"The first round of matches is about to begin!" Alvar, the reshiram baron of Wildeburn announced as he quickly looked to Tashia on his right and then to Fernando on his left. "Our first matchup is Contestant #6, Conlan the monferno, VS Contestant #15, Satinka the salazzle! Please take to the arena!"
Conlan and Satinka walked to the center of the arena, a large circle of flattened molten rock, still warm to the touch. It felt far different than the Merc Madness arena had. Less artificial and a lot more natural.
"Are you ready, new monferno?" Satinka smiled. "I certainly am."
"These matches will continue until one pokemon or the other is either unable to battle from being knocked out or forfeits of their own accord. The tournament is single-elimination, and the winner will be granted 250,000 poke as the grand prize!" Alvar announced. "Match 1, Conlan the monferno vs Satinka the salazzle! Pokemon ready...begin!"
"What's wrong? Don't you want the first move?" Satinka taunted as Conlan stayed frozen momentarily, still trying to process what was happening. He was in a tournament now, against a trained and professional soldier. He thought back to his chess match with B in nowhere. The one in which he had spent too much time thinking. In that case-
"Well then-" Satinka laughed. "How about a-"
Within an instant, Conlan disappeared from Satinka's sight, before reappearing right behind her.
"Well, if you insist I go first…" Conlan grinned as he directly hit Satinka on the small of her back with a Mach Punch, sending sound reverberations through the air before the salazzle rocketed forwards, only just able to use her feet to create enough friction to stop herself.
This was it then, Conlan thought to himself. He couldn't waste time thinking about what to do. Like Reshiram had told him back in the keep, he needed to put more trust in his power as a human turned pokemon, and this would be the battle where he started.
Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Wildeburn Summit, Part 4
Moonbrand Present: Conlan, Rudo, Mandy, Bravero, Ornia
"Not bad, kid." Satinka spat corrosive spit from her mouth onto the molten rock that comprised the arena floor. "But all you've done is piss me off!" She opened her mouth and shot a beam of Dragon Pulse right at Conlan.
"Monferno legs, don't fail me now." Conlan prayed to himself as he jumped in a corkscrew fashion over the attack, and dived down towards Satinka with an Acrobatics, only just barely missing the salazzle as she rolled out of the way, causing him to impact the ground with enough force to crack it.
"I've had enough of this." Satinka rolled her eyes as she rushed towards Conlan. "You might as well stop moving!" As she struck Conlan in his chest, her hand secreted a strange toxin that Conlan didn't recognize, causing all his joints to instantly stiffen.
"How do you like my specialized Disable?" Satinka asked as she prowled around him. "It's always my first move when I torture enemies. The second move…" Conlan could see her preparing to spit some kind of venom at him. "Is this!"
As Satinka spit her Toxic attack, Conlan realized he needed to act, and if he couldn't move his limbs…
Conlan blew a steady stream of spiraling flames out of his mouth, aiming down towards the ground, creating a small Fire Spin shield that caused the Toxic attack to explode before it made contact with his skin.
"Fire Spin on yourself?" Satinka wondered allowed. "You realize that even if you break free of my Disable, you're still trapped right?"
"What are you waiting for then?" Conlan asked with a grin. "Come and get me."
He snickered to himself at the trap he'd set up, as he looked for the various weak points on Satinka's body.
"Alright kid, but you asked for this, not me!" Satinka rushed at Conlan again, her hands outstretched for what appeared to be a Double Slap attack.
Perfect.
"Surprise!" Conlan exclaimed as white claws of light emerged from his fists as he countered Satinka's first Double Slap with his own first Fury Swipe. Their attacks continued to hit each other, each one damaging Satinka slightly more than Conlan, and when they had exhausted both of their 5 attacks each, Conlan struck Satinka in the chest with another Mach Punch, sending the salazzle back through the Fire Spin wall.
"And let's trap you inside this now!" Conlan announced as he concentrated all his energy on the Fire Spin around him, and began to shift it towards Satinka.
"I see." Satinka smiled. "Quite the creative use of a Fire Spin. The Lightgrasp military would welcome someone like you. Unfortunately...you've left yourself wide open!"
