death said, sounding remarkably calm despite his obviously dire predicament.

Deathclaw gathered his energy and leapt into the air, coming down with a massive clang and sending a huge wave of seismic disturbance throughout the arena. Mandarb lost her footing and staggered up against what remained of the rock pile. Unfortunately, the shaking was having an effect on what remained of the rock pile as well. As Mandarb fell against it, the wall collapsed over her, pinning her beneath the weight of several sizeable boulders. Mandarb struggled to free herself, her jet-black claws digging deep furrows in the still-bucking floor, but it was no use. She was trapped, and not even facing her opponent properly. As the earthquake attack ended, Deathclaw wore a triumphant smile despite his paralyzed and soaked condition.

�Focus punch, Deathclaw,� Death commanded, feeling confident he wouldn�t have to worry about any attacks from Mandarb.

�Mandarb, use�� Lindsey trailed off helplessly. What could she use? Most of Mandarb�s non-physical attacks required her to be facing the opponent in order to aim them, and Deatclaw was purposefully approaching the trapped absol from behind. Mandarb couldn�t even turn her head.

�And once again one of Echo�s pok�mon is trapped and unable to move,� the announcer observed. �This could be it, folks�things aren�t looking good for Mandarb!�

While Lindsey dithered, Mandarb retained her calm. She knew what attack she needed to use. Closing her eyes, she sifted back through old memories, battles won and battles lost. Finding one she liked, she tore it free of its moorings in the past and flung it forward into the future, hoping that Deathclaw would not get a chance to finish her off before her hindsight could bear fruit.

Deathclaw drew back his fist, exerting the utmost concentration in order to control his currently unreliable muscles, and slammed it downward. It pulverized the boulder that had rolled atop Mandarb�s midsection, and the force of the attack traveled down to strike the trapped pok�mon as well. Vertebrae ground together and ribs creaked as the attack struck, and Mandarb gritted her teeth against the pain. That particular rock had saved her, for now at least, by taking most of the shock for her, but it was gone now and her back was exposed.

�Focus punch again!� Death called, beginning to get excited.

At last, something occurred to Lindsey.

�Blizzard!� she yelled, and Mandarb concentrated hard once more. Her silky white fur stirred gently as an icy wind surrounded her body, and she forced the cold aura outward, striving to drop the air about her to even lower temperatures and stir it to even greater fury.

Deathclaw drew back his fist again but halted midway, his muscles locking up. His tail slammed against the ground spasmodically as scrambled nerve signals sent confused messages to his muscles. Meanwhile, the temperature around Mandarb�s pinned form was dropping, water condensing and ice forming midair, whipped around by a chill wind in an ever-widening blizzard.

Deathclaw was pelted by snow as the blizzard engulfed him, but his great size and weight was an asset as he was hardly affected by the wind�s chilling buffets, no matter how strong they were. He rode the attack out patiently, knowing that the absol was more or less at his mercy.

�Change of plans, Deathclaw,� Death announced. �Earthquake.�

The tyranitar obliged, and once again the huge beast leapt up and slammed down onto the arena full force. Mandarb began to struggle once more, hoping some of the rocks would bounce or roll off of her during the tremor. She succeeded in freeing one of her forepaws, but that was as far as her luck went, and her body ached all over as anything that hadn�t been pinned down had been bounced viciously, including her stomach. The breath had been knocked out of her and she was struggling to hang on to consciousness beneath the crushing weight of the boulders.

�And now finish with focus punch,� Death commanded as Mandarb struggled to stay in the fight. Just a little longer, she thought to herself.

This time everything seemed to be going right for Deathclaw. He stalked over to Mandarb and drew his fist back, concentrating all of his energy into this one strike. But suddenly, something caught his eye.

An odd shimmering was hanging in the air on Lindsey�s side of the arena. It was strangely beautiful, a rippling curtain of shifting colors that seemed to be growing more solid every moment.

Unable to see what was going on above her, Mandarb waited for the blow, teeth gritted and eyes shut tightly. When nothing came, however, she caught on to what was happening and relaxed, smiling, and focused on collecting her thoughts and regaining her breath.

