A/N: You guys miss me? I know it's only been two days but your friendly neighborhood doctor is back at it again with another chapter of Evolution. Think of it as a second course if you will.
Tyler: No! No more food. I'm still trying to recover from that Easter feast.
DrPhill26: But I put a lot of time into that. Look, there's still so much leftover from what we originally planned.
Tyler & Wendy: *groaning*
DrPhill26: Look, it was either we divide it into two days like this and have leftovers, or we'd supersize the first course and you'd be way too bloated to have anymore of anything for like a month.
Wendy: But we're still bloated now.
DrPhill26: Well fine, I guess the reader is going to get the leftovers then. So here you go reader. Enjoy this second helping of Evolution in this timeframe... and before you ask. No, don't expect this to be a frequent thing. Once again I had a plan and it ballooned out of control on me so this ended up being the result. Team descriptions are at the bottom for all the relevant characters. And, before I forget. Special big thanks to loyal follower PurpleIzLife for the submission of her character, who makes her debut in the story today :D
"Ahhhh. Still smells so yummy. Aren't you guys excited?!" Wendy laughed gleefully as she opened the door to Okeer's, holding it open for the rest of the group.
"I still don't get you." Tyler shook his head as he stepped in, Wendy closing the door behind them. "We already did lunch here today, and you want to come back so quickly."
"Were you even listening to me at lunch this morning?" Wendy skipped around him to the front of the five person group, twirling around Rose, Will and Madison. "Remember, my whole 'I ate here for a month straight thing? Ring any bells?"
"No I heard you, over the food coma I was sinking into. But I still think it's odd that you'd choose to come to the same place every day for a month."
"I thought you said you liked the food?" Rose looked at him curiously as a host came up to the group with Wendy quickly chatting them to a table.
"Look, all I'm saying is that variety is important." Tyler looked around, following Wendy as she and the host lead their group to a booth in the back corner in the restaurant. "Like my favorite food is a proper Seaking steak, but I don't eat it all the time because it'd lose its luster with me if I did. If I tried to do what Wendy did, even if it was ordering a different item off the menu each time I came here, I'd get sick of it after a while."
"Makes sense." Will agreed as the group began being seated in the horseshoe shaped booth. The girls took the inside, Madison in the middle being flanked by the two couples on either side of her. "Tell you what though Ty. There's plenty of other spots I'd love to hit up again now that Rose and I are back in Sinnoh. I'll show you some of my favorite dives another night."
"Deal." Tyler nodded as the host handed him a menu.
"Your server will be with you shortly, feel free to take your time looking it over and flag one of us down if you need anything from us."
"Thanks Chuck." Wendy smiled at him as the host walked away with a grin. Once their host was gone, the group began recapping the events of the day as they'd previously gone. A victory toast was in order for them as they all recounted their mutual victories, and there was a sense of merriment in the air as they enjoyed their drinks together. In the middle of it, Will got a text from Jason explaining why he was late and he forwarded the message to the group, saying that he'd be there shortly, which would certainly add into the excited mood of the growing party at the deli.
Tyler started looking around the restaurant during the lull in conversation and quickly spotted a set of televisions over at the bar just on the other side of the hallway from him. Normally he wouldn't be paying much attention to them given that he was out with friends in public, but the one television had caught his eye as it had South Stadium being shown on it. Apparently they actually were airing matches of the local tournament on television, which surprised Tyler. Orre region matches were rarely televised, forcing you to actually go to the stadium to watch or read a live commentary of them online. It made him wonder if his match in the morning had been televised, or if it was only a trait exclusive to South Stadium. Eventually though, the footage cut away to a pair of talking heads in a box at the stadium when another graphic flashed across the screen that said that another match was about to begin at the stadium.
"One more match tonight huh?" Tyler thought aloud as the talking heads continued their discussion, which was out of earshot from where Tyler was sitting.
"Psst, Tyler?" Wendy's voice snapped him back to reality where he looked up and saw the waitress looking at him expectantly. He hadn't even noticed she'd arrived and was taking orders, which made him flush red in the cheeks at the quick realization.
"Oh, my bad. I got distracted by the TV behind us." Tyler blushed awkwardly as he picked up a menu and looked through it briefly. "Um… I'll take the fiesta chicken sandwich." Tyler said handing her his menu. "It's the other thing I had my eye on last time I was here. May as well get it now."
"I can agree with that." The waitress commented as she wrote down the order on a notepad. "I'll run these back and get started."
"Not without his you aren't." Will smiled as he pointed off towards the entrance of the restaurant where a man with a red cap and equally red vest over a black t-shirt and cargo pants was standing. "Jason! Get your butt over here!" The man looked in Will's direction, waving his hand briefly as he walked over while Will stood up.
"William fucking Weiland in the flesh." Jason smiled happily as he approached the giant of a man. "Dude I haven't seen you in-" Will cut Jason off though and pointed at the server next to their booth.
"She needs an order." He explained.
"Oh… uh... what'd you get?" Jason asked curiously.
"Reuben and some kettle chips."
"Then that's what I want. Only swap the chips for some fries. Oh! And a side of coleslaw, that'd be great." Jason smiled as did the woman making a brief note on her notepad.
"Then I'll be back in a bit with your meals." She walked past Jason, who waved at her before turning back around and giving Will a bear hug that was just as eagerly returned.
"Shit I've missed you man." Jason said as he patted Will's broad shoulders as their hug deepened.
"I know man, I know." Will slapped Jason just as enthusiastically as he was him before they parted their hug.
