[PKMN FULL] Hoenn Grand Festival [CLOSING SOON] ✮ IC Thread

[Nakuzami]

Farah Lumina & Alex Simmonds

Battle At the Beach

Roserade (F) "Rosalie" Natural Cure Grassy Terrain - Sunny Day - Weather Ball - Petal Blizzard

Jellicent (M) "Davvi" Cursed Body Ice Beam - Confuse Ray - Shadow Ball - Water Spout

Farah cursed under her breath, wiping more sand off of herself. The least people could do is move out of the way of pedestrians. Farah had been considerate enough to do that, but these guys with the monkeys? Right in front of everything, and they'd interrupted her time under the sun.

She stood up and walked over to the man with the Infernape. She'd witnessed enough of the battle to see that he was fond of wild tactics, more like a Pokémon Trainer than a Coordinator. Not only were those tactics poor for a Contest battle, they were messy and kicked up a little too much sand for Farah's liking.

"Excuse me," she said, her hand on her hip as she glared at the man over her sunglasses. "Next time you want to display your poor contest skills, take it someplace where it won't make a mess of things."

The appearance of a young woman who was clearly angered by the battle between Alex and David—the latter of whom had already taken off for the Pokémon Centre at a sprint, wishing to avoid her. Alex on the other hand took a different approach, returning Aedua to his pokéball with a word of thanks before acknowledging the woman who was leering at him sternly over her sunglasses.

"Poor contest skills? At which point did I ever attempt to display contest skills?" Alex said, his tone polite and a pleasant smile on his face. He was acting as though discussing the weather rather than retorting to harsh accusations. "I'm perfectly capable of displaying contest combinations, but why would I do that for a street battle occurring in an area populated almost entirely by my competition for the Grand Festival that was never declared to be a contest battle?"

Alex's demeanour did not shift as he continued. "As for making a mess of things, the beach looks no more or less covered in sand than it did before, so I don't really see the problem. Even the holes from Dig collapsed back in on themselves since they were made in loose beach sand."

Farah raised an eyebrow. Was this guy serious? "The boy asked if you were in the Grande Festival, and then for a practice battle. He made it clear that it was intended to be a contest battle, and even if he hadn't, it's very much implied when you're surrounded by people preparing to take on the Grande Festival. And as for the mess," Farah continued, gesturing to the surrounding areas that had been affected by the battle, where people had moved away after being assaulted by sand. "The beach may have no more sand on it than it had previously, but the people, pokémon, and objects around? They do. The mess may not be lasting, but it certainly was made when you were battling."

She removed her sunglasses so that her eyes could be seen clearly. "And if you insist on acting like a dick, I suggest getting off of the beach."

Still maintaining a totally pleasant demeanour, Alex shook his head, his smile not faltering.
"But we were the only ones in this area until you showed up. There's nobody covered in sand or anything." He then addressed the first point she made. "Oh, and whilst I can see why you'd think that, I don't see any reason for coordinators to always treat battles as contest battles. There's a lot to be said for keeping your pokémon strong too."

Alex brushed sand from his shoulders "Are there any other problems ma'am?"

Farah narrowed her eyes. "Other people were here, before you scared them off. And while it's important to keep your pokémon strong, their strength is not a deciding factor in contests; if their battle capabilities lack finesse, they will not ultimately prove to be victorious."

"Again, you assume just because I didn't bother with it then, I have no ability to battle with finesse, as you put it. I assure you that when the time comes I am perfectly capable of showing off the beauty and talent of my pokémon. It won't be too long before the appeals, but I'll gladly give you a sample right now." Alex continued to smile at Farah, either unaware of how irritating he was being to her or just not caring. Most people couldn't tell. More honestly it was a bit of both: it was hard to make Alex act aggressively outside of battle but he couldn't help but enjoy how much he irritated the rude woman.

Farah sighed. With her last statement she had been speaking in generalities, but this guy didn't seem to realize that. He also didn't seem to realize that he was a total moron. Granted, stupidity never seems to recognize itself.

"Fine," she said. "Let's have a battle to show off both our strength and skills as coordinators, one pokémon each. Here's your chance to show whatever talents you claim to have." She held out her hand as her Noibat, Vespasien, gave her her handbag. She produced a pokéball from it, proceeding to toss it into the air. Out of the resulting flash, a Roserade materialized.

Alex's calm smile became a competitive grin. At least the thrill of the competition was sure to be something they could agree on.

"Davvi, you're on!" In a flash of white light and spiral of crystal clear water, a male jellicent emerged before Alex, droplets falling artistically around the water/ghost pokémon. Alex had attached the seal since he was orginally going to use Davvi in the battle round, but had changed his mind upon his arrival.

"Ladies first." Alex made a small bow.

"If you insist," Farah said, examining the Jellicent. She had half expected the man to use his Infernape again, but he had decided to go with a type-disadvantage. Granted, that's what she had been intending to do. She would have to be careful if this Jellicent had the Cursed Body ability, and its Special Defense could prove to be an issue, but she would find a way past it.

"Rosalie, let's start things off sunny!" The Roserade smirked at the Jellicent, then she twirled once in an elegant manner, starting out slowly, and followed through by launching a radiant beam into the sky. Her Sunny Day attack caused the sunlight in the immediate area to intensify, which would prove detrimental to any water attacks, and perhaps trick her opponent into believing that she intended to use Solarbeam.

"Now let's add some color to the place!" Rosalie twirled around, much faster this time, and released waves of green energy that spiraled around her like a long dress, quickly covering the area with a Grassy Terrain.

"Now that I have my little setup, I'll give you an opportunity to make a move."

Alex had to admit, this girl had style. Her combination hadn't done any damage to Davvi, but it was simple, elegant and clever. The combination had not been complex, but it had looked stunning and had turned the field to the Roserade's advantage.

"I must admit, that was a very good opening move. I should do something about this nasty field advantage you have." Alex's grin deepened. "Ice Beam on the terrain! Let's make some pretty sculptures."

Davvi rotated and twirled the Ice Beam attack flowing around Davvi like a gymnast's ribbon as it covered the field. The long grass that had grown as a result of Grassy Terrain being frozen in intricate crisscrossing patterns. The ice gleamed in the sun. It was beautiful to look at, but the move had a more practical purpose too. Alex had negated the field advantage by covering the field in ice that would hamper the non-floating Roserade, but not Davvi, and the rotating maneuver not only looked pretty, but made it it difficult to attack Davvi during the move.

"Let's see how she handles a Confuse Ray too." A group of five eerie but appealing spheres of yellow light appeared whirling around Davvi in a flashy display before launching at Rosalie, continuing to whirl around each other.

Farah smirked. "Not bad. A bit annoying, but commendable. Rosalie, let's dance around a bit with those lights!"

As the orbs from Confuse Ray closed in on the Roserade, she twirled around on the ice. She summoned a Petal Blizzard that swirled in the air in a flurry of thousands of beautiful flowers. The resulting winds took hold of the Confuse Ray, causing the orbs of light to combine with the petals, creating a a colorful storm of flowers that shone with an alluring glow. A moment later, Rosalie focused the Petal Blizzard and caused it to flow towards Davvi, returning the Confuse Ray along with a thousand sharp petals.

"Fire off two Shadow Balls!" As the glowing storm of petals reached Davvi he fired off two nefarious balls of an eerie energy. The balls collided in the middle of the flurry of shining petals, exploding in a powerful burst of purple sparks that separated the shining leaves, causing gold streaks to fly out among the sparks like some sort of gorgeous firework display.
"Ice Beam!" commanded Alex. Davvi launched the white-blue beam of energy, it's momentum causing the remaining sparkles from the previous combination to coat so that a shining beam of white-blue surrounded by thinner gold and purple streaks flew towards Rosalie.

"Believe me yet?" Alex chuckled at his opponent.

Farah chuckled. "Well, you're certainly not hopeless, but I'm still not sure that I like your attitude." She thrust her arm forward as she gave Rosalie another command. "I think it's about time to turn up the heat!"

Rosalie leaped into the air, a few stray petals still trailing around her. She held her arms up and produced a ball of flames that burned brightly with the harsh sunlight. She threw the Weather Ball towards the oncoming Ice Beam, melting some of the frozen terrain in the process. As the two moves closed in on each other, their effects on the environment begain to merge, with certain areas rapidly melting and others freezing. Water was produced from the previous ice, which was soon frozen again in new patterns from Davvi's Ice Beam. By the time the two attacks collided and produced a fiery blue explosion in the center of the battlefield, the area had been turned into an assortment of abstract ice sculptures and long grass, with a few flames here and there.

Rosalie alighted atop one of the ice sculptures, giving a curt bow to her opponents.

"Hey, you two!"

Farah and Alex turned to see a young man, possibly in his early twenties, calling over to them. "Judging by your battle, I'd say you're in the festival? Well, the announcement just went out that appeals are about to start, so you should probably head over to the Contest Hall!"

Farah nodded at the man. "Thanks!" she called back to him. She returned her attention to Alex. "Guess we'll have to wrap this up some other time. See you around." She recalled Rosalie. Her Noibat had already gathered her towel and her bag, so she turned to leave. The aftermath of the battlefield would clean itself up, with the sun quickly melting the ice and the grass degenerating as Grassy Terrain wore off.

Alex recalled his own pokémon. He watched for a moment as Farah walked away, before heading to the Contest Hall himself.​

 

[gimmepie]

Alex Simmonds - Appeals Round: Petals in the Sun

Alex barely made it before the cut off for competitors and was thankful to see he was to be one of the last competitors of the appeals round anyway. That gave him some time to keep calm after his mad sprint for the Contest Hall.

Alex sat in the backstage coordinators lounge watching a large TV screen that gave a live feed from the other appeals. He saw some spectacular performances – A blaziken cloaked in fire, a milotic sitting above a sparkling green vortex and even a meowstick modelling clothes made of its attacks. These were performances that made him stare with excitement. As always there were also other appeals that made him struggle not to grimace… mud flying everywhere, a man who nearly poisoned Robert the judge. Alex felt determined to not be one of those performers, but unlike a lot of the nervous faces around he also felt perfectly calm. As much as Alex loved to compete, he did not fear losing. He would always fight to win yes, but he took the stance that if defeat is the worst to ever happen to you, you've lived a pretty good life.

