DarkFoxKit: So… TM, do you feel any better since the… uh… Switch power outage last week?
Traveling Master: Oh that, yeah. Was lucky enough to actually have a hot day when I continued, so I was able to finish that quest.
Dust: I think she meant the whole, being shock, then later chasing my Guildmaster for hours.
Traveling Master: *My right eye twitched for a moment* That was just...an accident. It won't happen again, especially if others don't keep bringing it up.
DarkFoxKit: Great! So why don't you relax and have some cake? *Holds out a big cake with chocolate fudge icing on it*
Traveling Master: *My stomach rumbles at the sight of cake* Well, it's never too early for cake. I'll go grab the milk so we can enjoy this chocolate cake!
Dust: *Tapped my shoulder* Uh...I suggest you eat that cake now, before it's too late.
Traveling Master: Why?! What did you do?! *I turn back to the cake to see that it was gone* WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CAKE?!
DarkFoxKit: … So… that wasn't you, was it, TM? It was a Chameleon though, same species as you.
Traveling Master: It wasn't me! I was busy talking with Dust! *I then hear the sound of loud chewing, and I turn to see another Charmeleon already stuffing their face with the cake* ...What are you doing here?!
The Charmeleon: *Tried speaking, but their mouth was full of cake*
Traveling Master: Swallow, dang it!
The Charmeleon: *Takes a full minute to chew and swallow the contents that was in his mouth* Hey, so I was told there was food. So I just assumed the cake was for me.
DarkFoxKit: Wait… Al? What are you doing here? No… you said what you were doing here… how did you get here?
*Al had already put another piece of cake in his mouth, so he just pointed at Dust. Both TM and DF slowly turned to the Absol, glaring daggers at him.*
Dust: What? It was starting to get repetitive with only me and occasionally Chihiro. You both got mad at me for bringing everyone, so I thought I'd start smaller and bring Al. He seems like someone who wouldn't really be confused about the fourth wall!
DarkFoxKit: Stop bringing in our characters from the fourth wall! You're going to break the universe if you keep this up! … Why am I the only non-Pokemon character on here? Have you noticed that? How have I not noticed that?
Al: Really? I just thought you were a Zorua...A weird looking one. So if you're not a Pokemon, what are you?...Also...does your kind taste good crispy, or fried?
DarkFoxKit: First of all, no I am not a Zorua. I am just a little dark fox kit. Second, no, no we do not taste good, fried, crispy, or otherwise.
Al: You sure? Maybe I should at least taste your paw or something.
DarkFoxKit: No. *Starts walking to my room* If you two need me *Looks at TM and Dust* I'll be in my room, getting the Charmeleon gun ready.
Traveling Master: ...Dust...Are you sure you didn't just bring Al just to get on DarkFoxKit's nerves?
Dust: What? No. I just thought that Al's unique personality would've been a great addition to the AN...How was I supposed to know that he has a knack for somehow getting on other people's nerves?
Traveling Master: ...Uh huh...Hey DF! You best alsot get the gun for Absol too!
Al: Is there anymore cake?
*TM could already hear what sounded like someone cocking a gun*
Dust: And that, my friend, is our cue to run. *Dust patted Al's back before running away, which the Charmeleon decides to follow*
DarkFoxKit: *Comes back down with the Charmeleon gun, sees TM* Oooooh Al, I have something nice and tasty for you right here~ *Aims the gun at TM, who is also a Charmeleon*
Traveling Master: *I was still looking at where Dust and Al had ran off too, not knowing that DF was currently pointing a gun at me* Well you better hurry and shoot.
DarkFoxKit: *Shoots at the Charmeleon, thinking he was Al. TM suddenly felt a water bullet hitting his stomach*
*TM is sent flying towards the wall, slamming hard against it as his body slowly drags down the side and to the ground. TM only has a shocked expression, and it looked like his soul was starting to leave his body.
DarkFoxKit: *Has murderous yellow stars in her eyes* Maybe I should see what a wet Charmeleon tastes like! DO YOU LIKE THAT IDEA AL!? *Jumps towards TM just as the camera went static*
Chapter 27: The First Battle Begins!
Dust, Berry, and Shab were immediately bathed in bright lights as they approached the arena. The crowd was going wild as they stepped through the doors. On the other side of the arena was a team of three as well. The Pokemon in front was likely the leader; a Riolu, though this Riolu had green eyes instead of red like other Riolu. There was a Raboot behind the Riolu, and a Glaceon beside the Raboot. Both teams came onto the arena and stopped a few feet away from each other. Berry was still on Dust's back, and Shab was still on Berry's head.
The announcer Mawile was standing in the center, holding the microphone. "Alright, thank you all for your patience, I'm sure everyone is just as excited as I am to get this tournament started! In our first match we have from the Unity Guild, Team Night Tide! We have Dust Absol, the leader of the team, and the very son of Eclipse. Since joining Unity Guild he has made quite the reputation for himself, known for his many close encounters with death, each closer than the last. Some are still surprised that he had escaped death not once, but three times!"
Everyone in the crowd cheered, except for one Pokemon. Eclipse was surprised when she saw Dust walk out onto the arena, but after hearing the Mawile's introduction, she started to freak out.
"HE WHAT?!" Eclipse shouted while exerting killing intent.
"Seems as though your son has been busy lately," Grace slightly chuckled.
"I am gonna kill him," Eclipse muttered, glaring daggers at Dust.
Dust, who could sense his mother's glare, shivered as he whispered to Berry. "My mother is gonna kill me."
"... Wouldn't be the first time you'd brush with death…" Berry muttered. "But let's not have you get close to death a fourth time, please."
"You're… kind of prone to death, aren't you?" Shab sweatdropped. "I thought Absol were supposed to warn others of danger, not almost die multiple times."
"I seem to have a knack for attracting danger," Dust gave an embarrassed laugh.
"Next we have Berry Goomy, who dared to go into a dangerous dungeon that was way above her rank and skill level, as well as having that powerful Dragon Pokemon, in order to save her partner's life. She was raised by a family of Quagsire, but had come pretty far despite being raised differently than most Pokemon!" Patricia continued.
"H-how did she know about that?" Berry whispered in embarrassment as the crowd sounded surprised themselves.
"Maybe they've done their research?" Dust suggested.
The crowd was impressed at hearing Berry's achievements, though it only made Berry feel more nervous than she was before. But as she scanned the crowd, she noticed that on top of the Volcanic Ash column, Igneel was staring at her once more. His glare caused Berry to shiver, wondering why the Hellfire was watching her, as though studying her. But after a couple seconds Igneel finally looked away, seeming to have lost interest in her.
"And their newest team member, Shab Feebas, who has yet to prove himself, but he shows great promise!" Patricia announced. "And on the other side of the arena, we have Team Aura Force from the Lucernus Guild! Emerald Riolu, a Riolu who was born with green eyes instead of red, she was raised by powerful Fighting type Pokemon since she was an egg in Canyon Village, and has gained quite the reputation among her guild."
