Willy
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Post by Willy on Oct 6, 2012 1:24:51 GMT -5
This was the third occasion the Virtual Reality exhibit would be shown at the Wish Festival, however, this would be the first time the technology would be used in an official Wish Festival tournament. After the last Wish Festival, a lot of pokemon were wondering why no fighting was allowed inside the large machine. To be honest, the engineers working on the project knew this would be a feature they would have to add, it simply hadn't been finished in time that year, but this year was different. The last seven years had been spent poking, proding, testing, retesting, until finally they had something that worked.
When the Persian in charge of the project heard the Tournament was in need of a new arena, she pounced at the chance to show off just what their improved Virtual Reality system could do. Of course, with the last couple arenas being ruined, the committee in charge of the tournament were reluctant to hold the next round inside a machine that was worth more money than anything at the wish festival (aside from the wish stone, of course).
After a little negotiation and reassurance, the committees fears were assuaged (and their wallets filled). The third round of the tournament would be held inside the machine, with anyone able to watch the matches from any one of the monitors scattered everywhere around the park.
This should have been great news for Tali. A wonderful publicity stunt that she would be a participant in the first official match held inside Virtual Reality. She had something else on her mind though.
Destroying that Blaziken.
She sat outside the machine fuming, waiting for the announcement of the biome the machine would select at random. Supposedly this hunk of junk had thousands of settings for the combatants to fight in, and the stupid scientists decided it would be a GREAT idea to pick one of them at random. Tali didn't care. She just wanted to get this over with.
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Post by Digizel on Oct 6, 2012 12:38:32 GMT -5
It was a bright and early day, and it was in this clear weather that Deborah, the Blaziken set to fight in the day's opening match, was making her way toward this strange machine that everybody was supposed to fight in. She wasn't sure what was going to happen during this match. She had heard that it was supposed to be able to pick one of thousands of possible random locations. That could be rather interesting, and would test one's abilities to adapt to an environment that they didn't have a chance to plan for.
However, she had a job to do, so she needed to focus on that. Of course, she didn't have to do much for now. Just keep herself from falling out of this tournament. And for that, she just had to knock that little Roselia into last place. That shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish. But this tournament would have gone a bit smoother for her had she not underestimated that Lucario in the last round. Now that she'd been defeated by him as well, she was now without a single victory and she had two losses under her belt. This wasn't a good standing...if she were beaten twice more, she would be eliminated.
While she didn't particularly care about victory, things would be a lot easier for her if she could stay in the tournament. And so, she had absolutely no intention of letting this Roselia give her a third defeat. That shouldn't be a problem. After watching her matches against Vito and that Nidoking, she shouldn't be too difficult to defeat. But even so, she couldn't afford to underestimate another foe. She had to remember to be careful in this upcoming bout.
At long last, she arrived. She looked up at the machine that she was about to fight in. She'd be a liar if she said she wasn't interested in seeing how and "where" this match was going to take place. This promised to be an interesting setup. As long as it could hold the battles without destroying the machine.
~~~
Meanwhile, Jet was up bright and early, waiting around the machine as well. He had wanted to be of use to Doug somehow. Maybe he could find some kind of strategy or weakness against or from his opposition? Yeah, that would definitely help. He could then relay that information, and the two of them could come up with a winning strategy for later use. Unfortunately, he doubted he would be able to see anything with that Vito person. That was who Doug would be fighting at the end of today's matches, and the one person he wasn't sure if Doug could beat. Oh well...at least he'd be able to gather some information that they could use for later. Or at least, so he hoped...
And of course, that ran on the assumption that he didn't get himself kidnapped or something.
~~~
Haru sat around the machine as well, staring impatiently at a nearby monitor. He wanted to get to his match already. He remembered his thrashing at the hands of Marduk all too well...and how Vito had managed to emerge victorious against that same foe. He needed to prove himself further. To make thing worse, Vito had gone undefeated thus far. He couldn't let that stand. He had to catch up to Vito...surpass him if he could. For that to happen, he had to keep winning and Vito needed to lose.
But at the same time...in this round, Vito was going to be fighting against Doug. That was somebody else he wanted to lose.... Oh well, at least Doug had already been beaten once, just like himself. So he supposed he had no choice to to hope for Doug's victory in this upcoming match. Regardless, he had to keep his wits about him and focus on his upcoming match. But on top of all of this, he was curious. That Blaziken he had fought yesterday...that had been one of his most exciting matches since his battle with the Dimensional Guard. He also wanted to watch her next match. He was impressed by her abilities and by her warrior spirit. This match was sure to be interesting, even if he didn't care for his Deborah's opponent. And so, he too, sat waiting.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Oct 7, 2012 1:16:03 GMT -5
The Loudred who usually announced the matches was nowhere near the chosen arena for the day. He didn't need to be. Very few people would be allowed in the vicinity of the Virtual Reality Simulator. As the regular announcer, he was certainly able to be there, but he didn't need to be. Everything would be broadcast over a closed circuit system that ran all over the fairgrounds. Any announcing that needed to be done could be handled much more easily in other ways. The Loudred figured as long as he had the day off, he might as well enjoy it. He was headed to the midway when he overheard a female voice come on over a speaker system.
