Ah, such lovely reviews I haven't seen since my old fics here on FF.net. One thing I feel I should explain was sparked by a review I received from a person named Morbane:
"Okay. Our enemy is now our protagonist. Fine.. adds to the plot twists. Fascinating....."
First of all, I greatly appreciate your understanding and acceptance of the story so far; plots like this have gone disliked by some. However, I feel I must define something about how the story works involving Protagonists and Antagonists.
To speak in my original intention, all characters are more Pro/Antagonists rather than `Heroes' and `Villain's. It's far more interesting to have characters that line more on neutral than being fully on the side of `Good' or `Evil.' Mind you that there will be `heroes' and `villains', but you'll know them when you see them. ^_~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sandshrew, use your Rollout attack!"
For the seventh time, the ground-element rodent launched itself full force into a Rollout, balling itself head-over-hills as it barreled towards it's opponent, a rather battered looking Elekid. The pokemon collided with each other with a sickening crunch, the Elekid failing to withstand the force of the attack and being pulled beneath the Sandshrew as it rolled over it. A few moments of non-activity from the Elekid and the trainer of the KO'ed pokemon returned it to it's pokeball and hurried away with shame hanging over his form like a dark cloud.
Quite a large group had gathered to watch the battle between the two trainers who had met in the construction lots of Aquamarine City; a small community that rarely saw any more action than the twice-yearly Trainer Convention of which was the only reason a pokemon battle was being held. Trainers came from near and far to the bayside city for the sights and action that can only come from several hundred pokemon trainers being within close proximity of each other.
The victorious trainer, a lanky young man of twenty-something years with stunning crimson hair, pumped his fist in the air and received the complementing cheers from the onlookers of the past battle. Erin McDouglas was a trainer of high status with years of experience behind him, a force to be reckoned with in battle. He was rather well-known for his excellent combative skills in predicting his opponent's attacks before they made him, giving him the upper hand over many other trainers.
"Yeah, I'm the best! I beat him easy!" The trainer of the Sandshrew crowed as he returned his pokemon as well, not giving it a second look as he placed the pokeball back into his pocket. He was on top of the world, having won his twentieth consecutive battle in only four hours. Nothing could bring him down from the rush he was getting.
"You didn't do anything."
Erin's good mood suddenly nose-dived.
"What was that!? Who said that!?" Erin yelled as he looked around with fire in his eyes for the person who dared to insult him.
"You didn't do anything." The smooth yet hollow voice repeated, allowing Erin to lock onto the source of the accusation.
Erin found himself staring at a depressing young man that looked like he walked right out of shoujo manga. Pale skinned, dressed in all black, and seeming very out of place in the happy gathering, the young man seemed to suck the good moods around him into the blackness of his coat with his somber attitude.
"What do you mean by `didn't do anything'? I just wasted that guy's Elekid without trying!" Erin reasoned as he stepped up to the man, sneering down at him with his five-inch height advantage. The young man simply looked back up at him over his glasses and kept his deadpanned expression solid.
"You didn't do a thing but yell orders at your pokemon. The Sandshrew was the one who did all the work and you just took all the credit for yourself." The younger man countered, his logic receiving odd looks and murmurs from the people around him.
"It's only because of my skill as a trainer that he won. When I caught that Sandshrew, he was just a puny little runt." Erin smirked.
"So what does that say about you?"
Several spectators were treated to the sight of steam jets firing from Erin's ears, a sight uncommon under normal circumstances.
"I bet you think you're a hotshot, don't you kid? Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, then we'll see who's the better trainer?" Erin challenged as he whipped out a Hyperball from his pant's pocket. The dark stranger smirked lightly, then brushed a strand of his hair away from his eyes.
"Five hundred dollars."
Steam issued from Erin's ears once more.
"FIVE HUNDRED!? Are you crazy!?" Erin yelped. He had more than that on him, but that was still a major chunk of pocket change to bet on a pokemon battle.
"Five hundred." The young man confirmed. "Unless you're afraid you'll lose to a `hotshot kid'."
That was all the egging that Erin needed to give in. He yanked a wad of bills from his pocket, looking them over briefly before handing them to a friend of his who he was visiting the convention with. The young man drew out a leather wallet (black, no less) and counted out five one hundred dollar bills, handing the neatly folded stack to Erin's friend as well. He pocketed his wallet and strolled back to his original position ten yards away from Erin.
