[PKMN OPEN] Rise to the Top

Daisuke Mitsuharu · Nov 5, 2020

The Ralts Trainer's Homecoming - Kaito vs Flint & Volkner - [1]
Kaito Ishikawa | Normal Rank | Sunnyshore City, Sinnoh

The chirping of cameras. The unbearable flashes. Not to mention, the legion of paparazzi. If there was anything Kaito was most certain of, it was his discomfort towards being in the public eye. You'd think he'd be accustomed to it by now, having gotten a taste when he'd participated in the Sinnoh, Hoenn, and Kalos Leagues. But, no, you'd be wrong - the idea still made him 100 percent uncomfortable.

When Kaito first agreed to a double battle with Flint and Volkner, he envisioned a small, intimate venue for it. What he didn't envision was the whole of Sunnyshore Stadium, which Flint rented out for their bout weeks in advance. That wasn't the only thing he rented out. Their battle also had a 30-minute broadcast slot. It was going to be shown all throughout Sinnoh and beyond. TV crews from different regions were going to be filming it. Thousands of people were going to be attending.

Upon finding out, Kaito couldn't help but hyperventilate on the inside.

It wasn't that he hated being in the limelight. Far from it. You know how some people hate watching themselves on TV for one irrational reason or another? How they would - with the benefit of hindsight - just ruthlessly pick apart the things they think they shouldn't have done? Kaito was simply one of these persons.

For the moment, Kaito was safely in his car - the only barrier separating him from the swarm of scoop-hungry journalists outside. To be accurate, it wasn't actually his car but Flint's. One of Flint's chauffeurs was driving him to Sunnyshore Stadium. He'd have to thank Flint for that later. Having now arrived, all that was left for Kaito to do was unlock the car doors.

Clink.

The crowd - forming little pockets around the stadium at first - began to converge as Kaito stepped out. Then, like a pack of zombies, they pursued him, all sorts of equipment in tow.

"Oh, it's that Ralts connoisseur!"

"No way! Wasn't he retired? Is this a comeback?"

"Can he really beat both Flint and Volkner by himself? Guy's in over his head."

These were just some of the things said amongst the crowd.

Kaito's arrival was, as expected, met with mixed reactions - some positive, others not-so-positive. In particular, Kaito honed in on the positive. Considering this was his first serious match in years, how people still remembered him, Kaito wasn't exactly sure. But he was glad they did. Somewhere in the chaos, someone had even been waving a banner with his name and face on it. Kaito had to let out a chuckle seeing it, though he wished they'd used a more flattering picture for the banner. Nevertheless, it confirmed to him that he'd managed to leave a legacy, insignificant as it may have been compared to other trainers. His chest swelled at that thought.

…

Ah.

There he was again, getting all choked up. "Don't be a wuss today Kaito," he whispered. That seemed to snap him back to normal.

Picking up speed, Kaito attempted to wade through the expanse of people before him. He would respond to the camera crews on occasion, but most of the time he'd just nod politely as a gesture of acknowledgment then move on. It might not have looked like it, Kaito acting aloof and all, but he didn't mind stopping for a chat. The problem was he couldn't make out what people were saying. Not enough to do guesswork, at least. Due to the hubbub around him, every word meant to pine for his attention just blurred together into an incomprehensible mess.

That remained the case until the long-anticipated trainer duo of Flint and Volkner entered the scene. Almost immediately, most of the people around him dispersed, with the exception of a small news crew from Solaceon Town. Kaito recognized them the moment he met eyes with one of the reporters.

"Ha! Look who we have here!" That same reporter exclaimed. The entire crew was now walking towards him.

"Surprised? Excited?" Kaito locked hands with the reporter, initiating what seemed to be a handshake but not quite. "Both, maybe?" The latter half of the handshake was punctuated by a fist bump.

It had been a while since Kaito last saw Mr. Alan. Last he spoke with the brown-haired gentleman, the two commiserated over how it was too late for Kaito to start pursuing a career as a Pokémon Professor and how Mr. Alan was too old to break into the entertainment industry. Evidently, neither statement turned out to be true.

It was starting to seem as if his return to the trainer world was reconnecting him to people he'd lost contact with. Not that Kaito minded much. He just found the situation to be… interesting. This was probably just a side-effect of him being a public figure. One who's been missing-in-action, at that. Suddenly coming out of the woodwork as he did, he was bound to attract attention - both from strangers and people he knew.

Behind Mr. Alan emerged the head of Solaceon TV himself, acting professionally at first, extending a hand and whatnot. A toothy grin later, Kaito found himself somehow sucked into an interview he couldn't refuse. Whether out of persuasion or coercion, that was still up in the air.

After clipping a tiny microphone to the collar of his polo, Kaito plopped onto a folding chair prepared for him by one of Solaceon TV's staff. Opposite to him sat Mr. Alan, haphazardly buttoning up the suit he'd just changed into. Now he looked the part of a reporter.

Mr. Alan fiddled with his cue cards, searching for the right one. Once it was in his hands, the camera crew quickly circled him, all cameras panned to Kaito. "Okay, let's get started…" He mumbled before the tapes rolled. And start they did.

The interview began normal enough, though from the get-go Kaito was already bracing himself for any curveball questions.

"What are your expectations for today?" was the first question Mr. Alan fielded. It was certainly not something Kaito hadn't heard before. He didn't have to think too hard for the answer. "To not embarrass myself," Kaito replied plainly. "Might be hard when you're up against an Elite Four Member and a Gym Leader, though."

Mr. Alan nodded at the aside. "I can imagine."

"With Flint, there's no mistaking he's a formidable trainer," Kaito continued, letting a bit of his admiration for the Elite Four Member shine through. "Any trainer capable of holding their own against Cynthia is a force to be reckoned with."

"And Volkner?" Mr. Alan awaited Kaito's assessment.

"You mean Mr. Cool Guy?"

Kaito thought back to his first battle with the Sunnyshore City Gym Leader. "I wouldn't worry about him underperforming, if that's what you're getting at."

"Fair enough," Mr. Alan conceded.

Throughout his interview with Mr. Alan, Kaito noticed he'd gotten the chance to talk more than he expected. Not only that, compared to other interviews he'd had in the past, he didn't feel like Mr. Alan was leading him on at all. It was the opposite. Mr. Alan allowed him to speak his mind, and Kaito appreciated that. Once the interview was over and the cameras tucked away, he made sure to approach the guy before leaving.

"Thank you for having me, Mr. Alan," Kaito said, first tapping the man on the shoulder to get his attention.

Mr. Alan waved off the display of gratitude. "Don't mention it."

"You can give that to me."

Kaito handed over his microphone to Mr. Alan, who then passed it on to a nearby staff member for storage.

After another round of thank-yous and a quick exchange of farewells, Kaito was promptly escorted by bodyguards to the area of the stadium meant for competitors. Looking overhead, he caught a glimpse of the Rotom drone officiating his match.

Groc · Nov 6, 2020

Carrie Tanner

"It's not fair. I go up a rank and suddenly nobody wants to battle me!" Carrie aggressively sips at her drink. She and Mina are waiting for their lunch at an outdoor cafe.

"Of course not. You're out of their league now. The rules say you can only challenge competitors of equal rank."

"When did you become an expert on the rules? And why did you even read them?"

"The better question is, why didn't you?" Mina smirks at her wife. "Honestly, just sitting and waiting isn't going to do you any good. You might have to actually look somewhere else."

"What, like Dewford?"

"Maybe think bigger, honey." Mina sighs.

Carrie tries to think, but is interrupted by her phone. "Hey, someone just challenged me!"

Looking around for her challenger, she sees a bright eyed young man smiling as he hurries over. "What luck! I was concerned that there weren't any Great trainers left in Slateport! Hi, I'm Benji."

Carrie preens under the praise. "Well, they don't get much greater than me. I can spare a few minutes for a battle. You okay with that, Mina?"

"Go for it! I'm excited to actually see this one!"

Carrie accepts the challenge, following Benji to the nearby square. Luckily for Mina, their table has a good view of the arena.

◇♡Soon! Like, immediately!♡◇

With the battle official and the arena chosen, a Rotom Drone arrives to make its announcements. "Hello and welcome! Benjamin Inoue has challenged Carrie Tanner to this Great Rank battle! They will each be using two Pokémon, at the same time! That's right, folks! It's a double battle!"

"Good luck, sweetie!" Mina calls out, waving enthusiastically.

"I won't need it! But thank you!" Carrie waves back, but is dismayed to see their waiter leaving after delivering their lunch. "Hey! Don't eat my chips!"

Mina smugly plucks a potato piece from Carrie's basket. "Hurry up and win, then!"

Carrie turns back to Benji, who is still smiling at her. "Alright, let's do this. I don't want my fish and chips getting cold." She tosses a Heavy Ball and a Love Ball, sending out Slaking and Gardevoir. Slaking yawns loudly, clearly not interested, while Gardevoir turns up her nose at him.

Benji actually laughs at that. "I'd worry more about your Pokémon getting cold!" And he sends out a Seel and a pink Wormadam.

"Talk about throwing down the gauntlet! On three! One... two... THREE!"

Benji takes the initiative. "Seel, set up a snowstorm! Wormadam, lock them down!"

"King, go for the bug with a Hammer Arm! Gardevoir, use Skill Swap on Slaking."

Slaking rushes in, his fists gleaming with white energy. Before he reaches Wormadam, he leaps into the air, bringing his fist down on her metallic coat. Gardevoir's eyes glow blue, and Slaking pauses as his eyes glow as well.

"Oh, my! Gardevoir has exchanged her Synchronize Ability for Slaking's Truant!"

Meanwhile, Seel claps his flippers together while a cold wind starts to blow. He exhales a white fog, which gathers over the square and collects into gray clouds. Snow starts to fall from them, blown by the cold breeze, followed by sharp Hail stones. Wormadam releases sticky strands of electrically charged silk, which sticks to both Slaking and Gardevoir, shocking and entangling them.

The Hail doesn't seem to bother Seel, and Wormadam's protective coat wards her from harm. Slaking just gets mad at the ice, while Gardevoir covers her head and looks miserable.

"Wow! This isn't good for me!" Benji laughs, apparently having a great time. "Seel, show Slaking your Blizzard! Wormadam, how about a Flash Cannon?"

"Slaking, keep up the Hammer Arm!" Carrie walks onto the field, putting a hand on Gardevoir's shoulder. "Hey, Gardy. You doing alright?" Gardevoir pouts and sits down, still covering her head. No hailstones hit Carrie, but she backs out of the circle before any get a chance to.

Slaking, filled with a vigor he hasn't felt in years, swings wildly at Wormadam. She takes the hit, getting knocked back, just as Seel opens his mouth to exhale a blast of freezing air and tiny snowballs, which actually manage to push Slaking back a step as he protects his face with his arms. Small lights in Wormadam's coat start to shine, and small beams of light project forward, meeting up and combining into one beam of solid light. The light beam hits Slaking full in the chest, leaving his hair slightly singed.

"You're doing great, Carrie! Keep it up!" Mina is standing, leaning against the railing to get closer.

"You really are, I'm having a blast!" Benji agrees, giving a thumbs-up to both of them. "Seel, another Blizzard! Wormadam, I think Gardevoir is feeling left out. Send a Flash Cannon her way!"

Encouraged by the kind words of her wife and her opponent, Carrie shouts some inspiration to her Pokémon. "King, back off and Slack Off! Gardy, use Skill Swap on Seel!"

Slaking takes a step back, dropping to the ground and sighing in relief. His body glows green, the scorch marks on his chest and frost on his face fading away. Gardevoir sighs in annoyance, her eyes glowing blue again, as do Seel's. When the glow fades, she quickly stands back up, blushing in embarrassment of her behavior.

"Another interesting development, as now Seel has received Gardevoir's Truant Ability in exchange for Ice Body!"

Slaking's peace of mind is interrupted when Seel pelts him in the face with more snowballs, and Gardevoir is snaps to attention when the silver beam of Wormadam's Flash Cannon washes over her, staggering her. Slaking gets even angrier as the Hail crashes down on him, and Seel reacts in surprise that his own storm is now hurting him. Wormadam remains unaffected, but Gardevoir catches the balls of ice and absorbs them into herself, healing her injuries a little in the process.

"Still having fun, Benny? I know I am." Carrie teases him, but he just keeps smiling.

"Absolutely! I'm loving this! This whole tournament is great, but this fight has been the highlight of my day!"

"I'm having fun, too! I wish I'd been recording this!" Mina calls out, and even the Rotom Drone chimes in.

"I'm recording the whole thing, miss! Footage will be available online after the battle's conclusion."

"Now that's what I like to hear!" Benji grins, crouching down to pat Seel affectionately. "Just you this time, Wormadam. Fall back and use another Flash Cannon!"

"King, Hammer Arm! Gardy, use Healing Wish!"

Slaking rises to his feet, leaping forward and smashing his fist onto Wormadam, who throws herself backwards from the blow. Gardevoir holds her hands over her chest, chanting quietly. Seel lounges on the ground, watching in awe as Wormadam fires another silver laser at Gardevoir, interrupting her chant and knocking her to the ground.

"Hey! Be careful with my Pokémon!" Mina shouts, watching with concern as Gardevoir slowly stands back up, restoring a small amount of energy from the Hail.

"Don't worry, I got this!" Carrie reassures her, muttering to herself as she turns back to the fight, "One match and she's already backseat battling..."

Benji looks at Minamo, then at Carrie, his happy grin changing to a knowing smile. "Let's try something new. Wormadam, Signal Beam on Slaking. Seel, Blizzard on Gardevoir."

"King, another Hammer Arm, Gardy, use your Future Sight!"

Gardevoir raises her arms, gathering energy from the local area. A faint shimmering of energy forms in the air above her as the Psychic energy builds. Slaking grabs Wormadam before she can fire off her Signal Beam, smashing her against the ground. Seel exhales a strong gust of wind and snow, which buffets Gardevoir and knocks her down and out.

"Both Wormadam and Gardevoir are unable to battle!"

Slaking and Seel are battered by the Hail, which fades away as the clouds break and disperse. A green ball of light, similar to a falling star, hits the ground where Gardevoir was, sinking into the ground without effect.

Carrie doesn't waste time with words. "Alright King, Chip Away!" Slaking charges at Seel, raining blows down on him while he lounges lazily. "Just keep going! You've got him on the ropes!"

Benji actually stops smiling at this, knowing Seel can't do anything. "Seel, hit him with a Blizzard before he dodges!"

As Slaking is about to pummel Seel again, he summons forth another arctic blast, freezing the air around the large ape solid. Slaking looks around in confusion inside a block of ice. Seel claps his flippers happily, then locks up as though he himself was frozen in ice.

"Oh! Slaking's Synchronize Ability has frozen Seel as well! It looks like neither combatant can move!"

"What?!" Carrie looks at the Drone in confusion, a sentiment Benji shares. "Now what happens?"

