Chapter 45: Long Held Rivalry! Aria vs Nel!
15 minutes ago, Aria's perspective…
As Aira walked into Noise Town, she felt a large weight on her shoulders as she let out a large sigh, taking note of where she last saw Hibiki. "I just hope this all goes well and she says no. Even though I know in my heart of hearts that it's a false hope, it's something I still have to hold on to." Aria thought grimly. As she walked around, she gave a small as she noticed a fairly lonesome house with a guard outside. "Well… may as well give her an opportunity." Aria thought as she made her way to the house in question.
"Ah, Leader Aria, we've been expecting you." the grunt called out as Aria got closer..
"How many times have I told you all not to call me that?" Aria questioned in an exasperated sigh.
"Sorry, force of habit. Anyway, you came at the perfect time, a lot more people than usual have been deciding to take on the gym and Nel is only able to keep them occupied for so long. Hell, some are refusing to fight unless it's with you." the grunt said.
"Of course they are, why wouldn't they? All right I'll get them in order, but I need to speak with Nel about something first." Aria responded in a tired tone. The grunt nodded before walking off, Aria giving a quick glance at Hibiki before she started walking off towards the gym. "Man, they really need to take better care to not just leave stuff around, someone might get a bit handsy with this place." Aria thought with a smile on her face. After a bit of walking, she arrived at the entrance to the gym and was stopped by a grunt.
"No- oh it's you Leader. Sorry about that." the grunt said sheepishly.
"It's quite alright, I take it that Nel has ordered the gym to be closed again?" Aria questioned.
"Yep, no thanks to those challengers that mean to face you, no offense intended of course." the grunt responded.
"Ok, I'll get to them in a bit, but first I need to talk with Nel about something. Would you happen to know where she is?" Aria questioned.
"She is in her office, and she said that she wanted some alone time. That was about an hour ago or so." The grunt explained.
"Got it, thank you." Aria told the grunt. The grunt simply saluted as she entered the gym, making sure to be aware of her surroundings at all times. The gym was fairly nice given the consistently destroyed state of the town, with a large area that was surrounded by a large chain link fence, stands for spectators, and a viewing area. When she entered, saw a few grunts walking about and doing their business, but also caught sight of Break just mumbling to herself. Feeling more than a little responsible for her current situation, she decided to walk over to the grumbling girl and talk with her. "Hey Break." Aria called as she got closer. Break immediately looked up and smiled as she saw Aria walking closer.
"Morning Leader, you're here early. Thought a mother like you wouldn't be up at 4 AM." Break said with a smile.
"Hey, you know I can get up as early as I want to. Besides, I have some business with Aria to take care of before we reopen the gym." Aria commented. Aria noted a brief flash of interest on Break's face, which made her smile internally.
"Oh? What are you going to talk with her about?" Break questioned, trying to sound as uninterested as possible.
"Nothing that important, just ask her some questions about recent events that have been bothering me." Aria told Break.
"I see…" Break said, trailing off as she thought of what to say next.
"By the way, it might have just been my imagination, but I swear I heard someone following me on the way here." Aria mentioned. Break immediately threw out all pretenses and went into serious mode as she got ready to march off.
"Where did you least hear the sound?" Break asked.
"I think it was near the houses on the west side of town." Aria said. With that, Break immediately went towards the houses that Aria had mentioned, Aria giving a sad smile as she continued to head to Nel's office. "Apologies Break, I know you need to speak to me about her, but I need to be absolutely sure that she is alone for this." Aria thought to herself. About a minute of walking later, she eventually ended up in front of Nel's office where she heard some shuffling from within. Aria then knocked on the door and she smiled as she heard the sound of someone scrambling inside.
"Who is it?" Nel called out from inside a bit frantically.
"No need to get your panties twisted up Nel, it's only me." Aria called out calmly, giggling a bit on the inside.
"...Give me a second." Aria said. Aria stood by herself for a few seconds as she heard stuff getting put away before the door opened and Nel stood there with a smile on her face. Nel was a woman in her mid to late 30s, about the same age as Aria, with tan skin, black hair, and brown eyes, and was wearing a purple dress with various spiked music notes, blue jeans, and purple sneakers.
