"Leafeon use petal dance!"
"Meet it with cotton spore and follow up with bullet seed Whimsicott!"
A barage of colorful flower petals began to swirl and spin in the air heading towards the small prankster pokemon. Before any of the razor sharp leaflets could reach the flying puff of cotton, Whimsicott shook it's body releasing four smaller floating cotton puffs.
The spores acted as a shield, bouncing the petals back towards the aggravated Leafeon. Before Nozomi had a chance to call out another attack, Whimsicott shot forward a hail of red glowing seeds.
As each one hit their target, they exploded with a small flame causing critical damage to the already exhausted grass pokemon. Gritting her teeth, Nozomi returned her pokemon hoping to save it from further injury, forfeiting the round and leaving her only one pokemon.
"Glameow, let's do this!" With a flash of purple mist and a loud cry of its name, a grey tabby cat with a curled tail emerged poised to strike. "Use psychic and get rid of that nuisance!"
Shu tried to tell his pokemon to dodge, but the feline was too fast. Hissing loudly, Glameows eyes began to glow a faint violet color. At the same time, Whimsicotts body became enveloped in the same purple glow.
The poor prankster tried to break free, but the cats hold on it was too great. Shu watched helplessly as Nozomis starter slammed his normally resilient pokemon over and over onto the already damaged battle field.
He knew his pokemon couldn't take much more, and even more surprised the ref was letting this attack go on so long. Normally, psychic attacks like this one were limited to 20 seconds, but Glameows assault was going on a full minute.
Weather it was yet another rule she had changed last minute, or Nozomi had paid the referee off. Either option made sense honestly. Ever since Nozomi had been crowned the first official 'Queen' of Sinnoh, she and the champion Shirona had used every underhanded tactic they could, to stay in power.
Unlike the Champions office, which could only be challenged every four years; the title of King or Queen could be challenged every two years. Because of this, mixed with the fact that Shirona was apparently a nightmare to work with and trusted no one, anyone who presented a threat to their leadership was basically snuffed.
Shu knew he was fighting a losing battle as his Whimsicott fainted whilst still being attacked. He trembled internally as he returned his fallen fighter and released his own starter.
His hands were shaking, not in fear, but complete frustration. It wasn't fair! Ever since the government reform, the dream of winning a title for being the best was just that... a dream. It was no longer attainable, how could it be when the people on top were so corrupt, and everyone under their command was either compliant or blackmailed.
The only way for him to take the title would be for Shinji to take the championship.
"Glameow, destroy it with fire fang!" The sound of Nozomis voice tore him from his thoughts. Shu was thankful he had saved his partner for last. If he had any shot of winning, this was it.
"Dodge and use stun spore!" The sentient rose bouquet nodded and pointed it's two rode shaped hands forward. A yellow mist began to spray, hitting the Glameow head on and causing it to fall to its knees in pain.
Nozomi was fuming. She looked ready to walk onto the field and battle herself, but Shu didn't give her the chance. "Hold him down with grass knot and finish him with petal twister!"
The combo was perfect. As Nozomi screamed at her pokemon to dodge, the cat struggled to its feet. But as it started to move, it's paws were captured by strong blades of grass that grew from nowhere and tied themselves like snaps on a pair of skis, holding him in place.
With nowhere to run, Nozomi gritted her teeth and watched in fury as Rosalie released a blend of razor sharp red and blue rose petals. They surrounded the trapped feline and began to spin and twist until the funnel was spinning fast enough that every petal that touched him, dealt injury. Glameow could only handle so many cuts after having already been stunned and quickly succumbed to his injuries.
With Nozomis last pokemon out and him having more points, Shu began to smile knowing that he had just won the title! But his victory was short lived as Nozomi, better known as 'The Sinnoh Queen', returned her pokemon and rushed to the judges table.
After a few minutes of hushed conversation with contest officials, the redhead returned with a smug look on her face and Shu knew something was up.
Standing on the field, Shu watched as the announcer Marian stepped up to the podium with a microphone in one hand, and a box in the other. He could feel his heart beating faster than a hummingbird on cocaine. Her words were foreign to him until he saw Nozomi walking up to collect the prize.
His ears began to focus and his heart dropped to his stomach as he registered the words that were being said. It didnt matter that he won the battle because, without him realizing it, he had lost the war.
"This year's contest was judged based on the new guidelines put in place two years ago. Normally, whoever won the last round would have won the title, but due to clause six, section C, article 308, 'the winner will be determined by overall point collection and battle wins'. Because Nozomi totaled 705 points and Shu totaled 703..."
Her words began to fade again. Wordlessly, Shu returned his pokemon and walked silently out of the contest hall. His dream was within his grasp, and somehow... somehow that winch ripped it away from him. He didn't know what to do next and considered just leaving the region for a while when his cell phone began to ring.
