Semi-Final Battle: Rein Vs. Sem

[Chadwyck]

The roar of the crowd echoed across the stadium, like a thunderstorm within a closed space. It was defening and energetic, impossible not to feel a rush of adrenaline from. Rein felt the energy, and it pumped him up, sure enough, but he could never get used to being the center of attention. He'd gotten plenty of practice traveling with his young ward, Flyn Logan, the human disaster. Anywhere Flyn went trouble followed, usually Rein was left to clean up the mess.

Still, being in front of the audience, here at the Unova Pokemon League Tournament, it was a lot to take in. Flyn was currently sitting in the audience, rooting for Rein with every ounce of his energy, which was quite a lot. He had been eliminated early on after a few successful battles, but he needed more discipline, something that Rein repeatedly told him.

Rein, on the other hand, had done quite well, and he was currently sitting in the competitor's lounge on the east side of the stadium, having given his Pokemon to the nurse behind the counter after his last battle. He was staring up at the big, flatscreen television that portrayed the current battle, the last battle before the semi-finals began.

He was only half paying attention to the match, however, as he turned his attention to another screen that displayed the current standings and the next match. His next opponent's name caught his eye: Sem Aquais. The twenty-two year old couldn't help but laugh quietly to himself. What were the odds of being paired against his friend?

He'd seen the name before of course, he'd even watched a few of Sem's matches. But they hadn't run into each other yet, and with the massive crowds wherever you stepped in the stadium, they weren't likely to run into each other on accident. Now Rein wouldn't even have to go looking for him.

"Attention competitors!" A voice happily started on the loudspeaker system, "the semi-finals are about to begin. Would Rein Vanguarde and Sem Aquais please report to the arena!"

Rein was up before the message was even completed, the three chimes at the end signalling that it was the end of the announcement. He collected his Pokemon from the nurse and stepped into his lift.

He closed his eyes as the doors opened, the lights would be blinding otherwise, and his ears rang at the roar of the crowd. He stepped up to his position at the line, Sem taking his position up at his. "Long time, no see, Sem." Rein said with a friendly smile, "we've gone a long way since the battle on the cruise ship all those years ago." He grabbed a PokeBall off of his belt.

"We really must catch up after this is all done, Sem."

"Okay Trainers, this will be a full six versus six battle! Rein Vanguarde versus Sem Aquais, begin!" The announcer said with a cheery tone.

"Here's someone you may remember. Go Napalm!" He tossed the PokeBall up into the air and the red light took the form of a Charizard. "He's grown quite a bit since you last saw him," Rein smiled again.

"Looks like Rein has decided to start with a Charizard! Let's see what Sem sends out to counter!"

 

[Sem]

Sem could only crack a smile as he saw his opponent rise up out of the ground on the opposite side of the field. How long had it been since he had seen Rein Vanguarde? The last time they had met the boy was on a ship bound for the Hoenn region, but that really couldn't have been twelve years prior, at least it didn't feel that way. The Sableye on Sem's shoulder grinned his trademark grin - an unsettling grin.

The young man held his raindrop pendant between his fingers as the platform finished rising. He ignored the deafening cries of the spectators. Sem had garnered quite a few fans, having made it this far. High above the crowd in a special box, behind tinted glass, sat the Unova region's champion, along with his elite four.

Rein released his first Pokémon onto the field - Napalm, a Charizard. A single beat of the Fire-type's wings sent a rush of wind Sem's way, blowing his dark hair with the white streak, his thigh-length coat, and his teal scarf. The young man looked like he was dressed for colder weather, which was common for someone who spent a lot of time up at Snowpoint in the Sinnoh region. A teal colored scarf was draped over his shoulders, its length slightly longer than his dark coat.

He wore them mostly because his battles tended to get chilly at certain points, but not just yet. "Rein, good to see you're doing well," Sem said. The child he knew from back then was now a young man like Sem. He appeared to be taller than Sem, though that wasn't hard when you were 5'5".

Napalm seemed to recognize Sem, which was good. Hopefully both Napalm and Rein would recognize Sem's first choice as he pulled out a pain Pokéball and tossed it onto the field, releasing a strange green creature with purple tentacles situated around its head like a mane. It looked like a plant from any alien world, which was half-true. Millions of years ago the earth surely had been an alien world compared to what it was today.

"And Sem has sent out a Cradily! Two Pokémon are currently on the field that are a very rare sight in our region. And I may be mistaken, ladies and gentlemen, but it seems as though these two know each other. I think this match is going to be an epic clash of rivals!" At this the crowd cheered only louder.

"Epic? Hopefully. Rivals? Hardly. Just old friends," Sem thought to himself before speaking to Rein. "I'm sure you remember the Lileep you faced last time around," Sem said, gesturing to his Cradily. It sat anchored to the ground, and stood quite still as it stared at Napalm, tentacles calmly twitching about. It looked like a turret ready to open fire, which was fairly accurate. Cradily couldn't move much during battle, at least not very quickly, and so Sem trained it specially to battle while staying in the same spot.

Sem stood motionlessly, leaning to the side with his arms crossed, waiting for Rein to order the first attack to be launched.

 

[Chadwyck]

Rein smiled at the sight of the Cradily that erupted from Sem's PokeBall. Just like old times, he thought, the battle from the ship years prior was being replayed. Though there were differences in the setting, the circumstances were the same. It was poetic, really, and it only caused Rein to smile all the more.

An epic clash of rivals? Forgive the confusion, audience members, but we're not rivals. Still, couldn't hurt to put on a show. Rein flipped his black hair out of his eyes with his index finger; the streaks of green in his hair reflecting the stadium lights. They matched his pale green eyes as he surveyed the crowd and fixed his black, skinny tie. He dusted off his suit as he caught glimpse of several signs held up with his name and visage on them. "I've never had fans before," he said to himself with a smirk.

All the eyes were on him and Napalm as they awaited his move. He'd faced this Pokemon before, granted it wasn't quite as large, and it was a different color now. Still, he was at the type disadvantage, so he'd have to use his Pokemon's speed to his advantage. Rein and Napalm had trained with speed and strength in equal parts, and he was confident in his Pokemon's abilities.

