“Oh ho.” The prospect of her playing that character seems to excite him. “A Don Hibiki main? In my arcade? Man, never thought I’d see the day. In early cabinets, no one thought this guy really existed. You had to do crazy stunts to unlock Mr. Bewear over there. C’mon, then.” He makes a show of sliding the quarters into the slot.[break][break]
One, two, three, four…[break][break]
With those quarters, the sheriff declares a street war. Scrafty’s theme blares from the arcade speakers. What becomes quickly apparent is that the detective talks a big game. Scrafty is, indeed, pretty good. Problem is…[break][break]
Navy’s just a button master. There’s no deeper style or panache to his movements. He moves the joystick in the right direction, but there’s nothing deeper to it than that. No stylish combos. No effortless flow of one blow into the next.[break][break]
“C’mon, Unovan Scrafty! You’re the baddest of the bad!” He encourages his Pokemon.

[break][break]

+ Eris Halla

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

This kid…![break][break]
This kid is a natural. Perhaps it’s the world in which they live, a society that encourages battling from a young age, but she picks up on the best strategies right away. You’re going to lose. When you’re fighting against a far more experienced opponent, victory is a foregone conclusion for the older player. Your victory in these early rounds isn’t in defeating them, it’s in coming to understand the game. He notices that she’s picking up on how to guard. Inputs grow more precise.[break][break]
Scrafty, for all of his power as an aggressive, speedy character, isn’t being properly used. Navy can’t even use his signature move, sonic boom. The input was never mastered in his years playing with Gabe. His brother always preferred the Urshifu, which is what he has more experience fighting against.[break][break]
But Eris here understands. She seems to be picking up on everything. With every try, she’s getting better. And soon, it’s Navy on the backfoot. He’s having to rethink his strategies – re-evaluate things. Ideas run through his head on how to press back. This conflict, perhaps the most severe conflict in the history of the League/Rocket gang war, is one both of its combatants are putting their hearts and souls into.[break][break]
Navy’s gritting his teeth. He’s practicing the motions for combos in his own way. He’s desperate not to get shown up here. People gather around the arcade cabinet, sipping on drinks and eating their own slices of heaven.[break][break]
“Yooo, Sheriff and this kid are goin’ at it.” One puts in.[break]
“Never seen him that serious!” Another kid says.[break]
“One thing I’ll say for her, that kid is cool.” One says about Eris.[break]
Eris wins the second round. The pink bear pushes down Scrafty with a wide tornado kick. Slumping against the cabinet, Navy cracks his knuckles. There’s still one more round to go.[break][break]
“Time for the Sheriff to lay down the law!”

[break][break]

+ Eris Halla

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

And he goes down. The crowd gathered around them cheers. People go wild at the sight of the new Sheriff losing to this girl almost half his age. Slumping in defeat against the arcade machine, he looks dead. The Klefki he’s been carrying floats towards him, poking him on the side of the head. Pouting like a petulant child, Navy swipes the key away before kicking back up, grumbling and looking at the gathered crowd.[break][break]
“Ladies and gentlemen of Dewford, by the power invested in me by the League…we have ourselves…” He waves his arms to Eris, “A NEEEEEW QUEEN OF FIGHTERS!” They go insane. Cheering her on like she’s some sort of her, Eris has the rare pleasure of being wholeheartedly accepted by children her own age. It makes Navy smile, even if, he suspects, the crowd might be giving her some claustrophobia.[break][break]
So, after letting it ride its course, he taps Eris on the shoulder and leads her away. There’s a backdoor nearby, out to a patio where people can eat pizza while looking over the sea. They’ve got a nice view and a little bit of privacy again.[break][break]
“Just needed some fresh air for a sec. Ugh, didn’t think you’d get so good so quick!”

[break][break]

+ Eris Halla

[attr="class","pokeclass"]