Suddenly, a blue and silver orb of Psychic energy flares into being, heading straight for Seel. The Psychic bomb collides with the Water type, knocking him out definitively.

"Gardevoir's Future Sight has left Seel unable to battle! Carrie Tanner is the winner!"

"Wow! That was too close..." Carrie approaches Slaking, tapping on the block of ice he's stuck in. "Thanks, King. I'll get you out of there." She fetches a Lum Berry from her bag, and Slaking manages to break free, shivering from the cold. She feeds him the Berry, and it warms him up inside, curing him of his condition.

"Well, that was a fun battle! Thanks for indulging me, Mrs. Tanner." Benji strolls over.

"Yeah, you too. It was good." Carrie offers him her hand, which he accepts and shakes. "See you later, Ben."

"Probably!" He again gives her his winning smile. "Well, I won't keep you. Enjoy your lunch!"

Venia Silente · Nov 8, 2020

Ravir Eisenhorth – Nartes, Suocé

Ravir Eisenhorth

3 vs 3
_

Talea Covarrubias

❓

-

❓

Hotel Area – Nartes

Previously On... "Rise to the Top"

A veil of smoke and debris lifted on the street as two attack clashed against each other; the people around fell silent only for a moment before they started hushing and bickering with each other as they shuffled around their places to get better angles at the action.

A few meters downstreet, Archo looked at the cloud of smoke; he let out an inquisitive cry and readied to move, observing for any sudden movement. Soon enough the ground started trembling - a soft but regular motion, growing closer. Archo hoped back across the asphalt floor as Iedol the Duraludon rushed at him from out of the smoke cloud.

"Knock him down! Lead him in for a press!"

Talea knew even with her Duraludon's light body, physical strength could overpower a Kirlia.

The Kirlia barely had the time to turn aside and evade a swing from the Duraludon's arm, then had to block his face as the other Pokémon turned about for a punch; Duraludon knocked him down just shortly out of range, and only managed a step forward before Kirlia rolles away on the ground.

"To the other side, Archo! Pull out!"

The Kirlia got up and nodded; he readied a second Psyshock but that was not fast enough and he got slammed by a suddenly charging Duraludon.

Taking his chance, Kirlia raised both his arms to unleash a Psyshock–

"Outto a Stone, Iedol!"

–Iedol yelled out and raised his arm; sensing an incoming attack Archo retracted his technique and hunched to leap away, but he was not fast enough.

The Duraludon punched the ground hard and a large piece of concrete got dislodged from the ground to rise and hit Archo all across the head and left side of the torso. Two factions booed the technique: those who were clamoring for Ravir's victory, and those who saw the damage to the street, not to mention a few cars parked around.

"Not good..." Ravir muttered. He had to circle about to get the giant concrete slab out of his field of vision. And as he saw Kirlia jump Iedol and kick the Pokémon in the face to make his away, Talea also got closer to the fight to track the Duraludon's motions.

Both Trainers watched from a distance as Kirlia and Duraludon exchanged a few, quick minor blows. After almost half a minute dancing around each other, Iedol had been unable to score a clean hit but Archo still retreated, visibly tired, to the roof of a nearby car and readied another Psyshock.

Talea saw it coming. "Iedol, claw your way through it!"

Archo smirked, he had seen it coming too. He quickly cancelled his Psychock into a slide down the windshield just as Iedol was leaping in on the car with his claw extended.

SMASH!

"Noooo!" someone screamed. "I was one payment left on that car!"

Nevertheless, everyone else cheered as Iedol got his arm stuck on the windshield and Archo was quick to hop on him and fire a Signal Beam and then a Psychock on his head, finally prompting the larger Pokémon to cry out of pain. It was a brief moment before the Duraludon was able to dislodge himself - and the whole windshield, and catch the Kirlia still in midair with a full swing, sending him and the windshield spiraling to the other side of the street.

Archo yelled in pain and Iedol growled as he angrily hopped off the car. Of course, people cheered more.

Talea's lips curled. "Keep him on the ground, Iedol. Hard," she instructed. She would still be capable of taking out Kirlia, she thought. She just had to make sure Ravir could not switch the strategy.

Ravir for his part asked Archo if he was alright, and after the Pokémon responded with a nod, instructed him with some hesitation to go with another Psychock. He knew his main barrier right now was that Kirlia lacked something that was supereffective on the light, surprisingly fast Duraludon body.

And so, both Pokémon threw themselves at each other once more, Iedol now with clear intent to pummel Archo into the pavement if he had to.

Battle Report ⤴

Eleanor · Nov 13, 2020

Courtney Nair
18 - ♀ - Kanto

Rank: Great → Ultra

TEAM:
Charizard (Cinnamon - ♂ - Blaze)
Magmortar (Chili - ♀ - Flame Body)
Luxray (Zest - ♂ - Intimidate)
Braviary (Sumac - ♂ - Defiant)
Roserade (Paprika - ♀ - Natural Cure)
Shiftry (Clove - ♂ - Chlorophyll)
Passimian (Nutmeg - ♀ - Receiver)
Tyrantrum (Anise - ♀ - Rock Head)

Vs. Lucretia - 2 vs 2 double

Fuchsia's turn this time. If Courtney won this battle, she would have almost surely ranked up, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Her opponent was a girl from Lavender, a couple years older than her, whose smile just looked like Courtney's if not a bit… wiser, more adult. Hidden behind the silhouettes of her two Ghost types, she looked confident and perfectly aware of what she was doing.

On the other hand, the redhead was digging her nails in the palms of her own hands, as she tried to not let her frustration get the best of her. She recalled Magmortar, sighing, after a relentless Curse finally knocked her out.

Chili had been mostly charging up powerful attacks while her partner tried to take them instead. But the opposing Dusknoir's Curse was laid on her nonetheless, and quickly whittled away at her health. Even worse, most of her Fire Blasts were just absorbed flawlessly by the Flash Fire Chandelure that her opponent also sent out.

Said Chandelure had to watch out from Anise, though. Courtney's Tyrantrum, who had mostly spent the battle scaring off the Ghosts and trying to hit them with Crunch or Dragon Claw, but that also had a secret weapon ready to be unveiled.

The battle was pretty even on paper because of that. Both of the girls could have a chance to win, and the tide could change in the matter of seconds. Their hearts were building up the pace as they tried to keep focused and collected… up until now. Yes, because now Lucretia was not afraid to show her emotions anymore. "That was intense! You turned out to be a fine trainer for sure!" She grinned, walking back and forth on her side of the field. "But you won't be good enough to get yourself out of this!"

It was probably true, not really because of Courtney though. She lived for this after all, didn't she? But Anise didn't, apparently. She was looking back at the redhead with fiery eyes, almost in annoyance.

"Well, you try me, Crish! Head Smash that Chandelure, Anise!"

Tyrantrum waited for a couple seconds, grunting. The thought of battling by herself probably didn't entice her enough. Or maybe it was Courtney asking her to use such a powerful move - after all, she had been using Dragon Claw most of the time, and considered that to be enough effort.

A Shadow Ball came her way, and she just shrugged it off with a sideways Crunch instead, without going for the attack afterwards. Not what Courtney wanted - also because Anise was making her look like a fool.

"I'm taking you to the nurse anyways. Might as well go down with a bang, Anise!"

"I can help with that!" Lucretia smirked, as Chandelure readied up another attack that it previously had never used… Solar Beam. Which Anise decided to just endure.

As the sunlight crashed down on her… that's when she decided to act, however. From the blinding light came out blind rage, as Tyrantrum lunged at Chandelure, surrounded by blue energy. Courtney nodded, her eyes sparkling as she realized that finally, Anise seemed to listen to her. She still had not bonded with her much, after all…

"Ally Switch, quick!" Lucretia called out. In the blink of an eye, Dusknoir and Chandelure swapped places, and the bulkier Ghost type was now ready to take the attack in place of its teammate. The damage was still relevant, but at least it was something that Dusknoir could manage. And if it meant giving Chandelure a better chance to strike, this time with Shadow Ball… it was all worth it.

Anise did, in fact, take that attack from the side, with no time to react to it. And then, she lunged at the Chandelure again, without waiting for any command. Crunch, Dragon Claw, whatever came more useful to hit that Fire-type. But Lucretia's Pokémon kept dancing in the air, dodging Anise's attacks.

That was going nowhere, and Courtney quickly realized that. Surely enough, the ominous wisps that Dusknoir was about to fire were also going to make things more difficult. But now that Chili wasn't there…

"Anise, Stomping Tantrum!"

The redhead felt the ground shaking as her Pokémon channeled her own frustration into her move, the effects still hurting and confounding the floating Chandelure, as well as hitting Dusknoir a few meters away. "Crunch the Chandelure, protect yourself from the fire!"

Courtney crossed her fingers so hard - that was a difficult command and not even that rational. But Anise understood. She crunched the Chandelure, and used its own Flash Fire to draw the Will-o-Wisp from Dusknoir onto it, rather than onto herself. She then threw the Chandelure into the air, ready to strike again.

"Ally Switch again, Dusknoir!"

"Attack Dusknoir! Head Smash!"

The two commands came basically in unison. Dusknoir successfully swapped itself with Chandelure, and was now up in the air, slowly descending. But Anise had aimed right at where Dusknoir was, and not up in the sky, just like Courtney told her to. As the redhead could confirm, something was changing.

Chandelure was knocked clean out by Anise, as finally Courtney's enthusiasm had started to get to her as well. Surely one more Head Smash would seal the deal at that point, too! Tyrantrum didn't wait any longer and aimed another attack at Dusknoir, all the while Lucretia smiled. "It's over, I know. Just… use Destiny Bond."

Once again, two Pokémon laid motionless on the battlefield. Once again, two trainers looked at each other with fiery eyes. And once again, the Rotom drone decreed Courtney's victory.

Anise was a hard Pokémon to raise and battle with. She was quite touchy, arrogant, and complacent. But she would get fired up easily, and Courtney was great at doing so… surely, she had to keep going on this route. The girl kept pondering over this as she headed to the Pokémon Center, as a notification from her PokéGear brought her back to reality. She ranked up to Ultra!

gimmepie · Nov 14, 2020

Alaka Malina
Male | 24 | Hau'oli City (Alola)

Custard (Imposter) - Transform

Prince (Male, Snow Warning) - Aurora Veil, Ice Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Disable

Pan (Female, Slush Rush) - Icicle Crash, Swords Dance, Drill Run, Iron Head

Titan (Male, Snow Warning, Mega Capable) - Aurora Veil, Wood Hammer, Earthquake, Ice Punch

Fuji (Female, Snow Cloak) - Will-o-Wisp, Hex, Double Team, Blizzard

Zeus (Male, Slush Rush) - Bolt Beak, Icicle Crash, Surf, Pluck

Dave (Male, Ice Face) - Hail, Ice Punch, Liquidation, Zen Headbutt

Sunny (Female, Forecast) - Rain Dance, Weather Ball, Thunder, Hurricane

Alaka sighed, facing off with Jazz across the battlefield. They'd barely gotten out of the airport when she'd challenged him again, and this time she wasn't taking no for an answer. She continued pursuing him until he finally relented. He'd been planning to head to his parent's place right away, but alas it seemed as if this battle was mandatory. At the very least, he'd managed to get her to agree to a single round double battle instead of a two aside single battle, that would hopefully speed things up.

"Alright, let's go!"

Alaka was brought back to attention by Jazz clapping her hands loudly. Even he could tell she was getting impatient by this point, although he couldn't understand why since she had insisted on battling then when he had other things on his mind.

"I guess I'm picking first then," Jazz remarked, "Oscar, Blitz, you're up!"

She tossed a pair of pokeballs into the air, each simultaneously exploding open and releasing her competitors of choice from within. The first, a Bibarel with bristly brown fur and prominent buck teeth. The second, a four winged purple batlike Pokemon - a Crobat.

Alaka absentmindedly grabbed two of his own Pokeballs, giving them a much less enthusiastic toss. With an identical flash of light, his Abomasnow and Arctozolt emerged. The latter Pokemon, Zeus, gave an enthusiastic wave with his stubby arms while Titan offered only a grunt of acknowledgement.

"That is the strangest-looking Pokemon I have ever seen," Jazz commented, eyeing Zeus quizzically as hailstones began to fall from a patch of out-of-place clouds forming above them. "And of course, Snow Warning takes effect. Interesting.

"Looks like I'm going with Titan and Zeus then," Alaka remarked, as though he hadn't even heard his opponent, "Good combination."

"Wait," Jazz said, astonishedly, "Didn't you even look at which Pokemon you were picking?! Oh whatever, let's go already. Blitz, Tailwind!"

Jazz's Crobat began flapping its wings harder, a gust beginning to blow from behind it and its teammate. Jazz wasn't done yet though. "Oscar, Hyper Fang!"

Her Bibarel shot forward with unusual speed, aided by its partner's Tailwind. It opened its mouth wide, further exposing its prominent teeth as they began to glow brightly. Without a word from Alaka, Zeus was already moving.

Even faster than Oscar, the Arctozolt was suddenly in front of the rushing Bibarel, electricity crackling around his maw as he ducked Oscar's attack and bit down with a Bolt Beak, electricity surging through the Bibarel as it abandoned the attack and backed away.
"See, good combo," Alaka said.

"I guess now I know what that thing's Ability is."

"Aurora Veil please, Titan." Alaka didn't answer Jazz's comment, opting instead to give his next instruction.

A shimmering rainbow glow washed over both Titan and Zeus, causing a groan of displeasure from Jazz on the opposite side of the field.

"Fine, we'll be having enough of that! Blitz, Cross Poison on the Abomasnow. Oscar, you hit it with Superpower!" Jazz's disappointment seemed to have quickly given way to defiance.

Her Crobat was the fastest, easily reaching Titan before he had a chance to react and slashing across him with purple, poison-infused wings. Titan barely sagged though, his already formidable endurance bolstered by his Aurora Veil.

Oscar attempted to strike him next, but was blocked by Zeus who placed himself between them as an almost fiery orange aura began to radiate off of the Bidoof. Oscar leapt up and whipped around, slamming Zeus with his paddle-like tail. Zeus didn't take the hit quite as well as Titan, being knocked back by the powerful strike, but he didn't fall, the radiant veil protecting him as well.

"Titan, Ice Punch. Zeus, Icicle Crash."

Blitz was too fast for Titan, dodging higher up and out of the way of the Abombasnow's icy, blue-glowing fist. The Abomasnow's growl of frustration at the nimble Crobat was drowned out though by the shattering sound of a tail cloaked in jagged ice slamming into Oscar the Bibarel and knocking it tumbling along the ground.

"You haven't got the best of us yet." Jazz continued to smirk definitely as her Bibarel leapt back up and regrouped with its Crobat companion.

"Okay," Alaka said.

"Would it kill you to show some enthusiasm?" Jazz asked incredulously.

"Probably not," Alaka replied.

"Well, I'm going to make you show some interest, so we'll find out. Hit the weird-looking one, Steel Wing and Aqua Jet!"

