As Oscar 'met' Liam King, it took a lot of will power not to giggle to himself. Knowing Gavin's disguise was like being in on a joke only a select few knew, and seeing him here now just tickled Oscar pink. He remained serious however, returning a cocky smirk toward his superior. This shall be a rare opportunity, a true skirmish with the great Cillian Quinn . Oscar wondered how he would fair.

Oscar opened his own pokeball, revealing a similar theme to Gavin's. Oscar had a large array of Dragon types, he found it only fitting to fight a steel master with the one and only steel dragon. Avarice the Duraludon shined brightly in the summer sun, his own Heavy Metal shaking the ground beneath him. Like his opponent, Avarice would flash as an Iron Defense enhanced his durability. 

Oscar raised a hand, making a 'come at us' motion toward 'Liam'. This should be good.

"Interesting choice!"

Though Liam comes across as merely making conversation with an opponent, the words are meant to communicate Gavin's amusement.

Oscar sought to beat him at his own game. Fair enough. He wouldn't make it easy.

Unfortunately, Aggron's status as a fairly green member of Gavin's roster meant that her moveset was sorely lacking in comparison to his veterans. There's a pause from the underboss as he considers what she knows, and then a whistle.

He clicks his tongue, and sands harden to ROCKS that SLIDE violently toward their foe.

And so the fight began.

Oscar folded his arms, watching intently to see what Avarice would do. The hardy dragon watched the rocks as they barreled toward him, analyzing the best approach to handling their charge. Making a decision, Avarice's legs would individually stomp into the ground to lock him in as he leaned forward.

His mouth opened wide, and he watched and waited as the rocks drew nearer. Just when it seemed as if they'd collide with the dragon tower, a light would charge from within his barrel-throat. The first rock came--there was a burst of red light--and it was gone. 

Pow--pow--pow--pow

In quick succession Avarice used a specialized version of Rock Smash to burst through the rocks as they came to him. Just as effective as its physical counterpart, and just as short in range. Despite that drawback, he was able to smash through the rocks and narrowly avoid being toppled over. As the dust settled, Avarice rose to his original position and stared down his opponent. What would their next move be?

Cillian Quinn

Hm. Unfortunate.

Gavin cants his head, calculating before a click of his tongue.

Aggron barrels forward with reckless abandon, closing the distance between them with as much speed as could be afforded by her bulky frame before leaping toward the Duraludon with a DOUBLE-EDGED slam.

The careless nature of the attack sees her take damage as well.

---

Use a move with recoil damage - complete!

Avarice narrowed his eyes as his opponent charged forward. He was too slow to dodge, which was why fate blessed him with an extraordinary amount of extra weight (Heavy Metal). The double edge ran true, slamming into Avarice with immense force. Yet this was exactly wanted, barely reacting to the pain as he budged not an inch. 

With his opponent in close quarters, Avarice used this opportunity to attempt a point blank hit upon the Aggron. He opened his mouth, eyes rolling back as energy was built within his throat. Just as last time, he would unleash a quick burst of energy--the same that Smashed the Rocks moments earlier.

Cillian Quinn

Gavin winces as the ROCK SMASH strikes true and creates a fissure along Aggron's rough hide. The growl that rises in her throat sounds like a rumbling avalanche, her own HEAVY METAL composition allowing her to maintain her footing against the assault.

Rather than attempting a sluggish retreat, she embraces proximity to her opponent with a HEAVY SLAM.

Avarice's expression hardened as his opponent rushed in for another attack. Once again he did not budge, but he wouldn't be able to accomplish the same trick twice. As his opponent closed in, Avarice's body would begin to shine. A small orb would form within his still open mouth, and from there he could do little else but take the attack.

The impact was nearly enough to knock Avarice over, but luckily his prepared attack took a majority of the blow. The orb soon doubled inside, the power of the Aggron's attack being transferred into it. At that point it should be clear to Gavin what has happened, Avarice had set up Metal Burst. The orb exploded, sending the strength of the Aggron's slam back at it with even greater force.

Cillian Quinn

She fights hard, but Gavin's Aggron fights an uphill battle. Her attacks are resisted by her resilient foe and with metal bursts sending back twice as much damage as she could deal, she finally crumbles under the pressure.

Gavin frowns and returns her.

His dissatisfaction doesn't linger for long. Their audience dissipates, and Gavin gestures for oscar clayton to follow him somewhere they can talk more freely.

"You've trained your Duraludon well."

The Aggron crumbled, and Oscar let out a sigh of relief. His first win of the tourney, against Gavin no less. He had to admit, his ego swelled just a tad. It wasn't without effort though, Avarice was covered in marks and gashes. It was clear that if he hadn't outlasted that Aggron, he wouldn't have made it much further.

Oscar withdrew Avarice, making his way toward Gavin as he motioned him over. Oscar was complimented on the training of his pokemon, and it made him blush a tad. Oscar chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head as they talked.

"Thanks, it took a lot of effort so it better have paid off. Your aggron is a fucking monster too." 

Once they were far enough away from prying ears, Oscar decided to ask a more private question.

"See any talent we could use?"

Cillian Quinn

"Personality more than training, with that one. She's relatively fresh."

It's why she lacked the coverage needed to take down an opponent such as the one she'd faced today. That, of course, did not take away from oscar clayton's victory against him. The Beast has come a long way from the grunt Gavin had helped mentor.

He sighs with the question.

"No; those of note are already with us, or firmly against us."

The Silph's, for example.

"Anyone catch your eye? For their talent, I mean."

He flashes a brief smirk with the teasing tone.

Oscar shook his head, sighing heavily. "No one that wasn't already with us anyway. Gotta tell you, in that regard this thing has been a bust." Luckily Oscar wasn't just participating to find new faces for Rocket. He had been having a good deal of fun fighting, even if he hadn't been winning all that much. Oh geez, speaking of that thought struck a cord in Oscar. If Gavin saw his Win/Loss ratio, he'd probably revoke his Beast title. Better think of something quick.

Oscar shrugged, "You doing alright in this tournament? I'm not taking it too seriously so you know, my win rate is kinda falling behind. Learning a lot about my pokemon though." Hopefully that would be enough to not cause Gavin to bring Oscar's skill as a trainer into question.

Cillian Quinn

"You too, huh? Shit."

Where oscar clayton was enjoying the tournament, scouting for Rocket was the only reason that Gavin was here. It wasn't just to scope talent for their ranks but to be aware of the up-and-coming League threats, as well, threats like MATIAS SILPH.

"Seen a few old friends from Kanto."

There's a certain sharpness to the word friends that suggests he's not just talking about his old teammates. There had been Matias, as well, and...

"Calliope Marks. Heard of her?"

He flicks his wrist dismissively.

"I never take these things seriously. I don't like to battle for sport."

Oscar raised an eyebrow, "Good friends? Or y'know, 'friends'." At the mention of a one Calliope, Oscar would think for a moment before shaking his head. "Never heard of her. Though given your tone I doubt you two are on good terms." 

The name did seem familiar, though Oscar couldn't place a face to it. He sighed heavily, lifting his arms behind his head. "I just hope that something good comes of all this. I appreciate the extra practice, but it's starting to stress me out. Y'know?"

Cillian Quinn