Tournament Round One

[bravenewmods]

The first day of the tournament dawns bright and sunny, a stark contrast to the mood of the citizens of Union as they exit the gates of the city. Many of them stare at Team Evolution with open suspicion - what exactly were they trying to demonstrate here? Regardless, it appears that the people of Union would hold their own session first. As the 12 trainers take their positions, the crowd is waved back by one of the Guardsmen, holding a pole out to his side as a makeshift barrier.

"Please, for your own safety, stay behind this area, everyone. The tournament will begin shortly."

From the opposite side, the members of Team Evolution politely troop in, pausing at a short distance. As before, Rory stands at the front of the group, accompanied by Crystal and Sakina, each of whom were, if not familiar to the people of Union by now, at least recognizable.

The Guardsman, who apparently has been chosen to act as the judge, speaks once more once the hubbub has died down.

"The Council wishes to thank all who have agreed to take part in this demonstration and all who have come to lend support. To Team Evolution, it is our desire that you come to understand what it means to our city to be a Pokémon trainer, and what it is from which we draw our strength. Though our philosophies may differ, we are nonetheless united in our humanity. We take heart in having made contact with our fellows after so many long years, and we pray that the gods may look upon this meeting with favor."

A pause.

"Now... without further ado, let the battles begin!"

((The first round of the tournament will end in 48 hours, ICly. Please let us know who the winner will be by 2/26 here and we'll post the second round match-ups as soon as we can. The second round of the tournament will begin ICly 2/27.))

Comments

[for_realsies]

Panic was, of course, going to get worse as Imogen held up her warp band and called forth her first Pokemon. Center ring, weighing ohmygoditsaT-Rex. Bluescale the shiny Tyrantrum sparkled into appearance and roared with gusto to the crowd. Apparently the big guy loved attention as much as his partner.

Imogen is still trying to look non-threatening, but the whole T-Rex thing sets a tone she can't overcome with a carefree smile. Once Hiroshi's battler is in the field Bluescale will start things off with Stealth Rock.

[all_onis_are_true]

Nothing quite like having one's sense of pessimism confirmed.

He stared at his opponent's Pokemon. His first battle ever, and he had to go up against that?! Was this some sort of sick joke? How could he possibly go against something with that high of a level, and a Rock/Dragon type on top of that, and...

Hiroshi suddenly realized. As he was staring up this Pokemon, he remembered what he'd read about this type. Let's see... its current power level, and considering its development, then it should probably...

Okay, maybe I'm outmatched. But I'm not going down without a fight.

He sent out Guertena. And, when his suspicions were confirmed, he uttered a simple command.

"Guertena. Sketch."

Guertena eyed the monster in front of him, and in a whir of movement, began to trace the exact move that was currently responsible for the floating rocks in front of Hiroshi. Hiroshi nodded. He had a sense of what she was going to use next -- but at least he got a nice souvenir out of it.

[for_realsies]

As one of the three giant lizards from the cave expeditions, it was a pretty known creature. But she knew her opening move would set the pace for this fight, and she wanted to make every action count. Imogen watched, smile unfaded, as the opposing Pokemon stole a memento of the fight. That'd serve him later, but not right now.

"Bluescale, bite." She mouthed a silent 'I'm sorry' to the Smeargle as she gave the command. She... really wanted this to take as little time as possible. And the Strong-Jaw Pokemon would make that bite count, massive jaws moving for the artist without hesitation.

[all_onis_are_true]

Guertena started, trying to dodge out of the way -- but the large lizard was angling for its tail, and Guertena VALUED that tail, damnit. He twisted his body, instead receiving the full brunt of the bite on his arm and squealing.

Hiroshi fought down a sense of panic. It's a tournament it can't kill him it's a tournament it can't... But he can't help it. "Guertena! Get back! You did well!" He knew on some level it would be more advantageous to have Guertena use Reflect, but it was HIS Pokemon, damnit.

He turned to the Butterfree. "Martena! Use Stun Powder on that thing!" He yelled, internally praying that the Butterfree would FINALLY remember it's not a Metapod anymore.

Martena shook her head. Nah, nah, I got this bro, I got this. And, rather than the move Hiroshi ordered, she used the best move in the world:

Harden.

"Damnit, Martena!"

[for_realsies]

The problem with that call is the Stealth Rocks, to a bug/flying that swap was a terrible choice. Having double the weaknesses? That's... just going to be a problem. Imogen sighs, she feels really bad about this. "Bluescale, just... be nice. Roar."

Which leaves a space for Martena to try again, and use something that isn't entirely useless. Even the huge terrifying dinosaur seemed to feel... bad about this. But the huge creature drew breath in for a terrifying roar.

[all_onis_are_true]

No, see, it's got this trick, see? It gets hard. It gets REAL hard. Okay, those rocks on the way in kinda hurt, but see, nothing's getting through this baby, nothing --

The Roar sends it flying back, causing it to hit the ground hard. Wait wait wait, bro, you're supposed to let him harden more! Harden! ...Ow.

Hiroshi once again mulled his own bad luck. That meant he only had one Pokemon to count on.

"Takuro... are you sure about this?"

Takuro shot a look out at the field of rocks, at the Tyrantrum, and back at Hiroshi. He placed a paw on his leg. He was sure.

"...Go on."

Takuro nodded. He leapt through the fock field, bearing the brunt of the injuries as best he could, before moving in for a Dual Chop. Maybe this was a hopeless fight, but he had to let his buddy know that you gotta try anyway!