A/N: Okay... so... this has been a long time coming. Literally a year actually according to the upload data on my story, and it feels incredibly uplifting, exciting and at the same time super nervous to be in front of you guys again. It kinda feels like I'm starting over in a way back at square one when I hit the upload button on my very first chapter. I suppose you guys are wondering what's happened since I last hit upload on a chapter. Well, let's just say that depression is a bitch and a half. For those of you who have ever read my author's bio, I am a mental health worker, and less than a week after my previous upload, one of my clients committed suicide and I took it extremely hard. Part of me felt like it was my fault that it happened, that I hadn't done enough in my job to try and help. It wasn't, I know that now. But that was just the catalyst for a bunch of crappy life events that suddenly reared their ugly heads soon after in both my personal and work life. Grease fire almost burning down my house, multiple family health scares, obscenely high turnover at work making me work 60 hour work weeks for months. I felt like I was drowning. I needed help. So I tried to escape into my writing... except... that client who passed away was a big supporter of my story here. They didn't read it directly, but they were deeply curious about my writing and even wanted to try doing some writing of their own. So whenever I tried to bring myself to write, I was reminded of them, and I just couldn't bring myself to work. And without my normal forms of escapism, I felt like I was drowning and it took until I saw my thoughts mirrored in a separate client at work to realize that I needed to throw myself a lifeline and get help. So I did. And it's been a long road for me to come to grips with all the bullshit that I've had to wade through these last 52 weeks... I'm not the same person I was back then, I never will be. There's a couple of pieces missing for certain. But at the same time, I can finally look at myself in the mirror again and not see the cracks now that I put myself back together. So let's get back to business, shall we :)
It may have been twelve days, just under two weeks since Tyler had last stepped foot inside South Stadium But in that small time, the atmosphere he felt today had changed drastically from what it was before. Gone was the festival-like excitement, the thrum of electricity that pulsed through the air and tickled the hairs on the back of your neck and brought a smile to your face. Instead, there was a blanketing anxiety in the sky, dull grays of trepidation and nervous energy blocking out the previously joyful skies.
Further adding to that sense of unease were the unmistakable red and blue uniforms of the Sinnohan Rangers and Hearthome's own uniformed officers. Nearly all of Sinnoh had heard of what happened in Solaceon Town in the past week, especially so in the nearby Hearthome City. Combine that with the recent attack on Sunnyshore City's Pokémon Center, and now there were some rumors cropping up on the streets about the possible return of Team Galactic. Tyler knew better, having witnessed the real culprits first hand, but he couldn't deny the uncomfortable feelings in the clouds today.
"Tough job for us today, huh Tyler?" Tyler turned to his left, seeing Jason walking tall besides him, his Ranger Red uniform crisp and worn cleanly over his proud shoulders. "Opening the knockout round of the tournament after everything that's happened the past couple days?"
"You can say that again," Tyler replied nonchalantly. It was honestly surprising that the tournament was even continuing in Tyler's mind. Having stayed with the Weiland family in the wake of what happened at the daycare, Tyler had overheard a few conversations between Will's father, Sinnoh's head Ranger, and other members of Sinnoh's elite, including Hearthome City's Mayor Enta. The mayor had expressed understandable concern that there could be another attack at the tournament finals. But Commander Weiland had convinced the mayor that the tournament should continue on to send a message that Sinnoh was not afraid of these recent attacks.
"I mean, not only are we gonna have to win, but we're gonna have to be extra flashy today to rile up this crowd for the remaining battles behind us." Jason let out a sigh as he adjusted the cap on his head.
"Not to mention you don't want to look bad in front of all your brothers in arms today, Ranger Ivy." Tyler aimed a teasing verbal jab at his partner, but instead, it made Jason freeze midstride.
"Oh crap, I didn't think about that." Jason's expression faltered, hands on his hips as he looked around the stadium. "I swear to Arceus, if Benji is up in the stands somewhere and sees us lose today, he is never going to let me hear the end of it."
"Friend of yours?"
"Friend is a strong word." Jason shook his head and laughed. "We went through Ranger training together and… well, some of the other Rangers in our class would politely say that we had a 'friendly rivalry' going between us."
"Let me guess, the kind of friendly rivalry that was anything but friendly."
"Oh-ho yeah it was!" Jason let loose a belly-laugh that made Tyler laugh himself. "Benji and me were constantly butting heads back in basic, trying to prove that we were better than the other. Especially during hand to hand combat drills; definitely when we were at our 'friendliest'. Black eye here, sprained wrist there. This one time I thought I broke his arm doing a takedown on him."
"Broke his arm?! Jesus Jason!" Tyler turned to his partner in shock.
"Nah nah nah, He didn't break his arm. Turns out the bastard's double-jointed in the elbow, used that to lure me in, and then threw a sucker-punch straight to my chin." Jason chuckled to himself as he mimed the punch. "Knocked me out cold."
"He knocked you out?!"
"Hey don't worry about it, I paid him back double a week later…Buuuut, that's when we caught the attention of the Commander and… well… have you ever seen Will get angry before?"
"Once." Tyler recalled the first time he'd met Will, the verbal tongue lashing he gave Shaq for running his mouth during the opening ceremony.
"Yeah, well that's who he gets it from." Tyler thought he saw Jason shiver despite all the warmth of his jacket. "He's got a longer fuse than Will does, and that's saying something. But if he ever has an excuse to really go off… it gets really cold, really fast." Jason shivered again.
"Yeah, I've seen that one too." Tyler felt himself shiver as well as his memory flashed back to the night of Eclipse's raid on the daycare. Cold was almost too accurate a word to use as goosebumps sprouted up across Tyler's arms. He instinctively rubbed at them for warmth, yet still felt cold even through his own gray jacket. However, it was while Tyler was trying to rub warmth back into his core and distance himself from the shivering memory, he felt another shiver, the vibration of his phone in his pocket and pulled it out, feeling a spot of warmth as he read the message to himself.
"Heya Cutie-Ty! Sry again I cant be there for ur match today. I hope it didn't start yet so I still have time to wish you good luck! :P"
"Wendy says good luck." Tyler showed Jason the text he'd just received and smiled.
"Why isn't she here again today?" Jason asked.
"She said she needed to help her parents at the daycare. They've been getting bombarded with angry calls from people who had their Pokémon stolen." Tyler and Jason both sighed together.
"You know, I get that they're upset over what happened, I would be too. But what good comes from taking it out on the Daycare owners?" Jason shook his head in disgust. "Like, how could they have possibly seen something like this ever happening?"
"Exactly! I mean, Wendy already feels awful about everything, her parents have to feel just as bad if not worse than she does, and here comes Johnny McAsshole screaming at them because they didn't have the foresight to see a criminal organization with access to fucking Shadow Pokémon show up and steal their Pokémon."
