Chapter 13: Flight For Victory
As Happy and the group were registered for the tournament, they were watching Unhaus's fight against Crusta, which was the first fight to begin. Meanwhile, the Dirty Delinquents were planning something else in the process. Their leader had allowed them the okay to attack villages, but which ones were unknown. As for Chibi and Maga, they were on their way to the area for business and seeing Baye.
Back at the Pokken Arts Tournament, the gong was struck as Unhaus's fight went underway. To him, this fight would be in the bag. He flew towards Crusta at great speed, circling around him in the process.
Nester: Unhaus is starting off the fight with speedy wingwork! I don't know if Crusta can handle himself here as he is being circled around. Will he be able to counter the fearsome flight of Unhaus?
Zamenza: This is way too easy. Unhaus has the type advantage.
Happy: He does?
Zamenza: Crusta is a Fighting type. They don't do well against flying opponents. Unhaus is using speed to his advantage.
Baye: So this fight will be-
Zamenza: ...Unless Crusta has something up his sleeve.
Eve: Go Unhaus!
Crusta was unable to keep up with his speed, forcing him to stand still and eye his opponent.
Crusta: (...Ziss beerd...! He ees so fahst...! Ahnd I cahn't even keep up weeth heem...! Maybe I cahn use sahmetheeng to help me out…)
As Unhaus got closer, he began slapping his wings on Crusta from every angle, to which he guarded using his glove-like pincers. It reduced the damage, but it was something that Crusta expected. When Unhaus delivered a wing to his pincers, he quickly grabbed Unhaus's right leg and delivered a counterpunch to his stomach, which was surprising to Happy and the group.
Nester: Amazing! It seems Crusta was expecting the attacks and delivered a counterpunch as well as stopping Unhaus by grabbing his leg!
Tanner: Whoa! Didn't expect that!
Zamenza: (...It seems that Crusta had a strategy in mind...He knew that Unhaus would be too fast for him, so he used Endure and then grabbed Unhaus with a Vise Grip as well as delivering a Counter attack…Very effective...)
Eve: Unhaus!
Crusta wasn't finished. He kept punching Unhaus repeatedly, not letting go of his leg as he did so. Unhaus knew he had to escape, so to free himself, Unhaus flapped his wings and blew some gust of wind in Crusta's face, causing him to release his grip. He felt his stomach from the pain, but shook it off as he had to concentrate on winning the match.
Nester: After dealing multiple blows to Unhaus, Crusta managed to turn the tide! But, it seems that Unhaus has freed himself using Gust! Will the same strategy work for Crusta or will Unhaus swing the battle into his favor?
Unhaus: I didn't expect that from you.
Crusta: Zat wahs just a mere gleempse of whaht I could do. I know I cahn't beat your speed, but eef I cahn use your clahse-rahnge ahttahcks to my ahdvahntage, I could strike you weethout ahny letup.
Unhaus: Not bad. I guess I'll have to try again.
Crusta: I'll be waiteeng fahr zat.
Unhaus: (...That Crabrawler is no slouch...He'll counter me again if I attack him...He's slow, but steady on his feet...Huh…? Feet…?)
Crusta: Eef you're hahveeng secahnd zoughts, I suggest throweeng een ze towel. I'll countair you no mahttair whaht.
Unhaus flew at Crusta with great speed once again, with Crusta expecting the same result. The only difference was that Unhaus wasn't attacking, as he kept circling around him.
Nester: Unhaus is circling Crusta once again! What does he have in store for him, folks?
Baye: What's Unhaus doing? He's gonna get punched again if he keeps doing that.
Moody: I don't know, but if he can pull something off from this attempt, it'll be surprising to the Pokemon here.
With each movement Unhaus was doing, Crusta didn't follow but was ready to counter him. Unhaus went in for a closer hit, with Crusta blocking it as usual, but when he saw a punch, he ducked down and slid his right wing under his feet, knocking Crusta off-balance. It caught him by surprise and shocked everyone else in the audience.
