[PKMN FULL] TRAINERS (IC)

Casey is very good at compartmentalizing.

Especially when allowed to process emotion by curling up into a plush bed and sobbing his eyes out for half an hour, Pepper clutched to his heaving chest.

It's nice that the bodega cashier doesn't try to make small talk, and that he's become fairly practised at dropping mentholated drops into his lower lids. Still stings like hell, though, every time.

The city towers above him, morning shadows drawing back from the streets below as he saunters, his hands in his pockets the last string of tension picking at his nerves. Ginger eyes the world suspiciously from inside his half-zipped jacket. He doesn't know if he wants to be early to the tournament. He doesn't know what he should do with his time if he chooses not to be.

He ends up outside Five Stars Stadium anyway. It's starting to bustle- a group of people are loitering around the entrance, at least- and a few people on their way to enter get drawn into their conversation. Casey wanders around the block, and finds what he didn't know he was looking for in the shadow of the stadium- a tiny, scuffed training field, empty but for a huddle of young adults in the only sunlit corner. Pepper joins Casey and Ginger in a flash, catching the eyes of the little huddle, and flares his tail against the chill.

"I still don't really know what we should do tomorrow," Casey muses, as if he's even had more than twenty minutes to give it thought. "It's a demonstration of skill, prob'ly, so if we can do fire that's nice and controlled- that's good training for you, too. Wait, it's a musical, we should have music- maybe- here…" Casey sets his phone's collection to shuffle and hits play. "What kind of dance would go with this?"

Pepper contemplates the beat, tapping his tail against the ground, and executes a hop and a stomp in repetition. It's the cutest thing Casey's seen today, but it doesn't fill the right niche in his brain.

He skips through a few more songs, Pepper giving a little demonstration for each, and he notes that he is leaning more toward music that flows into flourishes than energetic beats and jerky movements. That's a lead, at least, and he chooses one at random to let Pepper incorporate flames into.

"Maybe we shoulda taught you Fire Spin," Casey says, watching the flames refuse to warp to Pepper's will, then has to shake off the flickering image of an inferno in a basement room. "Or- or this is fine. What else can we do with this?"

Arcs and puffs, Ember punching holes in Smokescreen and Flamethrower blowing it clear away, a flaring tail sweeping along behind Pepper's twists and turns. There's potential, there are combinations there, Casey knows it- but he's not quite grasping the possibilities yet.

Maybe he's distracted by the group of people inching closer to their side of the field.

"Hi!" Casey waves cheerily, Pepper posing at the end of a twirl to do the same. "Y'all here to train, or just hangin' out?"

"Oh, just hanging out," a green-haired girl heading the group replies airily, as they more confidently make their way into his space. "Thought we'd come have a look at what you're doing. Last-minute training for the tournament, right? How will your Pokémon cope in battle if they're tired?"

Casey clicks his tongue. "Hardly intensive even if I was battlin' today. This's barely a warm-up." Pepper accentuates his point with a cheerful two-thumbs-up.

The girl seems thrown off for a split second, eyes darting between the boy and the Charmeleon. "Glad to hear it," she says simply. "Have you graduated already, then?"

"Huh? No, I'm just not doin' this tournament. We're gonna cheer for our friend! Next time, though." He really hopes he'll be ready to face down Ghosts by the next time a tournament comes around. It's already silly to have to skip one, but two? Three? No way!

"Are you sure?"

Huh?

How could she pick up on his anxieties so quickly? How could she know he's unsure about the next time? He's good at hiding, especially from people that don't know him, how could she-

"I mean, tournaments are rigorous and demanding, aren't they? You seem like you care about your Pokémon. Why would you put them through that?"

Oh, different angle. His response triggers an odd sense of deja vu, of the same thoughts coalescing in his mind to be used for completely the opposite argument. But it stands, so he says it.

"It's like any human sport, ain't it? I'm their coach. I spend so much time figuring out what they can do, training 'em to improve their capabilities in ways like this, pushing them a little every time. That way they get stronger without a whole lotta stress on them, so by the time they have to go all out for a game- a battle or a tournament, right- they're more than capable of doin' what they need to at that level."

The girl considers that, arms crossed. "Right, fine, but why? Why do you have to train them to battle at all?"

Casey blinks, lips parted. "Uh. Have you ever studied Pokémon?" The girl gives a dismissive wave. "They do this same stuff in the wild. They spar for fun and for practice, so they can go all out and defend themselves or their family or their territory. It's how they work, right? And it's their exercise. You ever seen pet Pokémon that don't get enough exercise? They're sad and unhealthy, I'll say that much. The restrictions on battling without licenses actually affected the lives and health of lots and lots of Pokémon like that, did you know? It's intrinsic to them to battle and use their abilities, they need to be able to do it. So, uh-" He definitely went off in some direction there. Oops. "So I guess the answer is- I train them to battle 'cause it's the right thing to do when you have Pokémon under your care."

The girl whispers to her group, and after a slightly-too-long pause one of them whispers back. "So maybe nobody should have any in their care," she says, shrugging. "Leave them to do their thing in the wild."

"That ain't how the world works." Casey puts a hand on Ginger's head before she struggles out of his jacket. He knows she has big feelings about that, but they're not conversational. "Even in places like Kinyo that're tryna ban training, Pokémon are still friends an' workers an' transit options. We live side by side, don't we? We can't section off cities for people and wilderness for Pokémon."

"Why not?" the girl challenges. "Wouldn't it be better if each got by on their own?"

"No," is Casey's quick answer, a burning gut feeling that has nothing to back it up but frantic digging through his mind's messy filing system. "Imagine- imagine not being able to go outside city gates. That's how it was back in old times. Imagine not being able to travel, or to get any resources. Imagine how much we'd have to figure out how to do without Pokémon help! Construction, shipping, growing and storing food- Pokémon support us so much! We need them."

"But do they need us?"

Casey's argument slams into a brick wall. Ginger hisses at the girl, whose eyes flick down to her but is otherwise unfazed.

"Isn't it selfish to think the world revolves around human need?"

"Maybe." Casey's brain grinds back into gear. "But I'm human."

"So you are." The girl bows her head a fraction. "And so you have the unique position of considering your place in the world. Isn't that wonderful?" She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small thing, glinting in the sunlight trying desperately to reach them. "Here. Something to remember us by. And perhaps use to find us again, if you want to continue the conversation."

He can tell by the feel of it, pressed into the palm of his hand as she shakes it, that it is an enamel pin. "See you later, Coach."

"Uh, see ya…"

The gaggle of older kids follow her lead, away from the stadium and into the maze of highrise-lined streets. Casey opens his hand.

A little creature stares back at him. Cold, nauseous dread plunges into his stomach at the sight of its terrifyingly familiar face.

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"Buoy kiiiiiiid!!" Casey hears all of a sudden. Of course, there's only one person who calls him that, and their identity is reassured to him once he gets tossed a Charmander plushie to his face with great force.

"Dfhsgh!" he says, with a mouthful of soft toy. "Debbie!" he corrects as soon as the toy in question is in his hand rather than his face, catching the girl around the shoulders with one arm and rubbing his knuckles into her hair in revenge. The girl tries to shake him off, but doesn't really look uncomfortable. "It's been a while!"

"Yeah, I've been traveling with Bruno!" she says with her smile not fading away. "A lot has happened! We were attacked by some Cacturne, saved a Braviary, went to Vermilion and did some treasure hunting on our way here!"

"Ooh, busy! Show me the treasure!" Casey lets her go so that she may do so, righting the plush in his hand. "Wait, is this from the Lavender festival game? Is this mine?"

"Oh, yeah that's yours. It took me the whole evening, I think the guy just wanted me to leave so he just gave me the Charmander and the Eiscue," she says with a hand behind her head. "As for the treasure… Bruno has it. I gave it to him the other day. But I did something else! You'll see! Once we battle!"

Casey cuddles the Charmander, even against Ginger in his jacket trying to pull it away from him. "Well, I'll have t' see when you battle someone else. I'm not competing this time. But I'm sure you'll put on a cool show!"

Debbie groans and frowns at him. "Oh, that sucks. Well I guess you'll be spectating, right?" she shrugs and smiles at him once again. "You'll just see, it's awesome! Bruno helped a bit with it too!"

"Yeah, I- where's he at, anyway? Doesn't he wanna watch? I'll sit with him!"

The girl tilts her head and crosses her arms. "Uhh, I don't know. He said he'll try to come, but…" she puts her hand inside her pocket, but then puts it on her waist. "I think he's busy."

Debbie is visibly troubled by something, but she tries to smile and act like nothing is going on. Casey opens his mouth to ask more, but- "Anyways! Do you know anyone else here? I think a lot of people here are from Cape! Like… uh…" she shakes her head multiple times from side to side, looking at the different participants in the room until she finally points at someone. "You! I know you! You are that rare Pokémon from Route 9!"

"Oh my god…" Fuzzy late-night memories come flooding back as Debbie's dramatic point lands on Gwen. "Gwen Alanis, you still went to school with her, I-"

"What now?" Gwen shouts, turning her head away from who appears to be Arianne, plus two other girls standing beside her, at the mention of her name. Upon seeing Debbie she gasps dramatically, furrowing her eyebrows and gritting her teeth. "Hey, I know you! You're… I don't actually remember your name, but I know you woke me up in the middle of the night for no goddamn reason!" That earns her an amused chuckle from one of the girls she was talking to.

"She's Deborah Cormac, you went to school together-" Casey's exasperation is easily shut down, though, when Debbie leaves them alone to go grab her Psyduck that just walked away. He makes eye contact with Gwen for only a fraction of a second, but that fraction is enough to drag her bouncing focus onto him as he sticks the Charmander plushie down his jacket next to Ginger.

"Wait, we did- wait, Casey!?" Gwen exclaims, shifting her gaze between him and the wandering Debbie. "When did you get here!?"

"I dunno, a bit ago? Why, were you lookin' for me?"

Gwen gasps, her face flashing bright red. "N-no! I just, I dunno, I guess I just didn't think I'd see you. Are… are you entering the tournament as well?"

Casey grins, always entertained when people's interest is obvious. "Nah, I'm sitting this one out. I'll be your personal cheerleader, though! Unless you're up against Jordan, he's got dibs."

"No point in cheering for someone who's just gonna lose to me." She cackles before going blank. "Wait, who's Jordan?"

Why is everyone like this? "Jordan Springs, went to school with us, literally sat next to you in some classes, this guy-" Casey drags Jordan in front of him to present him to Gwen, who swats at Casey's hands and makes unintelligible noises of protest. "Ta-daaaa! Jordan."

Defeated, and with several pairs of eyes on him now, the boy waves meekly. "Hey, Gwen. Saw you when we were camping too. And briefly in Vermillion? I- nevermind."

Casey breaks the awkwardness tidily, draping himself on Jordan's shoulders now that his friend is in front of him. "Anyway, you sure are confident. What've the rest o' you got to say about that? Y'all just accepting your losses already?"

"How dare..." one of the other girls hisses, but immediately stops herself, her bright ginger hair waving as she does that. "I mean. She's just tooting her own horn, and I may as well let her do that now before I beat her fair and square."

"I'll admit, you stand a pretty good chance against me and my Pokemon, but once I unleash my secret weapon I don't think you'll be so sure about that." Gwen taunts. "I just hope we're not matched up in the first round, because it'd be a shame if such a skilled trainer was taken out so early."

"Pft, now you're just trying to win me over with flattering?" The other girl smirks. "But thanks, I guess," she adds with a smug grin. "I already knew I was that good."

"Is this something?" Casey asks nobody in particular, waving at Gwen and the shorter girl. "Is this a thing? I thought I was the thing."

"Hey Gwen! Who is this guy anyways?" The redhead asks. "What is this thing he's talking about, uh?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Gwen shrugs, clueless as usual. "But this is Casey, a friend of mine!"

"And who're you to be askin' so many questions, huh?" Casey asks easily. "You ain't from Cape, I know that much."

"So that's how it is… nice… friend you got there, Gwen!" The girl continues as if she didn't hear Casey. But then quickly turns around and replies to him, introducing herself as Courtney. Cinnabar born and raised, Safari student, Gwen and Arianne's rival.

"Arianne!" Casey exaggerates a gasp. "You went an' got a rival and never said?"

"Eh… talk about someone else tooting her own horn..." is how the other Cinnabar girl makes herself heard from further away. She's sitting down on a small bench, close to another girl, and has been looking at Courtney and Gwen 'talking' without intervening. She's not speaking very loudly, so Casey abandons Jordan to the trio of girls- he likes girls, it's fine!- in favor of being able to hear. In his peripheral vision, he can see Jordan throwing his hands up in a 'what gives?' sort of motion before slinking off to a vending machine. "Anyways, hi. As I said it's all her, we keep stumbling into each other and… you know."