A surge of water rose up around Oscar and blasted him forward into Zeus like a missile. Zeus shook off the attack, but it has served its purpose. While Zeus was occupied with the high-speed attack, Blitz lived up to his name and shot out of the sky with silvery, metallic glowing wings. One set struck the Arctozolt hard, even his Aurora Veil not keeping him from being spun in the direction of the impact.

Zeus was far from out of the game though, even as he fell, he lashed out and clamped his mouth down on one of Blitz's wings, dragging the Crobat down with him.

"Good job," Alaka said, "You know what to do."

With a gleeful sound - well as gleeful as he could sound with a Crobat in his mouth - Zeus unleashed another Bolt Beak. A surge of electricity rushed through Blitz as he struggled feebly against Zeus' powerful grip.

"Catch, Titan," Alaka instructed.

Zeus flung his body up, letting go of Blitz as he did so, his form blocking the Crobat from his teammate's sight as it spiralled uncontrollably towards Titan.

Blitz let out a squeak of alarm as he managed to right himself, directly in front of Titan. The Abaomasnow loomed over the Crobat as he hammered down on him with another Ice Punch, the devastating attack leaving Blitz motionless at his feet.

"Good effort, Oscar and I have this now, don't worry," Jazz said, returning Blitz to his ball. "This isn't over yet. Get ready for an epic comeback!"

"Okay," Alaka said.

Daisuke Mitsuharu · Nov 14, 2020

The Ralts Trainer's Homecoming - Kaito vs Flint & Volkner - [2]
Kaito Ishikawa | Normal Rank | Sunnyshore City, Sinnoh

Kaito's waiting room was a modest space. Aside from the vanity table set, which lay parallel to the walls, unused, and the couch on which Kaito currently sat, there was little else. Beside him, perched on a four-legged table, was a small refrigerator, just within arm's reach. Though it proved empty. The disappointment Kaito felt upon first opening it was… immeasurable, to say the least. You can imagine why Kaito chose to ignore it entirely after that.

"Polly, then Luciela, then Razor…" Kaito cycled through his three-Pokémon lineup.

To say that Kaito was prepared was an understatement. There were approximately three weeks before the start of his match with Flint and Volkner. And Kaito sure as hell made the most of them, recalling his previous encounters with Flint and Volkner and formulating appropriate strategies.

Naturally, with the time that had passed since he went defunct, Kaito expected a power differential between him and his competitors. Not a large one, mind you, but enough to put him at a disadvantage. Both Flint and Volkner certainly weren't twiddling their thumbs while he was gone, given their stations as Elite Four and Gym Leader. Not to mention, their battle sense must've improved some as well.

Still, it didn't change the fact that Kaito was prepared.

Lost-in-thought Kaito remained, juggling tactics in his head, until a sudden flash enveloped his room and out came Razor, facing him. "Need something?" Kaito asked the Gallade, patting the seat next to him. Razor growled a gentle growl, and then occupied the seat in question, seeming relaxed despite the battle ahead.

"Cool as a cucumber I see," Kaito commented, sounding cool as a cucumber himself. His interview with Mr. Alan had done wonders in calming his nerves.

Agreeing with the statement, Razor yapped enthusiastically.

"On a scale of 1-10, how excited are you, Razor?" Kaito was making small talk. In response, Razor raised both of his hands. "Gallade!"

"A 6, huh? Not very high…" From his tone, Kaito was obviously being facetious. Being six-fingered meant Razor could at most signal a "6," even if he wanted to signal a "10." That also meant that his "6" was actually a "10" by human standards. Razor didn't seem to catch on to the subtext, though. Instead, he shook his head and took Kaito seriously.

"Gallade! Gallade!" Razor cried out, a snarl of disapproval escaping the Pokémon's lips.

With a vigorous motion, the Gallade promptly jumped off his seat, readying what looked to be a demonstration. Of what, Kaito was unsure. What he was sure of, however, was that Razor was determined to make himself understood.

Despite having blades for hands, the dual-type Pokémon tried as best he could to mime a "1" and a "0," which Kaito immediately realized. Not that he hadn't before. If Razor was anything, it was "earnest."

Kaito chuckled slightly at the miming attempt, finding it somewhat cute that Razor would go to such lengths. "Alright, alright. I get you." Now he felt bad for teasing.

As he should.

Pouting, Razor booped his trainer on the head before returning to his Pokéball. "Saw that coming." With that, the room had once again returned to silence, leaving Kaito to his thoughts.

"What to do, what to do…"

A minute of waiting soon turned into five, which all-too-quickly turned into fifteen. A clock hanging from the wall, in addition to his phone, which he periodically turned on and off out of boredom, let Kaito know exactly how much time had passed. He was getting restless. How much longer did he have to--

"Welcome, one and all, to today's event!" A mechanical voice boomed from the speakers in his room, and all of a sudden, Kaito felt everything around him vibrate.

It was the Rotom drone's voice that was coming through, likely amplified by the stadium's state-of-the-art sound system. Rotom's greeting solicited cheers from spectators, which boomed even louder from the speakers. Talk about tinnitus - if the decibel levels were any higher, Kaito would start losing his hearing.

"Introducing our first challenger... The shockingly fiery duo of Flint and Volkner!"

"Shockingly fiery, huh?" Kaito repeated under his breath, a smirk parting his lips. It was a clever joke, considering that Flint and Volkner trained Fire and Electric type Pokémon.

Following their introduction was the sound of pyrotechnics going off, "pew pew", which Kaito assumed indicated the appearance of the previously-mentioned trainer duo. Further applause from spectators more or less confirmed his suspicions.

"Mr. Ishikawa, it's time," a man-in-black said, catching Kaito from behind.

At first, Kaito was too preoccupied listening to Rotom to notice said man. When he did finally notice, however, his reaction was a mix of fright and confusion. Eventually, surprise gave way to clarity, and Kaito's fears were quickly assuaged once he'd had a second to think things through. The man had likely come from the place where the Rotom drone was. Giving a look of understanding, Kaito turned to face him, and then nodded.

Wordlessly, the man proceeded to usher Kaito into a hallway connecting his room to the stadium's battlegrounds, where he was instructed to make his appearance once Rotom called for him.

Before he knew it, he stood face-to-face with Flint and Volkner.

"Introducing our second challenger… Kaito Ishikawa!"

The stadium lights on Kaito's side flared to life as the trainer in question sashayed excitedly to his position. No longer was he holed up in that dingy waiting room. He felt liberated. Kaito waved a friendly wave to the audience, and then to Flint and Volkner, before scanning the platform in front of him. It was large, spanning nearly the entire length of the Sunnyshore Stadium, not counting the seating. In it, boulders of different sizes and shapes were scattered about, seemingly with no rhyme or reason to their placement. "They'll make for good cover," Kaito remarked, no doubt planning to use them for something.

Finally Kaito looked up again, locking eyes with Flint, who wiggled an eyebrow at him, as if to say "amazing, right?". Kaito shot him the usual thumbs-up.

With that, Rotom entered the platform and began explaining the rules of the match.

"Today's event will be a 3 vs 3 double battle," it buzzed, reiterating out of protocol what most people already knew. "In addition, 2 Pokémon are allotted to Flint, while 1 is allotted to Volkner." It was here that Rotom paused for a second while the audience looked on in anticipation. Anytime now, the magic words were going to come out. "Begin!" And there they were.

With an upward sweep of his hand, Flint wasted no time in releasing his Pokémon. "Infernape, buddy, let's go!"

The Pokéball hung suspended in the air for only a brief moment before revealing the muscular figure of the monkey Pokémon. No less muscular was the Electivire standing next to it, which Volkner released moments later - to the hurrays of fangirls in the stadium.

Seeing Infernape, Kaito considered sending out Razor to deal with it. In a snap judgement, however, he quickly rejected the idea and opted to send out Polly, like he'd originally intended. It was too soon for Razor, he decided. The Scolipede scurried onto the stage, fresh out of her Pokéball, and Luciela the Gardevoir followed suit.

"Flamethrower at the Scolipede!" Flint picked up on the type mismatch between his Infernape and Polly. A pillar of flame then came barreling towards the Megapede Pokémon.

"Scoli! Scoli!" Polly rushed full-speed to a nearby boulder for protection, getting behind it in the nick of time. Fried Scolipede was most definitely not on today's menu.

Sensing no immediate danger, Kaito took the chance to see his "Baton Pass" plan to fruition. "Swords Dance!" While safely behind her boulder, the Scolipede glowed red. She'd seemed to have bulked up as a result of it. Her limbs appeared more spry as well.

Kaito noted Volkner's pensive expression. "Electivire, draw the Scolipede out with Thunderbolt!" Was the Gym Leader onto him? Either way, he wasn't going to let anything happen to Polly. The electric attack was in the end intercepted, by Luciela no less, who manifested stars of gold that interlocked to form a shield. This shield cushioned the Thunderbolt meant for Polly.

Unfazed, Volkner pressed his assault. "Close the distance, Electivire!"

"Luciela, throw it off course using Psychic!" Kaito countered.

Luciela would've succeeded had it not been for Infernape forcing her to evade a Flamethrower. She stepped back before the blast reached her. This lapse in attention gave Electivire the opening it needed to approach Polly, who was now in close proximity to the electric juggernaut. "Thunder Punch!" Meeting the Electivire fist-first, Polly's boulder shattered in an explosion of rock and electricity.

"Again!"

Polly had to act. "Megahorn!"

The electric type's Thunder Punch clashed with the bug type's Megahorn, and what resulted was a shockwave that spread throughout the stadium. At the display of power, the audience erupted in applause, louder than ever. Despite it, Volkner was unflinching, laser-focused on the battle. Flint was much the same. "Don't let her off, Electivire! Thunder Punch again!"

As Volkner's Electivire attempted a second swing straight ahead, Polly lunged to its side, picking up speed as she did so. Polly soon regrouped with her companion.

"Not bad!" Flint commented, voice teetering into a yell, during a lull in the battle. He glanced a quick glance at Volkner before just as quickly issuing a command to his Infernape. "Dig!" The Infernape burrowed underground after that.

For the meantime, Volkner's Electivire was alone. "Let's take it out!" Kaito commanded. "Luciela, use Swift! Polly, Megahorn once more!"

The situation was too advantageous not to capitalize on. For one, it gave Kaito a chance to overwhelm his opponent. As an added bonus, it also made Flint more predictable. If Infernape wanted to help Electivire, it would have to climb back to the surface. From there it had 2 choices. It could dig towards Electivire to protect it by laying down a Fire attack, or go for one of Kaito's Pokémon to divert attention away from its teammate. Kaito was forcing it to make one of the two choices, and he was ready for both.

Surprisingly, Infernape did neither, and Electivire - all by his lonesome - retaliated against Polly and Luciela by firing off bolts of lightning from its tendrils.

This three-way scuffle between Polly, Luciela, and Electivire lasted a measly 3 seconds before a rumbling began to shake the ground. An unexpected development, to be sure. Kaito's face quickly contorted into one of confusion. Volkner knew what was about to transpire, so he instructed Electivire to pull back. Kaito, meanwhile, did not, but his intuition told him to brace for something.

"Now Infernape! Set em' ablaze with Overheat!"

Boom. A discharge of fire from below transformed the entire landscape into an infernal hell, which was not evident at first glance due to the initial smoke and debris. Eventually, these cleared up, and spectators had an unfiltered view of the damage. In the aftermath of Flint's Overheat, the terrain on which the Pokémon stood had become nothing more than a disorganized aggregation of stone, scorched to the point of blackness. Kaito could perceive no flat ground to stand on. Everywhere was uneven.

From his left, he noticed Polly beginning to rise to her feet, still reeling from pain but for the most part capable of acting. Kaito promptly sent her back to her Pokéball to rest. "Baton Pass!" The move swapped Polly with Razor.

Upon entry, Razor came to the aid of Luciela, who - despite being covered in a semi-circular barrier of stars, parts of which crumpled to pieces - had bruises all over. The Gallade helped the Gardevoir regain her balance.

"Gallade!" Razor signaled towards Infernape. Seeing the wisps of fire around its body grow stronger, Kaito surmised that the Infernape's Blaze ability had activated. The collateral damage from the Overheat must've been the cause. He also observed a faint but unmistakable charge in the air. It sent his hair flying upwards, which he tried to pin down, albeit fruitlessly. Volkner's Electivire had used Electric Terrain. For what, Kaito didn't immediately realize.

It was only until the slabs of rock around him began floating that words from a distant past rang in his mind, enlightening him with a well-needed explanation. "Heat up the right kind of stone, and it becomes a magnet," he suddenly remembered Volkner saying, the words taken out of their proper context. Rock linking together piece by piece, what was starting to amalgamate in front of Kaito was a golem multiple times the size of Electivire. The obsidian mass of earth slammed a fist down at its completion, sending Razor and Luciela backwards from the force. Behind it was Volkner's Electivire, acting the part of the puppet master.

There was only one thing Kaito could do to turn the tide of battle.

Clutching his necklace: "Razor, Mega Evolve!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

QueenNothing · Nov 14, 2020

Lana Alanis-Young
Ultra Rank

Lana was truly alone now.

She's been deliberately ignoring her moms, and when Conny lent out a helping hand she turned it down. There was probably a lesson in her battle with Conny, but her rage from him going soft blinded her.

It felt like Lana was back to the basics, as she was deep in Pinwheel Forest with Hoshi out, training him up for their next battle. The Dragonite was always a little unfocused, but she really needed to toughen him up to prevent any future losses.

"Hoshi! Don't slack just yet, keep it up!"

Hoshi had been continuously side-stepping in place to an inaudible beat, long enough to start panting. As he was moving from his left to his right, his movements were slowing down, doing his best to catch his breath.

"I said keep it up! You need to practice movement!"

He was begrudgingly doing his absolute best to keep a steady pace, but his limit was near. Unable to continue any further, Hoshi's body collapses to the ground belly first. It wasn't an ideal way to rest, but anything would do for him.

"Goddamnit Hoshi! Get up, we don't have time to kill!" The Dragonite did get back up on his feet, but instead of doing as he was told, he sticks his tongue out and crosses his arms defiantly.

"What are you doing!?" Lana yells, her rage building up. "What did I just say!? We can't afford to waste any time!!" Her yelling would fix nothing, as all her Pokémon would respond with was a "Hmph."

"I give up…" The black haired girl says, falling to the dirt on her rear. "What am I gonna do if my own Pokémon won't even listen?" The fear of her moms reaction only got worse the more she dwells on the thought. How would they feel if they found out her daughter ran away from home to enter the World Championships, but utterly failed?

"Hey kid! That's a cool looking Dragonite you got there!"

Lana pokes her head up. She recognizes that voice, but it's not someone she wants to hear from right now.

She turns her head around to see her suspicion was correct. She sees a fair skinned woman, probably around Conny's age, wearing a purple karate gi, and as she approaches, her purple eyes and black hair put up in a large messy bun becomes more visible. "Seems like you're having some trouble with him, eh?"

