Round 4 Arena 2 (Losers)

[Godai]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Luke Windsor}

Pokemon
Litwick Caught at Level 5 Nickname: Alina Gender: Female Type: Ghost/Fire Ability: Flame Body Height: 1'0" Weight: 6.8 lbs Health: Low EXP Rate: Medium Slow EXP Gauge: (72/81) EXP Gained: 66 Level: 20 Division: D9 Total Stats: 200 Attack: 20 (10%) Defense: 36 Sp. Attack: 76 Sp. Defense: 48 Speed: 20 (10%)	Moveset: 1. Astonish 1. Ember 3. Minimize 5. Smog 7. Fire Spin 10. Confuse Ray 13. Night Shade 16. Will-O-Wisp 20. Flame Burst Unique Moves: -Toxic (TM) -Telekinesis (TM) -Shockwave (TM) -Hidden Power: Bug (TM) Item:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Callista Volkov}

Pokemon
Salandit Caught at Level 5 Nickname: Angel Gender: Female Type: Poison/Fire Ability: Corrosion Height: 2'0" Weight: 10.6lbs Health: Low EXP Rate: Medium Fast EXP Gauge: (123/136) EXP Gained: 116 Level: 22 Division: D8 Total Stats: 242 Attack: 32 Defense: 30 Sp. Attack: 70 (29%) Sp. Defense: 43 Speed: 67 (28%) Vitamins Used: None	Moveset: 1. Scratch 1. Poison Gas 5. Ember 8. Sweet Scent 13. Dragon Rage 16. Smog 21. Double Slap Unique Moves: - - - - Item: Black Sludge

[spectre]

When Calista arrived to her next match, she was surprised to see that she wasn't the last person to arrive. It was already getting dark, but visibility was still high since the stadium was well-lit. It was the rocky stage; the one that reminded her of the caverns they had travelled through in Marook. Angel had fought plenty among the stalagmites and rocky debris, and hopefully she would perform with some confidence.

More and more people filled the arena and settled noisily in their seats. This time, people were even more animated and she caught a couple of them pointing at her and cheering. She might have been mistaken, but she may have caught a glimpse of her name on a hand-written sign. It seemed like the tournament-goers were enjoying following all of the trainers along. Even those in the losing bracket. It felt pretty good, and Calista's heart was really pounding with adrenaline. This would definitely go down as one of the most fun experiences of her life so far, even if this was the end of the line.

"Angel!" she said, and would admit she gave some dramatic flair to her voice for the sake of those watching. They clapped and cheered when the spunky Salandit burst from her confines and shook herself off, hard, before rising to her full height and swaying left and right, awaiting a foe she could psych out with her serpentine movements and flexing claws. Calista aimed a whispered command in her pokemon's direction. "Breathe fire or something, you know, to get the crowd going?"

Angel tossed a look over her shoulder at her trainer, and then after a hesitation -- she was waiting for a foe to destroy, after all -- she leaned her head back and sent a pretty stream of orange-red flame into the sky, which crackled and then dissipated, leaving only a curl of black smoke behind.

"That's my girl!" Calista said, clapping happily. She couldn't wait to see who she was facing this time. "Get ready. We're gonna start this fight off with a Poison Gas!"

[Revelation]

The roar of the crowd filled the stadium with such intensity that one could even feel the vibrations. People of all ages were screaming and cheering, goaded on even more by some fancy display from across the field. Lucas, however, was focused on something other than parlor tricks. He knelt down and patted his little litwick on the head. 

"Hey Alina. I know we haven't been the most successful battling, but let's try our best here, okay? Maybe today will be different."

The small creature looked across the field and shivered, something becoming even more common before her battles these days. 

"Hey." Luke waved his hand in front of her eyes to regain her attention. "Listen, no matter what, I'm proud of you, okay? You're going to be amazing. Now we just have to show them all, okay?" He added a smile to the end of that sentence, trying his best to reassure her and act like he did not, in fact, feel like a million butterfrees were learning how to tango in his stomach. The relief he had felt from winning the last match had immediately disappeared when entering today's arena. The loser's bracket was essentially single elimination. Win or go home. Those added stakes appeared to excite the crowds, and Luke had a suspicion that this was only going to grow exponentially as he continued. 

If he continued. 

Alina cooed at his words of encouragement, albeit still shaking a bit. Luke just gave her another pat and stood up. It was time for them to get to the fight. 

The arena looked similar to when Luke had first been in here, back when going against Martini Ravensdale. The other battles that had filled this field had done a number to it since then, clearing it a bit more and letting Luke see across the land fully. Alina wasn't as well equipped for this land as Makani was, but that was just part of it. Sooner or later, Luke had to use her. She needed a boost, and this would hopefully provide that. 

He looked across at the pokemon they were facing while the announcer droned on. The pokemon was a salandit. That was not a good typing match-up for either side, so both sies would be struggling. The trainer was a woman about his age. He couldn't tell anything about her other than she was cute, and that was irrelevant. He really needed to get better at reading opponents. 

BWWAAAAAAMMMMM. 

Areceus, that horn was getting annoying. 

"Alina, start with Astonish!" Luke called the attack out quickly, trying to get both a solid first hit and a chance to interrupt whatever that trainer was planning. 

The salandit had other plans. An opaque cloud of purple flowed across the field just as the reddish aura was released by Alina. It cut through the cloud, but it just continued forward and enveloped Alina. She held her breath as it came in, knowing well enough what this was. However, her little form did not have much lung capacity, and before she could get outside the radius, she had to take a breath. As the poison took hold, she began to cough and sputter. 

"Alina! Hold on girl. Hit back with Confuse Ray!" Luke bit the inside of his cheek, frustrated. Normally he would do something similar, but that salandit probably couldn't be burned or poisoned. There goes his normal plans. He was going to have to come up with something different, something more aggressive. 

---

Angel used Poison Gas! Alina is poisoned!
Alina used Astonish!
Alina used Confuse Ray!

[seenter]

The crowd was already roaring by the time Chris made it to the arena. He mentally cursed the diner for being so late, and then cursed himself even more so for not giving himself more time. Earlier in the morning he had taken Rein to a quiet place outside the tournament to talk to the Pokemon. The Heracross didn’t seem bothered that it lost the battle, but Chris still felt that he should apologize to Rein for not training him properly before the tournament. Afterwards he spent the rest of the day in the hotel the tournament provided thinking about his two battles and how he might have done things differently.

It was his growling stomach that forced him out of his room and to a local diner for food. There was an announcement for the upcoming matches just as Chris was being served his food, and he nearly choked on his first bite when Lucas Windsor was announced. He must have set the speed record for finishing his meal and had to wait for the waitress to bring him his check. Paying with whatever was in his pocket he bolted out the door back towards the stadium. He was halfway there when he realized he might have given the woman a 60% tip.

Once he was there Chris bought one of the last tickets and hurried inside. He got there just after the two trainers were announced, and the battle was already underway. Taking some of the steps two at a time he finally reached his seat and settled down. Lucas was the one he fought against before, and he was eager to see how the trainer would do against a tougher opponent.

[spectre]

Calista was so busy bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet with excitement when she saw the purple fumes curl around the Litwick. It was a pokemon that, again, she had only ever seen on TV before today, and it had been so much fun to watch all these completely different creatures fighting in completely different ways. Already watching this many battles up close and personal had been invaluable to her own learning. It seemed as though this current opponent -- yet another dude, psshh, where were all the chicks at? -- was really going to favour the tricksier moves that chipped away at Angel.

This was especially difficult against Angel, whose entire MO was 'run fast; attack hard'. Taking turns attacking was the standard pokemon battle they were both used to. Angel really couldn't take many hits, but they had worked hard on getting her speed up to the point where she could dodge. This was going to complicate things.

"Try to get out of the way!" Calista ordered as loud as she could, just when the other trainer ordered an Astonish. "And use Dragon Rage."

Angel tumbled forward, readying the attack she didn't use much, but the second she locked eyes on the Litwick, she started violently and blinked hard, trembling from muzzle to tail, arched like a frightened black cat.

"Angel!" Calista snapped, feeling familiar panic tingle through her fingers. "Get a grip. I said Dragon Rage!"

But the opponent was already going into another move; she had missed several precious seconds by freezing up. The pulsing orbs of a Confuse Ray were floating towards her, and she still hadn't regained full mobility yet. "Angel, avoid that, please!" she cried, realising she was publicly begging, and forgetting to feel awkward about it. "Use Smog."

The Salandit shook herself off, hard, and began to ooze through her scales. She let flames grow from her throat, ready to burn off the toxic chemicals on her body and release a second cloud of noxious fumes across the battlefield, just as soon as the Poison Gas had faded from between the pillars of stone, but the Confuse Ray hit her square on the forehead. Angel blinked and the flames continued to snarl from between her teeth without reacting with the horrible ooze.

She turned very slowly and locked eyes on the Litwick. There was a split second where Calista frowned, no idea what was going to happen next, and then Angel bolted as fast as she could. The flames in her mouth turned a vibrant cyan and exploded from her mouth in a swirling pillar. "Angel!" Calista ordered again. "I said Smog! Smog!" But the lizard pokemon was galloping at full speed, the Dragon Rage from before bursting from her core as she sped to the Litwick's side instead of keeping at a good range.

*

Angel is frozen by Astonish!
Angel is confused...
Angel uses Dragon Rage.

[Revelation]

Litwick stood there, staring down the opponent. She muffled another cough, trying hard to keep the toxins in her body from affecting her too much. She wanted to stay in and finish this fight. Luke looked up at the timer above. They had plenty of time for the fight, but he made a mental note of when the poison was first setting in. He had no idea how long she really had, but it would at least give him an idea. 

Across the arena, the salandit had taken the Astonish directly, causing her to pause. The Confuse Ray had appeared to hit as well, although they would have to wait and see if it truly did anything. Still, it was a solid response to the first attack. 

That salandit seemed to think so as well. With a roar, she began barreling towards Alina. Its colorful flames were exploding forward, rapidly approaching its target. Luke looked back and forth between the two creatures, feeling the rumble of the crowd increase as the distance between them shortened. 

Time to get a bit tricky. 

"Alina, brace yourself for that hit! Make it through and use Telekinesis to throw her over you! Use her momentum!" Luke bent to the side, trying to clear room in case that salandit really went flying. Alina bent down and braced for the hit right as the plume hit, causing her to grunt in pain. She opened her eyes, now glowing a soft pink, and tried her best to use the move to flip her opponent over her head.

The situation actually presented another potential opportunity. "Oh, and use Shockwave when its close!"

Alina, still struggling with the first move, gave one more heave and let the move fade. Instead, the aura glowing in her eyes switched from a translucent pink to a molten gold. Electricity crackled across her body, channeling into her arms before rocketing out towards the black serpentine body. 

Luke looked at the timer again. It was ticking down faster than he would like. "Just hold on for now," he whispered, more for himself than for her. 

[seenter]

Chris sat at the edge of his seat as the battle unfolded in the arena below. From the display hanging over the battle field Lucas had the Litwick and his opponent had the Salandit. ”Callista Volkov” Looking at the traces of the purple gas that was around Litwick Chris guessed that Salandit used Poison Gas on the ghost/fire type. He winced at the memory of his own battle against Lucas. The trainer used the same type of technique on Rein his Heracross. And he can’t use something similar on Sandlit.

Chris tried to remember what he knew about the black and red Pokemon. Fire and poison. So it can’t be poisoned or burned. He didn’t know what types of moves Lucas had taught Litwick, but he figured any that were fire would be less than effective. He watched as Lucas gave some orders to his Pokemon. The ghost/fire Pokemon struck with a quick attack that caused Sandlit to flinch, and then followed with a ray of white lite that dazzled the Pokemon. ”Astonish and Confuse Ray.” He let out a soft whistle. Knock the opponent off guard and hit them with a status effect.

The opponent Callista appeared to be having trouble giving commands to her Pokemon. She was shouting something about dragons at Salandit, but her Pokemon appeared to be confused. After a few failed attempts she tried giving a different order. Salandit charged at Litwick, and a blue aura started to form around the fire/poison Pokemon. Even from where Chris could see Callista was frustrated at her Pokemon. ”She wanted to use Dragon Rage.” However it didn’t work so she tried another tactic, only for her Pokemon to be confused and perform her original order.

Chris sat back in his seat as he watched Lucas giving orders to Litwick. It appeared he was going to try and use Salandit’s momentum against itself. It was a good plan, as it would minimize the damage on Litwick and maximize it on Salandit if Callista wasn’t careful. However it was a race against time, as Litwick was also poisoned. Even if Lucas managed to minimize the damage taken the poison could make up for it. The trainer sat back and watched the battle unfold. No wonder he lost against Lucas. This was a true battle.

[spectre]

Angel could feel her entire head buzzing with garbled information, sounds, and colours. Calista watched from far away now as the lizard pokemon galloped as fast as she'd ever seen her move, blue flames pouring aggressively from her muzzle ... and then she was launched several feet into the sky though the Litwick hadn't even moved. She hadn't seen a Telekinesis in action, though the name rang a small bell in the back of her mind. Her lack of experience was really biting her in the butt, because she had no idea what was going to happen next.

Angel careened, all limbs flailing, over the top of the Litwick, belly skimming the ghostly flame on top of the foe's head before she ended, hovering a few feet away and still furiously spitting blue flames.

Calista blinked a couple of times, trying to clear her panic-blurred vision and make another call in time. "Angel," she ordered, trying to break through the confused fog she could see plain as day on her pokemon's expression. "Smog!"

With surprising swiftness, a bloom of cloyingly thick purple fug swirled through the air from the suspended Salandit and curled around the rock formations, creeping towards the foe. Just that second, though, the bright crackle of her Shockwave traveled through the smoke and Angel squealed, her silhouette lighting up from the epicentre of the Smog, jerking with the startling force of the electric attack.

"Can you use Ember?" Calista asked, hearing her own voice come out as a much younger girl's squeak, and hating the way her own indecision made her sound. Especially in public like this. She could barely even see her own pokemon, let alone have any idea what was going on with her. She strained her eyes and ears to see if anything was going on, but saw and heard nothing that would even indicate her Salandit was still in the air, or even still conscious. No Ember meant that the confusion had probably overtaken her -- if she was still in the purple cloud, and ready to fight... "Ember, Angel, go!" she encouraged, clapping her hands. She couldn't even see her opponent for the moment; she was completely in the dark.

*

Angel is suspended in the air with Telekinesis
Angel uses Smog
Angel is hit by Shockwave...
Angel attempts an Ember, but hurts herself.

[Revelation]

Alina collapsed, hacking and coughing as the smog surrounded her. Her attacks had gone through, causing the salandit go flip and fly around the arena before getting bathed in electricity, but that poison was really taking its toll. Alina wasn't going to last much longer, especially with the constant hits.

Luke heard a shrill call for an Ember from his opponent. Right now, they needed to avoid as much damage as possible.

"Alina, Minimize! Get out of the way!"

The litwick, body already doubled over in pain, began to fold in even more on itself. The waxy ball shifted and shrank down until it was but half its original size, becoming hard to see in the remnants of the purple haze.

Luke balled his fingers into fists as he waited for a brilliant flame to stream towards Alina. He waited... and waited. Nothing came. The salandit had not attacked, instead writhing in the air.

"Alright Alina, let's go for..." Luke trailed off as he heard a grunt from his pokemon. She was down on the ground now, propping herself up with her stubby little arms. She looked up at him, pain mixed with determination in that gaze.

"Oh, my poor Alina..."

She could maybe do one more attack. Luke flew through the moves she could use in his head, finally settling on one. It may not be the most optimal, but it worked best for her. Her head was turned towards the salandit, lining her flame up with her enemy. It was the best he could do at the moment.

No matter what, she had fought incredibly, and he wanted to end things with her showing off all she had.

"Alina, hold on just for this, okay? Go all out here! Finish with a Flame Burst!"

Luke's voice rose as he spoke, ending in a full shout as he pumped his arm towards the lizard. His heart was pumping, sweat pouring down his face and back. The crowd was in a complete frenzy now, sensing the end was near. Even the lights appeared to have brightened, setting the scene for this all-out finale.

Alina's flame sputtered, twisting and turning as it tried to gather aura. A noise escaped the litwick, muffled by the proximity to the ground. It started off slowly, barely more than a moan, before it ramped up towards a screech. As she did so, lavender aura began accumulating at her wick. The flame began to grow, greedily feeding off the new fuel source. It danced maliciously as it expanded rapidly, becoming a rumbling ball of purple flame. With a final pained scream, Alina sent the collection of flames flying towards the salandit. As the ever-shifting fire streaked towards the opponent, Alina collapsed to the ground, coughing out dark sludge.

Luke reached for her pokeball, grasping it firmly as he watched the final attack. He couldn't ask her to continue any farther, but if she could hold on just until this attack hit... It all depended on what happened when, or even if, it collided. The whole stadium seemed to hold its breath as it waited to see what exactly happened.

---

Alina was hit by Smog!
Alina sent out a (very dramatic) Flame Burst!
Alina is almost unconscious from the poisoning!

[seenter]

Chris found himself leaning forward on the edge of his seat watching the battle unfold below. Half the audience was doing the same, their postures stiff with anticipation. The other half were on their feet screaming and calling out to the contestants. The trainer could feel the tension in the air; the excitement of the battle and the anticipation of what would happen next. It was everything those watching the tournament were hoping for. Why isn’t this the finals? His previous battles were jokes compared to this. Here were 2 true trainers of Pokemon.

Litwick managed to catch the Salandit in the air and keep it from harming the ghost/fire Pokemon. In retaliation the suspended Pokemon let out a thick purple gas that began filling the arena. Litwick couldn’t escape, but managed to release a powerful Shockwave through the Smog. It was starting to get very smoky around Salandit so Chris couldn’t really see what was going on with the fire/poison Pokemon, but he could see its trainer shouting orders and trying to get it to act. From what Chris could see the Pokemon was having a very hard time focusing.

Chris turned his attention back to Lucas and Litwick. He could see that the ghost/fire Pokemon was struggling to remain standing, and it was obvious that the poison was taking its toll. He cringed slightly at the sight; remembering how his own Pokemon was poisoned not once, but twice since he met Rein. He could only imagine the worry Lucas was going through. Lucas called out something about ‘flame’ to Litwick, and the desperation in his voice sounded like this was a last ditch effort to win. "Come on Lucas. You can do it." His voice was quiet among the war of the crowd.