"You ain't never said that," Casey points out. "Who's this, then? Your real rival?"

"Not really, she's just a friend of…"

"Oh?" The last girl chimes in. "I'm Sarah, nice to meet you! I'm just a friend of Courtney, and also from Safari!" She then turns to Arianne. "Courtney can be spicy and all but… she's not so bad, don't worry. Plus… even if she sounds so fired up, I love what's going on between her and Gwen." Arianne chuckles at that, running a hand through her hair.

Casey's eyebrows crash into his hairline at speed. "So there is a thing?"

Sarah laughs slightly. "I'd say not yet but who knows… I'm just speculating."

"I'm more of the opinion that Courtney just likes to bring this stuff up in general." Arianne states, matter-of-factly.

Casey ponders this. "We may be talkin' about different things," he decides.

"Hehe… probably." Arianne is clearly feeling awkward about this from how she's talking. "Anyways, what brings you here, Casey? Are you participating?"

"Nope, just cheerin' for Jordan." Casey takes a second to look for him- still at the vending machine, he'll catch him again in a moment. "He'll do good, I'm sure. Just wanted to help him psych out the competition or whatever people do when they're moral support, I dunno."

"Oh, well, I see… he'll be fine, yeah…"

Sarah interrupts Arianne here. "What kinda battle cry is that, girl? You're pretty good yourself and all of us are promising trainers, but you gotta be in the right mindset! I'm not going to make it easy for anyone here myself."

"Right, right… I'll do my best too!" Arianne smiles. "And well, I'll keep in mind what I learned from you, Casey."

"As you should!" Casey laughs. 'I've got the best advice." For most things, at least, but he's not going to get into the others. He glances around again, meaning to make a beeline for Jordan, but- "Oh, shit, haven't seen her in a bit! Bye Arianne, nice meeting you Sarah, I have to-"

To search out Coralie, the bouncy pink-headed girl he hasn't seen since the day they left!

He catches her easily with a tap on the shoulder and a wide grin. "Coralie, it's been a while!"

Coralie spins around, squealing excitedly upon seeing Casey. "CASEY! Oh my gosh!! Wow, it's really you!" She practically lunges at the boy before her, throwing her arms around his sturdy frame. He returns the hug and adds a twirl before setting the tiny girl back down.

"Yeah, really me! And really you! How've you been? Somehow I ain't seen ya since Cape, how the heck did that happen?"

Coralie can't help but giggle as her feet touch the ground once more. "I've been wonderful!! I've been having so much fun!! How have you been? Oh! Have you gotten taller? You look taller! Or, well, maybe I shrunk!" Have I grown? Casey wonders, trying momentarily to figure out a way to find out. Coralie pauses with him, but she's considering Casey's prior words. "You're right! Why haven't we seen each other!?!? Well, at least we're together now!! Better late than never"

"Must have been just outta sync, huh? Nice that we got told to hang out in Saffron- maybe this's why! So everybody could find each other! Did you see anyone else? Can't've been just by yourself the whole time, right?"

"YES! You're right! It's like a Cape College Reunion!" Coralie ecstatically announces, before continuing on. "Oh, I did! I saw Arianne, Courtney, Francis… and a few others now that I think about it! That was back in Lavender Town, though. But, I have my Pokémon with me so I'm never really alone! OH, and I just ran into my brother Elliott, too!"

Coralie's absolute joy at every little thing is infectious, and Casey's grin reflects it back at her. "That's great! He's been doin' a real journey this year, right? How many Bugs has he got by now?

Coralie nods enthusiastically. "Yep, he sure is! And he has quite a few bugs, five right now, I think. You should see his Galvantula, or his Butterfree, they're really strong!!" She suddenly seems to remember exactly where they are, and the expected question pops out of her mouth: "Oh, are you here to sign up for the tournament, too?!"

"Nah, I'm just watchin' this time around! It'll be cool to see everyone battle, though. Did you do the registration already? They only got sixteen slots, I heard."

"Yep!! I registered just now! It's a bummer you aren't participating but I think you'll have a lot of fun spectating. It seems like there's a lot of strong trainers here, and all of our friends, too." She comments, gazing around at the clusters of people who had gathered about.

"Sure are! Even more Cape grads out in the audience, too, saw 'em walkin' by earlier. Don't get too nervous! It's all fun, right?"

"Yeah! I'm not too nervous! Well, maybe just a little." She laughs sheepishly. "But it'll be lots of fun! It's a tad nerve-wracking knowing so many people are watching, but I like to think of it like I'm performing on stage, putting on a show for the audience! When you think of it like that, it's a lot less scary."

"Well hey, if that's not scary for ya, there's a show thing here tomorrow- I think there's a flyer up on the desk, you should-"

"Hey. Hey!" A pair of hands suddenly grip Casey's shoulders and begin to drag him away, which is surprisingly rude of his best friend. "Oh, hey Coralie," Jordan adds with a small wave to the girl. "I just need- would you excuse us for a moment?"

"Jordan, oh my gosh, hi!!! And, oh, of course!! I'll see you later, Casey!! You too, Jordan!"

Casey waves to Coralie and allows this manhandling with not more than a verbal protest. "Hey, what, what's so urgent that you can't just talk like a normal person?"

"Look- who is that?" Jordan steers Casey around and points toward a familiar silver head of hair. Or, more accurately, he seems to be pointing at the person she is standing with.

Standing apart from everyone else is Vera, looking very uncomfortable as a red-haired boy holding a Vulpix is talking to her. She says something that makes him laugh, and he reaches down to retrieve a Poké Ball from his belt.

"Did she make a friend? She kinda looks like that when she's talking to anybody, so he could be a friend. Or he could be botherin' her. He's cute! Maybe she doesn't care. Jordan, we have to find out what the heck this is, c'mon-" Casey switches over to leading Jordan, now, walking slightly backwards to maintain an illusion of not having any agenda whatsoever no ma'am.

"That's what I'm saying," Jordan huffs as they make their way over. "You don't think she's replaced us, do you…?"

"Replaced us?" Casey squeaks, then shushes himself. Vera's ducked behind her hat now, oblivious to the boys watching this interaction intently.

The cute boy puts his Poké Ball away with a shrug. "That's fine, he should save his energy for the tournament anyway. I'm just saying hi, I noticed you were over here by yourself. Everyone else is singling and mingling, why aren't you?"

Vera shakes her head, muttering under her breath. The boy leans in closer, so she speaks up. "I'm just… going over my strategies. First time in a tournament like this, I need to make an impression, right?"

"Saffron's just full of firsts for you, isn't it?" The boy laughs, not seeing Vera tense up a little. Casey tilts his head. What firsts? What's Vera been doing? "You want some advice, V?" Jordan glances sideways at Casey, raising an eyebrow at the nickname. Casey nods, frown fleeting across his lips. Vera doesn't like nicknames.

"Don't call me that." Vera snaps, finally looking up to glare at him. "But… sure. Advice." The quick turn is surprising. Casey's pretty sure she'd usually just walk away.

"...that was a reaction. But, point taken. Anyway, my advice? Don't think too hard. You're over here, alone, clearly not having fun when everyone else around you is. Why do that to yourself? I know, you said you don't want anyone inside, but you really should loosen up just a little. Find a friend, let a Pokémon out, anything to help you relax."

Vera considers that for a moment, then smiles a bit. "You're just full of terrible advice, aren't you?"

He puts his hand to his chest, looking hurt, but he's smiling. "You insult me. And I thought we had something between us."

What?

"There's nothing between us but space. And I'd like some more of that. Now, shoo." Vera waves her hand like a wizard casting a spell. "Maybe I'll see you on the field, if you're lucky. Or unlucky, if you're facing me."

…and despite her assertion, Casey really can't dam the overflowing curiosity. "Vera! Were you dating this guy? And broke up with him? All before we even knew it was happening? You're terrible at keeping secrets, how did this one get kept?"

"Casey? Where did you come- when did you- no! I am not dating him, I'm not dating anyone!" Vera stutters as she looks between the two, her face turning red.

The boy looks just as confused, but a smile spreads across his face as he fits the metaphorical pieces together. "I take it this is the guy." He puts his Vulpix in the crook of his arm so he can extend a hand to Casey. "Hi, how are ya? I'm Xander, Vera's ex-boyfriend."

"No you are not!" Vera protests, stomping her foot angrily.

Casey takes the handshake with a grin, because even as thrown off as he is by the idea of Vera dating someone- it's too easy to fall back into riling her up. "Casey, nice to meet ya. And this's Jordan," Jordan tips his head forward, and Xander nods back in acknowledgement. "So how was Vera as a girlfriend? I haven't experienced that side of her, we've just been doin' the epic highs and lows of graduation journey."

"Oh, she was very needy. Everything was about her, all the time. Sure, she'd listen to my words, but it was a token gesture, she didn't hear the message, you know? Still…" he sighs wistfully, "I admire her spark, her drive, her, as they say in Kalos, je ne sais quoi."

"This isn't happening. I hit my head again and I'm hallucinating, that has to be it." Vera hides her face in her hands.

"Oh yeah, that tracks," Casey says to Xander, utterly deadpan. Before Vera can protest again he's plucked the hat off her head and deposited it on Jordan's so he can run his fingertips across her scalp. "No lumps or bumps, you're prob'ly not concussed again. Good job! That'd be terrible for the men in your life, you know. Makin' us worry all the time."

Jordan quickly whips the hat back off and gently strokes his own hair, but not before shooting Casey a look. "Anyway," He cuts in, clearly trying to sound nonchalant about it. "You said 'the guy'? As in, just the one?"

Xander pauses to think about that. "You know, come to think of it, she never said it was a guy. She just said a 'friend'. That's on me, that's my bad for assuming."

Vera pushes past Casey, or attempts to, reaching for Jordan. "Jordan, give me my hat back."

"O-oh, sorry." He looks like he's still processing Xander's response as she addresses him. Part of the wide brim is slightly crumpled from his grip, but he smooths it out and awkwardly plops it back on her head.

"Oh, that's how it is?" Xander looks between Casey and Jordan. "Now I'm curious. Which one of you said she was bad at kissing?"

Vera freezes midway through adjusting her hat, somehow going even paler than usual.

Casey and Jordan glance at each other with equal confusion. "Uh, neither of us. Right? We both only said nice things, didn't we? Or maybe I didn't say anything, I was thinkin' about the situation at hand. Unlike some people. But I never said anyone was bad at kissing!" It's actually kind of upsetting, the idea that someone has taken his words and actions and created a new, inaccurate narrative from them. Or wait- "Oh, did you kiss someone else that said you were bad at kissing? That's so rude of them! Also, when did you manage that?"

"What is happening here? I haven't kissed anyone!" Vera protests.

"Oh, so I'm no one?" Xander grins, making Vera wince. "I mean, you said you wanted practice, but-"

"Stop! Talking!" Vera lunges at Xander, but he casually holds her at bay.

"Oh shit, you actually kissed him?" This is delightful, even if Jordan is squirming about it. No, actually, that makes it better. "You picked good, Vera, not gonna lie. Was he better than us?" The puppy eyes come out with no effort at all.

"Better than one of us, at least, from the sound of it," Jordan sniffs indignantly. Casey can't quite tell if he's playing along now or genuinely a little hurt. Probably a bit of both.

"Aw thanks, man, you too." Xander beams at the compliment and Casey takes his own with a grin. "And yeah, was I better than them? My ego wants to know."

"I- no, I didn't- I don't want to talk about this! I don't want to talk at all! Why is this happening?" She glares at Casey, tears in her eyes. "You're not even supposed to be here!"

Oh, no.

"Vera, no, we're just playin'- it's nice, right, to know what your friends been up to?" Casey pleads, suddenly very much on the back foot in this interaction. "Xander's cool, even if he's not your ex, or if he is I guess- but some kind of person in your life and we're just- playin' around, y'know? Gettin' to know what's goin' on."

Vera stands up straight, aggressively wiping her eyes and tucking her hair back behind her ear. It wasn't even out of place. "Well, make up your mind, will you? You can't just ghost me like that and then come back like nothing's changed. And you!" She turns to Xander, jabbing a finger into his chest. "I don't even know you! I wasn't supposed to see you again, you were supposed to just disappear!"

"That's a little harsh." Xander mutters, but doesn't argue. "I do have feelings, you know."

