Draco: Ugh, starting a new Trainer's journey always feels like a bit of a slog when you do it immediately after wrapping up an endgame. I have no idea where my inspiration is coming from in these conditions.
Pokémon and all related properties © Nintendo. Virtual Singers of Piapro Studio © Crypton Future Media. Characters from Colorful Stage © Craft Egg.
Dreams Still Vivid
Turned out, Jeanne could keep doing this for at least four more battles. As she stepped out onto the battlefield for Round 41, she once again found no opponent emerging in the red corner - at least before that brilliant light surrounded her yet again. When it faded, the environs of SEKAI Colosseum had changed once more - gone was the stage with its giant screen, the crowd of glowsticks and distant stages. Now she stood upon what seemed to be a city street, just wide enough to host a Dynamax; graffiti decorated the walls of the surrounding buildings, and to one side was what looked like an open-air café.
Jeanne found herself trying to read the menu before remembering she was in the middle of a battle challenge.
She turned back to face the red corner, finding Kohane stepping into position - and a prismatic figure was visible on the strap of her cap. "Come on," she prompted, seizing a Poké Ball and bracing it against her chest. "Let's give it everything we've got!"
"Definitely," Jeanne returned. "No holding back!"
The two of them each threw a Poké Ball forward; an elegant Water-type found herself staring down a two-faced Electric-type. "In the blue corner: Primarina! And in the red corner: Morpeko! Show us what you're made of!"
"Light it up!" Kohane commanded.
"Shine bright!" Jeanne instructed.
Morpeko began to sprint forward on all fours, and voltage whirled around him, eventually solidifying into a great ring of lightning that slammed into Primarina. The Soloist Pokémon took the blow full-on, and as soon as the voltage dispersed, she retaliated with a Moonblast, throwing Morpeko into the air and backwards across the battlefield. A hunger shrouded the Two-Sided Pokémon as he touched down, his fur darkening with his expression; Primarina was wholly unprepared for the Bullet Seed shower that came her way, battering her with a multitude of individually-weak blows that added up to far too much damage for comfort.
She managed to stay standing, but just barely, and promptly planted her flippers to unleash a forceful note in retaliation. Morpeko bounced back, unconscious, and Kohane withdrew him before he could collide with her; a Golisopod was sent out to take his place, and the Hard Scale Pokémon promptly closed the distance and body-tackled Primarina to knock her out.
"A lasting First Impression!" Miku exclaimed as Jeanne withdrew the Soloist Pokémon. "The red corner has evened the field!"
Archeops was sent out to take her place; he promptly soared forward, arcing around Golisopod's Razor Shell to deliver a bombardment of Acrobatics. The Bug-type was thrown much further than the impact should have, and Kohane raised a Poké Ball to facilitate her Emergency Exit before sending out a snow-white Ninetales to take her place. The emergence of the frigid Fox Pokémon was accompanied by a sudden hailstorm, and she promptly unleashed a howling Blizzard to converge on Archeops.
It wasn't quite enough to knock him out, and the First Bird Pokémon retaliated with a Rock Slide; the battering stones, unfortunately, weren't enough to knock Ninetales out, either. A quick Ice Beam finished off the Flying-type; Jeanne withdrew him and sent out Volcarona to take his place, and the Fox Pokémon elected to raise an Aurora Veil instead of landing a blow. It wasn't enough to stop the Fiery Dance from knocking her out, unfortunately, but it did make things harder when a Sandaconda was deployed who looked far too eager to make some noise.
Jeanne withdrew Volcarona, sending out Froslass to take his place as an Earthquake shook the battlefield. The Sand Snake Pokémon looked most upset to see the new arrival, especially considering the still-ongoing hailstorm; alas, the still-present Aurora Veil meant that Froslass' own Blizzard couldn't knock her out in a single blow. Sandaconda retaliated with a Brutal Swing that left Froslass reeling - then, before she could try and follow up, a vicious row of rocky blades ripped out of the ground beneath her to finish her off.
"Stone Edge cuts through them!" Miku exclaimed. "The red corner takes the lead!"
