Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Klarp Glornharm]

Cyllage Gym - The Climb
"Hit quick." Benedict whispered, watching the pikachu begin to move. He wasn't experienced enough to know exactly what to watch out for from the pokemon's movements, but he suspected. Francis would rush forward with a quick attack in that supposed opening, aiming to use the momentum to knock the pikachu off-balance, and otherwise hopefully make some distance between the two.  

[Spinne Biss]

Cyllage City Gym - The Climb

Raijin twisted to the side as Francis pushed past him. Using his leg, he'd push himself after Francis, land on his other foot, open his eyes and then kick after Francis in his own Quick Attack.

Raijin began to gain on the flying/normal Pokemon, electricity forming in one hand. Quick to act, trying to hit before Francis could change direction, he'd release a Thunderbolt attack.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Cyllage Gym - The Climb

Francis would have ground his teeth in frustration if he were a human. Instead, he found himself being pursued by the electric type. "Sand!" Was shouted, and the Pidgeotto's wings would flap suddenly.

The push would lift him suddenly, as the pikachu fired off that thunderbolt, quickly enough that he would find himself above it, if just barely. The "sand attack," meanwhile, would fling mud around wildly with a relatively weak gust. Benedict didn't really expect it to hit the pikachu.

"Gust!" He shouted, as Francis finally turned himself. His wings would flap again, this time slowing his forward momentum with the force that would kick up a gust at Raijin.  

[Spinne Biss]

Cyllage Gym - The Climb

"Mjolnr," Grant said quietly into the microphone.

Raijin kick off the ground as Francis moved upward, spin himself as he charged another thunder bolt, and he'd fire it upwards at Francis.

The ability would fly by, looking to be the product of a miss caused by a double stacked sand attack. The electricity that had past by would mask the ionized air of the Thunder's lead tracing down past Francis.

Raijin would pull it down as fast as he could. Guided by the rain, and mask by the Thunderbolt, it was unlikely that Francis would be able to detect it in time.

If Benedict and the Pidgeotto did, Grant would file some new found respect for the duo.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

((If it's a 7, mirror move activates. Otherwise, Francis get's thundered.))

The way electricity worked, or rather, the way lightning worked, was called to mind by the rain. Electricity sent a leader out, struck the ground, and the part that people saw, the part that could be seen, was the backlash. It was the shot that fired back towards the clouds.

If not for that thought as he looked to the sky, the thought of a second bolt would never have occurred to Benedict.

"Mirror move above!" He called. It wasn't likely to work. Francis knew something of it, but he hadn't successfully learned the thing. The flying type didn't know why he was aiming above, but if mirror move worked, the more powerful thunder would collide in mid-air at worst. At best? The change in the magnetic polarity of the air would deflect the leader for the thunder.

But then, really, at worst mirror move wouldn't work. And Francis would be brought down.  

[Spinne Biss]

Cyllage City Gym - The Climb

((That's dumb, Francis uses Mirror Move for rule of cool.))

Francis' special attack are largely inferior to Raijin's. Their difference as Pokemon and in level determined that much. Francis wouldn't be able to overpower Raijin, even if he copied Raijin's strongest attacks.

Instead, he deflected Thunder as it came down, or rather, he forked it. So close to the bolt, it was unlikely that Francis managed to avoid all of the damage. The heat alone probably did a number.

Raijin, who stumbled as he landed from his combo, hit by the gust, would shake his head. After so many battles, they had slowly begun to wear on him. Still, Francis would have to equate to all of his previous opponents combined to finish him off.

"That's impressive," Grant called over to Benedict. He looked over to Raijin and this time made sure that Benedict could hear when he said "let's see how creative he can get with his attacks!"

Raijin would move into a more passive posture, ready to dodge but not attack. Grant smiled happily at the match, ready to enjoy himself in preparation for his match with Grant. He just had to kill time until Salieri was done.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Cyllage Gym - The Climb

Benedict looked at his pokemon and forced himself not to seem relieved at all. Francis would only see him seeming calm, as if that was how he'd expected it to go all along. He had one mirror move for thunder up his sleeve now. Until Raijin acted again, anyway. But there was no chance that Francis would match Pikachu in lightning fight.

