A/N: Saki has been training for severalyears now and so, already has her full Pokemon team. The first few chapters will be focusing on the tournament she is currently in.
"Welcome back to the two hundred and fifty-third Annual Elite Cup! Are you all ready for another round of heated battles?!"
A roar from the crowd of millions cried out.
"Al-right!! It's a beautiful day here in the Western Arena as participant number one hundred and three, Saki Mitari and participant number thirty-seven, Ray Clayes will now face off."
As the announcer began with a brief history of the two trainers, Saki stepped into the arena. She was far from the image of intimidation, coming at no more than 4' 9" and dressed in an innocent sundress of pale pink. The girl's large brown eyes peered across the stadium, taking in the field.
Since she was now pass the preliminaries, the field was going to be changed after a trainer had scored a win each. As of now, the field was a flat grassland with overgrown weeds, making it easy for small Pokémon to hide in. It would not do much to hinder her Pokémon in the battle.
She was in the second round of the second sector of the five sector tournament. If she succeeded in moving past the sectors, she and six others would participate in the main tournament. The Elite Cup was a huge tournament, spanning a month's time that was held by the Elite Four of each region. Thousands of the world's best trainers gathered for a chance to win. To win the cup was to gain immediate recognition across the world.
As of now, Saki was only a little less than halfway through the tournament and the nerves were starting to wear on her. The trainer's here were professionals and she had barely managed to pass her previous round.
Slowly, she turned to face her opponent, a trainer that was no older than she was. A tan beanie was pulled low over his eyes, making it difficult to read his expression. In his right hand was a rapidly spinning GreatBall and the other hand was hidden in the over-sized pocket of his cargo shorts. A grey, baggy T-shirt draped over the boy like a depressed elderly man.
Ray smirked to himself as he stepped out into the brilliant light of the sun, playing with his Greatball in eagerness. He had done a quick two minute research on his opponent last night and found that despite the fragile exterior, the girl had been a trainer for a half a month longer than he had and had won three of her badges in the first month and a half. However, half a year later she had vanished off the record, not participating in any contests, gym battles or tournaments.
Ray was confident in his abilities, especially looking at the girl now; she was the epitome of nervousness.
Saki took another breath.
"The battle of the Western Arena will noww- BEGIN!"
"Let's get this started, come on out Veno," Ray called out, tossing the Greatball high in the air.
From the blue and white ball came a bug Pokémon with a light purple body and large wings. Zigzag lines ran along the Pokémon's thorax and six legs were pressed against his body.
Saki paused, trying to determine the trainer's strategy; the boy was most likely attempting to spread poison to her team as quickly as he could before Venomoth went down.
"Send out your Pokémon already!" came an impatient cry from the other end, snapping Saki out of her thoughts with a start.
"O-okay, Impasse I'm counting on you," the girl stammered out, fumbling with a Pokéball from white belt around her waist.
From the ball leapt a slender, lavender colored feline with large ears. A red gem decorated her forehead and her forked tail pointed straight up in the air as she leapt. Her small form vanished quickly into the bed of grass and weeds.
"Espeon, eh?" Ray sneered, "Veno, start out with your specialty, Poison Powder!"
"Impasse, I'm counting on you," Saki whispered but gave no further orders.
Ray smirked; it was clear nerves were getting to the girl and he was not going to miss exploiting it. He would show her just how strong he was.
A plume of poison sprang from the Venomoth's wings, choking the skies and coloring it purple for a light moment before the weightless powder began to descend upon the ground. Saki was surprised, she hadn't expected the Venomoth to have such a reach and the fact did not do much to relieve her muscles from the hold of her anxiety.
However, her Pokémon had a perfect view of the attack. As she hid within the grass, Impasse had a perfect opportunity to judge the timing of her defense as well as keep an eye on her opponent: it was the other reason that Saki had left the opening move to the Espeon's judgment. Crouching low, Impasse make herself as small as possible but spinning out a Protect just before the poison touched her body.
"Impasse, Agility followed by a Psychic to the face," Saki commanded quietly, forcing away her nerves. The adrenaline was slowly wearing away at the nervousness that had taken over her nerves mere seconds ago.
"Peon!" with a battle cry, the lavender Pokémon leapt out from the mass of plant-life, letting the protective psychic shield drop only when she was eye level with the Venomoth.
With a start, the bug-type shrieked and tried to backpedal.
"Poison Powder!" Ray shouted, striking a nerve in Saki.
Just as the Espeon let loose a wave of psychic energy the Venomoth coated the feline with a thick layer of poison that had escaped his wings due to the adrenaline caused by surprise. With a cry, the two fell to the ground. The poison had quickly been absorbed into the Espeon's blood stream and she was finding it more and more difficult to breath with each passing second.