"Go in at full force, Napalm, hit it with a Fire Spin."

Napalm beat his wings, whipping up a wind that tore through the arena. He continued to do so, lifting off of the ground and rushing forward and blowing massive flaws from his gaping maw. The fire moved with the wind and ripped around in a flaming tornado as he circled around the Cradily. The Pokemon wasn't light on its... tentacle-root-things. Rein would use its immobility to his advantage.

 

[Sem]

"A trapping attack," Sem mused as his Cradily was quickly in the center of a tornado of fire. The heat was immensely strong and the young man already felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Ingrain!" Sem ordered his ancient Pokémon.

The crowd couldn't really see through the column of fire, but Cradily was busy digging its roots deep into the arena, already sapping nutrients to recover the strength it had lost due to the fire.

"Stone Edge!" Sem followed up, knowing very well how long his Cradily took to preform an Ingrain move, which wasn't long at all. Loud cracks pierced through the roar of the flames and the crowd. Slabs of rock were torn up from the ground around Cradily and were quickly sent up into the air, dispelling the Fire Spin and heading straight towards the airborne dragon.

Sem watched on silently with vague traces of a smile on his face. Rein would have to try harder, this was the Pokémon League afterall.

 

[Chadwyck]

"Charizard's Fire Spin was countered by a Stone Edge! I hope you're on the edge of your seats, folks, because this announcer thinks we're just getting started!" The announcer blurted as the rocks rushed upward toward toward Napalm. Rein had to think fast, so he just let instinct take over.

"Napalm, use Rock Slide!" Rein shouted upward at his airborne dragon. Napalm corrected himself in the air, and beat his wings quickly, causing another burst of air tearing downward toward the oncoming projectiles. The rocks slowed, then stopped, hanging briefly in the air before gravity and the wind worked on them and sent them hurtling back toward the Cradily.

"Can you believe it!? Rein is using Sem's own attack to counter!" The announcer continued excitedly, the crowd roared again in response. They knew the beginnings of a great battle when they saw one.

 

[Sem]

"Protect!" Sem yelled, surprised that Rein had pulled off that counter so quickly, of course, this was the Pokémon League. Rein obviously has a lot of experience under his belt.

Again the earth moaned as slabs of rock shot up from around the fossil Pokémon, all converging to entomb it and protect it from the falling stones, which crashed against the Protect and crumbled. Sem grinned, already the battle was intense. That was how he liked it.

"Stockpile," he said next, deciding to prepare for a longer battle. Cradily began taking in nutrients and using them to bolster its defenses, turning it into more of a tank than it already was. Rein would be well aware of Sem's tactic though, as it was the same one he had used in the last battle all those years ago.

 

[Chadwyck]

I've gotta be careful about getting Napalm in too close, it won't bode well for us if we just end up getting caught at close range. Rein remembered only too well that this creature would put up defenses and lure his Charizard in close. Still, his Pokemon was stronger now, and his experiences had given him a lot more wisdom to use in battle. It protected itself from the Rock Slide, and gave Napalm a chance to land back in front of Rein for a quick touchdown. Staying airborne for too long would burn through his stamina, and Cradily was an endurance fighter.

"All right, Napalm, Smokescreen." Rein commanded, giving his Pokemon the time that he'd need to finish off this next series of commands. Napalm opened his mouth wide, a plume of black smoke erupting from inside of his maw. It made the air thick, and there was practically no visibility, it put both trainers at a disadvantage, not just Sem, but the upper hand would be that Cradily wouldn't be moving around too much.

"I can't see a thing, folks! Ladies and Gentlemen, I don't know what we'll be seeing when the smoke clears, but I guarantee it'll be exciting!" The announcer had to try and keep everyone entertained while there was limited visibility. Not that he had to try hard, the crowd was practically holding in a giant breath.

"Dig!" The sound of Charizard tunneling echoed momentarily before the creature disappeared below the surface. The smokescreen clouded the air, and his Pokemon was tunneling toward Sem's Pokemon, now it was time to see how quickly Cradily could respond with no sight. "Rock Tomb!" Rein shouted when he had counted the time it would have taken Napalm to get just close enough for this to work.

Napalm pushed the ground of the arena up, the earth splitting and trying to envelope the Cradily up above. I just hope Napalm didn't get in too close. Rein held his breath along with the rest of the audience as the smoke already began to clear.

 

[Sem]

"Dig?" Sem thought to himself as he covered his mouth so as to not inhale any of the smoke. It wasn't everyday you saw a creature like Charizard tearing into the earth, though, he wasn't actually able to see. So much for that once in a lifetime opportunity.

Cradily couldn't do much but become trapped by the Rock Tomb, which covered Cradily in much the same way its Protect had. Cradily needed to get out before Rein did soemthing, but Sem was about to miss his current opportunity. As far as he was aware, Charizard hadn't resurfaced, or he at least hadn't heard it do so.

"Earthquake!" he yelled loud enough for his Pokémon to hear. Normally Charizard could easily avoid such an attack, but not underground, where the attack was even more effective.

 

[Chadwyck]

"Damn!" Rein shouted as he wiped his face, some of the smoke had blackened his face slightly. "Napalm," Rein hesitated, he wasn't going to be able to avoid the attack, Charizard would take it. It'd be devastating unless he could think of something.

Dig was a sort of double edged sword on a Fire-type like Charizard. They'd trained long and hard for Napalm to get it down. To be able to submerge itself in the earth in a manner of seconds. It was hard work, but it was worth it. Unless something like this happened; Dig lowered a Fire-type's defenses against Ground-type moves even more.

The earth was shaking now, and Napalm was trapped in the middle of it. "Earthquake!" Rein shouted. It wouldn't do much, not really. Napalm would still take a lot of damage, but hopefully it'd work the way Rein thought it would.

The earth began to shake even more violently than before, and a fissure split where the Charizard had been underground. "Get out of there, now!" Rein shouted.