Oh no, what is she doing here???

Lana scoots back with every step the woman takes. She recognizes her, and knows full well she's been exposed.

The woman seems to think otherwise, however, and she giggles at how scared Lana is. "Oh, I'm sorry, we should probably greet each other first. What's your name?"

Lana freezes in place, staring blankly. "W-w-what?"

"Do you have rocks in your ears or something, kid?" She asks again, more irritated than before. "I asked for your name."

"Y-you don't know my name?"

The woman raises an eyebrow. "Why would I? We just met."

"B-b-but I know your name! Your-"

"Heyheyheyheyheyhey!" She gestures for Lana to be quiet, cautiously looking around. "Don't just say my name out loud, kid! Even if we're in the middle of Pinwheel Forest, you never know where crazy fans can lurk about." She then focuses her attention back at the young girl. "And I suppose that's where you know me from."

Are you serious? Does she actually not recognize me? Well I guess it has been awhile, and I've been sort of trying to modify my appearance…

"Look, I'm sorry." The woman begins. "I've gone to so many fan events and I just can't remember every name I interact with. My memory is shit, and that many names presented to me is putting my already poor memory to the test. But hey, here I am right now asking for your name in a one-on-one setting right now. Cool, huh?"

Ahh...That explains it

"My name is Lana." The young girl states, cautious to not mention her last name. She knows for sure that'll get her found out.

"Nice to meet you, Lana!" The woman forcefully yanks Lana's arm and starts energetically shaking it. "You know my name, but just call me Georgia. It's safer to be called that out in the open." "Georgia" takes a second to clear her throat. "As I was saying, that's a neat looking Dragonite you have, but I noticed you're having trouble with him."

"Maybe I am, but I don't need anybody's help!"

"Nonsense!" "Georgia" says, bearing a large grin that Lana has seen many times. "I can't just let young trainers struggle! It's my responsibility to help you!"

Lana furrows her eyebrows. "I'm fine, I mean it, now just leave me alo-"

"And I'm going to do that by challenging you to a battle!" "Georgia" interrupts, grabbing a purple Rotom phone from her gi. After a few button presses, Lana notices her own phone go off.

"How did you kno-"

"Trainer's intuition." The woman smirks. "Kid, how does it feel to know a renowned Pokémon trainer is challenging you to battle? Potentially you can win and knock me down a peg. Tempting, ain't it?"

"Georgia" is right. After an embarrassing loss from Insecta, Lana really needs to get her rank back up. "Fine. I accept."

"Excellent! But under one condition- It's a one-on-one battle, and you have to use your Dragonite!"

Of course. Of all the Pokémon she wants to battle against, it just has to be Hoshi.

With enough space now between the two trainers, a Rotom drone swoops in to begin the formalities.

"The battle between Lana Alanis-Young and G-"

"YOU'RE CALLING ME GEORGIA RIGHT NOW, GOT IT!?" The woman shouts, causing the drone to flinch.

"My bad! The battle between Lana Alanis-Young and…'Georgia' is about to commence in a one-on-one battle! Both sides must now send out their Pokemon!"

Lana already has Hoshi out on the field, and she waits for her opponent to send out a Pokemon, desperately crossing her fingers that "Georgia" didn't catch her last name.

"Hey, your last name almost sounds like mine!" The woman chuckles, totally oblivious. "Ah shit, I hope nobody heard that. Oh well." She shrugs, then grabbing a Pokeball from her gi. "Come on out, Tusk!"

"Georgia" reveals a Haxorus, who roars when he makes his entrance. Hoshi, meanwhile, doesn't seem to take him very seriously.

"Begin!"

I can't use ranged attacks, because I know Tusk here is gonna close-in on Hoshi and use Dragon Claw or something...Seems I need to rush in.

Lana orders an Ice Punch from Hoshi, using his wings to fling himself forward, and forms a fist that covers itself in ice. He quickly approaches, but Tusk counters by spinning around and slamming his tail into Hoshi's chest to halt his movement, and follows up with a Dragon Claw across the face.

While up close, the Dragonite charges a Dragon Pulse in his mouth, attempting to fire one off at point-blank range, but Tusk interrupts by lunging forward and sinking his teeth into Hoshi's neck, dissolving the premature Dragon Pulse, instead being replaced with a pained screech that left Hoshi's mouth.

The Haxorus detaches his jaw from Hoshi's neck, and he seizes this opportunity to fly back and catch his breath.

"Hoshi, get back in there!" Lana barks.

"Georgia" notices her behavior, and calls her out. "This is your first problem, kid. Your Dragonite needs a break, and this is when you'd normally want to switch out in a full battle."

"But Hoshi is the best suited for this!" Lana protests. "Even if he faints, I'll still knock Tusk out. As long as I win fairly, I don't care what I need to do."

"Georgia" shakes her head, and faces the Rotom Drone crossing her hands. "Time out, time out!" She jogs up to Hoshi, grabbing a Sitrus Berry to give him.

"Hey, that's against the rules!"

"Are you seriously gonna tell me what I can and can't do?" The drone nervously shakes his "head" in response. "Didn't think so."

Hoshi delightfully swallows the berry whole, but the contrary of the dragon-type, Lana can feel her frustration boiling. "Hey! What the fuck are you doing! This is a ranked battle, why are you-"

"Quiet, kid." The woman shushes. "I know what we're doing, but I'm using this to teach you a lesson. Of course, you can quit if you don't like it and want your rank to drop."

Damnit, she's right.

"Hoshi seems to do exactly as you say," "Georgia" continues, analyzing the Dragonite as she pets him, "But what does he want to do?"

"W-what? Why does it matter, I'm the trai-"

"I said, what does he want to do?"

Lana sighs. "He likes flying and just messing around in the sky, but all his best moves are melee attacks, and he can't stay grounded. But I'm the trainer, and it's my job to tell him what to do so he doesn't get his ass handed to him!"

"Georgia" shakes her head. "That's not how you should approach this. You're not above him, you're working together as both trainer and Pokémon, and you both should express yourselves! So when we resume, let Hoshi do as he likes while trying to balance that with your goal!"

Lana does her best to formulate a retort, but she finds it hard when "Georgia" was someone she looked up to so much- What could be better than someone she idolized giving her direct advice. "Alright, fine. I will."

"Georgia" shoots a wide grin, and rushes back to her place. "Great! Now then, let's get back to it! Tusk, use Dragon Claw!"

Tusk dashes forward, his claws on both hands surging with dragon energy. Before he can slash at Hoshi, the Dragonite flies straight-up into the sky to dodge the melee attack. With Hoshi now about forty feet in the air, he darts around the sky, doing loops and flying through clouds.

"Come on Hoshi! Focus!"

"You said his best attacks are physical attacks, correct? So how could you combine the two elements to work?"

Lana taps her chin with her index finger before her eyes light up. "I have an idea! Hoshi, get back down here!"

Reluctantly, the Dragonite lands back to his previous position. He seems upset about having to stay grounded.

"Let's do this again! Tusk, use Dragon Claw!" Just as before, the Haxorus once again rushes down Hoshi with both claws drawn. This time, before he flies away, Hoshi reaches his arms around Tusk, below his arms, and then flaps his wings to fly around.

"Yes! Good job Hoshi!"

Hoshi freely flies around in the sky with a tight hold on Tusk, who grins at the satisfaction present in his opponent's face. He wasn't afraid of heights, and was glad to have accomplished his goal.

Just as her Pokémon did, "Georgia" grinned once more. "Hey kid, can you tell Hoshi to let Tusk down? I forfeit."

"Wait, what!?"

"Gw- I mean, 'Georgia' has forfeited the match! The victor is Lana Alanis-Young!

As Hoshi descends and releases Tusk, Lana's jaw hangs from her head. "B-but- Why?? Why would you sacrifice your rank like that and just- Why did you go easy on me??"

"Georgia" shrugs. "It's just a number. I've competed in Worlds enough that I don't really care anymore. I don't think your new rank is dishonest or anything, you've proven to be a skilled trainer, you deserve it nonetheless." The woman returned Tusk to his Pokeball, thanking him while doing so. "But also, I got a little distracted. See, the reason I'm here is to look for my girlfriend- She always gets lost- But I got so caught up in this that I got sidetracked, and boy, she's not gonna be happy to hear that!"

Lana chuckled. "Georgia" was right, and if she was right, that'd mean Conny was to. "I appreciate your help."

"No problem!" The woman grinned. "I had fun too, but I need to get going now! See ya, kid!"

As "Georgia" ran off to accomplish her task, Lana smiled the first time that day.

"Yeah… See you around. Thanks for your help, Aunt Gwen."

Ivy
Donna
Cain
Bot
Hoshi
Solomon
Eva
Melon

Venia Silente · Nov 14, 2020

Ravir Eisenhorth | Great Rank | Nartes, Suocé

Ravir Eisenhorth

3 vs 3
_

Talea Covarrubias

❓

-

❓

Hotel Area – Nartes

Previously On... "Rise to the Top"

People on the streets paid their attention to the battle and cheered the Kirlia and Duraludon trying to blast each other with Psyshock and Flash Cannon, to not much effect.

Still, Ravir grumbled. Kirlia was obviously tired, reacting slowly and resorting to hop around the parked vehicles to try and recover any ground lost to Duraludon.

"Give it up, Ravir," spoke Talea from downstreet, sitting on a car's hood. "You know travelling overseas is a pain on the wallet-"

Ravir regained his concentration just as the Duraludon shoved Archo out of the way and then sunk his claw on the pavement to lift off yet another Stone Edge.

"-...spare yourself that cost. I can travel overseas for cheap!" the female Trainer added mockingly.

Fortunately Archo fell on the roof of another car and was quick to roll out of the way, beyond Iedol's immediate reach.

"Argh... I don't like the idea, thanks," answered Ravir nonchalantly. "Archo, enough with the games; impair the Duraludon at once!"

The Kirlia nodded and made his way around one of the cars and back to the street; as soon as the Duraludon followed Archo turned around and whipped him in the face with a very strong Signal Beam that made the Pokémon stagger – but not for long, and more than a few in their audience sighed their displeasure at the fruitless attempt.

Ravir knew Archo was not trained to fight something like a Duraludon; still he needed to try and secure the first round or the rest of his team would be in trouble. At the moment, he could think of one way.

He rose his voice only slightly. "Okay Archo, do that but stronger, see. Fall back and spam shoot him!" He knew Kirlia would get the message.

Talea was quick also to note the change in strategy. "You are being too soft, Iedol. Finish this with Dragon Claw but make sure you get close."

The Duraludon roared contently and charged up some energy just as Archo hopped back.

One Psyshock came the Duraludon's way and he evaded it going to one side. Then a second one, tanked. The Duraludon roared, jumped at the next car then leapt at the Kirlia from there, chasing him. Talea frowned, she knew once Iedol got close they would only have one shot.

Archo got off the cars and returned to the street, turning around to fire a Psyshock with two palms at the Duraludon. In about that moment, Iedol charged with full strength for a jumping down Dragon Claw.

The two Trainers knew exactly what the other one was planning.

"Iedol!" Talea instructed, assured that Kirlia would try to unleash a last-second Disarming Voice or Dazzling Gleam. "Slide it off into a Stone Edge!"

"Archo! Incapacitate and spam him with Signal Beam!"

The Kirlia held his ground just as the Duraludon jumped, his lightweight form making his movement much speedier than one would expect. Still, Archo stepped back, breathed hard and suddenly unleashed a tremendous Hyper Voice scream - loud enough that covering themselves Ravir and Talea were not able to immediately follow the action.

The sudden pain overtook Iedol as well and the Pokémon shook and closed his eyes in pain, no longer able to direct his Dragon Claw.

Archo was quick to hop aside right before the Duraludon fell on top of him and, with a quick dance motion, hopped on the fallen Duraludon's head and sprung up into the air to then swirl in the air and with each swing unleash one,

two,

three,

Signal Beams that blasted the Duraludon a few meters away amidst a cloud of smoke and loose energy before the Kirlia returned to the ground, shaking.

Talea shook her head for a moment, got off the hood and walked closer into the fight. "Well that is annoying. Iedol?" she asked, wincing as she tried to distinguish anything in the cloud of smoke.

Ravir for his part motioned for Sitella to follow him and walked closer as well, carefully. He took a look at Archo who was heaving and looking somewhat bruised from the fight.

Suddenly several pebbles flew out of the smoke cloud and ahead charged Iedol, his body scratched at various points. He headed right for Archo, but the other Pokémon was already waiting for him.

"Iedol! Dragon Claw!"

"Archo! Signal Beam!"

The two Pokémon charged at each other; the Duraludon surprised Kirlia with a shoulder charge to throw him off balance, then charging the Dragon Claw with both arms; Archo retorted charging the Signal Beam with both hands above his head as they got into very close range. Duraludon brought his arms in front of him and hit the Kirlia on both arms very hard, but with a defiant shriek Archo exploded the Signal Beam right on Iedol's face.

Both Pokémon were sent crying to the ground in opposite directions, and the two looked now much worse for wear.

Some of the people around cheered at the clash, but Ravir knew Archo could not please the crowd for longer. He looked at the Duraludon, who seemed to have trouble standing up, and wondered for a moment if the spamming of Signal Beam had achieved its purpose.

"That's okay for now Archo," he declared, producing a Poké Ball and recalling his tired Pokémon.

Talea raised one eyebrow and turned to her opponent. "Well that's a new one." She hopped back as she checked her Duraludon from a distance.

«Ravir Eisenhorth, you have recalled your Pokémon,» announced a voice from above as a Rotom Drone flew down from the sky and wandered about inspecting the improptu battlefield. «You still have three Pokémon to send out.»

Talea smirked at the notice.

"I hope you don't think I too will give up that easy," she spat at Ravir.

"Hmph, not my intention." Ravir put the Ball away and turned to his Pinsir. "Sitella, you ready for a fight?"

The Pinsir besides him seemed surprised. She eyed the tired Duraludon standing up then eyed Ravir back. She screeched something in an inquisitive tone.

"It's okay, you just saw what you have to do, right?"

The Pinsir seemed to ponder for a moment. She clacked her pincers to give notice she had understood, then stepped forward.

The Rotom Drone projected an image of the battle rundown, with the portrait of Pinsir bumped up to the first place as Kirlia's portrait slid down.

The Rotom Drone spun in place a few times, examining the surroundings, then flew up.

«Round two, prepare to begin,» the creature announced. «And please, do try and limit the property damage.»

Sitella stepped forward and approached Duraludon cautiously. The other Pokémon turned around to look at her for a moment, but his sight seemed to wander off.

Ravir noticed this and nodded. "We would try."

With that, the Pinsir charged at Duraludon ready to meet him with a pincer grab.

Battle Report ⤴

Aquacorde · Nov 18, 2020

Mihira Anand

39 | Female | Journalist | Mother Of One
Full Profile | Current Rank: Great

Qualifiers - vs Kayla

Mihira had been fluctuating across the Great rank for the past week, and Viveka demanded to know why. The answer seemed obvious to Mihira- more matches mean more interviews. However, this explanation clearly upset Viveka.