One of the martials walked into the room
"Alex Simmonds!" he called his voice ringing through the cooridators lounge over the boasting and nervous mutterings of the competitors. Alex got to his feet and followed the well-dressed martial (a man who was clearly all business and no pleasure by his expression and lack of discussion), passing the woman from early he gave a polite nod in her direction as he left the room. Alex was lead down an ornate, red carpeted hall towards the contest arena his usual pleasant grin on his face as he enjoyed the aesthetically pleasing building and thought through his impending performance.
"through here" he was instructed by the nameless martial, who was now directing him through a doorway beyond which there was nothing but the crowd.
"Thank you very much."

Alex walked out into the arena, his head held high, positively beaming. The crowd was going wild, eagerly awaiting his performance, hoping just as he was that he'd stun them with his finesse (to use Farah's word). He loved their expectant smiles and cheers, he loved it more when he lived up to their expectations.
"Flora, let's show them what we can do!" Alex called forth his Cherrim. With a flash of white light and a shimmer of what seemed to be green glitter (thanks to the seal attached) a deep pink pokemon wrapped in dark purple petals, a stem pointing from its head, appeared.

"Cherrim!" she called. Even Alex had to admit (silently of course, he didn't want to hurt her feelings) that in this form Flora was far from majestic, but he was going to change that.
"Sunny Day!" Alex commanded and a beam of what seemed like sunlight burst into being, shooting from the ground up before a ball of yellow-orange light formed from it, dousing the arena in warm light that looked and felt like a perfect summers day. Under what looked almost like her own personal spotlight, Flora changed. With a shimmering glow her petals unfurled and she burst forth from her bud forme in a spectacular manner now a yellow creature spouting beautiful pink, cherry blossom-like petals – an infectious smile now adorned her face.
"Petal Dance!" Flora bounced and twirled in the beautiful glow of the artificial sunlight, pink petals materialising and flowing up the spotlight-like centre ray of "sunlight" in a rotating column shining in the glow of the sphere of light they ascended to.

Soon Flora stood still below the sphere of light, her arms raised. The petals had formed another, rotating, sphere around the light source that now sent thinner beams of light through the gaps casting ever-changing petal shaped shadows around the room that still basked in its warm light.
"Time to finish this up, Flora use Hidden Power!" Small red-orange spheres of light were launched upward by Flora with precision that let them fly through the gaps between spinning petals without hitting a single one. For a moment the sphere of light shone even brighter, but then it exploded, shimmering flecks of yellow, orange and red light and dainty pink petals falling down over Flora and the arena. Flora bowed as sparkles and petals fell around her before with another shimmering light (one whose beauty was enhanced by the falling debris of the great spheres she had made) she reverted to her original form almost exactly as the display ceased, signalling the end of the performance.

The crowd roared and clapped at the appeal as Alex returned Flora and strode from the arena feeling pleased with himself. The crowd had loved the performance and that was the most important part for him. Alex caught the judges table out the corner of his eye, they were quietly talking to one another with their microphones turned off. Whilst he wasn't afraid to lose and was happy with his appeal, he hoped they had liked it as much as the spectators.

 

[Nakuzami]

Farah Lumina

A Gracious Appeal

Espurr (M) "Casimir" Infiltrator Psychic - Thunderbolt - Energy Ball - Dark Pulse

Farah took a deep breath and walked out into the stadium.

After leaving the beach, she had quickly gone back to her room and changed. She was now clad in a black dress. The top was netting, which formed the neck and shoulder region of the dress, until it met with the more solid silk around the area of her breasts. The skirt portion of the dress went past her knees and had a large slit on the right side, and was met with black leggings that disappeared into her zipped boots. The dress itself was sleeveless, but she wore detached sleeves that began halfway between her shoulders and elbows, and flared out at her wrists. Her long brown hair cascaded down her shoulders in waves, and her head was topped with a black feathered sunhat.

It was now her time to shine in the appeals round.

With a flick of her wrist she produced a red and white pokéball. She tossed it into the air, and with a flash of white light and a ring of iridescent orbs produced by the ball seal, an Espurr emerged.

"Let's give it our all, Casimir!" The Espurr mewed excitedly in response. Farah glanced at the judges, and then at the audience members in the stand. They were all waiting to see what she would do.

"Kick things off with a bit of a paradox!" Casimir's eyes began to glow, and he opened his ears slightly as black energy began to swirl around him. It condensed into globs and then suddenly burst outward in waves. Without any pause, he produced bright green spheres of energy that he launched into the black waves. The Energy Balls became coated in the putrid energy of the Dark Pulse, causing their healthy glow to be accented by the rings of shadow that began to orbit around them. Casimir then utilized Psychic to control the flow of the combined moves, bringing them high into the air as he himself began to float. The orbs floated around him, pulsating green and black, growing and shrinking as he affected the energies within them. He raised his arms and yelled.

"Charge it with a little glow!" Intense blasts of lightning were expelled into the air with Thunderbolt. They combined with the orbs that floated around Casimir, giving them an added ring of sparks. The sparks then grew suddenly, creating a beautiful flash of light that illuminated the stadium, and then they collapsed back in on themselves, destroying the orbs. This destruction created a glorious shower of green, black, and golden sparks that began to float down to the stadium floor.

Before any of the sparks could reach the ground, however, another blast of lightning sprang forth, swirling through the glinting colors in complex patterns. The sparks began to revolve around the lightning, creating multicolored bolts that swirled around the stadium. Casimir then forced the bolts to spread outwards to the edges of the stadium, where they curved and came upwards, meeting in the center of the arena above Casimir's head, creating a sort of cage. The Espurr then coated himself in electricity, becoming the shining center of the cage of thunder. He manipulated the charged ions around him into patterned bolts, which quickly spread out and merged with each other.

"Now break out with a bang!" Next he increased the energies of the scattered Energy Balls and Dark Pulse, causing the bars of the cage to shine green and black. He gave one final holler and the lightning that surrounded him surged upwards, spreading out as it broke through the ceiling of the prison. Once the bars had been broken, the lightning grew into the shape of a large Zapdos, which loomed over the stadium like a behemoth, before it soared into the sky and exploded into a shower of green, black, and gold fireworks.

Casimir floated back down to the ground beneath him, still glowing, and gave a small bow, as did Farah. She recalled the little psychic feline and turned to exit from the stadium, the crowd cheering.​

 

[Salzorrah]

​

Maria Consolacion Vivides Sarini

#<3

#TeamSolaceSarini
Bellossom ★ Braixen ★ Milotic​

★

I've waited about an hour of so, watching a lot of combos and moves from the other competitors, but alas, I did not find anyone interesting to talk to. I was hoping that I could have meet Cabbage, or Dallas, or maybe even Emerald, since I find their appeal amazing.

I went back to the Pokemon Center, feeling disappointed, and went to sleep.

Next morning, I woke up, took a shower, brushed my hair, which was back to its original state, got dressed, and left with my essentials. I decided I should hang out more in the Pokemon Center, so I went inside the food court there. I was feeling a bit hungry too, so I just took some bread and pasta, and try to find a good seat.

Then, I saw Brett eating alone near the window, so why not? I could feel my heart beat pulsating and the feeling of butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

"Wait, Am I falling in love with this guy?" I asked myself.

"No no no no NO. Ughhh" I thought to myself, looking very bipolar right now. If anyone saw me, I bet they would tag me as the crazy girl.

"Well, there aren't any new seats available, so why not." I went to Brett's table and sat with him. He looked very surprised to see me.

"Oh hi Solace! What's up?" He asked. His smooth voice cascading through my ears like chocolate melting in your mouth.

"Uh, nothing much!" I snapped out of it. Ugh, why does this keep happening.

"Are you ready for tomorrow's battle rounds?" He asked me.

"Yeah! I just hope I make it in the appeals round, haha!" I laughed it off. This is getting nowhere fast.​

 

[Daisuke Mitsuharu]

Melisande Blythe—Slateport City—Appeal to Up the Ante

There was an unabashed glint of exhilaration in her eyes that Melisande simply couldn't hide. Fixated at the monitor that had displayed the appeals before her, she watched as coordinators of different varieties and different styles took to the Coliseum platforms and expertly wove together a series of moves that even warranted Melisande's praise, something she rarely gave away. She found it unimaginable that these young coordinators whose looks never did let on their skill for Pokémon contests could perform—and masterfully might she add—such amazing, not to mention profoundly difficult feats. These feats were what made her cringe visibly with anticipation.

"Pretty great crop of coordinators we have this year, eh?" She had overheard a fellow coordinator, someone surprisingly close to her own age chatter on about how much of a show the previous coordinators had kept up. For the most part, Melisande had agreed. There was no denying that the plethora of coordinators that had gathered here possessed exceptional talent. Even someone as tenured as Melisande was couldn't help but shake in her boots. She eventually found a place to chime in and beamed a smile in response. "Agreed." The raw talent that these coordinators possessed—in the truest sense—had surprised her and in the most pleasant way. While Melisande felt her envy surfacing as the appeals went on, she couldn't help but crack a smile—a sincere one—at the prospect of having the honour of facing them in the following rounds if she was given the opportunity to. Her lips curling into a smirk and her fists steadily tightening, it seemed as if her excitement had gotten the best of her and had made itself manifest by her actions; not that that was a particularly bad thing. Itching for some action herself, she couldn't help but be riled up at the thought of what was in store for them.

After her fair share of lounging around and waiting and after having cheered on her fellow coordinators as they had made their appeals, it was finally her turn at the limelight. For the first time in what felt like the longest time, she had felt nervous. Her head felt faint, and it seemed as if she was teetering. "Hey, you okay?" A fellow coordinator asked, extending his hand as soon as he had saw Melisande keel over. "Uh, yeah. Thanks. I'm alright." She quickly took hold of his hand. While his display of kindness partly relieved her, her nervousness still lingered, constantly gnawing at her for every step that she had taken closer to the limelight and closer to the gigantesque platform in which she were to perform in.

Before she had walked to the stage, she had decided to waltz over to the mirror that stood a fair distance away from her and made some final adjustments to the attire she was wearing.

Makeup was never something that she had worn frequently. Having her face "bombarded" by tons of it was sort of unsettling. Tousling frequently with her hair, which at the moment was elaborately curled into a French braid, had always been a nervous tick of hers. And as she had looked around, it seemed as if people had fallen into the misconception that she had been "fixing" it, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Having been called for the final time, she quickly righted herself, fixed up the crimson dress to which Maya thought had done well in accentuating her more ferocious aspects, and hesitantly moseyed onto the platform that was to decide her very fate in the Grand Festival.

