The Battle Frontier [IC] [T]

Blair Rice - Serperior, Lilligant, Whimsicott, Chandelure, Glaceon, Mareep

Blair frowned as she watched her opponent, a young boy who looked far too serious for his age. He stared at her from across one of the Battle Tower's second floor arenas as if he was studying her, something she honestly found kind of creepy. "Hey kid," she called, "You do realize it's just the first floor, right? You lose here and it's not like you're gonna die, you just pop right back and do it again."

"Are you suggesting I'm going to lose?" He asked, a hint of venom in his voice.

"What?" Blair was taken aback at first, but then she was just annoyed. "Are you stupid or something? I'm saying that you're so wound up it looks like your head's about to pop. You shouldn't do something if all it's gonna do is stress you out. You'll die of a heart attack or something."

He let out a sigh. "You're the stupid one here." Blair made it clear that she resented that, but he ignored her and continued. "You just don't get it. If I let my guard down for even a second, that's when I lose. This match is the first step on my path to a new world. A better world. And I can't afford to lose, no matter what!" No longer wasting any time, the boy reached for one of the pokeballs clipped to his belt and threw it towards the battlefield, unleashing a Lucario who seemed just as eager to begin.

After Blair realized her words weren't reaching her foe, she growled and pulled her own ball out of her pocket. She lazily tossed it in front of her, where it burst open to reveal a regal Serperior. The boy seemed a bit surprised to see her pokemon, probably because of how little it resembled its unrefined trainer. He quickly put the thought out of his mind and looked to the referee expectantly.

The referee gave the signal to begin, and within moments the Lucario was charging towards its serpentine foe. "Let's finish this quickly! Bullet Punch!" The charging canine seemed to disappear mid-sprint, only to reappear with its fist in Serperior's face. "Now Close Combat!" The first punch was quickly followed up by another, then a kick which was quickly turning into a flurry of indiscernible attacks.

"Come on, Sunny, show him who's boss!" Blair shouted to her Serperior. In response, Sunny the Serperior shot a demonic Glare at the Lucario that seemed to ooze killing intent. The Lucario stopped in its tracks, paralyzed by fear for just a second. "Now, Leaf Blade!" With a graceful spin, Sunny's tail began to shine a bright green before plowing right into the Lucario gut, sending it flying all the way to the other side of the arena.

"You da man, Sunny!" Blair cheered, pumping her fist in the air. The Serperior looked back at its trainer and grinned confidently.

The boy at the other end of the arena didn't seem quite so happy. His eyes were wide in shock, and his teeth were grit in anger. "How did you do that! You didn't even tell it to use Glare!" Blair gave only a knowing smile and a shrug in response. "You know what!? Fine! My moves were stronger and your move wasn't very effective anyway! I'm still winning!" True enough, his Lucario stood back up with minimal injuries. He gave a confident grin of his own, but it was shaky. Blair sighed, already very tired of this boy, and turned her focus back to the fight.

"Close Combat" The boy called, and his Lucario pushed past its paralysis to charge at Sunny once again.

However, the paralysis slowed the fighting pokemon enough for Sunny to get a move in first. At Blair's command, Sunny coiled tightly, the position protecting it somewhat from the the flurry of attacks. They stayed locked together like that, Sunny pulling itself tighter and tighter, and the Lucario continuing its relentless assault until Blair finally gave the command.

"Slice 'em," was all Blair said, donning a menacing expression. At her words, Sunny uncoiled with violent speed, its shining tail slashing across the Lucario's neck with frightening precision. The Lucario fell back, landing on the ground with a thump.

"Lucario is unable to battle!" announced the referee, signalling Sunny's victory. Blair cheered again and Sunny joined her, the snake pokemon wrapping itself around its trainer gleefully. It caused Blair to trip, but even on the ground she giggled.

"NO!" screamed the boy on the other side, recalling his Lucario. If his teeth were grit any harder, Blair was sure they would break. "My pokemon was stronger, I'm sure of it! This was a fl-"

"Shut it, kid!" Blair interrupted, her stern, sharp voice stopping the boy cold. "If you wanna fight I'll fight, but I'm not going to listen to you whine the whole match! So bring out your next pokemon already."

The boy was speechless, likely running through retorts in his mind while he grumbled before finally just grabbing his next pokeball. "Gah, fine!" hurling the ball forward, it released a glistening black Aegislash, the edge of its blade tinted red. The boy pointed a finger at Blair and said, "I'm ending this." Blair frowned, and Sunny took its position across from the Aegislash. Sunny was covered in bruises from its last fight, but the confidence on its face did not wane.

The referee signalled the beginning of the round, and both trainers called their attacks. "Shadow sneak!" commanded the boy, and the Aegislash unsheathed itself and spun in the air. The Aegislash's shadow lunged forward until it was behind Sunny then sprung out from the ground, mimicking its creators spin to slice at the unguarded serpent. Sunny was thrown to the ground and did not get up.

"Serperior is unable to battle!" alerted the referee. Blair recalled her partner pokemon, congratulating it for a job well done.

Blair reached into her pocket for her next pokemon, sending out her Chandelure. She was surprised to see that the boy was actually quiet. He still seemed incredibly angry, but he also seemed focused. Suddenly, he recalled his pokemon, instead sending out a Tyranitar that looked like it was wearing a collar with a large gem in the middle. "I'm not taking any more chances," he announced. "Let's go!"

Holding out his hand, a ring the boy was wearing began to glow. At the same time, the Tyranitar's collar began to glow, and soon after the Tyranitar itself was surrounded by light. The light exploded in a flash, leaving behind the Tyranitar, now looking completely different. It had become much bigger and much spikier, though Blair thought it also looked much dumber. But regardless, it was clear it had somehow become stronger. Sand began flowing out of the dark gaps in its rough, armor-like hide until it created a localized sandstorm.

Blair looked to the referee and asked, "Hey ref, can he do that?"

"There are no rules against mega evolution in this facility, ma'am." he curtly replied.

"Huh. I don't know what that is, but I can take it. Bring it, kid!" Blair shouted, and the two 'mon began their battle.


Blair grumbled as she bit into one of the pokepuffs she had bought from one of the Frontier's many shops. She was fully aware they were meant for pokemon and not humans, but she thought they were too good to resist, especially the sweet pink ones. "Man, I really didn't wanna lose against that brat!" She complained to her companions. Her Serperior, Chandelure, and Glaceon sat nearby, enjoying their own pokepuffs. The latter two both fell at the hands of the powerful mega-evolved rock-type, resulting in a crushing defeat.

"That magnum whatchamacallit should be banned. How was I supposed to fight it if I didn't even know what it was? If it wasn't for that I woulda wiped the floor with the little punk." Sunny chimed in agreement, finishing the rest of its pastry before laying down against Blair. Before long, the other two followed suit, though Sunny and her Glaceon made sure to stay on the side of their trainer opposite the fire-type.

The delinquent absentmindedly pulled the white sphere she'd received from the weird green-haired guy out of her bag and began to fiddle with it. She'd been trying to figure out what it did since she got it, twisting and turning it or jamming her fingers into the dimples along its surface but to no avail. Even hitting it against things didn't seem to have any impact.

"Well, whatever," she conceded as she tried to squeeze the stone in between her palms. "Like I told him, it was just the first floor. We just pop right back and take out the next guy, no sweat." After some encouraging cries from her teammates, Blair returned them to their pokeballs and stood back up, looking at the huge tower ahead. All she could do was hope that her next opponent wouldn't be so unbearable.
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