StevenZ12 : Hello everyone, StevenZ12 here. I hope you all are doing well. I know I am. Times are changing, but with enough grit, one can make it through everything. Aside of that, University is finally starting to pick up, but damn i never felt so happy right now. When life feels like its going somewhere, one can only rejoice. Also I have been invested in game music theory lately. Would love to know what's your most memorable piece of Game music. For my part, it's a tie between Amiable Assail, a fan made pokemon theme and A battle at Journey's End from Octopath Traveller. If you feel like it, comment on what's yours :)
Enjoy your read!
Previously on Nuevo : Legend of Quetzar
After an amazing catwalk performance, Snow Nightshade's worries and anxiety came back full force during the showcase phase. On the verge of giving up, she was saved by a passionate speech curtesy of Andre. The crowd gave her a nice boost and she answered in kind, delivering an even better performance alongside her Foliat. After a sweet moment, out White haired heroine was ready to go back to the contest. How well did the judges actually appreciate her display?
Chapter 14: Debut Battle!
Ross's showcase was finally over. The coordinator had left a rather solid impression on the judges, using his icy feline pokemon's attribute well. He hoped that he had managed to put some spotlight on him after Snow's otherwordly display. Word was that he succeeded, but we can never be sure. Once his performance ended, he got some comment from the judges, making him feel a little confident. Liliana then announced that the judges would tally and announce the worthy 8 that would get to participate in the Battle Exhibition tournament part of the Contest.
Sven was still alone, Andre seemingly having vanished forever. Not that the older teen was worried about him, but it did get a little lonely by his lonesome. The fact that Andre had left hurriedly after Snow's performance gave him small doubts about where the raven haired teen could have gone, but this was still a contest and he was taking some time.
"I wonder where Andre is right now? He just left me Alomomolone..." The older teen whispered to his Poison type companion, which growled a little while shrugging his tail and shoulders.
"I have no idea, prob making out or something..." Gilla answered, barely holding an amused snicker back. "What kind of dirty mind is that huh lil' fella ?" Sven retorted. The purple pokemon snorted before looking back at the Arena, Sven following quickly. Liliana seemed to be back and ready to announce the results.
"Thank you all for waiting! We are now ready to proudly announce the eight chosen contenstants that will be going to the next and final round of today's Contest. But before we do this, let us hear the comments of the judges that had the priviledge to witness the hard work, grit, courage and skill of all our appeal round contestants ! First let's hear our Chairman, Mr Contesta.
"It was a pleasure to witness the fruits of your labor. To the 8 chosen one, I wish the best to all of you that will participate. Show us how well you can dance with your Pokemon and how strong your bonds and your skills are !" He praised, the crowd cheering in appreciation.
"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Contesta. Now let us hear what does Gloria has to say.." Liliana said, letting the spunky gym leader take the mic. "Man ! I have to say, all these appeals were great, amazing even. All these little things, all these details, shape and element and Snow! Gurl! You rocked. Too bad that some of you will have to drop out from the competition, but none of y'all has the right to leave with their head down. You did amazingly well!" She shouted, passing the mic to the following Nurse Joy who preferred not to say anything, immediately giving the microphone to Serena. Once again he same respectful silence swooped on the Arena, everybody eager to hear what the reigning Queen would say to the contestants and to the crowd.
"My first word goes to the contestants and their partners. I have to say that you all did an amazing job. I've never been more trilled in my life, honest. I can tell that most of you truly have understood the delicate balance that has to exist between a Pokemon and his coordinator. Some performance where spunky and fiery hot when others simply surprised us with their humble yet perfect execution. You did amazingly. Now however, the time has come to select the 8 contestant that will show us that they can ally the beautiful and graceful movement of their pokemon to the passion of the battle. I want you to remember that the final goal of a Contest battle is to overhelm your opponent gracefully and not to brutally beat them to a pulp. I expect a great spectacle from the remaining contestant. I will be on the edge of my seat and i'm sure that the crowd will be too. Talking about the crowd, I have to thank you all. I honestly didn't believe that the pokemon contest circuit would reach such an high impact here in Nuevo. But not only it was well received, but even more, the crowd here is simply amazing and it shows. You give much more energy to the duet than you'd ever imagune. You are the best Nuevo ! and keep on on this path !" She said, making the crowd erupt in a deafening thunder of applauses. It was as if the stones of the temples themselves had joined their voices in the cheery eruption that occured once the Queen said her royal appreciation speech. Taking the mic from thr Kalos Queen, Liliana finally got the crowd to calm down, as two Nuzleafs started a drumroll to announce the 8 chosen contestant that would battle it out in the contest's final rond.