"Sorry I was late getting here." Jason began as Will sat down in the booth next to Rose, Jason taking a seat next to him on the end. "I was at the university doing a recruitment stint."
"We know man, I got your text." Will laughed as he slapped Jason's chest again. "Also explains why you're still wearing ranger red."
"Yeah, but now I can cut loose and not give a crap anymore." Jason sighed happily as he sunk into the booth's seat seeing everyone else in the group. "Oh, hey Tyler. Jeez Will, you could have told me more than just us were gonna be here."
"I thought I did." Will stared blankly for a moment before shaking his head. "Well then introductions are in order. Guys this is Jason. Jay, you of course know Rose and Tyler. The other two girls here are Wendy and Madison. Wendy is Tyler's girlfriend and Madison here is her partner in the tournament.
"Yeah, we actually met this morning." Jason waved at the two politely. "Both of them were at the contest hall, followed me and Tyler's match. Both of us won too if I'm not mistaken."
"We all won today then." Will smiled, raising a glass for another toast. "Cheers to us." Everyone except Tyler and Jason raised a glass and cheered. "Uh… Tyler? Cheer?"
"Huh?" He said looking back at the group again with their glasses raised. "Oh, right cheers."
"Tyler, we can watch TV later tonight." Wendy frowned at him. "Come on, let's hang out."
"Right. No yeah, you're right." Tyler said putting his glass down. "I just wanted to see who was in this match. But the other two haven't shown up yet."
"That's curious." Will said as he turned his attention to the TV.
"Yeah, you got the ninja boy here with the sword and the silver haired trainer. But it's just the two." Tyler pointed at the TV, which had just panned away from the two again, fading away to another angle from behind the two trainers and showing a still empty box across from them.
"That's strange." Rose said as she too turned her attention to the TV. "You think they'll win by forfeit?"
"I would be fuming if I was them." Jason shook his head as he joined the conversation. "Hell, I'm getting a little frustrated just watching them wait myself. How hard is it to show up to a scheduled battle on time? Especially when you signed up to be in it in the first place."
"Maybe they overslept like Tyler did this morning." Wendy teased as gave Tyler a weak hug. He looked at her with a slight scowl, but she just smiled innocently at him and rested her head on his shoulder. He chuckled to himself, muting his response and looked up at the TV, which had just panned back to the entrance on the battlefield and showed a judge racing out onto the battlefield in the seemingly traditional green shirt. But as the camera lingered, two more people followed out the door.
"Finally!" Jason threw his hand up in frustration as the group looked at the seemingly late combatants. Another male and female pairing, the female of the two was closer to the camera's zoom and seemed more energetic as she walked ahead of her partner. Her hair scarlet colored hair bounced along with the spring in her step as she started waving at the people in attendance. She turned towards the camera and as if she knew the camera was on her, struck an apparent modeling pose for everyone watching her to see.
"Holy fuck, look at that girl!" Wendy blurted out excitedly as everyone was treated to a full view of the girl's outfit, which didn't look like it was trying to cover all that much up of her. Her black leather hooded jacket was more than form-fitting, showing off her glowing bronzed skin beneath it, and lots of it at that. Her zipper was provocatively low, only just covering up her navel. Furthermore, there was an apparent lack of a shirt or even a bra beneath her jacket, which when Tyler finally noticed that himself made his face start glowing with arousal. He forced himself to look at the rest of her, seeing her teal jean shorts that again, barely made their way around her curvaceous ass. At least her legs were covered beneath a set of black leggings, but again
"Goddamn, she's hotter than a Heatran!" Jason slammed his fist onto the table, almost standing up and howling at her. "You go sexy lady, whoever you are!"
"Really? Heatran? That's the best you could do?" Rose shook her head as she looked at the girl. "I'd say she's hotter than a Moltres."
"You're both wrong." Wendy chimed in, her eyes practically sparkling as she looks at her. "She's white hot, like a Reshiram! And I think our boys would agree." Wendy giggled as she looked at Tyler and Will, both of whom stared slack-jawed at the girl. "What about you Maddie? She's got quite the body doesn't she?"
"Oh definitely." Madison chimed in with a curled smile. "In fact, I sink zat if she were a Pokémon, 'er ability would be Flame Body no?"
"Oh my God yes! Maddie that was great! Wendy burst out into laughter, giving her partner an excited hug. "She's totally got a flaming hot body alright." Madison blushed slightly, giving Wendy a loose hug back herself. Rose meanwhile giggled to herself as she reached up with her finger and closed Will's mouth for him.
"Huh? Uh… was my jaw really that loose." Will asked as he timidly scratched his beard, looking at his fiancé.
"Babe, you were drooling." Rose leaned in and kissed his cheek, then lingered at his ear. "But if you like the look that much, I know I could pull it off better than her for you." Will's jaw fell back open again, making Rose giggle uncontrollably next to him.
"God I would not be able to keep focused if I was her partner." Tyler finally awoke from his stupor and spoke hungrily at the girl as the camera began to pan back towards her partner. "Whoever that partner of hers is, he is one lucky son of A BITCH! Is that who I think it is?!" Tyler's excitement quickly plummeted as the camera focused on the girl's partner, a man with mocha colored skin and a half-smile that Tyler could just tell was full of cockiness. His black fade-cut styled hair, the loosely worn purple jacket, the sand colored shorts beneath them, all of it was adding up in the worst way possible.
"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me! He's her partner?!" Wendy groaned as she fell into her arms with disgust.