"Johnny McAsshole?" Jason started snickering childishly.
"Oh, you like that one huh?" Tyler started snickering himself.
"Yeah, I dunno why but it just tickles me in the right spot."
"You can thank my dad. He's the one who came up with it."
"Ah well, hopefully, this guy here isn't cut from that same cloth." Jason thumbed over to one of their two opponents, adding a low whistle regarding the impressive appearance of one of them.
"Yeah, but I bet he's cut from the same cloth as Shaq." Tyler rolled his eyes as he saw a towering man nearly at Will's height literally marching towards them while wearing a pristinely polished suit of medieval knight's armor. Even under the dull overcast skyline, the sparkling silver flashed with each loud clank of the knight's grieves stepping on the arena floor. This knight was definitely giving off some Shaquille level vibes and certainly not in a good way. It was no wonder then why it took so much longer for Tyler to even notice that he had a partner accompanying him. The knight's ally stood a step behind the knight to the left side, hands in the pocket of his vest. His appearance was significantly blander than his more garish partner, just a simple olive jacket over a pair of blue jeans. But the smile that he wore beneath his glasses really stood out and unnerved Tyler with its surprisingly sinister-looking edge.
"Well then. This looks like it should be fun." The more diminutive of the two spoke with a wispy, almost snake-like voice that only further added to this eerie vibe Tyler was getting from him.
"Indeed! These two look as though they may finally provide the kind of challenge that we have been searching for!" The garish knight's booming voice echoed across the arena even as he took off his helmet to show an overbearingly confident smile. "Nevertheless, at the day's end, they too shall succumb to the might of Sir Grandle!"
"You two certainly seem confident…" Tyler stated the obvious, holding back a frown in disappointment at having to face another obnoxious personality in the tournament.
"But of course! Why wouldn't we be when our victory is already assured on a day such as this?"
"Take a look around General Ironside." Jason gestures to the extra security of Rangers in amongst the stands, then at his own uniform. "See all the extra red in the stands today? That means it's a home game for the two of us. Good luck overcoming that kind of advantage."
"BWAH-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Grandle's booming laugh was loud enough for everyone in the stadium to hear even without the microphone projecting it to throughout the speakers. "Your attempts at showing courage in the face of certain defeat are nothing but laughable!"
"Must you constantly sing your own praises?" The knight's partner asked him with a groan.
"But of course! How else am I to tell the world that it stands before majesty such as this?"
"Your armor does a pretty good job of that already." Tyler fired a snide remark at the knight, but he only smiled in response.
"Indeed, it does. This armor is but a fragment of the power and virtue that stands before you. And it appears as though I will soon have the chance to prove that to you." Grandle gestured behind Tyler and Jason, who both turned and saw that their judge for the match was briskly walking towards his box on the side of the field. "The best of luck to you my spirited foes, you shall be needing it."
"What is it with us and facing opponents who are full of themselves?" Tyler whispered to Jason once the two of them were out of earshot but Jason just silently shrugged his shoulders. Together, the two made their way to their respective blocks while their opponents did the same. With the judge watching over them, the match was ready to begin.
"Right, welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first matchup of the second round of the Hearthome Tag Battle Tournament!" Applause rained down on the four combatants as the judge motioned to both teams. "The rules are the same as the first round. Each trainer may use two Pokémon to form a team of four with their partner. A team is only considered eliminated once all four Pokémon are defeated. The winner of this match shall advance to the quarterfinals tomorrow!"
"Tyler Lawson, Jason Ivy, are you two ready to fight?"
"Yes, sir!
"Ranger ready, sir!"
"Iron Knight Grandle! Timothy Dalton, are you ready!"
"A knight is always ready for battle!"
"…Right… Yes, I'm ready."
"Then let the knockout rounds begin!"
"Lay waste to them Aggron!"
"Steal their spirts Dusknoir!"
Grandle and Timothy's Pokémon both burst out onto the battlefield, making their presence felt in a hurry. Standing before the boisterous iron knight was an equally imposing iron behemoth of a Pokémon. A bipedal monster of a Pokémon that had hardened blackened scales across its body, armored bands of silver around each arm and leg, and a ferocious tri-pointed steel-plated helm that screamed warmonger just as loudly as its thunderous roar did. But it was the other Pokémon that drew Tyler's attention and made his face pale in fright. It was a floating grey cyclops just as large as the armored giant, but magnitudes more frightening with its eerie complexion and the jagged mouth-like markings on its stomach that Tyler just knew could open up and swallow him whole. Not to mention that disturbing ruby red stare of its single eye which flashed to him and only magnified Tyler's fear of the creature before him. It wasn't just seeing him, it was seeing his fear plain as day, a fear that ran ice cold along the back of the previously composed trainer's spine.
"Uh… Tyler? You okay dude?"
"Ha!" Grandle's boisterous laugh bellowed through the arena as loud as his Pokémon's. "It seems we've already found a hole in their defense."
"Indeed," Timothy pushed his glasses to the brim of his nose and grinning deviously. "And such an easy one to exploit as well."
"Dude!" Tyler's breath sputtered as Jason elbowed him in the ribs. "Pull yourself together man. It's just a Pokémon."
"Just a Pokémon?!" Tyler gestured to the floating phantasm across from him. "It's a Ghost Pokémon! You know how I get around them!"
"That didn't stop you from fighting with my Gengar last week." Jason simply shrugged his shoulders.
"That's different!" Tyler protested, shivering again as he glanced sideways at the Dusknoir that still had its cold ruby stare trained on him. "I wasn't fighting against one last time."
"Pathetic…" The iron knight folded his arms and turned to Jason. "If your partner is too petrified to fight, perhaps it would be best in all of our interests if you surrender the battle now and save yourselves the embarrassment."
"You wouldn't want to look weak in front of your brothers in arms, would you Ranger?" Timothy added on.
"Like hell I'm backing down. Rangers don't retreat in the face of danger. They stand and fight!" Jason clapped his fist over his heart.
"That might be true of you, but of your ally? I wouldn't be so sure."
"You two stated that you were ready to battle." The judge now turned his attention to Tyler and Jason. "If you don't release your Pokémon, I will consider this a forfeit on your part."
"Okay okay, just hang on a sec would ya?" Jason shooed the judge and put his arm around Tyler in the same gesture, pulling the nervous redhead into a side-huddle. "Okay, so… I suck at pep talks, but it's obvious you need one, so here goes… You're not scared right now."
"But it's a-"
"Nope, not scared. Shut up – listen to me." Jason cut Tyler's protest off at the knees. "Tell me something, what's scarier? Staring down this Ghost Pokémon? Or the Shadow Pokémon we fought last week?" Tyler's already worried frown became even more weighed down as he recalled what happened at the daycare last week before glancing back at the Dusknoir again. He might be frightened by the Ghost-type across from him, but the fear he'd felt staring down that demonic hellspawn was a completely different fear entirely. Here he could run if he really wanted to; back then, he couldn't run no matter how hard he tried.