"Tear it up! Mirror move!" He shouted. The first was the command he'd been working on for twister, though so far it had only been a powerful gust. But then, they were on a roll, and he wanted to see if his lucky streak would extend to a second move they'd worked on.

Francis would move almost as he had before, when he'd fired the thunderbolt. A misdirect that might have the two feeling for a leader to deflect the thunder that a mirror move would use now. Benedict wasn't going to bet on that, but at least Francis had understood. A moment later, outstretched wings came together, flapping powerfully as if kicking up a gust. Instead of a gust, however, the wind would begin to spin and create a tornado, spinning the direction Francis' wings flapped.

Twister would activate, a dragon type move that pikachu wouldn't be as resistant to.  

[Marsuru]

Route 14 - Gate to Lumiose City

The screen switched to footage of the battle of Amrbette Town. Trainers fought alongside pokémon, calling orders as chaos raged around them. The pokémon of Route 9 clashed with the Ambrette defenders, ripping up their surroundings, blowing the town apart piece by piece. It looked like something out of a movie, which almost made it seem okay, but Wayne reminded himself that it wasn't. That every grimace, every person he saw huddled up behind some debris, overwhelmed by the fighting, was in it for real.

'Yeah,' he said, frowning. Aipom leapt up, landed on his shoulder, and peered at his face. Then poked Wayne on the cheek.
'Hey, what's the matter with you?' the pokémon asked, poking him on the cheek until he looked around.

'Nothing,' Wayne grinned. He held his stomach delicately. 'Well except for being super hungry. We better hurry up or they're gonna run out of waffles, and on Waffle Day of all days. I knew this one guy who was so fat that people said he looked like a Snorlax, and honestly, I could see why. They also said he ate wild pokémon, but that's a liiittle bit ridiculous. You totally have to cook pokémon before you eat them. And use pepper. Mmm-mm.'

Aipom stared at Wayne for a second, then shot Bridgette a pleading look. 'For the love of all things holy, get this kid something to eat.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Gym - The Arena

Sal deflated when Grant revealed the truth behind the color in his hair. A sweatdrop formed on the back of her head. Of course it isn’t real…

Amaura was sent out, and Salieri was less than impressed until she remembered how weak Viola’s Bugs looked at first. So she decided to lead with her most ridiculous looking Pokémon as well: Biz Marquis.

The Quilladin materialized on the spot, already flexing to show off. [Let’s rock, baby, yeah!] he yelled, pumping his arms. Dune sighed and stepped back to watch.

Rain from Benedict and Other Grant’s battle drizzled from rain clouds high above the rock climbing hill, sprinkling the arena. “Save the showboating, Biz Marquis, it’s time to get serious.” Salieri planted a foot up on a rock and pointed to Amaura, beaming with her signature battle grin despite herself. “Now let’s try that new move!”

Biz pointed an arm at Amaura. Green, wooden needles grew at the end of his arm and past his hand, clustering and forming into a cylinder. Inside the arm cannon was a baseball sized seed shaking with the explosive power of growth. “FIRE!”

The seed jettisoned from the cannon with enough force to recoil Biz’s arm back. His sturdy legs kept him in place, and Seed Bomb would fly towards Amaura at a slight angle down. If it made contact, either with the dinosaur or the ground, it would erupt in an explosive shockwave of concussive force and sharp shrapnel.

Battle Chateau - The Courtyard

If Elizabeth was being pushed to the limit, she did a good job at hiding it. Swordmasters had a knack for being able to convey themselves through their swordplay. Hiding her uncertainty meant she was good at hiding other facts as well.

“Your sword doesn’t lie, Elizabeth. While I have you here, I’ll ask you again.” Now Juliet sounded more serious, the lightness in her voice gone. Elizabeth’s fencing was still pristine, and despite how many attacks she launched, none found their mark. It was as difficult for Juliet to keep up as it was for Elizabeth to defend.

The more Juliet attacked, the farther down the balance beam the duelists traveled. If the pace remained unchanged, it wouldn’t be long before Elizabeth was forced off. “Why are you meeting my father?”

Sycamore Research Lab

Lysandre listened close and nodded. His eyes lit up at a few keywords. Team Flare, scientist, Jump Einatz, Funkadelic. “Was this scientist looking for the cause of this anomaly? Or do you believe was Team Flare the cause?”  