"Apologies for that Aria, didn't think you were coming at this hour." Nel told Aria.
"I've been getting that a lot so far today. Mind if I come in? I need to talk with you about some things." Aria said. Nel paused for a moment before she fully opened the door and let Aria in, closing the door after she entered. Nel's office was a fairly simply place, having dark purple walls, a desk with a computer at the far wall, a bookshelf, and a couch with a TV that was hooked up to game consoles.
"What did you need?" Nel questioned curiously. Aria sighed as she thought about how to word her questions and if she should build up to it, but just decided to start with the big one to gauge Nel's reaction.
"It's more a question that I just want to get out of my mind and it's one that has just been bothering me for the longest time. Do you suspect that anyone in Team Noise might be feeding information to Neo Cypher?" Aria asked, a grim look on her face. Aria mentally smiled as she saw Nel get caught a little off guard by that question before composing herself.
"Why would you ask that?" Nel responded.
"Well, something about all of the recent events have been bothering me. Mainly, Team Noise's involvement in all of this stuff with Neo Cypher. While yes I do get that you can't exactly check every mission that you hand out, there have been a lot of cases where Team Noise does interact with Neo Cypher in some way." Aria explained.
"So you think someone in Team Noise is giving out those missions to my grunts?" Nel asked.
"Yep, but there is one thing that has been bothering me the most of all these incidents, Break's mission to the Desert Tera Dome." Aria said. Nel simply sighed as she sat down on the chair at her desk, her face taking on a small frown.
"Honestly, I should have been more careful about the pokemon assignments, I usually delegate those to an officer and I guess that someone managed to slip those Shadow Pokemon in there." Nel said with a sigh.
"Aren't you supposed to be the one in charge of handing out Pokemon for missions? Also, isn't that something that you insisted on adding?" Aria questioned, hoping to get something out of Nel.
"Yes it was and yes I am, I will admit that. That being said, you know how it is working double time as leader and Gym Leader. I was merely looking to offload some of the work so I could rest a little easier." Nel elaborated, her tone staying resentful. Aria simply nodded and sighed before thinking of a trick that she could try, mentally sighing and bracing herself for what she thinks that Nel will say.
"Ok, got it. I'm going to go talk to some of the other grunts, see what they have to say. Sorry for bothering you with the stupid questions." Aria said as she moved towards the door.
"It's fine Ari-chan, all for the name of peace. Oh, and I'm not sure if you know this, but sorry for your loss." Nel said as she turned back to the computer. Aria immediately froze in place as she reached for the handle before turning slowly back to Nel.
"What?" Aria asked in a terrified tone. Nel winced as she awkwardly turned around to face Aria, a frown of pain on her face.
"Ah, I thought you knew." Nel said in a somber voice.
"What are you talking about?" Aria inquired.
"I was just on the phone with Looker a bit before you got here and he told me that Hibiki had gone on a suicide mission to get Luna back from Neo Cypher." Nel explained.
"No… No, I refuse to believe that." Aria said in disbelief.
"I know, I was just as shocked when I heard the news myself." Nel told Aria.
"What… Do you know where she went?" Aria asked with sadness in her voice.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know. Looker said that Echo had found a note in Hibiki's room saying that she had gone to go get Melody back, whoever that was on her team." Nel explained. As she heard that, she mentally smirked as she decided on a response to give.
"So Melody got kidnapped? Odd that it happened so fast though, she still had Melody when I saw her yesterday." Aria mentioned.
"Oh, she had her yesterday? Huh, I thought that Looker said she had it taken two days ago." Nel said, scratching her head in apparent confusion.
"Well, Looker must have been wrong about that. Are you positive that it was Looker that you talked to?" Aria inquired.
"Positively, I was talking to him on the phone just an hour ago." Nel continued in a confident voice. Aria simply nodded as she pulled out her phone and opened an email that she had received.
"In that case, why did I get a message a few hours ago that said that the operation happening tonight was a success?" Aria asked.
"...Oh right, the operation that was going on at the resort." Nel responded, being a bit surprised by the response.
