Chapter 49: Epsilon's Creator! The next morning had dawned. After the big events of the previous day, Team Polarna vatra was now back in Crowning, looking ahead to their next opponents. And this season was going to start with a bang for the newcomers, who were competing against the runners-up from the previous season to end of the first day of play! The previous night, the last season had ended and, once again, Team Nordika had managed to defend their title. And now the season began in which Aurora wanted to ensure that Elementareon's team would no longer hold on to this title.
Aurora's team, Team Polarna vatra, seemed more ready for this task than ever before. The events of the previous day were still deeply felt, for some more, for some less, but they would not stop any of them, quite the opposite. Polarna vatra's newest member in particular was determined to prove that he could truly show his power his in a team that he would not have to carry by himself. And Zeraora wanted to prove this in this first duel. After a very short meeting of the entire previous team, he was accepted into Polarna vatra almost unanimously. Four votes in favor, one abstention. So it was only a matter of formalities to register the new fighter.
Fights had been taking place in the arena all day. Meanwhile, the duel between Polarna vatra and Aralsa was getting closer and closer, only two more duels were left, the first of which was already in full swing. But as excited as Aurora was for this to begin, just the idea of her opponents made her blood boil. Only the day before, she had learned the history of Epsilon and a name appeared several times. Grimmsnarl. Grimmsnarl Alpha. He was ultimately the one who brought about the creation of today's Epsilon. He was the originator of the years of misfortune that plagued Berelo and the world. And this is the Pokemon she was supposed to fight today. In a sports fight? The rest of her team also knew about their opponent's role at this point, but they showed no concern, which did not necessarily mean that they were not worried. And yet there was no way around it. Even before the duel even began. Because as the team was standing in the entrance area, waiting, watching the current duel on a screen, Marshadow noticed a large, green and black creature approaching them.
"You six? Who is your leader?"
Aurora and Kel both stepped forward after brief eye contact.
"Both of us!", Kel stated. "You are Team Polarna vatra, I know that!" "Correct. And who are you?"
Aurora already had a very precise idea of who she was dealing with when asking this question, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"I am Grimmsnarl Alpha, leader of the Aralsian warriors! Your pack will face my warriors today!"
A single thought went through Kel's head: This guy was exactly the kind of dick that he had imagined.
"What about it?"
A long, thin arm stretched a finger straight at Kel.
"You. You have something that should belong to my tribe! This helmet!"
The helmet of the Plot Armor? Giving it away was out of the question.
"No. If that was your question, you can leave!" "Hmph. You don't know who you're dealing with, lapdog. But well, you're right in a way. A warrior won't give anything away without something in return. So let's make a bet!"
The meter-tall leader pulled out a strangely curved plate with several cords attached to it.
"This is an artifact of my tribe. This helmet and it… they feel similar. That's why I need this helmet! I'm ready to bet! The winner of our teams' duel gets the loser's piece!"
Aurora was about to refuse, but Kel answered faster.
"Deal! The loser gives up his artifact or loses all his honor as a warrior!"
A condescending laugh echoed through the hall.
"At least you have the fighting spirit, lapdog! Well then! The bet is on! Soon the helmet will belong to my tribe too, as it should be!"
With these words, the tribal leader disappeared, leaving Aurora speechless. Her gaze fell on Kel, completely unable to understand what he was doing.
"Kel, what... have you gone mad? If you lose the helmet... then we will never be able to complete the Plot Armor! You can't risk it for a piece of..."
Marshadow completed her sentence and answered all the questions the Ninetales had. "... of the Plot Armor. The artifacts are truly similar. What Grimmsnarl has got there is the back plate of the Plot Armor. That's why Kel had to make the bet. If he didn't, the Plot Armor would also be lost." "Besides..."
Kel seemed very self-satisfied.
"If we lose, then I'll lose the helmet or my warrior's honor, that's the deal. And why do I care about my warrior's honor? I have no self-esteem anyway!"
Some seriousness returned to his voice.
"Still, if we lose... he won't give us a second chance to win the back plate. So we have to work hard."
Aurora groaned annoyedly.
"Because this fight didn't bring enough pressure anyway. And then there are the decisions about who will compete when." "Look at it this way, Aurora...", Marshadow tried to encourage, "...apart from Grimmsnarl, only two dark-type Zoroark are part of his team. That means there is little variance." "And still a lot of strength. Otherwise, with a lineup like that, they wouldn't be in the top 10 of the best teams on the continent."
Zeraora was the first to show true optimism, albeit less out of conviction than out of hatred.
"This bunch won't be calling themselves one of the best teams for much longer! When we're done with them, they'll regret everything they've done! And we'll get that Plot Armor too!"
About half an hour passed, and Team Polarna vatra found themselves in the same large room as in the relegation duel. The result could well be similar again, at least if they had anything to say about it, but everyone prayed that events would be different. Remembering that day that had just passed, Kel looked down at himself, where the scratches that Darkrai had inflicted on him were still clearly visible. Just one duel, a maximum of three rounds. The shortest possible form of duel. And a fifty-fifty question. Nobody believed that Grimmsnarl would let his Zoroark take over both fights. Even if one of his Zoroarks were to compete in round one, he would either want to bring back the duel himself, or finish it if his fighter won. The only question was: Would he enter the field now or in round two? And even if they knew... who would be effective against whom? Against Grimmsnarl there were two effective choices: Zeraora, who was powered by anger and Metal Claw, or Aurora, who took fairy and dark-type attacks well and had an absolute secret weapon in Steel Beam.
