Obreetle chimed loudly as it floated above the ground, it's compound eyes locked onto the snarling Liepard. The battle between Marnie and Weston was underway, and the air and energy within Wyndon Stadium was ripe with tension as everyone awaited the first move with eager anticipation.
"Liepard's a good choice", Hop remarked with a grin. "Seeing as she's immune to Orbeetle's psychic type moves, she should be able to make quick work of this!"
Team Yell wasted no time jumping into fits of rambunctious cheering. "Yeah, Marnie! Show those bugs who's boss!"
"Don't be so sure, Hop", Marcus replied.
Hop met his friend's commentary with confused expression.
"Take a look at Weston's face", Marcus continued.
Weston awaited the first move, a very confident grin plastered on his face.
"That doesn't look like the face of someone who's facing a disadvantage", Marcus remarked. "There's no mistake - Orbeetle's out here for a reason, and I think we're about to find out what it is."
"Well?", Weston called out to Marnie. "Do you intend to keep us waiting all day? Or are you coming to your senses and contemplating the benefits of an early-surrender?"
Marnie glared. "Not a chance, you prat", she growled. "Liepard, use Fake-Out!"
Answering her trainer's call, Liepard lunged forward at blinding speed, preparing to strike her opponent.
"I thought so…" Weston grinned. "Orbeetle, Protect!"
Orbeetle quickly projected a barrier of green light between itself and the charging Liepard. The barrier deflected the momentum of the oncoming attack, sending Liepard backwards into the air. Liepard managed a quick backflip in mid-air, allowing her to land on her feet.
Marnie scowled, her signature opening-attack having failed.
"Huh!?", Hop shouted in surprise. "Their reaction to Marnie's attack was so quick, it's like Weston knew it was coming or something!"
Marcus nodded, a focused look on his face. I'm willing to wager it's because he did, he thought to himself.
"Let's bounce back, Liepard", Marnie shouted. "Use Nasty Plot!"
Liepard began to focus inward, a sinister look in her eyes.
"Hey, that move...", Hop started.
"Mhm", Marcus continued. "It raises the user's special attack dramatically."
"Marn lost control of the momentum of the battle she usually tries to get early on in her matches", Piers remarked. "She must be tryin' to finish this battle in one shot."
"Lightscreen, Orbeetle", Weston called.
A prism of light energy began to envelop Orbeetle as Weston delivered his command.
This could be trouble, Marcus thought.
"Snarl, let's go", Marnie commanded.
Liepard rooted herself onto the ground as she arched forward, letting loose a vicious snarl that emanated dark energy.
Weston grinned. "U-Turn."
Orbeetle charged forward, straight into the dark energy of Liepard's Snarl. As soon as the energy made contact, the protective barrier of Light Screen became visible again, protecting it from a great deal of the attack and allowing it to charge through, landing its own super-effective strike. Liepard recoiled backwards as Orbeetle struck her with his body before returning to his Pokeball at Weston's side.
"Huh, wait, what just happened?" Hop asked.
Piers gave an uneasy look. "Trouble."
Weston selected another Pokeball and tossed it into the air. "Now, Golisopod, prepare for combat!"
The massive bipedal insect came forth, standing menacingly over the injured Liepard as it eagerly awaited the opportunity to demonstrate some of the absurd strength it so obviously possessed.
Liepard managed to her feet, awaiting instructions for a counterstrike.
Marnie nodded. "Use snarl!", she yelled.
Liepard quickly positioned herself for another attack.
Weston smirked. "First Impression."
Golisopod's black compound eyes seemed to widen as Weston uttered those two words, almost as if they triggered a switch in his brain. In an instant, Golisopod moved forward with such incredible speed that he seemed to vanish.
Liepard froze at the sight, unable to trace her opponent's swift movements. It wasn't until Golisopod's attack was upon her that she was able to see him again, and by then it was much too late. Liepard stood helpless as Golisopod brought down his clasped hands on top of from over his head, like a two-handed war-hammer. The impact from the attack was so fierce that it kicked up a cloud of dirt from beneath Liepard as her body made impact with the ground.
