Disclaimer: Monster Rancher, Monster Rancher Advance and related copyrights are properties of Tecmo and I do not work for them. In other words I do not own Monster Rancher or any related concept, this work of fiction is done purely for fun and not money. Don't sue me I'm poor!
AN: I feel like I haven't worked on this in AGES! Sorry about that. I'm still looking for a few filler opponents to fill my tournaments, but please, no more blue Mon Unit, I got enough of them already ^^;. IF you could include a few attacks it would help me out. I'm using one submitted character(with slight adjustement to fit in the story) in this chapter ^^ I hope you still read Spellcaster Hikaru. In fact I hope ANYONE still reads @.@
Episode 11: AGIMA Official E,part 1
It was the day following Green Blade's attack on the market. Metin was enjoying the sun on the porch of his ranch's house while Kanar was meditating on the ground, deep in toughts. Holly was sitting beside him, reading a book, while Mei was up on the roof, enjoying the bright sun as well.
"The weather's fine on this island." Commented the boy.
"I know...we barely had rain yet. You should take this opportunity to go in town and get register for the Official." Proposed Holly, nothing looking up from her book.
"We can't do it through the Mon Unit like the Youth Cup?" Wondered Metin.
"You can do both, but I tought since you don't enjoy INT training you'd like something to do." Explained the girl.
The boy quickly stood up "Good idea! I'll go to the AGIMA Building then."
"Not so fast!" Called Holly, stopping Metin in his track. "Take Mei with you, just in case you get lost or attacked by a stray."
"Yippee! I'm going to the city!" Cheered the Lip Pink, flying down from the roof. "Com'on Metin, I'll race you up the hill!" And with that she flew away toward the city.
"HEY! NO FAIR! YOU CAN FLY!" She heard the boy call as he took off after the flying monster.
Holly chuckled "At least I'll have some peace and quiet."
---------
"You're just mad because I won." Stated Mei, floating a few inches above the ground as she and Metin walked through town.
"I'm mad because you were flying and I had to run uphill!" Growled the boy.
"Hey, it's not my fault you don't have wings."
Metin tried to grab hold of Mei, only to have her fly upward.
The pixie giggled "Silly human!"
"Having fun instead of training Uchara?" Asked a female voice.
Metin turned to face the voice and smiled as he saw Aroma standing there with Suzi and a young man Metin recognized as Zest.
"Hey Aroma!" Greeted the boy, walking toward them.
"Hi Aroma! Hi Suzi!" Chimed Mei as she flew down to their level.
"Hi!" Softly added Suzi.
"Metin, this is my brother Zest! Zest, that's the breeder I told you about. "
"Hi, nice to meet you." Said Metin, holding out his hand.
Zest shook hand with the younger boy "Nice to meet you. I heard you were pretty good for a new guy."
Metin grinned and rubbed the back of his head "Thanks! So what brings you all in town?"
"Well it's Suzi's day off, and I want to get registered for the AGIMA Official E. What about you? Where are Holly and Kanar?" Replied Aroma.
"Well Kanar's doing some basic INT training and Holly is watching him. Since we were bored Mei and I are going to get me registered for the tournament too!" Explained the boy.
"Well I hope this time we won't end up tie! I want that title and that trophy, just for me." The girl added, with a little smile. "Com'on, let's walk together to the AGIMA building." She then said, pulling on Metin's hand and taking him in the right direction.
After managing to get his hand free from Aroma's grip, the boy decided to ask her about his strange encounter with the vigilante Antlan "Hey Aroma... you heard of a rogue Moonlight fighting strays that attack people? "
"I've heard of Antlans doing that sort of thing after they retire, but the rumors never say what specie the Antlan is, so it's possible yeah. Why?" She answered.
"Chiroh and I faced a stray Stinger that attacked the market, and this Moonlight came out of nowhere and... killed him."
"Oh yeah... I heard of that...so you guys were those 'brave youth' people told me about." Commented Zest.
"That was pretty brave of you to face a wild monster like that. " Said Aroma, making Metin blush, much to Mei's delight "But then again I would have done the same thing... oh! Here we are! Let's get registered."
----------
Metin entered the preparation room of the Official E tournament and looked around. There were 5 other breeders there for the round robin style tournament. There was off course Aroma and Suzi. Beside them there was a girl with a red colored tiger, a younger boy with a Mew, a young man with a turquoise Zuum and an older girl with a blue Lesione. Metin let a little sigh, relieved there was no Golem this time around. He hated to face Golems in the game and after Kanar fought with Gigant, he truly hated to face them in real life too! He went over to Aroma, who was waving at him.
"So Metin, ready for your first official?" She asked.
"Sure am!" He answered "Altough I expected it to be held in another stadium...this is the same place we fought in for the Youth Cup."
"Well it is the E Class Colloseum, there's nothing to do about it. The D Class one is in the next town and it's pretty nice. You'll see. " Replied the girl, as she eyed Metin.
