In the location that was known as Crocus, there was a numerous amount of bustling and hustling array of people that were out on the streets. Many were minding their own business, and some were making small talk in front of places. However, at the base of a far end, rather close to Crocus' shorelines, this was where one man was making his dream come true.
On a very large estate that was still currently in the works of construction, there was a large perimeter set up to keep safety recommendations high. Plant seeds were planted about on the court, and high-quality machinery such as cranes and Pokémon were working together to cement down the rest of the plates around a massive white complex. The building was currently no more than fifty feet high as of now, but that was the base of it as of yet. It still had a far longer way to go until it was all fully at the height of it all, but so far, the clear windows was evidence that the classy building with smaller, stylish-looking estates, was to be known for something currently in its works.
In the main building, at the top of it where a black sparkling staircase went up the side of the building both ways to reach fifty feet up, there was a black floor for temporary placement. All around were current construction workers, and what looked like a couple Machoke helping move materials about and lift material in place of others. Sitting at his current desk in the background, Arthur was facing away from the construction and focused on the outside. Ignoring his reflection at the time, his attention drew towards the massive court behind, where there, it was as grand as the Mercurius courtyard itself, if not more. Despite the many of buildings around that were currently residence to the many of thousands of interns who offered to help, the main part of the court was an elaborate array of battlefields, where he could see two wannabe people reaching out and giving their commands for their Psyduck and Drowzee to clash.
Psyduck and Drowzee both ran up towards the other furiously, their hands and claws raking Pound and Scratch at the same time. The attacks missed, and instead, both Pokémon were hit square in their own guts. Drowzee winced, while Psyduck gagged at the impact. They both rebounded and raised their heads, keeping their close proximity and readied another attack. Drowzee yelled out as he swung his arms forward, glowing once again as Pound.
Watching with an expectant frown, Arthur's attention drew away from the many battle seminars down below and saw that in the distance, far away, the massive, garden-like fence housed many greens within it. A close inspection inside revealed a few smiling workers that were busy picking freshly grown berries that derived from one sample. And amongst those planting and working, an experienced intern was explaining berries to a fresh group that had been introduced earlier this morning.
Coming up from behind, a pair of high heels belongs to a nice pair of legs standing a few feet from the desk. "Sir, is this a bad time?" the person asked.
Taking his eyes away from the overall progress, Arthur turned to see his assistant with a clipboard in hand. "Oh, Marie. There you are." He said. He moved his hand to control a remote controller on his wheelchair. His mechanical marvel instantly pivoted on one heel and made him face the desk. He then thrust forward, moving to where he sat in front of it. "I was wondering where you might have gone. I was beginning to wonder if you were too bust for me." He teasingly smirked.
Marie, however, had no facial change. "I left for only 20 minutes." She deadpanned.
"And that's 1,200 seconds you've wasted." He belittled lightly. "Amazing how so many seconds adds up quick that it makes a world of difference in the long run. One second late is a penny pinched as the greedy would say."
Marie coughed lightly, as if trying to alter the wayward trip Arthur was making. "Speaking of work, I thought you would like to know of the charts we've made." She approached his desk, where she sat the clipboard in front to allow Arthur to see its measurements. He picked it up, observing the contents carefully, starting from the top.
"It's the production chart that Eliza has been keeping a deep track of." She explained. "As you can see, we've already made a high sum of Poke Mart supplies thanks to the combined engineers managing pharmaceutical compensation."
Arthur was scrolling down the charts carefully, seeing the weekly labels producing a product label, a sum next to it, and a total of what it is expected to be by the end of the week. The looked on his face turned substantially modest as he saw the numbers well in the thousands for each supply. "Well you're definitely not wrong there, Marie." He admitted. "I gotta say, we've really got our work cut out for us this time around. All these new Trainers wanting to master the art of Pokémon, to the Nurse Joys that we've hired and got to making medicine and anatomy passed down; why, we even got Jeffery's department already working on distributing all of the current data of Pokémon out there." He turned his attention, as well as his wheelchair, over towards the windows again. He looked out with a befuddled smile as he watched the progress below. "Why, I'm surprised at how Charlotte and Travis are handling this so well."
Charlotte reached her arm out angrily ahead. "No! That is all wrong!" She boldly scolded to a Trainer. "You do not just simply order a Pokémon to 'attack and hit it with something'! You must know its moves and give swift commands with them!"
"Uh, s-sorry!" the Trainer apologized from afar.
"Don't apologize! Just focus on the battle!" She roared, making the Trainer flinch. She reeled back upright and gave a meek expression of exhaustion. "Ingrates…"
Travis blew into the whistle he had swiftly, then raised an arm up. "Alright guys, ten-minute break!"
As the Trainers and Pokémon practicing finally eased up, Arthur could see the exasperating looks on some, the adrenaline some still had on their faces from close calls. Some looked to be struggling even. "I hope Charlotte's not being too hard on them."
"She's always been so controlling." Marie defended. "She made it loud and clear the first day she wouldn't be holding anything back."
Arthur managed a smirk as he turned his wheelchair again towards the desk. "True. Change isn't easy after all. And if we're to discipline Trainers and the people of this world in order to understand battles aren't to be taken lightly, we need to take serious measures of our own." He looked back down at the clipboard that was sitting in his lap, folding his fingers in the process. "So then otherwise we're on schedule with the Poke Balls and medicine, right?"
She nodded. "Of course. The pamphlets have all been distributed as you've requested. The diagrams should give those out of reach what the basics of a Trainer is."
"I see."
"There's one more thing."
Arthur's head looked up towards her, humming in inquiry.
"The Magic Council had requested that you begin making footage and evidence that those outside the Cambire Foundation are running smoothly with Pokémon basics. They want to see people adapting well to these changes, and they want to see it as soon as a few days."
Arthur's facial expression didn't waver for a few moments. In fact, his fingers remained folded as his chin lowered, a small grin forming on his face as he chuckled low. "Well I'll be, should've pegged them to push our buttons like this." He mused.
"Sir, what do we do?"
He faced her again, his serious face returning. His posture went upright once more. "We comply of course. We cam here on their terms after all, so we have to do what we can to speed things along…although I do admit their need for pacing is challenging."
"Then what do you suggest?"
His serious look sharpened, his overlapping fingers tightening some more. "We'll give them what they want. We'll hurry production and set up the markets for our merchandise. And for a start…" He looked away from his lovely assistant, his expression growing soft as he thought of the few ideas that he had in mind. When he thought of a solid base, his eyes closed, and a nice grin showed itself in his wily thoughts. "I think I just might know the right place to do all this."
"YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME?!" someone shouted.
"NO! I WANT TWO PIECES!" another retorted.
"MAKE THAT THREE!"
The shouts coming from Fairy Tail were so loud that they could've been heard from outside the guild hall. Those who were cautious were keeping their proximity away and around the street as inside, the sounds of furniture, bodies, and glass palpitated heavily. Some could've mistaken the sound of chair legs snapping being human bones instead.
In the midst of all this was the traditional Fairy Tail scuffle. Today was on a more rambunctious scale as practically the whole guild was wrestling about in the melee. It was hard to tell what exactly was going on, but aside from some Pokémon standing off to the side, it seemed to be between mages. However, not everyone was in the scuffle. There some certain individuals who were more appropriate – or sane to an extent – to stay close to the bar. It was there, the little "sanity corner" was being visited by the casuals, namely, the roundabout crew that started the little gig years ago.
"So what started it this time?" The one speaking was Nic. He, along with Cana, Sophie, and not so surprising anymore, Vanessa, were all behind the bar, sitting down to avoid any bodies or furniture overhead.
Sophie folded her arms, sitting up against the lower cabinets. "Well…from what I've heard, Gajeel just got back from a job as of recently, and he brought along with him his own Pokémon." Her attention was drawn away from the random stool leg that went spiraling overhead to the creature beside her. "And from what I've heard, it's quite the rowdy little one." In comparison to what she was referring to, her Pokémon she had beside her was a small yellow Pokémon. It was hard to tell if it was humanoid because it had three toes and claws, with short, brown armor on the upper body. The eyes were always blank, if not closed. And the surprising twist was that even if it looked asleep, it was levitating off the ground with psychic powers.
Cana raised an unamused brow as her elbow rest against a booze barrel. "Alright then, and…?"
"Well, apparently, he was rather loquacious about his new companion that he made, and I guess Gray just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."
As if on cue, the rumbling from the scuffle taking place intensified. The shouting increased, as did the numerous name calling gambits.
"C'mon, Aron! You're a freaking piece of iron! Knock that pine tree over!" Gajeel roared.
"Oh yeah?! Well save that for after Snover freezes it over!" Gray replied.
The two were in the middle of the rampage, and apparently there as well was Snover as he was pitting himself and his leafy arms against the head of a smaller, if not heavier, Pokémon. His body looked completely of silver-white armor, with two big holes in the mask that made his large blue eyes show. He had stubby white limbs and a long spoke hanging out its back. This was the latest Pokémon addition that Gajeel got, Aron.
The Iron Armor Pokémon continued his stalemate with Snover, even as hail continued to pelt down on the ground. He grunted heavily as he dug in his heels and raised his head, sending Snover skywards. The Grass/Ice-type wailed in a panic as he fell downwards, wailing and hoping for a soft landing. Fortunately for him, Max was so kind to be that cushion, although the landing was rough.
"Aw man!" Gray looked back in shock, and as he was half-naked at the time, Gajeel laughed triumphantly as his Aron snorted.
"Ya see that?!" he boasted. "Calling Aron a little bugger is just begging for a pummeli-!" He was cut off when a Machop flung into the side of his face head-first, making the Iron Dragon fall over with him being Machop's cushion now.
Elfman flexed his muscles in a manly fashion. "Oh yeah! Now that's how a man does it!"
Gajeel laid on the ground, a tick mark growing on his head. "So it was you huh…?" He growled low in anger as he slowly got back up. He got Elfman's attention as he slowly slumped upwards to face him. He cracked his knuckles and began to wickedly smirk. "Now you've done it, buddy…?"
"Oh here we go again…" Levy groaned beside Lucy. Beside her was a small, two-piece Pokémon that looked like two floating gears grinding into each other. They had one eye each and an X for where the other eye might be. The Solid Script Mage sighed as her Klink remained by her side, doing nothing to support the battle.
Lucy leaned in a little, a smile on her face. "Seems like everyone's riled up, wouldn't you think?"
Levy calmed and smiled at the scuffle. "Yeah, I guess so." Her eyes went towards Gajeel, who was currently in a big dust cloud where he and Elfman's limbs were popping in and out of. She can see just how into it her lover was with the passion of fighting. "Still, it's nice seeing him like this."
Lucy looked towards her. "Oh really?"
She smiled. "Yeah, sure. He's been really tense as of late. Being on that mining job and finding that Aron really made him excited." A bead of sweat appeared on her head. "Although…I really can't say the same for when he tried to take a bite out of the little guy…" She could recall how Gajeel looked when he bit into Aron. It was like biting into…well, iron. It hurt, for both Aron and Gajeel. Both even had the same dull eyes and big mouths when they screamed in pain.
"And that's where you met this guy?" Lucy looked towards Klink, who kept spinning its gears in place.
"Yeah. It was in the factory hiding amongst the equipment where the ore mined was shipped." She looked at her Steel-type associate with a smile. "It's really docile."
"Yeah, I can tell…" Lucy looked back at Gajeel and his Aron. Both looked pretty annoyed as they ran into Elfman together, sending him gagging and flying into Warren. The ram was so heavy that they slammed into a wall. Gajeel beamed with pride before a wave of cold, hard ice struck him from the side, revealing himself to be a vengeful Gray. "Hey, speaking of which…"
"Hm?"
"You said he was tense before, didn't you?"
Levy blinked. "Yeah, why? Is that normal?"
"Not really…" Her thoughts went down under, her attention being brought to something that was making their relationship with their own men in question. In her mind, she seemed contemplative. "It's just…doe she do that all the time?"
Levy looked up as she put her index finger to her chin, thinking. "Hmm, not really. Just when he's nervous, he becomes a hard steel shell. He does that quite often when we're out. I-It's a little…" Levy's face began to turn red from embarrassment. "I-It's kinda…sweet." She smiled nervously as she looked at her knees. She and Gajeel were practically inseparable after the war, and throughout all that time, they hardly spent that much time apart since then. The only exceptions were some solo jobs that Gajeel took, or otherwise teamed up with others. As she was looking sappy, she noticed she was being watched. Her attention went towards Lucy, who was leaning in with a mischievous smirk. Immediately she faced her with hands and arms out. "W-Wait a sec! It's not what you think, Lu! Why you even asking me anyway?!" she shrieked.
Lucy did a nonchalant eyeroll. "Oh nothing, just curious is all."
"Oh really? Then what about you and Natsu?" she retorted.
Now it was Lucy's turn to be embarrassed. "W-wait, what?! What about us?!"
Levy bumped her elbow into the blonde's shoulder. "Oh don't think I haven't seen signs either." She cooed. "C'mon, Lucy. Admit it, you trying to find ways to break that sturdy steed?"
Lucy's face began to turn beet red from sheer embarrassment. "I-It's not that, I swear!"
Wendy, who was sitting beside in awkward silence watching the two, turned and looked around in question. "Huh?" Once she realized it, she turned towards Lucy and Levy. "Hey, guys, speaking of Natsu, do you know where he is?"
Carla turned towards the now dimmer escapade. "Strange, I thought for sure he would be into his whole mess. Very odd." She suddenly ducked to avoid a flying Jet overhead, who was then followed by his Taillow. She looked back angrily at them and turned towards the rampage. "Alright, who did that?! Seriously?!" she barked.
Levy and Lucy nervously laughed, having been able to find a reason to digress from the embarrassing girl talk.
"Actually, I think Natsu went outback for some reason." Kinana, who happened to remain out of the scuffle, answered. "He went to try something new for his Charmander. He looked pretty hasty."
In the back of the guild hall, there was ample room, where there was supposed to be a lot of dirt area that was supposed to be for a pool that the guild had then thinking of building, but they had otherwise been preoccupied to follow through due to constant maintenance. This was where Natsu stood in front of Charmander, his arms folded.
"Okay, you can breathe embers, right?" he began. "I think we should try that trick again. The one we've worked on the other night."
Charmander tilted his head. "You mean the big one?"
Natsu's smile brightened. "Yeah, that one! Here, let's try it again." He spread his feet apart, getting a good distance between them. Once set, he pumped both fists and ignited his body in searing flames. The demonstration lit up Charmander's eyes with awe. "I call this little trick my Fire Dragon's Sword Horn. Here, watch." He faced a nearby boulder sticking out of the ground for unknown reasons. Once he got aim, he crouched and went diving right ahead, making a searing stream follow his wake. Charmander went wide-eyed as he watched Natsu roar and bolt right into the boulder head first, smashing clean through and sending the dust and dirt flying in all directions.
Charmander gaped as rock crumbled beside him, churning at his feet.
Happy smiled confidently. "Bet ya didn't see that coming, right?"
Natsu walked past the destroyed rock as he constantly rolled his shoulder. He looked completely unfazed by his attack. "The trick is to try and make it so that you can focus all the attention on your head, but it begins at the belly. He stood in front of Charmander as he smiled. "It's kinds hard to explain. What I'd try is that I usually build it up in my center, like when I ready a roar, but instead I have it envelop my body by maybe exploding. I'm not exactly sure how to put it in other words though."
"Exploding?" Charmander furrowed his brow and faced a small rock piece that was sitting right in front of him. He closed his eyes and began to hunch over as he tried to focus his energy in the center.
"Yeah, that's it! Just like that!" Natsu encouraged. "Keep trying!"
"Yeah, go Charmander!" Happy cheered.
Charmander was feeling his head getting light, the dizzy sensation flowing through from what could be described as a headache. He balled his claws tightly as he kept trying, and he was actually managing to feel a heat signature from his abdomen. His body was getting hot, and some parts of him were starting to give off embers.