"Yes that is the one, but how do you know about it?" Aria asked, using her phone to hide a smile on her face. Nel opened her mouth to say something, but paused as she attempted to remember something.
"Looker sent me an email about it before it happened, remember that he does send stuff about relevant operations to me." Nel said, a tad more nervousness in her voice.
"True, that is something he does, but the operation was kept rather under wraps. Still, if he did send you a message about the operation, you should know who was a part of it." Aria told Nel, a suspicious look in her eye.
"Of course I do, it was Hibiki, Echo, Cherry, and that boy they have traveling with them. I know they were going there to take care of Neo Cypher along with Solion and that they were told to stay away. I can confirm with yours though if you would like" Nel responded. Aria nodded as she mentally sighed, deciding to just go for the killing question.
"Ok, apologies for all of the questions, just needed to make sure that you were actually you. There is one last thing I do want to say though." Aria said as she handed Nel the phone.
"What's that?" Nel questioned as she looked at what was on the screen. She immediately froze as all she was was an email from Looker dated to two days ago, causing her to look up to a grinning Aria.
"You really need to learn when someone is fucking with you." Aria said in a smug tone of voice. Nel looked down at the phone again and paused before sighing, slowly handing the phone back to Aria, and getting up out of the chair.
"To be fair, I didn't think you would put that together… unless…" Nel responded before trailing off.
"Yeah so Shika probably told you that Hibiki had let herself fall to keep Echo alive, no prizes for guessing how I found out about the operation." Aria said.
"To be fair, she told me to keep an eye out because she figured there was at least some trick at play." Nel admitted with a sigh. Aria nodded as the two adults looked at each other, standing in silence for a good minute. "So… what happens now?" Nel asked.
"Normally, I would just arrest you and be done with it, but I have something in mind. Meet me at the stadium in 5-10 minutes." Aria responded, turning to leave.
"You're challenging me to a battle?" Nel inquired, a tad confused.
"Yes, if you don't come, within the time, then I know you're truly on their side. If you do, then I want to see why you teamed with them through a battle. I'm only doing this because you're my friend and rival, don't make me regret this choice." Aria explained in a serious tone before she opened the door and left Nel alone.
"...Why did it have to be you?" Nel asked as she moved around her room and got her pokemon ready.
Five minutes passed as Aria stood in the main hall that housed the stadium, just waiting to see if Nel would arrive, "This was a stupid idea, I should have just arrested her then and there. Man, I hate that I'm still a little soft… though can I really say that it's fair when I'm talking about my rival and lifelong friend." Aria thought to herself. As she finished that thought, she looked up and saw Nel coming into the room with determination in her eyes.
"Let's get this over with." Nel told Aria as she walked towards the stage. Aria did the same as she looked eyes with Nel, the two walking to separate edges of the arena. As they did, a grunt walked into the room and noticed what was going on.
"Um, did I walk in on something bad?" the grunt awkwardly asked.
"It's nothing, the two of us just wanted to have a friendly match. Anything wrong with that?" Nel told the grunt in an annoyed voice.
"No, I was just curious, carry on." the grunt responded as they turned to leave. Right as they were about to leave though, Aria got a good idea and called for him to stop.
"Hey Nel, what do you say we make this match a little more interesting for the two of us?" Aria suggested.
"What are you planning?" Nel questioned, turning to Aria.
"Nothing much, just that I want to see if you're fit to stay the leader of Team Noise." Aria said with a smirk. Nel mentally chuckled to herself, deciding to play along with a laugh and confident smile.
"Oh, looking to take back your glory?" Nel questioned in a somewhat cokey tone.
"Guess you could say that, kind of just want to see if you're still worthy of being the leader." Aria responded.
"So I take it that it's going to be as simple as the victor becoming the leader of team Noise?" Nel asked.
"Exactly." Aria said.
"If we're doing that, then may as well let the grunts know about it. Hey you." Nel told the grunt, who had stayed silent the whole time.
"Yes Leader?" the grunt responded, taking an attentive stance.
"Go get on the intercom and let the others know that this is happening." Nel ordered.
"At once." the grunt said before speeding off. As soon as the two were sure that they were left alone, they both sighed before starting to laugh.
