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

General Spectators

[bravenewmods]

Ezreal vs. Marisa

[bravenewmods]

Imogen vs. Hiroshi

[bravenewmods]

Levi vs. Fai

[bravenewmods]

Feliks vs. Yang

[bravenewmods]

Ky vs. Melaka

[bravenewmods]

Reimu vs. Sync

[bravenewmods]

[ladyofluminosity]

[Lux is toward the front end of the crowd, a young Eevee in her arms, eagerly awaiting the start of the tournament. Her hair actually down for once, she looks somewhat fired up, Annabel the Eevee likewise excited.]

[improvings]

[Laurent was practically dragged here. He'd much rather be studying, but Lux had decided this was the day to get the nerdlet out of his shell. So he's standing next to Lux by the pen, his Wooper peeking from under the brim of his hat from where he's standing on Laurent's shoulder. Shidora looks excited at least, he'll party with you Lux.]

Is it true? [He tries to ask over the crowd, leaning in.] They use some kind of storage system for their Pokemon...?

[niepokonany]

He'd lost his temper at the man from Team Evolution, but Feliks was all smiles on the morning of the tournament. After all, he'd always been one for a good show--and this was bound to be one, with all the strange goings-on that had led up to this point. He'd dressed the part of a spectacle from head to toe, with his newest coat on, his boots polished to a bright gleam, his hair held out of his eyes on one side with a slightly over the top decorative clip.

He walked in with Jadwiga on his shoulder, flanked by Emilia on his right and Danuta on his left, waving to anyone he knew, eating up the attention. Might as well while he could, he thought.

After all, once they got started, he wasn't going to be the star of this show. His girls were going to steal it right out from under him, and show any smug redheaded know-it-all to look down on them.

"Ready?" he asked, turning his attention from the crowds. Then he grinned, bumping his forehead against Jadwiga's horn. "Trick question, I totally know you are. Go kick some butt, I'll be right here cheering you on!"

[all_onis_are_true]

Hiroshi seemed to recall a time where he would have waltzed into a situation like this with hardly a care in the world. Confident in everything he did, he could have easily tackled a situation like this with ease. Now, however, his heart was practically beating out of his chest. He looked again at the crew he'd brought in with him, wondering if the training had been enough. Guertena seemed distracted as usual, Martena worryingly cocky. Only Takuro seemed to be appropriately focused for this fight.

Can I really win this? What if I lose? What if somebody gets hurt? All sorts of what-ifs and self-doubts ran through his head. Victory counted on him in the end, right? His capacity to command and strategize? What if he couldn't even do that? What if --

A familiar claw on his pants leg. He looked down at Takuro, who shook his head, then smiled wryly at him and shrugged. Hiroshi, of course, couldn't understand a word he said, but on some level he wondered if Takuro was trying to tell him not to worry, that they would do their parts too. That winning or losing, he wouldn't know until he tried.

Hiroshi wished it was as simple to think about it as that.

[ladyofluminosity]

[Pumped for the fighting to start, she doesn't register what Laurant says at first, so it takes a moment for her to respond.]

...huh? Sorry, what did you say?

Re: Ezreal vs. Marisa

[indy_wannabe]

The battle had already been fierce, and as Jungler went down to Marisa's Jolteon Ezreal knew it was coming down to his own partner.

"All right! Time to show you my own Spark! Let's go buddy!"

Elekid appeared from the Warp Band in a flash of light and immediately charged forward.

"Swift!"

A barrage of stars exploded toward Marisa's Jolteon.

[ember_celica]

"Totally ready!"

Yang's triumphant shout echoed back. She raised her fist; she had no armor on it, and left Ember Celica back home. She wasn't fighting herself, even if she wanted to. She walked in, her two Pokémon trailing after her. Miller the Eevee paced next to her, looking deadly serious. Hex the Misdreavus hovered after, looking proud. Yang looked at Feliks, then she smiled.

She crossed her arms over her chest, and she nodded at Feliks. "Let's do this!" she called out. "I'm ready. Go get 'em, guys! I'm rooting for you!"

And wishing, a little, she could fight with them. But, that was Yang.

[niepokonany]

Feliks shot a grin right back at her, radiating a lazy confidence. "All right! We're totally not gonna hold back! Danuta, you're up first, right?"

The Mienfoo nodded, and in a burst of nearly serpentine movement, made her way to the center of the arena. Once there, she took a fighting stance, watching the other team with narrowed eyes, waiting for her opponent to come forward. She had learned much from training with Feliks and his other friends, and was ready to show how strong she had become!