Lindsey was incredibly surprised when the psychic curtain appeared before her. I never ordered a future sight attack, she thought, puzzled. It took her a moment to figure out what Mandarb had done, but when she did, she allowed herself a broad grin, all stony gladiator composure forgotten. Mandarb was a lot smarter than her trainer, it appeared.

Suddenly, the psychic curtain drew back, revealing what it had been hiding: a raging wall of water. Deathclaw stared in dumb amazement as the tidal wave swept across the arena, looming over even the tall tyranitar and brushing up against the ceiling. It crashed down over him and threw him backwards, rolling him along the floor as it continued forward.

Mandarb was prepared as the wave broke. Holding her breath, she waited until the wave lifted herself and the rocks that had trapped her from the bottom and allowed it to carry her along, satisfied that the attack had worked exactly as she had remembered it. Surf was a maneuver she�d faced often enough, and she�d picked one that was sent her way by a particularly mean old Swampert, one that she had felt would have enough power to topple her foe at last.

The wave soon lost its fury and dropped Deathclaw off in front of his trainer, who suffered nothing but wet shoes as a result of the powerful attack. The tyranitar was out cold, having finally given in to the fury of the water attack. For her part, Mandarb had managed to stay clear of her rocky friends during the wild ride afforded by the wave and stood slowly, shaking water from her fur and wincing.

The crowd was silent for a moment, then cheered wildly as Death recalled Deathclaw, a sour look on his face. �Wow, folks, what an upset!� the announcer yelled. �That was an excellent future sight attack! Echo nets a surprise victory over death and claims her first win here in Deep Colosseum. The question now is, will her luck hold through in the next round?�

Filled with elation, Lindsey recalled Mandarb. She smiled fondly at the ultra ball into which her absol had vanished, resolving to do something very nice for its occupant as soon as the tournament was over.

�Good battle!� she called across the field to Death.

Death seemed slightly surprised at being addressed by the girl who had just beaten him, and he studied Lindsey suspiciously before breaking out into a cold smile. �Good battle,� he agreed, his flat voice somehow carrying across to Lindsey despite the riotous yelling of the crowd, �but remember that I always win in the end.�

Lindsey blinked, puzzled by the statement. Then, as its meaning struck her, she eyed Death askance and shivered slightly. Loser or no, he certainly was creepy.

Oh... I'll have to put my challenge on hold anyway, as I dislike writing on my family's computer (where my files aren't password protected) and my computer is being fixed right now. Just a heads up for Ionem.

It's allright.

I actually can't do it, either. Moving into college on Tuesday and things will be very busy.

Might as well take back my challenge. Sorry. :'(

Here it FINALLY is. *everyone cocks eyebrow at him* Hey, what?

Yes, I know it's bad. But, unfortunately, I somehow ran out of ideas. XP

Anyways.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
She opened her eyes, and then shut them quickly as searing light poured into them from beyond the lids. But curiosity demanded satisfaction, so she forced her eyes open, momentarily confused when she identified the light source as a glow-beam ceiling light. How did she KNOW that?

As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, other details flooded her newly awakened mind, confusing her again with the sheer number of them.

The room she was currently in was about fifty feet long and fifty feet wide. Computers and monitors lined two sides of the room that she could see, while the wall to her left contained only a door. She experienced more confusion when the names and statistics of the equipment floated unbidden into her mind. D-17 Ajax Medical Monitors, Terren N-4-55c Heavy Ordinance Analyzers, AbC Monitor Feedback Control, MedTab 360 D-c34 Monitor screens� How do I know this?

Her head began throbbing as voices began muttering in the background, spouting phrases that she understood, yet didn�t understand. She raised her right arm to rub her head, only to make the ache worse when her head was hit by a piece of metal. Blinking in pain and astonishment, she brought her hand into the range of her eyes, her head inexplicably incapable of movement.

The five-fingered hand in front of her face was not only bulkier than a normal hand, but was made out of some sort of bluish metal. Small green-and-red lights blinked softly along it, while a silent whirring was heard with each move it made. Strangely, she was not as shocked as her brain told her she should be. It was odd, but not horrible. In fact, something said that it was cool, whatever that meant.

