Oh, he was here too. Of course, he was. That probably was why the gym wasn’t open today. Well, not like anyone wanting to fight would challenge a gym on a day like this. Not when there was a big free-for-all going on in the city. At least she figured as much. How else would they have been free at the same time like this? Well, maybe someone else was watching the fort, but she would wager that a few others from the gym were out here, too.
[break][break]
Anyway. Fighting. That was her type here, anyway. Since this was a tournament where she only had access to a single partner, she had of course chosen her oldest and staunchest one. Incidentally someone quite well-versed in battles of attrition. [break]
Megan shrugged, while Lucario readied himself next to her. “Good morning. And you know me, I am born ready for things like this. At least this time, I am not late.” After all, the last tournament of sorts she had entered, she had barely managed to get to in time – only to immediately get unlucky and lose to a single sleep.
[break][break]
That would not happen again today. She was certain of it.

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“You know I wear glasses but,” Megan started, rubbing the back of her head, “no one has called me a nerd since middle-school, really.” After all, she was usually much too out-spoken and aggressive to be loped in with those. Not exactly one of the most popular girls, but always hanging with others, a nerd was never truly her persuasion.
[break][break]
But she guessed that she knew what he meant, anyway.
[break][break]
The leader took the initiative, of course. A smoke-screen was the obvious choice for a Pokemon like this. Megan knew that there was no point in trying to get out of that situation for now. “Make the most of it, Lucario,” she ordered, her Pokemon understanding and whirling around its own axis, unmoving. The frog would come to them, of course. So, it started up a Swords Dance, waiting for that moment.
[break][break]
Of course, that meant taking a hit. The frog landed on the dog, giving it a thorough lick. One that sent shivers down its spine, doing damage. But it also meant it had to be close. Once it connected, Lucario would try to hit back straight away with a Close Combat, though that was unlikely to succeed. Either way though, if it did hit something, it would have a better shot at winning with that in the rest of the fight.

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER hp: 2/3 most likely iljtSKst

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“Suuuure,” she responded, watching the fight go by. Apparently, adaptability was in play here, hence the lick going first helped a lot in that regard. That already cost a vital point. She sighed. These rules were not to her liking. She and Lucario both preferred to fight till the last, after all.
[break][break]
But with things as they were, they only had two more hits to take, possibly. No reason to hold back, then. “And no, being a nerd isn’t the new cool. They just got cool nerds now is all,” she replied before activating her mega stone. There were acceptable nerd-doms now and those that weren’t. At least as far as she knew.[break][break]
The smelly ones were still not cool, at least to her. Unlike Lucario, who got even bulkier in this mega form and tried to break out of the light of evolution right away with an Extreme Speed.

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER, Mega Evo active, +20 to this roll and the one after, using extreme speed FwQjLtZt

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“I’m…not sure what the compliment was here,” she responded, slightly confused. Then again, the gym leader was a weird man. Taking anything he said too seriously was probably a bad idea to begin with.
[break][break]
Still though, there was still a battle raging. It felt weird fighting against a Froakie going physical with a mega-evolved Lucario. But then again, well, vital points were not exactly just about scoring power. Or necessarily making sense. “Well, since you are already there, just meteor mash away,” she ordered Mega Lucario, seeing the canine welcome the frog with a barrage of blows at meteoric speed and power.
[break][break]
Well, that was what it was supposed to do. Vital points be weird.

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER 2/3 VP, Mega Evolution 2/2, using Meteor Mash 99T2dakI

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Someone was feeling confident there, wasn’t he? Granted, the Froakie did manage to dodge the Meteor Mashes well enough – somehow, despite the Mega Evolution and everything being active. But that was probably due to the small size.

Usually, that would matter less since that came with its own demerits. Less power output was usually the case. Those small lungs could not create the kind of Hydro Pump that a big Blastoise could make, she reckoned.

It would still hurt, though, but it likely would not knock Lucario out like this. The rules here might still count it as a vital though, so they had to be careful. “Extreme Speed around it and try to knock it aside,” she ordered Lucario, who picked up speed right away, seeking to bypass the Hydro Pump and hit that little one directly.

[break][break]

+ 1/3 VP, Mega Evolution over, using Extreme Speed CIAN MAHER 6JthodwI

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This all was being a bit closer than expected, given the initial squishing incident. But the Froakie was still holding on, even as it was knocked about by an extremely speedy punch like that.
[break][break]
And obviously, it tried to retaliate with another Hydro Pump. That was probably its strongest move, after all.
[break][break]
Well, that was to be expected. “You know, getting into battles ain’t bad, but it’s still an exhibition match of sorts. No need to get all grumpy,” she teased the gym leader, even as Lucario took a proper stance and wound up an attack of its own. Ending this by pitching his strongest attack, Aura Sphere, against the little one’s was probably the most fitting end for this, after all.

[break][break]

+ VP: 1/3, Mega Evo down, using Aura Sphere 84ttWAJG

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Had he just said that out loud? Megan could not help but be a bit embarrassed by that. “Actually saying GG in real life is kind of cringe, you know? And yes, I know that I just said it too, but it’s fine when done exemplary, or ironically.”
[break][break]
Well, at least that was what she believed. But between them, she was prettier and wore glasses. That made her the authority on that. “Still, good match. Don’t hand out too many random badges though. That just means less work after all. On second thought, hand out a lot.” She laughed before giving him a wave and moving on to her own next match.

[break][break]

+ win, getting badge

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