It was only after she had thrown Azumarill's pokéball and had it whizz into the air that Melisande let all her fears and anxieties be washed outright clean by the applause of the crowds that had flocked the festival's Coliseum. The pokéball burst open and a brilliant white light quickly enveloped the stadium. Right from the get go, Melisande had intended to bring to the fore the luster in Azumarill's fur, and for the most part, she thought that she had done a well enough job of that.

Glimmers of light shone through Azumarill's fur up until she had hit the ground, in which her rotation and a compromised version of her Aqua Jet generated a weak column of water to briefly spin around her, only dispersing when her feet touched the very floor where remnants of the vortex, now little shimmering droplets scattered about.

A brief smirk swept across her face, before promptly being eclipsed by the look of seriousness she had donned previously. There was fire in both their eyes, incandescing as brightly and as vibrantly as the spotlight that had illuminated the stadium, resonating with their resolve to make their appeal a successful one. In the wake of their debut, Melisande smiled and before proceeding any further, quickly approached Azumarill and caressed her in the gentlest way she could. "Just know that, whatever happens, win or lose, I'm still proud of you regardless." Her voice cracked and wavered as she had said this, but those words, no matter poorly she had said them, still managed to convey what had been trying to say: that she was proud of her regardless of the outcome. Her next words however oozed conviction, her voice unfaltering. "Now, blow them all away like I know you can."

A pillar of water rose, slowly lifting up Azumarill into the air until momentarily letting her down, in which a small wave of water caught her fall. With a simple thrust of her fists had Azumarill generated a surge of water to arch upwards, beckoning it to rise in front of her. A quick turn of her petite body, followed by the graceful accompaniment of her hands, caused the stream of water to flow back down and arc around her sides. As Azumarill eased the audiences into this "water dancing" feat with simple acrobatics, causing the water to arc and in a way beckon it to dance around her, she had felt that it was time to indulge them to more difficult acrobatic feats and eventually put their appeal to a close. It seemed as if by nodding Melisande had also expressed her agreement.

The slow raising up of Azumarill's hands generated a powerful surge of water under her feet, which soared upwards and created an enormous pillar that in a way granted her makeshift form of flight. Her quick rotation and her Aqua Jet then generated a sphere of water to wrap around her, creating a circular column of water top off the pillar in which she stood. This Waterfall- induced pillar eventually lessened in intensity and slowly laddered her downwards and into the bare platform, to which the Aqua- Jet induced sphere changed in shape as Azumarill spun increasingly faster and after some time, spun at her fastest. A momentary twister of water rose up and quickly enveloped her because of this.

This rotation eventually came to a stop and the watery vortex, now faint rings of water, became scattered about and were flung at the crowd by Azumarill's Play Rough. The audience flocking about the Coliseum broke into an applause after this, and after curtsying, both Azumarill and Melisande had made their exits, satisfied with the work that they had done. Perfecting the "water dancing" Azumarill had managed to execute was no easy task and to Melisande, it was an exercise of tedium that she didn't necessarily want to repeat again. Not to mention, it was rather draining for Azumarill to have used her Waterfall successively like she had. Nonetheless, both she and Melisande were proud to have brought all their hard work into the stage and had done it successfully.​

 

[Mana1]

the PokéCommunity & Roleplay Corner present:

Hoenn Grand Festival

Roleplay Rules | Roleplay Chat & Help | OR/AS | Advance Generation

Battle Round

Location: Contest Hall
Time Span: -> 29th August (11 days)
Number of Pokemon: 2
Number of Posts: Only one is necessary, as with battles using more than one post will not win extra points.
Order: I don't mind which order you post in - just make sure not to contradict one another.

SET-UP: After an exciting appeals round the stage is now set for the double-battle finisher. Here, opponents will battle each other to score beautiful combos as well as keep damaging their enemy, evading attacks that are fired their way.

REMEMBER: Similar to the appeals round, combination attacks are important - this time you have two pokemon to synchronize though!

ARENA: The stage is similar to a battlefield, with markings on the ground - to the side of this area are three desks, where the judges sit. The judges in attendance are Slateport City's Nurse Joy, Fantina of Sinnoh and Robert - a previous winner. Judges often whisper to each other, but other than calling/dismissing your character will not talk - casually or praise. This ensures you aren't scoring yourself!

RULES: For the double battle you may write it as a joint post (double battle is between two characters) or a lone-post (battle against a random NPC, of your design). If you are doing a joint battle post please remember to include both writers name at the top - both writers will receive the basic points and the bonus points will be chosen depending on the moves their pokemon pulls off - so technically each writer could score differently despite it all being one post.

It is important to note that contest battles only last 5 minutes - you do not have to knock out your opponents pokemon, so joint battlers need not choose a winner between them.​

Please give your post a title so it is easily recognisable as your battle post.

Any Appeal posts after this announcement will not be rewarded bonus points.​

 

[Logical Cabbage]

What Luck In Battling
The Adventures of Cabbage

Cabbage got in just in time, because she heard the announcements through the speakers:

"May all coordinators report back to the hall please and enter the arena."

Before Cabbage could go that way, Castform cried in worry.

"There's nothing to be nervous about..."

"LOOK OUT!"

Cabbage turned around.

"What the-"

Then a tackle sent Cabbage to the ground face first. She heard a tiny crack. Please tell me that was not my nose. Then she heard a laugh.

"You two look so funny like that! So cute!"

Cabbage growled as she recognized that voice. Sapphire. Her face flushed red in anger as she saw her hysterical face. Then she realized a boy was on top of her, specifically Ruby. Not this again. She then pushed Ruby off. Thankfully Emerald was nowhere in sight.

"Look at your dress! I know it was pathetic before but know... Just plain stupid! Ha ha!"

Cabbage looked to her dress and saw a tear on the corner. Just great. Now it's ruined. That little... She then spotted Castform in the corner.

"Castform! Use Fire Blast on Sapphire."

Sapphire snickered when she saw Castform do nothing and laughed. Then in a split second she unleashed her move.

"Smell that now?"

"What-" Sapphire looked to her hair. "MY HAIR! AHHH!"

Sapphire was screaming and running around very dramatically.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"

She was running around when a police officer came towards them.

"If you don't do something now, then I'll have to escort all of you to the police station."

Ruby finally recovered from the throw. Then he got up and summoned his Pelliper.

"Don't worry mister, I got this. Use Scald Pelliper!"

The bird released a huge gush of water from his bill and completely drenched Sapphire. She started to scream again. For once, Ruby's stupidity came in handy, and on Sapphire. Not Emerald but good enough for the day. She smiled as she saw how messy Sapphire was. She then took a picture with her Pokenav. This shall be cherished forever. Before the officer could say no more, Sapphire stormed out.

"You better not cause anymore trouble. I'm letting this one slide because I need to get some autographs."

With that, he left. Cabbage turned to Ruby.

"What exactly where you doing?! Just look at this tear you did!"

Ruby looked down shamefully.

"I don't feel like dealing with any of you. Say no more cause I'm out of here. Come on Castform."

Castform followed Cabbage to the dressing rooms. Cabbage sighed as she traded her black dress for a soft green dress and her heels to glass ones.

"This green is too bright for my taste but it will have to do."

Castform agreed and both of them headed on to the arena. Hopefully I didn't miss who I'm battling with. As Cabbage entered, she saw a big screen board with all the faces from the coordinators. Most of them had their foe, but Cabbage's face wasn't on there yet. Then she saw the host speak.

"Next up we have-" He draws out two slips. "Cabbage and Emerald! Next up is..."

She didn't hear what he said next. Me against Emerald?! Come on, anyone but him! He'll make me look like a... She turned to Castform who softly cried out. Then Cabbage shook her head.

"Perfect. Now we get to kick his but!

Cabbage was carefully to hide her nervousness from her partner.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

Dallas Reed - Poke Center.

Dallas returned to the pokemon center after spending an hour at the beach or so. He was somewhat tired of the beach after yesterday, but he wanted to find out if anyone knew anything about the people he ran into at the New Mauville Cave. He slipped his card through the door and it clicked. He opened the now unlocked door and walked in. He slowly unlocked the door, giving Ally enough time to say something if she wasn't decent. But nothing came, he walked in. The first thing Dallas saw was Gallade, who was ready to attack.

"Wow, Gallade. It is just me. Relax." Dallas said calmly.

'Gal-Gallade.' Gallade bowed in an apology.

"No worries Gallade. I am glad you are watching out for her. Where is she anyways?" Dallas asked.

Gallade pointed to the bathroom. Dallas nodded and took a seat on the bed, going through his brackets. He saw he was up against someone named Lady A.

"Hmm... I wonder who she is?" Dallas asked himself.

He heard the bathroom door open and Ally came out. She was in her sleeping clothing, that consisted of a very long shirt and under garments. His face grew red as he quickly looked away.

"Daly! Oh my god!!" She yelled as she slammed the door back shut.

"I'm sorry Ally! I didn't know you were in that!" He quickly apologized.

"Why didn't you say you were back!! I could have been completely undressed!!" Ally yelled.

"I didn't see anything! Honest!!" Dallas yelped.

After a few minutes, Ally stormed out of the bathroom and went directly to Dallas and slapped him across the face.

"Ouch! What was that for!?" Dallas cried as he rubbed his face.

"For being here!" Ally cried.

After a few minutes, both of them settled down.

"I am really sorry Ally. I was expecting you to be asleep. Why aren't you?" Dallas asked.

"I still got to do something." Ally said.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, but don't worry. I will be here. I will also be around for your battle." Ally reported.

"Oh crap! It is almost time! Sorry Ally, I got to get ready! Be careful." Dallas said as he ran into the bathroom for a quick shower.

After a while, he quickly changed. This time he wore the same style of clothing, but instead dressed in dark blue and a dark blue hat. His shirt was a lighter blue color. He grabbed his bag of poke balls and ran out the door to the Contest Hall. Luckily, he was not late for his match.

 

[ApocalypticAnarchist]

Emerald had been sitting patiently backstage waiting for the round of appeals to end. As much he enjoyed watching other Pokémon compete he needed to stay focused on his own That was proving hard to do because, much to his dismay, Sapphire didn't show up. She had told him that she would pop in backstage to tell him what she thought of Espeon's performance.

She must be watching the appeals. Whatever.