Her roving eyes halted on several strands of wire that were hanging from the arm. She tried to bring her other arm up to grab the wires, but it wouldn�t move. Glancing down in surprise, she was startled to discover that not only was that arm still organic, but that it was being retained with more wires of the sort dangling from her right arm. She glanced down to see what else was wired, mentally amused and confused as she realized that she�d made a pun, although she had no idea what a �pun� was.

She discovered that her legs were not only robotic, like her arm, from the calf down, but the thin wires held them, too. She was dressed in some sort of dark blue uniform that covered her left shoulder to her lower calf, just below the starting point of the robotics.

While her mind tried to recall how she knew what �robotic� and �clothes� was, her reflexes decided that she needed OUT!

Powerful motors began whizzing in her legs, prompting a sudden jerk in the left one. Wires snapped, and her leg slammed out and onto the metallic floor with a loud �bang�. A similar movement freed her other leg, while her right arm snapped the wires holding her left arm and the strange metal band that had contained her head. She halted once she was free, her body not accustomed to the movement. She brought her left hand up and rubbed her head to dispel the nausea, discovering more prosthetics that wrapped around the right-hand side of her skull.

While she was puzzling her way through the possibilities, her ears apparently decided that she wasn�t confused enough. Shreds of conversation began worming their way into her head, emanating from strange people with white overcoats that mysteriously materialized in the room around him.

"� Stabilizing� Watch out! She�s loose! Call General Grady and� Quiet! You�ll only confuse her more."

She painfully moved her head toward the origin of the last voice, her head seeming to grate with every centimeter.

He was tall and old, thin and grizzled, very much the old-timer of novels. His thick head of gray hair topped off a careworn face sporting the beginnings of a beard, indicating that something had taken up too much of his time lately for personal hygiene. Intelligent blue eyes were sunk within that face, windows to a more humorous soul than might be identified by his otherwise gruff manner. His white coat had no pockets like the others, but sported a red, white and blue flag insignia. Black boots and pants combined with a sea-green shirt to complete the picture of an eccentric-in-a-good-way scientist.

She shook her head again, then opened her mouth.

"W-Worm �m I?" Her mouth felt like it had been taped together for a LONG time.

Old Sci, as she decided to call him, answered her sorta-legible question, "Yer in the yoo-ess-pee-ahr, Washin�ton Division lab�ratory." He sounded Texan, as far as she could tell. Her mind began questioning HOW she knew that, and what a �Texan� was, while he continued. "Ya�ve ben badly inj�red, appar�ntly by �n explosion. You w�re found outsahde the main R�bellion base near Saffron �n brought here for reconstructi- oh jeeze, CATCH HER!"

The last statement was yelled out as memories started flooding her mind, knocking her out from the sheer number of them.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

She woke up a few moments later, some pieces of the puzzle back in place. The explosion as she was defending several members of the Rebellion from attacking forces, the last thing she�d seen being her Mightyena being slammed back by the sheer intensity of the blast, and what she had been doing.

If only she could remember WHO and WHAT she was.

"B-Bloodfang�" The name flitted into her head unbidden.

Old Sci�s face appeared in her vision, her head having somehow plummeted to the floor. She wondered idly if that meant her body had come with her, or if she could have a nice snooze until they fixed it. "Who?"

"Might-tyena�"

"Oh, him. He�ll live, but he ain�t in much better shape than you. We had ta replace half his hide and, well, you better see for yourself-hey! Slow down or you�ll-OOF!"

She was up and running past him, panic having flooded her brain at the thought of Bloody being injured. Suddenly, she tripped on her foot and lay sprawled across the floor, memories flooding her mind again. She learned who she was, what she was, why she was HERE, and who had done it.

She felt a hand on her arm and shrugged it off, getting to her feet in one smooth motion. Her mind was finally fixed, except that she didn�t know her name. Well, time enough for that later.

"You might experi�nce some slight dis�ri�ntati�n due to the neur�l rec�nstructi�n-"

"No prob, Sci. Just get me to Bloodfang."

The old guy stood there and blinked a couple times, then shrugged and, turning, led her down the halls.

/\/\/\/\/\

"So, what�s your name, miss?"

"No idea. And don�t call me �miss�."

"Oh, my apol�gies."

