Post by Birdybot on Sept 3, 2009 3:58:17 GMT -5
Fairo shiny Charmander - vs shiny Azumaril
A glint of gold caught Sulteron's eye as Fairo's golden scales reflected the bright pale yellow orb that was the sun. It was a crisp autumn morning. The sky was shining and the sky was blue, but there was a cool breeze and the sun didn't seem to be giving off too much heat. Early that morning as Sulteron and Fairo had travelled to the Training Gym, the ground had been damp with dew. Now it was dry. A crunch came from beneath Fairo's paw as he stepped on a dry brown leaf which had fallen from the multicoloured trees dressed in reds, yellows and browns.
Fairo the Charmander did not appreciate this natural beauty, however. He was rather glum, stopping in front of Sulteron and watching another figure heading towards him. ~Remind me why we're here again?~[/color] he sighed. Sulteron rolled her eyes. "Fairo, you know perfectly well why we're here. We're going to train. I want everyone to reach level sixteen before we fight in the next gym." she answered for the thousanth time. All her Pokémon were on level eight at the moment, but she would like them to gain eight more levels each. The shiny Charmander shook his head as the opposing trainer stopped on the other end of the marked out arena. ~I meant why did you sign me up against an Azumaril?~[/color] he whined.
His question went unanswered, however, for it seemed that this battle was ready to begin. The opposing trainer had unclipped his Pokéball, smiling at Sulteron. The Espeon 'morph nodded to him, grinning back. The other trainer threw the Pokéball, which emitted the usual stream of red light. From this, a form began to take place, gradually solidifying with a burst of glittering sparks. The Pokémon was, as Sulteron had expected, and Azumaril. However, it was no ordinary Azumaril. It's fur, where normally blue, was golden. No, this Azumaril was like Fairo; a shiny. Despite the fact that she knew being shiny had no effect whatsoever on the Pokémon's strength, Sulteron felt a little more nervous in facing it.
Well, the battle would have to start sometime, right? The opponent nodded politely to the part Espeon girl. She breathed deeply. This wouldn't be easy. She'd picked to fight Fairo against an Azumaril because he would get even stronger that way. Hopefully if he were able to defeat the Water type, he'd learn even more because of it. After all, that was what training Pokémon was all about, right? Overcoming weaknesses and achieving what before might have seemed impossible. Sulteron had her fingers crossed as she put on her smile, watching Fairo flex his muscles in preparation. She finally spoke. "Fairo, start up with a Scratch. Test Azumaril." she told the Charmander. She knew it would be best to start out with a simple, straightforward attack, for then it would give them a good idea of how tough Azumaril was; how it could take hits, how it could dodge, and so on.
Fairo leapt into action, feeling a sense of bounding joy as he felt the wind whistle through his ears as the lizard swept along stealithly like a silent snake stalking it's prey. The golden Charmander's green eyes had the rabbit fixed in their vision. It wasn't much bigger than him, he was glad to see. But that didn't always mean that it wouldn't be tough. Azumaril seemed to be testing Fairo, too, and appeared to have no inkling of moving. Fairo's tail was blazing high with anticipation as the scaly Pokémon bounded forward and gave Azumaril an almighty swipe.
The first blow delivered, Azumaril staggered backwards, the breath knocked from it's body. It's trainer gritted his teeth, watching the blow. Ow, that looked like it had hurt. So, Fairo was a strong Pokémon with plenty of potential. But just how much damage could he take? And what kind of a trainer was this 'morph? That was how these trainers worked at the gym. They would test their opponents and attack to the foe's weakness. "Azumaril, test! Tackle!" he cried.
The rabbit had done this plenty of times before, and knew a lot of tricks in the old book. It raced at Fairo, pretending to go in a simple charge. The Charmander was easily and obviously able to dodge this. He leapt into the air, jumping over Azumaril's head with his strong back legs, which made the gold furred Pokémon smile. That was Fairo's mistake, right there. In jumping, he'd left himself an easy shot. He couldn't dodge now he was in the air, falling back to earth. Azumaril's legs kicked off the ground, Tackling after him. The rabbit's blow caught Fairo to the side, sending him crashing to the ground. He groaned as he landed painfully, but quickly got up, alert and ready. Azumaril returned to the spot it had started out in. So, Fairo was alert. He took pain, but recovered and remained aware. Perhaps this wouldn't be quite so easy as Azumaril had first thought at the sight of this Pokémon.
Sulteron grinned at this. That was brilliant! She praised Fairo, proud of the little Fire type. He was such a fantastic Pokémon to call her starter. He had played out well in there, even if he had taken a hit. He had remained aware of what was going on. Perhaps he'd be more careful when he jumped, too. Well, now they needed another attack. However, it wouldn't be as easy as last time. Azumaril had let that attack hit, clearly, just to test Fairo's attack power. Another Scratch this time, perhaps, just with a little more style. She needed to ensure a hit. Azumaril was bouncing on the balls of it's feet, looking very capable of moving quickly despite it's shape. "Fairo, use Scratch, but be prepared to have Azumaril dodge. Keep an eye on it." she advised, watching to see the outcome.
Fairo nodded, starting to race towards Azumaril. However, he decided to make it a little harder for the Water type. As he moved in a straight line, he suddenly swerved off and darted one way, then did the same in another direction. He did this in a manner which would make it seem as though he were just trying to get Azumaril confused as to what he was doing, when in actual fact he was creeping slowly closer, zigzagging all the way. Finally, without warning he lunged forward, claws reaching to scrape past soft gold fur. However, Azumaril had fast reflexes. Realizing what he was doing in the nick of time, the rabbit had hopped to one side, Fairo only skimming it. A little pain was felt, yes, but at least the majority of the attack was dodged safely.
Fairo snarled in annoyance. Urgh! The attack had barley even touched Azumaril at all. Oh man, this would be one hard battle. He wondered if he'd fare well or not. Hopefully, he wouldn't make a complete embarrassment out of himself. He wasn't sure if he would win or not, but he wanted to make Sulteron proud and felt he could win, for as they say, when there's a will, there's a way. He held onto that saying, in doing so igniting a fresh spark of hope that blazed in his eyes and on his tail. He felt new energy. He felt that he could do this. The opposing trainer made his move. "Azumaril, use Tackl!" he cried. The Water type lunged for Fairo, but the lizard nimbly side-stepped out the way, keeping tabs on Azumaril's every movement. It's eyes flickered over to him, it's head leading it's body subtly as it turned, ready to attempt another strike. Fairo as too quick. He leapt overhead, careful this time, arm beneath him giving Azumaril a good Scratch attack before he landed neatly, a smile on his face.
Sulteron grinned in joy. Fairo had laid an attack! He'd dodged and attacked at the same time! Oh, such brilliance! The Charmander was amazing! The Espeon 'morph felt that adrenaling, and knew that this was what being a trainer was all about. Moments like these, where from the deepest of troubles came a ray of hope in the form of a shiny Fire type with a blazing tail. The tail's flame was tall, burning cheerily, reflecting on Fairo's good mood. The girl thought a little on her next move, but it took her even less time than last time. She knew she ought to learn to think fast on her feet, after all. "Fairo, Ember!" she called, knowing he'd be able to attack from here.
Fairo's eyes closed as he gathered Fire energy from within him. He allowed the warmth inside him to flow up to his mouth, gathering the strength from all over his body. His jaw opened, revealing the row of small, pointed teeth before they were veiled in flames. The fire spat from the Charmander's mouth, shooting towards Azumaril. It licked it's way through the air, glimmering with the colours that were to be found adorning the trees that stood about them. The Ember attack was fast, darting along as though recieving electric shocks. However, Azumaril remained quite still, no sign of fear in it's eyes. The Ember struck, but, however, Azumaril had no reaction. Fairo's eyes widened, startled.
The other trainer grinned. "Don't forget, trainer! Azumaril being a Water type halves the damage from Fire type moves, and it's Thick Fat ability halves them again! Now, Azumaril! Use Tackle!" he cried. Inside, he grinned, too. He was saving his best attack for last, a surprise. Azumaril charged towards the stunned Charmander, who just was beginning to return to his senses, oddly slowly compared to the quick reflexes he'd displayed earlier. Fairo snarled, feinting to one side before moving the other. However, Azumaril span on one small foot and kept the momentum of the Tackle going, ramming into Fairo at full force. The lizard ended up on the ground, shaking himself and wincing painfully as he got up. That had hurt, and taken a considerable toll.
Well, just as quickly as Fairo's seemed upper hand had come, it had drawn back to the Azumaril which stood happily before them. Sulteron was a little annoyed at this. Not at Fairo of course; it was no-one's fault. She chewed her lip as she thought up strategies, but all seemed to fall apart. The Thick Fat ability, the length of time the move might take, whether Fairo could scrifice that... well, it was worth the gamble. Sulteron felt it was time to use her last resort move. Oddly enough, the other trainer seemed to think the same thing, for a different reason; to finish Fairo off. At the same time, Sulteron yelled, "Use the TM move! Overheat!" and the stranger called, "Azumaril, it's time to end this! Water Gun!"
Fairo's tail errupted in flame, rising steadily. It reached Fairo's height... it was up to Sulteron's elbows... her shoulders... it stopped with just Sulteron's ears taller. The Charmander himself was screaming a cry of battle, eyes glowing orange. His arms spread out, and from him came a huge plume of fire as a result. It was, in short, very, very, cool-looking. The lizard attacked with all his might. The fire was a cloud of massive power, being directed straight at the rabbit. OK, it was a Water type with Thick Fat, but he was pretty certain that this would do something. The swirling, dancing flames within were deadly, licking out and ready to snap at any wondering creatures... or Azumaril.
Azumaril, meanwhile, had been powering up it's attack, too. The Water Gun shooting out it's mouth was more powerful than any Sulteron had seen, as though the water wanted nothing more but to escape Azumaril's mouth as fast as possible. The Water Gun met the Overheat, and a white glowing light formed as the two powerful attacks met, exploding outwards. A great cloud of steam formed as the attacks blended together, the pure force very impressive for two Pokémon of that level.
Sulteron and the other trainer's eyes both widened, and they waited with bated breath to see which Pokémon would emerge victorious. The steam allowed nothing to be seen, and neither Pokémon, Azumaril nor Charmander, was to be seen or heard. The steam gradually began to lift, and a faint form could be seen... then another. When the steam was cleared enough to see, it was clear that both Pokémon were still standing, but swaying dangerously. It appeared that since Fairo had sent the Overheat, the bulk of the blast, away from him, he had got the least damage. True to this, Azumril crashed to the ground, defeated. The other trainer returned it to it's Pokémon as Sulteron stepped over, lifting Fairo up to sit in his favourite spot over her shoulders.
The other trainer smiled. "Well, I must admit, I'm impressed. I underestimated you. That Fairo of yours is quite something." he said as he and Sulteron shook hands in respect. Sulteron returned the smile. "You were really good, too. I thought you had a very good chance of winning the whole time. Your Azumaril's really strong." she said, nodding. Fairo nodded weakly in agreement. The other trainer laughed. "Thanks. Well, I guess I'd better get Azumaril to the gym healing centre. Good luck, kid!" he called behind him as he raced away to heal the fainted Pokémon. Sulteron waved, before heading off to train her next Pokémon; Mila the Lucario.
[/size]Mila Lucario - vs Ninetails
Mila the Lucario grinned, staring about at the trees dressed in elaborate gowns of warm reds, oranges and browns. It was all very beautiful, and the fat glowing yellow orb in the deep blue, cloud flecked sky radiated natural beauty on the place, matching the warm colours. The dog Pokémon had a lick, luxurious coat to protect him against the cold, too, a bonus. Sulteron was shivering a little, but at least her ears and tail were warm enough. She had donned a jacket since her battle with Fairo and Azumaril, for the temperature had dropped a few degrees. Mila didn't seem to mind, however.
Mila stooped to pick up a perticulaly nice leaf he'd seen. It was a wonderful, beautiful mixture of colours, blending in perfectly together. First, a hint of green, which smoothly turned to yellow, which gradually grew darker to an orange, which in turn melded into a warm, feiry red. That reminded him of his battle; he recalled Sulteron telling him he'd be fighting a Fire type. Which one, he couldn't remember. He hadn't really been paying too much attension. He was a little nervous now as he stepped inside the long rectangle of the arena, which was layered in a blanket of leaves. Sulteron stood in her little box, and the opposing trainer opposite her. The girl drew out a Pokéball, and threw it. The Pokémon Mila would be fighting began to take form in the resulting red light. A flowing, beautiful Pokémon took shape, her gorgeous nine tails billowing about her body.