"The Shadow Pokémon… definitely that." Tyler nodded weakly.
"Exactly! That thing could make mincemeat of 'tons-of-fun' and Barney the armored dinosaur over there." Jason gestured at the two enemy Pokémon, whose trainers both responded in annoyance to Jason's verbal jab. "And if we fought against that thing back then, there's no reason we can't fight these two, not to mention beat them."
"You fought them." Tyler reminded his partner. "It was you, Will, and Maddie who fought. I was basically just cheering you on from the sidelines." But Jason shook his head.
"Nuh-uh. You ain't a cheerleader. Cheerleaders got way better tits than you do." Tyler rolled his eyes but couldn't deny the weak chuckle from his stomach.
"This is becoming a waste of our time." Grandle tapped on his grieves impatiently. "Judge, call this match so these cowards can run off with their tails tucked firmly between their legs already."
"Can it you sentient trashcan! Or I'll knock you into next week along with your Pokémon!" Jason hollered back as the knight ground his teeth in frustration.
"Tyler, I've been a Ranger for almost seven years now. And I'm gonna be perfectly honest with you; I've never felt fear like I did that night when we were fighting those Shadow Pokémon. Man to man, it took everything I had to keep from shriveling up like a Sandshrew and hiding. And I know Will and Madison would tell you the same thing. We all put on brave faces that night, but deep down; each of us was scared for our lives."
"I was too you know!" Tyler admitted with a nervous tremble. "But like I said, you guys did all the work; I was on the sidelines being a cheerleader."
"And like I said, you don't have the tits to be a cheerleader."
"What's with you and cheerleaders all of a sudden?" Tyler asked as Jason repeated his joke, and Tyler swore he saw a shade of Ranger red briefly flash under the Ranger's cheeks at his curiosity.
"But, if you insist that you were only on the sidelines that night, then I'd say you were more like our coach than a cheerleader."
"Huh?" Tyler looked skeptically at his partner, but the rugged Ranger simply smiled back at him.
"Sure, the three of us did the actual fighting. But who figured out that we were fighting Shadow Pokémon?"
"…Me?" Tyler blinked through a confused expression.
"Yeah, it was!" Jason clapped Tyler on the back. "Hell, you're probably the only person in all of Sinnoh who could have figured that out. Now, who told us how to fight off a Shadow Pokémon?"
"…Me?" Tyler blinked through his confusion again.
"Damn right!" Another clap on the back. "The three of us would have rushed in blindly against that Shadow Pokémon and gotten our asses handed us on a silver platter. We could have all ended up like Madison did, or worse if it wasn't for your insight and the warning – nuh-nuh-no, let me take that back… the gameplan that you gave us coach."
"Huh…" Tyler looked up at the battlefield where the Aggron roared as impatiently as his trainer did. "I didn't think about it like that."
"You might see what you did as just you acting out of fear. But if that was all you were acting on, you would have run away. But you didn't run away. You were right there standing alongside us even in the face of overwhelming fear. But you did so much more than just stand beside us. You Tyler were the one who recognized what we were up against, recognized the danger that we were in, and you acted on that danger when you told us how to fight Shadow Pokémon. And in my book, that's just as important – if not more important as doing the actual fighting itself."
"I mean when you put it that way, I guess you're right…" Tyler stood a bit taller.
"Guess my ass, I know I'm right." Jason gave one final clap on Tyler's back and spun the two of them around to the battlefield proper. "So, tell me something, coach. If you were able to stand against the fear of fighting a monster-like Shadow Pokémon the other night… then what's stopping you from fighting him?"
Tyler followed Jason's gesture towards the Dusknoir and looked at the Ghost-type Pokémon. He still couldn't deny that shiver in the base of his spine, not fully at least. This Dusknoir was creepy to look at, and part of Tyler still thought he was moments away from being swallowed up by that stomach mouth on Dusknoir's chest. But what Jason had said was ultimately true. When he and everyone else stood before Team Eclipse's Shadow Pokémon, and specifically that bestial Pokémon with the mask, that was incredibly more harrowing than this. Tyler was so scared that he didn't think he could run away at its worst moment. Its presence was overwhelming; its pitch-black aura was suffocating. In comparison to this one-eyed ghost floating lazily across from him was effectively…
"…Nothing." Tyler turned to Jason and nodded, detaching a Poké ball from his waist.
"There's my partner! Now let's do this!" Jason flashed Tyler a thumbs up, who gave one back in return. For someone who said they sucked at pep talks, Tyler couldn't help but think that Jay had just hit that one out of the park.
"Tch…" Grandle clicked his tongue and uncrossed his arms. "I guess we'll have to get our hands dirty after all."
"No matter, when this battle is through, we'll give them something to really be afraid of." Timothy cackled along with his Dusknoir, but Tyler's resolve stayed firm as he tossed his ball skyward.
"Take to the skies Caelum!" With a shrieking cry of intimidation, Tyler's Staraptor burst out of its ball with a serious expression burning in the Predator Pokémon's eyes. Seeing his Pokémon's confidence emboldened Tyler further, feeling that same confident fire burning up in his own eyes as well."
"Gengar, Ranger Ready!"
"Wait wha – WHAT THE FUCK JASON?!" And just as quickly as it had arrived, Tyler's confidence shattered to glass as Jason's purple fiend burst out of its ball and floated lazily above the ground with his trademark Cheshire grin. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
"Hey, the saying goes fight fire with fire right?" Jason cackled along with his Pokémon and added a teasing wink. "Well, the same thing applies when fighting Ghost Pokémon. Use Shadow Ball on Dusknoir!" The cackling Gengar quickly molded a ball of purple and black energy between its arms and then threw it at the Dusknoir before it.
"Counter him with Night Shade!" Dusknoir's eye pulsed with its own blackish-purple energy and fired a beam of energy to intercept the Gengar's attack and blow it away with a shockwave of dark energy.
"Caelum, use Aerial Ace on Dusknoir!" Before the dust can settle, Tyler spurs his Staraptor to action and the Predatory Pokémon's shrill battle cry sounds again as he charges the Ghost-type.
"Intercept with Stone Edge, Aggron!" The Aggron roars its own battle cry and slams a glowing forearm into the ground. Moments later, glowing blue stalagmites erupt from the arena floor in front of Caelum, forcing the bird to veer away from his target and towards the Iron Armor Pokémon instead.
"Again!" A second forearm blow to the ground and another wave of stalagmites burst from underground and towards the low-flying Staraptor.