"Come on, just a little more…!"
Charmander grunted loudly as flames were flickering and bursting about all over his body, but finally, Charmander felt his heat die down. He fell onto his down with a deep sigh, panting up towards the sky in defeat. "Aw man, I thought I had it." He groaned.
Natsu crouched down, giving him a smile as he patted his back lightly. "Hey man, it wasn't easy for me either. Trust me, that was better than my first try."
Charmander looked up in surprise. "It was?"
"Oh yeah. Natsu tried to concentrate so hard he passed out." Happy snickered at the memory, much to Natsu's chagrin.
"Happy!" The Dragon Slayer cooled his jets, looking back at his Charmander with a smile. "Anyways, let's give it a shot again. We'll get it down in no time."
Charmander slowly got back up, facing Natsu with a bright smile. "Right!" he nodded.
"Really?" Lucy gathered what Kinana said and looked towards her Klefki. They both seemed intrigued.
Carla shrugged. "Well if you ask me, if Natsu is making that creature anything like him, I'm not sure we'll have a guild hall anymore."
Wendy nervously scratched her cheek. "Well, you're not wrong…"
"Aaah~!" Nab went flying right pass Wendy, leaving the Sky Dragon shocked and paralyzed as she and Swablu gawked at him slumping down head first towards the floor.
Carla growled beneath her throat, shooting a glance at the guild hall's fight. "Alright, seriously! Where is Erza or Nic?!"
Lucy and Levy both pointed an index finger towards the side, having nervous expressions despondent expressions on their faces. Carla looked in the direction where they pointed, only to find out why.
Erza was within the scuffle, parrying swords with Pantherlily's Musica Sword. Both were lightning fast, and excessively powerful that they were generating powerful sparks between them. They looked so into it that it seemed wrong to stop them.
"Seriously?!"
"I'm afraid so." Lucy sighed.
Mirajane, who was walking pass them casually with a tray, smiled. "Oh it's not so bad. I think it's a nice way to blow off some steam."
"Or blow ourselves up." Lucy defended. "Is Nic stopping this?"
"He's had a long few days on his job. I think he'll just have it blow over his head for today."
Lucy's eyes widened in realization. "Hey yeah, what was his job anyway that took so long?"
"Well you see, from what I've heard, he had to gather as many Pokémon in the wilderness near a village that were trying to poach food and try and handle a food shortage. He got by it as fast as he could, but he stayed a little longer to help explain planting berries. I think that's why he got that big bonus."
Lucy sweatdropped. "Well, guess that's Nic for ya."
At the entrance of the guild hall, Fairy Tail's newest team, The Freaks, entered to what was a scuffle that left them deeply surprised. Joey stood wide-eyed as he saw so many people fighting at once that it seemed barbarian. Glancing left and right awkwardly, he cut in front of Dereece and slowly slid off the side of the guild to get around the scuffle. Dereece and Duncan silently followed, but with a more precarious route that followed Joey.
After a few shuffled several meters around the building, he soon reached the bar. Once there, he faced the scuffle before he hurriedly made a beeline over the counter and towards the other side. And not a moment too soon as Vijeeter slammed into a stool in front. As he laid dazedly on the ground, Duncan and Dereece wormed their way around to join their leader in the sanity corner.
Catching his breath, Joey panted heavily. "\One could've mistaken him for a heart attack. "Phew. That was too close for comfort."
"So you too, huh?"
Joey's eyes opened in shock. His body went still as his eyes slowly traced towards his left side. There, his blue eyes met the nonchalant Cana as she bluntly gazed at him. "Uh, you're here?!" He looked all around, realizing he wasn't alone. "Sophie? N-Nic-senpai?! V-V-Vanessa-senpai?!"
Cana winked. "Surprised?"
"Guess a welcome's in order." Nic congratulated. "Welcome to sanity corner."
"S-sanity corner…?"
Sophie shrugged. "It's a little something Nic and Cana came up with a while back." She explained. "So I take it you're not a fan of fighting, right?"
Joey was taken back by all this, his eyes blinking profusely from the shock that he was sitting close to someone he admired, but even more so that he was in a little "club" he and the half-decent woman right beside him had made. When he looked about again, he could also see that there were an abundant amount of girls with cabooses to boot. As his eyes looked about, he could feel a heat rise up from all around him.
"Aw, look at that. Someone's a little shy." Cana teased.
Joey looked away knowingly. "You don't know that!"
A woman beside him chuckled. "Well, as long as you behave, you can stay." The woman beside him was Vanessa, who was following along on the note the group was playing. Joey took one look at her and realized how close he was to her. He almost turned to solid stone. Even his face showed shock as the pink was in his cheeks.
Duncan looked away without care. "How pathetic."
"Well better safe than sorry, I always say." Dereece defended.
Joey swallowed a lump as he tried to face the cabinets and glasses on the shelves, rather than look at Nic and Vanessa, as well as the female assets they exemplified that was making him want to bite his lower lip. The way he was trying to look so innocent was almost cute.
"I don't think I've seen anyone try and hide something that obvious that hard in plain sight." Sophie told Nic.
The married man nonchalantly folded his arms. "Well you can't exactly blame him. You can imagine how I felt when I first came here, too."
Sophie looked at him in realization. "Oh, right. Your world isn't as common in…certain parts, as us girls." She held and awkward pause there as she tried to find the right words to say. "I'm not even sure that's healthy."
"Who's to say?"
In an effort to make some light conversation out of the bashful boy, Vanessa faced him with a smile. "So, how are you liking Fairy Tail?"
"H-huh?" Joey looked towards her, trying his very, if not upmost, best to stay appropriate. "Oh, uh…i-it's uh…interesting." He answered awkwardly. "When I thought there would be a 'party', I didn't think it would be…"
Vanessa chuckled. "I know. Never a dull moment, right?"
"That's why this guild fits this guy to a tee." Joey pointed his thumb towards Joey. "Joey never makes things boring for me, or for anybody for that matter."
Vanessa raised a brow. "That so?" She faced him again. "How interesting…"
The red in Joey's face brightened. "Y-You really think so?" He looked towards his knees, the expression he was making showing embarrassment and shock. 'Vanessa-senpai just called me interesting…I'm really interesting to her! She admires me! OH MY GOSH!' He huddled into his knees and muffled a small squeal that was hardly audible, just as sparkles appeared around his face to indicate his nature going gaga again.
Vanessa kept a straight face as she watched him show his interesting character. She even took a look at his new coat he got the other day. If she was honest, she wouldn't lie when it really stood out.
"You like what you see?" Sophie whispered to Vanessa. When she looked towards her blonde friend, she saw her motioning her eyes towards Joey. The blonde banged, black-haired female responding by scoffing with a smile.
Duncan rolled his eyes. "How pathetic."
"Now, now, let's try and be reasonable here…" Dereece insisted.
As the fight continued to escalate indoors, the guild's outside sanctum was being forward to by a clean man who was currently making way as citizens were watching him roll by. The way he looked sternly ahead as he walked through the open street gave him a somewhat authoritative stature. Following behind him were two assistance who were wearing lab coats, where they were sandwiching a magic circle that hovered a large, organized crate as they moved right along.
Once the man reached the guild's doors, he could hear a loud case being shattered, and a massive rumbling shake up the whole place. He took a subtle step back out of inquiry, and then looked up. It was a miracle as to how the place was still standing from all this rupturing he heard going on.
Within his shock, an assistant stepped up. "Shall we proceed, sir?"
Trying to regain his stature, the man faced the guild doors with a serious gaze. "Yes, let's."
They all opened the doors, bringing themselves inside.
To everyone inside the guild hall, they were all bombarding each other with heavy magic, or otherwise trading insults with punches. It was hard to tell which of the two hurt most. In the midst of it all, a shadow entered from the doorway, one that had classy shoes tapping against the wooden floor. With each step, the echoing, was getting to everyone's ears. A few stopped in mid-punches as they looked towards the door.
"Excuse me."
All the commotion everyone was giving off began to dial down as they heard a new voice. They all turned and stopped in their tracks when they saw someone new at the doorway, and he looked to be having some important business given his appearance.
"Hey, look." Gray voiced, getting Gajeel and Elfman to turn towards the intruder behind him.
"Huh?" Lucy turned towards the door next.
From behind the sanity corner, everyone began to stand up. Nic and the others started to get up and turn the corner, watching discerningly of the person everyone was looking to.
The man was looking around, seeing the mess that everyone's made, but he did nothing more than cast the commodity disorder aside. "Am I interrupting something?" he questioned rhetorically. Even his tone didn't sound so amusing.
Max grunted as He rolled over, getting Snover to get off him. "Ow, man…" He looked up, seeing the person at the guild hall's entrance. "Wait, hold up a second, is he familiar to anyone?"
"Beats me." Laki said, holding her Bonsly as the Rock-type was quiet in her arms.
The other members were coming around, beginning to get themselves a little more organized, if not presentable. They were all watching with discerning looks of their own as the man returned it three-fold. One could say his gaze was tougher than steel, much like his composition. The guild itself was starting to get questions to roll in their minds that were itching to get out there, but before they could make any movements to do so, a sound of a shout came from outside.
"Hey, wait up! The heck's going on?!"
The man turned towards the side of the guild doors, hearing the sound of some hasty footsteps. Upon closing in, the doors slammed open to reveal Natsu, alongside his Charmander and Happy. The Dragon Slayer looked intensely at the man and his two assistance with a heavy brow. "The heck's going on here? Well?" he demanded.
"Natsu?" Lucy got up.
"There you are! You're just in time!" Wendy exclaimed.
"For what? Who's this guy?" He looked again at the man, who tried to turn with reason.
"Please, allow me to explain-"
"Alright everybody, that's far enough in my books." From within Fairy Tail's crowd, the loud, deep voice resonated from Laxus as the Thunder God Tribe was clearing a path for him to take to the open. Once the crowd was divided up by Freed and Bickslow's bodyguarding, the guild master folded his arms and stood in front of his crowd with a serious expression, if not irritated.
"Oh, Laxus." Mirajane chimed.
"Laxus?" The man heard the woman say his name, getting his attention to draw back towards the Lightning Dragon Slayer. "So then that's it. You're this guild's master that I've heard about then, right?"
"Yeah, that'd be me." He said dryly. "And who might you be? I wasn't getting noticed to any sort of welcome committee today."
The man put a hand in front, giving a formal bow to the respectable master. "I humbly apologize for any lack of notice. This was on a time-restraint assignment I was given by my good friend, Arthur."
Laxus raised a brow. "You don't say."
The man stood straight up, putting his hands behind his back. He looked around the guild hall again, seeing the many messy faces apparent. "So this is Fairy Tail. A very…interesting group I see."
"Looks can deceiving." Laxus shrugged. "So what is it then? You were sent by the Cambire Foundation or what?"
The man nodded. "Yes. Forgive me for not introducing myself right away. My name is Jefferey Bistro, and I lead the Cambire resource and development industry of the organization. Arthur introduced me during the conference you attended a week ago, if that is any reference."
"Jefferey Bistro…" Lucy put her index finger to her chin as she looked towards the ceiling in inquiry.
Fortunately, Sophie was the one to recollect first. She stepped up. "I remember. You're Jefferey Bistro, and your assistant of that department is Eliza Mauve if I recall." She answered.
He bowed in a wayward manner in praise to her. "Well I see someone pays well of mind to the names given. Thank you, Miss…"
"Sophie. Sophie Lednick." She answered.
"A pleasure indeed." He looked back towards Laxus, giving him a studious gaze. "If it's no trouble, are Mr. and Mrs. Pularis around? I came with an important announcement."
Coming around, Nic looked towards the others before they gave him a look of insecurity. He didn't want to be rude, but he still felt unsound by this arrival. He grunted as he hopped over the counter and landed on his two feet. He, as well as Erza, who emerged from the ruckus and requipped away her sword, reconvened and stood beside one another in front. Nic folded his arms, while Erza stood with a stoic expression.
"Is there something wrong?" Erza answered. Beside her, Nic stayed passive.
Jefferey took a step forward, giving the two a solid grin. "Greetings, you two. It's been a while since the conference, hasn't it?" he said casually.
"It's been a week." Nic answered. "But yeah, I guess you're not wrong."
"Mrs. Pularis." Erza became the attention now. "As for your question, nothing of the sorts is wrong. In fact, I came here on behalf of Arthur to deliver a message that I'm to carry out."
Erza's gaze remained stoic. "And what might that be?"
Jefferey reached into his pocket to get out something. Once he found what he was looking for, he pulled out a small handheld tablet as thin as a phone and pressed one of the few buttons it had. The holographic screen on it glistened before it projected upwards. Everyone, including Jefferey himself, looked up as the hologram showed the picture of Arthur in his wheelchair.
"Greetings, and welcome to you all." The message started.
Natsu looked at the image in question. "Is that really the guy?" He asked Dereece.
"No, it's just a recorded projection I think." He whispered.
"Nic Pularis and Fairy Tail, I would like to be the first to congratulate and thank you for all of your continued support in this time of change. As you know, with this change, of which we have dubbed 'The Crossing', has brought forth a number of Pokémon from our world into this one. We have taken great strides and lengths to make sure that the current populace is making an able effort into incorporating Pokémon into everyday life. So far, we can confirm that through remedial classes taken, a handful have already achieved positive results."
The guildmates looked at each other in earnest. They were making small steps as well, and so far, things were looking quite okay for their liking with their Pokémon, even with some small hiccups here and there. They all looked back at the recorded message continued.
"Still, there is much work to be done. That is why I have made this message, so that you can help in this change. If you have not yet been shown by Jefferey, he will gladly show you the privilege that you, as well as a handful of other guilds, will be receiving at this time."
Jefferey paused the message to turn his head towards his assistance. He nodded, and they proceeded ahead and moved to the front of the guild for everyone to see them. The large crated between them was gently sat down thanks to the magic circle that covered its bottom. Once set, the one associate knelt to its side and moved a panel to reveal a code of sorts with keys in it. He entered the password, getting an okay sound that ringed positively.
Slowly, the large hatch to the mechanical crate slowly opened by sliding its top halves to the sides. They thus slowly opened to reveal an organized array of what looked like bordered items of various sizes. It was a massive treasure trove of items that even left Nic surprised.
Natsu leaned into the box, his eyes widening in shock. "Woah! Take a look at all this, guys!"
"Man, just look at all this stuff." Happy's eyes glistened like a jewel as he saw the many Poke Balls and Potions. "There's gotta be a hundred of these things at once!"
"Hey, move it guys." Warren urged.
"Yeah, we can't see with you two blocking what's inside." Max retorted.
Natsu snapped around and looked at them. "Whoops. Sorry." He and Happy shuffled off to the side, allowing the guildmates to come around and look into the crate that carried so many standard Trainer equipment. Some couldn't believe how many Potions and Revives they were seeing. There was even a small section where berries were seen stockpiles of the left-hand side.
"Geez, just look at all this stuff." Gray marveled. "They really went all out here, didn't they?"
"Amazing." Juvia peered inside with her Eevee in arms at the privileged items they got.
"The Council had requested that we make sure that you and a handful of guilds are the first ones to be supplied with the necessities to ensure your Pokémon's safety." The message continued. "It was my obligation and my opinion on the matter that I thought it would be best to distribute a small sample of the items to you all before we officially open the markets to the public."
Natsu blinked. "Hang on, what?"
"You're telling me we're getting a shop here in Magnolia or something?" Gajeel clarified.
The message resumed. "These stations and markets that we are going to open will be operational all throughout Fiore. In a matter of a few weeks after, we'll be able to expand much greater to across the continent to ensure everyone in this world gets supplied fairly. As this message is played, a small section in your local market should be in the midst of construction, and low pricing will surely benefit everyone who needs medicinal needs and berries."
"Well that's good. Talk about convenience." Jet chimed in. On his shoulder, Taillow chirped loudly.