"It is now time to choose the arena the combatants will be fighting in. All matches will take place in the same arena to ensure fairness between each match."
Looking around for the source, he found that screens had been mounted all over the place. At least it won't be hard to keep up with what's going on at the arena the Loudred thought to himself as he stopped to watch May as well at least know where they'll be fighting today. Then I can get to playing some carnival games, I suppose.
The screen was already cycling through what appeared to be hundreds of settings. Pictures of beautiful forests, explosive volcanoes, frozen tundras, arid deserts, murky swamps, and even buildings like some stellar skyscrapers and what appeared to be the Hirukan monument they had just fought on yesterday.
Finally the screen froze with a completely white picture. It appeared as though the monitor was broken. Then the Loudred looked at all the rest of the monitors. They all looked exactly the same. Had the signal been cut? Finally the female voice spoke.
"The arena for todays matches is... the White Void."
A murmur spread throughout the crowd. "Of all places..." "this is gonna be boring as hell..." "who would even put something like that in a machine to simulate reality..."
The Loudred felt as if he were the only one who thought this was the most interesting choice possible. Absolutely no setting. No obstacles, no conditions. Just two combatants. One winning over the other based only on their abilities. THAT seemed most in the spirit of the competition.
---
Tali scoffed at the computers decision. "Doesn't matter. I'm coming out of this one with a win either way."
The female announcer now spoke over a PA system. "Would Tali and Deborah please take your positions. The match is about to begin."
The positions the announcer were referring to were two luxurious looking chairs sticking out of the otherwise pedestrian black cube in the center of the large gymnasium-sized room. The rest of the room was filled with computers and about thirty people, only about five of which knew anything about how this simulation worked.
Each competitor was allowed themselves and a plus one, and aside from that, there were a few faces with different reasons for being allowed inside.
Tali went over and plopped herself into her seat. As soon as she did, the chair retracted into the machine. And then the machine closed and it was pitch black. Tali held her rose in front of her face and couldn't see a thing. And then, in an instant she could see it! She could see her hand! And... nothing else. Just white. She had no idea how it was working, but it appeared as though she were in the White Void. She felt nothing, heard nothing, and saw nothing. A White Void if she'd ever seen one. Or not seen one. Whatever.
---
Outside the machine, at least one competitor was still absent. That was because he hadn't woken up on time. Instead, he was sprinting around asking for directions to the location of the matches. No-one seemed to know. Everyone only bothered with knowing they were going to be on the monitors all over the park. Doug stopped for a second and took a look at a monitor hanging next to a food stand selling deep-fried pokè-pickles. While the fact that he had never seen anyone add pokè as a prefix to an item they wanted to sell worried Doug, because it sounded cheesy and certainly was not a good marketing strategy, what he saw on the screen worried him even more. That Roselia was already there. The first match was starting! He couldn't afford to miss it!
But then he realized... he wasn't missing the match, was he. He was seeing it right now after all. It was only the first match, after all. Why not take it easy? He had plenty of time.
He went to the window of the stand. "One Pok... One pickle please." he said, handing over some parabucks in exchange.
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Post by Digizel on Oct 7, 2012 15:00:50 GMT -5
Deborah watched as the computer began to select the arena that they would all be fighting within today. She crossed her arms and considered the possibilities of the arena chosen. The White Void.... she mumbled within the confines of her mind. How...appropriate. At the call of her name, she didn't hesitate. The Blaziken stood up and the flames on her wrists flared up as she mentally prepared herself for battle. Judging from the seats before her, she could assume that they wouldn't be fighting with their physical bodies...but that was just fine. As long as this machine didn't enhance or restrict any of her or her opponent's capabilities during their match, she didn't care.
Deb brought herself to her feet and made her way over to the seats that the female announcer on the PA system indicated. She took a quick moment to observe the mechanics that fastened the seat to the machine. She then decided to go ahead and seat herself in the seat that the Roselia hadn't already occupied. The moment she was seated, the chair was retracted firmly into the machine. She had expected as much. For a moment, the small hole that she was seated was pitch black...she had already let her wrist-flames die out at this point, to keep herself from somehow accidently burning the machine.
She wasn't sitting in the dark for very long, however. Before she knew it, the darkness had transformed without warning. It was now a bright white light that surrounded her. There was nothing but pure white, as far as the eye could see. There was no visible sky, no really visible ground, and no end in sight. It was merely endless white. The White Void was definitely a fitting name for this place.
