Alyssa VS Justin ;; Hoenn

[KANE]

The Battle of Lilycove City
Round 1

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The waves lapped at the shore of Lilycove City and Alyssa stood facing the water. The massive Contest Hall was in the far distance behind her, while the large Department Store stood in the distance. Nox soldiers were the only people you could see outside in the glorious City of Hoenn, as the residents remained in their houses. Word of an attack had reached her a comparatively short time ago, and she had taken immediate action – rounding up her soldiers she flew to Lilycove immediately, intent on protecting it’s precious residents from the harmful claws of Lux that seemed determined to cut into Hoenn even further and pull more territory from it.

I will not stand for this. Alyssa thought angrily, a raging fire within her mind burning with the thought of Lilycove slipping through her grasp as Sootopolis had. Hoenn is Nox’s territory. We will win today’s fight, and I will see to it personally! The white-haired Leader of Hoenn would not waste breath nor blood defending this territory. This was Hoenn – this was her home. This was the Region she’d taken on the responsibility of defending. This was her region now. Although she was no Champion, and had never taken the challenge to become such, she now held the same responsibilities that Wallace once had. In this time of war, Wallace had been upset from his position, but Alyssa still viewed her friend as the rightful Champion, not the son-of-a-bitch Lux had put in his place. Hoenn is Nox’s. The sounds of helicopter blades cutting through the air met her ears and she closed her eyes.

The tyrannical bastards of Lux have spilled Nox’s blood far too much for us to ignore any more than we may have been. We will not tolerate anything more than what they’ve done. I will fight with every fiber of my body to defend my home, and I will keep us strong. The members of Nox already had their orders – defend all they could, drive Lux back with their tails between their legs, kill Lux if they could. I will show no mercy in this fight. First they take Sootopolis, and now they think they can take Lilycove.

They were dead wrong.

Opening her eyes, a veil dropped over the personality Alyssa knew so well, separating it from her view and feeling. Any trace of happiness or hope she had vanished, and instead her mind became a plethora of darker thoughts and emotions – a cold, savage temperament that welled within her body. She would not hesitate to take down Lux in her path. Her narrowed eyes were cruel and calculating, sharp and defined like shards of glass shattering on pavement. I will end this battle.

Ripping two pokeballs off of her belt, she threw the ruby-colored Cherish Ball into the air, the black, white, and red Timer Ball alongside it. Two of her Dragons were called forth, their red silhouettes lighting up as the energy streamed from the pokeballs in which they were contained. Salamence and Flygon hung in the air before her, the two glancing at each other before at her. ”We are fighting another war.” she told them, her voice emotionless as she looked to the approaching helicopters behind her pokemon. ”We’re going to be doing a lot of flying and fighting on the wing – just like Village Bridge.” They both remembered that battle clearly. ”Follow my commands…” she paused, choosing which Dragon would be her mount…at least to start. ”…Flygon, come?” the Mystic pokemon came down to her, lowering his body so she could sit upon his shoulders as she normally did.

Raising his head, Alyssa placed her arms on his neck, and Flygon’s claws closed protectively over her legs – preventing her from falling off if he needed to perform any emergency maneuvers. She looked into his red-lensed eyes and saw nothing but a determined fire blazing there. Glancing at Salamence, she already knew he would be the same.

”Let’s fly!”

The pair of dragons streaked into the air, practically straight up to start – in order to get above the helicopters and their deadly blades. Once they were a safe distance above, in the low-hanging cloud cover that was producing flurries of snow, Alyssa spoke again. ”We’re going to make this a bit exciting. Be careful, both of you…there’s likely going to be some explosions.” she narrowed her eyes as she thought her plan through.

It would work until they had company in this battle.

Below them were two helicopters. The others had split off for a different angle to assault where the land ended and the sea began. The Lux banners flew behind the helicopters, as did two Lux soldiers flying solo on bird pokemon. ”Salamence.” she said, glancing at the dragon before nodding towards the two Lux soldiers behind the helicopters. Almost too eagerly, the pokemon dived; jaws open as he raced towards the soldiers.

Alyssa closed her eyes and shut out any sounds that she would possibly be able to hear.

A vicious and savage pokemon by nature, Salamence wasted no time in living up to the instincts of the dragon within his heart. His teeth tore at the neck of the first Lux soldiers, drawing blood as the serrated edges dragged through the man’s skin, and the second soldier was removed from his seat atop his bird pokemon as Salamence’s broad shoulder rammed into him. They fell to the icy water below, dying upon impact with the cold liquid.

Alarmed, the bird pokemon squawked in complaint and fear before rushing towards Salamence, preparing to use some of their close-range moves to get back at the dragon. Whipping around, Salamence’s heavy tail slammed across their backs, sending them plummeting to the sea alongside their trainers with broken bones.

Alyssa opened her eyes and sense of hearing when she felt Flygon tug on her leg. Salamence was beside her again, his eyes flashing eagerly for her next command. ”Alright. Good job.” A part of her wanted to be sick with the knowledge of what Salamence had just done, and that she had further ordered it. However, the cold personality that took place of what she was normally like allowed nothing of the sort. ”Now, Salamence, follow closely behind Flygon and I. When the bellies of the helicopters are open, use Flamethrower. Got it?” the pokemon’s head bobbed slightly and Alyssa leaned forward, wrapping her arms tightly (though not too much so) around Flygon’s neck.

”Flygon…” with a final adjustment of her hat over her ears, she gripped her arms in her own fingers and crossed one ankle over the other, seeing as Flygon would only be able to use one hand in a moment. ”…Dragon Claw.” With a nod, the green dragon dived, zipping beneath the first helicopter. A fluid execution of a barrel roll with glowing claws sliced open the thin bottom slabs of metal, and a mirrored action beneath the second helicopter tore open that metal as well. As soon as his job was done, Flygon clasped a clawed hand atop Alyssa’s leg once more and raced away for the sore, as fast as his humming wings could carry him.

Behind her, Salamence did his job easily, a short burst of flame sent straight towards the engines in the belly of the copter before he, too, raced away, following Flygon and quickly catching up.

A muted explosion sounded, and Alyssa glanced back. That had been far quieter than she expected. The first helicopter’s belly had exploded, sending it spinning towards the water before colliding with the arc of a wave, sending water upwards as the liquid engulfed the burning machine. The second, on the other hand, flew unsteadily to the side, having veered off sharply. It vanished behind the rock formations that marked Lilycove City’s sea borders. Beyond there, Alyssa had no concerns.

Looking back forward, they landed almost instantly. ”We’re not doing that again…” she told her pokemon, feeling a part of her usual personality rising back up again. ”…I promise. Not in this battle.” she swallowed shakily and remained clutching Flygon. ”….it was necessary to defend Lilycove.”

She repeated that to herself silently.