Sulteron smiled. A Ninetails, the Training Gym's Fire type, strong against Steel types like Mila. Hopefully, that would add to the challenge and in turn the levels gained by the Lucario which stood before her. It seemed as though her opponent was giving her the first move, as usual here, it seemed. Well, as with her match with Fairo, she wanted to use this oppertunity to test Ninetails. A nice, simple move to start with, with no type advantages or disadvantages would suffice in this case. That left her with the options of Quick Attack and Dark Pulse. Well, Quick Attack seemed the simplest out of those, and the most accurate. A plain, good attack. "Mila, Quick Attack! Test!" she called, knowing the Lucario would understand what she meant.
Indeed he did. Mila's leg muscles tensed and relaxed, and he bounced on his heels to ready himself. He was psyched up, ready to go. He could do this! He could do anything! He was... a Lucario, and Sulteron's Lucario! Adrenalin surged through his body as he gave a determined smile, racing as fast as he could towards Ninetails, head low as he prepared his Quick Attack. It was lightning fast.
Ninetails cried out pitifully as she was tossed to the ground by the huge force of the Quick Attack. Her trainer frowned, thinking. So, indeed this trainer was a tough person. Her Lucario sure could deal a hit... but what about the opposite? Could he take a hit? A faint flicker of a smile threatened her lips. "Ninetails, use Quick Attack back at him!" she called.
Ninetails nodded, scrambling gracefully to her feet again. She tossed her glossy mane, giving a 'huff' sound. She pawed the ground, head lowered and eyeing Mila menacingly. She then, without warning, pushed hard against the ground, darting like a bullet at the Lucario. As she felt impact, she pushed up with her front paws, lifting her head as she did so. As a result, Mila was flung over the fox and crashed heavily to the ground, where he groaned in pain.
Sulteron grimaced. In that last move, both trainers and both Pokémon had come to terms with each others abilities. She wasn't sure what her opponent thought of her, but she thought her opponent dealt strong hits, and took them as an average Pokémon would. She was determined to win. How long exactly would Ninetails last? Did she have a lot of energy? She seemed fast and energetic enough, but the only true way to find that out would be to defeat her. Which, being a trainer, was exactly what she intended to do. "Mila, use Dark Pulse!" she called.
Mila obeyed, immedietly swinging into action. The aura Pokémon would have even been accurate had it been dark, for he could sense aura. He was facing Ninetails in an instant, studying the Pokémon's features while his eyes began to glow a dark navy-purple colour. The arena seemed to loose it's colour, the vibrant leaves turning shades of dull grey or black. Mila leapt into the air, eyes fixed on the shining pale coat which had not a hair out of place, as his whole body shone black. Then he came back to earth again, landing in a way to attack.
A huge, powerful force of dark energy shot at Ninetails when Mila's feet connected with the ground again. Even her trainer's hair blew in the wind. The arena's colour returned, but Ninetails was sprawled on the floor. The trainer was puzzled. True, that was a strong attack, but she'd trained Ninetails for ages and knew that she wouldn't have gone down just for that. Sure enough, the fox got to her feet. It only took her a moment to catch her breath before she was fine again. The trainer's face shone with glee. That was her Ninetails! She knew she would do it! Now for payback. "Ninetails, Nasty Plot and Ember!" she called.
Ninetails had Mila in her eyes, too, a look of distaste on her face. She clenched her jaw. The stupid Lucario. What did he think he was playing at, eh? She shook her mane, thinking of... evil deeds. Stuff she could do to Mila, the stupid Lucario. She could... twist his attacks around. She could do all sorts. Many horrible thoughts swirled around her mind, and her eyes flashed black for a moment, and she felt her Special Attack stat rise. Good. Her Ember would be twice as strong now, plus Lucario, being a Steel type, had a weakness to it. Perfect. She pushed herself forwards to give her Ember a little more power, too. The flames shot through the air, and although they didn't look too remarkable, Mila screamed in pain as they scorched him.
Hm... that Ember would have seriously hurt. Let's see. A base power of forty, doubled due to type weakness, then additional damage due to raised Special Attack thanks to Ninetail's Nasty Plot... that was a good hundred or so base power once calculations were done. Sulteron had a plan, one which would turn that all around. A determined, knowing smile crossed over the Espeon Pokémorph's face as her tail brushed lazily across the ground, a few leaves being cleared as she did so. Yes, she had just the attack for this. Ninetails was still full of energy, yet Mila didn't have all that much left to go, did he? There was one thing for it, in that case. "Mila! Use Counter!" Sulteron called. Counter. A move which dealt back with double the damage the Pokémon had felt. Yes, this was certainly the move to use in a situation like this.
The other trainer's eyes widened in shock and fear, her jaw dropping. Uh-oh, not good. Not good at all. Counter. Terrible news! She had to make the attack backfire to Mila again, or it might be too late to win the battle. She couldn't let this trainer win, she just couldn't! Her brain was rapidly thinking up strategies, and only one seemed to come to mind. It was risky, however... but worth a try. Either way, it was better than nothing. "Ninetails, Confuse Ray! Quickly, before it can use Counter!" she called.
The fox Pokémon nodded. This was an urgent situation, and she needed to respond quickly and immedietly. The Fire type lost no time in opening her mouth, quickly and rushingly forming a swirling dark purple sphere of energy. She shot this Confuse Ray directly at Mila. It struck it's mark, and the Lucario blinked, before preparing his attack anyway as though nothing had happened.
The Lucario smiled happily. He liked the move Counter. It was very... sneaky. It went well with one of his other moves, Endure. If he'd used that, and taken and extremely powerful attack, he'd have been able to have thrown double against the opponent. The aura Pokémon closed his eyes, concentrating. His injuries... painful. They had been oh so painful, yes. A faint glow appeared around his outline as he took on a battle pose, palm stretched towards Ninetails. He drew his other palm back, and brought it forwards with immense force. Flames licked alongside it, but with this move, that didn't matter; the move was a Fighting type move, not a varied type. Unfortunately, he'd been struck by the Confuse Ray at that moment, since Counter always goes last. A huge plume of beaming, shining energy shot powerfully from the glowing form... right around him. About three quarters of it struck Ninetails, the proud, elegant fox Pokémon managing to keep her ground, but, due to confusion, Mila's attack had mostly been concentrated on him. He gasped in pain, and ended up shuddering as he weakly got to his feet after being flung to the ground.
That pain Mila had just felt... Sulteron knew she had a good chance here. Now was her chance to win, she knew. Mila may be at the end of his limits, but he'd just withstood a powerful attack, with over one hundred base power. He might be almost ready to loose, but he did know the move Endure. That move would help. He could acomplish much with that move, true. It would help. It would help them win, help him grow stronger as a result. "Mila, get close to Ninetails! Then use Counter, then quickly use Endure!" she cried. Their final move, which would make or break the fight for them.
Since Counter went last, the opposing trainer knew Mila would have to be careful not to let Ninetails' attack hit, otherwise all the power from the last few moves would be lost. The trainer smiled. Ninetails could do it, right? She was sure of it. They could do anything! She bore a determined expression as she called out her next command. "Ninetails, Ember! As quick as you can!" she yelled.
The fox bounded a couple of paces forwards, but Mila was moving forwards too for some reason, so getting close range was not a problem, thanks to the silly confused Lucario. The Ninetails felt her mouth warm up, and her breath grew hot, pleasant for her but uncomfortable for many. She then shot a spray of small flame at her opponent, the aura Pokémon. She hoped she'd catch him out and win!
However, Mila was crafty. True, he was confused, but it was more of a... mild disorientation. He could see what Sulteron was doing, bringing him close; that way, if the attack went wrong, Ninetails would still be hit. The Lucario smiled. Counter went last, but he used it a split second after Ninetails attacked, before the searing Ember even could touch him. The moment he released his intense burst of energy, his form shone brightly. He was using his Endure move. As the mixture of fire and Counter's energy washed over him, he felt more and more health slip away. He saw Ninetails collapse, fainting, but his smile was very weak. Endure left the user with the smallest amount of energy left, but at least it was something. The aura Pokémon sighed with releif. He'd won. Phew. Thank goodness.
Sulteron beamed in delight, racing up to her Pokémon and giving him a cheery, warm, welcome embrace. The Lucario's weak smile was fixed now. The opposing trainer sighed, a little disappointed as she returned her Ninetails to her Pokéball, before turning to Sulteron to shake the Espeon 'morph's hand out of good sportsmanship. Then inclined head in respect. "Thanks. That was fun, you're an excelent trainer." Sulteron told the opponent, waving to her one last time as she headed to the Absol's trainer's arena to train Kai, her shiny Espeon.
Kai shiny Espeon - vs Absol
A mint green cat was walking alongside another mint green cat. The second was a human, however. How did that work, then? Well, one was a true Espeon, the other a Pokémorph. One was on all fours, her split tail swinging lazily and brushing up leaves, her ears moving every now and then to pick up and interesting sound of some sort. The other was on two legs, her long tail and ears doing the same. A hand went up to flick her long brown hair behind her shoulders, and the Espeon beside her smiled at her, purple eyes shining in joy. It was Kai's battle. Her time to shine. Sulteron had been training Fairo and Mila, and now it was her turn. Wow, think of the levels she'd gain. She beamed, imagining how Tsuki might react. Maybe he'd love her at last, a sleek, graceful, powerful her!
Bounding excitedly up to the painted lines where the Absol's trainer liked to battle, Sulteron found that unlike her last two battles, the trainer was already standing at the other end, waiting for her. She nodded to him, hastily rushing over to take her place inside the trainer's box at the unocupied end of the arena. Kai bounded happily into the larger rectangular area where the battle would commence, and stood, fur on end in excitement, eyes fixed on her opponent. She knew what would come out of that Pokéball. An Absol, right? Sulteron had told her that if she fought a Pokémon she had a type weakness against, it would help her grow stronger. Sounded fine to her!
The trainer's hand was, indeed, clutching a Pokéball. His Pokémon was inside there. He would win, easily. This would be too easy, in fact. An Espeon Pokémorph and her Espeon? Yep, not a good trainer. Picked Pokémon for looks, probably. Espeon didn't have a very good moveset, after all. He calmly and swiftly released the Pokémon inside his Pokéball. True to Kai's thoughts, it was an Absol that burst from it's depths. The Dark type wolf seemed just as obnoxious as his trainer, shaking his snowy mane proudly and placing one clawed paw in front of the other.
Sulteron smiled. Well, the battle was ready to begin, then! She studied the Absol. He seemed to have inherited his obnoxious nature from his master. Well, if someone was obnoxious, they would generally overestimate themselves. That gave her a bit of an advantage; she had learned to simply judge a move by what had happened before when she used it, and including her opponent's weaknesses and strengths. Well, since Kai only knew one offensive move, it was fairly obvious to her what she would use. "Kai, Tail Whip and Tackle!" she called.
The Espeon smiled. Her first attack. Her tail flicked about, and when she was satisfied that Absol's Defense stat had been lowered, the Psychic type raced towards Absol as fast as she could, dainty paws thundering against the ground. She was admirably fast, but would it be enough? The Pokémon hoped it would, but she knew not to always expect the best. If you did that, you'd suffer disappointment. She expected... well, what usually happened; Absol may or may not be hit, and he would probably feel a bit of pain if he was.
The Absol's trainer was a very silent, expressionless person. He showed no trace of emotion nor thought on his face as he watched Sulteron tell Kai to make her move. This was to give no hints to the Espeon 'morph and her Espeon as to what he would be doing. After all, if he gave away his strategy, he'd have lost the element of surprise, would be not? However, it would be fairly obvious as to what move his turn would be based on, since Absol would, at this point, know Fient, Leer and Scratch. Of these, Fient only worked if the opponent used Protect or Detect, both of which Kai did not know, and so Scratch was his only offense at the moment. "Scratch." he said plainly. Short, sweet, and to the point. Just the way he liked it.
Absol seemed just as mysterious as his master. Showing absolutely no signs of worry or annoyance as his Defense stat was lowered, the Pokémon flexing his powerful muscles in warning to the Espeon as she came closer in her charging Tackle attack. He allowed the cat to strike, feeling but not showing a considerable amount of pain which weakened him a fair extent. He did not act at first so to lure her into a sense of false security, then sprang forwards like a tensed elastic band, slashing sharp claws along the Psychic type's flank.
