Across from the young dragonslayer stands a man in a dark jacket. Older than him, but not by more than a handful of years. He wears a confident smile. Here in this underground ring, he’s in his element. His gunmetal eyes harbor some apprehension at the sight of the Pokemon standing at his side, but he fights that down. Garchomps are, after all, a prevalent species in the Pokemon fighting circuit.[break][break]
His own pokemon is a sight to behold. A bear with black fur, standing as tall as the Garchomp. A bandana rests on his head, swaying gently in the air-conditioned breeze. He, too, looks at ease within this world. These two are made for rings and arenas, whether above or below ground. Michael Navidson, Navy to those who actually know him, is ready to fight.[break][break]
“And in the other corner, one of the great up and coming trainers of the pro circuit! Down here to show us he can brawl in the streets as well as the stadium! Give it up for Navy aaaaand Shuweeeeen!”[break][break]
The crowd cheers. The bear cracks his knuckles.[break][break]
“Come on, buddy. Let’s have a good match! Give the people somethin’ to go home and talk about!”[break][break]
“Begin!” And, with nothing else to be said, it’s off to the races. The bear charging forward, ready to meet the oncoming rush of the dragon.

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+ sergei dachev

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Shuwen looks up at the descending Garchomp. It speaks well of this creature’s character that, even under threat of such a monster, he does not panic. His eyes are clear. His heart, calm. He falls into a battle stance, content to let his opponent come to him. The strike connects and the bear grunts in pain, but he taps his feet, taking a step back, moving to return the offensive with a punch of his own.[break][break]
His dynamic punch is meant to test the creature before him as much as it is meant to cause harm. He strikes out like a cobra snatching prey, his one jab over as soon as it begins. A skilled warrior can tell much about his opponent by how he reacts to a blow.[break][break]
The blow is accompanied by a single word – a word bellowed from the bottom of this Urshifu’s soul.[break][break]
“ORA!”


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+ sergei dachev

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Oh yeah.” Navy agrees with a nod. He likes this guy for being able to chat and be cordial while they’re fighting. It takes backbone and shows character. “But you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”[break][break]
He wants to regale the guy with the tale of his Pokemon’s birth – how he was born from a battle in the Ultra Deep Sea, pulled into reality by Navy’s fighting spirit. As much fun as it would be to tell the story, he realizes it’s better to focus on the battle at hand.[break][break]
This Garchomp is tricky. He’s got a crafty streak about him that Vortigern doesn’t. His own Garchomp is assured of his own superiority. His methods are straightforward. He does not cloak himself in sands. He overpowers. He attacks. He allows his rough skin to deal with any who would dare to strike him.[break][break]
Shuwen is enveloped in an oncoming sandstorm. Navy spares a moment to look at the crowd, worried they will be upset if their view of the match is obscured. Whether or not they’ll get angry remains to be seen.[break][break]
The great black bear repeats his war cry.[break][break]
“Ora! Oraoraoraora!” He is mere moments away from being encased in a tomb made of sand. His response is to simply punch his way out. As sands whip him, tearing flesh from the bone, as rocks attempt to crush him, the bear does the only thing he knows how to do.[break][break]
He unleashes a flurry of rapid strikes that flow like water.


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+ sergei dachev

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Shuwen takes a moment to huff and exhale. His opponent is making him work for every inch – not that he minds. Not only that, it’s rare for him to meet a foe that lets him go all out. Usually, in the mythic bear’s experience, he is either punching up or down. It’s fun to be fighting within his own weight class.[break][break]
The take down takes him off guard. He is tackled, almost thrown off balance. It speaks of his poise that he does not fall. He feels several bones crack under his fur. A visit to a Pokemon Center will be in order after this.[break][break]
“Whatever’s goin’ on, you’ve got this!” Navy cheers his Pokemon on. “Give him a good counter-attack.”[break][break]
Shuwen aims to comply. He locks his arm around the Garchomp’s back, swinging him about. Building up momentum, he uses the force of this foe’s attack against him. His counter comes by way of a toss. He launches the Garchomp into the fence of the cage, letting gravity and momentum do the work for him.


