Round 1 - Arena 4

[Godai]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Cole Tsukiyuro}

Pokemon: Frogadier Nickname: Senuki Gender: Male Type: Water Ability: Torrent Health: Low Level: 17 Total Stats: 221 Attack: 36 Defense: 29 Sp. Attack: 57 (26%) Sp. Defense: 35 Speed: 64 (29%)

Held Item: Mystic Water Moves: 1. Pound 1. Growl 1. Bubble 8. Quick Attack 10. Lick 14. Water Pulse

SPOILER: Click to show

{Luther Hartmann}

Machop Caught at Level 19 Nickname: Buttercup Gender: Female Type: Fighting Ability: Guts Health: Intermediate Level: 22 Division: D8 Total Stats: 242 Attack: 82 (34%) Defense: 54 Sp. Attack: 10 Sp. Defense: 42 Speed: 54 Vitamins Used: None

Moveset: 1. Leer 1. Low Kick 3. Focus Energy 7. Karate Chop 8. Bide 9. Foresight 12. Seismic Toss 13. Low Sweep 19. Revenge 21. Knock Off 21. Brick Break Unique Moves: - Counter (Egg Move) - Bulk Up (TM) - Earthquake (TM) (Story Unlearned) - Item:

[RunSpinAwa]

So today was the first round of the tournament. As Cole walked towards the battlefield, he could see many spectators cheering waiting for the trainers they are supporting to start battling and to see what kind of Pokemon they will use for the battle. While he was a bit confident with the upcoming battle, he was secretly nervous as looked around the whole battlefield. While he didn't care about winning or losing the battle and tournament, he wondered what kind of Pokemon and strategies will his opponent use.

As for the battlefield itself, he could see that it looked very tricky since it was mostly covered in water with a limited amount of land scattered around the field. He wasn't worried about it, yet the real question was his opponent in terms of his choice of Pokemon. While he couldn't read minds on how strong or fast his opponent's Pokemon was, all he wanted to know if it might choose a Pokemon that would compliment this field for an advantage. Regardless, he needed to even out the playing field by playing his advantage for the first round.

"Alright. Guess I should start this off then..." He muttered as he took out his Poke Ball and nonchalantly tossed it into the air. "Senuki, you're up!"

The ball popped open as it released his Bubble Frog Pokemon, which he croaked while glaring at his opponent with his narrowed, but determined eyes. "Stay sharp, Senuki. We don't know what kind of Pokemon he will use on us. Just prepare for the worst and do what you do as usual."

His Frogadier nodded as he braced himself for what kind of tricks his opponent will have in store for him. Yet despite his words, Cole couldn't stop worrying about his opponent. Regardless, all he could do was to take a few deep breaths while also bracing himself as tightened his grip on his hoodie jacket.

[Word Count: 321]

[pandafox]

Luther entered the arena on the back of his onix, Sunder once again. Once again this choice was a crowd pleaser. The audience, unable to see his face clearly, believed they were getting an audacious trainer with a flagrant show of bravado and force in the face of an unknown enemy.

In reality he was terrified. The crowd had him on a back foot with their presence alone. It was only for the sake of his pokémon that he maintained a white knuckled grip on the horn of Sunder like it was a lifeline. The presence of his most cowardly pokémon putting on a brave show on his behalf gave Luther the courage to do the same for them, but only just. So he let people think he was showing a confident and triumphant return to the limelight on the head of his onix.

Forcing himself to focus on the match as best he could helped Luther to distract himself from his terror.So his attention turned to the field before him. He was glad for Sunder's presence beneath him because it allowed Luther to be elevated high enough to see across the battlefield and where the patches of land were. There was mostly water everywhere. Sunder was out immediately and instinctively Luther reached for Azalea's ball. However just as he reached it on his belt, he hesitated.

His grass type was an obvious choice. As his strongest and dearest pokémon she had a clear advantage, and if his opponent were to try to take advantage of the field, that would give him the stronger type. That must have crossed his opponent's mind however. A water type was too obvious a choice, and with the scattered trees in the area, a bug type could be just as at home in such a place and could be devastating to Azalea especially if he was planning on an easy victory. No, it was too risky.

Who then? Sparky? The little electric bug could hardly navigate such a large body of water. Besides there were a number of water ground types out there which would negate any advantage she might have. Too risky. Princess? Too unstable. Hope? Too distracted, and her rock type would be at a disadvantage. That left only one real choice, someone with no clear advantage or weakness here. One of his pokémon that most desired to prove her strength against her enemies, and let the world know.

