Shalin had bubbled out of the tournament, and out of the money. Though she had made day two, her streak of losses made it pointless for her to continue. She wouldn't get paid. Luckily for her, there were plenty of side events to enter! Signing up for one, she took her assigned spot at one of the outer arenas, only to find a familiar face.

"Sio!" Shalin waved, her Shiny Beedrill waving a foreleg sting toward her to say hello as well. "Didn't expect to see you here! Did you drop out of the main tournament, too?"

Sio perks up at the familiar voice of the Ranger, and smiles- actually looking up from their notes to wave at Shalin. "And here I thought I'd see you sooner! But..." they start, tilting their head. "Main tournament? As far as I'm concerned, this was the only tournament I saw advertised as of late..." The detective puts their notes away, brushing off and standing to proper attention.

After all, there's not much time to think when Quill, who's been eagerly sniffing and yapping at the shiny Beedrill, is already raring to fight again.

"Suppose you'll tell me later, hm? For now, show me your skills outside of riding." With a stretch, a whistle, and a grin, both Sio and Quill are prepared for battle! "It's your time to shine, darling! Psyshield Bash!"

Quill yaps and nods, whirling his tail around to paint a bright pink psychic shield- before barreling towards Queen Zing, planning to ram it at her!

Gimmick: Default (+10 on 0 rolls, +30 on 100)

HP: 3/3

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Shalin Nariya

"These huge tournaments are like... conventions, I think they're called?" Shalin half-asked, unsure of what the term was for a large, like-minded gathering. "There's more than just the main tournament going on. For people who get eliminated early, there are constantly side events running."

There would be little time for an explanation; as soon as the starting horn sounded, Quill surrounded himself with a PSYSHIELD before charging toward Queen Zing. Shalin knew from raising a Wyrdeer herself how destructive the move was. Rather than try to fend it off, the green Beedrill churned her wings loudly and harshly, creating a TAILWIND behind herself to not only get out of the way, but to make her follow-up strikes harder to evade.

"Well, it certainly sounds about right. A convention, an expo, any of those sorts of terms-" Sio starts to respond, quickly interrupted by the proper start of the battle.

Which, with the Tailwind quickly picking uo speed, it not only dissipates Quill's Psyshield Bash, but also sends him tumbling back! He takes a second to sit up and gather himself even with the stars spinning about before he hops back up, more than ready for more.

Pink paint is flung about once more, though this time for something entirely different. Readying himself with Me First, he prepares himself to dish out whatever Queen Zing wants to serve up before she can!

Gimmick: Default (+10 on 0 rolls, +30 on 100)

HP: 2/3
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Shalin Nariya

Quill's pink paint would serve up a mirror to Queen Zing's DRILL RUN, pairs of whirling stings clashing against one another. The light show from sparks flying was a delight, though Shalin was unable to hear the crowd's raucous cheering over her Pokémon's noisy wings. Wings that were about to become noisier when she reached for her MEGA CIRCLET with the first two fingers of her right hands, pointing its Infinity Energy toward the green wasp. The two glowed with the light of MEGA EVOLUTION.



In her apex form, the insect turned from kind but competitive to berserk and merciless. Her droning became so loud that even Shalin had to cover her ears. Drilling sting pushed against drilling sting with greater strength, Shalin watching for signs of Quill's strength giving out.

Quill tries to brace himself the best he can against the opposing Drill Run, but ultimately he can't keep up with the Beedrill's sparking and buzzing. Even Sio has to cover their own ears at the constant thrumming, especially as...

As the green glow emanates from both Queen Zing and Shalin, and the former grows to be much larger than she normally was. Between this fact and the uncertainty as to what the bug-type would do next, Quill's almost ready to throw in the towel.

The key word being "almost."

Ready to make a last ditch effort for some semblance of victory, Quill growls- slinging purple-black paint against the green Beedrill- casting a Bitter Malice on her.

Gimmick: Default (+10 on 0 rolls, +30 on 100)

HP: 1/3

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Shalin Nariya

The deep violet paint blinded Queen Zing in much of her left compound eye, driving her to even greater anger. If she could change her green carapace to any one color, it would be red. A very angry red that was known for making Tauros angry. She was about as angry as a rampaging bovine Pokémon.

Not holding back anymore, she tilted her head to see out of as much of her good eye as she could. Raising her rear end, she extended the long, sharp barb of her FELL STINGER, hovering menacingly before throwing her body toward Quill. Being stabbed by that needle looked painful in and of itself. The burning venom, though, was far more agonizing than any puncture she could create.

Normally, Quill would be celebrating at getting a hit on a Mega Evolved pokemon- at managing to make a big enough impact on something larger than life itself. But even the typically airheaded Smeargle knows when danger draws near, especially when it's in the form of a bright green, raging Beedrill.

Still doing his best to muster his remaining strength, Quill hastily paints a bright pink psychic shield. He then keeps it up in front of him, in the way of Queen Zing's stinger, to Psyshield Bash any of her attempts to knock him down.

Gimmick: Default (+10 on 0 rolls, +30 on 100)

HP: 1/3

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Shalin Nariya

The PSYSHIELD was too slow; against such a quick and strong foe, the defense would have had to be readied much earlier. The judge whistled for the end of the match, though it seemed Queen Zing wanted more.

Just as the berserk bee was about to repeatedly sting the Smeargle, she reverted to her natural form, her aggression completely subsiding. Celebrating her victory, she flew toward Shalin, spread her foreleg stings wide, and gave her trainer a great big hug. It was like she was a completely different Pokémon when Mega Evolved. "Good match. Sorry about the jumpscare. She doesn't know how to hold back when Mega Evolved, but we're working on that!"

The shield was put up too late- and for just a moment, Sio could see genuine fear in his eyes, his posture, everything. Even as the Beedrill shrinks back down to normal and calms herself, it looks like Quill is about to faint from just the residual fear alone.

"Mh..sure. You'd better keep working on that with her, then," Sio snaps back at Shalin- not quite angry, but certainly not pleased. Quill slumps in Sio's arms as they pick him up- and the two leave the battlefield in tired silence.

Gimmick: Default (+10 on 0 rolls, +30 on 100)

HP: KO



Shalin Nariya