"Man, you really did decide to come up with that on the fly, didn't you?" Nel commented in a calmer voice.
"Hey, it probably would have happened anyway given what we're going to be doing." Aria told Nel, a smile on her face.
"True…" Nel said, trailing off as she looked down. There was a moment of silence as Aria attempted to say nothing, but couldn't as a thought forced itself to the front of her mind
"Why did you join them Nel? I know you're better than this and I know you can do good, so why go to their side?" Aria asked, a very clear pain in her voice.
"Because that's all I have left to prove myself that I'm as good as you!" Nel yelled out. Aria was stunned into silence as Nel looked up, her eyes filled with frustrated tears. "Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to always see the person who you consider your rival always pass you?! Do you know how it feels to stagnate and feel like you'll never catch up?!" Nel exclaimed in a frustrated voice.
"Nel…" Aria said, a mix of surprise and pain in her voice.
"It's not that I don't get that you have your issues to deal with and push past, but it's so frustrating to just always be left behind. Even when you were having trouble with Team Noise, even back when we fought at the Pokemon League, you've never fallen behind in my eyes. That's why I threw away what pride I had and joined Neo Cypher, to finally get a chance to prove I'm better than you!" Nel said, her voice staying fairly low, but keeping the same intensity as before. Silence filled the room once again as Aria sighed, figuring that this would be the reason why Nel joined.
"OK, so you decided to join a terrorist organization just because you didn't feel worthy enough to call yourself my rival?" Aria questioned.
"...When you put it like that, yeah it does sound like a very dumb decision on my part." Nel sighed, calming down a bit.
"At least you're still you, that's all I care about. No matter what you say though, that doesn't change the fact that I have to take you in." Aria told Nel. Nel stayed silent as she thought about what to say before sighing and giving a weary smile at Aria as she looked towards her old friend/rival.
"You know, I'm glad you never changed." Nel said happily. Aria simply smiled back as the two heard the intercom crackle to life.
"Attention all Team Noise Members and Gym Challengers, Leader Aria has challenged Nel to a battle for the leadership of Team Noise. The winner of this battle will be the new leader of Team Noise. All are invited to watch as the battle is set to begin in a few minutes." the voice over the intercom said.
"Well at least we got the sappy stuff out of the way before the audience arrived." Aria said, laughing as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to be embarrassed in front of the grunts and challengers." Nel responded, laughing along. As they laughed and got into position, the two eventually heard people running in as the room and viewing area filled up with about 20 grunts and 10 challengers. Nel looked over the crowd for a moment before seeing Break, Discord and another grunt come in, taking a moment to look at the grunt and noting her eyes before turning to Aria. "...So that's how she knew." Nel thought, a small frown appearing on her face for a moment. Aria smiled at the small gesture before she cleared her throat and reached behind her.
"Hey Nel, are you ready to give up that position yet? After all, I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of a crowd." Aria taunted, hoping to goad Nel into responding.
"Oh you wish I would give it up that easily. You're just scared to admit that you would make a bad leader for Team Noise." Nel responded, a familiar feeling stirring in her. The two paused as they heard the crowd cheering, making the two smile as Aria got out a Pokeball from her belt and held it out towards Nel.
"Well then, let's see if you can back up that bark with some bite. Show me that you still have that spark of battle in you my friend." Aria said in a confident voice. Nel simply gave a wide smile at that call as she grabbed a Pokeball of her own and held it out to meet Aria.
"Of course I do, bring it on!" Nel screamed passionately. The crowd cheered as a buzzer was heard, a force field surrounded the fence, and a pair of announcer speakers buzzed to life.
"All right everyone, we have two very special opponents today. The first is Gym Leader of Noise Town and the current challenger, Aria Eversong! Her opponent is her old rival and Leader of Team Noise, Nel Rosewind! This is a 3v3 match with the first one to lose all of their Pokemon loses and becomes the leader of Team Noise! Let the match begin!"
"Let's show her what we're made of, Spiritomb!"
"Come on out, Crobat!"
As the two pokemon appeared on the field, they both appeared and stared at each other both out of animosity and respect.