"However, it is still taking a considerable amount of time for our Nurse Joys and our interns to know Pokémon healing arts, so the creation of Pokémon Centers will still take some time. In the meantime…I would like you all to enjoy our hard work, and show the world if you can, how a Pokémon can be captured." He nodded with a proud smile. "I wish to you all good fortunes, and for Jefferey to go further into detail."
With that, the message clicked off, turning into a hologram light that retreated into the monitor again. The phone went back into Jefferey's pocket, where he faced the guild with his assignment given. "So now you see the reason why I'm here." He answered. With a snap of his figures, the guild doors once again opened behind. Flying overhead above Jefferey were two medium-sized Poke Ball-shaped drones that had engines on their sides. They had massive deep blue lenses they expanded and contracted, focusing on the wondrous guild that was staring up in question.
"Woah, check that out!" Elfman exclaimed.
"What are those you think?" Lisanna wondered.
Asuka pointed up at the two drones as she tugged her mother's skirt. "Look, Mommy! Flying robots!" she chimed.
"I see, sweetie." She answered.
"With these mechanical recording sessions, my task is to see you guild mages get along with your Pokémon. If you are willing to cooperate, we would like to see you capture, and hone your Pokémon in battle sessions."
"Battle sessions, you say?" Nic parroted.
"You're saying you want to record Pokémon Battles?" Erza inquired.
"In summary of sorts, yes." Jefferey answered. "We could really use this footage as evidence to the Council and the Cambire Foundation that will surely benefit our progress. Will that be alright with you?" He looked towards Laxus for any means of an approval. It would've been more suiting to ask Nic, but Laxus was the one in charge, so he had the final say.
Ultimately, the guild master kept his arms folded and gave him a straight face. "As long as you can guarantee it ain't nothing like for extortion."
He nodded. "You have my word."
Laxus hummed low as he got the okay. He turned towards the guild to make the next order. "Alright, guys, you heard the man. For everyone present, I want you to get at least 5 of each item in stock, got it? Be sure to grab Poke Balls too while you're at it."
"You heard the master, he gave an order people!" Freed exclaimed. "Everyone, make a neat and orderly line so we can distribute evenly-!"
However, a large wave passed him and everyone else. Freed stopped in place with his index finger bent as he was stone faced while everyone piled around like animals trying to get into a feeding frenzy around the crate. Without repercussions, items, and in some cases bodies, were thrown out of proportion.
"Hey, that's mine!"
"No way, I had dibs!"
"But he said 5 each!"
"But I counted 6!"
"Hey, leave some for me!"
Everyone was bickering to get into the crate and dig out the appropriate number of items each one got. As they rummaged and scuffled at the same time, Jefferey was getting it all on the drone cameras. He can already picture the looks on the Council and Arthur's face. It made him sigh irritably.
"Get used to it. They're always like this." Laxus replied.
Jefferey looked towards him, and then back at the guild. "So it would seem…"
As everyone was rummaging and beginning through swears at each other over their shares, a glow came from a pair of feet. A black mace suddenly slammed on the ground, making the whole building shake and cause everyone to stiffen in fear. To their horror, they looked back to see a certain redhead who was at her wits end.
"Neat, and orderly."
Her tone was icy cold, as was the glare that even gave Gray a chill down his spine. Everyone shuddered and cowered in fear as they complied with Erza's demand.
The redhead pinched the bridged of her own nose, looking equally as annoyed as anyone else. "Honestly, patience was something Natsu struggles with, but this is just ridiculous."
Nic folded his arms with a soft smile. "Well can't exactly say they're not excited either." He looked up to the drone cameras, which was watching the Fairy Tail group try to organized in filed lines and get the items they needed. He scoffed in annoyance. "Politics."
"Tell me about it." Laxus sneered.
Eventually, after several minutes of finally getting what items available, each and every individual Fairy Tail member had at least 5 of a Poke Ball, Potion, a Super Potion, Paralyze Heals, Burn Heals, Antidotes, Revives, and Awakenings. To accommodate the organization and what each item did, including what function it carried out, and how it was used.
Once everyone got accustomed to the items on hand, next came the big step. "Now then, for those who have a Pokémon, you may select one Poke Ball, and simply toss it for them to make contact with." Jefferey explained. "Once inside, they may have a chance to pop out and fight back. If that happens, usually Trainers battle with their own Pokémon to weaken them to comply. However, today, we would like to see how you all get along without such an ordeal."
Cana raised her own brow as she looked at one of the Poke Balls she had in hand. She gave a twisted face as she looked at it and back at the Purrloin that was curled up and sleeping beside her. "You mean like this?" Without much of any effort, she dropped the Poke Ball on top of Purrloin's head and it opened, turning the sleeping Dark-type into energy that went inside the Poke Ball. It shook on the counter top; first left, and then right, and then left again, and finally, it went 'Ding!', signaling the capture of Purrloin.
The drone cameras caught it all on camera, as did the guild that watched in awe. She picked up the Poke Ball and looked at it ever so casually.
"Yes, exactly like that. Thank you, miss." Jefferey politely stated.
The brunette shrugged. "Hey, no biggie." She reached over to the mug beside, her, where she callously began to drink up a storm once more. Gulp after gulp, she was slowly wandering her thoughts out of mind so nonchalantly.
Laxus turned towards the guild, giving them another expectant look. "You guys got that, right?"
"You mean like this?" Gray simply lobbed the Poke Ball upwards, with some force to give it some air. It slowly came down on Snover, who flinched when it touched his head. Like Purrloin, he went inside without resistance, and the Poke Ball plopped and rattled on the floor, soon to make its own 'Ding!' sound.
Elfman tossed the Poke Ball to his Machop, who also went inside without delay. When he caught him, he flexed his muscles. "Oh yeah! Now that's how a man catches another man!" he boasted.
Evergreen swooped around and smacked him across the head, making him grunt. "You dumb oaf!" she scolded.
Gajeel looked at his Poke Ball in question, wondering if it, too, was edible. When Levy shot him a look, he relented awkwardly and turned towards Aron. The two shared a long stare before Gajeel tossed it at him with a straight face. Without budging his head, the Aron went inside the Poke Ball and was captured.
All across the guild hall, the drone cameras were getting shots and pictures of the many people who were happily catching their Pokémon in Poke Balls. Romeo and Macao caught their Litwick, while Wakaba caught his Koffing. Reedus caught his Smeargle, and Vijeeter got his Lotad inside his Poke Ball.
"Go on, I promise it won't hurt." Juvia was on her knees with a soft smile as she offered the Poke Ball to her Eevee. The Evolution Pokémon happily chirped as she tapped the Poke Ball's button, where she went inside and accepted her capture.
Juvia smiled. "Alright!"
Sophie extended her Poke Ball towards Abra. "Well, Abra?"
She watched as the Psi Pokémon used her psychic powers and slowly lifted the Poke Ball out of her hand. Sophie kept an astonished expression as she watched the Poke Ball slowly levitate towards Abra, in which it stopped in front of his face before it tilted and tapped his forehead. The Psychic-type went into the Poke Ball next, much to Sophie's pleasure.
Lisanna and Mirajane caught their Rufflet and Vullaby together, and afterwards shared a sisterly high-five. They chirped giggles as Levy, Jet, and Droy caught their Klink, Taillow, and Bellsprout all in the background.
Klefki and Swablu both sat on a table as they looked up to their supposed Trainers. They watched as two Poke Balls were presented towards them, handed out in offering from a smiling Lucy and Wendy.
"Hey, don't be shy. It's okay." Lucy assured.
"Yeah, we can be friends for a long time. What do you say?" Wendy offered.
The Klefki and Swablu looked at each other questionably at first, but then they chose to turn ahead and show happy expressions. Tapping on the buttons with either a beak or a key, the two Pokémon went into the Poke Balls, which closed and rattled a bit. Once enough time passed, the balls went 'Ding!', and Lucy and Wendy looked at each other happily with gasps.
"Alright!" Wendy chimed.
Lucy giggled with excitement. "I know, right?" She looked back at her Poke Ball, giving it a big smile before she decided to make another decision.
"Come on out, Klefki!"
The Poke Ball popped open once more, and out forming from blue and white energy back onto the table was Lucy's floating set of keys on Klefki. The Pokémon looked absent-mindedly at her new Trainer as she leaned in with a big smile.
"Now listen, I want you to behave yourself, okay? I'm going to be needing my Spirits and you on jobs now, and I need you to stay out because of that. Is that alright with you?"
The now behaved Klefki looked at Lucy now with a smile forming on her lips. She looked more pleased than before. "Sure thing! You can count on me!" she answered.
Lucy straightened back up and beamed with pride. "There we go, that's teamwork!" she winked, giving a thumb up in the process.
Over on another table, Natsu was watching everyone with a surprised look as he and Happy observed everyone capturing their own Pokémon that they became acquainted to over some jobs. He never expected there to be so many at once; it was staggering him to no end.
"Woah, Happy, Charmander, check it out." He smiled amicably. "Looks like we'll be having ourselves a lot of new members today after all."
Gray approached from the side, wearing nothing but his pants and shoes, not surprising. "Hey man."
Natsu turned towards him. "Huh? Hey, Gray."
"What's the big deal? Not up to committing yet?"
Natsu raised a brow. "Not sure what you mean by that."
"Well, you know…" He took a glance down towards Charmander, who looked up at Gray in return out of wonder of his own. "Aren't you going to use a Poke Ball or something?"
At this note, Natsu nonchalantly shrugged. "I don't see why I have to."
"Why's that?"
"It's because Charmander's already got a Poke Ball to begin with." The person intruding came from the side as well. To Gray's mild surprise, he saw that it was Nic as he looked ever so casual with Erza by his side.
"Nic." He said in surprise.
Nic approached the two with a relaxed disposition. "I went to my world a few days back and cleared everything up with Professor Sycamore. He was surprised at first, but when he saw how happy Charmander looked with Natsu, he didn't see much of a reason to worry. I even cleared it up with Joey and Dereece as well."
"That so?"
Nic nodded with a grin. "Which reminds me. Here, Natsu…" Nic reached into his pocket, allowing a Poke Ball to be handed towards Natsu, of whom accepted it with some case of surprise.
Once he realized it, Natsu looked back at Nic knowingly. "Is this what I think it is?"
Nic nodded again, albeit with some guilt in it. "I'm sorry I couldn't get it to you sooner. I only visited Professor Sycamore a while back, and there were all these jobs going on." Nic looked even more shamed than before. "Honestly, I should've done this from the beginning. My mistake."
Natsu, however, smiled. "Hey man, it's cool, really." He sounded like it was no big deal, which in his case it wasn't. "I don't mind. I mean if I had known sooner, maybe I would've rethought about throwing like a dozen of these things before realizing it wouldn't work. Besides, it's not so bad having him out all the time, right, little buddy?"
Charmander looked up at his Trainer, giving a bright, big smile of his own. "Yeah!"
Nic smiled at Natsu's logic. "True that." In a way, that's the same logic he often wears as a mantle, if that were any simile worth imagining. Even to this day, on some nights, he just lets his Pokémon out of all their Poke Balls and they end up sleeping either outside in open air, or maybe the living room. Either way, even in the past long before he went to Earthland, that was his logic – keep them out and get to know them as much as possible. There wasn't any good reason for them to be in their Poke Balls from his standpoint unless they were on the move or in the city. So in a way, he highly respected the aspect he and Natsu shared.
After several minutes, everyone finally got their Pokémon in Poke Balls, even Natsu, who was the last to finally recall his Charmander. Once they were all set, Fairy Tail reconvened with Laxus and Jefferey outside, where there was a lot of open room. There, once settled, the group made way around the guild to the back, where the next phase was to begin.
Jefferey stood in front of everyone, turning to face them with hands behind his back. "Now then, now that you've all officially acquired Pokémon, the company and Council would like to record the next part of this seminar, which is one of the main benefits to Pokémon…their skills."
Dereece stepped up beside Joey. "You mean to say you want to actually record a few battles or something?" he questioned.
"Precisely. If mages and Pokémon are to be working on jobs, they should at least be cooperative enough to communicate and respond to a Trainer's commands."
Natsu smirked readily. "Sounds like fun to me."
Gray shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Juvia looked at Gray with hearts in her eyes. "Oh Gray, I know you'll be doing so wonderful!"
"We don't even know who'll be battling just yet." Lisanna nervously pointed out.
Laxus looked towards Jefferey. "So what do you have in mind?"
"Arthur asked if we could have just a few battles recorded, just enough to suffice a few sessions and overview some material." Jefferey explained. "Around 4 would be more than enough for us to handle."
Nic stepped up next. "Did you want anyone specifically?"
Jefferey shook his head. "Not necessary, but we appreciate your attitude to the cause." He faced the others next, looking ever so formal. "Now then, I understand you all know how a Pokémon Battle works, right? Then you are aware of how some rules apply. For now, we'd like to see one-on-one battles."
Erza nodded. "Understandable."
Laxus turned towards his guild with arms folded. "Alright, so who's going to volunteer? Otherwise it'll be pick and choose."
From within the crowd, Natsu immediately stepped up to the plate with a fist pumped in readiness. "Okay then, if it's all the same, I call first shots!" he declared.
"Yeah! You go get 'em, buddy!" Happy cheered.
"Well, no surprise there." Lucy smiled knowingly. "Of course Natsu would be the first to volunteer when it comes to a fight."
Carla folded her arms in her own leisure, agreeing with Lucy's statement. "What else is there to expect? This is Natsu after all."
"Well, you're not wrong…" Wendy trailed off as she watched Natsu take up the front of the guild.
The Dragon Slayer looked back at all his friends, cracking his knuckles with a big smile on his face. "Alright then, whose got the guts to take me on?"
Everyone looked at each other with some dictation of wonder. They knew Natsu was freakishly powerful, but maybe as a Trainer, they might actually stand a chance. Although when they really think hard about it, there was really no telling just how wrong this could go.
However, one brave soul was brave enough to raise his hand in the crowd. "I'll go!"
Everyone turned their heads and attention to where the hand came up from. Many of the mages stepped out of the way to give Natsu a view of who it was that challenged him. Lowering his hand and looking nonchalant, Max smirked as he was given the all clear.
"Max?" Alzack asked, surprised by the pick.
"You alright with that?" he rhetorically asked the Dragon Slayer.
Natsu raised his fist, grinning wickedly. "Sure thing, pal. Ready whenever you are."
Max slowly walked up through the open passageway with a hand in his pocket, looking ever s nonchalant about his chances. Slowly, he started for the other side of the dirt area. "You may have an advantage as a mage…" He stopped when he was far away, facing Natsu with a confident grin. "But as a Trainer, we'll see just how tough you really are." He hoisted up a Poke Ball in his right hand, which contained his recently caught creature that he got not too long ago.
"Oh this is gonna be good! Go, Max!" Warren cheered.
"No way! I say Natsu's Charmander has this!" Vijeeter countered.
Lucy had arms folded beneath her ample bust, looking with a discerning expression as she stood beside Gray, Juvia, and Wendy as they watched Natsu and Max get some distance between each other. "I sure hope Natsu knows what he's doing." She admitted.
"Well he can be a little reckless." Juvia noted.
"'A little'? When isn't he?" Gray retorted.
Wendy smiled. "Well, you're not wrong…"
"Natsu will be fine." The group turned towards Erza, who had arms folded like Lucy, but with more composition than her. She stood beside Nic as they watched with the team. "He's learned by example how a proper battle implements. I doubt he'll try anything to make himself look anything less than deplorable."
Gray looked back at the battlefield. "Maybe, but you know Natsu is anything if not a sore one at a loss."
"Gray." Juvia glanced at Gray, warning him of the innuendo he made. While she can't disagree with her beloved, she has learned that she had her own viewpoints to uphold, and that include how deep that sounded, no matter how shallow. Hearing that from the unsound tone he had made it seem all too reminiscent of a certain time when they both suffered a loss from someone that stood beside Erza.