Napalm burst from the crack in the earth, suspending itself for a moment and then landing with a heavy thud, down on one knee. "Napalm, you still good to fight?" Rein asked. The Charizard gave him a look that Rein took to mean, "Do you really need to ask? The Fire-type cracked its neck and stood again, ready to fight. After two Earthquakes the Rock Tomb on Cradily was all but destroyed. Rein wouldn't be trying that technique again in this battle. "All right, Napalm. Take to the sky and hit it with a Fire Blast!"

Napalm took off, flying past the Cradily and shooting a ball of flames at the Cradily. "Keep on flying circles around it and follow it up with two more!" Napalm obeyed, firing two more bursts of flames that hurtled through the air toward Sem's Pokemon. Speed, Rein thought, biting his lip, we've gotta use our speed.

 

[Sem]

Napalm was saved from being knocked out thanks to Rein's quick thinking. The smoke cleared as Napalm took to the skies, allowing onlookers to view the battlefield once more and seeing the ruin that had just occurred - a giant fissure down the center of the arena and rubble everywhere.

"I'm not sure what happened, folks, but I'm guessing someone used an Earthquake attack! These two Pokémon are still going at it!"

"Protect!" Sem yelled as soon as he heard "Fire Blast" come out of Rein's mouth. Cradily wasn't weak to Fire-type attacks like other Grass-types, but a Fire Blast from a Charizard wasn't just going to run off like water.

A wall of stone shot up in front Cradily, blocking the Fire Blast attack, though the wall blew apart in the process, tossing more debris across the field. Cradily followed the Charizard's movements, moving its head almost mechanically.

Sem couldn't prepare for the next two Fire Blast attacks, and so they both hit their mark as Cradily was quickly obscured by an explosion of fire. Sem watched on silently - the Sableye on his shoulder also looked on, not even cracking a smile at this point in time. The light of the flames refracted inside of the creature's diamond eyes.

The fire cleared, leaving Cradily behind with quite a few black spots on its body and tentacles writhing in pain. It still wasn't down for the count, but almost thanks to those two Fire Blast attacks.

"Recover," Sem said calmly.

Cradily didn't need to be told twice as a white shimmer glossed over its body, erasing black marks and restoring much needed stamina to the ancient Pokémon.

"Stockpile once more," the young man followed up, not wanting the battle to become that close again.

 

[Chadwyck]

Rein couldn't help but exhale in relief, they had just proven that this ancient thing could be hurt. They needed to follow up with some more heavy hitting attacks, but Rein was afraid to burn through Napalm's stamina too quickly; three Fire Blasts was asking a lot of the Fire-type, especially that quick in succession. Need to give him a chance to replenish some heat, Rein decided, I'll have to go to some other moves.

No later had Rein decided this than Sem gave the command for a Recover and Stockpile combo. The Cradily would prove to be a complete nuisance if it kept up this order of things. Taking a hit and then undoing most of Napalm's work. If Rein wanted Napalm to outlast Cradily, he needed to hit it harder and faster.

"Don't give it a chance to bulk up too much! Air Slash as you move in towards it and follow up with Brick Break!" Rein knew he shouldn't let Napalm get in too close, but he'd have to take a few chances; playing the battle at a distance gave the Cradily too much time to recover between attacks. He'd have to keep his Charizard airborne and mobile, but at a close vicinity to attack quickly.

"Rein isn't letting his Charizard take a breather, he's gonna try and interrupt Sem's defense! That Cradily sure can take some hits folks, let's see if Sem can get back on the offensive!" The announcer cried, the crowd cheered some more, and Rein had all but tuned them out.

Napalm continued to fly circles around Cradily until he received the orders. He stopped, and adjusted course, using the stationary moment to beat his wings toward the Cradily; creating a gust of wind fine enough and moving quickly enough to do physical damage. With Air Slash moving ahead of him, Napalm flew at the ancient Pokemon.

The Charizard did a one-eighty as he swung his tail around at Cradily's head; his short arms not exactly ideal for attacking, Rein had trained with his Charizard to use his tail for a Brick Break attack. Now it was time to see if it would pay off.

 

[Sem]

"Protect again!" Sem said quickly. To anyone it would seem as if he was being pushed up against a wall, but Sem was confident that he could pull through. Another wall shot up in front of Cradily, nicely blocking the Air-type move, but the swing of Charizard's tail tore neatly through the wall and hit Cradily.

"Grab it quick!" the young man ordered. The tentacles around Cradily's head writhed and wrapped themselves around Napalm's tail. Sem wasn't too worried yet, even though Cradily hadn't been able to complete the second Stockpile, half-way was also good, and Ingrain was still doing its work. This next attack wouldn't do much, but it would serve to further drain away at the Charizard's stamina if successful.

"Giga Drain," Sem said.

 

[Chadwyck]

Rein had been expecting this, it was the same the last time Napalm met with the ancient Pokemon; get in too close and it was able to take the hit and grab on tight. Only this time Rein had been prepared for the situation. True enough, he was hoping to avoid it all together and get off without Charizard taking damage. Still, he may still be able to turn it around.

"Oh my! Charizard is grabbed after the attack, it looks like its taking some damage!" The announcer commented.

It was true, the Giga Drain had begun and the effects were on Napalm's face. It wasn't super effective, but it would drain away at him. Still, Rein's trusted Charizard was at pointblank range with Cradily now, and Rein would use the proximity to his advantage.

"Napalm, Flamethrower." Rein ordered.

Napalm had only to open his mouth and flames spewed forth, they had practically no distance at all to travel before they made contact with the bizarre creature that was his opponent. "As soon as you're free, Wing Attack your way past the Cradily and take to the air again!"

"Things seem to be heating up folks, neither of these Pokemon is going to lose easy!"

 

[Sem]

To be perfectly honest, Sem was only slightly worried about the close-range Flamethrower. It sounded bad, and Sem felt slightly bad for thinking that way, but the important thing was that more much needed strength had been drained away from Napalm. Plus, unlike the rest of Sem's Pokemon, Cradily was a purely instinctual creature - it would have taken the hit without Sem's direction if it meant it could sap away at the Fire-type's strength. It was a strange relationship the two had, but it was the best you could have with a predator.