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[KANE]

Feb 26, 2012 21:38:58 GMT -5 @justin said:

They'd been planning this attack for quite some time now, if he had the right understanding. It was difficult for Justin to get the purpose of the war in the first place, Lux and Nox's ideals and the real reason in which they actually fought. It was very difficult for him to fathom the 'true freedom' that Nox sought out for, and it was equally as impossible for him to think about the 'ultimate justice' that Lux preached to its members. This war, as they had claimed, was for the good of all people. From the things that he had seen about what Nox sought after, it was the same thing. Everywhere he went that meant anything it was always the same words, spoken over and over again. We need to fight, or sometimes even we don't want to fight this war. He laughed, a throaty laugh with two hardened specks of his green pupils. Everybody knew that it was lies. Nobody ever needed to fight, and the ones that said anything about not wanting to fight the war were just finding excuses, trying to seem like they were righteous when they'd been corrupted the moment they stepped into the battlefield.

What a joke.

So why was he on this helicopter, thousands of feet above land, ready to duke it out with some Nox member because Lux had told him to? Why was a green and black sphere in his hand, ready for his index finger to press the dark green button in the middle and release his chosen pokemon? It was a very good question, but, as always, Justin had an answer to such. His reason didn't involve anything fancy, like wanting to be famous, get his name out or anything like that, nor did it involve anything that had anything do to with loyalty, like wanting to serve Lux to the best of his ability. It didn't involve anything that had anything to do with wanting to experience some action on the battlefield for himself, nor did it involve anything about wanting to prepare his pokemon for what was yet to come in the war. Everything that was listed above, Justin already knew about. Idly twiddling his thumbs wasn't something that he was fond of doing, and in the free time that he was allowed the teenager did all sorts of things that most people didn't ever need to know about. No, the reason was something very simple: he wanted to see something.

He wanted to see exactly what sort of people Nox were. Justin wanted to see exactly why they stuck by their beliefs for so long, instead of just caving and letting Lux do what they wanted as long as they could be allowed to do whatever it was that they wanted to do with their lives. The teenager wanted to see exactly what it was that they would do to defend their territory from invasions, what strings the 'higher ups' would pull in order to insure that victory was theirs and that Lux didn't get their way. He wanted to see the chaos that ensued as a result. Justin clutched the railing of the helicopter as he put one foot on the very edge of the hollowed out doorway, ignoring a shout from the pilot behind for him to stay put and in his seat as he leaned over and down below to where the real action was, out there waiting for him. The light of explosions and sounds of pokemon snapping at each other with killing intent sounded, every inch of it provoking a sparkling edge of excitement in his green gaze that only seemed to intensify the more he looked. Just imagine what he could do inside of the ranks, in one faction but actually pledging some form of loyalty to the other?

It was a thought, but a thought for another time. There was a grumble from the pilot - another Lux member, of course - that they were nearing the target, the high-up treetops of Liliycove already beginning to appear in the horizon. Briefly, Justin thought about releasing his pokemon, but thought better of it. Just because they were closing in on the place didn't make it any reason to panic: just because they were nearing a battlefield didn't mean that he had to necessarily draw out his weapon. Look, listen: think about what strings he needed to pull to get everything to his advantage. "I heard ya!" The teenager shouted as the warning from the pilot sounded again, straining his voice over the chopping of the blades above and the shaky turbulence that came with the man turning around every five seconds to yell another warning about him not falling over or how it was a good idea to take out a partner or something like that. Geez, who was he, his father? With a roll of his eyes and a small grin plastered to his features Justin turned his attention back to the scene below, not quite certain what it was that he had to do in order to ensure a victory but positive that he was to find out soon enough, when another Nox member came to stop him. But who would it be? And more importantly, would it be a lovely lady? The teenager felt a brief spurt of excitement explode within him, then fade. Well, it would certainly make the scene bearable, even if it was a battle in which one of his precious ghost types would have to take play in.

Another shout from the pilot sounded, but this time, Justin took the time to listen because it was something that he had almost forgotten in his excitement - something very important that was by his side and untouched. His left hand snaked out to creep towards the object, fingers wrapping around the handle of the sophisticated canon that had a red-tipped object wedged into the opening, something that he as well as every member that went out had the pleasure to receive. Of course, things weren't going to be simple on helicopter, seeing that they were weak and fragile methods of transportation, liable to get shot down at any time by a pokemon's attack. It was the precise reason that all of them had access to a missile launcher by their sides, in case the opposition tried to finish the battle quickly with a hyper beam to the interior. Alas, everything had their downsides, and this was no different - the ammunition was only limited to one shot. He had to choose wisely. Justin shrugged his shoulders slightly, apathetically. No matter. One was enough.

He still hadn't released his pokemon. The man that was piloting was getting impatient at the teenager, tapping his feet on the ground as the hex maniac again made the signal to wait as he looked around, scouring the battlefield for an opponent. The opposition had to be, had to be a lady, and she had to look stunning, otherwise he was going to move on and try another area. Everywhere the screams of Lux and Nox soldiers alike were resounding: some of joy and others of bitter defeat, sometimes those of death. There were two helicopters floating next to him and Justin made a gesture for them to get their own spaces, but fell on blind eyes. Selfish Bastards. The trainer thought this but did not speak.

There was a whistling sound to his right and the teenager looked to his side, just in time to see a green streak fly under one of the helicopters, tearing it to shreds as the entire thing exploded in a flurry of red and orange hues. The second was no better, and he watched as a burst of flame came from somewhere behind, finishing the job and leaving nothing but a streaking mess of smithereens where the two flying contraptions had just been. It was hard to tell who and what had done that through the debris that was raining down, as well as the steep tilt that the pilot had done in order to avoid them following suit, almost causing the teenager to lose his balance and crash backwards, half of him glad that it hadn't been him that was the victim of those attacks. The other half, of course, was curious as to what sort of pokemon had done such a thing, and who their trainer was. "Take us in for a closer look, would you?" He asked the pilot, who gave a nod and leaned the helicopter to the right, allowing the hex maniac to peek out and catch a glimpse of a flygon and salamence side by side: two powerful beasts that could, perhaps equal up to his own ghost types in power, but not in brilliance. Never in brilliance. But that wasn't the best part, oh no.

His eyes opened wide at the person clinging to the pokemon's back: inwardly, Justin let out a chuckle of pleasure at the stroke of fate that had brought him to this intriguing woman. Never before had he seen a lady with white hair before, never before had he seen a lady with such powerful pokemon but that wasn't going to stop him from doing whatever it was to get to know her a bit - a name would suffice for today. Just because her hair reflected that of an old lady didn't say anything for the face, and he knew a stunning sight when he saw it - this young lady was beautiful, a real doll. Justin smiled as he grasped the dusk ball in his hand, finally, finally pressing the black button in the center(ignoring the grumble of relief from the pilot). It was finally time.

"Darling, if you please." He whispered this to the interior of the sphere as the harsh light spilled out, the black exploding into various light crystals as the plain brown object, triangular and bland appeared in its wake. The entire thing levitated for a split second before it exploded, the greens and purples bursting out to reveal the thousand and one spirits that Justin thought were simply grand for his pokemon. "Sucker punch" He commanded, winking a bit at the perfect dual-type as his pokemon charged off, stoic and unmoved by his show of affection because it lacked a gender to orient itself to.