Sulteron gritted her teeth as she saw Absol prepare himself for a spring, seeing him strike Kai split seconds later. He was fast, and played tricks. Tricks which earned him hits. Well, if he was a trickster, then two could play at that came. The Pokémorph had plenty of tricks up her sleeve, all hopefully good and usefull against her strong new opponent. Kai's Sand Attack would almost definately come in useful at some point, and the Tail Whip would be good to make her attacks deal yet more damage. For now, though, she would stick to Tail Whip and Tackle. She'd leave the Sand Attack for last, so Absol would be weak enough that he wouldn't have time to get rid of the sand before he was defeated. "Kai, another Tail Whip and Tackle, please!" she called again.
The Espeon nodded, her sleek mint green body moving gracefully to face her foe. Such an emotionless character, that Absol was. He seemed to give away little, and it was hard to read his expression. Not predictable in the least, by her reckonings. The cat could still try, however, of course. She pivoted around to have her side facing Absol, her tail giving a firm wave. She looked for any hint of how long she needed to do this for from Absol, but, finding none, simply judged it on other things. When she finally was satisfied that he looked a little more... fragile... she lunged forwards with powerful back legs.
The other trainer was emotionless still, but if he were showing emotions, he would be smirking. It was a good thing Absol hadn't let anything away; in that first Tail Whip, Kai had judged her ending badly and not lowered Absol's Defense all that much. However, on this instance, she had somehow managed to judge it all right. But still, the whole not giving things away thing was going well. "Leer. And Scratch." he said smoothly.
Absol was quick to jump into action. In using a Leer as Kai stampeded towards him, he was hoping to not only lower her Defense stat but to also ward her off attacking him. However, he had no such luck; although the Espeon did look a little worried at first, she quickly got over that feeling and continued to race at Absol in a powerful Tackle attack. Cat struck wolf, sending the Dark type sprawling to the ground. That had hurt an awful lot more than the previous attack to the Absol; the Tail Whips had weakened his Defense considerably, thanks to the amount of them. However, Absol could hardly give up now. Kai kept an eye on him, remembering his last strategy. It didn't matter to the Absol. With an almost lazy lunge and a flick of his paw, he slashed at Kai, striking her on the shoulder. It was even more painful thanks to the Leer, as he could tell from the look in her eyes.
Sulteron grimaced. That last Scratch had been painful. As fast as her Espeon was, she had met an even match in the Absol she was fighting. Hopefully, despite this they would be able to defeat their opponent. From all the Tail Whips, the two Tackles would have dealt the same amount of damage as at least three Tackles, meaning that Absol didn't have much left to go before he was defeated. However, the Pokémorph knew that his trainer would probably realize this and make him dodge. However, if Absol couldn't see to dodge, Kai would be able to deliver her final blow. It seemed as if the Sand Attack she'd been thinking of using would be of use now. "Kai, Sand Attack, then Tackle again!" she called.
The young Espeon smiled. She could see for herself that Absol was on his last legs by the way, despite his admirable efforts to hide it, his chest heaved with each rasping pant for breath. Yes, this would be easy enough. She had to simply use the Sand Attack to disable him from dodging, before delivering the last blow to this battle. Then it would all be over, and all would be well. The cat Psychic type used her paws to push sand into Absol's face. This took the wolf by surprise. When he had a nice even coating on his face, Kai used her Tackle. However, rather than the tradional and predictable straight line, she moved in a zigzag motion so to confuse Absol of her whereabouts, making it even harder for him to dodge or lay a surprise attack on her.
The trainer of the Absol was gritting his teeth in his mind. In reality, he was standing as still as he had at the start of the battle. But inside, he felt deep worry and concern for his Pokémon. He'd underestimated Sulteron. He'd assumed that he would win, when in actual fact it looked now as though it would be the Pokémorph who prevailed this time. No matter. He was experienced and had been in tight spots before. He could do this, he could still turn the battle around and win. Couldn't he? Well, he certainly believed in his Absol enough. Hopefully that might be what it took to win. However, was belief enough? He believed in Absol, and vice versa, and Absol beleived in himself, but would that help them in any way? In a situation like this, he just wasn't sure. It was a hard thing to be sure of, the outcome of a battle. But this move could make or break his fight. He had to act. "Scratch." he said, a one word order again.
The wolf Pokémon knew that he could not see, but he wasn't scraping madly at his eyes like some Pokémon would do. That was the usual reaction of Pokémon struck by Sand Attak, but Absol knew he had to remain alert. He would rely on his ears now he could not do the same for his eyes. The wolf's sleek white fur was not tarnished by a single grain of sand, he remained so still. He waited, listened. He could hear Kai change direction. Well, that would be difficult, then. He didn't have a very good chance at dodging, especially if Kai was being unpredictable. Well, he'd just have to wait until the Espeon struck her blow to attack her, even if it did mean he went down himself. An intense pain was felt to his side, and he felt himself falling with the force of the Tackle. His claws flailed through thin air, failing to find a form to make contact with. And so, the Absol crashed to the ground, enough sand being knocked away by the fall for him to see the world before he blacked out.
The trainer wordlessly returned his Absol, nodding in respect to Sulteron. The Espeon Pokémorph had rushed onto the battlefield once the Absol had been returned, congratulating her victorious Pokémon with a welcome embrace. The other trainer was smiling now. Sulteron treated her Pokémon quite well, in his opinion. Like equals. Like him and his Absol, they were friends and partners as well as co-workers. That was always a great thing to see, and made promising trainers stand out if they were like that towards their Pokémon. Sulteron stood up, shook hands with her opponent, thanked him, and walked away to her next training fight.
Mizoro Tailow - vs Glalie
Mizoro the Tailow trilled a high, cheery note as she happily flitted about her trainer. She was going to fight in a battle! And since it was here, at the Training Gym, she could gain countless levels from it! In fact, Sulteron seemed confident that she'd gain eight levels. Eight. This truly was just like a dream come true! Perhaps going along with a trainer wasn't so bad, after all. With treats like these, who could complain? Not her, that was for sure. Well, not that she'd need a trainer in the first place to win fights- she was just there to make the Flying type look good and take her cool places, right? Mizoro didn't need a trainer, right? Well, her wings strained, sending the Tailow shooting ahead of the Espeon Pokémorph as the arena where the battle would take place came into view.
It seemed that the opposing trainer had been awaiting their arrival for some time. Presumably he'd got bored of whatever he'd been doing previously and had come down here early, to find that Sulteron's battle against Absol had taken a little longer than he'd thought. At any rate, he seemed relieved that she'd finally arrived as she set her feet in the rectangle which was intended for her, Mizoro swooping into a neat landing in the arena. They both knew the trainer had a Glalie; Sulteron was giving herself type weaknesses all round to try and get more levels from that experience for her Pokémon. The Glalie was released from the Pokéball as she'd thought. The Ice type face Pokémon was hovering a foot or so above the ground, his large black ears twitched and his cold blue eyes glared at his opponent. Size was definately at his advantage in this battle as well as type. No matter.
Sulteron hoped that this would be a good battle. She hoped that, win or loose, Mizoro would gain those eight levels she wanted so desperately. She knew that although Glalie would only know one offensive move, Powder Snow, it would also be super effective. She did also know, however, that Mizoro's Flying type moves would be normally effective. She aimed to, as she normally did, save her best moves for last. That move would be Aerial Ace. Well, for now, she wanted to see what Glalie could do, and lay some damage as well. She liked to know how much attacks her opponents could take, as well as their speed, power and such. It was all useful. She was pretty certain that Glalie were fairly strong Pokémon. If that were the case, she ought to do something about that. "Mizoro, use Growl and then Quick Attack!" she called.
The Tailow smiled through her beak. Good choice, a Growl and Quick Attack combo. Perhaps she should obey her trainer for this battle- you know, just to, erm, see how things went. Her trainer seemed to know what she was doing, and the bird would have used those moves herself anyway. Besides, Sulteron was bound to know the best way for her to get nice and strong. Lots of nice and strong, at that. The Tailow's beak opened, a loud rumbling caw emerging. It was odd to hear a Growl come from a bird Pokémon; usually it was some quatruped who made such a noise. None the less, it appeared to do the job, judging by the annoyed expression on the Glalie's face. Yes, it definately had done the trick. At that, Mizoro without warning kicked off the ground, wings unfurling in mid-leap and once they were out she shot towards the Pokémon at a great speed. By his bulk, she'd assume he'd be too slow to dodge.
The Glalie's trainer nodded slowly to himself. A Quick Attack, eh? Well, he must admit, Mizoro was pretty quick, even for a Tailow. That Quick Attack would probably hit. And she'd used Growl, too. So, Sulteron was worried about Glalie's moves being super effective now, was she? Good, that put him at a sort of advantage, in his opinion. His Glalie knew stat changing moves, too. One which would counteract with the Growl and make his attack strong again, just as strong as they would have been normally with no stat changers. That would be very good indeed if he used this. Sulteron wouldn't be able to make Glalie's attacks hit any less strongly. Oh, he would be sure that just that would never happen. Not in this battle anyway. "Glalie, use Leer, then Icey Wind."
The Ice type snarled a carniverous, furious, angry snarl at the little Tailow as she grew closer, hoping to frighten her off course. However, she stayed calm, and fluttered forwards to strike her mark sucessfully. The Peck attack stung against the Glalie's cheek, and the monstrous face howled in pain. He hadn't liked that, not one bit. He would have rubbed the point of pain if he had arms, and turned on Mizoro, livid with his fury. Those menacing red eyes bore into Mizoro's a murderous look about them. This was that Leer attack, and it lowered the Tailow's Defense stat. There. Now Glalie's attacks would deal normal damage again. The Ice type's gaping mouth opened, gales of powdery snow beating down on the Flying type, who was knocked to the ground by the attack.
It was not going well, Sulteron thought. Powder Snow had Mizoro out of the air, and she had taken double the normal damage from it thanks to it's type advantage. No, this was not good at all. However, she had seen that Glalie appeared to have something of a temper. If she could get him out of control with rage, then that would be sure to help. They'd find it much easier to bring down a Pokémon if he had absolutely no control over himself, such as this Glalie. But how to annoy him? As she had guessed, he wasn't the fastest of Pokémon- perhaps if Mizoro was too quick for him to attack, he'd grow annoyed. "Taunt him with a Quick Attack before going in with the actual move!"
Mizoro smirked as best as she could with her beak. Ah, taunting. Teasing would make Glalie angry, and then he'd have no control over what he did. He'd loose for sure. Well, so far, she was impressed with her trainer. Sulteron had actually given pretty good orders so far. This battle might be in the bag. Shaking some of the glimmering soft white snow off her glossy feathers, the Tailow was back in the air again before long. She pushed down on the air with her wings, rising higher until she felt she was at a respectable height. Then she shot at Glalie again.
Glalie's trainer gave a brief flicker of a smile as he saw the turn into a successful and powerful hit. Oh, that was good, so very good. This meant that Mizoro was weaker. He could and would win. He knew he would! Bah, he was so sure of it, he needen't even say any advice! That was how good he was. Yeah, hold the applause. He was a fairly cocky and overly-confident trainer. He thought he was better than anyone else. Well, his Glalie would knock the socks of this silly Tailow. Honestly, that bird was ridiculously tiny. "Glalie, use Powder Snow... then Double Team." he said calmly, appearing to be very relaxed.
Glalie, however, was not very relaxed. As he breathed in deeply, preparing his attack on the Tailow who appeared to be using a Quick Attack, she suddenly curved through the air. What? He turned this way and that, trying to get to Mizoro. URGH! The stupid little bird! What was she playing at, eh? She thought she was so smart, with her little wings and quick speed. He'd show her! In a rage which Sulteron had been hoping for, Glalie let out an almighty roar. It sounded like he was having a sort of temper tantrum. How silly. Mizoro continued to fly about, before shooting in and landing her attack. That was the last straw for Glalie. Mizoro was shot backwards with the Powder Snow, but he had shot it out in a ring; it's power was more spread out. Mizoro managed to remain in the air. Glalie growled, and his form glowed a bright white before it shot away from the spot he was on; so did another white Glalie. This was repeated with the both Glalie, and with the four after that, and so on, until Mizoro found herself inside a ring of thirty-two Glalie once their light dimmed to normal.
Sulteron smiled. Good, her plan appeared to be working. Glalie had grown angry and didn't have much control over his own actions. This would make things a lot easier for her. However, it seemed that things might still be tricky for her in this battle due to the Double Team. Well, if she didn't win, she supposed she should always look on the bright side of life; at least Mizoro would get experience. She'd gain levels and grow strong, getting to be just a little closer to being the best she could be. It wasn't much, but was a step. A step in the way. But it wasn't over yet, oh no. She could make a comeback. She just needed to think. Perhaps... yes, perhaps if they could attack reflect Glalie's attack, it would be useful. Well, looked like it was Aerial Ace time already. "Aerial Ace straight down when Glalie attacks!"
