Secrets of the Night
DISCLAIMER: I Do NOT own Pokemon!
Get ready for more exciting battles! xD
Chapter 59: Scuffle of Legends, Part 6: Overcoming Fear and Doubt
It was the second day of the tournament. Neo and his companions came back to the grand hall a little after the first battle of the day had ended. As much as Neo wanted to support Arc in his battle against that blonde trainer, he needed the extra sleep. Besides, it was Gremio's insistence, not only that, Neo's two scheduled battles weren't till near the end, second to the last slot, against Ariann Roman and as fate had dictated, the last battle of the day and that of their group was between him and Kiba.
Neo didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, considering his anxiety was growing with each passing hour. His medicine managed to calm him every now and then but did nothing to stop it completely. All he could do was take his mind off the pressure.
Making their way to the crowded stands, they watched a quick replay of Arc's battle earlier on the massive monitors. He overcame the first round when used his Swampert to battle the blonde girl's Xatu, before losing to a Floatzel. But he once again claimed the victory by defeating the orange otter with his Rapidash, despite the type disadvantage. And for the next round, against the girl's Mightyena, Arc's Rapidash ended the battle in a draw, leaving Arc the only trainer standing with a remaining pokemon that he had yet to use.
Neo gulped. Arc's performance was at par with Kiba. At that thought, the pangs at the pit of his stomach coiled up, making him feel extremely restless. Shoving back the nagging pessimism, Neo continued on with his companions.
They bought a few snacks for later and couple more souvenirs. Chase and the others did their best to keep Neo occupied till his match. They were worried about him. The stress of his upcoming confrontation with Kiba was not something they had anticipated when they decided he should enter the tournament. Nonetheless, they couldn't pull him out halfway through, not that Neo would even think of doing that.
It took a while but they managed to secure seats for themselves. Settling into a comfortable ambiance, Neo and Chase checked the current standings. So far, Neo had 1 win, 1 loss and 1 draw while Arc had won all three of his so far. It wasn't bad. They were glad for their friend. At the very least, Kiba won't be basking in glory that he doesn't deserve.
After Arc's battle, it was Kaye's. Because of yesterday's events, Neo thought Novus would like to watch and support Skadi but couldn't decide if it was a good idea, considering she was battling Kiba. The mere thought of his name made Neo fume in anger. He took another chug of his medicine and closed his eyes to calm himself further.
"Y'know Neo," Chase spoke up, gaining a tinge of his friend's attention as he opened his eyes and glanced sideways. "If I wasn't aware that the canteen is full of your medicine, I'd start to think you're becoming a drunkard." He chuckled.
Neo raised a brow while Arana and Kashu shot the silver-haired teen disapproving looks. Gertrud, on the other hand, giggled in her rose hand. Apparently, she agreed with the perspective. Neo was drinking more frequently and since the container was black with no label, no one could really tell what was inside.
The atmosphere lightened up and Neo smiled wryly. In the end, his desire to support a friend weighed heavier than his discomfort. Promptly, he excused himself from the others and moved to the back of the stands where there was enough space to call out his Dusknoir without disturbing the rest of the onlookers. Once Novus was out, he and Neo turned their attention to the arena where the match was about to commence.
Kiba and Kaye stood across from one another as the field changed to a water field with several small platforms resting atop of the water's surface. The former's dislike for the field was obvious as he looked over to Kaye with his arrogant cocky grin.
"Ladies first," he insisted as he mocked bowed to his opponent.
Quirking an unimpressed brow, Kaye shook her head before sending out her first pokemon. "Ignis, start this off!"
The orange avian burst forth from its pokeball and soared up into the air, embers raining down the arena from its beating wings.
"Champ, lets go!" Kiba said brashly as he sent out his pokemon.
The Hitmonchan took its place on one of the platforms over the water and it was clear from there that balancing might be a problem for the boxing pokemon. Kaye's Talonflame cawed fiercely as it looked down at its opponent while Champ returned the gesture with a look and an offensive battle stance. As the two sides waited for the referee to announce the beginning of the battle, the cue was given and Kiba was quick to issue the first command.
"Bullet Punch!"
Taking a knee to keep its balance, Champ launched a high speed strike that flew towards the hovering Talonflame.
Kaye reacted swiftly, snapping her fingers off to the left. "Ignis, dive to the side and counter with Flame Charge!"