All Marnie could do was call out to her Pokemon in a panic. "Liepard…!"
The dust cloud settled.
"Liepard is unable to battle", Rotom announced. "The winner is Golisopod!"
The crowd roared at the spectacle that had just unfolded before them.
Marcus and company sat in shock at everything they had just witnessed.
"Wh-what!?" Hop exclaimed. "How did he just do that!?"
"He read Marnie's every move", Marcus replied. "Weston must've known that Marnie would lead with Fake Out in order to gain the early-game momentum, so he used Orbeetle to derail that momentum and raise his party's defenses, and then followed it up immediately with Golisopod to take that derailed momentum and make it his own."
"Huh? Are you saying that Marnie just got played!?", Hop yelled.
Marcus nodded regrettably. "Hard. And she wants to win this battle, she's gonna have to start recognizing the signs much sooner."
"C'mon, Marnie, you can do it!"
Piers looked to his sister as she stood in a state of disbelief. Don't lose your cool, Marn.
Golisopod roared fiercely with his arms raised in the air as he relished in the thrill of his victory.
Marnie grit her teeth as she quickly returned Liepard to her Pokeball. This certainly wasn't the start to the match she'd been hoping for.
"Heheheh, well how was that for a first impression, hmm?", Weston sneered as he rubbed a finger beneath his nose. "By now, I imagine you're probably starting to see just how outclassed you really are. That is the promise of strength the League intends to provide to Galar." He threw his arms to the side in an open gesture with a sarcastic smirk. "I'm afraid this region's future just has no room for weakness like yours."
Marnie let out a quiet breath. "You talk too much", she replied bluntly. "You'd better stay strapped in, 'cuz we're just gettin' started."
Weston looked up at her in surprise to find her gaze still focused and determined. So, the brilliant display of my tactics and talents in the first round wasn't enough, eh? Weston thought to himself. You honestly think you still have a chance…
He grinned wide. "Very well", he delighted. "Which of your Pokemon shall we trounce on next?"
If Marnie's encounters with Bede had given her anything, it was a near-immunity to mind games and smack-talk during a battle. She had her eyes on the prize now, and nothing was going to discourage her.
She reached for her next Pokeball and gave it a hard throw forward. "Morpeko, let's go!"
Morpeko appeared, her usual wide-eyed smile gracing her round face as she stared up at the looming Golisopod in front of her. Golisopod let out a fierce battle cry in an attempt to intimidate the small Pokemon, but Morpeko responded with a furrowed brow - she was ready to fight any opponent in front of her.
"So, the adorable poster-child's come out to play?", Weston mocked. "Very well, we'll be sure to make quick work of her."
"We'll see", Marnie replied as she readied herself for the next round. "Morpeko, Quick Attack!"
"Morpek!", Morpeko chimed as it dashed forward, bobbing and weaving from side to side at break-neck speeds to confuse her opponent. Even with his compound eyes, Golisopod seemed to have a difficult time tracking the small Pokemon as it closed in. Finally, Morpeko jumped into the air as she lunged forward, striking Golisopod at full-speed right on the head. Golisopod growled, recoiling back a step from the force of the impact.
Weston smirked. "Sucker Punch", he commanded.
Golisopod quickly retaliated, striking Morpeko hard with a fierce uppercut to the abdomen as she remained airborne from her previous attack. Morpeko let out a sharp cry as the force of Golisopod's attack launched her upwards.
"So predictable", Weston whispered to himself. "Golisopod, follow up with Pin Missile!"
Golisopod bent his knee, launching a barrage of heavy-artillery needles from beneath the carapace on his back towards his helpless airborne target.
Marnie cringed as her companion Pokemon took the hit, but quickly shook it off - she had to stay focused. "Counter with Bullet Seed", she called.
Morpeko's ears perked as she heard her trainer's cry. She did a single backflip in the air, gaining some control over her upward momentum before slapping her cheeks and unleashing a hailstorm of high-velocity bullet-seeds. The two attacks collided in the air, creating a large cloud of smoke over the pitch. Morpeko landed safely on the ground in front of her trainer and awaited further instructions.
