(OOC: The discussion thread is here if you need it.)
Riley Spencer threw her phone back onto the bed in her room in frustration, the display informing her that it was 9:03am. She refocused her good eye back on the light on the ceiling in the tiny cabin, wishing that time would speed up. Waiting, knowing she was about to battle, was just nerve wracking. She just wanted to get in there, to enjoy the adrenaline that battle’s provided, the gamble of investing so much in something she could so easily lose. Just this aimless waiting was driving her nuts.
With a sigh she pulled herself up, and picked up the pamphlet she’d been given by the staff when she’d signed up for this tournament. It looked similar to the poster’s she’d seen all around Alola, featuring a strange masked man who looked like a wrestler, along with a Tyranitar, Gyarados, Haxorus, and Charizard, advertising the “Battle Royal”, which was the style of tournament she was about to take place in. Riley had seen the stadium in which these kind of battles took place, but hadn’t been able to participate in any matches due to repairs being done at the time. The construction worker had said something about some edgy president taking things too far and destroying half the battlefield. As such, she had no experience here, and it was making her tense, but excited to try something new.
The pamphlet also detailed the rules of the event, both the rules of a Battle Royal, and additional rules applying to this tournament: No held items, a list of banned Pokemon (which seemed to consist of legendaries that nobody would have anyway, as well as Pokemon too big or too heavy to be released on a ship without running the risk of sinking it), only one switch allowed per trainer per battle (including using moves such as U-Turn), and that there would be several tournament’s divided up by the trainer’s strength. She herself had registered in the Hyper Rank competition, which was due to start at 10:00am today. But what really caught her eye were the prizes: unlimited and free food for the duration of the journey. That was worth battling for, but the real kicker was that drinks, including alcohol, were included. If there was one thing she knew about the SS Anne, was that it had some really high quality champagne, and she planned on getting smashed tonight.
Riley pulled herself off the bed and stretched. There really wasn’t any point waiting aimlessly around in her room – might as well go and wait aimlessly by the battlefield. “Nine!” She called towards the sleeping mass of black fur at the end of the bed, “Get up, we’re leaving soon.
The Luxray yawned, stretched himself out, and then slumped back into the sheets again. Riley rolled her eyes at the lazy Pokemon, before stepping into the small ensuite to get ready. She threw on a loose white sleeveless shirt, some high waisted distressed jean shorts, and a pair of black converse shoes – weather appropriate, she presumed. Riley quickly brushed out her blonde hair, cut into a blunt bob, and expertly applied a somewhat heavy amount of makeup, most noticeably dark lipstick. For a moment, she pulled back and examined herself in the mirror, trying to be positive, but she focused on how strange her blind left eye looked – a strange, milky purple colour – compared to her normal, dark brown right eye. She pulled out a pair of round sunglasses and threw them on her face, annoyed. Once again, she was going to be the weirdo who wore sunglasses indoors.
Having finished getting ready, she glanced towards the still sleeping Nine again. “Oi, I said get up.” Once again, the Luxray just ignored her, shifting so his back was facing towards Riley. She paused for a moment, before slyly remaking, “Well, if you’re not coming, I guess you don’t want to be in the tournament today? What a turn around – I thought you were excited for this.”
In a flash, the Luxray was at her side. Glaring at her for daring to suggest leaving him out of this, but up nonetheless. She patted him gently on the head, and left her hand there to use him as a guide in case she was about to walk into something.
“Hey, I was joking. I’d never leave you out of this. Come on, let’s go have some fun.” The Luxray rumbled deep in his chest in agreement, eyes blazing and tail twitching in anticipation.
***
Riley and Nine stepped onto the painted yellow platform on the corner of the battlefield to the cheer of a much larger crowd than she’d expected. Her heart was pounding in her chest – she’d only just made it through the last battle to secure a place in the final, and now that she had a chance of victory she desperately wanted to win. Surprisingly enough they had fixed up the dirt battlefield quite nicely in between the last round and this one, as a Camerupt had tried to use Fissure out of desperation, and had torn half the battlefield apart in the process. Luckily for the audience, there were these strange machines placed on each trainer’s platform that seemed to be some kind of energized field that could contain the Pokemon’s moves and keep everyone safe – probably some application of protect.