There was just one exception to the endless expansion of ivory. Standing not even a dozen meters away from her was a figure of green with red and blue do her sides. Her opponent, the Roselia named Tali. Good. There certainly wouldn't be any strange hinderances here; no tricks to be played. This would be a simple battle; a match of wits, power and strategy. While she dared not underestimate her opponent again, she felt fairly certain that she had this match clutched already. And not simply because of her type advantage.
Deborah clenched her fists at her sides, and the flames around her wrists roared to life once more.
It was time to fight.
~~~~~
Jet looked on as the Blaziken and the Roselia stepped up to the machine in the center. He recognized those two from their previous matches. Both had been defeated twice thus far. The loser of this match would go without a single victory thus far. Three defeats in a row was not good for a tournament like this, in which a fourth meant disqualification and elimination. Two losses was a bad enough situation, and he kind of felt sorry for the Blaziken for having such luck.
Jet, of course, recognized the Blaziken, Deborah, from another situation. He had been taken captive earlier by Vito...and this Blaziken had helped him out of that sticky situation. He knew that she was Doug's competition, but so far, she was the only one that he would think could possibly be trusted. Well, perhaps that Empoleon as well, but that was jumping to conclusions a bit fast. Regardless, he hoped that this Blaziken would be able to have some good luck in this tournament.
Before Jet could even mutter a "Good luck," the machine snapped shut with her inside. Well, he'd wish her good luck from where he was sitting. He looked around the room, but he still didn't see the face he'd been waiting would show up.
"...Darn it, Doug, where are you...?" he muttered to himself.
~~~~~
As Doug made his way over to the vendor, he caught the attention of a rodent-like Pokemon sitting nearby. This Pokemon had a long, thin tail tipped with a lightning bolt and two medium-length ears. 'Is that...huh...what's he doing here...?' the Raichu thought to himself. As Doug made to hand over some money in exchange for some food, the Raichu moved over and put an arm on his shoulder. "Nonsense." he said, putting some money of his own down onto the stand. "You keep that; I'll cover it," he said with a slight reassuring smile. He then looked at the vendor and told him, "Oh, and feel free to keep the change while you're at it."
He looked at Doug again and chuckled. "Well, Mr. Doug, I never believed I'd see you out here of all places," he said, in an attempt to strike up some kind of conversation.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Oct 7, 2012 16:02:21 GMT -5
Tali was ready. She had been waiting for this all night.
The announcer started, "Match begins in three. Two. One. Start."
Tali immediately threw herself back, scattering thorns from her flowers as she went. Her Toxic Spikes now covered the field, and as a bonus she had some space between her and Deb. That was the name of the game today. Distance and poison. As long as Tali could limit Deb to distance attacks, she figured she could keep dodging them to overcome her disadvantages. And as long as those spikes were on the field, it would be awfully hard for the Blaziken to close the gap, as far as Tali could tell.
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Doug turned to the Raichu. "Uh... thanks I guess... do I know you?" He replied, taking the pickle the vendor handed him and looking for an available table. Something about this guy was familiar, but it seemed like a forgotten memory. Something that happened before something shifted. A fight? A Treecko? A Drowzee? Some kind of forest? And this guy was there, somewhere in there. Doug was pretty sure all that was just a dream. At least that's what he kept telling himself. It all ended so abruptly in his mind, he had to have woken up at some point.
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Post by Digizel on Oct 7, 2012 16:56:53 GMT -5
Deborah was patient and she waited for Tali to make her opening move first. This would, naturally, give her a chance to surmise what her angle of battle here would be. And then, she could concentrate on fighting back and knocking her out of this match relatively quickly with her powerful Fire-type moves. It wasn't long, however, when she was beginning to regret not acting sooner, as the Roselia laid down a bunch of venom-tipped spikes along the ground. Toxic Spikes was usually a very annoying move to put up with.
But she wasn't very worried here. She still held the advantage. She just had to make sure she made her moves carefully. She was almost completely certain that she could overpower this Roselia in almost anything. So, she relaxed herself and took a deep breath. As she did, her body began to emit a slight red aura. After she had finished using her Focus Energy move, she opened her eyes and gazed out at the Roselia. She raised her fists and readied herself. She would need to strike hard, fast, and accurately.
Deborah decided to start on that by restricting the Roselia's movements. That would perhaps be the best way to start this fight. She opened her mouth and unleashed a burst of fire from her beak. The Fire Spin spun in circles as it headed straight for Tali. If it was successful in colliding with the Grass-type Pokemon, it would hopefull set up a trap for her...and thus restrict her movements.
~~~~~
The Raichu smirked a bit at Doug's question. "Do you know me? Are you kidding me right now?" he said with a slight chuckle. 'This guy's gotta be kidding me...right? How could he NOT remember me...? I gave him such a run for his money too.' he grumbled in his head. But he didn't voice his thoughts and instead put his paw on the Abra's shoulder again. "Hey, if you want a table..." he started, pointing toward a table that seemed to have a perfect view of one of the monitors in the surrounding area. Not too far away, but not too close to hurt the eyes either. "...I'm sitting right over there. Come on over and I can help you...refresh your memory while we watch this opening match."
