Robbin contemplated his future, and thought of where he'd go next. Now that Igglybuff and Chespin had more experience, plus the addition of Purrloin, the boy felt the urge to re-challenge his Uncle Atlas to a gym battle. Then after that, he'd head onto Thunderlight and challenge the next gym. He waited impatiently for the nurse to return his pokemon, as he chewed on his favorite sour grape bubble gum. The boy pulled out his gum into a string to play with and then stretched the strings of gum into different designs. It was a habit of his when he was bored, so he wasn't really aware of how silly it may have looked to others. Soon all ten fingers had a string of gum attached to them, and he began to eat the gum off his first finger tip. "Robbin? Your Pokemon are ready and all healed up!" Nurse Joy delivered the news, while Clefable strolled out with a cart where his pokemon were placed upon.
"Eh, eheh.." The unprepared purple head looked to his hands stringed with violet gum. Now she comes back... On the surface of the cart, Igglybuff sat staring Purrloin down curiously with bright eyes. Purrloin just gave the strange squish ball an annoyed glare from the corner of his emerald green eyes. The pink tub had been staring at the newcomer throughout the whole healing process and it began to creep Purrloin out. Igglybuff began to edge closer to the grumpy cat, but then realized she had been returned to Robbin. IGGY! She gave a happy cry and soared over to hug her master's neck. "Nice win, Iggly! Ready to kick some Spinda arse?" She cheered happily at his words, but she didn't really understand what he said. She was mainly just happy to hear his voice. As Igglybuff clung to his neck, Robbin used his free hands to wipe the gum off onto his shorts. T'was the only quick option he had at moment.
Taking Chespin's pokeball, Robbin looked to the salty Purrloin who licked his paw clean without a look toward his new master. Robbin lifted the pokeball that Nurse Joy had given him for the cat to see and explained, "This is your ball now." The cat just rolled his eyes and jumped from the cart to find his next meal. "Ay! Return!" Purrloin just swerved to avoid the ray of red light and he walked away casually as Robbin sulked. The clueless boy noticed Clavies was standing right beside him the whole time. She was interacting with some girl with a glorious afro that momentarily distracted him. "AYO, NICE FRO!" The boy gave the blonde a shout of impressed acknowledgment that caused a scene within the Pokemon center. Little did he know, he made Blondies embarrassing situation much worse. She ran away to find a mirror for some reason, and Robbin just shrugged his shoulders when she didn't thank him.
Robbin forgot about his inner conflict from earlier (at the battle pit) and raised his mask to greet the girl with the Gardevoir mask, "Sup, Raltsy?" Then he noticed Bee and Treecko sitting near them and his face lit up back to normal. "Yo Bee, Treecko!" He offered a fist bump to his favorite gecko with a cute smile to Bee. "How long have you guys been here?.." The boy awkardly asked, as he didn't notice them come in. That's when he spotted Purrloin on the countertop near Clavies. The mauve critter was trying to work his magic by pleasantly purring and trilling toward the brunette with a lick of its whiskers. The devious feline only cared about learning where the human kept her sweet treats that he could smell from the crumbs upon her attire. Purrow! The cat even gave a convincingly lovable call toward Robbin, so that the moron wouldn't spoil his angelic act. "Change of heart?" The gullible boy exclaimed, and Purrloin looked to him with a fake furry grin. Meanwhile, Igglybuff had dozed off against Robbin's hip where he normally carried her like a basketball. "Anyways..will you challenge the gym now?" Robbin asked Bee and Clavies curiously.
Astrid, The Lovely Aspiring Pokemon Researcher in Training
"Then I hope to see you throughout the tournament then." She winked, expecting her friend to keep his word to stick it out for her and Alvin. Before leaving for the tournament, Jay wished her good luck and hoping she would find the answer. Astrid blushed a little and smiled while raised her fist up, "Thanks!" Astrid seemed more enthusiastic thanks to Jay's words. Afterwards, Astrid left with Alvin after he parted with his words to Jay.
At the Battle Pit, Astrid and Alvin approached the counter as one of the staff noticed Astrid first and started a conversation.
"Hello. Are you here to enter the tournament?" She said to Astrid.
"Yes." Astrid responded.
"May I have your name then?" She took out the list of paper that had the names of all the participants in the tournament and waited for Astrid to say her name.
"Astrid Maple." She replied. The woman checked the paper for her name, scanning through the names and quickly finds it. She nods her head in success and looks back at Astrid
"Alright then, you're good to go Astrid." She smiled as she took out a card as she hands it to Astrid. "Take this, this will allow you to enter the resting station inside where everyone will gather before the introductions." Astrid takes the card from the woman, looking at the card. It read the following.
Card
Battle Pit Tournament Participant
Astrid Maple
The name, Astrid Maple was neatly handwritten by one of the staffs
Soooo exciting. she giggled as she got what she needed to enter the tournament.
"We wish you the best of luck at the tournament." The woman said as to finish the conversation with Astrid and move on to the next person.
"Thanks!" Astrid replied back as she adjusted her glasses. She then headed inside the Battle Pit where the battles would take place.
The Battle Pit was quite big considering its side. There were bleachers on both side where the audience would gather to watch the fights. Looking at it now, it is filling up quite quickly. It might be hard to find Jay at this rate, but i'm sure he's still looking for a seat to watch the tournament. In the middle was a big battleground where the battles would take place. It was used quite alot that's there is cracks forming from the stone floors. Seems like it hasn't been repaired yet. And at the back was the resting station, where participants could enter and rest in between battles. Astrid watched as one of the participants used a card to get in the building. Astrid waited for Alvin proceeded to the building.
As they got there, Astrid noticed that there was some sort of machine beside the door with a red light emitting from it, it was a card scanner which is used to get in the building. It was installed by the staff in order to stop non-participants from entering. Astrid looked at her card again to realize there was a bar code on the back of it, this must be used in order to get in the building. Astrid showed the bar code to the red light coming out of the card reader as the machine unlocks the door. Astrid enters the building, leaving Alvin behind to scan his card so that he could enter.
Inside of the station was rather beautiful. There were so many decorations all around the building, trophies and plaques hanged around the walls and on the desks. there were tables set across the room as some of the participants sat down, waiting for the tournament to start. The floor was recently cleaned to look shiny and the walls had recently been painted to give it a fresh look. There was a nurse over at the corner with the same machine used in the Pokemon Center, which is where Pokemon are healed during each battle. There is a TV at the back of the room turned off, The TV is most likely used to watch the battles at the Battle Pit live. Some use this as a chance to study their opponents and learn how to deal with them once it was their turn. And there seems to be a rule list hanging right beside of the TV too. Refreshments were also given out too for those participating too.
"Wow...This is amazing!" Astrid couldn't hold back her excitement any more, she felt like a famous person, being in here. There were quite a few people here, ranging from young boys to older girls. Some of the trainers looked pumped and right to go while others are playing with their Pokemon and getting them ready for the tournament. Astrid walked around the building a bit, looking at the many trophies and plaques around. There are quite a few names on them that Astrid wrote down from her notes.
Adel Stones
13th Battle Pit Festival Winner
Mike Dagger
8th Battle Pit Festival Winner
Lana Aridelle
3rd Battle Pit Festival Winner
Astrid didn't get a chance to write down any more of the champions here before someone interrupted her.
"Hello there." A voice called from behind Astrid. Astrid turned around to see who her caller is.
Astrid seemed a bit shocked. Her beauty was shining out of her body. Astrid couldn't even look at her without feeling so charmed by her looks. "You seemed to be in high spirits. Mind if I ask who you are?" The girl said to Astrid, with a charming smile that could incapacitate many male and females who look at it. Astrid closed her eyes and looked at the girl's eyes.
"My name is Astrid Maple, a future Pokemon researcher who is joining the tournament for some answers about me and my pokemon." She replied back. She seemed to be really interested in Astrid's actions now. It kinda freaked Astrid out. "May I ask who you are?" She asked.
"Oh me? My name is Celeste Di'Arma. Daughter of Selena Di'Arma." She introduced herself. Astrid remember who her mother was. She was, if she remembered correctly, a Pokemon trainer who started her journey about 21 years ago and became a Pokemon Master long ago. She showed her opponents that battles can be won with love and beauty if one tries hard for it. So she must be one of those trainers who fights for love also, which kinda makes her sick to her stomach.
"...It's a pleasure to meet you Celeste. So what brought you to the tournament?" She asked while not hoping to be rude.
"I wish to share my love to everyone, just like my mother, to share my love means to share my love with Pokemon, people, and just about everything about Pokemon and their trainers." Celeste brightly spoke out to Astrid about her feelings as she brushed her luscious bright red hair. It seems weird fighting for the sake of love, but there are nuts like these who believe in this type of stuff.
"I see...Well it was nice to meet you. And maybe we'll see each other in the tournament then." She hastily said, she didn't want to be close to her, while she does love her Pokemon alot, she seems to be someone who is some sort of love hippie. Why couldn't it be love for a guy instead? Who knows.
"May we meet again, Astrid Maple." She gave one last smile before she left. Thank goodness she left. This whole talking about 'bringing love around the world' can be a bit cliche, but it what drives her to become a Pokemon Trainer. Astrid sat down on one of the tables, waiting for the tournament to begin. Eevee jumped up the table and sat down in front of Astrid while they wait. Astrid did enjoy some fun time with Eevee as she waited for the faithful event to start.
Merlin, The Classy Gentleman who seeks to become a Pokemon Trainer
Merlin could feel Jolesa holding on him tightly as he continued to threw rocks at the snake. It seemed to be working, it's taking away it's attention from the fairy pokemon, perhaps it would come after him and attack him. But the snake didn't play along to Merlin's plan and proceeded to sunk it's poisonous fangs into the fairy's skin. Merlin's plan didn't work and now the pokemon is paying the price for it.
Damn! Merlin yelled in his head as the planned failed. The snake was more cunning then Merlin was and took the opportunity to attack regardless of his distractions. If he only had a pokemon, this wouldn't be such a problem to deal with, but if your only weapons are rocks and a stick, it's not going to solve many problems. Looks like the stick may be his only option at this point. 'Looks like i'm using the stick next.' Merlin went to pick it up, only for Jolesa the let go of Merlin and rush towards Aromatisse without any kind of plans whatsoever. Merlin's eye widen seeing her just rush in without thinking about defending herself. "NO JOLESA!" Merlin yelled, hoping to bring her back to Merlin before the snake decided to switch targets, but it was too late, the snake pokemon dropped from the tree and landed on Jolesa, attempting to squeeze the life out of her. Aromatisse attempted to save her, but couldn't due to the poison.
Merlin couldn't believe it.
Jolesa was being strangled to death by an Ekans and Aromatisse is about to faint due to the poison.
What was just a bad scenario became a worst case scenario for Merlin.
Merlin was about the break, and not in a good way, he wanted to hurry to Jolesa and pull the snake off of her, but without a plan, it won't do any good. Merlin had a sudden idea. He remembered back at school about how to stop a snake from constricting a human being. Usually you would have someone tightly hold their head so that they can't attempt to bite you and the other person would unwrap the snake from their tail as the head wouldn't do much. With that in mind, Merlin figured out how to save Jolesa. It would be risky, but it does give him something to do to save her.
Rushing towards both Jolesa and Ekans, Merlin delivered a powerful punch towards Ekans and slamming his fist and Ekans' head towards the tree. Then, he kept his fist locked to the tree, keeping the snake from delivering any sort of bites. Now that the snake is semi-disabled, Merlin grabbed Ekans tail with the other hand and forcefully unwrapped it from the tail to the head, if the unwrapping is successful and Jolesa is free from its grasp, Merlin would grab its tail and swing it around a few times and then throw the snake far away from them, this would give the fairy pokemon a chance to deliver a powerful attack to it.