As the hailstorm subsided, Volcarona was sent back onto the field, and this time Jeanne readied her Tera Orb as well. Sandaconda tried to invoke another Earthquake as the crystals consumed the Sun Pokémon, but the tremors had much less impact given the bouquet of the Tera Jewel atop her head, and sunlight began to gather around her. The Sand Snake Pokémon gave a desperate cry as she started to slither forward, but she couldn't get close enough to land a blow before the Solar Beam seared into the air and then came down to knock her out.
Kohane withdrew her, sending Golisopod back out to take her place. The Hard Scale Pokémon lunged forward for a First Impression, leaving Volcarona tumbling backwards - but not quite knocking her out, allowing her to retaliate with a Fiery Dance. Golisopod managed to endure the blazes, and retaliated with a Struggle Bug; in spite of the Sun Pokémon's best efforts to endure, the blow was too much, and her Tera Jewel shattered as she fell to the ground.
Golisopod wasn't in much better condition for herself; Lucario was sent out, Jeanne set off his Mega Evolution, and he promptly unleashed a Dark Pulse to finish off the Bug-type. The next Pokémon to emerge, however, made him rethink his position - Kohane sent out an Armarouge to take Golisopod's place, and the Fire Warrior Pokémon promptly lashed her pauldrons down her arms so she could bring them together to form a barrel in which flames began to well.
Jeanne withdrew Lucario and swept her last Poké Ball out to set off her Dynamax Band; once the Ball had expanded, she threw it backwards, and Armarouge shifted her aim upward to loose her Armour Cannon blast... at the supersized Goodra who appeared there.
The Fire-type had a frustrated look on her face as she repositioned her pauldrons, electing to follow up with a Psyshock; the Dragon Pokémon endured the bombardment of materialized shards and promptly retaliated, invoking a geyser of Max Ooze to consume Armarouge from below. Weakened but not yet out, the Fire Warrior Pokémon invoked another Psyshock; Goodra took the blow without issue, and finished off Armarouge with a Max Wyrmwind.
Kohane withdrew her, and an Altaria was sent out to take her place; the Humming Pokémon was wearing a small circlet with a Mega Stone mounted on it that had Goodra stepping back in concern.
"We'll keep going," Kohane proclaimed. "Doesn't matter how far we have to climb - we'll never give up until we get there!"
She reached for the Key Stone set into her cap, and the Altarianite reacted. Kohane twisted into a spin, lashing her hand out as the light of Mega Evolution consumed her Pokémon; when it shattered, Altaria's cloudy plumage had grown more extensive, and its body brightened in hue. The Humming Pokémon gave a triumphant cry, and Fairy light began to gather around her before she flung it forward, the projectile slamming into Goodra with enough force to end his Dynamax.
"Shone down with a Moonblast!" Miku exclaimed as Jeanne withdrew the unconscious Dragon Pokémon. "Both corners are down to their last Pokémon!"
Lucario was sent out onto the field, and the two Mega-Evolved Pokémon eyed each other up before he sprinted forward. Altaria loosed a battlefield-shaking Hyper Voice, and the Pixilation left it dealing much more damage than it would from any other foe; the Aura Pokémon charged through the soundwaves, striking the Fairy-type with one Meteor Mash to leave her reeling and then another to throw her into the air. Altaria twisted in the air, righting herself and flapping her wings viciously as she unleashed another Hyper Voice; Lucario was forced to his knees by the Pixilated sound, but refused to fall further, howling in retaliation.
Aura burst around his feet as he threw himself into the air, and Altaria hadn't the chance to finish him off before he brought his paws together and slammed them both down for one more Meteor Mash.
The Humming Pokémon was thrown viciously to the ground, and when the dust faded, her Mega Evolution had subsided.
"What a battle!" Miku exclaimed as Lucario landed at her side. "The blue corner has claimed victory!" He took a moment to catch his breath before he started back towards the blue corner, earning a smile from his Trainer before she withdrew him. "Our challenger just won't take a loss!"
Jeanne turned her attention forward to find Kohane approaching. "You really are determined, aren't you?" the performer observed. "To take it all the way."
"I don't know if determination is gonna be enough," Jeanne admitted.
