Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Marsuru]

Coumarine City Gym

Ramos's face was perfect for poker. Gym leaders fought trainers all day long to the point that rarely any left a notable mark, but he really had heard of Salieri. As a professional trainer, his interest had been piqued by Dune's modes, and to battle against it himself was exhilarating.

Jumpluff kept her distance from Dune as best she could. He was faster than she anticipated, but she was still quicker thanks to the sun's rays. Dune merely adopted floating on gusts of wind, but she was born to it, and eyed her opponent cautiously. Ramos took the opportunity to bolster his defences further with 'Cotton Guard,' and soon Jumpluff's body was almost completely covered with a layer of powerful cotton armour.

Three more ticks of Infestation remained.  

[Jump Einatz]

Durendal lowered his altitude to match Jumpluff's as best as he could. Clumps of cotton sprouted from Jumpluff's limbs and coalesced along the first layer of armor.

It can control its fluff to make its way to any place in the world it wants, even in the fiercest wind, Salieri mused, thinking back on the entry. The ability reminded her of Moze's Whimsicott, with its creepy smile and balls of cotton that followed it around. But you can't do it passively, can you? Cotton Guard is the move that brings it back to you. We have a window here!

"Swords Dance! One more time!"

As his skin literally crawled, and cracks began to form along his armor, Durendal flipped and tumbled forward in the air with grace, and from that dance emanated swords of spiritual light that faded just as fast. His battle presence increased as he barreled at Jumpluff.

With Balestra a la Mode on, his moves conjured powerful winds as the Pressure shifted in his vicinity. Leaves and stray clippings of plants from around the tree flew around in an updraft towards the sky. The wind was as strong as he was, and with his Attack raised four stages, the gale rippled throughout the arena. Salieri looked as the leaves and clippings flew up like snowfall in reverse, making their way higher until they blocked the ceiling.

Blocking the sun.

Shade was cast down to the arena. Dune finished his dance with one last flourish, which was accompanied by one last sudden gust. The incoming shade would slow down Jumpluff, but more importantly, the wind reached her as well. Dune yanked one arm back as if he was a conductor, conjuring that last gust to pull hard on the second layer of Cotton Guard.

The last gust was meant to tear it off, revealing the first layer underneath and breaking down half of Jumpluff's formidable shield. Hard as it was, it was still cotton. If it worked, the cotton would flow up freely, joining the leaves dancing on the wind.

Salieri knew Ramos could bolster the Defenses again, and Jumpluff had the power to overcome Balestra in the future. But that clangorous Torment gave them time before Cotton Guard could be used, and this window of opportunity could be their last before Durendal succumbed to Infestation.  

[Marsuru]

Coumarine City Gym

That was an awfully complicated setup, but the more Dune performed with his modes, the better idea Ramos had on how it worked. He had a theory going in, and this just confirmed it. The leaves began to flood the centre of the skylight, casting a speckled shadow on the middle of the arena. Soon, it would leave only dotted rays of light, not enough for Chlorophyll.

Jumpluff rode the Pressure gusts towards the skylight, stray leaves and clippings rising from the tree below. She planted herself against the glass to brace against Dune's next attack, and countered when he struck.

If Dune wanted to rip away her new Cotton Guard, it was possible, but only if he maintained a concerted effort with his gust. And in doing that, he'd be forced to eat Jumpluff's 'Dazzling Gleam,' which flashed blinding pink and shot out damaging waves of power. If he turned away or diverted himself, he'd break the gust and Jumpluff would keep her defences. If it struck, he'd lose over a third of his health.

The pink waves would throw across the battleground with Jumpluff as the point of origin, clearing the leaves away from the skylight and reactivating Chlorophyll as light flooded back into the gym. Shooting away from the skylight, Jumpluff formed a shining 'Reflect' barrier in a sphere around herself. If the strength of Dune's gusts went off his attack stat, then the barrier ought to mitigate their effects somewhat.  

[Spinne Biss]

"Ancient Power," Helena said and Tyrant would feel the ancient latent aura of his kin. Of Helena's ancestors. The fossils and rocks would tear themselves from the earth, smattering and destroying themselves and Antiqs own, aiming with the familiar energy that radiated from the others own power.

"Careful, Zack, your Pokemon might actually have to fight at this rate."

Placing powerful legs on the ground Tyrant would push himself up to his feet.  

[Jump Einatz]

As the pink light poured from Jumpluff's eyes and flooded the room, time seemed to slow for Durendal as he plotted his reaction. Keep peeling the Cotton Guard back and take the hit, or dodge? His cover of leaves was nearly gone, and would be when the dust settled. He could feel some of the bugs crawling inside of him dissolving away into nothing, but a faction remained.

Salieri couldn't wait any longer. She made the decision for him. "Dodge!"

