Round One!
Valorie & Sammy vs. The Mysterious Sisters
As the pairs were identified Valorie found herself looking around for this partner of hers. 'Sammy', huh? What a boyish name. Valorie quietly began devising a plan B for if her partner was unable to carry his own weight. Losing this tournament would just be the icing on her failure cake, and she wasn't very hungry so soon after the Rocket Base invasion.
Finally, a mugshot was displayed upon a large screen keeping track of the statics of the battle. One could see spots reserved for whichever three pokemon they chose below the trainer's portraits. ...Huh! So her partner was a girl! It had to be short for Samantha, Valorie quietly reasoned. So lost in her thoughts was she that she didn't even recognize the familiar face.
Sammy hadn't realised this was going to be a doubles tournament, but it didn't seem like anyone had known ahead of time. This changed everything - what if she got paired with a rookie that dragged her down? Or someone far better that made her look useless, that would be even worse... as badly as she wanted to beat Mark in this tournament she had to hope that they got paired together, they at least knew where they stood with the other. She listened closely as the pairs were announced... Mark and Amber, huh? That could work out, she had a standing rivalry with him and unfinished business with her, taking them out together would show them both she wasn't to be messed with! But... losing to both at once would solidify her position as average.
She phased out as the other pairings were announced, lost in her own thoughts until her name was called. She was paired with Valorie... the name sounded familiar... wasn't that the girl Mark was always going on about, the one far stronger than him? She felt a surge of elation until she remembered something else that soured her good mood... Valorie was one of the students who had been transformed by Team Rocket. She groaned and made her way towards the Trainers box - pictures of herself and Valorie flashing up onto the big screen. Valorie looked pretty in her headshot but how was Sammy ever going to recognise her now? Not only that, but Sammy's picture showed her as she usually looked, hair tied up and practical clothes. Valorie might not be able to recognise
her now that she'd styled her hair and dressed up! It was going to be a short tournament if she couldn't even find her partner...
Valorie quietly scanned the crowd, but the two girls search was suddenly made easier as other trainers began finding their partners and clearing off the field. Valorie was a very fashion-conscious girl and when the field really started thinning out she managed to make the connection, no thanks to Shu.
"You know, people usually use nametags for this sort of situation." Shu's telepathic voice whined. "Honestly, it's one step forward and two steps back with technology. Why do you even have printers if you don't use them?" he went on? Valorie frowned at his choice of timing, decidedly not humoring the conversation. It was beyond her to explain, the full extent of her tech know-how being social media and the research of pokemon battling. She still recalled the hours spent learning the finer details of dragon pokemon, marveling at their wonderous figures.
The not-quite-as-short girl approached Sammy and reached out to gingerly grasp the other's shoulder for a brief moment in a bid for Sammy's attention. While many of her features were intact, she was taller than one might remember and had a somewhat doll-like complexion caused by a compressed and flawed mental image of herself she'd used to transform. "Hi--Are you Sammy?" she asked. Here was hoping Sammy could understand her.
Sammy tensed as someone touched her shoulder and turned to see who it was, shocked by the uncanny valley-girl addressing her. It looked... kinda like the girl she'd seen with them on the raid - another memory of saying she could wear a skirt if she wanted flashed into her head - but as if someone had tried to draw what she looked like from a second hand description. Everything was close enough to be recognisable, but just a little... off.
"Uh... hey. Yeah. I'm Sammy... are you Valorie? I thought you were... y'know, a uh... Pokemon now... Did you get that fixed?"
She was pretty sure if the issue of the transformed students had been resolved someone would have announced it, but maybe it had just happened? That would mean Lucia was better now too... and that someone would come looking for the egg she was carrying. She wasn't sure how to feel about that part.
Valorie was quick to shake her head. "That's me, but no--I just--I got tired of feeling gross all the time, so I went on a quest to fix that and... It's a long story, but this is just the move transform. It lets me mimic the appearance of things." she explained awkwardly, reaching back and gently fixing her hair. She felt so self-conscious all of a sudden! She couldn't imagine why!
Folding her hands in front of her, Valorie smiled.By now she had made the connection between A and B, what with that handy mugshot to help. When she next spoke her tone was quiet. "I don't think I got a chance to thank you for before. I felt like I was going to choke on my own embarassment--What do you say we show these guys what it takes to break Team Rocket?" she offered, apparently more than ready to begin. Perhaps even a bit too ready. A doubles battle was all about coordination and working together right? What plan did they have?
"Oh, well good for you. Not everyone would've thought to do that." Sammy had to admire the girl for not completely giving up, she was at least trying to live her life as normally as she could. Someone with that much gumption would make a good partner, especially if she was as strong as Mark had said!