"Dodge with Double Team!" As the stalagmites close in around Caelum, the bird calls off its attack and instead summons a small squad of clones around it before they all shoot skyward and flock together above the battlefield. "Now set up a Tailwind!" In turn, each of the Staraptor clones falls into a ring formation and creates an air current above the battlefield.
"Flamethrower!" This time the Aggron rears back its head and spits a pillar of flame up into the created jet stream and swirls through it and extinguishes a few of the clones before being snuffed out by the wind.
"Quit hogging all the fun you two!" Jason chides the more active battlers and motions at the Dusknoir! "Use Confuse Ray, Gengar!"
"Shadow Sneak Dusknoir!" Timothy quickly counters Jason's attack as his Dusknoir once again disappears into the ground, its shadow then rising up from the ground and towards the floating Gengar.
"Oh no you don't! Shadow Punch Gengar!" But before Dusknoir can find its target, Gengar flips around and throws a short punch into the rising shadow, knocking it back to the ground below.
"You call that a Shadow Punch? Give him a real punch Dusknoir!" As the Dusknoir descends into the ground again, it throws a fist-like projectile the size of Gengar's entire body and smacks the cackling specter up into the ring of Staraptor clones, eliminating one of them in contact with the attack.
"Shadow Ball!" Gengar finally rolls off of Dusknoir's attack, stealing some of the punch's energy and mixing it with its own before firing another blackened sphere of energy to the Ghost-type below.
"Another pathetic imitation, use your own Shadow Ball!" Dusknoir rises from the ground with a pair of its own blackened orbs floating in its hand before tossing both of them up at Gengar's attack. The first projectile finds its mark, exploding into a cloud of dark energy that the second attack bursts through on its way to Gengar.
"You think that's all we got? I can do this all day!" Both Jason and Gengar cackle together as now the Ghost molds another pair of Shadow Balls and repeats the results their opponent just achieved. Soon enough, the two spirits are constantly hurling these midnight colored spheres back and forth with each other in a constant barrage of malignant black and purple orbs.
"All day you say? Let's see about that." Timothy pushes the rim of his glasses back up his nose, glinting them with a dark smile in the sunlight. "Disable!"
"Shit!" Dusknoir this time extends an empty palm with a purple glow around it and clenches it into a fist. At the same time, Gengar's body is outlined in the same purple energy, and the Shadow Ball it was forming in its hand is snuffed out. Meanwhile, the Dusknoir begins molding another attack, aiming to take advantage of his weakened foe.
"Blindside him with Brave Bird, Caelum!" Suddenly, the Staraptor's body ignites in a flash of blue flames and he falls like a burning arrow right into the core of Dusknoir's body. Just as the Ghost Pokémon is about to hurl his latest attack, Caelum strikes, crashing into the hulking spirit and causing an explosive impact that sends both Pokémon reeling while the Shadow Ball curves off-target and explodes behind Grandle and Timothy.
"So, that's your style then? Using deception and speed to strike when we least expect it." Grandle mused aloud, shaking his head in disgust. "A cowardly way to fight."
"I prefer opportunistic myself." Tyler taunted right back. "And so far, it seems to be working. Use Double Team Caelum!"
"Perchance… but I would not count on that strategy working must longer." Yet Grandle seemed uninterested in Tyler's strategy as another squadron of Staraptor clones began to appear above the battlefield. "Timothy, you know what to do."
"Disable!" Once again, the Dusknoir's body became outlined with a band of purple energy and the Staraptor swarm was capped off at seven birds. "Now that that's taken care of, move into Aggron's shadow Dusknoir!" At his trainer's command, the Ghost Pokémon moved towards its ally and sunk halfway into the ground around the creature's tail.
"Now use Iron Defense Aggron!" As the Duskoir's body floated eerily behind the Aggron's, the steel typed behemoth's scales all begin glinting with a metallic sheen as it roars a provoking challenge to its opponents.
"Ungh... this is exactly what creeps me out about Ghost Pokémon." Tyler frowns at the Dusknoir's movements.
"Maybe, but now they're both in the same spot so they're easier to hit. Use Confuse Ray!" From up above the battlefield, Gengar casts an impish smirk on the two Pokémon beneath him and with a yellow-glow in its eyes, creates a flashing ray of blue and yellow energy that envelops his opponents. "Not to mention, as long as we're up here, we're harder to hit."
"Sticking with your guns and keeping an aerial advantage..." Grandle tapped a gauntlet against his bicep, his expression clearly annoyed and weighed down in irritation. At least, at first it was, as his momentary vexation curled into an ornery grin. "Let's see how well you fare when forced out of your comfort zone. Aggron, use Stone Edge!"
"Dusknoir, use Gravity!"
"A combination attack?!" The startled Jason and Tyler could only both watch as the Dusknoir held one of its hands up and created a large purple and pink ball of psychic energy, while Aggron reared back its forearm for the third time this match and slammed it into the ground. Without time to react, Gengar and the Staraptor clones were all pulled from the sky just as the land erupted again with stalagmites.
"Ha! The look on your face is priceless." Grandle boasts as he gestures over the battlefield. "Our scouting last week has proved itself in this decisive moment!"
"Now pull them to their doom Dusknoir!" Grandle and Timothy taunted together as Gengar and Caelum.
"Caelum, use Agility!" Thinking quickly, Tyler further bolstered his Staraptor's mobility, as a diamond tinted aura overcame the Predator Pokémon's body as it fell. And although a few of the clones weren't so lucky, half of them managed to recover enough to roll through the upheaval of stone beneath them.
"Hehehe, now don't give them any respite Dusknoir, use Rock Tomb and finish them off!" With an eerie laugh, the lumbering Ghost Pokémon raised both its fits and slammed them to the ground, causing the raised stalagmites to begin toppling over in an attempt to bury Tyler and Jason's Pokémon.
"Get out of there with Quick Attack!" It's a desperate attack, but one that the nimble Staraptor responds to with a frantic dexterity and emerges before the foreboding Dusknoir independent of all of his previous clones, declaring his strength with a prideful screech at the Ghost in front of him.
"Ice Punch!" But one last frigid uppercut from the Dusknoir was what finally knocked Caelum out of the sky, launching him up and over the hulking spirit before crash-landing between him and the Aggron on the other side of the field.
"Caelum!"
"Now that you're finally stuck in one place, bury him for good Grandle." Timothy cackled victoriously, pushing the rim of his glasses up his nose.
"With pleasure, Aggron use Stone Edge!" The Aggron raised its forearm once more, vibrant white energy coalescing around it as he threw it forward... into the side of his own forehead?
"You clumsy oaf! What are you doing?! Grendle yelled a mixture of confusion and frustration at his armored Pokémon.