The girl and her pokemon currently had their backs facing the helicopter: a good start for him and his pokemon. The trainer watched, his eyes blinking once or twice as his fingers played idly on the handle of the missile launcher, never once pressing the small black button that was the trigger in fear of blowing himself to high heaven. He watched, as his spiritomb came up from behind and headbutted the trio from behind, aiming for the one that had no one on its back in fear of hurting such a doll before the introductions had even begun. Even Spiritomb's attack wasn't meant for much damage, only to get her attention, nothing more as the trainer directed the pilot to draw even closer, his eyebrows waving up and down as he cleared his throat and shouted, only to make himself heard.

"So what's a darling like you doing on the battlefield?" The teen asked, hoping that she had at least turned around by this point in time so that he wasn't talking at a back. "I wouldn't think that battles like this suit you, sweetheart." First and foremost, he was going to get her name, and perhaps a phone number while he was at it. Then the real fun could begin.

[KANE]

The sound the helicopter had made when it had hit the water rang in Alyssa ears. The sound of a muted explosion was something she had never heard before. She had never dreamed of hearing it before, either, and even less so thought that she would be the one to cause it when she finally heard one. The effect of a Dragon Claw from Flygon had been perfect upon the metal underbelly of the helicopters, and the precision with which Salamence had used Flamethrower upon the exposed engines was flawless. Superheating the unstable chemicals within the helicopter and further setting the uncountable flammable liquids had a perfectly desired effect – an explosion. The fall of a helicopter into the water, and the death of Lux members that were assaulting her Region. She would defend in this battle at all costs, and she would not hesitate to use extreme measures like she just had. If death was the price to pay to keep Lilycove safe so long as she remained standing, then she would pay it, and later suffer the burden of her unhesitant murder as a mental scar with dignity.

A small hum from the Flygon beneath her pulled Alyssa out of her ceaseless tide of thoughts. ”What is it, Flygon?’ she asked as the pokemon neared the Lilycove shores once more alongside Salamence. The dragon said nothing further but looked back at his trainer. The eyes beneath protective red lenses were narrowed with concern, and the look only deepened when he saw his trainers face. It was gaunt, and her eyes were half-closed in an emotionless mask. The pale lids covered her cerulean gaze and she appeared to stare at nothing. Her strikingly white hair billowed behind her as he dropped suddenly to land, facing the sea breeze head-first. The pokemon was concerned for the health of his trainer. She did not look the same as she used to, nor did she behave it. The price of war was more than she had forseen. Her heart and mind were pure, and her intentions to be a Leader in this time of war had forced them to darken as a necessity to do what she must to win. The Mystic pokemon knew the carefree, joyful trainer he grew to know and love was somewhere within the depths of the façade that he was staring at now.

”Thanks, Flygon…” she murmured to the dragon as soon as his rounded feet touched down upon the sandy shore, sinking in to the ground slightly given the dampness from the cold water that rushed over the fine granules of Lilycove’s beach. Looking up through the bangs that had been blown untidy beneath her beanie cap, Alyssa sat back, releasing her firm grip from around Flygon’s neck. Such a vice-like grip had been required in order to stay on the green Dragon’s narrow shoulders while he effortlessly performed the barrel-roll needed to help destroy the helicopters. ”And thank you, Salamence…” she said, turning to look at the dragon, who had his head cocked and eyes closed proudly as he hovered behind the trainer and her other dragon. ”…fighting like this is natural for you, isn’t it?” A small huff of breath from the Salamence called for a puff of fire from his mouth, his teeth tinged red with the blood of the Lux soldier he had yet to lick off. ”…an extremely vicious pokemon by nature…” she murmured to herself, looking at him. ”You’ve both done a good job.” she told them, and a larger puff of flames was exhaled from Salamence’s fanged jaws, showing the arrogance in his victory. ”…this would be impossible without you both. I love you.”

Flygon leaned his head back slightly to nuzzle Alyssa’s leg, while Salamence simply bobbed his head a bit. Without Drake’s help, she would never have tamed him fully. The white-haired trainer’s calm, expressionless mask flickered slightly with fear at the thought of what could have become of the pokemon (and herself) if she’d never managed to gain his acknowledgement of her as his trainer. Nothing good, she supposed. Not for a long while. Just to think that a comparatively short time ago he was merely a long-sought Bagon in Meteor Falls that she captured, then further a fearsome beast that evolved from a Shelgon. It was incredible how time flew, and now the dragon was a potent and most valuable asset to her team in this war.

Turning her head back around, her long white hair brushed against her back as she looked towards Lilycove City. The City was momentarily safe, and within the next few minutes she would make her way around the shore, taking out more helicopters as possible that her time and pokemon’s strength allowed. Salamence was rearing to go, and Flygon showed no objections. He and Swampert were able to rival Salamence in a readiness to flight, though Flygon was much more subdued about his intent than the other two when displaying eagerness to battle. If I sit through many more barrel rolls I’m going to be pulling more ‘Gs’ today than I initially intended… Alyssa thought a bit grimly. She’d practically grown weathered flying upon Flygon’s back, seeing as he’d become her main mode of transportation before she attained Salamence. Even still he was, with Salamence being restricted mostly for long-distance flights.

A surprised roar made Alyssa and Flygon jump. The green dragon pokemon automatically took wing, leaping off the ground to get his trainer out of the way of any potential danger. From the moment his wings started vibrating, though, things seemed to move in slow motion. Alyssa did not look behind her to see what had caused the blue dragon to roar, but she soon felt and saw for herself. Glancing downward a millisecond after Flygon’s rounded feet left the shore, the white-haired trainer saw the whispy, purple body of a pokemon. Green spots within it glowed; flickering like it was the life itself of the pokemon. A cold sense of dread filled her, and she felt as though her mind was automatically overrun by the shouting of spirits, yells and howls of tormented souls rushing through her body for her brain. This was a Spiritomb – the Forbidden Pokemon of Hoenn, nothing more than an urban legend…or so she had thought.

Alyssa had never witnessed one with her own eyes, and now she felt it as it slid through her body, the hard, Odd Keystone that made up the base of its body brushed against her ribs. The pokemon was trapped to the rock-like formation and it slid through her save for the solid matter it was bound to. It did the same for Flygon, and she could only imagine that it had done the same to Salamence.

As soon as the chilling sensation of the pokemon passing through her ended, she was fifteen feet above it before she could blink, Flygon’s blinding speed bringing her above the enemy pokemon faster than her mind could register. She only saw Salamence draw his head back before thrusting his neck forward, a wild torrent of red and orange flames billowing from his fanged jaws. The Flamethrower erupted in a large vortex of fire that raced for the Spiritomb, aiming to engulf it within the burning element, to scorch the Odd Keystone that counted as the only physical portion of its body.

The Flamethrower followed the Spiritomb’s initial assault so soon that Alyssa was amazed Flygon had gotten her out of the way. Thank Arceus for your reflexes. Pivoting almost perfectly in mid-air, Flygon spun around to allow Alyssa to see the owner of the Spiritomb – undoubtedly a Lux member that had dared to step up to face her. He was coasting in on a helicopter, one that had come from another direction. The chopping of the blades created gusts of wind that only made the flames from Salamence’s attack larger and more powerful while they billowed angrily from his jaws. Alyssa was forced to squint against the winds generated as her bangs flapped irritatingly against her face, in her eyes as well because she had yet to straighten them with her hat.