"I din't even ghost you," Casey grumbles. "I literally texted you back like right away."

"Well… it's not just that. It's… I don't know, I can't hear myself think in here, we'll talk about this later." Vera starts walking away from them, then stops. "Oh, and I didn't like kissing either of you." Her eyes linger on Jordan for a moment, then she walks away.

The boys watch her go in cowed silence.

Casey breaks it with the soft pap of his fist to open palm. "I don't think Jordan's a better kisser than me, but he does it nice. But she just likes him better. Emotion-based, that one."

"For the record, we just met yesterday." Xander helpfully contributes. "You can tell she likes him from all that, huh? Congrats, buddy! And good luck." He playfully punches Jordan's shoulder.

Jordan's ears glow pink. "Oh, um. Thank you?" Looking confused as ever from the whirlwind of emotions they just cycled through, he turns from Xander to Casey. "Wait, you really think so?"

"She said she didn't like kissing either of us, but either is only two, and me an' Xander were the ones askin' about it. So she at least didn't dislike kissing you. And probably liked it, or she'd say something. 'Cause she's like that." Casey puts his hands on Jordan's shoulder and stares into his eyes. "You have a girl interested in you."

"You lucky dog!" Xander grins, then nudges Casey. "Hey, maybe she thinks we need to practice kissing, huh? Haha!"

"Just 'cause she-" A fully separate train of thought cuts off his first very quickly. "Well, if we both want to, I wouldn't object to that."

The gears are shifting quickly, though Jordan's mind is clearly still on their previous comments. "Hm. Well, I guess I'll leave you guys to that. I have things to think about. Like… the tournament. Yes." He tacks on as he turns to leave. Casey's fingers slip off Jordan's shoulder and curl into the back of his collar.

"Hold on, hold on. First we gotta find out who's better, don't we? So we're gonna need a judge."

"Wait, for real? We're doing this?" Xander pumps a fist in excitement. "Man, I love Kanto! Take five, Tails." He returns his Vulpix to its ball.

"What is happening here…?" Jordan sighs, echoing Vera's earlier sentiment, but in a far more defeated tone.

"A good time all 'round~" Casey grins. "Now, who-"

He's interrupted by the crackle of the intercom, the speaker right above their heads drowning out all other noise. "If I may have the lobby's attention: would the one person not registered for the tournament please find your seat in the stadium. Brackets will be announced when you have done so. Thank you."

"Oop," Casey grimaces. "That's me, we're gonna have to postpone. Meet up later?" He offers Xander a fist bump.

"That's a rain check, for sure." Xander raps his knuckles against Casey's, then points to Jordan. "You be there too, Senpai. Teach me how to win over the prickly lady." He laughs at his own joke.

Jordan rolls his eyes with a smile, before pushing Casey out of the participants' zone. "Go on, get out. Come on, Xander, let's go get ready." He tilts his head at the other boy, pointedly ignoring his latter request.

"Listen for my cheering!" Casey calls over his shoulder, and trots out into the stands. He counts himself lucky to find a seat front and center, even though the stands aren't nearly as full as regular tournaments. The screens at either end of the field suddenly display a countdown timer- ninety seconds until the bracket will appear.

This should be a hell of a ride.

Gwen Alanis

Even if Gwen has yet to see a proper display of Sarah's potential as a trainer, she has zero doubt in her mind that she'll make it to the next round, with or without the use of her "secret weapon". Courtney had said a good deal about her, but spending most of the previous day training meant Gwen should be able to come out on top easily.

Both trainers toss their Pokeballs at the same time, and on Gwen's side is Jess, her Arbok she hasn't used in a hot minute. With Intimidate, she's never a bad lead, especially not against Sarah's Pokemon - a small but nimble Buizel. Jess's expression is similar to Gwen's arguably overconfident smirk, only difference being her ill-intent on display. She lets out a nasty hiss and stands upright, emphasizing the pattern on her hood while shaking her tail- an old habit from when she was an Ekans. Buizel doesn't seem too happy to see that, and looks back towards her trainer for reassurance, but Sarah is deadpan.

The referee starts the match, and Jess stares Buizel dead in the eyes as her flash red, aiming a spiteful smile at her foe. "Sonic Boom, quick!" is the command coming from the other side, and Buizel quickly twirls around, launching a series of shock waves towards Jess from her tails. She grunts before evading every in-coming wave with her long, serpentine body and then slithers straight to Buizel, displaying her sharp fangs. She comes closer, undisturbed, for a while, but Buizel and Sarah react before she can make contact. From Sonic Boom, Buizel switches to Water Sport, and a cloud of water droplets gets in Jess's way to irritate her from above, slowing her down. From here, Sarah calls for a Tail Slap, and Buizel repeatedly flings her tails at Jess as she keeps twirling, aiming for the back of her head.

It doesn't turn out completely in Buizel's favor though. Jess is able to turn around in the midst of the attack and take the brunt of it with her middle body, using the rest of her body to wrap around Buizel. A sadistic smile forms across Jess' face.

Here is where Sarah clenches her fists and starts to look worried. She takes some time before shouting another order, and that only plays to Gwen's advantage - but then, she instructs Buizel to use Water Gun around her. In the meantime, though, Jess has already been able to Poison Jab Buizel in the back of the head while tightening her grip, laughing maniacally at the suffering on display. It's an intense sight, maybe even too much for Gwen, but Jess continues despite her concerns.

A combination of Tail Slap, to loosen the grip, and Water Gun on the battlefield itself, to make Jess less stable and prone to falling over, eventually lead to Buizel freeing herself from Jess. She's barely conscious though, which leaves her completely vulnerable to another Glare from Jess. And so, Buizel is paralyzed.

"Alright Jess, finish with Bite!" Gwen calls out just as Jess was about to wrap around Buizel to drag the round out. Jess rolls her eyes, frustrated she won't be able to basically torture the poor thing and lunges forward, jaw first.

Sarah, clearly resigned, calls for an Aqua Jet, but already holds two Pokéballs in her hands. Buizel still executes the attack, and is able to get some chip damage, but the two Pokémon colliding leads to only one of them fainting - Buizel, of course.

With the left hand, Sarah recalls her Pokémon. With the right one, she lets out her next pick, a Trapinch. The Ground type looks up towards Jess intently, standing nearly entirely still. While it would be a good idea to switch, Gwen decides to keep Jess in to scout Trapinch's abilities.

Jess once again uses Glare, staring down her foe. But Trapinch reacts quickly, and blocks his own view of Arbok with Mud Slap. The sand he's raised from the battleground splatters on her face and gets into her eyes, negating the attack. She reels her head back in pain before flinging it straight forward again to bite Trapinch on the head.

As she does that, though, the ground under her body gets more unstable, until she starts sinking into it. Trapinch's Sand Tomb eventually leaves Jess with no escape.

"Shit…" Gwen clicks her tongue. It's a good thing she has two Pokemon left, or else her brain would probably shut down. But since switching out isn't an option at the moment, she'll have to guide Jess through the rest of the round.

"Jess, hang in there with Stockpile!" Jess coils into a spring shape as her body fat seems to increase subtly, doing her best to resist the trap Sarah had set. But once Arbok is in there, it's easy for Trapinch to damage her with Bulldoze. Sarah's Pokémon slams his jaws on the battlefield repeatedly, and every hit becomes a seismic wave headed straight for Jess. Each wave does her considerable harm , and even with Stockpile she's still struggling to stay in.

With Jess continuously stunned by the attacks and the Sand Tomb damage building up, Trapinch only needs one Crunch to get the final blow on his opponent. Sarah finally displays a sly smile on her face, as Gwen recalls her first Pokémon.

Her next Pokemon is an expected counter, that being Marshall to counter Trapinch's ground-typing. "Alright, let's test the waters," Sarah still smiles, before calling for another Bulldoze. It does rock Marshall around a bit, but it does a pitiful amount of damage and does nothing to stop him from shooting Water Gun straight at Trapinch. This time though, when he bashes his orange head on the ground, boulders fall onto the battlefield with a thud, right between him and Marshall.

"Using Rock Slide as a barrier? I like that!" Gwen smirks. "Nothing we can't take care of though! Marshall, Mud Bomb!" From his mouth, a large blob of mud crashes right onto the wall of rocks to weaken it. Ground is good against rock, so the same must be true here.

"Feint!" Sarah yells in the meantime, something which definitely explains why Trapinch isn't behind those rocks anymore when they're broken down. Soon after that, Sarah's Pokémon is straight up biting Marshall's tail, as a white light fades away from his body.
Marshall's solution to this is pretty straight forward. With Trapinch attached to his tail, he repeatedly slams it against the ground, and it's obvious that the Antlion Pokémon is not enjoying that. With every Slam, another Bulldoze shockwave is produced, though, eventually leading to Trapinch being flinged off Marshall's wide tail.

At this point, Sarah doesn't lose time, and calls for another Rock Slide, creating once again a protection between Trapinch and Marshall. Marshall releases Water Gun at the barrier while walking toward it, and after weakening it enough, he slams his tail into the wall and has it crumble.

Of course, when a Pokémon stands still on the ground for too long, Trapinch can set up a Sand Tomb. And that's just what he does, taking advantage of the time Marshall uses up to break the rocks. When they shatter, a circle of quicksand and unstable terrain takes their place. It's definitely annoying, but nothing detrimental, as Marshall summons a series of clouds that release a drizzle over the battlefield. With that, another Water Gun is shot from his mouth, and right at Trapinch's face again. That spells the end for Sarah's Pokémon, who needs to be recalled shortly after. His place is soon taken by a familiar face… her Murkrow.

She looks dead serious at the battlefield for a moment, but isn't above yelling a quick and concise "Bring it!" towards Gwen. Gwen's smirk just grows wider, and she intends to keep Marshall out for this last round until the sound of one of her Pokeballs opening suddenly without her doing. She looks around, alarmed, and spots Bead pressing his face against Marshall's Pokeball to withdraw him.

"Huh!? What the hell!?" Gwen shouts in shock as Bead floats over to the battlefield. She uses his Pokeball to return him, but he swiftly dodges any attempts to be withdrawn, determined to stay in. It's so baffling that he'd wanna go out against a Pokemon with a clear advantage… but she might as well roll with the hand she's dealt.

For Bead though, he's mostly astounded to see his old friend from the Lavender Graveyard in a setting like this. Murkrow seems rather excited too, and lets out a caw that's definitely less menacing than usual. Sarah doesn't call out any attack either, and looks slightly amused as her eyes jump between the two Pokémon and Gwen.

"Bead? What's the matter?" Gwen raises a brow. "If you're gonna stay in then use, I dunno, Astonish or something!"

Bead continues to stare wide-eyed at his old pal until he decides to comply with Gwen, flying forward and getting uncomfortably close to Murkrow, screeching at him with fierce determination. Bead's life of playing tricks is behind him, and to further cement that he's set on defeating Murkrow in battle. At first, Murkrow takes some hits and retaliates with some weak Pecks, until Sarah makes herself heard.

When Bead comes close once again, Murkrow spews out a thick cloud of smoke - Haze, once again - and once both Pokémon are cloaked by it, connects a strong Pursuit attack that sends Bead hurtling back. He smacks into a wall but bounces right off it so he can fly forward and flash his eyes red while sounding like he's cursing under his breath. Murkrow flashes his eyes as well, but in this case, a beam of dark energy is materialized in front of him, and expands as it moves closer to Bead. He's just barely able to dodge and gets up close again for Astonish, which Murkrow answers with a Wing Attack. After feeling the impact of his wing, Bead zips around Murkrow to use Astonish from behind, this time with a less vicious screech. Murkrow once again twirls in the air to try and hit Bead, but this time he does so with less strength than before. And despite Sarah's commands, that is all he ends up doing eventually - trading hits this way with the Misdreavus, whose attacks weaken with each use. A slight giggle can even be heard under his breath after every now and again.

"I'm so confused…" Gwen scratches the back of her head. "What's happening?"

At first Sarah doesn't seem to notice her: she's still busy shouting commands that clearly Murkrow isn't executing. But then, she loosens up and looks straight towards Gwen.

"Looks like this is it," she grins. "Well done girl!"

And with that, she officially forfeits.

"If they just want to play together, let's let them have some fun. It's fine." She states, walking closer to the Saffron girl, as the two Pokémon are still trading nudges above their heads. It was a little out of nowhere, but a win is a win, and Gwen would be foolish to pass that up.

"That was a good match!" Gwen compliments, giving Sarah a thumbs-up and a flash of her pearly whites. "You and your Pokémon did well, but not as well as us."