The Flamethrower did it's job, and Cradily quickly let go of Napalm, who proceed to hit the fossil with his wings and fly away. All that damage taken was less than ideal, but Cradily was itching to get back at Napalm, Sem knew it was.

"Hidden Power!" Sem yelled as Napalm was flying away.

Five spheres of water began to form in the air, becoming as large as basketballs before being shot in a spiral towards the Fire-type. Despite their native habitats, Cradily could not learn Water-type moves. However, Sem's Cradily's Hidden Power-type was Water, which meant every single member of his team could use at least a single Water-type move.

 

[Chadwyck]

Rein was relieved to see his Charizard free from the Giga Drain, even if deciding to use the close range attack had left Napalm exposed to the attack for a second or two longer. Still, the Giga Drain wouldn't have done too much damage, but it would have done enough for Rein to decide that this particular round of the battle needed to end sooner rather than later. And Cradily was an expert at making it end later.

They'd gotten a good pair of hits in and Charizard was currently in the air, out of close range from the Cradily. He'd have to come around and hit it with something else, sure, but for the moment Rein could think. Then his thoughts turned to slight panic. Hidden Power and it was water. The spheres were hurled toward Napalm and Rein was completely unprepared for it.

"Overheat!" He shouted up into the air, and Napalm obeyed instantly.

Napalm cloaked itself in flames bursting outward, three of the spheres were either deflected or evaporated by the burst of white hot flames; but two of them met their target, knocking the Charizard out of flight and rushing toward the ground.

"Son of a..." Rein stopped mid-sentence. His brain ran a million miles an hour thinking of what he needed to do to keep this from resulting in a knockout. "Earthquake!" Rein shouted to his plummeting Charizard.

Napalm spread his wings, slowing his descent and correcting himself so his feet were aimed toward the ground. He hit hard, Rein was sure that it caused a lot of damage to his Pokemon just to meet the ground that hard. But the force of impact sent the earth rolling; chunks of earth splintered and cracked around Sem's Cradily.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I've never seen anything like this! The champion had better look out if either of these two make it to the next round!" The crowd shrieked, cardboard signs were waving like an ocean.

"Smokescreen!" Rein followed up, and Napalm seemed to react sluggishly. He was hurt and tired, so this gambit Rein was about to pull had better work out. It came down to this call.

Napalm opened his maw again, black smoke erupting once again into the air. "Sky Drop!" Rein shouted, within the smoke cloud, Napalm rushed forward, his wings creating a disturbance in the smoke, but his movements were still shrouded. The Earthquake had loosened Cradily's roots from the earth, and Napalm plucked him up.

The next thing the audience saw, Napalm burst from the top of the smoke cloud, Cradily being towed along high into the air. As they began to arc and descend, the Charizard dragged the Cradily along, releasing the creature to plummet straight to the ground.

"Are you seeing this!?" It was the only thing that the announcer could think to say. The audience members only nodded in response as their eyes followed the action without daring to blink.

 

[Sem]

Sem could only watch as smoke obscured the field once more, with Napalm bursting out of the cloud only moments later. With incredible strength he threw the fossil Pokémon to the ground. The ground cracked beneath Cradily and within a few suspenseful moments was utterly still.

"Cradily is unable to battle! Charizard is the winner!" cried the referee, waving his flag.

"Can you believe this, ladies and gentlemen!? What an amazing display of power from both these Pokemon, but especially Charizard!"

Sem sighed, smiling a bit in spite of himself. Cradily's fall was a bit poetic, as it had defeated Napalm the first time around, but now Napalm had risen up with enough strength to defeat it. "Not bad," he said as he returned the creature to its Pokéball. He glanced at the scoreboard, where Cradily's portrait had already been greyed out.

The next Pokéball Sem pulled out was completely white with a single red stripe going around it. Tossing it onto the field he called out his next Pokémon. The white light quickly faded, leaving a strange creature floating in the air. It was pink and blue, with a single stubby tail and two stubby arms, and a completely decapitated head floating mere inches above the rest of its body. Within moments the Porygon-Z twitched and jittered, an unfortunate side-effect of evolution.

"And Sem has sent out a Porygon-Z into battle! Such a treat to see a rare and mysterious entity in our arena!" the announcer commented, with the crowd only roaring in agreement.

Sem had had bad experiences with Porygon in the past, but Isis was quite different than the monster that was SIR. And she was easily one of the more powerful members of his team - of course, all of his Pokémon were powerful.

"I think you better switch Napalm out," Sem said as Isis floated silently in front of him.

 

[Chadwyck]

"Way to go, Napalm." Rein smiled. It was a bit strange, considering the way things went last time those two Pokemon had met in battle, that Napalm had pulled off the win. Rein couldn't have been more proud of the Fire-type. "You've earned a long rest, buddy." Rein grinned as he returned the Charizard to his Pokeball.

The destroyed arena that they had been battling on lowered into the ground, the next field rising up to take its place. It was a good thing, too, those Earthquakes had done a number to the ground of the arena. It would have been difficult for anything that couldn't fly or simply remained completely stationary to battle on it any longer. The new terrain was craggy, like a wasteland of rock stretching out before the trainers.

A Porygon-Z took up the field on Sem's side of the arena. Rein reached down to his belt and grabbed his next Pokeball. It was gray on the bottom, green on the top, with a red stripe around the middle. He tossed it up into the air and called out, "Eckart, let's go!"

The beam of the PokeBall took the form of a humanoid creature. Two blades extended back from its arms and it took a fighting stance. Eckart, Rein's Gallade, was a long time partner of Rein. The trainer had caught the Ralts in Johto almost ten years ago. It had proved to be an invaluable asset to his team ever since.

Rein crossed his arms, Lunara, his Umbreon and closest friend, sat beside him eying the action. She knew that her turn would come soon enough, and she would be ready. For now, both the Umbreon and her trainer waited for Sem to order the first move.