She rolled her eyes and took the lead, striding down the snaking halls. Old Sci looked back at his cohorts, then ran to catch up with her.

"Do you know where you�re goin�?"

"Pok�ball Storage Room 225-Alpha, currently housing the pocket monsters of project 99-A, which is me." She spoke the words in a rasping voice, as if her attention wasn�t on him at all. "Project 99-A is me, I believe. I have therefore deduced that you�ll be keeping my partners in there."

The old scientist raised his eyebrows at this. "Mostly right, but your Mightyena is being held outside his ball in room 44-24-19."

She furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "That�s the emergency room, correct?"

He nodded. "Yes, but he�s only resting now. He�ll live, and now I�d like to know how you KNOW this."

She shrugged. "You cyborg interface on my head has a limited internet access, I presume for keeping an eye on me. I utilized this and accessed my internet account, and then hacked into your main files."

"But, how did-"

He didn�t get a chance to complete his sentence.

As she reached her hand to open the door to the storage room, an explosion rocked the building, flinging Old Sci across the hall. She placed her feet solidly on the floor and grabbed his collar, keeping him upright by brute force. She flung the door open with her left hand and launched herself and the scientist through it, slamming it shut. His assistants were nowhere to be seen, having vacated at the first hint of trouble.

She waited till the rumblings settled down into something more constant, then let go of the old man and raced across the room, dodging through the rows of shelves to where her five pok�balls were lying. She grabbed them, two red-and-white spheres, two blue-with-red-stripes-and-white, and one white ball with pink trim. She looked her robotic hand over and, with but a though, opened up five holes along the arm. She placed four of the balls in it and, with a gentle squeeze, enlarged the final red-and-white pok�ball from a mere inch in diameter to about four or five times that. She flicked it toward the scientist with a slight twist.

In a flash of red light, a strange figure as tall as Sci emerged. Its legs and feet resembled tornadoes, while the rest of its body was one big tornado that was blunted at the top. A single red eye stared with malice at the world, while its armless hands were held in readiness in front of it.

"Duuhhsclohhpss." The deep, grating voice seemed to emerge from nowhere, penetrating deep into the minds of everyone around. It also attracted somebody else�s attention, making it a bad thing. Sort of.

KA-BOOM!

The door through which they�d entered disintegrated beneath the sudden onslaught, creating a cloud of dust and flying metal. Energy poured through the new entrance, heading directly for Sci. It stopped directly in front of him, falling away to reveal some sort of moth, its ragged wings and hairy exterior combining with its fuzzy proboscis to give that effect.

"DAAAAAHHHHHST�" A sort of drone filled the room, penetrating into Sci�s head like the Dusclops� call. Reminded of the ghost and its trainer, he looked toward them.

They were gone.

A huge figure strode into the room, brushing the smoke and dust out of his way as he entered. Right behind him was a small form, seemingly made out of some sort of orange-red ooze. There was heat somewhere in the creature, considering that the floor was melting behind it. Two giant, flame-rimmed eyes stared at him with burning hatred, making him shrink back against the wall. The big man in front of him laughed, his cold green eyes seeming to burn into the poor man�s head from under a bald head that glistened in the minimal light.

"Doctor Gold, I believe." His voice was gloating, yet professional, giving the old man enough to figure out that he was a mercenary, albeit a rather arrogant one.

"Codename Lindsey, I believe?"

Both men started at the sound, while Lindsey�s partners spun in opposite directions, looking for the voice.

"Come, little one, you haven�t forgotten the girl you tried to kill, have you? At the Leader�s command, hmm?"

The man scowled. "I take commands from no one, although if you were to be killed, you deserved it, hmm?" His tone was mocking, yet his expression was guarded. The feminine voice laughed.

"For loyalty? Maybe. But, now they pay for their treachery. Welcome to Death�s war."

At the mention of �death�, both men started. Gold stared at the ceiling, pieces falling into place. Lindsey looked around nervously.