"Hah, if you say so…" Sarah chuckles. "But yeah, you did well, you deserve to keep going. Good luck for the next rounds! And as for you two…" she looks over to the two Pokémon. "Come over here, we'd better give space to the next trainers!"

Arianne Chandler
Saffron City
Friday, May 31^st, Five Stars Tournament

featuring Cubeth as Deborah

Her battle has come sooner than expected, but at least she can get it out of the way. She can see with her own eyes whether or not the concerns of those… people she put to sleep earlier are actually all up in the air.

Arianne is still somewhat stiff under the weight of everyone else's expectations - not to mention her own - and chooses Eric as her first Pokémon. Seeing him on the field, ready to fight, gives her confidence. He materializes just at the same time as Debbie's first Pokémon, Dukko the Psyduck, waddles into the battlefield at her signal.

"Dukko, let's try swimming a bit!" Arianne's opponent makes the first move, dragging one of her legs backwards as she confidently gives the order. Her Psyduck doesn't seem too sure, though; after hearing his trainer's command, he looks back at her, clueless, and with both hands on his head, so Deborah has to nod at him to reassure him. Dukko then looks at the ground and shakes his head before allowing himself to fall, mysteriously materializing a puddle around him.

Oh right, I can do that too now!

"Use Dig, Eric!" Arianne calls out, and her starter happens to hesitate for a few seconds - just like Dukko - before eventually disappearing into the ground beneath the battlefield.

Both Pokémon become completely invisible for either trainer, and a breeze travels across the empty battlefield now. Arianne has a dumb smile on her face as she stares down the battlefield, between the points where the two Pokémon hid underground and Debbie herself. "So… what now, uh?" She smiles, facepalming internally as that is not the way her battle should've started in her head.

Debbie looks clueless at the battlefield. She scratches her head, and then puts a finger on her lip. She looks back to see Arianne is just as clueless as her and chuckles.

"Heh, heh, heh, everything according to my plan!" she says with a huge grin on her face. "Dukko, you know what to do. Chaaarge!!"

The shock comes when Dukko actually starts moving, showing which path he's using by turning all the ground around him into mud, occasionally jumping out of the water with the help of his Aqua Tail just to fall into another puddle. But he's just moving around aimlessly, he's not gotten even close to the hole Eric dug.

Eventually, Eric has to resurface. He seems surprised if not amused as he looks around him and notices all the puddles, but waits for a command from Arianne before doing anything. And yet, she doesn't have a plan either. She does, however, call for a Rapid Spin attack, which lets Eric build up speed as he spins around the battlefield, slapping some mud on Dukko's eyes while doing so. It doesn't seem to damage him, but it affects his eyesight, and since he's sensing Eric spinning at high speed around the battlefield, he's forced to hide again until he stops.

Deborah stops to think while Dukko is still hiding, and she is quick to think of something. She tells Dukko to Dive into another puddle, and the Psyduck does as he's told, waiting there until he sees his trainer's signal. When Eric gets closer to him, he closes his eyes to avoid more mud from getting in his eyes, and presses his own head when Deborah yells "Fire!", sending a blast of psychic energy against Arianne's Pokémon.

The Cinnabar girl clenches her fists, clearly upset by that move. Eric really isn't enjoying that as his movement is slowed down. But since there's no time to analyze the situation, Arianne just goes with her gut. "Dig, quick!" She yelps, waiting for what feels like an eternity to her for Eric to hear that… although it's actually just a matter of seconds. The Wartortle has to shake off Confusion, but after that, he's ready to follow Dukko underground.

Dukko jumps out of his puddle and shoots a Water Pulse at the air, using it to clean his eyes. Eric comes right after, quickly beginning another Rapid Spin in an attempt to reach and hit Dukko, just to find himself at the edge of the battlefield, while his target has gone back to his trainer's side.

"Challenger Deborah has requested a switch out!" the referee announces.

Deborah grins and starts sprinting on her own spot as she picks up her next PokéBall.

"It's time!" she yells, clearly excited, and sends out her next pokémon. The Exeggutor that manifests into the battlefield, it's easy to notice this one is way bigger than a normal one, towering above both trainers and even some of the spectators. "Jade Squad…!"

Arianne should've seen it coming, if her battle with Courtney taught her anything. She's considering who in her team she could switch in to have a fair chance against that enormous opponent… but Dukko's own strategy gives her some ideas. "Eric, Rain Dance!" she commands, trying to brace herself for Debbie's next move.

The Jade Squad's eyes glow a blue-ish light, and a huge wall is placed around the Exeggutor, shielding them from all kinds of physical damage from Eric.

"Girls, use Extrasensory!" The Jade Squad focuses on Eric, their eyes glowing another light from which a psychic beam is shot, which is refracted by the transparent wall.

It's not like Arianne has many options here, but this won't impact her plan much either. "Dig around them!" She calls out, and Eric does as told, trying to line up his tunnels with the Exeggutor. With the rain from above and Dukko's leftover puddles… the Jade Squad should be sinking sooner or later, or so Arianne hopes.

Debbie calls for another move now that Eric is underground, Leech Seed. The Jade Squad aims upwards and shoots seeds aimed at Eric's holes. While they won't be helpful to draw some health, they are able to grow on their own, albeit slowly, becoming useful to cover the holes made by the Wartortle, at least in a way.

That doesn't seem to do much for Eric, but what is making it harder for him to keep going is the Reflect that has been set up earlier… something that can be seen directly when the Wartortle gets back on the field's surface again, surrounded by pink sparkles of psychic energy. Given that, and all the seeds scattered around, Arianne is growing nervous… until she makes up her mind and requests a switch herself.

"It's your time to shine, Lulu!"

Lulu is received with a blast, getting stomped by the Jade Squad free-falling over her. It's a strong move that actually splashes some mud at Arianne, but when the Exeggutor gets up, Lulu doesn't seem to have been affected aside from the physical contact of Debbie's move.

Arianne takes the attack worse than her own Pokémon, in fact, because she immediately kneels down and tries to wipe away some water from her legs instead of… issuing a command, for example. Luckily for Lulu, the rain is already reinvigorating her after the hit.

Debbie uses Arianne's reaction to her own advantage, giving a different order this time. "Girls, Hypnosis!"

The Jade Squad's eyes glow, and the three heads attempt to stare at Lulu to put her to sleep with the hypnotic waves coming her way. She's really not fast enough to dodge that attack, but she is able to use Ingrain and extend her mycelium at least a bit into the muddy field, before being put to sleep… to Arianne's dismay.

Debbie goes for another Extrasensory, this time without any possibility for it to be dodged by her opponent's Pokémon. The only problem for the girl here is that this move might wake Lulu up, which is, of course, perfect for Arianne. As soon as the psychic beam lands, Debbie calls for Hypnosis once again, putting Lulu to sleep a second time, and then repeating the process. Or not…

A flash of light surrounds Lulu as she's stared down, and when it fades away, she's still awake. The Jade Squad also seems upset by that attack.

Really upset.

The Exeggutor tries to shield their eyes from Lulu by having their head on the ground. Their leaves shake violently and the Pokémon starts growling, just for they to swing their neck against Lulu with great strength, just to show their anger.

Without any need of Debbie to give a command, The Jade Squad aims another Extrasensory at Lulu, who doesn't mind taking the hit. This actually gives Arianne some confidence in her defensive prowess, and in her typical Lulu strategy. "Let's grow out!" She watches as Lulu's Ingrain expands throughout the field, beyond where the Jade Squad is standing, and making full use of the last few raindrops that Eric provided.

Now that she's stuck on the ground, Lulu is also more vulnerable to the Exeggutor's attacks, making her an easy target for their Extrasensory. But even though those attacks deal a considerable amount of damage to her, the Morelull's morale stays high, and with it, Arianne's. Ingrain is slowly helping her regain some health, and Moonlight - the next move her trainer calls for - seals the deal. Debbie's grin fades away, and she nibbles on her thumb as she starts getting nervous.

Knowing that this wouldn't be going anywhere though, Arianne moves onto a different strategy. "Alright, get them immobilized!"

There is a move that Lulu would likely be very glad to use right now (if she knew about it) and that does exactly what Arianne asked her, but… Ingrain shall do. Mycelium resurfaces from under the Jade Squad, trying to latch onto her or make her trip. Lulu is in full concentration mode at this point, deploying as much energy as she can into her attack.

Debbie tries to have her Pokémon use Extrasensory to cut down the mycelium, but it's useless as it quickly grows around the Exeggutor, forcing the Pokémon to back off and tripping with one of the holes previously dug by Eric, falling on the puddles, splashing a lot of mud across the entire battlefield, with some of it falling on top of Lulu's head.

"The Jade Squad… can still keep fighting, it seems, it's just immobile" the referee looks at Debbie.

The girl stares at the battlefield, still with her thumb between her teeth, and after a few seconds of watching her Pokémon try to get up with no positive results, she notices they are losing a lot of energy just trying to get up.

She takes them back to her PokéBall.

"Tired. I'm retiring them."

Debbie stares at Lulu and stops to think before sending out her next Pokémon. She looks at Dukko at first, but opts for another one instead.

"Challenger Deborah retires Exeggutor from battle and sends out Machop!"

Machoo the Machop–that's what Debbie called her– cracks her fists, adopts a boxing position, and without any command from her trainer starts sprinting on her own place, suddenly disappearing from where she is just to re-appear in front of Lulu with a fist that seems to affect her more than the average punch.

Arianne is still bothered by the mud, but this time, it's clear to her as well that… she just brought it upon herself. She just had to do it in order to stun the Jade Squad, right? She was justified for that, right?

Finally, something clicked, and Arianne just laughed it off. That's just the kind of Pokémon she had and that's the way they seemed to like their battles. Lulu nodded right after, probably trying to shake off some mud… but in Arianne's mind, she was just ready to take on the new opponent.

And that brings her to the fist that she just received. She takes it with resignation- although it's not like her face has that many different expressions- and gets ready for another hit, both her and Arianne knowing that she's now immobilized herself. "Sleep powder!" The girl calls out, though, hoping that it will have an effect on Machop.

Machoo backs away from Lulu as soon as she hears Arianne's command. The amount of powder Lulu scattered around her is not big enough to affect her, thanks to the mud covering the Morelull, but it's still enough to make the Machop sneeze while she's in a safe spot.

The Machop this time looks back at her trainer, and Debbie stops to think just to point at a puddle next. She's quick to understand and starts circling the battlefield, sticking her eyes on Lulu, positioning herself in front of a puddle between both of them, and then, another Bullet Punch, this time with the intent of splattering more mud at Lulu.

There's one move that could potentially get Lulu out of trouble, but it won't be easy like this. Her mushrooms are the catalyst to most of her moves, after all.

All but one, Giga Drain. Which she promptly uses, trying to draw in energy from different branches of her mycelium and having them crawl up from the battlefield, looking for Machoo. It should soon turn into a game of "the floor is lava" for Machoo, although that may not be enough to stop his onslaught.

"Heh," Arianne's opponent grins. "I see how this works. Turning Bruno Mode off."

"W-what?" The Cinnabar girl questions, getting distracted in the process.

"Machoo, if she can't see you the branches will have trouble getting you, use Bullet Punch again!"

The Machop nods, and is quick to dodge the mycelium branches coming after her with the speed boost her Bullet Punch gives her. She lands a direct punch on Lulu, consecutively kicking more mud on her eyes.

Bullet Punch… that's a name to remember- but it's just a punch, right? Maybe she has one last trick up her sleeve, before fully giving in. With Lulu barely standing, it's worth trying.

"Lift yourself up!" Is the command. And so, the Morelull lets more of her Ingrain erupt from under her, slowly building up a pedestal on which she can stand. She can barely see what she's doing, but now Machoo will have to climb up her dangerous mycelium if she wants to land a strong hit.

However, Debbie doesn't seem startled. This is what she was waiting for, or so she says. For Arianne's surprise, Machoo decides to stay on the ground, in fact, she is running towards Lulu's mycelium.

A branch comes out of the Morelull's mycelium, pointing directly at the Machop and Debbie grins.

"Low Sweep!" The Machop pushes a foot forward and waits for the branch to get close.

"And… Vital Throw!" Machoo grabs the branch, allowing Lulu to drain some energy until she pulls it her way, tearing the Morelull out of the ground. As Arianne knows well by now, that is a clean knock-out for Lulu if it works. And of course, it works. She's down one Pokémon and unlike Debbie, she really has no choice but to face the evidence. But she tried a few different things, and it felt natural to her even if not all of her strategies were that effective.