Up on a raised platform above the crowd, the MC started speaking. “Woo! Alright cousins, welcome to the SS Anne’s first ever Battle Royal! I’m your announcer, the Masked Royal! I dunno about you, but I’m so excited to see the stylin’ moves these Pokemon will be pulling in their desperate attempt to come out on top! Who will win out in the end? I can’t wait to find out! Woo!” Riley had to admit, this announcer did seem a little strange to her, being so overly enthusiastic and with that weird wrestler attire. Although, she supposed he was good at getting the crowd interested, even if he spent too much time going over the moves the Pokemon used in loving detail. And as strange as his outfit was, she’d decided early on that she was very okay with his lack of a shirt.
“Our first finalist for this Hyper Rank Battle Royal is Riley Spencer, age 24, all the way from Jublife City! She had a very near win in her last match, but don’t let that fool you! She’s got some tricks up her sleeves that could really turn this match around!” The Mask Royal announced as the crowd cheered. Riley’s face appeared upon one of the large screens scattered around the battlefield as the camera fixated on her. She tried to ignore it and crossed her arms, not wanting to play to the crowd as the MC continued to introduce her opponents.
Riley slowly felt the pre battle nerves disappear, and the sound from the crowd dulled, as she focused upon the trainer’s she was about to face. Everything else fell away, except for the surge of excitement of the battle to come. This was where she really belonged, what she lived for, and these opponents of hers had better show her a damn good fight or she was going to be pissed.
At the cue from the Masked Royal to send out their first Pokemon, Riley glanced at the Luxray beside her, still and focused, his eyes on her. She gave him a slight nod. Nine barred his teeth, and leapt onto the field with a savage roar, echoing the sentiments of his trainer. Bring. It. On.
Riley Spencer threw her phone back onto the bed in her room in frustration, the display informing her that it was 9:03am. She refocused her good eye back on the light on the ceiling in the tiny cabin, wishing that time would speed up. Waiting, knowing she was about to battle, was just nerve wracking. She just wanted to get in there, to enjoy the adrenaline that battle’s provided, the gamble of investing so much in something she could so easily lose. Just this aimless waiting was driving her nuts.
With a sigh she pulled herself up, and picked up the pamphlet she’d been given by the staff when she’d signed up for this tournament. It looked similar to the poster’s she’d seen all around Alola, featuring a strange masked man who looked like a wrestler, along with a Tyranitar, Gyarados, Haxorus, and Charizard, advertising the “Battle Royal”, which was the style of tournament she was about to take place in. Riley had seen the stadium in which these kind of battles took place, but hadn’t been able to participate in any matches due to repairs being done at the time. The construction worker had said something about some edgy president taking things too far and destroying half the battlefield. As such, she had no experience here, and it was making her tense, but excited to try something new.
The pamphlet also detailed the rules of the event, both the rules of a Battle Royal, and additional rules applying to this tournament: No held items, a list of banned Pokemon (which seemed to consist of legendaries that nobody would have anyway, as well as Pokemon too big or too heavy to be released on a ship without running the risk of sinking it), only one switch allowed per trainer per battle (including using moves such as U-Turn), and that there would be several tournament’s divided up by the trainer’s strength. She herself had registered in the Hyper Rank competition, which was due to start at 10:00am today. But what really caught her eye were the prizes: unlimited and free food for the duration of the journey. That was worth battling for, but the real kicker was that drinks, including alcohol, were included. If there was one thing she knew about the SS Anne, was that it had some really high quality champagne, and she planned on getting smashed tonight.
Riley pulled herself off the bed and stretched. There really wasn’t any point waiting aimlessly around in her room – might as well go and wait aimlessly by the battlefield. “Nine!” She called towards the sleeping mass of black fur at the end of the bed, “Get up, we’re leaving soon.