"Crobat, use Tailwind!" Crobat nodded as he flapped his wings rapidly before conjuring a storm of wind that blew behind him. "Follow it up with Shadow Ball!"
"Spiritomb, Sucker Punch!" Spiritomb, seeing that an attack was coming and hearing the order, quickly launched a spiritual punch at Crobat. Crobat, mostly shaking it off, launched a ball of shadow at Spiritomb, who simply took the attack and started to move to a better position.
"Don't let off the pressure, Cross Poison!" Crobat did as it was told, dashing forward as his wings glowing a bright purple before reaching Spritomb. Spiritomb was about to dodge, but Crobat was faster as it dove and slashed through his opponent with his poisonous wings, dashing away to avoid a counter attack.
"Ha, like that would hurt Spiritomb much at all!" As Nel said that, she looked over at her Spiritomb before seeing its head looking a bit ill. "Fuck, ok then two can play at that game. Spiritomb, and I'm sorry for this, use Curse." Spritomb painfully nodded as it screamed and a ghastly aura surrounded both itself and Crobat, Crobat feeling a sharp pain course through it as Spiritomb immediately felt winded.
"End this quickly Crobat, use Air Slash!" Crobat nodded in pain as it flew high and launched slashes of wind at Spiritomb, who simply smiled as it took the attack and was barely standing as the smore cleared.
"Now, Pain Split!" Spiritomb, looking up at Crobat with a very pained expression, launched a psychic tether that latched onto the flying Pokemon before Crobat cried out as its energy was sapped and fed to Spiritomb, who began to look better aside from the poison it felt. "Follow it up with Ominous Wind."
"Protect!" As Spriritomb gathered wind around itself and launched it at Crobat, he put up a barrier around himself that blocked the wind as Crobat caught his breath and waited for his trainer to give another order.
"Get in close asGiga Drain!" Crobat, deciding that it was a good idea, flew down and started to circle Spritomb before opening its mouth and concentrating.
"No you don't, Sucker Punch once again!"
"Now, Acrobatics!" Crobat smiled as it quickly dodged the incoming spectral fist before dashing towards Spiritomb and slamming into the ghost Pokemon. "Finish this with Venoshock!" Before Spritomb could do anything else, Crobat opened his mount and launched a barrage of purple energy spears that all hit Spiritomb as it cried out in pain, being knocked away from the flying Pokemon.
"Spiritomb!" As Nel cried out to her Pokemon, Spiritomb fell to the floor as it fell unconscious and retreated back into its stone.
"Nel's Spiritomb is unable to battle!"
As Aria sighed in relief, she looked over to Crobat who was still in pain from the Curse and looking exhausted. "You think you're going to have to tap out here or you got a bit more in you?" Aria asked her pokemon. Crobat simply responded by slowing its flapping and landing on the ground to rest. "Got it, get some rest, old friend." Aria said as she got out her Pokeball.
"He, at least I can take pride in making you switch to another Pokemon." Nel commented as she recalled Spiritomb.
"True, the fact that I have to say that you've done a good job." Aria complimented in a kind voice. Nel simply nodded, taking the compliment as the two trainers grabbed their second Pokeballs. "That being said, that is all I hope to give you." Aria said with a smile.
"Oh a challenge I can do. Let's see if I can deliver on that." Nel commented.
"Come on out, Clodsire!"
"Let's kick it up a notch, Decidueye!"
As their Pokemon appeared on their respective sides, Clodsire for Aria and Decidueye for Nel, Decidueye got ready for battle while Clodsire just sat there and looked in Decidueye's general direction.
"Decidueye, use Spirit Shackle!" Decidueye nodded as he conjured an arrow and launched it from his wing towards Clodsire, who simply sat there unbothered and took the attack as the arrow struck her shadow.
"Clodsire, use Amnesia and follow it up Earthquake!" Clodsire slowly nodded as she simply stared into space before flopping and slamming into the ground hard enough to crack the ground.
"Dodge!" Decidueye nodded, unfurling his wings and flying up into the sky as the ground beneath him started to crack.
"Sludge Wave now!" Clodsire looked up at Decidueye and opened its mouth, launching a torrent of poisinous water at Decidueye. The flying Pokemon wasn't able to dodge as it was tossed into the fence, the fence shaking for a moment as he slid to the ground.
