Last time, on Tony's Journey…
Tony and Skyla met their old rivals Bianca, Cheren, and Karen at the Roulette Rumble, all of them eager to settle old scores! Afterwards, the announcer of the tournament, Grimsley, spun a roulette wheel before the audience to determine which trainers would battle first!
What will happen next? Find out now!
Everyone went completely silent, both in the audience and in the waiting room. Eyes were closed and fingers were crossed. A few competitors quietly mouthed prayers, begging that they would be the first to compete and win.
The wheel slowed more and more. Everyone held their breaths until it slowly came… to… a… stop…
The wheel came to a halt, and the face of the first competitor was shown at last.
"And the first trainer who will be gracing us with a delightful battle is…" Grimsley announced, "…the lovely Ms. Karen Silph!"
A wild cheer slowly spread through the audience, applause and cries filling the air as the blonde girl's face appeared on the screen. The door to the waiting room swiftly opened and slammed shot, and before long Karen Silph was walking through the door in the arena that led to the battlefield at its center, waving her hands at the adoring crowd with a wide smile written on her face.
"Thank you!" she gushed. The cameraman zoomed in on her face, allowing the waiting competitors in the basement to get a good luck at her. "Thank you all so much! I'd like to dedicate this battle to the brave young man who saved my life during the Team Plasma invasion!" she announced to the camera. "Joseph Joy!" She blew a kiss at the camera and waved.
Joseph slumped into Oliver's armchair, his face bright red as he watched Karen's dedication to him. "Darn it…" he muttered, turning bright red.
Oliver chuckled and sipped his tea.
Tony couldn't help but smile. "The camera loves her, doesn't it?" he asked his Skyla.
His girlfriend rolled her eyes. "Not as much as she loves the camera," she replied.
"Karen Silph is the daughter of Mr. Martin Silph, the owner and CEO of Silph Co.," Grimsley announced as Karen approached the arena, still waving happily at the audience. "This little debutante competed in the N1 Tournament just a month ago, making it through two rounds of hard-fought victories before the tournament's unfortunate anticlimax. Despite her petite proportions, ladies and gentlemen, she is a highly-skilled Pokémon Trainer!"
Down in the waiting room, Bianca frowned as she and Cheren watched Karen take her place by the side of the arena. She had lost to Karen at the first round of the N1, taken down by what she viewed as a sneaky trick on her opponent's side. Needless to say, she wasn't rooting for the smaller blonde.
"And now," Grimsley's voice declared, "let's see who Karen will be fighting today!"
There was a loud beeping noise. A slot opened up next to where Karen was standing and a large roulette wheel shot out, surprising the tiny blonde. "Waaah?!" she cried, leaping back. "W-what the heck…?"
Grimsley's chuckle resounded throughout the arena. "As a special treat for the competitor chosen by Lady Luck herself, you get to spin to see who you will fight, Ms. Silph! Feel free to spin the wheel as hard or as gently as you'd like!"
"I get to choose…" Karen shook her head, recovering her senses. "Alright," she said with a grin. "Let's see…" She slowly approached the elaborate wheel, eying its neon reds and purples. Like before, the edges had numbers, and below the numbers were the faces of the competitors. She quickly spotted her rival: Tony. He was number seven, right in-between that Skyla girl and that blonde girl she dominated in the N1. If she was very careful, she could settle her rivalry…
Karen licked her lips and rubbed her hands together, gently gripping the edge of the wheel with her tiny hands. Here goes…
"Looks like she's ready to spin!" Grimsley announced. The crowd hushed and watched silently and intently, waiting for the girl to make her move.
Karen's tiny fingers gripped the edge of the wheel. Gritting her teeth adorably, she gave it a yank and sent it into an intentionally pitiful spin. The wheel slowly clicked past numbers one, two, three, four, and five…
Karen crossed her fingers. "Come on…" she pleaded as the number seven approached the needle. "A little more, please…"
The wheel twitched towards Tony. Karen held her breath, mouthing the words "Come on, come on…" over and over again.
The arrow poised above the number seven – and then the wheel promptly turned passed it. Karen's eyes went wide as it finally settled, the arrow above number eight.
The tiny blonde scowled. "D-darn it!" she growled.
"And the first match is chosen!" Grimsley announced. "Our first two competitors will be Karen Silph and Skyla Fuuro!"
The crowd went wild, those who recognized Skyla adding to the excitement. A match between two girls who got through two rounds of the N1? This was a long time in coming!
