A/N: Today's chapter is dedicated to fufflepie's hilarious memetastic story on Ao3 called "Marinette, the Teenage (Sassy) Witch." If you have not read that already, please do so. Breadinette is amazing.

Thank you, Tim, for sending me shitposts till I had to write this chapter to heal myself. Thank you everyone for reading, kudo-ing and commenting.

Chapter 3: Right of the Bat

Marinette and Chat walked into the trainer area at their end of the field. Their opponents were already waiting, holding hands as they talked. They were two girls, a short blonde decked out in pink and a tall brunette with purple highlights geared up in purple and black.

This was the tournament's final battle. It would determine Santalune's top Multi Battle team and who got to take home the bread basket. If there was one thing Marinette wanted out of this tournament, it was that bread basket. She sweat a bit, her intense lust for bread and her usual nerves combining into a really weird amalgamation of feelings in her tummy. Wow, had it really been that long since she participated in a tournament finale? She could have sworn she'd gotten over her battling nerves already. Calm down, you've done this before. And you'll get the bread.

The small blonde across the field waved to them. Chat waved back, excited to have gotten this far.

"Don't stress, Princess!" He chuckled at his rhyme. "There's no pressure to win. We're here to have fun!"

He was right. It's not like my life depends on getting that bread. Marinette took a deep breath and looked at their opponents again. The blonde gently tugged the brunette down to a manageable height so that she could give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. The taller girl smiled at her partner before returning the gesture.

"Aww. Princess, why can't we be like that?" Chat grinned at her.

Marinette's eyes narrowed at him in response. This cat boy was too flirty for his own good. Before she could shoot him down, the referee started talking.

"The final battle of Santalune City's Annual Multi Battle Tournament between Young Couple Rose and Juleka and Ace Duo Chat Noir and Marinette will now be underway. Each trainer may use one pokémon. No items are allowed. The winner is decided when either team's pokémon are both unable to continue battling. Battle begin!"

Still hand in hand, Rose and Juleka called out their pokémon, poké balls flying on to the field.

"Go Roselia!"

"Go Misdreavus!"

Marinette gave him a pointed look as she called out her pokémon, daring him to flirt while they were in a battle. Chat gave her a cheeky smile in response as he motioned for Plagg to run onto the field.

"Go Tikki!"

"Claws out, Plagg!"

Claws out. Really? This silly cat boy was- Marinette shook her head furiously. Focus on the battle!

Chat acted first. "Plagg, scare them with a Dark Pulse!"

Plagg ran straight for Roselia, who responded by crossing her stems in front of her, bracing herself for the attack. But the attack never came. Suddenly, Plagg appeared in front of Misdreavus. Before the ghost type could react, a pulse of dark energy rammed into it, knocking it to the floor. Juleka called for her pokémon, but it only flinched in response.

Chat beamed, obviously proud of his pokémon. "How's that, Princess? A super effective direct hit right off the cat."

Marinette's eyed twitched. Ho-oh, please save me from this torture.

Rose called a move out to her Roselia who immediately responded by releasing a pink mist from her roses. The mist spread quickly.

Marinette wracked her brain for what that move could be. Oh, it's Sweet Scent! "Tikki, use agility and fly above it! Don't breathe it in!"

Tikki sped up and flew above the mist, safe from the debilitating mist.

"Plagg, get out of there!" Unfortunately, Plagg wasn't as lucky. Unable to fly, he was enveloped in the mist. His eyes dilated as he breathed it in.

Chat's concern was evident. "Plagg, get a hold of yourself!"

His Purrloin gave a delayed wave of its tail in response, its reaction time slowed. Dodging attacks would be a challenge now.

But Rose didn't let up. Taking advantage of Plagg's lowered evasion rate, she directed Roselia to throw a green dust over Plagg.

Recognizing the green dust as sleep powder, Marinette tried to prevent the status effect. "Safeguard, Tikki!"

Tikki waved her four gloved hands, conjuring two opaque orbs to surround her and Plagg, but the powder had already done its job. Plagg was now fast asleep, sprawled out haphazardly on the field. Marinette cursed silently but didn't linger on it. It's fine. At least Tikki's protected from any status effects now.

Juleka, wanting to capitalize on Plagg's snoozing, called for Misdreavus to use Hex.

Misdreavus' eyes glowed purple as like-colored wisps surrounded Plagg's sleeping form. A dark purple aura covered Plagg and the pokémon cried out in its sleep. As the ghost pokémon's eyes ceased their glowing, the wisps and aura disappeared as well. Hex was a move that did double damage if the target had a status ailment. Luckily, it was ghost type and therefore not very effective on Plagg. Marinette was catching on to Rose and Juleka's battle strategy. I need to boost our special defense.

"No! Plagg, wake up!" Unable to use any items, Chat could only hope for Plagg to wake up on his own. He shot Marinette a worried look. "Got any plans, Princess?"

Marinette nodded. "I'm working on it."

Rose motioned for Roselia to use sleeping powder again, but now on Tikki. Roselia gave a twirl before throwing the powder from its blue rose at the target. But before it could make contact, it hit the Safeguard surrounding and dissolved into nothing. Rose looked shocked. Marinette smirked. Perfect. She didn't know how Safeguard worked.

"Tikki, lets buff up our team's Special Defense! Use Light Screen!"

Tikki once again moved her four little hands to conjure the screen. True to its name, a screen of light appeared before her and Plagg.

Good, now we'll be able to withstand a few more hits than usual. Marinette looked apprehensively at Plagg as it continued to sleep. "I hope Plagg wakes up soon, our defenses won't last forever."

