Ask to Join Pokémon: The Whirl Cup!

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Splash the Floatzel, Cloyster, and Lanturn.
In the Audience: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp).

Charlotte wanted to turn away. She didn't. The Lanturn desperately tried to avoid the waves, but it was no use. There was no evading the Ground-type attack. Charlotte shivered as her Pokémon was knocked around by the waves. Bulldoze. Charlotte had no idea Wishiwashi was capable of learning that move. Lanturn hung on, but just barely. Charlotte had a feeling that one more hit would knock him out for sure.

She waved for Lanturn to come back. He ignored her. Despite being battered up, the Lanturn pursued Naka's Wishiwashi. Charlotte had to hand it to him, the fish had determination. Holding off on recalling Lanturn to his Poké Ball, Charlotte waited with bated breath to see what he would do.

The Lanturn knew this was his last chance. Despite his reduced speed due to the effects of Bulldoze, he was determined not to let the Wishiwashi get away. One way or another, he was going to wipe the frown off that pipsqueak guppy's face. If he couldn't have victory, he would at least show his opponent that he was no spring Chinchou.

Lanturn's body rippled with electricity. The hairs on the back of Charlotte's neck stood on end. Even from a distance she could feel the Lanturn's power. Had he used Charge after all? Charlotte wasn't sure, but as she watched Lanturn torpedo towards Naka's Wishiwashi like a white lightning bolt, she realized he was using Spark.

Clever boy, Charlotte thought. Taking advantage of Wishiwashi's diminished physical Defense. She doubt it would win them the battle, but it would make for an impressive light show. Unless, of course, Naka's Wishiwashi snapped out of its confusion and had a counter prepared for Spark. Charlotte's heart pounded in anticipation.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Charlotte and Lanturn (Charlotte Pryce) vs Iwa the Wishiwashi

The Wishiwashi finally found the pillar Naka was talking about, and she meandered her way there as fast as she could. That's when she felt an electrical current behind her. Worried she's going to get it with an Electric-Type attack, Iwa let out a panicked growl. "Ignore it! Get rid of your confusion first!"

Trusting in Naka, Iwa found herself hitting the wall, just as the Lanturn smashed into her with a Charged Spark. She cried out in pain, but she did manage to hit the pillar hard enough to regain her bearings. Shaking her head, she turned to find the Lanturn. She thankfully avoided the paralysis thanks to some positive RNG, but if that Lanturn did another two or so Sparks, even with the passive healing from her Aqua Ring and Leftovers (which she was eating), it was going to turn her into her solo form and that was practically a death sentence.

"U-Turn!" The Wishiwashi's body glowed a bright lime green and she charged the Lanturn. If she hit, she was going to return and be swapped out with a different Pokemon. With Iwa's strong physical attack power, Naka hoped this was going to be enough to knock out the Lanturn's rather decent physical defenses.

Unless this Lanturn were to surprise her.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Splash the Floatzel, Cloyster, and Lanturn.
In the Audience: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp).

Charlotte would like to say that she was a math genius. That she could calculate triple figures faster than a lightbulb turned on after you flipped its switch. The truth was, she wouldn't have passed fifth grade if she wasn't allowed to use pen and paper. No, what inspired her next command was intuition and a Saturday morning cartoon she watched when eight.

"Lanturn! Hit it out of the park!"

To be perfectly clear, this Lanturn had never watched a game of baseball in its life. Terms like "out" and "park" were not in its vocabulary. However, "hit it" sounded like a decent strategy. When Wishiwashi came charging at him with U-Turn, Lanturn opted to use Flail. A bright lime-green Wishiwashi made contact with the powerful slap of Lanturn's tail.

Charlotte had no clue what the outcome would be. She was hoping for a Wishiwashi home run. Considering her Lanturn's HP was low, even with Aqua Ring, Flail would have boosted power. Whether it would be enough, she couldn't say, and she couldn't tell yet whether Lanturn had taken damage in the process. Maybe it would be a tie. Wouldn't that be something? Either way, Charlotte doubted Wishiwashi baseball would become a sport. May Arceus forbid it.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Charlotte and Lanturn (Charlotte Pryce) vs Mudster the Swampert

The Wishiwashi slammed into the oncoming Flail, not caring how much damage that would actually do. While the Lanturn's stamina was low, Wishiwashi's defenses were absurdly high despite the prior use of Scale Shot. However, that Flail would've been enough to knock that Wishiwashi back down to her solo form. The glow overtook the Wishiwashi, and the light sent her right back to her awaiting ball.

Naka bit her lip. She looked to the next ball she had. This Pokemon was with her all the way through Hoenn and won her so many badges alongside her Sceptile. Her expression was serious now, there was no joy or fun she preached about earlier. She wanted this battle to end. "Mudster! Don't let her return it!" She called out, throwing the Pokeball and out came a Swampert, a winding claw wrapped around his finger. It bellowed in the air, moist skin covered in scars, then dove with his arms out into the water. Using his fin and vibrational senses, he was able to sense where the Lanturn was.

"Trap it!" The Swampert jumped out of the waters, his eyes leering at the Lanturn. He was going to make sure that this Pokemon was knocked out and that Aqua Ring would become useless. Sand formed around his forearms, which were now glowing from the identically glowing Grip Claw, and he sent it towards the Lanturn. The Sand Tomb was sent past the Lanturn, creating a sandy barrier between her and her trainer. If she wasn't fast enough in returning her Lanturn, she wouldn't be able to unless the Lanturn escaped. It then began to encircle where the Lanturn was and became as tall as one of the middle-sized pillars, and it even extended into the waters, where the Swampert dove under to intercept if the Lanturn were to try and duck under the more-aggressive trapping sand that was slowly getting closer to damage it.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Splash the Floatzel, Cloyster, and Lanturn.
In the Audience: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp).