"Oh that poor woman." Rose said sorrowfully as Will began to rumble quietly next to her. Jason and Madison meanwhile looked at the others at their booth with growing levels of confusion on their faces.
"Erm… okay, I'll break ze ice. Who is zat man and why do you all seem to 'ate 'im so much?" Madison inquired looking back and forth from everyone in the group.
"Shaquille Pabst…" Everyone but Jason and Madison spat in the same frustrated tone.
"Basically the guy thinks he's God's gift to the world." Tyler continued as he turned to Madison. "He harassed me and Wendy when we first met, and then again before the opening ceremony of the tournament while the four of us were just talking by ourselves."
"The guy's got an ego the size of a Mt. Coronet." Wendy added curtly. "He'd make that girl you called a blaireau this morning look like a saint. Seriously, why couldn't they have been partnered together? They'd be perfect for each other."
"Is 'e really zat bad?" Madison still didn't seem convinced.
"You should have heard Wendy's rant about him the first time he pissed us off." Tyler chuckled at the memory. "She was screaming about him once he'd left, swore like a sailor too."
"Well I'm still mad!" Wendy pouted as the camera panned back to the full battlefield with a judge making his way to the stands. "He doesn't deserve that Espeon of his."
"Hey, excuse me." Rose reached out and stopped a passing waiter. "Would you mind turning up the volume of that TV over there? We just found out we have an interest in the battle being shown."
"Sure." The man jogged over to the monitor and pressed a button, making the volume increase.
"Thank you." Rose smiled at him, then joined the collective scowl as everyone looked at the battlers on TV.
"Took you guys long enough." The silver-haried girl across from Shaquille and his partner pointed at a watch on her wrist. "We were starting to wonder if you two were ever going to show up. I mean could you be anymore late?"
"Please, we weren't late." Shaquille's arrogant voice sounded with a curt laugh. "Everyone knows that the king only takes the stage when it's absolutely necessary for him to do so."
"Never mind, 'e deserves every ounce of 'ate zat you all 'ave given 'im." Madison rolled her eyes, a grimace of her own beginning to form at the edge of her lips.
"I know right! It never stops with him too." Wendy let out an irritated sigh, falling back into the booth a bit more. "Watch him say something about people being a Mareep now. I almost guarantee he'll do it."
"Oh get a load of this guy Kenta!" The silver-haired girl laughed as she pointed at Shaq. "I've never seen an ego as big as his. Too bad the reason his ego is so big is probably because he's compensating for something lacking downstairs."
"Artemis." The boy responded quickly with a stoic glare at his partner, shaking his head at her. "Words mean nothing in the face of a battle. Let's have our actions speak for us."
"The Mareep here is right, talk is cheap." Shaq replied, making Wendy and the entirety of the group watching at the deli groan in unison. "But when you're about to face someone of my ability, it's really the only option you have. Because I can tell that I'm already way out of your leagues. So just save yourself the humiliation of being driven into the dirt by me and just run along home."
"Wowww. So first you two can't get here on time and then try to tell us to leave?" Artemis spoke up a second time. "You've got a lot of nerve; you know that?"
"Actually, it's more my fault that we're late." Shaq's partner jogged forward as she approached her two opponents. "I'm sorry, I couldn't seem to get my makeup just right today. You know, I wanted to look as perfect as you do but it just was not working out at all! It took me forever to get to this and I just don't know What do you think?" The girl asked with a flirty wink as she smiled warmly at the girl, her turquoise eyes seeming to light up like fireworks along with her perfect smile. "Do you think I look as good as you do?"
"Um…" Artemis paused, a bit taken back by the girl's friendliness. "You think I'm… I mean yeah, I think you got it right. You look… good?"
"Oh that's such a relief." The girl smiled again, wrapping Artemis up in a brief hug while the confused girl looked around unsrue of what to do until she let go. "My name's Liana Scarlet by the way. I'm so looking forward to this battle today. I just hope you guys aren't too mean to me. I'm not exactly the most experienced battler, but I think this will be fun!" Liana laughed innocently again, brushing some of her hair away from her eyes.
"I uh… well. I mean-"
"Artemis, you should stay focused on the match at hand." Kenta stoically reminded her as he turned to his partner. "Despite her friendliness, she is still our enemy today."
"Uh… right, I know that." Artemis quickly told herself.
"Oooh! Wow that was really cool!" Liana's carefree smile now turned towards Kenta instead. "Look at you with the sword and the dark clothing. You look just like a real ninja from the movies! Can I play ninja with you later? I bet it'd be really fun!"
"I'm not playing ninja." Kenta replied to her. "I am trained in the arts of ninjitsu."
"You actually are a real ninja? That's so much cooler!" She squealed with delight as she grabbed Kenta's hand. "Well, it's my first time playing with an actual ninja, so, please be gentle with me?"
"I cannot make any promises. Going against my training and going easy on you would be dishonorable to you and to me." Kenta again replied calmly, but as the camera zoomed in, there did appear to be a very small amount of blush in his cheeks.
"Oh, so you don't like being gentle? Well that's okay too. Sometimes it's more fun when you get rough and wild. I bet you know what I'm talking about, right hun?" She turned back towards Artemis with a wink.
"Wh-what are you talking about? I don't… I just. I'm not interested in… Can we just battle already? I've been itching to get started since I woke up this morning."
"So you're going to bring it then are you?" Shaq asked as he crossed his arms over his chest as Liana walked back across the field with a satisfied grin. "Because I've got to admit, I'm not exactly impressed with your little cosplay here. Sure you look imposing, but you also look like a stepping stone on the way to my victory in this tournament."