Chat nodded in understanding, eyes shining with the confidence he had in his pokémon. "I believe in Plagg. He'll wake up soon, I'm sure!"

Marinette nodded back, trusting Chat and his bond Plagg. Safeguard and Light Screen were moves that only lasted for five turns before fading. Plagg needed to wake up soon and dish out damage on Misdreavus since Tikki didn't have any moves that were strong against the dual Ghost Dark type. His dark type moves are a crucial part in our offensive power.

Continuing to take advantage of Plagg's slumber, Juleka signaled Misdreavus for another Hex attack. The wisps surrounded Plagg once again but half of them dissipated as they collided with the light screen in front of Plagg. The damage was halved.

Rose, realizing that special attacks weren't going to cut it, instead opted for a physical attack. Her Roselia started twirling again, but with each complete rotation, she shot out a bundle of poisoned thorns at Tikki.

Marinette reacted quickly to the Poison Sting, "Dodge as many as you can, Tikki!"

Tikki's wings buzzed louder as she whizzed about trying to avoid the attacks. Despite her increased speed from Agility, she could only avoid one of the five shots. Marinette worried her lip, thinking about her next move. Roselia's accuracy is nothing to scoff at. Her eyes darted to Misdreavus. She needed to go on the offensive. What was the saying? A good defense is a good offense?

"Tikki, scare them with Aerial Ace!"

Shaking off the thorns, Tikki flew towards Roselia, speeding up before suddenly tilting skywards and disappearing.

Roselia looked all around, unsure of where the opponent would be attacking from. Out of nowhere, Tikki swooped down behind Misdreavus and slammed into her, wind billowing furiously around them. Juleka gasped as Misdreavus was knocked to the ground. Misdreavus cried weakly as the ghost type struggled to get up, only able to do so at her trainer's encouraging words.

"Yes! Let's go, Plagg!" Chat cheered as Plagg woke up. The pokémon stretched, back arching and tail swishing around. He stood up on his hind legs to yawn and blink the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced back at his trainer, waiting for a command.

Chat grinned. "Misdreavus is really weak right now. Think you can finish her off with Purrrsuit?"

Marinette groaned while Plagg dashed towards Misdreavus. Juleka cried for her pokémon to dodge but Plagg was unrelenting as he pursued the ghost. He pounced, claws emitting a dark aura as they sunk into the pokémon. It was super effective. Misdreavus cried pitifully as she tried to shake off Plagg with the last of its strength. As the ghost started to falter, Plagg released his grip and jumped away.

Misdreavus fell limply to the ground, eyes swirling.

The referee raised his arm towards Rose and Juleka. "Misdreavus is unable to battle!"

Rose hugged Juleka as the Goth girl recalled her Misdreavus into her poké ball for some well-deserved rest. Juleka kissed the poké ball before kissing Rose on the crown on her head and nuzzling her hair.

Chat was radiating excitement and pride for his pokémon. "That was amazing, Plagg! I guess that cat nap really helped, eh?"

Plagg smirked as he lazily swung his tail.

Well, Marinette couldn't deny it. Plagg was really strong despite his small size. They ARE known for being deceptively cute and harmless.

Rose didn't give up, calling for another Poison Sting, this time aimed at Plagg. Without any prompting, Plagg dashed around the field. Despite Sweet Scent's lingering effect, he was still able to dodge two of the five shots. Plopping down onto the field, he started grooming himself, slowly picking the thorns out of his fur.

"Plagg! Don't groom yourself in the middle of a battle!"

These cats would drive her crazy if they didn't win soon. She recalled the battle so far. Safe Guard fades after one more turn, Light Screen in two. I have type advantage with Aerial Ace so we should be able to end this within the next two turns.

"Tikki, the battle's starting to wind down but don't relax yet. Use Aerial Ace!"

Going through familiar motions, Tikki disappeared and reappeared behind Roselia, knocking her to the ground while dealing double the damage with her super effective attack.

Chat was quick to follow up. "While she's down, use Assurance!"

Marinette's face lit up in recognition. Assurance was a dark type move that did double damage if the target had already taken damage that turn. It was rarely used in single battles since you couldn't bring out the move's full potential without another source of damage on the field. I didn't realize he had these tricks up his sleeve. Between Tikki's super effective attack and this attack, I think we have enough damage to knock out Roselia by the end of this turn.

Plagg darted across the field and jumped at the pokémon lying on the ground, a single paw outstretched. He brought the paw down on Roselia's head, as if giving her a pat of reassurance. Could it still be considered a pat if it contained enough dark energy to split a boulder? Roselia cried out as the dark energy of the move hit her. Plagg jumped back to his place, revealing a swirly eyed Roselia.

The referee raised his arm towards Rose and Juleka. "Roselia is unable to battle. Ace Duo Chat Noir and Marinette are the winners of Santalune's Annual Multi Battle Tournament!"

There was a flurry of movement and noise from the Ace Duo, as they both cheered in happiness. Marinette ran to Tikki, hugging her Ledian as Chat ran to Plagg to scoop him up and spin in circles. Calming down, Marinette looked over to Chat, who was smiling and dancing with his Purrloin in unbridled joy. Marinette smiled at the sight.

She walked over to him, calling his name as she brought her hand up for a fist bump.

Chat immediately looked at her, smile never leaving his face. Understanding flittered across his face and he brought his own fist up to complete the gesture.

He winked at her. "We make a good team, Princess."

Marinette giggled, her eyes sparkling. "I would say our teamwork is rather miraculous, Chat."