Mizoro nodded. But... that would be a little painful, right? Thirty-two Powder Snows... well, some of them would be false images. Not thirty-two, but one. One attack. And most importantly, she wasn't facing lots of Glalies. She was facing one single Glalie. She mustn't be intimidated by him just because he'd duplicated himself. It was a silly trick. No, she refused to fall for it. Fluttering her long thin wings, the Tailow rose a few inches in the air. Come get me, Glalie, she thought, Just you try! She clicked her toungue against her beak, smiling. She could still win this, of course. Sulteron had, once again, been smart in her order. They made a good team, her and Sulteron. Brawn and brain.
Glalie's trainer laughed. What was Mizoro doing?! Was this Sulteron's best strategy?! To make her iddle bittie birdie smile and fly? Man, that was the lamest move he ever saw. Phew, this was almost too easy. He'd make quick work of this. Why, he was fairly confident that this next move would be the last made in the battle. After all, he had a big Glalie. And she had a teensy Tailow. What could be more blatent than his ensured victory at this moment? He could reach it right now, taste the wonderful taste. Well, Glalie didn't have much to do now. The trainer looked very relaxed at this whole thing. Again, he was cocky and over-confident. Not a good sign in a trainer, but he didn't know he was those things. "Glalie- finish it. Powder Snow." he said simply, waving a hand.
Glalie let out another intimidating, thunderous sound. Mizoro laughed to herself. It was pretty obvious that Glalie's bark was worse than his bite. As for his trainer... well, confidence had been replaced by over-confidence, meaning he'd be so sure he'd win that he would ignore problems and miss important information. That was a sign that would help her and Sulteron win. Not only that, but the Pokémon itself was full of anger and uncontrollable fury. All thirty-two Ice types sucked in a simbletanious deep breath, before spraying a huge, powerful jet of snow and ice at Mizoro.
Only the Tailow wasn't there any more. Using her quick speed, she'd darted higher once the attack had been made. She was grinning, excited to see what would happen when she attacked. Sulteron was right; this attack would be wonderful to make. Timing it perfectly, she turned upside down and nose-dived, her wings making gravity's effect on her faster, and she pelted down to earth. Her face glowed; her Aerial Ace attack. She struck the earth just as the Powder Snow did, sending waves and waves of the attack back at Glalie. A great icey mist rose, and when it drifted apart, the last two false Glalie's vanished as the real thing's eyes closed in a faint.
"Yes! We won, Mizoro!" Sulteron cheered, punching the air. The Tailow trilled a high, happy note as she circled over her trainer's head, the Espeon 'morph walking over to the other trainer. He was scowling, with a face like thunder as he returned his defeated Pokémon. Sulteron smiled at him. "Thanks, that was a fun battle. You're a pretty good trainer!" she said brightly, holding out a hand for him to shake. He glared at it with narrowed eyes until she lowered it again. Turning with a shrug, the girl and her Tailow headed over to her next battle; Azi the Flapool against a Mareep.
Azi shiny Flapool - vs Mareep
Sulteron was walking once more, to the spot where another of her training battles would be situated. She didn't have many more Pokémon left to train; Tsuki, Hinida, and of could, Azi. She looked at the Flapool, and the pink Water type swished her long finned tail and fluttered her tiny wings, hovering little more than an inch from the ground. She was excited to fight in this battle, and she was showing it. She didn't care who knew she was excited, she just cared that she was happy. Her stubby antenna twitched as a crisp brown autumn leaf drifted by on a light breeze. She shivered. It was a little chilly today, and that breeze wasn't doing much to help. Neither was the blazing sun; it's only current purpose seemed to be to give off light to the world below.
Azi spotted another figure, heading towards them from the opposite direction. Oh, could this be their opponent? As Sulteron set foot in the trainer's rectangle, the mini dragonfly rushed forwards into the larger shape where the actual fighting would take place. Sulteron had signed her up against an Electric type, to make it harder so she'd gain more levels. No problem, of course. She could still defeat the opponent, regardless of a silly type advantage. She watched as the young girl trainer pulled a Pokéball from her belt, and, with a smile, threw it out into the battlefield. The glowing red light changed to form a Pokémon. A fluffy quadruped of some sort. The light faded, and a Mareep bleated, pawing the earth with a blue hoof. He seemed quite confident in his own abilities.
Sulteron smiled as she saw the Mareep take shape. Mareep was a Pokémon whose electrical power was stored in their wool, formed by the static created by the fibres rubbing together. She could hear the coat crackle with electricity, but thankfully the sheep wouldn't know any Electric type attacks at the moment. Also, luckily, although Electric type attacks were super effective against Water types, Water type moves were normally effective against Electric types. This meant that the only Water type move of Azi's two offensive moves, Water Gun, would be effective, but for now, she would stick to testing the opponent with a weaker attack. "Azi, use a Scratch attack!" she called in a clear voice. This battle had begun and the heat was on.
Azi's beady eyes narrowed as she saw Mareep pawing the earth in a taunting manner. Ha. Did that sheep think he was being scary? Oooh, she was terrified. Not. She ran her left paw over her sharp right claws, then did the same with her right paw for her left claws. They were nice and sharp, perfect for the battle. This attack would hurt, she'd be sure of it. Mareep would go down! The Flapool's eyes were fixed on her target, concentrating as she tensed her powerful leg muscles. Her arms were free from the burden of carrying her weight, as Flapool walk upright, so that would make things easier. She sprang then, drawing her stronger right arm behind her head to give it more power when she slashed it forwards at the wooly sheep Pokémon.
The Mareep's trainer studied Sulteron carefully. She was judging the trainer and her Pokémon to see whether they'd be very hard to defeat. As a Pokémorph, she'd understand her Pokémon easier, and as a Psychic type 'morph, she'd be quite smart to add onto this. The Flapool which was fighting for her looked very confident, and thought very highly of herself. However, she also looked pretty strong, too. Strong enough to match the strength of Mareep, even. It would be easier because she was obnoxious and would assume that things would go right, but harder because of the trainer. All in all, this battle would be a challenge, but not impossible. She'd need to keep her wits about her. "Mareep, use Tackle!" she called; Mareep's only offensive attack at this current stage.
The sheep gave an obedient bleat, but didn't begin charging at Azi just yet. After all, if he did that, the Flapool's claws would quite easily rake along his fluffy flank, with himself being unable to dodge thanks to the momentum he'd have got going. No, it would be better to wait and dodge then. However, when the sheep began to move, Azi but on a sudden burst of speed, and slashed Mareep neatly across the face, making him cry out in pain in the form of a startled, wavering bleat. He waited until Azi had retreated back to her starting point, then turned to charge. He lunged for her, striking her right side with a strong, powerful Tackle attack. She screeched in pain, stumbling, before getting back up again, a snarl at her lips.
Sulteron winced. Ow, that must have hurt the poor thing. Well, they could hardly give up after one attack. No, the battle ended for them when one of the Pokémon was defeated. And that wouldn't be Azi. No, it wouldn't. She refused it to be the Flapool. After all, they were here for training. If they wanted levels, they'd have to win. Defeat Mareep. It might be hard, but they could always think of some clever strategy to turn Mareep's own attacks against him and deal him more damage. She usually managed to think up clever plans like this, and mostly they worked; she always ran them through in her head to see what would happen when they were performed. For now, she would just play along with the tradition I hit-you hit method of battling, then perhaps next turn she'd change that to something more interesting. "Azi, use Scratch! Drive it up!" she called. That'd do for this turn, at least.
The Water type nodded, sensing on instinct that Sulteron had come up with a plan of some sort. Yes, that would be like her trainer, to make up clever schemes which worked surprisingly well, twisting things back to harm the user rather than the target. Azi smiled a sly, cunning smile. It was the sort which read 'I know something you don't', even though she didn't actually know what this plan exactly was, as of yet. She liked the feeling that she was superior in this little way, however, for whatever reason, and so bore that smug little smile with pride. Well, however the Flapool was feeling currently, it was a nice feeling. She was fairly certain that there was a way to win; as many people had told her, when there was a will, there was a way. Well, the would be handy now! She raced fowards with sudden energy, reached out to use Scratch again.
The opposing trainer took note of Azi's expression. She wasn't an expert on understanding Pokémon, but it didn't take a genius to know that Azi was feeling proud. Perhaps she had something planned. Perhaps she didn't. Either way, best be wary and on guard. There was no point in taking unnecessary risks, for it was better to be safe than sorry in most cases, this being no exception. Her Mareep didn't seem too troubled by the look, however; an empty threat from the Water type? Whatever the case, she would be extra observant of the trainer and Pokémon. Whatever plan was being thought up, she would put a stop to it. No more sillyness. But what if they had some amazing trap thought up and she'd just walked right into it? No. She was getting paranoid. Better just attack while she could, at any rate. "Mareep, use Tackle!" she called.
Mareep gave a sharp nod in response. He'd be sure to make this move stronger than his previous ones, because he wanted to get Azi out of the match as soon as possible. Because of this, he spent a moment taking in many deep breaths to get more oxygen into his blood and so to his muscles, until he felt almost as though he needn't breath at all any more. This technique was useful when holding your breath underwater ((I've tried)) and Mareep would use it now to have more strength. He charged forwards with tremendous power. However, Azi had by then had plenty of time to judge the move, and brought her claw below Mareep in a perfectly aimed Scratch, lifting Mareep off the ground with a sudden effort.
Sulteron cheered for Azi as she saw the sheep's full form be flung into the air, legs moving as if still charging in a Tackle for a moment before he realized what was happening, and the movements became less fluent and more like frantic squabbling for purchase in the air which would never be there. She had to act quickly, before Mareep landed. She wanted to combine a final attack with Mareep's falling to make a tremendous blow, hopefully ending this battle once and for all. She had a plan, the one from last time, which she would continue. If all went well, Mareep would end up a fainted lump of fluff, and Azi would be a more experienced, stronger Flapool. She smiled. Yes, she could do this. She could practically taste victory, but she should keep her head still. It wasn't over yet. "Azi, Water Gun up then down!" she called.
The 'it wasn't over head' statement was also ringing through the mind of the opposing trainer. Her face twisted in worry as she saw Mareep being tossed up into the air. Oh, no. Azi would be able to do all sorts of attacks to Mareep now, and the poor sheep would be powerless to do anything to try and stop her. There was nothing they could do now, but, as Sulteron had thought for the opposite reason, it wasn't over yet. There was still time, there was always time. They could still turn things around if they really tried. It isn't over until it's over, she told herself. True, true. That was a statement she should hold onto. It wasn't over, so it wasn't over. Mareep could still fight, so Mareep could still win. However, despite all this, the sparks of hope in her heart were small, for she knew deep down that there wasn't a whole lot that could be done right now. "Mareep, if you can, use Tackle!" she called.
Mareep tried to obey, really she did. It was a saddening sight, really, watching her. Her legs flailed in the air, kicking and pushing against nothing in attempt to shoot towards Azi like she would have done on good hard ground. Unfortunately, that was several feet below her at the moment, although it was rushing up to meet her at an alarming rate. Bleating in fear, her eyes squeezed shut. So, this had been the plan. Good plan. She braced herself for the pain of landing.
Azi, however, would not let Mareep land; at least, not yet. She sprayed a strong jet of water at the sheep, hearing a yelp of shock and pain as she did so, pushing herself to her limits to raise Mareep even higher in the air. Now came the tricky bit. She needed to do this very quickly, or it would fail. She leapt as high as she could, tensed legs springing straight powerfully, lauching herself from the ground. Her little wings aided her jump, and then she shot a Water Gun straight down, helping her even higher. Mareep, by this point, had begun to decend, so Azi was at a higher point than him. She shot a Water Gun at him, hearing another grunt of pain as the attack made her shoot very fast to the ground. She landed a softer landing thanks to her wings, merely jarring her body. Mareep was fainted.
The girl was impressed; that had been a smart move from Sulteron just then. Returning the sheep, she shook the Espeon 'morph's warm hand with a smile. "Congrats. You're a great trainer!" she grinned. Sulteron beamed back. "Likewise!" she complimented, before returning Azi; the Flapool was, as could only be expecting, very tired out. She then turned and headed towards her next to last training battle. This time, she'd be fighting using Tsuki, the shiny Umbreon she'd won in some sort of census.
A glint of gold caught Sulteron's eye as Fairo's golden scales reflected the bright pale yellow orb that was the sun. It was a crisp autumn morning. The sky was shining and the sky was blue, but there was a cool breeze and the sun didn't seem to be giving off too much heat. Early that morning as Sulteron and Fairo had travelled to the Training Gym, the ground had been damp with dew. Now it was dry. A crunch came from beneath Fairo's paw as he stepped on a dry brown leaf which had fallen from the multicoloured trees dressed in reds, yellows and browns.
Fairo the Charmander did not appreciate this natural beauty, however. He was rather glum, stopping in front of Sulteron and watching another figure heading towards him. ~Remind me why we're here again?~[/color] he sighed. Sulteron rolled her eyes. "Fairo, you know perfectly well why we're here. We're going to train. I want everyone to reach level sixteen before we fight in the next gym." she answered for the thousanth time. All her Pokémon were on level eight at the moment, but she would like them to gain eight more levels each. The shiny Charmander shook his head as the opposing trainer stopped on the other end of the marked out arena. ~I meant why did you sign me up against an Azumaril?~[/color] he whined.
His question went unanswered, however, for it seemed that this battle was ready to begin. The opposing trainer had unclipped his Pokéball, smiling at Sulteron. The Espeon 'morph nodded to him, grinning back. The other trainer threw the Pokéball, which emitted the usual stream of red light. From this, a form began to take place, gradually solidifying with a burst of glittering sparks. The Pokémon was, as Sulteron had expected, and Azumaril. However, it was no ordinary Azumaril. It's fur, where normally blue, was golden. No, this Azumaril was like Fairo; a shiny. Despite the fact that she knew being shiny had no effect whatsoever on the Pokémon's strength, Sulteron felt a little more nervous in facing it.
Well, the battle would have to start sometime, right? The opponent nodded politely to the part Espeon girl. She breathed deeply. This wouldn't be easy. She'd picked to fight Fairo against an Azumaril because he would get even stronger that way. Hopefully if he were able to defeat the Water type, he'd learn even more because of it. After all, that was what training Pokémon was all about, right? Overcoming weaknesses and achieving what before might have seemed impossible. Sulteron had her fingers crossed as she put on her smile, watching Fairo flex his muscles in preparation. She finally spoke. "Fairo, start up with a Scratch. Test Azumaril." she told the Charmander. She knew it would be best to start out with a simple, straightforward attack, for then it would give them a good idea of how tough Azumaril was; how it could take hits, how it could dodge, and so on.
Fairo leapt into action, feeling a sense of bounding joy as he felt the wind whistle through his ears as the lizard swept along stealithly like a silent snake stalking it's prey. The golden Charmander's green eyes had the rabbit fixed in their vision. It wasn't much bigger than him, he was glad to see. But that didn't always mean that it wouldn't be tough. Azumaril seemed to be testing Fairo, too, and appeared to have no inkling of moving. Fairo's tail was blazing high with anticipation as the scaly Pokémon bounded forward and gave Azumaril an almighty swipe.
The first blow delivered, Azumaril staggered backwards, the breath knocked from it's body. It's trainer gritted his teeth, watching the blow. Ow, that looked like it had hurt. So, Fairo was a strong Pokémon with plenty of potential. But just how much damage could he take? And what kind of a trainer was this 'morph? That was how these trainers worked at the gym. They would test their opponents and attack to the foe's weakness. "Azumaril, test! Tackle!" he cried.
The rabbit had done this plenty of times before, and knew a lot of tricks in the old book. It raced at Fairo, pretending to go in a simple charge. The Charmander was easily and obviously able to dodge this. He leapt into the air, jumping over Azumaril's head with his strong back legs, which made the gold furred Pokémon smile. That was Fairo's mistake, right there. In jumping, he'd left himself an easy shot. He couldn't dodge now he was in the air, falling back to earth. Azumaril's legs kicked off the ground, Tackling after him. The rabbit's blow caught Fairo to the side, sending him crashing to the ground. He groaned as he landed painfully, but quickly got up, alert and ready. Azumaril returned to the spot it had started out in. So, Fairo was alert. He took pain, but recovered and remained aware. Perhaps this wouldn't be quite so easy as Azumaril had first thought at the sight of this Pokémon.
Sulteron grinned at this. That was brilliant! She praised Fairo, proud of the little Fire type. He was such a fantastic Pokémon to call her starter. He had played out well in there, even if he had taken a hit. He had remained aware of what was going on. Perhaps he'd be more careful when he jumped, too. Well, now they needed another attack. However, it wouldn't be as easy as last time. Azumaril had let that attack hit, clearly, just to test Fairo's attack power. Another Scratch this time, perhaps, just with a little more style. She needed to ensure a hit. Azumaril was bouncing on the balls of it's feet, looking very capable of moving quickly despite it's shape. "Fairo, use Scratch, but be prepared to have Azumaril dodge. Keep an eye on it." she advised, watching to see the outcome.
Fairo nodded, starting to race towards Azumaril. However, he decided to make it a little harder for the Water type. As he moved in a straight line, he suddenly swerved off and darted one way, then did the same in another direction. He did this in a manner which would make it seem as though he were just trying to get Azumaril confused as to what he was doing, when in actual fact he was creeping slowly closer, zigzagging all the way. Finally, without warning he lunged forward, claws reaching to scrape past soft gold fur. However, Azumaril had fast reflexes. Realizing what he was doing in the nick of time, the rabbit had hopped to one side, Fairo only skimming it. A little pain was felt, yes, but at least the majority of the attack was dodged safely.
Fairo snarled in annoyance. Urgh! The attack had barley even touched Azumaril at all. Oh man, this would be one hard battle. He wondered if he'd fare well or not. Hopefully, he wouldn't make a complete embarrassment out of himself. He wasn't sure if he would win or not, but he wanted to make Sulteron proud and felt he could win, for as they say, when there's a will, there's a way. He held onto that saying, in doing so igniting a fresh spark of hope that blazed in his eyes and on his tail. He felt new energy. He felt that he could do this. The opposing trainer made his move. "Azumaril, use Tackl!" he cried. The Water type lunged for Fairo, but the lizard nimbly side-stepped out the way, keeping tabs on Azumaril's every movement. It's eyes flickered over to him, it's head leading it's body subtly as it turned, ready to attempt another strike. Fairo as too quick. He leapt overhead, careful this time, arm beneath him giving Azumaril a good Scratch attack before he landed neatly, a smile on his face.
Sulteron grinned in joy. Fairo had laid an attack! He'd dodged and attacked at the same time! Oh, such brilliance! The Charmander was amazing! The Espeon 'morph felt that adrenaling, and knew that this was what being a trainer was all about. Moments like these, where from the deepest of troubles came a ray of hope in the form of a shiny Fire type with a blazing tail. The tail's flame was tall, burning cheerily, reflecting on Fairo's good mood. The girl thought a little on her next move, but it took her even less time than last time. She knew she ought to learn to think fast on her feet, after all. "Fairo, Ember!" she called, knowing he'd be able to attack from here.
Fairo's eyes closed as he gathered Fire energy from within him. He allowed the warmth inside him to flow up to his mouth, gathering the strength from all over his body. His jaw opened, revealing the row of small, pointed teeth before they were veiled in flames. The fire spat from the Charmander's mouth, shooting towards Azumaril. It licked it's way through the air, glimmering with the colours that were to be found adorning the trees that stood about them. The Ember attack was fast, darting along as though recieving electric shocks. However, Azumaril remained quite still, no sign of fear in it's eyes. The Ember struck, but, however, Azumaril had no reaction. Fairo's eyes widened, startled.
The other trainer grinned. "Don't forget, trainer! Azumaril being a Water type halves the damage from Fire type moves, and it's Thick Fat ability halves them again! Now, Azumaril! Use Tackle!" he cried. Inside, he grinned, too. He was saving his best attack for last, a surprise. Azumaril charged towards the stunned Charmander, who just was beginning to return to his senses, oddly slowly compared to the quick reflexes he'd displayed earlier. Fairo snarled, feinting to one side before moving the other. However, Azumaril span on one small foot and kept the momentum of the Tackle going, ramming into Fairo at full force. The lizard ended up on the ground, shaking himself and wincing painfully as he got up. That had hurt, and taken a considerable toll.
Well, just as quickly as Fairo's seemed upper hand had come, it had drawn back to the Azumaril which stood happily before them. Sulteron was a little annoyed at this. Not at Fairo of course; it was no-one's fault. She chewed her lip as she thought up strategies, but all seemed to fall apart. The Thick Fat ability, the length of time the move might take, whether Fairo could scrifice that... well, it was worth the gamble. Sulteron felt it was time to use her last resort move. Oddly enough, the other trainer seemed to think the same thing, for a different reason; to finish Fairo off. At the same time, Sulteron yelled, "Use the TM move! Overheat!" and the stranger called, "Azumaril, it's time to end this! Water Gun!"
Fairo's tail errupted in flame, rising steadily. It reached Fairo's height... it was up to Sulteron's elbows... her shoulders... it stopped with just Sulteron's ears taller. The Charmander himself was screaming a cry of battle, eyes glowing orange. His arms spread out, and from him came a huge plume of fire as a result. It was, in short, very, very, cool-looking. The lizard attacked with all his might. The fire was a cloud of massive power, being directed straight at the rabbit. OK, it was a Water type with Thick Fat, but he was pretty certain that this would do something. The swirling, dancing flames within were deadly, licking out and ready to snap at any wondering creatures... or Azumaril.
Azumaril, meanwhile, had been powering up it's attack, too. The Water Gun shooting out it's mouth was more powerful than any Sulteron had seen, as though the water wanted nothing more but to escape Azumaril's mouth as fast as possible. The Water Gun met the Overheat, and a white glowing light formed as the two powerful attacks met, exploding outwards. A great cloud of steam formed as the attacks blended together, the pure force very impressive for two Pokémon of that level.
Sulteron and the other trainer's eyes both widened, and they waited with bated breath to see which Pokémon would emerge victorious. The steam allowed nothing to be seen, and neither Pokémon, Azumaril nor Charmander, was to be seen or heard. The steam gradually began to lift, and a faint form could be seen... then another. When the steam was cleared enough to see, it was clear that both Pokémon were still standing, but swaying dangerously. It appeared that since Fairo had sent the Overheat, the bulk of the blast, away from him, he had got the least damage. True to this, Azumril crashed to the ground, defeated. The other trainer returned it to it's Pokémon as Sulteron stepped over, lifting Fairo up to sit in his favourite spot over her shoulders.
The other trainer smiled. "Well, I must admit, I'm impressed. I underestimated you. That Fairo of yours is quite something." he said as he and Sulteron shook hands in respect. Sulteron returned the smile. "You were really good, too. I thought you had a very good chance of winning the whole time. Your Azumaril's really strong." she said, nodding. Fairo nodded weakly in agreement. The other trainer laughed. "Thanks. Well, I guess I'd better get Azumaril to the gym healing centre. Good luck, kid!" he called behind him as he raced away to heal the fainted Pokémon. Sulteron waved, before heading off to train her next Pokémon; Mila the Lucario.
[/size]Mila Lucario - vs Ninetails
Mila the Lucario grinned, staring about at the trees dressed in elaborate gowns of warm reds, oranges and browns. It was all very beautiful, and the fat glowing yellow orb in the deep blue, cloud flecked sky radiated natural beauty on the place, matching the warm colours. The dog Pokémon had a lick, luxurious coat to protect him against the cold, too, a bonus. Sulteron was shivering a little, but at least her ears and tail were warm enough. She had donned a jacket since her battle with Fairo and Azumaril, for the temperature had dropped a few degrees. Mila didn't seem to mind, however.
Mila stooped to pick up a perticulaly nice leaf he'd seen. It was a wonderful, beautiful mixture of colours, blending in perfectly together. First, a hint of green, which smoothly turned to yellow, which gradually grew darker to an orange, which in turn melded into a warm, feiry red. That reminded him of his battle; he recalled Sulteron telling him he'd be fighting a Fire type. Which one, he couldn't remember. He hadn't really been paying too much attension. He was a little nervous now as he stepped inside the long rectangle of the arena, which was layered in a blanket of leaves. Sulteron stood in her little box, and the opposing trainer opposite her. The girl drew out a Pokéball, and threw it. The Pokémon Mila would be fighting began to take form in the resulting red light. A flowing, beautiful Pokémon took shape, her gorgeous nine tails billowing about her body.