"... Speaking of battles.." Claives paused for a moment, trying to recall something. She couldn't really remember if she were forgetting anything or not, until it hit her. "Oh my god! We'll be late for the tournament!" She cried out, and Ralts seemed to be preparing a disarming voice on the Purrloin, until Clavies grabbed the small, white and green creature. She returned all of her pokemon to their pokeballs, and Buneary began to hop behind her. "Sorry! I signed up for a battle thing earlier today, and I really have to go or they'll start without me!" She quickly explained, but before running off, she pulled out a little pouch of pokeblock, and a pokepuff from her case for the little kitty. "There you go, now be good alright?" She asked it, before running straight out that door.
It took her a while, but she eventually made it to the Battle pit, panting as she had never run so fast in her life before. "Okay.. Haa... So.. Ughh.. I really need to get a bike.." She mumbled, as Ralts pulled out a handkercheif to began patting Clavies. "So.. Ha.. Ralts, it's your time to battle right?" She asked the little pokemon, and they nodded happily. 'I wont' let you down!'
As they entered, Clavies' breath was taken away when she witnessed how large the Battle Pit was, almost spacing out until Ralts called her back to bring her over to the counter. "Oh! Um.. My name is Clavies Hart!.." She said, slowly shying a little bit away. She was given her card, then ran over to sit at one of the tables. Buneary was following Clavies, along with Ralts. Well, Ralts decided to return back to the pokeball, and Buneary sat in the girl's lap. The brunette didn't even notice that she wasn't alone at the table.
"I've been here, I was just making a phone call," Bee explained, while Treecko pieced together that Robbin was offering a fist bump and curled his hand into a fist, which he quickly used to bump Robbin's own. It was good to see the kid was back to his normal, happy self. She had been worried for a minute, but she also wasn't sure how to address whatever was bothering him before. So, she just didn't touch on it.
She curiously watched the sneaky Purrloin for a moment, wanting to ask about it, and if it might have contributed to the scratch marks across her purple-haired friend's face, when Robbin asked about battling the Gym. "Actually, yeah. I'll challenge the Gym." Of course, she'd need more than just Treecko if she wanted to take on Professor Atlas. Robbin had three, Clavies had four, and she had Treecko. And, well, kind of Slakoth, aside from the fact that she hadn't actually caught him, she was reminded, since the furry sloth Pokémon had chosen that moment to yawn, causing Bee to become a little tired. She shook her head and took off her Sceptile mask to rub her eyes with the back of her hand. Thankfully, Clavies seemed to remember whatever she had forgotten, and cried out about missing a tournament before running off, but not before giving the Purrloin a treat. Her sudden outburst was enough to startle Bee back to wakefulness.
"Uh..." She blinked a few times, looking at the doors Clavies had just rushed out of and processing what had just happened. If she had known Clavies had signed up for something, she wouldn't have asked if she wanted to join their battle. "Should we catch up with her?" She'd be glad to cheer on Clavies at this tournament thing. After all, she'd been a great friend to Robbin and herself. Bee would feel bad if she didn't go to support Clavies, even if it meant missing some more of whatever festivities taking place outside. "We can watch her in the tournament."
"Bout time!.. Ready to see Fur Slug in action!.." The kid said with a cute wink to Beatrice. That's when Clavies began to spaz out which drew Robbin's attention. "OH YEAHhh.." Robbin responded when Clavies freaked out over the tournament. He too had forgotten that she had mentioned it. The dark kitty narrowed it's eyes at the human's psychic slave as if daring her to attack when Clavies wasn't looking. Purrloin let out an accomplished pur whenever Clavies gifted him the treats and he took note of where she kept them. The cat then gave the girl an innocent flutter of it's eyes in response to Clavies telling him to be good, and proceeded to indulge in the sweet delicacies.
As Clavies ran off, Bee asked about catching up with the girl and watching her in the tournament. "Watch? I'm joining in on the fun!" Robbin replied with a big grin. "Better catch up!" The boy shouted as he took the opportunity to return Purrloin who was distracted with finishing up the pastries. The beam from the pokeball snagged the cat and Purrloin chose to stay inside the ball to rest from all the food it had eaten. "Caught a pokemon!" Robbin announced so obviously as he held up Purrloin's pokeball while he ran out of the center. His victory during the practice battle fired the boy up and made him want to participate in the contests.
Once arriving to the event, Robbin walked inside the station and took in his surroundings. "Fancy." The kid decided as he walked up to the counter to register. "Sorry kiddo, you have to be old enough to participate." A lady with a enormous, extravagant hat said as she pointed to an age restriction sign on the wall. "Kiddo?.." Robbin responded with an offended expression. He read the sign about being at least 10 years old and he quickly thought of something. "I'm just short for my age. See, I'm a pokemon trainer." The nine year old fibbed with a deeper voice. He held up Chespin and Purrloin's pokeballs while lifting his hip to make Igglybuff visible from beneath the counter.
Ten was the age that trainers usually set out on their journeys, so having pokemon as false evidence was good enough to get him a registration card. "Ay Raltsy, I made it!" The purple head proclaimed to the brunette when he saw her sitting at one of the tables. Beside her was a particular red head that Robbin recognized instantaneously. At the sight of her, Robbin quickly span around to hide himself behind a larger gentleman with a Dunsparce chillin on his shoulder. He made it seem like the guy had gained his attention, and he began to ask about the guys weird normal type. "WOW. That pokemon is the coolest-" Robbin blurted out randomly, but he was really just distancing himself.
...
Aromatisse readied herself as Merlin delivered a mighty punch to the Ekans and pinned it against the tree. As the man unraveled the serpent, Jolesa collapsed toward the dirt with her eyes still in shock. ROMATISSE! The feathered fairy squawked while hurling three psychic orbs toward the evil snake as Merlin tossed the thing away. Taking the full effect of the Psyshock, the wounded Ekans started to slither away. TISSE! Ekans was chased off by the ticked off fairy and ended up fainting from her furious attacks. When Aromatisse returned, she immediately took hold of Jolesa with worried eyes. The resentment she had felt toward her master vanished as she embraced Jolesa against her feathery breast. Ro? The fairy chirped as the dazed blonde began to reclaim her senses. "Aromatisse?" The bird beamed in relief at Jolesa's responsive whisper.
ARO! Jolesa's delighted fairy swung her around in a hug which caused Jolesa to giggle excitedly. Aromatisse spied Merlin and included him in the hug with a thankful chirp. "So you don't hate me?" She asked with her face beginning to sadden at the memory of Aromatisse leaving. Matisse. The pink bird just dismissed the silly girls question and lowered it's head in apology. "I'm so happy to have you back!" Jolesa giggled once more and looked to Merlin with a bright smile. "Thank you for everything!" She whirled over to hug the man's neck with happy tears. TWIG! MY! The voices of her pokemon came from the distance. The two had searched for her when they couldn't find Aromatisse. "Turtwig! Mimezy! You're ok!" Her pokemon jumped into her arms happily and she couldn't help, but lose herself in the special moment. Once the reunion was over, Jolesa asked her hero, "What will you do now, Merlin?"
With the conversation settled, Alvin walked to the Battle Pit with Astrid. The attendant there noticed Astrid first, forcing Alvin to wait for a few seconds. Having thought of something, Alvin turned to the Torchic on his shoulder and said "Hey, I know the Ursaring incident earlier had you tired, you sure you're up for this?" The Torchic's reply was full of energy, granting Alvin confidence that he was up for anything.
"We wish you the best of luck at the tournament." The woman said as to finish the conversation with Astrid and move on to the next person.
"Oh, that means I'm up." Alvin said.
"Hello, you're here to enter the tournament too?"
"Yep, name's Alvin Michaelson! Pleased to meetcha!"
"All right..." the attendant then got out a card with his handwritten name on it.
"Thanks." Alvin said, entering the area with Astrid. The station was rather nice, having pictures, trophies and all sorts of memorabilia on the walls. He figured that maybe it doubled as some kind of museum or something? Regardless, he took a seat near Astrid. Soon enough though, he found himself rather bored waiting for the tournament to start. He told Astrid "I'm gonna take a short walk, be right back!" then he started walking the halls, taking care not to stray too far from the tournament area. Most of the plaques seemed to detail previous winners of the Battle Pit festival. Apparently this had gone on for quite a while. Torchic, who by now was taking a nap on his shoulder, started chirping. "Heh, guess it took a bit out of you after all eh? That's fine, have a rest." Alvin said. He looked at each of the Pit winners, and noticed how they all seemed happy at winning the tournament. Surely they must have gone on to do great things. He then said "Well, no use looking at these pictures, I've gotta work hard so I can be on their level. I will be victorious! Yeah, I'll soon see my name on the wall there, just you wait."
Before he could think too hard though, a voice came over the PA system "All contenders please make your way to the arena so we can announce matchups!"
"That's our cue. Wake up Torchic, it's time for us to go!" Alvin said. Torchic woke up, though still a bit groggy, and chirped happily, this was its time to shine!
"Or that... I guess." Bee watched helplessly as Robbin quickly returned Purrloin into his Pokeball and rushed out the door of the Pokémon Center, then sighed and stood up. "That works, too." She really wasn't up for another battle at the moment, not when so soon after healing her Pokémon from the previous one. Not only that, but the two battles she had been in so far had proven a bit overwhelming for her, since the first was unexpected and both had had Treecko at a disadvantage. So she really wouldn't mind spectating, for now.
"Alright, let's go Treecko." Bee nodded for the lizard Pokémon to follow as she readjusted her grip on Slakoth. The two left the Pokémon Center side by-side. Treecko didn't fall far behind, and, fortunately, he didn't seem particularly interested in wandering off to investigate something. That didn't stop her from checking every once in a while until she reached the Battle Pit. "Stay close, Treecko." The last thing she wanted to do was lose Treecko here, of all places. He'd probably try to jump in on someone's battle in an attempt to play the hero.
The place for the audience to watch the event was starting to get a little full for Bee's taste. She wasn't really one for crowds in situations like this. The trainer looked around, hoping to find somewhere where the crowding was a bit thinned, when she spotted what looked like a familiar face. Her hopes were confirmed when she got closer, and she almost breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, Jay." Bee smiled and waved to the blue-haired trainer and the small lion Pokémon that was with him. "Mind if I join you?" Treecko jumped up on the end of the bench and waved as well.
Astrid, The Lovely Aspiring Pokemon Researcher in Training
(This part takes place before Maxim's post)
The young girl and her Eevee sat alone in the table, looking at the other participants doing their stuff, Astrid took time to think about things, she was entering a tournament where Pokemon Battles would occur, and she was the worst at it. She only joined because of Eevee's behalf, but she was determined to figure out the answers and put on a good show for the audience, especially Jay, if it didn't bother him as much. Her thinking got interrupted when a brunette girl was sitting across from her, returning a Ralts to its pokeball and having the Buneary sit on her lap, she seemed a bit out of breath. Astrid seemed a bit surprised with the arrival of the girl, still, it didn't hurt to talk to her and engage in a conversation before the tournament.
"Oh! hello there, you okay? You seem like you're out of breath." Astrid worried about the girl sitting there, who made it to the tournament just in time. Eevee jumped up at joy and walked towards the Buneary.
"Eevee!" (Hello!) The Eevee joyfully said to the girl's Buneary, in hoping to engage in a conversation of it's own with the Pokemon.
Before the brunette girl could said anything, someone seemed to call out to her, or rather, something by the name of "Raltsy". Astrid assumed it was her name, weird, but a name is a name so Astrid was fun with it. A purple hair kid ran up to her to try to sit with her, only for the boy to see Astrid's face and hightailed it out of there to the man with the Dunsparce. Astrid seemed a bit surprised, the sight of her face made him run. Did Astrid have a scary face or was it something else. She shrugged it off and continued to talk to the girl. "A friend of yours Raltsy?" She asked with the name that the boy said out loud to her as she adjust her glasses to set on the boy.