“Lets go, Buttercup!” Luther called as he tossed his pokéball like a long distance pitcher and managed just barely to land it on one of the scattered pieces of solid ground. Sunder managed to weave his head in time for Luther to catch the rebound without having to leave his security perch.

Where the ball struck the flash of light that burst forth solidified into a smaller humanoid form. Rubbery blue hide glistened in the light of day as she stood and flexed for the crowd. She turned towards the opponent and waited to see what they would do, or to get an order from her trainer.

Luther could already feel the gears in his head threatening to seize up, paralyzed by the enormity of the tournament and the crowd.

---

Luther sent out Buttercup

[RunSpinAwa]

Cole's eyes widened when he saw what his opponent took out his Superpower Pokemon. Sure, it may give Senuki a disadvantage because of his weak physical defense that he showed in his training a few days ago. But he couldn't tell if he has an advantage when it came to this field since he has no knowledge it this Machop might able to swim through the pond during the battle. Still, he has to think fast and find a way to defeat the Fighting-type with his strategies as usual. And more importantly, he has to avoid letting his opponent know of his plans just in case.

Once he was mentally prepared himself, the referee stepped forward near the middle of the battlefield and informed both of them about the 1 VS 1 battle rules. When he was done, he signaled both of them to begin the Pokemon battle as the spectators began to cheer loudly. Usually, for Cole, he loudly called out his Pokemon to use a move. But he just looked left and right and turned towards his Pokemon as he said, "Do it, Senuki."

Upon he turned towards his trainer and stared at his eyes, Senuki silently nodded and turned back towards his opponent. He then took a deep breath before he gave out a loud, piercing cry to Machop. Using a non-offensive attack as his first move might be a risky one, yet whether if Machop was affected by it or not wasn't just his only priority. He needed to make sure that his Bubble Frog Pokemon has to avoid any damage in the first few minutes of the battle.

"Now assume your position!" Senuki stopped his croaking and he quickly dove into the pond and swam through it in circles as fast as he can, hoping he might able to avoid Machop's attacks this way.

[Word Count: 309]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Battle Summary}- Senuki used Growl on Machop in an attempt to lower it's Attack and swam across the pond in an attempt to keep his distance away from Machop.

[pandafox]

A water type. For an instant, Luther had a twinge of regret. He'd chosen wrong, over thought the problem. No. Buttercup was strong, he'd chosen her for a reason. She wasn't strong against water; but she wasn't weak either. More importantly, she had something to prove here, and that would push her a lot farther than one could expect.

The signal was given for the fight to begin and Luther knew the Frogadier would be first. Still he called out to his fighting type friend. Ever since Sangproctor, they knew each other better. He'd learned to work with her fighting style rather than enforce his own. In this battle, it would serve them well. It might even be what tipped the match in their favor if the enemy tried to use the field to their advantage.

“Buttercup, you know what to do!” Luther shouted words of encouragement down towards his machop, from his lofty perch atop Sunder's head.

Buttercup did not turn towards him to acknowledge the command but rather stood resolute and bracing herself. The chilling cry issued from the nimble amphibian sent an unsettling wave of aura through her heavily muscled frame. Machop gritted her teeth and instead turned her focus inwards. She widened her stance in the dirt feeling the moist ground against the soles of her feet as she flexed her arms inwards and tensed every muscle in her body, concentrating on her power and trying to push it outwards. Her skin turned slightly darker as the blood flowed in her body and her muscles seemed to swell as if flexed, but as she relaxed them, they retained their increased size.

The frog was swimming in circles in the water trying to remain elusive, but Buttercup knew better. She closed her eyes and waited. Patience was her primary virtue.

The crowd watched the match so far without any wild cheering, growing a little restless in the early stages of a cautious battle. Neither opponent were winning points for style just yet.

---

Buttercup's attack was lowered by Growl.

Buttercup used Bulk Up. Buttercup's Attack and Defense rose.

[RunSpinAwa]

As he watched his Frogadier swam across the pond in circles, Cole began to plan out his next move. For the first few minutes, Senuki might try to dodge 1 to 2 attacks from Machop as he could and attempt to counterattack at the right time. But he couldn't help but worry regarding his opponent himself. He didn't let out an attack name and just called out to his Fighting-type to prepare what she was supposed to do. He could see how he tried to avoid letting him on his plan as well and it may be more difficult if they have a plan that might counter his long-distance strategy. Not to mention that he was older than him and he might have more experience with Pokemon battling than he thought it would.

