Duel upon Village Bridge!

[Luckii]

OCC: Here it is, Duel upon Village Bridge! I hope all of our the readers enjoy it! I totally didnt just make the opening paragraph of the disscusion thread the opening for this post, not at all...

BIC

The sun glistened in the bright sky, relentlessly hot. The thermometers were hitting 40 degrees celcius in Village Bridge. It was the middle of July, and most of the 200 or-so populants of the town were gathered around the centre of the stone arch bridge. 4 trainers stood in the middle, two on the left, two on the right. It became obvious to the crowd that a Double battle was about to commence. The observers gave the participants some more space. With 4 experienced trainers about to unleash their Pokemon, this looked like it would be one hell of a battle!

Christopher Michael stood on the left side of the crowd as one of the battlers. Eying the opposition, he stroked his chin. He was around 17 years old, although it was only 3 weeks till his 18th birthday, on which he planned to enter the that year's Pokemon League Unova Conference. This would be a very suitable warm-up to that. He wore a long-sleeved, grey & black checkered shirt, along with navy blue baggy-style jeans, with the odd rip around the kneecap area. On his feet, he wore black Converse high-tops. The heat was really getting to him. He wiped some sweat from his brow, flicking a strand of hair away afterwards. He had dyed-black hair, with a side fringe covering the left side of his brow. He took care of this, constantly sorting it out if it ever got into a mess. He also had a bit of a beard, lining his jawline util it ended below his bottom lip. It wasnt anything great or special though. He was a very tall man, around 6 foot 8, although he hadnt been measured in a while.

Chris looked at the Pokeballs held within his shoulder strap bag.

"Now, now, now. Who to pick first," he mumbled, scratching an itch on his cheek, "Tarquin, Anette, Xavier, Valery, Boah or Aodan..."

His opponents looked at him, puzzled. Christopher was quite an odd fellow. He finally picked one of the Pokeballs out of his bag.

"Well, Anette it is!" he proclamed quietly in his broad Northern accent. He glanced at the other battlers. "Alrighty, you lot, may as well get this battle started! No point in standing here doing nowt!" he heartily yelled at the others. With a twinkle in his eye, he launched the Pokemball into the air. "Cut them down, Anette!"

 

[Blazi]

Eli Steinhart was pretty sure he should have run out of sweat by now, but it just kept on coming.

The sixteen year old Sinnoh born wasn't used to such temperatures, due to the fact he had spent most of his life in the nice cool climates of Snowpoint. Eli had left to pursue his dream of being a trainer, but hadn't expected it to be that hot.

Of course, the weather liked screwing with him.

Eli was standing next to a man, seventeen, eighteen maybe, facing two other people. Eli couldn't remember exactly how he had got into this battle, but oh well. A fight's a fight.

Eli saw his companion send out his first pokemon and, after taking his tenth swig from his water bottle, followed suit.

"Elise!" Eli tossed the pink heal ball high into the air, and out of it burst a stream of pure pink light. The light hit the ground, and started forming into a shape.

The light surrounding the shape burst, and revealed the pokemon. A large stag-like pokemon was standing there, large glossy green bushes on top of it's wooden horns. "Sawsbuck!" The pokemon cried out, rearing up on his hind legs and then smashing them into the ground, with a swish of it's bushy antlers.

"Let's go then guys!"

 

[Chadwyck]

Rein groaned at the sunlight beating down on him, he wasn't originally from anywhere particularly cold, but sunlight and heat in general were things that he could simply do without. The temperature had caused him to alter his usual wardrobe in pursuit of some more comfort. Instead of his usual ensemble, he wore a gray dress shirt, the top button unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He still wore black slacks and dress shoes, but he would have to deal with the sweat; he didn't wear shorts for any occasion.

Beside him sat his most faithful companion and dearest friend, Lunara, his Umbreon. She, too, looked uncomfortable in the heat; she was a Pokemon affiliated with the night, after all, the sun bothered her even more than her trainer. Still, she sat by his side, eying the two boys across the bridge from them.