Merlin, The Classy Gentleman who seeks to become a Pokemon Trainer
Merlin watched as the Fairy Pokemon delivered a powerful attack to the snake and taking it down. Merlin seemed pleased that the snake that has injured both Jolesa and Armoatisse has been defeated. Merlin approached Jolesa and the fairy pokemon went to hug it He was quite shocked when the fairy had him join in on the hug too. While Merlin didn't appriciate this type of hug from out of nowhere. Just this once, he allowed it. After a heartfelt reunion with all her Pokemon, Merlin started to slowly leave them be in their own little world until Jolesa asked him what his next plan was.
Merlin did have a plan for his journey, he still had to get his Pokemon from the lab, however with Professor Atlas being at the gym, it would be hard for him to get one, he could steal it, but it is not in his nature to do so. He was about to say something, but looking at the Aromatisse, I doubt Jolesa noticed the problem with her. "Maybe later. If we don't get Aromatisse to the Pokemon Center, she'll faint from the poison." He said. Merlin was ready to walk Jolesa and her Pokemon back to the Pokemon Center so that she had extra protection from the dangers of the forest.
While he wait, Jay was lost in his thoughts as he stroked Litleo's fur. The cuddly cub was snuggled into his chest and began to close her eyes to rest. Jay's mind was focused on the incident that he believed occurred during the race. Startled screams of the racers and their pokemon echoed through his skull. Could it have been a hallucination? Jay shook his head, but then considered the idea of him bumping his head when Dodrio crashed. That's when he remembered that his pokegear had been crushed to pieces, and that he needed to buy a new one as soon as he could. A trip to the Pokemart was planned in his head, and he thought of which color he might get this time. His thoughts drifted back to the racing incident, but then were interrupted by the greeting of a familiar voice. Litleo opened one of her eyes at the sound of Bee and lifted her head curiously at the sight of her and the grass pokemon.
"Beatrice, how are you?" Jay returned a shy smile to the girl, yet he was pleasantly surprised to see her. "Sure. Good to see someone I know." He welcomed her to sit with a friendly nod. A full smile formed on the guys lips as he caught notice of Bee's pokemon waving his way. "Hello to you too." Jay lifted his hand for a wave to Treecko and looked down in his lap to Litleo who now had her paws on the table with a curious look to the newcomers. The cub lifted herself onto the bench and swiped at Slakoths feet playfully as he dangled in Bee's grip. After, she tottered quickly to Treecko and circled around him curiously before giving a friendly smile. "I assume you're here for your friend- Ben, was it?" Jay hadn't paid much attention to the kid, but he did seem oddly familiar. He decided that he'd introduce himself properly to the boy once the tournament was over.
...
"Oh no! Let's get you better right away, ok?" Jolesa had been so caught up in delight from their reunion, that she had forgotten about Aromatisse's injury. She lifted Aromatisse's pokeball for her fairy to retreat in safely, but the bird refused for the sake of helping Merlin keep Jolesa safe. "Ok, keep close then." Jolesa said as the three headed for the pokemon center while she held Mime Jr and Turtwig in each arm. Once arriving, the girl immediately had Aromatisse healed and she met back up with Merlin who had helped safely escort her there. "I thank you so much again, kind sir. How might I repay you?" She gave a grateful bow to Merlin before listening for his answer. She had returned all of her pokemon to their pokeballs and looked around with an embarrassed blush once realizing how ridiculous she looked in her filthy performance dress.
"I'm doing great. How about you?" Bee replied, readjusting her grip on Slakoth. She couldn't help but grin when Jay said she could sit with him. "Thanks." Treecko beamed at Jay's greeting to him, glad that the blue-haired trainer seemed happy to see him.
The lion cub Pokémon was up and moving now, investigating her two Pokémon. Well, investigating in a way, she guessed. It sort of swiped at Slakoth's feet, to Slakoth's response was to feebly kick his feet back and forth. Whether this was an attempt to dissuade the cub or to try to play with it was unclear. Treecko, on the other hand, watched the Litleo as she walked around him, and when she smiled, he smiled back (At least as well as he could). "Tree-cko!" He chirped as a friendly greeting.
"Yeah." Bee answered Jay's question as she took a seat, almost correcting him on the name before remembering that Robbin had introduced himself to Jay and Astrid as 'Ben' at the Gym. She hadn't even been calling him that. Whoops. "Well, him and my other friend, Clavies. We met at the Contest earlier, and the three of us have kind of been hanging out together since then. It turns out she had signed up for this earlier, and Ben kind of rushed off to join, too." She paused for a moment, worried that she would end up about herself too much. She asked a similar question in return. "Are you here for Astrid, then?" If she remembered correctly, Jay wasn't exactly a big fan of Pokémon battles. This was probably one of the last places she would have expected to see him.
"All contenders please make your way to the arena so we can announce matchups!"
The speakers rang through the room that the tournament was going underway. The staff came through the door and gave everyone there instructions on what to do for the introduction. It was pretty simple, get in a straight line, walk single file to the ring, and stand there until told by the announcer.
The contestants lined up at the front of the doors as the staff member instructed them too as part of the introduction to the event. The staff also told any contestants to return any Pokemon out of their pokeball back into them. As the staff got them ready for their big debut, contestant can hear noises going outside of the station.
The bleachers on both side of the ring were filled by everyone, who were itching to see some good Pokemon Fights. The Battle Pit was roaring with noises from the spectators discussed various things to each other. After a few minutes of discussions, someone walked up to the stage.
"Attention all audience members, the introduction to the main event of the festival is now beginning, we ask that you refrain from taking photos at this time until the battles begins. Thank you and enjoy the show."
Shortly after, the woman left from the arena. music began playing from the speakers around the Battle Pit as an male announcer walked up to the ring. The announcer stood in the middle of the ring with his mic and gave a smile of excitement to the crowd. The music stopped shortly after that, allowing the announcer to speak.
"Welcome ladies and gentleman! To the 17th Numera Festival Battle Pit Tournament!" The announcer spoke loudly into the mic as the audience cheered.
"We've got the latest Pokemon Trainers here ready to duke it out to see who's got what it takes to achieve their goals. May it be Pokemon Master, Pokemon Contest Master, A Epica King/Queen, and many more." The announcer was really getting into the groove. This was his fourth time being one of the announcers for the yearly tournament and he seems to be enjoying it more than most staff members here. "During battles, you are free to cheer on your favorite contestant as long as you are not being disrespectful. And pictures can be taken too to cherish those wonderful memories, just make sure flash is turned off so that you don't cause any accidents with the battles. So without further ado, allow me to introduce to you this year's participants!" The audience cheered even louder as they await the arrival of the participants. The music started playing as the participants walked out from the station.
As soon as he finished their lines, the staff in the station gave the trainers the sign to proceed to the ring in single file. All the contestants walked outside of the station, with the door being held by other staff members, and walked towards to ring. Astrid, being very nervous, quickly adjusted his glasses so that she didn't look like a mess and followed the contestants out to the ring in sync with them. When she got outside of the ring, she gasped. All of the seats from both sides were full. She was going to battle with a bunch of people watching her. It even got her nervous as she wasn't good at battling. She hoped she could do good just for the tournament.
The contestants reached the middle of the ring as the audience clapped and cheered for them. Astrid has the feeling that Jay is cheering for her to do well in the tournament, which helped her calm down from her nervousness. All the combatants looked at the announcer as he finished clapping alongside the audience. After the applauding died down, the music stopped and the announcer continued his speech.
"These lovely people are here to compete against each other to see who is the better Pokemon trainer. i'm sure these people will put up quite a fight for everyone to enjoy. Do keep in mind though, even though there will be intense pokemon battles, we take the rules and ethics of all pokemon battles very serious. We will not allow cheating or anything illegal within the tournament..." he rambled on within his speech about how pokemon battles are suppose to be fun and improving with your Pokemon and many other things, Astrid got a little bored, waiting for the announcer to end his long speech. "With further ado, we have just finished up the bracket for our tournament. We have 16 entries so there will be four rounds overall in the tournament for those who succeed in their battle. Please turn you attention to the big screen TV at top of the station to see the bracket. to see who will be fighting who." As the announcer finished, the TV turned on, with the matchups all set and ready to go. The first round battles are shown:
1. Blake vs Tim
2. Celeste vs Tina
3. Maxie vs Daniel
4. Astrid vs Ben
5. Kid vs Archie
6. Alvin vs Thomas
7. Red vs Joey
8. Clavies vs Danielle
Astrid looked at the screen to see who her opponent was. She looked closely to find her name on the screen, and she quickly finds it. The opponent in the first round was a guy name Ben. Strangely, Astrid felt like she remembered this name somewhere. Astrid didn't really care about it and just shrugged it off. Shortly after everyone found out their opponents, the announcer continued.
"I almost forgot, we have a special guest in this tournament." The announcer added while nervously speaking. He walked over to Celeste and turned to the one side of the audience. "Our special guest is the daughter of a famous Pokemon Master who specialized in taking down her opponents with love. It may sound strange, but her battle style was unique and . With her Pokemon's charm and skillful ability to fight gracefully, she was a dangerous opponent to battle. Our first guest is Selena Di'Arma's daughter, Celeste Di'arma!" Celeste gave a wink to the audience as the audience cheered on her. You could hear some of the fans wildly cheering on her, calling her beautiful and amazing. After a few seconds of cheering, the audience died down.
"And with that, Blake and Tim, take your places at the sides of the arena for the first battle of the tournament. The rest of you can sit over there at the benches there in front of the bleachers. Now...let the tournament begin!!!" The announcer finished his speech and left the arena to commentate the tournament as the audience cheered even louder. Blake and Time walked on the opposite side of the arena as they faced each other, getting ready to release their Pokemon for battle. Astrid and the others sat on some of the benches as they got ready to watch the Pokemon battles in the tournament.
(I'll let others post before I go ahead and summarize the NPC battles. Merlin post will be in the next post.)
"Erh. Erm Thanks-" The big guy with the Dunsparce said to Robbin's compliment about his pokemon. "Woahhh!" Robbin quickly diverted his attention to another person's pokemon and slipped away before further interaction with the man ensued. Thankfully, the speakers ordered for the contestants to make their way onto the arena. Robbin deliberately stood in the back of the line, so that he could keep his distance from Raltsy and Veggie head. Staff members walked over to tell the line to return their pokemon to their pokeballs, and Robbin looked down to his sleepy pudge ball who was waking from a little nap. IGG? Her eyes brightened as she looked around the station at all the new people. "Guess we have a small problem.. heh." Robbin said to Igglybuff with a smirk. Iggly had no pokeball. Hers was switched with "Charmander's" aka Chespin when taken from the lab.
Robbin disregarded the request to return his pokemon, and his heart began to speed up when he heard the sounds of the crowd outside. He began to wonder what he had gotten himself into, but it made him feel energized. The idea of battling in front of a large audience seemed exciting, but the idea of losing with so many witnesses was terrifying for the boy. A staff member signaled for the line of contestants to finally walk onto the field. Welp, it's time.... Robbin thought with an excited jump of his heart and a hint of anxiety swarming in his throat. Then Veggie head entered the boys thoughts and he wondered about Jay. Jay at a tourney? Nahhh.. ha Robbin confidently assured himself. He suspected he'd see a Caterpie take down a Tyrantrum before he'd ever see his brother near any pokemon battle. Tomato head would have to be super human if she could get Jay to attend a tournament.
After taking in a relaxed breath, the purple headed boy followed the line through the station doors and into the ring. Igglybuff cheerily began to wave at the audience and shout in happiness, but she was quickly stopped by Robbin who rolled her face into his side. "Don't draw attention, Iggly-" He said with a whisper as he held her there as if she was just a pink rubber ball. The pink munchkin wiggled beneath his hold in muffled excitement. Meanwhile, Robbin tried to spy Bee in the crowd, but there were too many people for him to find her. As he stood in line, he gave a yawn at the announcer's speech and was ready to start already. He remembered that he was wearing his Charizard mask, but he decided to keep it on and show it off in the matches. Then he began to wonder who he might face off against within the tournament.