[Edited]

By now, Lanturn was completely exhausted. Hit tail stung from using Flail on that last move. He was glad it worked, but the Swampert Naka summoned sent a chill to his heart. He didn't have the energy for another fight.

Charlotte recognized this and was about to recall him when Swampert entered the ring. She too was startled by the Pokémon but for a different reason. All those scars. How did the Swampert get them? Why hadn't Naka had them treated? Unfortunately, these thoughts running through her head slowed down her reaction time. By the time she grabbed her Poké Ball, Naka's Swampert had set Sand Tomb in place. Too late! Charlotte grimaced as Lanturn fainted, retreating to his Poké Ball in a beam of blue light.

Charlotte had to make a crucial decision. On the one hand, she had a Pokémon with decent defenses but not a lot of experience working with her as its trainer. On the other hand, she had a Pokémon who knew her so well, they were practically in sync. But...there was a problem. Floatzel was pure water-type. Swampert's Ground-type moves meant trouble, even with Splash's training.

After weighing her options, Charlotte decided it was a risk she would have to take. She tossed her Net Ball high in the air. A determined Floatzel landed on her feet until she saw what she was up against. Splash shot Charlotte a look as if to say, please tell me you have a plan.

Charlotte took a deep breath. She did have a plan, but it was risky at best. Splash didn't have any power herbs, but Charlotte was able to convince Hatari to temporarily part with her Quick Claw. This would give Splash the speed boost she needed.

Charlotte held up her hand with her fingers sprawled. She made a slight pushing motion, followed by a thrust motion with her hand turned the other way. Her Floatzel understood. First Soak then Quick Attack.

Splash sent a wave of water at the Swampert it wouldn't do any damage, but it would change Swampert's Water-Ground typing to pure Water-type. This should diminish the power of Swampert's Ground-type moves. With Soak in place, Flaotzel readied herself for Quick Attack.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22 – 8:00 a.m.

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

Power herb? With a name like that it had to be illegal, no? Ugh! Guess that was another thing she’d have to study. Type charts, status effects, pokémon biology, terrain effects... it had only been two months or so since she’d left Oblivia, not nearly enough time to learn everything there was to know about pokémon battles and now she had to add doping herbs to that list. Maybe she should get a mentor?

Actually...why hadn’t she already done that? Naka and Reina would be happy to help, she was sure. But for some reason, it hadn’t occurred to ask until now. Why? They were both more experienced battlers so if she wanted to polish her battling skills then their aid was invaluable. But was battling what she really wanted to do? Pfft, who was she kidding!? She loved battling! She loved the thrill, the challenge, the limelight! It felt great to nail a move and have the crowd roar their approval! But losing sucked and admittedly, she was on a bit of a losing streak. Maybe that was it? She hadn’t really attacked battling the way she had in her earlier days. Did a few measly losses have her down? Ew...pathetic.

Esther shook her head and felt, for lack of a better word...better. It was then that she noticed someone was staring at her. He was...Naka’s boy toy? He had a cute sleeping face, Naka had gotten a good angle on the picture she’d sent. It had been a bit odd to receive the sleeping face of a random guy, but Esther figured Naka had just wanted to brag about the guy she'd bagged. Now that Esther could see him up close, he was a bit more than just cute. He was tall too, like...maybe a bit taller than Monty? Impressive! And he clearly put some work into his physique. Overall, Naka had some good taste. Oh, hadn’t he been saying something to her?

“Sorry, come again? I spaced out.”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Sir Krazz]

Friday, July 22
Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle - Johto
Interactions: Esther (Kyuukestu)
Mentions: Naka (Merciless Medic)

“Ooh. Um...no worries. I had just said that was a good match like Naka. And then I said Hi, I'm Theo.” Had losing really gotten her down that much? He motioned towards the waiting area with a tilt of his head. “You wanna...ya know, go sit down and watch th other matches? Cause...I mean time waits for no one, right?” he shrugged, then stepped aside so she could return to the resting area. Whether she walked with him or not Theo would then return to the rest area and flip to the back of his notebook, setting up another battle chart for Naka vs Charlotte. It was a bit more rushed than the first chart he made up, and for the time being it lacked actual names of attacks and their effects, but rather what the two had been calling out for their pokemon to do. Did some trainers train their pokemon in code? He figured it worked to keep their strategies from being immediately discovered, but anyone with a recording device could easily record their matches and figure them out that way. If she sat with him, Theo would strike up a conversation between attack call outs “So....you....been a trainer long?” Obviously she had been one long enough to catch three water pokemon for the tournament, but how long had she been at this before that? It was crazy to him to think about how many trainers there might be in the pokemon world, and how many more pokemon there are.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

July 22, Whirl Cup
Savannah

The attacks collided, the following explosion clouding both party's vision of one another. Ducklan landed back on solid ground after his attack. He began preparing his next move when the opposing side decided to double down on the mist and create a fog that covered the whole battlefield.

Now having completely lost sight of the opponent, the Golduck was not in a favorable position. "Ducklan!" A voice pierced through the fog as Savannah shouted to her pokemon. The Water type glanced at her, perhaps she actually had a plan for this situation. "Watch out for all that fog! We can't see Rei Rei and her dancing pokemon anymore!" She shouted. With that, any hope Ducklan had for his trainer vanished. All she did was call out the obvious, clearly she wasn't going to be much help.

Not fully sure what to do next, Ducklan simply held his hands together beside him and created a ball of water between them, preparing himself for when the enemy would show themselves again.

 

[Hecotoro]

Reina Cortez, Whirl Cup, Group B, Round 1.