"Having confidence is fine, but overconfidence like yours breeds carelessness, which will lead to your defeat." The boy named Kenta said as he grabbed the hilt of his bokken, aiming it at the mocha skinned man across from him. But despite the boy's apparent threat, Shaq simply raised his fists together, cracking the knuckles before cracking his neck as well.
"Alright kid. If you want to lose that badly, I'll show you what happens when you raise your sword against your king."
"Alright alright, everyone cool your jets, okay?" The judge's voice finally interrupted the budding confrontation between the four battlers. "Now since you all seem so intent on beating the tar out of each other, let's keep this simple. This is a double battle; standard rules apply with both trainers per team allowed two Pokémon each for a total of four. You are to keep battling until all four of a team's Pokémon are defeated. Are we clear?" All four of them replied at the same time, leading the judge to point at Shaq's opponents.
"Artemis Hunter, Kenta Okada, are the two of you ready to battle?"
"Absolutely!"
"Yes!" The two replied in kind as Kenta sheathed his bokken on his back.
"Shaquille Pabst, Liana Scarlet. Are the two of you ready to battle?"
"Always."
"Certainly!" Both of them grabbed their first balls and enlarged them.
"Shake them down Steelix!"
"Cut through the darkness Scyther!" Artemis and Kenta went first, tossing their Pokémon out and instantly the ground shook from the sheer force of the metallic snake landing on the battlefield. His bellowing roar further shook the arena as his partner materialized alongside him. The flying mantis quickly darted around, making slash marks at his foes before hovering in place.
"Show them the meaning of perfection, Lancelot!"
"Rise from the deepest abyss, Poseidon!" Shaq and Liana quickly released their own Pokémon to the field as well. Shaq's Espeon landed on the battlefield pridefully on the battlefield, a glinting ripple of Psychic energy distorting the area around him as he crouched to an attack stance. Liana's Pokémon however caught Tyler off guard as he'd never seen it before. Its body was streamlined and aerodynamic, yet looked hard as a rock with its brown, rigid body. It stood on its hind legs, brandishing a pair of lengthy scythes just like the Scyther diagonally across the field from it did. It crossed them across its gray chest, then pointed them menacingly at his opponents.
"Oh wow, she's got a Kabutops!" Rose said excitedly. "I've only ever seen them in books before."
"Ohhhhh this isn't fair!" Wendy added on. "I want to root for them to win because I really like her already and then there's the Espeon too! But that stupid prick Shaq! UGH! Why can't you just go away!"
"Move swiftly Scyther, use Agility!"
"Steelix, you use Earthquake!" Kenta and Artemis made the first move. As the Scyther began darting back and forth across the field leaving faint afterimages of himself amidst his wake, the Steelix raised its gargantuan tail and slammed it into the ground with a rippling thud, sending large shockwaves across the ground.
"Use Protect Poseidon!" Liana's Kabutops defensively crossed its scythes across its body as a green barrier surrounded his body. The ground fragmented around his barrier, but safe inside his shield, the Kabutops stood strong.
"Charge forward Lancelot! Jump onto the Steelix's back!" Instead of behaving defensively like his partner, Shaq ordered his Espeon to race ahead towards the rumbling shockwaves of Earth. Surprisingly, the Espeon obeyed, and with exceptional ability climbed the rippling gravel around it and sprang forward with a flip, landing gracefully in a crook on the small of the Steelix's back.
"Tch, show off" Artemis clicked her teeth together in annoyance. "Shake him off of you with Gyro Ball!" With an annoyed growl of his own, the Steelix lowered his tail and curled his body around, biting it as he started to spin around in circles, trying to knock the Espeon off balance.
"Here we go Scyther! Vaccum Wave on Kabutops!" Scyther began hovering in place again, throwing his blades wide to slow down as they began glowing a vibrant white. She then turned towards the Kabutops, making slashes in the air as a wave of pressurized air is sent flying towards her foe.
"Your blades are stronger Poseidon! Use Slash to cut through the attack!" Kabutops' own blades glowed white as he raised them up, throwing both of them down on the incoming wave and disrupting it. An explosion of the resulting force pushed the shellfish Pokémon back, a slight scowl of annoyance appeared on his face, but otherwise he seemed okay.
"Now Lancelot! Use Quick Attack on Scyther!" As the Steelix picked up speed, the Espeon's psychic gem in its head flashed briefly before steeling the Steel type's own momentum and hurtling himself towards the Scyther. The mantis was stunned by the hit as Espeon landed on the ground, but managed to stay airborne and shake off the hit.
"Hmph, I'll give you, that was impressive." Kenta grumbled as he watched his Scyther right herself. "Aerial Ace on Espeon!"
"Take the hit and use Psych Up!" The mantis fell out of the sky, flying low to the ground as the Espeon's body froze in place. A faint blue glow surrounded its body as the Bug type paid its rival back and slammed into the Espeon, pushing him back a short distance. But as he flew away, the Scyther's body glowed a faint blue for a moment and Shaquille chuckled to himself.
"Crush that Kabutops Steelix, use Iron Head!" At Artemis' call, the metallic snake uncoiled and lunged forward towards the Kabutops.
"Yes! Trapped you, Kabutops use Waterfall!" Just before the Steelix could approach, a pillar of water formed at the base of the shellfish's feet, shooting him up into the air as it rose. Unable to slow himself in time, the Steelix crashed through the water, cutting its flow off and allowing Kabutops to dive back into the water and slam into the Pokémon's back.