Durendal's focus snapped and diverted as he was flung downards, shifting the way his wind blew to flip himself with that yanking motion and abandoning his manuver. Jumpluff's Cotton Guard snapped back into place as though it had never left, and Dune's concentration focused on his evasion to the ground below. Below the spotted canopy, he had created enough distance that he was protected from the brunt of the light based attack, safe under the shadows from the Dazzling Gleam. His leg buckled as sparse rays reached him through the speckled shade, delivering glancing blows at his knee and shoulder. They left a sparkly, painful sheen.

When the attack ended, the familiar light from the glass ceiling flooded the arena once more. Durendal stole a glance at his trainer in that moment.

Her breathing was heavy. She clutched the side of the trainer box with white knuckles, teeth bared at the sides of her mouth in a predatory scowl. Dune recognized that look. It was a mix of exhilaration, anger, and sheer intensity.

After living a somewhat normal life for three days, Salieri had truly returned just then. The smile she gave him before they climbed the tree was but a fleeting memory, and something in Dune's heart broke at that sight.

I thought I could control the tempo, but I was wrong. Ramos has his field under lock and key. The roiling in her stomach from her hangover magnified, fueled by adrenaline. We'd have to score a critical hit to pierce these layers now. Can we? That speed, that precision...if I can't beat this... The ever present void she felt in the background of her life reared its ugly head again. She gulped. If I can't beat this, can I beat the rest? I'm running out of time... Against her willpower, she found herself envisioning Arnaud in his bedroom. Her father on his back, and the purple ember burning away his soul at his chest.

Back in the Gym, Dune saw Salieri reopen her eyes. In the afterglow of the Dazzling Gleam, against the backdrop of the leaves raining down carelessly, the amber in her eyes shined as fierce as it ever did. He wondered if she knew what that looked like to other people, because it reminded him of a wild animal.

Something that bites.

"You are, without a doubt, the best Gym leader I've fought." Sal found herself uttering this, unaware of the praise she was giving to a noble. "So it's time to test our luck. Dune! Go for it!"

The wind swirled at Dune's feet, accompanying his launch as he flew up into the air straight at Jumpluff, who had just launched herself downwards from the ceiling towards him inside a bubble of Reflect. A wicked, dark violet aura emanated from his hand. As they flew at each other, Durendal swiped his hand up in a mighty heave with a Night Slash, attempting a flyby dissection. If he rolled a 1, it would be a critical hit.  

[Marsuru]

Coumarine City Gym

Ramos smiled at Salieri's compliment, as her low voice came through the speaker in his trainer box. 'Aye, yer not bad yerself, sprout.'

Dune once again performed his marvellous ability, and Ramos just had to test out his hypothesis. As the Night Slash ripped towards Jumpluff, he played the odds and had her meet him in midair. The sunlight energised the grass type's movements, providing her the agility needed to effectively trade blows with the Pawniard.

When Dune went to strike, Jumpluff tackled into him - not dealing damage, but allowing her to plant a 'Worry Seed' between the gaps in his armour as he slashed her cotton armour. She bounded away, receiving around 1/8th of her health in damage. By now, with the damage Jumpluff had taken from Dune's earlier Aerial Ace and the Night Slash, she was down to about half health. Time to fix that.

'Use yer Synthesis,' Ramos instructed, and as she took flight on the air currents, Jumpluff's damaged parts took in sunlight and regenerated, whole and new. And, if Ramos's hypothesis proved correct, the Worry Seed would worm into Dune and wreak havoc with his thoughts. It would replace all of his current Abilities with Insomniac, and cause his modes to fail him.

Shalour City Pokémon Center

'Oh, I don't see any danger of that just yet,' Zack replied as Tyrant surrounded himself with the rubble of both Ancient Powers and clambered to its feet. Tyrant still hadn't done anything worth worrying about, so Zack weighed his options and went with another 'Ancient Power!' just to see how Helena reacted.

After her first one hit, the Aerodactyl became flooded with prehistoric energies that boosted each of her stats by one stage. The first Ancient Power had dealt close to a third of Tyrant's health in damage, and a boosted one would claim more like two fifths as she leisurely circled the battlefield, ready for whatever came her way.  

[Jump Einatz]

When the Worry Seed was sown between the seams in Durendal's armor, the winds swirling through the air slowed to a stop. The air inside the Gym became still again as Dune, along with the leaves, started to fall. Without Inner Focus keeping his cool together, Insomnia became visible in his eyes and he began to fret.

We're not good enough. I'm not good enough. She's going to leave me behind if I fail her here.

Sal watched her Pawniard plummet. Durendal's Modes hinged on his abilities, and Ramos had figured that out. Their strategies were being systematically removed, one by one. "Magnet Rise!"