This prompts her to send in Eric once again. He looks around warily as all the mycelium left over by Lulu dries up and dissolves over time, while Arianne calls out a Rain Dance as a scouting move. May as well let Eric's attacks get more powerful if Machoo will let him do that.

Debbie looks at Eric warily until her Machop looks back at her, showing her her fist. The girl nods, and Machoo dashes towards the Wartortle with another full speed attack that this time doesn't seem as effective as before.

Of course, water types, but Machoo's Bullet Punch allows her to get close enough to the Wartortle, allowing her to follow with a quick Low Sweep.

Falling over just makes it easier for Eric to start spinning on top of his shell, though. With that motion, he hits Machoo right back, even if it's for minimal damage, and keeps circling around the battlefield, a trail of water and mud coming after him. This time, it's Debbie's Pokémon who gets sprayed by it.

The Machop shakes her head and tries to wipe off some mud from her face. She stretches her neck and upper body after getting up and gets in a more defensive position, waiting for the Wartortle to get close with open arms. When Eric gets close enough, she catches him and forces him to reduce his speed, then lifts him above her head and allows his weight to drop her backwards, while also throwing Arianne's Pokémon behind.

Wartortle is able to shield himself with Protect the moment he falls, limiting the damage and bouncing back up more easily. From there, the most obvious move is to hit Water Pulse from behind, and that's just what Eric does, the rain helping him out in creating a fast-growing bubble of water.

The move gets Machoo just as she gets up, making her fall down again and also dazzling her for a second. Instead of getting up a second time, she uses one of her arms to take impulse and counter with a kick to Eric's face with full force.

Arianne is clenching her fists now, annoyed by all the answers that Machoo seems to have to her moves. It's not like she's pulling off any dazzling moves but her movements all work well and she can still land some effective hits. Meanwhile Eric's strategies and moves are… always the same, aren't they?

The one thing she still hasn't tried is Dig, so she calls that move. The Wartortle then hides underground, away from Machoo, and stays there for the time being.

There's not much Machoo can do now, giving Arianne some time to think. The Machop is just standing in the middle of the battlefield, carefully waiting for the Wartortle to come out.

Eric himself can't stay down there for too long, but the water that's drenched the battleground is helping a fair bit. He pokes out on one edge of the battlefield, far away from Machoo, and as Ari instructs him to do, he waits there with just his head outside, scouting once again for another move. After all, it does seem like Debbie doesn't know what to do once Eric is hidden under the field.

Machoo does follow the ground moving beneath her, trying to catch up to Eric as he resurfaces and hides again. But in doing so, she eventually trips onto an obstacle that Arianne surely had forgotten about: Jade's Leech Seed. And thus, the stalemate is broken again!

Arianne quickly tells Eric to get up to the surface, and he does so right from underneath Machoo. He pushes her upwards, making her lose contact with the ground, and quickly follows that up with a Water Pulse.

Machoo tries her best to propel herself away from Eric's move using Bullet Punch, but the impulse from said move doesn't help her much when she's airborne. The Machop lands on her head and doesn't move for a bit, but before the referee calls her fainted she puts a fist on the ground.

She kicks away Jade's vines and has to battle a bit to maintain her balance. Her heavy breathing shows Debbie she's started getting tired, and she's about to retire from battle too, but Machoo shakes her finger as soon as she notices.

The Machop prepares her fist and sprints at Eric, using Bullet Punch to give her some impulse and not allow him to dodge her next move with Dig. She jumps at the Wartortle once she's close enough, colliding her Revenge with his second Water Pulse, managing to deal a lot of damage on Eric, but at the same time, being sent rolling backwards in retaliation, this time completely unable to get up, more because of her own tiredness.

Debbie puts her thumb between her teeth again after taking her Machop back inside her PokéBall, then her last Pokémon walks in again.

With the rain now subsiding again and Eric very damaged by that last attack, Arianne makes her second switch of the battle. After all, there is a good chance that Dukko might get the best of him here, unlike before, and she does have a way to make sure it doesn't happen.

"Come on out, Blitzle!" Arianne yelps, as her Electric-type materializes on the battlefield.

Dukko starts the battle just like before, except this time he falls backwards before sinking down another puddle. He starts swimming in circles, jumping to another puddle using Aqua Tail as a whip and trying to aim a Water Pulse at Blitzle while he's airborne.

She's able to dodge, but just barely, as Arianne still weighs her options. Blitzle doesn't seem to enjoy the wet, rough terrain, and Dive acts as a way to protect Dukko from her Shock Wave… but isn't this situation kind of familiar? That's just what Machoo and Eric were doing, but in reverse.

"Flame Charge around the field!" Arianne finally orders, and so, Blitzle starts running around, not surrounded by sparkles of electricity but by little embers and steam. She's not trying to hit Dukko when he resurfaces or anything, she's just building speed to make it easier to dodge his attacks.

Debbie asks Dukko to stay in the puddle he is in right now, doing the same thing he did when Eric used Rapid Spin earlier. When she feels Blitzle is getting closer, she orders him to fire a Water Pulse at her.

The attack connects this time, and snuffs out the Flame Charge, but Blitzle gives herself momentum to pass through it, using Quick Attack to get closer to Dukko's puddle. She attempts a Shock Wave right after that, the jolts following the Psyduck down the puddle.

Instead of hiding back again under his puddle, Dukko uses Confusion to lift a mud barrier in front of him, still receiving damage from the few jolts that managed to get past it, but still neutralizing the other ones.

Blitzle, who has sustained damage because of that Water Pulse, seems rather upset that her attack still didn't amount to much damage. "It's fine, just Charge up!" Arianne reassures her, and so Blitzle just readies herself for her next attack. Sparkles surround her mane as she bolsters her defenses and waits for Dukko to make another move, jumping in place and staying alert.

Debbie realizes Dukko has to stay close to Blitzle to have a chance here. Her Psyduck starts swimming closer to Arianne's Pokémon, but this time he doesn't attempt jumping to another puddle. He shows his head at Blitzle and tries to startle her with Screech, before hiding back again and attempting to slap her with Aqua Tail. Case in point, Blitzle's Quick Attack collides with that, causing more damage to her than to Dukko. Maybe this is not the way…

Arianne once again tells Blitzle to keep her momentum going with more Flame Charge, and she does channel her feelings into running around the field erratically, keeping herself ready for another attack.

It's really difficult for Debbie and Dukko to predict when and from where Blitzle is going to strike next, now that she is running around with no clear path. Debbie can't aim a Water Pulse at her in that situation, so she opts to have her Psyduck jump out of his puddle.

Dukko waits with his hands over his head for Blitzle to come at him, getting dizzy from all her running around. When the electric-type finally charges forward at blistering speed, Dukko receives her with a Zen Headbutt, except Blitzle's Quick Attack seems to have more strength put into it thanks to Flame Charge's speed boost, sending Dukko bouncing back.

"Thunder Wave, quick!" Arianne shouts, and Blitzle is just as fast to execute that command. It's not like she can aim it well, but after having landed that hit on Dukko, she just needs to fire a few electric impulses in his direction.

Dukko has problems getting up after being struck with the Thunder Waves, but once he gets to do it, he starts waddling away from Blitzle, who in turn just tries to use Shock Wave to get in some damage. Dukko falls down after being struck by a full-force Shock Wave, but he still has some hits left on him.

Except… he doesn't want to get up. Dukko is just sitting in the battlefield, swinging his body in a constant rhythm. This is the signal Debbie needs to interrupt the battle, walking inside the battlefield and picking her Pokémon on her arms.

"Good game," she says with a huge grin. Dukko waves at Blitzle and Arianne. "We should do this again!"

She almost can't believe it, but… Arianne eventually recalls Blitzle and nods happily towards Debbie. "Of course!" She answers, smiling back. "Wow, you did very well!"

She shrugs. "It's more fun when you are good at it."

"Yeah, looks like it…" Arianne runs a hand through her hair. "It sure was fun!"

TEAM:
Eric, lv. 38 ↑ • Espurr, lv. 25
Blitzle, lv. 30 ↑ • Alice, lv. 19
Lulu, lv. 35 ↑ • Mizar, lv. 23

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Arianne Chandler
Saffron City
Friday, May 31^st, Five Stars Tournament

There's a simple deduction that can be made from her previous battle with Debbie. Eric may not be "versatile" in the ways he can attack his opponents, but is surely strong and reliable. When Arianne used him in battle, she was able to win, and when she didn't, she lost. Even more important when that loss came from a certain girl that is now staring her down from across the battlefield. Again.

Courtney has done quite a lot to remind her that she's already defeated Arianne in battle, even if her battle cries were often interrupted and intercepted by none other than Gwen, seemingly more than happy to bicker in the place of the taller girl. Just like Courtney was happy to cheer on Sarah before - the comparison makes Arianne chuckle ever so slightly.

Of course, the goal here is to not let Courtney's words get to her and keep focused on the battle. The battle against Debbie was hard but she still managed to pass that first round, and she knows her opponent this time around. She wasn't quite ready for a rematch just two days after that battle but the RNG decided for her, so… be it, right?

The lead doesn't really favor Arianne. As predictable, she decides to send out Eric first, and finds herself against Courtney's Weepinbell. But it's whatever - having the Wartortle healthy on the field is reassuring enough in this case.

On the other side of the field, the redhead smirks. "What do you want to do with that, uh?" She asks before calling for Growth. Weepinbell executes the move relatively undisturbed, and dodges the Rapid Spin that comes his way by using Vine Whip on the field itself, a strategy that Arianne is already familiar with. Eric comes back around, only to immediately hide underground from the cloud of Sleep Powder that the Grass-type has sprayed all around him. Dig is slower inside of a dry field, but the Wartortle keeps going regardless, and is able to leap upwards from right under Weepinbell to inflict some neutral damage.

Bad move.

The Grass-type endures the hit and Wraps his vine around Eric's shell, pulling him into a hug… a very disgusting hug. From that position, in fact, Weepinbell is free to splutter Acid all over Eric as they both tumble down on the field, and not even retreating inside of his shell is doing much for Arianne's Pokémon. Rapid Spin would be a good way to free Eric from that situation, but then what? Maybe it's better to suck it up and switch... except she can't!

"Feels bad, man." Courtney taunts Arianne, who was clearly trying to activate Eric's Pokéball. The following Sleep Powder is barely contained on the outside of the shell by Protect, until another Acid attack breaks through the barrier.

Her plan B happens to be Rapid Spin, and if there's something she's learned from the battle against Debbie is that it's better to just act in these situations. There's no use in thinking about anything when you don't have the upper hand. The result? Weepinbell is still wrapping Eric as tight as he can, but he's eventually forced to let go of the battleground and starts to spin around his opponent, his body being dragged on the field. Eventually, Eric sets himself free with the help of Water Pulse - the bubble he creates quickly engulfs Weepinbell and confuses him further, forcing him to let go - but the cloud of spores and the murky water that washes onto the field is not a good sign for the Water type.

Protect saves Arianne some time and blocks a rogue Vine Whip, but makes it easy for everyone to see that Eric has been poisoned by that powder. And so, the next attack hits nothing but thin air, as the Wartortle is pulled back into his Pokéball.

Arianne needs him. Him specifically.

The situation that Espurr finds herself facing is, on the surface, not that bad. Her opponent is soaked, somewhat confused, and weak to her Psychic attacks. Courtney should know this too… and so she takes a chance to complain about it. "You just got lucky I couldn't Wrap your Pokémon again!"

"Fake out!" Arianne tries to not listen to her and focus on battling… even though it's very much true. Expressionless as always and tiny arms flailing behind her, Espurr quickly runs up to Weepinbell, using the momentum from Fake Out to… give him a little nudge on his body before jumping away from him. The particles he was just getting ready to blow out from his mouth stay in there as he flinches, still somewhat unsure of what's happening, and Espurr knocks him away with a well-placed Psybeam before she's affected by that Sleep Powder. All of that to Courtney's dismay. And yet…

"Snap out of it, I'm sure you can do it! Try another Vine Whip!"

The stem on Weepinbell's head extends and flails around the field aimlessly as he still tries to lock his eyes onto Espurr. This definitely keeps her busy for a while in some sort of dodging exercise, but… as Arianne soon realizes, she has a way to cheat. Confusion screws up Weepinbell's movements and gives her more time to dodge when she needs it.