"Decidueye, you ok?" Decidueye stood up for a moment before shaking himself and hopping back into the fight. "All right then, Swords Dance and Leaf Blade!" Decidueye nodded, taking an offensive stance as his wings started to glow a brilliant green before charging at Clodsire.
"Use Counter and throw that attack back at him." Clodsire did as it was told before getting ready to counter the incoming attack before Decidueye smiled.
"Phantom Force!" Decidueye immediately vanished as he was about to hit Clodsire, who was shocked as she attempted to hit the incoming pokemon and failed.
"Damn it, that was just a diversion. Clodsire, stay on your guard!" Clodsire nodded as she looked around for any sign of Deidueye reappearing. After a few moments of nothing, Clodsire noted a ripple in the air next to her which she prepared for. "Protect!" Clodsire erected a barrier around her just as Decidueye reemerged next to her and attempted to slam into her with ghostly energy around him.
"Leaf Blade!" Decidueye quickly dashed away before spreading his wings and circling around as his wings started to glow green again. The barrier fell as Decidueye slashed Clodsire with his wings, doing some damage.
"Counter!" Clodsire, who was ready for the attack, immediately extended her back spikes and slammed into Decidueye and nicked him away. The owl Pokemon cried out in pain, but shook it off as he skidded to a stop and took to the air once again.
"We need to end this now. Swords Dance and follow it up with Spirit Shackle!" Decidueye nodded and his wings got even sharper as he grabbed a feather arrow and got ready to fire it at Clodsire.
"Haze now!" As Decidueye was about to let go, Clorsidre opened her mouth and breathed a black smoke that surrounded her before heading up to Decidueye, obscuring his vision of Clodsire. Decidueye was caught off guard and quickly adjusted his attack, launching it at where Clodsire was before hearing a small cry of pain.
"Giga Impact now!" Decidueye nodded as dashed forward before being encompassed by purple energy, ready to finish the fight. However, his eyes widened as he saw Clodsire just standing there, mainly unbothered by the previous attack.
"Hyper Beam!" Clodsire opened her mouth as a ball of yellow energy manifested, Decidueye drawing ever closer and unable to stop his momentum. The attack was let off and enveloped Decidueye, tossing the Pokemon against the fence as the attack strained against the barrier, slowly dissipating as Decidueye fell to the ground unconscious.
"With a mighty Hyper Beam, Decidueye is unable to battle!"
Aria nodded as Clodsire hopped happily towards her trainer, receiving some cuddles and headpats as a reward. "Admittedly, maybe not my brightest choice in Pokemon, but I wanted to fight you with what I had." Nel said as she recalled Decidueye.
"I can respect that, though I do wonder what you're going to do for your last Pokemon. I don't remember you having much that could help you in this situation." Aria responded.
"I do wonder about that." Nel told Aria with a smile. As Aria was about to ask what she meant, Nel got her last Pokeball out while Clodsire waddled back to the arena. "Let's bring this home Chandelure!" Nel threw the pokeball out and from it emerged Chandelure, which made Aria pause for a moment as she tried to recall its movepool.
"Use Will-O-Wisp!" Chandelure nodded and launched several balls of fire that sped towards Clodsire.
"Dodge them!" Clodsire rolled out of the way of the incoming flames before stopping and turning towards Chandelure. "Use Surf!"
"Trick Room!" Chandelure quickly floated into the air and used Trick Room, causing the area to warp as Clodsire summoned a big wave of water. "Protect!" Chandelure then followed up butting a barrier around itself as it was encompassed in water, Clodsire riding the wave to end up behind Chandelure.
"She's planning something. …Clodsire, keep your distance and repeatedly use Chilling Water!" Clodsire nodded as she started to hop much faster than she was used to, taking moments to stop and launch balls of water at Chandelure.
"Teleport and use Energy Ball!" Chandelure quickly vanished as three balls of water passed where it was before reappearing next to Clodsire and launching a green ball of energy at its target, knocking it back for a moment. "Use Psychic now!" Chandelure nodded and quickly concentrated on Clodsire, locking them in a grasp of psychic energy and flinging her a good distance away.