"A Riolu with green eyes?" Dust was amazed at seeing another Pokemon with a different set of eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that they were about to fight, Dust would've asked the Riolu all the questions that were popping in his mind.
"And we have Rudy Raboot. He was wandering around near Canyon Village lost as a Scorbunny, and was taken in by Emerald's family. Both of them had been training together as friends since then, and became a team in the Lucernus Guild. They can definitely count on each other!" Patricia stated.
"They do look like they're pretty close friends," Shab muttered.
"It's a little hard to tell with how Rudy barely looks at anyone without looking grumpy," Berry remarked.
"And finally, we have Icy Glaceon," Patricia continued. "Icy was an Eevee who was lost in the snowy mountains, and was found, rescued, and taken in by some kind hearted Ice type Pokemon and nursed her back to health. They dubbed her as Icy before she eventually became the graceful Glaceon you see before you. Icy had joined with Team Aura Force, and became a valuable member since then."
Dust was very impressed with Team Aura Force, their team having unique members. Especially Icy, Dust recalled only seeing one other Eeveelution and that was the Leafeon that requested their Water Stone be returned. Despite only being minutes away from fighting them, Dust was grateful for the chance to be meeting some new Pokemon.
"Alright, teams, we want to keep it clean," Patricia stated. "Remember, killing is strictly prohibited, there will be no uses of items that would cause permanent damage or transformations, and no being brutal to each other. This is supposed to be a sport of good spirit and nature. Battle the best you can and have fun!"
Both teams gave a nod.
"Good, now then…" Patricia raised the giant mouth on her head. "Let the battle… BEGIN!"
Patricia swiped down her giant mouth as the bell rang, then she quickly got off the arena.
As soon as the battle had begun, Emerald was the first to react. She created a sphere of blue energy of some kind and threw it at Dust. Dust, thankfully having a fast reaction time, put up a Protect barrier around him, Berry, and Shab. The white barrier stopped the Aura Sphere from hitting them.
Once the Protect barrier was down, Berry jumped from Dust's back. Shab flopped up from Berry's head and shot out an Ice Beam from his mouth at Emerald while Berry used Water Pulse. The Ice Beam connected with the swirls of water, turning it to ice. The icy Water Pulse slammed into Emerald. Emerald hissed before her foot was burning with fire, Dust recognized that as Blaze Kick since he was hit by it from Brody before, breaking out of the icy Water Pulse that had her body trapped.
Rudy the Raboot used his strong legs to bounce up high at Berry and Shab, before he kicked Berry in the head, and again at Shab, likely using Double Kick on them.
Icy moved in close as Berry and Shab were falling, and blew out an Icy Wind at all three of them. Dust felt cold, and his body slowing down. Berry yelped as the Icy Wind hit her as well, she hated Ice type attacks the most out of the group. Shab was the most resistant, but his body still slowed down from it.
"This is going to be tougher than I thought," Dust mumbled as Icy continued using Icy Wind. "Need to think of a strategy fast."
"Team Night Tide," Emerald suddenly spoke up. "I've heard about you. However, while you did build up a bit of a reputation for yourselves, I'm afraid you're no match for us. We have enough skill to rival a Silver Rank team, or even a Gold Rank. I'm not trying to brag, it's just facts. We have taken on and beaten Silver Rank teams during training, we know what we are capable of."
"Our teamwork is also flawless," Rudy added. "You're not going to beat us so easily."
"Good to know that our reputation has reached even other guilds," Dust replied. "But you're not the only one who's been through hard trials either!"
Berry opened her mouth and condensed her Dragon Breath, turning it from purple to blue. Then she unleashed the condense Dragon Breath at Icy. The Dragon Breath ignored the Icy Wind and slammed itself into the Glaceon, cutting off the attack and pushed Icy back several feet.
"Nice one, Berry!" Shab flopped around energetically.
Now that they were able to move more easily, and Emerald and Rudy were busy worrying about Icy, Dust went over to Berry and Shab, whispering to them. "Berry, Shab, you two focus with long range attacks as I draw their attention. They seem to be well versed in special attacks, so I'll close in on them while you two focus on your attacks."
"But what about the Raboot? That one uses close range attacks," Berry pointed out, remembering the Bounce and Double Kick combination he did on them.
"That's what I'm counting on," Dust answered before quickly telling him his plan.
"I'm okay… it just took me by surprise," Icy reassured her teammates as she got on her feet, though her body was numb, likely from paralysis.
"Here, eat this," Emerald stated, giving Icy a Cheri Berry.
The Glaceon gratefully munched on the Cheri Berry, recovering from the paralysis.
"We should attack them quickly before they have another chance to use another powerful attack like that," Rudy suggested.
"I can handle the Goomy, I have a plan on how to deal with her," Icy said.
As Team Aura Force recovered, Dust had started charging at them, his tail giving a silvery glow. He aimed towards Icy, her weakness being Steel type, and he wanted to take out the one who could possibly give them the most trouble.
As Dust closed in, Emerald held out her palms at Dust before slamming them into his chest. Dust let out a gasp as it felt like the Riolu just slapped the air right out of him, and his body hit the floor. It reminded him of his battle with Brody, but luckily, compared to the two, Brody's punches and kicks were much worse. But the Riolu didn't know that, so he stayed there until an opportunity had arisen.
"Way to go Emerald! No one can ever get up after getting hit by your Force Pa-!" Rudy shouted.
Rudy was interrupted suddenly by a sudden hit by a Water Pulse. Rudy let out a scream as that was a weakness for him. Then Berry, who had jumped quite a bit, used her antennae to throw the Feebas from her head, right into Emerald. Shab slammed into Emerald's chest with a thrown Tackle attack, and he quickly floated back before Emerald could get back up. Emerald, growling, created an Aura Sphere and threw it at Shab. Shab reacted by shooting out an Ice Beam at the Aura Sphere. The Aura Sphere started to freeze, but it broke through Shab's Ice Beam. Shab yelped as he was hit, and fell back a few feet.
"Shab!" Berry called out in concern when she landed. "Are you alright?"
"Fine… a little bruised… but I can still battle…" Shab groaned.
Rudy, who didn't like having his fur all wet, began to charge at Berry and Shab, his body coating with flames. While Rudy was running past the 'unconscious' Absol, Dust reacted quickly, he jumped from his position and slammed his head blade into Rudy's side. The flames dissipated from Rudy's body as he squealed from the sudden unexpected attack.
"Incredible!" Patricia commented. "At first everyone thought Dust had fainted, only to use Faint Attack on the unsuspecting Raboot!"
Faint Attack? It didn't feel like that. Dust would've thought about it more but they were still in the middle of a battle.