"Hell yeah, it's about time that confusion from before kicked in!" Jason cheered with a fist pump, then threw it forwards towards the Aggron. "Now's your chance Gengar! Focus Blast the Aggron!" But the question needed to be asked. Where the heck was Gengar? Tyler couldn't see him, only the glowing yellow orb that was thrown seemingly out of nowhere towards the Aggron.
"Dodge it you buffoon!" Grandle's desperation got through to his Aggron in the nick of time as the attack flew past and into the gravity well behind.
"Huh... it looked like that purple orb pulled the attack into it." Tyler thought aloud.
"Exactly what I was hoping for!" Jason sneered again and fired another fist towards the Aggron. "One more time Gengar, but this let the Gravity take hold of you too!"
"Gen~gar..." The ghostly cackle could be felt more than heard as Tyler tried desperately to find the creature before it scared the death from him. But his partner's Pokémon just wasn't anywhere to be found! It wasn't above the destroyed rocks; it certainly wasn't near the Aggron or the Dusknoir. Caelum's shadow might have been moving but that couldn't... wait... Caelum's shadow was moving?
"Slam it right into his chest!" As Jason made his declaration, Caelum's shadow suddenly detached from his body and charged the Aggron! The shadow began to rise out of the ground, along with a glowing orb of yellow energy as it reverted back to its traditional ghastly form. Gengar was hiding in Caelum's shadow?!
"D-Dusknoir stop him! Use Dark Pulse!"
"Take the attack Caelum! Quick Attack!" As Timothy launched his counterattack, Tyler poured the last of Caelum's energy into his own martyr-like defense. Caelum took off like a fired arrow and intercepted the spiraling beam of black energy aimed at the attacking Gengar and knocked him out of the sky for good.
"Even the score Gengar!"
"Aggron! Block the attack with Iron Tail!" A metallic sheen overtook the iron behemoth's tail as he spun around to try and intercept the Gengar's attack. It spun around with surprising dexterity for a creature its size and threw a vicious attack... into its own foot, knocking it off balance.
"Shit!" And that brief lapse in defense was all Gengar needed. His attack was placed perfectly between the beasts' armored plating and violently exploded on contact, sending the Iron Armored Pokémon spiraling through the sky and cratering violently into the back wall of the stadium.
"Staraptor and Aggron are both unable to battle!" The judge raised two flags, one for each downed Pokémon. "Both Tyler Lawson and Iron Knight Grandle are down to their final Pokémon!"
"Hoo-hoo! Let's go Gengar!" Jason cheered what was clearly a supremely effective hit, and a critical one at that as it held the momentum of the battle for Tyler and Jason stride for stride with their star-struck opponents. "Whaddya think of that Ty? That was awesome, right?" Jay raised his hand for an expected high-five.
"I-think-I-just-pissed-myself..." Tyler replied weakly, apparently petrified into his own private world. "Fuh - Fucking hate Ghost Pokémon."
"Alright, good job Jay. You rock." Jason rolled his eyes and gave himself his own high five.
"Tch... we will discuss your failures later." The defeated knight meanwhile grunted his discontent and retreated the fallen behemoth into his ball. "Let sound the bells of war, Bronzong!" Bursting out of underneath a silver spark shower was a large metallic Pokémon that resembled a large church bell with totem-pole like designs across its body. As it fell to the arena floor, a heavy metallic thud rang out over South Stadium, snapping Tyler out of his Ghost-induced stupor and finally retreats his Staraptor to its ball.
"Okay! Let's light it up, Magnus!" Tyler's most loyal partner takes the stage once again, sparking a prideful flame across his back as he eagerly paws the battlefield, ready for action. "Let's pick up right where we left off Magnus, Double Team!" And just as he had before with Caelum, Tyler summoned a small squadron of Magnus clones to his side of the battlefield.
"No, no, no, NO! We are NOT playing this game again!" Grandle roared across the battlefield. "Use Psywave Bronzong!"
"Shadow Punch Dusknoir!" As Dusknoir threw its clenched fist across the battlefield towards Tyler's squadron, the Bronzong began levitating with a psychic blue energy surrounding and then emanating across the battlefield behind the spectral projectile.
"Use your own Shadow Punch Gengar!" Another cackle from the literal Shadow Pokémon and he too fired a fist into Dusknoir's path and took it out. But Bronzong's attack found Magnus' squadron and shaved the numbers down a small amount to six.
"You take care of that damn Ghost Jay; I got the liberty bell here. Use Flame Wheel Magnus!" Each one of the six Quilava jumped into the air and rolled into the signature burning wheel that each scattered across the battlefield to try and confuse the Bronzong.
"Grrrr! Stand still! Bronzong use Gyro Ball!" Bronzong too began spinning around in place as Magnus began his attack. The clones that found their mark though appeared to do very little in the way of halting the Bronze Bell Pokémon's momentum, that is until the real Magnus finally found his mark and knocked it off his axis and spun the Bronzong wildly around before his trainer.
"I've had enough of you. Use Rock Tomb!" As the Bronzong recovered from its dizzying spin, it fired a blast of metallic energy into the ground and moments later, a mound of Earth erupted around Magnus, completely entombing him beneath the rocks.
"There, now that that bothersome Quilava is taken care of, let's finish off this Gengar Timothy." Grandle gestured towards the mentioned Ghost and clenched his fist with a sneer. "Bronzong, use Psychic!" In response, the Steel-type began levitating with a thick psychic aura emanating around its body. And before long, Gengar too was also trapped within the same aura as it was lifted up above the battlefield.
"Gengar! Get out of there!" Jason pleaded with hope, but each movement that his Gengar made was quickly snapped back to a rigid stance above the battlefield.
"You two seem to pride yourself on your mobility, truly an annoying style of battle." Grandle boasted with a wide grin. "But you have nowhere left to run anymore! This battle is as good as ours!"
"Dusknoir use Shadow Punch!" From down below, Dusknoir threw both of its fists up towards the immobilized Gengar.
"Gengar use De-"
"Magnus, quick! Use Flamethrower!" Tyler's desperation overshadowed his focus on Jason, hoping that Magnus could deliver in a pinch. The tomb of hardened clay where Magnus lay began glowing red-hot, eventually exploding around him as another signature pillar of furious flames flew towards the Dusknoir's attack. Meanwhile, Gengar held its two arms out and small wisps of black flame appeared to form a barrier that Tyler thought Magnus' flames could power-up if they made it in time.
"Throw him down Bronzong!" But Grandle squashed Tyler's hope as the aura around Gengar intensified and the Ghost-type was pulled to the ground, landing face-first before his trainer and caused Tyler's flames to miss their mark.
"Now finish him Dusknoir!" Worse yet, the Dusknoir's body emitted a hazy black energy of its own, and the fists it had previously thrown changed their direction and pummeled into the back of the prone Gengar's body, fracturing the ground around him. As the fists raised up for a second pummeling, Magnus redirected his attack to the fists, forcing them to retreat back to the spirit's body, but the damage was too much to ignore.