Natsu and Max were a safe distance from the other, both staring at each other with confident smiles on their faces. Jefferey walked in between them, standing a good distance as the two drone cameras were getting the angle shots needed from above to do the recording.
Jefferey cleared his throat before he raised his hand high. He looked at Natsu, who was ready, and then at Max, who was no less sure of his start. When he saw they were set, he faced straight ahead with a deep expression. "Alright then…begin!"
At the the same time, both Trainers pulled out their Poke Balls. Max was the first to throw his Poke Ball first. "You're going down, Natsu! Sandshrew, go!" The ball left his hand, soaring outwards at Natsu.
Natsu returned in kind. "Alright then, Charmander, let's do some damage!"
The Poke Balls went soaring at each other, hurled like softballs that spun heavily like a Rapid Spin. As they closed in, a zoom in on them showed as time drastically slowed down between the two capsules. As they slowly rotated into each other, their buttons slowly began to face the other in their opposite turns. When at last, they finally connected in one instant. Just a tap of the buttons, and then a burst of energy radiated the space between Max and Natsu.
Shooting backwards from the energy, a pair of orange claws emerged, as did a pair of sand-colored arms with claws on the end. Next to emerge in epic distortion were two stubbed feet, each with toe claws of their own as well, and lastly, emerging were two tails; one being flame lit on the end.
The two Pokémon shot backwards and used their toe claws to anchor their holds. As the dust settled at their feet, on the right side was Charmander, roaring out with all his might, while on the left side of the battlefield held a Pokémon that looked a lot like a plump, hunched mouse. It was a sandy yellow in shade and had big blue eyes, much like Charmander. He squealed in readiness for his battle as well.
Dereece went wide-eyed at the sight. "So it's going to be Charmander against Sandshrew." In questioning of his own, he pulled out his own PokeDex, pointed directly at the Sandshrew Max owned.
"Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon. It lives in areas of limited rainfall. When danger approaches, it curls up into a ball to protect its soft stomach."
"So it's going to be a Ground-type against a Fire-type, huh?" Joey surmised with a raised brow of his own. "Looks to me that Sandshrew has the advantage."
"True." Nic agreed. "But don't forget, you need to take the moves into account as well. I'm sure they both know that." With that said, he fell silent as his eyes narrowed, his attention specifically on the battle. 'I won't rule out their general stats either, but that's not important either. What matters…is how efficiently they work together. Natsu's always making impulsive moves on his own, which leaves even us baffled. If Natsu and Charmander can't communicate to a reasonable degree, then this could be trouble for both of them.'
Max spread his legs apart, swiping his arm. "Alright then, let's start off with Scratch!" At his command, Sandshrew ran on all fours at full speed at Charmander.
Natsu clutched his fist and maliciously smirked. "Then we'll fight fire with fire! Use Scratch, too!" Like Sandshrew, Charmander responded by running on all fours dead ahead. He closed the gap at a larger rate than what Sandshrew attempted, and he did so with quicker strides. Once in the middle, both Pokémon raised to their hind legs and pulled their claws back. They slashed forward, their claws intercepting in the center with a shimmering glint, like glass in the beaming sun. Their claws immediately bounced of the other, making the other recoil, proving their strength to be about even.
Charmander wasn't going to give in so easily, however. He went to attack again, and Sandshrew obliged equally as such. They both swung at the other, their small claws raking and scratching at one another with as much force they could muster. They parried the other's blows constantly, with their claws raking and bodies turning. Finally, the two made one more swing at the other, but Charmander's was coming in faster. A white trail followed that scratched Sandshrew across his stomach, causing him to recoil back several feet.
Charmander backed away, and Natsu pumped his fists in excitement. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"
Sandshrew shook his head, trying to shake off the pain. Once he did. He faced Charmander like nothing happened.
"Say what?" Charmander gasped.
"Hey, what gives?" Natsu irritably retorted. "That thing should be feeling a lot more pain, right?"
Max smirked at Natsu's expense. "Sorry pal, but breaking through Sandshrew's Defense won't be that easy."
Nic observed the battle with great scrutiny, with arms folded so callously. 'Sandshrew have a considerate amount of Defense, making Charmander's physical attacks less effective than usual. They'll need to find a way around that if they want to deal more damage. The vulnerable part is the stomach region, but if they try long distance, then they can wear him down that way as well. But knowing Natsu…' His brow furrowed as he went deeper into thought. 'No, it's not right to be judging so early and callously like this. We'll just have to see how Natsu adapts to all this. It's a lot to take in.'
Max smirked as he snapped his fingers. "Alright then, let's use Sand Attack!" With the close proximity Sandshrew still had with Charmander, he knelt to the dirt beneath them and swung his claw in an uppercut, grazing the dirt. The sand kicked up and went spitting in Charmander's face, making him yelp as the dirt blinded him.
"Hey, that's playing dirty!" Natsu called out. "What happened to fair?!"
"Last I checked, that was an official move." Max backlashed. "Right, Vanessa?"
Vanessa, who was off to the side with the guild, nodded in confirmation. "Yes. Sand Attack lowers accuracy, meaning Charmander will have a harder time landing hits."
Natsu faced the battlefield, his fists balling in irritation. "Aw man…"
"Now let's use Poison Sting!" His Sandshrew thus squealed as he lurched forward, sending a weak spray of poisonous bards that went speeding like pullets at Charmander. With the small distance between them, the barbs made contact, making Charmander cover up using his arms as they stung his body.
"Charmander, hang in there!" Natsu encouraged.
Charmander was struggling as the barbs continued to spray against him, but the stinging sensation was getting to him. He took a step back, faltering some. This was the chance that Max was looking for.
"Now, Scratch!"
His command was swift and clear. The stinging barbs stopped bombarding Charmander, much to his relief, but he was struck by a quick rake of claws across the face, sending him crashing on his side into the ground.
"Oh! That's gotta hurt!" Jet flinched.
"No kidding. That would hurt me a bit, too. Max sure isn't pulling any punches." Droy deduced.
Pantherlily stood beside them, folding his arms. "That first strike was to test how much durability Sandshrew had I bet." He guessed. "They needed to be more careful."
"Not looking good for Natsu this time around." Gray said.
"Yeah, I guess so…" Lucy looked from Gray towards the battlefield. Her brown eyes turned serious as she tried her best to cheer them on. "Come on, guys! Keep going!" she encouraged.
"Yeah, you're doing great!" Wendy cheered.
Natsu swiped his arm, giving an irritated frown. "Use Ember, now!"
Charmander grunted as he tried to get up. Hearing Sandshrew's advancing steps, he pinpointed straight ahead and opened his maw. From it, an expanding spray of orange and red sparks and flares shot in a blanket that caught Sandshrew off guard. The sudden spray caused him to cover up as it cindered against his rugged body. With the shock, he lost balance and faltered backwards, falling onto his rear while Charmander standing back up.
Natsu's smirk returned. "Now we're talking."
"Aw yeah! Go, Natsu!" Happy cheered.
"Looks like he's coming back around now." Carla deduced.
Max maintained a guard of his own. "Looks like thing are picking up now, Sandshrew."
"I gotcha!" In the warning, Sandshrew tucked in and readied for what may happen next.
Natsu balled his fists again and looked fired up. "Okay, I say we try out that new move we've been working on." He pumped the fist with an eager expression growing. "Ya ready?! Let's use Flame Charge!" At his command, Charmander spread his feet apart and hunched over. He grunted as he was gathering energy that was stockpiling in the pit of his gut. Once he charged up enough, he winced hard as he yelled aloud, expelling burst of light flames around some parts of his body.
Max went wide-eyed at the sight, caught completely by surprise. "Woah, okay! Sandshrew, stay alert!"
"I know!" The Ground-type braced himself for what was to come.
Natsu punched forward eagerly. "Go!" Charmander yelled out as his blurry vision was entranced in smoldering fire. Surrounded by bits of flames on the head and around the body, he went lunging ahead, hurrying ahead at Sandshrew. As he ran, a small streak of fire flowed from behind, but not enough to what looked like a trail.
As he closed in, however, the Lizard Pokémon trailed off, seemingly going wayward as Sandshrew moved off to the side. Charmander fell forward, his flames quickly dissipating as he fumbled towards the ground.
"What the…?!" Natsu exasperated.
"Oww…" Charmander slowly tried to get up, but he only got to his knees when he had to rub his eyes again to get rid of the blurriness.
Max wasted no time. "Use Scratch!" Sandshrew hurried in, swiping his claw once more in a successful fashion against Charmander. The blow sent Charmander a few feet away into the earth once again.
"Hey, come on man, what are you doing?!" Natsu called out to Charmander. The Fire-type was once again struggling to stand, this time with more instability than his previous attempt. Natsu can see the struggle and was looking peeved. "Damnit…"
Max reached out and up, balling a fist. "Alright, Sandshrew, let's use Rollout!"
The Mouse Pokémon nodded. "I'm reading your mail!" He took a small leap into the air, where he curled up into a ball and began spinning at a high rate. He landed in the same place he was originally and went rolling like a tire into Charmander.
"Charmander, look out! In front of you!" Natsu exclaimed.
Still blurred, Charmander was on his knees and looking around. "What?! Where in front of me?!" He turned left and right, but his loss of accuracy was still hindering him. Before he could process it, Sandshrew steamrolled right into his side, creating enough force to send him flying skywards, screaming in agony while Sandshrew continued beneath.
"Charmander!"
With a heavy grunt, Charmander slammed into the ground again, while Sandshrew rolled on, but stopped in one place and rolled there, like he was stationary.
"Oh!" Jet winced again. "Okay, I take back what I said before, now that looked like it hurt!"
"Yeah, big understatement there." Droy grimaced.
Levy looked ahead her hand to her chin. "I wonder why that is…?"
"Because…" In a matter-of-fact tone, the attention drew towards someone from the side. The person revealed himself to be Duncan, who still held the wooden kendo stick over his shoulder like a rest mat. "That Rollout was super effective, that's why."
"'Super effective'?" Lucy questioned.
"You mean Charmander's weak to that?" Wendy inquired.
"That's right." The attention this time drew towards Nic, who observed the battle tentatively. "You see, Pokémon have typing to go along with their traits, I'm sure you're aware of that. The attacks also have a type to them. Charmander is a Fire-type, and Fire-types are weak to Rock-types, such as that Rollout."
Gray looked back ahead. "I get it now." He saw how bad in shape Charmander was. "So then that means as long as Sandshrew uses Rollout, then the next attack just might do him in."
Erza looked ahead with her own skeptical brow. "We'll just have to see about that. There's more to Pokémon Battles other than just types after all."
Charmander grimaced as he was trying to find his strength to stand, but he was so wounded and tired that he wasn't sure what to do, and things were no easier with Natsu. It was hard to get him stay still when he was yelling getting irritated at the outcome so far.
"Hey, Charmander, get up!" he encouraged. "C'mon, I know you still got some bite in you, right? Let's show 'em already how it's done!"
Max kept his guard as he stayed weary of Natsu. "Don't let them get ahead of us, Sandshrew." He said in a quelled, cautious tone. Rolling in place still, he heard Sandshrew squeak a small "ok".
Natsu glared ahead at Max, giving him a very massive stink eye. The look on his face showed he wanted to win, and he wanted to bad. The flames around his body were beginning to boil up again, this time out of his emotions.
Charmander groaned weakly, but he was suddenly feeling an odd, but also familiar warmth from behind. "H-huh…?" Looking over his shoulder, he saw Natsu radiating in fire. "Natsu…?"
"Charmander." He said stoically inside the blaze. "Let's win this."
His tone was as hard as steel – as hard as that last blow that's sent Charmander for a loop. Beginning to feel the warmth give him strength, the lizard nodded in compliance. "Okay then." Though he wasn't able to get on his feet, he was on all fours, his body starting to give off a burning aura as his tail flame began to expand, giving off a bigger heat signature than before.
Max was once again surprised. "What the…?" Even his Sandshrew, who was still rolling in place, seemed surprised.
Lucy's surprise was equally as evident. "Woah, look at them go!" she exclaimed. "It's like Nic's Charizard's Blaze Ability!"
"Yeah, Charmander's really heating up!" Wendy admired.
"That's because it is Blaze." Nic explained calmly. "Charmander evolve into Charizard, and throughout the whole evolution line, they all share the same ability: Blaze."
"Really?" Happy inquired, in which Nic nodded.
Vanessa looked towards them. "My Delphox has Blaze as well. All Fire-type starters share that ability. The same can be said for the Water-type, as well as Grass-type starters altogether."
Joey leaned over, adding in his own summary. "Yeah, just earlier, my Chespin showed his Overgrow Ability. It was sick!" He faced the Charmander in action. "Looks to me that we're gonna see some serious Fire-type power-up."
Nic stayed quiet as he watched Natsu continue with his own battle.
Natsu vigorously punched forward in urgency. "Let's go!"
"Yeah!" On all fours, Charmander dug his heels in and began to feel a great heat signature rise up from his internals. The Blaze Ability kicked in, and once again, searing bursts of fire surged everywhere around Charmander, same as before. However, he roared louder, making it to where the flames around him finally erupted into one big cloak of fire finally fused together.
"Alright!" Lucy chimed.
"It looks like the Flame Charge again!" Wendy exclaimed. "Is he really gonna use it?"
Charmander dug in deeper and suddenly took off. In searing streams of fire, he bolted across the ground in a comet of fire at Sandshrew. Over the earth and into a hard ram, an eruption of fire boiled, sending smoke billowing up where Sandshrew once was.
Sailing out of the explosion, Sandshrew shrieked loudly as he fumbled through the air until he crashed into the ground. Meanwhile, Charmander landed on his two feet, revitalized by his Blaze.
"Yeah, that's the way!" Natsu cheered.
Charmander lurched forward, looking ready for another strike.
Max looked down at his Sandshrew, seeing him struggle to his feet. "Sandshrew, can you still go on?" He watched as Sandshrew stammered back up with a nod of his head in confirmation. Max nodded in understanding. "Alright then." He faced Natsu again, looking ready. 'This is going to be a close one. If I'm going to win, I'll have to try that same move again.'
Natsu eagerly smile wider as he pointed dead ahead. "Alright! Flame Charge, again!" Charmander complied and once again enveloped his whole body in spiraling searing flames that bolted with him straight across the ground.
"Sandshrew, use Rollout again!" His Sandshrew complied and once again began to spin in place. The Ground-type actually began to rotate faster than before due to this being a second consecutive Rollout attack. With a sound reminiscent of a race tire grazing against tracks, it bolted off dead ahead at Charmander.
The two Pokémon raced at each other with incredible power, and neither was going to give an inch. Natsu balled his fists tighter and tighter as his teeth gritted. Max was no different. Both Trainers wanted to win, but Max was looking less anxious and desperate than Natsu.
At last, both Pokémon met centerfield in a loud shout. A burst of smoke and dust erupted between them, causing the domain to be blind towards the public for that moment. They all either hasped or gave expectant looks as the atmosphere between the two was finally beginning to settle.
Once it all cleared, Sandshrew was seen sliding back against the ground, using all fours as he sped out of his Rollout. The attack left him with several bruises and marks on his body, but he otherwise looked alright. However, when the dust fully settled, it revealed Charmander lying down on the ground, having spirals in his eyes and the Blaze aura depleted. Natsu gasped in utter disbelief.
"Charmander is unable to battle, the winner is Sandshrew!" Jefferey announced.
Max dropped to a knee, sighing heavily in relief. "Man, I almost thought I was going to have a heart attack there for a moment." He looked up, grinning as he petted Sandshrew across his head. "Hey, Sandshrew, you were awesome out there."
The Mouse Pokémon looked back his Trainer, looking satisfied with the connection. "Aw, shucks."
Natsu frowned heavily as he looked at his defeated Charmander. His bangs covered his eyes as he reached out and returned Charmander back to his Poke Ball. When he recalled him, he looked down at the Poke Ball with deep discouragement.
Lucy looked deterred as she saw Natsu lose. "I can't believe it…"
Happy also looked disappointed. "Yeah, what happened? I thought for sure Natsu could beat him."