The speakerphones dragged Emerald from his thoughts.

"May all coordinators report back to the hall please and enter the arena."

Emerald took his attention away from the two Pokémon at his feet and stood up.

"Well, time to go! Return!" The two Pokémon at his feet returned to their Poké Balls and Emerald started walking to the front of the hall. While walking Emerald caught sight of Sapphire sitting on a bench crying. As he got closer he saw that her hair was singed but her clothes were soaking wet.

"Sapphire, whats wrong?" She looked up and saw Emerald which only made her cry even more. He sat down next to her and tried to comfort her.

"Hey tell me what happened,"

"I..sniff..was heading...sniff...with Ruby....ran into...sniff...Cabbage...fire blast...and that dumbsniff Ruby...

She then collapsed her head onto his shoulder and cried some more.

Um. What on earth am I supposed to do now? I need to get to the stage but I can't just leave her like this. And why didn't Ruby tell me he was here?

Sapphire eventually stopped crying and just sat there leaning on him.

Uhhh

Emerald stretched his hand and released Espeon.

"Sapphire, I have to go but I'm going to leave Espeon with you so you aren't alone, ok?

She didn't look up as Espeon leaped onto her lap and sat down. She started petting her and Emerald stood up.

"I'll be back as soon as I can,"

Again she said nothing. Emerald made it in time enough to hear the host.

"Next up is Cabbage and Emerald!!"

Of course, just make my day more complicated,why wouldn't you? Doesn't matter. I have faith, something Cabbage refuses to have.

 

[Salzorrah]

​

Maria Consolacion Vivides Sarini

Pumped Up

#TeamSolaceSarini
Bellossom ★ Braixen ★ Milotic​

★

I think Brett might be getting a little bit turned off from me since I was like eating my meal like a mad man.

"Sooooooo Solace, have you seen the match ups?" he asked me. I stopped and swallowed my food. That seemed to calm me down a bit.

"Uh, not yet. Are they up now?" I asked quizzically.

"Yep, they were up when I was on my way. I haven't got the chance to look yet! Maybe we can go together?" he urged.

"Uhm, sure Brett! I'd love to!" My heart starts to beat fast again. God, please help me!

Me and Brett finished our meals and went to the contest hall to see the match ups.

As we got there, a lot of coordinators and fans flocked to the board. I grabbed Brett's hand, out of instinct, and charged to the board.

After tons of squeezing, we managed to see the board. I noticed Cabbage and Emerald were up. It's such a shame I didn't get to meet them. They seem to be nice.

I searched for my name but I couldn't seem to find it. I started to feel depressed until Brett pointed at my name.

"Look Solace, your up in the battle rounds!" He said. I started to feel a little bit better and pumped for the next battle.

"Hmm, I'm up with let's see..." I read the name in my head, and I gasped.

It was Portia Mezzanine! Last I saw her, she and I had this rivalry back in Kalos, a few years back.

"Well, it seems I'm gonna be fighting with my old rival!" I said to Brett.

We went back to the Pokemon Center and said our goodbyes for that day, started to train for the battle rounds with my Braixen and Bellossom, and went to bed.​

 

[Etherion]

Team Austin (hover)

Clawitzer (M) Nickname: Finick Mega Launcher Focus Blast | Dragon Pulse | Heal Pulse | Flash Cannon

Swellow (M) Nickname: Valor Guts Whirlwind | Boomburst | Brave Bird | Heat Wave

Meowstic (F) Nickname: Maleficent (Effie for short) Infiltrator Psychic | Thunder Wave | Magical Leaf | Dark Pulse

Accumulated Points:
1
1
1
5
1
1
1
10☆5
1

Austin Kavanaugh

After getting some snacks and a drink, Austin was back at the festival hall. He sat on a chair and released Valor and Finick, his Swellow and Clawitzer respectively. He began to formalize a strategy by looking at his two Pokemon. Just then, the TV screen above the receptionist glowed and an announcer appeared. "Hello, I'm here to announce each coordinator's opponent for the battle rounds." Austin perked up, and listened intently. One by one, the opponents were reported, the list went on and on. And then, the most awaited calling, "Austin Kavanugh versus, Dominic Hudson"

He spitted out his soda when he heard his opponent's name. Dominic Hudson, the name still left a salty taste in his mouth. When he was in middle, there was a guy who always bullied him. He took Austin's lunch money, some homework, and even tried to punch him once. And most of all, the bully called him 'Autism Austin'

At the age of 8, he was diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder called autism. It impaired his social interaction and was the cause of his restricted and repetitive behavior, but because of an injured Clauncher during his summer vacations, the disorder didn't bother him to much. Somehow, that bully knew about this disorder and Austin having it.

That bully's name, was Dominic Hudson.
​

Word Counter: 290
CSS Credit: Nakuzami
BACKGROUND Credit: SweetLittleVampire

 

[ApocalypticAnarchist]

A Battle of Battles
Battle Post - written by Logical Cabbage & ApocalypticAnarchist


(Cabbage's POV)

As I step onto the battlefield, I hear the crowd cheer and roar. This is it. If I wanted this battle for so long, why do I feel this nervousness? Why do I feel anxious? Now that I have this chance to kick his ass, I'm over here acting like a child. I shake my head. Not now, especially in front of all these people. I see Emerald on the other side.

"Are you prepared to go home crying," I say with a hint of mockery.

I draw out a pokeballs. I already used Blaziken, so might as well use Flygon and sadly Castform. I need to make sure to command them and let out their power for everyone to fear. I smile.

"Out at him Flygon and Castform!"

Castform from behind me cheers as she goes up to battle. Flygon in the other hand started roaring out loud. I sure hope Emerald is ready to get humiliated.

(Emeralds POV)

Emerald saw Cabbage step up onto the stage from the other side. Emerald didn't have Espeon to save him this time but he trusted his Pokemon and he believed in them.

I hope you guys are ready for this. Emerald gripped the Poké Balls he was holding as he thought to himself and stepped onto the stage.

Emerald looked around as the crowd roared. Two contestants who had done so well will finally be battling. The crowd almost seemed bloodthirsty, as if they were watching a gladiator fight.

As Cabbage raised her Poké Balls she taunted him.

She never learns...

Suddenly, Flygon appears, roaring majestically followed by Castform.

Time to get this show on the road

"Lileep, Lotad, I choose you!!!" The two Poké Balls flew into the air and fell releasing the two Pokémon who growled cutely.

Sigh. Because cuteness will defeat that Flygon.

(Cabbage's POV)

He can tell I'm taunting him. It doesn't matter anyway, because I got this one. Then Emerald summons out his Lotad and his Lileep. Does he ever learn? This is supposed to be a contest, not a fashion show. I roll my eyes.

"Aww... They're so cute... Not! Let's get this show on the road!"

I look at the crowd. They looked more hyped up than ever. I feel like one of them people that is going to get eaten by a lion in the arena. Then somewhere in the crowd, I spot Ruby give me a thumbs up. I ignore him and face back to my pokemon. This battle is only five minutes long, but five minutes is all I need. The clock on the screen will begin the second I command my attack.

"Now Flygon! Use Fissure!"

I smile as the clock begins. Flygon uses Fissure and the center of the arena begins to crack and mold upwards.

"Now Castform! Use Fire Blast!"

I grin as Castform released her attack on the crack. It goes in and the crowd is silenced. Then fire comes out, aimed towards Emerald's pokemon. I would like to see how he gets out of this one.

(Emerald's POV)

Emerald could feel the crowd tense as both trainers stood on stage with their Pokemon. Cabbage only added to that by attempting the diminish the cuteness of Emerald's Pokemon.

Who is going to attack first? Should I go first, maybe try and take control of the battle? Should I see what moves she has in store for me?

Cabbage made the decision for Emerald as Flygon and Castform unleashed their attack and the clock started to count down. The ground cracked open and rose upwards and Castform's Fire blast filled the void.

Is.. Is that a volcano?

"Lileep use Ancient Power to plug the volcano, Lotad use Leech Seed!"

As the rocks started to rise from the ground, the leech seeds landed squarely on top. The mass of stone then flew towards the mini volcano and struck the side, collapsing it and turning it into a pile of rubble as stones flew everywhere. The fire was not stopped on time however and Lotad was hit.

"Don't you remember Cabbage? Volcano's produce fertile land."

The leech seed Lotad place on the Ancient Power sprouted atop the what was left of the volcano and grew erratically, healing Lotad in the process.

(Cabbage's POV)

As my attack was blasting towards the other side, Emerald surprisingly counted.

"Lileep, use Ancient Power to plug the volcano, Lotad use Leech Seed!"

I nearly yell in fury as Ancient Power stops the Lava in place, but at least some of it hits Lotad. Except the attack lands on top of my volcano.

"Don't you remember Cabbage? Volcano's produce fertile land."

I grunt because I know exactly what he means. The fresh soil has good nutrition to absorb, and I see some light going to Lotad.

"That was just pure luck Emerald. Now it's time to get serious."

Might as well get some action done.

"Flygon, Earthquake at the soil!"

A weaker crack opens up but it was enough as the soil and the remains of the volcano fall down. The depth is enough. Everything is enough. Now to show some power. I look at the clock and about 1:30 seconds passed by. Just great.

"Castform! Use Hail on the crack!"

Castform cheered and made the hail fall down. It rapidly stands up and covers what's beneath it. The stack of hail grows so tall that I can no longer see the other side. In a strange way, this is beautiful.

(Emerald's POV)

Cabbage wasted no time in countering Emerald, not that he was surprised.

"That was just pure luck..."

And was it just luck every other time I beat you?

One of Flygon's earthquakes pulls Emerald from his thoughts. The remnants of the volcano fall between somewhat restoring the field to its evenness but it didn't stay that way for long as Castform built a wall of ice between them.

What is she trying to do?

"Time to go surfing Lileep!" "Lotad use Surf, Lileep Ancient Power and Ingrain on the ground below you!"

As the rocks and Lileep started to float in the air as the surf slamed below and raised the fossil Pokemon in the air. Lileep flew over the wall of ice.


(Cabbage's POV)

I smirk as I see Emerald fall for my trap. That's the combination I expected from him. Now then to...

"Castform! Use Weather Ball on Lileep!"

Castform begins to transform into her ice form and unleashed her attack at the fossil.

"Flygon! Use Outrage on Lotad now!"

