[TOURNEY] MICHAEL VS WES

[lou]

ROUND 1
MICHAEL VS. WES
BATTLE COMMENCE

[ryuuto]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:400px,bTable] tick tock. blitz has a hard time moving on three legs. but michael picks her up anyway and kisses her face and says, "we're going to win out there, aren't we?" and she puts her front paw on his face and gives a happy "jaaa!" and the boy hugs his jolteon tight. tick tock. the time's counting down to their appearance. uncle jakira can't be here, so he's sent a stone-faced woman in his stead. michael decides he hates the look in her eyes; it's condescending. uncle jakira is much nicer than anyone else in cipher. uncle jakira even tried to save his mother's life, but the rioters got there first, burning the HQ lab to the ground. tick tock. each second winds up his nerves. blitz is squirming in his arms, demanding to be let down, because she wants to be out there first. it's been too long since she's seen battle, and it's something she's always enjoyed. the stone-faced woman says, "are you sure you want to use that jolteon?" "what do you mean?" "it seems dangerous for her." michael puffs out his cheeks. "i can't win without blitz." tick tock tick tock. the first battle ends. michael's out second. blitz is eager to get out there, but colosseum rules state that she can't be the first to walk out or he has to use her first. "sorry, blitz," he says as he returns her, much to her distaste. "you'll get your turn." tick tock. he takes the field. the same smile plastered on his face since uncle jakira took him in is wide and bright. he's supposed to be the perfect nephew for uncle jakira, and if he's a good boy, uncle jakira will fix blitz's leg. uncle jakira will even have lovrina punished-- and that's all michael wants. tick tock-- michael is-- tick tock-- things are good-- tick tock boom. is your heart still beating? the announcer opens his mouth and then it comes rattling home as the cipher in the crowd jeer. a flash of blue before his eyes-- a silver-haired man with a pair of shiny goggles and suddenly michael isn't smiling like he used to. pride throws down two pokeballs. lucario and linoone. "i look forward to cutting you down," pride hisses. "belly drum. heal pulse. then both, extremespeed." his commands are curt, given without hesitation. pride's grin grows and he could sink his teeth into wes's throat. he could draw blood on the colosseum sands, just like back in good ol' orre. chooney lifts himself up onto his hind legs and beats his stomach raw, dancing a tune. the pain gives him strength, but it only lasts for a while; anu extends a paw and the glow of the heal pulse negates belly drum's adverse effects. with the glance of acknowledgment between the two, they take off, each almost too fast to be seen, as they launch towards the pokemon on the opposite side of the field. pride almost stops them. he wants to let them know to attack the trainer, but it's too late. they're headed for less-deadly marks, though chooney's likely to do some serious damage with the amount of strength behind the linoone's claws. i've given everything i can there are no heroes left in man

[provaud3]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,3,true][atrb=style, width:390; ,bTable][atrb=Valign, bottom] [/style]

[atrb=Valign, bottom][style=background-color:cfcfcf; width:20; height:20;]

[/div][/td][td][atrb=Valign, bottom]

[/style]

[/td][td][atrb=Valign, bottom][style=background-color:cfcfcf; width:60; height:60;][/div][/td][td][atrb=Valign, bottom]

[/style]

[/td][td][atrb=Valign, bottom][style=background-color:cfcfcf; width:130; height:130; text-transform: lowercase; letter-spacing:2; font-family:georgia; overflow:auto; padding:15; color:000000; font-size:10; line-height: 10px; font-style:italic; text-align:right;]+Typhlosion uses Eruption and Smokescreen

+Togekiss uses Wish and Dodge

+Typhlosion is hit

+A swift is ordered but not used just yet

+Please don't kill anything loulou[/div][/td][/tr][/table]

Wes had never been comfortable with being Orre’s hero, either the title or the way the knowledge changed how people acted around him. It was easy to pass it off as “Well wouldn’t everyone do that if they could,” because usually that let the subject pass, but really he had just been in all the right (or wrong) places at the right (or wrong) times. And, everyone already knows this story. Add a girl, and the rest is pretty much history.

'Couldn't really say this was much better, though. The crowd jeered and all kinds of junk was being thrown, but that wasn’t his focus right now. He couldn’t afford to focus on anything other than this battle, not really. He needed to rise through the ranks of this competition.

It would have been easier to just blow this shithole up – and really, what should they expect to happen what with so many damn Cipher being there? But there’d be no good in that. As many Cipher as there were, there were more innocents somehow lining the stands, despite a nation that was apparently starving. Because apparently that was something Nox here was just fine with doing, but … No, no time to focus on that right now. Even jeering and caught up in the hype, they didn’t deserve to be blown into pieces.

At least Rui wasn’t here.

Fuck, it was almost like no one understood that Cipher was responsible for shadow pokemon. As if these people had never actually witnessed shadow pokemon, seen what they were like, or even understood what it meant when a pokemon’s heart was closed-

Oh. Wait.

Except this kid standing opposite Wes did know.

Maybe he shouldn’t call Michael a kid anymore.

Wes was planning on being careful, because he had to work as close as he could get to Nascour without everything breaking out into a bloodbath. Rising through the ranks here could work just fine for that, sure. Except-

“Good luck, mate.” Wes had never been sure what exactly he’d done against the kid – maybe because he hadn’t been there the second time Cipher came back, and that Wes could get. But this … was different, somehow. Wes could sense the hostility, could feel that it wasn’t just for show, but faltering wouldn’t do anyone any good. The red head’s two pokéballs were flung to the ground and it was like the old days, really. Pyre and Oge came forward, and the kid was already giving orders.

Battles weren’t always easy things where someone politely waited turns and traded shots. Attacks happened in seconds, and this was no sport for a child who stumbled over their syllables or gave their pokemon impossibly long names. Wes knew better than to hesitate.

“Eruption. Up and Wish Pyre.” Better to at least try to stop this before he could, but he didn’t want to overdo it.

Goggles came down and the Typhlosion and Togekiss did as told. They knew him, trusted him, and without him they’d be a little more lost in the tactics of battle, relying more on instinct. Or at least, as they believed. Right now, tactics were rushed and he was on the defense, because there was no time. That was probably the point, Wes thought as flame surged forward across the field with a roar, mixed for some ways with a black smoke, fire attempting to devour everything in front of the Typhlosion. Meanwhile the Togekiss shot up a ways, large body already flashing once with a bright light.

The enemy was already moving, though. Wes heard a clash and knew the Typhlosion had been hit by his cry, but he couldn’t see against the contrast of the smog and brightness of even fading flame. The kid was good. Hopefully Pyre was hanging in there. At least the Togekiss had just barely dodged- something. He couldn’t tell and wasn’t keen on waiting around for seconds. That meant there wasn't time to wait for the smoke to clear. "Pyre, if you can get in a swift." It would take time for the Typhlosion to move again but it'd be the sign of life Wes needed.

The way Michael was acting, it was almost like he was on their side-

Shit.

Wes hoped not. He’d gotten the feeling that the guy had been a good kid, once.

His hand reached for his pokeball, just in case he’d need to switch out.

coded by electric

[/center]

[el]

VICTOR: WES

congrats!