She was barely able to hear his words over the whirring of helicopter blades. He wasn’t attacking, what the hell was his intention? She strained her ears to hear him, and she couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow. Was he for real? She was incredibly close to having Flygon torch he, the pilot, and the helicopter then and there with a Flamethrower of his own, but instead she decided to humor the young man – who appeared to still be a teenager. ”Don’t let my appearance fool you.” she said, her voice unwavering with certainty as she narrowed her eyes slightly at him. ”I have my goals and they will not be interrupted by Lux. If you wish to continue this lovely…” her voice rang with sarcasm to cut through the sound of the whirring blades. ”…conversation, get out and send your helicopter away before I drown it and you along with it.”

She was not kidding, if he hesitated too long, she would turn Flygon upon the machine, or release Swampert and have him do his own job by any means necessary.

”What will you choose?!”

[KANE]

Mar 1, 2012 21:24:51 GMT -5 @justin said:

As soon as Spiritomb left his side Justin's eyes, in turn, left his pokemon, wandering over to the woman instead. Spiritomb already had its orders: inevitably, Justin's eyes were going to land on the dual type as soon as it got within range of the salamence. In the time span that it took it to do so, the teenager busied himself in studying the woman's back, green eyes sweeping over the way her silky, white hair draped over her shoulders all the way up to the tip of her head, where the black, victorian-style hat covered up any hair that was there. Her dress didn't exactly fit her stunningly pretty face, Justin mused: with her white hair and strange style of clothing it was like the other part of her simply evolved in beauty, leaving the rest behind in the dust, never to catch up. A small smile surface on his features, accompanied by something that could be described as a chuckle, or a stifled laugh. She was very lucky as well: when looked at from an angle, the dress fit quite naturually with those turquoise-blue eyes - deep pools that sucked him right in, as the hex maniac recalled from earlier. It was something about her expression that caught his attention the most, though he couldn't quite place a finger on how it was that that was possible, seeing as he was never the best at guessing what the ladies were thinking - only what they wanted from him as a man - or teen, so to speak. Spiritomb was drawing closer now: as the faint flickers of purple began to appear in the corner of his vision Justin's pupils began to shift back and forth, torn between watching his beautiful ghost type in work, and her. But such indecision would be erased in mere second's time. The dual type was just mere centimeters away from the salamence. Justin leaned in closer, watching closely. Any second now...

He'd never really regarded himself as a very composed sort of person - in fact, justin doubted that he would ever become composed, with the way things were going, and at the age spectrum he currently stood on. His emotions fluxuated depending on his feeling - many a days, it was a matter of preference on the ladies' parts: he acted, felt the way that would turn the cards in his advantage the most. Years of experience in the field had sapped the teen of all true emotion, sometimes jumping so far as from one end of the spectrum to the other depending on the personality of the dates. He never really felt his own emotions anymore, only those that others wanted him to feel. However, he felt something flicker inside of him, through the false smile that tinted his features and bemused look in his eyes as the first tips of spiritomb's form clashed with the salamence, a piercing roar emitting from the pits of the beast's lungs. Shock. Disbelief. Impossibility.

He felt it pierce through him, cold and hard as green orbs flashed, black pupils inside dialating as the space between the iris grew drastically larger, eyes widening rapidly as he blinked once or twice as if dispelling an illusion that simply would not go away. Spiritomb didn't slam into the foe with an energy to be reckoned with, like all the times the dual type and Justin had practiced before. The hex maniac didn't see the miniature explosion, the howl from the opponent as it was sent flying backwards. Instead of going at the dragon type with all its might, showing this woman how powerful and magnificent ghost types were, spiritomb passed right on through the opponent, the small container that was its binding flying forwards with the backlack as it melted past both pokemon and their trainer, like those horrible, awful cliche ghost rumors Justin had always known to be nothing but lies. But here he was, witnessing such a lie with his own two eyes. Unbelievable.

His head lashed back as the trainer's eyes gained focus, pupils returning to their normal size like he was coming out of a daze. His lip curved upwards shakily, gradually broadening wider and wider until the chuckle escaped himself, unable to contain it for any longer. But it didn't stop there. The sound continued to escalate, growing louder and louder by the second into a - still very quiet compared to the helicopter's blades - full on laugh. His small frame doubled over as the teenager put a hand on the archway of the door, steadying himself for a few seconds as the sound died away in his throat, a horrible gargle all that remained after thirty seconds of steady diminish in volume. A laugh without humor never lasted long, after all.

His emotions were torn - half of him felt the despair, disappointment in his foolish mistake. Sucker Punch was an attack that was only to hit when the opposition was preparing something to counter: if Salamence had been preparing something like the attack that had just about demolished the other helicopters', spiritomb would have hit for sure, Justin was positive of this. It was amazing how the sight of a beautiful woman could fascinate, entice him so much as to blind him of the moves of his own pokemon, those of which he had worked his very hardest to remember by heart. It was astounding how a moment's excitement, a moment's exhiliration at finding just the kind of opponent that he had always wished for could lead him to make such a rash decision, not even thinking about the consequences before commanding his pokemon to take such an action. His tongue snaked outwards, licking his lips, those of which had become rather dry from the wind constsantly battering them, buffeting the helicopter from the side so that his bangs were splayed out to the left, some of them covering his green eyes as he shook his head slowly, straightening up to his full height once more. Wow.

But he was making excuses. Half of his emotions were channeled at the perfect opportunity that he had let slip - the other half was channeled at the woman, his fascination only growing stronger as the bout of harsh laughter ended and focused on her reaction to the entire ordeal, the one thing that fascinated him more than anything. It wasn't every day that a ghost type were to pass through another person - in fact, it was because such a thing was so dangerous that Justin took care to ensure that it hardly ever happened. The experience, the shock, to say the least, was enough to kill a person sometimes. Mercenaries, those that use ghost types for the very purpose of killing pokemon, utilized such to their advantage all the time, and certainly, Justin himself had accidentally experienced the sensation one too many times on 'mission accidents', as he liked to call them. The thrill it gave him was like a drug pumping into his system, a sort of 'addiction' that took at least a few days of recovery to let the feeling slowly ebb away. He loved it, craved it,but the fact still remained that too much of such was enough to leave some scars mentally. Yet not a single(visible) tremor emitted from her, no small shiver that signaled a chill running up her spine. Justin stared fixatedly at her for a moment, inhaling and slowly letting the air out while he parted his lips just the slightest bit, the tip of his tongue touching the roof of his mouth as it slowly began to vibrate. As the breath of air grew faster in intensity the vibrations grew louder in turn, a soft purr rumbling in sync with the chopping of the helicopter blades above. Of course, it wasn't loud enough so that the woman would have any chance of hearing it, as Justin wasn't quite sure he was ready to take that step yet without recieving some sort of consequence in return. The teenager sighed, the disappointment tinting with a sort of hidden pleasure. This just got better and better, didn't it?