"Not bad Nel, but how will you handle this! Muddy Water!" Clodsire shook off the damage before opening her mouth as spraying out a stream of mud at Chandelure. The ghost Pokemon simply braced for the hit and let the water wash over it, shaking off the attack as it stood its ground and looked at Clodsire.
"Sunny Day and follow it up with Calm Mind!" Chandelure nodded as it conjured a bright sun in the air before closing its eyes and concentrating on its mental strength.
"Oh god, this might get tricky. Clodsire, use Earthquake!" Clodsire nodded and started to hop in place, the ground rumbling each time she did so.
"Protect and follow it up with Solar Beam!" Right as the ground around it started to buckle and shift, Chandelure put a barrier around himself just as a piece of earth violently shifted up and tossed Chandelure into the air. Shaking of the sudden movement, it then started to charge up a ball of solar energy that quickly grew before launching it at Clodsire.
"Dodge!" Right as Clodsire attempted to dodge, the warped arena returned to normal and caused Clodsire to basically not move as it was hit straight on by the Solar Beam.
"Shadow Sneak!"
"Protect!" Chandelure vanished into the shadows and sped towards Clodsire, reappearing to hit the panting Pokemon as she blocked the attack. She had hopped away anticipating Chandelure to run, but was surprised when it followed her.
"Use Fire Blast!" As the barrier around Clodsire fell, Chandelure let out a massive surge of fire that intensified under the harsh sun before slamming into Clodsire. The attack pushed Closure back a few feet and it looked like she had withstood it, but she simply flopped on the ground unconscious.
"With a ferocious Fire Blast, Clodsire is down for the count!" The crowd roared with excitement as they watched on in awe at the battle, Aria taking in the excitement with a sigh as she recalled Clodsire.
"Looks like you still got that spark in you after all!" Aria called out.
"My thanks and told you I would beat that challenge." Nel told Aria.
"True enough, you definitely showed me in that regard." Aria responded with a smile. The two went silent as they took in the energy of the crowd, Aria getting out her last Pokemon at the same time.
"Let's bring it home, Dragalge!" As she called out her last Pokemon, the crowd roared in anticipation as the two pokemon stared at each other out of respect, Aria and Nel doing the same.
"Dragalge, open up with Sludge Bomb!" Dragalge nodded before gathering poison in its snout and launching a ball of poison at Chandelure.
"Dodge!" Chandelure dashed out of the way as the Sludge Bomb impacted the ground and exploded in a large cloud of poison. "Hit him with Trailblaize!" Chandelure quickly dashed up to Dragalge and rammed into him before dashing away quicker than before.
"Keep it under control with Icy Wind!" Dragalge kept his eye on Chandelure before letting lose a burst of freezing air that managed to hit its target, slowing down the ghost Pokemon despite doing little damage. "Solar Beam!"
"Ah crap, Protect!" Chandelure turned around and crossed its arms as it was enveloped in a beam of solar energy.
"Now Hydro Pump!" As soon as the Solar Beam ended and Chandelure's Protect ended, Dragalgea let loose a torrent of water, dampened a bit by the sun, that hit Chandelure. The ghost Pokemon cried out in pain as it was pushed back before shaking off the pain as it moved out of the beam and glared at Dragalge.
"Dark Pulse!" Chadelure nodded before gathering a ball of dark energy in it's mouth before launching it at Dragalge.
"Tank it and use Sludge Wave!" Dragalge floated in place as it took the hit and conjured a purple wave of water that he rode.
"Protect!" Chandlure put another barrier as it was engulfed by the poison and Dragalgea floated above its position as the intense sun faded.
"Whirlpool!" Dragalge roared as the poison turned to water and formed into a whirlpool that enveloped Chandelure, who was struggling to keep the Protect up, but was unable to as it was tossed around in the whirlpool.
"Chandelure!" Chandelure was about to fall unconscious, but after hearing its trainer's voice, it managed to free itself from the whirlpool and float in front of Dragalge. "That's what I'm talking about! Use Shadow Ball and follow it up with Night Shade!" Chandelure nodded and lancued a ball of ghostly energy at Dragalge and followed it up with a ghostly illusion of swords, both of which hitting their target.
