| William Rendfeld 2005-10-30, 7:34 pm |
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The crowds gave out a cheer as the Second Round of the Quarter Finals
for the Fortree Doubles Tournament prepared to begin. In the Red Corner
of the Arena, Bob Raiser, disguised as 'Django', took up his
position on the ground.
"With that rather unsurprising outcome of the First Round of the
Quarter Finals, the fans are revved up once again," Jack Fadden
announced. "The Red trainer, Django, has already taken his place on
the field. After his stellar performance in the Opening Round, we
can't expect a spectacular battle against his opponent, Alexandria
Masters."
"Both opponents have already displayed a high command of Pok=E9mon
battling strategy and have proven themselves capable trainers,"
Winona of the Fortree Gym was quick to note. "Whoever wins this
battle, we're promised one spectacular match."
"And the Green Trainer is stepping onto the field now!" Fadden
called as Alex stepped onto the field.
Aware of the cheering crowds and her opponent and friend, Alex briefly
allowed her mind to wander to other topics in this tournament...
~Flashback!~
"So we're battling Bob?" ShadowWarrior asked.
"Yep," Alex explained. "Not gonna be easy."
"That's not what we're here for," ShadowWarrior reminded her.
"<I'm somewhat more concerned about this Aeolus person,>" Surtur
noted. "<Sadism is hardly something you see every day, especially in
Pok=E9mon.>"
"And with that whole willies-inducing aura around them, I'm
thinking this wasn't natural," Alex replied. "And did anyone see
that battle with Smasher?"
"Something's up, we can agree on that," ShadowWarrior replied.
"But what can we do about it?"
"I don't know," Alex replied. "But for now, we need to worry
about Bob. He's been around us long enough to expect my tricks."
"<Which means we can't use any of the old ones,>" Surtur
reasoned, "<at least, not in the same manner as before.>"
"That," Alex replied, "and we pick up a few new ones."
~End Flashback!~
As Alex and Bob's platforms rose into the air, the referee, a tall
man with spikey hair and most of his face except for one eye and his
nose covered, walked forward and declared, "This battle will be a
two-on-two doubles match. No substitutions are allowed, and the trainer
whose Pok=E9mon both lose consciousness first is defeated." He raised
his flags high, and declared, "Trainers go!"
"Ninetales, Dragonair!" 'Django' declared, tossing two Pok=E9
Balls into the arena.
"Surtur, ShadowWarrior, rock and roll!" Alex called out, doing
likewise.
Ninetales' titular features gently swayed in the air, while Dragonair
serenely floated beside its ally. Surtur braced himself while
ShadowWarrior carefully took stock of his opponents.
"Surtur, Bulk Up!" Alex called. "ShadowWarrior, Fly!"
"Confusion Wave Combo!" 'Django' ordered.
ShadowWarrior swiftly ascended while Surtur braced himself, his muscles
bulging ever so slightly. Ninetales fired off a Confuse Ray from his
eyes while Dragonair sent out a wave of electricity from its tail. Both
hit Surtur; the Thunder Wave swiftly impaired his movements, while the
Confuse Ray rattled his vision.
"Should've expected that," Alex noted. "Surtur, keep Bulking
Up! ShadowWarrior, attack Ninetales!"
"Agility, Safeguard, go!" 'Django' swiftly called.
Swirling masses of ethereal light formed around Ninetales' body as
Dragonair began to dart about in mid-air. ShadowWarrior, trained to be
watchful of such things, corrected his course and made impact, hitting
hard against his target but not doing much damage.
Surtur, meanwhile, slowly moved to boost his stats, only to trip over
his own feet.
"Alex's performance seems to be down from her previous match,"
Fadden quickly noted. "Her heavy-hitting Blaziken appears to terribly
confused. It's a good thing it's not attacking its partner."
Fighting back a groan, Alex quickly ordered, "Surtur, Bulk Up.
ShadowWarrior, Pursuit attack against Ninetales!"
"Ninetales, Flamethrower!" Bob called. "Dragonair, Dragon
Rage!"
A dark energy forming around his body, ShadowWarrior swooped in towards
Ninetales. Ninetales replied in turn with a blast of flame from his
mouth. The attack grazed ShadowWarrior's back, singeing his feathers,
but not doing serious damage. ShadowWarrior's attack hit home,
grazing Ninetales in the neck.
A blue ball of flame built up upon the tip of Dragonair's horn, and a
thin beam of flame soon lanced out, impacting Surtur directly in the
face. He closed his eyes by instinct, and the flame washed over his
face like a blast from a water hose. The beam faded, and Surtur shook
his head to regain his bearings. His gaze fell on the serpentine form
of Dragonair, and his eyes narrowed. He braced himself once more, and
his muscles tightened yet again.