The problem with being a trainer is all this constant battling. That, in and of itself, wasn't actually a problem, but he did tend to get dragged into situations that he never really expected. Like this double battle, for example.

He looked at the girl beside him, she seemed to be a couple of years younger than he was, but something about her seemed familiar. It was probably nothing, he was fairly certain he'd remember if he had met her before. "By the way," he said to her, realizing that they had hardly spoken at all before somehow becoming partners in this battle, "my name is Rein. Just figure we should know each others' names before we team up like this."

The guys across the way sent out their Pokemon, so Rein figured that it was about time to get this double battle underway; Flyn would be waiting for him back at the hotel, he wasn't even aware Rein had entered this battle, so he was bound to come searching eventually. Rein shuddered at the scene the boy would be capable of causing.

Smirking, Rein reached down to his belt and grabbed one of the Pokeballs from it. "Come to think of it, it is far too hot out here." He tossed the ball out in front of him, and it split, the red light from within taking the shape of a Froslass. "Nevara, cool things down for us, please."

 

[Sem]

"I'm Fida, nice to meet you," Fida told her partner for this particular battle. She smiled pleasantly and watched as he too summoned one of his Pokémon to the field.

Fida couldn't help but smile as she saw the Froslass hover onto the field, cloaked in a silence that was only heard in the dead of winter, when all was covered with snow and ice.

Beside the fifteen year old Fida stood another girl around her age. Her skin was dark, her eyes red. Wavy pinkish-purple hair flowed out from under a purple witch's hat, which went well with the purple dress the girl wore, a dress that went only just past the knees, hardly covering the knee-high black boots the girl wore. A string of red gems was worn around her neck.

Fida herself was dressed in a much less flashier manner. Grey skinny jeans paired with a deep purple blouse under a lavender fly-away vest and a pair of simple black flats. Her platinum blonde hair was worn loose, and shone in the harsh sun.

If Rein's intention was to cool it down a bit then Fida would choose her Pokémon accordingly. She had wanted to start out with Hollow, but if Rein was intending on perhaps using Hail then Hollow wasn't the ideal choice. She pulled a Pokéball from bag and casually tossed it onto the field, releasing the creature inside.

Within moments, Kieran, her Murkrow, stood on the field, easily the tiniest of the four combatants. A purple hair-tie hung from around his neck, and he seemed quite bored as he gazed at the offending Pokémon - his typical arrogance.

Fida stood firm, a gleam in her grey eyes that showed confidence in what she was doing.

The Pokémon were all out on the field now, and so it was the opposing team's move to officially start the match.

 

[Luckii]

Chris surveyed the scene. He glanced toward his partner. This boy was only a couple if not only one years younger than him. He was sweating like a pig. He obviously was not used to such hot weather. He turned his attention to the opposition. One of the battlers was a girl, who looked about fourteen, fifteen maybe. She wore grey skinny jeans and a purple blouse. Chris shifted over to the other one. His shirt was almost exactly the same as Chris', but the sleeves on Chris' were not rolled up. He wore black slacks and shoes.

'His bottom half must be roasting!' thought Chris, who was pretty warm himself at this moment in time. He looked at the Pokemon on both sides. Chris and his partner were at a serious disadvantage. With a Froslass and a Murkrow on the opponent's team, the partnership of this Sawsbuck, Elise, and Anette wouldnt last very long.

Anette was a Roserade. She stood on the battlefield with confidence, smirking at the Pokemon she was about to cross blades with. Or rather, cross arms, or any other appendages these opponents may have. Anette was different from most other Roserade. She was a maniac, instead of being calm and collected like other Roserade, she was hot-headed and rash. She enjoyed fighting, beating other Pokemon to a pulp. It was kinda scary, when Chris thought about it.

Anette raised her arms, eager to get going. Chris happily obliged. While Anette and the Sawsbuck were at a disadvantage type-wise, Chris noted that normally, both the Murkrow and Froslass species lacked any real power compared to Roserade and Sawsbuck, who had power in abundance, Specially for the former, Physically the latter. They held a slight advantage in that respect. Chris decided to break the silence.