She spat another Toxic attack at Conlan.
Shit, Conlan thought to himself. I need to explode that thing before it hits me. A trained soldier's Toxic is not something I want to put up with.
He looked at his moving Fire Spin. "Maybe I could…" He mumbled, thinking.
Wait, no, he was thinking again! Don't think, just do it!
"Raahhhhh!" Conlan involuntarily exclaimed as he used all the strength in his body to turn the swirling vortex of fire on its side, and smack the Toxic attack back towards Satinka.
"Oh...Heatran be damned." Satinka's eyes widened as she noticed the explosive Toxic heading back towards her, followed by a tail of an ever-increasing Fire Spin.
There was no way to dodge that.
First, came the exploding Toxic blob, which drenched Satinka in her own corrosive fluids before she had a chance to do anything. After that, came the Fire Spin vortex, which only hastened the loss of her stamina.
"And, finally…" Conlan rushed up towards Satinka, faster than she could ever hope to react in her current state. "I'll finish this match the same way I started!" He disappeared from view, before reappearing right behind the weakened salazzle, and once again striking her in the back with a Mach Punch, this one with so much force that the Fire Spin vortex dispersed as Satinka rolled along the molten rock ground of the arena to the other side.
She tried to get up, but before she could truly stand again, she was finished off by the corrosive Toxic that had gotten all over her.
"Satinka is unable to continue battling!" Alvar announced. "Which makes Conlan the winner! Conlan advances to the next round"
"Whoo! Go Conlan!" Rudo cheered from the bleachers, before turning to Bravero. You're up next right? Good luck! I can't wait to see you fight!"
"I might be a bit rusty." Bravero scratched behind his head as he looked over at Kavosa, the krookodile member of Team Soulwind, giving a slight shudder before a sigh to calm himself down and steel his nerves. "I'd rather my opponent not be a ground type. I'm no moron. I'll have to be putting up with earthquakes left and right, and that's if I manage to stay in the battle past the first one."
"Well, if Conlan can beat a trained soldier, I think you'll be fine." Rudo relaxed back in her seat. "I guess that's one way of looking at it." Bravero gave a small laugh. As one of the newest members of Moonbrand, he didn't know many of the other mercenaries on his team as well as he would have liked to, but Rudo was always very sociable and helpful, especially when it came to making everyone feel like part of a team. "I'll do my best and represent Moonbrand well." Bravero promised.
"Alright then…" Kavosa cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck, while talking with Razr and Xenon. "I'll be right back, boys. Trust me, thanks to my place in this tournament line-up, the money is as good as ours."
"Just finish it quickly and try not to overdo it." Xenon folded his arms as he sat back in his own seat. "Don't waste any more energy than you absolutely have to. We're leaving for Lightgrasp as soon as we're done here, and we need everyone with as much stamina as possible. We're not native to this climate like most of Moonbrand, nor have we had over two months to adapt to it. Keep that in mind when fighting."
"Contestant #13, Kavosa the krookodile, and contestant #9, Bravero the blaziken, please take to the arena!" Alvar announced as Conlan sat by Rudo to watch the rest of the matches.
"Alright, buddy, I'll make this quick for you, so just sit back there and lose, alright?" Kavosa grinned as he and Bravero took to opposite ends of the arena.
"I don't intend to lose." Bravero shifted his legs into a fighting stance as he replied calmly. "I suppose that membrane over your eyes prevents you from seeing expressions."
"Not even a ghost type, yet he's still throwing all that shade." Aleron the terrakion chuckled. "I hope this match can entertain me as much as the last one did."
"Match 2," Alvar announced as he spread his wing-like arms wide "Kavosa the krookodile VS Bravero the blaziken! Pokemon ready… begin!"
"I'm not gonna waste any more time than I have to on you!" Bravero shouted as he rushed towards Kavosa, his fist glowing the light of a Sky Uppercut attack, but as he neared the krookodile, Kavosa quickly slide under the blaziken's legs, coming up behind Bravero with a smirk.