"Gengar is unable to battle!" The judge declared, raising his flag and pointing it to Jason. "Jason Ivy is down to his final Pokémon!"
"Dammit!" Tyler clenched his fist with a frustrated scowl. "Sorry Jay, if I'd been faster, we could have saved Gengar."
"But you weren't, were you?" Grandle taunted again. "Your over-reliance on speed has finally caught up with you."
"Indeed," Timothy added on his own barbs. "The two of you have been so reliant on using speed as a strength. That might have worked against your previous opponents, but speed alone can't destroy a brick wall, like the defenses that Grandle and I have constructed. An impenetrable wall that can withstand any-"
"Ah shut up, would you." Jason ground his teeth in annoyance, raising his defeated Gengar's Poké ball in his hand. "This battle is far from finished. We've still got one Pokémon each left to go."
"Ah-ha! Hahaha!" Timothy's shrill laugh floated across the battlefield in response. "I guess they'll let anyone into the Ranger corps these days; even those that don't know how to count!" He laughed again and so did the Dusknoir with a low-pitch contrast to his trainer's laugh. "My Dusknoir is still capable of fighting and I have another Pokémon still after him, meaning I have two Pokémon to go. But I guess they don't teach elementary math in Ranger school these days."
"Like. I. Said..." Jason's left eye twitched at Timothy insulting his Ranger heritage, but Tyler appeared to notice the curl of an especially noxious grin. "We each have ONE Pokémon left in this fight."
"And like I was saying, you-" But Timothy's retort was interrupted by an unexpected black flame engulfing the Gengar's defeated body. "...wait..." From inside of the swirling black flames, Tyler thought he saw the Gengar's Cheshire grin take shape, almost like it was enjoying being burnt at the stake.
"Du - Dusknoir, look out!" The flames then spread from the Gengar's body, extending a tendril of hellfire towards the other Ghost on the battlefield. Dusknoir tried to retreat from the attack, but the burning vice snared around the Grabber Pokémon's body, forcing a hollow cry of anguish from the creature's haunted soul before the black flames consumed its body and it too collapsed unresponsive before its trainer.
"Like. I. Said..." Jason repeated himself as he finally retreated Gengar to its ball, a smug grin beaming ear to ear as he raised his last Poké ball. "One. Pokémon. Each."
"Dusknoir is unable to battle! Timothy is down to his final Pokémon!"
"Hey Jay, re – remind me never to get on your bad side... like, ever." Tyler's teeth chattered as Timothy retreated his defeated Pokémon.
"Just be glad there's no more Ghost types out there to hold you back." Jason chuckled to himself as he tossed his next ball skyward. "Breloom, Ranger ready!"
"Loom!" The bipedal mushroom-like Pokémon landed before his energized trainer, throwing a pair of short jabs to fire himself up for combat.
"Nngghhh, you think you're clever with your little sneak attack." Timothy grumbled his disgust as he raised another ball from his belt."
"I thought it was clever, that's why I did it." Jason taunted again, further annoying his opponents.
"Well, I'm done playing by your rules. Squash their chances at victory, Snorlax!" Timothy threw his own ball skyward and another sizable Pokémon burst out of his ball that resembled a large teal—furred bear. It bellowed a low cry as it landed on the battlefield... or, was it more of a yawn? It seemed appropriate given the tired expression on the Pokémon's face.
"Squash this, use Mach Punch on Snorlax!" Once again, Jason speeds into battle as his Breloom rushes his new opponent and throws a glowing blue fist into the creature's stomach... only for it to be immediately bounced back by its blubbery belly.
"Hehe, use Mega Punch!" Snorlax's tired expression hardened into a serious scowl as he clubs Breloom over the head with a glowing white fist of its own, staggering the surprised Breloom away from it. "Now follow that up with Fire Punch!"
"Mind Reader!" Snorlax's fist burst into flames as he lunged forward and threw another clubbing blow at the Mushroom Pokémon, who sidestepped the oncoming attack and its follow-up, a visible tint of a white aura surrounding the Breloom's focused eyes. "That's it Breloom, stay nice and loose!"
"Loom!" Another affirmative cry from his partner and Breloom continued with his trainer's battleplan, ducking beneath another flaming punch and firing a spring-loaded uppercut that staggered the Snorlax back a step.
"Slow him down with Psychic Bronzong!" A dark blue energy thrummed around the Bronzong's body, lifting him off the ground as the same energy surrounded the Breloom's body and also lifted him off the ground, allowing Snorlax to rear back and focus his fiery fists for a major hit.
"Burn that Bronzong with Flamethrower, Magnus!" Just as Snorlax lunged its fists forward, Magnus fired his own fierce flames towards the Bronzong surrounding the Steel-typed Pokémon inside his red-hot retaliatory attack.
"Light Screen!" Tyler could briefly see a pair of green orbs inside of Magnus' attack before the fires were fanned away with a hexagonal green barrier of green energy, and a similar one appeared before the Snorlax as he threw a punch into the Breloom's guarded arms, staggering him back before his trainer.
"Let's boost our power even more Snorlax, use Curse!" Further adding their apparently defensive strategy, Snorlax bellowed a growling roar as its body briefly pulsed with orange and blue energies.
"Now it's his turn, Magnus, use Flamethrower on Snorlax!" Magnus changed his target and fired off another torrential blast of flames towards the Snorlax. But before they could find their mark, that same psychic green barrier from before materialized before him and fanned the flames around the now angered Pokémon.
"Okay, if you want to fight me, I'll bring the heat your way then! Use Power-up Punch Snorlax!" With the defensive barrier still deflecting his attack, Snorlax rumbled towards the Volcano Pokémon as a burning white aura of its own surrounded his fist.
"Why don't we add another barrier while we're at it Bronzong? Use Reflect!" A second barrier, this time a pentagonal yellow barrier materialized behind the green one as Snorlax's presence loomed even larger on his approach to Magnus.
"How do you like this? Your attacks can't even begin to damage my Snorlax now that he's powered up." Timothy laughed a high-pitched cackle as Snorlax reared back its glowing fist for an attack.
"Smokescreen!" Magnus coughed up a defensive cloud of smoke into the lumbering giant's face as he threw his fist, but it couldn't stop the attack from connecting as Magnus was punched out of his own smoke cloud and rolling across the battlefield before his trainer.
"You okay buddy?" Tyler asked his partner, who huffed an affirmative flame across his backside.
"But for how much longer? Our power is growing at a rate you won't soon be able to contain!" Grandle loudly proclaimed as the Snorlax's body lit up with another orange pulse around its body. "See? Your defeat is already assured."
"Magnus, use Flame Wheel!" But Tyler wasn't going to give up so easily, as Magnus tucked back into the eponymous burning wheel shape and charged the giant teal bear.
