PWT Arc: The First Battles
"The pairings of the first round have been decided!" the stadium speaker announced. "I'll read them out: Kattlea Flores and Virion Aslin will face each other in the first battle! Flora Bardin and Vivian Adara will make up the second pairing!",
"It's Viv", a girl with black hair and white strands grumbled as she folded her arms. "No one calls me Vivian... Got it?" She looked at the other participants. "Call me Vivian and I will kill you.",
"Someone here is very insistant on their nickname..." Mari concluded. "Jeez, I wouldn't wanna get on her bad side.",
"Mari Sentaku will face Yuna Isoroku, followed by Gwin Johnson and Laslow Steward! The fifth pairing will be Jacky Heavens and Dave Challis! Mia Chatwin will face Caroline Deville, Kacy Miller and Soleil McNary will follow, and the final pairing will be Xenia Folley and Chris Edwards!" The contestants looked around at each other to locate their partner. At that, Laslow turned around and Jacky's and his eyes met hers for a moment. This was the first time she was able to get a closer look at his face. His features were fine and he looked simply pretty. His hair fell down to his chin. He waved at her; seemed to recognize her; but he didn't say anything. Only a short wave followed before he turned his attention to Gwin, who waved his hands around in front of his face. "Yo, dude, I'm over here!",
"... Whuh? Sorry, did you... say something?",
"Seriously, dude? I said 'I'm. Over. Here.' Got it now?",
"...Yeah, I noticed that, don't worry.",
"You ignored me on purpose?",
"...Huh? I wasn't ignoring you at all, what are you talking about...?"
Chris next to Gwin laughed nervously. "Uh... don't mind him. He's a bit... overly excited, that's all... Gwin, chill... It's not even your turn yet.",
"Yeah, I know, but I'll get down there soon and then I'll DOMINATE the field! ...Haha, who am I kidding. I'm joking of course. Don't be offended." He smiled at Laslow. The silver-haired guy just shook his head in silent helplessness. "Yeah... right. Say, Chris, do you know him from somewhere?",
"Nah, not really. Just passed him by the cafeteria this morning", the boy with the brown hair responded. "We had a nice chat in which he... kinda told me his whole life story... but disregarding that... No, not that well.",
"He seems to be a chatterbox...",
"That he is, definitely.",
"Hey, striking up a conversation with people you encounter can only enrich your life!", Gwin defended himself. "You might make yourself some friends! As they say, it's better to make friends than to make enemies!",
"...Well, that you're right on...", Chris admitted.
Jacky struggled not to stare at Laslow the entire time and instead looked for her opponent. Dave was a rather frail-looking boy with pale skin. Mari's gaze, meanwhile, fixed on Yuna, a girl with night-black hair. Kattlea, the girl from the first pairing, had blonde hair and wore a beanie on her head. The boy, Virion, mockingly pulled out a Pokéball. "Hah, you are a league below me, my dear. It's time to let the world bathe in my glory!"
Jacky frowned. "What the heck is up with that guy? He's got some interesting character...",
"A rather weird one made of 95% of ego, I'd say. The remaining 5% are divided in confidence, arrogance and unlikability. He seems to have some nerve..." Mari replied. "Yay, another puking pastille like Dino."
Jacky had to laugh at her comment. "Pffft... You have a really creative way to describe people you don't like.",
"Well, if those people ain't fun, you gotta make fun of them." She shrugged.
"The battle begins!" A referee on the field raised his hand. "Maractus, show these amateurs who's king in the house!" Virion shouted. Laslow slapped his hand to his forehead with a sigh. "Wow... he's a bold one... I just can't figure out if that's confidence or utter stupidity."
Chris rolled his eyes. "What an idiot..."
Kattlea followed up indignantly. "Deerling, your chance!",
"A Deerling against a Maractus?" Mari asked with raised eyebrows.
"This could be something..." Jacky muttered.
"Double Kick, Deerling!" Deerling lashed out with its hind hooves.
"Use Ingrain, Maractus!" Deerling hit its target, but its opponent stretched his roots deep into the ground and healed itself again. "Rookie!" Virion ran a hand through its dark brown hair. "Pin Missile!",
"He might be forgetting that Maractus can't move while ingrained", Laslow commented.
"I guess he's trying to keep Deerling at a distance with ranged attacks. But Deerling are quite agile and quick on their hooves by nature, so that sure as hell ain't enough", Chris continued. Maractus fired at Deerling relentlessly. "Dodge, Deerling! Quick!" Kattlea shouted. The little deer jumped off and the needles drilled into the ground beneath it. "Now, use Jump Kick!",
"Growth, my dearest Maractus!" Maractus's body lit up, however, seconds later, Deerling's hoof thundered against Maractus's head and it lost it's balance for some moments. The crowd went wild at the hit and the stadium speaker commented: "Kattlea's Deerling landed a critical hit, making Maractus falter dangerously!" Maractus held its head before its roots gave it new energy and he started to feel better. "Very good, my little champion!" Virion exclaimed.
"That guy's getting on my nerves already..." Mari muttered.
"You're not the only one...", Jacky remarked, pointing at Chris, who just shook his head and almost sank into his seat, being embarrassed in Virion's stead. "This is pure vicarious embarrassment right there.",
"Well, that gives our bud Chris some likability points.",
"Our 'bud'? You don't even know him.",
"Yeah, I know, but he seems cool, so he's our buddy now.",
"Wow. In terms of finding friends, you sure have few criteria. Does one really just need to be 'cool' to be friendzoned by you?",
"Oh, shut uuuuup..."