Crusta: What?!
He was now on his back, struggling to get back up.
Moody: What?!
Nester: Incredible! It seems that Unhaus planned to knock his opponent off his feet! An amazing technique demonstrated to the fullest extent!
The crowd cheered.
Charles: What did he do?
Zamenza: That was a Low Sweep move.
Tanner: Wait...Isn't that a move involving legs? How can Unhaus use it despite not being capable of using his legs like that?
Zamenza: A Low Sweep doesn't necessarily involve using legs. Sometimes hands can be a factor too. In this case, Unhaus used his wings to knock Crusta off-balance.
Moody: So he used his wings with technique.
Zamenza: Exactly.
Eve: Go Unhaus! You can do it!
Happy: Go Unhaus!
For a few seconds, Crusta struggled on his back until he managed to exert energy enough to regain his stance.
Nester: It seems Crusta is back on his feet, folks! What will happen next?
Crusta: (...Ziss ees eempahsseeble...! How deed he mahnage to sweep me weeth hees weengs...?!)
Unhaus: I see you're back on your feet. I had to adapt to your play style.
Crusta: You sink knahckeeng me ovair ees ahn ahccahmpleeshment? Crahbs like me hahve a hahrd time getteeng bahck up, you know!
Unhaus: Yet you're on yours just fine.
Unhaus's comment triggered something in Crusta that made him snap, startling him.
Crusta: *frustration mark* Zat's naht ze point!
Unhaus: Whoa…! Easy, now! (...I think I touched a nerve…!)
Crusta: Do you sink zat wahs funny?! You're lucky you're a beerd! You cahn fly weethout a cahre een ze wahrld weeth no prahblems, yet us crahb Pahkemahn hahve to wahrry ahbout whaht hahppens eef we fahll on our bahcks!
Unhaus: *sweat drop* (...Jeez…! Maybe knocking him off-balance wasn't such a good idea…)
Crusta: Seence you dahn't seem to cahre ahs usual, how ahbout I mahke you flightless?!
He inhaled before blowing cold air from his mouth, which confused Unhaus at first until he felt himself getting chilly.
Unhaus: (...What's going on…? I feel cold all of a sudden…)
When his body got cold, he began shivering, but he couldn't move his wings at all. He then noticed that his wings were literally frozen.
Unhaus: (...M...My wings…! He actually froze them…?!)
Nester: Whoa! It's really chilly here, folks! However, that's nothing compared to Unhaus, as Crusta used a move to freeze his wings!
Eve: *gasps* Unhaus!
Moody: This isn't good! His wings are frozen! He can't move as fast without them!
Happy: Is that bad?
Moody: Very!
Baye: What'll he do?!
Zamenza: (...Come on...I know you have something up your sleeve, Unhaus…)
Unhaus began struggling as he couldn't move his wings.
Crusta: *laughs* How does eet feel to be grounded? Sucks, doesn't eet?
Unhaus: ...Don't think you have the upper hand.
Crusta: Oh, really? Eet seems zat now I do. You're naht ahs fahst on ze ground ahs you ahre een ze air. A flightless beerd ees a useless beerd!
Unhaus paused for a second upon the comment.
Unhaus: ...Okay, that's offensive.
Crusta: Offensive how?
Unhaus: I mean, you know nothing about birds. There's Duck Pokemon, Penguin Pokemon and the like. They can't fly either, so I guess by extension, you're calling my fellow brethren useless.
In shock, Crusta responded with…
Crusta: B-Bretheren?! You mean you're relahted to zem?!
Unhaus: Well, not in the genetic sense, but classical sense, yes.
Crusta: Ziss...Ziss ees naht pahsseeble! Ahnd to sink zat I hahd no idea how fahr zat extends!
Unhaus: Hell, I mean, I didnt even offend your species, yet here you are insulting mine. Let me tell you something. I'm a Sky Bandit.