"Mom, you have to stop messing around. Your rank affects a lot more in this bracket than it did in Normal."

"I am not 'messing around'."

"Okay, but you're not being serious, either." Mihira opened her mouth to argue, but her daughter refused to give ground. "I know how you battle when you're serious, and this isn't it! Come on, get your head into it! Stop disrespecting everyone who's come here to actually win!"

With that, Viveka stormed from their shared hotel room, taking nothing but her PokéBalls and phone.

Mihira's hands tightened in her lap as she stared sightlessly at the blank wall ahead.

She should have realized.

Viveka was here to compete. As much as she was enjoying the filming opportunities, her primary drive was to take her place among the top-ranked trainers in the world. That was the purpose of the tournament, after all, and participating in such a thing with nefarious intention, well- as Viveka said, it was indeed disrespectful.

She sighed, smoothing the wrinkles in her skirt. Perhaps she should resign from this and simply follow Viveka's progress, catching those who happen to congregate around matches and cheering for her daughter all the while. As much as Viveka hates when she does so, it may be the better option in her eyes than participating without aim.

Or…

Or she could genuinely participate.

Despite her recent travels, she had never chosen to participate in the league tournaments each region offered. Even the smaller tourneys had generally escaped her attention, as she had been focused on emulating the traditional trainers' journeys and getting them over with rather quickly. Viveka had complained each time that Mihira hadn't actually completed the journey. And that she wasn't allowed to cheer for her mother in a tournament. But Mihira had always deflected, always pushed aside the notion of appearing on a stage, battling for an audience of thousands or more. She never wanted to be in the limelight like that.

She still didn't.

But perhaps she owes it to Viveka this time.

Mihira stood, meticulously gathered her things, noted Viveka's left-behind satchel and keycard. Sighed. That Cinccino she caught for Viveka couldn't help her stay organized if it wasn't out of its ball, now could it? She took the keycard to the lobby, and instructed the clerk to hand it over to Viveka should she come back before her.

And made her way into Mauville, as had become the usual routine. But unusually this time, she brought her phone up before it could chime with a challenge.

Time to find a battle.

Mihira squinted at her phone and tapped a few things, her mental imitation of Viveka mocking her for using her phone like an old woman. A list of nearby trainers popped up eventually. How was one meant to choose? Mihira didn't know. Someone above her own rank, that was what Viveka had mentioned…

The name "Kayla" was about halfway down the list and- according to the phone's GPS- about a hundred feet away. A young, cheerful woman with an easy grin, by the looks of her profile picture. Mihira tapped on it, and her phone popped up with yet another screen. She hovered over the green checkmark a split-second longer than necessary and made up her mind.

"Challenge sent," said her phone smoothly, and it didn't have time to say anything more before Mihira's eyes caught on the sandy-haired woman making a beeline for her.

"Hey! Mihira, right? Good to meet ya!" Kayla bounced in place, her energy somewhat overwhelming. Her profile picture hadn't communicated her height, taller than Mihira even in her heels, and her stature- broad and muscular, though not in the showy way of a bodybuilder. Like a combination of Merry and Viveka, in a way. Though neither would dress only in a sports bra and a pair of high-waisted shorts, no matter how high the temperature. "D'you have a field in mind?"

"No, I am afraid I forgot to choose before issuing the challenge…"

"No worries! I know a place that's not used much- kinda tucked away a few blocks from here."

"Please, lead the way. I must ask as well- are you willing to be interviewed?"

"Interviewed? Uh, sure. What for?"

"The question should have come before the agreement," Mihira chided, parental instincts kicking in. "I am writing a series of articles pertaining to the World Championships, and am gathering interviews from participants to feature in said articles."

Kayla considered this. "Sounds fine to me! I don't mind a conversation at all."

Mihira didn't know if the young woman had absorbed the gentle scolding. She shrugged it off, though- this was not her child, and she had no responsibility to further her education. Permission and her notebook procured, she opened her mouth to ask the usual questions, but was stopped by the sudden appearance of a battlefield. Completely invisible until Kayla led them around a sharp corner, the standard-sized field took up the entirety of a courtyard. Two buildings sat along its longer edges, with narrow alleys along its shorter ones. The field itself was simple, short grass- probably used as outdoor lounge space when not put to work.

In fact, someone was indeed lounging in said space- a short person in shorter shorts and an oversized sweater was lying face-up in the middle of the pitch, eyes closed to the midday sun. Only one of those clothing choices was suitable for Hoenn's weather, Mihira thought, but the more pressing issue was how to politely ask for the space to be vacated.

Kayla took care of that for her.

"Found one!" she called out, and the curly-haired person rolled over to prop their chin on their hands, inspecting Mihira.

"Good, good! What's the specialty?"

Kayla shrugged. "Din't ask yet. She wants to interview me!"

Mihira somehow felt as if she had walked in on a conversation, though it was she that had accompanied Kayla here. "You two must be friends, then."

Kayla laughed. "Been together a while now!" She made her way into the field and stopped at the prone form, hands on her hips. "C'mon, get up, I got a battle."

Their friend whined in a way that made their over-acting clear even to Mihira. "But I'm warm here…"

"You'll be a lot warmer if she's got a fire-type. Get movin'." Their friend didn't, so it was Kayla's turn to play-act with a heavy sigh and a tone of mock-exasperation. "You leave me no choice, I'm afraid." And in one swift movement, Kayla hefted the smaller person up and over their shoulder, taking them with her to the opposite end of the field.

It had been a long time since Mihira had been so free with friends.

The two younger people made a lot of noise, but in reality it was Kayla's confirmation of battle that called a Rotom drone to their location.

"Mihira Anand has challenged Kayla Holt to a Great-Rank battle! The format will be doubles, two Pokémon a side! Trainers, please ready your teams!

Doubles, again. For the fifth time in as many days. She really should have prepared for this- everyone knew Hoennians loved their double battles.

Too late now.

"Three… two… one… BEGIN!"

Torkoal and Runerigus appeared in front of her to the sound of "Ooh, she did have a Fire type," from their lone spectator. But of course she was watching Kayla's choices more closely- the bulky form of a Machamp solidified, along with a familiar round, pink shape- a Corsola.

Interesting.

Torkoal, as she tended to do, Yawned and stamped her feet to get her head in the game. But Kayla was quick on the uptake- "Kahvesi, block it out!" she called, and the Machamp scooped Corsola up and turned its back in one swift and practised motion, a blue shield flying up behind it as an extra layer of protection.

As soon as the sound waves were safely absorbed by the shattering shield, Kayla called "Fling!" and Mihira had only a fraction of a second to think fling what? before the Corsola itself came hurtling toward Runerigus, coated in both the dark energy of Fling and a swirling, roaring ball of water. The Corsola crashed in Runerigus, who toppled to the ground with an eerie, pained cry.

"Trick Room," Mihira commanded. Normally she wouldn't use such a maneuver so early in battle, but that double hit had taken an obvious toll. Runerigus summoned a wash of psychic energy to coat the battlefield as she returned to her upright position- Machamp's steps became sluggish, as if it were now running through knee-deep water, but it still charged the three other Pokémon. Torkoal, now boosted in speed, was quick to throw a Flamethrower in Machamp's direction and the Pokémon took it head-on, continuing its rush into the fray and knocking Torkoal aside with a not-so-effective Bullet Punch. Runerigus shocked Mihira by mistiming her swipe at Machamp and allowing it to once again scoop Corsola, punching with two of its arms to clear Runerigus' next attempt and knock her over once more. The opposing pair backed away, Corsola alternating spears of ice and chunks of rock.

"Nabat, why's your power down?!" Kayla yelled, as though either of her Pokémon would have more of an answer than a simple shrug from the Machamp. Torkoal was Mihira's savior here- becoming a wheel of flame to dodge those rocks aimed at her and swiftly rolling into the ice to melt them before they could hit her prone Runerigus was a wonderful plan. The borrowed time allowed for Runerigus to lift herself up and dash forward, aiming to score a Body Press on Machamp while Torkoal wheeled around to run the pair down. But both attempts were in vain, as Machamp summoned that blue shield for Runerigus to glance off and Corsola drew tall slabs of rock from beneath the earth, knocking Runerigus back once again while Torkoal spun up the steep slope, careening into the air and popping out of her spin to send a thick stream of flames directly downward. The falling, flame-spewing tortoise was answered with that same combination as before- Flinging Corsola straight up, coated in water, landing a dual-powered hit on Torkoal and sending her flying back through the steam, hitting the ground upside-down while Machamp caught Corsola perfectly and immediately spun to throw it towards Runerigus. Coated in Dark energy the Corsola may have been, but its watery boost splashed to the ground below when Runerigus waggled a finger- the ghost only took damage from the dark-type attack this time, but that hit was certainly not nothing.

But Runerigus was still in the game, and to Kayla's surprise snatched Corsola up before Machamp could grab it again, cheerfully dancing to her fallen teammate and righting the Torkoal before very deliberately placing Corsola upside-down on the ground in mimicry of Torkoal's prior position. And in that way, Mihira was assured that Body Press would not miss this time, even considering whatever ability had been swapped with Runerigus' Wandering Spirit. Torkoal fended off Machamp as best she could with steady streams of flames but the muscular Pokémon simply powered through to catch Corsola in its arms, the rescue followed quickly by a Stone Edge punching both Runerigus and Torkoal away from the pair. This time, Machamp's two free arms punched through the slab wall, the debris peppering Mihira's team only an appetizer for the perfectly aimed assault of Ice Shards and Rock Blasts. Runerigus toppled, finally down, and even Torkoal's Flame Wheel evaporated just inches from the opposing pair as the tortoise's form collapsed with an air of finality.

"Trainer Mihira's team is unable to battle! Trainer Kayla has won the match!"

"Woohoo!" Kayla cheered, spinning her friend around in a circle. "That's Ultra rank for me!"

Normally, Mihira would be content with this outcome. Happier, in fact, that she had lost- as she has stated many a time, a loss for herself meant a better interview. But this time, she found herself upset- she had meant to win this match; she had actually tried. And yet Kayla had come out the victor.

Her professionalism would not be broken, however. An interview was still her goal.

She just wouldn't be tracking Viveka down quite yet.

Rank: Great → Great

Pokémon in Battle

Spoiler:

gimmepie · Nov 24, 2020

Alaka Malina
Male | 24 | Hau'oli City (Alola)

Custard (Imposter) - Transform

Prince (Male, Snow Warning) - Aurora Veil, Ice Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Disable

Pan (Female, Slush Rush) - Icicle Crash, Swords Dance, Drill Run, Iron Head

Titan (Male, Snow Warning, Mega Capable) - Aurora Veil, Wood Hammer, Earthquake, Ice Punch

Fuji (Female, Snow Cloak) - Will-o-Wisp, Hex, Double Team, Blizzard

Zeus (Male, Slush Rush) - Bolt Beak, Icicle Crash, Surf, Pluck

Dave (Male, Ice Face) - Hail, Ice Punch, Liquidation, Zen Headbutt

Sunny (Female, Forecast) - Rain Dance, Weather Ball, Thunder, Hurricane

"Okay Oscar, hit it with Hyper Fang!"

Oscar the Bibarel dashed forward, determination burning in his eyes. Alaka had the advantage now though - it was two on one and he still had Aurora Veil and the hail from Titan's Snow Warning active.

"Zeus, Surf. Titan, Freeze it."

Alaka's Arctozolt, yipped happily. With his Slush Rush boosted speed, it was easy for him to get his attack off first. A wall of water rose up around him and then blasted forwards in a wide, surging wave. Titan followed up, thrusting his fist into the water with an Ice Punch. White-blue energy spread through the water from his fist, freezing the wave solid.

For Oscar it was too late to pull back, he slammed head first into a thick wall of ice, his attack effectively cancelled. It only got worse for him from there as Titan pulled his fist back once more, this time a sphere of oddly hard-looking green light encasing it. Titan slammed the wall of ice with his Wood Hammer, the impromptu structure detnating into numerous large chunks that rained down on Oscar.

"Get out of there, we've got a comeback to make!" Jazz ordered.

Oscar didn't twice, backing away as fast as he could. The Bibarel dropped to all fours to move at his full speed, sprinting back and forth to avoid the incoming ice meteors. So wrapped up in that were the Bibarel and his trainer, they didn't even notice Zeus gleefully leaping up over the remaining chunks as they fell.

"Bolt Beak, please."

As the slab of ice exploded against the ground by the Bibarel,Zeus leapt from it, his jaws open and crackling with electricity. He was much too fast for a staggering Bibarel to avoid at that range, so Oscar took the full brunt of the attack, electricity racing over his body before he got tossed away.

The Bibarel got back to his feet defiantly, his trainer looking pleased.

"It's going to take more than to take down Oscar. He's a tough one."

"Seems so," Alaka replied nonchalantly.

"Is that doubt?" Jazz grinned.

"Dunno." Alaka shrugged. "Zeus, Jump. Titan, do the thing."

"Wha-"

Jazz didn't get to finish the sentence before Zeus leapt into the air and Titan stomped hard on the ground, seismic force radiating out from him, shaking and churning the ground, tearing up chunks of the battlefield violently.

Caught off guard by the Earthquake, Oscar was hit hard and knocked across the battlefield. Zeus landed over the Bibarel and lunged forward with a crackling Bolt Beak. With a flash of lightning at the point of connection, it was over; Oscar was down for the count.

"Victory goes to Alaka Malina!" The robotic voice of the nearby Rotom Drone announced.

"Huh, there really is always one of those little guys."

Alaka congratulated his partners and returned them to their balls, the hail slowly starting to come to a halt with Titan no longer around.

"Is that why you're so calm and detached?" Jazz asked, approaching from across the battlefield. "You're just so ludicrously good that you can afford to be?"

"I don't know," Alaka replied, "I just like to take it easy."

"The state of this battlefield disagrees."

Alaka looked around, only then realising that his chosen strategies in the second half of the battlefield had left it with huge chunks of ice slowly melting across it and large, jagged chunks torn up from Titan's Earthquake.

"Huh," was all Alaka could manage in response to that.

"You're unbelievable," Jazz said, "I think someone might actually try to strangle you eventually."

"Maybe," Alaka responded, still transfixed by the state of the battlefield. Something about the way the melting icebergs and broken earth was arranged reminded him of brownies and ice cream. "Wanna go get ice cream?"

"What? Weren't you saying before this you were going to visit your parents?! That was why you were so reluctant!"

"Was I? Alaka responded, tilting his head to the side.

Jazz sighed. "Since you clearly need a keeper, sure let's go get ice cream."

Daisuke Mitsuharu · Nov 26, 2020

The Ralts Trainer's Homecoming - Kaito vs Flint & Volkner - [3]
Kaito Ishikawa | Normal Rank | Sunnyshore City, Sinnoh

"Gallade!"