The crowd had mixed reactions, some booing at Dust for using such a cheap tactic, while others were cheering, saying that he is a Dark type after all. Grace was rather impressed by the maneuver.
"That was an interesting strategy," Grace commented. "I didn't know your kind could use Faint Attack."
"...We can't," Eclipse replied, watching Dust closely, feeling both pride in her son, but also resentment at seeing the move. That's the move he had.
Rudy, now angry at the sneak attack, charged at the Absol with Flame Charge. Emerald, who was also angry at Dust for attacking her friend, came at him with her foot on fire, intending to use Blaze Kick. Thinking fast, Dust put up the white barrier of Protect around his body just as both attacks hit it, causing them to bounce off.
Icy ran past Dust, however, seeming to be ignoring him and was going after Berry and Shab. Dust tried to go after the Glaceon, but when his Protect wore off, he was quickly hit in the back by Double Kick from Rudy.
"Don't think we're going to let you go so easily, Absol," Rudy hissed, putting his foot on Dust's head.
Icy summoned shards of ice around her before aiming it at Berry. Berry shot out circles of water at the Ice Shard in hopes of cancelling out the move. The Ice Shard, however, did go through her Water Pulse, though only a few of them did, so Berry didn't get hit with the full force, but it still hurt.
Icy smirked as her fur was starting to have a strange shine to them. Berry, seeing that Icy appeared to be waiting for her next move, quickly used this opportunity to use Dragon Breath, however Berry didn't condense her Dragon Breath this time and used a normal Dragon Breath attack. Icy let the Dragon Breath hit her, and after it did, a powerful energy suddenly built up in the Glaceon.
"What the…" Berry's eyes widened. "Oh no…"
Icy had used Mirror Coat, and was returning Berry's attack right back at her with a blast of energy.
Dust heard an explosion, and looked up to see Berry and Shab were looking a little worse for wear. He had the bag, he had the healing items, he had to get to them quick or he would be left alone against this tough team of three, and they would surely lose. He tried to get up, but Rudy continued to press his foot against his head.
"You might as well give up," Rudy said, pressing a bit harder on Dust.
"It's like I said earlier, you're no match for us," Emerald added.
Dust was getting frustrated, unable to get up. But then he started calming down, knowing that getting angry would only cause him to lose focus. But just as he thought that, he started to form a plan, the only problem was that Berry and Shab were too far away to hear him. If they could he knew they could possibly win. He wanted more than anything to share his plans with them, feeling frustration once more being unable to do anything.
If only Berry could fire a Sludge Bomb towards my location, then I could use the distraction and break free. Dust thought to himself, but figured that for the moment he was on his own.
"Time to finish this," Emerald said as she began to ready a Force Palm on Dust as Rudy kept Dust pinned down with his foot.
Suddenly, a purple ball of poisonous sludge hit Rudy right in the face, temporarily blinding him and made him stagger back. Though surprised, Dust didn't waste any time moving away from Emerald when he was free from Rudy's foot, and he barely managed to dodge Emerald's Force Palm, which had hit the ground so hard that it left a small dent behind.
That was too close, but we are not out of the fight yet! Dust thought to himself, he only had a few seconds to perform his next attack.
Recalling how he was able to use Faint Attack on Rudy, Dust prepared to use it once more. But instead of going for Rudy or Emerald, he rushed past them, his target Icy, whose back was still facing him. As he got closer and closer to the Glaceon, he started building up energy in his tail.
"Icy! Behind you!" Dust heard Emerald call out.
Icy looked behind to see Dust had just leaped in the air, his tail giving off a silvery glow. Icy began to move quickly, however, Berry and Shab weren't having it. Shab jumped at Icy, and began to flail around, with how low his energy was, his Flail did more damage than it would have if he had been perfectly healthy. At the same time, Berry used Body Slam on Icy's head, which kept her from being able to move away quickly enough to dodge. Dust got in close and slammed his Iron Tail into Icy's side, causing Shab and Berry to jump off of her as the Glaceon went sliding across the floor.
Knowing that they don't have too much time, Dust grabbed two Oran Berries and held them out for Berry and Shab to eat. "Quick, eat these while we still have the chance."
Shab and Berry quickly ate and swallowed the Oran Berries, their wounds healing up. At the same time, Emerald tossed an Oran Berry at Icy, who quickly ate it to heal her own wounds.
"At this rate, the battle will not end in our favor," Berry noted with a frown. "Do you have any items that might slow them down, Dust?"
"Let me check real fast," Dust answered as he looked in his bag.
We have a few Berries left, a Blast, Stun, and Sleep Seed. Maybe one of those. One Totter Orb and One Petrify Orb. Dust knew they had a few items left, but wasn't sure which one would help them out during this battle.
"Petrify Orb? We can use that to completely stun the other team," Berry suddenly said. "They won't be able to move!"
Dust was surprised by Berry's suggestion. He didn't even mention Petrify Orb. Maybe she just saw it.
"Alright, but they aren't gonna stand around and let us use it," Dust added.
Team Aura Force pulled out an orb of their own.
"Wait, what is that orb they're using?" Shab asked.
Emerald held up the orb and it glowed brightly. Dust could see their bodies were glowing with a slight sparkling green.
"I don't know, but it looks like some kind of enhancing orb, we better act fast!" Dust said before he held up the Petrify Orb, and it glowed.
"Uh… Dust…" Berry frowned, seeing how none of Team Aura Force were remotely affected by the Petrify Orb. "They're fine… why isn't it working?"
"... They used a Health Orb," Dust answered, shocked that they have one. "It gives you the Healthy Status, meaning you cannot be affected by any bad status conditions. It's a very powerful orb and very hard to come by."
"Meaning… our Sleep and Stun Seeds aren't going to work anymore… and neither would our Totter Orb…" Shab frowned. "They just cut our arsenal in half."
"Don't give up just yet…" Berry said. "We can still use the Blast Seed for heavy damage. We need to focus on taking one of them out. Having all three of them coming at us is dangerous."
"The question is which one?" Dust asked as he studied his opponents.
Icy would be the ideal target, but they know that we've been targeting during this match, so they would be on extra guard. Rudy mostly deals with physical attacks, but it isn't too hard to throw him off guard. But I think now he would be extra careful. The most dangerous one would most likely be Emerald. Dust thought, as he recalled the small dent the Riolu had made.
"We may have to target the Riolu, she's the one with all the items, and out of the three seems to be the strongest," Dust suggested.
"I have to agree, that Riolu hits pretty hard." Shab nodded.
"But even if we aim for Emerald, what would we do about the other two? They're likely going to try to protect her," Berry asked as Team Aura Force began to approach them. "Whatever we're going to do, we better do it fast. They're about to go on the offense again."