The boy had bandages around his head again, a big cross of bandage on his right cheek, arround his left arm, and a patch on his pant's leg. He looked as bad as during the last tournament!
"Geez Metin, what's up with you? You're always all banged up by the time of the tournament!" Commented Aroma, a hint of concern in her normally upbeat and cheery voice.
Both Kanar and Metin laughed nervously "Well.. it's a secret. Don't worry, I heal fast. I'll be okay in a few days." He reassured her. "So! Who should I look out for?" He then asked, shifting the subject away from his secret training methods.
"The girl over there with the Flarester." Answered the other Breeder, pointing to the girl with the red colored tiger.
The girl had short dark blue hair that spiked at the bottom and deep black eyes. She wore long loose blue robes with a black cape, giving the look of some story book magician. Her MonUnit was midnight blue and she wore around her neck a silver chain adorn with a round red pendant. Her monster was dark orange with a red mane, making him look like a horned fireball, it's eyes seamed to burn with fire and it's black horn were slightly curved upward. Metin knew that a Flarester was the result of a combination betweem a Tiger and a Dragon monster, and even without looking with his Mon-Unit he could tell that Flarester was powerful.
"That's Hikaru Spellia of the Red Moon Ranch. Before our battle in the Youth Cup Tournament, everybody said she would be the one advencing to D Class. Altough since our spectacular final, nobody is sure of anything. Just be careful, I heard her monster, Flameborg, is VERY powerful for an E Class." Explained Aroma.
That's when the official with glasses that Metin had seen at the Youth Cup showed up.
"Allright listen up, here are the match ups for the first series of battles!" He called, getting everyone's attention. "First up is Red Moon and... Spring Blossom! Followed by Echo Canyon versus Sunny Meadow and finally Seaside Hill and Hopestar!"
The girl with the Lesione looked at Metin with a smile, while Aroma looked excited to face off against Hikaru. Suzi hid behind her breeder's leg as the Flarester glared her way. Metin's opponent was older than him, probably as old as Holly, she had an aquamarine green Mon-Unit, and wore a blue dress, Both her hair and eyes were brown.
Hikaru walked over Aroma with a little smirk "Well it's a pleasure to face you in battle Aroma, you're a celebrity. May the best team win."
The two girls shook hand " May the best team win." Agreed Aroma.
The two girls then left for the arena, to fight, leaving Metin with the other competitors. The older girl introduced herself and her monster to Metin and Kanar. The blue Lesione was taller than the Ducken, in fact her head was perched as high as Metin's, and so she had to look down at the little Kokkung. She was named Mia and her monster was Pali, a Paleo, she then left him to talk to the other breeders. Sitting in a corner the boy decided to take a quick glance at his opposition. He opened his Mon-Unit and scanned Pali.
"She's older than Suzi, and yet she doesn't have very high stats, I guess the Seaside Hill Ranch is new. A Paleo is Lesione + Antlan. She already knows Spike though, you'll have to be careful. " He read, whispering to Kanar.
"Don't sweat kid, I can handle that overgrown fish! I'll dazzle her with my charm then go in for the kill!" Bragged Kanar.
"Oh boy... if he wins easily he's gonna brag about it for months." Groaned Metin.
---------
Holly was sitting with Mei and Zest, watching Aroma and Suzi's battle. Things weren't going well for the Spring Blossom team. None of Suzi's Aim Hit had managed to connect with the speedy Flameborg, and he had managed to damage her with his horn and claw! There was only 25 seconds left to the fight, and even without a special Mon Unit like Metin, Holly knew that her friend would loose. Right now the little Suzurin was doding claw attacks left and right, barely keeping up with the rapid pace of her attacker! Aroma was frantic, but Hikaru was calm and cool. That's when someone else sat beside the young assistant/breeder. She was surprised to find none other than her neigbhor, Chiroh Heruno!
"Chiroh! What are you doing here?" Asked the girl.
"Oh it's you... just my luck...I'm here to scope the competition. I might have to face the winner in the next D-Class tournament." He explained.
"Hi Mei!" Called Darkalon in a friendly manner, waving to the Lip Pink, before receiving a deadly glare from his breeder.
"HIYA Darkalon!" Greeted the cheerful pixie.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with Metin's challenge, right?" Asked Holly.
The dark hair boy didn't even look at Holly when he answered her "Hah! This isn't the Youth Cup Holly, a rookie like him can't win in this tournament, not with Hikaru Spellia in the line up. I bet he'll loose to Aroma this time too. And even if he was to win, I doubt Kanar is any match for Darkalon."
"That's not true, you saw them in action when you fought with Green Blade, and you'll see them again in this tournament, you'll see they come a long way since the time you almost killed that stray Psiroller in our backyard." Replied the girl. "You just think you're superior to everyone because you're from the Victory Blade Ranch!"
Chiroh looked frustrated "Believe what you want Holly, but I want to watch this tournament and be ready for the competition when it come to me."