"Funny, I was about to say the same to you."
As the molten rock ground began to shake and small holes in the once smooth arena began to form, Bravero realized that the Earthquake attack was imminent and kept his Sky Uppercut momentum going as he jumped up into the air to dodge the powerful ground attack just in time to avoid a fissure opening up from under him, revealing the flowing magma below the ground, before it closed back up.
"Rahhh!" Bravero stuck out his leg and set his foot ablaze as he descended down towards Kavosa. Maybe if the momentum from the fall gave him enough power, he could still end this fight early on. "Take this!"
Before the Blaze Kick could hit Kavosa, the krookodile managed to grab Bravero's shin, and tossed him backwards. Bravero skidded across the arena as he managed to land on his feet.
"Well how about you try this one on for size?" Kavosa asked as his tail elongated and liquified as he swished it towards the blaziken, who quickly hopped over the attack like he was playing a game of jump rope.
"What's going on?" Conlan rose a brow, confused, from the sidelines. "From what I've seen of Kavosa and heard from Bravero, at least one of them should have hit the other by now."
"They're both being cautious." Ornia piped up. "Neither one wishes to exert too much force in a tournament when there is a war that requires more of their energy. May Tapu Lele protect them both."
"Shh!" Rudo shushed the two of them. "Bravero's making a move!" She pointed to where Bravero had adopted a strange stance, almost as if he was striking some sort of dance pose. "Let's crank up the heat a bit." He grinned at Kavosa as the light shining down on the arena began to grow both hotter and brighter.
"Then let's make sure we stop toying with each other as well." Kavosa grinned as he honed his claws against the molten rock ground of the arena.
Bravero struck another pose, and then noticed that the strong sunlight had already disappeared, thanks to the red clouds that Wildeburn was known for now finally passing directly overhead.
"Shit." He cursed to himself before making a split second decision to change to a Sky Uppercut attack once more, and rushed at Kavosa, significantly faster than the first time at the start of the match.
"Whoa!" The krookodile narrowly avoided being struck by the attack this time. "That was fast, man!"
"Speed Boost." Bravero replied. "Being fast is what I do best."
"Let's see if you really are that fast then!" Kavosa responded with another Aqua Tail.
Bravero jumped to dodge again, but Kavosa forced his tail upwards, smacking Bravero in his back, forcing him back down to the arena.
"You didn't think I would fall for that trick again, did you?" He asked with a toothy grin.
"I'm not sure." Bravero responded. "Did you count on this?!" He swept close to the ground with a Blaze Kick, which Kavosa managed to catch once again, this time by stepping on Bravero's foot with his own.
"No, but thank's for telling me." Kavosa laughed as the ground once again began to shake for an Earthquake. Unfortunately for the krookodile, it was all Bravero needed to escape his grasp, an once again perform a Sky Uppercut to dodge the attack. While Bravero tried to injure Kavosa on the way, the krookodile managed to use the shifting molten rocks to shield himself from the hit.
Both pokemon ended up on the ends of the arena where they had started the match.
"I'm not going to let you get away this time, and you can count on it." Kavosa growled as he once again honed his claws on the arena ground.
"I guess it's now or never then." Bravero gulped before rushing in one more time, his fist glowing for one last Sky Uppercut. By now, Bravero was indeed too fast for Kavosa, who was concentrating on his Hone Claws technique, to dodge, and the uppercut sent the krookodile a good twenty five feet into the sky, before beginning to descend.
"I hope you're prepared for this!" Kavosa shouted as he began to frontflip as his tail liquified. "High momentum Aqua Tail!"
Bravero was able to catch the attack, but the sheer force he was hit with was enough to cause him significant pain.
"Ngh…" He grunted. He couldn't waste this chance. This would likely be the one and only opportunity he had to use this move at such a close range.
A smirk flew across his face.
"Blast Burn." While Kavosa was able to avoid the attack by forcing his tail out of Bravero's grasp, the magma under the arena reacted quite strongly, and erupted out from the ground, causing the solid arena to now become a pool of lava, with only small islands of smooth molten rock remaining for any form of solid ground.