"Oh did you now? Crush him with Bind!" Again Steelix coiled itself up tightly, wrapping its body around the Kabutops and trying to squeeze the life out of him.
"Now let's get some real damage! Use X-scissor on Espeon Scyther!" At Kenta's command, his Scyther quickly turned around and threw her scythes out wide as they took on a glowing purple hue. But despite the distance being closed so quickly, Shaq remained unimpressed by his opponent's offense.
"Dodge it!" At the last possible moment, Espeon jumped to the side of the attack with speed that startled the mantis Pokémon, who quickly turned around again for another pass. But again her attacks found empty air as the Espeon jumped over his attack this time. "Now knock him out of the sky with Iron Tail!" As the Espeon lands, it races forward at the same speed as the Scyther flying alongside it. His tail begins glowing a silver color and with another jump, spins around and whips his tail into the bug's back, sending it crashing into the ground beneath it with a heavy slam.
"Stay calm Poseidon, use Metal Sound!" With a pained expression, the Kabutops began scratching his scythes roughly against the Steelix's body as an awful sound echoed across the field. Not only did the Steelix rumble in discomfort.
"Hang in there Steelix! Use Strength to throw Kabutops at Espeon!" The Steelix began to uncoil, keeping wrapping the end of its tail around him before whipping him viciously towards the Espeon.
"Catch him with Psychic Lancelot!" The Espeon's eyes glow a pale blue as the same color envelops the body of both it and the flying shellfish, slowing it as it approaches down to a near halt as he's set on the ground besides his partner.
"Now, use Night Slash!" The Scyther quickly spun back to life, lunging forward towards the Espeon one more time.
"Quick Poseidon, use Protect!" The Kabutops quickly stepped forward and crossed its blades defensively as the Scyther slammed hers into her new target's body, glancing off of it as both Pokémon are repelled by their own attacks.
"Damn, you're better than I thought." Artemis clicked her teeth together again in frustration. "Use Screech Steelix!" Steelix's body began to spin in place as he let out a gravelly roar of his own that rumbled through the arena.
"Summon all of your speed Scyther, keep using Night Slash until it hits!" Stubbornly the Scyther's claws glowed with an ominous purple aura as it flew around to try and flank her targets.
"Restrain it with Psychic!" As Scyther begins to make another pass, her body begins glowing with a thick blue aura, halting his momentum and suspending her in midair. "Now throw her into Steelix!" Despite her best efforts to free herself, the Scyther soon finds herself being flung across the battlefield into the Steelix as his irksome roar was thankfully silenced.
"Now bury them with Rock Tomb!" Liana's Kabutops crossed its scythes above its head as a silvery orb grew in size above them. Once it reached a decent size, the Kabutops threw its claws forward and the orb went with them towards the two opponents across from it.
"Use Roost!"
"Smack it back with Iron Tail!" Artemis' Steelix spun around again as its tail glowed bright white. He uncoiled and slammed his tail into the attack, sending it rocketing back towards the Kabutops. With the dangerous attack now no longer near her, the Scyther took the opportunity to land on the ground, a faint glow of white surrounding its body.
"Staying defensive? Fine with me, Calm Mind Lancelot!" With a curt bark, Espeon relaxes its body as the psychic gem on its forehead sparkles radiantly with blue energy and surrounds its body.
"Then I'll attack, Poseidon use Stone Edge!" The Shellfish's body flashes briefly with a light blue glow as he raises his scythes into the air and pierces them into the ground beneath him. Then pillars of glowing blue rock begin erupting out of the ground on a path towards the downed foes.
"Shatter them with Iron Tail!" Again the Steelix roars into the oncoming attack, whipping his tail around and obliterating the oncoming rocks like they were made of glass.
"Yes! She fell for it! Use Waterfall on Steelix Poseidon!" With agility of his own, the Kabutops launched himself forward as the pillar of water carried him towards his foe.
"Now we fly Scyther, use Steel Wing on Kabutops!" Kenta's Scyther took off and using the rocks created as cover swiftly approached her opponent. Her wings began glowing a bright white as she made her pass, crashing into the Kabutops and knocking him out of his watery pillar with a heavy crash.
"Guess you're the one who fell for it hun. Finish him off with Iron Tail!"
"Use Psychic on Steelix Lancelot!" Another uncoiling from the Steelix was slowed as his and the Espeon's body began glowing a vivid blue. The metallic snake's tail slammed into the ground, knocking the Kabutops back, but because of the psychic influence was unable to land a finishing blow.
"Poseidon, can you keep on going?" Liana asked as her Kabutops staggered to his feet, nodding at her briefly. "Okay, just a bit more and we'll take a break."
"Use Iron Head Steelix!"
"Endure the hit Poseidon!" The Steelix roared as its entire body whipped around and lunged towards the Kabutops with a sparkling silver aura surrounding its body. It slammed violently into the Kabutops' body, pushing Poseidon back at a steady rate. But a faint glow of yellow surrounded the shellfish's body as he fell to the ground, letting the Steelix sail over his head.
"There we go, now Waterfall one more time!" With a clearly pained grimace on his face, the Kabutops sprang back with the water pushing him again and slammed a counterattack into the back of the Steelix's body, the attack leaving both of them looking severely fatigued.
"Okay Poseidon, you've done great. Take a break for a bit." Liana smiled as she retreated her barely standing Kabutops to her ball and grabbing a different one. "Part the oceans with your boiling rage, Neptune!" Bursting forth from his ball and landing with a heavy thud of his own was a hulking Blastoise who let out a bellowing cry of his own."
