Draco: Two more Colosseums. Come on, Draco, you got this.
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Give You Chills
The next Colosseum required Jeanne to take a boat out to the destination; it was just off the shore of Pokétopia, on a chain of small islets. The boarding dock was low enough for water to splash under her footsteps, but there were steps leading up to the entrance, ensuring that the water didn't flood the lobby itself. As she stepped in, she found a figure dressed in white bent over to reach into what looked like a freezer unit on the opposite end of the room. It only took a moment before he emerged, revealing a head of blue hair, and he closed the freezer and turned around, revealing there was an ice cream bar on a stick held between his lips.
"Mmm?" Kaito seized the stick and pulled it out of his mouth as he stepped forward. "Hey, there you are! I was wondering when you might come for my challenge."
"Hi," Jeanne returned. "Am I late?"
Kaito shook his head. "Not at all," he assured her. "Was just grabbing something to snack on before we got started. Looking forward to see what you can do on the field!" He waved farewell as he started towards the red corner's access, returning the ice cream to his mouth as he did so.
Jeanne hummed curiously. "Is the sun really bad enough at this hour to merit ice cream?"
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"Good evening, Pokétopia!"
No, the sun was not bad enough to merit ice cream; in fact, the setting sun was largely obscured by the walls of the Colosseum, though the battlefield's own lighting meant that nobody was fighting in the dark. The spectators' cheer had Kaito laughing briefly. "What joy, what wonder! Let us all make sure to show the same enthusiasm for our combatants; today's battles promise to make some waves, and I want to hear your appreciation!"
A single sharp note from the crowd, to assure him that he would.
"That's what I like to see! Come on out, fighters!"
He started towards the red corner as the doors opened; Jeanne stepped out as her opponent, a lean but muscled man whose Battle Pass had named him Jin. As he reached his point on the battlefield, he drew a Poké Ball in each hand and gripped one fiercely before himself. "There's no way I can lose."
Jeanne readied her own Poké Balls. "Promises, promises..."
They both sent out their first fighters; two Ice-types found themselves staring each other down, one accompanied by a Fighting-type and one by a Flying-type. "Froslass, Archeops for the blue corner!" Kaito proclaimed. "Weavile, Machamp for the red corner! What sort of challenge will unfold today?"
"Pick your battles!" Jeanne warned.
"Clip its wings!" Jin commanded.
Weavile and Machamp both dashed towards Archeops, who started flapping his wings to call down a Rock Slide. Weavile managed to endure the barrage and rise up with an Ice Punch uppercut, forming a spike of ice in the wake of his leaping blow that left Archeops reeling; Machamp tried to follow up with a Heavy Slam, but found Archeops soaring away. Froslass promptly loosed an Ice Beam at the Machamp, and as he made to turn to face the attacker, he found ice rippling across his form, leaving him frozen solid.
The Sharp Claw Pokémon turned round with a snarl, charging at Froslass and landing a fierce Night Slash that left the Ghost-type sliding backwards; as soon as her backwards momentum faded, she unleashed a Hex that bit into Machamp with ferocity. The ice shattered around the Superpower Pokémon only to leave him falling to the ground, and Weavile was about to finish Froslass off with another Night Slash before something slammed into her from behind - a bombardment of elder stones that left her plummetting to unconsciousness as well.
"Buried by Ancient Power!" Kaito proclaimed. "The red corner's lost both of their Pokémon already!"
Jin thrust both hands out to withdraw the Pokémon; then he slotted the balls onto his belt and seized the remaining pair, hurling them forward to send out a Scizor and Aegislash. "Make 'em pay for it!"
"Get back, you two!" Jeanne warned, raising Froslass and Archeops' Pokémon in one hand; the other two were seized in her other hand, and as soon as the field was clear, she sent out Lucario and Volcarona to take their places. "Let's wrap this up!" she proclaimed, reaching for her hair dec. "Full force!"