Narrowly avoiding Champ's fist, Ignis swooped around in a loop before encasing himself in a flurry of cinders and flames and speeding towards Champ like an flaming arrow. Kiba saw it coming and reacted swiftly.
"Quick, counter with Thunder Punch, Champ!"
As the orange falcon pokemon approached the stationary fighting type, Champ's fist began to hum with electrical power as it prepared to strike down the avian once it got within range. Ignis stayed on a straight course for the Hitmonchan's torso, beak first. As they drew closer to each other, the Talonflame tilted slightly to the left, subtly changing direction, now fully intending to strike out swiftly with its strong wings. The Hitmonchan swung at the orange blazing avian as it closed in, only to miss at the last second as Ignis struck with Flame Charge hitting him swiftly in the chest before flying out of range again.
Keeping with the momentum, Kaye snapped twice called out another order before Champ could regain his balance. "Acrobatics, now!"
The Talonflame responded quickly, emerging from its fiery shell and breaking into complicated aerial maneuvers while closing in to attack.
"Bullet Punch into the water!" Kiba called out.
Without question the Hitmonchan aimed an attack below the flight path of the Talonflame where it fired a steel induced punch into the water creating a large explosion of water that caught Ignis before it could reach Champ.
"Now jump and attack with Thunder Punch!" Kiba added into the mix.
With a powerful leap, Champ jumped above the Talonflame before sending it to the water with an electrically fused punch.
Cawing in surprise, Ignis fell into the pool below, suffering from the super effective electric type move. Struggling to surface, the Talonflame pulled itself out of the water and onto one of the platforms. Drenched, the fire-bird shook the water out of its wings and was looking quite miserable.
Sighing, Kaye snapped once. "Use Flame Charge to dry your wings and get back into the air!" More than happy to comply, Ignis again coated his body in fire, waiting a moment before launching into the air and using the momentum to disperse the water. Not missing a beat, Kaye snapped twice. "Use Acrobatics to avoid his punches before sending him into the water with Steel Wing!"
Eyes gleaming, Ignis swooped and rolled in the air in intricate patterns meant to confuse. Staying on the alert for an opening, he kept his wings extended, ready to attack at the turn of a dime.
"Use Bullet Punch on the water again, then hit the waves with Thunder Punch!"
Creating another protective way in front of itself, Champ hit the wave with its electrically fused fist creating a water-lightning wave combo that was flowing towards the Talonflame. But this time, Ignis was wise enough to stay high enough to avoid the crackling wave. Taking a chance, the orange avian glided over the wave, almost skimming the water, and struck out with a powerful Steel Wing, determined to knock over the Hitmonchan. However, Kiba's pokemon was ready for such a move and began firing volleys of Bullet Punch towards Ignis in hopes to knock it out of the sky before it struck.
Ignis didn't stop his charge and only took a final swoop close to the surface, aiming directly at Champ's legs. Champ tried to block the attack with another Thunder Punch but the volleys of Bullet Punches had thrown off his balance and made it difficult to stand let alone counter an attack. The Hitmonchan was hit in the legs and was sent flying head first into the water. Seconds later, he floated back to the surface with a waterlogged expression, making it evident that it couldn't go on.
Returning his Hitmonchan to its pokeball, Kiba made little more than a snarky comment as he tossed in his second pokemon. The Fearow from before took to the air and immediately made an impression as it spread its wings out as far as possible, dwarfing the Talonflame in size and hovering in front of it, waiting for a signal from his trainer. With the referee's cue, an intense aerial battle took place before the audience, a display that even the most skilled sky trainers would agree was hard to top.
Kaye started off the battle by instructing Ignis to use Flame Charge to gain speed and strike Kiba's Fearow. However, Kiba was quick to retaliate as he had Arrow use Mirror Move to copy the Flame Charge attack and get a speed boost of its own.
The two flying pokemon collided with one another in a series of fiery explosions, magnificently putting on a show for the onlookers below. It seemed the two avians were evenly matched, until Kaye changed tactics and had Ignis use Steel Wing. The Talonflame flew upwards towards the Fearow and was about to strike when, much to Kaye's shock, Arrow dodged the attack, thanks to his increase in speed, and sent the Talonflame into the water with a powerful strike from its own wing. Ignis fell to the water in an explosive splash, dousing the arena with water.