"Oh, I see you've finally decided to get serious." Shaq smiled deviously as he looked at his new partner. "Maybe I should start trying myself. Lancelot, use Psychic on Steelix!" With a shrill cry of his own, Espeon's body became clouded in a thick Psychic aura before a similar one surrounded the entirety of Steelix's body. A moment later, the gargantuan metal snake was actually being impressively lifted up off the ground and held in midair.
"Impressive, but now you're exposed. X-scissor Scyther!" The Scyther raced ahead as she threw her blades out wide, a thick vivid purple energy coating them as she made her charge.
"Oh no you don't, use Hydro Pump on Scyther Neptune!" The Blastoise's two water cannons popped up from inside its shell and took aim at the Scyther. A pair of torrential blasts from his cannons shot forth and struck the Scyther with perfect accuracy, knocking her back out of the air and crashing her into the ground.
"Now throw Steelix into Scyther!"
"Steelix break out of it, hit him with Dark Pulse quick!" Steelix's jaw unhinged as he began to slowly fly across the battlefield, a large orb of dark energy forming in his mouth.
"Help him along Neptune, use Hydro Pump on Steelix!" As the Steelix fired off his beam towards the Espeon, another blast of water burst from the Blastoise's cannons, slamming into the side of the Steelix and accelerating his fall towards the Scyther. The spiraling black helix crashed into Espeon at the same time that Steelix fell into the ground, creating a massive dust explosion that blanketed the battlefield for a moment. Only when the dust settled was the carnage truly visible as the Steelix's tail lay sprawled across the Scyther, both of whom lay unmoving while the Espeon shook the dust off itself, although appeared shaken up by the attack.
"Scyther and Steelix are both unable to battle!" The judge announced to a chorus of applause from the stadium. Regretfully, both Kenta and Artemis raised their balls and returned their Pokémon to them.
"I told you didn't I?" Shaq spoke up, wasting little time to taunt his opponents. "You guys can't even touch Lancelot here. What makes you think you think you stand a chance against the rest of my team?"
"It seems you have luck on your side." Kenta nodded at his fallen Scyther as he placed her ball on his belt.
"Luck huh… Yeah, I could see how you'd confuse the two. Personally, I don't believe in luck, I don't need to after all with my ability." Shaq paused a moment to chuckle narcissistically. "But if I did, I'd say you two were highly unlucky to be faced against me in the first round."
"Oh blow it out your overconfident ass! This battle is far from over!" Artemis snapped at him, tossing her ball to the field. "Put him in his place Electivire!"
"Stalk him from the sky Crobat!" The second pair from Artemis and Kenta make their way to the battlefield. First a bulky furred creature with black stripes running along its body appeared, clouding itself in a cloud of electricity and punching its fists together. His partner appeared flying alongside him, a four-winged purple bat with an intimidating stare.
"Sorry girly. But it looks like I have to get rough with you after all." Artemis turned her irritated expression towards Liana. "Use Thunder on Blastoise!"
"Use Haze Cobat!" As the Electivire's body began crackling with an even larger shroud of electric energy, the Crobat opened his mouth and spat out a thick cloud of black smoke that quickly blanketed the battlefield.
"Ho-ho, not bad actually. You've managed to impress me… about time." Shaq commented dryly. "Use Morning Sun Lancelot!"
"Neptune use Protect!" Electivire's forked tail raised into the air and discharged all of his energy skyward. A moment later a jagged beam of lightning descended from above, blowing the smoke away to show the Blastoise tucked into his shell with a green aura surrounding it. The Espeon meanwhile had a golden aura surrounding it, and a few scuff marks on its body began to fade away.
"Defensive already? Then we'll just break you out of your shell. Electivire, use Thunder Punch!"
"Iron Defense Neptune!" Despite Artemis' provocations, Liana and her Blastoise stayed defensive as Neptune's body flashed with a metallic sheen to it as the Electivire approached. He reared back, his fists crackling with lightning and threw a punch into Blastoise's shell, then another and quickly a third that started a barrage that spun the Blastoise around with the impact of their hits.
"Get out of there with Aqua Jet Neptune!" As another thunderous punch slammed into the Blastoise's shell, the cannons emerged once again and blasted water downwards, pushing the Blastoise away from the next punch of the attack.
"Crobat, use Aerial Ace on Espeon!" With even more speed than his Scyther previously, Kenta's new Pokémon fell from the sky in the blink of an eye, surrounding himself with a stream of white contrails as he approached Shaq's Espeon.
"Fight him head on with Quick Attack!" The Espeon took off as well, charging head fist towards the descending Crobat with its own white trail following it. The two attacks glanced off each other and both Pokémon turned around, charging at each other for a second attack.
"Don't let up, use Thunder Punch again!"
"Keep him away from you, use Hydro Pump!" Blastoise finally pops out of its shell as the Electivire races towards it. But both of his cannons fire off a pair of powerful water blasts that catch the Electivire and hold him back with their strength.
"Uh-oh, that's just what I wanted to happen." Artemis smiled as she briefly celebrated. "Use Thunder to electrify the water!" The Electivire laughed to itself as its tail began sparking with electrical energy before plunging into the water columns. The Hydro Pump attack soon became electrified and the electricity in it channeled back towards the Blastoise, shocking him and dropping the tortoise to a knee.
"Neptune!" Liana cried out in surprise as her Blastoise ceased his own attack.
"Now Thunderbolt!" A second lightning attack launches from the Electivire's body and shocks the Blastoise, immobilizing him again in place.