Rudy began to charge at them with a Flame Charge. Shab hopped up and fired an Ice Beam in hopes of cooling off the Raboot, but it didn't do much. Berry jumped out and hit Rudy with an on head Tackle. Both Berry and Rudy slide back a few feet.
"Berry, can you use Rain Dance?" Dust asked.
"Yeah," Berry answered. "I was able to use it during training."
"Then use it now, we need to weaken those Fire attacks," Dust stated.
"Gotcha." The Goomy nodded before she moved around a bit and let out a call to the ceiling.
Emerald and Rudy were coming in with Blaze Kick and Flame Charge. Dust and Shab braced themselves, getting in front of Berry to protect her. Dust and Shab had to take the two Fire attacks. At the same time, storm clouds formed above the arena, and it began to have a downpour. The rain dissipated the flames on Emerald's feet, and the flames on Rudy's body.
Taking this chance, both Dust and Shab fired Ice Beam at Emerald and Rudy. They knew they wouldn't be frozen due to the Health Orb, but that didn't mean they could not take damage. After pushing them back a bit, Dust reached into his bag and tossed Berry the Blast Seed.
"Berry, remember how I used the seed in Strange Mansion?" Dust shouted out. "See if you could do something like that here!"
Berry opened her mouth to let the Blast Seed fall into it. The seed immediately caused her mouth to feel like it was on fire. She didn't fire it right away, however, she took this time to ready her Dragon Breath for extra measure.
"That Goomy is up to something, be careful guys!" Emerald warned her teammates.
"We better take her out before she can do anything then!" Rudy shouted as he charged forward, followed by Emerald.
Dust tried to hold them off, but the Raboot quickly kicked Dust to the side.
Berry blasted out the Blast Seed's fire along with her Dragon Breath, causing the flames to look purple, blue, and red at the same time. Icy jumped in front of the attack, her fur shining with Mirror Coat. Shab, seeing this, used Tackle to push the Glaceon away, but this caused him to get caught up in the attack. The fiery Dragon Breath also engulfed Rudy and Emerald since they had been charging at Berry earlier.
"Shab!" Berry cried out in concern when the attack ended. "Dust! Give Shab a berry, fast!"
Dust hurried to the Feebas, but Shab was out cold, and out of the fight. Patricia hurried over to Rudy, Shab, and Emerald to see if they were still capable of going on. Shab was definitely out though. Emerald was still conscious, and she managed to push herself up. Rudy though…
"Ooh! It would appear that Blast Seed and Dragon Breath combination had a double knock out! Rudy is out cold, unfortunately the other knockout was Team Night Tide's own teammate! So now both teams are down one member!" Patricia announced.
Two Audino came up to the arena, one Audino picked up Rudy, while the other picked up Shab, and carried them away from the arena, likely to take them to a medical bay to heal them up.
Berry frowned, she realized that Shab sacrificed himself to keep Icy from using Mirror Coat on that last attack, but she couldn't help but feel bad that she put Shab in such a state.
Patricia got off from the arena. "You may resume the battle!"
"Berry, get on my back, we are going to have to stick together from here on out," Dust told Berry.
The Goomy nodded before she hopped onto Dust's back. "Yeah. We need to watch out for that Glaceon's Mirror Coat…"
"Yeah, so far they have the type advantage, and range advantage...Unless," Dust then recalled the dent Emerald had left on the ground before looking at Berry, thinking of all the times her body was able to absorb heavy impact in the past. "Berry, I think I know a way to win. What if you…"
Dust started whispering his idea to Berry.
"Are you sure?" The Goomy questioned in an unsure tone.
"If you can take a hit from Grant, then I'm sure it will work," Dust nodded.
Meanwhile, Icy was looking at Emerald in concern, who was munching on an Oran Berry. "Emerald, are you alright?"
Emerald swallowed the Oran Berry. "I'm fine… that last attack almost wiped me out though… and we lost Rudy in the process. We will avenge him. But we only have one more Oran Berry left."
"I understand. Don't worry, we will take them down. We have the advantage," Icy reassured before glaring at Dust and Berry.
"Indeed we do. I will take out the Absol, you aim for the Goomy," Emerald instructed, building up an Aura Sphere with her hands.
Dust eyed Emerald, seeing that she was already building up an Aura Sphere. He waited for just the right moment. Berry was on his back, so Icy couldn't attack her without getting to him as well, and he intended to keep it that way. Icy created Ice Shards around her before aiming them towards Berry, while Emerald shot out her Aura Sphere at them.
Thankfully, since it had been a little while since he last used it, Dust was able to use Protect again, creating the barrier to cause the attacks to bounce off harmlessly. Dust knew that they would attack the moment the barrier went down, so as soon as it did, he jumped to the side. It was a wise decision, for as soon as the barrier had disappeared, Emerald and Icy had already fired another Aura Sphere and Ice Shards where Dust was before. Dust knew it would be risky, but he charged towards Team Aura Force before they could use another range attack.
With the rain still going, Icy decided to use that to her advantage, and shot out an Icy Wind. The rain began to freeze with the Icy Wind, and it was causing Dust to slow down. Berry shot out a Water Pulse from Dust's back, powered up with the rain, and hit Icy with it, though the Water Pulse was a little weakened from the Icy Wind, it did push Icy back a few feet and stopped the Icy Wind attack. With Dust now close, Emerald charged to him. With the rain still up, she couldn't use her Blaze Kick, so instead, she was coming in with something else. Instead of Force Palm like Dust expected her to use, her fists were crackling with electricity. He recognized that as Thunder Punch.
Dust was considering ditching his plan, as he had not expected the Riolu to know Thunder Punch, but decided to hold his ground. Berry may not fully accept it, but I know that she is a Dragon Pokemon. And one thing I do know for sure is that they are resistant to Electric attacks!
"Now Berry!" Dust shouted as Emerald was only a few feet away from hitting Dust.
Berry was unsure at first when she saw Emerald use Thunder Punch, but she trusted Dust's plan. Jumping off Dust's back, she took on the full blow from Emerald's attack as Dust jumped out of the away. Emerald was not expecting this, but continued to follow on through with her attack, smashing Berry against the ground, causing electric bolts to shoot up into the air.
Though Emerald's attack finished, and she was about to pull her hand away from Berry, Berry clinged onto Emerald's hand with her gooey body.
"What?" Emerald frowned. "What are you doing? Let go!"
"I don't think so," Berry hissed before her body started to glow green.
Emerald suddenly felt weakened, like the energy in her body was being drained away. Realizing what the Goomy was doing, she tried to use Force Palm, but she couldn't get her palms to move since they were stuck on Berry's body. So she tried another Thunder Punch, building up electricity into her palms to shock Berry. Berry hissed, but remained on Emerald, still using Absorb.
"Let go of Emerald, right now!" Icy snapped, she began to prepare an Ice Shard attack when Dust stood in front of her.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid you have to deal with me first," Dust replied.