Snow, who had just returned from her...encounter with Andre, had been sitting in a corner of the room, apprehensively looking a the screen as Liliana and the judges were speaking. A part of her head was still on cloud nine about what had happened a few moments earlier, but the more rational part of her made her focus on what was going on. After all, despite the high praise, she had still broken down at the beginning of her appeal and had finished it way beyond the alloted time. Her Vulpix came out, wiggling her way in Snow's embrace. The white haired teen smiled and brought the fire fox Pokemon to her chest, squeezing softly in a hug. This was it.
"We will now announce the 8 contestant that will make it to the final round. First we have Ross, Then Ricardo, Esmeralda, Alice, Nanao, Suki, Shelby aaaaaaaaaaaaaand...''
Snow, who was intently watching the screen, felt her blood freeze in horror as her dread almost cut her air supply. Vulpix gently nuzzled her cheek to get her to calm down.
It worked.
"Thanks Vixen.'' She kindly thanked her companions before looking back at the screen.
Andre was watching on his way to the stands. He also didn't fully understand what had just occured down there in the pond, but whenever he closed his eyes in reminiscence, a warm feeling envelopped him and threatened to take him over. Thankfully, the announcement of the eight Battle exhibition finalist distracted him from his thoughts...
That feeling became even worse when he realized that Snow wasn't in the first 7 finalists.
Andre was not exactly much of a reverent person. He did believe in Arceus, but that was probably where he thought her influence ended... However during this instance, Andre had never prayed harder silently in his entire life.
''After all that...there is no way. Please, Lord Arceus. Just this once...'' The teen muttered, his heart squeezing for his friend.
In the stands, Sven also was a little bit worried. Snow's breakdown, Andre's call out. He kind of felt that Snow deserved at least to reach the Battle exhibition section. ''This announcer is selfdestructing me...Come on already!'' He growled, annoyed at the announcer's dramatic penchant.
Liliana finally decided that this was enough tension building. She finally revealed the final contestant's name.
"Snow Nightshade! Congratulations to everyone who has made it to the final round. But before we move on, let us raise our voices and thank the contestants that didn't make the cut. They all gave us beautiful, vibrant displays." Liliana cheered, soon joined by the crowd.
When Snow heard her name, she simply couldn't allow herself to contain her joy. She launched her Vulpix in the air while shouting a ''Yes!'' that could have been heard all the way to Lentimas town. She was so relieved that she felt like she was going to cry, but she decided in the end to save her tears to when she'd win the whole contest. She thanked Andre from the bottom of her heart silently, knowing that it was because of his shout that she regained her bearings in time and made that dazzling appeal.
Liliana carried on with her explaination.
"Here is how the Battle Exhibition Tournament, or BET for short, will be conducted. It'll be a single elimination Contest Battle Tournament, where the aim is to make your own attack hit and dodge your opponent's attacks, while making your pokemon shine all the while. The judges will deduce the points until the time is up, that the Contest meter empties out for one or the Coordinators or that one side is judged unable to continue battling.''
People cheered at that. There was going to be battle. It was one thing to put your Pokemon and yourself on display, but to put that hard work and pit it against another in a battle that only allowed one winner? Now you were talking. If there was one thing that some people wanted to see, it was Pokemon Battles.
''The first match will feature Ricardo versus other contestant may go to the Lobby to watch the match and focus on their own matches, refreshments and food will be available for them in the back." The announcer explained as the other contestant made their way to the lobby. Snow looked up, her eyes fierce with determination, she would do it !
Andre smiled, a few tears of joy falling from his eyes as he made his back to Sven. The older teen opened his mouth to distribute one of his sassy jokes, but revised himself. Andre's eyes were shining with joy and Sven did not have it in him to kill the mood with his lip.
''Welcome back Andre. Snow did a good job, and it's thanks to you...'' Sven commented as the teen nodded, his Aguade jumping back on his lap.
Andre gently rubbed his starter's snout happily, keeping his eyes toward the arena. ''Snow had it in her, there was no way I was going to let her fall like that...'' He said kindly, still somewhat shivering at how lost Snow had looked during her panic attack.
Sven couldn't hold himself back for long...and cracked; ''You realize that what you said is going to be aired around the known Pokemon World right?'' The teen chimed.
Andre visibly gulped and turned away...hiding his growing blush. ''Well, it was for a good cause...still...I shouldn't be ashamed of that..'' He weakly reasoned as his voice lowered more and more until it barely registered as a whisper.
''Oh...Arceus...'' The teen softly moaned in despair...
Sven cackled. His bad joke/tease hitch having been satisfied, he turned back to the Contest, leaving Andre to his musings.