After a few moments, the Talonflame emerged from the surface but seemed incapable of flying out of the water as it flailed futilely. Having no other choice, Kaye returned her pokemon and congratulated it on a job well done. Glaring at the Fearow objectively, Kaye considered her next choice before sending out her Flygon, Harena. The dragon insectoid released a high pitch screech as Arrow returned the screech with an agitated caw.
The battle was signaled to begin soon after that.
The battle seemed to be one sided in Kaye's favor; her Flygon was easily larger than Arrow and had a more powerful array of attacks that kept the Fearow away and unable to do any damage. However, as Flygon launched volley after volley of Dragonbreath, keeping Arrow away, Kaye realized that even though Arrow was being kept at bay her pokemon wasn't landing any hits. Due to the number of Flame Charge's Arrow had mirrored in the last match, Kiba's Fearow had more than enough speed accumulated to dodge each of her pokemon's moves like they were nothing, resulting in her own pokemon only getting exhausted.
Finally, as the Flygon appeared to have depleted its energy, Kiba's Fearow used Mirror Move once again and released a Dragonbreath of its own, landing a direct hit on the Flygon and sending it rocketing to the floating artificial islands. Fortunately for Kaye, her pokemon opened its wings at the last second and managed to pull itself up in time to avoid the water and counter by landing a direct hit at Kiba's Fearow with a Hyper Beam attack.
Arrow plummeted from the sky and landed in the water, much to the surprise of Kaye and Kiba. For a moment it seemed like Arrow wouldn't be getting out of the water and the referee was about to declare Flygon the winner- only for the Fearow to burst out of the water like a rocket, beak spinning, as it landed a direct hit on the Flygon's underbelly causing the green insectoid dragon to screech in pain before landing on one of the platforms. Kaye looked dumbfounded as she returned her Flygon, shocked the Kiba's Fearow had managed to take down two of her pokemon in a row. Knowing that all of her hopes were now resting on Skadi, Kaye sent out the Froslass as it moaned readily and floated over one of the platforms.
The battle started at the referee's whistle and ended almost seconds later when Kiba's Fearow fell to the water trapped in a block of ice. Since he fell into the water after being hit by the Flygon's Hyper Beam he was still dripping wet as he closed in with a powerful Drill Run; unfortunately for him however, Skadi released a powerful Blizzard attack that not only froze Arrow solid but also froze a majority of the watery battle field.
With a scowl Kiba returned Arrow and sent out his final pokemon, Bane.
Bane, as Kiba called him, was a red insectoid with a set of wicked looking claws. Neo clenched his hands on the railing separating the more open back of the stands from the bleachers were people were seated. He just had a bad vibe coming from that pokemon. Absently, he took his pokedex and looked up the pokemon.
Scizor
The Scissor Pokémon
The evolved form of Scyther. Its incredible attack speed and its large scissor-like claws make it a formidable opponent.
.
.
"At least Neo was right about it being a steel-type," Chase quoted from his seat beside the Roserade, Wigglytuff and Chandelure.
The Scizor clicked his pincer's together rapidly and Kiba smiled cruelly as if he understood something that Kaye and Skadi couldn't. After waiting for the referee's signal, Kiba made the first move, clearly wanting to end the battle quickly.
"Metal Claw!" he called out plainly.
Bane's claws glowed with a metallic sheen as he launched himself towards Skadi, not affected by the icy terrain created by Skadi's Blizzard attack.
"Icy Wind!" Kaye ordered in turn, snapping her fingers slightly off to the right. Skadi obeyed quickly and floated gracefully off to the right, summoning a chilling gust of wind to try and knock Bane off-course at the same time. Unfortunately, the Scizor seemed prepared for the chilling attack and opened his wings as the crimson mantis rode the wind created by the attack, avoiding the bulk of the damage before returning to the ground almost gracefully with a small thud.
"Hey, you can do better than that!" Kiba called out with a cruel smile. "Especially with your boyfriend watching, right?"
Skadi suddenly looked around worriedly before she was abruptly struck dead center by Bane's Metal Claw forcing her to the ground for only a moment before haggardly floating back up. After that point, the Froslass seemed unnaturally on edge. For an ice-type, she seemed to be steaming quite furiously.
Kaye let out a forced laugh, already knowing what was swirling around in her partner's head. "Alright Skadi...let's use all that pent-up frustration and hit them with a Shadow Ball, hm?" Her trainer suggested, snapping four times in quick succession.