"Alright, Anette, lets get this party started! Use Toxic, on the Murkrow!"

"Rade!" the Roserade replied confidently. She leapt into the air, ready to fire off the attack. Anette raised her left arm into the air above her, and a small sphere of purple gunk appeared above the flower. She then hurled this sphere towards the brooding Dark type. The curtain had at last been raised!

 

[Blazi]

Eli noted the opponents send out pokemon that had a type advantage over Elise and Annette, his partner's Roserade. Eli didn't think this was good, until he realised that the Froslass was part ghost.

Perhaps this battle could go their way.

"Alright Elise! Start off with Leech seed on the Frosslass, and then send a Shadow Ball after it!" Elise let out a large cry, and instantly three glossy brown seeds appeared in her antlers. Elise shook her head furiously, sending the seeds towards the Froslass where, if they hit, would sprout and start leeching off energy.

A ball of concentrated shadows started forming in between Elise's horns, before rocketing out after the seeds. Eli called out after she had done so, "Get a sunny day ready, just in case!" Elise focused, and her leaves started to sparkle ever so slightly.

 

[Sem]

Fida reacted cooly, watching the look in her opponents eyes. The owner of the Roserade seemed pretty confident, despite his side's disadvantage. Good. Type match-ups weren't important in the world of skilled battlers, Fida would be the first to tell you that. Still, underestimating her usually didn't fare well for her opponents. Of course, she knew to keep the same in mind when considering opposite team. The battle had just started, so who knows where it would go.

Kieran had a fair amount of power despite his looks, but where he shone was speed. "Dodge the Toxic!" Fida told her bird, who took the air and rolled effortlessly away from the incoming poison.

"Good," Fida said with a nod. "Now block the Shadow Ball with Protect!" She trusted that Rein and Nevara could handle the Leech Seed.

Kieran cut through the air like a black dart, flying in between the Leech Seed and the Shadow Ball attack and stopping there. A mixture of inky darkness and strong wind flowed together and formed a bubble around Kieran. The Shadow Ball attack impacted the sphere and burst, showering a small area with ghostly energy.

Kieran emerged from the fading sphere and flew back around towards his trainer. Rein and Nevara were about to make their move, so Fida and Kieran would offer her some support.

"Tailwind," Fida said softly.

Kieran crowed and began to vigorously flap his wings, but what came next was purely some sort of elemental might that many Pokémon seemed to be inherently capable of - forces of nature in tangible, living shapes. A very powerful wind came from behind Fida and Rein, strong enough that Fida would normally have had to brace herself against it, but the girl next to her took Fida's hand in hers, and it was as if the wind wasn't affecting them at all. As if it was passing through them.

The wind was only temporary, but it was powerful enough to boost Kieran and Nevara's speed, and both Pokémon were already fairly fast by nature. It worked through a combination of pushing them from behind, but also slowing down their opponents by being their headwind.

Now all that was left was to see what would happen next.

 

[Chadwyck]

Their opponents had made the first move, and it was a fairly good combination of attacks. Still, they needed to step up their game if they were hoping to beat Nevara. "Nevara, blow the Leech Seed away with an Ominous Wind!"

The Froslass obeyed, focusing her energy and creating a sudden burst of wind imbued with ghostly energy. She wasn't using it to attack her opponents, though, she had targeted the seeds heading toward her and her teammate.

The burst of strong wind met the seeds and dispersed them, they landed harmlessly away from the Froslass and the Murkrow. Fida had Kieran block the Shadow Ball with protect, which gave Rein an opening to ready his own attack.

"Nevara," Rein began once Fida's Tailwind came into effect, "use the wind to your advantage, hit them with Icy Wind!" The wind that Kieran had created with strong enough that Rein had to brace himself against it, lest he be blown over. His black hair whipped about his face.