Soon Courtney has to change strategy. Luckily for her, her Grass-type seems to have snapped out of confusion, and thanks to the Growth he used at the start of the battle, she's sure he'll not go down without a fight. She tells him to fling himself up with Vine Whip when Espurr attempts a Psybeam, and that he does, before trying to rain down Acid on the Psychic type. Luckily, she has an answer to this, too: Light Screen. The damage is reduced as the acid washes down from a shimmering barrier that Espurr has quickly put up. Now having the upper hand, Arianne is able to finish Weepinbell with one more Psybeam from her Pokémon, and in this case… Courtney's Pokémon is actually out for good.

The redhead calls him back, perhaps a bit more relaxed than Arianne expected from her. "You did amazing!" She hears her say, before she has to take note of Courtney's second Pokémon as he materializes on the field with a proud battle cry - Luxio.

The problem that the black haired girl soon realizes is that Luxio can use Charge. And when he does that, surrounding himself in bright sparkles, he's able to nearly shrug off Espurr's Psybeams… and make his Spark attacks way more powerful. Surely, getting hit by one would be terrible for her Pokémon.

And yet, Courtney surprises Arianne by going for Thundershock. All of the jolts that Luxio charged up keep being rebounded by Espurr's Light Screen as she runs around the field, allowing her to hit back with Confusion a few times. But eventually the redhead gets what she wants.

"Lunge forward, Luxio!" She calls out, changing her strategy. The reason is evident as Espurr doesn't manage to dodge, and remains stuck in place as she gets hit. All of that electricity must've paralyzed her… and case in point, the small crackles of electricity around her fur confirm that as she recovers from the attack.

Way closer to the field's border than she'd like, Espurr remains on her four legs, looking back towards Arianne with… her usual face, but also shaking her head slightly. "You still got this!" The girl tries to reassure her Pokémon, but she really can't tell whether or not it's working. She'd better find an actual strategy to turn things back around… and that's when her eyes spot something near which Espurr has landed.

"You can hide in there!" Arianne points to the exit point of Eric's previous Dig attack, the one that so spectacularly failed against Weepinbell. Espurr may not be able to go that deep into the tunnel and, presumably, parts of it have already collapsed, but being way smaller than a Wartortle still has its advantages. The Psychic-type crawls in there just in time to avoid another Spark and doesn't peek out for at least a few seconds. A considerably worried Arianne is happy to see, though, that eventually a Psybeam does come out from that hole, and strikes a clearly annoyed Luxio.

This lets Espurr put in a few hits on her opponent, retreating back inside the burrow when Luxio gets too close and sticks his claws in there. Courtney's rage is building with every attempt her Pokémon fails, but she doesn't have to wait too long to get things back on track. Paralysis betrays Espurr, she isn't fast enough to hide away, and Luxio snatches her up directly with a Bite before sending her flying and preparing his follow-up with Spark. There's nothing she can do here, but brace herself for the hit. As if that would change anything…

Now Arianne is down one Pokémon as well.

Her third Pokémon is Blitzle. She's clearly happy to be on the field right now, and she's happy to see who she's battling against. But Courtney doesn't seem intimidated, even if she surely must know that unlike her Electric type, Arianne's has a very high chance of being immune to Electric type damage.

Luxio goes for Charge, giving Blitzle time to build up speed with Flame Charge just like in her previous fight. This continues for a while, as both the two Pokémon and the two trainers study each other. But, as Arianne soon realizes, Blitzle has to get close to her opponent to leave a dent in him… unless she wants to only use Shockwave for the rest of the battle. And so, eventually Blitzle lunges for Luxio, who is the one to brace for impact now.

Enduring the damage and the embers, Luxio is able to Bite his opponent in her leg, making her fall over and not letting go. The two Pokémon flail around the battlefield, with Blitzle now actually using Shockwave and engulfing them both in electricity… but other than that, Arianne doesn't know what to try in order to force Luxio to let go.

"You're making this too easy!" Courtney states in the meantime, twirling her hair with her fingers. She can see Luxio is not enjoying the situation is in, but to tell the truth, she doesn't even seem to care.

It's up to Blitzle, and Blitzle alone, to break the stalemate. Once she finally gets in position, she kicks Luxio away with all the strength she has, and although it only makes his Bite hurt infinitely more for a split second, it's at least the end of that for her. Her opponent is clearly hurt and tearing up from the attack, some of Blitzle's fur still in his mouth as he clumsily tries to clean it off. Arianne still isn't sure of it, but it does look like a new move, for having caused that much damage to Luxio.

"Alright alright, you got me there. Time for my plan B." Courtney smiles, before a Roar, full of pain and determination, hits Blitzle full on. She starts losing her shape ever so slightly, before quickly returning to her Pokéball. Shortly after, Eric appears on the field, balancing on the underside of his shell, and Luxio's eyes start to sparkle… possibly at the sight of an easier opponent.

Eric has some time to set up with Rain Dance before having to Protect himself from an incoming Spark. He still doesn't take the hit well and is knocked back towards where Arianne is standing, and that's when the black haired girl decides to just go for Dig and aim for another KO. Courtney takes the opportunity to let Luxio use Charge once again, and when eventually the two Pokémon collide, well… it definitely looks like neither of them will have it easy. Eric bashes his whole body against a conductive opponent, all while weakened and poisoned, but that is still a super-effective hit on an opponent who is already weakened and that has battled against all three of Arianne's Pokémon already. In the end, both of them are declared incapable to keep fighting. And so it's one versus one.

"Time for the star of the show!" Courtney eagerly sends in Magby, who looks up at the rain falling over her, and then back at her trainer. She doesn't seem that happy to be in that situation, but… at least Eric has fainted.

In fact, that probably explains why Courtney brought both Weepinbell and Luxio beforehand. She did get what she wanted, with Eric now fainted, and it's also true that her Magby is still fresh, whereas Blitzle has already been damaged by Luxio. But… the rain is up.

"Alright, Confuse Ray!" The redhead smirks, as her Pokémon's eyes glow a menacing shade of red. Luckily for Arianne, Blitzle's Flame Charge shenanigans come in useful here, as the embers and the rain create a curtain of steam around the Electric-type that dampens the effect of Confuse Ray.

Clear Smog then erupts from Magby's beak, blowing back the steam and evidently slowing Blitzle down. Of course Courtney had to be equipped with such a move… Arianne can feel both herself and Blitzle getting more and more fired up, determined to win. She throws in a Shockwave just in case, which circles around the smoke and connects with Magby, and then calls for a Charge to capitalize on the time her opponent needs to recover.

A cloud of sparkles surround Blitzle as a Fire Spin comes her way, and Espurr's Light Screen has definitely worn off by now. Despite that, the first hit itself doesn't seem to even put a dent in her - but the problem is that she still feels the harmful effects of that move as the battle rages on. Some embers burn her, fizzle out, and reappear somewhere else, as she tries pressing on and hitting Magby, getting momentum with Quick Attack and knocking her down with a well-placed Spark.

A cloud of much darker smoke engulfs Blitzle at that point - this time it's Smoke Screen - and, when it eventually dispels, Magby is nowhere to be seen. Or actually… only her head peeks from one of Eric's tunnels now. "Think you're the only one who can use that strategy?" Courtney teases her opponent, before having her Pokémon attempt another Confuse Ray as Blitzle charges towards her. No Flame Charge this time, so it works, and Arianne's companion loses her direction.

Blitzle pokes at the ground, runs in circles, or tries to use Shockwave - that's the one thing that Arianne tries to get through to her, actually, to use more of that move - but even when the bolts home in towards Magby, they don't seem to have much of an effect. It's easy for the Fire type to wait out the rain from inside the small holes in the battlefield, and just like a real volcano, get ready for an eruption. Which in this case is a series of Ember attacks, creating more steam and more annoying burns for Blitzle… although the water from above makes them a little more bearable.

By the time Blitzle snaps back to reality, the rain is also gone, and that means that with Magby's moves at full power, the upper hand is hers. That can only mean that Arianne needs to finish this quickly. And not as in, Flame Charge-quick because Clear Smog seems to negate that.

"Quick, slam the ground near her!"

A Quick Attack gets Blitzle the momentum she needs to get close, before her hooves hit the soft ground near the tunnel exit where Magby is. Can't be anything else but Stomp.

That seems to have made the entrance collapse, leaving Magby trapped in there, unable to escape the Thunder Wave that comes after even as she spews out a powerful Ember in retaliation. Blitzle runs back from that, circling around the field and charging herself up. She and Arianne are ready, it's what they've been waiting for.

Magby has barely made it out of that opening when her opponent comes barreling towards her, and her face is quite eloquent of how she's feeling about it. Courtney probably knows she can't drag the battle on for much longer anyways, let alone dodge that with a paralyzed Pokémon. And so, her Pokémon channels all of her remaining energy into a Fire Punch. It's fireworks on the battlefield for Arianne vs Courtney.

The referee seems to have a tough decision to make here. On one side stands Blitzle, surrounded by embers that still don't let go of her and barely standing up. On the other is Magby, electricity crackling around her as she lays down on the field. It's just a few seconds, but it feels like forever, as it should be. But then… Magby closes her eyes first. And then Blitzle does too, the burns getting the best of her.

But when Blitzle crumbles, the referee is already announcing Magby's KO and Arianne's victory.

The two girls meet in the middle of the field, their hearts pounding and their faces red. They look straight at each other for a bit. "Well… congrats, that was a great fight!" Arianne begins, still in disbelief at all that went down. Courtney grins back at her. "I can't even complain, that was truly down to the wire." A handshake seals the deal.

"Have fun with the next turn, by the way," the redhead chuckles as they return to the competitors lobby. "Can't wait to see how that plays out."

TEAM:
Eric, lv. 40 ↑ • Espurr, lv. 28 ↑
Blitzle, lv. 32 ↑ • Alice, lv. 19
Lulu, lv. 35 • Mizar, lv. 23

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Arianne Chandler
Saffron City
Friday, May 31^st, Five Stars Tournament

with QueenNothing as Gwen

Gwen flashes a smile while giving a thumbs up, although she seems just a little off. "Let the best trainer win!" Is all she says.

The Cinnabar girl already has a feeling for who that would be, but after getting this far in the tournament, she can't deny she has a fair chance to make it past this turn as well. She tries to keep all of those feelings under control though, and smiles back at Gwen like usual. "Alright, let's go!" She cheers, as both trainers walk beside each other and onto the battlefield, the announcer hyping up the spectators in the meantime.

"Of course, just because we're friends doesn't mean I'll be going easy on you." Gwen comments, Pokeball in hand, and out is the same Pokemon she sent out first against Sarah. Arianne calls out Blitzle, determined to avoid what happened to Vera in the previous round, but she finds herself squaring off Jess the Arbok, who hisses harshly to send shivers down Blitzle's spine. "It's alright, you know what to do!" Arianne reassures her Pokémon, very much trusting in her after her performance against Courtney.

Jess begins slithering forward, unhinging her jaw to bite into Blitzle. All she bites, though, are the cinders that trail behind her opponent as she uses Flame Charge, building up speed to avoid the attack. Before she can get too far though, Jess, frustrated, stretches out her tail and strikes Blitzle's side with Poison Jab, causing her to stumble and lose her ground. Seeing this, Jess scurries to wrap her body around her foe, cackling with malice as Blitzle is trapped within her grasp.

"Okay Jess, don't uh, get too carried away this time…" Gwen says while Jess continues to squeeze Blitzle.

"It's alright, Shock Wave! Keep at it!" Arianne yells. Both Pokémon are quickly surrounded by electricity, as Blitzle gives it her all to get free. Jess isn't damaged too severely, but she's certainly annoyed- just as slowly as it had tightened, her grip begins loosening. When there's enough space to do so, a Stomp from Blitzle pushes Jess away from her. Now that she's free to run around again, she builds up speed once again with Flame Charge, running circles around Jess.

"Jess might not be well suited for this. Return for now!" Gwen calls out, beaming her Arbok back so she can send out her Axew Tusk- although he's mysteriously missing his own tusks, his own namesake! But that's less important than the fact that, after a very loud battlecry, he holds a hand forward and beckons Blitzle with a claw- That's Taunt right there.

Ari doesn't have enough time to call out a Thunder Wave, as Blitzle lunges towards Tusk at blistering speed with Quick Attack. "Uh, get in a Stomp!" She quickly corrects herself, and that's just what her Pokémon tries to do once she gets close enough.

As this was happening, Tusk had been patiently standing opposite of Blitzle- too patiently, in-fact. And of course this turned out to be a part of some ploy- right as Blitzle's hoove is about to make contact with Tusk, he swiftly rotates his body, blocking the impact of Stomp with an Iron Tail.

"Now Tusk, just as we practiced!"