Icy glared. "Get out of my way."
"No, I think not," Dust answered back.
"Fine, then I'll make you!" Icy suddenly turned around, and surprised the Absol by kicking him twice with her back feet, and it hurt quite a bit.
"Ouch!" Dust yelped, but quickly recovered. "You guys really are really incredible, I can see why you were able to take down a Silver Rank team, but now it's my turn."
Icy knew that the Absol would most likely use Iron Tail, so before Dust could even use the attack, she used Icy Wind against Dust. Combined with the rain, the attack caused Dust's movement to slow once more. It was only thanks to his thick fur that he's been able to last this long, and with that he continued to move towards Icy. This now turned into a battle of endurance between Dust and Icy.
"Incredible! It has turned into a battle of endurance for Team Night Tide and Team Aura Force! Who will be the first to give out!?" Patricia announced while the crowd were watching on the edges of their seats.
Emerald was desperately trying to pull her sparkling hand from Berry's body. Berry hissed, but then looked over at Dust and Icy. Berry moved and slithered her body, which was wet and slippery thanks to the rain, until Emerald was facing directly at them.
"Okay, I'll let you go now," Berry said to Emerald.
"Wha-" Emerald began to question before Berry blasted her with a point blank, and powered up Water Pulse.
The Health Orb protected Emerald from the confusion status, but that didn't stop the powered up Water Pulse from causing the Riolu to be blasted back, right into Icy herself, cutting off the Icy Wind again, and allowing Dust to move freely.
Before Team Aura Force could recover, Dust quickly charged at them with an Iron Tail. Emerald and Icy tried to get up, but Dust twisted his body and hit Icy on her side, along with Emerald, knocking them a few feet away. Dust then went back to Berry while still keeping his eyes on Team Aura Force, just in case they tried to pull the same tactic that he had done earlier.
"Smart thinking, Berry. Blasting Emerald against her partner really helped me out," Dust commented.
"Thanks." Berry smiled.
Icy and Emerald groaned as they struggled to their feet, not wanting to admit defeat yet. Emerald took out another Oran Berry from her bag.
"Hurry, Dust, throw me up!" Berry frantically said.
Dust nodded as he picked up Berry and threw her in the air. Berry turned her body the other way, then used Water Pulse to propel herself back right into Emerald, slamming her down with a combination of Water Pulse propeller and Body Slam. Emerald dropped the Oran Berry as Berry slammed into her. Icy gasped, seeing her leader suddenly being slammed by a purple and green blur. However, the distraction cost Icy, because it gave Dust the opportunity to use Faint Attack on her. When Icy turned to face Dust, he was already in front of her and hit her with his head blade.
Berry slithered off of Emerald after they stopped sliding on the arena. Icy was on the ground as well after Dust's Faint Attack. Patricia came up on the arena to check Icy and Emerald to see if they could still battle. After a few seconds, Patricia got up and then pointed at Dust and Berry.
"And in a surprising turn of events, the winners of our first match of the day are Team Night Tide from the Unity Guild!" Patricia shouted into her mike.
The crowd erupted into a cheer. Chihiro, Spooks, Phantom, and Cliff were all joining in. Some of the other Guildmasters nodded, each impressed. Despite the loud noise coming from the crowd, there was one Pokemon who was cheering the loudest.
"That's right! That's my son right there!" Eclipse shouted, proud to see results of the match. She then realized that Grace was staring at her while trying not to laugh. Eclipse quickly corrected herself before replying. Though she was slightly blushing. "...Seems as though Dust is able to handle himself. Good for him."
Dust was blushing from hearing how his mother was able to out cheer and out shout the entire crowd like that. Berry was giving Dust an amused grin. "Looks like someone's mother is proud~"
"Well there's a first for everything," Dust lightly chuckled, trying to hide his blush.
"Congratulations, Team Night Tide, you have earned this victory!" Patricia smiled. "How was your first battle like?"
A couple of Chansey came onto the arena to pick up the unconscious Riolu and Glaceon while Patricia held out the microphone to Dust and Berry.
"Uh…" Dust was not expecting to suddenly be asked to give his comment, so he was not fully prepared. "It was… uh… challenging?"
"It was definitely challenging…" Berry agreed, though a bit shy to speak to the entire audience.
"You've heard it here, folks! Team Night Tide doesn't give up even in the faces of a challenge," Patricia stated. "I tell you, I have a feeling this team will go far!"
The crowd gave another cheer.
"You should return to your waiting room now, maybe get something to eat and recover from your battle," Patricia suggested. "The next battle will begin shortly."
Berry slithered up onto Dust's back before Dust turned and began walking back to the double doors that would lead him into the corridor where their waiting room was. Dust and Berry were surprised to see Shab there. At seeing them arrived, Shab quickly went to Berry, filled with joy at seeing her once more.
"Oh my sweet Berry, I counted the minutes I was kept away from you!" Shab said.
"Shab!" Berry hopped down from Dust's back. "Are you okay? You took that Blast Seed and Dragon Breath attack pretty hard."
Berry was checking the Feebas's body in concern for any wounds or burns. Shab started blushing so hard that he could almost pass off as a Magikarp, which Dust found rather interesting to see.
"Are you having a fever? You feel pretty hot," Berry asked worriedly, noticing the raise in the Feebas's temperature.
"N-no fever! I'm perfectly fine!" Shab quickly answered. "The medical team helped me recover, I'm just glad to see you two are alright. I heard that we won. Is it true?!"
Dust smiled at Shab. "It is, and it's all thanks to you. If it wasn't for you, Berry might not have been able to knock out one of their teammates, and I don't think she would've survived that Glaceon's Mirror Coat. And because of that, we were able to pull on through and obtain our first victory."
"Yeah, you really saved us back there, Shab," Berry agreed.
Shab's color looked like a Magikarp's at this point as he gave a big smile. "I-I'm glad then th-that I was a-able to c-contribute! I'm a-also glad t-to have k-kept Berry s-safe from s-such a brutal attack."
"Thanks, but don't do that again if you can avoid it. I don't like hurting my friends and teammates," Berry said before she gave Shab a hug.
Shab was nearly steaming at this point.
"Jeez, you should probably let him go before you have him boil himself alive," Ivy chuckled, seeing the interaction.
"I think it's sweet though," Tippi blushed herself.
"That was a pretty awesome battle," Talon added. "You had all of us on the edge of our seats."
"You should've seen Brody, he was practically going crazy after seeing Shab sacrifice himself for Berry. Saying it was the most romantic thing he's ever seen," Ivy remarked.
"I hope our battle would go as well as yours did," Talon chuckled. "I'd like to be able to show off as well."
"I'm sure we'll get our chance soon, Talon. According to the schedule, our battle is the 4th battle in this tournament, so we'll have to wait a few more battles and then we can show them what we're made of," Tippi encouraged.
