[Pokémon] [Would-be SWC] It's Just a Battle [R]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Yes, the thread title does not lie even though my name's not on the results list. This would've been my entry for 2010's SWC (Prompt - Challenge), but I never did enter because I couldn't. Bloody effin' internet, but lets not get into that... Anyway, I find that these intros are always the most boring to write so I'm limiting my time here. Without further deliberation, I present, It's Just a Battle. In Dolby Surround Sound 2.0 where available.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]WARNING: THIS PIECE OF FICTION CONTAINS MATERIAL UNSUITED FOR THOSE OF A SENSITIVE DISPOSITION TOWARDS VIOLENCE AND GORE. IF YOU FEEL YOU ARE SQUEAMISH, PLEASE TURN BACK.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The day was three quarters past, sometime in the evening, the unkempt grass rustled peacefully in the breeze, and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a particularly lazy summer day, and the wide, dirt path that served as an unofficial battleground had all but been deserted for the day. Many would be trainers, breeders, and locals looking for a good challenge had retired to the comfort of the nearest town to prepare for the day ahead where more trainers would inadvertently pass through that area, dying for a chance to battle and raise their Pokémon. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The serenity of the surroundings, however, was not to last. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]It was not uncommon for two trainers to be seen travelling in completely opposing directions. Not all could tackle all the eight gyms of the region in order, and most chose to challenge the ones that they found easiest first. This made for an interesting scenario where, at the beginning of the training season, trainers would not follow a certain path around the region, but would instead be scattered about the various towns, cities, and routes in unpredictable densities. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]This particular route had a similar case. It was the site of confrontation for two newbie trainers who both had different destinations. One made his way from the south, taking in the warm air and basking in the natural peace of the area. The other, arrived, somewhat excited, from the north after having just received his second gym badge. Both of them, had --on an arbitrary scale-- the same amount of experience, and both of them were exuberant in their enthusiasm to reach the top and be crowned, what one would call, a Pokémon Master.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Halfway through the path, they noticed each other. The sign of the Pokémon trainer, the large, travelling backpack that most carried around, was evident on both of them. The one who had arrived from the north was the first to break the peace.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]"I challenge ya to a battle!" shouted the young trainer loudly, pointing his index finger towards the other one who wore an expression of marginal surprise. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Recovering quickly, the opposing trainer nodded his head, grinned, and accepted. It was an unwritten law for any trainer that one was never to turn down a request for battle if they had any healthy Pokémon at the time. Who was he to 'break the law', so to speak? He unhooked the tiny, specially designed capsule from within his jacket pocket and gripped it tightly using three fingers. The capsule, known as a Pokéball, expanded automatically as the pressure sensors were triggered. The end product of the expansion was a sleek red and white sphere that gleamed in the trainer's sweaty palms. The first trainer did likewise and brought out his own selection from his six allotted creatures.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Two identical Pokéballs were thrown high into the air, both of them gleaming in the sun, both of them sharing a similar function. Two identical beams of red light shot out from the two balls and soon transformed into two distinctly different creatures, each belonging to its respective trainer.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The one belonging to the first trainer, the challenger, growled viciously. It was a regular male Poochyena of a medium, quadrupedal build with dull grey and black fur, two menacing canines extruding from its upper jaw, and a stance that made it look as if it were about to pounce at any moment. The Pokémon stood its ground, hackles raised and eyes facing forward. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The second creature, belonging to the second trainer, was a much rarer phenomenon in the region. Its yellowish hide, adorned with random, green, polygonal patterns; four stubby legs; and a slightly long neck identified it as a Numel, female. The fire-camel pawed nervously at the ground, released a torrent of steam from its nostrils, and surveyed its opponent the same way a boxer sized up its. The Numel reasoned that it would be able to use its larger, bulkier frame to its advantage against the dark type that hopefully had no long range attacks. The Numel had no hope in a contest of speed so its best bet was to adopt a defensive stance and try to prevent the Poochyena from getting too close[/FONT].

