bravenewworld | Tournament Final Round

"Ah."

With the second round of the tournament coming to an end, the three winners had been determined: Feliks, Levi, and Reimu. The crowd turns expectantly towards Team Evolution to where Rory now stands alone, having been informed that his companions had needed to take a step away. The man pauses before he steps forward to speak.

"...Dr. Verdine and Sakina have been... called away. A minor emergency. ...And I fear my remaining compatriots are not much for battling."

He looks embarrassed.

"We will have to forgo the Team Evolution exhibition - but please, it would be an honor for me to face your trainers. It was we who requested this demonstration. I would not have you waste your time."

He gives a slight bow and walks up to the field, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows and retrieving several small, round objects from his pockets.

"I am ready. Come, let us see the strength of Union's Bonds against that of our team's."

((This will be the final tournament post. It will be three separate battles against each of the winners. To properly end this event, we will need at least one thread to progress a significant amount, so please do your best to respond!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The attack strikes.

...Mega Blaziken merely rocks back a bit on its feet as it assumes a meditative posture in response. It smoothly transitions from there into performing some moves reminiscent of some form of martial arts. Nothing has been vocalized, but if Feliks has seen this before, it is clearly a Swords Dance. Rory, in the meantime, continues to speak.

"It is a means of evolution lost to time. Dependent on the bonds between man and Pokémon. Even in the past, we believe it was poorly understood."

Mega Blaziken continues with its postures, more quickly now.

"This is what we are here to demonstrate: that man and Pokémon can achieve more than what was ever thought possible. And that is what we wish to offer. There is no need for you to use our means of taming Pokémon if it is alien to you - that is irrelevant. But it is ever our goal to rebuild this world anew, and through our combined strength, we could accomplish many things."

The stances are coming rapid fire now - Rory glances towards his Pokémon.

"...Enough. We are not here to permanently cripple our opponents."

Mega Blaziken responds by rushing towards Jadwiga with blinding speed... It seems to move much faster now than it had at the start of the battle.

Jadwiga is small, and light--the strike sends her flying, and while she doesn't have enough mass to hit the ground as hard as some Pokémon might, it doesn't look or sound pretty. She stands up, shaking her head slightly, wobbling on her feet. It's quite likely just her psychic typing that leaves her able to continue.

Feliks is stuck. He doesn't want his best friend put at risk, but...

But it's for her, and his other Pokémon, and everyone in Union that he can't give up. Not yet, not here.

"No one wants to stay walled in forever. Savior, like any of us do? But why do you even think our world needs rebuilding? Since when is power all we need?"

Jadwiga doesn't wait on another order, and he wouldn't want her to. She lashes out with Confusion again, her mental strength as powerful as ever.

Rory laughs, and for the first time, the sound is harsh rather than pleasant.

"'No one wants to stay walled in'? You say that as if everyone has a wall to hide behind. You have lived your entire life as such. Safe from only the most powerful of assaults. You can say such things atop the backs of those who have struggled and fought and given their lives to create a place where humans can live. Do you think this is true for everyone? Do you think all people live on the edge of a quiet forest where the most threatening Pokemon is a larger-than-average insect? Do you think all people have a fortress to which to retreat when they are in need?

"Power determines who lives and who dies. You who live on borrowed strength... If you are content to live your life behind your walls, if you are content to allow humanity to stagnate and die, then... perhaps you can never understand.

"But still, the offer is there."

Confusion is just about as effective as it was before and again, Mega Blaziken responds with a slight flinch. It stomps its foot and the flames around it intensify to such a degree that even the audience can feel the heat. It readies itself...

"I know you can't listen to Pokémon, but can you like, even hear people? Gods.

"I'm saying, stomping around like you have some right to boss them around isn't gonna help anyone's future!"

Anger. Good, Jadwiga can handle his anger better than his fear right now. She uses Confusion again--she does have another offensive attack, but a grass move isn't going to help her right now, and with Confusion, at least, there's always the chance the opponent will, well, get confused.