He smirked down at Doug and shook his shoulder back and forth a bit playfully, acting as though he were Doug's long-lost friend or something....
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Oct 7, 2012 18:17:34 GMT -5
Tali quickly ducked to the right, attempting to evade the Fire Spin while preparing to use her signature Petal Dance, but she failed. As soon as the attack hit, a vortex of flames surrounded her. Fine then. A change of plans. Tali began releasing a pink powder with a very Sweet Scent. As she did, it was quickly lifted into the air and scattered about the entire void by the heat surrounding her. The fire hurt, but at least it gave this void some moving air that she could use to her advantage.
---
Doug made his way over to the table. The Raichu seemed nice enough. And he HAD paid for Dougs pickle. It would be rude to refuse an invitation to eat with the Raichu at this point.
Doug sat down and took a bite of the pickle. As soon as he did, he wished he hadn't. The pickle tasted awful, and deep frying it certainly hadn't helped. But he chewed and swallowed anyway. It would be rude to spit out a meal someone else paid for.
"So," Doug started, to avoid taking another bite as long as possible, "We have met before apparently. I feel like I remember you from somewhere, but I can't put my finger on it."
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Post by Digizel on Oct 8, 2012 0:21:10 GMT -5
Deborah held back a smirk as she saw Tali's failed attempt at evading the Fire Spin. Perfect. She would have a much harder time coming out of this move unscathed. With the Fire Spin now in place, Deb began to dash forward, taking note of the Toxic Spikes on the ground, and tried to jump or dash between the toxic darts if it was to be possible. Even if it wasn't and she'd have to take it, she wouldn't care. She didn't expect this battle to drag on for too long. Or at least, she hoped not.
When she felt that she was close enough, Deborah jumped into the air and readied herself. She angled herself in the air and brought one foot forward. As she came down, she set her sights on the Roselia caught in the Fire Spin. As she came down, a flame burst into life around her leg. She came down, aiming her specialty Blaze Kick attack at the smaller, Grass-type Pokemon. She knew that if this collided successfully, she'd be ready to end this.
~~~~~
The Raichu chuckled a bit. He watched Doug take a bite and chew on the pickle. He inwardly grimaced a bit. 'Ugh...how can ANYONE like that crap...?' he mumbled inwardly. But then he shook off the thought and reverted his attention to Doug again. He nodded his head at Doug's statement.
"Pft. Oh believe me, I half-wish we didn't meet before. Kind of an embarrassing time for me, back then," the Raichu stated with a small wave of his paw. "I mean...I was popular back in that old town. A favorite, even. And then I go and get shut down in the very opening round by an Abra. It was a great match, of course, and you definitely earned that win...." He trailed off at that last moment with a small sigh before continuing, "Of course...that doesn't change the fact that it was a rather...humiliating defeat to deal with." He looked over at Doug with a new look in his eyes. Was that a look of...regret? Jealousy? Perhaps a hint of anger? Whatever the look was, he certainly did a good job of not thinking about it. Most likely nothing more than an instinctive look.
Finally, the Raichu shook his head. "Anyway...but yeah," he stated, trying to change the subject again. "Ring any bells yet, kid?"
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Oct 8, 2012 0:36:15 GMT -5
"Yeah... I-I think so. Sorry, not everything is so clear for me at the moment. And I guess my memory was never all that reliable to begin with," Doug said. This was an understatement, of course. There wasn't much to remember from before he entered DN2, but at a couple points in time things seemed to shift. It felt like waking up. Like there was more time between this second and the next second than there was between this second and the second before it. It was odd, really. Maybe it was a side effect of being sucked into this form? Or maybe it was just this dimension. Doug would probably never know.
"So what brings you here? I mean, obviously the wish festival is a big deal, that's not what I mean exactly, but I always figured either you'd never want to see me again, or when you did you'd want to kick the crap out of me," Doug questioned. Most of people he spent time around didn't like it much at all when you beat them. Especially when you were Doug's species.
---
As soon as she saw Deb's foot come down, Tali knew this was her best shot. She thrust a large thorn out of her petals at the incoming foot in an attempt to Poison Sting the Blaziken. Upon contact, she suffered a burn, of course, and she would have a hard time using her right arm without some healing, but that wasn't a problem for her.
Even if the Poison Sting missed, there was always Tali's Poison Point. And that poison could definitely be a problem for Deborah if all went well.
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Post by Digizel on Oct 8, 2012 1:06:41 GMT -5
The Raichu chuckled a bit at Doug's words about his memory. "Don't worry, bud, we've all been there. And strangely enough, I think I know what you mean. Had a few issues with memory myself since that tournament. Not really sure why," he replied with a slight smile. His thoughts went back to a time that seemed so long ago at this point. He had awoken in a strange place he didn't remember ever seeing before, and with a warped memory....