"Looks like that Rollout backfired on Natsu this time." Gray remarked, remembering what he said earlier.
"It was a close fight, still." Juvia said, trying to keep a positive note.
Cana sighed deeply as she folded her arms with a booze bottle wedged between the fingers. "Well Sophie, guess I owe ya 1,000 Jewel."
Beside her, the Memory-Make Mage smirked. "Told you not to bet."
Nic and Erza glanced at each other. They seemed to be debating or a moment who should go up. After a couple seconds, the two decided to leave it be. It was in their best interests to have Natsu learn his own lessons the first time around.
Max approached the deterred Natsu, looking modestly surprise. "Hey, Natsu…" The Dragon Slayer looked up, seeing him reach out his hand with a grin on his face. "That was a good match."
It took a second's worth of hesitation, but after some time, he mustered up a half-hearted grin and shook hands with Max. "Yeah, same." He said dryly.
"You both put up a great fight." Jefferey said as he walked up from the side. "I'm very pleased in the effort you both put into that battle. It really showed just who you are as Trainers so far and just how impressive you ought to be with your efforts. Great work."
Max smiled at the superior. "Right, sir."
Natsu remained silent.
Jefferey looked at the rest of Fairy Tail, seeing the many possible choices left to go through. "Now then, who would like to volunteer next? We could use more battles if it's not much trouble."
Stepping up from the crowd next was one of the tallest ones there. "Let me take a crack at it." Entering the dirt area, the burly Elfman hunched over and flexed his muscles with an enthusiastic grin on his face. "Seeing that manly battle makes me burn!"
Jefferey nodded in compliance. "Good. And to whom else?"
From within the crowd, Sophie looked around quizzically. She could see the many expectant faces as many looked to be up for it. When she looked over to Cana, she could see she was too busy drinking to care. Feeling rather opportunistic, she raised her hand as her large hips started to sway on her way towards the front of the pack.
"Why not, I'm feeling a need to stretch my legs." She smirked.
"You too, Sophie?" Vanessa inquired as her roommate passed her.
"Yeah~! Wait a step up, girl! Go out there and earn your 1,000 Jewel!" Cana slurred as she raised her bottle high.
Sophie stood apart from Elfman, having a hand towards her hip with a sultry smirk on her face. "I hope you're not offended if I'm not manly enough…but I'm feeling generous enough to oblige anyway." She teased.
Elfman raised his head high, trying to look his best in front of his adversary. "Don't sweat it. Anyone man enough to face me like you is okay in my books."
Lisanna looked on in suspense. "It looks like Elfman's up against Sophie now."
"Looks like it." Mirajane chimed. "And too bad, I really wanted to see what Vullaby could really do."
"Maybe next time around." Mest said. He looked back ahead towards the battle, his frown ever so clear. 'This is still a lot to take in, but I think I'm starting to understand.'
With both contestants ready, the drone cameras were already locked and loaded. The battle and everything taken in was still streaming directly to their servers, where there, anyone available could be seeing the battles at the Cambire Foundation, as well as what the Council can perceive.
"Now then, begin!" Jefferey announced.
"Ladies first, if you would." Sophie was the first to pull out her Poke Ball. "Abra, go!" She threw her Poke Ball outwards, in which appearing out on the battlefield was Abra floating just a few inches off the ground.
"An Abra, is it?" Erza deduced.
Vanessa was the one to pull out her PokeDex this time. She hadn't seen too many Abra when she ventured through Route 5 back in Kalos, so this was the refresher she needed.
"Abra, the Psi Pokémon. It uses various psychic powers even while it's sleeping, so you can't tell whether or not it's awake."
"A Psychic-type." Erza deduced. "That's an interesting pick by Sophie. I wouldn't expect anything less from a Memory-Maker."
"So now it appears to be Elfman's pick then." Freed said as he put a hand to his chin. "Just wonder how this shall go."
Holding his Poke Ball in his massive hands, the burly, muscular monster threw the device outwards. "Alright then, go out there and man it up…Machop!"
The Poke Ball popped open in midair, expelling Machop. He dropped to the ground on his two feet and looked ready to attack. He pumped his fists upwards with a smirk. "What am I looking at, a massive rat?" he questioned arrogantly. He balled his fists in readiness. "Well then I guess so."
"A Machop, huh?" Dereece pulled out his PokeDex this time, analyzing the pick chosen.
"Machop, the Superpower Pokémon. It loves working out. As it gazes at its muscles, which continue to swell day by day, it becomes more and more dedicated to its training."
"A Psychic-type against a Fighting-type." Joey said. "Not looking shabby at all for Sophie here."
Lucy looked towards him in question. "Sorry, what was that?"
"It's their types. Abra is a Psychic-type, and Machop is a Fighting-type. Fighting-type moves aren't that strong against Psychic-types, but Psychic-type moves are super effective against Fighting types."
"Oh, I get it now." Wendy chimed. "So that's why you said Sophie's got this then."
With his Dragon Slayer hearing, Natsu remained silent as he listened closely to all these types. He thought deeply as the battle began.
Elfman balled a fist. "Alright! Let's start off with Karate Chop!" As per the command, his Machop went rushing at Abra, his hands and fingers folded in tightly as they began to glow.
Sophie wasted no time in giving out her command. "Teleport!"
As Machop closed the gap, Abra suddenly disappeared from her spot. As Machop continued chopping downwards, Abra reappeared behind.
Sophie smirked. 'Tov. (Good.)'
Though it seemed clear, time slowed down as Abra remained steadfast. He lazily noticed a shadow over him, seeing the Machop's Karate Chop in front of him. "Hm?" Unable to respond, he was chopped on the head, making a burst of air erupt that sent Abra recoiling backwards in a shout of anguish.
"Ma?! (What?!)"
Elfman raised an arm with a big smirk. "Oh yeah! That's how it's done!"
"What just happened?" Alzack watched as Abra thudded against the ground. "That attack just struck, even when he just teleported!"
"I don't know! But is that thing fast or what?" Bisca answered.
"Wrong-O!" Joey intervened abruptly, startling both lovebirds to where they recoiled away. "You see, here's the thing. Machop can have two main abilities. One can either be Guts, which increases his strength when hit by a status condition, or No Guard, which makes any and all attacks connect, no matter what." He looked back at the battle, seeing Abra struggle to stand. "So then you have your answer, that's No Guard."
"Just like Erza's Aegislash when she was still a Doublade and Honedge." Vanessa shot a look at Erza, who looked to be beaming knowingly. Sometimes old habits just happen to die hard.
Sophie watched as her Abra was trying to get back up. "Abra, ma shlom-kha? (Abra, how are you?)"
Rising back up and floating, Abra gaze lazily at Machop, who was now on the opposite side of the battlefield. "Well…" he slurred.
Elfman balled a fist. "I say we wrap this up!" He then punched forward. "Give it a Karate Chop!"
"Right-O!" Machop folded his fingers again and made them glow. Once set, he darted off towards Abra in a sprint.
Sophie watched with her brow furrowed as Machop closed in. "If we can't defend, then we'll have to attack as well."
Machop raised over Abra's head, ready to bring it down again.
She reached out, giving the command. "Psyshock!"
As Machop roared in Abra's face, the Psychic-type brought his hands together and fused kinetic energy into a purple sphere in between. Once charged, he reached out, expelling several beams from the orb at point-blank range. The attack made a deep blow that sent Machop skywards as the beams shoved him into the sky. He screamed loudly in distress as he sailed offwards towards the ground, much to Elfman's shock.
"What in the world?!"
Everyone watched as Machop descended. Natsu was paying extra attention as he saw how close that last attack was, and how it reacted with Sophie's command. They all watched as Machop slammed back-first into the earth, his body sprawled with eyes for spirals.
An arm by Jefferey raised for Sophie. "Machop is unable to battle, Abra is the winner!"
Elfman's mouth gaped in deep shock over what just happened. He slumped towards the ground, hands to the ground as he sulked in shame. "Uuuuh…" he despaired.
Sophie approached her Abra soundly and knelt to rub his head, more specifically, where the Karate Chop struck. "Are you okay, Abra?"
The Psychic-type meekly nodded. "Yeah…I think so…" He winced when Sophie applied a little more pressure to the damage, making it sting some.
Hearing his grunts like some hampered child, the blonde grinned as she reached for something she seemed to be stockpiled with. "Just hold on. Maybe this will help." She pulled out what looked like one of the Potions she was holding onto, and she aimed the bottle at Abra's wound. "Like this, right?"
Jefferey nodded with a smile. "Yes. Apply to the wound carefully. Just one squirt and the bottle is used up."
Sophie nodded in understanding. She tilted her head and smiled in assurance. "Now be very still, okay? This will just sting a little…" She squeezed the handle and commenced with spraying the wound on Abra. Instantly, a shock went through Abra, but he persevered with a strained look. After a few moments, the stinging sensation he had was gone. Once it was empty, Sophie sat the Potion off to the side and rubbed Abra's head. "Good job, Abra. You really made me proud."
Natsu was watching extra carefully this time, but as he watched, his arms were folded. Lucy looked over, seeing that his grip was tight.
"I can't believe that oaf just went and lost like a total newb!" Evergreen fumed. "Why I should just turn him to stone."
"Hehe, sounds like someone has expectations." Bickslow teased.
Evergreen shot him a deep glare. "Can it, you jerk!"
Sophie returned her Abra with another job well done and returned to the crowd. As she walked back in, she was given a pat on the back by a nonchalant Cana. "Aye, there's my girl! Wait a stick that man in the gutter!" she laughed. "Alright~!"
Sophie chuckled, ignoring her partially drunk friend. "Thanks Cana." She said. "Although…now you owe me 2,000 Jewel."
Cana jerked away. "Hey, slow down girl! I'm not that drunk now."
Sophie didn't buy it. "Wanna make that 3,000?"
As the heat was starting to die down, the shirtless Gray turned towards Lucy. He backhanded her shoulder lightly, getting her attention. "Hey Lucy, wanna give it a go next?"
Juvia's eyes turned to circles. "Huh?"
The blonde teammate smiled. "Yeah, sure thing."
"HUH?!" Juvia completely stupefied.
Lucy and Gray stepped up next. "Hey, we're up to go!" Gray raised his hand as he started walking. Behind him, Lucy followed with a grin
Wendy cupped her hands beside her face. "Good luck, guys!"
"Well this should be an interesting show." Carla said. "I wonder exactly what the typing is against Ice and Steel?"
Wendy looked down at her and smiled. "Well, we'll see."
Unknowing to all of them, Juvia was hunched forward, her mouth a perfect triangle as her eyes were white with annoyance. All around her, a grim aura was drizzling over her. 'Gray just…forgot about me?' It was then in her mind that it was cracked like glass. As the pieces of her psyche shattered all over the place, she slumped to her knees, grimacing in agony and a potential heartbreak.
"Whoopsies, looks like Juvia's lost it again." Mirajane sweatdropped with an upbeat smile.
Laki gently pat Juvia's back in comfort. "I'm sure it'll be alright. It's just a misunderstanding."
"Try telling that a hundred times." Lisanna joked.
On the battlefield next, Lucy and Gray already a fair distance away from each other, with Jefferey in the dead middle. He looked just as ready as they were.
Lucy had hands to her hips, smiling confidently as she moved one of her hands to point a finger ahead. "Alright, go, Klefki!"
"Yipee!" The energetic key ring zipped in front of the battle area, looking ready for battle.
Gray held up his Poke Ball next. He tossed it upwards, without so much as muttering any words needed. Once the ball reached a point, it opened, sending the energy downwards and creating Snover, who had hands to both sides and ready.
"Hello!" he greeted.
Gray folded his arms and looked ahead with certainty. "We're ready whenever you are, Lucy!" he shouted from the other side.
The blonde mage nodded. "Right, let's do it!"
Jefferey looked left and right, seeing that both contestants were set to battle. "…begin!" he shouted.
Gray swiped his arm, getting the battle started. "Alright then, Snover, let's put them on ice!"
Snover looked as ready as ever, and although he did seem tense, he was ready to battle. "Okay, as you say!" He flexed his branch-like arms and a gust of cold air expelled from his body. The cold air went in a complete pattern all over the battlefield, fading into nothing but vapor. Suddenly, it began to hail, much to everyone's surprise.
"Hm? What the…?" Romeo held his hand up as he felt like pellets of snow and hail rain down onto the battlefield. He looked up, seeing that the sky was shockingly clear as day.
"It's hailing?" Macao also looked up, feeling the hail fail. Surprising enough, it was no smaller than the size of a half-inch marble, maybe less. It wasn't hardly any pain at all.
"Okay, I'll bite. The heck is this about?" Wakaba questioned.
"Snover's Snow Warning Ability." Vanessa explained. "When Snover enters battle, it begins a temporary hailstorm. While it occurs, all non-Ice Pokémon takes proportional damage each turn."
"Ya don't say?" Macao looked at her, and then back towards the battle. "Guess Gray's got it covered then."
Meanwhile, as it hailed, Juvia was looking just as unsound as before. She was nibbling on her cuffs vigorously with wavy tears coming from her white eyes. Wendy looked down at her with a bead of sweat dropping from her nervous smile.
Gray spread his legs apart. "Let's start off with Razor Leaf!" Snover reached his arms forward, expelling a wavy funnel of shredding, glowing leaves that rushed towards Klefki.
"Dodge it!" Lucy countered. With her great and hefty speed, Klefki zipped and zigzags ahead, dodging the incoming funnel. She rushed out of the way and made way around at such high speeds.
Gray's eyes narrowed in detest. "Man, that thing's quick."
Lucy smiled as she swiped her arm. "Alright then, try Fairy Wind!" Klefki thus stopped in place and looked down at Snover from her angle. Once ready, her body expelled a pink, sparkling wind that bellowed outwards. Snover covered up as the wind passed him, buffering him back a couple of inches. Even Gray covered up as the winds tried to graze him.
'Man, that thing is not only fast, but it's pretty powerful.' He thought. 'Lucy found something pretty handy.'
The Fairy Wind subsided, and Klefki looked eased. However, hail pelted down still, making the Steel/Fairy-type wince in pain. This was Gray's chance.
'Got it.' He swiped his arm. "Use Icy Wind!" Having recovered from the opponent's attack, Snover took in a deep breath and exhaled. His mouth supposed glowed bright blue and expelled a cold, sparkling wind that reached up at the deterred Klefki. The attack made contact and shot Klefki in a whirlwind, screaming out in pain.
Lucy gasped in shock as she watched her Klefki take a plunge towards the ground, making a deep thud. "Oh my gosh, Klefki!"
Laying on the ground, Klefki grimaced in pain before she slowly got back up. Once standing she winced again as hail downed her. On top of that, a blue aura enveloped her, reducing her Speed stat. "That was cold!" she rebuffed.
Snover sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Whoops, sorry." He apologized.
"Well that's one way to slow a mad key freak down." Gray swiped his arm again. "Use Razor Leaf!"
On command, Snover returned to the battle, swiping his arms to shoot out another funnel of green leaves at Klefki.
"Dodge it!" Lucy ordered. Out of shock, Klefki attempted to move again. She maneuvered out of the way of the funnel, making sure to pass it with everything she had. However, as she traveled, she was considerably much slower, and her sides were getting grazed by a few spare leaves or two. Lucy once again looked shocked.
"Hey, what gives?" Wakaba asked. "Isn't that thing fast or what?"
"Must be from all the damage it took I bet." Macao deduced. "I know I would be slowed down by some hail and ice."
Erza folded her arms as she remained stoic. "You're right, but it's more than that."
Macao and Wakaba looked at her in question. "Eh?"
"Icy Wind is a move that not only inflicts damage towards the opponent, but it also lowers their Speed." She explained. "There's also the fact that Ice and Grass-type attacks aren't very effective against Steel-types like Klefki. But Gray has the temporary hail effect, so this could go either way just like with Natsu' battle."