The Froslass was more than eager to comply. Conjuring a large shadowy orb between her arms, Skadi sent it hurtling straight at Bane. Once it had been released, she ducked to the side in preparation for a rapid-fire round of consecutive attacks.
However, the Scizor didn't even flinch as the first Shadow Ball went flying towards him. And without awaiting an instruction, the Scizor knocked the Shadow Ball attack back with a well timed Metal Claw, adding some extra spin to the attack as it was sent flying back at the Froslass. Skadi managed to block the first attack with a second Shadow Ball, creating a smoke screen between the two pokemon. With vision impaired, Skadi looked around desperately to find the Scizor but suddenly she released a squeal of pain as another Metal Claw connected with her arm.
"If I didn't know any better I'd say your Froslass was getting a crush on my Scizor, seeing as all her attacks seem to miss," Kiba taunted as his Scizor clicked his pincers tauntingly. "Why don't you give up now so I can focus on taking on your boyfriend- and don't worry! I'll make sure it hurts!"
There was a noticeable change to Kaye's expression as Kiba taunted them. Her usual calm demeanor was replaced by wavering eyes that skittishly jumped around the field. If anything, she was more worried about collateral damage than her own pokemon at this point. Skadi herself was in a much fouler mood. Her icy glare doing nothing to hide her distaste and frustration.
Neo glanced at Novus who was radiating an ominous aura as well. The people at the back row were cringing at the hair raising aura that the ghost-type was releasing. Neo was of course, unaffected by the sudden drop of temperature. It was nostalgic and comforting for him. Quirking a small grin, he placed a hand on his giant ghost pokemon.
"She'll be alright, Novus," Neo reassured him.
.
.
"I'm glad Skadi is on our side. Wouldn't want to be in Kiba's shoes right now..." Chase commented as the three pokemon nodded and eyed the Froslass fearfully.
Resigned to possibly ruining the arena further, Kaye snapped once, a resonating sound that drew the crowd's eyes to her. Her command was simple, but as sharp as the finest blade. "Blizzard."
This time there was no sign of restraint as Skadi called forth a snowstorm that raged around the whole arena, sparing no victims of it's freezing cold. Kaye could only hope it did more damage to the opposing Scizor than the audience. The front rows let out stifled screams as chilling winds whipped around them, freezing beverages solid and flinging popcorn and caps into the air.
"Hyper Beam on the field Bane!" Kiba instructed as the Blizzard quickly made its way towards them.
Without hesitation, Bane fired a blast of energy from his claws into the ice where the water beneath burst upwards and formed a massive wave. The immensely cold gales blew, immediately freezing the massive makeshift water barrier and turning it into a jagged crystal sculpture, earning a booming applause from the audience.
But the battle was not over.
"Use the winds to cover yourself and use Shadow Ball!" Kaye instructed as she snapped thrice.
Before the Blizzard completely died down, Skadi launched into action, navigating easily through the cold gales before unleashing a volley of pitch black sphere's at her opponent who was still needing time to recharge from the Hyper Beam. Bane was struck by several volleys of the Shadow Ball as he fell back towards the frost covered platform. But suddenly, the Scizor pushed himself back using his leg for support. And then without warning or a command from its trainer, Bane lunged at the Froslass with his metal glowing claws.
There was a distinct snap that cut the air. Skadi understood the brisk noise and met the Scizor with a stern look and dodged out of the way just as she retaliated with an almost mocking Draining Kiss.
The fairy-typed attack did minimal damage but was enough to knock Bane off target as he missed the Froslass mid swing. Undeterred, he dived down after her, claws still shining. Not having the time to dodge the attack Skadi retaliated with a well aimed Shadow Ball as she hovered over the ground, hitting the Scizor's attack and creating an explosion that hid the two pokemon from their trainer's and the audience's view.
After a few moments of waiting for the smoke to clear, both trainers were surprised to see Skadi on the ground struggling to get back up while the Scizor stood in place seemingly unharmed. Kiba laughed as he ordered Bane to finish off Skadi but was shocked when his pokemon didn't move.
"Bane?" Kiba called out unsurely. A few seconds passed before the referee approached the pokemon noticing that the Scizor was unconscious while still standing up. The referee waited several moments to make sure Skadi could remain in the air before declaring her and Kaye the winners.