"Right on," Sammy grinned, "We're Rocket Raid Veterans, right? Whoever these "mysterious sisters" are they won't have jack on us. We'll steamroll this first round and make an impression, right? I mean between the two of us and what we've been through we can handle any regular old students - we probably won't even need to sweat it until we're past the heats."
Valorie beamed at Sammy, quite pleased with the other's attitude. Suddenly, it all changed. For a moment these feelings reminded Valorie of how she felt around Selene and the next thing she knew she'd forgotten where she was. Her smile faltered as her brain quickly yanked her back into reality. The mood swing was fast and brutal. She found herself struggling to hide how much it bothered her; She tried to smile again but it did not come, so she was forced to retreat to a more serious demeanor. Even then, the face of her missing friend haunted the back of her mind, that part of her that refused to move on wanting nothing more than to hit something right about now.
"Right... I think we're going to be up soon, so let's get ready." she replied.
Sammy must have said something wrong, because Valorie suddenly seemed a lot more serious. Maybe she shouldn't have talked about the raid too much, it wasn't going to be a super happy fun time memory for Valorie after all.. but she seemed to want to get to business, so that's what they would do.
"I'm good to go, we probably won't need to use more than one Pokemon each unless things get hairy out there, I've been training like crazy lately. Got a full team now too, so it I should have a Pokemon for whatever gets thrown at us." She was keeping an eye on the big screen, waiting for their match up to be called. She was itching to get started, probably with Elvis first. The big Crawdaunt was her strongest Pokemon and she wanted to make an impression on the crowd and other Trainers, not to mention Valorie.
One of Valorie's uncannily perfect brows rose slightly and she turned partially away. "I'll try not to let you down, then~" she replied coyly with a little wink.
...
And then it was time for their battle. Across from them on the field a small girl in a pretty pink dress covered in bows and frills smiled at them in an almost abent-mindedly care-free manner. By her side another girl sporting a somewhat ragged purple dress and equally messy purple hair. She had a somewhat disheveled, cooky look to her.
"A spell brought us together." the hex maniac started. "Fate made you our opponents." the fairy tale girl continued. The two took each other's hand in hand, their free hands holding a pokeball. "Our teamwork will bring us to victory." the two both continued simultaneously, giving their hands a squeeze, brimming with confidence. Valorie and Sammy might take notice of two necklaces adorned with rainbow colored jewels...
"Are they f&$*'in' serious? That is seriously messed up." Sammy muttered. "If they're trying to psych us out they're not doing a very good job." Sammy pulled a pokeball marked with blue chevrons and a gold star from her belt, holding the egg case cradled in the crook of her left arm so she could use the pokeball with her right hand. "What do you say Val, take one each? You want little miss muffet over there or the chick who looks like she's trying to be a cross between Roxie and a Grimer?"
Valorie furrowed a brow and smirked slightly. "...Sure thing, Sammy~" she replied somewhat quietly.
The two systers primed and tossed their pokeballs. From them emerged a gardevoir and a banette. The two pokemon strike a pose, as do their trainers. The two sisters seemed intent to continue holding hands, as if it were performing some kind of battle ritual. Suddenly their wrists began shining brightly and the two pokemon on the field were enveloped in a brilliant show of light, emerging as mega evolved! The two trainers then performed a spin reminiscient of dance, striking a domineering pose. "Alone we are formidable--Together nothing can tear us apart!" they both remark simultaneously into the wind.
Valorie puzzled over what had just happened. ...Surprise evolution? Weird. Whatever it was it unnerved her slightly. She could tell it wasn't just for show, and there was something odd about the way they'd evolved just like that. Valorie primed her standard pokeball and tossed it. An enormous figure formed, the afterglow of the pokeball fading to reveal a 12'01'' dragonite! Dragonite looked around curiously, stretching a bit and generally remaining oblivious to the situation as she took in the many many humans watching her expectantly. "Hello friends!" she remarked cheerily. Valorie cringed slightly; she for once understood the big baby clearly. "We're in a battle Dragonite." she explained awkwardly. Dragonite hesitated a moment. "Oh..." she replied, slightly disappointed.
Sammy had grown up surrounded by an ever changing cast of people from all around the world, and if there was one thing sailors loved to do it was tell tall tales. She'd
heard of Mega Evolution before but hadn't ever really believed in it... until now. What else could this be? But all she had to go on were the stories she'd heard - incredible power, unknown potential, bla bla bla. It was worth taking these girls a little more seriously, but their Pokemon couldn't be that much stronger than regular ones... could they? That evolved Banette looked awesome though... she was going to have to remember that for when Shuppet evolved.
Holy Houndoom's that Dragonite was HUGE! Elvis was a little bigger than the average Crawdaunt but this Dragonite was way bigger than normal! With that sort of titan on her side she suddenly wasn't as concerned about the Mega Evolution anymore. Drawing her arm back she threw her pokeball forward, releasing her Crawdaunt.