With a light smile, Alex swiftly said, "Surtur, Rock Smash attack!
ShadowWarrior, keep him covered!"
"Flamethrower and Agility, go!" Bob called.
Ninetales took aim on the low-flying ShadowWarrior and lanced off a
massive Flamethrower burst. ShadowWarrior barely noticed, but was
unable to dodge. The swift-moving flame approached, and ShadowWarrior
couldn't move.
So someone else did.
With lightning-fast movements, Surtur swiftly stepped in and took the
full force of the attack, the flame colliding with his body and
wrapping around it at the same time, leaving ShadowWarrior unharmed.
The flames quickly subsided, and both Pok=E9mon stood relatively
unscathed.
"<Not confused anymore,>" Surtur noted.
"Now guys!" Alex declared.
With those words, Surtur leapt into the air, spun, then came down with
one leg fully extended, his aim directed solely at Ninetales. At the
same time, a massive black ball of energy formed in ShadowWarrior's
open beak before he fired it off. Ninetales dodged the Shadow Ball...
..=2E.But found himself in perfect striking position for the Rock Smash
attack. Ninetales took the attack square in the back, and rolled to the
ground. He briefly struggled to rise, then collapsed to the ground,
unconscious.
"A decoy Shadow Ball," Bob noted. "Not bad. I gotta remember
that."
"Good job, guys," Alex quickly applauded her team. "Now, let's
finish this!"
"Okay then," 'Django' said, a grin on his face. "Dragonair,
Twister!"
"Surtur, Blaze Kick!" Alex declared. "ShadowWarrior, Pursuit!"
A swirl of wind began to form around Dragonair's body, growing and
picking up dust as it enveloped the Dragon-types two opponents.
ShadowWarrior found himself knocked around in the twister, trying madly
to keep some control over his momentum. Surtur, meanwhile, carefully
guided himself in the winds towards the eye of the storm, flames
erupting both from his wrists and his feet. He positioned himself to
follow the spin, burning up the twister's oxygen and heating what
little sand came up. Small bits of grit flecked out of the storm as it
began to subside. ShadowWarrior found himself landing hard on his back
and rolling onto the ground, unable to continue.
The storm subsided, and Surtur emerged, battered but not beaten, his
four limbs still alight with flame. He landed hard, one leg extended
like a Russian sailor's, and lanced out a burst of flame against
Dragonair. The blow hit, and Dragonair was thrown back. A second burst
of flame from Surtur's left hand sealed the attack.
Dragonair slowly descended to the ground, its eyes aswirl, then
collapsed to the ground at last.
The obscured ref raised his green flag and declared, "Ninetales and
Dragonair are unable to battle. The Green trainer is the winner!"
"And Alex Masters once more scores an incredible victory!" Fadden
called out as the platforms descended to the ground and the crowds
cheered out in applause. "Subterfuge and tandem strikes are quickly
becoming her trademarks, and she moves on to take part in the
Semi-Final Round!"
Alex carefully scooped up ShadowWarrior as Surtur slowly walked over to
them and said, "<You know, we might just win this tournament.>"
"Don't get too overconfident," Alex replied. "Still two rounds
to go."
As Bob retrieved his Pok=E9mon with a light, appreciative smile, Winona
noted, "Between her first match and this one, it's clear that the
Semi-Finals have become very promising indeed."
Alex silently walked out of the arena, Surtur slowly following her,
with the crowd cheering. Bob quickly rushed up to her and said, "Hey,
Alex, hold up!" They met, and Bob noted, "Not bad there."
"Not bad?" Alex replied. "You had us on the ropes, Bob. If Surtur
hadn't have improvised when he did, we'd have lost."
"Still, you deserve some serious credit," Bob noted. He extended a
hand and said, "Good luck with the next round."
"Thanks," Alex replied. She took the hand and said, "I'm gonna
need it." The congratulations ended, and Alex said, "Now you'd
better drop the disguise and get going. Jeff's gonna need his big
bro's support."
"Yeah, no kidding," Bob noted, worry clear in his voice. "Catch
you tonight?"
"You got it," Alex replied as the two broke off, Alex heading to
the Pok=E9mon Center and Bob to where he could quickly change. The next
battle promised to be very promising...
TBC!
[NS: I have a bad feeling I know who's going to be facing Alex in the
Semi-Finals. This does not bode well...]
[ANS: I realize this isn't quite as dramatic as Bob getting his chance,
but now there's more potential to set up a certain someone, yes?]
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