"You're gonna be sorry you met Erin McDouglas, kid. I choose Marowak!"
The Hyperball thrown and pokemon unleashed, Erin stood with a confidant smirk plastered on his gaunt face. Marowak was one of his strongest pokemon and had never gone a battle without giving her all in the process. Indeed, this kid would be taught a lesson at the harsh club of the `Bone Keeper' pokemon.
The young man smiled lightly, admiring the health of the Marowak that stood menacingly before him. Erin, while lacking true appreciation of his pokemon, at least knew how to take care of them physically. The Marowak was obviously in fantastic condition and looked as though it could run a marathon and get bored doing it. The young man reached a gloved hand into his duster coat's pocket, searching around for a moment. He had the perfect match for this pokemon....
"My name is Karuta. With all the hot air you're bellowing, I'm already sort I met you." Karuta smirked as he snapped the black pokeball open, releasing it's contained creature.
"Geez, what a sickly looking Raichu....you've got a long way to go before you could hope to be at my level of expertise with raising pokemon. I almost feel sorry for the poor rat...." Erin chuckled, an action echoed by his Marowak.
"Okay Kyuuden, just have fun and don't go too hard on the Marowak. It's a victim of circumstance here." Karuta advised as he patted Kyuuden on the head lightly.
The steam pouring from Erin's ears was beginning to undo the natural curls in his hair.
~~
Nozomi Iziuma looked with wonder at the fine craftsmanship put into a set of Plushie pokemon dolls, each in the form of the Legendary Bird pokemon: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. While very expensive, she just couldn't let such high quality items go unpurchased ....they practically begged to join her collection of pokemon dolls when she first laid eyes on them.
Nozomi's appreciation of the dolls was interrupted when she almost dropped them when a running boy collided with her. The boy was far too small to knock her over and ended up falling flat on his back while his friends left him behind as they hurried on without him. The boy leapt to his feet and was about to dash off, but found his getaway blocked by a peeved looking Nozomi.
"What terrible manners! You can at least apologize for running into me you know!" Nozomi scolded the anxious looking boy.
"Okay, I'm sorry lady! Can I go? I'm missing a great pokemon battle down the street...." The boy begged. Nozomi blinked.
"A pokemon battle?"
"Yeah! People are saying that there's been a battle going on for twenty minutes between Erin McDouglas and some guy in a trenchcoat." The boy replied as he sidestepped and darted off down the street after his friends.
"........No way......." Nozomi muttered as she hastily followed the boy.
Nozomi pushed her way through the crowd, inching her way through the thick mass of cheering people packed on the sidewalks of the street. Finally going as far as to stand on her traveling bag, she was finally able to get a good view of the happenings of the battle.
She was shocked by the sight of the battle ground. What was once an average paved side street was now a war zone, the pavement blackened with scorch marks and pockmarked with spots of shattered concrete. In the middle of the road was an enraged Marowak, wildly swinging it's club in vain attempts to brain a happily chittering Raichu that seemed to flow around the attacks without a care in the world. On either side of the pokemon was an equally enraged Erin and the ever-docile Karuta. Erin's face was as red as his hair as he barked attack combinations to his Marowak.
His opponent, on the other hand, was completely silent.
In truth, Karuta had not said a single word since the battle began. He knew that Kyuuden could handle himself without the orders of his trainer and rather enjoyed cutting Erin's chances down by allowing Kyuuden's attack formation to be a complete surprise. And it was indeed a surprise, as Kyuuden unleashed powerful blasts of electricity that were able to pain even the immovable Marowak while the rodent continued to evade the Marowak's crushing strikes with obvious enjoyment. No matter how hard or randomly the ground pokemon attacked, Kyuuden weaved past the onslaught clean through her defenses, landing strikes on the Marowak's hard body.
"Bone club! Mega punch! Seismic toss!" Erin shouted as a vein stood proudly in his neck.
Every now and then, Marowak took her trainer's advice and tried to land the ordered attacks, but each had the same amount of success as her own random attacks had. Suddenly a gleam came to Erin's eye as he gave a desperate laugh.