"How nice of you to close the gap for me. Power-up Punch again!" Another burning aura molded around Snorlax's fist as he threw it towards the attacking Quilava.
"Bullet Seed Breloom!" From the top of his mushroom cap, Breloom lobbed a rapid volley of seeds towards the Snorlax, striking it broadside and freezing it up enough for Magnus to sneak under the punch and crash into Snorlax's stomach. But despite the combined effort, Snorlax barely looked damaged at all, still towering over the Quilava at his feet with hardly a scratch.
"Stomp!"
"Get out of there with Quick Attack!" Snorlax leaned back to try and bury Magnus beneath his body, however, the agile fire rodent escaped back to his trainer's side, a look of relief in both his and his trainer's eyes.
"Now use Brick Break Breloom!" Taking the Fire type's place, the Mushroom Pokémon charged ahead and sprang into the air, an angry red aura surrounding its forearm as it rolled over and threw a spring-loaded karate chop at the Snorlax.
"Block it with Mega Punch!" Both of Snorlax's fists hardened with blue energy as it raised them in a guard to Breloom's attack. Additionally, the psychic barriers from before reformed around the hefty Normal-type. The two attacks struggled against each other for a moment before the vibrant chink of cracking glass could be heard. Breloom's attack was overpowering the Psychic barriers an eventually managed to crack his way through them completely, shattering them to green and yellow pieces. Even so, the Snorlax still looked poised to attack and launched a burning fist into the Breloom's body, hurling him over to his trainer in a heap.
"Dammit! We might have gotten through those barriers, but I don't like how mean this Snorlax is looking over there Ty." Jason frowned at the now yawning beast.
"That's true, but I think Bronzong over there is the bigger problem," Tyler added onto the discussion. "He's playing a support role now. So, if we can find a way to take him out, we might be able to handle Snorlax."
"Sounds like a plan to me. Okay Breloom, use Drain Punch on Bronzong!"
"Tag Team him, Magnus, use Flamethrower!" Breloom began a charge towards the floating Steel type while Magnus reared back another of his signature fire blasts.
"Snorlax, take out the Breloom with Body Slam!" Now Snorlax took off to try and intercept Breloom, but the Mushroom Pokémon was too fast for the bulkier Normal-type to keep up… and yet, Grandle and Timothy didn't appear fazed by this expected development.
"Time to flip this battle on its head. Use Trick Room Bronzong!" The Psychic Pokémon dropped to the battlefield with a resounding gong as rivulets of psychic blue and purple discharged all around him and quickly encompassed the battlefield in a psychic cage of sorts. But for as flashy a technique as it appeared, it also appeared to Tyler to do nothing of importance. If anything, Bronzong was now on the ground and completely immobile, a much easier target to hit. Why would Grandle intentionally make his Pokémon more vulnerable? But just as Tyler started to think that, the ground started to rumble, feeling like a freight train was rumbling by the arena.
"B-Breloom look out!" Tyler looked up and saw that the Snorlax was somehow overtop of the Mushroom Pokémon when Breloom had raced by it a moment ago! Not only that, but it lowered its shoulder into the startled Grass-type and threw its entire frame into it, sending it flying backward like it were shot out of a cannon, and worse yet, straight into Magnus. The car crash-like collision halted Magnus' attack, preventing Bronzong from being completely engulfed in flames as the two trainers looked on in shock. What the hell just happened?!
"We told you before, didn't we? We're done playing by your rules." Timothy cackled as his Pokémon rumbled its own taunt over his fallen opponents.
"Come on Breloom, get up!"
"Hang in there buddy!" Tyler and Jason both called out to their respective Pokémon, who started to stir their way back to their feet.
"You're not the only ones who can use speed to their advantage." Grandle boomed across the battlefield. "But whereas you've tried to use raw speed to overwhelm us, we're about to use your speed to our advantage!"
"Jump up and use Body Slam Snorlax!" Snorlax charged the two Pokémon and that same freight train thrummed through the arena floor before the Snorlax went airborne with alarming dexterity and threw itself spread-eagle.
"Protect Breloom!" Breloom got to its feet first and threw both claws outwards, a green barrier surrounding itself and Magnus as the Snorlax collapsed on top of it, cratering the ground around the protective barrier in an alarming display of force.
"Not bad to take that attack. But let's test how long you can hold out against our combined assault! Snorlax use Mega Punch!"
"Bronzong use Flash Cannon!" Snorlax raised both fists for a clubbing blow marked by cold blue energy while the Bronzong aimed the bottom of its bell, a ball of sparkling steel energy that fired towards the defensive Grass-type. Breloom's barrier rippled from the impact of both attacks and managed to remain intact, but the question was clearly evident, for how long?
"Tyler? Any ideas! Because now would be a good time for them!" Jason called for help, but Tyler was at a loss. Snorlax was literally pummeling away at their defenses from above, and Bronzong was taking potshots from across the battlefield.
"I'm thinking Jay!" It was the best response Tyler could give.
"Well think faster please!" Jay sounded desperate, and so was Tyler. Snorlax's pummeling offense would eventually shatter the barrier, exposing both Breloom and Magnus to his attacks. Snorlax was certainly the bigger threat, but considering how Jason could stand up to his attacks for now, if Tyler could find a way to deal with the Bronzong, that'd be to their advantage. But first, he'd need to escape the Snorlax's presence.
"Magnus, use Dig!" With a quick affirmation, Magnus furiously clawed at the arena floor and dug an escape route for himself, managing to escape from his predicament, but Breloom was still trapped underneath the pummeling attacks of the Snorlax overhead.
"Hahaha! So, you've turned tail and ran away." Grandle resumed his boisterous taunting. "A cowardly act, but you've been left with little choice given the circumstances."
"Shatter that barrier Snoralx!" Leaning back this time, Snorlax's fists hardened with blue energy again and launched a low gut-blasting shot into Breloom's guard.
"Hang on Breloom!" But Jason's plea wasn't enough as Breloom was finally overwhelmed, the sound of shattering glass rang free as the barrier fell and Breloom was staggered back from the sheer force of Snorlax's relentless power and dropped down to a knee and wheezing a cough as the Mushroom Pokémon looked withered and worn out.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Ranger, but is it not in your creed to intervene in instances of great danger to all Pokémon?" This time Timothy lobbed another barbed statement to Jason's pride. "I'd think this would qualify, doesn't it? Your Breloom can hardly stand, let alone defend itself. And your partner it seems has already turned tail and left you stranded."
"I knew he didn't have the stones necessary to hang firm against the two of us. But it seems the stones that he does have are weighing you down, holding you back from you real ability." Grandle joined in with Timothy's provocation. "It might sting in the moment, but there is no problem with surrendering to someone your greater."