"Don't doubt yourself," Kohane insisted. "You love what you're doing - and that's where real strength comes from."
+x+x+x+
Four more battles seemed intent on proving Kohane right; Jeanne found herself fighting her way to a succession of swift victories. Before long, she found the next member of Vivid BAD SQUAD stepping out onto the red corner; An took her position and flashed a confident grin across the battlefield.
"You hear that crowd?" she proclaimed, readying a Poké Ball before her like a microphone. "Let's give 'em what they want!"
"I would love nothing more than to oblige them," Jeanne replied.
The two of them each threw a Poké Ball forward; a soaring Ground-type emerged and found herself standing opposite an airborne Rock-type. "In the blue corner: Archeops! And in the red corner: Flygon! It's anyone's game!"
An aimed a finger forward. "Blitz 'em!"
Jeanne lashed her hand to the side. "From above!"
Flygon soared forward, dragon mist dancing around her form as Archeops flew forth to meet her; a Dragon Rush narrowly missed the First Bird Pokémon, and he took advantage of the whiff to dance blows of Acrobatics across Flygon's body. The Mystic Pokémon retaliated with a Dragon Claw, leaving Archeops reeling in the air, but a second bombardment of agile blows was enough to finish off Flygon, leaving her tumbling to the ground. An withdrew the Ground-type, sending out a Luxray to take her place; the Gleam Eyes Pokémon immediately started dashing at Archeops with voltage dancing around his maw.
Archeops touched down to loose an Earthquake, but it wasn't enough to knock him out; the Thunder Fang closed on the Flying-type's wing, and Luxray slammed him to the ground to knock him out. Jeanne quickly withdrew the First Bird Pokémon and sent out Goodra to take his place; when ice began to gather around the Electric-type for another charge, she brandished her Tera Orb and flung it forward, causing crystals to rip up around the Dragon Pokémon.
In the instant they shattered, Luxray leapt into the scattering shards, slamming an Ice Fang into Goodra's arm... which had much less impact than it would have without the skull-and-crossbones Tera Jewel atop his head. Goodra flung Luxray to the ground, and noxious light scattered from his Tera Jewel before he loosed a Sludge Bomb into the Gleam Eyes Pokémon. The toxin's seeped into Luxray's body as he tumbled back, barely conscious; he lunged at the Dragon Pokémon for a Thunder Fang parting shot, but Goodra didn't even have the chance to retaliate before Luxray's jaw slacked and he slumped to the ground.
"The poison's taken its toll!" Miku exclaimed as An withdrew the Electric-type. "The red corner's fallen behind once more!"
A Ninetales was sent out to take his place - but unlike her partner's, An's Fox Pokémon was clad in the fiery golden fur more common to the species. Sunlight began to shine down on the battlefield as her paws hit the ground; Goodra unleashed a Dragon Pulse in the same instant as Ninetales invoked a mind-shaking Extrasensory, knocking him out even as the blow slammed into her. Jeanne quickly withdrew him, weighing her options for a moment; then she sent out Primarina to take his place, and as soon as the Soloist Pokémon hit the field, she crossed her arms and then thrust them forward to invoke her Z-Power Ring.
Primarina glanced up into the blazing sunlight as Jeanne swept her arms to one side and then the other; then she took a deep breath, letting the Z-Power gather around her before rising to on her tail and letting her hair come unbound with a ferocious note. Ninetales invoked a Solar Beam even as water converged in the air above vocalist, but Primarina only endured the blow, directing the sea's worth of water forward so that it was directly above the Fox Pokémon before unleashing another powerful note to let it burst.
By the time the waves of the Oceanic Operetta subsided, Ninetales was unconscious; An withdrew her as Primarina bowed into the shower. The sunlight wasn't going anywhere, though, and as a Crobat was sent out onto the red corner, the Soloist Pokémon elected to go out on a high - and loud - note. A forceful Hyper Voice ripped through the air around her as Crobat was soaring forward; the Bat Pokémon soared straight through the battering sound, lashing his wings out in a noxious X to finish Primarina off.
"Crossed out by Cross Poison!" Miku warned as Jeanne withdrew the unconscious Water-type. "The red corner is determined to keep this even!"