Suddenly, he and his Pok�mon disappeared.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The man known as �Codename Lindsey� looked around in confusion, his Pok�mon appearing next to him in the same state. To his left was the hole he�d made to get at Doctor Gold, while off to his right were several hundred police and National Guardsmen training their guns on him. Suddenly, a woman and a Dusclops appeared twenty yards in front of him. The woman would have been beautiful if it weren�t for the prosthetics on her right arm and legs and the plate that covered her head and face from the right eye to somewhere on the back of her head. Her blond hair contrasted with the brown left eye and the red prosthetic one.

"Today, Lindsey, you find out my full name. Right before I destroy you."

He rolled his eyes. " And THAT means you�re going to lose, rookie. I�ve never been beaten by people who say that-wait," he rubbed his chin. "Sorry, I�ve never been beaten, PERIOD."

She shrugged her left arm delicately. "Glad you�ve lived a full life. This will be a two-on-two switchout battle. Begin!"

With that, she flung her right hand out, a pok�ball flying out and popping open, flinging another creature out in support of her first one in a flash of red light. Its leering face was dominated by a zipper holding its mouth shut, it had a nightcap instead of hair, and its limbs looked interchangeable. It was colored a light-absorbing black.

"I choose Soulless and Soul-Reaper as my beginners."

Lindsey waved his hand, his Dustox and Slugma fluttering and oozing forward respectively. He smirked.

"I choose Duskrider and Negrek."

They stood that way for a moment, the fire slug and the moth staring at the two ghosts. Lindsey made the first move.

"Negrek, Flamethrower! Duskrider, Toxic!"

Death rolled her eyes. "Predictable. Soul-Reaper, Ice Beam the slug. Soulless, play with the bug. Squash them."

Negrek the Slugma reared its head back and unleashed a river of fire, while the moth fluttered above its opponents, its wings already dropping the poisonous spores down. The Dusclops rolled its one eye and, with a motion of its right hand, deflected the river of fire toward the moth above, who had to duck away for a split second. Soul-Reaper then focused its eye on the other hand, calling upon all the coldness it had ever felt and had dealt out upon souls and bringing it to a tangible form in its hand. With a flick of its pointer and middle fingers, it sent the frigid ball back along the former path of the Flamethrower. It impacted with the slug with a CRACK!

Lindsey rolled his eyes. "How sad. You should know that fire is resistant to ice." He flicked his fingers toward the Slugma, who was already melting the ice block around it.

Death shrugged. "We�ll see." She then turned toward where Duskrider and Soulless were blasting back and forth at each other with their respective mental powers; the ghost dishing out dark energy like it was made of the stuff, and the bug responding with psychic powers.

Suddenly, something struck Duskrider from beneath, freezing it solid. It fell toward the ground, but was grabbed by the Banette and flung toward the now-thawed Slugma. They collided, sending the duo flying back toward Lindsey. The moth didn�t move again, while the slug was angered so badly that it burned the ground beneath and incinerated the grass around it.

Suddenly, it was hit with a stream of water. Lindsey looked with annoyance at the puddle where Negrek had melted the ice around him. It was now draining into the air toward the slug, being guided by the ghosts, who were smiling almost as nastily as their trainer was.

"You forgot the environment, Lindsey. That�s going to cost you in the long run."

Lindsey shook his head. "No, you just got us mad."

Suddenly, he spun a pok�ball out onto the field, recalling Duskrider with his other hand. Out popped a bird of prey, powerful brown-feathered wings beating the air with a challenge that was mimicked by the cry that came from its short, curved beak. It suddenly sprang into the air, drawing its taloned feet into its white under-body feathers.

Lindsey rolled her eyes. "Combo move five."

The two ghosts suddenly began spinning into the air, dark tendrils of energy forming fields around them. They stopped spinning suddenly, catching the eagle off-guard with twin attacks, a stream of electricity blasting out from Soulless while an icy stream erupted from Soul-Reaper�s eye. Both attacks converged on the Pidgeot, who succumbed to the attacks after five seconds. Right before it hit the ground, Lindsey recalled it emotionlessly and called upon another creature.

"Mandarb, you�re up."

The quadruped that emerged reminded the people watching of something consumed by darkness, yet also with sadness. It reared its head up and glared at the two ghosts facing it, the black scythe on its head glowing as white as its body fur. It baleful red eyes stared out from within its dark-blue-furred face. The scythe on its head was suddenly swung toward the bigger ghost, a white blade of energy flaring toward Soul-Reaper and blasting it back off its feet and onto its back. It grunted in surprise, then fainted. Death recalled it as emotionlessly as Lindsey had recalled his Pidgeot.