Sulteron smiled. A Ninetails, the Training Gym's Fire type, strong against Steel types like Mila. Hopefully, that would add to the challenge and in turn the levels gained by the Lucario which stood before her. It seemed as though her opponent was giving her the first move, as usual here, it seemed. Well, as with her match with Fairo, she wanted to use this oppertunity to test Ninetails. A nice, simple move to start with, with no type advantages or disadvantages would suffice in this case. That left her with the options of Quick Attack and Dark Pulse. Well, Quick Attack seemed the simplest out of those, and the most accurate. A plain, good attack. "Mila, Quick Attack! Test!" she called, knowing the Lucario would understand what she meant.
Indeed he did. Mila's leg muscles tensed and relaxed, and he bounced on his heels to ready himself. He was psyched up, ready to go. He could do this! He could do anything! He was... a Lucario, and Sulteron's Lucario! Adrenalin surged through his body as he gave a determined smile, racing as fast as he could towards Ninetails, head low as he prepared his Quick Attack. It was lightning fast.
Ninetails cried out pitifully as she was tossed to the ground by the huge force of the Quick Attack. Her trainer frowned, thinking. So, indeed this trainer was a tough person. Her Lucario sure could deal a hit... but what about the opposite? Could he take a hit? A faint flicker of a smile threatened her lips. "Ninetails, use Quick Attack back at him!" she called.
Ninetails nodded, scrambling gracefully to her feet again. She tossed her glossy mane, giving a 'huff' sound. She pawed the ground, head lowered and eyeing Mila menacingly. She then, without warning, pushed hard against the ground, darting like a bullet at the Lucario. As she felt impact, she pushed up with her front paws, lifting her head as she did so. As a result, Mila was flung over the fox and crashed heavily to the ground, where he groaned in pain.
Sulteron grimaced. In that last move, both trainers and both Pokémon had come to terms with each others abilities. She wasn't sure what her opponent thought of her, but she thought her opponent dealt strong hits, and took them as an average Pokémon would. She was determined to win. How long exactly would Ninetails last? Did she have a lot of energy? She seemed fast and energetic enough, but the only true way to find that out would be to defeat her. Which, being a trainer, was exactly what she intended to do. "Mila, use Dark Pulse!" she called.
Mila obeyed, immedietly swinging into action. The aura Pokémon would have even been accurate had it been dark, for he could sense aura. He was facing Ninetails in an instant, studying the Pokémon's features while his eyes began to glow a dark navy-purple colour. The arena seemed to loose it's colour, the vibrant leaves turning shades of dull grey or black. Mila leapt into the air, eyes fixed on the shining pale coat which had not a hair out of place, as his whole body shone black. Then he came back to earth again, landing in a way to attack.
A huge, powerful force of dark energy shot at Ninetails when Mila's feet connected with the ground again. Even her trainer's hair blew in the wind. The arena's colour returned, but Ninetails was sprawled on the floor. The trainer was puzzled. True, that was a strong attack, but she'd trained Ninetails for ages and knew that she wouldn't have gone down just for that. Sure enough, the fox got to her feet. It only took her a moment to catch her breath before she was fine again. The trainer's face shone with glee. That was her Ninetails! She knew she would do it! Now for payback. "Ninetails, Nasty Plot and Ember!" she called.
Ninetails had Mila in her eyes, too, a look of distaste on her face. She clenched her jaw. The stupid Lucario. What did he think he was playing at, eh? She shook her mane, thinking of... evil deeds. Stuff she could do to Mila, the stupid Lucario. She could... twist his attacks around. She could do all sorts. Many horrible thoughts swirled around her mind, and her eyes flashed black for a moment, and she felt her Special Attack stat rise. Good. Her Ember would be twice as strong now, plus Lucario, being a Steel type, had a weakness to it. Perfect. She pushed herself forwards to give her Ember a little more power, too. The flames shot through the air, and although they didn't look too remarkable, Mila screamed in pain as they scorched him.
Hm... that Ember would have seriously hurt. Let's see. A base power of forty, doubled due to type weakness, then additional damage due to raised Special Attack thanks to Ninetail's Nasty Plot... that was a good hundred or so base power once calculations were done. Sulteron had a plan, one which would turn that all around. A determined, knowing smile crossed over the Espeon Pokémorph's face as her tail brushed lazily across the ground, a few leaves being cleared as she did so. Yes, she had just the attack for this. Ninetails was still full of energy, yet Mila didn't have all that much left to go, did he? There was one thing for it, in that case. "Mila! Use Counter!" Sulteron called. Counter. A move which dealt back with double the damage the Pokémon had felt. Yes, this was certainly the move to use in a situation like this.
The other trainer's eyes widened in shock and fear, her jaw dropping. Uh-oh, not good. Not good at all. Counter. Terrible news! She had to make the attack backfire to Mila again, or it might be too late to win the battle. She couldn't let this trainer win, she just couldn't! Her brain was rapidly thinking up strategies, and only one seemed to come to mind. It was risky, however... but worth a try. Either way, it was better than nothing. "Ninetails, Confuse Ray! Quickly, before it can use Counter!" she called.
The fox Pokémon nodded. This was an urgent situation, and she needed to respond quickly and immedietly. The Fire type lost no time in opening her mouth, quickly and rushingly forming a swirling dark purple sphere of energy. She shot this Confuse Ray directly at Mila. It struck it's mark, and the Lucario blinked, before preparing his attack anyway as though nothing had happened.
The Lucario smiled happily. He liked the move Counter. It was very... sneaky. It went well with one of his other moves, Endure. If he'd used that, and taken and extremely powerful attack, he'd have been able to have thrown double against the opponent. The aura Pokémon closed his eyes, concentrating. His injuries... painful. They had been oh so painful, yes. A faint glow appeared around his outline as he took on a battle pose, palm stretched towards Ninetails. He drew his other palm back, and brought it forwards with immense force. Flames licked alongside it, but with this move, that didn't matter; the move was a Fighting type move, not a varied type. Unfortunately, he'd been struck by the Confuse Ray at that moment, since Counter always goes last. A huge plume of beaming, shining energy shot powerfully from the glowing form... right around him. About three quarters of it struck Ninetails, the proud, elegant fox Pokémon managing to keep her ground, but, due to confusion, Mila's attack had mostly been concentrated on him. He gasped in pain, and ended up shuddering as he weakly got to his feet after being flung to the ground.
That pain Mila had just felt... Sulteron knew she had a good chance here. Now was her chance to win, she knew. Mila may be at the end of his limits, but he'd just withstood a powerful attack, with over one hundred base power. He might be almost ready to loose, but he did know the move Endure. That move would help. He could acomplish much with that move, true. It would help. It would help them win, help him grow stronger as a result. "Mila, get close to Ninetails! Then use Counter, then quickly use Endure!" she cried. Their final move, which would make or break the fight for them.
Since Counter went last, the opposing trainer knew Mila would have to be careful not to let Ninetails' attack hit, otherwise all the power from the last few moves would be lost. The trainer smiled. Ninetails could do it, right? She was sure of it. They could do anything! She bore a determined expression as she called out her next command. "Ninetails, Ember! As quick as you can!" she yelled.
The fox bounded a couple of paces forwards, but Mila was moving forwards too for some reason, so getting close range was not a problem, thanks to the silly confused Lucario. The Ninetails felt her mouth warm up, and her breath grew hot, pleasant for her but uncomfortable for many. She then shot a spray of small flame at her opponent, the aura Pokémon. She hoped she'd catch him out and win!
However, Mila was crafty. True, he was confused, but it was more of a... mild disorientation. He could see what Sulteron was doing, bringing him close; that way, if the attack went wrong, Ninetails would still be hit. The Lucario smiled. Counter went last, but he used it a split second after Ninetails attacked, before the searing Ember even could touch him. The moment he released his intense burst of energy, his form shone brightly. He was using his Endure move. As the mixture of fire and Counter's energy washed over him, he felt more and more health slip away. He saw Ninetails collapse, fainting, but his smile was very weak. Endure left the user with the smallest amount of energy left, but at least it was something. The aura Pokémon sighed with releif. He'd won. Phew. Thank goodness.
Sulteron beamed in delight, racing up to her Pokémon and giving him a cheery, warm, welcome embrace. The Lucario's weak smile was fixed now. The opposing trainer sighed, a little disappointed as she returned her Ninetails to her Pokéball, before turning to Sulteron to shake the Espeon 'morph's hand out of good sportsmanship. Then inclined head in respect. "Thanks. That was fun, you're an excelent trainer." Sulteron told the opponent, waving to her one last time as she headed to the Absol's trainer's arena to train Kai, her shiny Espeon.
Kai shiny Espeon - vs Absol
A mint green cat was walking alongside another mint green cat. The second was a human, however. How did that work, then? Well, one was a true Espeon, the other a Pokémorph. One was on all fours, her split tail swinging lazily and brushing up leaves, her ears moving every now and then to pick up and interesting sound of some sort. The other was on two legs, her long tail and ears doing the same. A hand went up to flick her long brown hair behind her shoulders, and the Espeon beside her smiled at her, purple eyes shining in joy. It was Kai's battle. Her time to shine. Sulteron had been training Fairo and Mila, and now it was her turn. Wow, think of the levels she'd gain. She beamed, imagining how Tsuki might react. Maybe he'd love her at last, a sleek, graceful, powerful her!
Bounding excitedly up to the painted lines where the Absol's trainer liked to battle, Sulteron found that unlike her last two battles, the trainer was already standing at the other end, waiting for her. She nodded to him, hastily rushing over to take her place inside the trainer's box at the unocupied end of the arena. Kai bounded happily into the larger rectangular area where the battle would commence, and stood, fur on end in excitement, eyes fixed on her opponent. She knew what would come out of that Pokéball. An Absol, right? Sulteron had told her that if she fought a Pokémon she had a type weakness against, it would help her grow stronger. Sounded fine to her!
The trainer's hand was, indeed, clutching a Pokéball. His Pokémon was inside there. He would win, easily. This would be too easy, in fact. An Espeon Pokémorph and her Espeon? Yep, not a good trainer. Picked Pokémon for looks, probably. Espeon didn't have a very good moveset, after all. He calmly and swiftly released the Pokémon inside his Pokéball. True to Kai's thoughts, it was an Absol that burst from it's depths. The Dark type wolf seemed just as obnoxious as his trainer, shaking his snowy mane proudly and placing one clawed paw in front of the other.
Sulteron smiled. Well, the battle was ready to begin, then! She studied the Absol. He seemed to have inherited his obnoxious nature from his master. Well, if someone was obnoxious, they would generally overestimate themselves. That gave her a bit of an advantage; she had learned to simply judge a move by what had happened before when she used it, and including her opponent's weaknesses and strengths. Well, since Kai only knew one offensive move, it was fairly obvious to her what she would use. "Kai, Tail Whip and Tackle!" she called.
The Espeon smiled. Her first attack. Her tail flicked about, and when she was satisfied that Absol's Defense stat had been lowered, the Psychic type raced towards Absol as fast as she could, dainty paws thundering against the ground. She was admirably fast, but would it be enough? The Pokémon hoped it would, but she knew not to always expect the best. If you did that, you'd suffer disappointment. She expected... well, what usually happened; Absol may or may not be hit, and he would probably feel a bit of pain if he was.
The Absol's trainer was a very silent, expressionless person. He showed no trace of emotion nor thought on his face as he watched Sulteron tell Kai to make her move. This was to give no hints to the Espeon 'morph and her Espeon as to what he would be doing. After all, if he gave away his strategy, he'd have lost the element of surprise, would be not? However, it would be fairly obvious as to what move his turn would be based on, since Absol would, at this point, know Fient, Leer and Scratch. Of these, Fient only worked if the opponent used Protect or Detect, both of which Kai did not know, and so Scratch was his only offense at the moment. "Scratch." he said plainly. Short, sweet, and to the point. Just the way he liked it.
Absol seemed just as mysterious as his master. Showing absolutely no signs of worry or annoyance as his Defense stat was lowered, the Pokémon flexing his powerful muscles in warning to the Espeon as she came closer in her charging Tackle attack. He allowed the cat to strike, feeling but not showing a considerable amount of pain which weakened him a fair extent. He did not act at first so to lure her into a sense of false security, then sprang forwards like a tensed elastic band, slashing sharp claws along the Psychic type's flank.