While Kaye was busy being shocked and apologizing profusely for the half-frozen state of the arena, Skadi seemed quite pleased with herself. Holding her head up high, the Froslass proudly sent Kiba a victorious cry that somehow translated to everyone as something along the lines of 'Now wallow in defeat and think about what you've done!' It definitely cemented her stern motherly personality for everyone.
Kiba returned his Scizor with an angry glare as he gave the Froslass a cold chill as Kaye looked worriedly at the display.
"Enjoy your victory," Kiba sad to both Kaye and Skadi before turning his attention to the latter. "Cuz now, I'm going to take it out on your boyfriend and his pale ghost of a trainer."
Seeing Skadi raring up to freeze Kiba, Kaye quickly recalled her. "So you say, but if you can't even defeat me, you don't stand a chance against Neo," she defended her friend.
"You just watch Blondie," Kiba warned with a sneer as he held up one of the dog tags around his neck. "With this little Lillipup right here, I'll make sure to splatter that kid's team all over the wall."
And with that disturbing image Kiba turned around and left the field, leaving Kaye and Skadi unsure about how they felt about their victory.
"That," Kaye muttered as she too exited the field, "was decidedly ominous."
Neo could tell that last part was directed to him. What Kiba meant about the last part, having a trump card of sorts, he dreaded what it could be. With a shaky breath, he leaned his head back and felt Novus behind him. It was comforting but it was not really enough to wipe away the worries and fears that were bubbling inside of him.
"Looks like Skadi won, huh?" Neo said absently in an attempt to change the flow of the atmosphere. Novus moaned solemnly, making his trainer grin. "You know, that sounded more enthusiastic than usual..."
There was no reply.
"Novus, its alright," Neo reassured him as he looked up, meeting his menacing red eye with a warm smile. "I'm happy for you. Skadi seems like a wonderful pokemon."
The Dusknoir shifted his eye sideways to avoid directly looking at his trainer. Neo chuckled softly at his usually composed pokemon being all shy. Rather than dwell on the awkwardness of the circumstances, he decided to focus more on bringing out Novus' rare displays of emotion.
After their battle, Neo returned Novus back to his pokeball and sat back with Chase and the others. They then watched a match between Ariann Roman, the petite blonde in the blue hoodie versus the other blonde female trainer. In the end, she managed to overcome her opponent with her fierce trio of pokemon and emerge victorious, earning her first win in the tournament.
Neo was glad for Ari and hoped their battle later on would be exciting. A smile creased on his tired face as he shut his eyes and rested for the remainder of the 15-minute interval.
But that period of peace was instantly broken because finally, it was Arc and Kiba's turn to battle.
Tension already hung in the air, the thickness of which could be cut with a butter knife as the two competitors took their places on either side of the grassy arena.
Neo shifted in his own seat, anxiety rolling of him in waves. His Chandelure hovered closely to reassure him as his Wigglytuff readied more of his medicine as well as a normal bottle of fresh cool water.
"I've been waiting for this moment Kiba…" Arc growled.
"The feeling's mutual Sparky," Kiba retorted with a cocky grin as he tossed a pokeball in his hand absently. "I saw your battle with Neo there- the fact that a Charizard had to Mega Evolve to beat a Squirtle is pretty pathetic," he added with a bemused sneer.
"Wow… just goes to show how much you have been paying attention. Neo has a Wartortle first off, and secondly that was the first time I have had the chance to battle with Neeko in over a month." Arc tossed his own pokeball in hand.
"Recovering from those scars huh?" Kiba asked knowingly. "I can understand that, when I first caught Scourge half my party was incapacitated and the other two were killed. Hard to get anything done when your parties severely poisoned."
Arc's eyes flashed with anger. "Wait… You're telling me that you were Scourge's previous trainer?"
Neo clenched his fists. Arc finally found out the truth behind Scourge and Kiba. He wanted to tell him himself before but there was never a good time. That day was not something he liked looking back on. The reminder just made his nerves twitch in anger.
Arc and Kiba continued to exchange heinous insults and harsh banter until they finally had enough and ignited the flames of battle. Arc first sent out Mimzy, his Rapidash, while, Kiba chose his Fearow, Arrow. Like their trainers, the two pokemon glared at each other challengingly, themselves caught in the heat of the match.
Kiba's Fearow took to the skies while Arc's Rapidash raced across the battlefield with vibrant crimson flames coating her entire body. Mimzy gained speed as she set the grass ablaze with every stride. But then she was soon interrupted when Arrow swiftly swooped in with a devastating Drill Run attack before once again fleeing to the safety of the open air.