Natsu heard his name and looked at Erza before facing the battlefield once again.
Snover didn't let up on Razor Leaf as Klefki was trying to get away, but it was proven more difficult than imagined. "Get out of there!" Lucy encouraged, but she was too late when drag finally snatched Klefki, enveloping her in the funnel of Razor Leaf. The blonde showed shock as the leaves bolted at Klefki, sending her flying backwards again, this time landing on the ground and fumbling in agony.
"Ouch." Levy flinched.
"You can say that again." Jet said.
Kinana looked equally as worried. "Oh I hope Lucy's okay."
"She's fine." Warren said. "It's gonna take a lot more than just hail and ice to keep our girl down."
Lucy looked down at Klefki as she was struggling to get up. She grimaced as he looked from her towards Gray. 'This is bad. This hail's making it tough on us, not to mention this cold's making it tough for us to get close.' Her brown eyes showed determination. "Looks like we'll have to get a little extreme here then."
Klefki winced again as she ascended. Once she was up, she grimaced in pain again as hail pelted her.
"You wanna go on, Lucy?" Gray questioned.
The blonde nodded. "Sure thing!" She reached out again. "Alright Klefki, use Astonish!"
Klefki's eyes opened back up again. Once she was all set, the key ring straightened and glared at Snover. Her eyes glowed red and a dark illusion of her face rushed from her body and reach out at Snover. The scary face evolved into a shockwave at made Snover go wide-eyed as it closed in. Once it reached him, the shockwave buffered his body, making him stammer backwards with a shrivel going down his spine.
As Snover then tried to recover, he looked back, but he winced upon seeing Klefki.
"Huh? What's the matter?" Gray questioned.
"That's Astonish's secondary effect." Nic explained. "The flinching concept. Lucy has to hit hard and fast for this next shot I count."
Having her confidence rise again, the blonde swiped her arm around, readying herself. "Astonish!"
Once again, Klefki's face distorted with a dark facial illusion with red eyes. The face went shooting outwards again at Snover, creating another dark shockwave that made him buffer back. Once it passed him, he grunted and winced again, indicating flinching.
Dereece went wide-eyed. "Man, talk about lucky." He remarked. "Man!"
"I know, right?" Joey smiled. "Two flinches in a row. That isn't five like I had once in my game, but man is that awesome for her!"
Duncan scoffed without much to say.
With Snover deterred and getting weakened, the battle was dragging out to where one more speck of hail dropped on Klefki. However, she endured it, and even though it was her turn to wince, she kept on her target and readied.
"Alright, Fairy Wind!"
Klefki chimed loudly as she took in a deep breath and exhaled. Expelled was a wave of sparkling pink winds that went bolting across the battlefield and expanding outwards. As Snover looked ahead, he flinched in shock before he was picked up and shoved backwards. In his shrieks, he flipped through the air, landing on his stomach and sliding back towards Gray.
The Frost Tree Pokémon groaned as that last blow made his whole front feel a loop. Gray looked surprised at how the tides changed, and Lucy snickered triumphantly in retort.
"Yeah, Lucy!" Happy cheered.
"Well that's certainly a gamechanger I say." Carla said.
"Yeah, that was amazing!" Wendy chimed. "Lucy just might actually win this."
Gray's eyes squinted. "Not if we have something to say about it." He swiped his arm and repositioned his foot. "You hear that, Snover?! Let's get back up!"
Snover struggled to his feet, but he was upright and ready, despite the small teeter towards the side. "R-ready!"
"Alright then, Icy Wind!" At his command, Snover took in a deep breath and exhaled once more. A blast of sparkling blue, cold wind went blitzing across the battlefield towards Klefki.
"Fairy Wind!" Lucy countered.
Klefki took in a deep breath of her own, exhaling her own sparkling pink gust outwards. The two winds were like two petering beams of air that were pink and blue. They created a bright tempest that expelled outwards, enveloping everything and everyone in a shockwave of sparkling, pink, and cold winds altogether. The ones in the front row covered up as they were hit by a cold wave, and the ones in the back hardly felt a thing.
In between the two battlers' field of vision that a misty pink cloud with blue sparkles in it. Though it seemed cold, Lucy took the gander. "Aright, Tackle!" Suddenly rushing out of the cloud in a hurry, Klefki zipped through, making a small opening that made a fast-moving key ring zip towards a frozen free.
Unable to keep track, Snover went wide-eyed and braced himself as Klefki screeched with all she had in her. With her head colliding with his own, the two heads were sending a shock through the other as they met. Ultimately, with the forward momentum from Tackle being the leeway, Snover ultimately flew backwards, squealing as he fell so far back that he was laying in front of Gray.
With a thud, Gray looked over and went wide-eyed. "Hey, you okay?"
The only response he got was a weak groan as Snover's eyes had spirals in them. As the Hail dissipated, the last of it thumped against Klefki, but she winced and powered through the best she could.
Jefferey raised his arm for Lucy. "Snover is unable to battle, Klefki is the winner!"
Lucy's shock was evident on her face as she faced ahead. "Wait, you serious?" Klefki looked back at her in complete shock as well; much more so than Lucy. Slowly, when it came to realization, the two smiled wide and embraced the other.
"ALRIGHT!" they squealed in joy.
Snover slowly sat up and rubbed his forehead. He looked down with disappointment as he failed to win. As he was sulking, Gray went over and knelt to his side. He rubbed his head, giving him an assuring smile.
"Hey, why the long face? You did great out there." He praised. "You should be proud of your skills so far."
Hearing this made Snover a little better. "Really…?"
Gray nodded. "Yeah. We'll be ready next time, I'm sure of it."
Over on the sidelines, a droopy aura cascaded over Juvia as she was practically now a puddle. She was slumped down and sulking with a gurgle excreting from what could be her throat…if throats bubbled that is.
Wendy, who was trying to ignore how wet her feet were getting, looked down at Juvia. "Uh, i-it's okay. It's just practice." She assured.
"Yeah…I know…but I still can't believe I wasn't picked! And now look at what happened!" She cried loudly as comical tears spouted from her lumpy puddle of a face on the ground. They looked like two fountains that were spewing freshwater, and all Wendy could do was sweatdrop again.
"Well, if you want my opinion, you probably would've pitched the whole thing." Carla said.
Pantherlily stood close by, looking down with arms folded. "That's not entirely inaccurate to say…"
"Gray~…" Juvia groaned.
Seeing that battle, Joey looked very eager to get out there, or so by the look on his face. "Wow, these guys realy are something, eh Dereece?" He nudged his pal's arm as a motion. Dereece rubbed his elbow from how brash it was of him.
"Yeah, I guess so…"
Suddenly, Joey pointed a thumb to himself, smirking with glee. "Say, what do you say we go next?"
He shrugged. "Sounds fine to me. But, are you sure about this?"
Now it was Joey who shrugged nonchalantly. "Couldn't hurt to find out the hard way. Now c'mon, time is experience."
Marching out was Lucy and Gray, and tagging in was Joey and Dereece. The leader of The Freaks stood ready, and his compadre returned the glare in kind. The two Trainers looked in respects of the other, and Joey held up his Poke Ball first.
"Okay then, I'll start off." He threw the Poke Ball outwards with gusto, making it spin. "Go, Chespin!" The Poke Ball popped open, sending the energy out towards the ground. Forming and ready for battle, Chespin smiled eagerly like his Trainer as both were sure to give it their all.
Dereece was next as he threw his Poke Ball next. "Alright then, take it to them, Heracross!"
The Poke Ball popped open as well, sending the energy towards the ground. Once formed, Heracross stood ready with a nod. "I'm set and ready." He said neutrally.
"So it's Heracross against Chespin." Nic evaluated.
Erza nodded. "Heracross has the type advantage it seems. Joey will have to work efficiently to work out of this."
"So it seems."
Joey was looking back into the crowd, seeing Nic, Erza, and Vanessa all looking ahead, with equally as definitive expressions to show their interests. Joey could feel his own heartbeat intensify. 'Nic-senpai and Erza-senpai…even Vanessa-senpai, they're all watching me.' He looked dead ahead with a gaze growing all the more serious. 'There's no way I can lose with them watching! I gotta stay strong, just like them, if I want to make it to the top! There…I…I just might stand beside them in glory!' Sparkles began to surround his face as a goofy smile plastered on his face, lost in his dreams again. He could see himself standing on a huge mound of gold, wearing his coat and laughing as on higher mounds, Erza and Vanessa had arms folded with half-grins, and Nic was on an even higher point, looking over his shoulder to glare ahead to wear away any competition that dared challenged him.
Chespin waved his arms out towards Joey. "Uh, Joey? Joey…?"
Dereece facepalmed. "And here we go."
Heracross offered nothing to say about Joey's delusions. He just stayed still and quiet while Chespin groaned and looked ahead for battle.
"Begin!" Jefferey announced.
"We'll start off first, okay?" Dereece reached his arm out ahead. "We'll start off with Leer!" With that, Heracross held his position while his eyes glowed red. Chespin remained still while he was subjected to his opp0nent's leery gaze. A blue aura enveloped his body, lowering his Defense stat.
"Looks to me that Dereece is planning to stop Joey dead in his tracks." Freed deduced. "If I remember correctly, that's a move that lowers the target's durability, making them weaker to head-on attacks."
"Yeah, sound right in my books." Bickslow grinned eagerly.
"Then Joey better wrap this up, and hurry before Dereece rips him a new one." Sophie chimed in.
Snapping back to reality, Joey shook his head, facing Dereece with readiness. 'Crap, what am I doing? I gotta focus!' He glared ahead with a serous look in his eyes. "Alright then, use Vine Whip! Trip him up!"
"Okay!" Chespin held his ground as he expelled two vines from his body. They went shooting out from the shoulders out towards Heracross. When they reached the legs, they tied around them like rope and constricted to a firm grasp.
"Hm?" Heracross looked down in confusion, only for Chespin to take that opportunity.
With a yank of his vines, the Vine Whip swept Heracross from down under. The large battle toppled onto his back with a thud, yelping harshly as the Grass-type move receded back towards Chespin.
"Nice one!" Joey encouraged. "Now use Rollout!" Chespin thus started spinning his body in a curled ball, zooming across the ground at incredible force towards the downed Heracross.
Lucy looked shocked. "So Chespin knows Rollout, too?"
"That's the same move Max's Sandshrew used!" Wendy realized.
Vanessa nodded in confirmation. "Chespin is a Grass-type, so knowing Rollout will defend him well against many of his weaknesses."
"You mean other than just Fire-type?" Gray inquired. From the corner, Natsu was paying very close attention now to what Vanessa was explaining.
"Right." She watched as Chespin mowed on in as a great speed. "Rock-type moves are quite well known for defending against many of some Grass-type's weaknesses. That goes for Bug-type, Flying-types, even Ice and Fire-types. It's a strong type if used in this instance."
Gray looked surprised to say the least. "I get it, so if Snover was hit by one directly, we'd be in trouble."
Natsu furrowed his brow as he took in what he heard. When he looked back ahead, he glared at Rollout with a discerning look on his face. 'So then that's why I lost?'
Chespin's Rollout made contact with Heracross' underside, making the Single Horn Pokémon flip over from shock. He landed on his stomach, while Chespin bounced off like a tennis ball and rolled backwards. He continued to roll in place until Joey gave the next signal.
"Alright, go from the side!" At that command, Chespin grunted in understanding. He started rolling ahead once again, but instead of going head on like before, he went zooming in an arch that went from the side.
Heracross grunted as he got his claws beneath. He instantly recovered from that blow and looked towards his right-hand side. He saw a green bowling ball rolling hard and fast from a curve. He knew better than to stay on all fours and take it. With a push upwards, he shot up into the air, flapping his wings and taking a few feet off the ground to get above Chespin's Rollout.
Having failed to make contact, Rollout instantly stopped and Chespin put a hand to the ground. "Huh?" He looked up, seeing a massive shadow of Heracross directly above him.
"Aerial Ace!" Dereece commanded.
Joey went wide-eyed. "What?"
Chespin's ears drooped. "Uh oh…" Suddenly a blue blur went shooting down onto him at massive was like a projectile that he couldn't keep track of. Chespin was struck directly the attack, kicking up a dust cloud that rumbled the land beneath. "Aaah!" Chespin went sailing out of the dust cloud frantically, spiraling out of control at Joey.
Joey was unfortunate as he failed to catch Chespin in time. Instead, his face was the placemat where Chespin land onto. He fell over with a big thud of his own, laying on the ground with Chespin on his face. "Ow." He muffled.
Dereece winced at the pain he must have felt. "Eh, sorry."
Joey gave a thumbs up. "I'm good!"
Chespin weakly raised his own. "I'm not…" His hand fell limp again.
Jefferey raised his arm for Dereece on the other side of the battlefield. "Chespin is unable to battle, Heracross is the winner!"
Dereece gave a brief sigh as the battle ended as it did. "Well at least that wasn't so bad." He looked towards Heracross, who seemed fine as he looked back at him. "You did a bang-up job out there." He praised.
Heracross smiled happily. "Thanks."
Joey groaned as he tried to stand again. Once he was up on his feet again, he held the unconscious Chespin in his arm. He looked around with wide eyes, glancing left and right to see the varied reactions, if not some more or less different than others. "Eh…" When he saw the mild looks that his idols gave off, he coughed a little and looked sheepishly downwards. "Well that happened." He said.
Dereece recalled his Heracross and walked up towards Joey. He pat his shoulder and smiled in sincerity. "Bah, these things happen, buddy. Can't win them all."
Joey sighed. "I guess." As they walked on, Joey remained hunched over. "But seriously, was that Aerial Ace overkill?"
"Sorry, couldn't help myself."
With that battle recorded, Jefferey walked up towards Fairy Tail, giving them all looks of approval. "Well now, I can say that you've all had a good deal of experience, to some degrees more than others I suppose. No offense by any means." He looked around, seeing as how everyone seemed either deterred with some losses, like Elfman wiping his arm into his balling face, or were seen taking some wins well, like Max as he still seemed on edge. He looked over at Natsu, seeing that he was still dead silent as can be.
"I'm very pleased with all these battles that we have been able to record and take into consideration. The Cambire Foundation's growth and information is relying on the feedback that we are getting with this data you're displaying. With this, those who don't have a clear feel for battle will be able to understand what growth can be; mages and Trainers alike."
Laxus shrugged again. "Don't break a sweat over this."
"I'm not." Jefferey chuckled. "But I'm humbly asking for one more set of volunteers to battle."
"Another one?" Kinana inquired.
Jefferey nodded. "If it's alright with you all. However…" He stopped for a moment, trying to get his wording together to try and break this to everyone lightly. When he found it, his gaze averted towards the area around Nic. "I'm looking for this next battle for more…experienced people."
"Experienced?" Lucy repeated.
"Is he talking about Nic?" Wendy looked at Nic, who didn't seem to be giving any means of a response. He didn't seem intrigued, and Wendy couldn't blame him.
Jefferey looked at the entire audience with the same gaze he gave towards Nic. "I'm asking if you have anyone who was familiar with Pokémon before, if you could kindly demonstrate a battle."
Within the crowd, standing right next to Joey and Dereece, Duncan showed nothing but a scoffing frown. Rather so boldly, he walked up from the audience, surprising everyone.
"Wait, Duncan?" Joey wondered. The man continued his way without reply.
Standing in front of the superior man, Jefferey looked down at Duncan, giving him a composed expression. "I remember you. You're that Trainer who battled Nic back during the conference if I recall correctly. Duncan Roserto, was it?"
"That's right." He answered. "I accept…" His gaze fell over his own shoulder. "And as for my opponent…" He slowly took a step to face the group behind him. He reached over with his kendo stick and pointed the wooden tip at someone in front. "I challenge you."
The stick was pointed directly at a certain blonde-banged girl with black hair in the front of the row. Those around were starting to wane away to get a visual of the kendo stick referring to Vanessa. The Trainer looked reasonably surprise at the challenge that was implemented.