Crusta: Whaht does zat even mean een ziss seetuation?!
Unhaus: It means that I steal a lot from flying Pokemon. That doesn't mean from the skies. It also means from the ground as well. Some of them had to travel by ship because they couldn't fly or swim. I didn't even care if they were my brethren by class or not, but at least I know one thing when I do that. We're alike.
Crusta: W-Whaht?!
Unhaus: But you know the difference between you and I? You crabs have a hard shell that protects you from almost anything threatening, but we bird Pokemon don't. We're vulnerable. We have to adapt to our surroundings because it's necessary. So tell me this: Do you know what heat feels like?
Crusta: H-Huh?!
Unhaus began struggling to flap his frozen wings even though he was shaking his body, which confused everyone that watched.
Moody: What's going on…? His wings are frozen, yet he's trying to break free.
Zamenza: (...Hmm...Huh…?)
As Zamenza looked closer, he noticed that the ice on Unhaus's wings began melting slowly, which wasn't easily seen by everyone else.
Zamenza: (...So that's what's happening…)
Baye: I don't get it...He's just moving his body…
Happy: Maybe Uhaus is dancing!
Charles: I don't think that's what he's doing right now…
Zamenza: No...Maybe Happy has a point.
Charles: Huh?!
It wasn't noticeable to everyone at first, but soon the frost around Unhaus's wings began melting to the visible eye. It became easier for him to move his wings until all the frost disappeared. Everyone was in shock as they saw that his wings were no longer frozen.
Nester: Unbelievable! It appears that Unhaus has managed to melt the ice on his wings!
Crusta: Ziss ees eempahsseeble! How could you defrahst your weengs een such a shahrt spahn of time?!
Unhaus: Because that was what being a Sky Bandit taught me. To endure and adapt to the environment. Your ice-cold attack was somewhat weak compared to the harsh cold I had to endure. It's child's play compared to that. Now, since we're exchanging temperature, I'm going to put you in the boiling chamber.
Crusta: W-Whaht?!
Unhaus: Hope your skin doesn't turn red...Not that it already isn't.
Unhaus began flapping his wings excessively, which made everyone glue their eyes to him. Crusta looked on with worry, unsure what Unhaus was about to do as he was in the air. He could only stand in place and try to counter what was to come. It wasn't clear to everyone until Nester had something to say.
Nester: Whoa! Is it me, or is the air getting hotter? Folks, I think we're experiencing a hot wind from Unhaus!
Zamenza: He's using Heat Wave.
Moody: Heat Wave?!
Happy: What's that?
Baye: It's like imagining Charles with a blazing fire in a room, causing you to sweat more.
Charles: Hey! It's rude to talk about me when I'm right here!
Moody: Baye…
Happy: So that's what that means!
Charles: Happy!
Crusta: No…! No...! I...I deedn't ahccount fahr ziss...! My ahttahcks...! Zey do nahtheeng!
Unhaus: Get ready for a Heat Wave!
The air got stronger with each flap generated by Unhaus's wings to the point that the current was enough to push Crusta back a bit before he was lifted off the ground from the intense force from the wind. He could feel the air getting hotter which made his body sweat. He was then blown out of the ring and landed on the ground, blowing bubbles as he was unconscious.
Referee: Crusta...out! Winner...Unhaus!
Nester: And there you have it, folks! Crusta is out of the ring, which leaves Unhaus as the winner!
The entire stadium began cheering, amazed as to how Unhaus pulled it off.
Eve: Unhaus did it!
Moody: I...I don't believe it...He actually did it…!
Nester: Unhaus will advance to the next round until his next match. Now, Referee, who's going next?
Referee: Number 8 vs Number 30. Wire vs Tanner!
Nester: You heard that folks! The next match will be Wire vs Tanner! For now, we shall take a break!
A few minutes later, everyone was awaiting Unhaus in the fighters' hall. When he showed up, they were glad to see him in good condition. Eve was the first to run to his side, with Happy and Charles following after.