"Dragalge, use Dragon Pulse!" Dragalge shook off the attacks and quickly launched a beam of draconic energy at Chandelure.
"Dodge and use Fire Blast!" Chandelure danced around the beam before stopping and launching a large burst of fire at Dragalge, who was unable to dodge and ate the blast, now looking more rugged than before. "Use Sunny Day and end this with Overheat!" Chandelure nodded as it launched another sun into the air and charged up with fiery energy that was intensified by the sun.
"Let's end this ourselves Dragalge, Draco Meteor!" Dragalge roared as it conjured a ball of draconic energy in its snout before launching it into the air. The energy transformed into a hail of meteors that flew towards Chandelure, who finished changing and let out a strong burst of fire towards Dragalge. The two attacks hit their targets, causing a large explosion that kicked up a cloud of smoke to obscure the two Pokemon.
"Dragalge!/Chandelure!" the two trainers called out in unison. A few songs later, the smoke cleared to show both Pokemon panting, simply staring at each other for a few moments before Chandelure fell to the ground with swirls in its eyes. There was a moment of silence before the crowd erupted into cheers of excitement.
"And that is the game! With a clash of two powerful moves, Chandelure is unable to battle! Nel is out of Pokemon to use, which means the winner of this match and our new leader of Team Noise is Aria!"
As the crowd cheered, Nel sighed out of frustration before a smile crossed her face. "This feeling, the rush of battle… I missed it so much." Nel thought to herself as she recalled Chandelure. She took a moment to look at the Pokeball, nodding out of pride and compassion before walking up to Aria, who was currently with her Dragalge.
"Thank you old friend, get some rest as I might need you sooner rather than later." Aria told Dragalge. Her Pokemon nodded weakly and gave a proud cry as she returned it to its Pokeball, putting the ball away as Nel silently stopped in front of her. She stayed quiet for a moment before simply holding out a hand, which Aria shook without hesitation.
"You were right, I was a fool." Nel admitted with a heavy sigh.
"Sorry I had to make you realize that by forcing you into this big battle. I just… wanted to know why." Aria said in a somber tone.
"If you want to know, I'll be happy to tell you. Not here though, we can talk later. Something just tells me that you have someone else wanting to challenge you." Nel responded in a happy and relived voice. Aria paused before nodding as she looked at the crowd and eventually saw Break, Discord, and the disguised Hibiki.
"Yeah you're right." Aria said, putting a hand on Nel's shoulder. Nel curiously looked over in the direction of the three and paused for a moment before putting a hand on her forehead, giving a barely audible groan.
"That makes so much sense." Nel groaned out.
"And that is why I always… mostly have a plan." Aria said with a knowing smile. The two continued to talk to each other as they walked off the arena and headed towards a hallway before Aria turned back to the crowd. "All right, grunts just relax til I get this whole leadership change done. All challengers, I will start in three hours and you all better bring your A-Game." Aria called out. Everyone nodded and started to file out of the room, Aria taking a moment to look towards her commanders and Hibiki. "You three, come with me." Aria said before walking disappearing down the hallway.
"Well, it seems like we're needed. Shall we go and talk with Aria?" Hibiki questioned. Break and Discord silently nodded as the three made their way to the hallway, following Aria and Nel to their office. When they arrived, Aria was waiting outside of the office waiting for them. "Good to see you did a good thing mom, even if it did seem a little selfish from my perspective." Hibiki told Aria.
"Sometimes the best solutions are the selfish ones. Plus, I can't exactly leave a friend behind when I know they're suffering… like a certain daughter I know." Aria responded. That caused Hibiki to blush and rub the back of her helmet, causing Break and Discord to laugh before Aria looked at the two. "Apologies for not doing something about Nel earlier, I guess I had more faith in than I realized." Aria told the two of them.
"Apology accepted, the only thing we expect of you is to make sure this team is led well." Break said with a smile.
"Good, now get in here and we can talk about things." Aria told the three. The group nodded and entered the office with Aria, who made sure no one was in the hallway before closing the door behind them.