He'd been conscious of Spiritomb's gaze narrowed at him this entire time - almost as if remembering, the trainer looked over and gave it a small nod, thumbs up and a wink to assure it that it was doing fantastic, just what it was supposed to. However, he didn't warn it, didn't even try to tell the dual type to dodge as the burst of crimson red and orange hues came bursting out of the dragon's maw and headed straight towards the spirit - or spirits - that hovered in the air, in plain view. Justin knew his pokemon well enough so that he didn't need to give them any commands and they would move just as well - though he craved the psychic ability it was not to command his pokemon around but rather, to tell them how good of a job they were doing, remind them of how much they meant to him. Spiritomb already knew that, though: it was one of the teen's most trusted pokemon, after all.

The pokemon, upon seeing the jerk from Justin's head, gave an annoyed, small huff, lazily turning around and staring at the rapidly growing wall of flame with little to no interest as its own energy - a much more elegant energy than the brutality of fire, in Justin's opinion - began to materialize in front of it, forming a rapidly spinning pure, black mass that intensified until it practically crackled with energy, waiting to be released. Spiritomb seemed to concentrate, the shadow around its form beginning to darken into a shade of violet as the energy began to take the form of large, darkened purple sphere that hurtled outwards to meet the flame that was rushing forward. The two met and collided with a small explosion, the shards raining down onto the battlefield like a mini firework display that resulted in a small nod from Justin as he stared up at it, still smirking lightly as his eyes snuck a glance at the woman - this time, however, it was not at her, but rather, her pokemon. The flygon had a trainer on his back, but there was a small, slight chance that it would get involved when need be. The teenager's free hand crept slowly into his pocket, caressing a small sphere that was nestled there and feeling a faint wiggle in return for his answer. Good The teen nodded. Very good.

He'd come into this battlefield today for one reason: to see the determination, the perseverance of a nox member. For such a goal, such a childish curiosity of his he had endured the long and turbulent helicopter ride to the battlegrounds, allowed himself to be carried to a place where his precious ghost types would get hurt and pinned his own life on the line to fight for an organization that he barely had any true loyalty to. He'd let those people, those bastards that did a little bit more for the organization than others and therefore, thought themselves to be bigger and better than they actually were, order him around, let himself be belittled by the pilot that insisted on calling him 'boy' and other degrading insults that Justin preferred not to recall at that very moment. Every time the man spoke, it was like a dagger being plunged into his heart and every time he turned around the vehicle had shaken, almost causing Justin to feel a sickening sort of sensation that didn't just come from the unsteady ride itself. He'd endured everything with the frustration in mind that he wasn't going to get what he wanted in the end anyways - but he was wrong. Here he was, thinking that everything was going to be vain in the end and that there was no real point in trying when she came to him, meeting his requirements like a package deal. "I'm afraid I can't do that, sweetheart." The hex maniac cooed. He could see that fire burning in her eyes, the determination in her gaze. Was this what it meant to be a Nox member? Ah, but there was no point. They hardly had a chance against the government.

"If you would like to hear my choice, darling," He gestured to spiritomb, who gave a giggle and stood erect, ready. "I choose - to stay here with you." After the last syllable left his lips Justin gave a shout, followed by a sharp whistle that could have meant anything to those that didn't understand him. However, to those that were his lifelong partners, they understood perfectly. The mass of energy still hovered in front of the pokemon; it hadn't been used up in the counter against the wall of flames like it had intended to, but that was only at the advice of Justin, who stood watching, waiting for every opportunity to turn the tide over in his favor. He had his chance, now. Using the last scrap of the energy Spiritomb focused on the salamence again, gathering all of the shadow energy up into a tight, compressed sphere that held its shape for a split second before bursting, blasting towards the beast like a gigantic tidal wave aiming to engulf it up. Justin, on the other hand, decided to do something else. "So what do you go by, beautiful?" Hey, if he was doing nothing anyways, why not try to be a little productive while he was at it?

[KANE]

Behind Alyssa, her Salamence’s Flamethrower was met with a vicious Dark Pulse, the terrible aura imbued with dark thoughts meeting the flames in the middle. Had the cursed ghost-type done nothing, it would have been swallowed up in a raging circle of flames and charred. Although its body held some immunity to physical attacks, it had no such luck against intangible attacks such as Flamethrower. The Dark Pulse collided with the Flames, sending both forces outwards and up as though the dark energy was made of flames as well. Salamence’s Flamethrower cut off shortly thereafter as the Dark Pulse faded. It chuffed, its narrowed eyes glaring balefully at the ghost-type. Salamence would attack whether Alyssa ordered it or not, but for now he would wait.

The trainer’s eyes darted downward to look at her Dragon pokemon, who now hung in the air, flapping his wings every few seconds to keep his stocky body afloat as her trainer hovered on Flygon’s back, her eyes narrowed at the young man in the helicopter. Was he for real? Was he really just going to stand there and chat her up? She almost smirked, her lips curled back in something that was comparable to a snarl rather than an amused expression. ”Well sweetie,” she began, keeping her voice raised over the blades of the helicopter, her words reflecting the apparent affectionate dialogue he was using for whatever reason, ”…I’m afraid I have something else in mind rather than hover here all day!.”

Glancing at the ground, she estimated it was no more than seven feet below her. Gently kicking her feet free of Flygon’s protective grasp; she dropped off of Flygon’s back towards the shore. As soon as her toes touched the shore, she allowed her knees to buckle as she rolled forward, absorbing most of the impact with her body. Frigid sea water painted her back with the maneuver, and she sprang up as fast as possible, trying not to show just how the cold water had taken her breath away. Gathering air in her lungs, she changed her stance, her shoulders curved forward slightly, feet more than shoulder-width apart, and her fists out to the side. Her elbows were close to her ribcage and she glared through her bangs at him.

Admittedly it wasn’t the most intimidating post out there, but it would have to do.

”My name is Alyssa Akiyama!” she shouted, practically yelling at this point to be heard. ”I am the Leader of Hoenn! You’ve dared to take me lightly and invaded a place I call my home!” the anger at the attack was entering her voice. ”You will be forced out of here with your tails between your legs at my hand! I hope you enjoy swimming! Flygon, Dragon Claw! Destroy the helicopter!”

Lashing its tail, the Mystic pokemon flew forward, his claws glowing white as he zipped to the side, aiming for the base of the helicopter’s tail, where it connected to the body of the machine. If he took that off, the contraption would spiral out of control.

Behind her, Spiritomb and Salamence were at it again. The Spiritomb’s dark energy gathered at the front of its mouth before releasing the waves of dark energy for Salamence. The Dragon pokemon wasted no time in retaliating the same way he had attacked last time, a torrent of flames billowing out of his fanged mouth in a vicious Flamethrower. This time, though, he moved forward, flying into the vortex* of dark energy that closed around him as he fought it with the Flamethrower, aiming to scorch the Spiritomb’s body with the closer range. The Dark Pulse closed around his body, the impure energy lashing at him as it brushed him. Flinching, his momentum was halted, though the Flamethrower continued at closer range.