Lucario was sent out into the sunlight, and Jeanne quickly touched her Key Stone to invoke his Mega Evolution. As soon as the shell of light shattered around him, he charged straight at Crobat, who invoked a twisting Air Cutter to lash at his body; an unexpectedly sharp blow left Lucario reeling, but didn't stop him from closing the distance and driving a Meteor Mash into the Bat Pokémon to throw him earthward. A vicious Dark Pulse followed through, flinging Crobat backwards, and his wings couldn't lift him before he hit the ground tumbling.
An withdrew the Poison-type and sent out a Glalie to take his place - who immediately retaliated with a point-blank Ice Beam. Lucario crossed his arms to meet the beam, enduring the cold blow, but any hopes of a retaliation were stifled when his body was caked in a layer of ice, immobilizing him. With a curse, Jeanne withdrew the Aura Pokémon; Volcarona was sent out to take her place, and immediately leapt forward into a Fiery Dance to batter the Ice Face Pokémon with blazes - assisted by the still-blazing sunlight. Glalie retaliated with a Water Pulse from point-blank, throwing Volcarona backwards, but it was less-than-effective in the light, and the Sun Pokémon only leapt forward once more, finishing him off with a second searing step before the sunlight faded from the skies above.
Withdrawing the unconscious Ice-type, An threw forth her last Poké Ball; a Krookodile emerged with a confident growl.
"No one has the right to tell us we'll never be capable," she proclaimed. "No one gets to say that we'll never be enough!" She reached into her jacket, drawing out a Tera Orb. "And those who try to darken our road deserve to be blinded when we have our chance to shine!"
Light converged on the Tera Orb, and she hurled it forward so it would burst above the Intimidation Pokémon; Volcarona began to gather light all the same, trusting that no option would be worse than the other. She was proven wrong when the crystals shattered, revealing the draconic black figure atop the Tera Jewel, and Krookodile gave a vicious roar before charging forward, dragon mist blazing around him and his Tera Jewel both as he unleashed an Outrage against the Sun Pokémon.
The first flurry of blows wasn't enough to knock her out, and Volcarona loosed a Solar Beam to come down on Krookodile - ineffective as it was. The second bombardment was too much, knocking her out; Jeanne noticed that Krookodile didn't seem to be done yet, and sent out the still-frozen Lucario to meet his third rush. An unexpectedly vicious blow shattered the ice and knocked out the Aura Pokémon, ending his Mega Evolution, but Jeanne's gambit was rewarded as Krookodile staggered away in the aftermath of his prolonged assault.
She quickly swept her last Poké Ball to one side, activating her Dynamax Band; particles converged on the Ball and supersized it, and she flung it backwards to deploy Froslass. The Snow Land Pokémon let the transformation run its course before giving a chilling cry to shake the Colosseum, and Krookodile stepped back - or tried to - in concern at realizing he would be just as fricked with or without his Terastallization.
He tried to close in for a blow, and found he couldn't; his confusion left him unable to run in a straight line, and he tumbled to the ground as a Max Hailstorm came down to finish him off. When the snow scattered, his Tera Jewel had already broken, and Krookodile stumbled back and collapsed.
"Game, set, match!" Miku exclaimed as An withdrew the unconscious Ground-type. "The blue corner has claimed victory once more!" Froslass' Dynamax subsided, and she drifted forward to meet Jeanne for a high-five. "What is it going to take to put a stop to our challenger's streak?"
As Jeanne withdrew her Pokémon, she turned to find An approaching. "Miku's out of her head if she thinks anything's gonna stop you."
"I don't know," Jeanne admitted. "It wouldn't take much more to tip us over the edge."
"Trust me, it's not gonna come from anyone who wants to see you plummet," An insisted. "There's no strength in wanting to stop someone from chasing their dreams."
Draco: Is it obvious that I want to punch someone in the VBS storyline? I'm not sorry.
Literally switched out one of Kohane's party members in between writing the Street SEKAI intro and writing her intro line. I am so glad I didn't have the battle written yet when I discovered that Kohane had a pet snake.