Skuntank's body was now covered in char, but he shook it off, only slightly injured. See, explosion was like a double-edged sword. It harmed both him and his opponent, although to a much greater degree for the latter. Still, it made me feel bad for telling him to use such an attack. I rarely ever used it unless we were in a dire situation. I wasn't quite sure if this could be counted as such.
Deidara's Braviary, however, lay motionless on the ground. Just as I figured the referee was going to call the match, it stirred. I gaped in awe as the bird pokemon shook its head and wobbled onto its two, taloned feet. It still looked determined, though, leading me to believe the pokedex had been right to some degree.
"Quick thinking, I'll give you that. The blast from that explosion caused Braviary's attack to backfire. Impressive." Deidara praised. I shrugged it off like it didn't matter, although I was really giddy on the inside to have been complimented by a trainer of his stature. He chuckled as if he could tell what I was thinking. "Fine, act like you don't care. Braviary, use sky drop!" He ordered quickly.
Due to Braviary's incredible speed, it was able to latch onto Skuntank with its talons and lift them both into the sky. I gritted my teeth. How was he able to catch me off guard so easily? Once they had reached a certain altitude, Braviary simply let go of Skuntank, and he came hurdling toward the ground. I bit my lip as I thought. None of his attacks could spare him or lessen the damage, but there was one thing...
"Skuntank, put your tail under your stomach!" I shouted spontaneously, and he did as I instructed, revealing his back as he tucked his tail under his body. A bit of dust was lifted upon impact, and I coughed as it cleared.
I smiled when I saw that Skuntank had, in fact, cushioned his fall by landing on his big, bushy tail. He returned it to rest on his back as he stood up on slightly shaky legs. He wouldn't be able to last much longer, so I'd have to end this quick.
"Now, use poison gas!" I told him hurriedly. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Hidan and Kakuzu covered their mouths along with me as the arena was filled with the stinky gas. I guess even Kakuzu's mask couldn't filter out the stench.
"Not this again. Braviary, use whirlwind to clear the gas away!" Deidara told his pokemon, much like last time. I felt the wind begin to clear away the gas, but I wasn't done just yet.
"Skuntank, hurry and use night slash!" I commanded, seeing him rush forward as fast as his short legs could carry him as the faint curtain of gas was blown away. He lept into the air, just high enough to lash out at Braviary with his claws, which had gone a dark purple as he slashed.
Braviary let out a bird cry as it fell to the ground, whilst Skuntank landed safely on his feet. Now Braviary was severely injured, but so was my pokemon. They were both still able to stand, although I figured this match could go either way now.
"Alright, let's get this over with. Braviary, use fury attack!" Deidara ordered his pokemon. The bird dashed forward on its feet, spreading its wings and taking flight when it had gained enough speed. Then it brandished its talons, aiming for Skuntank. I tried telling him to dodge, but it was too late. Even in the state that it was, Braviary was just too fast.
Skuntank skidded to stop just before me, completely unconscious. I sighed as I returned him to his pokeball, realizing I still had one pokemon left. I still had a chance, even with Braviary's determination. Now that my pokemon were fully healed, they would be on the top of their game, while Braviary was at its limit.
"Fine, you asked for it. Umbreon, I choose you!" I exclaimed, throwing the new pokeball. She appeared on the field, immediately taking on a fighting stance. Deidara seemed surprised, for whatever reason.
"An Umbreon? Now where does a beginner trainer get a pokemon like that?" He asked, seemingly more to himself than me. "Come to think of it, that Mightyena of yours is pretty high level, too. Someone who just became a trainer recently couldn't have acquired pokemon like that so early on." He said, then narrowed his eyes. "So what's your game?" He asked skeptically. I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"More to the point..." I hinted, gesturing to the battle. He didn't relax his now cautious position.
"Fine, but you owe me an explanation once this battle is over." He claimed. "But, for now, Braviary! Use peck!" He shouted, but I was prepared this time.
"Umbreon, use iron tail!" I ordered as Braviary came charging at Umbreon, flying just above the ground as its beak started glowing. Umbreon raced forward to meet Deidara's pokemon halfway, her tail glowing just the same. She whirled around to clip Braviary on the head, counter-acting its peck attack. The bird lost balance on its wings, falling to the ground and skidding off to the side. Man, I really had to love Umbreon's iron tail. Given her petite size, she could really pack a punch.
The referee checked Braviary, then rose a flag in my direction. "Braviary is unable to battle! Challenger Iranella Cresstorm is the winner!" He declared after confirming that Deidara's pokemon was unconscious. He returned it to its pokeball and approached me, along with Kakuzu and Hidan.
"Holy mother of Jashin, that was one hell of a battle." Hidan commented with a grin. Kakuzu hit him upside the head.
"Watch your mouth. You curse way too much." He scolded before turning to me. "He's right, though. You completely earned the victory." He told me, making me blush a little. Last night was still foremost in my mind, and I wondered if something like that could possibly happen again...
"Congratulations, Nell." I was pulled from my thoughts as Deidara held his hand out to me. I shook it with a smile, then looked down as I felt him slip something into my hand. I looked at it to see it was a small pin of sorts, shaped kind of like a pair of wings. I gaped as I realized what it was.
"Hey, this is the Zephyr Badge!" I exclaimed, holding it gently in my palm. They laughed at my ignorance, although I couldn't blame them. Sometimes, my mind was just a tad bit slow.
"Sure is. And it's yours, fair and square." Deidara said with a proud smile, which darkened as he continued. "Now you need to tell me who you really are." He said seriously, making me sigh. He sure was persistent, if nothing else.