Sulteron gritted her teeth as she saw Absol prepare himself for a spring, seeing him strike Kai split seconds later. He was fast, and played tricks. Tricks which earned him hits. Well, if he was a trickster, then two could play at that came. The Pokémorph had plenty of tricks up her sleeve, all hopefully good and usefull against her strong new opponent. Kai's Sand Attack would almost definately come in useful at some point, and the Tail Whip would be good to make her attacks deal yet more damage. For now, though, she would stick to Tail Whip and Tackle. She'd leave the Sand Attack for last, so Absol would be weak enough that he wouldn't have time to get rid of the sand before he was defeated. "Kai, another Tail Whip and Tackle, please!" she called again.
The Espeon nodded, her sleek mint green body moving gracefully to face her foe. Such an emotionless character, that Absol was. He seemed to give away little, and it was hard to read his expression. Not predictable in the least, by her reckonings. The cat could still try, however, of course. She pivoted around to have her side facing Absol, her tail giving a firm wave. She looked for any hint of how long she needed to do this for from Absol, but, finding none, simply judged it on other things. When she finally was satisfied that he looked a little more... fragile... she lunged forwards with powerful back legs.
The other trainer was emotionless still, but if he were showing emotions, he would be smirking. It was a good thing Absol hadn't let anything away; in that first Tail Whip, Kai had judged her ending badly and not lowered Absol's Defense all that much. However, on this instance, she had somehow managed to judge it all right. But still, the whole not giving things away thing was going well. "Leer. And Scratch." he said smoothly.
Absol was quick to jump into action. In using a Leer as Kai stampeded towards him, he was hoping to not only lower her Defense stat but to also ward her off attacking him. However, he had no such luck; although the Espeon did look a little worried at first, she quickly got over that feeling and continued to race at Absol in a powerful Tackle attack. Cat struck wolf, sending the Dark type sprawling to the ground. That had hurt an awful lot more than the previous attack to the Absol; the Tail Whips had weakened his Defense considerably, thanks to the amount of them. However, Absol could hardly give up now. Kai kept an eye on him, remembering his last strategy. It didn't matter to the Absol. With an almost lazy lunge and a flick of his paw, he slashed at Kai, striking her on the shoulder. It was even more painful thanks to the Leer, as he could tell from the look in her eyes.
Sulteron grimaced. That last Scratch had been painful. As fast as her Espeon was, she had met an even match in the Absol she was fighting. Hopefully, despite this they would be able to defeat their opponent. From all the Tail Whips, the two Tackles would have dealt the same amount of damage as at least three Tackles, meaning that Absol didn't have much left to go before he was defeated. However, the Pokémorph knew that his trainer would probably realize this and make him dodge. However, if Absol couldn't see to dodge, Kai would be able to deliver her final blow. It seemed as if the Sand Attack she'd been thinking of using would be of use now. "Kai, Sand Attack, then Tackle again!" she called.
The young Espeon smiled. She could see for herself that Absol was on his last legs by the way, despite his admirable efforts to hide it, his chest heaved with each rasping pant for breath. Yes, this would be easy enough. She had to simply use the Sand Attack to disable him from dodging, before delivering the last blow to this battle. Then it would all be over, and all would be well. The cat Psychic type used her paws to push sand into Absol's face. This took the wolf by surprise. When he had a nice even coating on his face, Kai used her Tackle. However, rather than the tradional and predictable straight line, she moved in a zigzag motion so to confuse Absol of her whereabouts, making it even harder for him to dodge or lay a surprise attack on her.
The trainer of the Absol was gritting his teeth in his mind. In reality, he was standing as still as he had at the start of the battle. But inside, he felt deep worry and concern for his Pokémon. He'd underestimated Sulteron. He'd assumed that he would win, when in actual fact it looked now as though it would be the Pokémorph who prevailed this time. No matter. He was experienced and had been in tight spots before. He could do this, he could still turn the battle around and win. Couldn't he? Well, he certainly believed in his Absol enough. Hopefully that might be what it took to win. However, was belief enough? He believed in Absol, and vice versa, and Absol beleived in himself, but would that help them in any way? In a situation like this, he just wasn't sure. It was a hard thing to be sure of, the outcome of a battle. But this move could make or break his fight. He had to act. "Scratch." he said, a one word order again.
The wolf Pokémon knew that he could not see, but he wasn't scraping madly at his eyes like some Pokémon would do. That was the usual reaction of Pokémon struck by Sand Attak, but Absol knew he had to remain alert. He would rely on his ears now he could not do the same for his eyes. The wolf's sleek white fur was not tarnished by a single grain of sand, he remained so still. He waited, listened. He could hear Kai change direction. Well, that would be difficult, then. He didn't have a very good chance at dodging, especially if Kai was being unpredictable. Well, he'd just have to wait until the Espeon struck her blow to attack her, even if it did mean he went down himself. An intense pain was felt to his side, and he felt himself falling with the force of the Tackle. His claws flailed through thin air, failing to find a form to make contact with. And so, the Absol crashed to the ground, enough sand being knocked away by the fall for him to see the world before he blacked out.
The trainer wordlessly returned his Absol, nodding in respect to Sulteron. The Espeon Pokémorph had rushed onto the battlefield once the Absol had been returned, congratulating her victorious Pokémon with a welcome embrace. The other trainer was smiling now. Sulteron treated her Pokémon quite well, in his opinion. Like equals. Like him and his Absol, they were friends and partners as well as co-workers. That was always a great thing to see, and made promising trainers stand out if they were like that towards their Pokémon. Sulteron stood up, shook hands with her opponent, thanked him, and walked away to her next training fight.
Mizoro Tailow - vs Glalie
Mizoro the Tailow trilled a high, cheery note as she happily flitted about her trainer. She was going to fight in a battle! And since it was here, at the Training Gym, she could gain countless levels from it! In fact, Sulteron seemed confident that she'd gain eight levels. Eight. This truly was just like a dream come true! Perhaps going along with a trainer wasn't so bad, after all. With treats like these, who could complain? Not her, that was for sure. Well, not that she'd need a trainer in the first place to win fights- she was just there to make the Flying type look good and take her cool places, right? Mizoro didn't need a trainer, right? Well, her wings strained, sending the Tailow shooting ahead of the Espeon Pokémorph as the arena where the battle would take place came into view.
It seemed that the opposing trainer had been awaiting their arrival for some time. Presumably he'd got bored of whatever he'd been doing previously and had come down here early, to find that Sulteron's battle against Absol had taken a little longer than he'd thought. At any rate, he seemed relieved that she'd finally arrived as she set her feet in the rectangle which was intended for her, Mizoro swooping into a neat landing in the arena. They both knew the trainer had a Glalie; Sulteron was giving herself type weaknesses all round to try and get more levels from that experience for her Pokémon. The Glalie was released from the Pokéball as she'd thought. The Ice type face Pokémon was hovering a foot or so above the ground, his large black ears twitched and his cold blue eyes glared at his opponent. Size was definately at his advantage in this battle as well as type. No matter.
Sulteron hoped that this would be a good battle. She hoped that, win or loose, Mizoro would gain those eight levels she wanted so desperately. She knew that although Glalie would only know one offensive move, Powder Snow, it would also be super effective. She did also know, however, that Mizoro's Flying type moves would be normally effective. She aimed to, as she normally did, save her best moves for last. That move would be Aerial Ace. Well, for now, she wanted to see what Glalie could do, and lay some damage as well. She liked to know how much attacks her opponents could take, as well as their speed, power and such. It was all useful. She was pretty certain that Glalie were fairly strong Pokémon. If that were the case, she ought to do something about that. "Mizoro, use Growl and then Quick Attack!" she called.
The Tailow smiled through her beak. Good choice, a Growl and Quick Attack combo. Perhaps she should obey her trainer for this battle- you know, just to, erm, see how things went. Her trainer seemed to know what she was doing, and the bird would have used those moves herself anyway. Besides, Sulteron was bound to know the best way for her to get nice and strong. Lots of nice and strong, at that. The Tailow's beak opened, a loud rumbling caw emerging. It was odd to hear a Growl come from a bird Pokémon; usually it was some quatruped who made such a noise. None the less, it appeared to do the job, judging by the annoyed expression on the Glalie's face. Yes, it definately had done the trick. At that, Mizoro without warning kicked off the ground, wings unfurling in mid-leap and once they were out she shot towards the Pokémon at a great speed. By his bulk, she'd assume he'd be too slow to dodge.
The Glalie's trainer nodded slowly to himself. A Quick Attack, eh? Well, he must admit, Mizoro was pretty quick, even for a Tailow. That Quick Attack would probably hit. And she'd used Growl, too. So, Sulteron was worried about Glalie's moves being super effective now, was she? Good, that put him at a sort of advantage, in his opinion. His Glalie knew stat changing moves, too. One which would counteract with the Growl and make his attack strong again, just as strong as they would have been normally with no stat changers. That would be very good indeed if he used this. Sulteron wouldn't be able to make Glalie's attacks hit any less strongly. Oh, he would be sure that just that would never happen. Not in this battle anyway. "Glalie, use Leer, then Icey Wind."
The Ice type snarled a carniverous, furious, angry snarl at the little Tailow as she grew closer, hoping to frighten her off course. However, she stayed calm, and fluttered forwards to strike her mark sucessfully. The Peck attack stung against the Glalie's cheek, and the monstrous face howled in pain. He hadn't liked that, not one bit. He would have rubbed the point of pain if he had arms, and turned on Mizoro, livid with his fury. Those menacing red eyes bore into Mizoro's a murderous look about them. This was that Leer attack, and it lowered the Tailow's Defense stat. There. Now Glalie's attacks would deal normal damage again. The Ice type's gaping mouth opened, gales of powdery snow beating down on the Flying type, who was knocked to the ground by the attack.
It was not going well, Sulteron thought. Powder Snow had Mizoro out of the air, and she had taken double the normal damage from it thanks to it's type advantage. No, this was not good at all. However, she had seen that Glalie appeared to have something of a temper. If she could get him out of control with rage, then that would be sure to help. They'd find it much easier to bring down a Pokémon if he had absolutely no control over himself, such as this Glalie. But how to annoy him? As she had guessed, he wasn't the fastest of Pokémon- perhaps if Mizoro was too quick for him to attack, he'd grow annoyed. "Taunt him with a Quick Attack before going in with the actual move!"
Mizoro smirked as best as she could with her beak. Ah, taunting. Teasing would make Glalie angry, and then he'd have no control over what he did. He'd loose for sure. Well, so far, she was impressed with her trainer. Sulteron had actually given pretty good orders so far. This battle might be in the bag. Shaking some of the glimmering soft white snow off her glossy feathers, the Tailow was back in the air again before long. She pushed down on the air with her wings, rising higher until she felt she was at a respectable height. Then she shot at Glalie again.
Glalie's trainer gave a brief flicker of a smile as he saw the turn into a successful and powerful hit. Oh, that was good, so very good. This meant that Mizoro was weaker. He could and would win. He knew he would! Bah, he was so sure of it, he needen't even say any advice! That was how good he was. Yeah, hold the applause. He was a fairly cocky and overly-confident trainer. He thought he was better than anyone else. Well, his Glalie would knock the socks of this silly Tailow. Honestly, that bird was ridiculously tiny. "Glalie, use Powder Snow... then Double Team." he said calmly, appearing to be very relaxed.
Glalie, however, was not very relaxed. As he breathed in deeply, preparing his attack on the Tailow who appeared to be using a Quick Attack, she suddenly curved through the air. What? He turned this way and that, trying to get to Mizoro. URGH! The stupid little bird! What was she playing at, eh? She thought she was so smart, with her little wings and quick speed. He'd show her! In a rage which Sulteron had been hoping for, Glalie let out an almighty roar. It sounded like he was having a sort of temper tantrum. How silly. Mizoro continued to fly about, before shooting in and landing her attack. That was the last straw for Glalie. Mizoro was shot backwards with the Powder Snow, but he had shot it out in a ring; it's power was more spread out. Mizoro managed to remain in the air. Glalie growled, and his form glowed a bright white before it shot away from the spot he was on; so did another white Glalie. This was repeated with the both Glalie, and with the four after that, and so on, until Mizoro found herself inside a ring of thirty-two Glalie once their light dimmed to normal.
Sulteron smiled. Good, her plan appeared to be working. Glalie had grown angry and didn't have much control over his own actions. This would make things a lot easier for her. However, it seemed that things might still be tricky for her in this battle due to the Double Team. Well, if she didn't win, she supposed she should always look on the bright side of life; at least Mizoro would get experience. She'd gain levels and grow strong, getting to be just a little closer to being the best she could be. It wasn't much, but was a step. A step in the way. But it wasn't over yet, oh no. She could make a comeback. She just needed to think. Perhaps... yes, perhaps if they could attack reflect Glalie's attack, it would be useful. Well, looked like it was Aerial Ace time already. "Aerial Ace straight down when Glalie attacks!"