The light of Mega Evolution shone up around Lucario as Scizor and Aegislash blitzed forward, the Royal Sword Pokémon unsheathing himself and bracing his shield in one hand. A powerful Aerial Ace slammed into Volcarona from her fellow Bug-type, but she quickly leapt forward to intercept Aegislash, unleashing a Fiery Dance that washed over him and burned him away; he managed to endure long enough to slash Lucario with a Sacred Sword, but the Mega-Evolved Aura Pokémon was able to tank the blow, and swiftly retaliated with a burst of darkness to leave the blade fallen and the shield rolling across the battlefield.
"Dark Pulse makes them feel despair!" Kaito mused. "The red corner is up against the wall!"
Scizor stepped back uncertainly as Volcarona and Lucario both turned to face him; after a moment, the Pincer Pokémon turned around, trying to put distance between them. Lucario lunged forward, bombarding his wings with Close Combat, and though that wasn't enough to finish him off, Volcarona's next Fiery Dance was.
"And that's the battle!" Kaito proclaimed as Jin withdrew his knocked-out Pokémon. "The blue corner achieves a flawless victory!" Jeanne gave an awkward chuckle as she withdrew her Pokémon, turning to the crowd with an apologetic look - she knew too well how much less suspense came with watching such an overpowering battle. "Challenger, promise me you'll keep this up!"
"Keep it up with perfect wins?" Jeanne mused. "I don't know so much about that..."
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She was glad she hadn't made any such promises; she and her Pokémon fared well in the following battles, but none were quite as conclusive as the first.
"The battle has ended," Kaito proclaimed after her fifth win, "and the blue corner has emerged triumphant!" A very sore-looking Goodra turned around with a weak smile, and Jeanne nodded to assure him before raising his Poké Ball to withdraw and starting back towards the entrance to heal everyone up. "With that, the challenger is set to face their final opponent!"
A glance at the Battle Pass earned a fit of giggles from Jeanne; he'd taken a stick of ice cream to the Battle Pass photo.
"As you will."
"My pleasure," insisted a female voice that Jeanne recognized as Meiko's; she quickly started out onto the battlefield to find rain starting to fall on the battlefield. "Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come! Time for the Colosseum Leader to see the challenger's might for himself!"
Kaito had a grin on his face - but it was a serious grin, one that Jeanne had not been expecting from the freezer-diver she'd met in the lobby, and he thrust a Poké Ball forward in his left hand, leaving light gleaming off his Z-Power Ring. "Brace yourself," he warned. "I'm not holding back!"
"Ohh, this is gonna be good," Jeanne retorted.
The two hurled their Poké Balls forward; the Dragon Pokémon opened his eyes, and found himself in a very unfavourable position. "For the blue corner: Goodra, Primarina! And for the red corner: Vanilluxe, Gardevoir!"
"Start with the dragon!" Kaito commanded.
"Crap," Jeanne muttered, raising Goodra's Poké Ball again. "Get back!"
"Oh my!" Meiko exclaimed. "The blue corner beats a hasty retreat!" Lucario was sent out in his place, and though the double-bombardment of a Freeze-Dry and Draining Kiss wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world, it wasn't enough to knock him out. Primarina quickly planted her flippers on the ground and unleashed a screaming Hyper Voice that rocked both of Kaito's Pokémon; Jeanne swiftly reached for her Key Stone, and the light of Mega Evolution lit up around Lucario as he dashed forward, swiftly making short work of the Snowstorm Pokémon in a flurry of Close Combat.
Kaito swiftly withdrew Vanilluxe as Gardevoir made to finish him off; a pulse of Psychic ripped up around him, and Lucario was thrown back, knocked out by the third blow in his weakened state. His Mega Evolution subsided around him as Jeanne made to withdraw him, and as Kaito sent out a Sawsbuck with leaves falling from his antlers, Primarina retaliated by rising up on her tail and singing a loud note that scattered water across the battlefield. The Season Pokémon took the blow well enough, considering the rain still falling down; Gardevoir wasn't so lucky, knocked out by the bombardment.