"Toxic the field!" Ray called, determined to flush out the Espeon.
"Impasse, Heal Bell!"
Ray's head snapped up; he had clearly heard the panic in the girl's voice even over the booming announcers who commented on every move the trainer's made. A smirk ghosted his lips.
Struggling to her feet, Espeon finally managed to let out a loud mew, activating the healing power of the Heal Bell. Relief took over her as she felt the poison leave her system; however, the relief was short lived as another flood of liquid poison washed over her, invading her internal system. She was pushed backwards, sliding over the now dying plant life and coming to stop just inches away from her trainer. The Venomoth was back in play and more determined to win. He hovered almost mockingly above the psychic type, watching and waiting patiently with large eyes as if demanding to know if this was the limit of her strength. Unwilling to stay down, Impasse spat furiously and glowered at the Venomoth, lips curling back into a snarl.
The field had changed by now, now a smoldering pit of poison. The only safe areas were the corners of the field. Saki frowned. This beginning marked a tough battle and she was thinking that perhaps she had rushed it too much.
"Heal Bell then Morning Sun, after that conserve your energy and try to find a weakness."
"Take your chance now Veno, Bug Buzz!"
Saki narrowed her eyes, before shifting them to Impasse who has just flushed most of the poison out of her veins, but not entirely due to the enormity of the Toxic attack. Venomoth took her chance instantly when the Espeon paused to decide whether or not to erase the poison or heal her injuries. The Bug Buzz hit straight on, knocking the Espeon backwards. Impasse hissed as she dug her claws into the soil, eyes straining to stay open.
Saki clenched her teeth, holding up a Pokéball; even without the announcer's countdown, she could tell that it would be impossible for Espeon to get up again. However, her eyes widened as she watched the psychic-type suddenly dash off towards the Venomoth with bloodthirsty eyes, psychic energy flowing off her in waves. It seemed, neither Ray nor Venomoth has expected this; it was a suicidal move and everyone knew it.
The large blast of Psychic drained the Espeon completely but seeing how she dove into the Venomoth, it was surely more than enough to take out the bug-type.
"A beautiful finish by Impasse. Unfortunately it seems neither are able to battle! What do you think, Ms. Thistles?" the announcer's cheerful voice asked.
"A rather desperate move it seems. But now that both players have been able to gauge each other's strength," a female's sharp confident tone stated.
"I disagree, it was finished far too quickly for either trainer to fully gauge each other's strength. It seems Saki was rushing into the round far too quickly. It's not uncommon for nerves to be playing such a large factor here," came a low, masculine voice.
"Feh. A suicidal move," Ray muttered, clearly annoyed as he recalled his Venomoth.
Saki frowned, biting her lip as she recalled her Pokémon. If this first collision was this rough, what could she expect from the next? A shiver passed through her, one of fear but also one of anticipation. She brushed her fingers against the top of her next Pokéball, feeling the crevices made by the line that ran round it and the activation button. With a deep breath, she called forth her second Pokémon.
"Vie, take the field."
The red light of the Pokéball peeled pack, revealing a large purple creature whose shape never remained the same for more than a few seconds. The flexible Pokémon looked nothing more than a pile of sludge. Demonstrating his elasticity, the Muk stretched, making his body as large as his could.
Ray gave a little laugh to himself, not expecting a Muk to appear on the fragile-looking girl's team.
"Cute girls like you don't usually use something like a Muk," he couldn't help but state, bringing forth a blush from her but at the same time caused the Muk to roar his discontent and shift to move protectively in front of his trainer.
"Alright then, c'mon Hirou!"
The boy had flung an Ultraball from which emerged a Drapion. Saki nearly flinched. Out of all the different kinds of Pokémon, it had to be a Drapion. She didn't know what bothered her about the Pokémon but it did. The scorpion-like creature was the very picture of intimidation as he clinched his fangs together and snapped his two large claws threateningly.
Vie didn't turn; he knew full well how intimidating a Drapion was to Saki and combine that with the nervousness that was now returning, it meant the first few moves would be his to play out.
"Hirou, Swords Dance."
Ray was bent on taking advantage of his opponent's blatant hesitation. If Drapion could manage to bulk himself up with the dance, he would have no problem throughout the remainder of the match.
The dual poison and dark type complied, clashing his fangs together, sharpening them and at the same time boosting his confidence. However, through the process he watched the Muk with a wary eye, as if always ready to counterstrike should he need to. Vie gave no attempt to move, settling for leaning back and watching his opponent, slowly solidifying an internal portion of himself to a rock hard point in preparation for an attack.
"Vie, we'll attack first then. Shadow Sneak."