With the wind blowing in their favor, it wasn't hard to turn it into an attack rather than just support. Nevara focused again, dropping the temperature around her well below freezing and mixing her Icy Wind with the strong Tailwind. It was moving quickly and it would cover enough of an area to hit both opposing Pokemon.

The Sawsbuck had been preparing to use Sunny Day, but with this new attack to worry about, it should be too preoccupied to counter Rein's next move. "Make it Hail, Nevara!" The sky was quickly covered with thick, freezing clouds. In the hail, the Froslass would be harder to hit; they'd best make it work for them before Sunny Day came into effect.

 

[Luckii]

The smirk plastered upon Anette's face quickly disappeared. The battle had not began as Chris had hoped. The Murkrow was obviously fast, and with the Tailwind, it would only get faster. Elise had also failed to hit the target. This wasnt so good.

Before Anette could begin to counter, the Icy Wind connected. It sent the Roserade tumbling back, falling and skidding across the floor. Damn. She had just taken the first hit of the battle. She had not taken too much damage due to her Special bulk, but it was enough for Chris to figure out that these opponents were no push-overs. He would have to be wary.

Anette dusted herself off after the hit from Icy Wind. She grinned. She had underestimated the opposition, to such an extent that she had to take the first hit. Anette did not like taking the first hit. She was now even more up for this before, baying for blood. She was getting far too intense.

"Calm down, Anette," Chris sternly advised, "I don't want you to go beserk. Yet."

Suddenly, something dawned upon Chris. He had figured out a way to use this enhanced wind to his advantage!

"Alright, I didnt want to use this move so early, but I guess it is helped by strong winds. Anette, Leaf Storm on that Froslass."

Anette nodded in aproval. She hoisted her arms high into the air. Channeling the Grass type energy within her, Annte had created an enormous, leaf-green tornado in seconds with the help of this strong wind. Many leaves and even some small bushes were sucked up into the tornado. Anette clapped her flowers together, releasing the tornado. It monsooned towards the Froslass, gathering speed as it went. A piece of ice struck Anette's head due to the Hail set up by the Froslass. The Roserade cringed, taking a small amount of HP away from her.

"Hey, don't get sloppy, follow that Leaf Storm up with a Poison Jab!"

Anette obliged, sprinting towards the Froslass at great speed, her left flower completely covered in deep purple fluid. While the Tailwind enhanced the opponent's speed, Anette was no slouch, could have even outpaced the Murkrow if not for the Tailwind.

 

[Blazi]

Elise's shadow ball failed, and she was hit by an Icy Wind, which stopped her Sunny Day in its tracks. The Froslass then immediately cast Hail, which wasn't very good at all. "Alright Elise! Use Faint Attack on Froslass!" Eli shouted, thinking up a strategy as he went.

Elise stormed towards the Froslass, but instead of hitting her straight out, Elise disappeared for a moment, and re-appeared behind it, readying a kick that should hit the pokemon.

OoC: Short I know, but it keeps it alive and takes all blame off me if it dies. It was all I could think of.

 

[Chadwyck]

Despite the fact that both the opponents' Pokemon were now focusing on Nevara, Rein was still calm, cool and collected. It wouldn't be beneficial to either him nor Fida to start panicking into error, especially this early on in the battle. "Nevara, Protect yourself!" Rein called out, the Froslass reacted fluidly, almost in synchronization with her trainer.

She waved her arm in a wide arc, the hail falling around them began blowing frantically toward the Ice-type, stopping around her and freezing into a sphere of ice, significantly stronger than an ordinary protect thanks to the hail acting as fuel for the shield. It withstood the Leaf Storm, dashing the leaves and bushes of the attack about the battlefield, littering the area with various forms of foliage.

Next up, the Faint Attack; the Froslass' Protect withstood the hit, but only just as it shattered from the force of the hit. These opponents were strong, and well trained, Rein was surprised it managed to defend against the second attack after the force of the Leaf Storm.