This is just too good to be true. Thank goodness I know when he's in a mood for breaking a wall. I need to be sure that this battle won't be like the previous ones. His friendship luck won't help him here. I suppress a grin.

(Emerald's POV)

Emerald briefly lost sight of Lileep as he fell towards the other Pokémon. The ice wall may stop Emerald from seeing but he could hear quite clearly Cabbage's commands.

"Use Weather Ball on Lileep"

Lileep is ingrained so he can definitely take it.

The ball of ice flew towards Lileep and struck right at the base but Lileep kept falling.

"Flygon use Outrage on Lotad"

Seems she forgot about the water.

Lileep, being anchored to a pile of rocks, started falling before the water did. Lileep fell in front of Lotad and took the Outrage protecting Lotad from harm.

Just hang in there.

The wave then fell right atop of Lileep.

"Storm Drain!"

Lileep absorbed the entire wall of water, waving his tentacles erratically, filled to the brim with energy.

"Use Giga Drain on Flygon!"

Emerald heard someone in the front of the audience start to talk. He looked over and saw it was Brock, explaining something.

"Flygon's ground typing can make it vulnerable to grass attacks!"

(Cabbage's POV)

Due to my ice wall, I couldn't see exactly what was happening on the other side, so I looked to the screen. The time is ticking, with more than three minutes has passed by. That Lileep took that hit like a true pokemon. Just luck. Castform changed back to her regular form as Lileep continues to fall. I see that Lileep took the Outrage hit. Before I can call Flygon back, Emerald reacts.

"Storm Drain," Emerald spoke to Lileep.

Before all the water could drown it, the fossil absorbed all the water.

"Use Giga Drain on Flygon!"

Lileep attacks Flygon with the drain move. As if that would work.

I hear someone in the crowd saying it's effective. Obviously they don't know Hoenn.

"You're going to have to better than that Emerald! Like a grass move can knock out a ground dragon! Come on over here Flygon!"

Flygon returns back to me, but she looks quite beaten up. I'm pretty sure she can take more... Then she falls flat on the ground without getting up. An obviously lucky critical hit. Just great.

"Return Flygon."

On the screen, the picture with Flygon blacks out. Now what to do... Melting the ice would give Emerald an advantage. But... I nod to Castform and she changes forms to Ice mode.

"Castform! Use Weather Ball on them!"

Castform hurls two attacks at the sides of the wall, and it releases Icicle Shards flying at them.

(Emerald's POV)

Giga Drain hit dead on so Emerald didn't have to worry about Lileep being hurt. Taking an ice weatherball and an outrage can't be healthy but Lileep managed to pull through. The combination of Giga Drain and Ingrain had healed Lileep, leaving him refreshed and ready to go.

Cabbage called back her Flygon, but it collapsed at her feet before she could do anything else.

Just that Castform left. As long as I stop those Ice attacks I need not fear.

However Ice attacks were what Cabbage had in mind as Castform attacked the sides of the wall sending Shards or Ice towards Emerald's Pokémon.

Holy Arceus, Its like a Mamoswine. I need to get rid of that wall.

"Lileep, Ancient Power! Crush that Ice!"

Once again stones levitated in the air but now they were heading straight towards the Icicle Shards that had chipped off the frozen wall. The rock easily smashed through the measly Ice attack, colliding with the wall.

The wall, now severely cracked, needed a little push to fall and Lotad provided without Emerald needing to command. Once again the water weed Pokémon summoned a crashing wall of water and jumped back as it slammed into the ice, finishing it for good.

"Good Job Lotad!" Emerald smiled as he said this.

(Cabbage's POV)

As soon as the wall of ice fell, I smiled. I already nodded at Castform and she already started heating up the place. As soon as his pokemon were in sight...

"Castform! Use Fire Blast now!"

Castform morphed into her Fire mode and released her attack, and avoiding to melt the wall at the same time. I smile deeply. I have to thank Emerald to stop me from sending water to him. The crowd seems to cheer with more power. I need to form a plan, but how? I don't have no strong pokemon with me.

I look at the time. One minute to go...

(Emerald's POV)

The Fire Blast flamed it's way towards Emerald's Pokemon who leaped out of the way. The Castform proceeded to launch weather ball after weather ball towards the pair however not even one managed to land a hit.

A minute later and an unimaginable amout of weather balls later the buzzer rang and Emerald's Pokemon were still standing strong while Castform was panting heavily but still going.

The battle was a draw but Emerald was happy. Instead of talking maybe his Pokemon could convey the message he never could.

 

[Logical Cabbage]

The Aftermath
The Adventures of Cabbage

Cabbage was mouth open as she stepped out of the arena. How did he... But how? He didn't even need to say any commands to his Pokémon... How? Why? My Pokémon were stronger than Emerald's... Ruby came upon Cabbage and interrupt her shocked state.

"You did great Cabbage. Nice work out-"

"Shut. Up. Ruby. You aren't helping. Emerald totally kicked my ass out there."

Cabbage sighed and put on an angry face. Ruby in the other hand sent his hand to scratch his hair.

"Do you know how he won? Because if I'm right, the time ran out. Exactly the five minutes. Plus, your Castform there doesn't look like a loser."

Cabbage turned to Castform and saw how gleeful she was. But why is she happy? We lost again...

"Maybe Emerald was right. Nit everything is about power..."

Ruby looked at her like she threw out a box of kittens.

"Now you're talking crazy Cabbage..."

"Then you tell me a better explanation as to why I lost. I see no other reason as to why I lost. Did you see how his Pokémon knew what to do without his commands?"

Now Ruby sighed. Castform in the other hand began leaning on Cabbage.

"Emerald might be right, but it has to be something else. Your Castform is obviously pleased with you."

Then the both stood and watch the humiliating replay on the screen while the crowd roared.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

Dallas Reed - Battle Post - Waiting Room saying something to Cabbage

Dallas shook his head a little when Cabbage lost. He waited for Cabbage to come out. He let her talk to a boy that looked familiar, but he wasn't totally sure who he was. Finally, he walked over to Cabbage.

"Cabbage, Emerald is right, not everything is about power. This is a contest, it is to show off the bond and aspects of a pokemon in looks. Not power. Power is mainly for gym battles. I am lucky enough to do both. But a strong bond between a pokemon and trainer can increase the power of a pokemon by a lot. Some pokemon can't even evolve unless there is a strong bond between trainer and pokemon." Dallas finished as the announcer called out.

"Up next! Dallas Reed and Lady A!"

Dallas looked to the announcer and nodded.

"Watch my battle Cabbage, and you will see what I mean." Dallas said, tapping his wrist and walking away.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Dallas walked out onto the stage where is opponent was already at as well. She was blond, but Ice couldn't see her face, not to mention it was somewhat hidden. He put his hand out and Lady A followed. He didn't recall seeing her appeal, perhaps it was done when he was at the beach. Lady A took his hand and shook it.

"Good luck Dallas."

"Same to you Lady A." Dallas said as they went separate ways. They each stopped at their sides. Dallas quickly took his two poke balls off his side and threw in the air. This time, he was not using capsules.

"Gardevoir! Empoleon! Let's do this!" He called as his two pokemon bursted out of the balls.

"Gallade! Sceptile! Let's go!" Lady A called as her pokemon appeared.

Interesting. The one person I battle and she has counterparts of the pokemon I am using. Dallas smiled.

The clock started.

"Gallade use Teleport to get behind Empolemon then use close combat! Sceptile, use Bullet Seed on Gardevoir!" Lady A started.

"Gardevoir, us Encore on both pokemon! Then Empoleon use Surf to blast forward and get away from Gallade!" Dallas called.

All the pokemon did what they were told. Gallade Teleported behind Empoleon and tried to use close combat, but Empoleon dodged it using surf to surge forward. Gardevoir took bullet seed, but it did not do much damage and then used encore. Which forced to Gallade and the Sceptile to use the same moves again and again.

"Empoleon! Use compass rose surf!" Dallas cried.

At that moment, Empoleon used surf and sour massive walls of water shot out in the directions of a compass rose.

"Now Empoleon, use Flash Beam Ice Cannon on the walls of water! Gardevoir use thunder bolt with Empoleon!" Dallas cried.

"Gallade! Sceptile! Dodge!" But it failed due to encore's effect.

The Ice Beam and Flash cannon combined with the surf and thunder bolt to for a massive yellow and silver castle of ice. In the process, Gallade and Sceptile were hit by the ice beam and combination attack and took a good amount of damage.

"Empoleon! Use Aqua Jet and make a road with Ice beam around the castle and slid up to the top!" Dallas announced.

"Sceptile, use leaf blade to stop Empoleon!"

"Gardevoir, use Dazzling Gleam and bounce it off the ice! Make the castle glow and send it in all different directions!"

Gardevoir did so and the Dazzling Gleam shot out and used the ice like a mirror to reflect the gleam in all directions. Empoleon had reached the top of the castle and a icy road now went all around the castle. At the top Empoleon stood ready for the next move.

Dallas raised his arm and pulled down his sleeve.

"Behold the power of a close bond between trainer and pokemon! Empoleon, use Ice Beam and freeze Sceptile and Gallade for a few seconds!" Dallas yelled, as Empoleon kept his opponents pokemon busy.

He brought his wrist down. And slammed his fingers onto the multicolored rock that looked like a watch.

"Gardevoir! Mega Evolve!" He yelled.

Gardevoir started to glow and transformed. The DNA Helix appeared above Gardevoir and the ice castle sent the shining across the whole stage. Finally Gardevoir had turned in to Mega Gardevoir.

"Now let us finish this! Gardevoir! Use Moonblast above Empoleon! Empoleon use Ice Beam on the blast from the lunar light!"

Gardevoir charged Moon Blast and Empoleon shot a Ice Beam into the air. The moon blast and ice beam exploded on contact. The smoke completely covered the arena. When it finally cleared. Dallas smiled.

The ground was completely covered in snow and the lunar light from the moon blast still lingered. The light from the moon was caught by the snow covered ground and the silver and yellow castle. The aura filled the arena.

"Time's up!!"

The crowd exploded into a massive cheering section. Dallas didn't give his opponent any time to make any big moves. He smiled. Gardevoir returned to normal and both joined him.

He walked toward Lady A and her pokemon and he put out his hand. She took his hand and the crowd cheered even louder.

"You know Dali... you could have let me get a few moves in." Lady A announced as she reveled her face.