"God, you guys talk too much…" Jason though, despite their attempts at belittling him instead let out a casual sigh, straightening his hat. "If there's anything I hate the most in this world, it's people who waste my time, and that's exactly what you two are doing." Jason suddenly flashed a wry smile. "But in this case, I'm actually glad you wasted as much time as you did."
"Now Magnus!" Bursting up from underneath the Bronzong was Magnus, having burrowed a hole underground all the way before his Steel typed opponent. Wasting little time, Magnus rushed the Bronze Bell Pokémon, both flames on its back and forehead burning wildly.
"Snoralx! Get over there and save Bronzong!" With another burst of startling dexterity, Snorlax pivoted on its foot and charged like a linebacker towards the Quilava.
"Flamethrower! Full power Magnus!" But even with its agility, the gap was too great to overcome and Magnus launched a point-blank Flamethrower directly into the Bronzong's hollow interior. And with nowhere else to go as the flames scorched the Pokémon's underside, the powerful flames lifted the heavy Steel type off the ground and sent him blasting off like a rocket ship up above South Stadium.
"Bronzong, use Heavy Slam!" But what goes up must ultimately come back down, and with the accelerated force of gravity, Bronzong's white-hot decent was going to cause major damage wherever he landed.
"Smokescreen!" But the defensive cloud of black soot would make it harder to find its mark, completely engulfing the battlefield. The now molten hot Steel type descended back down to Earth, entering the black cloud and moments later a teeth-chattering gong could be felt just as much as it could be heard by those in attendance. It took a while for the cloud of ash to leave the battlefield, but as it did, Breloom and Magnus were both standing back by their respective trainers.
"Phew! Looks like we dodged that one." Tyler let a sigh of relief, as did Jason in seeing his Breloom still ready to fight if need be. Unfortunately, as the dust began to settle across from them, the Snorlax and its imposing figure was also standing across from them. As for the Bronzong, it was… on top of Snorlax's head?
"I uh… I think they missed Jay." Tyler tried to keep his composure, but couldn't quite suppress a giggle or three.
"No, I think they found their mark alright." Jason was much less successful than Tyler at keeping his composure, bursting out in full on belly laughter as the Bronzong tried to wiggle its way off Snorlax's head. "Oh my God, this is amazing!"
"Grandle! What the hell are you doing?!" Timothy exploded at his partner, only furthering Jason's laughter at their expense. "Get your Bronzong off my Snorlax!"
"Alright!, Bronzong use Flash Cannon!"
"WAIT DON'T!" But Bronzong fired off an energized blast of point-blank silver onto the Snorlax's head. "YOU INCOMPETENT BAFOON! I'M STILL UNDER YOU!"
"Well then get him off your head!" But as their trainer's argument escalated, Snorlax appeared to regain some level of awareness and tried to reach up to the Bronzong, but its stubby arms were having difficulty reaching the top of its head. And even if it did manage a good grip, it wasn't for long as the residual heat from Magnus' attack was trapped in the Steel type's body, burning its hands and presumably its face by the more and more panicked reaction as the moments went on for the poor Snorlax.
"No no no no! This isn't happening, not now!" Timothy screamed in despair.
"Use Psychic Bronzong!" Again the Bronzong tried lifting itself off Snorlax's head, but even with the blue aura of psychic levitation, Snorlax's anchor of a body was weighing down any efforts to levitate away.
"STOP USING ATTACKS WHEN YOU'RE ON MY HEAD!"
"Ah jeez, I uh – as much as I'm loving this moment Ty, I think we should finish this fight." Jay managed to wheeze out between deep bouts of laughter. "Otherwise I might not be able to finish myself.
"Alright, let's end it with a bang." Tyler agreed, wiping a tear from his eye as the bickering intensified across from them.
"Breloom, use Solar Beam!"
"Magnus, use Flamethrower!" Breloom's mushroom cap started to glow, absorbing orbs of yellow and green energy into it while Magnus' flames ignited across his back and up to his forehead.
"Nononono!"
"NOOOOO!"
"FIRE!" Both Magnus and Breloom launched their attacks together, spiraling into a burning helix of solar-powered destruction that exploded against the two defenseless Pokémon. And this time as the dust settled, Grandle and Timothy's Pokémon had managed to dislodge themselves from each other. Unfortunately, neither one of them was moving as they both lay motionless next to each other.
"Snorlax and Bronzong are unable to battle!" The winners are Tyler Lawson and Jason Ivy!"
"Son of a bitch!" Timothy threw his glasses to the ground in rage, storming up to his partner with a furious scowl. "We had that match in the bag until you comically decided to screw it all up with by turning into a goddamn rocket ship!"
"My fault?!"
"Yes, YOUR fault!" Tim boldly poked the knight's chest. "Even your Aggron fell prey to that sneak attack by their Gengar!"
"Well that same Gengar took out your Dusknoir, so don't come crying to me about your incompetence!" Grandle got nose to nose with Timothy as the two of them completely ignored their defeated Pokémon in exchange for brazenly arguing with each other.
"Well, that just happened," Tyler commented dryly, turning to his partner, hands on his hips with a resigned smile. "We managed to win thanks to a comedy of errors on their part."
"I mean yeah, but don't sell us short Ty." Jason mirrored Tyler's expression perfectly. "This finish wouldn't have happened if you didn't turn this stadium into freaking NASA and launch Bronzong to space."
"Which wouldn't have happened if you hadn't powered through Snorlax's attacks… Thanks, Breloom." Tyler flashed a thumbs up at Jason's Pokémon.
"Loom!" And the Pokémon responded in kind with a salute to Tyler.
"Yeah, well, you earned a salute to Magnus. You did great." Jason said as he saluted the Volcano Pokémon.
"Lava – va!" Magnus responded by sparking a soft flame across his forehead, but then an echoing growl noise drew all four's attention as Magnus sheepishly looked down at his stomach.
"Hey, I'm right there with you Magnus." Tyler placed a hand on his stomach too. "That was exhausting, how about some brunch or something?"
"Are you buying?" Jason asked.
"Me? Why am I buying? You're the one who won the battle." Tyler countered.
"Because you're the coach. Coaches always take the star players out for a meal after a big game."
"What is this, little league all of a sudden? And when did I become the coach? It was your pep-talk that got this battle started. Coaches always are the ones who give the pregame speech."
"…Shit, you're right."
"See! You're the coach." Tyler laughed as Jason groaned, his own logic being turned against him. "Meanwhile, I'm the star quarterback dating the head cheerleader."
"Alright Shaq, you and your ego can get your own meal then." Jason and Tyler rolled their eyes at each other as the two of them and their Pokémon left the still arguing Timothy and Grandle on the arena stadium floor as they turned to the exits in search of a good meal worthy of their victory today.