[KANE]

Mar 7, 2012 22:47:43 GMT -5 @justin said:

Very rarely did he not feel anything inside of him upon seeing a lady - a beautiful one too, in this case - and this one was no different. Though she obviously didn't return nor accept any of the affection that he was projecting out towards her it was no matter, as the teen believed in the little thing that was called 'one-sided love' even if his love didn't. So instead of recoiling as if struck back by an invisible blow, or frown as every man did when his affection was turned down by one of opposite - or sometimes the same - gender. Instead, Justin curled up his lip even more, revealing more of his upper left canine as a louder purr escaped him. This time however - in sharp contrast to the last - it had more or a false tone to it, a mocking sort of air about it. Sneaking a quick glance at his pokemon to make sure that Spiritomb was still alright and ready to go before peeling his ears to hear her over the chopping of the blades. It was, admittedly, rather hard to hear so he assumed that she was experiencing the same sort of difficulties with his words - the only reason that he hadn't panicked nor tried to explain himself clearer was the confidence that he had in his previous words: they were ones in which he had specified his feelings in every other word for that very reason.

His heart skipped a beat at her answer - this time, unfortunately, was not out of affection nor was it of excitement. Those words she'd spoken were like a trigger in his mind, the motive it implied was enough to remind him that he wasn't on land, and unfortunately, the area below the helicopter was neither plains nor grass. Justin felt it in his core, that brief spurt of something that was yet to be identified as an emotion he had discarded a long time ago because it did nothing but drag him down. The teenager shook his head, tried as hard as he could to deny the fact that he had regressed back to such a level but it was quite useless; now that he knew there was no blocking out the sound of the churning waves of the icy water below. He was afraid - plain and simple as that. His green eyes hardened and narrowed into small slits before gradually returning to their normal size. Just because he admitted to the feeling didn't mean that he had to show it for the world to see.

It was always amazing how the little things in life mattered - the teenager knew this because he had been told as a child, all the way until he'd left his home behind and started up travelling. He'd never really paid much attention to the fact but yet here he was, experiencing the situation as it unfolded right in front of his eyes. Fourteen words, one sentence: but it wasn't just a sentence, oh no. He knew what it was - it was a threat. In elementary school up until the age of perhaps sixteen a threat couldn't be taken seriously - in times of peace, anyways. Now that it was a war, a little threat could get you killed, and it was a good thing he knew that. In fact, the teenager had been expecting such a thing from the very beginning. The hand that was still clutching the missile launcher like a precious golden statue closed tighter around the handle, his thumb touching the trigger lightly as if it brought some comfort. Inside of his pant pocket, the thumb of his other hand touched the button that was in the center of the sphere resting there, bracing himself and waiting until the last moment to reveal the trump he had if this ever happened. His eyes narrowed with pleasure as the wind blew his hair back and Justin waited, propping up one foot on the very edge of the helicopter with a sort of giddy delight as he waited for the impact to hit, whatever it was. Disappointment hit him, engulfed him as he realized that it wasn't going to happen as the Flygon swerved around, away from them and headed in the opposite direction but the relief almost knocked him over as he realized he was once again mistaken. It wasn't over yet - she wasn't the coward such a move would have branded her as. Her flygon was headed towards the shore - but for what purpose? The trainer's smile weakened a bit as his pupils followed the path of the dual type, tracing its flight all the way until the trainer hopped off its back and turned around, turquoise pools staring into his own emerald green orbs with a sort of cold fire burning in them that warmed Justin's heart. He was, admittedly, a bit worried. Just what was it that she had in store for him?

The answer came to him all at once, a rush that was almost impossible to take in all at once unless he were to sit down and think long and hard about it. The wind was, thankfully, blowing towards him, taking her words and carrying them to his ears even if she hadn't shouted them with a fierce, burning passion. The teenager was allowed a moment of revelation, a moment of satisfaction as he worked his tongue around his lips to mouth her full name before she spoke the attack that had the potential to very well end his life. He felt the chill run up his spine, the brief moment of hollow terror that engulfed him before his instinct took over and he snapped into action the moment the words were out of her mouth.

Without a word he took the second black sphere out of his pocket, pressing the button with his thumb and allowing time to pass for a crucial three seconds as the sarcophagus revealed itself from the interior, a ghostly hue surrounding it before multiple arms materialized and the pair of stoic, hollow eyes of the pharaoh head burst in an explosion of red, two black pupils appearing within as the pokemon burst out of it. Normally, Justin would've admired the ghost-type's elegant entrance but now was not the time. "Do me a favor, darling." He cooed to her, fluttering a pair of abnormally long eyelashes in sync with his words, ignoring the fact that the flygon was getting closer by every passing second he was wasting. Cofagrigus was a beautiful ghost type but it possessed the unfortunate disadvantage of being much slower than his kin. The teen'd originally planned for his pokemon to protect the helicopter, shield it from any attack that the opposing pokemon would throw out but it was obvious that that wasn't possible now, with the speed that Flygon was currently charging at them with. And so, thinking quickly, he'd rearranged bits and pieces of his plan so that everything still tied together quite nicely in the end, even with the unplanned turn of events. Blonde hair twisted to the right as he turned his head to one side, carefully using the locks to shield his mouth as he whispered a few words into his pokemon's ear. There was a nod of approval and Justin's neutral, piercing line curved itself upwards into a smirk as he gave a snap, signalling that it was time to put the plan into action.

This woman wasn't short of warfare knowledge: clearly, she knew exactly which place to attack the helicopter to make it crash down the ground and take all of its passengers with it. One bit of flamethrower from her salamence could very well have sent the entire contraption down into flames - however, the attack that she had her flygon initiate, attacking the base of the helicopter instead, had much more class, wasn't so brutal even though it mattered not either way. Perhaps she was one of the ones he had seen that didn't 'want to fight the war', or so they claimed. It was a reasonable assumption, given the fact that she had chosen to go about things that way, but then again, she had just blown up two of his companions awhile ago. Perhaps he was wrong to judge her so quickly.

There was little time left for the helicopter: he was sitting on a ticking time bomb before the glowing claws got to the base and ripped it apart, ultimately leading the thing to spiral downwards to its doom. The missile launcher was still clutched in his hand - the thought of needing it later prompted the teenager to grip it tighter until his knuckles turned white on the edges. Briefly, he turned his head to the pilot who was still sitting there, fiddling at the controls with no idea what was going on and thought of warning the man. It dwelt in his mind for a second before his mouth curved up into a small smirk, discarding the thought. The man had never done anything for him, why should he do the other a favor when it was never going to be returned? Besides, his ghosts only had room to carry one person, and that was him. They didn't do well to strangers. Justin gave a small whistle and the Cofagrigus jumped down, the faint shade of green already beginning to outline its body as it began the descent down. "Good bye." The teenager murmured softly to the man as his feet teetered over the edge, stepping over sharply and allowing the wind to buffet his face as he began the steep drop downwards.