"Entei's roar, I've never seen a Blast Burn used like that." Alvar's eyes widened.
"Ngh…" Kavosa returned to his feet on his small molten island in the arena, and stared down Bravero, who was standing on his own.
"You aren't making this easy, bro." Kavosa panted.
"I could say the same to you." Bravero responded as well.
"This is a really close fight, huh?" Rudo asked Conlan, excitedly.
"Not quite." Conlan's eyes narrowed. "It's true that these pokemon have been relatively evenly matched, but Bravero's sustained more damage. He's also been the one moving around more and using up more energy. And now with that Blast Burn, he's out of commission for a while. Still though, I'd rather not count him out just yet. He must still have something planned."
"This is enough!" Kavosa shouted as the magma around him began to flare up. "My team is going to win that money, dammit! Outrage!" Kavosa shouted as he leapt from his platform and flew towards Bravero.
The blaziken snickered.
As soon as Kavosa was near enough, Bravero relaxed all the muscles in his legs and fell to the ground, effectively dodging without wasting any energy.
"Gahh!" Kavosa's face widened with fear as he braced for the impending pain the magma he was steadily approaching would give him.
After an unpleasantly loud screech as he splashed down in the lava, he quickly scurried onto the nearest platform, revealing the heavily burnt krookodile legs.
"We'll have to re-pave the arena before the next battle." Alvar realized as Kavosa struggled to get back on his feet, while Bravero did the same.
"E-earthquaaake…." Kavosa panted as a faint rumbling shook the arena only very slightly, and Kavosa's molten island grew a small amount.
"Alright." Bravero's eyes narrowed. "Time to end this." He zoomed forward, his speed so fast that he became a blur. "Blaze Kick!"
He hit Kavosa right in the stomach, causing the krookodile to fall to his knees and cough up soot-colored blood, likely due to his time spent in the lava, before collapsing. Bravero caught him before he could fall off the island.
"Well…" Alvar coughed. "*Ahem* I mean, Kavosa is no longer able to battle, which makes Bravero the winner! Bravero advances to the second round! However, before our third match, I'd like to re-pave the arena. We can't have you all competing when our arena is in shambles after all."
"Ornia and Gertrude are fighting next, right?" Bravero asked as he returned to where Moonbrand was sitting.
"You guys are doing so awesome!" Rudo exclaimed as she ignored Bravero's question. "First Conlan was all like- and then you were all like-, ugghh I just want to get to my fight already now!"
"Yes, Ornia and Gertrude are up next." Conlan replied to Bravero's question. "It sounds like an interesting match. Gertrude is the leader of a high-ranking mercenary band, and Ornia is a holy knight with a lot of training."
"But do you know what I really can't wait to see?" Rudo continued exclaiming her excitement. "Is when the two of you fight each other in the next round!"
Both Bravero's and Conlan's eyes went wide as they looked at each other. Two fire/fighting types, each one very creative in how they used their moves. "That's right, isn't it?" Bravero realized. "We'll be each other's opponents in the next round. Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're the leader."
"I don't expect you to go easy on me." Conlan said as he looked over the ruined arena. "But I already know your battle style, and I don't have a set way of fighting, so don't expect to win against me either."
"Yeah! I'm loving the confidence!" Rudo cheered. "Can't wait to see the next match!"
Fire Province: City of Emberguard: Market District: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Espionage in Emberguard, Part 4
Moonbrand Present: Charlie, Aaron, Terune, Semora, Micah, Hex
"A type 2 legendary? Really?" Charlie's eyes were wide with fear. "What exactly are we talking about here? Moltres, Entei, Heatran?"
"I never said it was a fire-type Type 2 legendary." Inkeri snickered. "All types are welcome here in Emberguard after all. The ruler might be a bit of a snob, but he's a perfectly fine ruler, all things considered. That said, he's a tad too corrupt to be chosen by Reshiram to lead Ignia."
"You've confused me now." Terune tilted his head.
"Oh, this is an easy one." Aaron was the one who spoke up. "Terune, you're from the Grass Province right? What other name do you call it?"