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Numel looked over to her owner. The fire-camel saw the familiar glint in his eyes and wondered if he was planning just the same thing as it had or if he had noticed the trump cards that they would be able to play. Just last week, the Numel had learned flamethrower, and the memory of the manoeuvre would obviously still be fresh in its trainer's mind. The Numel turned back to face its opponent.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]On the opposing side, The Poochyena adopted a similar approach and began to plan its tactics. A brief analysis of its opponent had revealed the same strengths and weaknesses that the Numel had found. Strategically speaking, of course, his preferred method of combat was one of speed; what the Numel saw as large and defensive was slow and bulky to the Poochyena. That was not all, however. A brief gamble was in order. It knew that there was no way it could wage long-range warfare with the fire-camel who could have already learned a few non-physical moves. Therefore, the canine would possibly need to get up close to end it. This would involve evasion, a fact it fully grasped.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]As the Numel had done, the Poochyena cast a cursory glance towards its own owner in hopes of orders which would utilise the advantages given. His trainer merely smiled and looked forward excitedly at the prospect of a long, exciting battle. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Five seconds had passed. It was enough as the five second gap between release and orders was evidently all that was needed for the two Pokémon to formulate their own respective strategies. To the two Pokémon, it may also have been enough for their respective trainers because it was at that precise point that the two barked out their commands.[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Poochy," shouted the first trainer, "get up close and use yer Bite on that there Numel! Make it suffer!"[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Poochyena complied and, without further deliberation, launched itself forward into the battlefield, its fangs gleaming with canine saliva in the evening sun. An almost bloodthirsty look passed its faced, but that was surely an optical illusion.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The second trainer was quick to counter. "Numel," he said, not bothering with a nickname. The Numel braced itself, hoping to utilize its bulk to its advantage. "Tackle it!" The Numel turned to her trainer curiously, hesitantly but not for too long. Did he have another plan? Surely he was bluffing. It would be damaging if the Poochyena somehow got its fangs on the Numel. It was almost as if they were playing right into its trap. Were they? No, of course not, reasoned the Numel. He had something up his sleeve, surely. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The fire-camel started off at a run but soon picked up speed and ran on head-first into the oncoming Poochyena for a tackle attack. It ran nervously, all four feet pounding on the dirt heavily, her eyes focused. Despite all her concentration in keeping up the façade of an authentic tackle manoeuvre, she still prepared herself for the order that was sure to come. The order to evade, the order to escape, and or the order for a counter-attack.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Frantic moments passed as the two Pokémon neared each other. The two trainers looked on excitedly. The Poochyena eyed its opponent warily. The Numel galloped forward uneasily. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The fire-camel chanced a split-second glance backward, perking up its ears in case it had not heard the counter-offensive command. From the corner of her eye, she saw gratefully that her trainer's mouth hung open slightly in the way that humans did when they were about to shout. She ran forward confidently. He had a plan and the order would come in three...[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The two Pokémon neared each other.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Two...[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Poochyena's eyes glinted wildly as it ran forward, mouth open and ready. No escape now, it thought. The Numel remained calm: her trainer was about to give the order. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]One...[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The two Pokémon collided. The Numel's trainer shouted, "Yeah, show it!" [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Numel rammed itself into the Poochyena at full-force, never receiving the order for evasion. The Poochyena, surprised, was thrown back, the wind knocked out of it, and the the two hurtled backwards under the force of the collision. Sharp rocks on the ground cut into their skin as they reluctantly took it in turns to alternate between top and bottom. Cuts and gashes opened up and blood mingled freely with the dust and dirt, stinging the open wounds and causing painful tears to appear in the eyes of both. The Poochyena, however, felt the injuries a small price to pay for the advantage it had gained. In all the confusion, it had somehow managed to catch hold of the soft, blubbery hump of the Numel between its jaws. It growled in satisfaction, careful not to let go. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]As they rolled backwards in a mutual death-spiral, the Poochyena bit harder into the soft hide of the Numel, thick, crimson blood spurting out from the wound and smearing onto the ground of the battlefield by the tussle, leaving a trail of blood in their wake. The Numel cried out in shock as the piercing pain grew to a sharp throb. Where had the order gone, it thought desperately as they began to slow down.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Gradually, the momentum wore out, and the two Pokémon landed at the end of the field closest to the Poochyena's trainer. They were badly hurt, and minor scratches and abrasions had appeared in various parts of their skin. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Suddenly, the trainer shouted to his Poochyena, "Bite, Poochy, bite it, bite it!" The dog growled and bit harder. The Numel whined louder.[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Hey, no fair," shouted the Numel's trainer.[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]What do ya mean 'no fair'? I ain't doin' nothin' illegal," shouted the other.[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]But your Poochye..."[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The rest of the conversation lost its meaning to the two Pokémon in their struggle. The Poochyena clamped down harder on its opponent, blood gushing in an ever steady stream from between its teeth. It would not relinquish hold that easily for it wasn't that easy to get a hold in the first place. It would make use of its advantage and use it well.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The pressure increased, and the Numel whined in agony as the Poochyena kept a firm grip on its hump. Through the blinding pain, the Numel stood up uneasily, breathing in rapidly as blood drenched its backside. The canine desperately scrabbled up the fire-camel's back as it rose from the ground. Not even gravity was going to let it lose hold. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Numel whined again loudly in pain. It shook its back wildly as it tried to get the canine to relinquish hold. The Poochyena was thrown every which way but still it held its firm grip. With every shake of the Numel's body, the dog was thrown to one side --its teeth clinging on desperately. The Numel felt unbearable pain as each throw brought with it a sharper, more focused pain as the Poochyena increased the power of its grip.