Maybe Asprin will lose the first match, so I don't have to face her..Robbin imagined this would be the best case scenario in case Jay was miraculously there to watch her battle. Ultimately he decided he was just being extremely paranoid. That's when he blinked out of his deep thoughts and looked toward the Tv screen where he noticed his name. Beside his own name, was his opponent's name that he took a careful gaze at. "Looks like I'm up against some kid named, Astrid." The boy said aloud as he looked around cluelessly to guess who it might be.Hahh, rhymes with Asp- Robbin's eyes bulged wide and he couldn't believe what he just realized..... He remembered when Bee corrected him on Veggie head's name and his heart almost skipped a beat. "NAH WAY!.. What are the odds..?" He gave his eyes a slap and he brushed passed the other contestants to take an even closer look at the screen.
For the rest of the time, Robbin kept his eyes glued to the Tv screen in disbelief. The contestants were directed to the benches and some kid had to nudge him in order for him to follow. As he sat, he kept his eyes on the screen in shock. At the same time, the boy was strangely intrigued and was curious to know how this girl fared in battle. After finally snapping out of his shocked state, he thought over which pokemon he might use against Astrid. Igglybuff won two battles and Chespin finally won one against Purrloin. Win two for Chespin? The boy smiled at the ideal thought. While he continued to think over his future match, a special guest was announced and Robbin almost threw up the Arbok pizza at the sight of her fanciful appearance. Igglybuff wiggled free from her master's hold and her eyes sparkled in admiration at the sight of Celeste. "Man.. She's in league with Spoildy Locks.." Robbin said to himself in disgust, with the memory of Jolesa in his brain.
Clavies took a while before realizing that she wasn't the only one at the table, glancing up at the female who had initiated a conversation. The brunette smiled nervously, the Buneary sitting on her shoulder, and gently patting the girl's forehead with her ear. Clavies was able to fix herself up quickly, before looking up at the girl with a soft smile on her face. "S-Sorry.. I came running from the Pokemon Center, after remembering that the tournament was starting.." She smiled, trying her best to reply without sounding like she were trying to catch her breath after every word. Yeah, she wasn't very athletic.
Buneary on the other hand, looked down at the Eevee, smiling brightly and hopping off to play with the brown, canine-like pokemon. "Bun, bun bun!" The buneary cheered, joyfully sitting down in front of the pokemon. 'Hey! How are you?' the rabbit asked, and Clavies seemed happy that the Buneary is making a new friend. She could understand pokemon speech, but she decided not to eavesdrop onto theirs.
She would be lying if she said that she expected Robbin to end up following along, and entering the tournament as well. She actually found this rather fun, and was planning on entering Ralts. Though, she had also found it jsut a little odd for Robbin to suddenly blurt out something like the Dunsparce, and it appeared as though the female was calling her by her nickname, rather than her real name. She couldn't have possibly mistaken that to be her real name, right? Right.
Yeah, she was totally wrong.
"Urm.. My name is Clavies. Raltsy is just a nickname for me, since my Ralts is usually on my shoulder. She's resting in her pokeball right now though." Clavies chimed, picking up Ralt's pokeball, and eventually putting it back down. Before any further discussion could be made, the pairings were announced, and it looked as though she were going up against a girl named Dannielle. She clearly remembered this name, as it was yet another contestant in the contest that she participated in. She had hoped that the girl wouldn't get over her head, thinking that Clavies was just for contests. She had left in order to listen to the speech, and she let out a chime, eventually leaving and following to the ring. She had hoped that the others would fare well, clutching onto Ralt's pokeball. "Ready, Ralts?" She asked the pokeball.
In the meantime, Buneary had hoped on over to Bee, waving it's arm up cheerfully after finding her. "Bun Bun"!
"I've felt better, but I'm well enough." Jay replied to Bee with a rub to the side of his sore neck. The Dodrio crash left his body aching all over, and he didn't want to think about how he'd feel in the morning.. "It's good to know you're doing well." He said politely, with a short smile. Slakoth's swinging feet stimulated Litleo's visual senses and she swiped at the sloth's legs several more times playfully. "Ah, I see. Looks like you have a nice traveling group then." Jay assumed as he distractedly watched Litleo paw at Beatrice's sloth pokemon. "Yes, indeed. I may not like battling myself, but I make sacrifices for the right people." He replied to Bee's question concerning Astrid.
For a moment, Jay ran his fingers through his silvery blue hair and wondered if he was looking like one big hypocrite. Was Astrid really worth making such a personal moral sacrifice for? He wanted to say yes, but he really only knew the girl for a brief amount of time. Maybe he agreed to come, because he was too nice? He couldn't quite decide the reason for Astrid having such a strong influence on his decision. Before giving it more thought, the tournament announcer gained his attention. The tournament would soon start, and Jay's thoughts were drained by the cheers of the audience. A line of contestants were welcomed onto the ring and Jay spotted Astrid near the front of the line.
Jay wasn't much of a cheerer, but he did give a smile at the sight of his friend with a raised hand in Astrid's direction. That's when he saw Alvin too and spoke to Beatrice, "Alvin is participating as well. He seems to be a friendly kid." Right as he began to observe the other contestants, Litleo pounced into his lap and gave him a lick on the chin. Litleo's spontaneous action caused Jay to chuckle and his attention was taken away from the tournament. "This is my little hero." Jay said regarding Litleo who attempted to knaw on his face. "She brought me help when I crashed during the festival race." He gently scratched the side of the cub's furry face and gave her a full smile.
The tournament announcer drew the audience's attention to the Tv screen for the match-ups and Jay was amused to see his and Bee's friend would compete against one another. "That's quite a coincidence." He said as he looked back to the line of contestants to find Ben, but his view was blocked by a Battle Pit vendor who pushed a cart of items and food that caught Jay's attention.
"Get your snacks and Pokemon trainer essentials!" The vendor shouted as she skimmed the audience for potential buyers. The cart had all kinds of fair food such as fried macarons and cooked Combusken legs. There were also pokeballs, pokedex, potions, and other handy items. What claimed Jay's attention was a container of assorted Pokegear.
Jay waved over the vendor and looked over the Pokegear for sell after asking to buy one. "This one will do, thank you." Jay said, after choosing a silver pokegear and paying the vendor. In that moment, Robbin crossed his mind. He figured it was because Ben sorta reminded him of his brother's name. He never answers my calls... Jay thought, but then decided he'd leave a message to show his little brother that he was always there for him. Before doing so, he bought some snacks from the vendor before she left. "I got some things for us all to snack on." The blue haired trainer said to Beatrice and her pokemon. He placed a tray of rice balls and fried sushi upon the bench before them.
"I hope you like them. I should've asked.." Jay said to Beatrice as he realized his absentminded decision. Jay lifted a sushi to Litleo who sniffed it curiously before nearly biting off his finger to eat it. "Excuse me-" He said to Beatrice, and turned his head to make a call on his pokegear. After waiting for the ringing to end, he left a voice message to his brother. Jay's message was clear for anyone near to hear:
"Robbin... I know you probably won't return my call, but I just thought of you. Hope you and Dad are getting along well. I'm always here if you might need me.. Just one call away."
"That's good. It's nice to know you're not doing terribly, yourself."
"Yeah, I'd say so, too. It'll be fun to travel with them." At least, she figured they were going to end up traveling together. That seemed to be the most likely scenario. "That's really nice of you to do. Astrid probably appreciates it a lot, too." While Jay may not like battles, he was still there to show his support for Astrid. The way she saw it, it really showed that he was a good friend.
The green-haired trainer quickly searched the contestants as they entered the ring, and grinned when she spotted Clavies, and then Robbin. . She wasn't one for cheering to the extent that some people did, she did clap until the rest of the applause began to die down. Jay mentioned that Alvin was competing as well. "Really? I don't think I've seen him since the Lab.. He seemed pretty nice, though." She scanned the competitors again, until she found him. "Cool. It's good to see he's doing alright, too." So she'd have to root for him, too, of course. Sure, this would complicate matters later on in the tournament, especially if everyone did really well, but for the first round or two it would be fun.
"She's adorable, and she really seems to like you." Bee smiled as she watched the cub. She had meant to ask about Pokémon earlier, but it had slipped her mind. She took out her Pokedex to record the Pokémon before she forgot:
Litleo
Lion Cub Pokémon
Fire/Normal Type
Female
"The stronger the opponent it faces, the more heat surges from its mane and the more power flows through its body. They set off on their own from their pride and live by themselves to become stronger. These hot-blooded Pokémon are quick to fight."
"Careful, she sounds terrify- Wait, you crashed? Are you okay? What happened?" She interrupted herself halfway through what was supposed to be an ironic observation, concerned for Jay even though he was sitting right there, clearly mostly okay. It just wasn't really expected, was all.
The match ups seemed pretty decent. Clavies was against someone named Danielle. Alvin against Thomas. Astrid against some Ben kid... Wait. "Huh, yeah. Would you look at that? What are the odds?" There was probably a mathematical way to figure out the odds, actually, but who cared about that? (The answer is me, I just forgot how to calculate probabilities for these types of scenarios. I'm sorry.) She was a bit conflicted on this. On one hand, she was here to support Robbin, but on the other hand, she had every intention of rooting for Astrid as well.
She mulled over this as Jay went to a vendor that was passing by. She wasn't really any further by the time he came back. "Oh. Uh- Thank you." She wasn't sure how to tell him that he didn't need to buy the snacks. She took a rice ball. "Yeah, I like them. They're kind of a favorite where I'm from." She simply nodded when Jay excused himself, and took a moment to break the rice ball in half, and offer the pieces to Treecko and Slakoth. Treecko took it in his hands carefully and sniffed at it before taking a bite. He seemed to like it. Slakoth looked at his, then, slowly took a bite.
Although Bee knew better than to listen in on conversations, she couldn't help but hear the one-sided conversation. This was mostly due to the mention of a familiar name. But, hey, Robbin was a pretty common name, right? Maybe? Like she would know. Before she could dwell on this too much, she heard Buneary's cry. Grateful for the bunny's timing, she smiled and turned to look at the fluffy Pokémon. "Hey, Buneary! I'm guessing you couldn't go with Clavies?"
The tournament having begun, but with his match a ways away, Alvin took a seat in the player's stand. However, it seemed they were taking a little bit of time to actually start the match. Impatient as Alvin was, he decided to take a walk around the station to get pumped for the tournament match. He went towards the area with several statues. In truth, he was a bit nervous, this was the first serious match that he had been in, and he did not want to look like a fool in front of everyone. Still, he silently craved the attention that he would get here, especially if he did well, and he anticipated his match with glee.
Upon arriving at the statues though, he found somebody staring blankly at one of the statues. Alvin did not recognize the individual or the effigy he was looking at. The individual was a boy, about the same age as Alvin, though much shorter, only standing a few inches taller than Ben, wearing a blue shirt, red sneakers, and grey shorts. Alvin approached him, wanting to talk for a reason unknown to him. Perhaps he wanted to get rid of the pre-game nerves? Before Alvin got too close to him though, the boy started speaking, without so much as turning his head towards Alvin.
"Such an odd place, this Numera Town." he said. "The people here look to the past for guidance through their problems. But they often let the past cloud their thoughts to the present and future, thinking that the days of their heroes was much better than their own. Such backwards people, trying to turn the clock back instead of moving forward in the paths of progress. Shameful."
Not really knowing how to respond to that, Alvin stood for a moment. It seemed the boy did not want to continue, so Alvin tried to break the ice by saying "Uh, okay. My name's Alvin Michaelson. What's yours?"