Down in the waiting room, Tony put his hand on Skyla's shoulder. "Be careful," he said concernedly. "Karen's small, but you know that she's not a slouch when it comes to Pokémon battles."
Skyla nodded. "Right," she muttered. "Don't worry about me," she said, putting on a confident face. "I can handle a short blonde. Heck, I already handle you." She gave Tony a teasing nudge.
"Be really careful." Bianca had snuck up on the two, a warning look in her eyes. "She's a tricky one. She doesn't fight fair."
"Uh, yes she does…" Tony replied, sweat-dropping. It's not that she doesn't fight fair, it's that she also fights smart, he thought to himself.
Bianca pouted. "Just don't let your guard down!" she warned. "She'll try something sneaky to win!"
Skyla raised her hand. "I've got it," she said, if only to make Bianca pipe down. "Now, if you'll excuse me," she declared, "I've got a match to win!" She gave Tony and quick hug and walked off, ready for her battle.
Tony smiled, though he was still a little worried. Good luck, Skyla, he thought. You might just need it…
Cheers exploded from the spectators as Skyla walked out to the arena at the opposite side of her waiting opponent, raising her fist triumphantly in the air as she approached the battlefield, happily basking in the attention.
"Skyla Fuuro is the former Gym Leader of the tiny airport town of Mistralton City," Grimsley announced. "Though she is currently not the acting Gym Leader, she is still an expert in Flying-type Pokémon and wields them with grace and strength. She is close friends with your very own Nimbasa City Gym Leader Elesa, and has apparently been training with her for the past month to build up her skill. Let's see if that training paid off!"
Skyla grinned as she walked up to the battlefield, standing directly across from Karen. "Ready to lose, Shorty?" Skyla asked with a smirk.
Karen turned red. "Don't call me Shorty!" she ordered. "I'm not that short! And if anyone's doing any losing, it's going to be you!"
"Oh, is that right?" Skyla asked, feigning confusion and cocking her head to the side. "And who's going to beat me? You?"
Karen nodded. "Yeah. First I'll beat you and then I'll beat your little boyfriend!"
Skyla snorted, cracking her knuckles. "We'll see," she replied confidently.
"Ooh, catfight!" Grimsley cackled from his booth. "Ladies, I hate to break you up, really, but this is a Pokémon Tournament. Let's keep the fighting on the battlefield, shall we? Speaking of the battlefield…" A button was pressed, and yet another roulette wheel shot out of the floor, this time next to Skyla. "Ms. Fuuro, choose the battlefield if you'd please," the announcer requested politely.
Skyla blinked as she looked at the new wheel. This wheel was different from the other; there were dozens of segments, but each one had one of five different colors and symbols: a green leaf, a red flame, a blue raindrop, a grey rock, and a yellow lightning bolt. It's like the N1, she thought. Randomized battlefields...
Grimsley confirmed her beliefs. "As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, the battlefield selected by the wheel will be the battlefield that these two fine young ladies shall battle upon! I allowed Ms. Silph an attempt to choose her opponent and as such Skyla will be allowed to attempt to choose the battlefield of her choice!"
Skyla licked her lips as she slowly gripped the wheel, her mind racing to think of a good choice for her Flying-types. A fire battlefield sounded like a bad idea all around, as did a lightning battlefield. The rock didn't seem too bad, unless Grimsley rigged the ceiling to rain rocks on the heads of the Pokémon. She looked up to try and see a trapdoor of some sort, but the ceiling was too dark to make anything out. The grass battlefield and water battlefield seemed to be her best choices.
"Spin the wheel already!" Karen shouted impatiently.
Skyla gritted her teeth and gave the wheel a gentle turn. Unfortunately for her, this roulette was put on a much more slippery wheel (either that, or Grimsley had installed a motor to cheat) and spun with greater force than Skyla had intended. Either way, the wheel almost made a full rotation before coming to a halt, the arrow pointing down to the raindrop.
Skyla breathed a sigh of relief. Water battlefield. That shouldn't be too bad…
"Looks like we have a winner!" Grimsley said. "The water battlefield it is!"
There was a metallic clink and the hum of an engine as the Pokéball shaped arena sunk into the ground, vanishing before the eyes of the spectators and combatants alike. Before anyone could say a word, the arena slowly rose up again, the splashing and gushing of churning water joining the hum of the machine.