"A-ALLY! But how? When?" Dallas started to ask questions.

"Haha. I will explained everything, but let's clear the stage so that the matches can continued." Ally said as they walked out of the arena after returning their pokemon.

 

[Nakuzami]

Farah Lumina & Alex Simmonds

The Meaning of Contests

Vivillon (F) "Désirée" Compound Eyes Psybeam - Double Team - Quiver Dance - Hurricane

Aurorus (M) "Lucrèce" Snow Warning Aurora Beam - Mist - Flash Cannon - Blizzard

Volcarona (M) "Sol" Flame Body Rage Powder - Fiery Dance - Protect - Hurricane

Gardevoir (F) "Nymph" Synchronize Misty Terrain - Calm Mind - Moon Blast - Psychic

Alex looked at the display in front of him, a wide grin gracing his features; in the battle round his opponent was to be Farah. It seemed fitting that the two would meet in the arena to finish what they had started on the beach. 

Alex waited, although it didn't take long. The guides arrived and beckoned the pair of them down separate halls. Alex followed the same guide from the appeals down the same ornate hall, his smile not faltering as he walked towards the doorways. He adjusted the simple suit jacket he had donned for the contest. Alex thanked the guide and walked through the doors to the thundering, excited applause of the crowd. Farah was walking towards him from the opposite side of the arena.

"Ready for round two?" he called across to her.

Farah grinned as she pressed the buttons on her poké balls, bringing them to their full size. "Of course! This time we can show off without interruption!" She wore the same black dress from the appeals round, hat and all. "So show me what you've got!" She tossed her two poké balls in the air. They opened and with a flash of white light and a flurry of snowflakes produced by their ball seals, her Aurorus and Icy Snow Vivillon materialized. Upon entering, Aurorus's Snow Warning ability created a hailstorm.

Alex inclined his head. "Sounds like a plan. Nymph, Sol, let's show Farah and her friends just what we've got for them!" Alex expanded his pokéballs before releasing his Gardevoir and Volcarona, who materialized in a flash of white light and a flurry of yellow-gold lights thanks to the seals that had been attached to the balls.

"As per usual, ladies first."

Farah nodded, taking a breath to ready her nerves for the battle. She waited for a moment as the announcer kicked off the battle and started the clock. They had five minutes.

"Let's start things off smooth!" Her Aurorus, Lucrèce, reared his head and gave an impressive roar. Désirée, her Vivillon, gave a small cheer as well.

To kick off the battle, Lucrèce used Mist to cover the area in a fine fog, which would give her pokemon a graceful sheen and also prevent any of their opponents' attacks from altering their stats. Following that, Désirée used Double Team, creating a dozen duplicates of herself within the mist. The doubles made it difficult to tell which was the original, and the reduced clarity from the mist only enforced that. Désirée then proceeded to use Quiver Dance. The dozen copies of her all began moving in unison, twisting in the air and through the mist in a strange yet alluring manner.

Farah glanced up at the scoreboard and grinned as Alex's little point bar wen down. "Your move!" she yelled to him.

"Well isn't this interesting. Sol, rotate and use Hurricane!" At the command, Alex's Volcarona flew forward and started spinning, unleashing a powerful wind as he did so. The mist created by the Aurorus began to spiral around Sol, but Alex wasn't going to finish there.

"Let's add a little more to keep things going. Nymph use Misty Terrain!" Even as the pure white Mist began flowing upwards, it was joined by another fog, this from Nymphs' attack and possessing a pinkish hue. The fog from both attacks was soon rotating around the spinning Sol in a gaseous, vortex the two colours flowing around each other in an eye-catching manner. 

"Sol, let's see if they want to be a part of our artwork, shall we?" The spiral of pink and white mist began to move forward with surprising speed, hail from Snow Warning getting caught in the windy vortex like shrapnel, gleaming from the cover of the mist. Whilst the added damage that the hail caught in the Hurricane/Mist/Misty Terrain combo wouldn't do very much damage to the Aurorus, it would do plenty to the Vivillon.

Farah laughed. This would be fun. "Désirée, whip up a gale of your own! Lucrèce, give it some color!"

Desiree and her copies flew straight towards the intense winds. She and her mirror images stopped and began to flap their wings furiously as they got close to the winds. It was a Hurricane of her own, and it merged with Sol's, the opposing winds creating a massive tornado in the center of the field. Lucrèce opened his mouth and launched an Aurora Beam at the winds. The iridescent colors of the attack mixed with the tornado, causing the winds to glow with an intense range of colors. The winds ripped the beam apart, but Lucrèce kept the attack up, and soon the tornado was a myriad of bright colors, light shining off of it in every direction. It was glorious in both beauty and power, though it hit no pokémon.

"Now, break it!" Lucrèce reared his head back once more and launched a bright orb of silvery energy. The Flash Cannon collided with the tornado, going straight into the center of the vortex. With a loud boom and a flash of what looked like every color imaginable, the winds dispersed with an intense blast that blew all four pokémon away from it, though not so hard as to knock them off balance.

Alex had to laugh himself, playing off of one another like this was one of the things he loved about contests—something gym battles just couldn't offer him.

"Nymph, use Psychic!" The rainbow light of the explosion began to collect around Nymph and Sol, surrounded by a blue glow that only added to the brilliant glow of colour. Alex wasn't done, though. "Now Sol, Protect!" As the green sphere of protective energy formed around Sol, Nymph manipulated her own attack to add a rainbow glow to the sphere. "Sol, Fiery Dance! Nymph, throw Sol with Psychic!" 

Within the glowing rainbow orb, Sol began to move gracefully, fireballs blooming to life and spinning around the inside of the barrier so that through the pale rainbow glow the fiery light of the attack shone through, the movement from within creating beautiful shadows around the arena. The effect made the glow feel warmer, larger—it was like joy personified had flooded the arena and yet the light was encompassing only the sphere, the shadows the only part of the combination that was actually projected.

Encased in the ball of light, Sol and his fire was launched into the space between Lucrèce and Désirée. The protect burst open in a flash of multicoloured sparkles as the balls of flame produced by Sol's Fiery Dance flew outwards, coating themselves in the shining fragments of the earlier combination. Sol retreated backwards as the attack commenced.

Alex felt jubilant at the sight, although unlike Farah he didn't concern himself with the scoreboard at all.

Farah had to give Alex credit; he was in the Grande Festival for a reason. And this kind of battle was what it was all about. It transcended normal pokémon battling: it was a show of both strength and beauty, and it was wondrous. It brought sights that one just couldn't see anywhere else. It was what made being a Coordinator so worth it.

"Catch a few of those little fireballs, my dear Désirée!" The Vivillon chattered with glee, producing a Psybeam that wrapped around a couple of the fiery spheres. The rest burst open, producing beautiful scarlet sparks that rained down on the battlefield, offsetting the cool blue of the hail and reflecting between the ice. Desiree lifted the four fireballs that she had caught into the air, forcing them to revolve around each other in a strange dance of flames. The embers that they gave off flickered, creating an entrancing sight.

"Now shower us with fireworks!" Lucrèce launched another Flash Cannon into the center of the fireballs, and, timing it perfectly, Désirée caused the fireballs to collapse on the Flash Cannon, creating a scarlet and silver explosion of sparks. Désirée flew into the flurry of lights and fluttered around with Quiver Dance once more. The sparks floated around her, giving her dance a beautiful sheen that kept all attention on her.

Farah glanced at the clock. Three and a half minutes left.

"End this dance with a storm!" Désirée twisted around and began flapping her wings quickly, stirring up another Hurricane. As she did that, Lucrèce roared, lifting his head as he produced a Blizzard attack, which was made far more powerful by the hailstorm. The Blizzard and the Hurricane merged, creating an icy storm that sailed towards their opponents with intense speed.

Alex laughed. "You're going to love this. Sol, use Hurricane!" Sol flapped his wings rapidly, moving them so fast that they became a blur of vivid orange-red as he stirred up yet another Hurricane of his own. Just like Farah had done earlier, Sol's storm merged with the Blizzard/Hurricane before him, causing it to spiral around in a huge snowy vortex. "We're not done just yet, though! Nymph, Psychic! Sol, Rage Powder!" A blue glow shimmered over the spiraling snowstorm, glinting across the falling hail. At the same time, several yellowish particles flew from Sol's wings into the mix. The blue, glowing snow storm was now surrounded with spiraling rings of yellow powder.

Nymph wasn't done dazzling yet, though; the combination began to flatten down, spreading across the field before flowing to surround her.

"Calm Mind!" As the last of the glowing cloud of snow, ice and powder encased her a blue light shone from Nymph, her eyes lighting up and her body surrounded by the glow, enhancing the light of the cloud as well as her power. "Now, let's send this their way, shall we?" The shining cloud rose upwards like a tidal wave, inspiring gasps of awe from the audience before it fell over Farah's pokemon, dispersing the rage powder among them and hiding them within.

Farah placed a hand on her hip, a wide grin crossing her face. "So, trying to put the spotlight on your little sun, huh? Being the center of the universe has its benefits, as well as its drawbacks!" Farah yelled the last word and thrust her hand forward, signaling her pokémon to attack without words.

Lucrece roared, launching a Flash Cannon into the air, followed immediately by an Aurora Beam. Désirée chirped and followed the moves with a Psybeam. The Aurora Beam wrapped around the Flash Cannon, and the Psybeam orbited around the colorful orb. It soared towards Sol, shining bright and radiating power. As it got close, halfway between Nymph and Sol, it suddenly exploded in a burst of iridescent energies. The resulting shock waves sailed towards both pokémon. The Rage Powder may have forced the attack to be aimed at Sol, but it didn't prevent collateral damage from the icy flash bomb.

"Not bad!" Alex called "Sol, Protect. Nymph, Moon Blast!"

A protective barrier of glowing green erupted around Sol, the attack shimmering over it in a pleasant way. Sol then controlled it so the barrier slowly broke down from the top, glittering particles raining over him in a dazzling array. Meanwhile, Nymph launched a pearly-white sphere of bright energy straight through the oncoming threat, collecting the energy and ice fragments as it went, their colour and gleam adding to its own as the attack flew towards Désirée.