"It didn't leave a scratch... But our Energy Ball will!" Virion grinned. Maractus sent a green ball at Deerling. "Jump Kick!" Deerling got hit by the ball, but it didn't seem to be deterred by it. On the opposite: The attack seemed to empower it. The Pokémon lashed out with its hooves and kicked Maractus again, who hit the ground knocked out. Its roots disintegrated. "...That was a quick finish!" the stadium speaker announced. Mari smiled. "This guy just made his own grave using a move that impaired his partner's movements from the very start.",
"Yeah, so that victory wasn't unexpected at all." Jacky laughed and looked at Virion, who left the field in a daze. Gwin tilted his head. "What a jerk...",
"Absolutely..." Chris nodded. "I figured he'd get his ass kicked. That Deerling's ability is Sap Sipper, so that Energy Ball didn't do a thing. On the contrary, it gave Deerling a large attack boost. He had no idea what the frick-frack tic-tac patty whack snick snack quarterback big mac running track guy-named-jack he was doing down there.",
"Bless you." Gwin laughed. "How long did it take for you to learn that one by heart and say it fluently?",
"A few attempts for sure."
The other contestants applauded along with the spectators in the other stands. Mari and Jacky did the same.
They watched the next battle eagerly, which Vivs Lairon won against Flora's Larvesta- a little narrowly, but it was a thrilling fight nonetheless. Then, the man who had brought them to the stands came and tapped Mari on the shoulder. "Come along, you're on in a minute,"
"Ah... Sorry. I'm coming." She stood up and looked at Jacky. "Wish me success. If you wish me luck and I win only with that luck, it will hardly feel like a real victory!",
"You'll be fine!" Jacky said. Mari smiled and looked at Yuna, who also rose from her seat. A woman escorted her opponent to another entrance into the arena. As Mari stopped in front of a heavy door, she tried to keep her racing heart under control. She was afraid her heart would burst through her ribcage and jump out. This was her first big thing and everyone was watching. If everyone saw her fail, she would have a hard time recovering from that. The pressure was enourmous.
"Now for our next contestants!" The presenter's voice boomed forward to her. "Fast as a feline and beautiful as the night- Join us to meet Yuna Isoroku, a true ninja!",
'A ninja? Yuna is a ninja? They still exist? That's almost unbelievable...', Mari thought to herself. Loud applause could be heard as the black-haired girl entered the arena. A few strands that were longer on one side than the other framed her face. The rest of her hair, which had a slight blue tint, as was usual for raven feathers, was tied in a high ponytail. She had forest green eyes and her attire consisted of all black pieces. It felt to Mari like she was meeting someone who almost looked like her in appearance... though Yuna was taller and looked more... elegant. Stern. "And fighting on the right side is Mari Sentaku, a junior trainer full of ambition and talent!" Mari's head was surrounded by questionmarks when she heard that. Who the hell told him that? Was it something they made up entirely?
The heavy door slid open and the man behind her nodded at her. Mari took a deep breath and then entered the arena. She looked up at the contestant stands, where Jacky was clapping and cheering for her. So were all the other spectators. There were many more than when she fought Elesa in the stadium in Nimbasa. She wondered if there were people in the audience who had seen her performance that day...? "I'm honored to be able to duel with you today." Yuna's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She bowed coolly. "To a fair fight.",
"Yes... To a fair fight." She took a Poké Ball from her belt. "Gardevoir, let's go!",
"Mienshao, get ready for battle!" A fighting-type Pokémon appeared on the field and fell into an elegant battle pose. "Are you guys ready? The battle begins!" the referee shouted. "Mienshao! Start with Fake Out!" Her Pokémon leapt forward so nimbly that Mari didn't even have time to react. It struck at her partner with lightning speed and its whip-like fur, causing Gardevoir to recoil in fright. "Watch out, Gardevoir! This one is fast! Use Psychic!" Her partner's eyes lit up and it hurled Mienshao against the wall of a stand using invisible power surges. "Mienshao! Are you okay?" Yuna asked, and her Pokémon nodded as it stood back up and resumed its position with a leap. "Shadow Ball!" Mari shouted, and Gardevoir shot a black and purple sphere at Mienshao.
"Detect!" Yuna commanded. Mienshao's eyes glowed for a short second and it dodges Gardevoir's attack. "Now, use Double Slap!" It charged forward and attacked Gardevoir. Mari's partner couldn't keep up with the speed and was hit hard, landing on the ground as a result. This Mienshao was nasty fast and agile. Before Mienshao could lunge for a follow-up strike, Gardevoir teleported away and forced its opponent to the ground with Psychic. "Moon Blast!" Gardevoir formed a ball of light and hurled it at Mienshao with such force that it flew back against the grandstand wall once more and collapsed, unable to fight. The referee declared the fight over and crowned Mari the winner. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the stands. Jacky gave her a raised thumb and she could make out appreciative looks among the other participants. The audience clapped. Yuna withdrew her Mienshao. "I guess we weren't fast enough, Mienshao. But it doesn't matter." The ninja bowed again before disappearing. Mari withdrew Gardevoir- who luckily didn't take all too much damage- and then left the field as well.