Now Nevara was unprotected, though, and the Roserade was coming in fast with a Poison Jab. It would connect, that much was certain; Froslass was hard to see in the Hail, but that Roserade would have to be blind to have missed the giant ball of ice on the battlefield seconds prior. There was a way to make sure it didn't get away unscathed though.

"Ice Shard as it gets in close!" One of the pieces that broke off of the Protect halted in its descent toward the bridge and flew to Nevara's hand, she pushed it forward into the path of the Poison Jab, just as the attack hit. Nevara was knocked back, an ugly purple haze where the jab connected. "Did you get poisoned?" Nevara's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly, and she shook her head no; she wasn't poisoned, which was a lucky break.

"Double Team to throw them off again, get some distance between you, and follow up with an Ice Beam on the Roserade!"

 

[Sem]

Fida was feeling ignored as both opponents targeted Nevara. Either they had something up their sleeve or they were making poor choices this battle.

While Nevara was dealing with her attackers Kieran had been meditating using Calm Mind, harnessing more of his elemental potential. Kieran was a fierce physical attacker, and had an uncanny ability to strike a foe where it hurt the most, doing even more damage than normal. Super Luck was what the ability seemed to be referred to, though sometimes Fida wondered if it was actually luck at all.

Kieran fell short on the distance attacks, and other things that required more focus. Calm Mind helped here.

The Hail was advantageous to Nevara, and she was practically invisible in the hail. It was bad news for their opponents who had to deal with the large pieces of hail hitting them. However, Kieran also had to contend with the hail. He was fast enough to dodge many attacks, but you couldn't outrun the hail without leaving the area in which the battle was taking place.

Still, the hail would prove useful. The Sawsbuck was positioned behind Nevara, and so Fida would drive it away.

"Icy Wind!" she yelled.

Kieran cawed in response and took to the air, doing his best to stay airborne as he was occasionally pelted with ice. Flapping his wings vigorously, ice began to gather around the bird. Then, suddenly, a funnel of ice-cold wind mixed with snow and ice shot from Kieran to the Sawsbuck. Calm Mind had greatly helped in powering up the move, turning it into something a Grass-type really didn't want to be hit by.

"Follow it up with Drill Peck!" Fida said.

With the Tailwind still in effect Kieran shot towards the Sawsbuck like a bullet, corkscrewing as he flew. Hopefully the attacks would drive the Sawsbuck away from their side of the arena, even if it managed to dodge both attacks.

 

[Luckii]

OCC: Good, let's get this motering again!

Despite having landed a heavy blow with the Poison Jab, Anette had once again been hit by an Ice type attack. She was looking a bit banged up. Chris knew that this could not go on for much longer, as the Murkrow sent a powerful Icy Wind towards his partner's Sawsbuck. With two Grass types on their side of the field, Chris' team were fighting a losing battle. Anette needed a rest.

"Alright, that's enough, Anette, come back." Chris ordered the Roserade. Although she loved battle, Anette knew this decision was for the best. She wandered over to her trainer, and let out a sigh as she returned into her Pokeball. Chris smirked. She had done well, even when at a disadvantage. However, a battle against two Pokemon that were not only faster than her with Tailwind, but also had attacks that were super effective against her, was not going to turn out well. But Chris knew just the Pokemon to replace her. He rumaged through his bag until he picked out a metallic grey coloured Pokeball. This was known as a Heavy ball. He had gotten it as a gift from his grandmother when he was young, on a visit to Johto. Chris threw the ball high into the air above the bridge.

"Let's rumble, Tarquin!" Chris commanded. The ball released it's inhabitant onto the battlefield. The Pokemon was huge, an enormous steel Anaconda, it's head reaching high into the sky. It peered down upon the opposition with un-nerving, piercing eyes. Many of the crowd gasped. It was not often that a Steelix was seen in this part of the world. Chris grinned. Not only did Tarquin have huge resistance to Physical attacks, but he had also been specifically trained to take powerful Special hits. Combined with his towering size, Tarquin was a capable battler. Chris did not wait any longer.