But, the Raichu didn't dwell on those thoughts for very long and he went back to the conversatoin, just in time to answer Doug's question. "Yeah, you guessed right," he said simply. "The Wish Festival is what I came here for." He reached his tail around and wrapped it around a bottle of water that had actually been placed on the table. The cap was already removed, so he just lifted it up to his mouth and took a quick drink from it. He was in the middle of his drink when Doug asked his question, and that got him to stop and snort a bit. As he did, he accidently spat out a little bit of the water he had in his mouth, and a good part of the rest went down the wrong way in his throat. This caused him to stop and have a small cough, through which laughter could partially be heard.
Finally, when his throat seemed clear a few moments later, he answered, "Heh...sorry. Anyway...yeah, you have a point. Back then, I'm pretty sure that's all I could think about. How badly you humiliated me and how much I wanted to tear you apart for humiliating me like that. But eventually, one thing led to another, and I eventually came to realize that you beating me actually set my path straight again. I'd been getting rather...cocky lately. But when you beat me, I had a new goal, and that spurred me on to take life seriously again." Raichu stopped for a moment to take another quick drink out of his bottle before continuing, "So yeah, you could say I definitely still want to kick the crap out of you. But...in a fair, one on one match sometime. Like in that tournament you beat me in."
Having finally finished his short monologue, he paused to take another drink of the water his tail was wrapped around. Finally, after a while, he decided to ask something else. "So, what about you then? What brings you out here? Doing anything of interest lately...? You haven't been neglecting your training have you?"
~~~~~
Deborah saw the Poison Sting come at her, and she knew she could roll away and evade it. But she was certain that she would get the best out of this exchange. And so, she continued the attack, slamming her Blaze Kick attack straight-on into the Poison Sting. She felt the damage from the attack and winced slightly from the impact. She ignored the pain, however, and tried to land firmly on her feet.
Deb wasted absolutely no time. She clenched a fist and it quickly became engulfed in flames as well. She brought the fist forward, aiming a powerful Fire Punch as hard as she could right at Talia's stomach. She wasn't about to let up and give the Roselia room to breathe or waste time. Especially not with this Poison she could feel starting to take effect....
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Oct 8, 2012 1:32:18 GMT -5
Tali took the full force of the punch in her gut. Only a few seconds into this match and she was already on her last legs. Even if she healed the burns with Aromatherapy at this point, she would probably end up healing Deb with it too at such close range. And that wouldn't heal anything but the burns either.
Tali was running out of options. As long as she was trapped in this vortex her Petal Dance was useless. She resolved to scatter her Stun Spore with her good arm, firing the yellow dust into the air and letting it rain down on the area. It wasn't much, but it was all she could really do in this position.
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"No. I guess I haven't. I've just been taking part in the Wish Festival Tournament. It isn't going too well, but I guess that's to be expected at this level of competition," Doug said as he watched Tali take a blow directly to the gut. This didn't at all feel like actually being at the arena during the competition. The air was different in there. Something felt different about it.
"I guess I didn't come here expecting to win, anyway. I guess I just got the invitation and figured, y'know... why not? I wasn't really doing anything else. Of course, at the time I agreed to come I had no idea this was such a high-profile event. Maybe I'd have been more prepared then," Doug shrugged. He still thought it was odd that he of all people would get an invitation to this kind of thing. Jaer and Vito were Gym Leaders. They're obvious choices. And that Machamp, Jarek was really powerful. Doug knew he had a couple skills he had used to get out of some tight positions, but nothing that compared to those guys. The only person he really felt comfortable facing at this point was Tali, and she was probably going to get knocked out soon. And heck, she was a Gym leader too. How she even got that job was a mystery.
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Post by Digizel on Oct 9, 2012 10:58:30 GMT -5
Deborah felt her Fire Punch collide successfully. Good; she surely wouldn't be able to last too much longer. And due to the Poison she'd just been infected with, she couldn't afford a long, drawn-out battle anyay. She needed to wrap this up quickly and as soon as possible. She ran through a list of her available options of powerful, super effective moves that would wrap this up sooner rather than later. Ultimately, she came to two specific moves...but one would result in a much stronger hit...albeit with more of a negative repercussion. But as long as it ended soon, that wouldn't matter.
And so, Deborah brought her arms down to her center, elbows bent in a ninety-degree angle. She was able to ignore the yellowish powder that was starting to fall all around her.... She could feel them begin to make her stiffen, but for now, she could work with that.
Deborah began to charge forward, arms behind her. As she charged, her body began to leave behind an orange trail. It wasn't long before her entire body was practically engulfed in flames. She continued charging forward, flames surrounding her body, and she tried to slam her shoulder into Tali's body. If this powerful Flare Blitz was successful, then it would hopefully bring this battle that much close to a conclusion...if it did not already end.