That's when Flameborg landed a powerful claw stab right at Suzi's hard chest, sending her flying into the wall behind her.
"Oh no Suzi!" Gasped Mei.
"And I am certain that she will be that competition." Added Chiroh, scanning the Flarester with his metalic black Mon-Unit.
---------
Metin saw Aroma enter the room, carrying a dirty Suzurin, half asleep in her arm.
"Aroma! What happened?" Asked Metin,
But he already knew the answer "We lost...75% to 99%. that Flarester is really fast and powerful. Be careful Metin, it's like facing an actual Dragon!" warned the girl.
"I take nappy now." Groaned Suzi, falling asleep in her breeder's arm.
"I'm going over to the recovery room... don't worry about Suzi, she'll be okay for the next round, you just worry about your own match." Explained Aroma, as she proceeded to leave the room.
Then Metin had to wait until the match betweem the guys of Sunny Meadow and Echo Canyon were done with their matches. The kid with the Mew was from Echo Canyon, while the guy with the Zuum was from the Sunny Meadow Ranch. The young breeder looked at the Flarester, the fire still burning in it's eyes as if it hadn't been tired out by his encounter with Suzi, who while small and fragile looking, was not easy to damage. He then took the opportunity to scan Flameborg with his platinium Mon-Unit. He wasn'tT pleased with what he saw, that thing had stats almost on par with Darkalon, and Darkalon had been in the D-Class longer than Kanar even trained. He also noticed a trait he had never seen before called 'DragnSoul', and wondered what it was. How could they beat that thing? They would never be able to face Chiroh and Darkalon, or at least not in D-Class. Metin closed his Mon-Unit just as the official entered, along with the two breeder who were competing. He heard the kid with a Mew won but he could careless. He less than he cared about his next match. He was half in his right mind to let Kanar do it by himself but in the end decided against it.
"The next match is Hopestar Ranch versus Seaside Hill Ranch!" Called the official.
The boy stood up and clenched his fist. His ranch was called 'Hopestar' and to be true to it's name, Metin couldn't loose hope that easily. Kanar seamed to understand as he and his breeder walked with confident steps, passing by the girl and her Flarester.
Once they were out of earshot, Metin looked at his Kokkung "We won't give up! If we want to battle with Chiroh and Darkalon we HAVE to win! This fight and this tournament!"
Kanar nodded "I won't give up!"
---------
"COM'ON YOU CAN DO IT GUYS!" Cheered Holly from her seat.
The fight betweem the team from Hopestar and Seaside Hill had begun about 30 seconds ago, and nobody had been hit yet. Pali wasn't a very accurate Monster and Kanar had no trouble avoiding any hits, but she was very slippery and managed to dodge all the missiles or get away from any wing slaps Kanar had tried. Pali opened her mouth and shot a ball of water in the air, slamming it with her head as it fell down. The Spike attack flew toward Kanar who barely dodged , throwing himself to the side, he then had to roll out of the way as the Paleo charged at him.
He took his chance and fired a missile, hitting the Lesione straight in the face, before rushing her. Kanar leaped and unleashed a series of Wing slap before landing straight on one of her front fin, getting a cried of pain out of the blue monster. The Kokkung then retreated before she'd tried to throw him into a wall or something. Doing so allowed him to avoid a tail whip as Pali spun quickly where she stood.
The rest of the battle went on like it's begining, none of the opponent capable of hitting the other.
"How come Kanar isn't hitting the other Monster anymore?" asked Mei to the two humans surrounding her.
Zest pushed up his glasses before answering "Metin simply wants to save Kanar's strength for the battles with Suzi and Flameborg. They dealt enough damage to win the fight now, so all they need to do is take it easy. It's not as fun to watch, but it's wiser."
"Oh... but I wanted a cool fight." Whined the Lip Pink.
"You'll have your cool fight later, you'll see." Promised Holly.
A few more dodges later and the fight was over, victory going to Metin and Kanar who left the arena waving at the crowd.
"Don't get your hope too high, I'm pretty sure the fight against Hikaru and Flameborg will be a quick one. I just hope for your pal's sake his monster doesn't suffer much." Commented Chiroh.
"What makes you so sure they'll lose to the Red Moon team?" Asked Holly.
Chiroh lifted his left arm"You know what this special Mon-Unit is capable of, right?" the girl nodded "I scanned Flameborg during the fight... Hikaru already unlocked his DragnSoul trait."
Holly looked shocked "ALREADY? That's impossible! He's only in E-Class! Oh no... Metin...Kanar... this is terrible... those two are so stubborn she might dare to use 'it' on Kanar!"
Holly looked with deep concern in her eyes at the door through wich her friend had retreated after his battle, then at the board where the fights line up where announced.
"This might proove to be Metin and Kanar's toughtest battle yet... good luck guys...I'm praying for you." tought the girl.
To Be Continued...
AN: Dum dum dum! Suspense! Mystery! What is this new trait I just made up? You'll see, you'll see ^^.