When Gwen gives the command, Tusk swings his tail to push Blitzle back far and sends her skidding back. Once she stops Tusk charges forward, draconic energy flowing through his claw as it slashes across her neck. With Blitzle unable to avoid that attack, and with Arianne drawing blanks as to what to do next, her hand rushes to find her companion's Pokéball. Before Tusk can get in any more attacks, Blitzle leaves the field, and Arianne takes a deep breath.

"...Everything alright Ari?" Gwen asks rather hesitantly. She nods back, trying to regain composure.

The Cinnabar girl's next Pokémon is one Gwen should know rather well - Lulu. It feels like a good choice here, if anything for the Fairy typing she has. Even if Tusk knows Iron Tail.

"Smart choice." Gwen comments. "But I've seen how Lulu fights, and I know how to shut her down! Tusk, use Taunt again!" And with a wag of Tusk's claw, Lulu is suddenly unable to use half of her known moves.

Right, that could be an issue. Arianne facepalms internally. At this point, though, she may as well skip all the introductions and get to the final part of the plan right about now. Which means… Morelull's caps start flashing with Dazzling Gleam, light particles expanding all around her, as she just bounces around on her root. While the fairy-type attack does good damage against Tusk as it burns against his scales, he stubbornly charges through it regardless, and slaps Lulu straight in the face with an Iron Tail. In doing so, though, he ends up on top of his opponent's Giga Drain. Lulu's root extends slightly around her, glowing with the energy that's being absorbed from Tusk.

"She's still annoying even when she's Taunted!" Gwen moans. "Whatever, fuckin', do something Tusk!"

Even without any specific commands, Tusk has a good idea of what to do. He uses Crunch on Lulu, although without his Tusks its more like he's trapped her within her jaw, and from there he furiously shakes his head back and forth with the hope that he can at least make her dizzy. By the looks of it, the mission has been accomplished, but the Grass-type is still managing to resist with Giga Drain. "Come on Lulu!" Arianne yelps, biting her nails (figuratively) as she intently looks at her Pokémon, but still isn't sure what she could do to turn the battle around.

Luckily, she's got this. With the effects of Taunt running their course, Lulu lets out a whiff of Sleep Powder all around her. Most of it is directly ingested by Tusk. He starts growing drowsy and, within seconds, he collapses to the ground, belly first.

"Not much else I can do here." Gwen sighs. "Tusk, return!"

As the dragon is beamed back to his Pokeball, an ever familiar smirk starts to form across Gwen's face as a different Pokeball is grabbed from her belt. "Now, I didn't think this would be so soon into the battle, but I think it's time I bust out my Secret Weapon I've been hyping up!"

What could she have caught now?

Arianne raises an eyebrow, her worries getting the best of her again. Will she be able to handle this third Pokémon? What is it even going to be? She tries to repeat herself that it's Gwen she's battling, and they're friends, but being in an official tournament doesn't help.

"Alright now, come on out!" Gwen announces boldly, tossing the Pokeball onto the ground to send out a new Pokemon, a fox Pokemon with golden fur and nine long tails that flow through the wind. As the new Pokemon lets out a howl, the sunlight suddenly seems to intensify. Whereas Lulu uses this as a cue to use Moonlight, her mushrooms glowing faintly as she heals off some damage, Arianne once again scrambles for her Pokéballs. This is going much better than expected, if anything because she has a good idea of who she's facing.

"Yep, that's right, Pix evolved into Ninetales! Cool, huh?" Gwen beams with confidence. "I've had a Fire Stone laying around for a while now, and I thought I'd finally use it during all the training I did yesterday!"

"Yeah, that's… pretty cool!" The Cinnabar girl speaks up, trying to let some of her happiness for Gwen's achievements shine through her worries but failing for the most part. This is not the time.

"Thought so." Gwen snickers. "But not as cool as this!" She points intently at Lulu. "Pix, use Flamethrower!"

From Pix's mouth, a steady stream of fires blows forward, and the flames are only strengthened with the sunlight. But they hit nothing but the empty battleground, as Arianne has recalled Lulu just in time. "Sorry Gwen, I can't let her take it, you know?"

And now, time for Eric. Arianne is clearly glad to see him on the field, and she's clearly glad that he is her best answer to this Secret Weapon thing.

"It's gonna take more than a type advantage to beat us. Pix, Will-O-Wisp!"

Wispy fire balls fly from Pix's mouth and drift towards Ericc, who blocks them with a Protect just in time before hiding underground with Dig. He's not completely safe though, as Pix decides to follow him underground by diggin a hole of her own to pursue him.

When Arianne sees this, she realizes that Eric is better off changing strategy. She calls for him, and he comes back out, ready to use Rain Dance and get rid of that annoying sunlight. After its set up, Pix appears from beside Eric, and tackles him with a Quick Attack before spewing another Will-O-Wisp at him. This time, instead of shielding himself with Protect, Eric makes use of Water Pulse, as Arianne has commanded. It definitely goes better than even she's imagined, as the flames fizzle out as they impact Wartortle's attack, which he keeps charging in front of him.

"Perfect! Can you keep it up and Rapid Spin to attack?" Arianne asks her own Pokémon, after coming up on the spot with that half-baked plan, but is rewarded - Eric's movement creates a whole ring of pressurized water around himself, as he launches himself towards Pix and gains momentum from Rapid Spin. He's got it!

"Dodge with Dig!" To move out of the way, Pix burrows underground again, but leaves little time between digging and reappearing as she comes out from beneath Eric, hitting his underside with full force to thrust him into the air before falling to the back of his shell. Arianne clenches her fists as her Pokémon is thrown upward, with his Water Pulse now rendered useless. The attack dissolves into a shower of water drops as Eric falls on his shell. A perfect condition to be susceptible to a successful Will-O-Wisp.

When Wartortle tries once again to go for Dig, it's already too late. Arianne still has some hope in her that it isn't the case, but when he tries to resurface right from under Pix, mimicking her own move, the flames and the smoke that hurt him despite the rain give it all away. And to make things worse, Ninetales was able to swiftly dodge his attack as well before engulfing Eric in a display of intense ghastly flames that intensely burn despite the rain. "Way to go Pix!" Gwen cheers.

"What the…" Arianne watches helplessly as Eric cries out in pain. He takes some time to even get back up and collect himself, and it does seem like he can't continue for longer, with the burn from before also damaging him further.

"What, never seen Hex before? I mean sure, it's a little different when Bead uses it since Pix is a fire-type and all, but ultimately it works the same."

"I… uh… just use Water Pulse, Eric!" Arianne can't help but take that as almost… sarcastic. Gwen explaining her strategies mid-battle is not something she expected from her.

"I thought it was interesting." Gwen says as she quickly recalls Pix before she's able to be hit. "That was about all she could do to Eric, so its time she takes a quick break. In the meantime- Tusk, let's go!"

The Axew is on the battlefield again, Taunting Eric just as he's done twice this battle. Not like it would be that important, as another Water Pulse is already on its way towards him, and that lands successfully, although it does very little. And Tusk was fully aware of that, as he had performed a rhythmatic series of hand thrusts that charged draconic energy throughout his small body, pumping him up more and more.

"Combine it with Rapid Spin like before!" Arianne seems to be growing more desperate, but Eric- now barely holding on- still does as he's told, surrounding himself with water before lunging at Tusk.

"That's nothing! Tusk, hit 'em with Dragon Claw!"

Tusk leaps forward towards Eric, screeching loudly with fury, and the purple energy surrounding his claw expands to twice its original size before its slashed across Eric's hurtling shell, sending him spiraling backwards. The Cinnabar girl can't do anything but call him back in his Pokéball… but this time she's down one Pokémon.

What am I doing… she shakes her head, taking her sweet time to calm down and take some breaths before sending in her next Pokémon.

From Gwen, there's a brief celebration, but noticing the state her friend is in has her more concerned. "Uhh, I know I already asked, but are you sure everything is alright?"

Arianne lies again and tells Gwen she's fine. That does come with the urge to send in another Pokémon, for the referee might take action at this point, but luckily she doesn't have to think twice about it. Lulu comes in once again, bouncing on her stem already, as if she was trying to cheer up her own trainer. "Let the best trainer win… that's what you said, right?"

Failing to catch on, Gwen gives a toothy smile. "I did say that! But just to make sure there won't be anymore issues with Sleep Powder, hit 'em with another Taunt boy!"

Knowing that was going to happen, Arianne has already told Lulu to go straight for Dazzling Gleam, even from afar. The light from Lulu's mushrooms is still insidious, reflecting and changing path as it travels through or by the rain droplets. Sooner or later, Tusk will have to come close, and so… "Brace yourself, Lulu!"

"Shit, we aren't gonna switch out after getting Dragon Dance off! Let's do another one!" Tusk, after getting pelted with the light particles, uses Dragon Dance to build up more strength before sprinting forward at a breakneck speed to hit Lulu hard with Iron Tail.

Just like last time, though, Tusk finds himself on top of Giga Drain, stumbling as his energy gets absorbed and the rain makes the field more slippery. Lulu keeps at it, mycelium expanding and wrapping around Tusk… except it's not really tangible, like when she uses Ingrain. It just looks like green energy being channeled from Tusk into her body, and he's very unhappy about it.

"Uhh, use another Dragon Dance to get her off!" Gwen cries out. Tusk's motions take a different form this time around, with more focus on him spinning his body to his left and right to free himself from the mycelium. And while it does just that, it comes with an added cost- Tusk, huffing and puffing, is now overflowing with an intense purple aura, and he looks far angrier than he previously did. Even Gwen seems to be taken aback by this… although given how her battles usually go, that might not mean much.

"Um, Tusk? Are you okay?"

Definitely worried by that, Arianne goes for the other move Lulu can currently use, Dazzling Gleam, hoping to deal as much damage to Tusk as possible. The light show, this time coming from a very short distance, blinds Tusk, further irritating the rageful beast. He rushes to Lulu, charging up energy in his claw that's even larger than the previous Dragon Claw, and effortlessly swipes his claws against Lulu's face without being aware of her immunity to it.

"Tusk, what the fuck! You know dragon-type attacks do jack shit against fairies, what the hell are you doing!?" No matter how loud Gwen calls out to her Pokemon, he's not listening, and only continues to scratch Lulu with the draconic energy, too intoxicated on power to know better. Lost in his rage, all he sees is that he's not hitting Lulu hard enough, and increases his strength output with each new swipe, which are all subsequently faster than the last.

His opponent looks back through the aura, her eyes staring him down intently and barely moving or changing expression. That only seems to make Tusk more pissed off as heard from his growls. Faster and faster he slashes his claws, hoping that if he tries just a little bit harder he can make Lulu budge.

"Goddamnit, snap out of it Tusk!" Gwen shouts.

Still wary of her opponent, Lulu casts a pink aura which surrounds both her and Axew, healing herself considerably. That's Strength Sap, which means the effect of Taunt has also run out and that Tusk is suddenly drained. His attacks are less powerful, but he's not any less angry and continues blindly slashing.

Guess it has to be done… Arianne thinks, as her Pokémon keeps taking hits effortlessly. When she's fully healed, Lulu uses Dazzling Gleam once again, and as the rain subsides,Tusk collapses to his back, signaling the end of the round.

"I should probably thank you for that honestly." Gwen chuckles as Tusk is returned. "Hopefully this next round will go a little smoother- Jess, come back out!"

Jess' entrance begins with her usual hissing. That doesn't scare Lulu that much, but intimidates Arianne more, as she simply tells her Pokémon to surround herself in Sleep Powder. But Jess doesn't bite, and instead makes eye-contact with Lulu for Glare. She immediately reacts with Dazzling Gleam and tries to lose eye contact with the Arbok, the light from her mushrooms dampening the one from Jess' eyes. She scowls, briefly writhing, and then slithers forward to coil herself around Lulu, looking smug as though she's bested her foe.

That is basically what happened, with Lulu barely visible as Jess has indeed hit her with Wrap. Arianne hesitates, but her Pokémon tries to make up for that and glows pink once again, attempting Strength Sap.

"Jess, end it with Poison-" Before Gwen can finish, Jess jabs her tail right into Lulu, injecting her with poison energy that overwhelms her tiny body and knocks her out before Strength Sap is given a chance to properly activate.

Predictable. Arianne has no choice but to send out Blitzle, who has already fought and taken hits before and is now meant to handle both Jess and Pix on her own, a nearly impossible task. Despite that, her Pokémon still lets out a battle cry and braces herself for battle, Charging herself up.