*A little while later *
The whole area had turned black, courtesy of the tree moving abilities of some trevenants. Then two gourgeist with their light bulbs tinted in blue and red took place, using the dusk created by the forest's curse attack andtheir ghostly attributes to go to each side of the field. Then A third one went to the middle of the field and illuminated the round spot. The beautiful announcer suddenly appeared, provoking oohs and aaahs in the crowd. She then took the mic an made a curtsew before hyping up the impending BET. "Good afternoon and welcome to the Jade city's pokemon contest final round. We will now beging the quarter-finals of the contest. All of these 8 talented pokemon coordinator will now rise and start battling for the elusive Jade Forest Ribbon.
Some music started playing in the background, really making the whole stadium vibrate with fighting energy and competitiveness. The whole event was so well put together that even the youngest of spectator felt a thinge of the pressure the Constestant would have to experience.
The whole atmosphere created a strange euphoria that seemed to propagate throught the crowd like a wildfire and the whole crowd started what would become a tradition in the Nuevo pokemon contest. The Opening Stomp.
A huge portion of the crowd started stomping their feet on the ground, soon making an earthquake like sound reverberate around the area. A thing that Liliana took no time commenting.
"Aye ! Listen to these stomping foots, is the pressure of the tournament and the great expectation toward the final round of the pokemon contest are causing even the spectator to get antsy. You can bet that the battles for the Jade ribbon will be electrifying. My stars, it'll be very amazing to see them. Without further ado, let us begin the first quarter final !" The announcer cried out, making all the terrain light up, courtesy of the pokemon intern that kinda enjoyed making the stage light up like that. They were indeed very interested to see how humans could make their kind shine in a way not a lot of them would even think possible. That, aside of easy food and shelter, were the main reason they were around humans without needing to be affiliated to a trainer, at least, most of them.
The terrain then was blackened once more a red beam of light appeared, showing the silouette of a man, hat, lasso. Wait a minute, who could this man be... ?
🎵 - Aztec Jaguar - Ancient Armies - David Chas - 🎵
"In the red side, we have our local cowboy enthousiat, he loves the cows, he loves to shoot and his pokemon are just as precise as he is. Welcome the Desperado Coordinator Ricardo !" Lilian introduced, as Ricardo took on a fighting pose, signifying to the crowd that he was ready to rumble. His somber Pokemon behind him, following like a shadow guarding his back. He was here, he war ready. He finally fully felt that he was in his element.
After Ricardo was showered with the cheering of the home crowd, the terrain turned dusky, and this time, a gentle blue light was irradiated toward the opposite end of the field. It was as if they wanted to match the temper of the blue haired coordinator. The tan skinned beauty walked lavishly and elegantly toward her coordinator box, her silouette and step entrancing most of the male audience and making many female reddening from either jealousy or envy. Yes that was how beautiful Esmeralda was.
"In the blue side , a marvelous, wonderful princess has roosted. Her elegance and beauty are sang by youth and mature alike, she's a recently converted coordinator, but we can already see that she shows some promise. Beautiful, her dancing moves leaves her opponents often speechless. However could that Dancing Queen be hidind some sharp barbs under her rose like appeareance. This battle will be sure to prove it to us. Alright, you know the rules, 5 minutes on the clock. Let's get this ball rolling !" Liliana shoted as the whole terrain now turned bright with light. T
Both trainer launched the pokeballs forward, starting , after a long anticipation, the final stretch of the pokemon contest.
''Dance with nature, Musburry!'' Esmeralda announced, releasing a small mouse like Pokemon with slightly stained fur and small berries growing on her tail. Said mouse let out a cute cry that actually made many of the female audience fawn over its cuteness.
Not one to be easily swayed, despite Esmeralda's undenying attractive qualities and Musberry's supposed cuteness, Ricardo kept his head in the game. ''Shoot them down, Craliber!'' He shouted as a small shrimp like Pokemon exited the Pokeball making a gunshot like click while threateningly moving his pincers...
In the stands, a very curious Andre got his Pokedex out and scanned the two newcomers.
The electronical device first locked on the berry mouse Pokemon; ''Musburry, the Berry Mouse Pokemon. Because this Pokémon grows delicious berries, it is often preyed upon by Berratel. Some Musburry try to exist with Berratel symbiotically. This Pokemon seems to be rather appreciated by women and children alike.''
Fascinated by all of this new information, Andre now pointed to the Craliber. ''Craliber, the Iron Shell Pokemon. Hatched near undersea mineral deposits, this Pokémon develops a sturdy shell. Its body rotates, helping it maintain course at high speeds.'' The machine informed Andre who nodded before putting his electronical device away. He smiled at this. This region was chock-full of Pokemon he had never seen before. That's what he had wanted when he had come to Nuevo...and he was served alright.
Ricardo narrowed his eyes, the heat of combat taking him over. His somberado chattered happily. This was the kind of thing he was looking for. His trainer ensnared in the heat of the fight. He sinked in his trainer's shadow, observing the battle from his realm.
Esmeralda looked focused as well, although a little bit off putted by her opponent's Somberado and the fire that she could see in the desperado's eyes. ''He's not going to be easy to beat...''She muttered as the clock started to tick down, indicating the start of the match.