~~~~~
The Raichu listened to what Doug had to say, but before Doug could even finish, he couldn't help but think, What...? He was invited to compete here...? What a small world.... It took all his self-control to keep himself from doing a spit-take with the water he still held to his lips. He turned his attention back up to the screen for a moment, watching as a Blaziken charged forward in an attempt to hit her Roselia foe with Flare Blitz.
Raichu figured he knew how that was going to end, so he looked back at Doug again. "So, you are supposed to be competing here, huh?" he asked. "Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You DID manage to beat me after all. You were only destined to go places after that." He uttered that last sentence with a large smirk and a small laugh.
"Don't worry about it, though, pal," he said, patting Doug on the shoulder. "This is some powerful competition. Even if you DON'T win, what would it matter? I mean...just look at me. You beat me in the first round of a tournament before and here I am, watching one of the best battle competitions in the entire dimension. It's not like the world will end if you can't beat your opponents. Just do your best and have fun with it. Kinda wish I'd taken that advice back then. Woulda spared me quite a bit of angst...."
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Post by Willy on Oct 9, 2012 22:50:18 GMT -5
Tali took the full force of the Flare Blitz just as the vortex was dying down. She was thrown to her back, knocked out. At that point her body seemed to phase from existence.
"And the winner of this round is: Deborah the Blaziken," the female announcer said in the same tone she seemed to say anything in.
Outside of the machine both chairs began to eject. One of the attendants, a Gothorita, began to explain a few things. "In order to initiate the simulation, ones mind must be put in a semi-dormant state. This state seems to continue when one leaves the simulation. We aren't entirely sure what causes some to wake up from this sleep before others, but it appears to vary based on how much energy was exerted inside the similation. Of course, not all data gathered thus far follows that pattern. The longest anyone has spent in this sleep to date is ten hours, but most pokemon only stay in this state for a few minutes. Of course, most of these pokemon were not involved in combat. One can be woken up from this sleep earlier, but even with medical attention this would cause a few unnecessary side-effects and we generally do not advise this."
And Tali appeared to be in that state. A few Machop began to move her to a cot nearby to allow her to rest until she woke up. A few more started to approach Deb to see if she would require the same.
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Doug didn't feel too reassured by the Raichu. If the stakes weren't high, why were some combatants going all out? Why would Jet get kidnapped? Something more than an innocent tournament was happening. "I guess you're right," Doug lied, a practice he wasn't all that good at, "I guess I should just enjoy the experience." Doug tentatively took a second bite of his pickle for no other reason than to give his mouth something to do.
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Post by Digizel on Oct 9, 2012 23:42:45 GMT -5
Deborah saw Tali get hit by her Flare Blitz before she felt it. Strange, it was almost as though she could barely register this Roselia as an opponent or a target or something. No matter; the Grass-type Pokemon fell relatively quickly, just as she'd planned. And that was all she desired. A quick, decisive victory to set her back on the right path. And thankfully, she didn't have to show all of her skill in this match either. That would leave her opposition guessing she was certain.
A moment later, everything went black once more. The seat she was in ejected itself from the machine, and she was virtually unconcious, just like with Tali. However, her eyes opened before the Machop could even get close to her. She saw the bright lights above them compared to the darkness she'd just been enveloped in, but she didn't flinch or look away or anything. She simply straightened out her head and slowly rose to her feet. She looked around the room.... Sure enough, she was moving just fine, and she couldn't feel the inner pain of a poisoning; nor did she any longer feel the pain from the recoil damage. She was a bit sore and stiff from sitting in place for an extended period of time, but other than that, she felt completely normal.
She finally got back to her feet and nodded to the Machop that had been waiting for her. "...I'm fine." she said simply. "She was hardly taxing on my energy." And with that, she stepped away from the machine.
~~~
As Deb stepped away from the machine, Jet couldn't help but sit there in awe. That had been an amazing display of power he'd just witnessed. That was a better showing of strength than she had yet shown in this tournament so far...even against Haru. She may have fought harder, but she didn't seem to have quite as much power then as she did now. Had she been training between rounds or something...? No matter what the case, he clapped louder than the rest of the crowd with a bright smile. He was glad to see that somebody he thought could be trustworthy win the match.
~~~~~
The Raichu looked down at Doug as he spoke again. For a moment, the two of them were silent. But then he suddenly started laughing again. "Heheh...ha!" the Raichu laughed, not hesitating to smack Doug on his back. "You know, kid, you are SUCH a terrible liar." He smirked and patted Doug on the back again. "Your tone's a dead giveaway. Look, just don't let it bother you right now. Just do your best, work as hard as you can toward this, and...well, if it doesn't work, there's not much more you can do about it. Man, you're the last person I thought I'd have to say that to...you're the one who taught me that lesson, after all."
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Oct 10, 2012 0:13:29 GMT -5
Doug was starting to wonder why he wasn't saying anything about how he really felt. This Raichu seemed pretty set on helping him. What could really go wrong? "Well... I guess it's not losing that I'm all that worried about. I mean, that's disappointing, sure, but I feel like somethings up. Like there's more at stake in this tournament than I'd care to lose. Not that losing definitely has an effect on whether something bad is going to happen, but I feel like if I make the wrong move at any given time, something bad might happen."