"Alright, Morpeko", Marnie called, "use Aura Wheel!"
Morpeko began to charge forward, a wheel of electrical energy forming and spinning around her as she continued to pick up speed.
"Here it comes", Weston thought aloud. "Golisopod, prepare to counter with Liquidation."
A blade of hardened water seemed to fashion itself into Golisopod's hand as he stood on standby, awaiting the proper moment to strike.
Weston and Golisopod focused intently on Morpeko's movements as she continued to charge forward. As soon as she had closed in enough…
"Now, Golisopod!", Weston shouted, triggering Golisopod to begin a downward vertical slice of the blade with all of his might.
Marnie smirked to herself. "Juke 'em, Morpeko!"
As the blade fell towards its target, Morpeko quickly made a sharp left turn, ensuring that Golisopod's attack missed its mark entirely.
"Wha…!? But how!?", Weston exclaimed in shock.
Golisopod frantically looked from left to right as he tried to get a lock on Morpeko, who was now running circles around the massive insect, building speed as she did.
"Don't just stand there, Golisopod, stop her!", Weston shouted. "Pin Missile!"
Unable to get a lock on Morpeko, Golisopod unleashed Pin Missile - seemingly in a panic - allowing the barrage of artillery to fall all across the pitch with no real rhyme or reason.
By this point, however, Morpeko had built up too much speed for the attack to be able to stop her. She easily maneuvered over and around every pin missile that came anywhere near her as she continued to run circles across the arena.
"Alright, Morpeko", Marnie called, "steam-roll that punk."
Morpeko made no hesitation in changing her course directly towards her target, who could think to do nothing except stand timidly in anticipation of the attack to come.
"Golisopod, Liquidation!", Weston called.
The hard-water blade of Liquidation didn't even have the chance to finish condensing within Golisopod's hand before Morpeko's attack landed with blinding speed straight into his soft belly - a critical blow dealing super effective damage. The force of the charge sent Golisopod in a backwards somersault, where he landed flat on his stomach.
"Golisopod is unable to battle! The winner is Morpeko!"
"Yes!", Marnie cheered softly to herself, her excitement mixed with her confident and steely-eyed visage.
The crowd exploded in an overwhelming storm of applause. In what felt like only a moment, Marnie had quickly turned the tables of the battle and evened the score.
Team Yell began going absolutely ballistic with cheers and the sounds of air horns. "YEAH, MARNIE! TAKE 'EM TO THE CLEANER'S!"
"Yeah, alright!" Hop shouted enthusiastically.
Marcus smiled wide. "That's Marnie, through n' through", he remarked. "The second you think you've got her pegged, she turns your impression upside down and uses it to her advantage."
"Growin' up, Marnie spent a lotta time battlin' against older, more experienced opponents", Piers added. "Bein' as little as she was, she got used to people underestimatin' her, and she got real good at usin' her opponent's overconfidence as her own strength as a result."
Weston closed his eyes and let out a slow breath as he returned Golisopod to his Pokeball before placing it back into his pocket. The young man's yellow-green eyes opened, a look of focus pushing outward onto the pitch.
That certainly shut him up, Marnie thought to herself with pride.
Weston grabbed his next Pokeball and tossed it high into the air. "Ribombee, prepare for combat!"
Ribombee came forth, her wings rapidly fluttering as she hovered daintily above the ground. The presence of the small Pokemon felt like a sudden departure in style from the blatant display of force Weston had been flaunting with his previous two Pokemon, but Marnie knew there had to be a reason for it.
Morpeko stood in front of Marnie, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath from the previous battle. "Morpeko", Marnie called, "come 'ere!"
Morpeko perked up at the sound of her trainer's call and quickly scurried to Marnie's side.
"Nice job out there", Marnie smiled. "You really let 'em have it, now take a bit of a breather."
Morpeko smiled brightly and nodded as she returned to her Pokeball.