''Begin!'' Liliana shouted at the same time.
🎵 - Call of Juarez - Bound-in-Blood - Mexico Fight - 🎵
Ricardo took the initiative quickly, not one to be undone. ''Oy! Craliber, let's start out fast ole boy! Rapid Spin!'' He shouted as the small shrimp like Pokemon rotated his body before launching itself at the Berry Mouse Pokemon. It was fast, people in the stands barely able to make out his body due to his speed and small size.
Esmeralda bit her lip. A battle of pure speed, that was his game? She wasn't sure that her Musburry could handle that. Still she was here now, so she had to try. ''Musburry dear, counter with Quick Attack!''
The priority gaining attack hit the shrimp pokemon hard, Musburry having slammed into his body with considerable speed. That said, Craliber quickly recovered and resumed its spinning, slamming into Musburry's side. A small whitish trail appeared around the water type as he started to dart from side to side a little faster.
Liliana commented that opening hit with passion. ''It seems that both trainers have the same idea. A battle of pure speed and technique. It will probably get a little hard to keep track of, but dosen't that makes the battle exciting?'' She asked as the crowd cheered loudly. The maneuver had both Coordinators lose an equal amout of points.
Esmeralda then went onto the offensive, knowing that the speed raising property of Rapid Spin meant trouble. ''Dear, restrict his movement with Vine Whip, then hit it with another quick attack!'' She commanded, trusting her hand forward. Musburry squeaked in acceptance and prepared her vines. That small shrimp would know what time it is.
Ricardo snorted. ''Ya ain't hitting me with that Woman! Craliber, Double Team, then let's show her our Gunfire Combo!'' He shouted, making Esmeralda's eyes widen in confusion. Craliber smiled. That was one of his favorite.
The vine extended toward craliber at good speed. Esmeralda had trained Musburry well. At the last possible second however, Craliber's form shimmered in the air and multiple copies of the shrimp like pokemon appeared all around musburry. The miss cost Esmeralda a few points.
Ricardo cackled. ''Pathetic. I am ending this duel! Craliber, Gunfire Combo!'' He shouted. Craliber let out a gunfire like click with his pincers as Musburry frantically looked left and right, panicking a little while trying to find the real shrimp.
Esmeralda saw this and called her berry mouse Pokemon out. ''Stay calm dear, use your ears to find the shrimp.'' She instructed as Musburry nodded upon hearing the voice of her beloved trainer and closed her eyes, trying to use her superior hearing to find the desperado's shrimp Pokemon.
That was a mistake.
The moment Musburry closed her eyes, she was brutally assaulted by trails of white spinning shrimp assault who kept on being faster. It was a constant barrage of rapid spin. That, coupled with the Double Team, was almost an unfair combo. There was no chance that Musburry could detect the Iron Shell Pokemon by sound or by sight. Each hit rip off a squeak of pain from Musburry. Esmeralda was speechless, she had no counter to that strategy. Her Musburry couldn't compete with that. Soon enough, Craliber's Rapid Spin turned into something fiery. From that point on, every stop and go from Craliber sounded like a gunshot being fired. Each subsequent hit making Esmeralda lose points after points. It was simply too fast. In less than 2 minutes, Musburry fell to the ground, all will of battle sucked right from her. The shrimp Pokemon tried to go at the fallen Musburry when the KO buzzer sounded. All judges having seen enough. Serena's Delphox stopped the overeager shrimp with Psychic before an unfortunate accident happened.
Liliana seemlessly started her commentary again. ''Wow, that was...impressive. We thought that we would be witnessing a battle of speed, but that Craliber was beyond fast. The combinason of intense speed and double team was obviously too much for Musburry. The judges have stopped the match. Ricardo will move on to the next round!'' She explained as the crowd cheered, but with much less enthousiasm as before. That was brutal. Serena's eyes narrowed a little. The desperado had won almost like he was in a Pokemon battle. The only slightly artistic thing he had done was that nice Double Team timing evasion and the creative, yet rather violent, name of his combos. Still she said nothing.
In the stands, Andre and Sven were frowning. That was indeed like Ricardo to use those type of strategies. How would Snow battle them.
''This fucker and his gun memes...'' Andre growled angrily as his Aguard also grunted in displeasure.
Sven nodded in agreement. ''I don't like them any more than you do mate. This was a less than contest like way to win a Contest battle...still, he didn't break any rules...and if he passes both the catwalk and the Showcase...then its fair game...'' He commented as both Coordinator left the Arena. Esmeralda seemed to have taken her loss gracefully. Ricardo, funnily enough, didn't demean his Opponent. His Somberado popped out of his shadow, chattering contently. He had enjoyed the spectacle for sure, it was evident.