Confidence had made its way into the girl's voice. As she clutched Vie's Pokéball, she surveyed the field and worked her mind to come up and prepare for a number of possible attacks. The field of toxic would not hinder the two Pokémon that now stood on it but if she did not win with Vie twice, she had no other Pokémon resilient to the toxic and able to move freely.
The Muk took action the minute he heard his trainer's voice, easily spreading out his body enough to make it look as if he had vanished. He shifted around the field, searching for a weak spot. Finally settling on an area, he dove upwards only to be startled when the Drapion turned his head a full three hundred and sixty degrees and grab the Muk's limber form. Vie had no difficulty escaping the hold but was not pleased by the surprise.
"Drapions can turn their heads easily, they have no blind spots," Ray sneered, "C'mon Hirou, Night Slash."
"Dodge then slip into Brick Break."
Hirou hissed as he lunged forward to slash at the Muk only to have Vie gather himself into a small compact form, causing the hit to miss. As the purple blob continued to slip this and that way to avoid the hits, he watched carefully for a place to attack and carry out his trainer's orders. He was growing more and more impatient, especially seeing how difficult it was to see pass the Drapion's persistent slashes. At last, he finally found a space but unfortunately, his timing was off.
As the purple toxic blob lunged forward to smash a fist into Hirou, the Drapion brought a claw down hard, dislocating a large portion of the Muk's body which instantly began to smolder as it made contact with the field, polluting it even more. Vie backed away a little after dealing his blows. It seemed the two were about even. Hirou had sustained quite a bit of damage from the Brick Break but so had Vie. The Muk readjusted his now smaller body, irritated at having his defense penetrated. The Drapion seemed to have halted as well, settling for spitting growls at the opposing poison Pokémon.
"Vie, lunge forward and attack with Focus Punch."
The was a tone to the girl's voice and Vie read it perfectly, smiling to himself.
Ray was not to be unnerved as he called out orders for his Drapion, "Catch him as he gets close and use Ice Fang."
Vie smirked to himself as he loosened his body, spreading his body out as much as he could across the field, like a blanket, before lunging for the Hirou, fist ready. The light of a Focus Punch was building up quickly but was cut off instantly as Hirou snatched the body of the Muk into both claws and sank a freezing fangs into his form and spreading causing the body to begin to freeze over. Unfortunately, the Drapion was hit harshly from behind and tumbled forward, rolling twice before coming to a stop.
Ray stared at the field; where there had been one Muk there were now two. As he wondered over the meaning of this, Saki took her chance, ordering a Shadow Sneak on the bewildered Drapion, followed by a solid Brick Break to the head. The announcer proceeded the ten count before declaring Vie the winner.
"An amazing move. The portion that Hirou had managed to detach from Vie turned into an advantage. Muk was able to use one portion as a diversion as he slipped his consciousness into the other and attack. Beautifully done!"
"So that's it…" Ray muttered as he recalled his Drapion; he smirked to himself. This was turning out into a better battle than he thought.
"Xeno , let's win this!" he called, tossing a Pokéball.
From it came a large bulky creature, resembling nothing like the two bug-like Pokémon that had been sent out earlier. The turquoise Pokémon before regarded Vie with a look of boredom before taking one hammering step forward, shaking the field. Red eyes met Saki's and the cross that stood between them made the Metagross look that much more intimidating.
"Grudge, Shadow Sneak."
Vie gave a low growl, spreading out his body as he had done before. As he did so, he gathered the remnants of the poison lingering on the field and added them to his body as a way of making up for his previous injury. Xeno did not move instead he watched as the Muk slowly disappear from his sight but from the look in his red eyes, Vie was unclear if the Metagross could truly not see him.
With a swift prompt from his trainer, Vie lunged forward, arms at the ready to launch an attack. In an instant, just a matter of milliseconds before he was able to touch the metallic exterior of the Metagross, he found himself being flung backwards.
"It's impossible to sneak up on Xeno," Ray said with a sneer of confidence but made no attempt to explain his statement.
"Vie, split off then Brick Break!"
The Muk nodded, splitting his form into two separate blobs, allowing one to lunge forward while the other slipped around back, hoping to attack the Metagross from behind.
"Psychic across the field," Ray shouted triumphantly as he jammed a fist into the arm. It was clear he was quite pleased at having shut down the Muk's little trick.
And he had. Without even blinking the Metagross released a large wave of psychic energy that caused the atmosphere above the field to shiver and bend. Saki could only watch helpless as the energy slammed into her Muk and sent him flying across the field. With a dreadful groan, the poison-type grasped his head and promptly fainted.
"Vie has been completely outmatched in this round as Xeno finished the fight without even breaking a sweat. The two trainers are once again tied, both having scored two loses and one win. The field will now change; trainers please stand back for a moment!"