Much to his shock, his fears were confirmed when he saw Buttercup widened her stance and flexed her muscles, causing most of them to be very tense to the point he could see her blood veins. He didn't know what kind of attack did she do, but all he knew that she and her trainer were preparing something to counteract his plan somehow.

If he let his Frogadier attack immediately with a long-ranged attack after Growl, they may do something to close in on him and use one of her attacks. If he let him use Growl again, then she might use that same attack again, putting them in a temporary stalemate that may delay the worst outcome in his side. And if he let him attack using a close-ranged attack, he might create an opening for Buttercup to attack him. Whatever choice he'll decide will have some consequences, so he had to make the one he will pick has lesser risk than the other. For now, he has to let Senuki save his energy and make his next move.

"Alright, stop running around, Senuki! Jump up and proceed to Attack Phase!"

His Bubble Frog Pokemon heard this and quickly dove into the water. At first, he didn't come out of the water for a few seconds. But all of a sudden, Senuki quickly jumped out of the pond and fired blue spheres of energy towards the Superpower Pokemon in an attempt to hit her and explode into a wave of water. And without seeing if they hit or not, Senuki jumped back into the water and continued to swim a few meters away.

As for the spectators, seeing the water splashed most of the battlefield caused most of them to cheer at that shocking, yet impressive sight. At this point, their cheering was starting to get louder as they continued watching the battle.

[Word Count: 447]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Battle Summary}- Senuki jumped out of the pond and attempts to use Water Pulse on Buttercup
- Senuki jumps back into the pond and swims across the pond in an attempt to keep some distance away from Buttercup

[pandafox]

Luther bit the inside of his lip to try to keep himself from calling out as he watched and waited for something to happen. The amphibian continued to swim in circles and Buttercup continued to wait with infinite patience. The sound of the water being disturbed by the frog and the impatient murmuring of the audience were all that could be heard. Something had to give, someone had to act.

Finally the enemy broke, when it seemed they'd waited long enough to be certain Luther had no other grand instructions. The opponent shouted their command to attack and the water went silent. Buttercup closed her eyes and waited. Finally the explosion of action came.

Glowing blue with aura the sphere of water crashed into Buttercup. The explosion of aura and water obscured the view for a moment only to reveal she was no longer there. Having used the momentary distraction and the force of the attack as cover for her own blindingly fast advance. With a singly mighty leap Buttercup and closed the distance between herself and the frogadier and drove a powerful fist towards the amphibian's head fuled with aura and anger.

The audience's patience had been rewarded and they erupted with cheers. As the battle had gone from stillness and measuring to an explosive flurry of movement as the two pokémon crashed into the water of the pond.

“You can do it, Buttercup!” Luther's cheer felt lame even to his own ears but he wasn't sure what else to say. She'd executed her plan and now it was time to act to try and balance the field more in their favor.

“Get back to land!” Luther instructed as a new plan began to form. Buttercup may not have been a water type but swimming wasn't too difficult for the muscular pokémon. She'd lived near a raging river that had carved out a massive canyon. A little pond wasn't going to stop her, especially not if Luther's plan worked.

---

Buttercup was hit by Water Pulse.
Buttercup used Revenge!

[RunSpinAwa]

As he watched his Frogadier diving back down into the pond, Cole mentally recalled his plan so far. First, he has to let him keep his distance away from Machop while using his long-ranged attacks such as Water Pulse and avoid as much many close-ranged attacks for a few minutes. After that, he will take a risk on charging in and use this chance to use attacks such as Quick Attack or Lick to chip off some more damage from his opponent before charging in with Senuki's powerful attacks so far. Sure, he came up with this plan on the fly after seeing his opponent, but if he managed to survive with no damage for a few minutes, he might able to counter with another powerful attack.

Unfortunately, his opponent has other plans because as soon as Senuki could reach the water, Luther's Machop suddenly made a strong leap and threw her fist towards the Bubble Frog Pokemon's head. This move caused the young trainer to caught off-guard, who was shocked that the Superpower Pokemon not only able to make a clean hit with her attack but the fact his opponent used the aftermath of Senuki's Water Pulse as an opening to his Pokemon's attack. It didn't help his current situation even further when he not only saw that her attack has no signs of being weakened from Senuki's Growl earlier and he saw how Buttercup swam back to land without any problem. Regardless, he couldn't keep his guard down any longer. He just has to make his plan of "avoiding damage for a few minutes" into a "few seconds" for now and he now needed to make a new plan to counteract his opponent's plans.