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+ sergei dachev

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Garchomp is a mighty creature. Even the smallest of that ilk is a monarch of their world. Watching the creature bounce about inside the cage, caring little and less for the electric shock that must accompany such a maneuver, both trainer and the Pokémon born from his spirit are united in their awe.[break][break]
“Damn…now that’s one hell of a dragon rush.” Navy’s own Vortigern does this same move. The great black dragon’s version of the technique is to simply rush in, overpowering it with size and speed. This smaller, lither Garchomp seems to play more into its speed and a heightened capacity to build momentum.[break][break]
Neither Urshifu nor Navy’s eyes can keep up with the maneuver. It slams into Shuwen full force. The most he can muster is a rapid piston fist that does nothing to alleviate the pain or dampen the bloodspatter from impact. He’s sent sprawling and only just manages to dig his hand into the floor enough to keep from slamming into the fence.[break][break]
“Man. Fight like this. I kinda don’t want it to end.” Navy muses as he looks out at the crowd. Oh, they’re working them. This is a fight that builds reputation. He sees it in their eyes – a desire to see nature run its course from the safety of this cage. Rarely has this place ever seen a match like this. They’ll talk about this fight for months.[break][break]
“It’d suck if I wasn’t good at this, you know. Since I’m the man who’s gonna take Lopez’s spot as top champion.” He says it with absolute confidence, like that’s the thing that keeps him going. Navy pulls out a stone bound to a bracelet and tosses it to his opponent.[break][break]
“Here. I wanna go all out, and it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t let you do the same. Just give it back when this is over, win or lose. Got my own dragon I have to wrangle, so I know how hard your guy is to train.”[break][break]
Navy raises an orb up. It’s a similar shape to the one offered to his opponent. It glows.[break][break]
Shuwen looks back and nods as the inevitable transformation overtakes him.


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+ @sergeidrachev

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Two beings ascend to the apex of the world. One, a dragon. The other, a warrior. It is a myth told in every region, in every time, in every where and when. A monolithic tale ingrained into the human character. And what a dread wyrm indeed, this beast is, thanks to the power of the mega stone. Its claws melt into scythes. Its teeth sharpen. Navy has seen this transformation only once before, and it terrified him then.[break][break]
“You must be new here. Don’t worry, I’ll catcha up to speed after---”[break][break]
The dragon attempts to bury the warrior still smoking from his own transformation in sand, and…[break][break]
“ORA!” A word that is bellowed from the bottom of his soul. Someone, these two syllables encompass everything that it means to be a warrior. A master of his own body emerges from the smoke, piercing through the sand with a fist as swift as a wave upon the shore.[break][break]
His every movement is an exercise in mastery. There is a flow to his movements that nothing, not a human or another Pokemon, could match. He weaves his muscles into a contracting repetition of motion as he relentlessly advances upon this monster.[break][break]
The crowd is absolutely losing their minds. The bouncers originally meant to corral the Pokemon inside in case things got out of hand are instead forced to release their Pokemon to hold back the crowd. They’re cheering for both sides.[break][break]
“Na-Vy! Nay-VEE!”[break][break]
“Da-chev! DA-CHEV!”[break][break]
And the bear, punch by bloody punch, leaving a trail of his own crimson matter behind him, finally finds himself face to face with this creature. What he unleashes upon him is everything he has. Every ounce of his spirit. All of himself, forced down into the shape of a perfect flurry of blows.[break][break]
“Shuwen! G-Max Rapid Flow! Show ‘em that Navy and Shuwen are gonna make it all the way to the top!”[break][break]
And the Pokemon obliges.[break][break]
“Ora! Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraora!”[break][break]
The flow of fists seems to never end.


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+ sergei dachev

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

At the last, Shuwen gives the fallen Garchomp and his trainer a nod of respect. Soon after, he collapses. That fight took a lot out of him, and he still has a long way to go. He kept up a strong façade, but he stood on the edge of a knife throughout that whole battle. Effortless as his martial prowess might have looked, he stood on the brink of defeat for that whole match. But, much like the trainer who birthed him, he does not allow his back to touch the ground. Instead, he falls flat on his stomach.[break][break]
Wanting to keep his pride intact, Navy recalls Shuwen into his ball. The fight’s over. Putting the ball back into its holster, he takes the stone from his foe and offers him a hearty handshake. Good sportsmanship is important. Whether he won or lost, he resolved to be gracious before he even stepped into this ring. A good reputation is important for a man who wants to challenge the top brass.[break][break]
But the man’s words…[break][break]
“You don’t know the half of it, Dachev.” He caught the name while they were chanting it out across the humdrum of battle. “Welcome to the most interesting, tumultuous part of the world. You must be new here.”[break][break]
He’s smiling a warrior’s smile. Lots of teeth and confidence. Underneath is undeniable respect. It speaks of a man’s character that he would submit to the crucible of combat.[break][break]
“You fought like hell. Good fight. Damn good fight. Come on. Got some good winnings. Lemme buy you a beer.”[break][break]
And with that, it’s off into the night. Up into the bars above in Slateport. Back to something that passes for civilization.


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+ sergei dachev

[attr="class","pokeclass"]