Farah giggled. "Désirée, why don't you have a moonlight party?" The Vivillon quickly stopped the Moonblast with a Psybeam, raising it into the sky above. Its muted pink glow washed over the battlefield, shining through the hail beautifully. Désirée then used Double Team, this time producing over two dozen copies of herself, which amassed directly beneath the Moonblast in a cluster of white wings. The swarm of Vivillon copies frolicked beneath the attack, swarming around playfully. After a few moments, a small Hurricane picked up and destroyed all of the doubles, shattering them into thousands of sparkles that shone beneath the Moonblast, which dissolved a moment later.

"Now," Farah began as she glanced at the clock once more. Two minutes left. "Show off a bit, Lucrèce!"

The Aurorus bowed his head, breathing out a faint Aurora Beam. The move glided up and around his neck, shimmering around his sails. The sails began to glow brightly, creating the illusion of movement. As they "fluttered," they radiated a spectrum of colors, resembling the aurora borealis. Lucrèce then produced another Mist, giving the glow of the sails an otherwordly sheen.

To finish his display, Lucrèce suddenly lifted his head and summoned a Blizzard. It sailed towards Sol and Nymph, carrying the various colors along with it.

"Sol, let's use this to our advantage. I hope you like saunas, Farah." Sol twirled, producing the majestic fireballs of his Fiery Dance and letting them spin around and among himself and Nymph. As the rainbow Blizzard reached the flames, they collided in an explosion of multi-coloured steam that billowed up around Alex's pokémon, manipulated into intertwining and twisting strains that snaked about each other as they traveled up, aided by a subtle Psychic from Nymph. 

"Nymph, use Misty Terrain!" The pink tinged mist floated forth from around Sol and Nymph in an eerie yet beautiful manner, soon filling the field and obscuring visibility. This was only temporary though.

"Moon Blast! Sol, Fiery Dance!" A glowing ball launched through the mist, collecting it, the attack taking on its pink tinge and producing a cloud-like tail. Moments after, Sol's fireballs joined it, spiraling and zigzagging around it, casting an orange glow. It was as though a projectile sunset had been launched at Alex's foes.

Farah took a breath. She would need to come up with more counters that displayed a bit of variety, so as to prevent the battle from becoming stale. Neither team had taken very much damage yet, with most of it probably coming from the hailstorm rather than the attacks. She had an idea, and while it was a bit risky, it would be worth it if it succeeded.

"Quiver Dance! Then let it through!" Désirée began her dance once more, making circles in the air as she slowly gained speed and power. Once the Moonblast closed in, she twirled around it, avoiding any major damage from the attack as the mist and flames illuminated her wings. She traveled along with the attack, elegantly circling it as it neared Lucrèce. Once it had closed in on the dinosaur, Désirée abandoned the sphere and Lucrèce craned his neck downwards. The Moonblast traveled between his sails. If it caused him any damage, he didn't let it show.

As the attack traced the back of his neck, the light was refracted as it passed through his sails. It spread out like a red and pink aurora, with Lucrèce as the shining center. Once the attack had passed along his back, he flicked his tail and forced the Moonblast into the sky, were it exploded into a halo of pink and scarlet light.

"Now, Blizzard again! Désirée, have some fun in the snow!"

Lucrèce produced another blast of frigid air and snowflakes, which sailed towards Sol and Nymph. As it passed by Désirée, she jumped into the attack and flew along with it, the ice glinting off of her white wings. She produced a half dozen doubles, which frolicked within the Blizzard, twirling around to avoid being frozen by the attack.

When the storm neared Sol and Nymph, Désirée and her copies launched a series of Psybeams, which glowed from within the gale. They wrapped around Nymph and Sol, restricting their movement just enough to ensure that Blizzard made contact.

Alex raised his eyebrow, nobody could pretend that Farah hadn't just pulled off an impressive maneuver. It was time he took a risk of his own, then.

"Take the hit!" he called, his pokémon allowing the swarm of sleet and snow to cover them and pummel them. Sol and Nymph winced, but they refused to let how much damage they were really taking show. 

Once the pair were dead center in the storm Alex made his move. "Psychic on the Vivillon!" Nymph didn't take a chance, the blizzard obscuring the sheen of the blue energy on the Vivillon's wings so that they didn't inadvertently help Farah and her team. Nymph held both the Blizzard and bug(s) still.

"Hope you don't mind this too much. Sol, use Fiery Dance!" Sol, although slowed by the Psybeam, forced a slow dance in the air, the slower movement making his graceful actions almost hypnotic. The balls of flame sprang to life, their warm light shining through the hovering snow flakes and ice crystals with a breathtaking effect. Small trickles of water began to fall from the stationary cloud as thin strands of steam billowed upwards, both carrying a slightly orange glow from the flames, which were buffeting the Vivillon.

One minute left. Farah watched as the clock counted down the seconds, glancing between it and Désirée. Fifty seconds. It was now or never.

"Get in there, Lucrèce!" The Aurorus charged towards Désirée swiftly, shaking the ground as he closed the gap. When he was close, he opened his mouth and launched a large Flash Cannon.

"Now shake 'em off, Désirée!" The Vivillon struggled for a moment, and as the Flash Cannon closed in, she began to glow with the energy of her Psybeam. She forced the Flash Cannon to envelope her, briefly freeing her from the grip of Nymph's Psychic. In that small moment, she used Psybeam to wrap the Flash Cannon around her, causing it to act like a sort of glowing armor as she soared towards Nymph. The steel energy would be painful for the fairy.

Thirty seconds left. Désirée slammed into the Gardevoir.

Nymph was hit by the super-effective attack but there was no way Sol was going to let her take any more damage than she had to. Without needing a command from Alex he launched himself forward, pushing between the two pokémon before using protect, the glowing sphere pushing Désirée back and minimalising the effect of not just her attack but the appeal.

"Nymph use Moon Blast!" The protective barrier created by Sol dissolved into glittering green fragments as he flew up through them coating himself in the colourful remnants of his protective maneuver. As this happened, the pearly-white Moon Blast soared through the glittering green picking it up so that it was coated in and trailed the Protect fragments as it flew towards Désirée.  

"Lucrèce, catch it!" As Désirée quickly moved out of the way of the attack, Lucrèce charged at the Moon Blast headfirst. He slammed into it, using all his power to prevent it's advance. As He did that, the gems along his sides began to glow as they froze the air around him. He used the natural talents of an Aurorus and the power of Blizzard to create a large room of ice, trapping himself and the Moon Blast inside. He then released the fairy attack, which created an intense glow from within the room, which was refracted across the arena. The glow outlined his silhouette from within, casting his shape out from within the pale pink light.

Farah grinned. They only had ten seconds left.

"Désirée, draw them in with a Hurricane!" The Vivillon, having gotten behind Alex's team during Lucrèce's attack, forced the Volcarona and Gardevoir towards the room of ice with a powerful gale. As they got close, Lucrèce used Flash Cannon to first illuminate the entire field, and then smash the ice room into hundreds of shards that assaulted Alex's pokémon. 

Nine seconds. Alex was disappointed that it was going to have to end.

"Use Psychic, Nymph!" The shards of of ice spiraled around Alex's pokémon, zigzagging between them as they refracted the blue light of the Psychic attack "Sol, Hurricane!" The Volcarona positioned itself above Nymph before rotating rapidly as he flapped his wings, the brilliant orange of his wings reflected in the ice crystals around him and the Gardevoir. 

The powerful winds were pummeling Désirée and Lucrèce—the Vivillon being thrashed around by the winds due to its lightweight. What's more, the ice crystals were flying around too, pelting Farah's pokémon and exploding into specks if they collided with each other or a hailstone.

"Time to max it out, guys!" Lucrèce reached his long neck into the storm and secured Désirée. It was time to bring everything they had.

Lucrèce covered the area in an intense Mist, cold air seeping from his crystals as he created sculptures of ice all around. He produced a Flash Cannon coated by an Aurora Beam. At the same time, Désirée used Double Team, Quiver Dance, and Psybeam, coating all her doubles in a pink-violet energy. Once those moves had been prepared, they combined Hurricane and Blizzard. 

The ice storm absorbed the other moves, with Lucrèce standing below the eye of the storm and Désirée and her doubles dancing above. The Flash Cannon illuminated the storm, and Aurora Beam gave it color. The Psybeam gave it control. As the storm intensified, Lucrèce launched four more Flash Cannons into the air, serving as beacons at the four corners of the storm, which now loomed over the entire arena. He shot an Aurora Beam straight I p into the sky, right in the center of Désirée's dance. The beam traveled high into the air, shining as a constant ray in the center of the battlefield.

Five seconds left.

The storm raged, the winds howling. The audience was stunned, but it was impossible to tell if they were cheering or not over the sounds of the maelstrom.

Four. . . .

Alex was awed. This was why, win or lose, he loved contests. The violent pink glow of the Vivillon, the attention grabbing effect of the massive storm. If he was honest, Alex would have said there was a bit too much going on for his liking, he was a fairly simple guy. All in all though he was amazed by Farah's mastery.

Amazed. Not defeated. Alex grinned, he was going to try and win this with a little simplicity.

"Sol, use Fiery Dance! Nymph, let's hijack some of that pretty storm of theirs!" As Sol began his dance, eye-catching and hypnotic surrounded by fire, Nymph used her Psychic to collect some of the raging blizzard and rotated it around them in a smaller column. Nymph drew the flames and into a ball, then the mini-storm around that in a frosty atmosphere.

Three. . . .

"Moon Blast!" The glowing orb of white energy shot through the collected attacks. Sol unleashed a hurricane to add power and momentum. Soon a ball of orange energy covered in brilliant flames that extended beyond it like a tail streaked forwards like a comment fragments of ice flowing over it like diamond dust. If Alex could have heard the audience, he'd probably have heard them gasp.

Two. . . 

As the combination, one Alex had nicknamed "Comet Blast," reached the storm it's momentum pulled the storm in on itself. The flames, winds, ice all of it suddenly compressed into a ball of brilliant light fragments spiraling around and refracting the light over both Alex and Farah's pokémon. 

The sphere exploded. An enormous gust of hot wind billowed throughout the hall as tiny sparkles of multi-coloured light rained down throughout the field. The audience fell silent captivated by the sight the colliding attacks had caused.

Alex couldn't have guessed what would happen when his attack launched through the storm, he'd certainly not expected that. He looked across the field. He didn't think either his or Farah's pokémon had looked more beautiful in their lives than under the rain of light they'd created together.

One. . . .