As for his Water-type, he saw that his Frogadier managed to recover from the attack as he shook his head and croaked at his owner to let him know that he was okay. "Thank goodness. Be careful, Senuki! That Machop has a strong jump and has some swimming abilities. Keep your distance and continue your Attack Phase!"

His Frogadier nodded before he quickly charged towards the Superpower Pokemon. And without leaving the pond this time, he fired another Water Pulse with several spheres flew towards Buttercup's direction. Cole hated repeating another attack at an event like this, but he had no choice. His opponent's Machop has some skills and attacks that may counteract his strategies, so the only option he has right now was to continue attacking until he figured out what kind of attack that may disrupt Luther's plans and figure out how his Growl seemed to be ineffective.

Meanwhile, with the crowd, they were starting to watch at Cole and Luther's match completely as became excited at what kind of attacks and strategies will these participants used against each other.

[Word Count: 468]

---

- Senuki was hit by Revenge!
- Senuki stayed in the pond and used Water Pulse!

Battle Notes: Senuki's Water-type attacks has been boosted by Mystic Water

[pandafox]

'Continue your attack phase?'
Luther wondered what kind of training his opponent engaged in with his pokémon to issue commands like this. It sounded a lot more regimented and planned out than he and his team dealt with. Perhaps that rigidity would be the thing that caused them to break when they needed to bend. The hit from Buttercup should have been devastating. A fully powered revenge was her specialty; but neither he nor she had been so naieve to think that would be all it took to completely finish the fight. While trying that attack a second time was certainly an option, it seemed like a risky move.

Buttercup paddled her way back to shore as quickly as she could but swimming through the water was nowhere near as fast as her incredible flying leap. Luther knew something was wrong when his opponent's pokémon disappeared under the surface of the pond and he had no way of seeing where she had gone. Pushing the hair out of his eyes he tried to see a sign of movement through the water but couldn't make anything out to warn Buttercup.

She had only just managed to pull herself up onto the shore when the attack came. Blasting from the water the aura filled spheres of water crashed into her back and sent her tumbling forward through mud and foliage. Buttercup dove behind one of the trees within the arena to take shelter from another possible attack. She glanced from where she was up towards Luther as if seeking for help.

Luther had seen it though, and pointed towards the water. “Low Kick!” he commanded and with a nod, Buttercup understood.

Rather than leap blindly back into the water to try to attack her enemy however, Buttercup whirled around and with a single powerful kick, she shattered the trunk of the tree and sent it crashing into the water where its many branches and heavy trunk would cover a large area of the pond as it crashed down and caused a massive splash, in an attempt to crash the tree into their amphibious enemy.

---

Buttercup was hit by Water Pulse.
Buttercup used low kick to cut down a tree and send it crashing into the water in the area of Senuki.

[RunSpinAwa]

So far, Cole's Frogadier made another clean hit with his Water Pulse. Since it was boosted by his Mystic Water, he knew it gave her a huge amount of damage depending on how resilient she was against it. Regardless, he couldn't relax just yet. He felt that the battle was just started and his opponent was not as like the other trainers he fought before. All he has to do was to continue and make sure Frogadier won't get hurt this time.

However, he didn't expect what his opponent's next move was as he heard him shout out an attack name, something that he was surprised to hear due to how he seemed to avoid using it during the whole battle like he was. But what was even more surprising was that his opponent's Machop just used that attack on a tree, which by that point, his confused expression turned into horror as he realized what they were trying to do.

"Senuki!"

His call to his Water-type was too late as he saw the water splashed around the arena once the tree fell into it. Since he was still in there after firing his attack, he was worried if he got caught by Buttercup's surprise attack. But to his surprise, he saw some stream of bubbles in the water until he saw his Frogadier, who was swimming away while unscathed from their sudden attack. At the same time, most of the spectators gasped at the shocking turn of events while some just continued cheering at the sight of the Bubble Frog Pokemon surviving that attack.

Despite his relief though, Cole wasn't happy about this. His opponent had some disadvantages due to his Pokemon being a Fighting-type, yet he managed to mitigate them thanks to his training and some crazy strategies. But still, he wasn't out of the woods just yet. He then frowned and glared at his opponents. "Senuki, finish your phase and spread out as much as possible!"