"Thomas." came the reply. Thomas now turned his gaze to meet Alvin's. From this angle, Alvin could see he was wearing well made glasses.
"And your last name?"
"You don't need to know that, nor have you earned that right. You are Alvin my opponent then? What do you hope to achieve here?" Thomas asked.
Alvin was briefly startled by Thomas' bluntness, but answered "Well, I'm here to train my Pokemon, and gain fame and fortune! Especially fortune."
"Heh. I seek a similar thing, to unlock my Pokemon's power. That Torchic on your shoulder, I assume that's your entry for this tournament?"
"Uh, I suppose, yeah."
"Then I'm afraid you will lose, I have a Squirtle, and by definition of type effectiveness, that means I will win. Sorry to burst your bubble."
"What?! Hah, let me see this Squirtle for myself and I'll make that judgement."
"I don't see the need to wear my Pokemon like an accessory, such as you do. He will come out when the time is right. Which...incidentally."
As Thomas finished speaking, Alvin heard the sounds of the first battle getting underway in the arena.
"Oh no, the tournament's started!"
"I suppose it is time for me to see what my competition is like. Not that I'll have any." Thomas said, standing up and then walking away.
"Huh...what a weird guy. Anyways, Torchic, let's get out to the arena and watch the matches. Maybe we can get some tips by watching." The Torchic seemed to agree with Alvin, and the two strode over to the arena seats.
Astrid watched as the girl fixed up her appearance for her. It seemed the girl rushed to the tournament due to a late schedule or just forgetting about the tournament until someone reminded her. She also had a Buneary on her shoulders. Was it a Pokemon she was going to use in the tournament or was it something else. Astrid could ask these questions if there were enough time. So she'll just listen to what the Brunette had to say.
"I see. I figured that was the case." Astrid looked down at Eevee, which was engaged in an conversation with the brunette's Buneary.
"Eevee! Eev Eevee!" Eevee replid back to the Buneary. (I'm doing pretty good. Thanks for asking.) Eevee was very happy talking to another Pokemon, Astrid noticed it seemed to be more freidnly towards other Pokemon. Being a gentle Pokemon, it would make sense. Wanting to fight however, didn't make any sense to her. She finally got the brunette's name. Luckily it wasn't Raltsy, otherwise there would've been some serious problems here.
"That's good. It would've been so embarrassing if your parents did name you based off a Pokemon." She giggled. She seemed to be having a good time with Clavies. Before she could speak, the announcer came on. Astrid got up and returned Eevee to its Pokeball and carried her backpack. Astrid then turned to Clavies. "Well, good luck in the tournament Clavies." And with a smile, she left to get in line before the tournament officially begun.
During the Tournament Ceremony
As Astrid stood there in the crowd, she felt a bit scared. Noticing that there was alot of people there from all around Epica. If she were to do badly here in the tournament, people would look down on her, even refuse to help her on her journey out of spite for her bad performance or just laugh behind her. The stakes were high for her, Astrid begun to shake in fear. Why am I shaking? Am I scared that I might screw up and be laughed upon? she wanted to scream. This type of thing rarely happens to her. She needed to perform as best as she can in this tournament if she wants to be seen as a strong person. She looked around the audience, hoping that she may see someone to help her with her nerves and fears.
After a bit of looking, she saw Jay's hand. Astrid smiled. He did come. I'm so happy! she felt a bit giggly inside, knowing that her friend, who didn't support Pokemon Battle, was watching her perform for her sake. Her fears were quenched and she returned to her happy self. With it, she continued on with the tournament without a worry in her heart...for now.
Meanwhile in the audience. After the audience has died down, two guys were sitting in front of Jay and Bee. The two guys were talking among themselves loudly that both Jay and Bee could overhear them.
"Hey! The tournament is filled with some great participants this year." The one man said.
"Yeah I know, and there are some pretty ladies too." The other guy said.
"Celeste Di'Arma is so beautiful." The one guy spoke out. "She looks like a goddess that has came down to bless everyone with her talents." The man seemed enthralled with her.
"I know right. I gotta admit, the redhead girl with the glasses isn't looking bad herself too. Cute and shy with her charming personality." The other man said.
"She was shaking, but that smile she made halfway through made me fall for her a bit like Celeste." He shook his head. Both men did a fistbump to each other.
"The brunette also seems like she'll be good too." The men carried on with each other as they have fun with the tournament. Seems like these two came to see some beautiful girls fight in the tournament because boys will be boys. They continued to talk among themselves very quietly about the tournament and the contestants.
The Tournament Officially Begins
Blake and Tim released their Pokemon form the Pokeball, Blake had a Pidgey and Tim had a...Bidoof. Not the kind of Pokemon Astrid was expecting from this tournament. The announcer did his normal thing and started the battle. She sighed and took out her notebook from her backpack. Scribbling down some notes from the fight. Blake's Pidgey was dodging most of Bidoof's attacks with ease as it soared throughout the air. Astrid took notice of the arena and the timing of commands.
The first round ended quite quickly as Blake's Pigdey knocks Tim's Bidoof off the ring for a ring out with a mighty gust. "The winner of the first round is Blake Annabelle!" The crowd cheer for Blake as she triumphs from the victory. Blake went to pet Pidgey and returned him to his pokeball. The announcer didn't hesitate to announcer the next round. "And a great performance from Blake. Astrid gotten some good information on Pokemon Battles from that match. Astrid smiled with hope in her eyes of perhaps winning a battle or, in a miracle, the tournament. The announcer spoke up on the mic. "Now with the first round down. It's time for the next and perhaps most hyped round. The beautiful Celeste Di'arma will take on Tina Bay!"
The crowd cheer as the participants walked up to the ring. Celeste opened up her umbrella and walked towards the right side of the ring. She stopped where Astrid was sitting and looked at her. "Watch my performance closely Astrid, i'll show you a taste on how I share my love in Pokemon Battles." She smiled as she continued to the ring. Astrid felt a bit sick with this whole, 'share love' crap she goes on about.
Ugh, can she not mention this love thing all the time, it makes her so cliche. she thought. She was quite surprise to see one of the contestant beside her give her a quick nudge.
"You're so lucky to have Celeste talk to you. I'm kinda jealous." said the man with a jealous smile on his face. This was Maxie, a man who dresses in a red and black coat. He was also wearing glasses. Astrid doesn't know why he looks like that, but i'm sure it's not a reference to anything.
"I'm sure everyone loves her." She disgustingly said as she watched Celeste get on the ring, her opponent was Tina, dressed in a a white karate gi, knowing by her outfit, she'll probably use a fighting Pokemon in this tournament. Astrid wonders what type of Pokemon Celeste uses. Astrid had a good guess at what it'll be. She'll find out soon enough.
"Alright contestants Send out your Pokemon and begun when I say so. Keep it clean ladies." The announcer happily said. Tina made the first move almost immediately after the announcer ended his statement.
"Hey Girl!" Tina yelled at Celeste with her finger pointing at her. "I don't care if you or your mom is famous. I'm gonna take you down senseless." She was pumped and ready to give Celeste's Pokemon a beating.
"Is that so. Then I would love to see you try." Celeste taunted Tina the old fashion way. Tina took offense to that. It seems anything offends Tina.
"Oh it's SO ON!" She was even more pumped than usual. Tina threw her Pokeball to release her Pokemon, it was a brown humanioid creature with red gloves and was wearing some sort of purple outfit.
"Hitmon...Chan!" The Pokemon performed a few jabs after it came out of the Pokeball, ready to give his best in this tournament. Astrid took out her Pokedex and scanned it.
Hitmonchan, the Punching Pokemon. Hitmonchan is said to possess the spirit of a boxer who had been working toward a world championship. This Pokémon has an indomitable spirit and will never give up in the face of adversity.
Astrid pointed it to Hitmonchan closer, getting more data off of Tina's Pokemon.
Hitmonchan Owner: Tina Bay
Gender: Male
Ability: Iron Fist
Moves:
- Mach Punch
- Thudner Punch
- Mega Punch
- Pursuit
Hitmonchan huh? He's quite powerful from what i'm seeing. I wonder how Celeste is going to handle this. Astrid wondered.
"Hitmonchan. Not a bad choice." Celeste smiled. "Let's see how much love you gave to Hitmonchan." She took out her pokeball and threw it up in the sky. "It's time for you to shine my lovely!" The pokeball opened from the air as a white light dropped below to the ring and envelope into a Pokemon. The creature represented a bipedal creature with pink hair with a red sphere on top of it, a white body, and a tongue sticking out of it's mouth, it looked like some sort of ice cream monster just by looking at it.
"Slurpuff!" The Pokemon was estastic to be out in the field as it waved to the audience and it's opponent. Some of the audience cheered while others just look surprised. Astrid checked her Pokedex again on the strange Pokemon.
Slurpuff, the Meringue Pokémon. It can distinguish the faintest of scents. It puts its sensitive sense of smell to use by helping pastry chefs in their work. Its sense of smell is 100 million times better than a human's, so even the faintest scent tells it about everything in the area. It's like it can see with its nose!
"Impressive." Astrid said to herself. A pokemon with incredible smelling. A chef's favorite Pokemon in terms of making the best food.
"Hahahaha!" Tina was laughing like a madman, seeing that her opponent, who was widely popular, use something like a Slurpuff. "Is that it? You're gonna fight my Hitmochan with a Slurpuff? This is gold right here." She was getting a kick out of it.
Astrid looked at both Pokemon and looked at Tina, She seemed she doesn't even realize the situation she is in. I would be careful if I were you Tina. Astrid thought. Looking back at Celeste, she hasn't changed any emotions since then. It's like she's perfectly calm in the midst of a storm. Astrid gets a creepy, yet daunting feeling about Celeste that she can't shake off.
"Interesting." Celeste observed Tina's taunt with a daunting smile on her face. Tina stopped laughing and looked at Celeste, who twirled her umbrella around slowly. "I hope you've shown alot of love and care for your Hitmonchan to defeat me then." She smiled normally. Somehow, Tina took offense to that and lost her cool.
"SHUDDAP! You are you whole love thing is bogus. I'll show you real power." Tina yelled. The announcer butted in before the fight began immaturely.
"Are you ready?!" After a short pause the announcer yelled at the mic. "BEGIN!"
"Take this! Hitmonchan! Mach Punch!" She commanded as Hitmonchan followed her orders. "Chan!" The Pokemon yelled with great power as he prepared his arm to do a quick and powerful punch to Celeste's Slurpluff. The wind blowing caused the ribbon on Slurpuff's neck fell off. Celeste looked down at Slurpluff's feet as it dropped one of its ribbons.
"Oh Slurpluff, honey, you dropped your ribbon." She kindly said to her Slurpluff. "SLUR!" Slurpluff was shocked to hear that and ducked down to grab it, just missing Hitomnchan's Mach Punch by a half a milosecond. The audience was shocked at what they just saw.
"W...w...what?!" Tina was a bit flabbergasted at how the Slurpluff just simply dodged Hitmonchan's attack by just...ducking down to pick up its dropped ribbon. Hitmonchan also was flabbergasted it dodged its attack without hesitation.
"Impressive! Slurpuff dodged the Mach Punch by just simply ducking down to pick up its lost ribbon. Incredible move from Celeste!" The announcer and the audience were excited to see such a nice move.
"Oh good. Looks like Hitmonchan is ready now. Now give him a nice, sloppy kiss Slurpuff." She smiled.
"Slur!" She seemed happy to hear that from her master. Slurpuff jumped towards Hitmonchan and gave the pokemon a big kiss on the cheeks. The whole audience is just...in shock of what is unfolding. Astrid facepalmed so hard she almost knocked her glasses off. She quickly adjusted it.