Recovering from the attack, Arc's Rapidash once again surged with another Flame Charge move, this time, her speed picked up and her flames burned more intensely. Above, Kiba's Fearow glided overhead, eyeing the blazing steed intently just as his trainer issued a Mirror Move attack.
Arrow was suddenly engulfed in a cloak of fire, giving him the appearance of a mythical Moltres. Gaining speed as he circled around the arena, Kiba's Fearow dropped down with a follow up Drill Run. Unfortunately for the brown avian, Arc and Mimzy outsmarted him. The Rapidash came to a sudden sliding halt as Arrow barreled past, missing his target.
Then without wasting another moment, Mimzy lunged at her opponent using Wild Charge, bolts of yellow electricity coursing through her. Her gain speed allowed her to assault to connect before the Fearow even had time to dodge. On impact, Arrow was sent hurling off but then he recovered just before he met the ground.
In retaliation, Kiba's Fearow did a few loops and closed in on the fiery mare, beak brandished like a spear and talons outstretched. Mimzy was still shaken from Wild Charge's recoil and was not able to protect herself from the onslaught. To make things worse, Arrow then followed up the assault with another Drill Run, this time close range. Arc's Rapidash tried to counter with Flame Charge but due to the aerial advantage of Kiba's Fearow, she was sent skidding for several yards.
Arc called out to her, pleading for Mimzy to get up. His Rapidash began to stagger to her legs but was forced down mercilessly by another devastating Drill Run from Kiba's Fearow. With no strength left to fight, Mimzy fell hard against the scorched ground, unconscious and vulnerable. And mere moments after the referee declared the round to be over, Kiba's Fearow flew down and began pecking almost hungrily at the mare like a Mandibuzz to a corpse.
Mild gasps erupted from the stands, even Neo stood up, staring incredulously at the outrageous display. But before things could escalate, Arc recalled his Rapidash from the field and glowered at Kiba who seemed more amused than concerned as he preened his ruthless avian when it flew back to him.
Chase soon pulled Neo back to his seat to calm himself. Inwardly, he was also fuming with rage at the act Kiba pulled, but his anger dwindled when he noticed Neo quivering, skin cold, fists clenched, knuckles turning white. Kashu and Arana huddled against him, easing him until he stopped shaking.
"Should we go to the infirmary?" Gertrud asked with worry, her head turning to Chase and Neo in turn.
Neo shook his head. "No… I-I want to see this through."
His companions traded looks, wanting to raise an argument but Neo was as stubborn as Genbu. Chase let out a sigh and nudged the unlabeled black canteen bottle towards Neo who flinched in surprise.
"Drink till you're drunk." It sounded serious for a joke.
Neo smiled wanly and chugged it down. As his head cleared up, he absently capped the container and looked ahead, gazing once again at the battle that was unfolding before them.
Arc had apparently chosen Earthshaker, his Swampert to battle. He was an odd choice, considering the giant blue mudfish was a ground-type and the opponent was a flying pokemon. And to make it more incredulous, Earthshaker used Earthquake and then followed with Whirlpool.
The ground shattered and the soil overturned before a massive watery vortex collided against the devastated landscape, creating a swampy mix of mud and grass. Swamperts were very at home with a terrain like that but it still intrigued Neo as to what Arc's plan could be.
Earthshaker then followed up with an Ice Punch attack as he bounded off the moist floor, missing the brown avian by mere inches. On his second attempt, as he leaped towards his target, Kiba's Fearow lunged in retaliation with Drill Peck, spearing the giant mudfish in the stomach and sending him sprawling in the muddy heap.
Neo thought-hoped that Arc had a plan up his sleeve. With Arrow's aerial advantage, it would be hard to find a way to bring the avian down, given the Swampert was a heavy ground-type.
Under Arc's instructions, Earthshaker lunged with another Ice Punch as Kiba looked on with complete boredom to the point he ordered his Fearow to do aerial loops which it did, aweing a majority of the crowd and pissing off Arc who once again exchanged a few angry banters with Kiba.
It was then that Arc used his trump card move, Ice Pledge. Kiba then countered with Mirror Move to try and interrupt it. As spouts of water rose from the ground, a second wave followed, colliding with the first and swallowing the arena in a wall of water and mud.