Marnie set Morpeko's ball aside and grabbed another, lunging forward with a fast-ball throw as she allowed the ball to corkscrew from her hand. "Toxicroak, let's go!"
Toxicroak emerged, a looming presence over the battlefield even for Ribombee, who remained in the air above the pitch.
"That makes sense", Hop noted. "Morpeko took a pretty hard Sucker Punch in that last battle, and Toxicroak has the type-advantage as a Poison-Type!"
"Right", Marcus nodded, an uncertain expression on his face, "but don't forget - Weston's probably come up with all kinds of strategies to combat Marnie's team."
Hop looked to Marcus curiously. "You think he planned on her using Toxicroak next?"
"Not sure", Marcus replied, "but I'm not gonna go out on a limb and rule it out. We'll just have to see."
"Let's begin", Weston sneered. "Swift, let's go!"
Several star-shaped rays began to fire from the air surrounding Ribombee, aimed straight for Toxicroak.
"Push through and use Gunk Shot", Marnie shouted.
Toxicroak crossed her arms in front of her head and torso, defending herself from several of the Swift rays and deflecting the others as she threw her arms to the side with all her might. With the Swift now gone and a clear shot now in sight, she proceeded to fire several chunks of poisonous debris from her mouth.
"Dodge and get in close", Weston commanded.
With a display of speed and agility, Ribombee nimbly maneuvered within and around the barrage of poisonous projectiles as she closed the gap between herself and Toxicroak.
Marnie looked on in shock as Ribombee effortlessly dodged the attack. "What speed…!"
Ribombee was now upon Toxicroak before Toxicroak even had a chance to react.
"Use Psychic", Weston shouted with a grin.
With her eyes glowing blue, Ribombee began to use a telekinetic power to lift Toxicroak into the air. Toxicroak struggled as best as she could to break free from the grip of Ribombee's Psychic, all to no avail. Marnie could only watch helplessly as her Pokemon was lifted into the air, unable to defend herself.
"That's far enough", Weston chimed, "now send Toxicroak into the dirt!"
With all of her mental might, Ribombee flung Toxicroak downward using enormous telekinetic force, sending her careening into the dirt. An enormous cloud of dust and rock burst into the air as Toxicroak made landfall, leaving a small crater in her wake.
Marnie watched on in horror as the small Pokemon seemed to make quick and effortless work of her Toxicroak with a super-effective attack.
The members of Team Yell jeered at Weston and his Pokemon as they all sat in anticipation, uncertain of Toxicroak's fate.
"So that was it all along", Hop remarked. "Weston had that Ribombee learn Psychic as a coverage tactic against its weakness against Poison-Types… he baited Marnie into bringing Toxicroak out."
Marcus nodded in agreement. "Sure seems that way", he concurred. Although what I don't get is why…
A silence fell across the stadium as the debris began to clear.
Toxicroak was on a single knee as she slowly made her way up to her feet out of sheer will-power. She let out a loud croak of determination, one that sent an audible wave of energy and hype outwards into the audience, which the crowd happily reciprocated.
Marnie smirked. "That's right, we ain't goin' down that easily", she said confidently.
"Persistent, aren't we?" Weston grinned. "In that case… Ribombee, use Moonblast!"
Ribombee began to emanate a pale aura around her tiny body as she readied her next move.
"Toxicroak", Marnie called, "counter with Gunk Shot!"
Once more, Toxicroak fired chunks of poisonous debris from her mouth.
Ribombee unleashed a powerful Moonblast that collided in the air with Gunkshot, causing a large explosion that cast a veil of smoke across the center of the field.
"Can't see anything in all of this smoke…", Weston whined. "Ribombee, use Psychic! Blow the smoke and anything hiding in it all away!"
Following her trainer's instructions, Ribombee brought forth another powerful telekinetic push with the intent of wiping the field clean.
The Psychic attack was powerful enough to disperse the cloud of smoke over the field like a parting sea, erasing any and all ambiguity from the pitch, with the only remnants floating high above the trainers. However, to the surprise of both Ribombee and her trainer, Toxicroak was nowhere to be found.