Berry gave a thoughtful look before she looked at Dust. "Hey, Dust… since you were able to teach Shab Ice Beam without needing to use a TM, then maybe I could teach him how to use Water Pulse. I mean Shab is a Water type, he would benefit more if he could use a Water type move."
"Really? You would teach me, Berry?" Shab asked.
"Yeah, it might come in handy for our next match," Berry answered.
"You'd be able to teach him before our next match?" Dust asked. "I don't mean to sound doubtful, but it did take us a while for me to teach Shab Ice Beam."
"I'm going to at least try," Berry replied. "Maybe Shab won't be able to learn it before our next match, but if he does learn it, it will help us a lot, especially against Fire and Ground type Pokemon."
"You two did really good out there!" Roxy smiled excited as she ran over to them, while at the same time, Sparky came running up to them as well.
"You two did so awesome that I almost let out a spark of excitement!" Sparky wagged his tail.
"Impressive," Cobra stated as he slithered up to them while Sparky and Roxy glared at each other. "I thought it was rather unfortunate that you two would've had to face with Team Aura Force for your first match, they were known to be quite strong in their own guild. But you managed to pull through and beat them."
"We do owe Shab for that victory, if he hadn't pushed that Glaceon out of the way at the last second, there was a good chance we would've lost," Berry remarked.
Shab blushed once more at the complement. "T-thanks Berry."
"By the way, that was cool when you used Faint Attack, Dust," Roxy excitedly said. "The way you were able to throw in that sneak attack was awesome!"
"Awesome indeed," Cobra added. "Though...I never knew Absol could use Faint Attack."
"Me neither," Dust commented. "Never practiced the move before, and I never saw my Mother use the attack either."
"It just happened, didn't it?" Berry asked.
Dust nodded.
"That's what happens to me too when I suddenly use a new move. Something just clicks, and suddenly I'm using a move I've never used before," Berry informed. "It's kind of different than with a TM, because I had to practice the move with a TM, but with my other moves, it's as if I had inherited knowledge of those moves."
"That tends to happen when you learn new moves naturally," Slash informed when she walked up to them, glaring at Cobra for a second, to which the Seviper happily glared back. "When you learn new moves naturally, your body and mind will feel like they have known those moves ever since you were born. Some moves could only be learned by being born with them, likely an inheritance from one or both of your parents."
"Interesting," Dust noted. "Haven't really thought of that. I know my Mother never used Faint Attack, so that might mean I've inherited the move from my Father. Well I guess that's the first clue, whoever he was, he was a Pokemon who can use Faint Attack."
"1000 Poke to bet that Dust's father is a Persian," Swiper said to Caper in the background.
"You are on. And I bet his father is a Weavile" Caper remarked.
"What if you're both wrong?" Ivy asked. "I'm gonna bet that his father is a Zoroark."
"Hey, you shouldn't be making bets of who Dust's father is, you should be a little more sensitive," Tippi spoke up.
"Thank you for the concern, Tippi, but it's fine. In fact, I've been curious about who my father is too," Dust remarked before walking up to Caper, Swiper, and Ivy. "Tell you what, I'll take part in that bet. If I had to guess, I'd say my father would be...Umbreon."
"I'll take on that bet! But we need a better prize than a measly 1000 Poke. We could make more than that with my Pay Day move," Jessie spoke up.
"What do you suggest then?" Ivy asked.
"Maybe the winner has to have all those who joined in the bet have to buy the loser something good, like an expensive meal, or an expensive item," Caper stated.
"Oooh, I like that," Swiper agreed.
"Then if that is the prize, I will guess the father is a Purugly!" Jessie stated. Everyone just looked at her, even Dust was pretty doubtful of that one. "What? I can see Eclipse being with a Purugly. There's a good chance I could be right about Eclipse."
"Or you can just ask her yourself, even though it's really none of your business," A new voice spoke up.
Everyone turned to see the newcomer and all jumped back at seeing Eclipse standing by the doorway. Dust recognized that expression, knowing full well that he would get an earful from her later.
"M-mother, what a pleasant surprise," Dust stammered. "I can assure you they were only joking-"
A quick glare from Eclipse was enough to cut Dust off.
"Eclipse! What can we do for you?" Cobra and Slash asked at the same time.
Berry and Shab looked at Eclipse, it was their first time seeing her up close like this. She was definitely bigger and taller than Dust, and she gave out a much heavier pressure than he did. Though Berry could see the resemblance between them.
"I wish to speak with Dust, alone," Eclipse calmly stated, though her tone suggested otherwise.
Dust gulped, remembering all too well his past experiences of him being in trouble.
"Are you… going to be okay, Dust?" Berry asked quietly and in concern for her partner.
Dust put on a fake smile, hoping not to worry Berry too much. "Not to worry, Berry. I'm sure my mother just wishes to have some private time with me. It has been over two months since I saw her."
Berry just gave Dust a concerned look, but she wasn't going to step in the way of a mother and son's private talk, especially when the mother was a Master Rank Crusader.
"We'll be here if you need us," Shab stated.
Eclipse nudged her head to the door, looking at Dust. Berry and Shab gave Dust one last look before the two Absol headed out the door. Eclipse led Dust down the corridor, heading into another door. This door led into an empty warehouse. There were no other Pokemon around. After making sure it was just them two, Eclipse looked at Dust, giving the young Absol much anxiety, unsure of what is to come next.
"That partner of yours, she seems rather interesting," Eclipse finally spoke up. "So what is she, your fifth or sixth partner?"
Dust blinked at the question.
"Come now, Dust, you and I both know how fast you go through partners," Eclipse reminded.
Dust shook his head, now understanding what his mother meant. "Sorry, mother, but you got it all wrong. Berry isn't my fifth or sixth partner."
"How many partners did you go through? It's only been two months," Eclipse replied.
Dust chuckled a bit before answering. "None mother. Berry is my first partner since I've come to Unity Guild."
Eclipse stared at her son, looking at him as if she didn't believe him or he just told her that he went into the Ultimate Mystery Dungeon and defeated the strongest wild Pokemon there.
"... No, really, how many partners did you go through?" Eclipse asked again.
"None, really. Me and Berry have been a team since the beginning," Dust reassured. "I know it seems hard to believe, trust me. I was sure after our first mission together, she would want to change partners, but she decided to stick with me. And well, since then we've been Team Night Tide."
Eclipse started to move around, trying to wrap her head around the fact that Dust managed to keep the first partner he had in the Unity Guild. It suddenly felt like the world had gone topsy turvy for Eclipse. She was sure he would have at least gone through three partners on his first week.
"You're serious? That little Goomy stuck with you since the beginning? Not once did your… quirkiness and… thirst for knowledge chased her away from you like it did with all the partners you had in the Olympus Guild?" Eclipse questioned, still trying to wrap her mind around that fact.