[Spinne Biss]

Cyllage City Gym - The Climb

Twister was a large move. It could off-set peoples attacks, or scare them into inaction. Giant as terrifying as it may look, it didn't scare Raijin.

"Thunder dome," Grant said. The move wasn't actually derived from Thunder, but Discharge. The electricity would come out as the Twister would try to come upon Raijin, blowing a hole in the technique that would shield Raijin and destroy it in the surrounding area - as Discharge was large itself - allowing him to pass by it unphased.

The air around Raijin was heated and pulled away by the winds of Twister, spreading, mixing and rising with the super heated air that had already surrounded Francis.

"Charge beam, rapid fire," Grant said. The Charge Beams themselves weren't quick to start, but they worked in succession. Across Raijin's fingertips the moves began to spark to life, one then another, then another. Raijin would release them like this as well, creating a new one when the previous one was fired. This would continue until Francis counter-attacked or had successfully dodged sixteen of them.

Route 14 - Gate to Lumiose City

"Shhhh, someone might kidnap you if they learn that you can talk and sell you for money," Bridgette said a little too loudly in response to Aipom's pleading. Then she turned toward Wayne, wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and tried to lead him into the city proper. "Let's hurry up before that guy shows up and eats all the waffles. Maybe we can distract him with Pokemon if he does show up."  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Even when the twister was abandoned, it wasn't like the air would immediately stop moving and picking up the heat from the electricity, but it would slow down. Eventually it would stop, but not right then.

"Dodge!" Was all he could say, as Francis' keen eye could see the likely direction the charge beams would fire far better than Benedicts own eyes would.

And Francis would follow that order, dodging around those beams, moving out of the way in time for them to fire. But then, he wasn't going to be able to keep that up for long. Benedict knew it.

"Quick attack!" He shouted, and Francis would use that to buy time. The air had gotten hotter, and Francis was moving more naturally with the twister than against it, more naturally up than down. He was rising with the air, and so was getting a good brunt of the heat. Likely, he would continue getting it throughout the battle.

I wish I'd taught him air cutter. The pikachu can't possibly keep up that shield. "Keep Twister going!" And if Francis could find time, he would comply. After all, if twister broke through for a moment, the pikachu might well flinch from the force of the air.  

[Jump Einatz]