"Wh-wha…!?", Weston exclaimed. "What kind of trickery is this!? Where did Toxicroak go!?"
Marnie smirked. "Toxicroak", she called out, "Poison Jab!"
Toxicroak suddenly emerged from the looming cloud above them. It had jumped high into the air while hidden in the smoke, allowing it to avoid Ribombee's attack by a sizable margin. Now, she allowed gravity to provide her momentum as she descended upon Ribombee, the red dagger-like protrusion on her right hand glowing bright-purple.
Weston gasped in shock. "Dodge it quick, Ribombee, dodge it right now!"
Ribombee managed to catch sight of her assailant at the last possible moment, giving her just enough time to dodge downward and to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.
"Poison jabs, back to back", Marnie yelled.
The protrusions on both of Toxicroak's hands began to glow purple as she began barraging the small insect with Poison Jabs in rapid succession. Only thanks to Ribombee's speed and small size was she able to nimbly avoid each and every one of them.
Weston began to tense under the pressure Marnie was putting on him. "Quick, Ribombee, fly high!"
Ribombee dodged high to avoid a jab, giving her the opportunity to climb high above Toxicroak's range.
"Don't let 'em get away", Marnie called, "use Gunk Shot!"
Toxicroak fired Gunk Shot straight into the air, aiming high to strike Ribombee as she climbed.
"Dodge and use Swift", Weston commanded.
Ribombee turned around and faced downward, dodging each and every projectile with grace as she descended. In an act of quick retaliation, she let loose another barrage of star-shaped beams of light, which made fast contact with Toxicroak's chest, the force of a small explosion sending her backwards off of her feet and onto the ground.
Marnie grimaced as Toxicroak took the hit. She wasn't sure how much more Toxicroak could take.
"Let's finish this, Ribombee", Weston shouted with gusto. "Use Psychic!"
Toxicroak felt the muscles in her body lock up as the power of Ribombee's telekinetic force began to overcome her.
Marcus, Hop, and company sat on the edge of their seats. This looked like the end of the battle for Toxicroak…
Suddenly, Ribombee's psychic grip over Toxicroak fell limp as a hail of heavy poisonous debris dropped itself from the sky on top of the small insect, sending her into free fall at a rapid pace for the ground.
Weston's face paled. "What!?", he shouted in disbelief.
"The Gunk Shot from before!", Hop yelled with excitement, a bright smile of awe and amazement on his face. "She wasn't aiming for Ribombee on the way up, she was aiming for it to hit on the way down!"
Marcus grinned wide. "She knew that if she could put enough pressure on, he'd take the first opening he saw for a quick end to the match, causing him to drop his guard."
"Weston got cocky", Piers added, "and that's one thing you should never be when battlin' Marn."
Ribombee collapsed to the ground, having taken serious damage in addition to having been poisoned by the unexpected attack.
"Now's our chance", Marnie shouted, "Poison Jab!"
Toxicroak charged forward, the sharp protrusion on her right hand igniting into a purple glow.
Weston cringed. "Brace yourself, Ribombee! Use Reflect!"
Using what little strength she had left, Ribombee used her power to create a reflective barrier around herself.
The added defense was not enough, however, as Toxicroak's ferocious attack made contact with the tiny Pokemon, knocking the wind out of her and sending her little body backwards to her trainer's feet with enormous force.
"Ribombee is unable to battle, the winner is Toxicroak!"
Toxicroak let forth a victorious yell as the audience erupted into applause
Marnie breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the verdict was announced.
"Alright, she's killing it out there!", Hop shouted with excitement.
"She's got a really good momentum going now", Marcus agreed, nodding his head. "Now she's just gotta keep it up!"
"You can do it! Go Marnie!"
Weston closed his eyes as he returned Ribombee to her Pokeball, placing it aside. He opened his eyes, a sly grin stretching across his face as his eyes exuded almost menacing levels of confidence and ego.
Marcus noticed it almost immediately. What's that look about?
That can't be good, Marnie thought to herself, having noticed Weston's look as well. I got a feelin' that the real battle's only just about to start.