"Bonemerang!"
This order found it's way to Marowak's understanding, which she promptly followed through with. Breaking away from Kyuuden, Marowak leapt back and let fly her bone-cudgel, spinning it directly at Kyuuden's head. The mouse simply hopped over the attack, sticking his tongue out at Marowak as the bone whirled over the crowd's heads. Even Karuta watched the bone arc through the air as it began it's return trip.
" Tackle!" Erin laughed in triumph.
Marowak suddenly darted forward, shoulder extended in an attempt to plow over Raichu when he landed. Kyuuden's eyes widened a little as he hit the ground, but easily leapt to the side of the rush attack, laughing his shrill laugh as Marowak stumbled past her target, trying to regain her balance. But why was the Marowak smiling?
CRACK!
Kyuuden swooned and rolled across the concrete, flipping head over heels from the force of the strike. Having dodged Marowak's tackle, Kyuuden forgot about the returning bonemerang and was struck squarely upside the back of the head, leaving a splotch of blood on the concrete as he finally settled.
The crowd gasped in horror of the sight. Nozomi even went as far as to avert her gaze from the fallen Raichu, instead watching his trainer. She stared at Karuta, watching his still calm expression. He didn't even seem to be concerned for his pokemon....a look of realization dawned on Nozomi. He had watched the bonemerang's path....that meant he had seen the attack coming and didn't warn his Raichu!
The grin that Karuta had worn two weeks before presented itself again. It was a look of one who knew something that someone else did not.....it made Nozomi shiver.
Marowak stood panting, a victorious grin under her bone mask. The Raichu had been one of the hardest fights she'd had in a long time, but she knew she would win against a pokemon that didn't fight seriously. Erin may not shower her with praise or anything silly like that, but she took pride in the broken form of the growling Raichu before her.
Wait a second.....
Kyuuden's body shook violently, his tail suddenly lashing about over the ground. The crowd watched in silent awe as the battered Raichu shakily got to his feet, his back to his opponent. Those who Kyuuden faced took an unconscious step backwards, widening the space between him and themselves. As the hairs along Kyuuden's back raised, the Marowak felt a sudden twinge of fear tickle up her spine. How in the world could this rodent still be conscious after such a blow?
Erin himself was stunned speechless. He just stared at the shaking form of Kyuuden, disbelief on his face. He slowly looked up to Karuta, trying to find some hint of what was happening in his rival's expression. Karuta only continued his calculating grin and whispered two words that carried over the hushed crowd like a gunshot.
"You lose."
Marowak took a step backwards as Kyuuden began to turn, desperately wishing her bone was back in her grasp instead of next to the Raichu. Kyuuden let out a low, gutteral growl and turned to fully face his opponent once more. His terrible expression caused Marowak to falter back once more. The Raichu looked perfectly murderous, his round eyes narrowed into a horrible glare with fire raging behind them. The mouse's lips curled back to reveal small yet obviously sharp fangs as he hissed, his fur puffing up more as he dropped down to all four feet.
"Don't just stand there Marowak! Tackle it!" Erin ordered, having found his voice again.
Marowak seemed doubtful of her master's sanity, and with good reason. She currently wanted to stay as far away from the enraged rodent as she could, but knew she couldn't go against Erin's word. Collecting up her courage, the Marowak lowered her shoulder and charged at Kyuuden at top speed, intent on plowing through him.
Karuta almost felt sorry for the poor creature.
Marowak was taken by surprise as Kyuuden met her charge with a charge of his own, dashing headlong towards his foe. In an extreme game of chicken, the pokemon both dashed full tilt at each other as the crowd held their collective breath for the outcome.
Marowak braced herself for an impact that never came, Kyuuden choosing to hop over her at the last possible second. Marowak tried to stop but was sent slamming into the ground by a swift kick to the back of the head. Kyuuden flipped around and landed lightly behind the Marowak, pouncing back onto her with a feral war cry. Kyuuden's powerful blows broke through the Marowak's attempts to ward off the onslaught, landing hit after hit upside the helmeted face of the Marowak. Chunks of bone began to crack off of the mask, spiderweb fractures spreading where Kyuuden's paws met. In a desperate attempt to save herself, the Marowak rolled viciously to the side, flinging Kyuuden from her and staggering to her feet. She looked around wildly for her weapon, not seeing Kyuuden's counterstrike until it was too late.