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Back and forth, back and forth went the canine as it was struggled to keep hold. The Numel whined painfully, but the Poochyena only growled stubbornly in response, blood leaking through its razor-sharp teeth and drenching the fur near its mouth. [/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Numel," shouted its trainer, "shake it off!"[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Numel turned to its trainer, pain-induced tears in its eyes, as if to say, that's what I'm doing, master.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]In response, the trainer smiled. "Yeah, you get him girl. I know you can do it," he said.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Numel forced a smile. If its master thought that it could do it, it most certainly could. Gathering its strength, the Numel pushed its two left paws firmly into the ground and threw its weight to one side with as much force as it could muster. The Poochyena was thrown away to the right, although it did not let go. Instead, the force of the throw combined with the canine's powerful bite was enough to rip part of the Numel's hide of of its back. The Poochyena went flying through the air, a chunk of reddish meat covered with flapping yellow flesh in its jaws. It sneered. The Numel cried out in anguish. Almost simulaneously, an arc of hideous red blood gushed from the wound of the fire-camel, spattering all over the dirt of the battlefield ground in a violent display.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Poochyena landed a distance away with a sharp crack that indicated the breaking of a rib. The Numel suffered worse as the painful whine evolved into one of pure anguish. The exposed nerve endings of the Numel activated all at once, sending wave after wave of blinding pain to the brain of the fire-camel. The world turned red for it as it staggered blindly from side to side, crying out in agony.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Through its painful death-throes, the Numel heard a distance voice. Flamethrower! Immediately, without thinking, the Numel released a burst of flames from its mouth. A concentrated stream of hell-fire burst through the battlefield with roaring intensity, scorching everything in its path and superheating the dirt below in an unnatural magnitude. In its path, a Poochyena staggered wearily to its feet coughing out blood. It barely had a chance to stabilize its body when, suddenly, it was engulfed in a world of devastating fire.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Poochyena was thrown back again by the initial hot air and soon succumbed to the infernal blast. It began to howl wildly, a response to the pain, but its throat dried up and all it managed was a short croak. Fire singed of its fur and slowly began to burn its skin with a raging ferocity. Pain, equivalent to that of the Numel racked its body in agony and its mental defences slowly broke down. It succumbed to the pain and let the fire wash all over its body in defeat.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]And suddenly, as soon as it had appeared, the fire died down, leaving the charred ground as a permanent reminder of the one-time burst of flames from a desperate fire Pokémon. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Poochyena lay on its side in the charred remains of the trail of fire, the ground about it smoking slightly with various rocks still glowing red-hot. At the opposing end, the Numel continued to whine in pain before finally collapsing in a heap. The blood from its body had increased in pressure from its stressful use of the flamethrower attack, and it now flowed freely from the wound in her body that was the chunk of meat that had been ripped out haphazardly by the sharp canines of the Poochyena. Both Pokémon were too weak to move and could only stare vehemently at each other, trying to find the will to fight.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The first trainer, the Poochyena's, shouted, "Come on Poochy, get up. Tackle that thing while it's down!"[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Poochyena turned and fixed its gaze upon its enthusiastic trainer. It could not move for its skin was sensitive from being burnt, but somehow it managed to contort its mouth just enough to whimper pitifully at its owner to show that it could do no more. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Poochyena's young trainer stared at his Pokémon peculiarly and frowned. "Useless," he muttered, barely audible for a human to hear, but, unknowingly, just enough for a Poochyena to be able to. The Poochyena saw a flash of red light and knew no more. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The other trainer walked over to his Numel and saw the blood pool around the fire-camel's unconscious figure. He nudged it lightly with one foot and bent down low to examine the bloody wound that had started to clot. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Poochyena's trainer walked over to the Numel's one. "How's it?" he asked.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Numel's trainer replied, almost jokingly, "Tis merely a flesh wound." The two trainers chuckled. "It's nothing Nurse Joy can't patch up."[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]So who won?" asked the Poochyena's trainer.[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I'm not sure, myself," replied the Numel's. "Want to call it a draw?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Yeah, sure, whatever." He changed the subject as the other trainer recalled his Numel in a second flash of red light. "I knew I shouldn't have used a Poochyena."[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The other trainer stood up and wiped the blood of his shoes. "Then why did you?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Dunno. My other Pokémon were already wiped from my gym battle. Cracked skull or something for one of them."[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Woah, sounds harsh."[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Eh, nothing Nurse Joy can't handle, am I right?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Yeah, suppose so." [/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Hey, wanna go and see Nurse joy together? We're closer to the town you came from."[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Why not." The Numel's trainer paused. "It was a nice battle though. A shame it was a bit short."[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I know what you mean."[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]

***​

[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Nurse Joy watched impassively as the two youngsters entered her PokéCenter. She wore the usual empty smile and used her regular cheery tone. "And what can I do for you boys today?"[/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]You know, same old thing as everyone else," replied one of the youngsters. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Of course, thought Nurse Joy grimly.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The two trainers deposited their Pokéballs on the counter and walked away to the waiting lounge.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]As Nurse Joy ran the Pokémon's Pokéballs through the diagnosis scanner, her breath caught in her throat. A hundred times she'd seen Pokémon in similar, if not worse, conditions, and it still gave her a slight chill. She did the only thing she could do. She continued with her work. All the while, however, she muttered sullenly under her breath as if to calm her frayed nerves, "It's just another battle. Hold yourself together, Joy. It's just a battle. Just a battle."[/FONT]