"Um…" Terune thought for a moment. "I've heard others sometimes call it Momiji before...I think…"
"That's what it used to be called, before we decided on 'so and so type province' to name them, there were actual nations, with actual names. The biggest ones were Momiji, Ignia, Fable, Noironia, Crystelle, and Nike. Today, we know them as the Grass, Fire, Fairy, Dark, Water, and Fighting provinces."
"A large nation that many forget to include is Shivech." Inkeri nodded as she added along. It was ruled by what is now the Ice Province, but included the Rock, Ground, and Steel provinces as well."
"Why do many forget to include it?" Terune asked.
"Because Shivech had already broken apart by the time most of the other nations rose to power." Semora answered. "It counts as a former nation, but not as, well, as part of the era that is known as Latter Zygarde."
"Oh, that reminds me." Inkeri smiled. "I still need to tell you about the type 2 legendary and its tether's rumored location. The species of the type 2 legendary is...Heatran."
"That is a fire type!" Charlie exclaimed.
"And it could have not been!" Inkeri replied back, mocking Charlie's tone. "Don't ever assume things without info during missions like these. It could cost you your life."
"Alright, so it's a heatran." Hex crossed her arms. "So what?"
"Well, we don't know what it embodies." Inkeri sighed. "And we're relatively sure that the tether is some form of jewelry that the braixen caretaker, a noblewoman named Aradia, keeps with her, or at least close to her. Usually stored in her mansion somewhere if she can't carry it with her for whatever reason. This is where the six of you come in. I want a team of three investigating the mansion for information on this heatran and to gauge its level of threat. The other team I want to covertly follow Aradia about her day, and see if you can't determine the exact properties of the tether. For my part, I've already drawn out a rough floor plan of the mansion, and written down Aradia's daily schedule to aid both groups. If you succeed, meet me at the Temple of Moltres in the Residential District during the small hours of the night. If you fail, flee Emberguard, and head to Wildeburn. It has other Moonbrand members as well as the queen and some of my 'students'" Inkeri used finger quotes as she said 'students' "staying there for the time being. Now then," She turned to the six moonbrand members. "How are we splitting you guys up?"
Fire Province: Blaze Desert(30F Mystery Dungeon) 15F: Blaze Oasis: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Crustle's Caravan, Part 4
Moonbrand Present: Magdalene, Gina, Bennett, Verden
"There it is!" Verden exclaimed as the caravan reached the oasis that Cassius had told them about. The oasis itself was large and the sunlight reflecting off the water made the liquid glisten as though it were a gift from the heavens themselves. The plant life around the spring was lush and green, with both grass and shrubs bright and colorful. Flowers bloomed further up the desert. The oasis marked a change in climate from a hot, dry, expanse filled with nothing but sand, to a more arid, but temperate desert, where plant life was more common, and where heat was not nearly as great an issue. To many, this signified that one was now much closer to the Electric province border than the Fire Province capital, though, since no one could ever successfully map out a mystery dungeon, this theory has yet to be proven accurate. Finally reaching this midway point in their journey, Moonbrand decided to take a brief respite here.
"Ah...water!" Bennett hurriedly began to drink from the oasis, followed quickly by Magdalene.
"You aren't going to go get water?" Gina asked Verden as they both hung back.
"Nah, I've been fine with the heat this entire time." He laughed. "But why are you not getting a drink?"
Gina pointed to a new hail cloud above her. "It melts before it reaches my tongue, look."
She demonstrated her self-hydration technique to Verden.
"I see." Verden laughed a bit before gulping. "Hey Gina, the other night, when you said you'd help me find a lover."
"Yeah?" Gina asked. "Have you decided on the kind you want or something?"
"Something like that…" Verden began to sweat a bit. "I think, first and foremost, I'd want her to be smart, but I also wouldn't want her to put up with any shit. She'd stand on her own to feet."
"Of course, of course." Gina nodded along. "Obvious choices so far."
"I'd also like someone who knows how to talk to other pokemon, even if she's not always sincere when she does it. She'd be good looking among her species as well."