Elvis huffed out a sigh and looked around, flexing his claws. "What's all this, what's all this eh? Three on one is it, well I'll take you all down see, every one'a ya!"
"Elvis, Dragonite is on your side, focus on the other two!" Sammy called out. She couldn't understand Elvis, but she did know that he could be a bit of a jerk if given free reign...
"Two on two is it, fair odds is it, well don't make a difference, not a bit'a difference!"
"Alright Val, leave the Banette to me - Elvis has an advantage there and I know at least a little about that Pokemon - sort of. Your Dragonite can handle the puffed up Gardevoir, right?"
"Banette, cotton guard!" "Gardevoir, psych up!" the two girls called out after a shared look at eachother. The two pokemon began to glow with a powerful white aura resembling cotton in texture.
Valorie took one look at this and nodded slowly. "...Yeah. No problem." she replied, though her tone betrayed concern. "Dragonite, use--...Ice Beam!" Valorie blurted out. Y'know, on second thought this was a positively awful matchup. All her other attacking moves were rather poor, especially thanks to that cotton guard. Dragonite reared back, a transluscent baby blue energy building in her mouth. She promptly launched the blast, energy arcing back and fourth like lightning as it shot out and zapped the mega gardevoir. She did not go down, but the icey blast definitely seemed to register as pain upon her face.
Sammy knew that Cotton Guard was a serious defensive move, but she'd had no idea that Banette could learn it... something else to remember for her own Pokemon. Even though physical attacks wouldn't be very useful right now she still had to try something. The stories she had heard said that the Pokemon had to be holding some sort of stone or gem in order to Mega Evolve... maybe Elvis' Knock Off could smack the Banette's item away and cause it to revert to its usual form. It was worth a try, right?
"Elvis, hit Zippy there with Knock Off, try and get rid of whatevers beefed it up so much!"
Elvis leaned back on his elephantine legs before rocking forward and launching towards the Mega Banette, drawing back his right claw in preparation for a strike. The claw began to crackle with what looked to be black lightning before it slammed into the fluffy aura surrounding its target. The physical strength of the Crawdaunt was obvious, but mostly negated by the effects of Cotton Guard - only the type advantage of both Elvis and his attack made the attack even remotely worthwhile. It had no effect on Banette's Mega Evolution, and didn't seem to get the normal surge to power when it smacked something away from their opponent.
"That did
not work. Good to know, can't undo the crazy evolutions. Now I just need a plan B."
"Banette, use Will-o-Wisp." the hex maniac directed, ever so sure of herself. A ghostly purple flame formed betwixt the spirit dolll's hands, flying out to consume Elvis. "I love the smell of seafood~" she remarked haughtily. "Gardevoir... Calm Mind." the other casually sung, the both of them gesturing with their free hands. A blue psychic aura joined the cotton aura around Gardevoir. Valorie began to become uncomfortable. If all three of their pokemon gave them this much trouble it would be an uphill battle.
"Dragonite, Ice Beam--Extreme speed! Give it everything!" she commanded. Dragonite repeated her earlier actions, this time following up with a ludachrist burst of speed for something so large, one fist attempting to slam into Gardevoir. Even with such titanic power however, the mega gardevoir did not faint. Rather, it got back up and stared Dragonite down.
Elvis let out a heavy grunt as the ghostly flames settled into his carapace, causing a great deal of discomfort. "I'm gonna show ya, see, me and The Coop got this, see!"
"Screw it Elvis, brute strength isn't going to work. Let's try and slow it down with BubbleBeam!"
Elvis leered at the Mega Banette and raised both his laser cannons claws, snapping them open and releasing a concentrated fire of stinging bubbles that popped on contact. Adaptibility was working to their advantage to help supplement the damage caused. The moisture from the continually popping bubbles was starting to soak the Cotton Guard as well, adding extra weight for the Mega Banette to carry and slowing it down. But all the while the burns from Will-o-Wisp were causing Elvis increasing pain.
"Banette, psych up!" the hex maniac called out, once again sharing in power with her sister. For a moment it might see as if they were going to stall the match out, but then it happened. "Gardevoir--Stored Power!" the fairy tale girl called out, a large blast of psychic energy rocketing up out of gardevoir and descending upon Dragonite with massive power. Dragonite buckled under the strength, falling and catching herself with one hand. It didn't look like she was having a good time out there.
Valorie winced and looked over at Sammy. "...This isn't going very well. Sammy do you have any pokemon that can hold them off for a bit?" she asked, quickly trying to salvage what was left of the battle.
"Shit! I guess Shuppet could, she can stall pretty well, but all that's going to do us drag this out longer. This one on one stuff isn't working either, they're helping each other out too much. Elvis, give Dragonite some cover with Swift!"