Reina tried to spot their opponent across the field, but it being blue made it a bit more difficult. Worst of all, Savannah wasn't confirming if she could see him or not. She just stated the obvious, which meant she probably planned for something like this and it is code for the Golduck to try something. Well, Reina wasn't going to fall for it!

"Bubblebeam, again!"

Chente stopped his dancing and looked for his opponent hidden in the mist, before spotting the glow of the Golduck's attack forming. The Ludicolo shot a stream of exploding bubbles towards his enemy, hoping to disturb whatever he was attempting.

"Then, Mega Drain!"

Green energy began to form around Chente as he focused on trying to aim at the Golduck. Once the enemy was in sight, he would shoot the energy at him, which would in return recuperate the user.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Charlotte and Splash the Floatzel (Charlotte Pryce) vs Mudster the Swampert

These scars were the product of being away from civilization without the means to fully heal them. But after getting his first scar, Mudster wanted more, and would actually prevent himself from being under healing by the Pokemon Center. He wanted to look badass and strike fear in his opponents. He didn't really understand that the look also made Naka look bad, but if he knew, he didn't care.

As the Lanturn got knocked out, the sand dissipated, and next up was Floatzel. Apparently, given the time it took, she was thinking about something. Naka grinned.

She saw something that Floatzel had, but was unsure of what the item was. Mudster saw something however. He looked up and watched Charlotte make hand signs, and Naka's eyes went up to see Charlotte's hands. Something had to do with charging.

Well, if she was going to use code, so was Naka.

With a sharp whistle that went low and then jumped to an annoyingly high pitch, Mudster growled obediently. Forearms coated in sand, he sent a Sand Tomb in front of him, enough to block the Soak from hitting him, while also covering what he was doing. Of course, he dove under the water, his fist glowing with a bright white. The water's temperature dropped significantly due to his forming Ice Punch.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Splash the Floatzel, Cloyster, and Lanturn.
In the Audience: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp).

Charlotte's eyes narrowed. So that's how you want to play...

Splash was able to avoid the incoming Sand Tomb, but their attempt to take away the Swampert's greatest advantage was ruined. Splash searched around for her opponent, but could not find him. Her fur stood on end. She shivered. Why was the water suddenly so cold?

Charlotte figured Naka's Swampert must of dove underwater. Clever trick, using Sand Tomb as a smokescreen. Still, Charlotte had a few tricks left up her sleeve. She heard Splash bark and noticed that the Floatzel was shivering. That meant an Ice-type attack was coming. Water-type Pokémon were known to be resistant to Ice-types, but depending on the move, it could still mean trouble.

There was no time to think. Charlotte shouted the first words that popped into her head.

"Cancel the last order, Splash! Go with the shark defense."

Spalsh blinked. The shark defense? In all their time together Splash could only think of one Pokémon that remotely resembled a shark. The Floatzel gritted her teeth. She was not comfortable with the plan, but she supposed she would have to trust Coach Charlotte.

Stars began forming around Charlotte's Floatzel. Good girl, Charlotte thought. Swift would not lose accuracy in the water. If Naka had ordered her Swampert to perform a special attack, the two would probably cancel out. If she ordered a physical attack, well, Charlotte just had to wait and see.

(This is like one of those wild west shows when the two gunslingers fire at the exact same time! XD)

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Charlotte and Splash the Floatzel (Charlotte Pryce) vs Mudster the Swampert

Mudster didn't want to attack the Floatzel with an Ice Punch. But he did want to make the water cold. He had been in Snowpoint a month earlier, and the snow training had worked here. Stopping the attack, he looked up and squinted at whatever Splash was doing.

Naka saw and grinned. She put two fingers in her mouth and let out a sharp whistle, and she knew her Swampert was able to hear that underwater. Hearing the whistle to let him know there was an oncoming attack, he watched for the attack, now knowing it was coming. He saw glowing stars.

Grinning, his body shimmered with a turquoise blue and as the Swift hit, he winced. But he absorbed the damage taken and their energy, then sent it right back in a blast of white light that looked more like a beam aimed right at Splash. He used Mirror Coat.

Sighing after that, he started creating stones, white lights forming around his forearms before being sent all over the battlefield's water, then formed into pointed gray rocks. This was a variant of Stealth Rock. Instead of letting them hover in the air, he was going to make them hover underwater and act as mines that suddenly surge up when a Pokemon swims above them, slamming into them. He was inspired by Roark's Onix when he showed them off during a competition in the PWT, so he wanted to do the same. Once the rocks get close to the opposing Pokemon, they would turn orange and explode.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Splash the Floatzel, Cloyster, and Lanturn.
In the Audience: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp).

Charlotte had underestimated her opponent. One moment, Splash was sitting on top of the water, feeling smug. The next she was bombarded by a ray of white light. Ouch! Charlotte winced as though she felt the pain herself. Her Floatzel shook it off and dove underwater. Instead of staying submerged, however, Splash popped up a second later in a geyser-like explosion.

What the?

Charlotte watched as Splash came stumbling back down, only to hit another Stealth Rock and get sent back up again.

This time Charlotte caught on. The Swampert had laid out some sort of spikes. But they weren't traditional spikes. This Swampert had unorthodox yet effective move strategies. At this rate, the battle would be over in seconds.

Distortion! Charlotte thought, smacking her fist into the palm of her hand. Her eyes grew wide, realizing what she had just signaled.

"Splash. Don---" Too late! Her Floatzel dove headfirst into the water, using her tails to propel her forward. Without any regard for danger, Splash swam straight at the opposing Swampert. More of the Stealth Rock mines went off. Some Splash avoided, though most did her damage. She held on. In a burst of speed, Splash the Floatzel used Crunch right on the Swampert's tail fin. She then attempted to fling the large water Pokémon at one of his own mines. Let's see how you like it.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Charlotte and Splash the Floatzel (Charlotte Pryce) vs Mudster the Swampert

Naka found herself grinning wide, seeing the explosions go off from the Stealth Rocks blowing up. Good job, Mudster! Training really paid off, even if it was last minute. That was when she stopped seeing the Floatzel get blown up into the air. She let out another sharp whistle that dipped low, the lower pitch couldn't be heard but Mudster knew what she was trying to warn him of as there was a fallout.