Kyuuden had charged past the stunned Marowak, his long tail wrapping tightly around the ground-type's waist. Kyuuden continued his dash, his tail pulling taut and dragging Marowak behind him as he darted in a wide circle within the street. Marowak rolled out of control, helpless against the speed she was being pulled by. Kyuuden suddenly took a sharp U-turn, coming back the way he came and passing the end of his own long tail and the victim it ensnared. With a loud snap, the Marowak was sent rolling wildly away from the whiplash effect. The pokemon tumbled through a quickly opening gap in the crowd, slamming against a telephone poll with a resounding `clang', putting a sizable dent in the pole and causing it to tilt a few degrees over.
As the echo of the impact faded, Marowak slumped over into a heap on the ground, rendered blissfully unconscious from the beating. Kyuuden panted heavily, then sat down on the ground with a tired but satisfied expression.
The only sound heard was Kyuuden's gasping breaths and the light footfall of Karuta's boots as he strolled across the battlefield. He retrieved the award money from the stunned holder, wondering when he was going to blink again. He knelt down next to his exhausted Raichu, a warm smile decorating his normally sober expression. Kyuuden looked up, then returned the smile with a triumphant `chu!'
Karuta picked up the Raichu in his arms, holding him gently as he turned to walk away. The pokemon's protests caught his attention, following a pointing paw to the forgotten bone club of the Marowak. Karuta raised his eyebrow, then retrieved the bone as well. Kyuuden snatched up the club and hugged it protectively in his small arms, smiling happily and chittering away.
"A trophy, I guess." Karuta whispered before turning back to Erin. He waved his gloved hand, smiling innocently to the befuddled man.
"Kyuuden won the battle, I only won the bet. Get that through your head and see what happens." Karuta advised as he turned and began his exit. The crowd before him quickly parted, watching him go past. He slowly strolled down the street as if nothing had happened, though in the general direction of the local Pokemon Center.
Nozomi watched him go, pausing for only a moment before picking up her pack and pushing through the crowd after him.
"Okay. Our enemy is now our protagonist. Fine.. adds to the plot twists. Fascinating....."
First of all, I greatly appreciate your understanding and acceptance of the story so far; plots like this have gone disliked by some. However, I feel I must define something about how the story works involving Protagonists and Antagonists.
To speak in my original intention, all characters are more Pro/Antagonists rather than `Heroes' and `Villain's. It's far more interesting to have characters that line more on neutral than being fully on the side of `Good' or `Evil.' Mind you that there will be `heroes' and `villains', but you'll know them when you see them. ^_~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sandshrew, use your Rollout attack!"
For the seventh time, the ground-element rodent launched itself full force into a Rollout, balling itself head-over-hills as it barreled towards it's opponent, a rather battered looking Elekid. The pokemon collided with each other with a sickening crunch, the Elekid failing to withstand the force of the attack and being pulled beneath the Sandshrew as it rolled over it. A few moments of non-activity from the Elekid and the trainer of the KO'ed pokemon returned it to it's pokeball and hurried away with shame hanging over his form like a dark cloud.
Quite a large group had gathered to watch the battle between the two trainers who had met in the construction lots of Aquamarine City; a small community that rarely saw any more action than the twice-yearly Trainer Convention of which was the only reason a pokemon battle was being held. Trainers came from near and far to the bayside city for the sights and action that can only come from several hundred pokemon trainers being within close proximity of each other.
The victorious trainer, a lanky young man of twenty-something years with stunning crimson hair, pumped his fist in the air and received the complementing cheers from the onlookers of the past battle. Erin McDouglas was a trainer of high status with years of experience behind him, a force to be reckoned with in battle. He was rather well-known for his excellent combative skills in predicting his opponent's attacks before they made him, giving him the upper hand over many other trainers.
"Yeah, I'm the best! I beat him easy!" The trainer of the Sandshrew crowed as he returned his pokemon as well, not giving it a second look as he placed the pokeball back into his pocket. He was on top of the world, having won his twentieth consecutive battle in only four hours. Nothing could bring him down from the rush he was getting.
"You didn't do anything."
Erin's good mood suddenly nose-dived.
"What was that!? Who said that!?" Erin yelled as he looked around with fire in his eyes for the person who dared to insult him.
"You didn't do anything." The smooth yet hollow voice repeated, allowing Erin to lock onto the source of the accusation.
Erin found himself staring at a depressing young man that looked like he walked right out of shoujo manga. Pale skinned, dressed in all black, and seeming very out of place in the happy gathering, the young man seemed to suck the good moods around him into the blackness of his coat with his somber attitude.
"What do you mean by `didn't do anything'? I just wasted that guy's Elekid without trying!" Erin reasoned as he stepped up to the man, sneering down at him with his five-inch height advantage. The young man simply looked back up at him over his glasses and kept his deadpanned expression solid.
"You didn't do a thing but yell orders at your pokemon. The Sandshrew was the one who did all the work and you just took all the credit for yourself." The younger man countered, his logic receiving odd looks and murmurs from the people around him.
"It's only because of my skill as a trainer that he won. When I caught that Sandshrew, he was just a puny little runt." Erin smirked.
"So what does that say about you?"
Several spectators were treated to the sight of steam jets firing from Erin's ears, a sight uncommon under normal circumstances.
"I bet you think you're a hotshot, don't you kid? Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, then we'll see who's the better trainer?" Erin challenged as he whipped out a Hyperball from his pant's pocket. The dark stranger smirked lightly, then brushed a strand of his hair away from his eyes.
"Five hundred dollars."
Steam issued from Erin's ears once more.
"FIVE HUNDRED!? Are you crazy!?" Erin yelped. He had more than that on him, but that was still a major chunk of pocket change to bet on a pokemon battle.
"Five hundred." The young man confirmed. "Unless you're afraid you'll lose to a `hotshot kid'."
That was all the egging that Erin needed to give in. He yanked a wad of bills from his pocket, looking them over briefly before handing them to a friend of his who he was visiting the convention with. The young man drew out a leather wallet (black, no less) and counted out five one hundred dollar bills, handing the neatly folded stack to Erin's friend as well. He pocketed his wallet and strolled back to his original position ten yards away from Erin.
"You're gonna be sorry you met Erin McDouglas, kid. I choose Marowak!"
The Hyperball thrown and pokemon unleashed, Erin stood with a confidant smirk plastered on his gaunt face. Marowak was one of his strongest pokemon and had never gone a battle without giving her all in the process. Indeed, this kid would be taught a lesson at the harsh club of the `Bone Keeper' pokemon.
The young man smiled lightly, admiring the health of the Marowak that stood menacingly before him. Erin, while lacking true appreciation of his pokemon, at least knew how to take care of them physically. The Marowak was obviously in fantastic condition and looked as though it could run a marathon and get bored doing it. The young man reached a gloved hand into his duster coat's pocket, searching around for a moment. He had the perfect match for this pokemon....
"My name is Karuta. With all the hot air you're bellowing, I'm already sort I met you." Karuta smirked as he snapped the black pokeball open, releasing it's contained creature.
"Geez, what a sickly looking Raichu....you've got a long way to go before you could hope to be at my level of expertise with raising pokemon. I almost feel sorry for the poor rat...." Erin chuckled, an action echoed by his Marowak.
"Okay Kyuuden, just have fun and don't go too hard on the Marowak. It's a victim of circumstance here." Karuta advised as he patted Kyuuden on the head lightly.
The steam pouring from Erin's ears was beginning to undo the natural curls in his hair.
~~
Nozomi Iziuma looked with wonder at the fine craftsmanship put into a set of Plushie pokemon dolls, each in the form of the Legendary Bird pokemon: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. While very expensive, she just couldn't let such high quality items go unpurchased ....they practically begged to join her collection of pokemon dolls when she first laid eyes on them.
Nozomi's appreciation of the dolls was interrupted when she almost dropped them when a running boy collided with her. The boy was far too small to knock her over and ended up falling flat on his back while his friends left him behind as they hurried on without him. The boy leapt to his feet and was about to dash off, but found his getaway blocked by a peeved looking Nozomi.