His Frogadier croaked as swam a few feet closer to Buttercup. But instead of attacking, Senuki just started to swim in circles around the Machop and started to spit out bubbles. While this confused the spectators, Cole just smiled at this strange sight. If his opponent might get distracted by some bubbles out of confusion, then Senuki might find an opening and attack. It might be a cliche plan, but it was all he got until then.

Then without knowing if Buttercup was distracted, Senuki jumped in a few feet up in the air not far away from the water and quickly fired another Water Pulse towards her. After that, he then attempted to dive back into the water and swam away once more.

[Word Count: 453]

---

- Senuki barely dodged the tree that was cut by Buttercup's Low Kick
- Senuki used Bubbles around Buttercup as distractions (Note that he didn't use this attack at Buttercup)
- Senuki used Water Pulse and attempted to jump back into the water!

Battle Notes: Senuki's Water-type attacks has been boosted by Mystic Water

[pandafox]

Luther's heart raced and his breath caught in his throat at the sound of the exploding wood and groaning crash of the tree falling into the water sending waves rollling out in every direction. His breath caught in his throat and his knuckles turned white again as he waited to see what would happen. He wanted to glance towards the referee but didn't dare tear his eyes away from the roiling water.

There, a shadow darted from the froth and branches. The frog burst out of the water and Luther called out to Buttercup “Move!”

A step ahead of him the fighting type had leaped to her feet and clambered up on top of the log now floating in the water. Her bare feet pounded against the trunk as she ran half way down its length and spun on one heel in tome ti see the strange frog forming bubbles like a defensive screen.

Cornered above the water and preparing for the worst Luther could tell Buttercup's instinct would be to absorb another attack and try to return with another Revenge. He could feel it in his gut like her thoughts were his.

“Karate Chop! Now!” Luther called out instead hoping that the work they had been doing together would be enough for Buttercup to trust his command over her honed instincts.

The water pulse fired through the foam at an odd angle towards Buttercup.
Her hand slammed into the trunk of the tree under her feet and it gave way plunging her into the water as the enemy's attack sailed overhead missing her entirely.

For a second time, Luther watched a dark shadow dart through the water and once again a blue pokémon burst from its surface, but this time it was his. Having likely kicked off from the bottom of the pond, Machop exploded from the water underneath where Frogadier was about to enter it to try to escape her. As she burst from the water her fist was glowing with focused power and she swung upwards in a mighty arc as Luther let loose an involuntary cry of elation at the turn of events.

---

Buttercup broke the tree underneath her feet using Karate Chop to avoid the Water Pulse.
Buttercup used Brick Break

[RunSpinAwa]

As he watched his opponent closely, he couldn't help but to panic a little over his opponent's counters. Not only he managed to get through his Pokemon's disadvantages, but the Superpower Pokemon also made several clean hits towards his Bubble Frog Pokemon as well using the environment to attack him in water. He prayed that Senuki's third Water Pulse might weaken Buttercup even further, but to his shock, the Fighting-type just used Karate Chop on the chopped tree to block it before she disappeared.

"What the?!" Cole became shocked at his Pokemon's disappearance after the Water Pulse has been blocked. Sure, he knew she didn't disappear out of thin air, but just finding a blue Fighting-type was another issue. And considering that his Frogadier already risked his visibility by jumping up from the pond once more to fire his Water Pulse, he already had a bad feeling about this. Unfortunately, his prophecy quickly came true when he suddenly saw Luther's Machop quickly jumped out of the pond as she swung her glowing fist towards the falling Water-type. And to his horror, it made full contact on her head once more.

He didn't have time to either call out his next attack or to dodge it completely. All he could do was to watch his Pokemon took on the full brunt of the attack as Senuki croaked in pain while he fell towards the pond as the water splashed across the field. Instead, he just screamed out his nickname out of fear and worry over his starter Pokemon. Machop's first and second attack was two things, but he couldn't help but cringe at the thought of how painful it was for his Frogadier to endure it. He wanted to try catching him, but it would be illegal for this tournament and he wasn't able to pass through the pond without swimming through it.

As Cole was still horrified at his Pokemon's fate, the audience became worried and nervous at the battle's outcome so far. They were not only worried about the young trainer's Pokemon, but they wondered if Luther's Pokemon were gone too far with her attacks towards the Water-type as they seemed to notice that he wasn't emerging from the surface for a few seconds from now. Some even became worried that Cole's Pokemon somehow died from the attack.

