[attr="class","spiral"] "Bwah!" The receptionist has a literal jump scare at the sudden sound of Mateo slamming his card against the counter top. In a dazed flinch, she looks at him, wide-eye, as if he was crazy. "My goodness, you almost gave me a heart attack." Mateo's vigor only scares her because it catches her by surprise. Once she gathers herself, his incessant enthusiasm becomes quite endearing and she smiles.

"He's been waiting for you, Mister," she glances at his ID card and types his name into the computer. "Martinez? Oh! Another Elite Four member? That's the second this week!" She points behind her and towards the straight hall that leads into the main battle arena. "If you follow straight behind here there should be a set of double doors down the hallway. He should be past that. Good luck! Mister Silph said he was excited to battle you!"

The road diverges into three and the path straight ahead leads to a long and wide hallway. Big enough for several people, at the end rests the double doors that separate the main building from the standard battlefield. It's nothing fancy, a wide stretch of empty gym floor set for an other official League battle. Opposite where Mateo will enter is another entrance, set fo the Gym Leader and leading deeper into the Battle Frontier.

On the other end of the battlefield is Fernando and his Tapu Fini. His hand rests on the Pokemon's forehead, petting it affectionately as it seems to absorb the pink mist emanating from his body. His eyes look up when the challenger's doors open and his grin is as wide as the battlefield. Nestled over his right eye is a very particular lens with an array of different transparent, holographic projections.

[attr="class","spiral"]"Tapu Fini," Fernando corrects, smiling at his latest challenger. The Tapu Fini does not share the council man's sentiments, giving the Elite Four a brief glance, indifferent to his stature and presence, before returning her gaze toward Fernando's hand. It continues to pull at the MISTY TERRAIN that seeps out of his body and clothes.

"That depends! I'm quite interested in seeing the Legendary Pokemon you brought! I didn't know you had one." That's the entire reason Fernando showed an interest in Mateo's challenge. That's the same reason he rushed the production of the new Silph Scope so he could gather newfound data about a Pokemon he presumably had no idea about. Anticipation quickens and Mateo's eagerness is matched by his own, suppressed by Fernando's concise demeanor.

[attr="class","spiral"] It doesn't take a genius to read Mateo's stammering like an open textbook. Fernando's enthusiasm dies with the realization that Mateo, much like Kyle, had fooled around with their challenge entry. Their desired difficulty gave it away but he had hoped that the two were in on some inside joke, hence the exact same answer. It looks like neither is true and Fernando sighs.

"Oh, really? Last I heard, Sceptile was a grass type. There's no way that a Pokemon's type can change, except for—" Fernando has no idea about Mega Sceptile and its typing but the trend of Mega Evolutions happening throughout the region has been one of the most highlighted methods to change a Pokemon's type. Fernando puts one and one together and Mateo now has no leverage over him. Still, Fernando continues on with the charade, disappointed but not petty enough to duck out of his responsibilities.

[attr="class","spiral"] Fernando shifts from entertaining Mateo to starting at him with a mix of disbelief and hesitation. While boasting breeding exploits aren't anything too odd, the way he phrased it sounded like he observed the act in question, an odd flex by many means and one that Fernando expressedly judges him for. However, this man is still one of the Elite Four that make up Hoenn's greatest trainers. Minor quirks, odd but innocent in nature, can be excused as long as the benefit outweighed the costs. Fernando goes no further into the inquiry and make a mental note of the comment, however crude.

"Very well then, Mateo. I'll grant you your challenge." Fernando taps side of the lens, dismissing all of the screen except a single one that projects what looks to be a single lens. "A single battle to show what your Legendary Sceptile can do."

[attr="class","spiral"] "Would you oblige, Tapu Fini?"

Fernando does not demand but requests that the Legendary Pokemon fall in line. While they may have spent a decent amount of time together since the Summer Aqua Festival, he's still uncertain on how to read the Legendary and doesn't dare assume agency over the Pokemon, avatar or not. With an expressionless nod, the Pokemon floats in front of him and levitates onto their end of the battle field. It's observed enough battles to understand the process of the gym battle and the formalities behind it.

"I look forward to see what you can do both as a member of the Elite Four and as someone endorsed personally by dahlia goode."

Fernando stares at his Tapu Fini at first, waiting for the transparent retical of his vision to register the Pokemon and scan it. Much like the Pokedex, it reads the Pokemon's species and the set of moves Fernando had already registered under his Tapu Fini. "The first move is yours, challenger," he states, switching to Mateo's Sceptile and satisfied when it registered the species successfully. A list of possible moves the Pokemon may know pops up but with so much variance between individual Pokemon, there's no way for him to truly know what the opponent is capable of.

[attr="class","spiral"] Fernando continues to watch the battle unfold and is pleased with how the Silph Scope works. The moment the Sceptile disappears the project scans the field, trying to pinpoint its location until it appears again. It momentarily tracks the Pokemon before a red text appears above the Pokemon with the label QUICK ATTACK. Any basic trainer worth their salt can recognize the technique but having the technology capable of matching it proves exciting.

Tapu Fini has no needs for commands. It can battle without Fernando and has done as such for years as a Legendary Pokemon. When the Sceptile disappears the first time the Pokemon raises its hands up, gathering energy to manifest into a transparent bubble around it. When the Sceptile lashes out with LEAF BLADE, the bubble reveals its solid nature, glowing bright green and repelling the attack with an audible 'clang'.

"SURF!"

Fernando states the command because it goes against the Pokemon's natural thought process. It isn't hard to tell that Sceptile is a grass type and therefore water based attacks would prove ineffective. Tapu Fini would've opted for BLIZZARD but entertains the idea of listening to Fernando and follows his lead. A surge of cold water gushes from the Pokemon's body, spilling forth and spreading out in all directions, threatening to push back the opponent regardless of which angle it attacked from. The Tapu Fini rides the wave that bubbles underneath until it drenches the whole field, water spilling out until the entire gym floor is covered.