This Floatzel was strong, but Stealth Rock was a Rock-Type move. Even if Swampert got hit by his own rocks, it wouldn't do too much damage due to Ground-Type Pokemon resisting Rock. So when the Floatzel used Crunch and lowered Mudster's physical defenses and tried slinging him to another Stealth Rock, Mudster let it explode. He used the force to hopefully disorient the Floatzel as he used Counter. The Crunch's attack hit him, then bounced back in a dark explosion of energy back at the Floatzel.

He looked back at the Floatzel, grinning before letting out a roar.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Splash the Floatzel, Cloyster, and Lanturn.
In the Audience: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp).

Charlotte knew the second she heard the Swampert's roar that something bad was about to happen. It did. The next instant she heard a terrific explosion and saw her beloved Floatzel fly into the air like a rocket and land smack dab at her feet. Splash could barely move her head. She opened one eye at Charlotte, on the brink of fainting but still looking determined to fight. Charlotte, however, knew better. There was no fight left in her.

"It's okay," she said gently, caressing the Floatzel's head. "We gave everything we had. I've never been more proud of you."

Taking this as a sign that it was alright to quit, Splash retreated in a beam of white light to her Poké Ball.

"That's it." Charlotte declared in a voice loud enough for Naka to hear. "Honestly, I think you were just toying with us. Still, that was exhilarating."

She gave Naka and her Swampert a lighthearted salute. Somewhere in the audience, an Alakazam cheered.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Interaction: Charlotte (Charlotte Pryce), Esther Sophys (kyuukestu), Theo Hightower (Sir Krazz)

She won...

Mudster was great at not showing how damaged he was, because as he swam back and climbed up the trainer box to see to his trainer, she noticed just how tired he was. That Crunch did a number on him, and so did that Stealth Rock explosion despite the resistance. His chest and arms were scuffed up from the explosion and the Swift, and his tail was punctured from the Crunch. She heard Charlotte yell and she waved back, smiling softly. "You did great, too!"

She grabbed the Grip Claw from Mudster, then returned him. She then pulled out her Wishiwashi, taking her Leftovers and pocketing it before returning her.

Her next fight wouldn't need items, because her opponent didn't have any. And Esther was leagues below her.

She descended the stairs and watched the remainder of the next fight that came, her expression having softened. Since everyone shared the same lobby, Charlotte should be down here unless she went to see her Pokemon. Considering that Naka and Charlotte had one point each and Naka knew she would be able to defeat Esther, who had no points and wouldn't feasibly be able to make it unless she turned this into a three-way tie, Naka knew she herself was going forward. She felt like she was close to losing that one with Charlotte, and she knew Esther was no slacker either, even if she was just starting. And she had three Pokemon this time. Her Ludicolo was going to be the ace, she knew that. But she also knew that it wouldn't matter if Esther managed to secure a knockout with her strategy.

So, she was going to make sure Esther showed off that strategy. She found Esther and smiled at her. "Yo, I hope you got something in store for me, Esther. I'll treat this like a contest fight." Were her Pokemon ready for something like that? She knew her Ludicolo and Wishiwashi would love a contest, but her Swampert didn't care about looking pretty or tough or cool - besides the scarring. Her Pokemon heard this though, and the two of the three balls wiggled excitedly in anticipation. Sighing, she replenished herself and her nerves with snacks, feeling her twitch to drink alcohol again.

Fuck, she really did turn into an alcoholic from just one moment a month ago? She kept herself from going for it. She looked back at Esther, giving her a smile but it was devoid of any mirth. There was anxiety there. Because she knew that if Esther didn't win, she'd have to go to the finals against someone - likely Reina with how things were turning out. And she was honestly a bit terrified to keep going. "You ready?"

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22 – 8:00 a.m.

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

Esther cringed, her bangs swaying with her vehement denial. “You don’t have to mince words, it was a shit show, I got rolled. That’s just how it goes. I’ll have to watch out for things like that next time.” The Oblivian would’ve dragged her feet all the way back to the trainer’s lounge, but she had a match to catch and a pokémon to treat. “Just a moment!”

The med bay wasn’t far from the trainer’s lounge and Esther settled her affairs with time to spare. She remained quiet with her eyes locked onto the display screen. Her last match had provided a few key insights that would adjust her overall strategy, but not by much. Her battle with Naka was already playing out in her head, scenario after scenario. Esther muttered something about Swampert and Wishiwashi, and every so often she fiddle with one pokéball or another, but she retained enough presence of mind to answer Theo.

“Not long, less than two months actually. We don’t have trainers where I’m from, so it’s all been a new experience.”

The fight on-screen wrapped up and soon Naka was back. Esther took a deep breath and turn on the bravado—“I was born ready.”

Without waiting Esther marched toward the battlefield.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther (kyuukestu) vs Mudster the Swampert

The second-to-last battle for the round robin was coming, and it was Naka against Esther.

Naka had healed up her Pokemon during the last fight in the next group, so now it was just her and Esther before the finals.

Sighing, Naka heard Esther was ready. Well, good for her. Naka wanted to be ready, but as they got closer and closer to the finals, she felt more and more anxious. She had nothing at stake, though. So why the nervousness?

