[attr="class","icon"]

it's lucky (and convenient) that cian doesn't recognize her for her position in rocket. what he does recognize her for is the time she punched him in the face. repeatedly. he can still feel the pain across his cheek as her fist connected.[break][break]

"that was self-defense! i thought we were going to battling pokemon!"[break][break]

he laughs about it now because it's funny.[break][break]

"can't say i'm glad to see you again but i am excited about this challenge! maybe i'll finally be able to get in a few good shots."[break][break]

his pokemon take the field, ready to fight as HAIL begin to fall.[break][break]

"bring it."

[attr="class","bottom"]Marza Volchitsa[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

She should be thankful she's not better known, considering her usual carelessness when it came to her identity. Previously, Marza had never cared as she never intended to try the gym challenge or any other league-associated entity before. Having moved up in Rocket, however, things were different. She couldn't afford to be quite so lackadaisical in regards to that.
[break][break]
"Well consider this your chance to redeem yourself." She laughed, as if she were the gym leader and not him. It was humorous at least.
[break][break]
Little did he know, of course, how unlucky he'd be to run into her again under less civil circumstances. "Alright then." Hail began to pelt the arena, which was frankly annoying. Ice then, that was fine with her. Very likely, that meant his pokemon wouldn't be affected, she'd keep that in mind. Releasing her own pair of pokemon, she prepared. Kuru immediately took to the air, guarding with IRON DEFENSE. Meanwhile, Kommo-o raced across the arena, lashing out at Avalugg with CLOSE COMBAT. Just as Marza was, he was prone to being aggressive from the start.

[attr="class","bottom"]CIAN MAHER [break]

[attr="class","icon"]

"ugh you're so cocky."[break][break]

not that he minds. they play off each other rather well even if he refuses to admit it.[break][break]

avalugg's typing makes it prone to the CLOSE COMBAT. for that reason, it summons a shield of PROTECT that tanks the attack for it. kommo-o's fists clash against the invisible barrier.[break][break]

with the kommo-o up close, all glalie has to do is jolt forward to try and crunch its ICE FANGS down on it to hold it in place.

[attr="class","bottom"]Marza Volchitsa[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

A crooked smile forms at that word, cocky. Sure, maybe she was, even if most of her personality was projection at best. Either way, she wasn't here to play nice, even if she could admit this was more enjoyable than she'd originally though it would be.
[break][break]
Kommo-o's attack is blocked, struck by a combination of hail and icefangs, which pins it down. Annoying, but this is only the beginning, isn't it? Kuru takes the opportunity to attack the Glalie currently pinning Kommo-o down, with STEEL WING. Attempting to wrench free of the hold, Kommo-o waits for the corviknight to lash out before attempting a strike of its own on the Glalie with CLANGING SCALES. Hail continues to batter them from above.

[attr="class","bottom"]CIAN MAHER [break]

[attr="class","icon"]

the two ice-types fight off each other, playing to each other's strengths and weaknesses as the avalugg moves to take the STEEL WING for the glalie. metal scratches against its cool surface, leaving a mark. the avalugg is unable to do anything about the CLANGING SCALES, however.[break][break]

fighting through the pain, glalie CRUNCHES down harder and rolls out from underneath the avalugg right into the falling HAIL. there, it begins to recover slowly with the help of its ICE BODY.[break][break]

the avalugg does the same with its ICE BODY.[break][break]

"come on! you can do better than that!"

[attr="class","bottom"]Marza Volchitsa[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

Well, the guy knows how to bait her temper, that's for sure. But that's besides the point. Marza is nothing without her temper, but that's why she's here. To be better. She would never be better is she succumbed to baser faults. It was really that simple. The reminder of that hail is a nuisance. She had never been a fan of weather or even passives for that matter, but she wouldn't have minded a sunny day about then.
[break][break]
Glalie refuses to let go, but the close proximity might in this case might prove to be a disadvantage. Kommo-o struggles more, crying out under the pain. With one last shake to loose the glalie, it lets loose with BOOM BURST, which hits all within its proximity. This includes her corviknight, but the distance lightens the impact and Kuru recovers quickly before aiming down at the Glalie once more with STEEL WING.

[attr="class","bottom"]CIAN MAHER [break]

[attr="class","icon"]

"shit—roll away!"[break][break]

the BOOMBURST rattles glalie to its core, knocking it back as it releases its death grip on the kommo-o only to be struck by a STEEL WING. it falls to the ground, clattering and sliding but not fainting just yet.[break][break]

almost, but not out.[break][break]

"ahhh! so close!"[break][break]

it's clear he's trying to get a rise out of the challenger. but perhaps it also distracts her from seeing how the avalugg is charging up.[break][break]

the ground shakes as it runs up to SKULL BASH the kommo-o.[break][break]

glalie spends the round summoning another wave of HAIL, making sure to recover with its ICE BODY.

[attr="class","bottom"]Marza Volchitsa[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

"Don't let it recover."
[break][break]
Admittedly the attempt on the other's part to rile her up might have worked a little bit. Enough to distract her. Tunnel vision, it was a problem of hers, as proven only moments later. Kuru dived down at the Glalie as it attempted to heal with BRAVE BIRD. She hadn't realized that Kommo-o had become the target of a last brutal attack.
[break][break]
The scaled dragon couldn't take another hit and crashed to the ground. Under normal circumstances, her temper might have controlled her. Irritation lashing out at the poor beast, but it was her own fault. Annoyingly, this was proving to be more of a lesson of faults than she'd intended. "Sneaky shit." She recalled Kommo-o with a sigh.

[attr="class","bottom"]CIAN MAHER [break]

[attr="class","icon"]

glalie's ICE BODY is not enough to sustain it against corviknight's final BRAVE BIRD. the attack knocks glalie over the edge of consciousness. it slumps to the ground, ball-body rolling to a halt.[break][break]

"fuck. miscalculated there."[break][break]

he recalls his glalie.[break][break]

with the challenge now forced to a one-versus-one situation, he knows he's at a disadvantage. avalugg's defenses are high but it's also quite immobile compared to the corviknight.[break][break]

"bunker down!"[break][break]

the avalugg's IRON DEFENSE coats its body, preparing itself.

[attr="class","bottom"]Marza Volchitsa[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

She might have been having some fun? Maybe, a little? Even with Kommo-o down and only Kuru left to fight, it added a touch of intensity that she felt she was sorely needing right then. Maybe that was the point of gym battles, it sparked her competitive side.
[break][break]
The hail reminded her though that she was far from the end, or so it felt. Not while it was still pummeling Kuru with every passing round and healing his pokemon. A frustrating pain in the ass. "Let's finish this, shall we?" Kuru gave a pleased little caw, spinning in the air like a buzzard over roadkill before lashing down at the avalugg with another STEEL WING. The iron defense would slow things down, but would it be enough?

[attr="class","bottom"]CIAN MAHER [break]

[attr="class","icon"]

"hmph, shut up."[break][break]

IRON DEFENSE and ICE BODY hold strong, stopping avalugg from fainting to the sharp STEEL WING. it roars in pain, ground trembling from the sheer intensity of it.[break][break]

knowing it does not have long left, it rises up and comes down to SKULL BASH into the corviknight, looking to finally take it down.

[attr="class","bottom"]Marza Volchitsa[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

Somehow, she managed to rattle him. Not that she was looking for an enemy, quite the opposite. The guy wasn't a bore and that was about the only requirement that Marza had with other people. Regardless of how this turned out, then again she might like him considerably less if she lost to him. Not gonna happen.
[break][break]
The avalugg hangs on, it's a tough bastard for sure. The quality that Marza always prized most in her own pokemon. They didn't need to have sense or even brains, simply the willpower to keep going.
[break][break]
The impact makes Kuru squawk, plummeting downward. The proximity forcing him to react with FURY ATTACK. A grounded bird was a dead one, but Kuru had a little more meat on its bones than the average one.

[attr="class","bottom"]CIAN MAHER [break]

[attr="class","icon"]

while cian is confident his avalugg could have kept going should it really need to, the point of the gym challenge had been met. the challenger has proven themselves capable and somewhat worthy of THE WEATHER BADGE.[break][break]

so it's with a reluctant sigh that he recalls the avalugg before the FURY ATTACKS hit.[break][break]

"you've won."[break][break]

he approaches her with the badge, a smile present despite the situation. he's had his fun and this is all meant to be in good faith.[break][break]

"congratulations, hotshot."

[attr="class","bottom"]Marza Volchitsa[break]