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

[niepokonany]

The light startled her, disoriented her a bit--but a glance back at her trainer, her old friend, steadied her a moment later. Feliks was depending on her, wasn't he? She'd relied on him so much over the years, and she was going to help him this time!

Shrugging off the effect of the flash, she let a psychic attack forth, a purple, rippling wave of energy. Whether or not it hurt seriously, it could hopefully be disorienting...

[ember_celica]

The Misdreavus was hit by the purple, rippling wave -- and more than be damaged, it suddenly was shifting awkwardly to each side. Its eyes moved independently of each other, in a swirly motion. That made Yang tilt her head to the side. "Uh," she said, "Hex? Buddy?"

"Dreavus!"

Then Hex fired another raw of psychic energy from his eyes, at... the wall. Yang turned and stared at it, and the tiny crater made, before looking back at Hex. She pointed at the Ralts.

"Over there, little buddy," she said.

[niepokonany]

Feliks grinned. She'd never fought without him in there with her, shielding her from blows and gleefully setting coats and tails on fire, but she was doing just fine without him! Look at her, all grown up...

"Great! So, you totally know what to do now!"

She made a little affirmative noise, bringing her hands together and bowing her head as she focused her power. A couple of illusory copies of herself appeared on the battlefield, each one of them dodging and darting about like they were trying to avoid getting hit.

[ember_celica]

"Whoa!" Yang shouted. "Hex, Hex, be caref--"

Hex started firing shots bright light at the illusory copies, even as he darted to and fro. The light flashes stayed; and he flew through some, causing him to shake and thrash. Finally, he flew off towards the wall, and slammed into it, forgetting to turn solid. He bounced backward.

"...ul," Yang finished, dryly.

[niepokonany]

It wouldn't be good for Jadwiga to get hit with a ghost-type attack... So they should act quickly, Feliks decided, and remove the threat. "Don't hold back now!"

Nodding, the real copy sent another rippling purple blast of mental energy at Hex.

[ember_celica]

That ended things quickly enough.

The blast of energy struck Hex; the Misdreavus rippled, then fell down at the ground. Yang watched the Ghost-type Pokémon start to stir back up, but she shook her head quickly in his direction, and waved her hands in front of her. "Whoa, whoa, wait, Hex!" she called out. "Don't overdo it. I think they got us."

Hex sighed, but bobbed his head in a nod, and floated backward towards her part of the ring. Yang looked him over, then looked at Feliks.

She grinned, a little sheepish. "Good job."

[niepokonany]

That was it? Feliks, still awash with adrenaline, felt almost confused--somehow, he'd wanted it to go on longer! But Jadwiga had done good--she'd done so great, and he was so proud of her!

He opened his arms for her to teleport into, giving her a good hug while he looked Danuta over more closely. Satisfied that it was nothing a good meal and some rest wouldn't fix, he smiled up at Yang.

"You too--it was fun!"

[ember_celica]

Yang looked down at her two, more reserved. She'd need to take them home and get them fed -- and treated, but none of the wounds were critical. She looked back up at Feliks and nodded, smiling back at him. "Mm-hmm. Make sure you go far, though! I don't wanna lose to a guy who goes down in the semifinals, you know!"

[niepokonany]

Well, that seemed fair enough. He totally wouldn't want to lose to some loser, either, right?

"No problem! We'll bring it next time, so you totally don't have to worry."

[ember_celica]

"Good! That's what I wanna hear," Yang said. "Because I'm gonna be rooting for you, mister!"

[niepokonany]

Feliks laughed, balancing his Ralts on his shoulder again.

"Okay! I like, solemnly promise to kick all the butt we can."

[ember_celica]

Yang grinned and pointed at him, then nodded with a wink. "I'm gonna hold you to that, Feliks!" she called, before she waved. "I'm gonna get my boys healed up, though. Take care of yourself! And good luck!"

She waved a hand, before she started off. As she walked away, she knelt down, and grabbed Miller. He slid up to her shoulder, riding it. Hex floated along after.