Mizoro nodded. But... that would be a little painful, right? Thirty-two Powder Snows... well, some of them would be false images. Not thirty-two, but one. One attack. And most importantly, she wasn't facing lots of Glalies. She was facing one single Glalie. She mustn't be intimidated by him just because he'd duplicated himself. It was a silly trick. No, she refused to fall for it. Fluttering her long thin wings, the Tailow rose a few inches in the air. Come get me, Glalie, she thought, Just you try! She clicked her toungue against her beak, smiling. She could still win this, of course. Sulteron had, once again, been smart in her order. They made a good team, her and Sulteron. Brawn and brain.
Glalie's trainer laughed. What was Mizoro doing?! Was this Sulteron's best strategy?! To make her iddle bittie birdie smile and fly? Man, that was the lamest move he ever saw. Phew, this was almost too easy. He'd make quick work of this. Why, he was fairly confident that this next move would be the last made in the battle. After all, he had a big Glalie. And she had a teensy Tailow. What could be more blatent than his ensured victory at this moment? He could reach it right now, taste the wonderful taste. Well, Glalie didn't have much to do now. The trainer looked very relaxed at this whole thing. Again, he was cocky and over-confident. Not a good sign in a trainer, but he didn't know he was those things. "Glalie- finish it. Powder Snow." he said simply, waving a hand.
Glalie let out another intimidating, thunderous sound. Mizoro laughed to herself. It was pretty obvious that Glalie's bark was worse than his bite. As for his trainer... well, confidence had been replaced by over-confidence, meaning he'd be so sure he'd win that he would ignore problems and miss important information. That was a sign that would help her and Sulteron win. Not only that, but the Pokémon itself was full of anger and uncontrollable fury. All thirty-two Ice types sucked in a simbletanious deep breath, before spraying a huge, powerful jet of snow and ice at Mizoro.
Only the Tailow wasn't there any more. Using her quick speed, she'd darted higher once the attack had been made. She was grinning, excited to see what would happen when she attacked. Sulteron was right; this attack would be wonderful to make. Timing it perfectly, she turned upside down and nose-dived, her wings making gravity's effect on her faster, and she pelted down to earth. Her face glowed; her Aerial Ace attack. She struck the earth just as the Powder Snow did, sending waves and waves of the attack back at Glalie. A great icey mist rose, and when it drifted apart, the last two false Glalie's vanished as the real thing's eyes closed in a faint.
"Yes! We won, Mizoro!" Sulteron cheered, punching the air. The Tailow trilled a high, happy note as she circled over her trainer's head, the Espeon 'morph walking over to the other trainer. He was scowling, with a face like thunder as he returned his defeated Pokémon. Sulteron smiled at him. "Thanks, that was a fun battle. You're a pretty good trainer!" she said brightly, holding out a hand for him to shake. He glared at it with narrowed eyes until she lowered it again. Turning with a shrug, the girl and her Tailow headed over to her next battle; Azi the Flapool against a Mareep.
Azi shiny Flapool - vs Mareep
Sulteron was walking once more, to the spot where another of her training battles would be situated. She didn't have many more Pokémon left to train; Tsuki, Hinida, and of could, Azi. She looked at the Flapool, and the pink Water type swished her long finned tail and fluttered her tiny wings, hovering little more than an inch from the ground. She was excited to fight in this battle, and she was showing it. She didn't care who knew she was excited, she just cared that she was happy. Her stubby antenna twitched as a crisp brown autumn leaf drifted by on a light breeze. She shivered. It was a little chilly today, and that breeze wasn't doing much to help. Neither was the blazing sun; it's only current purpose seemed to be to give off light to the world below.
Azi spotted another figure, heading towards them from the opposite direction. Oh, could this be their opponent? As Sulteron set foot in the trainer's rectangle, the mini dragonfly rushed forwards into the larger shape where the actual fighting would take place. Sulteron had signed her up against an Electric type, to make it harder so she'd gain more levels. No problem, of course. She could still defeat the opponent, regardless of a silly type advantage. She watched as the young girl trainer pulled a Pokéball from her belt, and, with a smile, threw it out into the battlefield. The glowing red light changed to form a Pokémon. A fluffy quadruped of some sort. The light faded, and a Mareep bleated, pawing the earth with a blue hoof. He seemed quite confident in his own abilities.
Sulteron smiled as she saw the Mareep take shape. Mareep was a Pokémon whose electrical power was stored in their wool, formed by the static created by the fibres rubbing together. She could hear the coat crackle with electricity, but thankfully the sheep wouldn't know any Electric type attacks at the moment. Also, luckily, although Electric type attacks were super effective against Water types, Water type moves were normally effective against Electric types. This meant that the only Water type move of Azi's two offensive moves, Water Gun, would be effective, but for now, she would stick to testing the opponent with a weaker attack. "Azi, use a Scratch attack!" she called in a clear voice. This battle had begun and the heat was on.
Azi's beady eyes narrowed as she saw Mareep pawing the earth in a taunting manner. Ha. Did that sheep think he was being scary? Oooh, she was terrified. Not. She ran her left paw over her sharp right claws, then did the same with her right paw for her left claws. They were nice and sharp, perfect for the battle. This attack would hurt, she'd be sure of it. Mareep would go down! The Flapool's eyes were fixed on her target, concentrating as she tensed her powerful leg muscles. Her arms were free from the burden of carrying her weight, as Flapool walk upright, so that would make things easier. She sprang then, drawing her stronger right arm behind her head to give it more power when she slashed it forwards at the wooly sheep Pokémon.
The Mareep's trainer studied Sulteron carefully. She was judging the trainer and her Pokémon to see whether they'd be very hard to defeat. As a Pokémorph, she'd understand her Pokémon easier, and as a Psychic type 'morph, she'd be quite smart to add onto this. The Flapool which was fighting for her looked very confident, and thought very highly of herself. However, she also looked pretty strong, too. Strong enough to match the strength of Mareep, even. It would be easier because she was obnoxious and would assume that things would go right, but harder because of the trainer. All in all, this battle would be a challenge, but not impossible. She'd need to keep her wits about her. "Mareep, use Tackle!" she called; Mareep's only offensive attack at this current stage.
The sheep gave an obedient bleat, but didn't begin charging at Azi just yet. After all, if he did that, the Flapool's claws would quite easily rake along his fluffy flank, with himself being unable to dodge thanks to the momentum he'd have got going. No, it would be better to wait and dodge then. However, when the sheep began to move, Azi but on a sudden burst of speed, and slashed Mareep neatly across the face, making him cry out in pain in the form of a startled, wavering bleat. He waited until Azi had retreated back to her starting point, then turned to charge. He lunged for her, striking her right side with a strong, powerful Tackle attack. She screeched in pain, stumbling, before getting back up again, a snarl at her lips.
Sulteron winced. Ow, that must have hurt the poor thing. Well, they could hardly give up after one attack. No, the battle ended for them when one of the Pokémon was defeated. And that wouldn't be Azi. No, it wouldn't. She refused it to be the Flapool. After all, they were here for training. If they wanted levels, they'd have to win. Defeat Mareep. It might be hard, but they could always think of some clever strategy to turn Mareep's own attacks against him and deal him more damage. She usually managed to think up clever plans like this, and mostly they worked; she always ran them through in her head to see what would happen when they were performed. For now, she would just play along with the tradition I hit-you hit method of battling, then perhaps next turn she'd change that to something more interesting. "Azi, use Scratch! Drive it up!" she called. That'd do for this turn, at least.
The Water type nodded, sensing on instinct that Sulteron had come up with a plan of some sort. Yes, that would be like her trainer, to make up clever schemes which worked surprisingly well, twisting things back to harm the user rather than the target. Azi smiled a sly, cunning smile. It was the sort which read 'I know something you don't', even though she didn't actually know what this plan exactly was, as of yet. She liked the feeling that she was superior in this little way, however, for whatever reason, and so bore that smug little smile with pride. Well, however the Flapool was feeling currently, it was a nice feeling. She was fairly certain that there was a way to win; as many people had told her, when there was a will, there was a way. Well, the would be handy now! She raced fowards with sudden energy, reached out to use Scratch again.
The opposing trainer took note of Azi's expression. She wasn't an expert on understanding Pokémon, but it didn't take a genius to know that Azi was feeling proud. Perhaps she had something planned. Perhaps she didn't. Either way, best be wary and on guard. There was no point in taking unnecessary risks, for it was better to be safe than sorry in most cases, this being no exception. Her Mareep didn't seem too troubled by the look, however; an empty threat from the Water type? Whatever the case, she would be extra observant of the trainer and Pokémon. Whatever plan was being thought up, she would put a stop to it. No more sillyness. But what if they had some amazing trap thought up and she'd just walked right into it? No. She was getting paranoid. Better just attack while she could, at any rate. "Mareep, use Tackle!" she called.
Mareep gave a sharp nod in response. He'd be sure to make this move stronger than his previous ones, because he wanted to get Azi out of the match as soon as possible. Because of this, he spent a moment taking in many deep breaths to get more oxygen into his blood and so to his muscles, until he felt almost as though he needn't breath at all any more. This technique was useful when holding your breath underwater ((I've tried)) and Mareep would use it now to have more strength. He charged forwards with tremendous power. However, Azi had by then had plenty of time to judge the move, and brought her claw below Mareep in a perfectly aimed Scratch, lifting Mareep off the ground with a sudden effort.
Sulteron cheered for Azi as she saw the sheep's full form be flung into the air, legs moving as if still charging in a Tackle for a moment before he realized what was happening, and the movements became less fluent and more like frantic squabbling for purchase in the air which would never be there. She had to act quickly, before Mareep landed. She wanted to combine a final attack with Mareep's falling to make a tremendous blow, hopefully ending this battle once and for all. She had a plan, the one from last time, which she would continue. If all went well, Mareep would end up a fainted lump of fluff, and Azi would be a more experienced, stronger Flapool. She smiled. Yes, she could do this. She could practically taste victory, but she should keep her head still. It wasn't over yet. "Azi, Water Gun up then down!" she called.
The 'it wasn't over head' statement was also ringing through the mind of the opposing trainer. Her face twisted in worry as she saw Mareep being tossed up into the air. Oh, no. Azi would be able to do all sorts of attacks to Mareep now, and the poor sheep would be powerless to do anything to try and stop her. There was nothing they could do now, but, as Sulteron had thought for the opposite reason, it wasn't over yet. There was still time, there was always time. They could still turn things around if they really tried. It isn't over until it's over, she told herself. True, true. That was a statement she should hold onto. It wasn't over, so it wasn't over. Mareep could still fight, so Mareep could still win. However, despite all this, the sparks of hope in her heart were small, for she knew deep down that there wasn't a whole lot that could be done right now. "Mareep, if you can, use Tackle!" she called.
Mareep tried to obey, really she did. It was a saddening sight, really, watching her. Her legs flailed in the air, kicking and pushing against nothing in attempt to shoot towards Azi like she would have done on good hard ground. Unfortunately, that was several feet below her at the moment, although it was rushing up to meet her at an alarming rate. Bleating in fear, her eyes squeezed shut. So, this had been the plan. Good plan. She braced herself for the pain of landing.
Azi, however, would not let Mareep land; at least, not yet. She sprayed a strong jet of water at the sheep, hearing a yelp of shock and pain as she did so, pushing herself to her limits to raise Mareep even higher in the air. Now came the tricky bit. She needed to do this very quickly, or it would fail. She leapt as high as she could, tensed legs springing straight powerfully, lauching herself from the ground. Her little wings aided her jump, and then she shot a Water Gun straight down, helping her even higher. Mareep, by this point, had begun to decend, so Azi was at a higher point than him. She shot a Water Gun at him, hearing another grunt of pain as the attack made her shoot very fast to the ground. She landed a softer landing thanks to her wings, merely jarring her body. Mareep was fainted.
The girl was impressed; that had been a smart move from Sulteron just then. Returning the sheep, she shook the Espeon 'morph's warm hand with a smile. "Congrats. You're a great trainer!" she grinned. Sulteron beamed back. "Likewise!" she complimented, before returning Azi; the Flapool was, as could only be expecting, very tired out. She then turned and headed towards her next to last training battle. This time, she'd be fighting using Tsuki, the shiny Umbreon she'd won in some sort of census.