Their time was up. The audience sprung to life, no longer spellbound but cheering louder than Alex or Farah had ever heard them.​

 

[Salzorrah]

​

Maria Consolacion Vivides Sarini

Battle for Supremacy!
Battle Post

​

★

VS​

​

Portia Myora Mezzanine

Battle for Supremacy!
Battle Post

#TeamSolaceSariniBattles
Bellossom ♀ ★ Chlorophyll
Braixen ♀ ★ Magician

versus

#TeamPortiaMezzanineBattles
Liepard ♀ ★ Prankster
Froslass ♀ ★ Snow Cloak​

★

I woke up with a start. It was the day. The day where I have to battle my old rival, Portia. I got ready for today, with ditching the Ice Queen outfit, and go with a Fire Princess theme, which has me tying my hair in a knot, held by a fire themed ribbon, ditched the hat, put on my make up and my red diamond earrings and necklace, and wore a slimming red and orange dress that has fire pleats on it. I took Bellossom, and Milotic with me and went outside.

I went to the hall, and registered for the day. I was waiting in the lobby when I saw her. Portia Myora Mezzanine. She wore a pretty dark brown and green dress, with her black hair left in the open. She kinda looked like a pretty Phantump. Alongside her was her signature Pokemon, Chimecho. She used her in the appeals round, with her Chimecho doing a wonderful chime musical. I tried to avoid any contact with her, but alas, I failed.

"Oh look who the cat dragged in. Hello Solace!" Portia snarled.

"Well, hello there Portia!" I said with a distaste. We locked eyes and knew we weren't gonna let up.

"Portia Mezzanine and Solace Sarini, you're up next on the battlefield." The stage crew said.

"Well good luck! Hope you break your leg!" Portia just giggled evilly, withdrew her Chimecho, and proceeded to the stage. I just brushed it off and proceeded to my end.

"Welcome to the next part of our battles! This time we have Portia Mezzanine, from Lumiose City, Kalos, and Solace Sarini, from Floaroma Town, Sinnoh!" the announcer said. He iterated the rules again, and showed the board. We have 5 minutes in the battle.

"Let's go, Liepard and Froslass!" Portia called out. The Pokeballs released two wonderful Pokemon, showing off their finesse.

"Show em what you're made of, Bellossom and Braixen!" I called. My Pokemon was shimmering in light once the beams faded.

"Liepard, use Fake Out, Frosslass, use Confuse Ray!" she commanded. Liepard went forth to Bellossom and Braixen and proceeded to slap my Pokemon, and Froslass' Confuse Ray hit both of my Pokemon. This was not looking up for me. A quarter chunk of my points dissipated in my hitbar.

"Bellossom and Braixen, snap out of it and use Sunny Beam!" I said.

Bellossom and Braixen tried to snap out of the confusion and used a Sunny Day + Solarbeam combo. It fired successfully, but it only managed to graze Froslass just a tad slightly. I saw Portia's points go down as well, but not as much as mine.

"Liepard, use Torment on both of them!" Liepard then proceeded to torment Bellossom and Braixen one at a time. My hitbar is now just above the half line.

"Braixen, use Flamethrower on Froslass!" Braixen then proceeded to flinch Froslass, using the first shot as a lure, and proceeded to do a stronger version to hit Froslass. Froslass then became a lot weaker. Portia's points is still a little bit above mine though. The clock striked at 3 minutes. I have to bring it back.

"Froslass, use Ominous Wind! Then Liepard, use Sucker Punch!" Froslass then proceeded to bring dark winds in the battlefield while Liepard proceeded to charge at Bellossom and Braixen.

"Bellossom, counter the attack with Dazzling Gleam! Braixen, proceed to use Psyshock!" Just as Liepard came to hit Bellossom, she got pointblank blinded from Bellossom's attack. Braixen then hit both of them with debris which she got from the Psyshock attack. Portia's points now went down to 1/4 of the hitbar. The Ominous Wind that Froslass came hit us hard and knocked our points down to 1/3 of the hitbar. I looked at the clock and we only have about 1 minute left.

"Froslass, use Icy Wind!" Portia called out. The wind then made Bellossom and Braixen shiver in the cold. My hitbar is now at par with Portia. We only had 30 seconds left. The last move will determine the battle.

"Froslass, Liepard, Use Blizzard and Night Slash!" Portia shouted.

"Bellossom, Braixen, Use Petal Dance and Will O Wisp!" I called.

As Froslass' blizzard and Liepard charging it for the kill, Bellossom released the petals, and Braixen shot out the wisps, with both of the combinations creating a Night Slash with Blizzard waves and Petals with Wisps.

Both of the attacks hit their targets hard, creating an Icy smoke. The buzzer then rang, signaling the end of the match. After that, I heard everyone cheering on and shouting like crazy. I couldn't see who won because the smoke obstructed our view.

I coughed a little, and can't seem to find what happen to both of Portia and my Pokemon. The pressure of who won is upon us.​

 

[Iceshadow3317]

Dallas Reed - Exit.

Dallas dropped his head in defeat as the scores rolled on the scoreboard. He started thinking about everything that had happened through the Grand Festival.

"To come so close.... but to fall short..." Dallas muttered to himself.

After a minute, he raised his head and smiled and then turned to Ally.

"Cheer up Dallas. I lost two! At least you finished in the Top 6, maybe even better!" Ally announced.

"Yeah I know, it just hurts when you get so close and fall short. But there will always be more Grand Festivals." Dallas said.

Ally took his hand, "Well... I guess this is good bye old friend."

Dallas saw her eyes water as she wrapped her arms around him in a nice hug. Ally let the hug go and quickly turned around and started to leave.

"Hold on!" Dallas said as he grabbed her arm and pulled him too her slightly and gave her a hug.

"Did you forget that I said I would travel with you after the Grand Festival?" Dallas asked.

He felt Ally's body get a jolt of energy as if she had started to smile.

"Yes... I did... but what will we do not?" Ally asked.

Dallas let her go and walked past her toward the front door.

"First off... I am going to put some summer clothing on. I am tired of all the heat absorbing contest clothing." He laughed.

Ally ran after him and follower next to him, "then what?" She asked.

"Then, I guess we will travel together. I still have to get two more badges before I can enter the Hoenn League. Then we go to where ever the location is." Ice said.

"How long do you have till the League?"

"Plenty of time to relax and explore the region more." He smiled as he started running out the door heading to the pokemon center.

"HEY WAIT!! Don't tell me we will be running the whole time we are here!!" Ally cried as she ran after him.

Dallas started to laugh as he swung the door open and exited the Contest Hall into the hot, tropical, Hoenn air.

 

[gimmepie]

Farah Lumina & Alex Simmonds

The Next Step

Farah wasn't sure how to grimace and grin at the same time, so she instead opted to stare narrow-eyed at the results. She hadn't won, but the margin by which she had lost was so slim it was almost criminal. It seemed that the judges had been conflicted, and that the winner could have very easily been her had she earned just a few more points.

Still, even though she had lost, she wasn't bitter. She did incredibly well, and though she hated to admit it, losing to Alex wasn't the worst thing that could happen. He was definitely skilled, and, it would seem, a fitting rival. Next time they met, she would be sure to come out on top. She made sure to inform him of this as she walked over to congratulate him.

She was still in her dress, and Désirée fluttered beside her as she greeted Alex.

Alex blinked in surprise at the results. He'd won. Both he and Farah had exceptional scores (well it looked that way to him anyway), but by a sliver he'd managed to pull ahead of her. The competitive side in him was certainly happy, but with Alex it was always more about the thrill of the competition than the results.

Alex noticed Farah walk up to him and acknowledged her greeting with a smile.

"You know," he said, "that really could have been either of us. It was an amazing battle and I'm still not totally sure how I managed to secure the win. It was a privilege to compete against you." Alex thought for a moment before adding on "I guess the only question left is, what will you do now?"

Farah smiled. "It was certainly a thrilling match that we had. And I suppose I'll be leaving Hoenn. I'll collect more ribbons elsewhere, perhaps in Sinnoh or Kanto. Hoenn is beautiful, but there's still a whole world beyond it for me to see." She paused for a moment, looking over Alex. "And how about you?"

"Funny you say that" Alex chuckled "I'm not sticking around either. I'm not going to be heading home to Sinnoh just yet though. I've already planned my trip to Kanto."

"Kanto, huh?" Farah pet Désirée, thinking for a minute. "I suppose I could start there, then head to Sinnoh afterwards."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "You really want another chance to beat me, don't you?" He laughed loudly now, he couldn't help it. He really had appeared to have picked himself up a rival.

"Well I've got to redeem myself, now don't I? Can't go losing to you and let you get away with it." She shared the laugh for a second. "And next time, I'll be sure to kick things up a notch. It might take a few years to get into another Grande Festival, but I'm persistent."

"A few years? Where's the fun in that? If I don't see you in the final for Kanto's I'll be very disappointed." Alex meant it, he doubted he'd ever battle another person with the intensity with which he battled Farah. He was determined to compete with her as much as possible, it added even more of a thrill to contests.

A broad grin crossed Farah's face. "Well, it can sometimes take a while to acquire the necessary ribbons, depending on the competition you run into during your travels. Of course, I'm sure it wouldn't take too long to earn five ribbons in Kanto, but you've got to consider the possibilities." She chuckled a bit, having full confidence that she could earn five ribbons in a year, before Kanto's next Grande Festival.

"I just take it one step at a time. The way I see it, there's no use planning ahead. There's more of a thrill to living in the moment. I don't go into things expecting to win, but if you worry about losing it takes all the fun out of it. Have you ever been to Kanto before?" Alex hadn't really realised it, but they'd been walking as they talked and now were standing outside the contest hall, the last warm rays of sunlight filtering over Slateport through clouds painted pink and orange and shining over the sea, still visible even from the doorway of the contest hall.

"It's not so much that I worry about losing, but that I know I can't always win, as today is proof of. And no, I've never actually been to Kanto. Have you?" They continued to walk. They would have to retrieve any items they had at the Pokemon Center before leaving Slateport.

"Yeah. I competed in the Pokemon League there believe it or not. It's a fairly nice place, simple landscape, lots of caves. Cerulean City is gorgeous, there's this river running right past it and you can always see Mt. Moon. Plus there's the cape not far from there as well. The competition can get pretty tough there though, although contests aren't nearly as big over in Kanto."

Farah nodded. "Well then, Kanto it is. Since you're familiar with the place, you can take the lead." She motioned him ahead of her. There was no time to waste.​