"OH COME ON!" Tina yelled. "Are we fighting or what. I just can't stand you not..." She quickly realized what was going on, she noticed that the energy particles were being transferred from Hitmonchan to Slurpluff. It wasn't just kissing him for the heck of it, it was actually using a move named Draining Kiss, a fairy type move which absorbs energy from one enemy and regains some lost energy. Astrid looked astonished.
I nearly forgotten about that attack. To think that Celeste could easily use moves without calling out the attack directly to her Pokemon...She's good...Real good. Astrid was getting nervous. She thought Celeste was some hot shot celebrity who didn't know how to battle or just wasn't a powerful Pokemon Trainer. But seeing her in battle proved her wrong. Now i'm nervous. I didn't know Celeste would be THAT good. She isn't the daughter of Selena for nothing. Astrid took out her Pokedex again and did a close scan on Celeste's Slurpuff.
Astrid was shocked. This was a well trained Pokemon with some strong Pokemon moves. Astrid realized she might be done for if she does use Slurpuff throughout the whole tournament.
"And Slurpuff surprisingly follows up with Draining Kiss. A sneaky move from Celese no doubt." The announcer was getting more into the battle.
"Tch! Well played girl. You may be smarter than I originally thought." Tina clenched her teeth out of angst. She could feel herself get pressured by this sudden turn of events. "No matter, I haven't lost yet. Hitmonchan will still take you down, he's better than your dumb ice cream Pokemon." She yelled. Celeste seemed a bit disappointed in her recent response.
"Pity, I was expecting you to show more love to your opponents as well. But it seems you are just lustful in your own pride and wrath." Celeste said in a sad tone. "Also, I don't think you realized the situation you are in. If you had been more observant, you would've realized that your fighting Pokemon was weak to my Fairy Pokemon in type advantage." Tina seemed a bit shocked. She never did realize what kind of Pokemon Slurpuff is in terms of Pokemon type.
"No way..." Tina realized. "No matter, I ain't through yet." Tina started to smile with a bit of determination that even impressed Celeste a bit. "Let me show you how strong my Hitmonchan is. Mega Punch Hitmonchan!" She pointed at Celeste's Slurpuff as she yelled out the attack. Hitmonchan soon followed. "CHAN!" With a roar, Hitmonchan began charging his fist for a powerful punch as he charged towards Slurpuff. Celeste looked at her Slurpuff as a next plan for attack. She gave another cute smile and spoke in a loving voice.
"Oh Slurpuff, show the audience your best jump." With a heartfelt smile on her face, Slurpuff exciting response to her request. "Slurpuff!" The Pokemon was jumping up and down while Hitmonchan was charging towards Slurpuff.
Yes! That's it. Tina smiled. hit her where it hurts. Tina gripped her left hand tightly, "now GO!" Tina yelled. Hitmonchan charged faster towards Slurpuff til it was nearly feets away. The slurpuff crouched down and then did a huge jump in the air, Hitmonchan tried to follow it with its Mega Punch, but it was too far away to connect. "WHAT?!" Tina yelled out of sheer shock.
"Chan?!" Hitmonchan soon followed out of shock too.
"And again, Slurpuff dodged a powerful attack with such a simple command." The announcer was shocked and happy.
"Now Slurpuff, send Hitmonchan flying." Celeste, with fierce determination in her eyes. Commanded her Slurpuff with another Pokemon move hidden underneath her command. "Slurpuff!" Slurpuff started to form a orb of light green energy from its mouth, then after it was fully charged, sent the Energy Ball directly at Hitmonchan's feet. The force and impact was enough to send Hitmonchan flying into the air.
"CHAN!" Hitmonchan was crying in pain as it was flying in the air.
"Hitmonchan!" Tina yelled out for Hitmonchan as it was sent flying directly from the energy ball.
"Now Slurpuff, send him off the stage if you may." As Celeste danced with her umbrella, the wind started to pick up around the arena, Slurpuff spun in the air very quickly as sparkling wind was formed from Slurpuff and quickly sliced through the air towards Hitmonchan, The wind picked up Hitmonchan, while damaging him and sent him towards the grass, where the Pokemon would crash into the floor and outside of the ring.
"Hitmonchan!" Tina jumped off the ring and ran over to Hitmonchan. She pulled out her Pokeball and looked at Hitmonchan with sadden eyes. "I'm sorry I failed you. If only I was stronger." She looked down, ready to cry. Hitmonchan replied with a simple "Chan..." in disappointment in himself. Tina returned Hitmonchan to his Pokeball and put it back in her backpack.
"And Hitmonchan is out of the ring. The winner of the second round is Celeste Di'Arma!" The announcer yelled in the mic as the audience cheered. Celeste gave another wink to the audience and Slurpuff jumped in joy of winning another battle. "Sluuuurpuff!" Slurpuff ran towards Celeste as Celeste went to pet her Slurpuff.
"Another fine victory my dear Slurpuff, take your rest for you did a good job." Celeste pulled out her Pokeball and returned Slurpuff to her Pokeball. Celeste went back into the station to heal her Pokemon up a little bit. While she was in the station, The announcer continued on with the next match. Tina took her seat in the audience, where the losers go once they are defeated in battle.
"With that, we move on to the third match of the Numera Festival Tournament. Maxie Magma vs Daniel Knack!" As the announcer finished, the crowd, once again, cheer at just anything that is filled with that hype. Maxie got up and went towards the ring on the left side while Daniel on the right side as they prepared for battle.
Celeste returned from the station and went back to her seat, only to stop right in front of Astrid. "Hope you saw all of that. It takes incredible amount of love and care in your Pokemon in order to become a strong Pokemon trainer." Celeste smirked. "I hope to see something like that in your battle." With a bow, she went on her way back to her seat. Astrid felt a bit unnerved from Celeste's smirk that she gave her.
Yeah...i'll show you me and Eevee's loooooove then. she sarcastically thought in her head to laugh at Celeste's remark to her.
Astrid lost track at what's happening around her and quickly stumbled to get out her notebook and pen to take notes from the battle. It was Maxie's Numel vs Daniel's Slugma. A heated fire vs fire battle. The announcer did his usual thing and started the battle. Each Pokemon was trading blows to each other one after another. Seemed more like an endurance battle than a fun battle. The audience cheer became boredom, while some of them booed, telling them to hurry it up. After a while. Slugma feel to the ground after it took enough blows from Numel's tackle. The announcer, who was nearly asleep from the long battle, got up with a sleepy tone in his voice and spoke in his mic.
"Uhh...The winner of this round is Maxie and his Numel. Blah." The audience seemed to agree with the announcer's voice. Alot of people were bored, tired, even not caring. Only a few people were clapping, which was a major disappointment.
Wow. That was...uneventful. Astrid yawned. She didn't even take much notes, just recording the only attacks in that match, like Numel tackle and Slugma's ember. God that was a boring match. 'Thank goodness it'll be my turn to...Oh crap!' Astrid realized she was up next to fight. She started to get worried, but she closed her eyes and calmed herself down.
"The next round is coming up soon. Astrid vs Ben! I'm sure this match will bring much more hype than the last battle." The announcer tried to hide the fact that the last match was just really bad. The audience started to cheer a little bit more compared to the last time. Hopefully seeing some REAL action rather than 'yay trade blows for hours lol'.
Well...Here goes. Eevee, stay with me. Astrid looked down at her Pokeball, containing her loyal and happy Pokemon inside of it. She got up from her seat and walked towards the left side of the ring, where her opponent would be on the other side. The announcer spoke through the mic, making sure both combatants were ready.
"Combatants, are you ready? If so, send out your Pokemon and start when I say so." The announcer spoke to both Astrid and Ben. Astrid took out Eevee's Pokeball and looked at it.
"Alright Eevee! Let's show them our strength!" Astrid threw the Pokeball in the air in excitement as the Pokeball releases Eevee down to the ring where it landed, ready to fight.
"Eevee!" (Ready!) The gentle fox Pokemon said in anticipation for the match. It was finally going to get its chance to shine in battle and it'll show everyone what it is capable of. Astird and Eevee waited for Ben to choose his Pokemon for the match.
Merlin, The Gentleman who Punches Snakes for a Living
Merlin followed Jolesa back to the Pokemon Center to make sure nothing happened to both her and Aromatisse. Merlin now see Aromatisse's love and protection for Jolesa has grown even to the point she'll protect her til she faints. Merlin watched the forest for any suspicious Pokemon, waiting for their next meal. After a little bit of walking, they making back to town and then shortly after, the Pokemon Center.
Merlin waited at the front door of the Pokemon Center while he waited for Jolesa to finish getting her Aromatisse healed. After finishing, he listened to what Jolesa had to say. He wasn't one for helping peopel for something. However, if it's something they wish to repay for them regardless, he won't say no. "You owe me nothing Jolesa." Merlin gave a simple bow to Jolesa. "I don't mind helping a fair lady with any kind of problems they may have for nothing. Just as long as I see them smile, that's all I need." Merlin was appriciate of Jolesa wishing to return the favor to him, but right now, Merlin was set. "However, if you still intend to repay me in the future, i'll still be fine to take it. Right now you should get fixed up and prepare for your next attack in the Pokemon Contest, with both you and your Pokemon" Merlin started to leave the door. He still had many thigns to do in Numera Town before he could do anything. He still needed to go to the Pokemon Lab and get his Starter Pokemon from the lab. "I wish you the best of luck on your journey Jolesa. See you another time." And with that, Merlin left the Pokemon Center as he head towards the Pokemon Lab. Saying goodbye to Jolesa until another time.
TL;DR:
-Astrid responds back to Clavies with her own as both Astrid and Eevee have fun talking to one of the contestants.
-Astrid starts having a mental breakdown with her possible chance at messing up in the tournament, but Jay helps her regain her composure and continues the tournament as normal.
-Two guys in front of Jay and Bee are discussing about the tournament and he girls in particular.
-Blake's Pidgey vs Tim's Bidoof. Blake wins via ring out.
-Outcome of Tina vs Celeste (Slurpuff vs Hitmonchan) Celeste: Stays calm and taunts Tina for her different attitudes.
Tina: Goes between hot headed and determination inbetween battles.
Hitmonchan goes for a Mach Punch. Slurpuff dodges by ducking. Slurpuff follows with Draining Kiss
Hitmonchan uses Mega Punch, Slurpuff dodges by jumping high enough Slurpuff uses Energy Ball to send Hitmonchan flying, then followed up with Fairy Wind to knock Hitmonchan out of the ring. Celeste wins by Ring Out.
-Maxie's Numel vs Daniel's Slugma Maxie wins by knockout (It was a boring battle, so the audience's mood was very low)
-Astrid and Ben are called up to the ring for the fourth match of the tournament.
Next battle Eevee vs Chespin (which I believe is what True Self is wanting to use for Robbin in the tournament)
-Merlin says goodbye to Jolesa and heads towards the Pokemon Lab
Robbin awaited his match impatiently as the tournament finally began. The first contestant threw out his pokemon and Robbin drew his head back with a somewhat offended expression. The dope had chosen some dorky looking beaver to battle with. The other pokemon was a basic looking bird pokemon from the Kanto region. Robbin couldn't believe it. He almost felt disappointed that the tournament started off this way. Regardless, he watched the battle and wasn't surprised to witness the Kanto bird defeat the Bidoof by a ring out.
The kid gave a yawn before the next match started. When he realized it was that fancy guest's turn, he nearly rolled his eyes behind his skull in aggravation. That quickly ended, when Celeste's opponent released a Hitmonchan from the pokeball. "Now we're talking!.." Robbin perked up and was anxious to see the fighting pokemon in action. Celeste's pokemon was some sloppy looking pokepuff with a face. The pokemon was laughable to Robbin compared to the other girl's gloved, fighter pokemon. When the fight began, Robbin threw an excited punch through the air in sync with Hitmonchan's attack.. but was let down when he saw that Hitmonchan's punch missed the pastry pokemon.