The dull echo of the sarcophagus echoed softly into the distance as his sneakers landed on them, a soft murmur of apology escaping from his lips as he bent down, kneeling on the makeshift platform as the ghost type began to head towards the shoreline where the woman - Alyssa Akiyama - currently stood as if awaiting him. The green shimmer around its body protected it from the water and it in turn protected its trainer, and he managed to keep his breathing steady and eyes averted from the churning waters below as the shore grew closer and closer in the distance. Spiritomb was still up there; the trainer glanced upwards for a moment but dismissed the thought without so much of a murmur to himself. He had faith in spiritomb to take care of things in the air - for the time being, it looked like this was going to be a battle on the ground.

The dual type was now without a trainer - however, its adversary was also without his: they were equal now in a sense. When the last of the dark pulse had been expelled from its body the ghost type was aware that the flames had still not quelled, that they were now coming stronger and stronger without a barrier to slow them down. With narrowed green eyes the pokemon endured it, allowed the flame to batter its solidified base as its mind began to conjure all sorts of nasty plots in mind to lash back at the Salamence with. After a moment of letting the flame char it the ghost-dark type lifted up its head and let out a small giggle of pleasure, the dark clouds dotting the sky in an instant and a shadowy wind blowing sharply from behind to push the flames back and allowing the pokemon to escape. There was a loud noise as the flames licked at its body and it peeled itself away from the inferno its foe had managed to drape around him and Spiritomb giggled again, a shrill and sharp giggle that made its way to Justin's ears, causing the hex maniac to smile as well. His pokemon was doing very well.

They'd reached the shore now: there was no problem in doing such now that his pokemon was in control. Aside from the fact that it took a little bit more time than it usually would have Justin was pleased as Cofagrigus stopped at the shoreline, allowing the trainer to step off its back and onto the shore where the water couldn't get him. "Thank you." He whispered, taking out the dusk ball and recalling it in an instant, raising up to his full height as he slowly began to walk towards her.

"Alyssa Akiyama - its a pleasure to meet you." He made a small bow, shutting his eyelids for a moment to let the words sink in. "My name - is Justin. Justin Lockheart. And I can tell you this, sweetheart," His smile this time was sharp and jagged, almost amused looking. "You aren't going to be destroying any helicopters until I'm satisfied. Now what do you say we make this a - " A short pause and an explosion of light, disappearing to reveal a Gengar in its wake. "- battle worth remembering?"

In the distance, the helicopter spiraled slowly in the air before hitting the water with a hollow, dull splash.

[KANE]

The heat from the Flamethrower that erupted behind her blasted the cold sea breeze away temporarily, sending waves of heat energy flying towards her, buffeting her side and back. Alyssa flinched slightly, bringing her arm up defensively as though to shield herself from the great increase in temperature, though there was no real reason for it. A glance beneath her elbow showed her Salamence flying through waves of impure energy, a large and powerful Dark Pulse shooting out from the Spiritomb. As her Salamence released the torrent of flames from his mouth, he flew forward bravely into the Dark Pulse. The Flamethrower and Dark Pulse crashed on the outside rims, and the billowing vortexes swirled around each other.

Alyssa looked back at the sound of metal breaking. The stiff fibers screamed as they ripped apart when Flygon’s Dragon Claw cut through it, sparks flying from the white-glowing claws against the metal, like a hot knife through butter. Flygon zipped away as soon as he was past, his wingtips barely missing the whirring tail blades of the machine as he arced downwards and raced away from the machine that would soon plummet to its doom. ”Good job Flygon...” she murmured, a momentary red flash catching her eyes before she herself ducked behind one of the large rocks on Lilycove’s shore as additional cover from the explosion she was predicting.

Sure enough, as the massive machine fell towards the water and rocks beneath it. An explosion met her ears and she cringed beneath the sound, clapping her hands over her ears. Salamence flinched as well, cutting the Flamethrower short and escaping the immediate area, flying over the Spiritomb’s head and through the barrier presented by the Dark Pulse. Fire ripped above the rocks along with the sound as the third helicopter was taken out of the sky. It crashed against the water before all the sounds vanished, leaving nothing but the waves against the shore to accent the air.

Looking up, Alyssa saw nothing. Moving her eyes downward she saw her opponent – no more than a teenager, apparently – land upon the ground and recall the pokemon he’d used for transportation. So he allowed the helicopter pilot to perish with the machine? Typical Lux. Her lips curled into a snarl as she stepped forward.

”Justin Lockheart.” she stated, halting about twelve feet from him, fists clenched by her sides. ”I promise you this will be more than worth remembering.” she warned him, her voice gaining a sharp edge as Flygon floated down next to her, landing. ”Thank you, Flygon.” she murmured, pulling the black and white Timer Ball from her belt and returning the Mystic Pokemon to his home. Pulling the yellow and black Ultra Ball off her belt, she released Amon.

The Absol’s claws sunk into the ground as he strode forward before stopping, planting his feet wide, a growl ripping from his throat. ”This battle is going to be one you will remember, no need to worry if it’s worth it or not. I promise, dear.”

Salamence was struck by an Ominous Wind a ways off, growling mutinously as it struck him. Unleashing yet another Flamethrower against the Spiritomb, Salamence swooped downward, with an aim to pin its stone-bound body to the ground while it continued to scorch the being.

”Amon, Swords Dance!” she commanded, slashing a hand through the air. The horn upon Absol’s head glowed white and he bobbed his head in a figure-eight pattern, gaining more attack power. ”Now, Amon, Psycho Cut his Gengar!” rushing forward, the cresent glowing light blue from the white, and extending as he prepared an attack, aiming to slash downwards as soon as he was atop the ghost pokemon.

[KANE]

Mar 13, 2012 22:07:14 GMT -5 @justin said:

Some of the water had gotten into his right shoe, staining the sock there a darker color than the rest of it was. Even though the feeling was a rather uncomfortable one - even if he had been without the dislike of water - the teenager ignored it, shrugging his shoulders a bit as he continued to look straight ahead, slouching so that his stocky form was even shorter than it normally was: abnormally short for a male of his age. Every pokemon, as brilliant and amazing as they were, couldn't perform godly tasks. As much as Justin desired a legendary - especially one of the ghost or dark type, as he so much preferred them to - he knew that for the time being, until he got a bit stronger, such goals were out of his reach. Even if he couldn't get his hands on a legendary - dear arceus, with the power to change dimensions and morph the world to its liking was light years away from ever getting into his grasp - he still had something that was far more superior than even the greatest of pokemon itself - his ghost types. Such ghost types couldn't change gravity and allow him to cross a vast expanse of ocean without getting a spot on him but they were the greatest things that he ever had. He had ambitions, but nothing would ever cause him to leave the side of his precious ghost types. Ever.

In the time that he and this woman - alyssa akiyama - had spent together, things had changed. When they had first met a few moments ago, he on a helicopter and she on her own pokemon, flying in the air, they knew nothing about each other. He knew that she was a Nox member from the way that she had taken down the two other Lux helicopters: she, in turn, knew that he was Lux from the red banner streaming behind the helicopter, blown up into the air by the chopping rotor blades. She'd thrown some threats at him, executed them with ease and in that period of time, they had gotten to know each other on a deeper level of some sort. This woman - she was beginning to get the hang of his game, start playing right along-side him word for word. He, on the other hand, had deduced that she was quite dangerous. Indeed, he'd already assumed that she was dangerous to some degree judging from the pokemon that she had brought out to assist her, taking down the helicopters - as well as lives - without so much of a blink, but it was slowly beginning to dawn on him that she was even more dangerous than he had first anticipated, and that he was going to have a hard time battling when he had nothing to fight for now that he had seen what he'd wanted to see, and was satisfied with the result. When he'd first seen her, arrived on the battlefield with flares and fireworks, he'd been sure that he'd drawn the long straw, the best of the lot. Now he was beginning to believe that he'd actually drawn one of the short ones.