Liliana was a little shaken by Ricardo's mercilessness, but didn't press. Instead, she presented the next battle.
The other battles came and went. Notably, Ross dispatched his opponent quickly using an interesting Pokemon who had cream colored fur and a cat like appeareance. It seemed to have limitless energy and never stayed in one place. Said Pokemon also was a bit vain, posing proudly on top of his defeated foe, a paw on her opponent's head, with her snout in the air. Not unlike a certain golden furred fox Pokemon we know.
The last battle of the quarter finals were now upon them. Snow was grooming Alpint. She had decided not to use Vixen during the contest since she still felt that she wasn't in full fighting shape after Ricardo's beatdown. Alpint seemed to be more than ready for battling. When her name was called, Snow stood and her Alpint did not return to her Pokeball. Her face was now confident. She had a quick thought about a certain Lentimas native and her older teen friend and smiled, her hand rummaging through Alpint's back pine tree. Her silver hue manifested once again as a gentle warmth filled her and her grass type companion. Whatever that was, it helped them both relax immensely. We walked resolutely toward the Arena, ready for her first contest battle ever. ''Let's do this, Alpint.'' She encouraged her grass type friend. Said grass type wrapped his small trunk around her hand and walked toward the stage.
Liliana smiled. The final card for the Quarter Finals showed a lot of promise. ''For our last match of the first round, We have an exquisite match up between two talents that we discovered during the last few rounds. First off, coming from the west gate, we have our young, talented coordinator Alice !" A bright red light shined as some smoke effect went off. Alice appeared through it and waved to the crowed. The announcer didn't let up, immediately presenting our Heroine in a similar fashion : "...And from the East Gate, a coordinator who seems to ally grace and strong wits. A beauty from the faraway land of Unova. A debut Star who seem to be promized to a bright future as a coordinator...Snow Nightshade now has graced the field with her presence!'' She finished. Snow walked through the smoke effect and the bright blue light. Her heart was beating like crazy but instead of panicking, she just felt extremely excited. As she walked down the small stretch of earth before she reached her coordinator box at the edge of the battlefield.
In the stand, Sven and Andre's eyes were now glued to the arena. It was finally her turn. Andre felt his insides tighten again, his gut whriting in worry. He had a fleeting thought to what had happened ealier, warmth spreading all around him once more. ''Now is not the time...Focus! This is your friend down there...'' He angrily muttered at his more mushy psyche. The warmth receded...just a little. ''Do your best Iztaca...you can do it.'' He cheered a bit louder this time. Sven smiled at the teen. ''Such is youth, I suppose.'' He commented as he turned to the arena as well.
Snow smiled. She had heard Andre amidst all of those people. ''Well i can't disgrace myself in front of him, can I?'' She whispered to Alpint as she blushed lightly. Alpint trumpetted in agreement.
Liliana explained the rules once more then removed herself from the Arena. With a hand gesture, the pointed to the clock, who started tickling down, indicating the start of the battle.
🎵 - Pokemon Anime Ost - Regi Golem Battle Theme - 🎵
Alice was the first to release her Pokemon. "Keep it Balanced Taomarin!" She shouted launching a Premier Ball up in the air. A strange pokemon appeared, landing perfectly on his feet with his palms outstretched facing up, standing in perfect balance. He looked like a midsized imp with a long tail, his face had its eyes closed and all of his 5 beard tip evenly pointing to five direction. The pokemon slowly called his own name in a very soft, almost meditative manner.
Snow didn't know what kind of pokemon it was. That was what the Pokedex was for. She quickly scanned it to know what was she up against. After a quick lock on, the electronical devise revealed the information; ''Taomarin, the Balance Pokemon. Taomarin constantly stands and moves with perfect balance, even in strong winds or uneven ground. Nothing seems to distract it from deep meditation.''
Snow nodded at the information. A normal type huh? This was a matchup she could handle.
"With Gratitude for all of nature!" Snow called as Alpint unwrapped his trunk from her hand and walked on the battlefield.
Snow did not miss any time starting things up.
" Alpint, let's set up something quickly ! Use Sunny Day" Snow commanded as the Elephant trumpeted delightfully as he summoned a harsh sunlight weather. His form started to glow dimly green soon after, elicing a trumpet of delight from Alpint. Alice lost a few amount of points because of that display.
"Wow have you seen how this Alpint looks ? This is magnificent thinking by Snow. Alpints love sunlight. Their Sunbathe ability allows them to recover over time while it's sunny. Our white haired Coordinator knows what she's doing for sure.''
Alice was not exactly impressed."You'd think that Snow. Taomarin, show them what happens when they aren't balanced. Null Room!" She countered.
''She's good. Snow's in trouble...'' Sven commented as he hadn't expected Taomarin to learn it already. The Taomarin's eyes glew white, and a white cell like room was created. Instantly, the glow vanished, Alpint blaring his concern at his loss of comfort.
Andre turned his head toward Sven. ''What's going on? What's Null Room?'' He inquired worriedly.
Sven made a gesture toward the Arena... ''You are about to find out mate.'' He replied as Liliana chained with her explanation.
"This is what we call strategy over here ! Not wanting to let Alpint gain an advantage, Taomarin, at his trainer's command, created a Null Room which supresses the abilities of All pokemon present on the field. It means folks that Alpint wont be able to heal using the Sunbathe ability. What a clever response by Alice. She's not giving Snow a inch...'' She commented as Snow was the one to lose points this time.
Snow bit her lip a little, unnerved as how her go to strategy had been broken so easily. She also didn't know how long would the Null Room would last...However she couldn't just stay idle and do nothing. She had to fight back ! " Alpint! they won't let us battle the way we want to ! Let's show them your Bullet Seed Attack...Aim for the Legs." She ordered as the elephant pokemon shot a volley of energy seed in rapid succession so it would give the Taomarin the least possible time to dodge the attack.
" Taomarin, repel them with Echoed Voice !" Alice replied to Snow's aggressive stategy with her own. Both attacks made a collision and exploded. As the Smoke dissipated, Alpint was already charging toward Taomarin in a Tackle Attack, Snow having commanded the next move under thr cover of the explosion.
The small elephant Pokemon ran on target as instructed. " Great Job Alpint, keep it up !" She encouraged as the big pokemon came in contact with the imp pokemon. Strangely enough, the said opponent landed on his feets, in the same pose he had when he was attacked. That confused Snow greatly, and that confusion cost her some more points. Alice couldn't hold back a triumphant smirk. "Taomarin and it's evolution, Orangutao, have an unprecedented sense of balance. They always land on their feets, perfectly balanced...and that's not all !Taomarin, let's show her what we mean by using Acupressure, then Secret Power!" The normal type imp nodded and started meditating.
This time Snow was completely dumbfunded as she didn't know what would Acupressure do. But she was indeed aware of the possible outcome that a Stab Secret Power would have on Alpint, especially with his ability negated. " Alpint! Let's use Razor Leaf, cut his advance !" Snow shouted, hoping that the ranged leaf attack would allow her to think about a game plan. Unfortunately, it didn't happen as The Taomarin dodged the attack with little effort, as if he was dancing. That was more point deduced for Snow, who had that point had lost around half of her points while Alice was hanging on with close to 60% of hers.
"You'll have to do better than that..." Alice taunted smugly as the room around both pokemon vanished, allowing Alpint to get sunbathe back. Sadly, around the same moment, Sunbathe faded as the sunny weather reverted back to clear skies.
Snow smiled, now happy that the Null room had vanished, but didn't have the time to issue a counterattack as Taomarin Glowed pink and crashed his palm on Alpi's trunk. Sending him clear across the Field.
"What a powerful Secret Power that Taomarin possess...Could it be because of the Accupressure attack ? That was some insane Power right there coming from the balance pokemon folk ! There is now one minute remaing to the timer and despite Snow's brilliant effort, it seems that Taomarin has the Edge in this match..." Liliana commented as the timer entered it's ultimate minute.
"How did that secret power was so strong ?" Snow panickly inquired, not believing that her pokemon's defenses couldn't take that blow..
"You'd think you'd know about Acupressure right ? It's a move that sharply increase a pokemon's stat but completely in Random. But Taomarin and Orangutao are such pokemon that their focus can alter the chances ever so slightly. In this case, my Taomarin sharply rose his attack, as you could clearly see...and now here comes the finisher...Taomarin, let's finish with Hidden Power!" She said as the Imp pokemon entered a meditative stance, 5 Ghost like balls of energy spinning by his open palms.
Snow wouldn't have none of that. " I won't lose...Alpint, shoot Bullet Seed over your head !" she said as the seeds of energy were quickly launched upward.. Then when they rained down on The Taomarin, who couldn't move, startled by the rain of Seed disrupting his focus a little bit, She followed her order with Alpint's Razor Leaf, Finally dealing major Damage...However, when she looked at the Clock...
"There is only 10 seconds remaining to the clock...and Snow is still trailing, however if she gets one more attack off, she might just clinch the victory away from Alice." Liliana informed as the crowd started cheering Snow with all their might, trying to insuffle the nessesary energy for the White haired beauty to command her pokemon to do that last ditch attack.
Andre and Sven were also cheering with all of their might. This had been a great match to see, but even them could see that Snow's pokemon knowledge was lacking. They still hoped and prayed. That was what friends do.
Snow felt the urgency. She did not want to lose, but she also did not want to give up. If today had one lesson to give her, it was that she should never give up until its over. Trusting her hand forward, she called out to her panting elephant; "Alpint, we gotta go for broke, let's use Tackle attack and win" She said, trusting her fist forward.