Anyone could actually come in neutral against the Zoroark, except Aurora, who had the advantage, Zeraora, who had the same advantage thanks to a few fighting-type attacks, and Marshadow, who hit effectively. However, there was a great risk in sending him, as he would definitely come up short against Grimsnarl himself. So it was already pretty clear: Aurora and Zeraora would go into battle, only the order was up in the air and ultimately it came down to pure guessing. In the hope that Aurora would meet the tribal leader, she entered the field first. And, as so often, her wishes did not come true. At least a Zoroark shouldn't be able to do much against her, she thought. Round one began.
Against a pure dark Pokemon like Zoroark, the Ninetales simply wanted to charge up Moonblast and use it as soon as the time was right, as this attack would do more than most of the others combined. To make this even easier, she wanted to protect herself. This duel was to be a first test for her new technique, a technique that was based heavily on the magic of her species and was accordingly advanced. However, a Plot warrior of the King's League could not shy away from advanced strategies. Immediately expecting and catching an attack from her opponent, she jumped into the air and used her surprised enemy's head to find enough time in the air to let hail fall into the ring. On one hand, this disturbed her opponent, but also gave her the opportunity to create Aurora Veil, a kind of magical barrier made of hail that weakened any attack that threatened to hit her. Although she had to bring hail onto the field first and then create her shield, when it came to that, it paid off enormously for Aurora, as her greatest weakness was a rather poor defensive power, which was completely negated by this.
However, another problem remained. Many of Aurora's strong attacks were rather slow to execute and the dark Zoroark was anything but slow. That's why the fight dragged on quite a bit. For a long time, Aurora hardly scored any hits, while Zoroark did almost nothing with his own. But ultimately, round one ended in victory for Team Polarna vatra, when after minutes a well-placed fake attack perfectly placed Zoroark so that Aurora's Moonblast hit its target. So Zeraora only had to win his duel and the fateful fight would be decided.
But his opponent was not going to be an easy one. As expected, the war-loving leader Grimmsnarl himself entered the scene. His goal: Victory and the defense of his artifact. Zeraora, on the other hand, was driven by completely different things. Above all: Revenge.
"You're standing here as if you were above everyone, Grimmsnarl! Do you even know what you have done?"
Aurora looked at the conversation happening on the screen and quickly understood what Zeraora was planning. Only the most initiated already knew about the truth of Epsilon and the origins of the Plot Empress. No matter how this fight would turn out, the warrior should not leave this field without losing at least his reputation.
"What I have done? I lead a tribe according to the traditions of my ancestors! Is that something to be punished, Minorling?" "These traditions are the reason for the evil in our entire world! It is your fault that I am standing here today and not fighting as part of my own team! It is your fault that Epsilon is the way she is! Are you even aware of that?"
Grimmsnarl hesitated briefly. Apparently he had not been particularly aware of this fact. The cheers of the spectators had also died down.
"Well... it explains a lot. And yet I did not decide how Epsilon should act, did I? My tribe may have led her to strength, but the fact that she abused that strength is her fault!" "No, you and your damned pack led her to madness and hatred, not strength! Because of you, she has become a tyrant who will eradicate what created her! If there weren't Pokemon like Aurora who stood up to Epsilon, then you would have died for your own mistakes already!"
However, all the speeches and the message behind them were to fall on deaf ears; there was no sign of improvement.
"Are you trying to make me repent? An Epsilon could never beat an Alpha! If she ever shows herself to me, then she will feel where she belongs! On the ground, where all the lesser ones crawl!" "As you soon will, too!"
The duel began with this final threat. Enough words had been spoken, but few of them had worked. And Zeraora fought with all the strength and, above all, the speed that he had. However, everyone knew that Grimmsnarl would want to do honor to his position as the Alpha. He was the reason his team was one of the best and he knew how to compete against all kinds of fighters. But Zeraora's style, speed AND offense in a dangerous combination, seemed to throw the tall fighter off track a little. But that didn't mean defeat... until one fateful moment.
A bright flash of light filled the arena. A Plothole. In the middle of a battle in the King's League. And at the same moment, a real lightning bolt struck, straight out of the blue sky, as the product of the prior phenomenon.
Unexpected as it was, there was no time for Grimmsnarl to react and this Plothole ended his hopes for good. The warrior's leader stumbled out of the ring, struck by a higher power, not by his enemy.
"The battle is over!"
Elementareon's voice boomed from the speakers.
"The winners are..." "Stop!"
Zeraora's voice rang out even louder than Elementareon's. All noises fell silent again, in the audience and also in the teams' chamber.
"This is bullshit! I refuse to accept this win! I didn't do shit, that was all the Plothole! I demand a redo!"