Gotengo

~~~Earlier in the morning~~~

During nice weather, the courtyard of the dilapidated building that housed Lumiose’s biggest treehouse was more full than the treehouse itself. The sun shone down on the kids and Pokémon playing around with stacked tires, pipes, wood planks, anything they could get their hands on. One kid’s pretend rocketship was another’s mock classroom.

Salieri’s captures from Route 9 made a home quickly amongst the innocent ruffian children. Her Machop and Cubone were happily ducking it out inside a tiny makeshift arena, kids cheering them on. Nobody was sure if Salieri would mind them coming up with nicknames, and though most thought she would, they did it anyway. The Machop was dubbed “Chopping Man”, and the Cubone, “Klubby”.

The jumpy Helioptile, seemingly the youngest of the four captures, was prone to getting spooked easily, thus earning the less than flattering nickname, “Gerber Baby”.

Even Mia couldn’t avoid getting attached to one of them. Her fondness of bats led her to bond with the Swoobat, who she found herself calling “Treble”. Treble and her Noibat Bass were flapping around her head on the patio. She swatted them away while packing oranges into a tiny knapsack. “Not cute, annoying,” she muttered with a lit spliff hanging off the corner of her mouth.

Once finished, Mia handed the knapsack over to Quacklin’, who was perched on the patio’s railing. “I put two routes on the map. Either one will take a few hours. If you get lost, just look for the coast,” she explained while helping the bird shoulder the sack’s straps. “Head for the Pokémon Center and Sal will meet you there. If the Nurse asks, show her the note I wrote you.”

Quacklin’ looked over his shoulder at his knapsack in admiration. Mia just held onto her spliff and stared at him impatiently, waiting for him to sense it. When he did, he halted. “The most important thing is to avoid anything looking like an octopus. It is not as ridiculous as it sounds. You can tell by my voice that I’m very serious about this.”

The bespectacled teen didn’t actually switch her tone. Nevertheless, Quacklin’ held his wings out like a feathered Jesus. [This delivery shall become an extension of Quacklin’! Those that fly in my way, I cut down! Quack-AH! That’s what a sword does, after all!]

“Good speech,” Mia sighed. She shooed Quacklin’ away with a flicking motion. “Now get out of here. She needs you, and I have to get to free waffle day at the Pokémon Center.”

Deluding himself into believing he had a grand send off, Quacklin’ flapped up a gust of wind, and took off upwards out of the courtyard and into the horizon. Mia watched, making a visor with one hand. “All of her Pokémon are weirdos.”

Mia stepped off the patio, with a yawn and a stretch. She walked past the frolicking children to a patch of grass where Veillantif laid, watching everybody playing with half closed eyes. “It’s free waffle day at the Pokémon Center. Come on.”

Veil looked up at her, then to the ground. “Free waffle day,” Mia repeated flatly. “Waffles. Come on.” The Horsea was unresponsive. “Come on.”

Mia glared at Veil, hit her spliff, and sat crosslegged in front of the sulky Horsea. “Come on.” She sat there staring and smoking for three minutes, and Veil didn’t meet her eyes once. Finally, she put out her spliff and stood up. “I like you better when you’re annoying.”

She walked away to one of the building’s exits, a low hole in the concrete wall that led to an overgrown lot and back to the streets. Bass and Treble followed closely behind, exchanging worried glances. “Veil just needs time,” Mia assured the bats. “We’ll make sure she bounces back. The right way.”  

[Spinne Biss]

Cyllage City Gym - The Climb

Raijin just had to keep Francis on the run. Becaue Raijin just had to follow the Pidgeotto, keeping up Discharge to eventually tear away the already breaking away Twister was easy. Francis, who would have to stop, turn, reform, and then move again, would only end up getting hit if he even tried to keep Twister going.

Once it was over, however, the air around Francis would be full of heat and electric energy. The cloud where the rain fell above them would cracke with it.

"Nio," Grant said into the mic. Short for Agyo, a manifestation of Nio - a guardian of the Buddha, which wielded the thunderbolt staff. All of it a reference to irresistible force - or Raijin's greatest technique.

Raijin rose a hand up, and Thunder would form on top of Francis - or so was the intention. The first would form beside Francis. With the air so full of electric energy, and the rain coming down, controlling the bolt was easy enough. Due to the double stacked sand attack, Raijin's aim was only barely off.

Still, it was unlikely that Francis would last long close to the energy alone, with the difference between Raijin's power and Francis' defense being so overwhelmingly large.

That, and Raijin could repeat the tactic several more times. Even if Francis dodged them all, it was unlikely that he'd come out of it anything but fainted.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

The very first shot missing just barely was pure luck that Francis was still standing, and desperation was once again the name of the game. but then, the electrical energy was in the air, rather, the air that had heated was filled with it. He wasn't sure if that made it a magnetic field, or just an electrified field. Either way, it was clear Francis wouldn't win so easily.

"Push!" He shouted, and the Pidgeotto would open its beak. A moment later, the hot air would shift, and the bit that surrounded him would move, as if as one breath inhaling, and then push outward, most focused in a blast of wind towards Raijin. Heat wave was, traditionally, a "breath of hot air" aimed at one's opponent, but for Francis, who flew, and could manipulate the air with his wings, it was less a breath.

Of course, that wasn't to say for sure that it would stop the electrical field's second shot from hitting him, Francis wasn't going to be able to dodge the second one, and couldn't rely on luck like with the first. His all was in this attack.  

[Spinne Biss]

Cyllage City Gym - The Climb

Raijin didn't dodge the attack, and Grant didn't ask him to. The overwhelming difference between them, even with Raijin's fatigue, would let the Raichu stand through the Heat Wave. His own second shot would consume Francis, and the Thunder would drop down, possibly carrying Francis with it, all the way to the side of a lower cliff.

"Impressive," Grant called out to Benedict, grinning all the while. "But that means I'm next." He recalled Raijin, tapped off the earpiece and started his way up, leaving Benedict to retrieve his fallen Pokemon and reflect on the match alone.