"Again mother, I know it's hard to believe, but despite the many mistakes I made, how often I would give her reason to leave, she always chose to stay. And she always helped me learn from my mistakes. We've been through a lot together, and just as she wouldn't leave me, I also won't leave her. She's not only my partner, but my friend," Dust explained, never once taking his eyes off Eclipse's.
"That Berry Goomy must be really something if she was willing to stick with you like that…" Eclipse muttered.
"I mean if you really have trouble believing me, you could ask Chihiro, or even Berry herself," Dust confidently stated.
"No need, I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around it, but...I believe it." Eclipse smiled, but then something came to mind. "So, what that Mawile said earlier, during your introduction, were they all true?"
Dust had a feeling this would be brought up, especially after hearing her reaction from the first time Patricia had made their introduction. "Like I said, me and Berry have been through a lot. We've had some crazy adventures lately."
Eclipse looked at Dust in his mismatched eyes. "Did you actually… almost die THREE TIMES!? You've only been gone for two months, Dust, how did you almost die THREE TIMES!? Did you go into super strong dungeons just to prove you could be a Gold Rank or something!?"
"Not exactly, and technically it wasn't three, but four times. But I don't think the announcer even knew about mine and Berry's first mission in the Dusk Forest Dungeon…" Dust paused, seeing that he certainly wasn't helping his case as Eclipse looked like she was ready to tear Dust a new one, and then he would almost die a fifth time. "What I mean is...each of those times where I was cutting it really close, none of them had to do with me wanting to gain Gold Rank. The first was an accident, the second was a rescue mission involving an outlaw, and the third...Well it started out as a Special Invitation mission, but turned out to be a trap."
Eclipse continued to glare at Dust, who expected to receive a punishment any moment now, until she closed her eyes and sighed. "You've always had a knack for attracting trouble. Whether you go looking for it, or it comes looking for you."
"...It can't really be helped, mother. I know of my history, but I'm a Crusader now, whether I want to or not, trouble will always be there," Dust explained.
"Dust…" Eclipse looked at Dust. "You have really grown since you came to the Unity Guild. The way you battled was nothing like how you did before, you weren't so helpless or easily distracted in that battle like I expected you to be. You worked with your partner and other teammate wonderfully until the end. You've done missions that allowed you to participate in this rank up tournament in the first place. The fact you're not backing down from this also speaks volumes of how much you've grown since you left the Olympus Guild. I… will admit, I didn't expect you to be able to survive in the Unity Guild for long, by that I mean I expected them to want to kick you out as soon as possible. But look at you now, I could hardly tell you were that same Absol who couldn't even finish one easy mission without getting distracted or put in a hapless situation, like with the Shroomish."
Dust started to blush slightly. "Heh, yeah, seems so long ago. I've been through a lot lately, and Berry is always there to help me, especially when I tend to lose focus. I'm still trying to better understand things around me, but I promise mother, that I've been doing okay so far."
Eclipse nodded, before she suddenly gave a sickly sweet grin, the type of grin Dust only ever saw when Eclipse was about to say something that would put him in hot water.
"So… I've heard you and your partner Berry had quite the reputation at the Unity Guild. I also heard you were the Absol who came back to life… care to explain?" Eclipse asked, still giving a sickly sweet grin.
Dust chuckled nervously, knowing there was no way to avoid it. So, starting from the beginning, Dust shared with his mother of all the adventures, the dangers, the many strange days he's had so far since coming to Unity Guild. Dust made sure not to mention meeting with Giratina, however, as he didn't want Eclipse to completely freak out on him. He also didn't mention Cliff or the fact he found and brought back her egg by accident, as he didn't want Eclipse to freak out in a different way.
"You really have been through a lot. I also never knew a Goomy's goo could become poisonous if they grew up with a family of Wooper and Quagsire," Eclipse noted.
"I was just as surprised as you are," Dust added. "I've done some research lately on her slime, and there are so many things I still don't understand. It feels as though just as I am making progress, something new pops up, causing more research that needs to be done."
Eclipse was shocked when Dust didn't say anymore after that. She had expected him to go on a long rant like he usually did whenever he got excited about something, but he just said what he needed to say and stopped.
"I'm surprised, Dust, you actually didn't go off on a rant that I would have to stop you from after a while," Eclipse complimented. "What else have you been learning from this guild? This is a miracle in the making!"
Dust blushed once more at the compliment, but then realized something. Huh, to think I didn't go on one of my rants…
"Well my team has been working hard, and even though it may seem slim, I do hope to win this tournament and hopefully obtain the Gold Rank," Dust confidently said.
Before Eclipse was doubtful of Dust's skills, and had he told her that before she witnessed his match and later learning about his recent adventures, she would've continued to doubt her son. But now, seeing how confident Dust was, Eclipse could only feel pride in her son.
"Who knows, maybe your team can gain Gold Rank after this," Eclipse replied. "But remember, even if you lose, or even if you don't become Gold Rank after this tournament, remember how far you've come since leaving Olympus Guild. You've grown more in the Unity Guild than you ever did in the Olympus Guild."
Dust smiled at his mother. "Thank you, Mother."
Eclipse then went and hugged Dust, catching him off guard. It reminded him of the last time he saw his mother, just before having to leave his old guild. But unlike last time, where he felt sad, this time he felt joy as he hugged his mother back. After a few seconds, the two Absol let go of each other, both of them smiling at one another.
"Now I should let you get back to your team. Just promise me no other surprises. I don't want to have to find out from another random Pokemon that you almost died, or you experimented on someone, or even became a father," Eclipse told Dust.
Dust gave a nervous chuckle at hearing that last part. "Right, no more surprises. I'll make sure to let you know if anything crazy happens."
"So, it seems that you not only kept a partner, but made a new team member as well," Eclipse remarked. "That Feebas that's on Berry's head I mean. I could tell that he's a wild Pokemon turned civilized."
"Really? How?" Dust asked, surprised by Eclipse's comment.
"When you've worked as a Crusader as long as I have, it becomes easier to tell the difference between a born civilized Pokemon and a wild Pokemon turned civilized. It's not really something I can explain, it's just something you learn as you go on with your career as a Crusader," Eclipse answered. "Though since your third member is a Feebas, I do wish you luck on your upcoming matches. They're going to get tougher from here, and a Feebas isn't known to be super strong."
"I wouldn't doubt the Feebas too much, mother," Dust grinned. "Shab has shown more determination than any other fish Pokemon I've ever seen. It was because of him that we actually had a chance against our opponent. If it weren't for him, we would have most likely lost."
"Yeah, I could see that when I was watching the battle," The older Absol agreed. "Just be careful. Anyways, we should get you back to your team. I'd also like to say a few words to them, to Berry specifically."