"Quick use Protect!" Blastoise tries to get back inside his shell, but takes a long time doing so before the green barrier comes back up leaving him more damaged than Liana had wanted at this point.
"This time he comes around use Iron Tail Lancelot!" Shaq commanded as the Espeon and Crobat exchanged another glancing blow with them. Once more the two Pokémon turned around, but this time the Espeon's tail began glowing a vivid silver.
"Alright Corbat, time for us to use our ninja arts. Clone technique, use Double Team!" Crobat turned around but as he made his pass, multiple copies of him flew past in an arcing v-shape. The Espeon couldn't find the real one, slamming his tail through one of the clones and making it disappear.
"Iron Tail again!" The Espeon jumped up towards the group of Crobats, slamming its tail through another faded clone and making it disappear.
"Now let's wear him down with Toxic!" The Crobats each launched a sickly blob of purple sludge towards the Espeon before it could land and soon became painted in the filth.
"Poison? How pathetic." Shaq glared at Kenta with an artic hatred. "You really have to resort to underhanded tactics like poison to try and take down one of my knights? Disgusting."
"Clearly you're unfamiliar with the ways of the ninja then." Kenta calmly replied back. "The use of poisons. has bought down some of history's greatest warriors. Kings, even empires have crumbled beneath the weight of one tiny drop of poison. And your Espeon will soon join their ranks."
"Is that so?" Shaq boisterously laughed as he looked at his knight as he started to shake the poison off of his body almost effortlessly. The clumps of toxic sludge seemed to fly off like they were made of rubber, splattering in a ring around the Espeon's feet who now joined his trainer in glaring darkly at their opponent. "Well unfortunately for you, it seems like your little attempts at poisoning my knight have failed. Just like that, your trump card bounced harmlessly off of him, almost like magic wouldn't you say?"
"Espee pee-on!" Lancelot barked curtly at the Crobat.
"Exactly Lancelot." Shaq smiled as he cracked his neck. "I'm done playing with him too."
"Crobat use Brave Bird!"
"Use Psych up on Blastoise!" Again the Crobat fell from the sky like an arrow. He flew so fast that he caught on fire with a burning blue aura surrounding his body. But just before the collision, Espeon and his partner both glowed with a psychic aura. An explosion of energy briefly clouded both Pokémon the Crobat flying through the smoke with flames burning along his back. But Espeon again stood defiantly in the center, quietly watching the Crobat's flight.
"Let's join in the fun Neptune, use Ice Beam on Crobat!"
"Cancel that out with Thunderbolt!" Both Liana's and Artemis' Pokémon fired off jagged beams of energy that both canceled each other out in an explosion of snowdust. "I'm not done with you yet."
"Good, because I wasn't either! Use Water Pulse Neptune!"
"Blast through them with Thunder Punch!" As Blastoise lowered his cannons again, he shot forth a pair of blue orbs that each were blasted away by the Electivire's fists, splashing harmlessly on either side of him. "Now Thunderbolt!"
"Counter that with Flash Cannon!" This time a silvery blast erupted from the Blastoise's cannons, crashing into the thunderbolt and canceling it out in another explosion after a moment of struggle between the attacks.
"Crobat, use Air Slash on Espeon!" Now flying in place, the Crobat flaps each of its wings repeatedly, creating blades of air that float race arc across the field on a path towards the Espeon.
"Use Calm Mind Lancelot." Shaq yawned, seemingly uncaring that his Espeon was about to take a hit. The blades crashed into Espeon, making it momentarily break its concentration, but eventually its translucent bead radiated blue and the aura surrounded its body again.
"Another Air Slash!"
"Now Double Team!" This time as the waves of air made their way to their intended target, more of them appeared and a small cluster of Espeons suddenly made their presence known. "I thought I told you, you can't touch us. You're just wasting our time now."
"You're the one who isn't fighting back!" Kenta growled back. "Crobat, use Aerial Ace and take out the clones!"
"You join him Electivire, use Shock Wave!" In near perfect sync with each other, Crobat descended from sky and crashed through a clone. As soon as he pulled back up, a shockwave makes its way across the field and takes out another. Despite Espeon's best efforts, the double team against it proves successful and eventually it takes a hit from both his opponents, leaving him with a pained grimace.
"Quick Neptune, use Skull Bash on Electivire!" The Blastoise lets out a proud roar as it tucks its arms into its boy and fires like a missile with a flickering cone of white energy forming around his body. Before the Electivire can react, the attack connects and pushes the Electivire back, making him stagger backwards. "Aw darn, I thought that'd finish him off." Liana frowned as both Pokémon continued to wobble around in recoil from the attack.
"Come on Electivire, snap out of it and use Thunder Punch!" Artemis' Pokémon shook itself back to alertness before racing forward and charging ahead with both its fists crackling with electric energy.
"Let's finish him for real Neptune! Hydro Cannon!" The Electivire jumped with his right fist reared back and ready to strike, but the Blastoise lowered his cannons again and a pair of vivid blue orbs began glowing at the tips of them. The Electric type threw his fist forward, but the moment he did he was blown back by a devastating pair of water pillars that effortlessly launched the hulking Pokémon skyward and suspended him aloft for a few moments. Finally, the water ceased and the Electivire fell to the ground with a bone-jarring hit that left him lying motionless in a crater.
"Electivire is unable to battle! Artemis is out of usable Pokémon!"
"SHIT!" Artemis sank to her knees as she looked at her fallen Electivire and regretfully grabbed his ball and retreated him.