Durendal's body hummed with electromagnetism, and he began to Levitate before he hit the ground. His fatigue wore off, as the electromagnetism interfered with the Worry Seed's function. Sal allowed herself a sigh of relief. At least they hadn't lost the ability to go airborne. At this time, the tiny grubs inside him had all dissolved, and the absence of that painful Infestation helped to calm Dune down.

She watched Jumpluff's hit points return to full on the big display monitor, thanks to the sunny weather. "Again!" she shouted, and Durendal flew once more at Jumpluff with a Night Slash. This time it was a rising hurricane kick, his outstretched leg tracing a trail of wicked purple aura behind it, whizzing towards Jumpluff's head.

At this point, Jumpluff's fortifications would be too much trouble to remove one by one, so continuing to prod could potentially create a better opening later. With Pressure temporarily back on, Jumpluff's chances to heal would be limited quicker than before. And if they scored a critical hit, it would be the tuning point. Sal leaned farther over the trainer box, on the edge of her metaphorical seat.

((SWEET RNG VINDICATION))  

[Marsuru]

Coumarine City Gym

By the time Durendal's Infestation finished, he will have lost almost 3/4th of his health. Ramos watched as Salieri readied her final strike. He had no way of knowing if the Night Slash would land a critical or not, but he could sense the challenger's determination. One way or another, this battle was at its close.

Dune rushed towards Jumpluff with his Night Slash kick. Fast, but the grass type was still faster. Before he reached her, she radiated an intense Dazzling Gleam to damage him before he could reach her. It was a strong enough attack to finish Dune off and end the battle.  

[Jump Einatz]

It was the end game now. Durendal's attack was their last chance. Salieri wanted to yell out something, anything, but there was no more time. She'd have to trust in him to get the job done.

Jumpluff's eyes glowed and Durendal knew what was coming next. Too far along to stop now, and without the time to switch tactics, he ramped up his action instead. His hurricane kick became faster, Critically intense, and his spin caught the falling leaves in a whirlwind around him on his way up. They followed him upwards in a frenzy as he became a one man storm, a whirling dervish of a Pokémon.

The Dazzling Gleam was released. The leaves were not nearly as dense of a cover as they were when they were a falling canopy. Yet they were still there, intercepting the wider wave of light and turning it into a speckled shotgun of a move in front of Durendal, shaped like the gaps between the leaves. The Blade Pokémon felt a multitude of tiny rays and stings, accumulating to become a burst of damage. His armor sparkled painfully and he gasped, grinding his teeth as he found himself letting out a tiny roar.

Salieri saw nothing but a sliver of health left in Durendal's bar as he emerged from the Dazzling Gleam, his leg coming in like a great broadsword at Jumpluff's head. His eyes were blank, his armor was smoking, the black goo of bug grubs seeping from the cracks.

He was still there.  

[Spinne Biss]

Tyrant focused the next wave, this time not to fire into Antiqs but past it at the same time. Unless Antiqs delayed her shot, giving Tyrant time to dodge as well which he would, they'd trade shots this time but Tyrants were focused on a single wings of Antiq to make flight difficult to impossible with the amount of pain it would take to maintain.  

[Marsuru]

Courmarine City Gym

By all rights, Dune should have been defeated. With all the damage he took, and the strength of the Dazzling Gleam, he should have gone down before ever touching Jumpluff. It was a league rule that even if the challenger beat the gym leader's final pokémon, they took a loss if they ran out of pokémon to do it. A kind of home team advantage. It let the gym leader play more ruthlessly, and forced the challenger into an uphill battle.

The wave of power that Dazzling Gleam unleashed couldn't be dampened by mere leaves; it blew them away in a roaring flash spectacular, striking the Pawniard with its full force.

But Dune was still there.

His Night Slash caught Jumpluff by surprise, piercing through the slightest gap in her Cotton Guard armour, cleaving her whole. She flew backwards, arced, and disappeared in a beam of light as Ramos recalled her before she hit the floor.

Through sheer grit and unwillingness to fail, Dune clung to consciousness. Ramos had seen it before, though it was rare for a pokémon, even one who loved their trainer, to hold such devotion. Rare, and sometimes dangerous.

Salieri had won.

'Yeh believe in yer Pokémon... And they believe in yeh, too...' Ramos said, the bars of his trainer box receding into the floor. He reached into a pouch on his belt and retrieved a pristine Plant Badge, still in its plastic wrapper, and walked to meet Salieri in the centre of the arena. Scattered leaves littered the arena floor, glowing yellow-green in the sun's heavy light.

'Mighty oaks from acorns grow,' Ramos said as he presented Salieri with the Plant Badge.