"Mindripper, interference."

Out popped a creature about as small as Negrek, its dual-clawed hands held in front of it threateningly, while its faceted eyes stared blankly-yet-knowingly around the area, settling on the big dog in front of it, which was charging another blast. With a sudden shriek from its toothy, grinning maw, it charged forward and slashed at the dark creature. It hit a wall, prompting it to look over.

There was Negrek, staring even more balefully at the ghosts than Mandarb was. He snarled, a bubbling sound that nevertheless carried his anger across clearly.

"I think I�ll stay out of this," Lindsey said cautiously and backed off a step.

With twin cries, the slug and the dog launched their attacks, a blade of darkness flying from one and a wall of fire from the other. Both attacks hit, smashing the two ghosts away as if they were nothing. Death silently recalled them, then replaced with a massive green-plated beast with angry eyes and a fang-filled mouth, and a black-and-orange wolf-like creature with horns, a pointed tail and bony ridges running widthwise on its back. They growled angrily, but were suddenly smashed by another combined assault from the angry duo facing them. Demonhound the Houndoom went down immediately, while Deathclaw the Tyranitar shrugged the attack off and replied with one of his own, roaring with a thirst for vengeance on behalf of his fallen comrades.

Have you ever seen a maddened Tyranitar? One that feels a strong bond with its teammates, and knows that they�ve been struck down?

"I think I�ll stay out of this," said Death, mimicking her opponent�s move, but without the nervous look. Instead, she was smiling evilly.

When a Tyranitar is angry, they explode with power.

Deathclaw raised his hands above him, then slammed them down with a roar that echoed oddly off the building to his right. A sudden surge in the earth was the result, flinging the Absol into the air and giving the slug a violent shaking. Before anybody could do anything, the massive beast ripped a chunk of the earth out and flung it at the slug. It slammed into the poor creature with enough force to turn a solid creature into sludge. Instead, it turned the sludge-like creature into pudding. Lindsey recalled him, then recalled Mandarb as the Tyranitar slugged the poor dog just as it hit the ground. He began laughing, a sound best suited for Halloween, then flung his final two out.

"Meet my best fighters, Freyalise and Electrolite!"

Out of the standard pok�ball burst a standard Lanturn and a standard Belossom, the medium-sized fish wiggling its flippers and swinging the light-generating ball attached to its head by a thin strand of muscle around in circles. It was colored a disturbingly bright blue, with some yellow trim around the edges. The Belossom had two flowers attached to its head, while its tiny body was sheathed in a dress made of brightly colored grasses. Two tiny arms waved happily, matching the mood of its face. It squeaked happily at seeing its fellow, who responded in kind.

Deathclaw, incensed at having been insulted in this way, interrupted their happy greetings with a bellow, charging forward at a surprisingly swift pace. He was stopped by a wall of water that seemed to erupt from the ground beneath him, blasting him back. He stopped sliding long enough to growl, then was pushed further back by a bright stream of energy flowing from the Belossom. He halted right on the edge of the crater that he�d made pulling that chunk of dirt out.

He bellowed, then launched an energy attack of his own. It blasted along the top of the ground, flinging fist-sized rocks and clumps of earth everywhere along its path. It struck the ground between the two perky creatures it was aimed at, blowing them apart. Deathclaw snarled viciously and moved in for the kill. At least, he tried to. His feet didn�t budge. Looking down, he was shocked to discover that plants growing from out of the crater, which was filled with green, held his feet in a surprisingly strong grip. He snarled and reached down to tear them out, but was struck by another combined assault that dealt out considerable damage to him.

He roared in fury, which suddenly switched to one of pain. Large leaves began forming along his back, draining energy from him to feed themselves. Lindsey smirked.

"Doesn�t look good, does it? Just hand the good doctor over and-GAH?!"

The startled exclamation was wrenched from his lips with the howl that joined the cacophony of noises already in progress, rising higher and higher above the snarls of Deathclaw and the battle cries of his two smaller opponents.