 

[Sem]

"And Rein has chosen Gallade as his next Pokémon!"

"Gallade, huh?" Sem thought to himself. Gallade did have an advantage, being part Fighting-type, but Isis wouldn't lose simply because of that.

"Isis, start off with a Shadow Ball and then use Agility when he's distracted," Sem said simply.

"Understood," Isis replied in a synthetic female voice - it was warped - as if two voices were talking at once with one very slightly higher pitched than the other.

A shadowy essence began to form in the air - ghostly energy being pulled from an unknown source. The Shadow Ball attack very quickly became very large, larger than regular Shadow Ball attacks. Porygon-Z were known to be some of the most powerful attackers in the Pokémon world in general, on par with powerful Psychic-types such as Alakazam.

Sem could personally testify to the power of Porygon-Z, as he had not only spent a lot of time with Isis, but had to fight against SIR, who was easily the most powerful Pokémon Sem had ever had to face.

"Look at the size of that Shadow Ball!" the announcer said in awe. Indeed, it was very large, about as large as those balls used in aerobic exercises. Sem's fans were definitely still rooting for him, ready for him to avenge Cradily.

"That's nothing," Sem thought to himself with a grin. Isis was only getting started. Without warning the attack was launched and instantly began tearing up the new arena, obliterating any spires of stone between Isis and Eckart, her opponent.

With Eckart distracted the virtual Pokémon used Agility, which was generally unnoticeable until Isis had to move, and Sem wanted her to be able to move quickly to avoid being hit by that Gallade. Letting Eckart get too close would put a definite strain on Sem and Isis, and so she needed to be ready to distance herself.

 

[Chadwyck]

The Shadow Ball looked menacing, probably on par with one of Nevara or Lunara's, then again, Porygon-Z were formidable opponents. Rather than try and counter it or block it, Rein opted to go around it. "Teleport." Rein said with a nod.

Eckart and Rein hadn't ever focused on distance with the Gallade's teleport ability, they had only ever focused on last second dodges. So when Eckart disappeared and reappeared, he hadn't moved far. Just far enough to avoid the attack and rush forward, which Rein didn't even need to command the Psychic-Fighting-type to do.

"Bulk up!" Rein ordered as the Pokemon kept running. Eckart's muscles tensed, though it wouldn't have been obvious to the audience or to the announcer for that matter. "Thunder Punch!" Rein followed up as the Gallade got close enough to the Porygon.

"That was a well done evasion of the Shadow Ball! Now let's see if it can land a hit!" The announcer said. Rein's fans were loving it; they were eager to see the young man handle another of Sem's Pokemon.

 

[Sem]

"Dodge it and get farther away!" Sem yelled. "Teleport is going to make distancing ourselves a bit of a challenge though," he thought.

Isis twirled out of the way of the punch, though her body spasm'd as if she had been shocked. She very quickly distanced herself away from Eckart and faced him.

"Lock On, then use Tri Attack!" Sem ordered.

A red target appeared on Eckart's body as Isis launched an attack that was a combination of fire, ice, and lightning. The Tri Attack simultaneously scorched some of the rocks while freezing others as it shot towards the Gallade. There was no avoiding the attack, as it would follow him. Rein's only choice was to block it or be hit.

 

[Chadwyck]

Thunder Punch missed its target, thanks to the Porygon-Z's agility. The electricity may have grazed the Pokemon, but the punch itself connected with an unfortunate rock that shattered from the force of the punch. That would have been a good hit, but Rein had been primarily trying to get a feel for his opponent's speed and generally ability; hitting with the attack would have been a well welcomed alternative though, and Rein couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Now Porygon-Z was on the offensive again, only this time Teleport wouldn't work, Eckart was locked on. "Psycho Cut at the Tri-Attack!" Rein ordered as the attack neared his Gallade.

Eckart swung one of the blades extending from his elbows, a pulse of psychic energy following the path of the blade, and it met the swirling combination of energies. The Tri-Attack shuddered and burst, the force of the explosion sent Eckart reeling back several feet through the air and connecting with the ground. In a second, the Gallade was back up and ready to fight.

"Let's get them back for that, Double Team!"

Where Eckart had been standing, there were now two of him. Of course, one was only a projection of himself, but it would serve to confuse the Porygon-Z, or at least Rein hoped.

"Now get in close with Close Combat!"

Eckart and his double began to rush the opposing Pokemon, weaving in and out of each other's path in perfect symmetry, an exact mirror image of the other's movements. They crossed paths, weaved around one another and switched places with every step, rushing forward all the while. Hopefully the Double Team helped keep Eckart out of harm's way until the attack was over, his defenses were dropped while he focused on only rushing forward and attacking the Porygon-Z.

 

[Sem]

"Dodge!" Sem yelled, though it was difficult for Isis to avoid the two Gallade effectively. She twirled out of the range of one of the Eckarts, but as it turns out she spiraled right into the range of the real one and was clocked with a good, solid punch.

Isis was sent flying into one of the boulders that littered the arena. The boulder crack and Isis let out a rather creepy moan, going into more convulsions until eventually regaining herself.

"Conversion 2," Sem said, using the hit Eckart landed to his advantage.

Isis' body began to shift, as if she were comprised of hundreds of small cubes, or pixels. They rotated and shifted around, but ultimately she looked the same as she did before she used the move, however, now she was no longer a Normal-type.

"A smart move by Sem! Conversion 2 changes the user's type to something that resists the move it was last hit by!" yelled the announcer. "Who knows what type Porygon-Z is now."

"Shadow Ball," Sem said with a nod.

"With pleasure," Isis replied with barely a whisper. Again Isis harnessed a ball of ghostly energy, only this time it was even bigger. Conversion 2 was a peculiar move that not many trainer's were familiar with. It was true that it could change a user's type depending on the last attack it was hit with, but through training Isis had been able to choose exactly what type.

If anyone paid close attention to the size of the new Shadow Ball then they would guess that she was now a Ghost-type, which was correct. If Rein figured that out then he also knew that Isis was now immune to any of Eckart's Fighting-type attacks.

Isis launched the Shadow Ball, and a new scar was gouged into the surface of the arena as it shot towards the Gallade.

 

[Chadwyck]

"That's a big Shadow Ball," Rein breathed as his brief moment of happiness from Close Combat connecting ended. Conversion 2. The move sounded so familiar, and the announcer had mentioned what it did, but that wasn't what was familiar about it. "Something tells me things just got a lot worse," he said aloud as the realization dawned on him. Porygon-Z had changed to something that would resist fighting type attacks, but whether through dumb luck or good training, the creature was now Ghost-type. The size of the Shadow Ball attested to that.

Rein barely had time to react as the attack carved its way toward Eckart. His options were now severely limited. His Fighting card was useless now, and the sudden change to Ghost-type meant that Eckart was more vulnerable.

Close Combat left the Gallade gasping for breath, his defenses lowered; there wasn't time to teleport aside this time. "Protect!" Rein shouted. It wouldn't be enough, he knew that before he even thought of it, but if he was lucky he could avoid a knockout.

Eckart's eyes snapped open, glowing a bright blue as the energy enveloped his body. A shield of psychic energy curved in front of the Gallade's body as the Shadow Ball closed the gap. No sooner had protect been thrown up than the ball of ghostly energy connected with the shield, shattering the energy that held it together and throwing Eckart back into a boulder; shattering it into smaller fragments of rock.

"That Shadow Ball was something, folks! It blew straight through a Protect and just kept going!" The announcer cried into his microphone. Rein was in trouble, now. Fighting had no effect, and Eckart was a physical fighter. He'd need something clever if he was going to pull off a win.

"Eckart, you all right?" Rein asked a pile of rubble off to his side, the Gallade moved a rock off of himself and stood up, slowly returning to a fighting stance. "All right, let's get a two-fer!" It may be immune to Fighting, but now it'll be more effected by Ghost, Rein thought, unfortunately, Eckart only knows one ghost type move. We'll have to combine it with another attack.

"Thunder Punch again, Eckart!"

Eckart sprinted toward the Porygon-Z, his fist clenched, sparks jumping through the air around it. As he neared his opponent, he leapt into the air, deciding it best to attack from the air, but also because he knew Rein's next call and was setting up for it.

"Shadow Sneak!"

The leap into the air cast Eckart's shadow forward, right in front of the Porygon-Z; the shadow seemed to gain depth as it rose off of the ground and attacked the no-longer-Normal-type.

 

[Sem]

Shadow Sneak was a fast attack, but honestly Sem would have preferred Isis had been hit with the Thunderpunch instead if he was forced to choose. Thankfully, the blow from Shadow Sneak knocked Isis away from the Thunderpunch, but she was not faring so well now. Porygon-Z weren't as hardy as Porygon2, their predecessors, in terms of taking hits.

Isis hovered listlessly in the air, twitching every moment or so as if she were malfunctioning.

"Recover!" Sem yelled.

A moan was his response as Isis' body again seemed to become pixelated for a moment before settling down. She suddenly seemed much better now, ready to launch another attack.

"Nasty Plot and Rain Dance," Sem said next.

Nasty Plot's energy was Dark-based, and so Isis needed a bit of dark thought to unlock said power in order to allow it to boost her own. What she was thinking about Sem had no idea, and perhaps because of his past with SIR, didn't want to know. After a moment thunder rumbled overhead as clouds quickly covered the arena, signaling that her plotting was done and Rain Dance had begun.

Rain Dance was the single Water-type move Isis knew, but it would definitely prove effective if Rein didn't know that. If Isis didn't have any Water-type attacks that benefited from Rain Dance then there was only one other reason to use it.

Sem grinned as the downpour began, pounding the arena, fans included. Fans had long ago learned to bring umbrellas to league battles, there was no telling when the weather would change. Sem himself also pulled out a small umbrella from within his coat and opened it up.

"What a downpour this is! What is Sem planning?" asked the announcer, needing to ask the obvious question.

Sableye's jeweled eyes and white grin shone through the gloominess towards Rein as the young man devised his next move.

 

[Chadwyck]

Rein was one of the few in the arena who didn't pull out an umbrella. He'd been battling long enough to know that the weather during a battle could change in the blink of an eye, but he didn't care enough to carry an umbrella with him wherever he went. He liked the rain, anyway, so he hazarded a moment to close his eyes and breath deep; turning his face toward the falling rain and inhaling the smell of the storm. He opened his eyes.

"Rush at it!" Rein commanded.

Eckart moved fast, running across the arena toward his opponent. When he wasn't too far off, Rein followed up his command. "Teleport!" He yelled, causing Eckart to disappear not even a full second later. He reappeared instantly above the Porygon-Z.

"Poison Jab!"

The Gallade pulled his fist back as he came down on the Porygon-Z, a faint purple aura encasing his arm as he did so. Whatever Sem was planning, Rein had to try and stop him from pulling it off; Eckart didn't have much fight left in him, especially not after the hit from that Shadow Ball.

 

[Sem]

OOC: Looooool short post |D

BIC:
"Protect!" Sem yelled, but Isis hardly needed to be told. A very small square came out of her body and flew in front of her. The square was truly a two dimensional object, as if were being viewed on a monitor. The pixel very quickly duplicated, and then both of them duplicated, and so on and so on until a large wall had formed in a matter of seconds, effectively stopping the Poison Jab.

"Thunder," Sem said with a hint of satisfaction. In the same moment a massive bolt came down from sky aimed at Eckart. It was powerful enough for anyone to know that it would heavily damage the arena, and hopefully ensure Isis' victory if Eckart got hit.

 

[Chadwyck]

OoC: Hot Jam, it's been so long since I checked this thread for whatever reason I thought it was still Semmy's turn to posty-post.

BiC:

All at once the reason behind the rain dance became clear. Thunder usually wasn't the most dependable of attacks, having a pretty low accuracy, it is hard to control a lightning bolt after all. However, in the rain, it's almost a guaranteed hit; and Eckart wouldn't be getting back up from this one.

Rein had to think quickly, which he'd been doing during the majority of this particular pairing. Eckart had had the upper hand with his fighting type advantage, but that had been short lived. With the Porygon2 having changed types to ghost, Eckart was running low on options.

"Teleport Eckart!" Rein called. The Gallade closed his eyes and focused, he was tired and it took a fraction of a second too long for him to move. He avoided a full force hit, but he was even worse for wear now. The ground where the Pokemon had been standing a moment earlier was little more than a crater now.

"Shadow Ball, Eckart, put as much as you can into it!" This would be the deciding factor in the battle. Eckart was pouring his remaining strength into one last ditch effort. If it hit, it could win the match or it could fall just short. They'd never know until they tried.

The Gallade concentrated with his full force of will, the shadows around him slithering toward him along the ground and forming a sphere of inky-black energy; glowing with a ghostly purple haze. It was slightly larger than a usual Shadow Ball, Eckart was holding nothing back. With all his strength, he let it fly.

 

[Sem]

OOC: Trolololo

BIC:
"Conversion 2!" Sem yelled as the Shadow Ball was launched. Isis quickly obliged, her body shifting once again and rearranging itself, but still ultimately coming out looking exactly the same.

The last move she had been hit by was Eckart's Shadow Sneak, and so Isis' type instantly reverted back to Normal-type. Just as this happened the Shadow Ball hit. An explosion of darkness enveloped the field, the very nature of the energy making some people sick to their stomach.

However, Isis appeared entirely unscathed, as Ghost-type attacks had no effect whatsoever on pure Normal-types.

"Hyper Beam," Sem ordered. It was Isis' strongest move, further powered by the Nasty Plot. A circular opening appeared on her chest, and from it exploded an enormous beam of yellowish-orange energy that tore up the field as it traveled towards Eckart.

 

[Chadwyck]

The Shadow Ball was just a bit too slow, Isis had just enough time to convert her way into a Normal-type once again, rendering the Shadow Ball completely useless. But that wasn't the worst of it; Eckart was now entirely out of steam. They'd started out strong, but losing their type advantage right off the bat had had them fighting uphill for too long.

Hyper Beam was tearing through the field toward Eckart, and he was too tired to avoid it; so there wasn't much of an option left. "Protect!" Rein cried out, and the beam of yellowish-orange energy seemed to come to a stop in front of Eckart; whose eyes were aglow a brilliant blue. He'd summoned up his psychic energy to stop the attack, but it was too much, Rein could see it on his Pokemon's face. The blast tore through the psychic barrier and Eckart was left defeated on the battlefield.

"Eckart put up a good fight, folks, but that Hyper Beam proved too much for him to stop. This battle is only beginning, but it's already proven to be one of the most intense I've ever seen!" The announcer shouted, it was a good thing too, Rein had nearly forgotten that there was an audience watching the battle.

"Return, Eckart, you did great. I'm proud of you." Rein reached down to his belt and grabbed another Pokeball, glad that the Rain Dance hadn't let up just yet. "Let's do this, Nevara!" Rein tossed the ball high up into the air and out of the light a Froslass formed; without needing any direction to do so, she immediately summoned forth a Hailstorm, made all the more simple by the rain that still plummeted to the arena.

 

[Sem]

"Come back, Isis," Sem said as the hail began, prompting him to quickly button up his coat and tie his teal scarf around his neck. Isis returned to her Pokéball on her own, remote controlling the device through technopathic means.

"What an impressive hailstorm from Rein's Froslass!" the announcer called. "I'm sure those folks down in front are feeling that chill. Sem has called back his Porygon-Z and now has to choose very careful for what Pokémon he'll send out."

"I have the perfect choice in mind," Sem thought to himself as he took out a Premier ball and tossed it into the ice. It burst open and released a Pokémon that seemed to blend in with the ice. It floated above the ground and was deathly still, and it seemed as if the temperature had dropped even further at its introduction into the field.

The Pokémon was also nearly identical to Rein's own.

"And Sem has chosen to go with a Froslass of his own!" the announcer said with just as much excitement as he had had in the introduction of Sem and Rein's battle. "I personally can't wait to see how this turns out."

"Jadis," Sem called to his Froslass. She was still unmoving, perfectly still. Her gaze was frozen and set as she calmly considered the fact that her opponent was also a Froslass. Did she feel compelled to prove herself better than Nevara? No. But neither was she unwilling to fight. Of all Sem's Pokémon she was the most morally grey, even compared to Sableye. She merely did as Sem commanded. She would do anything he asked, even if it was to end a life. Not that Sem would ever ask something like that, but that's what would happen. If he wanted her to fight Nevara then fight she would, and to the best of her ability. "My dear, let's scare the crowd a bit."

At first it seemed like Jadis wasn't responding, but very quickly there was a new kind of chill in the air, one that made your hair stand on end, one that made you even a little sick and cut into your very soul.

A horrible, unearthly wail could be heard as a rush of wind came in from behind Jadis. If you listened too long it sounded like the agonized moaning of a hundred lost souls. The attack was manageable when a weaker Pokémon used it, but when a more experienced Pokémon used the attack it could be quite terrifying. Sem himself was used to the bit-more-than-spooky wind by now, but he could spot several people in the audience, especially in the front, looking deathly afraid.

The wind was faintly laced with a shadowy purple essence as it tore through the hail towards Nevara. As the Ominous Wind attack flew through, the ghostly energy that was in the wind passed through Jadis' body, giving her overall fighting ability a boost. Still, she remained unmoving.

"And Sem has commanded his Froslass to use an impressive Ominous Wind!"

 

[Chadwyck]

An Ominous Wind right off the bat, and an impressive dark force at that. Still, Rein smiled; he hadn't expected this to be a battle between two Froslass, it would prove interesting. "Protect, Nevara!" The hail falling around the stadium quickly moved toward Rein's side of the field, forming together into one sphere of ice that surrounded Nevara.