A triumphant-sounding bellow, penetrating even through the ruckus of the crowd, marked Razor's transformation into a Mega Gallade. The purple cloak which had Razor wrapped around it fluttered with every hit the mega-evolved Pokémon threw. One could even call the sight "majestic."

Volkner's golem made for another target to keep track of, a large one at that, to Kaito's (and, by extension, Razor's and Luciela's) dismay. Electricity flickering around it, the golem lurched into yet another punch, this time dislocating an arm to extend its range. The arm-shaped missile flew towards its target, Luciela, but was cut to ribbons by a Psycho Cut. A horizontal stroke of Razor's left blade bifurcated the arm clean in the center. Then, with a quick flurry of slashes, Razor hacked at what remained, arms flailing faster than the eyes can see. Once he finished, Razor stared down Volkner's behemoth, plotting to do it in with his next strike.

"Electivire, use Discharge!" Kaito found it suspicious that Volkner insisted on attacking. Yet he couldn't pinpoint why. Those ingenious ideas of Volkner's, Kaito struggled to grasp. Nevertheless, the command saw a strong current surge through the ground. While it didn't harm Razor or Luciela, it had a more alarming side effect. As the current ran its electrons-for-fingers across pieces of the destroyed golem arm, they started to hover in the air and collect. Soon enough the golem arm was put back together, showing no trace of old wounds. The objective was never to harm, it finally dawned on Kaito. The crunching of rocks alerted Kaito to a newly-reformed golem.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kaito mumbled somewhat audibly, and perhaps out of reflex at what had just unfolded. The shock from it all was enough to put him on the offensive. "Time for a comeback Luciela!" Now everyone would get to see what Razor's counterpart was capable of.

Gold in the shape of celestial bodies enveloped the Gardevoir as she used Swift. With the application of Psychic, these cosmic projectiles were tempered into a bladed whip, floating in a circular formation around Luciela. Luciela willed it to move using her telekinetic abilities, and with some adjustment, the end of the whip now carefully hugged Razor from his torso.

"Sever the legs!" With a flick of her wrist, Luciela spun Razor around like mixtures in a centrifuge. The Gallade whirred menacingly above her head along with the whip. A horizontal sweep from below by Razor left the golem with stumps for limbs, a Psycho Cut in whip form tearing them off from the knees. Without support, the golem came crashing down. Arcing back to Luciela, Razor skidded across rocky terrain, kicking up dust and shrapnel as he did so but all the while keeping his balance. From the perspective of spectators, it looked as if he was surfing through sediment, which he technically was.

"Discharge, Electivire!" Volkner was attempting to rebuild his golem again, that tell-tale streak of electricity already starting to surge towards the pieces.

"Infernape, don't let those Psychic types interfere!" Flint wasn't allowing anyone to get in the way.

Using the combustion from its Flare Blitz, Infernape propelled itself forward. It took no time at all for the monkey Pokémon to appear in front of Luciela, fire caressing its arms and legs, all ready to pounce.

Crap. With whip retracted, Luciela was hoping to fend off the Infernape with it, perhaps even restrict the Infernape's movement if the opportunity presented itself. It was too late, however. The Infernape was mere feet away. Witnessing the Flare Blitz, Razor attempted a mad dash to the scene. But he was also too late.

"Luciela, Ally Switch!" Kaito sounded off, privy to the situation at hand. "Razor, prepare a Psycho Cut!" The "shockingly fiery" duo weren't the only ones with gimmicks up their sleeves.

Infernape's flaming left hook was greeted with a Psycho Cut, hitting it square on its side. Since Razor's previous position gave him a clear vantage point of the altercation between Infernape and Luciela, he was able to orient himself for a counter. The moment Razor took Luciela's place, he was already poised to strike.

Razor scrutinized a chink in Infernape's "armor." Before the switch was made between Razor and Luciela, Infernape sprung into an attack, its momentum causing it to pivot clockwise. The Infernape invested itself fully into a move that would no doubt prove devastating if it made contact. That said, for the Infernape, going all-in also meant throwing all caution to the wind. With the follow-through forcing Infernape to loosen his guard on the right, an opening was created. An opening that would not go unutilized, Razor would make sure. Infernape's eyes widened in surprise as Razor's figure overtook Luciela's. In a second of hesitation from Infernape, Razor managed to sneak in a hit, and from the right no less. What was this called again? Adding insult to injury?

Flint could only look on helplessly as blade brushed against skin.

Plopping like a fish out of water after contacting the ground, Infernape struggled to stand upright. However, it was hopeless: the Infernape quickly fell unconscious, succumbing to Razor's Psycho Cut. "Infernape is down," Rotom announced, first verifying Infernape's condition through biometric technology before making the call. It beeped for a couple of seconds, bringing up a holograph filled with data, and then declared Infernape's inability to battle. At once, the stadium broke out in a symphony of boos and woohoos. Some cheered on the Ralts Trainer for making headway while others booed in lamentation of Infernape's defeat.

Flint fetched a Pokéball from his belt and returned Infernape to it. "You did great, buddy. Hung in there like a champ." The Elite Four member only had words of affirmation for his fallen partner. Stretching: "Alright Steelix, you're up!" Flint released his second Pokémon. The iron serpent balanced on the tip of its tail, its maw clicking open, revealing a set of large teeth.

"Mega Evolve!" A familiar orb of energy enveloped the Steelix, and with an ending flash, it revealed its new form. Crystals had grown from its back, protruding in every direction, with some even poking outward from the inside of its body. Glass shards floated around its head, reflecting some illumination from the stadium lights. Kaito flinched a little as the reflection met him in the eyes. Finding it unbearable, he momentarily averted his gaze. Fortunately, the Steelix didn't remain in the same position for too long, so the light soon passed him. With that, he was spared from any serious corneal damage. Still, it couldn't hurt to exercise caution. Squinting, he could see Volkner's golem standing arm-and-tail with the Steelix. Though the height difference between the two wasn't very significant, Steelix seemed to have had the golem beat by some meters. Shifting his gaze upwards allowed him to catch a glimpse of Electivire, who rode atop the Steelix, clutching onto nearby protrusions.

"Steelix, let's go with a big Iron Tail!"

"Electivire, have the golem jump with Discharge! Stick close to Steelix!"

One by one, the Steelix and the golem lunged at Kaito. Steelix, even in its mega form, was slow, so evading it was easy. Razor simply jumped to safety. The golem, on the other hand, was not so easy to evade. Steelix targeted Razor from the left, sweeping its tail as wide as possible so that going any other direction but backwards would mean getting caught in the crossfire. Having little choice, Razor proceeded backwards. Volkner must have accounted for this, Kaito thought. And Volkner did. Suddenly looming over Razor was the golem, now casting its shadow on him. How it had been reacting to the recent string of events was… unnatural, to say the least. As if it knew how things were going to work out and moved accordingly. As if Volkner knew how things were going to work out and moved accordingly. Hunches aside, what certainly didn't require speculating was the fact that Razor could not dodge. With blades crossed, Razor bore the brunt of the golem's attack. While the golem's weight hadn't completely flattened the Gallade, it should be noted that Razor was by all accounts barely holding on. The Swords Dance from Polly was the only reason he was even able to contest the thing. He could feel his legs slowly buckle as the golem pressed him deeper and deeper into the ground.

"Razor, just a little more! Use Swords Dance and keep it up!" That seemed to do the trick. The larger muscles granted Razor some well-needed leverage in his struggle against the golem. Now, it was the golem who was being pushed back.

Seeing cracks begin to form on his golem forced Volkner to act. While Razor was still pinned in one place, Volkner decided: "Electivire, leap off with Darkest Lariat! Go straight for Razor!" He had to finish things here or else he'd lose the chance. Razor was fast. And strong to boot, even without the power-ups he had been getting. This was not an opportunity Volkner would come by again. Elbow cocked and ready to pummel, the Electivire jumped as instructed. It glimmered an ominous purple that made it look somewhat comet-like as it neared Razor.

Kaito shot an urgent glance at Luciela. "Pull it back with your whip!"

Luciela caught Electivire by the leg, and with a sideways yank, drew it in her direction.

"Run a current through it, Electivire!" The whip lit up in a Thunderbolt-induced spark. Being connected to Luciela ensured that the electric attack would land if nothing was done about it. "Disengage immediately Luciela!" Not a moment too soon, however, Luciela let the whip go. She redirected the bolt to her side by wresting the whip away from her before releasing her control over it. Without anything to hold it together any longer, the whip broke off into smaller pieces.

Kaito observed that the Electivire had not yet landed by this time, its course still set for Luciela. "Luciela, perform an Ally Switch again!" Razor and Luciela traded places once more.

Electivire was now within striking distance. Razor stepped into position. "Knock it out with Close—"

"Electivire, one last Discharge! Give it everything you've got!" Volkner cut in.

As Electivire ran its electricity to the ground for the last time, it magnetized everything around it, traveling from one end of the stadium to another. In that instant, countless hunks of rock - all under the influence of an electric field - flew up in the air in a frenzy. A "parting gift," as Volkner called it in a mid-battle aside, rained down on the stadium once Razor finished off Electivire.

"Electivire down!" Rotom buzzed for the second time in the match.

"Just one more left," Kaito thought optimistically. There it was, the home stretch. All he had to do now was—

"Steelix, follow up with another Iron Tail sweep! Don't let the Gardevoir warp away!"

—take out the Steelix.

Kaito had forgotten where Ally Switch put Luciela. Twack. Steelix hit the Gardevoir on the side, the situation oddly similar to what had been done to Infernape. Luciela was flung to the far end of the stadium, breaking through rocks as she zoomed past, before reinforced glass ultimately prevented her from infringing on the audience's space. She streaked across it slowly and then fell to the ground, lifeless.

"Luciela down!" That was Rotom's third declaration.

"Steelix, push through with Iron Tail!"

"Wrap things up with Close Combat, Razor!"

Both Kaito and Flint were determined to settle the match here. In a rainstorm of static and stone, Razor and Steelix exchanged blows. The stadium grew quiet.

Then, Rotom buzzed for the fourth time. "Final Score: 3-2. The winner is Kaito Ishikawa!"

Eleanor · Jan 8, 2021

Courtney Nair
18 - ♀ - Kanto

Rank: Ultra

TEAM:
♦ Charizard (Cinnamon - ♂ - Blaze)
♦ Magmortar (Chili - ♀ - Flame Body)
Luxray (Zest - ♂ - Intimidate)
Braviary (Sumac - ♂ - Defiant)
Roserade (Paprika - ♀ - Natural Cure)
Shiftry (Clove - ♂ - Chlorophyll)
Passimian (Nutmeg - ♀ - Receiver)
♦ Tyrantrum (Anise - ♀ - Rock Head)

Vs. Blaine - 6 vs 6 double

The previously empty Cinnabar Island becomes populated by trainers once again as you reach Ultra Rank. Most trainers who compete in Tournaments and want to build off a proper career as professionals usually don't stay here (and for this reason I've been travelling across various regions myself) but there's one who is still here in my hometown, and…

I know exactly who that is.

I can barely keep a straight face as in front of my Charizard, appears his Charizard. "We'll make it a double battle, alright Courtney?"

"Double the fun! Alright, bring it on… Blaine!"

Anise, my Tyrantrum, lets out a battle cry on my side of the field. Blaine waits for a moment, then sends in Ninetales. He adjusts his glasses as a Rotom Drone flies close by and, when it declares the start of the battle, is already holding his walking stick in his hand. "You know already what I'm going to do, don't you Courtney?"

I immediately reach for my right earring, but stop right before my finger touches the Key Stone. I watch the opponent's Mega evolution with my hand on my cheek, as in turn I'm watched by Cinnamon - I understand him so much, he's just so eager to fight on the same level as his brother! But…

"No time to lose! Air Slash the Ninetales!" I yell, hardly containing my excitement. Cinnamon is no Anise, and charges up his attack right away, stopping the Ninetales in her tracks. Speaking of Anise… she goes straight for a Rock Head as I see Charizard channeling a Dragon Dance.

Charizard X is not as good as the normal form when it comes to flying, and he gets struck, but he's able to recover from it in no time. Knowing how relentlessly hard Tyrantrum hits, I can't help but praise Blaine and his Pokémon more and more. From the expression he put on though, I realize that the Gym Leader didn't expect this to happen.

"That was a good move, girl! You used your time advantage well, but it's just a matter of time now. Dragon Dance and Will-o-wisp!"

My hand is in front of my mouth now, as if I'm biting my fingers. "A-air slash the fire, Cinnamon! Anise, use Roar!"

The blue fire gets snuffed out by the air, protecting Tyrantrum from a severely crippling burn. She's now free to charge up her cry, and watch the opposing Dragon get turned into nothing but pure energy, desperately scrambling to get inside his Pokéball. Cinnamon looks disappointed even more by my own move, but… I can't help it!

My serious expression turns into a smirk when I see what Anise's Roar has drawn out, though. My fingertips touch the Key Stone and the magic happens.

Used to this by now, I bask in the glory of the Mega evolution. The sun starts burning brighter over the field as Cinnamon finally transforms, and I can feel his sheer power finally being unleashed. Except…

"Will-o-wisp, quick!" Blaine calls out. I see the flames going straight for Anise and scramble to react.

"Falling for your own tricks, Courtney?"

"Say that again?"

I did it in time, Anise is back in her Pokéball. With the opponents now consisting of Ninetales and Darmanitan, I think it's a good time to call out another Pokémon I love.

"Chili, come on out!"

I don't even have to put in any effort to find her Pokéball. I know by heart how it feels to the touch.

"Now it's truly on, Blaine! I'm not leaving without showing you the very best I can do!"

Blaine's team so far: Charizard (Mega X), Ninetales, Darmanitan

QueenNothing · Jan 13, 2021

Lana Alanis-Young
Ultra Rank

After her last battle, Lana decides to take it easy by straying away from the bustling city of Castelia to take a bus over to the port in Nuvema.

Nuvema was once a small town with little going on aside from being where Professor Juniper resided, but in recent years a port had been constructed, exporting goods from the part of the region. And with Nuvema slowly gaining more attention overtime, the Unova league granted permission to build a gym there- That's Lana's point of interest.

Doing minimal research shows Lana that the gym was only built a year or so ago, and the leader is a promising new talent many have his eyes on, and they're entering the World Championships this year. Aside from that though, all she knows about them is their name; Dagny. An interesting name, but she's heard weirder just a few hours ago.

Naturally the first place Lana opts to check for this character is their fairly plain looking gym. The automatic glass doors slide open and she's led to a receptionist desk.

"Hello there, would you like to schedule an appointment to battle Dagny?"

"Ye- Well, yes and no. I wanna know where he is so I can challenge him for the World Championships!"

"Oh, hey there!" Lana's attention turns away from the receptionist and towards a girl her age running to her. She has dark olive skin, frizzy black hair, and wears a white sailor uniform, hat and all. "I can arrange that!"

"Oh, uh, are you Dagny?" This young girl fits the description of a promising new trainer rising to the top, although she's a lot younger than one would expect a gym leader to be.