"I guess what I'm saying is... I don't feel safe."
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Well that was short, Damon thought to himself as the two combatants were removed from their seats. Hardly gave me any time to prepare. Ah well. Wasn't counting on potentially being asleep for a few hours after this. I had best make sure everything is in place.
With that, Damon leaned over to the Machamp next to him. "Make sure Vito knows he's to lose against you tomorrow. Yes, this plan limits our options, but I think even you know full well this gives us the best chance of success. Make sure you tell him just before your match. You know the rule of thumb: the longer we can afford to keep him in the dark, the better."
And with that, Damon headed for the chair. The sooner he got this over with the better. Goodness knows he still wasn't sure what exactly that Zangoose was capable of. Yesterdays close call with Vito was an excellent reminder of what can happen when there are too many unknown variables.
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Post by Digizel on Oct 11, 2012 13:01:11 GMT -5
Raichu looked down at Doug and considered him for a moment. Was he right? Was there something going on behind the scenes in this tournament? Well, if he was...he knew one thing for certain. This was definitely going to become something a lot more fun than simply watching a tournament of the best fighters around.
"I see...." Raichu said at last, putting his paw up to his jaw and stroking it for a moment. "If that's the case, then count me in." He let a smirk spread across his face. He wasn't even making an attempt to hide the excitement that began to build up inside of him. "I haven't had any kind of real excitement since that tournament before. A nice scandal or investigation could be just what I've been waiting for."
~~~
Jarek, the Machamp sitting beside Damon. He looked back at Damon as he spoke. He nodded and replied, "Whatever you say, Boss." he mumbled in response. "You can count on me." He knew what would happen if he couldn't do what Damon told him. He wouldn't be able to trust him as much; and he wasn't about to let this Scyther down like that.
Meanwhile, the Zangoose was already standing up and making his way toward the machine without a word. On his way, he caught the gaze of the Lucario he had so soundly defeated in the opening round of this tournament. He could just sense a strong desire from him. He could tell that the Lucario wanted to defeat him with all of his being.
But he ignored that for now and decided to continue up to the machine. He looked over at Damon who was approaching the machine at the same time. He knew this Scyther was up to something. But after that pitiful display yesterday, he couldn't help but wonder if he was really the biggest threat right now. Naturally, he was aware that it had probably somehow been staged. But still...such incredible feats of strength came from the Machamp....
No; this was no time to be thinking about what to do in the future. Here, he had to focus. He had to test and see what this Damon was truly capable of. And if he could end up defeating him, then he knew that it would be best to focus on the Machamp and figure something out about him. He looked back at the machine again before finally speaking up. "I hope you don't plan on throwing this match like you did for the last one. Losing too many times can cause problems if the...unknown should happen." With that, he sat down onto the seat.
He allowed himself to get pulled into the machine. As he did, he was suddenly absorbed into a world of darkness. He waited there for a moment before, suddenly, he found himself in the blinding White Void. It was a shame he couldn't examine this area any more than this. It was quite...intriguing to say the least. But this was an important match. He had to focus.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Oct 11, 2012 20:28:14 GMT -5
The unknown ain't gonna happen, bud. Damon was pretty pleased with himself. Based on what this guy was saying, he was pretty much completely in the dark about what was to come. That was just the way Damon wanted it.
Damon followed suit and jumped into the simulator. Before he knew it he was in the White Void as well. It was surprising how well this simulator worked. It would be awfully hard to tell this apart from reality if you forgot where you were.
"Match begins in three. Two. One," The announcer counted down once again.
As soon as she finished, Damon manipulated the air around him and slashed in the direction of the Zangoose, sending a Vacuum Wave across the gap between them.
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"A-alright," Doug replied. He's in? What does he mean he's in?
"Well, if you're planning on doing something, the first thing we might want to do is find the place where the matches are being held. And ideas?" Doug said, still not sure what exactly the Raichu planned on doing. Doug could only hope it wouldn't mean he just invited another person to snoop around in his business.
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Post by Digizel on Nov 2, 2012 20:23:08 GMT -5
As he continued to look around the White Void, waiting for the match's countdown to begin, he also began plotting. He took a quick search through his mind and thought up what a Scyther would be likely to do in this battle. There were quite a few possibilities. And he had to plan for each one. He couldn't afford to underestimate this Damon character, nor could he afford to make too many mistakes. He had to be perfectly ready for anything....
When the countdown began, he quickly turned his attention back to the Scyther who had materialized at around the same moment as himself. As the match finally began, Damon had wasted no time in coming forth with a fast move. A Vacuum Wave, huh? He was quick to jump to the side and avoid the attack using his own Quick Attack. However, he didn't charge in like he had against his last two foes. Or at the very least, not yet. He needed to watch the Scyther a bit more closely first and observe his true battle style. He had gotten a taste of it during his fight with the Abra...but that match simply hadn't been long or intense enough. This was something he had to learn first hand it seemed.