"Uck." Robbin said aloud after witnessing Slurpuff's slobbery kiss to it's opponent. "Glad that's not me.." He mumbled disgustedly. The purple head prepared another punch as Hitmonchan began to do so and had high hopes that Hitmonchan would knock Celeste's pokemon into oblivion this time. Igglybuff caught onto Robbin's excitment and threw a little air punch of her own in unison with Robbin as well with a cute smile. Robbin nearly fell out of his seat after becoming disappointed again with Hitmonchan's second failed hit. "Come... on..." Robbin said with an irked tone and then his head jerked up at the sight of the fairy wind blowing the fighting type out of the ring. "WHA????"
After finally grasping the fact that the fancy chick came out on top, Robbin began to feel slightly worried. What if Astrid's pokemon was a lot stronger than he suspected?... He just dismissed the thought, and rethought of which pokemon he would choose for his match. His initial choice was Chespin, but he did remember that Purrloin had pretty good stamina... While he debated his choice, the other match had begun and the boring battle caused him to nod off once or twice. Igglybuff began to snooze off beside him on the bench as well. The pink puff was dreaming and she grabbed her feet while asleep which caused her to roll off the bench.
With a nudge from some other contestant, Robbin awoke to the sound of the name 'Ben' being declared by the announcer. "Oh yeahh.." His match was up, and he nearly jumped out of his skin in anxiousness. The announcement also woke up Igglybuff who hopped back onto the bench to see what was going on. "Iggly, go find Bee and Treecko. I can't take you with me." Igglybuff looked at him with a questioning expression. Robbin sighed and then peered off into the audience in hopes to find his green haired supporter. When he couldn't, he showed her to stay at the bench and he walked onto the field.
When he arrived, he chose a pokeball from his belt and readied it with the beautiflies swarming in his belly. Once Astrid appeared before him, he had a strange feeling of being exposed. He just tried to ignore the feeling the best he could and watched as an Eevee was released from Astrid's pokeball. Better than I expected I guess... When Astrid made her delcaration, Robbin pointed the pokeball to the ground and released the pokemon from his hand. The sparkling light spilled onto the field and the one he had chosen was summoned. With a lick of his chest fur, Purrloin gave a look around at the enormous amount of people around him.
"Alright, let's show em the same!" Robbin declared regarding the pokemons' display of strength. He awaited the announcer's word to begin.
........
"Thank you. I'm sure you all will have an eventful journey," Jay had replied to Bee. His spirit boosted when Bee reminded him that Astrid would be appreciative of his decision to watch her matches. "I'm sure she will." That's when his eyes found Astrid who had returned a smile to his wave. Her smile made him forget about his inner turmoil about his decision, and he felt relieved.
Whenever Bee had complimented Litleo, a full smile threatened to form upon his lips.. but he gave her an agreeable nod instead. "It does seem that way..." The full smile bested him when he looked down to the furry cub who studied him with large, round eyes. That's when Bee's sudden burst of concern about his accident gained his attention, "Yes, unfortunately.. I think I'll be fine." An appreciative smile formed on his lips and he continued, "The Dodrio I rode upon became flustered by another racer's pokemon... this caused the bird's heads to turn on one another out of disappointment and desperation." As Jay explained the situation to Bee, he gazed off into the night sky as if remembering it clearly. "...Distracted by it's own bickering, Dodrio sprinted off course... and we crashed into the nearest thicket." Dreaded guilt fell upon Jay, as he imagined Dodrio being injured. "I tried to stop them.."
After his call to Robbin, he returned his attention to Bee. "Good then, I'm glad." Jay said once he learned that sushi was ok for her. "A Buneary.." Jay said curiously as he noticed the brown and cream bunny now present. He gave a friendly smile to the fluffy creature before waiting for Bee's response. He lifted his pokedex to the rabbit and listened closely.
Buneary, the Rabbit Pokemon. A Normal type. "When it senses danger, it perks up its ears. On cold nights, it sleeps with its head tucked into its fur." Gender - female Moves: Unspecified Owner: Unknown
"I've seen many of her kind here in my hometown." Jay said as he picked up a rice ball to offer to the big eared newcomer. Suddenly he couldn't help but overhear two men in front of him talking about the female participants. He slightly chuckled to himself after learning that the smile received to him made Astrid so much more beautiful to some other guy. Her smile was great, but he thought she was just as pretty with a neutral expression. For a second, he felt a bit flattered that her smile had been given to him. "If I may ask, where are you from?" He asked Beatrice with a curious look. Jay guessed it might be a good conversation starter. Afterall, he wasn't much of a sociable person.
As the tournament matches ensued, Jay wasn't much interested in any of the battles. The battling still seemed quite selfish of the trainers. All for the glorification of winning a tournament that Jay couldn't care less about. He only cared about being there for Astrid.. maybe she would open his mind to a new perspective to this whole thing during her own match. In the meantime, he mostly zoned out until it came time for her to battle.
Meanwhile, Jay saved some rice balls for Froakie before snacking on the fried sushi along with Bee. He decided that this wouldn't be a good time to feed Froakie since the event might overwhelm the cautious amphibian. As he zipped up his pack, Celeste's match claimed his attention. The beautiful trainer spoke of spreading love to pokemon which nearly threw Jay for a loop. How can one be loving toward pokemon, yet deliberately put them into harm's way? Perhaps there was some opinionated reasoning that he chose not to entertain.. Before he realized, Celeste's match had ended in her victory and Astrid's would be soon. Jay was hoping to find some answers of his own.
Astrid and Ben's match finally arrived after a slower battle that seemed to drag on. "Looks like they're up." Jay said to Bee with a friendly smirk. Before he could say another word, a familiar figure walked into the Battle Pit wearing a Charizard mask. The mask reminded him of his childhood when he and his little brother wore them at the previous festivals. When Jay noticed the hair and stance, he spoke up "Wait a SECOND..."
flashback.
"I got us these..." A younger Jay presented two handmade masks in front of a little Robbin at a past festival.
"Woah. Those are amazin! Gimme-"Robbin snatched the Hydreigon mask and struggled to put it on.
A contagious laugh came from Jay and he spoke, "I knew you'd pick that one." When he saw that Robbin had put the mask on crooked, he chuckled once again and fixed it for him.
"Do they have Charzard toooo?" Little Robbin asked with a tilt of his head.
"Nope." Jay shook his head while he put on his own mask. A Suicune one. "But they might someday..."
Jay's little bro looked disappointed, but then happy when he remembered the cool one he had now. "You tha best big bruver." Robbin gave Jay a surprise hug before the memory faded...
"ROBBIN?" The shocked exclamation escaped Jay's lips and he rose from the bench to take a better look.
Look Like The Cat's Out Of The Bag Now
(Alternate Longer Title: Bee really wishes she had better ways to handle situations she doesn't want to be in anymore but can't avoid. Jirachi is nowhere to be seen)
"Seeing how eventful today was, I'd be surprised if the journey couldn't compete." Bee said, smirking as she reflected on the events that had happened since leaving the Lab. Between contests and battles, and even more battles on top of that, she was busier now than she had been in a while. She wasn't even participating in a lot of these events, instead she was simply watching. Like now.
Most of Bee's surprise when Jay had mention the crash was the fact that he had just casually mentioned it when talking about finding Litleo. While he told her about what happened, she listened carefully. When his finished, she wasn't sure what to say. After all, she hadn't meant to upset him. "Hey, it's not your fault. That's not to say it's the Dodrio's fault. You know? It's like-" She was trying to find the right thing to say, and worried that she wouldn't find it. "It was an accident. It sounds like neither of you could have done much about it."
"Yup, she's Clavies's... Well, kind of," Bee explained when Jay noticed Buneary. "Clavies hasn't caught her, but she's letting her hang out, and treating her like one of her own. Kind of like me and Slakoth." She was curious about the phone call, but she didn't feel like it was her place to be asking what were probably personal questions. She overheard the two guys on the bench/row/whatever in front of them talking about the girls in the tournament, not that they were making any effort to be quiet at the moment. While she agreed that the girls in this tournament certainly were appealing, tournaments were not beauty competitions. Well, there were probably tournaments meant to showcase the beauty of Pokémon and their trainers, but this one wasn't one of those from what she could tell.
Jay asked about where she was from, and she answered without much hesitation. "Oh, Shadowveil Village." That's where she was from, after all. When she thought about it now, she kind of wished she had taken some time to consider the associations with her hometown earlier. They didn't know about the curse outside of Shadowveil, did they? She assumed that it wasn't as well known, since that was one of the factors that kept people in the village. The only people taking it outside would be trainers hearing about the curse while they were passing through, or people that had left despite it. But the last thing she wanted was for people to avoid her because of another "curse". "I mean, it's no big deal. The whole "sun" thing out here was pretty surprising, though. I mean, just a huge ball of light sitting in the sky during the day; no lanterns necessary. I almost didn't see it coming." She was trying to make light of the situation, but drawing attention to the fact that the city was enveloped in eternal darkness for some odd reason probably wasn't the best way to do so. Smooth...
There were three battles before Astrid and Robbin's. The first one was a battle between a Pidgey and a... Bidoof? Maybe it was stronger than it looked? While the goofy-looking beaver Pokémon's reputation preceded it, Bee kind of hoped for it to be inaccurate or some big inside joke amongst Bidoof trainers. It was only a little disappointing when the Pidgey and its trainer, Blake, eventually won the battle with a ring out. The next battle was between Tina and the woman who had been introduced earlier, Celeste. According to the announcer, her mom was famous for battling with love, which was something she didn't quite understand. She hoped watching the battle would clear up her confusion.
It certainly was an exciting battle to watch. Hitmonchan, a Fighting Type, against Slurpuff, a Fairy Type. Both were strong against Dark Types, but Fighting Types were weak against Psychic Types (Mind over Matter). She wasn't sure how the two matched up against each other, but according to her Pokedex, Fairy Types had an advantage against Fighting Types. Not that Celeste really needed it, judging by the battle. She and Slurpuff won with a ring out, just by using such simple commands and taking advantage of her opponent's rage. All without breaking a sweat. That was really impressive. Bee would hate to be her opponent. And her mom uses the same style? Geez.
Next up was... well, it was a rather long, boring battle between a Numel and a Slugma. It was a case of, "Let's just keep attacking until one of us finally gives in." Eventually, Maxie -Psh. What kind of name is that?- and Numel won with a knockout. The audience was ecstatic. And by that, I mean most of them were half asleep. Even Bee was nodding off, no thanks to Slakoth, who was always tired regardless, and just carried an aura of tiredness about him. Treecko made sure she was awake in time for Robbin and Astrid's match. "Yeah. It sure looks like it." She replied to Jay. She hadn't really been talking to him about any of the battles much, since he wasn't a big fan of them.
It seemed like Astrid was using Eevee, which wasn't too bad. Robbin's choice of Pokémon was really unexpected, however, and caused her to bury her face in her hands for a moment. Purrloin. He was using the Purrloin he had just caught. This was a not-so-good idea for a few reasons. Aside from the fact that he's had zero time to work with the cat, they just weren't very trustworthy Pokémon to begin with. They used their cutesy act to steal stuff they wanted from unsuspecting people, like the stereotypical crazy cat-Pokémon lady or the naïve siblings who just wanted to go out and have a nice little picnic, despite the fact that it was dark and a little chilly (not that she was speaking from experience or anything). He couldn't possibly think-
"Wait a SECOND..."
"Hm?" Bee picked her head up at this, looking over at Jay. He seemed to have noticed something, and it didn't take him long to realize something.
She winced at Jay's exclamation. She should have mentioned something after the phone call. Put together the pieces. It should have been obvious after the strange behavior at the Gym (what with the sudden costume, nickname, and "allergies"), coupled with the phone call. Or maybe she was just overthinking it. Either way, she was kind of hoping that maybe, just maybe Jay was mistaken, and this was some other ten-year-old kid with purple hair named Robbin. But even without math, she knew that the odds of this happening were astronomical (Probably. Math is weird). And now Jay was probably going to be mad because she'd been hanging out with his little brother- who he probably hasn't heard from in ages, judging by the phone call- the whole afternoon, and had failed to mention it.