She walked out into the battlefield on her trainer pillar, taking in a deep breath and just tried to focus on the sounds of the water below her. It was likely Esther had an answer or a strategy thought up for her Pokemon, except her Ludicolo. Which - of course - would probably be the trickiest. All Naka knew was that she had a Shellos. She knew she had a Feebas and Surskit, so she knew those three would be used during this fight.

She focused on her Pokemon's abilities. Shellos either had Storm Drain, Sticky Hold, or Sand Force. None of her Pokemon had Sandstorm, but she had to be careful about Water-Type attacks, whether she had it or not. Sticky Hold wouldn't mean much unless she gave her Pokemon items. Feebas either had Swift Swim, Oblivious, or Adaptability. She might see which ones later. None of her Pokemon had Intimidate or Taunt however, so it wasn't like she was able to guess if it had that or Swift Swim, as they didn't have Rain Dance, either. Adaptability would be easy to spot if the Water-Type attack was stronger than normal. As for her Surskit... Both abilities utilized Rain Dance, so she didn't know which it could be - whether a burst of speed or gradual recovery.

Considering none of her Pokemon had Rain Dance to avoid the opponent from using it against them, she had to send out one of her Pokemon. This would disrupt most of Esther's strategy. She let loose an evil grin. It was so tempting.

Eh, might as well.

"Set up once our opponent has her Pokemon on the field." She whispered to the ball.

Naka gave the other trainer box a concentrated look, then held out her Pokeball. Her Swampert came out first, the scarred beast bellowed out a roar before diving into the water. He floated with just his fin and eyes above the water's surface, the rest of his body hanging there loosely as he watched the opposing side. His forearms began flexing under the water as he readied an attack.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22 – 8:00 a.m.

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

Swampert. Perfect!

Esther picked the first pokéball on her waist. Much like with Bambi’s, this pokéball was also covered in seals, not the sinister smoke and haze, but instead bubbles and foam. Esther gave the pokéball a few testy tosses; as if testing its weight. She eyed the location of Naka’s Swampert, its massive silhouette easily visible from her stand. Deep breaths. Three steps back. Give yourself some space to move. Run up, wind your arm, and—“Hng!”

With her best baseball pitch, Esther sunk her pokéball into the water with an audible PLOP! The pokéball burst open underwater with a rush of foam and bubbles. Esther had her strategy in mind, the name of her game was—“Attack! «Bubblebeam»!”

There seemed to be no response for several moments. As if Esther’s pokémon hadn't heard her beneath all that water. However, Esther knew better. Their opening salvo was the only time this would work, it was the only moment when the bubbles of her seal would hide their actions and hide their Bubblebeam. It would only last a moment or two, but that was a moment where neither Naka nor her pokémon would be able to tell an explosive Bubblebeam from the harmless bubbles of her seal. Or so the idea was.

If Swampert had sharp senses it would notice after a few moments, the cannonade of swifter bubbles that emerged from the fog of bubbles and shot toward it. Oddly, the bubbles seemed more like a scattershot than a direct stream of explosive bubbles.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L'Basseau the Surskit??? (kyuukestu) vs Mudster the Swampert

Hm, interesting.

She chose the route of hiding her Pokemon and the attack. She smirked. Mudster didn't need a command, yet. He sent his forearms up and stones flew off in a white light before hovering in the air. They turned grey before going invisible. Stealth Rocks.

After some thinking, Naka knew it was Surskit. Feebas and Shellos couldn't learn Bubble Beam. "It's her Surskit! Mirror Coat!" Getting that information, the Swampert ducked his head underwater, body shimmering with a turquoise that matched that of the water's surface right as the Bubble Beam hit. The Bubble Beam more or less tickled, and thankfully the Bubble Beam's sticky film sloughed off so his speed wasn't lowered. The attack was rather minimal, but this was going to help pinpoint where the Surskit was. The attack's energy was absorbed before he let out a blast to where the Surskit should have been.

Hopefully, she wasn't jebaited and she had her other Pokemon come out.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

July 22, Whirl Cup
Savannah

Ducklan quickly turned towards the incoming Bubblebeam, alerted by the shift in the mist as well as the sound of the bubbles. With his attack at the ready, Golduck was quick to react.

The Water type moved his arms forward, pushing the ball of water towards the Bubblebeam. Soon, the mass of water transformed into a massive torrent, engulfing the enemy’s attack with its overwhelming presence. The powerful jet of water would then continue its path as it closed in on the opposing Ludicolo.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22 – 8:00 a.m.

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

Esther’s brows raised as Naka called for Mirror Coat. It wasn’t what she’d expected but... it’d work. She counted off the seconds in her head. Three...two... now!

“«AQUA JET»!”

The water erupted with the sound of tens of detonations as the reflected mirror coat triggered the first of Esther’s trap cards. Bubbles were usually fragile things that popped at the slightest pressure, but if you put them underwater it was possible for them to exist for a few moments longer.

It was unfortunate that Naka wouldn’t rush headlong into the scattered Bubblebeam mines that had been hidden by the seals, but alas! She didn’t think the scattershot had tipped Naka off to the fact that she’d been primarily scattering Bubblebeam mines rather than attacking Swampert, so it had just been pure chance that she’d gone for mirror coat. Unlucky!

Esther knew Susu would be surfacing soon. Surskit weren’t much for underwater fights after all. They operated best on the water rather than under it. Sure enough, L’Basseau was the first to surface, popping out of the water. They had been prepared for the blast and were prepped for a quick escape. Naka’s Swampert on the other hand...? Heh.

“Let’s get high Susu, then «Sweet Scent»!”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L'Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Mudster the Swampert

She was right, and the subsequent Mirror Coat sent a blast that destroyed some kind of popping bubble mine. Mudster saw that and roared, letting Naka know there was something there. Let's not go in that area then if there's going to be more.