"So it's up to you huh ninja-boy?" Shaq taunted as he folded his arms across his chest authoritatively. "At least you lasted longer than your partner here. But I told you from the beginning, neither of you were going to be able to beat me."
"Crobat! Use Brave Bird!"
"Well, at least you refuse to surrender. I can respect that at least." Shaq admitted as Crobat exploded into a burst of burning blue flames and charged towards the Espeon. "Grind him into the dirt with Psychic!"
"Espee!" With an intense blue aura surrounding it, Espeon's jewel flashed blue as a translucent ripple of energy shook the air before the Crobat's burning aura became extinguished and he fell to the ground in an instant. Despite his best efforts to escape, the Espeon continued to apply pressure from above, keeping him pinned to the ground. After flailing around on the ground for what felt like a sickeningly long time, his wings stopped flapping and his body slackened against the ground.
"Well would you look at that, he finally decided to kneel of his own free will." Shaq taunted one last time as the judge raised his hand to call off the match.
"Crobat is unable to battle! Therefore, the winners are Shaquille Pabst and Liana Scarlet!" The judge announced as Kenta shook his head and retreated his Crobat.
"As if we would ever bow willingly to someone like you." Kenta's voice coldly rumbled back.
"Oh, not bow." Shaq stepped forward, his presence towering over Kenta. "Nobility bows to their king, peasants like you kneel."
"Oh get off your fucking high horse and blow that oversized log out of your ass already!" Artemis walked over in a huff and shoved Shaq back away from her partner. "You aren't any better than us just because you won. You're no king, you're just a lowly pauper who claims fame but can't stomach the fact that he's just a pathetic waste of-"
"Enough Artemis!" Kenta stepped up and put a hand between his partner and their aggressor, Liana jogging over to do the same and pull Shaq away from them. "You shame yourself by lowering yourself to his level." He turned his stare back to Shaq with an intensity that could make stone crumble. "We are done here. Your foul presence has made you unworthy of the crown you pretend to wear. A true king would lead with honor, humility and through charitable virtue, all of which you lack. In fact, the only people who would ever recognize a king as distasteful as you, were those who seeded the ranks of Team Galactic." With that said Kenta turned on his heel, as did Artemis after giving him a pair of middle fingers and joining him.
"How very like a ninja to turn his tail and hide in the comforting disgrace of the shadows after a loss like this." Shaq taunted again, getting Kenta to stop in his tracks.
"Shaquille, just stop already!" Liana yelled as she stood in front of him confrontationally. "We already won; we don't need to humiliate them with all of your aggressive badgering."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Shaq replied with a smirk. "After all, his Pokémon have already proven their as big of failures as he is."
"I told you to stop already!" Liana continued her scolding as the group sank back into their seats at the booth, each one of them across varying levels of anger.
"God I just hate him so much!" Wendy pulled at her hair to keep herself from screaming in anger. "He is such a massive shithead!"
"Men like 'im are just disgusting." Madison shook her head with an unsavory look. "I never sought zat I'd see a man who made my ex look like a decent 'uman being. But zere 'e is."
"I swear if I ever see him on the street, he'll be swallowing his own teeth." Jason added, punching his fist into his hand aggressively.
"Will? You okay honey?" Rose softly wrapped her arms around her fiancé's shoulder as he quietly rumbled with white-knuckled fury.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Will finally replied with a crook of a smile as he looked at Rose warmly. She kissed his cheek softly, continuing to rub his back.
"Well… I don't want to admit it, but he's not bad." Tyler spoke vacantly, an anxious frown on his lips. "He might actually be able to back up his talk."
"You can't possibly be siding with him." Wendy looked at him sternly. "He's scum! He's a horrible person. He's everything that this tournament doesn't stand for!"
"I never said I'm siding with him." Tyler sunk even further into the booth. "He's still an ass. But his Espeon is… unfortunately impressive. He actually knows what he's doing."
"Watching him just makes me sick to my stomach." Will grumbled as he finally sat up, tucking strands of his loose hair behind his ears.
"Hello everyone!" The group's server approached with each of their orders sitting on a large serving plate. "Hope you're having a nice day. Now who was it that ordered the Turkey club?" The group just looked at each other in response, not saying anything for a while.
"Um… sorry but can we get all of this to go please?" Wendy finally spoke up, handing the server a credit card and an apologetic look.
"Sure, it'll be a little while still but I can box these to go for you." She replied with a smile anyway and left back towards the kitchen as the group just sat there in silence, to disgusted to enjoy each other's company with the heavy cloud that hung over them.
A/N: And there you go guys, that's all I've got for you as we put this 36th chapter in the books. Now, I'm just going to keep it short this time and say that I know the tournament is dragging a bit on as we've reached the end of this first day (finally right). Don't worry, we're not going to highlight everyone again as we continue along. I only wanted to give matches relevant to the OC characters that we've received so far who I felt could be implemented effectively into the tournament setting at this time. We've still got a bit more to go obviously but the timeline is effectively picking up again in the next couple chapters. So thank you for bearing with me and enjoying this story. And as always, this is DrPhill26 signing out and I hope I'll get to see you all again next time.
Tyler's team: Magnus (Quilava, Male), Caelum (Staraptor, Male), Felix (Gligar, Male), Yuki (Glaceon, Female)
Wendy's team: Pulse (Lucario, Male), Tess (Ampharos, Female), Yuri (Lilligant, Female)
Liana's team: Poseidon (Kabutops, Male), Neptune (Blastoise, Male)
Shaq's team: Lancelot (Espeon, Male)