Shalour City Pokémon Center

Antiq's Ancient Power didn't come from her, but from the ground, as the last two had. As Tyrant made no effort to evade from a grounded assault, he would take full damage from the attack. Zack didn't need a pokédex to know one more clean strike should finish the dinosaur off.

Still, the attack took a degree of concentration to perform, and doing so would slow Antiq enough to allow Tyrant's Ancient Power to hit her. With Antiq's raised stats, it would deal around a quarter of her health in damage. Painful, but nowhere near enough to ground the flying type.

'Damn, we're on our last legs,' Zack grinned. 'Let's see if we can't rattle that pea-brain. Agility!'

Antiq's wings beat harder, unleashing a hard blast of air on the battleyard below. Pokémon in other matchups were knocked off their feet, at least one child cried, and the Aerodactyl flew like a jet. She shot to the other end of the arena, nearer Helena, a gust of wind threatening to knock her off her feet. She hovered close to the ground, between Helena and her opponent, baiting the Tyrantrum into closing the distance.

((Rolling for Ancient Power. 1 gets it))  

[Spinne Biss]

((Stats stats baby)

Tyrant roared in pain from the continued assault. He would twist his body to watch Antiq and that's when he felt the connection sever. Without his eyes on Helena, all he could assume was that something had happened.

And it had, with the teen as shaky as she was after using her aura, Antiq's powerful gust did knock Helena off her feet and out of the trainer box. She would plummet to the ground below, her connection to Tyrant severed.

Rage flared into his eyes as he looked upon Antiq and, with the gloves completely off, he roared. Not to stun her, but to get her out of his way as he charged toward the trainer box.  

[Marsuru]

((Nooo! RNG why have you deserted me??))

Shalour City Pokémon Center

Zack saw what was happening the moment Helena hit the floor. It was as if the veil had been lifted, and whatever magic dulled the Tyrantrum's more vicious tendencies faded to reveal them in full. As alive and as murderous as ever. Zack had no strong connection to Antiq, no personal understandings or Aura bonds. There was no reason to fight against the Roar, and so she fled, bounding skyward on a mighty flap of her wings.

Leaving Helena vulnerable. Prey to her own ********, ********, ********, ********!' the trainer shouted as Tyrant began to charge. He sprinted out of his trainer box and leapt onto the pokémon's back. All he needed to do was keep it distracted, give the giant ******** a new target, and Helena would be safe, relatively speaking. Zack grabbed Tyrant by the scales, planting his feet along its spine, then reached over and punched it in the eye.  

[Jump Einatz]

((Oh how the turntables))

Salieri was jumping over the railing of her trainer box before it had time to fully recede, breaking out into a sprint to catch her falling Pawniard. She dove and slid on her stomach across the dirt with outstretched arms, bracing at the heavy thud of Durendal dropping into them.

Her breath matched his. Dune could not move, not a muscle, as he stared out one half open eye at his trainer. Was it solely the leaves, providing mediocre cover against the light based attack as they had before? It was unlikely. Salieri had seen Pokémon cling to consciousness before, during footage of past league matches. It wasn’t unheard of, but it was hardly seen. Those Pokémon were reported to have high affection to their trainers. In Kalos, breeders called it Amie. In other countries, it had other names.

She didn’t see this as a positive. His body was broken. He could have given up before that happened. Would you do anything I asked? Is it devotion…or are you a slave, Dune?

Sal met his gaze, briefly. “You’re incredible,” she whispered. Dune was absorbed back into his Pokéball and Salieri got up, dusting herself off. She took the badge out of Ramos’ hand. This one felt heavier than the others. It made her feel a little sick. After her other Gym matches, she felt a sense of accomplishment. Now, she felt like she was rusty coming off the caesura. Falling behind.

“…If we didn’t get lucky…we wouldn’t have beat you, would we?” Salieri asked quietly, directed to herself as much as it was to Ramos. Like many other close calls, spectators and fans would be talking about this match for days to come. They might sing the praises of Salieri and Ramos and their Pokémon. It didn’t change that right now, Salieri felt like she had for most of her life.

Weak.

And so she said something to Ramos, automatically, she thought she’d never say to a Gym leader in Kalos before. “I don’t know if I can take this.”  

[Spinne Biss]

Tyrant howled in pain and anger, shaking in barely contained rage as the fist met his eye.

Helena rounded the corner from the box, eyes half-lid and her breathing heavy and ragged just as Tyrant yanked his head forward. The strength of it from the stat boosted Pokemon was very likely to throw Zack, toward and into Helena, unless the Redgrave sibling managed to hold on.

Either way, a hero was arriving to save the day. Tyrant would either be slammed into from the side of his head or his torso, depending on whether Zack was attached or not, by the swinging Hammer Arm of a suddenly arriving Darumanitan.

The blow would be enough to immediately topple and knock Tyrant over and unconscious.