The Ominous Wind met it's target, not with a great show of force, being a gust of wind, but the effects were seen immediately. Cracks formed on the Protect as the negative energy hit it's target. Nevara was safe, but the Protect was done with, splintering into smaller pieces of ice. "Icy Wind." Rein commanded, and Nevara obeyed.

The falling fragments from Protect halted in their descent and flew toward Sem's Froslass with impressive speed. Rein knew it wouldn't do much, being an Ice Type move, but that was why the young man was about to follow it up. "Confuse Ray, Nevara."

A small ball of orange-yellow light formed in one of Nevara's hands, and she tossed it toward Sem's Pokemon, it wouldn't do any physical damage, but it should create enough of an opening to do some good damage.

 

[Sem]

"Icy Wind!" Sem yelled. Instantly another rush of wind blew forth from behind Jadis, taking the hail with it. The two attacks met in the center of the stage and the sound of high impacting against ice filled the arena, sounding almost beautiful.

"Ice Shard!" was the follow up from Sem. For the first time in the match Jadis moved. She held her right arm out to the side and the hail swirled around her hand, forming a blade of ice in it. And then she rushed forward with all the grace and elegance that you would not at first expect of an Ice-type. But the cold and harshness were there as well in Jadis' eyes.

With a single slash the Confuse Ray was dispelled and she continued to rush forward with great speed that came naturally to her species. The speed was further increased due to the nature of the attack. Jadis flew through the center of the field, through the wake of the two Icy Winds clashing and within a moment was upon Nevara, slashing at the phantom with her icy blade.

 

[Chadwyck]

"Ice Shard." Rein said calmly, watching as Jadis rushed her way forward with an icy blade in hand. Instantly, Nevara mirrored Jadis' move, creating a blade of ice in her hand and parrying the attack.

"I don't even know what to make of this, folks! It looks like a fencing match between these two Ice-Type phantoms!" The announcer cried out almost joyously from the intense battle that unfolding before the crowd's very eyes.

 

[Sem]

This would be interesting, Sem realized. Jadis was actually quite skilled in swordplay, often dueling with his mother's Seviper at home.

Ice and snow swirled around Jadis' left hand as well, forming a second blade. The two Froslass continued their duel, much to the amazement of the crowd, but unless Nevara was also skilled in swordplay then Jadis would quickly gain the upper hand, especially considering the support she garnered from Ominous Wind.

"Hidden Power," Sem said with a smile.

Jadis hovered back into a defensive position, both blades poised as she began to glow with a lightly orange colored energy. Orbs of the same colored energy formed around her. However, instead of flinging them towards her opponent she did something else entirely. The orbs began to fade as their energy flowed into the Froslass' swords, causing them to glow with the same brilliance.

"Go!" Sem yelled. Jadis flew forward, spinning and bringing her blades around at Nevara. Jadis' Hidden Power was that of the Fighting-type affinity, and the combining of Hidden Power and Ice Shard created an effective and powerful combination. Unlike other Ghost-types, Froslass weren't affected by Fighting-type moves, but Nevara's ice sword would surely be destroyed if she used it to defend.

 

[Chadwyck]

Sem seemed to think that his Froslass was going to be able to gain the upper hand against Nevara, of course that would be true if his own Froslass had been untrained in the art of swordplay. As it was, she frequently fenced with Eckart, so swordplay was something that she was more than accustomed to.

The two Ghost-types continued their little duel, until Sem did something completely unexpected. A hidden power, fused with the ice shards. Something told Rein that it would undoubtedly give Jadis the upper hand. Sem's Froslass rushed forward, and Rein had to think fast. "Substitute," Rein ordered, and as Sem's Froslass cut at the defending Nevara, Jadis' blades sliced through nothing more than a copy made of snow.

"Double Team," Rein followed up, and Nevara's eyes began glowing before Jadis could attack again, and in an instant, there were three Nevaras floating and twirling around Jadis. This would buy Rein time to counter the hidden power combined with Jadis' blades.

"Use Psychic, keep focused on surrounding your own swords with energy!" All three of the Froslass around Jadis followed Rein's command, all three had their own blades begin glowing blue. Reinforced with psychic energy, Rein was confident that the duel would be even once more. "Continue your dance, my dear," he said with a smile, and the three Froslass gracefully twirled forward, the real Nevara ready to strike.

 

[Sem]

"Thunder Wave!" came Sem's quick response to the Double Team/Psychic/Ice Shard combination.

Jadis closed her eyes as a shimmer of purplish electricity quickly glossed over her body before a large amount was discharged in the form of a wave. The attack dispelled the two fakes, leaving only the real Nevara.

"Quick thinking on Sem's part!" the announcer yelled.

Without waiting to see how Rein and Nevara had responded to the Thunder Wave Sem quickly followed up with another attack. "Thunderbolt!" he yelled into the blizzard that was still raging around them.

Since Jadis had just needed to tap into her ability to use electrical attacks, Thunderbolt was a logical step to take. Her ice swords broke away in fragments into the wind. She outstretched her hand to Nevara, her posture again as still and silent as ice itself while the blizzard raged around her - a picture of beauty.

Then, from her fingertips burst a powerful bolt of purplish electricity.

 

[Chadwyck]

OoC: I know it's been over a year since this topic has been posted in, but Sem and I have been on a roll with this whole "reviving our old topics" thing. I figured why stop with Random Adventure?

Rein didn't have time to be disappointed that his deception hadn't worked, there was an instant between Sem's command and the strike that would follow. Luckily, split second decisions came naturally to the young man, they'd saved his hide many times in many battles. There was little chance of avoiding Sem's attack or blocking it, but Rein could try and return some of it.

"Payback!" Rein shouted right before the Thunderbolt struck its target, giving Nevara the second she needed to throw a hand up, not to block the attack, but to accept it. The attack left its mark on the ice type, but not before she channeled some of the power behind it into her own body and fired a smaller bolt of lightning back at Sem's Froslass.

"Rein's Froslass redirected the attack back toward the original user!" The announcer explained, at the edge of his seat no doubt.

"Give her no time to relax, follow up with a Shadow Ball!" Again Nevara summoned the darkness to her and hurled it toward her opponent.