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

[comparative_insanity]

For all that he's been a bit of a bundle of nerves leading up to the tournament, Fai looks excited and alert as he watches the people and pokémon mill around him. The three pokémon chosen for the occasion all seem to show varying signs of excitement as well. Woolly is orbiting him at speed, his high-speed batbatbatbatbatbatbat managing to sound rather like maniacal laughter. Mr Sunshine is jumping up and down, rolling around on the ground, barking excitedly. Babycakes is far too dignified for this sort of behavior, but Fai can tell from the way she holds her flower tighter than normal and tries not to smile that she's just as excited as the rest of them.

He does feel a thrill of anxiety when he gets closer to his opponent, though. That intangible, somehow blank presence can only mean one thing; he's a Dark type. But that doesn't matter, he reminds himself, because they aren't supposed to be fighting. So instead he smiles, although judging from the expression on his opponent's face, he doubts that he'll get much of a smile back.

Fai knows he's at a disadvantage, being the first to pick a pokémon to send out, but well, hopefully he'll be able to turn things around soon enough. "Mr Sunshine, if you would be so very kind?" The Houndour snorts at him, as if politeness is an insult to such a great and noble warrior, but he does indeed step forward.

[springcleaning]

Levi's standing across from Fai, looking grumbly as usual. He hadn't been able to resist entering the contest. He was too bullheaded and arrogant not to. Even though he only had two Pokemon, he was confident. His Whirlipede, Bug, is resting by his feet. Levi even has one boot up on Bug's shell. His Swinub, Romeo, is chilling next to his other ankle. Romeo looks super bored though, Bug is way more into it.

"All right, fuckers. Bug's up first. Make sure you dodge any fire, this guy's bound to be faster than Gunsmoke." The Commander's Houndour was... pretty slow. He picks up his foot and... promptly kicks the Whirlipede out from under him, Bug spinning wildly and bolting into the arena.

[comparative_insanity]

Well, that one is most definitely... a character. Fai tilts his head to the side with a small titter, and though his eyes widen a little bit at Levi kicking the Venipede, well, it has a thick shell and really doesn't seem to mind at all. And it's best not to get distracted.

"Mr Sunshine, I think we could brighten up the place a bit. Some fire, perhaps?"

Mr Sunshine, it seems, rather likes that word, and is all too happy to comply. He opens his mouth and burps more than breathes out a cloud of small flames to surround the other pokémon.