"No no no no no!" She frantically shakes her head and hands to signal her negative answer. "I'm far from the level Dagny is at! But I can introduce you to him, so follow me! He's currently not at the gym, but I'm sure he'll battle you for the Championships!"

"Dagny! I have someone who wants to challenge you!"

Standing on at the port, an old man wearing a captain's getup turns around to see the young girls running towards him. When arriving closer, Lana can see his purple eyes roofed under his white bushy eyebrows. This can't be…

"Kaikala!" The old man smiles. "Was it that important she couldn't schedule an appointment?"

"It's not like that!" The young girl apparently named Kaikala replies. "She says she wants to challenge you in the World Championships!"

This is Dagny!? He really doesn't fit the description of a rising talent. Lana thinks about how someone with that reputation is easily assumed to be someone much younger, but this guy has wrinkled skin and a white mustache. He can't be any younger than Al and Pal… but for his age, he's pretty well built. The sleeves of his outfit are torn off, exposing his pretty muscular arms, but that's contrasted when he grins with his mouth open to reveal his yellow teeth. His teeth are a perfect candidate to scare kids into brushing.

"World Championships, eh?" He laughs. "Well why didn't you just say so! What's this youngsters name!"

"Uhh, it's Lana." She states, intentionally leaving her last name out.

"That's a nice name, Lana! You should thank your parents for picking out such a nice name!"

"Ehehehe… yeah, I'll be sure too…"

"Come on guys!" Kaikala eagerly shouts. "I wanna see the fight already!"

"Kaikala, you should at least make smalltalk with your challenger beforehand. Have patience."

After a mutual agreement with a tap on their phones, a blue Room drone descends between the two trainers.

"The battle between Lana Alanis-Young and Dagny is about to commence in a five-on-five knockout battle! Both sides must send out their Pokémon!"

That's weird... does the old man not have a last name?

Without putting much thought into her question, Lana and Dagny toss a Pokeball in unison. Hoshi shimmies from Lana's side of the field, and from the opposing side, a cheery Drakloak makes her debut.

"Hoshi, Ice Beam!" A freezing ray is aimed at Drakloak, but she swiftly dodges and lowers her head, firing the nesting Dreepy forward. Instead of making direct contact with Hoshi, the Dreepy buzzes around him like a pest.

While being distracted by the nuisance, he barely notices Drakloak launching forward with a Dragon Rush. Hoshi reacts quickly to this and at the last second tightly grabs her head before holding the rest of her body to his chest. With the ghost-type in a lock, Hoshi propels himself fifty feet upwards with a large flap of his wings, flies around in loops before heading straight down and releasing Drakloak and Dreepy into the ground before making a sharp turn back towards Lana.

Drakloak looks like she should be down for the count, but she's able to get up, and she suddenly turns invisible with Phantom Force. Hoshi panickedly looks around the field for his foe, and looks towards his trainer when she calls out a "BEHIND YOU!" Just as she warned, Drakloak jabs her arrow-shaped head into Dragonite's back, and as a response he flies a few feet into the air and shoots Ice Ray down at the ghost-type.

Drakloak bears the brunt of the attack, and while it is super effective, Hoshi doesn't notice a bright red reticle is projected on his chest until he finishes his attack.

"Get out of there!!!" Lana cries to her Dragonite who remains confused about the reticle. Hoshi looks up to see Drakloak using Dragon Rush to dart herself forward, and he gasps and flies upwards to avoid the attack. With Lock-On however, dodging is impossible, but despite this, Lana is perfectly fine with having Hoshi perpetually gain air to delay the incoming attack. Hoshi flaps his wings harder and harder, putting more and more distance between the two before being significantly higher in the air than Drakloak- the Room drone does their absolute best to keep up with the action.

"HOSHI!" Lana screeches from the top of her lungs, doing her best to be absolutely sure her Pokémon can even hear her. "DRACO METEOR!"

Through some miracle, he's able to hear the command of his trainer, and with no time to spare, rears his head back and charges up as much draconic energy in his jaw as possible, releasing everything at once in a large fountain of dozens of powerful purple energy spheres that harshly rain down below.

In a swimming motion, Drakloak dodges each and every meteorite that falls in her way, but this proves to be a diversion when Hoshi swoops in to grab Drakloak by the waist. Dragonite once again flies straight down to drop her onto the solid ground before flying away, but this time the Draco Meteors fall down on Drakloak in a relentless barrage.

"Drakloak is unable to battle! Dragonite is this round's winner!

For once, Lana recalls Hoshi with a smile, as does Dagny with his Pokémon.

"I gotta say, you're mighty fine at battling!" The old man compliments. "That was a lot of fun, and it was only the first round!"

"Yeah… That was fun."

At the drone's announcement of round 2, Lana sends out her Vaporeon, Eva, against Dagny's second Pokémon; Alolan Golem. As advantageous as it is disadvantageous. Eva grooms herself before noticing her opponent and scoffing- Lana couldn't disagree, Alolan Golem isn't exactly pretty, and this one is no exception, widely grinning while swinging his arms back and forward to an inaudible beat to pump himself up.

"Eva, start off with Aqua Ring!" The Vaporeon elegantly conjures a weak stream of water that begins orbiting her, and displays a smug confidence while Golem fires off a scatter-shot of jagged stones form his cannon that surround her. His cannon then retracts, forms into a ball, and rolls forward at a moderate speed. To avoid this, Eva snarkily laughs before her body liquifies, splashing to the ground into a puddle that Golem rolls right over. When Eva returns to a solid state, not a scratch is left on her.

Lana and Eva are confident they've gotten a one-up on Golem, but while he's barely behind the water-type, Golem pops his body open and plants his feet to the ground to come to a sudden halt, and rams the entirety of his body weight into Eva while electricity surges through his body. While that caught her off-guard, Eva, staring down her opponent with absolute disgust, survives the hit in part with Aqua Ring, and she blasts a Hydro Pump to nearly drown Golem. Likewise, he also still stands, much to Vaporeon's frustration.

"Golem! Explosion!"

Hearing the command of her foe, Lana's eyes widen in a state of shock. "Wait, WHAT!?!?!?"

True to Dagny's words, Golem smirks and roars as he prepares himself for the destructive attack. His entire body glows a bright yellow, and with little time to react, a massive burst of electric energy expands from where he stands, accompanied with a booming noise. Normally dealing neutral damage, Alolan Golem's Galvanize ability powers up normal-type attacks with electricity, meaning this Explosion is particularly scary for Eva.

"EVA, LOOK OUT!!!"

Panicking, Lana quickly ducks down and tightens the hood of her sweater for security. When she senses the attack has ended, she expects a draw, which is why she's surprised to hear,

"Golem is unable to battle! Vaporeon is this round's winner!"

"Huh!?"

Sure enough, when she peeks her eyes open, Golem is passed out on his back while Eva is still standing- if you count being melted into a puddle as "standing". Seems like Acid Armor saved the day.

"Well I'll be!" Dagny laughs. "Very impressive! Golem hits hard, so I'm surprised your Vaporeon stayed in! You've done a good job as a trainer!"

"Correct!" Kaikala chimes in. "Golem is like Dagny in that when he goes all out, he really goes all out! That's so cool Vaporeon survived his Explosion!!"

"Th-thanks, but Eva just got lucky."

"Nonsense!" The old man shouts. "That's your Pokémon, right? You trainer her, so give yourself some credit, both of you! But let's not waste anymore time- send out your next!"

Unsure of what to expect, Lana releases Donna onto the field, matched against Pelipper. Just like Eva against Golem, Lana finds it a fifty-fifty chance of winning- although the rain the pelican Pokémon has summoned might even the odds against her, and Donna barely wincing from the rocks she's prancing on doesn't help her much.

Straight away, Pelipper flaps his wings forward to kick up a strong wind behind him and Donna charges forward with an Accelerock. Pelipper takes the hit and recoils before hitting her back with a scalding hot water blast.

Donna yips from the burning water and shakes to dry her fur- a useless move given the weather. She pounces at Pelipper, crushing both her front claws against the water-type's body before landing back to the ground. Then, she howls to summon a Stone Edge below Pelipper to make him temporarily lose his balance- nothing he doesn't recover from though, and once steadily flying he flaps his wings to blow a Hurricane Donna's way. On impact, Lycanroc is sucked into the hurricane and grows dizzy.

Damnit, this is bad! Maybe she can escape with Accelerock!

"Donna, Accelerock!" While sucked in the Hurricane, Donna's fur hardens, but instead of darting out like Lana hoped, she only gets blown through the edges of the attack. Her dizzy state likely makes this more difficult, and Pelipper takes advantage of this by aiming another Scald at her.

Lycanroc is unable to battle! Pelipper is this round's winner!

Hurricane disperses when Donna and Pelipper are recalled, but the rain stays, beating down just as hard as before.

He couldn't have just set up the rain for Pelipper. I get the feeling he's gonna send something out that can take advantage of it, maybe someone with Swift Swim… and if I'm right, my counter will win this easily.

Lana tosses a Pokeball to send Melon, her Gallade, out to battle. To the other side of her field, Dagny has sent out a cocky Poliwrath who cracks his knuckles.

I knew it! Melon has Leaf Blade and Psycho Cut, so this should be a walk in the park.

"Melon, Swords Dance!" Gallade moves his feet and legs to a rhythm none can hear, and the blades attached to his arms appear to grow sharper. All the while, Poliwrath comes charging forward surrounded in water.

"Melon, Leaf Blade!" Right when Poliwrath seems he's about to hit, Melon stops his momentum with a Leaf Blade across his belly. Despite the pain Poliwrath is in, he firmly stands his ground and punches Melon in the chest with Payback.

Melon skids back, but his attack is raised because of Justified. He uses Double Team and all his clones run forward with a Thunder Punch. Poliwrath uses Darkest Lariat and spins through every copy before smashing into the real Melon. Melon skids back again but quickly slashes with a Psycho Cut. Poliwrath uses Endure to survive and hits back with a final Payback, knocking Melon to the ground.

The mighty force of the dark-type attack causes Melon to skid back. Even after the damage, his blades only further sharpen from Justified, his ability that raises his strength whenever hit with a dark-type attack. He uses Double Team to create replicates who all run forward readying a Leaf Blade. This isn't an issue for Poliwrath though, who spins around like a top surrounded in dark-type energy, tearing through every individual clone with a tornado-like motion to make them disappear, working his way up to the real Melon.

Once again, Melon skids back and his blades sharpen. If he can actually land a hit it'd be a guaranteed knockout, but clearly that's easier said than done.

"Melon, Psycho Cut!" Melon's now razor sharp blades are surrounded in a pink aura to make them appear larger. If this can't hit, Melon is as good as fainted, Lana thinks to herself. He runs a few steps forward and swipes the massive blade of psychic energy across the Poliwrath, who lets out a pained screech in agony and seals his eyes shut. Melon withdraws the blade, releasing an exhausted sigh, expecting the water-type to collapse any second now.

But he doesn't. He continues to stand still and, much to the shock of Lana and Melon, opens his eyes to reveal an amber glow.

"Endure!?!? Mother fucking-!"

She's interrupted by the sound of Poliwrath ramming his dark-type powered fist through Melon's gut, sending him flying.

"Gallade is unable to battle! Poliwrath is this round's winner!"

Disappointed, Lana returns Melon to his ball. Noticing it's still pouring, she ponders what Dagny might do next.

It's still raining… He's still gonna use this to his advantage, I know it. Unless he has another Pokémon with Swift Swim, I have a feeling he's gonna send out an electric-type, or at least something that knows Thunder. Thankfully I have a counter to this.

Just as she predicted, Dagny's final Pokémon is an Ampharos, although the colors on this one are unique, having lavender skin and the orb on her head and tail are blue instead of red. Lana holds an appreciation for this color combination.

Of course, Lana's counter to the expected electric-type is Solomon the Golurk. "You guessed well, youngster!" Dagny compliments. "But don't think my partner Pokémon here is little more than Thunder in the rain! Ampharos, Cotton Guard!" A fleece-like substance starts to form around Ampharos to create a thick coating, and Solomon jumps in the air to create a quake that throws off everyone's balance- everyone except Ampharos, it seems. Cotton Guard definitely nullified the damage.

"Maybe we need to get in close! Shadow Punch!" Solomon's legs retract into their chest to roughly stand at Ampharos' height and holds their left arm behind them to propel themselves forward, right fist aimed for the electric-type's head. Their momentum is completely halted however when the blow is completely softened by the "cotton", much to Solomon's confusion.

"Cotton Spore!" The cotton coating Ampharos is blown off and surrounds Solomon, making its way into the creeks of their body. They try extending their legs from inside their torso, but the cotton plugs the exit, leaving their legless and with one hand.

Ah shit! Uh, they still have one hand out! But they can't blast off with the other hand plugged, fuck, what am I gonna do!?

As Lana struggles to find a solution, the orb on Ampharos' head glows green and a blast of green energy is shot forward at Solomon. When making contact, the ground-type releases a deep unsettled groan.

"That's Hidden Power!" Dagny announces. "And Ampharos' Hidden Power is grass! That means if you don't do something, your titan is gonna fall!"

"Fuck! Uh, wait a second, why didn't I do this before!? Solomon, use Gyro Ball!" Solomon holds their arms and retracts their remaining hand. They spin around in place, increasing in speed, even as Ampharos fills the open hole with more cotton. The cotton ends up providing useless when flames are emitted from the areas it's clogging up, burning them to nothing, and allowing Solomon to move forward, smashing into Ampharos.

"Great! Now, Earthquake!" The cotton clogging their torso brunt up now, Solomon kicks their legs out to stand on their feet, again hopping in the air to come crashing down to create a quake in the ground.

"Ampharos is unable to battle! Golurk is this round's winner! The victor is Lana Alanis-Young!"

"Thank God." Lana checks her phone to see her ranking increase and releases a relieved exhale.

"Thank you for the match, young one!" Looking up from her phone shows her Dagny extending an arm out.

"Yeah! You beat Dagny, you MUST be the best!" Kaikala cheers.

"Now now Kaikala, I'm not that good of a trainer- as a gym leader it's quite literally my job to lose. But yes, I think we should both appreciate the skill Lana here has. She's shown herself to be an excellent young trainer!" Gazing into the old man's purple eyes, Lana sees clearly the sincerity he holds in his heart, and accepts his handshake with little hesitation. He's not very different from someone like Al, but the familiar color of his eyes somehow gives her an assurance of his kindness.

"Hey Dagny, I'm getting thirsty. Can we go home so I can grab some lemonade?" Kaikala asks with a sense of familiarity.

"Of course we can!" The old man removes her hat to fluff Kaikala's hair.

"Great! Hey, can the new girl join us? she seems cool!

"Wha- who, me!?!?"

Dagny guffaws. "Kaikala loves making lemonade, and she likes inviting my challengers over if she has a good impression of them. So then Lana, do you wanna stop by our home for some refreshments?"