The Surskit used Aqua Jet to avoid the bubble popping, while Mudster fanned his tail around him and turned it metallic to defend most of his body from the explosions. The glow of the Iron Tail diminished and he dove under the surface to avoid the Sweet Scent, as scent tended not to carry under the water.

With a sharp whistle that went up high then the tail end trilled, Mudster's fists misted up, the water dropping in temperature. He began using Ice Punch and punched towards the surface, the blasts of cold air hitting the surface began to frost it over before freezing into ice chunks.

Soon enough, there were going to be discs of frozen platforms.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22 – 8:00 a.m.

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

Esther twitched. It was a happy kind of twitch, the kind that said she had just barely suppressed a grin. She could work with this. While Naka was busy transforming the battlefield, Esther redirected her attention to the earlier move. Swampert had fired some rocks that had vanished somewhere in the air. Foreboding. With quite the distance between Surskit and Swampert, Esther decided to take the opportunity to test the attack from earlier.

“Bubblebeam, straight up!”

From its position on one of the high pillars sticking out of the water, Susu released a font of bubbles into the sky. The ideal scenario was that they destroyed whatever Naka had but up there, but if they didn’t...hmmm.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L'Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Mudster the Swampert

She was destroying the hazards... Clever. Naka chuckled.

The Bubble Beam made contact with several, the rocks exploding upon contact. However, there were still other rocks, the nearby explosions causing them to reappear before shifting to being invisible.

With another sharp, yet short whistle, there were about a dozen small ice discs. The Swampert swam up and breached the water quickly, having picked up several once he breached and began to throw them at the Surskit like frisbees. He knew the Surskit was agile, that was why he wanted to use projectiles as a distraction, his tail shining with an oncoming move if the Surskit got too close.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22 – 8:00 a.m.

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

Esther hummed thoughtfully. So, they could be destroyed. Good to know.

“Drop behind the pillar then once more, bubblebeam into the sky!”

Susu stepped backward and dropped off the high pillar she was on. She landed lightly on the water and fired another font of bubbles into the air. Esther gathered that Swampert wasn’t the most agile of pokémon and that agility was their greatest advantage. That was why she’d led with L’ Basseau. Her match against Charlotte might’ve been different if she’d fielded a more agile fighter, but she’d learned from her mistake.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L'Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Mudster the Swampert

Naka saw the Surskit fall behind the pillar to avoid the ice shelves. But upon hearing Bubble Beam was being used again, he couldn't let that happen. As Mudster swam towards the Surskit's position, he threw the ice frisbees above the Surskit, blocking the Bubble Beam and causing the frisbees to shatter in to pretty particles of ice.

His forearms began to swirl sand.

He punched the air at Surskit's position, sand flowing around like buffeting tendrils that tried to encircle the Surskit to damage and trap it.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22 – 8:00 a.m.

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

“Dive! «Aqua Jet»!” Esther thought it was odd that Naka had brought a sand-based move to a water-based arena, but regardless it was easy enough to evade the sand tomb by diving into the water and jetting away. This was proving to be quite like her encounter with Mamoswine, the same principles applied!

“Exhaust him~♪
"Don’t let him get close!
"He’s strong but he’s slow~♪
“He can’t land a blow if you’re out of reach!
"Find a breach!”

And the Oblivian thought she’d spotted just the breach.

“Dive around the pillars and Bubblebeam!”

Susu was quick to obey surfacing for only a moment before she dove back under with Aqua Jet. The water and the stone pillars would keep distance and objects between them and their foe. And since Naka seemed to be trying hard to stop her from firing more bubblebeams into the sky, then that was exactly what she was going to do.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and L'Basseau the Surskit (kyuukestu) vs Mudster the Swampert

Naka smiled. Ah, such awesome speed. She was going to put a stop to that.

"Sand Temple!" It wasn't a move, but it was an application of Sand Tomb. Using the more fine control of the sand, the Swampert raised his fists in the air and sand poured up and out, blocking the sky temporarily and popping the bubbles that came. The sand would murk up the water in vast quantities, and that's precisely what she was doing. The sand coalesced back to Swampert, sweeping over the water's surface in an aoe wave that grabbed and pulled everything towards him before swirling around Swampert. With a roar, the sand blasted out in an explosion, and he ducked under the waters, which were now incredibly murky.

Using his fin as a sensor, he followed the skips and dashes of the Surskit, getting close like a Sharpedo stalking its prey.

 

[Hecotoro]

Reina and the Whirl Cup Chronicles.

"Whoa!" Reina raised her forearms to shield herself as her Ludicolo took a direct Hydro Pump.

The water type smashed into the water, creating a big splash. Although the attack didn't do much damage, it didn't change the fact that it had a lot of force behind it. As the attack ended, Chente jumped out of the pool and back to his pillar. The dancing Pokemon getting into rhythm again, dancing from one leg to another.

"Okay, you have some tricks up your sleeve, so do we!"

Chente stopped dancing, his right arm gaining a dark glow as he looked at his opponent. "Knock Off!"

Chente jumped from his side of the field and towards the Golduck, ready to strike down on his opponent.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

July 22, Whirl Cup
Savannah

Savannah looked on as the battle waged on between Ducklan and Reina's Ludicolo. "Man, this is kind of intense." She said to herself. This situation wasn't exactly how Savannah imagined her first battle would go, she was expecting to have to make more calls but it appeared her pokemon is doing just fine on his own. However, Savannah still wanted to make an attempt to be helpful.

When the opposing Ludicolo leaped at Ducklan with his glowing hand, Savannah thought it was her time to shine. "Alright Ducklan! Attack them while they're getting closer!" She commanded. Ducklan, however, gave his trainer nothing more than a side glance. Another useless remark, this time disguised as an order for her pokemon to follow.