In the judges area, Serena Frowned... "What a rash decision to make ...Snow..poor you, you came really close though" she thought, closing her eyes
The Elephant pokemon charged worward, using his ultimate reserve of energy in order to run over the Imp pokemon. The pokemon then dissapeared in the smoke caused by both the Bullet Seed and the Razor Leaf attack and a big thumping sound was heard at the same time both the counter reached 0 and a dust cloud elevated in the aera..
Snow felt a cold sweat run down her spine..she was genuinly worried about both her Alpint's safety and the question which was if she had managed to come back, to win her first contest battle.
The tension was so thick you could have cut it with a Scyther's scythes...
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BUMP
"The smoke has finally cleared and we can finally see what the final outcome is for both our competitor who offered a match worthy of such an occasion..But the question remains. Who won a place in the semi-finals ? Snow, the lovely debut star, Or Alice, the emmisary of Balance?"Liliana asked the crowd, who seemed as anxious as both girls to know the outcome.
Soon a tail was seen, along with a body and two open palm facing the Sun. Taomarin was standing next to a collapsed Alpint, who had the Ko swirls in his eyes. He was out of commision.
Snow's head dropped while Alice cheered. She had been beaten.
"And the victor of this great showdown is Alice and her Taomarin. It seems that Alice better knowledge and move selection has triumphed over grace and grit. She will be moving on to the Semi-Finals. To Snow Nightshade I tip my hat. You have done well. It is a shame that your competing stops here, but you have proved to everyone that when you don't give up, you can go far, further than anyone can foresee! Let's give one last hurrah to Snow Nightshade's performance today." Liliana cheered as the crowd went wild again, chanting Snow's name over and over.
Snow smiled softly as she recalled her Alpint. "Thank you for your hard work, I Alpint. You did your best!" She softly whispered as she turned to Alice who had walked the distance, her Taomarin hanging in perfect balance on her head. How did he manage that was beyond Snow's imagination. The female coordinator extended her hand to Snow.
''You fought well girl. You definitely show promise, more than I do at least. Stand proud and balanced!'' She said, smiling in joy and relief. Snow nodded. ''You too, that was a great fight. I feel like I learned a lot today, and I thank you for it.'' She graciously admitted as she shook her hand. The fair play gesture provoked a standing ovation for Snow and Alice. The white haired trainer felt a lump in her throat. She had lost, sure, but she felt much better about this one than being brutalized almost beyond repair by a certain douchebag. She waved back to the crowd in gratitude. As Snow left the Arena, she felt a warm paw caress her cheek soothingly. She jumped in fright, as her Vixen was still in her Pokeball and Alpint was returned as well. She looked left and right but didn't see anything or anyone. Dismissing her panic, she still felt that incredible warmth that the caress had created and smiled, walking resolutely toward the waiting area.
In the stands, Andre shuffled. He had somewhat had seen Snow's loss coming, but it still kinda annoyed him. He wanted to go see Snow and confort her. As he finally started to stand, his Aguade in tow, he felt Sven's grip on his arm. Confused, Andre turned to his travelling companion.
''What's up Sven, I kinda want to..'' Andre started before Sven's grip intensified. Knowing exactly what the teen wanted to say, he finished his sentence. ''...see Snow and comfort her. Is that what you were about to say?'' The older teen inquired. Andre wasn't expecting to be read so easily. ''So what if I am?'' he finally said, trying to get his arm free from Sven's vice grip. The older teen sighed. ''Listen loverboy, I know Snow's your friend, she's mine too. But as an older trainer, heed my advice. You can't coddle her forever. You picked her up once today. You knew probably as well as I did that today wasn't her day. Let her have a moment by herself. She is going to have to learn to cope with defeat alone. Once she had her moment to herself, you can approach. You know I'm right, so get your ass on the chair and watch the semis with me mate.'' Sven explained to a less than eager Andre. The raven haired trainer thought about it...and couldn't help but understand what Sven was getting at. He was not wrong...He couldn't continually coddle the white haired maiden, no matter how tempting. Resigned, the teen gave up. ''Fine...'' He muttered as he sat back down, his Aguade jumping back on his lap and nuzzling him. ''She'll be fine boss, trust the bad jokester...'' He said in his own tongue, making Andre sigh, having caught the jist of it. ''I sure hope so, Itzatl...'' He said softly, his attention back to the Arena.