But even so, Marduk found his mind going back to the Scyther's opening move. Peculiar for a Scyther to open up a match with a Vacuum Wave attack. Sure, it was a strong move to use against a Normal-type like himself, but even so, it was rather common knowledge that the move was rather...weak on its own. Especially for a pokemon species that primarily focused on physical combat. Of course, it as possible that Damon was an exception...but given the battles against the Abra and Machamp, he had his doubts. Of course, there was the fact that he threw the match against the Machamp and the Abra was a Psychic-type, who was resistant to Fighting-type moves, so he couldn't rule it out completely just yet....
Either way, Marduk stretched himself out a bit more, ready to bound in any direction...be it for simple evasion or a counterattack. He said nothing and eyed the Scyther suspiciously. What was the mantis Pokemon going to do next...?
~~~~~
The Raichu simply nodded. "Oh yeah," he said and jumped to his feet away from the table where he'd been sitting. "I know exactly where it's at. Come on, I'll show you. You're actually on the complete wrong side of the park." He looked pleased with himself for a moment. 'Heheh...man...I can't believe he doesn't even know where he's supposed to be. And here I thought he was such a smart guy....' he thought to himself.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Dec 5, 2012 20:11:34 GMT -5
Damon knew this guys type. This Zangoose thought he was gonna read Damon somehow. Damon knew better than that. It wasn't time for him to show his hand yet. Not quite. He had to leave as many tricks hidden up his sleeve as possible. It would be much easier to accomplish in the losers bracket. Some pokemon in this thing are stupid enough to take this one match at a time. Boy aren't they in for a shock. Damon thought to himself.
But he couldn't just throw this match. He had to make it seem like he was trying this time. He didn't really care if people noticed he threw that last match. Most people would be convinced and that was good enough for Damon. This time he had to fool even his opponent. Maybe it was time he gave these folks a bit of a sneak preview? Why not? A little teaser of whats to come couldn't hurt too much.
Keeping his distance, the Scyther used Agility. He figured it wouldn't take long for the Zangoose to catch on. Probably.
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Doug's eyes widened. "The wrong side?" Doug couldn't believe he was that far off. The fact that people were watching the matches he was supposed to attend must have got him all mixed up when he tried to find his way. Usually all he had to do was follow those thoughts and he would find himself at his destination. This television stuff really baffled him.
"Well we'd better get going then, shouldn't we?!" Doug was at the very beginning of a panic. He wasn't sure it'd be possible to make it there by his match.
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Post by Digizel on Dec 6, 2012 23:59:46 GMT -5
The Zangoose eyed the Scyther standing before him suspiciously. This Damon was certainly not one to underestimate, and he was more than aware of this. But the Scyther seemed more than willing to simply hang back and wait this out. But for what reason? Was he plotting something? Or perhaps he was merely setting himself up for something more. Marduk wasn't sure what was going on in Damon's head at the moment, but whatever it was, he couldn't allow his foe to set something up.
Thankfully, Marduk had a move in his arsenal that could potentially stop whatever the Scyther might have in mind. He smirked a little bit and crouched slightly. "What's the hold-up over there...?" he asked, raising a claw up and gesturing toward him. "You're not afraid to come show me what you've got, are you?" As he finished his statement, his claws flexed a bit, resulting in a classic motion that was easily identified as body language for 'Come and get me.' This was, of course, his Taunt move. This should force that Scyther to rely solely on attack techniques. That would surely limit Damon's possible strategies.
~~~~~
"Oh come on, man, relax!" the Raichu exclaimed and clapped the Abra on the back of the shoulder as they prepared to get moving. "Sure, you're on the wrong side of the park, but the tournament's only on the second match of the day. Yours is the last one, right?" He stopped and thought for a moment, before finally coming up with what he wanted to say. "That means there's still two whole matches before yours. And this one just started, so you still have that one too. And all these guys are supposed to be the best fighters around, so I'm sure they'll last quite a while. You've got PLENTY of time."
The Raichu's long, serpentine tail circled around and quickly wrapped around Doug's arm and started pulling a bit. "...But we'd best get moving anyway. Better safe than sorry, right?" He certainly wasn't confident in what he had said. He had no idea how long these matches would last; especially given how short some of them had been, such as the Lucario's fight with the Zangoose. But, at least he'd be able to reassure Doug for now. "But hey, whether you become the Wish Festival Champ or not, you owe me a rematch once this whole thing is said and done. Consider it payment for the information. You should know it doesn't come cheap these days." The Raichu had added the last part in a semi-joking manner, to help lighten the mood.
However...it didn't change the fact that he definitely did want a rematch with him. Although it was no longer out of anger or vengeance, he wanted to pit himself against the first foe to ever best him so cleanly in battle once more. If only for old time's sake.
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