"I look forward to it, sweetheart." He responded smoothly to her statement, purring rather loudly this time and ending it with a sort of 'cat rawr' noise that was the first trick in every man's books, risking it even though he knew it deserved him a slap in the face. Eyes watched curiously at the sphere in her hand as she withdrew her pokemon, absentmindedly running a hand through the fur on the Gengar's back as the Nox leader drew out another from her belt and pressed the center button, releasing a grey and white pokemon that had silky fur to match the color and texture of her own hair. How fitting. Justin murmured a word of encouragement into his pokemon's ear as he stepped back, not willing to get in the line of fire lest she try another one of those 'threats' at him.

"Lets meet them in the middle, darling." He smiled, liking the way the word most often used in romance had found its way into the middle of the chaotic battle, ironically one where the opposing genders were opposite. "Shadow Punch. Give them a little surprise." The purple pokemon nodded her head, raising up a balled up fist that was starting to glow a bright purple color as she took a running start towards her opponent, the darkness exploding in a mass of lights as her fist clashed with the Absol's head, shielding her own from the deadly crescent on its head as she blinked upwards, eyes beginning to glow an assortment of colors. The colors began to switch rapidly, changing from red and blue to a shade of green and yellow and mix-matching randomly in an attempt to confuse the Nox woman's pokemon and therefore, gain them an advantage. On the sidelines, the teenager clutched at the missile launcher tighter with one hand, while the other clutched at the Gengar's pokeball. If things got out of hand, screw this battle - he'd relent to battles, but when the pokemon he cared most about was about to get killed that was where Justin drew the line.

There was an explosion in the distance and the hex maniac looked up in time to see a dark shade of violet and red mixing together in the sky, trailing a thin wisp of smoke up in its wake as the sounds of Spiritomb's base scraping against Salamence's claws echoed on the opposite side. He stared for a moment off in his pokemon's general direction, then gave a resolute sigh of content and turned his attention back to the more important matters at hand. Spiritomb was doing fine - but would he last long enough to prevail?

[KANE]

The battle raged on the mainland to her left. She so desperately wanted to see what had become of the gorgeous city of Lilycove in the time she’d spent having a spar of a battle with this Justin Lockheart. She feared that there were powerful Lux fighters that she knew personally among their ranks, attacking one of the most beautiful cities in her home region. She wondered which of them had managed to survive their battles with some dignity intact, and which ones had been sent running home like a Mightyena with its tail between its legs. Although she knew old friendships were something she would always cherish, an intangible barrier in her mind had set them apart from her friends that had joined Nox like her. So much had changed in two years that the least the white-haired Leader could hope for was re-building relationships whenever the war finally ended.

No telling how long that will be, though.

Her cerulean eyes remained in the narrowed position they’d partially closed to when he made a bizarre, animalistic noise that caught her off guard. What the hell had he been doing just then? He sounded like he was attempting to imitate a Delcatty purring for a potential mate. Was he really so much of the flirt he was coming off as to go that far with her? He didn’t even know her, to start. Second, he was far too young for her, and even more prominent than two of the other factors, she was from the opposite faction. Don’t tell me this kid is infatuated. she had groaned mentally moments before he commanded his Gengar.

Between the Gengar, Spiritomb, and Unovan pokemon she had only glimpsed that he used to escape from the helicopter, she was beginning to get a better feel for her opponent. Logic pointed towards the probability of the Unovan pokemon being a Ghost-type, given the Spiritomb and Gengar, and with that statistic he most likely held three more Ghost-type pokemon on his belt. A medium? No… Something didn’t fit with that. Mediums were generally elderly females, and seemed to have a different air about them than he did. Hex Maniac? Perhaps. It was worth a shot when she mentioned it in speech.

As Amon moved, the Gengar moved as well, using a technique that Alyssa recognized instantly. An effective Shadow Punch. A move that will never miss. Tactical. She smirked slightly, shifting her stance. Luckily Dark-types are strong against Ghost-types. Alyssa thought. Surely there was some motif behind using a Shadow Punch, weak against the Absol, as an opening move? To get close to the Disaster Pokemon, perhaps? A closer-range move would be potentially more potent. That made Alyssa bite down on her lip in slight concern. Gengar were versatile pokemon, some of the most effective to use in the Kanto Region. They were capable of learning Fighting-type moves as well, which drew the most concern from Alyssa. Absols were weak against Fighting-type moves. Anything like a Brick Break would spell a critical condition for her beloved Amon.

Shaking off the clash of the Gengar’s fist with the glowing crescent upon his head, Amon took the brief period of time he had to weave his head back and forth once again in another Swords Dance to increase his attack power. The glowing, multi-colored eyes of the Gengar made Amon stand still. There was something about the gaze that transfixed him to the spot. His red eyes connected with the Ghost-types eyes and a wave of lightheaded confusion swept over him

Confuse Ray!

Alyssa clenched her teeth and raised her fist by her side, her knuckles white from how tensely she was keeping her hand curled up in a ball. ”You can withstand it, Amon!” she shouted to her Absol, offering encouragement seeing as he had closed his eyes and shook his head, attempting to shake it off. ”Concentrate! Just one move and this will be ours – you know which one!” The white-furred creature stood still, gaining his focus before opening his eyes. Confusion swam in his gaze as he stared at his target. He felt capable of being able to attack. He’d been confused before and on occasion hurt himself, but this time he knew he could get away with striking the opponent at least once. Other than that, he most likely would not.

”Punishment!”

Opening his mouth and letting out a cry, he raised his head, the horn upon it glowing white-purple before the Absol slashed his head downwards, the air being ripped apart by a white-purple beam of energy shooting from it towards the Gengar. With the increased power of two Swords Dances, the Punishment’s power was increased drastically and the dark energy raced through the air. Amon closed his eyes, the confusion overcoming him. If he tried to move, he would likely fall over from this or harm himself. It was smartest to stand still. If he was attacked in this time, he would be struck, being incapable of seeing an incoming attack.

In the background, a small breather was offered between the two combating pokemon. Salamence halted the Flamethrower assault on the Ghost-type pokemon, keeping his claws scraped up against the Odd Keystone of the Spiritomb’s body. The magnificent Dragon-type pokemon needed to breathe before furthering his assault upon the Ghost before it could retaliate. Drawing a deep breath through his magnificently long neck, he thrust his head forth again, he released yet another Flamethrower, the powerful flames blasting upward from the base of the only solid part of the Spiritomb’s body. He pulled his claws off beforehand and dropped a few feet below the floating Forbidden Pokemon before using another burst of fire, making his attack look comparable to a firestorm.