"What terrible manners! You can at least apologize for running into me you know!" Nozomi scolded the anxious looking boy.
"Okay, I'm sorry lady! Can I go? I'm missing a great pokemon battle down the street...." The boy begged. Nozomi blinked.
"A pokemon battle?"
"Yeah! People are saying that there's been a battle going on for twenty minutes between Erin McDouglas and some guy in a trenchcoat." The boy replied as he sidestepped and darted off down the street after his friends.
"........No way......." Nozomi muttered as she hastily followed the boy.
Nozomi pushed her way through the crowd, inching her way through the thick mass of cheering people packed on the sidewalks of the street. Finally going as far as to stand on her traveling bag, she was finally able to get a good view of the happenings of the battle.
She was shocked by the sight of the battle ground. What was once an average paved side street was now a war zone, the pavement blackened with scorch marks and pockmarked with spots of shattered concrete. In the middle of the road was an enraged Marowak, wildly swinging it's club in vain attempts to brain a happily chittering Raichu that seemed to flow around the attacks without a care in the world. On either side of the pokemon was an equally enraged Erin and the ever-docile Karuta. Erin's face was as red as his hair as he barked attack combinations to his Marowak.
His opponent, on the other hand, was completely silent.
In truth, Karuta had not said a single word since the battle began. He knew that Kyuuden could handle himself without the orders of his trainer and rather enjoyed cutting Erin's chances down by allowing Kyuuden's attack formation to be a complete surprise. And it was indeed a surprise, as Kyuuden unleashed powerful blasts of electricity that were able to pain even the immovable Marowak while the rodent continued to evade the Marowak's crushing strikes with obvious enjoyment. No matter how hard or randomly the ground pokemon attacked, Kyuuden weaved past the onslaught clean through her defenses, landing strikes on the Marowak's hard body.
"Bone club! Mega punch! Seismic toss!" Erin shouted as a vein stood proudly in his neck.
Every now and then, Marowak took her trainer's advice and tried to land the ordered attacks, but each had the same amount of success as her own random attacks had. Suddenly a gleam came to Erin's eye as he gave a desperate laugh.
"Bonemerang!"
This order found it's way to Marowak's understanding, which she promptly followed through with. Breaking away from Kyuuden, Marowak leapt back and let fly her bone-cudgel, spinning it directly at Kyuuden's head. The mouse simply hopped over the attack, sticking his tongue out at Marowak as the bone whirled over the crowd's heads. Even Karuta watched the bone arc through the air as it began it's return trip.
" Tackle!" Erin laughed in triumph.
Marowak suddenly darted forward, shoulder extended in an attempt to plow over Raichu when he landed. Kyuuden's eyes widened a little as he hit the ground, but easily leapt to the side of the rush attack, laughing his shrill laugh as Marowak stumbled past her target, trying to regain her balance. But why was the Marowak smiling?
CRACK!
Kyuuden swooned and rolled across the concrete, flipping head over heels from the force of the strike. Having dodged Marowak's tackle, Kyuuden forgot about the returning bonemerang and was struck squarely upside the back of the head, leaving a splotch of blood on the concrete as he finally settled.
The crowd gasped in horror of the sight. Nozomi even went as far as to avert her gaze from the fallen Raichu, instead watching his trainer. She stared at Karuta, watching his still calm expression. He didn't even seem to be concerned for his pokemon....a look of realization dawned on Nozomi. He had watched the bonemerang's path....that meant he had seen the attack coming and didn't warn his Raichu!
The grin that Karuta had worn two weeks before presented itself again. It was a look of one who knew something that someone else did not.....it made Nozomi shiver.
Marowak stood panting, a victorious grin under her bone mask. The Raichu had been one of the hardest fights she'd had in a long time, but she knew she would win against a pokemon that didn't fight seriously. Erin may not shower her with praise or anything silly like that, but she took pride in the broken form of the growling Raichu before her.
Wait a second.....
Kyuuden's body shook violently, his tail suddenly lashing about over the ground. The crowd watched in silent awe as the battered Raichu shakily got to his feet, his back to his opponent. Those who Kyuuden faced took an unconscious step backwards, widening the space between him and themselves. As the hairs along Kyuuden's back raised, the Marowak felt a sudden twinge of fear tickle up her spine. How in the world could this rodent still be conscious after such a blow?