"Wait, what?" Lisanna questioned in her disbelief. "He saying he wants to challenge Vanessa now?"
"My goodness, he's pretty bold." Mirajane chimed. "Fighting whoever he wants, it's almost like Natsu." She chuckled lightly at the memories of when Natsu was still a few years younger, and how he was always so rambunctious and ready to fight even Gildarts. Even though he's changed a lot since then, it was still a little amusing to reflect on his spirit.
"You accept my challenge, right?" Duncan told Vanessa in a rhetorical, if not considered rude, tone. The way he was looking at her even showed that he seemed a little vexed at what capabilities she had as a Trainer.
"Vanessa…" Sophie looked towards her roommate, seeing what she would do.
Without much reluctance, Vanessa grinned as she slowly took a step towards Duncan. "Well, it's as you said before, right?" Her blue eyes glared daggers up towards his dark eyes. "It's imperative that any two Trainers that make eye contact must battle."
A rough smile formed on Duncan's lips.
"Yeah! Go, Vanessa!" Cana exclaimed loudly. "WOOH!"
"This is gonna be good. I can feel it." Joey eagerly said. He watched as his gruff teammate made way towards the left side of the terrain, as to where Vanessa took the right. As Vanessa passed in front of Joey, he couldn't help but stare blankly at her as her long, slick hair and blonde bang glimmered in the sun. It looked so silky smooth. He could feel his throat getting dry as he looked at her as she fully made way.
Seeing his friend's awkward stare, Dereece coughed and nudged his arm.
"H-huh? Oh, sorry."
"This looks like a close one to me." Dereece explained. "Duncan is pretty good. But…what do we know about Vanessa?"
Joey folded his arms and looked happily ahead. "Guess we'll see about that." His face has sparkles again as he waved at the battlefield. "Vanessa-senpai!"
Dereece did another eyeroll again.
Standing an equal distance from each other, Duncan and Vanessa were both on equal grounds. They stared at each other, with Duncan's stare being cold, and Vanessa's being a more relaxed one.
"You think Vanessa will be alright?" Erza inquired Nic.
The older brother of the girl to do battle looked passively with arms folded. "That's not in my place to say. Duncan was pretty adept in his battle against me. Vanessa's no pushover either; she knows better than to get over her own head."
Duncan spread his feet apart, getting set. "So you're from Kalos too, right?"
"Yes." Vanessa nodded. "And if I remember, you're from the Sinnoh region."
"Yeah. This year, I came in the top 4 of the Sinnoh League."
"Top 4, you say?" she grinned. "I'll be sure to stay on my toes then."
Jefferey looked at the two experienced Trainers and saw that both were set for battle. Once he saw that the two were just about done talking, he backed off and brought his arm down in a chop. "Let the battle begin!"
Duncan was the first to throw out his Poke Ball since he issued the challenge. "Alright then. Torterra, start!"
The Poke Ball popped open, and out came what looked like a humungous pair of bulky brown legs that descended on the battlefield. The battlefield shuddered like an Earthquake rupturing as a humungous turtle-like Pokémon on four massive brown legs stood. On his shell was looked like dirt or maybe moss at the base of three mountain spikes, and a huge tree that was on his back. His head had two white spikes and had intense red eyes with scissor-like chompers. The massive turtle roared out loud, shuddering the landscape beneath in a more disastrous tone.
In fright, Happy shrieked loudly as he zipped behind Lucy. "W-wh-what the heck is that?!" he stammered.
"I don't know, but it looks strong." Lucy's shock was just as evident.
Nic was one to show his own surprise. "A Torterra?" He didn't sound too surprised, but startled would be more accurate. He knew Duncan was experienced, and he was relatively familiar with these sorts of Pokémon, but that didn't mean seeing them in person can still surprise even the most knowing of people.
"What the-?!" Natsu pointed dead ahead in exasperation. "Check it out! It has a whole land on its back! The heck's with that thing?!"
"A Torterra?" Joey gasped. "I didn't know Duncan had one of those!"
"Looks pretty nasty to me." Dereece said.
Vanessa offered no input as she was the one to pull out her PokeDex this time. Once she had it out, it showed Toterra's screen.
"Torterra, the Continent Pokémon. Ancient people imagined that beneath the ground, a gigantic Torterra dwelled."
'A Grass and Ground-type.' Vanessa looked back towards her opponent, going through the options she had to use against the gigantic turtle. 'Delphox could work, but Earthquake could be an issue. He's probably got a large selection of moves to use, if not just Grass-type attacks. Let's try this then…' Pulling out her Poke Ball, she tossed it skywards. "Now, come out, Goodra!"
The Poke Ball popped open, sending the energy downwards. When it materialized, it became Vanessa's Goodra. The Dragon Pokémon stood with her neck craning and showing off her horns. "Be ready!" the Dragon-type roared.
Duncan looked ahead with a straight face. "A Goodra, huh?" Now it was his turn to analyze the Pokémon. Being in Sinnoh, it wasn't all that common from where he resided. Once he got out his PokeDex, which was black in color, it showed a less holographic image of Goodra.
"Goodra, the Dragon Pokémon. Underneath its slimy skin is a thick layer of fat, and the combination of the two makes enemies' attacks slide right off."
Joey inhaled a gasp of his own with excitement. His hands were to his mouth as he gazed at Vanessa's Pseudo-Legendary ready for action. "It's Vanessa-senpai's Goodra!" he squealed. "She's a freaking great Dragon-type! This is gonna be awesome!"
Dereece folded his arms, smirking at the battle. "Looks to me this is gonna be good after all!"
Nic observed the battle with interest. "Goodra, huh…?" He looked at Vanessa, who was seemingly ever so relaxed, like a poker face. If she looked, she wouldn't even show it so easily. When he looked back at Duncan, he was no different. 'Vanessa's not willing to take chances today, huh? Guess we'll see just what Duncan does to get around Goodra if he finds out.'
Duncan reached his arm out, showing his battle-ready expression. "Alright then, Torterra, use Stone Edge!" His Torterra thus raised his front legs and stood on his hind legs for a short while. When ready, he roared as he slammed down on the ground, creating a sizeable tremor that rippled beneath. Shooting up was a straight line of sharp, jagged stones that went linear towards Goodra.
As it traveled, Goodra made no attempt at moving.
"Power Whip!" Vanessa commanded.
"Right!" Goodra held on as the stone pillars reached her. As the next one arose, she whipped her head around, the horns glowing a bright magenta color and exerting a strong force of their own. She whipped them around, batting at the stone sticking up and slanting ahead with smashing results. The stone shattered to pieces, breaking into shards that chipped the residual Stone Edge.
"Not bad." Duncan reached out again. "Use Leaf Storm, now!"
Torterra roared again as he hunched over. He held his ground as an abundance of leaves expelled from his tree and began to glow. The tree was aimed dead ahead, and a cyclone of leaves roared on a dense funnel that raced across the battlefield at the stone pillars. They all shattered the pieces and reduced to nothing, and it mowed on with very few rock fragments that went at Goodra. The Dragon-type covered up using her two arms as the shrapnel of Stone Edge mixed with Leaf Storm made impact, causing a dusty green explosion to arise skywards.
The winds picked up from that blast wave, causing everyone around the guild to cover up as the shockwaves ran through them. Some barely held their ground from that attack. Some people, like Joey, just gawked in sheer awesomeness that Vanessa had.
"Did you really think causing direct damage with Stone Edge wouldn't work?" Duncan smirked. "It's not anything new in my books."
"Maybe." Vanessa said.
"Huh?"
The dust began to slowly settle, showing a silhouette of Goodra, and a red aura was enveloping her shadow. "You're very clever turning your first attack failed into an added jolt for Leaf Storm. That's a nice way to pick up pieces you dropped. But we can do just that as well." Vanessa spoke in a relaxed tone as she reached out again. "Goodra!"
The dust finally whipped and dissipated. Present was Goodra, who seemed fine, if not shaken up a little. She smiled confidently as the red aura she had dissipated as her horns whipped around to a close.
Duncan showed his own surprise. "What? But how?"
Torterra grunted in annoyance.
"That's Goodra's Sap Sipper Ability." Nic watched alongside Erza, both paying close attention to details. "When Torterra uses a Grass-type attack, it instead increases Goodra's Attack power once. That makes using Leaf Storm a direct liability."
"Vanessa must have known Torterra should've had at least one Grass-type attack that could be used to her advantage." Erza deduced. "Taking advantage of your opponent's strengths is keen to every battle waged. She's really learned a lot."
Vanessa, not willing to give hints, reached out. "Goodra, Muddy Water!" She watched as Goodra adjusted her stance and craned her neck down. She lurched as a brown cyclone of mucky water started to swirl beneath her, and when ready, she raised her head up and roared. The brown, swirling water went all over the battlefield, but more specifically out towards Torterra in a brown rush that turned into a tidal wave. The Continent Pokémon went wide-eyed and was swamped by the brown wave. It picked him up and sent him swaying backwards in a loud gurgle before crashing like a wave should back into the battlefield with a loud geyser blooming.
As the water receded into thin air, Torterra was seen wet and groaning. He grunted as his body was enveloped in a blue aura, his accuracy faltering.
"How's that?" Goodra asked.
Duncan grunted in annoyance, but he chose to attack as soon as possible. "Use Earthquake!"
Torterra's slightly blurred vision opened as his red eyes showed. The massive turtle roared as he rammed both his front feet into the ground once again, but this time, the ground depressed into two small craters beneath the heavy appendages. From those craters, two boisterous, shockwaves burst out of the ground. The ground broke apart into diced fragments as the shockwave erupted dirt and rock that rippled out towards Vanessa and Goodra.
As it ran along, everyone watching was trying to hold on once again. They were barely hanging in there as the land supporting their feet was echoing unsoundly. Bisca and Alzack knelt and held Asuka tightly as they watched as a wave of shredded earth passed in front of them.
"What kind of crazy force is that?" Alzack yelled through the deafening rumblings.
"I don't know!"
The shockwaves sailed across the ground and closed in, but Vanessa reached out to counter. "Use Power Whip!"
Goodra's horns once again glowed bright magenta and she reeled them overhead. When she craned her head down, she roared as they plunged into the earth with great might of its own. Like Earthquake, a groundbreaking shockwave erupted from the earth beneath and went rippling out in all directions.
The two shockwaves raced into each other with all their might, dirt, diced earth, and massive quakes met dead in the center; two walls, two forces that connected and made a massive explosion rupture bellow everywhere. All throughout Magnolia, people could've sworn the earth beneath was vibrating to where it was a low-magnitude earthquake, and those on the streets saw a humungous dust cloud right behind Fairy Tail's guild hall.
The citizens gasped with shock to no paramount ends in sight.
Within the epicenter of it all, Jefferey was standing with a sleeve covering his face, shielding him from any shrapnel debris. 'What an amazing force I'm seeing!' he exclaimed mentally. 'Is this really the power that the sister of the great Nic Pularis has? I never thought her level would be this high as well.'
The drone cameras were high overhead, making sure to capture it all in depth.
"Stone Edge!"
"Muddy Water!"
From within the dust cloud, another set of roars echoed as two tremors once again vibrated like footsteps. From Torterra, a straight column of stabbing rocks shot up, and from Goodra, a tidal wave of brown water swamped the area ahead, clearing away the dust and rock. The two attacks swept away all the dust and rock in their way, giving everyone a clear visual of stone, sharp pillars shooting towards the incoming rush. The sound of an actual tidal wave deafened even more ears as it smashed into the Stone Edge, swamping straight over and knocking down each column like a loose plastic tower. The tidal wave powered through the Rock-type attack, swamping into Torterra a second time. The giant turtle closed his eyes and braced as the rushing wave struck him. However, unlike before, when it picked him up, it was diminished thanks to Stone Edge weakening its initial force. The turtle slid back a few feet and grunted in pain.
Dereece whistled in surprise. "Man, this is getting good. Almost as great as that battle with Nic!"
Joey was practically panting like a dog at this point. He was far from being able to speak out of the sheer awesomeness he was witnessing from Nic's sister. Not only was she beautiful, but her Pokémon and herself were incredible. It was making sure every second brought him closer to a heart attack…again.
Gray watched with arms folded. "Man, Duncan's not doing half-bad either."
"My heart is racing just from being this close." For once, Juvia wasn't talking about Gray. The battle was making her own heart stutter from shock. Seeing two big titans go at it was unlike anything she saw.
Time slowed down as the brown water subsided, showing Vanessa glaring ahead, and with her, Goodra was also glaring. They both were so into it that it seemed impossible to break their concentration.
"Vanessa's truly in sync with her Goodra." Erza admired.
"Huh?" Hearing it now, Natsu was looking over. "In sync?"
"It may have taken a few minor steps back, but Vanessa's really gotten an understanding of her Pokémon's characteristics. She's adapting well to them and giving out the proper commands." The redhead watched as Goodra was adjusted her steps, and Vanessa nodding in confirmation. "By noticing Vanessa's confidence, she's adapting and doing her best for her. It's quite a lot, I know…but this experience is what I needed to learn at first." A soft smile formed on her face. "I think Pokémon really was a great life lesson for me."
Nic looked over towards Erza, smiling softly in return of her statement. He couldn't be anymore flattered than he was now. When Erza smirked at him, he looked away, trying to hold his embarrassment.
Natsu went silent again, looking at the battlefield once more with a discerning look on his face. 'A Pokémon's character huh…?'
Duncan's expression grew determined and angry at the same time as he faced the battlefield. "Use Stone Edge, one more time!" Once more, Torterra let out a loud roar as he instead arose one foot off the ground and stamped it into the earth. A light tremor awoke beneath, and then another row of sharp, glowing, jagged stones arose from the ground and went darting at Goodra.
Vanessa's eyes narrowed as she readied her counter. "Be ready, Goodra."
Goodra kept her feet spread as she awaited for the Stone Edge to draw closer. As it did, she noticed how its angle was off. As time slowed down for the umpteenth time with it slowly losing trajectory, the opportunity came.
"Ice Beam!"
Goodra opened her mouth and created a chilling, cold, icy blue orb in front of it. It condensed as she roared out, and at last she lurched forward, sending the chilling beam with icy zappers straight ahead. As Stone Edge curved away, there was but no obstruction as Ice Beam blitzed across the ground and created a trail of ice beneath its massive wake.
"No!" Duncan exasperated.
Too slow to move, Torterra went wide-eyed as the attack drew closer. The freezing beams of ice finally made impact with his front, creating a large, misty eruption that enveloped the whole Pokémon. The ground briefly shuddered once again as it was the impact that made the magnitude.
When the misty eruption cleared away, Duncan looked displeased as he saw that his Torterra emerged, covered in frost and slumped on the ground, fainted.
Jefferey easily escaped from his shock and raised an arm for Vanessa's side. "Torterra is unable to battle, the winner is Goodra!"
Many of the people pumped their fists and cheered at the ever-exciting battle. They all showed shock, as well as surprise, at how intense it was.
"Alright!" Laki smiled.
"Yeah, that's our girl!" Wakaba had his arm over Macao's shoulder, both looking overjoyed. "Ain't nothing holding her down!"
"True that old buddy!"
"Aw yeah! Goodra was amazing!" Romeo cheered. "You see that, Litwick? We gotta be like that, too!"
"Now that was a battle!" Nab exclaimed.
Sophie took in a deep breath and sighed heavily in relief. "She actually had me worried there." She meekly admitted. "To think Duncan was putting even her on edge like that."
Cana slumped over, resting her arm on Sophie's shoulder. "Naw, c'mon. Vanessa's a big girl. Even I knew the results eve without my cards." She smirked. "You really thought he'd win?"
Sophie did her own huff as a grin took over. "Well I'm not a boldfaced liar to admit I would've bet on Vanessa…which reminds me, wanna make that 4,000?"
Cana gave a deadpan look. "Don't push it."