"You're not going to reprimand her, are you?" Dust asked, worried what Eclipse might say to Berry.
"I just want to talk to her," Eclipse answered back before she walked out of the warehouse room. "Come along, son. You don't want to stay in this stuffy warehouse for too long, or the dust will get to you… Dust."
"...Have you been speaking with Chihiro lately?" Dust asked as he followed after Eclipse.
"Maybe?" Eclipse frowned. "She kept telling puns during the battle, it was hard to ignore. And that one was an easy one."
"You'd be surprised by how often she uses that pun," Dust chuckled.
"Oh I'm sure." Eclipse rolled her eyes. "Now come on, let's go."
Dust nodded as he continued to follow after his mother. Despite the surprise visit from Eclipse, it was one that Dust was grateful for.
FoxyKhai0209: DarkFoxKit: So… uh… TM is alive, don't ask what happened in the AN…. erm, anyways… Yes, we decided to name them after Team Rocket, because we thought it was funny. Also, I once was a Meowth with a Pikachu partner in Explorers of Time and called them Team Rocket, so it was also a tribute to that.
Yeah. Well, let us know if we did your OC team any good. We took some creative liberties with them since it made the battle easier than being restricted to guidelines.
Zombif18: Traveling Master: *Confused by what you meant. Looks at chapter and sees the mistake we made. Slap self on forehead* Okay...Thank you for pointing that out. And now I can't get the image of a concussion stand out of my head. I'm still laughing at the thought.
Emerald Hunter: DarkFoxKit: Yes, yes we did. Thank you for pointing that out.
Marble Pearl: Chihiro: That's the whole point of puns, doesn't matter if they are good, bad, awful or great. Once in a while, there's always a Pearl among them!
Ruby Comet: DarkFoxKit: I think this chapter answered your question as to who the team leader was. Team Aura Force was made by someone else though. Personally I think one Lucario is enough in a story, but eh, I figured we could just use the team for one of the rounds in the tournament. And you're not really spoiling it, Team Aura Force is kinda obvious who the leader would likely be. I mean what other Pokemon is known for using aura, right?
Guest17: Traveling Master: *I start walking closer to you* I can't write the crap out of this review without getting closer. XD Oh I was waiting for someone to get the reference! And only the name, Dio is the reference. Dio the Persian is completely different from that Dio.
DarkFoxKit: I know absolutely nothing about that. I had my own reasons for going along with this, and it had nothing to do with Jojo. This is all on TM.
Traveling Master: And I am not ashamed of it!
Guest #1: DarkFoxKit: I don't think they're permanent in the anime, they just don't show the Pokemon holding the Everstone, but I think they are. Likely, for example, Dawn put it in Piplup's fur or something, so the animators don't have to keep drawing it on Piplup. They never said it was permanent, I don't think.
I can't tell if you're happy that Dust isn't planned to be paired right now or not. It looks like you are though. If that's the case, then why? Do you prefer Dust to remain single or something?
Traveling Master: As I mentioned before, even I, the one who created Dust so long ago, have no idea what his future relationship might be like.
DarkFoxKit: Doesn't mean it's impossible though. But anyways… Legendary Pokemon don't usually run guilds. It's… possible, I will say, but incredibly unlikely. Legendary Pokemon are more like gods in these stories. Guilds are more like the military in this world.
Kind of a big jump to conclusions with saying the Charizard might be Berry's father. ^^'
Greatest Guy: Traveling Master: Well, as you saw in this chapter, Eclipse has a lot of mixed feelings concerning her son.
Chihiro: I agree wholeheartedly. It's been a Mawile since I've seen a great match. And I'm sure Eclipse was Absolutely impressed with her son's performance. Though little Cliff was worried at first, I mean, for a whole week we were left off with a Cliffhanger, so it's glad to finally see Team Night Tide's first match.
Traveling Master: ...At this point, I think there's no stopping Chihiro or her puns.
Guest #2: DarkFoxKit: Hehehe. *Is rubbing her paws evilly* Hahahahaha! Berry is so going to hate me in the future. :3 You've hit the mark on everything you said about Sliggoo, including the civilized ones. Yeah, they can tell the difference, but the blindness is going to be a pretty big pain to deal with, well it's not complete blindness, but yeah, it would be harder to see with those deteriorated eyes.
Also, thank you very much. I'm glad you were able to see why Berry didn't want to evolve. I was worried that TM and I didn't make it very clear with how many people kept asking.
Traveling Master: The game I was talking about was Xenoblade Chronicles. DF actually introduced me to the game, and I've been enjoying it ever since. And yeah, I think almost every RPG game has that annoying quality about sidequests. But our gamer brain keeps yelling at us that we must complete it!
DarkFoxKit: This is why I usually stop playing when I see the battery is low. Also, just cause I'm curious, if you can remember what it was, what was that rare Pokemon?
Jewel moonstone: Traveling Master: Oh, we got the heat. We got big plans for the heat. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF HEAT WE HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU!
DarkFoxKit: I don't know what to say about the Big Hero 6 thing. Didn't watch the series myself. If you have subjects you want to talk about that has nothing to do with the story or characters, maybe you should PM us? I don't think you should share a lot of personal information on a public review.
lonleyboi69: DarkFoxKit: They're not literally Team Rocket, they're just based off of them. And… heh… you are going to love their intro.
Lunar Sunlight: Traveling Master: Well when we first introduced Pikachu and Meowth, it was just to show the whole mission board. We didn't really plan much for them back then. But, when we came to the tournament, we recalled how we used them before, and thought of putting them on a team. And that's when the funny thought of having their team name be Team Rocket came to mind, since in the show Team Rocket was always hunting Pikachu, and Meowth was always there. As for their names, as DF said earlier, they are just based off of them.
Crystal Daisy: DarkFoxKit: Yeah, that was the point. The Wobbuffet was a funny joke we wanted to keep around. XD Even in Mystery Dungeon the Wobbuffet was odd.
Star Aries: Traveling Master: Oh yes, Eclipse does hold some kind of resentment towards Dust's father. Dust has mentioned before about being curious as to who his father was, and he has guessed that his father is the cause of his right blue eye. But besides that, he doesn't know much else, and Eclipse is in no rush to reveal anything about the father. But don't worry, in the future I'm sure we will tackle Dust's father, can't say when, but it will come eventually.
Al: *Walks back in with more cake* So… uh… why was I running?
DarkFoxKit: AL!?
Al: Yes?...Also...what happened to him? *Al points at TM, seeing how his body was pale, almost half dead.*
DarkFoxKit: *Drops the gun in horror* SOMEBODY CALL NURSE CHANSEY! Wait… how was he able to talk to the Reviews so easily?
*The TM who had been talking suddenly turned into Mew*
Mew: *giggles* Just thought you'd like some help~
DarkFoxKit: … *Faints*