[TOURNEY] BLACK VS NAVITAS

[lou]

ROUND 1
BLACK VS. NAVITAS
BATTLE COMMENCE

[black]

The stage molded into whatever you imagined, visions of dreams, nothing new, but definitely something different. His last time being on a stage this big was during his time as one of the famous Pokemon trainer's in Unova. This was different, he was battling in a tourney-style competition compared to his usual one on one winner takes all. Maybe this battle would turn out differently than last time he faced this opponent. That time had been a fluke, somehow his Pokemon were wiped out and Navitas had gotten away. Not this time. It was his turn for dominance.

The crowd was going wild as he waited behind the scenes, ready to take his place and get this show on the road. Everything came down to this, he wasn't going to let his people down, nor would he go fall to the shame of losing. This was his fight to win and he most definitely would. In his mind, many strategies were zooming, making it hard to focus. The only plan that stuck was, to win. One thing he was missing was choosing which Pokemon to use. Two at a time. Three sets, now to figure out who would counter-balance the best.

The announcer began by giving the stipulations of the battle, rules, and then finally, his name was said over the loud speaker. "Here all the way from Unova, JENSEN BLACK GAMLYN!"

Black steadied himself as he walked onto the battlefield with pride, this fight was for Unova, prove that they were just as strong as all of the other regions. He gave the crowd a wave as he came out of the tunnel, smiling to the fans that chanted his name for all of the world to hear. This was when he needed to decide what Pokemon to use. They had to be from Unova because he needed to give a strong representation for his home district. Black had brought six Pokemon native to Unova, Emboar, Swanna, Haxorus, Carracosta, Galvantula, and Reuniclus. Now to figure out which ones would work good together.

Rally the Emboar would definitely need a grass counterpart, which he did not currently have on him, so he'd store him for later. Swyx the Swanna could work well with Laralei the Haxorus or Tula the Galvantula, so those were definitely options. Hydran the Carracosta relied on water too much for this battle. So that took him down to four, but he didn't want to use his dragon-type as he would need an ice type to defend Laralei. Now there was three. Swyx, Tula, and Gesini. Based on their attacks, Black decided the best choice would be Swyx and Tula, Gesini could wait until later in the battle.

There was a brief pause as he got to his designated spot on the battle-field. It had been so long since he fought in an a sanctioned battle where you couldn't move from your spot, weren't allowed to have out as many Pokemon as you want, or use actual weapons. Then, his opponent came onto the playing field, now was when things got real because it was indeed the bozo who had beaten him at Jubilife. That would not happen again as that guy used to many cheeky tricks that he'd be disqualified the moment his Pokemon set foot on the field.

[navitas]

The build up to a big important event is always worse than actually taking part in it. All of the worries that you had buried over the weeks suddenly pop up the night before, and you wonder if it will even be worth it. This sensation haunted Navitas as he sat in that small Mauville hotel room that he may or may not have paid for and wondered about the tournament tomorrow. When he first signed up all those weeks ago, he couldn’t be happier. It was supposed to be like living out a childhood fantasy, he was competing in the big leagues. Navitas remembered those quiet Friday nights as a child when the owner of a corner café would let he and his homeless pals sit around and watch those big Pokemon League tournaments. Navitas would always think to himself that someday he would be one of those master trainers fighting it out for glory.

As I said though, the worries one has before a big event will most likely bubble up the night before and unfortunately Navitas was no exception. He couldn’t help but feel unprepared, he barely spiffed up his pokemon and he couldn’t even decide what to wear. Why did he have to raid that costume store last October? He knew very well that he was horrible at choices. Speaking of choices, he hadn’t even decided which of his pokepals to bring. Sniffles the Salamence was a must of course, he was his best pal after all, but the other five spots were big ol’ question marks. He had to have so many things in mind, the types of his opponents, all possible strategies, correctly placed STAB moves (Super Thrilling Almighty Bopper moves), and don’t even get him started on EV training (training in which he throws water balloons full of EV™ brand mineral water at his pokemon to practice dodging, kind of sucks the fun out of the experience since EV™ is so damn expensive these days.).

It wasn’t just about the pokemon and the costumes though; the entire experience had Navitas spooked. What if he failed in the first round? He would be humiliated, he could never show his face in Mauville again…which wasn’t really a big deal since this is the first and possibly last time he shall ever visit Mauville but still. What if his pokemon lose respect for him and starting sleeping during battles? What if they already have no respect for him and sleep through the tourney? What if his opponent smuggled in some sort of god pokemon that he got off the black market? Oh the pressure was dreadful. He shouldn’t have been nervous; he had been in more nerve raking situations. For the love of Pete the guy made it to the final round of that Pokeathalon thing and even survived the destruction of an entire city. He’s pulled off over a thousand heists and even spied on pirates, there is no logical reason for him to be a shivering mess. He was though, and as the hours ticked away his nerves only got worse. Finally Navitas decided that there was nothing he could do, nor would any of it matter if he were a tired mess during the big match. Navitas settled into his bed and did his best to keep humiliating tournament related nightmares at bay.

The night fled far too quickly, and before he knew it Navitas was pacing in a waiting room to uh…you know wait. His battle was moments away, and he still was having trouble memorizing the rules. They were different from the tourney rules of old, but he prided himself in his ability to adapt so he wasn’t too worried about them. One could not yet see his chosen attire as he was draped in a large black cape, though you could surely see that his clown make-up was as shiny as ever. He had finally chosen his team for this event, Sniffles the Salamence(of course), Ronald the Hydreigon, Bruno the Steelix, Snuggles the Druddigon, Lady the Milotic, and Anteros the Arbok. Bold choices, but hopefully they will pay off.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the announcer finally declared for Navitas to enter. Since he was entering after his much more popular and well-known opponent, most of the audience hissed and booed rather than applauded. Of course most of the hisses faded when Navitas stepped onto his appointed spot and flung his cape open, revealing his magnificent costume...mostly because they were confused. He wore the exact attire of the famous champion Lance, only his weird unusually tight jumpsuit was encrusted with a countless amount of colorful gems that shined in the spot lights that highlighted him. Whether the gems were real or not is debatable, but damn did he look fine. Navitas briefly flapped his cape majestically to show off his dazzling jumpsuit before throwing out two pokeballs in an overdramatic wave of his hands. The pokemon that emerged were Snuggles and Ronald, each wearing a leather jacket with the words “Team Navitas” bedazzled on their backs. The two made a few cliché greaser poses before moving forward to their positions. Navitas folded his arms and looked to his opponent, it was the same chump who tried to kill him in Jubelife over a false assumption. He couldn’t wait to make him look silly in front of all of his fans. With a calm scowl, Navitas waited for the battle to begin.

[el]

VICTOR: NAVITAS

congrats!