Death grinned humorlessly. "Meet my best fighters, Deathclaw and," she paused for a moment, "Bloodfang."

A blast of multicolored energy poured through the side of the building next to them, blasting up and out into the cloudless sky like a beacon. Out of the hole formed by the attack jumped a nightmare.

It resembled a wolf, black fur covering its tail and the upper part of its back and gray fur lining its belly and legs up to its lower jaw. Its snout was filled with fangs, while its eyes stared coldly at the field of battle. What made this creature move from �nightmarish� to �demonic� in appearance was the prosthetics.

Its entire left side from the tip of its tail to its mouth had been replaced with metal, the cold shell blinking with the lights that were scattered around on it. Its left eye was also a mechanical replacement, its icy blue color contrasting with the sullen red of the right one. Its left legs had been entirely replaced as well, adding to its image of freakish experiment.

Doctor Gold appeared behind the monstrosity, his demeanor a tad uncomfortable. As well he should have been, for he had unleashed possibly the second most dangerous thing on this planet.

As both sides stared at each other, the wolf and the doctor versus the two small creatures and their trainer, two things happened.

Deathclaw sagged down, his body going limp right before he was recalled. He snarled weakly as he did so, prompting Bloodfang�s ears to twitch toward him.

The second thing was the �snap� of Death�s left fingers.

The wolf snarled, then leaped toward the plant and the fish, saliva trickling down its mouth and blown back through the air. The two small partners glanced uncertainly at their trainer, who gestured toward the oncoming hybrid with his right hand. The partners turned toward the wolf, unleashing their combo attack that had worked so well before. The wolf ran straight into it, prompting Lindsey and his Pok�mon to smile relievedly.

Suddenly, a blast of energy shot out of the water and grass attacks and smashed the ground next to Lindsey, throwing him into the air to land on his back. The Surf and Solarbeam attacks halted as the two small beings attempted to reason out why their trainer had been attacked. They didn�t get very far before another attack, this time with claws, dropped the small Belossom on her back. Lindsey snarled as the wolf turned to attack Electrolite, recalling his fallen plant and snapping out the order, "Protect!"

A bright red shield enveloped the fish half a second before the snarling demon struck, causing it to snap one of its teeth. It snarled, then backed off. It then turned and, to the surprise of Lindsey and Electrolite, trotted over to Death and lay down facing them. Death smiled quietly as she reached down with her left hand and scratched her partner behind his right ear.

"How�ve we been doing, Bloody?" The wolf looked up at her, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted contentedly. "Loving the exercise?" He yipped, then laid his head on her feet. "Don�t rest yet, I think Linny wants to finish us off."

The wolf looked over to where a wave of water was bearing down on him and his trainer. With a much-put-upon sigh, he roused up to his feet and, with a blood-chilling howl, blasted the wave, and the fish and the trainer, away with a massive wave of energy. Death knelt down and, placing her hands around Bloodfang the Mightyena, said three words.

"Well done, killer."

And that was the end of that, and the beginning of something else.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

*falls out of chair laughing* OMG, Lindsey bes a guy! *snicker*

Anyways, now we need voting... how's that gonna work? Post in the thread or PM somebody?

ITYS. Surprising twists.

I've actually met a guy called 'Lindsey'. 8O Don't ask, this world is weird enough that almost anything's possible. XP XDXDXD
Post in the thread. At least until we start drawing in the millions, in which case we'll use PM. XD

Authors can't vote, otherwise I'd vote for Negrek's thing.

I'll go PM CB about HIS (disappearing) battle. XD

�SilverBlaze09�

So do I vote here? =D

Guess that this vote is between Negrek (Lindsey) against Silverblaze09 (Death.) Sounds so unfair if I just say who I believe the winner to be, so let's do a run through of basic run-through of both stories as I got the time due to insomnia, regardless of school tomorrow.

I put the summary in terms of choice in the fanfiction thread. Perhaps that may act as a small advertisement for the fanfic battle thread as well. =P I tried my best to write as detailed as I can.











But in my humble opinion, the winner between Negrek and Silverblaze should be Negrek.

Well, Negrek won that one, as she should have.

Hmm, I'll take another challenger! XD

Here is da sap:

SuperTrainer
Description: A.D.
Pok�mon:
Charizard(Airzord)
Gyarados(Poseidon)
Dragonite(Drako)
Aggron(Destoroyah)
Aerodactyl(Rodan)
Snorlax(Hammer)
All learnable moves invoked

*cocks eyebrow* This one looks like fun. XD Sounds n00bish. XD

�SilverBlaze09�

Hmm... Guess I'll join for the pure fact that I want to make Silverblaze squirm by prioritizing bizarre strange attacks that are hardly used in fanfics =p


Frostweaver
Trainer: Yuki

Pok�mon:
Quagsire- Quira- Mud Sport
Dewgong- Jugon- Encore
Lapras- Enmu- Foresight
Vaporeon- Moana- Baton Pass
Sealeo- Glacy- Rollout
Ditto- Mimic- um... guess?

Hehehe... have fun with moveset like that ;p

Let creativity be pushed to the max!

question: We can portray our opponents however we want, correct? Even if it's in a severely negative image? We can just treat them as our own characters in our version of the match?

I believe so. But however, remember that the battle shouldn't be one sided as that will be hard to earn the applause of your audience, and the aspect of "I'm absolutely good" vs "s/he's absolutely evil" is probably part of the one sided-ness as well.

*wants a hug*

Accepted, frostweaver. XD

*twitches* I rarely squirm. More like twitch. XD

Absolutely. Just remember what frostweaver said, and your own common sense. XD

�SilverBlaze09�

OK, I think I'll post my character and team for now, but remember that I won't participate in an actual battle for a while. I need to do something first. I'll write my side in my usual script style, with Japanese names like always, however, I'm also trying something new and experimental with this thing. Just wait to see what it is.


trainer: Jamaht
preference: full 6-on-6 battles, single or double

Hakuryuu (Dragonair) [female]: 10,000 Bolt (Thunderbolt), Flamethrower, Freeze Beam (Ice Beam), Water Surge (Water Pulse)*
Jukain (Sceptile) [male]: Dragon Claw, Dragon Breath, Focus Punch
Yamikarasu (Murkrow) [male]: Shadow Ball, Parroting (Mirror Move)
Arbok [female]: Hole Digging (Dig), Earthquake, Iron Tail, Poison Poison (Toxic)
Kyuukon (Ninetales) [female]: Reflector (Reflect)
Nyaasu (Meowth) [male]: Cat's Hand (Assist)

EDIT: Changed Jukain's Skill Swap to Dragon Breath.
EDIT2: Added genders, and put Water Surge on Hakuryuu.

Jukain/Sceptile can't use Skill Swap. Canonic movepools are used for the battle fanfic, so I guess that you'll have to either take Skill Swap off the list, or use something else.

In terms of what is the style of the battle (6vs6, double battle, etc), you can decide for your side of the story. You can do a 2vs2, while your opponent do a 6vs6, so it really doesn't matter too much there. Don't forget that you can use more than the listed attacks, but just that you have to use those listed attacks as well. As a reminder, the attack effects don't exactly have to be identical to that of the game, as long as it's within reason (ex: Negrek changed Sunny Day so that it has a certain specific effect against her opponent's Dusclops due to Dusclops's Pokedex information)

Yes... I shall get to writing now. *scribble scribble*

*wants a hug*

Here's my info, though I'm not sure what the deal is with naming attacks... surely the entire movepool for a pokemon will be open:

Mattie

Normandy/houndoom
King Quag/quagsire
Wright/larvitar
Vigor/ampharoas
C Note/whiscash
Trisomy/dodrio

:)

You just need to say what Special Moves(learned via TM, egg move, etc.) they have. The moves they learn via leveling up do NOT need to be listed.
I beg to differ. XD The listed attacks are TM, egg, etc. moves, while all level-up moves do not need to be listed. Which level-up moves are used is left to the author, but the listed ones are the 'extra moves' that have been given to the Pok�mon aside from their normal ones. [/unneccessary babbling] XD

So, are Yamato-San and Act battling? Or are they confused or confusing me?

*writewritewrite*

�SilverBlaze09