"You're starting to create a rather tall order, Verden." Gina laughed. "But if she's good looking among her species, you've obviously got some in mind, right?"
"Yeah, a few, heh heh heh." Verden began to nervously laugh. "The one that interests me the most right now though is a….an ice type…"
"Come on, Verden, just grow a pair and say it already." Gina gave a knowing smile. "You ought to have picked up on the hints I gave the other night easily enough."
"Gina, we should get together-"
"FINALLY." The glaceon groaned as she sat in the sand. "It took you way too long to get to the point on that one."
"So is that a yes?" Verden asked, mentally crossing his fingers.
"'Course it's a yes!" Gina smiled. "But we have a mission to complete, so try to focus on that for now, 'k babe?"
"Babe already?!" Verden quickly went red.
"H-hey, you two?" Bennett called out from near the oasis.
"Verden, Gina...you guys should really get over here…" Magdalene also sounded worried.
The two rushed up to where the other Moonbrand were staring into the water as a shadow began to get bigger, and bigger.
"Is there something living in there?" Bennett asked as he pointed.
"Nothing, right?" Gina and Magdalene looked at each other and nodded.
"I don't see how anything could live in such a small pool of water."
"Everyone get back!" Verden yelled as he hurried the others back just in time to avoid the Twister attack by the gyarados that appeared out of the oasis water.
"YOU!" It shouted. "YOU ARE THE THIEVES! THE FOUR THIEVES WHO STOLE MY MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS!"
"No, you've got it all wrong!" Magdalene tried to protest, but Verden stopped her.
"It won't work, Magdalene. Look into this gyarados's eyes. She's beyond enraged. The only way we're getting past her is with a fight, but we should avoid dealing any fatal damage. She clearly isn't a bad pokemon, and if we can help her get her treasure back, we should."
"Alright then." Magdalene said, adopting a battle-ready stance. "I guess we don't have a choice."
AN0: And we finally have a non-Doobop OC relationship form, congrats to Verden and Gina.
I remember, albeit vaguely, stating something along the lines of couples being able to form team attacks of sorts to signify their bond, and since Verden and Gina are not only at A rank, but are also now romantically involved, I believe they deserve one, so here you guys go:
Leech Hail: a combination of Leech Seed from Verden and Hail from Gina, that drains energy from all pokemon hit by it, and it lasts for up to five turns. In addition, regular Hail damage is also taken by said pokemon. Half the amount of total lost health is distributed equally among Verden and Gina. As a team attack, it may only be used once per battle.
If you want another one, rank up in support again.
I remember Dragon-wolf mentioning moonbrand children in one of his reviews, and while no one is in any way obligated to, if you want your OC couple to spawn a kid, let me know in a PM. The first child will be the base species of one parent(determined randomly), and the sex of the other one. Any children afterwards will be either species and either sex. In the case of an OC couple of the same sex wanting a child, we all know that orphanages exist in this world, and other than the origin of the child, the same rules will apply. Once again, no one is in any way obligated to do this, but just like couples, families can unlock certain events and areas that a single pokemon, or perhaps sometimes even a couple, wouldn't be able to participate in.
Anyways, that's enough about that, onto the other things!
AN1: Espionage in Emberguard peeps, please send in which of the two missions you would like your OC to go on, and any specific role you would like them to perform on that mission. It's 1st come 1st served for the mission rosters as well, so get on that!
Investigate the Heatran:
1: Micah
2: Charlie
3: Semora
Investigate Aradia the braixen:
1: Terune
2: Hex
3: Aaron
AN2: Crustle's Caravan peeps, please send in strategies for dealing with Gyarados.
AN3: OC Sheet
OC Name, Sex, Species:
OC Age(Levels Don't Exist Here):
OC Ability:
OC Home Province (Where they are from):
OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):
OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):
OC Moveset:
Move 1(From Natural Movepool):
Move 2(From Natural Movepool):
Move 3(From Natural Movepool):
Move 4(From Natural Movepool):
Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):
Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):
OC Personality:
OC Background:
Anything Else Doobop Should Know:
That's all or now! Thanks for reading ^.^!