[for_realsies]

Imogen, deep down, was incredibly nervous of what would happen next. She was used to eyes on her, and an audience, but most of the time she had full control of what was seen. Here, she shared a stage with an uncontrollable element, what if he was better, what if she was made a fool of.

Then she remembered why she was here, to win and get close enough to the Evolution Pokemon to try and talk to them. To show them they were wrong, and that they should change their ways.

So with that thought in her heart, she skipped and danced her way out to the battlefield. Airheaded and carefree to those around her, that didn't know how her mind worked, dancing to music nobody else can hear... exactly how she wants to be seen. Totally and completely unthreatening.

"Hey! Hiroshi! Good luck!"

[ember_celica]

Yang decided to send Miller in first, because he simply had more training time and she knew him better. She looked at him, then she nodded.

The Eevee stalked forward, and leaned forward. His tail went straight into the air and he bared his fangs. Then with a tiny, almost cute snarl, he leaped forward, lunging at the Mienfoo. If he had a small advantage, it was that Yang had trained with Miller; he knew a little bit about how Fighting types worked, but it was far from a perfect overlap. The Eevee went airborne, bringing back a clawed paw.

As he came down, he swung, slashing his claws out for the front of the Mienfoo. Yang cheered while he did.

"That'll show 'em, Miller!"

[niepokonany]

The Eevee's strength and confidence were a bit of a surprise--hardly what she expected of a Normal type, and sort of begrudgingly impressive. Danuta took the hit with a little hiss, but didn't falter, striking back quickly with several successive attacks, trying to make good use of his proximity and her speed.

"That's it--you've totally got this!" Emilia voiced her support with a bark, while Feliks bounced excitedly from one foot to the other, cheering his friend on.

[all_onis_are_true]

Nonthreatening his ass. If anything, Imogen's carefree state just made Hiroshi more paranoid. Sure, at one point he would have probably just scoffed at someone taking this so lightly. Now, though, all he could think was that if she's this cheerful right before a Pokemon fight?

She has to have absolute confidence in her skill.

He raised a hand half-heartedly. "Ah... you as well, Imogen," but inwardly he was already beginning to panic.

[ember_celica]

Miller made a good showing. A headbutt here; a claw swipe there. But, Danuta had more training and had that speed that eventually overwhelmed the dour Eevee. The final blow connected with his snout and sent him flying back, almost like slow motion. He hit the ground, bounced, and rolled once.

"Vee..."

Yang grimaced. "Gee-ew, okay, uh, let's maybe be careful!" she called out. "That's a tough one, Miller! You know what to do!"

The Eevee rose back up, spitting into the sand. Then it charged; it moved quick, a fast blur that snapped out to the side, then shot in with a zig-zag, throwing its body in a fast tackle. The Quick Attack was just that: a fast, last ditch effort to try to overcome the Mienfoo's speed, and bring the other Pokémon down. Of course, that could prove problematic: Miller was banged up enough that one good hit was really all he could take.

[niepokonany]

It was definitely a good fight, one that Danuta found herself enjoying more than she had thought she would. She danced and wove around attacks, took hits and gave them, and was perhaps a little disappointed when she saw her opponent's endurance beginning to grow thin.

It wasn't as though he was defenseless, though, as she was reminded by the sudden impact against her, harder than she'd expected. No time to fool around--it was time to end this. She threw herself at him, shoving him into the ground.

[stardustreverie]

Marisa frowned a bit even as her Jolteon dodged about the stars the best she could, getting hit even with her speed. She shook it off and a determined look as she called out to her own partner.

"We won't go down that easily! Come on Spark, ya can do it! Pin Missile!"

After Jolteon escaped the stars it puffed up and sent charged spikes from it's fur towards the Elekid. It wasn't often Marisa felt nervous about a battle with another Enlightened but when she did, it usually was a good one.

[indy_wannabe]

"Dodge Spark!"

Spark takes a few of the missles before rushing out of the way.

"All right! Now, counterattack!"

A blast of lightning flies from Spark, heading straight toward the other Spark.

[naturaldissension]

Half of them are no more than children...

[He murmurs, his ever-pervasive smile bearing a slight hint of amusement.]

Is this what Union seeks to show us...?

[a_gentle_boy]

[A boy standing nearby looks a bit worried - his eyes are focused on one contestant in particular. His own Eevee sits on his shoulders and cranes its neck to watch.]

...

Just twelve people... I guess everyone else was too suspicious to want to try.

What do you think they want from this?