The Duck pokemon decided to take the dancing Pineapple's challenge head on. He began dashing towards the opposing Water Grass type, his claws glowing white as he swiped them at the Ludicolo.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22 – 8:00 a.m.

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

Sand Temple? That didn’t sound ominous at all. Esther remained vigilant but as it turned out, Sand Temple was just code for stupid big sand tomb. Esther’s heart caught in her chest, but then she remembered that things like this is exactly why Susu was weaving about the pillars. However, it seemed she’d overthought things as the sand wave swept over the water, leaving Susu free to dive beneath it.

For a moment the girl’s eyes flickered across the battlefield assessing the new, murkier water. A moment’s indecision passed and then—“Return!”

Her haze-sealed pokéball came out and Esther tossed it toward the center of the pool where Swampert had been earlier.

“Ooze it Bambi!”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Hecotoro]

Reina vs Savannah

Ludicolo's Knock Off clashed with the Golduck's attack. But Chente was finally closer to his opponent.

"You're doing great Savannah! But it won't be enough, Mega Drain!"

Chente released the dark energy from his hand, allowing the last swipe to strike. In exchange though, with his left hand he sent out a wave of green energy. The aura would wrap around the Golduck and steal energy from him before sending it back to Chente.

"Then Bubblebeam!"

With his opponent still in sight, Chente released a stream of exploding bubbles once more, trying to get more damage piled on his opponent.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and La Bamba the West Sea Shellos (kyuukestu) vs Mudster the Swampert

Naka watched as Surskit dodged the Sand Tomb, and she watched as Esther returned her Pokemon after its use. Naka was glad she was switching Pokemon. While Mudster was good, faster Pokemon usually caused issues for him, especially if they were rather small.

Feeling the figure leave, only to be replaced with something bigger had Mudster's eyes darting towards the source. Naka was confused what Esther meant by ooze it. Either this was Sludge, Acid Armor, or... Sticky Hold?

Either way, she wanted to see if the Shellos had Storm Drain, and this was one surefire way of making use of its redirecting effect. "Liquidation!" Mudster heard the command and water surged around his arm before it turned into a sword he held. He was underneath the Shellos, and he swam up to quickly breach the water where the Shellos was at and smash his blade of water at the slug to throw it up in the air.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

If one had taken the time to review Esther’s battles, if they focused on how she threw out her pokémon, then one thing would become very apparent. Esther was very deliberate in where she threw her pokéballs and where her pokémon took the field. This time was no exception.

Earlier Swampert had drawn all the debris around the battlefield to its location and although much of it had exploded out to murky the waters, there were a couple of things a bit heavier than sand that now floated about the battlefield at various distances. Of course, those were the ice disks that had been created earlier. One of them hadn’t gone quite as far as the rest and it remained close to Swampert’s previous position, it had probably been packed under a lot of sand that blocked it from flying far.

That ice float had been Esther’s target and it had also been the target of Bambi’s oozing. The haze that erupted from Bambi’s pokéball had probably hidden it from Naka’s notice unless she’d been keeping track of the ice floats as Esther had. Shellos wasn’t the most agile pokémon and Esther had just learned that lesson, her switch was obviously not so she could consign one of her pokémon to an early demise.

Swampert surged up from below, its liquidation making first contact with the ice float Shellos had been seated on. The float, of course, exploded violently. Shards of ice flew everywhere but a good half of them would hit the incoming Swampert and stick.

Shellos, the sea slug pokémon. When it senses danger a purple liquid oozes out of it. Though harmless, the fluid is awfully sticky. Take care as the substance is troublesome to wash off.

Esther wore a Cheshire grin; she hoped it all went in Swampert’s face. Naka would be scrubbing that for a week. This hadn’t been Esther’s plan, but she hadn’t been expecting Swampert to come from under her Shellos. Either way, Esther wasn’t too sure what would happen next. The ice was certainly a barrier between Bambi and Liquidation, but she wasn’t sure it was enough to save Bambi from a direct hit and an inevitable knockout. However, on the off-chance that it had...

“«Recover»!”

If Bambi was still conscious it would’ve still been sent flying and given the haze, not even Esther knew where she’d land. Might as well take a few moments to recover. Even if Bambi was immediately knocked out, if she’d robbed Swampert of its vision then she would’ve done quite enough.

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and La Bamba the West Sea Shellos (kyuukestu) vs Mudster the Swampert

Naka watched on, and when the Liquidation caused the ice float to explode with purple ooze, Naka realized it was the biological ooze of the Shellos. Mudster roared in frustration, clawing at his face as the stickiness had not only turned his chest and neck purple, but the right side of his face. The ooze even tried to stick the right side of his mouth together.

Despite her Swampert's frantic reaction, Naka laughed, doubling over and holding her hand up to hide half of her face. "Ohh, that's a good one!" Mudster growled, his fingers sticking. Why was Naka even saying this was funny? A good one? Well, he had to hand it to the little human, that was pretty good. But did it really have to be him?

"Return." With a long beam of the return energy, she pulled back her Swampert, and waited for La Bamba to be seen to be certain of its verdict. Then she was going to send in her next Pokemon. In the meantime, she released Mudster on her trainer box and looked at the purple ooze. There was even sand and ice shards stuck to his face. Luckily, his skin was rather thick, but that couldn't be comfortable. "I'll help you get that off, Mudster, okay?"

The mudfish whined, not wanting to wait at all. He tried to scratch it off, only for Naka to hold his hand and shake her head. "Leave it. I'll deal with it once this battle is over, okay?" Relenting, Mudster nodded and returned himself.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

As it turned out, Bambi had not survived the blow, and not long after the Shellos floated to the surface belly-up. Esther would’ve been distraught if she hadn’t been too busy laughing uproariously!