"Alright, Tarquin, crush that Murkrow with Iron Head!"

The Steelix obliged, and began to hurtle towards the Dark type bird. With the size of him, the Murkrow would have a hard time dodging. But Chris was not going to take any chances.

"Fire a Dragonbreath at it if it dodges!" the trainer ordered.

 

[Blazi]

Bugger.

Not only did Elise's attack not hit, due to protect, but now the Murkrow was attacking Elise, with a powered up Icy Wind and a Drill Peck.

"Alright, you're getting the shit beaten out of you Elise! Return!" Eli called, holding out the heal balll, which Elise returned in a flash of pink light. "Maybe you can help! Go, Jasper!" Eli threw another ball in the air, this one dark green. The ball opened and in a pulse of black light, a figure stood in the hail, where Elise had been moments before.

"Weavile!" the pokemon shouted, exerting an aura of pressure. The Weavile stood there with an air of cockiness, hail falling around it. Eli shook his head and grinned.

"Alright Jasper, send the Icy Wind back with one of your own, and then use Night Slash on Froslass!" Jasper looked up at the Murkrow and the incoming Icy Wind, and opened his mouth, collecting frigid cold wind in there, before shooting it out at the incoming attack. He then turned to the Froslass, and dashed towards it, claw covered in a dark, shadowy substance.

OoC: There, blame's off me again.

 

[Sem]

Both of their opponents suddenly returned their Pokémon, getting ready to switch out. Using the few moments they had wisely, Fida had Kieran go into Calm Mind once again. Kieran closed his eyes, concentrating on summoning more of his power. He broke out of it the moment the Steelix came crashing onto the arena.

"Crush that Murkrow with Iron Head!" the opponent shouted. Steelix instantly began barreling towards the tiny black bird like a hundred bulldozers. The Tailwind was still going but dying down, but it could perhaps offer enough of a boost to allow Kieran to get out of the way.

Fida looked at Kieran as he stood his ground. Kieran wasn't much of a fan of running or even just dodging, but he obeyed Fida's command. Still, she knew that he would rather stand and fight. She thought quickly, knowing she only had a moment to decide. Fida doubted that his Protect could hold off the Steelix. She could have him use that move. It was a powerful move that one did not expect a Murkrow to know. The greater mystery was how Murkrow as a species were capable of it. But there were greater mysteries still in the world of Pokémon.

Fida glanced at the dark-skinned girl standing next to her, receiving a nod of encouragement from her. With the support of her dear friend Fida pointed at the incoming Steelix and yelled "Heat Wave!"

The attack would come easier thanks to the boosts Kieran received from entering the Calm Mind state not once, but twice. The ice around the bird very suddenly began to melt and then evaporate, so much that within a single moment there was sphere within the barrage of hail where no ice existed at all.

This Fire-type attack was one that attacked the target not with fire, but with super-heated air. Perhaps that was how Murkrow could learn it, due to the air being part of their natural elemental affinity. The attack also had a wide range and could typically hit all Pokémon on the opposing team.

Kieran raised his wings and then flung them forward, pointing in Steelix and Weavile's direction as a massive wave of super-heated air tore through the hailstorm to meet their opponents head-on. Fida looked on anxiously, waiting to see what would happen.

 

[Chadwyck]

The opponents switched out their Pokemon and avoided the incoming attacks, it was inconvenient, but at least for the moment; Fida used the opportunity to have the Murkrow bulk up again with Calm Mind. After which, Fida ordered him to use a Heatwave on the two new opponents. A Steelix and a Weavile.

While they were preoccupied with avoiding that attack, Rein decided to make use of the Hail that was now dwindling down to nothing. "Follow up that Heatwave with a Blizzard, Nevara!" Rein called out, and the Froslass obliged immediately.

the hail began to swirl and move about on harsh wind currents that blew in forceful gales. With the aid of the Hail, the attack had little chance of missing the targets, and immediately following a Heatwave, it should do some heavy damage should it connect.