"O-oh… Sure, why not I guess."

Ivy
Donna
Cain
Bot
Hoshi
Solomon
Eva
Melon

Venia Silente · Jan 31, 2021

Ravir Eisenhorth | Great Rank | Nartes, Suocé

Ravir Eisenhorth

3 vs 3
_

Talea Covarrubias

❓

-

❓

Hotel Area – Nartes

Previously On... "Rise to the Top"

The audience cheered as the Pinsir and Duralodon clashed a few times against each other. Besides the more direct clashing the two threw out a couple of X-Scissors and Dragon Claws every once in a while.

Surprisingly enough for the audience Sitella came out on top more often that not, and Talea was only now beginning to understand the reason as her Duraludon dizzingly walked out from a clash to support his weight on a nearby car for a moment, looking around and groaning as he tried locate his opponent despite the Pinsir being straight out five meters right in front of him.

"Awww sh-" she muttered. "That's what the Signal Beams were for."

In effect, Archo had left Iedol with a parting gift - and Ravir was now pleasantly surprised as well. As Sitella dashed in and tried to push the Duralodon back against the car, Iedol let out a screech and fired a Flash Cannon point-blank, though it was not enough to save himself from being hit harshly against the vehicle again.

Sitella hit the ground with the Flash Cannon as well, but at least with some effort she was able to get back up.

Ravir raised his hand and called for his Pinsir's attention. "Going OK over there?"

Sitella chittered something and shook herself a couple times. She was taking some heavy damage and would have to finish this soon, Ravir thought.

At her position, Talea lifted her chin. "...I see now. That's one thing to try. Zessin, you better get ready," she instructed to her Yanmega as the Pokémon fluttered about watching the fight.

Ravir instructed Sitella to head in with a Body Slam to crash Iedol against the poor car again; the Pinsir nodded and charged ahead, readying herself to jump in.

"Iedol can you hear me?" asked Talea, trying not to distract her Pokémon. Iedol growled something as he realized the opponent Pinsir was closing in and, just as Sitella launched herself in, the Duraludon managed to step out and shove her aside with one hand, sending Sitella head-first into the front of the car.

"Nooo! I'm only two payments in!" someone in the crowd cried as everyone else cheered.

The Rotom drone flew in from its position and turned to face the two Trainers, looking at them intently. They did not pay the drone mind, they were too bisy trying to get their Pokémon back into action.

"Not bad but you have to counter! Try with Dragon Claw!"

"Sitella you are still close enough, Sword-Dance into X-Scissor!"

The two Pokémon righted themselves up with some difficulty; whereas the Pinsir's difficulty came from tiredness, lack of experience and a much softer body than her opponent's, Iedol's discomfort grew even as he simply raised an arm to attack, still suffering through a confusion that had not yet waned. Sitella dove in swirling as she gathered blue-ish energy around her pincers; Duraludon completely missed his mark, downing his claws on empty air as if he had been attacking an illusory opponent. As the Pinsir tilted her head to try to cut through with X-Scissor, the Duraludon only managed to take a small step back to avoid part of the attack.

"Come on, keep trying! Back to Body Slam!"

"Do no let go! Shake it off!"

They did not let go. The audience cheered. There was still enough juice left on the two Pokémon to go at it for a while.

On the rooftop, the Houndoom looked down with a hint of boringness as the two Pokémon danced around each other, trying to land good hits. The Houndoom yawned; she wanted action, and wondered idly when would her Trainer like to intervene.

Sitella tripped from her efforts and was forced to hop back as Iedol had managed to train his sights and a charging Dragon Claw on her. The Duraludon shook his head and growled through the confusion, but that was all the distraction that Sitella needed to hop back in and Body Slam him against another car, her body letting out blue-ish sparks from the Swords Dance as she did.

The audience minus two cheered on this new development; the Rotom drone was not as eager, and it lowered itself further to put the two Trainers at its eye level.

«I did mention property damage.» the Rotom explained.

Ravir bit his lip.

"We're trying!" came the response from both Trainers.

Sitella dove in pincers first with X-Scissor , scratching Iedol's torso but sliding past him before she could deal good damage. The Duraludon tried to turn around and smack her on the way out but he was still too slow from the confusion to do that properly.

He turned to chase after the Pinsir, but she clacked her pincers harshly, letting out a sharp sound that stunned the Duralodon and the two trainers for a moment. Zessin chittered in annoyance but did not overall seem to be affected.

"...We can't hold this out," groaned Talea as she recovered. "Iedol, leave her some rocks to see if she calms down."

"We can't let that just fly, Sitella. Body Slam him down."

The Duraludon took a moment to register the command, but he did in the end. He took a couple steps back and started vibrating his body in preparation for an attack. Manifesting more blue sparks, Sitella hovered backwards as well to build up some distance and momentum, until she reached the other end of the street. Then she launched herself on collision course. Just as she reached within Iedol's range several slabs from the ground lifted around him floating in the air for a moment, enveloped in a shiny blue light; but Sitella crashed on the Duraludon at full force and both of them were sent off crashing into the pavement, bouncing off a couple of times and leaving deep gashes until they stopped, left sprawled on the pavement several meters away.

The two Trainers and the Rotom drone observed for a moment as the slabs levitating around fell to the ground softly, around where the two Pokémon had been. The Rotom drone then turned to the Trainers.

«Just because a warning has been issued to mind damage to private property all around,» the inquired in an annoyed buzz, «doesn't make it an excuse to turn to public infrastructure for damage.».

The two Trainers shared an uneasy look as the Rotom drone flew towards the section of the street where the two Pokémon were sprawled. Some spectators reached around and formed a circle, gossiping expectantly for several seconds, until finally, something moved.

Sitella got up on her own and with some difficulty walked back to her Trainer.

«And this round goes to Ravir,» came the announcement this time in no indoor voice. «With this the battle is now more evened out».

There was a round of applause as Talea walked in from downstreet, to qhickly check on her Duraludon's status. After confirming that he was down for the count, she whispered a thanks to the Pokémon, recalled him, and gave a gracious bow to the audience while Ravir quickly checked his Pinsir for wounds and gave a thumbs up that he was ready to continue.

"Well played for an emergency measure," Talea announced, raising an arm. "But against Zessing, sticking to the ground won't help you."

As if on cue, the Yanmega zigzagged through the air fast and out of nowhere appeared first by the side of the male Trainer, startling him, and then zigzagged to where Talea was, circling her a few times for display.

Ravir gave a curt nod and stepped back, ready to continue the fight.

«Now, the challenger sends out Yanmega!» announced the Rotom drone, adding a hologram for emphasis.

Talea smirked as she watched at the downed slabs that had shone brightly before.

Atop one of the nearby buildings, the male Trainer and the Houndoom were still watching the fight. The Trainer took some notes and then he knelt besides his Pokémon.

"Hmmm, this where it gets more difficult. We need to pay attention to this one," he suggested, pointing his Houndoom to the female Trainer. "It seems Ravir will have to fight one against two now…"

Battle Report ⤴

Daisuke Mitsuharu · Feb 13, 2021

Speedrun to Ultra Rank - [1] : Battle Royale
Kaito Ishikawa | Normal Rank | Sunnyshore City, Sinnoh

It had been a week since his unexpected victory over Flint and Volkner, but the realization hadn't fully sunk in for Kaito. Was this real life? Did he actually hold his own against an Elite Four Member and a Gym Leader? Sure, it was true that he had gone into the match with the utmost confidence. But confidence is no substitute for skill. Not to mention, it had been a while since he trained so strictly. Maybe his days playing at trainer weren't completely over yet. Maybe he had quit too early... These thoughts were running laps through Kaito's mind.

"Hot, hot, hot!" Oil jumped from a pan and onto his fingers. With his head in the clouds, he'd almost forgotten he was cooking his breakfast. His gaze shifted to the burn mark on his hand. Almost. Reality has a way of reminding.

"You've gotta be kidding…"

Turning off the heat in a panic, Kaito mounted a tedious effort to scrape off the charred remains of eggs from his pan. Swivel back and forth as he did, they didn't budge at all...

Frustration creeping in, he took the pan to the sink, and then let it soak in cold water for a couple of seconds. The pan sizzled momentarily but the gunk that was stuck on it seemed unaffected. Some of it flaked off, but that was mostly because of the scraping Kaito had done before. He gave up.

With that, he exited the kitchen and plopped himself onto his sofa, seeking some comfort from it. Mission accomplished? Not exactly.

The morning proved to be mostly uneventful. Upon waking, Kaito jumped right into his routine of reading emails, combing through research papers, and finishing up work he promised Professor Rowan he would finish. Recently, however, his attention had been split between research and the Pokémon World Championships, with the latter taking priority over the former. Kaito was all but convinced Professor Rowan would chew him out about this. But the older gentleman seemed to understand how much the Championships meant to Kaito. So he let Kaito off the hook.

"I expect your complete focus once you return to my lab." Those were the words he left Kaito with. "For the time being, enjoy yourself." Aha. Kaito's ears perked up at the last part.

If only the Professor could see the grin that subsequently formed on Kaito's face…"Thank you, sir." His cheeks were practically stretched to their limit.

"Mm. I wish you the best of luck, Kaito."

"Heh, I appreciate it, Professor." And Kaito hung up. As far as pick-me-ups went, coming from the professor, that was a solid 8 out of 10. Not that he needed any picking-up. Still, it always felt nice, receiving words like that.

Although breakfast was ruined by a mishap in the kitchen, there were still alternative sources of sustenance Kaito could turn to. Firstly, the basket of fruits that Mr. Alan had sent him was still sitting pretty at the kitchen table. Secondly, Sunnyshore Bistro was also nearby, so it was also an option. But, at the moment, Kaito wasn't exactly in the mood for shelling out cash. He decided to bite into one of the pears in the basket, and, feeling somewhat satisfied, proceeded to head out, a sports bag of Full Restores slung over his shoulder. Something in his gut told him he was going to need it.

Ping.

"Hey Mr. Ishikawa! Are you up for a quick battle?"

Ping.

"Omigosh. It's the Ralts Trainer! Let's battle!"

Ping.

"Uh… Battle me, maybe?"

A rhapsody of beeps and rings coming from his phone was what snapped Kaito to alertness. He'd never been a fan of getting up early, but it was definitely a good habit to have. It left him with some time to laze around and rid himself of early morning mental fog before the day inevitably got rolling. That said, Kaito still felt he could've used more sleep.

"Mm…" He finally fetched his cell from his pocket, and then squinted at the line that had started to form behind him. "Wow…" What was supposed to be a harmless stroll through the beachside streets of Sunnyshore City, now an open invitation for battle. Who would've thought?

"Alright, alright. Follow me." Waving a hand forward, he led the crowd to Sunnyshore Beach, where there was a more suitable place for duking it out.

In a jiff, everyone arrived at a familiar-looking platform, sandwiched between sand, just begging to be used.

Kaito stood at one end of it, while his would-be opponents came together in an awkwardly-shaped huddle at the empty end. He chuckled at their arrangement. "Are you guys comfortable like that?" Some of his patrons shot him an affirmative glance, while others put on a brave front. Ultimately, though, most of them chose to spread apart. 6 feet, to be exact.

"Let's see who we have here…" With an upward flick, Kaito sifted through every request he'd received until he reached the top of the queue. Then… Click.

"It's your turn, Bird Keeper Krystal!"

"Dodrio, use Tri Attack!" The bird keeper seemed to like that move.

"Throw down a Smokescreen, Inferno." Though, by this time, Kaito had already gotten sick of it.

A minute into the battle clued in Kaito to the type of trainer he was dealing with. Even if it wasn't for the colorful beams she'd been sending his Infernape's way (this was the third Tri Attack now), sooner or later the realization would've dawned on him anyways: Krystal was one of those people - people who, in gaming terms, liked to "spam" moves.

It was by no means a bad tactic, "spamming" Tri Attack and having Dodrio drag it from left to right in a sweeping arc. For one it prevented a close-combat specialist like Inferno from getting close. However, it was - at the end of the day - an uninspired strategy. And one which gnawed at Kaito's patience.

He needed to shake things up somehow. From racking his brain, the idea he brought to reality was the smokescreen. Hence, the darkness that now blanketed the battlefield, likely making climate change worse. And to shake things up further… "Follow up with a Laser Focus!"

"That ought to make her sweat," Kaito thought, letting a mischievous smirk take over his lips.

Krystal was furrow-browed. "Dodrio, get a hold of yourself!" She yelled in an attempt to reorient her Dodrio. Instead of reorienting, however, the bird Pokémon stiffened at the command, the opposite of what Krystal intended. The shouting coupled with the lack of visibility must've unnerved it even more.

Still, it managed to loose yet another Tri Attack, streaks of blue, red, and yellow escaping its beaks. Again.

"Number 4, here we go..." Once more, eyeballs rolled to the back of a certain someone's head, namely Kaito's head. Why was she so insistent on that move?

She'd made a mistake, however. Tri Attack kept Dodrio perched in place, and, with the Smokescreen, it wasn't as accurate before. A flurry of advantageous circumstances stacked in Inferno's favor allowed the Monkey Pokémon to close distance. With a stone-cold smack to the head, Inferno sent its Turkey-looking friend back to the freezer, where it belonged. Stone Edge, in addition to dealing super-effective damage, also dealt a critical hit thanks to Laser Focus.

The inevitable buzzing from Rotom all but sealed the deal for Dodrio: "Dodrio is unable to battle! The victor is Kaito Ishikawa!" And that was that for this one-on-one.

"Sorry about your Dodrio…" Kaito eyed the bumps that now protruded from the triple-headed bird's temple - er, temples.

Slinking his bag to his side, he rummaged through it for a Full Restore, one of many that he was carrying around. "The swelling should go down with this…"

Press.

Dodrio recoiled at the first spritz that escaped the Full Restore's nozzle. "There, there." Gently, Kaito caressed its back, in part to keep it within his reach and in part to pacify it. The aftermath of taking several rocks to the noggin probably didn't feel all that great. Soon, however, the Dodrio should notice most of the pain subside. Full Restores were fast-acting, after all. And expensive. Definitely expensive. As for the injury itself… "You should have Nurse Joy check for any concussions," Kaito suggested, turning to Krystal with some concern on his face.

"Ah, right… I'll do that." A vacant response, Kaito noticed. Did she hear him right? Regardless the bird keeper returned Dodrio to its Pokéball and trudged off. Where? Not in the direction of the nearest Pokémon Center, that's for sure. "Hey!" Kaito yelled, evidently loud enough for Krystal and other passersby to turn to him. "It's the other way," he continued, signaling a finger towards one of Sunnyshore City's Pokémon Centers. An awkward shifting of feet saw the lady finally arrive at her destination. "Good," Kaito mumbled, relieved. Part of him was worried she might get lost again.

"Let's see who's next…" With a long exhale, Kaito returned his gaze to his phone. "All right, step up please, Dragon Tamer Geoffrey!"

It was going to be a long day…

[PKMN OPEN] Rise to the Top

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