Erin himself was stunned speechless. He just stared at the shaking form of Kyuuden, disbelief on his face. He slowly looked up to Karuta, trying to find some hint of what was happening in his rival's expression. Karuta only continued his calculating grin and whispered two words that carried over the hushed crowd like a gunshot.
"You lose."
Marowak took a step backwards as Kyuuden began to turn, desperately wishing her bone was back in her grasp instead of next to the Raichu. Kyuuden let out a low, gutteral growl and turned to fully face his opponent once more. His terrible expression caused Marowak to falter back once more. The Raichu looked perfectly murderous, his round eyes narrowed into a horrible glare with fire raging behind them. The mouse's lips curled back to reveal small yet obviously sharp fangs as he hissed, his fur puffing up more as he dropped down to all four feet.
"Don't just stand there Marowak! Tackle it!" Erin ordered, having found his voice again.
Marowak seemed doubtful of her master's sanity, and with good reason. She currently wanted to stay as far away from the enraged rodent as she could, but knew she couldn't go against Erin's word. Collecting up her courage, the Marowak lowered her shoulder and charged at Kyuuden at top speed, intent on plowing through him.
Karuta almost felt sorry for the poor creature.
Marowak was taken by surprise as Kyuuden met her charge with a charge of his own, dashing headlong towards his foe. In an extreme game of chicken, the pokemon both dashed full tilt at each other as the crowd held their collective breath for the outcome.
Marowak braced herself for an impact that never came, Kyuuden choosing to hop over her at the last possible second. Marowak tried to stop but was sent slamming into the ground by a swift kick to the back of the head. Kyuuden flipped around and landed lightly behind the Marowak, pouncing back onto her with a feral war cry. Kyuuden's powerful blows broke through the Marowak's attempts to ward off the onslaught, landing hit after hit upside the helmeted face of the Marowak. Chunks of bone began to crack off of the mask, spiderweb fractures spreading where Kyuuden's paws met. In a desperate attempt to save herself, the Marowak rolled viciously to the side, flinging Kyuuden from her and staggering to her feet. She looked around wildly for her weapon, not seeing Kyuuden's counterstrike until it was too late.
Kyuuden had charged past the stunned Marowak, his long tail wrapping tightly around the ground-type's waist. Kyuuden continued his dash, his tail pulling taut and dragging Marowak behind him as he darted in a wide circle within the street. Marowak rolled out of control, helpless against the speed she was being pulled by. Kyuuden suddenly took a sharp U-turn, coming back the way he came and passing the end of his own long tail and the victim it ensnared. With a loud snap, the Marowak was sent rolling wildly away from the whiplash effect. The pokemon tumbled through a quickly opening gap in the crowd, slamming against a telephone poll with a resounding `clang', putting a sizable dent in the pole and causing it to tilt a few degrees over.
As the echo of the impact faded, Marowak slumped over into a heap on the ground, rendered blissfully unconscious from the beating. Kyuuden panted heavily, then sat down on the ground with a tired but satisfied expression.
The only sound heard was Kyuuden's gasping breaths and the light footfall of Karuta's boots as he strolled across the battlefield. He retrieved the award money from the stunned holder, wondering when he was going to blink again. He knelt down next to his exhausted Raichu, a warm smile decorating his normally sober expression. Kyuuden looked up, then returned the smile with a triumphant `chu!'
Karuta picked up the Raichu in his arms, holding him gently as he turned to walk away. The pokemon's protests caught his attention, following a pointing paw to the forgotten bone club of the Marowak. Karuta raised his eyebrow, then retrieved the bone as well. Kyuuden snatched up the club and hugged it protectively in his small arms, smiling happily and chittering away.
"A trophy, I guess." Karuta whispered before turning back to Erin. He waved his gloved hand, smiling innocently to the befuddled man.
"Kyuuden won the battle, I only won the bet. Get that through your head and see what happens." Karuta advised as he turned and began his exit. The crowd before him quickly parted, watching him go past. He slowly strolled down the street as if nothing had happened, though in the general direction of the local Pokemon Center.
Nozomi watched him go, pausing for only a moment before picking up her pack and pushing through the crowd after him.