Or, you know, she could just explain herself, or try to play it cool. Or, both even. It wasn't even like she knew about this, anyway. "Oh, uh... Y-you know Robbin?" Yeah, that'll work.
Astrid watched as Ben took out his Pokemon from his Pokeball. A young, purple cat emerged from the Pokeball as it licked its chest fur in front of the audience. Astrid closely examined it. She noticed that this was a Pokemon she wasn't familiar with when she was studying with Professor Atlas. Astrid pulled out her Pokedex and tried to fully scan it.
Purrloin, the Devious Pokémon. A Dark Type Pokemon.
Its cute act is a ruse. When victims let down their guard, they find their items taken. It attacks with sharp claws. They steal from people for fun, but their victims can't help but forgive them. Their deceptively cute act is perfect.
Owner: Unknown
Gender: Unspecified
Ability: Unspecified
Moves: Unspecified
Astrid was confused. Usually the Pokedex, when scanning a trainer owned Pokemon, would show them everything about that Pokemon, however, for some reason, the Pokedex couldn't receive any other information about the Pokemon, why is that? She came to a conclusion that Ben didn't register his Purrloin before the match. She wonders if Ben knows his Pokemon's attack. She realized she never had the chance to register Eevee before the match either, using her Pokedex stealthfully, she scanned Eevee's data, registered it and looked at the Pokedex. Astrid was shocked.
Eevee
Owner: Astrid Maple
Gender: Female
Ability: Anticipation
Moves:
- Tackle
- Growl
- Take Down
- Bite
When did Eevee...Know all these extra moves? Astrid didn't believe what she was seeing. Eevee, a starter Pokemon, has Take Down and Bite already learned. Was this a joke? Did Atlas teach these moves to Eevee, to help give Astrid a advantage in battles? Or was it something else? Astrid put her Pokedex inside of her back and adjusted her glasses. She was a bit scared. The first time she fought in a Pokemon Battle was...Really bad.
Flashback. About a year and 7 months ago
Astrid and Atlas were both outside behind the lab, there was a battlefield set up for Astrid's first Pokemon Battle. Astrid felt a bit exciting, being able to experience how Pokemon Battles work. Astrid still wore her old outfit she wore when first working with Professor Atlas, red tanktop, blue skirt, longer hair. Professor Atlas looked more the same to his current self. Astrid sat at the bench watching Atlas clean up the battlefield. Astrid smiled, never having experienced what's it's like to be in command of a Pokemon during battle. She's sure she is going to rock it. Or so she thinks.
"Alright Astrid, we're ready to start." The professor gave a gentle smile to Astrid. Astrid got up quickly and ran to the left side of the battlefield.
"Yay! I can't wait!" Astrid exclaimed in excitement. Professor took out a pokeball and handed it to Astrid.
"You'll be using this Pokemon in battle." Atlas informed his student. Atlas always had some sort of Pokemon for Astrid to use or examine. And today, she'll be using a Pokemon for battle. Astrid took the Pokeball and held it in her hands. Astrid pressed the button on the pokeball and released the Pokemon from it's home. What appeared after that freaked Astrid out a bit. A green spider with two pink fangs on its mouth, a frowning face on it's lower back, and its eyes was like a black circle with the inside of the circle filled in white.
"Spinarak!" The green spider said as it came out of the pokeball. The spider looked around, seeing that it was back at its usual place, outside of the lab. It turned around to see Astrid, which freaked her out a little.
"Nice spider..." Astrid fidgeted a bit with her pokeball as she slowly back away from it. Atlas laughed as he approached Astrid and Spinarak.
"Don't worry Astrid. He won't bite. He's a friendly pokemon." Atlas reassured the scared Atlas. Atlas dug into his lab coat pockets and pulled out a red looking device. "Here Astrid." Atlas handed the red device to Astrid. Astrid took it and looked at it.
"What is it?" Astrid shrugged.
"A Pokedex, I meant to give you one earlier, but it slipped my mind." Atlas laughed. It seemed Atlas was still his old, lovely clusmy self around Astrid. Astrid opened up the Pokedex and looked at it.
"So cool!" Astrid exclaimed. She pointed it at Spinarak and jumped after the Pokedex scanned its data and started talking.
Spinarak, the String Spit Pokémon. A Bug and Poison Type Pokemon. The web spun by Spinarak can be considered its second nervous system. It is said that this Pokémon can determine what kind of prey is touching its web just by the tiny vibrations it feels through the web's strands.
"Eep!" Astrid jumped as the Pokedex finished speaking. Hearing the description of Spinarak made Astrid terrified at it.
"Spinarak..." The spider pokemon shook its head, believing that Astrid was going to get eaten by a Spinarak one day.
"Don't worry, Spinarak is fine, it mostly go after other Pokemon and not humans. This one is house trained. I promise you on that." Atlas was having a bit of fun with Astrid's fears of Spinarak. Was Astrid afraid of spiders or just this one in general? She's probably arachnophobia. "Go ahead and scan it again." Atlas smiled.
"Didn't I already scan him?" Astrid wondered. She complied to Atlas' request and scanned Spinarak again. Instead of the usual voice and picture, a list of things popped up on the screen.
Spinarak
Owner: Professor Atlas
Gender: Male
Ability: Swarm
Moves:
-Poison String
-String Shot
-Scary Face
"Oh wow!" Astrid was surprised. Normally, a Pokedex was used to obtain data on a Pokemon, regarding the name, type, and information on it. The Pokedex normally didn't have all this information in the past.
"This is a newer Pokedex, the Pokedex is connected to a National Pokemon Bank App, which allows you to register your Pokemon and collect data on others too, this allows us to know what moves, abilities, and even if it has an owner or not. It's very handy, even for a researcher." Atlas explained to the awestruck Astrid. "Although the data only shows if it is registered by another trainer. If it's a wild pokemon, you won't be able to acquire all of the data from it unless you catch it. Make sure you know that." After Atlas finished his explanation, he pulled out another pokeball and opened it. "Now here is your opponent." The white light came out of the Pokeball and took form of a Pokemon. A small, light brown furry Pokémon with a big round body, stubby arms, a tail with light and dark brown stripes on it and two small feet. The Pokemon got up on it's tail and looked around.
"Meet Sentret." Atlas introduced Astrid to the squirrel like Pokemon. Astrid took out her Pokedex and scanned it.
Sentret, the Scout Pokémon, A Normal Type Pokemon
When acting as a lookout, it warns others of danger by screeching and hitting the ground with its tail.
It stands on its tail so it can see a long way. If it spots an enemy, it cries loudly to warn its kind.
Owner: Professor Atlas
Gender: Male
Ability: Keen Eye
Moves:
-Scratch
-Defense Curl
-Quick Attack
"Wow! A sentry Pokemon" Astrid was admiring the cute, squirrel like Pokemon as it continued to scout around the area for any threats.
"Glad you like the little fuzzball." Atlas chuckled. "Once you are ready to go, we'll start our first practice battle."Atlas
"Alright!" Astrid yelled. I'm ready to go. Do you want me to make the first move?" She asked.
"Go ahead." Atlas smiled.
"Okay Spinarak...Poison Sting!" She pointed towards Atlas' Sentret for her first command. Spinarak opened it mouth and fired a few purple looking needles towards Sentret.
"Denfense Curl and roll slowly towards Spinarak." Atlas commanded. Sentret jumped and rolled himself into a ball as the purple needles hit him. Thanks to his Defense Curl, Sentret took little damage from it. Sentret slowly moved in his ball position towards Spinarak.
"Oh! So cool!" Astrid was so enthralled in Sentret's little ball form, that she totally forgot to prepare her next attack. Atlas saw this opportunity and went in.
"Now! Quick Attack!" As Atlas finished his command, Sentret jumped out of it's ball and charged at Spinarak at fast speed with a powerful tackle-like attack. Spinarak took the hit and was sent flying.
"Spinarak!" The spider Pokemon reacted in pain, but took the attack quite well and landed on its feet just fine.
"Phew." Astrid wiped her face.
"You know, instead of admiring a Pokemon's attack, you should try to follow up with something to avoid taking unnecessary damage." The disappointed Atlas wanted to believe she got caught up seeing how the Pokemon performed their moves. Then again, it was Astrid's first time battling so he can't be too critical on her right now.
"Sorry." Astrid responded in a worried manner. Astrid looked at Spinarak with a sadden expression on her face. Sorry Spinarak. I'll try to do more better. Astrid looked at Sentret, who was dancing around in happiness. "Go for a Scary Face Spinarak!" Spinarak eyes began to glow as an attemp to scare Sentret in not attacking him.
"Close your eyes Sentrer!" Atlas yelled. Sentret closed it eyes before it could make ocntact with Spinarak's Scary Face. Sentret managed to avoid the attack.
"Crap!" Astrid proclaimed, realizing the attack didn't work.
"Now go for a Scratch!" It didn't take long for Atlas to start his next move. Astrid felt a bit hesitate to figure out how to avoid Sentret's attack.
He's coming at me at full force. Should I have Spinarak jump or should I have him move to the... Astrid was lost in thought until a cry was heard.
"SPINARAK!" The Spider Pokemon took a mortal blow from the scrath attack and fell to the ground.
"Now, finish it with another Quick Attack." Atlas didn't seem to stop, he wasn't going to give Astrid a break in her first battle. Atlas wanted Astrid to know how a real Pokemon Battle would feel and not go easy on her. Astrid was starting to get a little scared of battling.
"Get up Spinarak!" Astrid cried to Atlas' Spinarak, but Sentret quickly attacked the weakened Spinarak and sent him flying. As it crashed to the ground., Spinarak fainted from the last attack. It was over. Astrid received a cruel curb stomping battle. "Awww." Astrid bowed her head in sorrow.
"Well done Sentret. Return to your Pokeball." Atlas pulled out his Pokeball and returned the dancing Sentret to his Pokeball. Atlas walked over to the sadden Astrid and gave a not-so-happy look. "Astrid, I know this is your first battle, but you need to stop overthinking things and give a command as soon as possible. Other trainers aren't going to wait for you to make a move, Pokemon Battling is hard. If you can't effectually battle with Pokemon, it'll be hard on you to become a Pokemon Researcher." Atlas harshly said to Astrid, who started to tear up, ready to cry. "We'll try again tomorrow. I'm sure next time will be better. Cheer up Astrid. You'll get the hang of battling one day."
Atlas gave a warm smile to the crying Astrid, who felt like Atlas is here to help her with any problems she may be having. Since then, she tried to improve her battling performance, but still saw herself getting distracted by the attacks and her strageties. Atlas may still be disappointed in her, but he knows she's trying to work on it.
Even after all those battles, I couldn't get past my easy distractions in battle. I always worry what I should do next. I'm slow when it comes to making situational decisions. I've got to look past that and learn to focus better. Astrid closed her eyes and tried to psyche herself for the battle. Then opened her eyes. This time, I won't lose. I'll do this for Eevee...And Jay.She was determined to change her losing streak and win her first battle here. The announcer looked at both opponents as they were ready to go.
"Are you both ready to go?" The announcer asked, Astrid nodded yes and i'm sure her opponent would've done the same. "In that case. Let the fourth match...BEGIN!" And with that, the battle has now begun. Will this battle be a another boring match or will it be as good as the second round? Only time will tell.
"Eevee! Tackle!"
"Eevee!"
Astrid took the first move in the battle as Eevee charged forward gracefully towards Ben's Purrloin and attempted to ram him. Astrid tried her best not to let her distractions come into play and she hoped it would work out in the end of this battle.