"Sparkling Aria sings them under the table!" Meiko called. "What a fast-paced battle!"
Jeanne grit her teeth, sending out Volcarona to take Lucario's place as Sawsbuck charged towards Primarina. The Soloist Pokémon braced herself against the blow, but an unusually fierce Horn Leech left her flying back, tumbling weakly across the battlefield even as the blow restored Sawsbuck's own vitality. Volcarona immediately made to act; the battlefield being too wet for flames to be useful, she unleashed a Bug Buzz that left Sawsbuck reeling, stumbling away.
Kaito brandished his last Poké Ball expectantly as Jeanne was withdrawing Primarina. "You wanna go?" He wound it back and pitched it forward like a baseball player. "Let's dance!"
As the Ball hit the battlefield, a Pokémon emerged that looked like folded paper... and sounded like a tin roof as the rain collided with it. It was an Ultra Beast - an origami figure that looked like it was meant to invoke a Warrior of two blades, and he brandished his swords with a loud cry that drew everyone's attention.
"Oh, man," Jeanne muttered, holding out Goodra's ball in her right hand. "Let's make it count!"
Power flowed out of the Wishing Star mounted in her Dynamax Band, converging on Goodra's Poké Ball as Kartana made to carve forward; Volcarona quickly leapt into his path, unleashing a Fiery Dance to startle his flight. Sawsbuck was charging towards the point where Goodra was emerging, and as the Dynamax solidified, he slammed into the Dragon Pokémon with a ferocious Giga Impact that left him stumbling.
Kaito smirked, crossed his arms as his Z-Power Ring shone. "No holding back!" he commanded of the Ultra Beast.
"Brace yourselves!" Meiko proclaimed as he thrust his arms forward. "Our Colosseum Leader is about to light this place up!"
Kaito swept his arms skyward at his sides, then swung them low as he hunched down before rising up with a fist to the sky; Z-Power converged on Kartana, who angled himself back until he was nearly vertical before starting to spin. Gales ripped up around him as he ascended heavenward, and as he seemed about to vanish into the storm, he began to descend towards Volcarona, connecting hard enough to send shockwaves around the battlefield.
The Sun Pokémon was knocked out - but so too did Sawsbuck shortly follow, finished off by a gush of Max Ooze from Goodra. As the two were withdrawn, the Dragon Pokémon turned his attention to Kartana; the Drawn Sword Pokémon only aimed one blade forward before starting to carve through the air, edges glowing. Goodra reared back, and voltage began to gather in the skies around the battlefield as the Ultra Beast drew nearer for a Sacred Sword...
...and was blasted out of the sky by a bolt of Max Lightning, leaving him tumbling to the ground at Goodra's giant feet.
"And there goes battle!" Meiko exclaimed. "The blue corner narrowly escapes a crushing defeat!" The Dynamax subsided around Goodra, who dashed back to Jeanne for a high-five as Kaito withdrew the fainted Kartana. "Which means that the challenger has conquered Ocean Colosseum!"
Jeanne withdrew Goodra with a chuckle and turned around to find Kaito approaching her. "Well done," he praised, offering his hand. "That was a harder challenge than I was expecting."
"Right back at you," Jeanne retorted, accepting the hand and shaking it.
Draco: Another shameless reference, this time to Pokkén Tournament. I mean, I literally named the dude after a Tekken protagonist, I can't get more obvious than that. No wish-they-could-have-beens on this one, though.
Arena details - Ocean Colosseum may randomly have rain, Camouflage will make your Pokémon a Water-type, Nature Power will turn into Hydro Pump, and Secret Power may lower the opponent's Attack. Colosseum Mode battles take place at sunset, and you need to earn your first win in Double Battles.
Kaito's team consists of Vanilluxe, Malamar, Gardevoir, Ludicolo, Sawsbuck, and Kartana with a Flyinium-Z. Next round is the big finale!