VCT

Vs Shalin Nariya

Doug was mid-stretch when Shalin's words reached him, a single eye fluttering open before he grinned.

"Oh— 'ello, Shalin." He said, letting his arms flop to his sides lazily. "Not too hungry, nah! I'm more sleepy, if anything."

Running back and forth between the ER and the tournament was waging a cruel war on his sleeping schedule.

Ah well— nobody was forcing him to participate but himself. At this point, he was just there out of stubbornness, because it sure as hell didn't seem like he was going to win the tourney.

"You paid for one o'those things?" He said, lips pursing slightly. Shalin must've been more loaded than he thought... or worked herself real hard to save up. Either way— "Huh. Guess it must be a looker of a suit, then. Sure, show me around once we're done 'ere."

But first—

His Scyther stepped forth, having finished her stretches. Time to battle.

---

TL;DR:
-'ello Shalin!

It was less working hard and more a huge windfall; she had amassed quite the collection of artifacts, funding her Sygna Suit by selling them to museums that had big pockets. And it was worth every bit of it. She wondered how the bug expert would react to seeing Shalin not only sitting on Queen Zing's wing after the tournament, but it buzzing her. Then again, there might not be much to see other than a streak of colors.

The Beedrill and Scyther stared one another down. With one, but two sets of wings roaring as soon as the starting horn sounded, Shalin wished she had brought her earplugs with her into the venue. It was almost unbearably loud. With how fast both large bugs were, there was no way to tell if she had the speed advantage or not. With only one way to find out, she pointed both her foreleg stings at the other green Pokémon, ramming it down with dual POISON JABS.

VCT

Vs Shalin Nariya

He only had one piece of advice for Kama.

"Have fun with it!" He shouted her way cheerfully, both hands cupped around his mouth.

Releasing a snort, the mantis crouched low before launching towards her opponent, her silhouette blurring as she attempted to both dodge the other's blow by the skin of her teeth and strike with the flat of her scythes.

For better or worse, she had been playing it risky the entire tournament, and had no intention of changing that now.

---

TL;DR:
-Kama used acrobatics!

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What incredible reaction time the mantis had. Few Pokémon not belonging to Josh Devlin could dodge such fast and vicious strikes. No wonder Doug was Josh's predecessor. He had some real battle skills about him, ones that would see him far in the tournament if he put his mind to it.

Wheeling back around, Queen Zing's wings roared again, this time raising her rear sting toward the Scyther's face. Even for an insect, the powerful venom injected by a poke of her FELL STINGER would feel as though the victim was on fire. Landing that sting would be an endeavor in and of itself. Scyther could fly quite fast, too.

VCT

Vs Shalin Nariya

The Scyther was rather bold in her approach to battle. Their first clash had ended in a draw, but she hardly let it deter her, charging in for another clash even as toxic stingers were pointed at her.

Once again, she decided to take big risks, minimizing her movements in an attempt to deliver a devastating counter—

---

TL;DR:
-Kama used Counter!

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The queen hornet, giant enough to be ridden as a mount, swooped above Kama and jabbed the bug-type with her rear sting. Before the Scyther could swipe with one of its blades, she was already gone, Doug's Pokémon perhaps able to feel the burn of Beedrill venom spreading within its body.

Timing a counter was incredibly difficult against fast opponents, but if successful, could be a one-hit knockout. It was high risk, yes, but the reward couldn't be higher. Shalin continued to punish Doug for pursuing such an elusive reward. Building speed with a TAILWIND from her loud wings, Queen Zing dove toward Kama at a steep angle, looking to drive it into the ground with a DRAGON HAMMER.

VCT

Vs Shalin Nariya

Kama clicked her tongue and hissed lowly, waving her her opponent off as the venom's sting began to be felt.

With a a time limit now in place, the scyther should've perhaps felt the pressure mounting; but as her trainer remained silent, trusting her to continue managing herself, she was reminded that there was nothing urgent about the battle.

There was no need to lose her head— victory or defeat, she was brought here to stretch her aged wings and have fun.

Taking in a deep breath, the Scyther lowered her stance and dove back as the dragon hammer came down, her arms swinging up in tandem to release walls of air pressure towards her opponent.

---

TL;DR:
-Kama used Vacuum Wave!

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2/3 HP

The VACUUM WAVE rippled through Queen Zing's body, preventing the green Beedrill from snatching Kama. The two struggled with one another, mandibles and blades clashing with one another as Shalin's Pokémon desperately sought to ground the Scyther. Seeing a window to really put the pressure on the former Gym Leader, Shalin raised the first two fingers of her right hand to the KEY STONE embedded in her MEGA CIRCLET, both her and her partner glowing with the light of MEGA EVOLUTION.



Boasting four foreleg stings instead of two, the berserk insect zoomed toward Kama in her apex form, loosing a flurry of POISON JABS at her rival. One sting would be painful. All four landing might pin the opposing predator to the ground!

VCT

Vs Shalin Nariya

Things could've been going better, they weren't unsalvageable... yet. One more mistake and the fight would likely be over.

Her opponent had gone mega as well— Well, nothing for it. Just focus further and keep fighting.

The Beedrill came flying her way, and she cocked back her glowing red arm before swinging, a wall of winds coming at the Beedrill from the side to hopefully derail its flight path.

---

TL;DR:
-Kama used Zmove:Heaven cleaver!

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1/3 HP

The Scyther's wall of wind tore into Queen Zing's carapace and threw her high into the air, her wings working against her as she inverted. With gravity working against her, she had to right her course before she fell to the ground in a nasty splat. She briefly stilled one of her wings, using the differential thrust to right herself.

The bee's flickering, blue compound eyes were a telltale sign of her exhaustion. One more move like that and the former Gym Leader would walk away with this one. Shalin wouldn't allow that. Determined to win the match, she called for her Pokémon to brandish her FELL STINGER. Extending her rear barb, she dove toward Kama in an attempt to pluck the flying insect. Anywhere on the Scyther's body would do; it was a matter of getting enough venom circulating that it would rob the foe of consciousness.

VCT

Vs Shalin Nariya

Crouching besides his scyther, he patted her head twice to heal the her wounds and poisoning before returning her to her ball. "Ya did good. Have a nice rest." He said, before rising back to his feet.

"Congrats on the win! Ya guys were great. Here's to hoping ya keep doing well in the tourney." He said to Shalin before turning to exit the arena, waving a hand over his shoulder. "See ya around."

---

TL;DR:
-Bye bye.

"See you around, Doug!" Shalin waved. "Tell you what. I can change into it for tomorrow. If you'll be around to help with teardown the day after the tournament, that would be a good opportunity!" Many competitors did not appreciate the work that went into setting up a venue for a tournament. For one of this size, there would almost assuredly be one or more days of teardown - packing up all the equipment and getting it ready to be shipped, getting tournament records properly stored and archived, cleaning up the venue for the next event... the list went on. "Have a good lunch if you're breaking for lunch!"

Speaking of lunch, Shalin was ready for a good BLT from one of the sandwich stands peppering the tournament commons. She might have to wait a bit; with the entire tournament breaking for a meal, the lines would probably be long...