Once another few seconds have passed, Cole and the spectators grew even more worried about the Bubble Frog Pokemon. He prayed that his Frogadier would survive that attack and has enough stamina to go on. But then, he saw Senuki's body slowly emerged from the water. The good news was that he was still breathing, which he was relieved that his starter Pokemon was still alive. Unfortunately, his eyes were closed as he groaned in pain. There were no signs of movement from his limbs and he was unable to open his eyes. Once the referee saw this, he raised his blue flag on his left hand.

"Cole's Frogadier is unable to battle! Which means the winner is Luther Hartmann and his Machop!"

Cole's eyes widen when he heard this news as the audience burst into cheers over a quick, yet great match. Looking at his unconscious Frogadier made him distraught over the results at first. However, he quickly shook it off as his frown slowly turned into a dismayed, yet satisfied smile. He did lose, yet he didn't give up. His original plan did have some faults and he didn't expect Luther's Pokemon to have an ability to swim and use any kind of environment to reach Senuki. Regardless, he was just glad that his Frogadier did his best as he took out his Poke Ball and aimed it to him.

"I'm sorry, Senuki. But you did your best. Return and rest for today." He then let his Poke Ball absorbed his Bubble Frog Pokemon in red energy and after he stored it away into his pocket, he walked towards his opponent through the edge of the battlefield and smiled at the winners. "Congratulations, Mr. Hartmann. I'm disappointed that we've lost. But thanks to you, I've learned a bit from your teamwork and your Machop's strength. I hope we can battle again soon."

He then offered his hand to the winner, hoping he would get a handshake before he could leave the battlefield to heal up his Frogadier. As he said, he was disappointed, yet he wanted to accept his loss as a stepping stone towards his dreams. He has a lot to learn as a Pokemon trainer and he knew this was one of the first steps we would take to become the best trainers of Godai.

[Word Count: 778]

---

- Senuki was hit by Buttercup's Brick Break!
- Senuki fainted! Luther won!

Battle Notes: We discussed that Luther will win this round. Hope we can RP again in the next round or the next topic, Panda!

[pandafox]

Luther held his breath along with the audience but not out of fear of any tragic accident. He knew Buttercup would never be so careless. As a fighting type it was not in her nature to kill without need, as much as it was a part of her nature to be fully aware of her own strength. No Luther was waiting on pins and needles because he could see the way Buttercup moved as she trudged out of the water. She was no longer moving with confidence and precision but rather willing her body to move with each step, urging it to do as her mind demanded. Luther's earlier suspicion had been confirmed that this match was nearing the razor's edge of a finish and if her last attack didn't end things, he doubted she would have the strength or speed to put off a finishing blow from their ranged opponent.

Internally Luther Resolved to find a way to help Buttercup protect herself more from ranged attacks like that in the future, even if it was something as simple as getting her the right vitamins to increase her aura defense, but those thoughts would occur to him later. In the moment his eyes were locked on the water for any sign of that dangerous frog darting through the murky depths.

Finally, it surfaced, still and breathing to the relief of the crowd, and unconscious to the joy of Luther and pride of his pokémon. Luther couldn't help but let out a whoop of joy as the announcer declared his machop the victor and was already urging Sunder to lower him down to the ground. He wanted to run to his fighting type friend, pick her up and hug her but knew the proud fighter wouldn't appreciate the display. Instead he squatted down to her level, no mean feat for a man of his height, and looked her in the eye. After a long moment, they shared triumphant smiles and bumped fists together.

Returning Buttercup to her ball Luther stood and immediately turned towards Sunder to retreat to his place of safety when the sound of the other trainer speaking to him reached his ears. It was just a kid but unlike some he'd seen, the guy had sportsmanship down at least. A mildly impressed smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he extended his hand.

“You did good kid. Better luck next time.” he replied managing to wipe the nervous sweat off his hand on his coat before exchanging a confident handshake and then turning away as fast as he could. Stepping quickly back on to Sunder's head Luther was raised into the air before the crowd and as they made their way back into the tunnel that lead off the field, Luther managed a smile towards the audience and a brief wave.

At least the kid hadn't said anything about being a fan. Luther thought to himself. He had no idea how he was going to handle kids asking him about his videos. Fortunately for now he could hide out in the locker rooms and wait for them to announce the next match.