The arena was now replaced by a large pool, perfectly circular in design and with several small, rounded platforms rising out from the water. The crowd cheered in surprised and delight.
"H-how…" Shauntal's voice muttered from the booth, amplified by the speakers.
"Ah, finally decided to grace us with your voice, I see," Grimsley mocked with a chuckle.
"How did you afford that?!" Shauntal demanded.
"What, the changing arena? It wasn't that expensive," Grimsley muttered. "Even if it was expensive, it's worth it to see the delighted faces of my loving audience," he cooed.
"You mean to see the wallets of your paying audience, right?" Shauntal asked coyly.
"Quiet, you," Grimsley ordered. "Anyways, let the first battle of the Roulette Rumble begin! Lovely ladies, choose your Pokémon!"
Skyla pulled out the best Pokémon in her arsenal for the job. "Swanna, time to fly!" she shouted, tossing her Pokéball into the air and releasing the graceful Swan Pokémon.
"Wanna!" Swanna cried, gliding over the battlefield, aiming to land on the platform in the center of the pool – and missing completely, diving into the water with an awkward splash.
The crowd went silent. Karen burst out into a fit of giggles. Skyla turned bright red.
In the basement, Tony groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Darn it…" he muttered, shaking his head.
Cheren snorted. "So much for that month of training."
"Oh, shut it," Tony retorted defensively. "She's got this… I hope…" he muttered to himself.
Swanna poked her head out from the water, sweat-dropping. "W-wanna…" she mumbled, feeling humiliated. She leaped out of the water and landed on the platform, shaking her soaked plumage unhappily.
"Erm…" Grimsley muttered from the booth. "Skyla has chosen her Swanna, a Water/Flying-type Pokémon renowned for its… eh-heh, grace."
"Skyla's choice is clearly strategically sound," Shauntal added, deciding to give the whole announcer thing a try. "Swanna is capable of attacking in the air and in the water, giving her a wide range of places to attack and defend from. Karen will have to have a Pokémon with enough speed and agility to match Swanna!"
Karen nodded. "Agility, huh…" she muttered. "In that case," she said, pulling out a Pokéball of her own, "I choose you, Mienfoo!" she shouted, tossing out her own choice.
Karen's Pokémon popped out of her Pokéball and landed on the ground. It was a small weasel-like creature, bipedal and with yellow and peach fur covering its body. It struck a fighting-pose as it glared at Swanna, its tiny paws raised defensively.
"Karen has chosen Mienfoo, a Fighting-type Pokémon!" Grimsley announced. "Mienfoo may be small, but it sure can pack a punch, and its size helps it move with great ease and agility!"
Shauntal's voice was far less flattering. "However, Mienfoo is a Fighting-type Pokémon with a distinct disadvantage to a Flying-type like Swanna."
"Indeed!" Grimsley cackled, clearly enjoying the set-up. "Well, it's too late for Karen to switch out now! Or, perhaps, Ms. Silph has some diabolical plan up her sleeve? Ooh, the suspense is too much! Let the battle begin!"
Skyla was quick to take the initiative. "Sorry, but there's no way you're fighting Tony today!" she declared. "Swanna, take to the air and use Bubblebeam!"
"We'll see about that!" Karen shot back. "Mienfoo, use Double Team!"
Mienfoo narrowed its eyes and shot to the right, easily dodging Swanna's spout of water and froth. The tiny mammal leaped from platform to platform at an amazing speed, moving so fast that it looked like there was more than one of it.
Skyla nodded grimly. "Keep blasting!" she ordered, seeing little alternative. "You'll hit it eventually!"
"Wanna!" Swanna cawed with a nod, spewing burst after burst of froth at the tiny Fighting-type. Each time, however, the smaller Pokémon easily dodged the attack.
"Well, well…" Grimsley muttered from the booth. "Looks like Karen's choice wasn't such a flop after all. Mienfoo's speed and evasiveness is keeping it clear from trouble and exhausting Swanna!"
Skyla gritted her teeth. "Swanna, stop!" she ordered. "Don't waste your energy!"
The Swan Pokémon nodded with a small wince. She had already wasted a little energy trying to keep up with Mienfoo's speed, and the smaller Fighting-type was still circling her, afterimage copies on each platform.
Skyla wiped a drip of sweat from her brow. Which one's the real one…? she thought.
"Now, Mienfoo!" Karen ordered. "Night Slash!"
One of the Mienfoo leaped at Swanna, hands raised and glowing with dark energy.