Suddenly, Kiba yelled for a Drill Peck move and the onlookers awaited anxiously for the bird pokemon to come out of the watery fortress. They only caught glimpses of moving silhouettes, one zooming through the air and one large on just standing in place.
Arrow closed in on Arc's Swampert but just before the attack could connect, Earthshaker jumped up from the muck and socked him with a freezing right hook in the face, sending the bird flying back.
A tense pause froze the atmosphere as the water spouts died down, unveiling a frozen avian floating in a small created pond. Neo let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding. He was glad that Arc defeated the Fearow but he had only two pokemon left and Earthshaker had taken much damage. Meanwhile, Kiba had two uninjured pokemon in his arsenal. One of which was sent out to fight.
It was that Scizor from Kaye's battle.
"It's that steel-type. Looks like you won the bet," Chase chided, trying to lighten up the situation which was crumbling into the dark. But was only met with silence. Concerned, he glanced at his friend and once again found him in the verge of a minor panic attack. "Neo?"
The raven-haired noble felt a chill crawl under his skin. It wasn't like the feeling his ghost pokemon gave. He was used to that. This time around, that kind of fear was unmistakable. Fear. He was afraid, he realized. It was then he finally noticed the armor plate that the red insectoid wore. In its center was blood red and metal gray gem. A Mega Stone.
The audience cheered, snapping Neo back into reality. In his daze, he barely registered Earthshaker's defeat by the crimson insect's Hyper Beam. With that, Arc was left with only Neeko. Neo buried his face in his hands and exhaled a shaky breath, worrying Chase and the three pokemon around him. He didn't know which was more afraid of; his friend in trouble or the fact that he was going to face Kiba soon.
"Hey, Arc's gonna win this," Chase pulled him out from his dark pit. "Wait and see." That's what he said but somehow his voice also quivered with doubt. He only hoped it was unnoticed by his friend.
Neo glanced at him. He knew Arc better than Chase but why was he more optimistic about him while Neo was already wallowing in doubt. Usually, it would be him judging the abilities of trainers he met. Neo understood. He was just a mess at that point. Peering over the arena, Neo noticed Arc was not all affected by the whole situation, in fact he looked confident, especially when his Charizard jumped into the muddy field and roared loudly, wings outstretched and claws shooting sparks of electricity.
The round soon ensued with Bane powering up with Sword Dance while Neeko took to the air and unleashed an aerial Fire Blast. Kiba's Scizor quickly countered with a Hyper Beam, splitting the incoming inferno apart while grazing the Charizard.
Neeko then followed up with Flamethrower which was deflected by Bane's rapid rotation of Sword Dance. Arc's Charizard continued to pour on the heat as Kiba's Scizor negated it. It lasted several moments before Neeko stopped due to exhaustion. He panted heavily while Bane stood in place, smoke radiating off of him like a he was a hot branding iron.
Neo eyed Kiba's Scizor. For a bug/steel-type who has a times four weakness to fire, it was pretty sturdy, but it didn't mean the Flamethrower had no effect at all. Before Neo could analyze further, Arc's Charizard continued his assault with Dragon Rage but it was bounced back by Bane's Metal Claw. Then it was intensified by a follow up Hyper Beam.
Neeko tucked his wings and dived down, narrowly evading the monstrous beam. He spiraled towards the ground and landed safely on the soggy field. With his gaze set on the the stationary Scizor, Neeko then unleashed a Fire Blast that engulfed the crimson mantis until it fell to the muddy ground, seemingly unconscious until the referee confirmed that Bane could no longer continue.
"It… didn't mega evolve," Chase muttered but was heard by Neo.
"You're right." Neo studied the situation carefully. Kiba had that option. Was there something missing? Did Kiba have a Key Stone? Or did he purposely not use it? Was he saving it for their match? The idea made his blood run cold. Letting out a quivering breath, he took another long sip and zoned out his surroundings.
"Maybe, it couldn't? I don't know. I mean, what kind of bond would Kiba and his pokemon share?" Chase continued in a lower voice as he cast a look at the three pokemon.
"A cold-hearted one, that's for sure," Gertrud answered, her scarlet eyes narrowing at Kiba who had just sent out his Hitmonchan, his final pokemon.
As soon as the final round ensued, Kiba's Hitmonchan, Champ, used his signature afterimage trick but due to the muddy arena created by Arc's Swampert, hindering his movements, the boxing pokemon couldn't accomplish the move. In the end, infuriating his trainer as Arc laughed devilishly.