Snow ended up not being able to stay much longer in the waiting area. She needed some fresh air. On her way there, Snow's eyes crossed Ricardo's. The latter showed her a mean smile, his Somberado making some gun related gestures toward her in agression. Snow's eyes watered, but her pride did not allow her to breakdown in front of him. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction. She held her head high and left the Center to go toward the pond. Upon arriving there, she released her three companions: A golden furred Vulpix, a cute, flightless Foliat and her trusty Alpint, who trumpeted happily. His recovery had been fast and Snow was happy about it. The pokemon gave their cry and huddled with Snow, sensing her sadness. The Vulpix in particular jumped in Snow's arms and coiled her six tails around her neck in a literal warm embrace, her snout nuzzing her next softly. ''Princess...I know you're sad...'' She growled softly. Foliat ran around the pair, making some kicking motions with her feets. ''Next time, we will show them who's boss...So don't be sad...'' The grass starter pleaded, nuzzling Snow's leg. Alpint just trumpeted and settled behind Snow, his frame providing support for Snow, who just allowed herself to slide down. She reminded herself of the recent days. Ricardo's harsh words and savage beating, her subsequent injury, Andre's gentle words, her shameful breakdown, Andre's save...and now her loss... The emotions swirled and swirled. The tension draining, the adrenaline fading...All that was left was an overly emotional teenage girl who was filled with sorrow. Snow's shoulders start to twich, her voice softly hiccuping, her eyes watering.
''Guys...I..I'm..'' Snow started, her voice breaking, like a dam too filled with water. Perceptive as always, Vulpix gently nuzzled her trainer. ''Let it go Princess...nobody will see...'' She soothingly whimpered as she rubbed snow's back with her tail. The other two party members cuddled closer to the sorrowful teen, who simply let go at that moment.
Sorrounded by her Pokemon from all sides, Snow Nightshade cried. She never rose her voice above that of a whisper, but she cried, cried and cried some more. She felt like breaking the entire world for a few second, her emotions swirling inside with the strenght of a hurricane. Even her own Pokemon, sensible to the mood of their trainers, shed a few tears in front of such raw emotion. Soon enough, Snow's hiccups faded slowly, her face buried in Vixen's fur. She stayed like that, staring to the sky as she petted her slightly soaked Vixen. ''I'm sorry guys, truly. But we'll do our best next time...'' She promised as she just relaxed, closing her eyes. For a while, she didn't move, the calm, soothing atmosphere of the pond mending her wounded heart like a mother would.
The contest finished with Ricardo's victory. It had been a hard fought match between the Desperado and Ross. Ultimately, his somberado had the upper hand against Ross's Pawter. The desperado had to admit that Ross had won his respect. Both trainer shook hands and soon after, Ricardo was presented with the Jade Forest ribbon, that he took eagerly. He was a little closer and he loved it. His only regret was that he hadn't faced that white haired weakling. He'd shoot her down again soon enough, he thought before leaving the premices on his trusted Tauros, El Rojo.
Sven and Andre left the stands after the ceremony. The raven haired teen tried to play it cool, but everything in his body language was suggesting worry. Sven had enough and chuckled. ''Alright mate, I won't stop you this time. Go get Snow and meet me at the center. Now that this thing is over, we gotta start planning your gym battle, and as you saw, trainers here knows their stuff, most of the time.'' He explained before he walked back toward the Pokemon Center, yawning after a long day. Andre nodded as he headed to the pond. Since they had not seen Snow anywhere in the Contest temple, they had deduced that she was over there.
When Andre made it to the pond, his Aguade in tow, he smiled upon seeing the object of his search. Snow was sleeping peacefully, her back against Alpint's little pine tree, her Foliat standing guard and her Vulpix wrapped all around her like some sort of living scarf. Aguade chuckled at that sight as well. ''Man, must be cozy to sleep in here, sourrounded like that...'' Andre simply nodded. ''Seems that the contest had taken quite the toll on her. Still we can't leave her here. Let's bring her back...'' The teen decided as he picked Snow's Pokeballs and returned all of Snow's Pokemon, holding onto Snow as Alpint returned to his ball. Vixen had woken up slightly and had relaxed upon seeing Andre putting his index finger in front of his lips, obviously not wanting to disrupt the white haired teen's sleep.
Andre put Snow on his back. The latter uncounsciously wrapped her arm around Andre's neck and pressed her cheek on his back, sending all sort of warmth coursing through his body. The sudden sensation almost slacked Andre's focus. He sighed. Whatever that girl was doing to him would have to be fixed... For now, he simply smiled as he walked toward the Pokemon Center, his Aguade waddling behind him.
''Good Job today Iztaca. You shined brightly, just like I knew you would. Rest well tonight...tomorrow, it's my turn...'' He whispered softly to a drowsing Snow.
Snow smiled in contentment, mumbling softly in her sleep. Her voice was too soft at this point to be telligible. Andre figured that she was just sleep talking.
''Thank you Andre...''
To be Continued...
StevenZ12: Here's it it folk. Follow and Review if it strikes your fancy... I can finally go to bed haha. Take care y'all, stay safe and stay golden.