The Luxray yawned, stretched himself out, and then slumped back into the sheets again. Riley rolled her eyes at the lazy Pokemon, before stepping into the small ensuite to get ready. She threw on a loose white sleeveless shirt, some high waisted distressed jean shorts, and a pair of black converse shoes – weather appropriate, she presumed. Riley quickly brushed out her blonde hair, cut into a blunt bob, and expertly applied a somewhat heavy amount of makeup, most noticeably dark lipstick. For a moment, she pulled back and examined herself in the mirror, trying to be positive, but she focused on how strange her blind left eye looked – a strange, milky purple colour – compared to her normal, dark brown right eye. She pulled out a pair of round sunglasses and threw them on her face, annoyed. Once again, she was going to be the weirdo who wore sunglasses indoors.
Having finished getting ready, she glanced towards the still sleeping Nine again. “Oi, I said get up.” Once again, the Luxray just ignored her, shifting so his back was facing towards Riley. She paused for a moment, before slyly remaking, “Well, if you’re not coming, I guess you don’t want to be in the tournament today? What a turn around – I thought you were excited for this.”
In a flash, the Luxray was at her side. Glaring at her for daring to suggest leaving him out of this, but up nonetheless. She patted him gently on the head, and left her hand there to use him as a guide in case she was about to walk into something.
“Hey, I was joking. I’d never leave you out of this. Come on, let’s go have some fun.” The Luxray rumbled deep in his chest in agreement, eyes blazing and tail twitching in anticipation.
***
Riley and Nine stepped onto the painted yellow platform on the corner of the battlefield to the cheer of a much larger crowd than she’d expected. Her heart was pounding in her chest – she’d only just made it through the last battle to secure a place in the final, and now that she had a chance of victory she desperately wanted to win. Surprisingly enough they had fixed up the dirt battlefield quite nicely in between the last round and this one, as a Camerupt had tried to use Fissure out of desperation, and had torn half the battlefield apart in the process. Luckily for the audience, there were these strange machines placed on each trainer’s platform that seemed to be some kind of energized field that could contain the Pokemon’s moves and keep everyone safe – probably some application of protect.
Up on a raised platform above the crowd, the MC started speaking. “Woo! Alright cousins, welcome to the SS Anne’s first ever Battle Royal! I’m your announcer, the Masked Royal! I dunno about you, but I’m so excited to see the stylin’ moves these Pokemon will be pulling in their desperate attempt to come out on top! Who will win out in the end? I can’t wait to find out! Woo!” Riley had to admit, this announcer did seem a little strange to her, being so overly enthusiastic and with that weird wrestler attire. Although, she supposed he was good at getting the crowd interested, even if he spent too much time going over the moves the Pokemon used in loving detail. And as strange as his outfit was, she’d decided early on that she was very okay with his lack of a shirt.
“Our first finalist for this Hyper Rank Battle Royal is Riley Spencer, age 24, all the way from Jublife City! She had a very near win in her last match, but don’t let that fool you! She’s got some tricks up her sleeves that could really turn this match around!” The Mask Royal announced as the crowd cheered. Riley’s face appeared upon one of the large screens scattered around the battlefield as the camera fixated on her. She tried to ignore it and crossed her arms, not wanting to play to the crowd as the MC continued to introduce her opponents.
Riley slowly felt the pre battle nerves disappear, and the sound from the crowd dulled, as she focused upon the trainer’s she was about to face. Everything else fell away, except for the surge of excitement of the battle to come. This was where she really belonged, what she lived for, and these opponents of hers had better show her a damn good fight or she was going to be pissed.
At the cue from the Masked Royal to send out their first Pokemon, Riley glanced at the Luxray beside her, still and focused, his eyes on her. She gave him a slight nod. Nine barred his teeth, and leapt onto the field with a savage roar, echoing the sentiments of his trainer. Bring. It. On.
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