"Wow. That was a stroke of brilliance!" Chase praised aloud, drawing Neo from his daze to look upon the arena.
Neo quirked a smile. Arc always had an unconventional strategy on hand, whether it worked or not, later or immediately, it was always intriguing to watch. "He really is something…"
Chase glanced at his friend sideways and grinned, thankful that Arc was giving Neo a tinge of inspiration to face the battle ahead, no matter how bad the odds were.
Back in the arena, the two pokemon were going at it with thunderous and explosive exchanges of Thunder Punch. Unfortunately given Neeko's typing and prior injuries, he was holding the short end of the stick.
Forced to a corner, Arc utilized his final trump card. "Bond our hearts together! Mega Evolve!"
Like in Neo and Arc's battle, Neeko underwent a transformation, his body became more streamlined, his wingspan widened and became ragged, a third horn jotted in the middle of his head and his arms grew a set of smaller wings. And as soon as the transformation finished, he let out a reverberating roar. The sunlight intensified, brilliant beams rained down, almost evaporation the moisture from the muddy landscape.
"Well, that's one way to even the tide." Chase sat back on his seat and grinned, feeling grateful that he wasn't in Kiba's shoes at the moment.
"He can win this…" Neo murmured to himself, his nerves growing calmer as the cheers of the people and pokemon around them grew louder.
Empowered by the sunlight, Neeko let loose a blazing Flamethrower just as Kiba's Hitmonchan utilized Agility to move through the now hardened arena floor in order to evade the infernal stream. With every passing second, Champ closed in on Arc's Mega Charizard and once he finally stood before the tall winged reptile, he drove rapid almost unseen Thunder Punches in succession.
On Arc's cue, Neeko retaliated with a volley of smaller Fire Blast on the field, setting the dried plants in the arena ablaze and turning the once swamp into a desiccated wasteland. With the flames around it forming a makeshift barrier, Neeko leaped back into the fray.
Champ charged fearlessly through the fire with a flurry of Bullet Punch, striking the Mega Charizard, forcing Neeko to stagger back. However, it didn't deter his burning determination. Neeko gritted through the onslaught of pain and unleashed a random Fire Blast.
Kiba's Hitmonchan bounced back in time to evade the brunt of the raging inferno before he continued to press on the attack with around round of Bullet Punch from a safer distance. Once again, Neeko found himself at the painful end of Champ's flurry. Time was running out for him.
"We need to finish this Neeko! Dragon Rage!" Arc cried out and his Mega Charizard instantly blasted a sphere of dragon fury but Champ quickly ducked and redirected the attack with a Sky Uppercut.
"It's nearly over…" Neo informed, his deep gray eyes hardened on the burning battlefield.
"Use Thunder Punch again Champ, finish him!"
"Neeko, Use Thunder Punch! End this now!"
Neeko and Champ charged at each other with deadly ferocity and surging fists, each bent on finishing the match then and there. As soon as they were in range, both Neeko and Champ took their swing at each other, almost seemingly passing each other and landing on opposite sides of the field.
A burst of light. Sparks flew wildly. Then silence permeated. The crowd waited anxiously to know who would come out of this fight victorious. Kiba and his Hitmonchan? Or Arc and his Charizard?
A few more seconds passed before Neeko fell to one knee. Arc called out to him as the crowd gasped at the apparent outcome. Another moment passed. Kiba's Hitmonchan smiled then his eyes rolled back and he fell to the floor unconscious and unable to continue. It was over. The crowd burst into booming cheers as the referee waved his flag at Arc, declaring him the victor of the match.
Neo fell back on his seat in relief. Chase elbowed his arm and smirked as if to say 'I told you so.' Gertrud did an eye roll at the silver-haired teen's gesture while Arana and Kashu giggled.
As the crowds continued to go wild with exciting replays on the monitor, Neo stood up with a wane smile. "Looks like it's my turn again,"
At that, his pokemon waved him cheers and encouragement. Chase made sure his medicine was refilled before handing it back to him. Neo gave them a thankful nod and proceeded down to the arena in order to face his next match-up, Ariann Roman.
End of Chapter 59
Kaye and Kiba's battle is written by WrittenWhim and Dead Bones Sam.
Arc's battle is a summary. The full version is on his story. Feel free to check it out. :3
One more battle for Neo and then its the long awaited match.
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Please and thank you ever so much. :3