PWT Arc: The Monstrous Task
"Take Down, Lairon." Lairon dashed off. "Dodge it!" Mari commanded, and Gabite jumped to the side. "Now Dragon Rage!" Gabite spat blue flames at its opponent.
"Protect." A green shield kept the attack away from Lairon. "Now Iron Head.",
"Earthquake!" Gabite roared, making the arena's floor shake so violently that Lairon staggered, trying to stay on its feet. "Now Dragon Claw!" Gabite seized the momentum, shot forward, and knocked Lairon to the ground with a mighty blow to its ribs. Then, it leapt back again and prepared for a follow-up attack. "Dragon Claw!" On command, Gabite attacked again. "Metal Claw", Viv said monotonously, and Lairon repelled Gabite's attack. Then, it threw back the dragon, which landed on unsteady legs. "Rock Tomb, let's go!" Mari shouted. Gabite bombarded Lairon with rocks. "Break through with Iron Head."
Lairon charged and shattered the rocks with his attack. It kept charging at Gabite. "Dragon Rage!" Gabite spat fire in his opponent's face. Lairon howled. "And now Dragon Claw!" Gabite shot forward again and the slash of its claw hit home, sending Lairon tumbling to the side, where it stayed, incapacitated. Gabite roared triumphantly. "Well done, Gabite!", Mari praised the dragon. Granted, Gabite was stubborn but strong as hell. Viv withdrew her Lairon. "Beautifly, you're up next."
Mari withdrew Gabite. "Okay, Skarmory! I'll leave that to you!" Skarmory soared high into the air, screeching, and spread his wings. "Kyaaaaah!",
"We'll start! With Agility!" Skarmory's body glowed brightly. "And now, use Swift!" Skarmory sent silver stars at its opponent, who got hit. "Silver Wind," Viv commanded, and Beautifly flapped its wings very quickly. Silver dust swirled up and the wind accompanying it prevented the stars from reaching their target. "The battle is as good as decided," Viv said. "Attract, Beautifly." Hearts swirled around Skarmory.
"Ew... Not that crap again." Mari grumbled. She remembered that from her battle with Jacky, when Noibat had used that attack. That had been unnerving. "Concentrate, Skarmory! Steel Wing!" Skarmory didn't move. "Oh god...",
"Ridiculous," Viv commented. "Quiver Dance, Beautifly!" Beautifly started moving elegantly, boosting its own speed and attack strength. "Skarmory, come on! Agility and then Aerial Ace!" Skarmory's body lit up, but it made no move to attack. "Grr, that sucks..." Mari growled. "Skarmory! Move! Steel Wing, come ON!" This time, Skarmory actually attacked. It folded its wings and shot at Beautifly, but everyone could see it was a weak attempt. "Dodge, come on." Using the newfound speed provided by the Quiver Dance, Beautifly dodged the attack. "After it! Chase it!" Somehow, Mari's anger seemed to have clearly vented, for Skarmory obeyed her. "Agility and Swift!" Skarmory increased its speed a third time, shootings stars at Beautifly.
"Air Cutter." Beautifly flapped its wings and sent wind blades towards the attack, which cut the stars and hit Skarmory in the side, however, leaving nothing but chip damage as they ricochet from its armor. Skarmory flew higher. Fury flickered in its eyes as the effect of Attract faded away completely. "Aerial Ace!" Skarmory folded its wings and shot out of the sky like an arrow. Its claws lit up as it struck the side of one of Beautifly's wings and the butterfly cried out. "Morning Sun. You can't keep fighting like this." Beautifly's body glowed warm again and its wounds healed.
"Keep going!" Skarmory's new attack was not long in coming. It immediately struck again, hitting Beautifly, who wailed softly. "Let's end this now!",
"Kraaah!" Skarmory nodded and shot towards Beautifly. "Steel Wing!" Skarmory's attack hit Beautifly, flinging it down so hard that it hit the ground knocked out. "Very good!" Skarmory shrieked, landing on the ground. "Kyaaah!" Mari patted it and then withdrew it before going back up to the stands. "Good job, Mari." Jacky nodded at her and patted her on the shoulder. "You didn't give her a chance at all. If you keep it up, you might even win the tournament.",
"You really mean that?",
"Yepp." Jacky nodded again. "I think I know how to handle Tyranitar... I just hope it works out the way I think it will.",
"You'll be fine.",
"I really... don't have a good feeling about this." Jacky clenched both hands into fists convulsively and she squinted at Chris again. The brown-haired boy was sitting in his seat with his arms crossed and nothing to indicate how dangerous he really was.
They watched nervously as Soleil's Sigilyph won brilliantly against Mia's Liepard. Anxiety grew more and more in Jacky's chest as her match against Chris drew closer. When it was finally her turn, she was tense to the breaking point and went downstairs after a wish for good luck from Mari. Striving to keep her composure, she entered the arena and the people in the stands cheered for Chris as he entered the field. He stopped. "You could be a worthy opponent," he said. "I have high expectations for you.",
"I've made it this far..." Jacky bit his lower lip. "If I hadn't been watching your battle before, I would have told you not to hold back... But there's no need."
Chris raised his eyebrows. "...I see. So you're still not overly confident about this.",
"I'm not losing today!" She pulled a Poké Ball from her belt. "Take your best shot, I won't hold back.",
"Ah, that's more like what I want to see and hear." He smiled. "Let's see if you can stick to it." Chris pulled out a Poké Ball as well. "Inteleon, I'll start with you.",
"Absol, it's up to you!" Jacky's Absol landed on the field with ruffled fur and growled. "The match begins!" the referee shouted. Chris eyed her thoroughly before he raised his arm. "Okay, Inteleon. Start with Rain Dance!" Inteleon shot a beam skyward and rain began to fall. "Psycho Cut, Absol!" Absol nodded, made its sickle glow and jumped forward, but Inteleon seemed to be faster than it looked. It dodged the attack. "Snipe Shot!" Chris commanded. A jet of water hit Absol as it staggered back, dazed. "Keep your distance, Absol! You have to get away from it!" Absol ran, but Inteleon followed it with its eyes. "...",
"Snipe Shot, again!"Another jet of water hit Absol critically, and so hard that the dark-type Pokémon almost buckled right in. "What-... Does it have Sniper as its ability?" Jacky asked. Chris nodded. "Well spotted."
Absol backed away. "If this keeps up, Absol will be defeated before we could do any damage to it... Chris is really something else..." Jacky muttered a bit helplessly, silently considering. "You're not giving in already, are you...?" Chris asked, a bit surprised.
"N-no..." Jacky shook her head, regained her composure and gritted her teeth. "Absol can still fight! If we can't defend ourselves, then we'll just have to attack! Let's go, Absol!" Absol hissed and sprinted towards Inteleon.