Vanessa walked up to her Goodra's side. Both looked at each other with smiles and praise. "Goodra, thank you for your hard work. You really did well." She watched as Goodra lowered her head and nuzzled her cheek into her own, making the sour-loving girl giggle at the affection. She pet Goodra by the cheeks and returned it all in kind.
Torterra laid on the ground for a little longer before he was returned to his Poke Ball. The laser dragged him in, and he was put inside Duncan's coat. The frowning Trainer gave Vanessa a gruff huff as he watched her pet her slimy dragon.
"You actually used Muddy Water's accuracy lowering effect to your advantage." He said to her, getting the Trainer's attention. "You must have known that by using Muddy Water, the chance of accuracy lowering is evident. You waited for the right time when we would seemingly miss and went for the attack, right?"
Vanessa faced Duncan, along with her Goodra. "You're not wrong. It wouldn't be inaccurate to think someone like you would have attacks that could hamper the weaknesses you have."
Duncan smirked with a meek chuckle. "Looks to me that if you didn't use Goodra and surprise me, things would've been different then."
"We'll find out next time then." She warned.
A clap came from the side once more, revealing it to be from Jefferey. As he walked up, everyone once again turned towards him. "Exactly as I had thought. Well done, both of you." He praised. He looked at Vanessa. "You, Miss Pularis, have an impressive record going for you. I can see why you're a certain someone's sibling. You really take after him and his wits, don't you?"
Vanessa smiled, but otherwise showed no embarrassment. "You're going to flatter me."
Goodra sheepishly rubbed her head out of her own embarrassment, giggling some.
Jefferey turned to look at Duncan next. "And you, Mr. Roserto, I can see with that power just how you've managed to get into the top 4 of the Sinnoh League as of 4 months ago. Very impressive of you indeed."
"Thank you very much." He said dryly but with as much evident.
Jefferey turned towards the guild, having hands behind his back as the drones behind lowered. They still were on, and they were looking the resume recording. "I can't thank you all for the appeals and the battling that you have shown us today. I am very grateful for everything that you and your guild were willing to offer for the services of the Cambire Foundation. You have our upmost respects and gratitude."
Laxus stood with the Thunder God Tribe, looking ever so placid. "Hey, don't mention it. Just don't go being a kiss-up like you are now, alright? I don't think groveling is something your job description upholds."
Jefferey chuckled. "A man of respectable opinions I see." He looked towards his guild, seeing everyone behind looking at him and their leader with grins. They still looked excited even after that last battle. "There's a lot of ambition in this group that we have here. We appreciate that." He turned towards Nic and Erza, giving them a nod of approval. "I do believe I have a better standpoint of your guild. It's a very fine place to be."
Nic smirked. "First impressions don't always matter here exactly."
Jefferey chuckled again. "Why certainly."
After a few more hours of rummaging and recording, the drones captured everything as Fairy Tail resumed its daily routine, including Nic, Erza, Vanessa, and out of insistence, The Freaks, showing everyone how to use Revives, as well as healing items. They watched as Pokémon were all healed up, and the two assistants that came along were also helping with any demonstration.
Once it all looked like it was in the clear, it was near late afternoon when Jefferey stood in front of the guild hall with his assistants and the empty crate, which the two droned were now using as occupancy.
"I'm afraid this is where I must take my leave. We have a long and busy day ahead of us tomorrow, and a lot of manufacturing and lessons that will need some reconsideration after the lessons today."
Laxus stood in front of his guild, arms folded beneath his overcoat. "Well it looks like being a busy just isn't my department now."
"Well if you're alright sharing that same chair with me that is."
Laxus smirked. "What did I just say."
"Right, sorry." He turned towards the guild members next. "Well as enjoyable as my time today has been, I need to say that the Cambire Foundation's market should be up and functional as soon as possible. And thanks to you giving this a chance, it looks to be of great promise ahead of us."
"Got it. We'll keep that in mind." Gray said.
"Yeah, we most certainly will." Cana teased.
"Lots of us are gonna start going on jobs with these guys. I think we should really be prepared if we do need something like this stuff." Lisanna pointed out. "Right, Elf?"
Elfman, finally over his loss at long last, smile jovially. "You bet. Machop's gonna need some real manly food!"
Jefferey chuckled and nodded. "That'll be in stock, too. Our priority is the health and safety of our Trainers and Pokémon. Nutrition is important. I'll be sure to make a supply run just for you at your house."
"Alright!"
Nic stepped up from the crowd, facing the serious man. "So this is where we part ways?"
"For now." He raised his hand towards Nic. "I'm sure we'll be needing you again, and when we do, we'll be needing you more than ever."
"Don't go asking for the impossible."
"Sorry." They shook hands, and Jefferey finally turned and left. "The honor has been all mine. Until then."
He finally took his leave, his assistants following behind in the line of duty. He made no further remarks to himself as he made way through the streets, getting farther away from the guild.
As he sat off, Lucy was noticing something wrong, or rather off about the population. As she looked around, she realized something seemed to be missing, or rather out of place. "Hey, has anyone seen Natsu?"
"He's not here?" Wendy looked around, realizing that Lucy was right.
"Saw him taking off a short while ago." Gray said. "Happy went with him."
"I wonder where he went to?" Lisanna wondered.
Nic and Erza looked at the other, having a good idea as to why the reason was as it is. Once again, they chose to dismiss it knowingly.
As the sun began to set over the horizon, the atmosphere was burning as bright as fire. Natsu sat at the base of a stream he and Happy always fished at when they spared time in the morning. It was their most common spot, and this was also some good thinking grounds. Natsu sat cross-legged on a flat stone overlooking the stream. A fish sprung out of the water next, and was preceded then by what looked like a Magikarp. Their splashes fell on deaf ears as Natsu stared down at the Poke Ball he held in his hand. It's what contained Charmander. As he glared down at it, he had a sad look on his face as he began to collect everything he did today. He thought back to Charmander finally mastering Flame Charge, only to still be overpowered by Rollout. He even put all his heart into it and it still wasn't enough? What did he lack? That was the question that ran through his mind all the while.
Slowly, he began to think back to his fight against Zeref when he still had Igneel's power. He completely wasted it, and he failed in the end. He went in recklessly without any repercussions and suffered greatly because of it. He could still remember the sadness and regret that time. At the time, he was acting on his own, with no plan, and that's what cost him the win; today and before. He wasn't alone anymore. He had to think on a certain level Charmander can cooperate with, otherwise things will far apart as they did. Attacking was always his thing, but now after knowing more of types, stats, and trying to understand who was doing the hurting, clearly he had some rethinking to do.
"Natsu?"
Natsu turned his head to look down beside him. Standing there with a slightly worried look on his face was Happy. The Exceed could see the uneasiness he had, as he had all day.
"Happy…"
The Exceed looked to see Natsu facing the canopies, a growing grin plastered on his face.
"I'm going to get stronger. We're going to get stronger. Just wait and see." He looked down at his Poke Ball, where inside, he can still feel Charmander resting. "Just bear with me a little longer pal, okay? I'll make it better for both of us."
The stream flowed on, with the Magikarp and the fish swimming side by side down the current beneath the waters.
Night soon fell, and the lamp of Nic and Erza's bedroom turned on.
After a nice hot shower, Nic plopped onto his head, his naked upper body showing as he sprawled on the bedsheets. He sighed heavily in a cumbersome manner. "Good grief."
Unlike Nic, Erza laid in her pajamas tonight. She was on her side and looking down at her husband. "Today was quite a day, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, you can say that again."
"What did you think of Jefferey today? Did he seem too…insistent?"
"A try hard sounds about right…" He put his hands behind his pillow supporting his head, his eyes closing. "But it would be hard-pressed to say I depend on him. It's not that there's any conclusions I want to draw. It's just…"
"You want to keep your options open, right?" Erza finished.
Nic's lips tugged a smirk on the corner. "You can say that."
"I know how you feel. I may not fully trust him either, or perhaps the direction of where the Cambire will take from here." She adjusted herself so that she was laying even closer to Nic. She sat her hand on his chest, making sure he was breathing with his eyes closed. "But we should also remember the good they're doing so far. They've held up their end quite well, so for now, I say we're on good terms no less."
Nic opened his eyes slightly, staring up at the wooden ceiling. "You're right…but you know, someone out there might not agree with all this. And you know where this can lead to."
"I know…and that's why we're here, to make this world a place where can all live and survive to see another day." She slowly brought her leg over his body, sprawling beside him with her forehead pressed into his cheek. She seemed content with it all.
As he could feel her breath, Nic started to ease as well. He stared up at the ceiling a little longer as Erza drifted off to sleep.
'I know, Erza…and that's why we're going to try our hardest, to hope for the best. To make the best of it and share that with everyone. This is going to take a turn at some point, and when it does, we'll need to take the strides we did before. This time, we won't be taking those alone.'
The train rolled through the nighttime countryside, moving along silently over the hilly night. As the train mowed through the terrain, its tracks kept in a straight line through the valley it took towards its next location.
Sitting in a lone cabin, Jefferey was sitting upright with his device in hand. In it, a projection of Arthur at his desk was showing, and suffice to say he seemed the same as ever.
"Did you get all of that?"
"I did, Jefferey. Thank you again for doing that."
"Are you sure that was all you needed me to do?"
"Trust me, there are worse hands to be dealt with at these times. Let's just be thankful we got their respects for our services. Have a little good faith, would you?"
Jefferey thought Arthur's request was more than reprehensible at first, he could even consider it foolhardy. But after considering what it was they were aiming, this was what he had to go with. It was better something than nothing.
He nodded. "If that's what you want."
"Good. So will your train be here in a few hours I take it?"
"Yes. In the meantime, I'll finish up all those reports and get the locations notified."
"Alright then. Don't overdo yourself." The transmission finally turned off, leaving the screen blank once again. Jefferey's attention went out towards the window, where he peered into the nighttime sky. He seemed fixated as he smelled the fresh magic in the air. It was exotic. It was enigmatic…it was lustrous.
The monitor on Arthur's small screen turned off, leaving him sighing in his seat as Charlotte looked less than displeased.
"I still say you are a fool, Arthur." She testified, starting to pace around his space. "Just using this for research and not recruiting more stronger Trainers into our corporation. Are you even aware of that last battle? Those kinds of Trainers are exactly what we need."
Arthur begrudgingly rolled his knuckles and sat his cheek on them. He gave his old friend the stink eye. "Charlotte…you and I both know that this kind of propaganda is not what we're going for."
"Then was is it?" she irritably remarked.
"We're not a military, and we're not a very efficient monopoly. Just why exactly do we have to extort so much out of this guild in particular?"
Charlotte stepped up angrily. "Because of Nic, that's why!"
Arthur placed his forehead in his palm, sighing heavily. "…Nic's been very instrumental to us this far. What you're asking is perhaps suicide. Nic's had a more…difficult standpoint when it comes to the authorities. What makes you think he'll listen to you?"
"Then we'll make him." She said. "Unless if I'm mistaken, he's made quite the few enemies in the past that have given him considerate names to take claim of. Don't you think that would diminish the competition?"
Arthur raised a despondent brow. "What competition? We're the only suppliers to this growing world."
"And I would very much like to keep it that way." She raised a ball fist, showing her angst. "The Cambire Foundation is a proud industry that I would rather not see fall to such low heights again. We need to let the world know that we are as strong as it's so-called heroes, and what better way than to demonstrate through our skills that we possess?"
Arthur looked away, showing disinterest in her viewpoints. "You keep building up such a reputation. But what happens when you add a heavy piece to that thin tower you've built…?"
Charlotte knew where this was going, and she was far from having it. She's had a long day dealing with incompetent Trainers, and she'd rather deal with ones that knew half a brain what to do. Ultimately, she chose to withdraw her disposition and turned away. She began to walk off, her forehead giving a disappointed, dark shadow.
"…you realize that fools will be readying Pokémon for their own uses out there." She reminded coldly. "If they oppose us, we need to be ready with our own show of power. Let me know if that sinks in when you feel like it."
With that, the serious woman walked off, heading down the stairway that now had the railing to go with it. Arthur was once again all alone, and with Marie retired for the night out of his insistence, he was left to gather his own thoughts. He turned in his wheelchair to face the window that reflected his own face.
As he stared into his own eyes, he can see a small intensity in them, like someone who was seeing a very, very grim ghost that was the haunt them over their back. "I have a feeling we might be too late for that." He muttered to himself.
In the oceanic waters, the starlight reflected off the sea's water. The ship in the docking area was large and parked a long with the other boats and ships in the area. However, this one looked more metallic, and in its loading area, workers were up in the middle of the night, carrying in large crates of questionable goods inside.
"That's right, easy, just like that." A gruff observer with a cigar in his mouth said. "Any damage to this cargo and we're be kissing our heads goodbye."
Cages and crates of varied items and unknown figures whining inside the materials were heard. They didn't sound so pleased as they were being forced against their own will into the ship. Many of men were moving the large crates and moving many more on wheels up the loading dock and onto the ship.
Unbeknownst to them. Watching from high over a cliff out of sight, they were unaware of a silhouette stepping up towards its edge, looking down at the small ship with an ominous expression cascaded.
"There's our target." A deep male voice said.
"Yeah, yeah, I see it, too." A younger, lighter male's voice remarked. "Looks like a good fill to me."
"Say, not shabby at all." A wily female's smirk was seen in the darkness. "You think they have any goodies we can look at while we're there?"
From another feminine silhouette, a small, pink bubble expanded from her mouth, expanding to where it burst with a pop before it all receded into her chompers.
"Looks to me about 200 at least on that ship alone." Another masculine male said. He seemed suave as his hand was to his mature chin. "What do you say guys, who wants to get this little party started, huh?"
The same female with the smirk balled her fist, flexing her tone arm. "Well I say the sooner the better! If I stay here any longer, I might break out in a rash out of excitement spoiled."
"Ew! Tell me you at least bathed today!" Another female whined.
"When does she ever?" She smacked him in the head. "Ow!"
"Can it, chicken wire!"
The leader in a dark coat looked down with his dark glove glowing purple. The purple energy was wavy, and gave off a prominent force that made the air around it grow a few degrees hotter.
"That's enough stalling. Time to do what we came for." He fell silent for a moment as he brought a foot back. "Jaegers, make your peace…and go!"
The six silhouettes jumped down from the cliffs, vanishing from sight as the oceanic waters swayed with the tide of the night into the docks.
Alright, technically 5 days since this was uploaded after midnight, but still something to be proud of. So here and now, we have the conclusion of the first arc, The Crossing Arc, finally reached. Now, I will be moving onto my newest arc, and one of the more major arcs that I'm sure will answer a few lingering questions Hiro Mashima forgot or didn't bother dealing with. Get ready guys for my newest arc, the Revenge of Alvarez Arc! I'm not entirely certain that it will live up to the impact or expectations that the prequel's Council War Arc or Impure Underworld Arc had left, but I ca say for certain that I will be trying my best to do what I can to cover ground as I did before. This is all once again going to take a lot of planning, so please try and be patient with this.
So here in this chapter, I finally got Fairy Tail to get more in touch with Abilities, type matchups, and how status moves play an important role. I also used this chance to give Jefferey the spotlight he needed, as well as give Charlotte some more highlight on her personality and how contradictory it is to Arthur. We also got to see Vanessa battle Duncan, and while I may seem like it, I'll point out that Vanessa might still be a little stronger, but otherwise on a similar level with Duncan.
I thought I would also use this chapter to fiddle around with Natsu and his reflection. You see, I thought he should've learned by now of his mistakes and how it was always him. I watched Pokémon Origins and compared him to Red at first, and their styles were always attack and attack. I thought Natsu could use this chance to learn from his selfish recklessness and learn that hard way that going head on against certain offenses isn't going to always succeed in the end.
This group that I made at the end, they are going to be a very instrumental part of this next arc. I won't spoil it yet, but let's see where this goes first.
Anyways, I gotta review a few stories, then work on my Bakugan story, so hang tight, leave a review, and thanks for liking The Crossing Arc and how long it was to stomach!