Seeing this as an opening, Jess slithers towards her, revealing her fangs to signal her attack. That move sure looks familiar, but Arianne still takes the risk and waits until Arbok is close before calling for a Thunder Wave. Once hit, Jess' body stiffens, and static visibly pulses through her body. Judging by her expression, she'd give Blitzle hell if she could move.

The feelings are mutual after the Bite has still hurt Blitzle as Jess slithered by. And so, after one more Charge, the Electric-type charges forward, hitting Jess full force with a Spark. She winces while feeling the shock, but can now Poison Jab Blitzle with relative ease when she's at a good distance. She's knocked back, but manages to get up and quickly put some distance between her and Jess, this time using Flame Charge to gain momentum. Jess's paralysis renders her immobile, and she's unable to pursue her.

Arianne seems finally relieved, at least a bit. Blitzle can now pester Jess with Shock Wave from a distance, avoiding her physical attacks. Jess' only option from afar is to Stockpile, increasing her body fat while coiling up, only slightly nullifying the shocks. Seeing the damage inflicted being less and less, Blitzle then lunges forward again and again with Spark, hitting Jess several times before Jess can move her body enough to wrap herself around Blitzle, smirking haughtily.

Yes, it happened again, and Arianne should have known better. But at this point she's not so concerned, she's just more reckless. Once again, Blitzle surrounds herself with electricity, Shock Wave specifically, to hurt Jess and force her to loosen her grip. But then…

She frees her front legs, she readies a Stomp attack, and hits Jess twice in the face. With that, Jess is out, and is swiftly returned to her ball.

Now it's down to both of their final Pokemon, Blitzle versus Pix. The sunlight grows harsh again, and boosts Pix's incoming stream of flames. No matter her speed, the Electric-type still gets hit, crackles of yet another Charge disappearing inside the fire. At one point, Arianne can't even see her own Pokémon, and it looks like it's all over as fire is continuously spewed fron Pix's maw.

The girl is considering the option to forfeit when, once the flames have subsided, Blitzle's body starts to glow and change shape, growing larger and larger.

It looks like her Pokémon has decided to keep fighting and fully commit to this battle. And even if she's still not sure how it will end, Arianne can't disappoint her own companion now. Not her, too.

"I see how it is," she announces proudly to the Zebstrika in front of her. "No surrender!"

"Awesome!" Gwen exclaims. "Not going down without a fight either- Love to see it! But we're not done yet! Pix, Will-O-Wisp and then hide underground!"

Pix's next move plays out exactly as Gwen had worded it, with the wispy flames drifting over to Zebstrika as Pix has already disappeared underground. A Flame Charge helps the Electric-type dodge the attack, but she has no way to know Pix's next move now, and Arianne has to urge her to stay calm.

"Pix, Now!" From right below Zebstrika, Pix's head pops out, and the rest of her body is preparing to charge with full force. She is, however, greeted with a powerful Stomp, of which a clear impact is left on the battlefield, as well as forcing Pix back underground. But that had the unintended disadvantage of Pix being out of sight again, leaving Zebstrika to guess when she might appear again.

This time Pix jumps out of a pre-existing hole much further from Zebstrika, and shoots out a Flamethrower. And this time… the Electric-type runs straight through it, sparkles mixing with the fire as she charges towards Pix. She holds up thanks to the previous Charges, and with a jump she's almost there, ready to hit the Ninetales head on. Pix skids back from impact, uses Quick Attack to tackle Zebstrika, and jumps back to her previous standing. Her opponent quickly follows her with a Quick Attack of her own, only to be avoided by Pix jumping down one of the many holes dug.

Arianne now has to come to terms with reality: just like Tusk before her, Zebstrika is getting increasingly enraged. She hits nearly all the tunnel entrances in sight with Stomp, before just randomly hitting any area of the battleground that is still somehow intact. Calling her and trying to calm her down doesn't seem to do much, especially as Pix keeps staying underground and not showing up to battle.

While Gwen has been smiling a lot during the match, her current grin contains sheer levels of ecstasy that's barely able to contain itself. "Now Pix, Flamethrower!"

From underground!? Arianne grimaces, before the Ninetales gives her the answer. From the holes, tall pillars of flames shoot upwards, their power no doubt bolstered by the light. For the audience it's created a spectacle, but for Arianne it's only made problems.

Zebstrika has to stand still against her instinct, stuck between different pillars of fire, electricity as her only shield from the heat. Arianne chuckles dryly, Eric's Dig coming to mind, as she also shields herself with her arms from the high temperatures. It's nearly over.

"Now, finish it off with Dig!"

The ground the Electric-type stands on vibrates slightly, and before she has a chance to dodge, Pix comes bursting out out from underground, fur coated in rocky chunks of dirt that only strengthen the attack. A silent Arianne watches her Pokémon's desperate eyes looking for her before closing for real.Thunderous applause comes from the audience, and Gwen jumps into the air fist-first.

"FUCK YES!!! WE DID IT, WE DID IT PIX, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!" She throws her arms around the Ninetales, who in return nuzzles and licks her trainer's face. She'd continue basking in her victory, but peeking at Arianne reminds her she's not the only one who deserves some praise.

"That was a great match Ari!" Gwen cheers, patting Pix on her head. "There were a few times where I thought you outdid me, and I think you'd deserve the win as much as me. But don't worry, I'll be sure to win the tournament for us both next round!"

The taller girl, who was looking down at Zebstrika's Pokéball the whole time, raises her head to smile towards Gwen, but it sure doesn't look the way she's expecting, the one tear running down the face ruining the whole mood. "Zebstrika d-deserved… I think…" She mutters, before shaking her head. "I mean, thanks."

Alarmed, Gwen gasps. "Oh shit, I- Ari, I'm so sorry if I went too hard! I thought that- Ah, please don't be upset at me!"

"It's me, it's me…" Arianne tries to downplay the issue. This girl, in this state, that's not the Arianne that Gwen typically has to deal with, and she's realized it. "Look, I'll need some time to think things through. But y-yes… in the meantime, go get that win, Gwen!"

TEAM:
Eric, lv. 41 ↑ • Espurr, lv. 28
Zebstrika, lv. 34 ↑ • Alice, lv. 19
Lulu, lv. 37 ↑ • Mizar, lv. 23

Arianne Chandler
Saffron City
Friday, May 31^st, Five Stars Tournament

As difficult as it is to avoid melting down completely in situations like these, Arianne is somewhat used to this. Or rather, she knows what she needs to do to limit the damage. She ponders each step as she walks back to the participants' lobby, leaving Gwen on the field for a little longer, but enters the room with her head held high, her eyes scanning it before settling on Coralie and Jordan. She utters a few words, but it's mostly to buy herself some time.

"Phew, that was intense… good luck to you both, may the best win…"

Then, without paying attention to any possible answer or facial cue from the other two trainers, she hides from sight, reaching the main lobby without even picking up her stuff, and disappears inside one of the toilets nearby. She closes the door behind her, takes a deep breath, and walks up against the small mirror.

So she can stare at herself and ask, "why are you feeling like this?"

• She's somewhat bitter about losing a semifinal. The end of the line came right when she was starting to feel like she could win, even if before that she even had trouble signing up. But even then, a tournament like that only has one true winner. Everyone else, all the other 15 trainers who sign up, they have to lose eventually. And it's almost an unwritten rule that if you are defeated in battle, you have to cheer them on after that, because it's always more honorable to fall to the hands of the future winner or something like that. And that brings her to Gwen.
  
  
• She… kinda likes Gwen, still. Being so adamant to become a great Pokémon trainer and follow in Jenny's footsteps, it should've been no wonder that she would've come prepared to the tournament. One could argue whether or not that paid off - with Tusk she did have some trouble after all - but even then, it was enough to get the best of Arianne. The Cinnabar girl knew that; just like against Jarmie, Beaumont and Hana, she wasn't trying to dispute the outcome.
  
  She probably was happy for Gwen deep inside, at least a little bit. But surely, that was not what was bothering her so much. After all, it was mostly about her. She lost.
  
  
• She's definitely bitter about losing. In general. First of all, it happened again despite being told that she could've deserved to win. Gwen said so after all! But if it's true that results are the only thing that matters and a loss is a loss, then what her friend said didn't amount to much. What does she have, then, to prove to herself, her family, her friends… that going to Cape College and striving to become a trainer was the right thing to do?
  
  
• She's also embarrassed about losing. Her friends, her classmates, and even Courtney (who had moved to the spectators' area) watching her lose… that puts a bad taste in her mouth. She has reasons to believe that at least some of them will be understanding, especially if they've known her for longer, but… what will she tell Casey, who literally helped her train her own Pokémon the day before? Or what will she tell Gwen of all people, who seemed to admire her own battling skills way more than she should have?
  
  Or maybe losing wasn't the biggest issue. Should she have joined the tournament in the first place? Should she have tried to collect herself during the battle with Gwen? She probably made her friend worry for no reason… oh, wait!
  
  
• The people outside. It's all them. Or maybe not. But they did something to Arianne. Probably. Theirs was just nonsense, she knows that, but even nonsense can have effects on people. Can she justify putting them all to sleep with her own Pokémon and some help from her friends, or did she do that out of weakness, for not having any good answer to shut them down in a more civil manner?
  
  
• Scratch that, all of it. She's just sorry for her Pokémon.
  
  The look Zebstrika gave her before fainting, that's what hit her the hardest. After she complained about how her own Pokémon were being unruly or threatening to give her a headache (literally) to Casey, she got to make eye contact with a Pokémon who believed so much in herself and her trainer to help her get through two battles, always being the last one on the field, then evolve in front of her, and still giving it her all despite all of the odds turning against her.

With all of that out of the way, Arianne washes her face, ties up her hair in a more presentable ponytail, dusts her clothes off, and drinks more water from the sink, before taking a few deep breaths. Like she told Gwen, this is all her. And now she only needs to tell herself how she will deal with the situation once she's outside of that room and around other people again. Except…

The door opens from the outside and in walks Sarah, who rushes to one of the stalls behind the other girl before she can reply. Arianne is drying her hands at this point, and finishes doing so as soon as she can so she can leave the bathroom, but the hesitancy in walking back into the participants' lobby gives Sarah time to find her again. This time, it's her who initiates the conversation.

"Hey girl, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Still figured I'd ask, you looked pretty uneasy back on the field…"

"I know…"

"So you're not alright?"

Why am I giving her more time to ask this stuff? Arianne thinks, but still nods meekly as she awkwardly stands in front of the closed door.

"Well Arianne, it's ok to feel down after a loss. I sure didn't expect to go out first round." Sarah walks closer. "But if you think you did your best, you-"

"That's the thing…"

"Even then it's not a tragedy, you can't always be in top shape. You were under pressure and all… and I gotta give it to Gwen for being that tough."

"Uh…" This was not contemplated in Arianne's plan. "W-what if I let down my Pokémon? I think they might feel…"

"Ok ok, calm down please…"

Sarah directs Arianne towards the main lobby, not before the Cinnabar girl whispers to her not to talk about her Pokémon problem with others.

"You know your Pokémon better than anyone else of course, you'll need to decide what to do with them yourself and spend time with them, you know… that stuff. I can't give you that much advice for that. But!" The Safari student pulls out her PokéGear, loading in a page about a Pokémon Musical. Pictures of Pokémon, dressed up and performing beside their trainers in dazzling routines, circle through the small screen.

"That might be a cute event to get ready for with your Pokémon. And a break from battling! I'll probably be there myself, in fact. What d'you say, girl?"

She has no idea how her Pokémon, especially Zebstrika, would react to that. She's never tried it herself! But Sarah sounds convincing. It seems fun, and it seems more chill as well.

"Hm… might be worth trying!" Arianne replies after a while, gradually getting more excited at the prospect while Sarah gives her a basic rundown. "Keep in mind it's tomorrow though!" She ends her explanation with a playful grin.

"Wait, just tomorrow? But…"

"I'm sure it will be fine. Judging by how you battled, coming up with a performance should be easy for you! But now…" Sarah chuckles. "I'd better go back to Courtney. She'll be mad I'm not watching the final beside her!"

This reminds her… the tournament isn't over! The other semifinal is already coming close to an ending, as the footage displayed in the lobby can confirm. And she'd better keep an eye on the final, whatever it will end up being.

Her other eye, though, is fixed on her own PokéGear now. Might as well chill in the lobby a bit and look up this musical that Sarah has been gushing about.

TEAM:
Eric, lv. 41 • Espurr, lv. 28
Zebstrika, lv. 34 • Alice, lv. 19
Lulu, lv. 37 • Mizar, lv. 23