Rory laughs again, a return to his more genial sound.

"Do you truly think any Pokémon would follow my orders if all I did was 'boss' them around? Our means of acquiring and training Pokémon may be different, but as is clear, we lack your capabilities. You seem to be pleased enough to condemn all humans who do not live in your city to death. What would you recommend instead? Ask nicely when they attack us to stop? I have personally attempted this technique - I fear to report it does not work and results in grave injury.

"Ioke and I value this power of ours equally. She has ever been a stalwart companion and aid to me."

He nods.

"But let us finish this."

Confusion strikes again with seemingly minimal effect. If health bars existed, perhaps a quarter would be gone. Mega Blaziken moves and once more, its speed is even greater. It hasn't used a single offensive attack so far - and fails to do so even now. It simply rushes towards Jadwiga with flames roaring, moving to grapple her and pin her down, a show of strength without actually harming its opponent.

"Her power is not enough in that form. Do you yield?"

Edited 2014-03-04 02:35 (UTC)

He can feel the eyes of Union on him, and this still feels wrong. He wants to fight this man, this smug and frustrating man, until he can't fight anymore, win or lose--he can't stand the thought of giving in to him, or of making his views look legitimate.

But Jadwiga is in danger, and she's scared, buffeted by the flames and pinned to the ground and shaking. She could teleport away, but it's maybe the same thing as it was when they were in the ruins--she's panicking, forgetting that it's an option she has. He can see the Ralts he first met so long ago, surrounded by bullies, helpless against them.

He didn't save her then, didn't bond with her the moment he got his hands on a warp band, for strength. More importantly, though, he didn't do it to have her suffer for him. They protect each other.

That's why Feliks suddenly doesn't have half a damn to give about whether or not Enlightened entering the field is allowed, or whether he'll utterly ruin his nice new clothes getting close to all that fire. He's fire-type himself, so the relatively passive flames... at least probably won't hurt him, right? Even the desperate drive to fight and win, the one he knows will smart like Hell later, can't hold up to the most important thing in his world, protecting his oldest friend.

Unless Mega Blaziken stops him, he rushes in and drags Jadwiga out from under her with his own hands, then steps back, cradling the shaking Pokémon against his chest not unlike the way he'd held the baby Dratini Rory met before.

He can't look him in the eye right now, can't look anyone in the eye, but his voice hasn't quite left him yet.

"Strength to survive and more strength no matter what are totally different. I know I don't blame anyone for doing what they have to to get by, but we're not about to start treating our friends like tools, ok?"

"...Strength at all costs is often necessary to attain strength to survive."

Ioke does not stop Feliks and releases Jadwiga. The expression she gives the boy and his Pokemon is difficult to read, but there is a certain haughtiness about her eyes... Rory himself steps forward onto the battlefield and despite not seeming to do much of anything in particular, the crystalline sphere once again surrounds Mega Blaziken.

When it has dissipated, she has returned to her normal form.

"Thank you for participating in this demonstration. I fear it was, as you doubtlessly feel keenly, a set-up. It is absurd, if not impossible, to expect any of you to face our Mega Evolutions. You have carried through nonetheless."

He's trying to focus on calming Jadwiga down, projecting safety at her, assuring her that he's there and it will be okay now, but--well, it's hard to with Rory soliloquizing right there.

"So what's your point? Just to show off?"

"To show what we have to offer."

He seems blithely ignorant to Feliks's irritation as always and places a hand on Ioke's shoulder.

"I doubt you wish to hear me repeat myself, so let us simply leave it at that."

He wants to argue, he wants to fight--

He wants to get his girls somewhere safe.

So without another word to Rory, he turns, still cradling Jadwiga.

"Danuta, go with the medics. Emilia--let's go home. I totally got ash on my boots."

Tournament Final Round

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject