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Coumarine Gym

At this point, Abomasnow had taken two Psyshocks over exchanges. The Light Screen had kept him in the fight, and the Leech Seed was restoring his body slowly but surely. That same seed, along with the Hail, had hammered away at Loki, and the Razor Leaf had taken off over half of Loki's health. The Psi Pokémon was at his last few hit points, and would need to land a clean shot with Psyshock again to take the match before he was chipped into defeat.

The Ice Shard narrowly missed piercing Loki, and before the Frosted Tree could make his next move, Loki was literally spoon feeding him a Psyshock. The Light Screen shrank reflectively, guarding its user from the attack. On a 1, the move would be critical, enough to overcome the Light Screen, and would end the match. If not, Abomasnow's health would mirror Loki's sliver of hit points in the aftermath, and he'd tear the spoons from his mouth and pin them onto the ground with a mighty stump claw.

((Normal moves have a 1/16 chance of landing a critical hit, I'm giving this Psyshock a 1/8 chance bc spoons in mouth. Standby for second half))
((Here's that second half))

Abomasnow was still conscious, hanging on by a thread, but not unfazed. Ramos knew that Loki was on a clock, and time was running out. One more solid blow from either Pokémon would end the match.

The Frosted Tree lifted up another claw. Loki was close now, close enough for an Ice Punch. His right hook came in wide, reminiscent of a tree's mighty trunk, and the frigid haymaker threatened to finish off his opponent.

The Hail subsided. The Leech Seed still pulsed.

Unknown Cave

Moze nodded at Ratio's assessment. He didn't like having no agency, and when it came to Ratio's recovery, he was forced to play the waiting game. It was an inevitability that his teacher would come back full. Hopefully. This kind of damage would leave almost anyone else dead.

All he could do was help ease the pain with Prou, and more importantly, talk to him. Converse. Help remind him that despite it all, he was still a man and that people still cared about him.

"She's still in it!" Moze was nearly off his chair now. He had always been enthusiastic about his spectator sports. Now that he couldn't actually compete in them, he was even more enthusiastic. "She can still take it!"

He was about to stand up when Ratio made his proposal. Moze's mood shifted suddenly, darkening to match the shadowy room. The nature of an Aura based tutelage was that there were no secrets between apprentice and master. At least, Moze couldn't keep secrets from Ratio. His fervent hatred of nobility was no surprise. It may have been even more intense than Ratio's.

"I'd say..." Moze trailed off, selecting what he said next carefully. Ratio already knew how he felt, but Moze was not a berserker. He could be reasoned with. "Why her?"

Anistar Gym

Before he entered the main arena, Benedict would receive one last text from Juliet.

~Let me know if you need help. I'll be your shield. Good luck.~

Route 12 - Farmhouse

"Got nothing against you, ******** head." Emily prepared for the fight. "Jean-Pierre says you gotta die? Then you gotta die." She'd leap at him again, nothing between them now as her body weight was hurled into him, arms and legs pulling up as she attempted to slam him backwards.

Kecleon looked up and squealed, taking the blast directly into the face. As he was knocked backwards by the blast, he'd stare at Hazard with empty eyes and as the darkness bled into his vision he'd lift both hands to flip Hazard off before he hit the ground and crumpled.

Tentacruel would take the Dragon Pulse with a cry of pain before turning toward Lethal and casting the amazing Giga Drain. As the green energy would leap toward Lethal to steal his health a one would be success, and a two would be Tentacruel accidentally draining his own hp.

Magmortar's stoic frozen body rumbled. Not with life, but more like a stomach growl.

***

Coumarine Gym

Loki had no time to plan something cool. Even with the brain of a supercomputer this was the final moment. He'd jump toward the swing, moving before it could slam into him and into the safety of taking a bicep to the side instead of the frosty ice punch.

He'd bring the final Psyshock from his own two hands toward the chest of Abomasnow. If it hit, the match would officially end.

Unknown Cave

Ratio could sense Moze's unease at the mere suggestion. The pair had already begun working alongside the nobility; Ratio's former masters were the Leroux family, and that alliance continued into this new war. Only Elliot Leroux knew that Ratio had once worked for his father, the former Lord Leroux. Well, after their brief meld, Elizabeth knew that too.

'I killed her father,' Ratio said without a hint of inflection or emphasis. To him, it was a simple, emotionless statement. 'Elizabeth wanted to kill me in turn, yet against the Quillon, she took our side.'

He tapped his temple with a finger, which looked more like a thick black twig than anything human. 'During the Procession, I showed Lady Elizabeth the truth. Her hatred is a powerful Aural force, my student, easily manipulated to one's ends. She is a trainer powerful enough to stand against the Quillon, and one whose rage we can redirect towards the Court. So let me ask you. Why not her?'

Route 12 - Farmhouse

The flames had swept across much of the old home by now, smoke piling from the rafters lodged in the stone brick ceiling, turning black and ready to cave. Through the haze, Zack saw Adrian pulling his wife free, dragging her towards a back door. But Emily didn't give him the opportunity to observe further.

'If Jean-Pierre told you to jump off a bridge--' Zack started, bowing away from Emily's attack as she hurled herself towards him. A human body slam. Cute, but once again left her with poor mobility. He sidestepped so that all her momentum would carry her into the wall at Zack's back, near the window that was nothing but shards.

He would aim to grab Emily by the shoulder and shove her into the wall, then fold his other arm across the back of her neck as he twisted her arm behind her back, pinning her to the warm stone face-first.

'Last chance, you stupid--'

Anistar City Gym

Benedict reappeared in the centre of the maze. It was a perfect sphere, the arena floating at its core, circled by enormous rotating gears that passed one another in perfect synchronicity. Beyond those, the marbled walls depicted an endless starfield, giving the impression that those battling were stood in the depths of space.

The gym leader stood atop a pedestal opposite Benedict. She descended its brass steps, wearing an airy expression as she regarded her opponent.

'The challenger comes, his future is uncertain, will he falter here?' Olympia said, reaching the bottom step and entering her trainer box - a simple rectangle on the floor. 'Rules are decided, the one against the other, unless you object?'

Anistar City Gym
Ben stepped into his trainer box and started spinning Caboose's Pokeball on his fingertip. "Nothing is certain, but my skills make up for it. I do not object." Ben would release Caboose between them. He actually didn't know if the rules were different than one pokemon fighing another pokemon, but he was pretty sure that was all there was to this.

Somewhere on a screen he was sure there was his name flashing there, with a reference to his being sponsored by Lord Balibar. He hadn't been told to, like, yell it out or anything. They'd chosen his outfit which made everything easier. But, uh, maybe the maze just had less fanfare than other places? Other people probably hated it too.

"The ball's in your court. We should put on a good show. Make it fun to watch."

Coumarine Gym

The Psyshock erupted from Loki's hands, placed squarely at Abomasnow's chest. A shockwave burst past him, blowing away the lingering mists from the Snow Warning. The air above the arena cleared up, and the sun shone through the ceiling once more.

The last bit of Loki's health drained away from the Leech Seed. It withered away and dropped, vines and all, to the ground. Loki would follow shortly after, knocked unconscious.

"I-I don't believe it!" the announcer yelled. "The winner is Ra-"

Ramos held out a hand, stopping the announcer cold before he finished. "Yeh may not see it from way up there. But down 'ere, it's plain as day."

The life force from the Leech Seed, with nowhere to go, floated up from the dead seed as specks of green energy that dispersed just as quickly. Abomasnow was still upright, but unmoving. His eyes were blank, and his body was shrinking back to its normal form. His balance askew, his form fell over, passed out. The spoons underneath his foot clattered.

"What a fake out! Psyshock has taken out Abomasnow! The winner is Helenaaaaa Redgraaaaave!"

Abomasnow was returned to his ball as Ramos stepped down from the trainer's box to meet Helena in the center of the arena. She battled well. Fiercely. But there was something off about the girl to Ramos. Something hurtful.

"Mega Evolvin' ain't for the faint of heart, whippersnapper. Yeh did well." He held out the Plant Badge for her to take, as well as TM86 for Grass Knot. "If this ol' man can give ya any advice, it's this."

He leaned in a little closer, his squinted eyes shaded with concern. "Yer Pokémon pick up on the way yah act. Compassion helps yeh both bloom. That, and a lil' water of course." He gave her a playful wink.

Unknown Cave

"I understand, teach...I understand. It makes sense, but..."

Prou was picking up on Moze's bubbling feelings. She'd lived long enough with Soledads to know about their temperaments. Salieri's rage was frothing, volcanic. Moze's was like the vacuum of space. Cold, all consuming. She weakened their link during those moments, lest she be overcome with the same anger.

"When I see them, any of them, I just think about my losses." Moze looked down, slightly ashamed that the mere mention of a Leroux could get him worked up. What would Mia think? Not cool, Moze, not cool.

"Even if you could change her heart, I don't know if I can change mine. I'm not sure how to reconcile that." He looked back to Ratio, his eyes pleading for help. "I don't want to hate her. I already do. You know that I've thought of ways to tear her apart, while we're talking right now."

He laughed at some irony he was feeling. It was semi-forced. His laughter used to fill up a room and become infectious. "Look at me. They used to call me the League Prodigy. The Hurricane. And now I'm just..."

Moze pulled his knees up to his chest and looked at the fire. "I'm just mad. It's not cool, teach."

Route 12 - Farmhouse

Emily would instead twist herself with the same punching motion, drawing herself inwards as she turned to face Zack. Her knee would pick up immediately aimed to slam into his groin and, if it hit, she'd aim to headbutt him again this time in the nose.

"Just stop ******** struggling," she'd snap at him during the struggle.

***

Coumarine Gym

Helena's heart skipped a beat as it all came to an end. First their bond disappeared, and then Loki fainted as his body returned to normal. When she was announced the winner she sucked in a breath, realizing she hadn't been breathing.

Taking in another long breath, eyes closed, the Redgrave composed herself before recalling Loki and stepping down from the trainer box to meet Ramos at the center of the arena. Every step she took was focused entirely on trying to look the part of a noble sponsor. Elegant, poised.

She'd take the badge and TM from him, her eyes locked onto his own. Her lips were parted as she took in quick, audible and anxious breaths.

"Thanks," she whispered back, her voice a squeaked rasp and then, realizing the cameras were a close up of their faces and their interactions, she'd smile. Eyes lighting up along with the rest of her face, she'd offer her free hand for the gym leader to shake.

"Thank you for the match, sir."

Coumarine Gym

Alvia Balibar waited for Helena in the dressing room. The non-binary stylist was taller than she was, thin, graceful, elegant, adorned in a black dress and gold rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Their eyes fell upon Helena the moment the teen stepped into the room.

"Dinner is tomorrow," they said in a low husky voice, plump lips painted gold and silver stripes, strong jaw giving the bottom half of their face a square shape. "I will text you the address and time. Bring a date." Alvia had already given Helena the same spiel that Benedict had gotten.

She had her holocaster but no autonomy over any of her own social media. She could text who she liked as long as it was approved, so on and so forth.

"Do I get to keep this?" The Redgrave asked and the person before her shook their head.

"You will never be seen in the same outfit twice. However," they handed her a card, "that is the stylists name. If anyone asks who you wore today you will give them that name. Memorize it, don't read from the card."

Helena looked at the name and then pocketed said card. "Anything else."

"Yes. Congratulations, your money will be hitting your account." ding. "now."

"Cool." Helena looked through her wardrobe for something that she hadn't worn the last few days and settled on a simple pair of jeans and a dark red t-shirt. "See you later."

***

The moment she got to the lobby she was swarmed by her friends.

"You looked so pretty!" Bridgette shouted, flanking her and trying to stand on her tiptoes to look at Helena's curls. She hadn't bothered to touch her hair or makeup.

"Right?" Azucena took one of the curls in her hand. "This is professional as s**t, dude."

Henrietta was the only one who didn't try to touch her, instead looking at her with a proud but shy smile. "We're all r-really proud of you."

Helena felt the joy light up inside of her. Being surrounded by so much hope and positively, she completely forgot that she should be the one to tell Zack.

So when she stepped out of the gym and the first thing she saw was Salieri, the teen would freeze up going pale.

"oh s**t."