She had always known victory would be practically impossible. Who knows how many years of experience and oodles of power separated her and Naka? Nay, a direct win stood a snowball’s chance in hell. Her goal wasn’t to win. It was to be a menace. She couldn’t win, but she could strategize, she could plan, she could needle her opponent to the point of frustration. That was Esther’s personal win-con and hearing Swampert’s bellows, she knew she’d succeeded. It had been inked, well, and truly inked. Sticky, funky, greasy, weird-smelling purple ooze would be its world for at least the next while. It had even caused Naka to recall it.

She had forced a switch? Esther’s laughter redoubled! Frankly, she was over the moon!

“Hey Naka, no offense but...GET OOZED!”

Esther’s entire demeanor had changed...relaxed. The tournament organizers could just hand over her consolation prize. She was through here. Top contenders for the Whirl Champion, Reina-who?

As she came off her high, she flashed Naka an apologetic smile, her outburst had been very unsportsmanlike. Sorry, not sorry.

Bambi returned to her pokéball, and Esther retrieved the second pokéball from her waist.

“It’s your turn Feebas!”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: July 22 (26yo)
Location: Tornare Coliseum - Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle, Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokemon Team: Mudster the Swampert, Iwa the Wishiwashi, Ludwig the Ludicolo

Battling: Esther and Feebas (kyuukestu) vs Iwa the Wishiwashi

Hearing Esther die of laughter was rather entertaining, and Naka found herself continuously giggling. Her 'get oozed' comment had Naka laughing as she held out the next Pokeball. "Good job! That was really funny! Go, Iwa!" She threw out her next Pokemon, the Wishiwashi, her solo form shining white before she was enveloped with many fish to become her schooling form, the bigger form making a huge splash into the water.

Thankfully, she didn't have her Leftovers, but the enormous size of the fish amalgamate practically dwarfed the Feebas. Twenty-six feet and eleven inches were no joke. The fish lumbered forward. While it was slow, it was strong and tough and it was likely that none of her Pokemon were able to do anything to it unless Esther found a strategy.

She was inside of this thing before with Reina a couple days ago.

Naka sent her command out first, noting how murky it was. While Iwa had many sensories for movement in water, murky water wasn't her suited location. "Aqua Tail!" Knowing it was murky and not wanting to get bothered by that, Iwa's tail glowed and became cloaked in water. She used its power to swim towards the murky waters before trying to stop and spin, swinging her now massive tail at the murky waters to push them away and towards the pillars. Clearing murk wasn't exactly on her list of things to do, but if she could get it all towards one side of the tournament, she was willing to do that.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Friday, July 22

Tornare Coliseum – Scarlet City, Red Rock Isle – Whirl Archipelago

Johto Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Halay-Alae (Houndour), L’ Basseau (Surskit), La Bamba (Shellos) In Esther’s care: Feebas​

Feebas plomped into the water and promptly...vanished! Not that she had disappeared, but Esther definitely couldn’t see her, the water was just too murky. Even the shine of Feebas’ scales hadn’t cut through the fog of particles Naka had dumped into the water. Wasn’t much Esther could do about that though. Naka on the other hand...Aqua Tail, huh?

“Ride the wave!”

Her options were limited with Feebas, but limited wasn’t zero. As Aqua Tail pulsed out to clear the debris Feebas would be riding along, using Iwa’s power to boost her speed.

“Now jump and «BRINE»!”

Near the edges of the battlefield, Feebas leaped, her lavender scaling playing the sunbeams as she fired a spout of water into the air.

A gasp went through the crowd and speakers crackled to life as the announcer’s voice rang with surprise.

“Now that’s something you don’t see every day, a Feebas, and a shiny one at that! What a rare pokémon! She’s bound to be a beauty when she evolves!”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$5330

Pokéflute

PokéToy

Practice Ball

Seal Case

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Charlotte Pryce
Date: July 22
Age: 21 years old
Location: Whirl Archipelago, Johto
Pokémon Team: Splash the Floatzel, Cloyster, and Lanturn.
In the Audience: Fernando (Infernape), Dini (Alakazam), Bolero (Roserade), Hatari (Luxray), and Tiburon (Garchomp).

Charlotte made her way down to the lobby. She healed her Pokémon at the med bay, then sat to watch the remaining matches. She was bummed at losing to Naka, but at least the pressure was off. Not much chance of her winning the competition at this point. Esther and Naka were incredible trainers. She glanced at the screen, trying to recall who else was having their match. She would have liked to watch them all. Based on what she had seen, these people shared deep bonds with their Pokémon.

Charlotte played with the Net Ball in her hands. She wondered how Splash was taking it. Even as a Buizel, Splash had high expectations. She joined Charlotte's team late but could go toe-to-toe with Bolero and Hatari, despite her type disadvantage. Charlotte suspected the only reason Splash consented to be captured was that Fernando had worn her down. She loved to compete and hated to lose.

Thinking no one would mind, Charlotte released Splash from her Poké Ball. As predicted, Splash looked a little dismayed. She looked up at the screen of Naka and Esther competing and smiled. So she was still a good sport.

"Hey," Charlotte consoled her Pokémon, affectionally ruffling her fur. "You were ah-mazing out there. The best I have ever seen."

This got Splash's tails thumping. She was shaking the whole lounge area. Charlotte chuckled. "Maybe we could do this again sometime. Assuming Lanturn and Cloyster want to stick with us."

Charlotte had no idea how she was going to care for eight Pokémon. Not that there was any guarantee that all would stay. Still, she'd figure it out. She always did.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated. Huh. Unlisted. Charlotte hung up. The phone rang again. Unlisted. Silence! Again, ring.

"You stay here, Splash. I'm going to take this real quick."

Splash looked around for people to bother while Charlotte was taking the call. Outside, the phone rang until Charlotte pressed accept.

"Hello?"