"There!" Skyla shouted triumphantly, pointing to the pouncing Fighting-type. "Bubblebeam on that one!"
Swanna nodded, unleashing another blast of water at her opponent. The attack hit home – and passed right through it.
Skyla blinked. "What?!"
The afterimage double of Mienfoo disappeared into thin air, Swanna's attack having no effect whatsoever.
"T-then where's…?" Skyla stuttered.
"Mienfoo, for real this time!" Karen ordered with a smirk.
Another Mienfoo pounced at Swanna, this time from behind. "Swanna, watch out!" Skyla cried desperately. "Behind you!"
Swanna turned just in time to see Mienfoo slash her right wing. The Swan Pokémon cried out in pain as it fell down to the platform below, clutching its wounded limb.
"N-no!" Skyla groaned.
"A savage blow!" Grimsley cried, laughing uproariously. "Swanna's wing seems to be wounded! She's grounded!" He paused and then muttered, "A Mienfoo, using Night Slash? Heh-heh-heh..."
"You're enjoying this a little too much…" Shauntal commented drily.
In the basement, Tony gritted his teeth. "No… Skyla…"
Bianca was equally unhappy. "She's losing!" she whined. "She's losing!"
Cheren shrugged indifferently. "If she loses, she loses," he said neutrally. "One less skilled trainer to worry about."
Tony knew his rival was technically correct; if Skyla did get out of this one and he himself got to face her in the tournament, he knew he would have to put his all into beating her. Still, he hated to see her so unhappy. "Come on, Skyla…"
Skyla scowled as Mienfoo came to a halt, its afterimages vanishing, landing on the platform in front of Karen and giving Swanna a triumphant look. Swanna gave it a glare in return, her wounded wing aching terribly.
"I think it's time we wrap this up!" Karen declared. "Mienfoo, Night Slash again!"
Mienfoo nodded, bracing itself to leap at Swanna again.
Skyla scowled. "Drop the act, Shorty," she ordered.
"My name is not Shorty!" Karen screamed. She paused, and then added, "What act?"
Skyla narrowed her eyes. "I saw this trick before. It just took me a while to recognize it. You beat Bianca like this in the N1, didn't you?"
Karen didn't answer, but she did give a slow smirk.
"You sent out your Mienfoo to fight a Pokémon that had a type-advantage over Fighting-types," Skyla accused. "You got Bianca to lower her guard and think she had you beat and then you smacked her Pokémon around and beat her."
"She's right!" Bianca pouted. "See, I told you she was using her old sneaky tricks!"
"But if she's still using that strategy…" Cheren muttered, making sure not to use the word "trick," "then that would mean…"
Tony's eyes widened. "That's not Mienfoo!"
"Why don't you show us who you really are?" Skyla asked, this time directing her comment to her opponent's Pokémon. "Mienfoo? Or should I say Zorua?!"
Karen chuckled. "Well," she said, "you're mostly right. That isn't my Mienfoo."
Skyla nodded. "I figured."
"But…" Karen added, "it's not Zorua either." She snapped her fingers.
A violet glow burst up and enshrouded Mienfoo, black and purple energy rippling across the pseudo Fighting-type. Slowly, the glow grew and the creature along with it.
Tiny paws became razor-sharp claws, mounted on muscular arms. Short stubby legs became long limbs, built for speed and agility. Yellow fur turned to black and red, and black eyes to yellow. A long red mess of fur hung down the beast's back, messy and wild, giving it a ravenous appearance.
"Heh-heh-heh…" the Pokémon cackled as it rubbed its claws together, leering at its wounded opponent.
Karen smirked. "Meet Zoroark."
Author's Note:
Oh, snap, this tournament's off to an excellent start. Skyla is up against Karen – and losing! Looks like good strategies do work twice, huh? Karen beat Bianca with Zorua's Illusion ability back in the N1, and now she looks to be beating Skyla, too… But will she? Tune in next time to find out!
Reader Question Time! Which Pokémon Ability do you think is the best? Answer after you review!
Tony's Party:
1: Lucky, female Butterfree
Ability: Compound eyes
2: Sunny, female Larvesta
Ability: Flame Body
3: Lancelot, male Karrablast
Ability: Swarm
4: Strike, male Scolipede
Ability: Poison Point
5: Clover, female Swadloon
Ability: Leaf Guard
6: Rock Candy, female Dwebble
Ability: Sturdy