Elvis increased the arc of his attack and started firing streams of flashing golden stars at both opposing Pokemon. It wouldn't have as much power as the BubbleBeam, but hopefully it would help draw attention towards Elvis and away from the struggling Dragonite.
"I've never been in a double battle before, I've never planned for this sorta thing. Crawdaunt can take a serious beating, and he knows Protect. I'm going to try and have him draw their fire for a minute, your Dragonite doesn't look like she can take another hit like that last one."
Valorie winced. Oh the mouth on this one! It was a tad refreshing to be honest, but she still couldn't help but find the other's words slightly harsh on the ears. Ah well. When in battle..! She primed her pokeball and returned Dragonite. "I know. That's why I'm substituting her. Trust me?" she asked, offering Sammy her most competitive smile. "Go, Charizard!" she called out, the pseudo dragon taking the stage. "Banette, Shadow Claw." the hex maniac remarked, beginning to pound away at Elvis with powerful strikes. Mega Banette's arms seemed to laugh as they swiped cruelly at the water type. Gardevoir recieved a similar order, but found herself with no pokemon to target between Valorie's switch.
"I'm counting on you, Sammy..! Keep them off her for a bit!" she said. Both Mega Gardevoir and Mega Banette turn on Elvis, the two ladies bearing down over him with intent to crush.
"Charizard, Belly Drum!" Valorie called out. They needed to hit hard and fast--It was their only chance to turn the tables. Charizard began violently thrashing amongst herself, working herself up to a feverish intensity.
Elvis took the Shadow Claw like a pro, but between that and the burn from Will-o-Wisp the damage was starting to show. Sammy was about to shout some encouragement when he seemed to chomp down on something, regaining his composure and becoming revitalised. The Lum Berry! She'd forgotten he even had the thing, but it was just the boost he needed right now.
She tried to find encouragement in Valorie's smile, but all she could think was that it would look far more natural on the girls
real face. She found the sudden appearance of a Charizard a far better confidence booster. But now both Banette and Gardevoir were gunning for Elvis, so it was time for them to put up or shut up.
"Protect!" She called out to the crotchety crustacean. Elvis narrowed his eyes in concentration, the gold star atop his head beginning to glow, an energy aura spreading from it until he was surrounded by a golden dome that would deflect whatever attacks launched at him. That struck Sammy as strange, his Protect had always been a sort of blue wall back when he was a Corphish, but the middle of a battle was no place to contemplate move aesthetics.
"All yours Val, they probably won't focus on Elvis for much longer with a Charizard on the field!"
Both Gardevoir and Banette's attacks smacked into the shield, but not even their massive power could break it. Suddenly the two sisters were aware of a large threat on the battlefield and they seemed to draw back, still clutching eachother's hands as if it were a life line. "O-Oh..." they remarked uneasily.
"Alright Charziard--Rock Slide!" Valorie ordered. Mustering all her strength, Charizard ripped up several large boulders from the ground and whipped them at the two pokemon, efficiently and brutally finishing the both of them off. The two sisters look at eacother and simultaneously squeal in fright, moving to hug eachother whilst bouncing rather energetically on their feet. "Eeee! What will we do, what will we do?" they both ask eachother, seeming to ignore the battle. Valorie placed her hands on her hips, waiting patiently. After a moment they seemed to settle down.
"...It was magic that got us this far." the hex maniac began, hanging her head in dejection. "And it was fate that stopped us." the fairy tale girl went on to lament, hiding partially behind her taller sibling. "We depended upon our sisterly bond to carry us through, and thus we must profess regret--For we have no more pokemon fit to fight." they both admitted with shame in their tone.
Valorie and Sammy had won! Before Sammy would get a good chance to react she'd find herself getting a hug of her own from Valorie, who giggled and quickly released the other. "We did it! Thanks Sammy." she replied, somewhat ecstatic over their victory. "You really saved my butt back there--Our butts." she explained cheerily. The two mysterious sisters chimed in. "Have you two battled together before?" they asked, apparently a bit impressed.
Sammy whooped as the boulders took their opponents Pokemon out of the battle, calling the exhausted Elvis back to his pokeball and preparing to send out her next Pokemon. As she tried to process what the sisters were saying she found herself caught in an embrace from Valorie.
"I don't - what? That's it?" She asked lamely, looking from Valorie to the sisters. "You only had one Pokemon each? $*£%'ing hell, we did it!" She laughed. "No, no, that was the first time - good thing we got our act together though! Great work Val - without your Charizard we'd have been toast." She grinned broadly.
Valorie smiled sheepishly. "Hey... Charizard wouldn't have been able to do that without your cover." she replied sheepishly, sharing a moment of kinship with the other. It was apparently embarassing for her, so she soon decided to turn and place her hands on her hips, displaying her arrogance broadly with her body language. "Not bad for first timers, huh?~" she asked coyly. Soon however they were being guided off the field so that another set of battlers could have their turn.