Eve: Unhaus! You did it!
Happy: You were awesome again!
Charles: You looked so cool out there!
Unhaus: Thanks.
Baye: Are you okay?
Unhaus: Yeah. I mean, it still hurts, but other than that, I'm fine.
Zamenza: Well, tickle my mustache pink. I'm impressed with what you did out there. Now I know I chose you for a good reason.
Moody: I still can't understand how you did it. I mean, your wings being frozen and then being able to thaw yourself out.
Zamenza: That was because he was moving his body. With that movement, you were generating heat not only through your body, but also to your wings to use Heat Wave. That's how you thawed them out, right?
Unhaus: You read me like an open book.
Baye: Unhaus...Was what you said true?
Unhaus: Huh?
Baye: You know, that "Sky Bandit" thing? Was any of that true?
Unhaus: Of course. That's what it took for me to be a Sky Bandit. To endure conditions to steal in.
Eve: We always do that!
Moody: *glares at Unhaus* …I hope you don't pull that here.
Unhaus: *sweat drop* W-What?! Why are you looking at me like that?! Come on, give me a break!
Zamenza: Ease up, Moody. He did win his first match, after all.
Baye: Say, where's Tanner?
Moody: Oh, he's getting ready for his match. He should be at the ring right about now.
Zamenza: In the meantime, has anything happened so far regarding the Dirty Delinquents?
Moody: Nothing yet.
Unhaus: I don't think they'll strike so long as you're around other Pokemon, Mr. Moody.
Moody: That's true. They don't want to arouse too much suspicion.
Baye: Wait...If they're wearing cloaks...Doesn't that make them stand out from the rest of the Pokemon here?
Zamenza: When you put it that way, yes...Yes it does. But so do some of the other Pokemon here. Some wear gloves, others wear jackets and capes, and some carry weapons.
Baye: *sweat drop* That doesn't help…
Unhaus: You want me to scout them out?
Zamenza: No...It'll cause more trouble should you do that. They may call backup, which could put this entire tournament and the Pokemon here in danger. I think the best course of action is to wait it out. Let them make the first move, and then we'll execute ours.
Unhaus: Sounds like something I can get behind.
Moody: ...However, I fear what might happen to my son. Zamenza, could you go and check on him? He's in the fighter's hall.
Zamenza: Sure.
...
In the Fighter's Hall, Tanner was headed to the bathroom, as he wanted to empty his bladder before his match, which was understandable, as he wanted to have a clear mind. However, he felt as if he was being watched by the Dirty Delinquent Pokemon from earlier, so he kept his guard up. As he was finished and exited the bathroom, he stopped dead at the door, knowing that the Pokemon who was watching him was planning something sinister, so he addressed it.
Tanner: ...Alright, what do you want? I know you and your boys have been watching our group since the tournament started. Your vibes reek of sinister energy.
?: ...Oh? Well, I knew that you had a sense of feeling, Tanner. It's not uncommon, but I heard your match is coming up next. It would be a shame if you were to...be absent for it.
Tanner: Don't even try it. Whatever this is, I'm not interested. And stay the hell away from my father, unless you want me to beat you again...Junior Chilli.
Chilli: ...Really? Have you forgotten? Since you're out of the organization, it seems that there is one small thing you don't realize...We're always one step ahead. *chuckles*
Tanner: ...So, if I was to take you down right now, you mean to tell me that your members have something else planned? Just what kind of plan is it?!
Chilli: ...Oh, don't worry. It's not one you need to know. Just...focus on your match. Oh, and...since you want to prove that you are stronger than me...let's fight again...when the time is right… *chuckles*
Chilli left, leaving Tanner there with a serious, yet stunned look in his eyes. To him, this was a sign of trouble, yet couldn't figure it out.
Tanner: (...What the hell is he talking about…? "We're always one step ahead"…?)
...