[attr="class","spiral"] Fernando refrains from making any outward comments on the interior of the Gym. While undoubtedly impressive, he can't escape the nagging feeling that the scale of luxury presents is just a grand illusion of grandeur. It reminds him of the artificial avarice displayed in the parties of his childhood. How wasteful. However, as long as the funding comes out of Abbiati's own means and not coveted by the League's coin purse, he has little problems with it.

"Abbiati."

There's no need for formalities. They both know why he's here and when her assistant shepherds him away, Fernando departs. They take a path untraveled by and Fernando remains silent, observant as the scenery continues to change. The crackle of a burning fire gnaws in the background and he watches, waiting for a prompt.

With a mild nod, he picks the tablet furthest on the right.

[attr="class","spiral"] Fernando's eyes narrow in as the assistant recites the passage. He has a good grasp of several possible answers but this isn't a test for him. This is a test to see how the average trainer would fare and their capabilities. And, in Fernando's opinion, outside of Lucas Lane and persephone amavi, there is no one he expects to know the answer off hand.

"I am a fifteen year old trainer from Littleroot Town. I have collected multiple Pokemon and now seek to challenge the Pokemon League to compete for the spot of Pokemon Master." He shrugs, "I have not attended college, university, or spent years studying Pokemon mythology. All I know is how to capture, raise, and train Pokemon for battle."

Obviously, Fernando fails to entertain the challenge, roleplaying what he imagines to be the average challenger. "It came from space and it's purple," he exaggerates, deriving the train of thought from how the gem changes color. "Is it Starmie?"

[attr="class","spiral"] Does that mean he failed? The lack of an answer doesn't faze him and Fernando sticks to his principles, escorted out of the chamber and onto the next room. "So was it not Starmie?" There's a certain sass in his question but he holds it with a hint of genuine curiosity. Without being told what the exact answer is, there's no way of truly knowing if he failed or if this was just a ruse to punish him for failing to adhere to Olivia's whims.

On the battlefield, Fernando feels more at home. A single Pokemon with two moves per rotation. Standard textbook battling with a turn rotation between moves. Fernando smiles as he reaches for his own Pokeball. "Hm," he addresses aloud. "A Staryu! That's a water type Pokemon. Well, I guess I should use a Pokemon that's super effective against it!"

His sarcasm is as blatant as his faux enthusiasm. He tosses out his own Pokeball and a Porygon2 appears in his stead. "Well if I'm going to be taking the first move, I should set up the field in my favor! Porygon, use MAGIC COAT and then GRAVITY!" Fernando smirks while his voice carries the tone of an excited trainer. It's obvious that he's toying around at this point — mockingly — but he'll play it out as promised.

His Porygon glows brightly, shining momentarily as its sheen becomes reflective. No sooner than the Pokemon glitters does the area around the battlefield become distorted. The GRAVITY increases and neither Pokemon are able to levitate or hover in place. This grounds his Porygon and should do the same to the Staryu, preventing either from moving and therefore increasing the accuracy of their attacks.

[attr="class","spiral"] The stream of BUBBLEBEAM bursts when it makes contact with the Porygon. Now that both Pokemon are tethered in place, in regards to levitating and hovering in mid-air, the Porygon can only move as fast as the Staryu can, by physically crawling at a fraction of the speed. With a smile, Fernando says nothing, waiting his turn, well knowing that his Porygon is LOCKING-ON to its target.

"Time for our combo! Porygon, LOCK-ON and ZAP-CANNON."

Fernando announces his move for this rotation, not because he has to but to play along with the role. The assumption that he would bring a Pokemon unbecoming of a standard challenger and bring even more advance tactics goes against the whole point of his assessment. Playing to straight-forward, standard moves are best and he does so in spades.

The way Staryu's light sparkles doesn't go amiss but without experiencing REFLECT TYPE for himself, there's little he can perceive from the subtle move. Regardless, either type will find itself PARALYZED by the ZAP CANNON that's fired toward the immobile Staryu.

[attr="class","spiral"] The PSYCHIC attack proves impossible to miss. Not at this level of mobility. Not with the GRAVITY in effect. Fernando gasps aloud and continues being facetious. "Porygon are you okay? Use RECOVER!" Lo and behold, all the work the Staryu put in is undone within seconds as the Porygon glows brightly and restores itself to its previous condition. "Whew, what a close one! Attack it again."

Fernando derives a certain amount of amusement by sticking to his point. This isn't a difficult battle but he's not being particularly skilled either. "ZAP CANNON," he commands, finding paramount success from fighting against an immobile opponent.

[attr="class","spiral"] How anti-climatic. Fernando returns his own Pokemon and in its place is a poorly hidden shit-eating grin. There is a glee in being right and a deeper euphoria that comes from proving someone else wrong. Fernando considers this win, no matter how minor, an extension of his win streak and will continue to do so as he conquers another portion of Olivia's castle.

Fernando keeps his eyes on the marvels of the castle as they navigate through room and halls. There is a grand essence to the place but Fernando's mood is anything but humble. Rather than marvel at the architecture he comments on it with an false sense of curiosity. "Pretty spacious for a place without much substance. When do you figure construction will be done?"

Only when Fernando lays his eyes on Olivia, admiring the contrast in her appearance, does he start to hone in on his primary objective. The time for playing with fodder is over and he starts to apply his thoughts toward both the battle and his own inspection of her challenge.

"Perry didn't believe me when I said my intention was to challenge the Gym with the skillset of the average trainer. I imagine he's sorely disappointed that he lost to a simple attack pattern taught in Rustboro's elementary curriculum."

Olivia holds a Pokeball and Fernando reaches, not for his own, but for a small notebook tucked into his back pant's pocket.

"I told you why I'm here. The nature of your challenge needs to conform to certain rules as your responsibility to groom and grow the Pokemon Trainers of the future. Even now I'm baffled at the nature of this challenge and the lessons trainers are supposed to derived from it."

[attr="class","spiral"]"A game of strategy besieged by arbitrary rules. Interesting but unpractical, no?"

Fernando flips the cover of his memo book and scans his preset strategy. Given the complexities of her rule set, Fernando has no choice but to commit his plan onto paper. Bulking so much into his memory proves both impractical and pointless. Having a reference card help familiarize himself and call out his roster accordingly.

"King; a male Pokemon."

He taps his first Pokeball and an EXPLOUD is revealed.

"Queen; a female Pokemon."

He taps another and another EXPLOUD is revealed. They come in pairs.

"Knight; a Pokemon known for its defense."

This time he hits the far notched one on his belt and a PROBOPASS comes into play.

"Scout; a Pokemon known for its speed."

A Pokemon given to him months ago while exploring with persephone amavi : a shiny PACHIRISU.

"Ally; a free pick."

His last pick is also the crux of his strategy: LAPRAS.

Formation and rules about movement mean little to his strategy. Fernando positions them with enough distance to allow his Pokemon a window of timing to respond to Olivia's moves while ensuring that the enemy remains within the range of their attacks. After all, he only needs his Pokemon to stick to their practiced routine. Encompassing the enemies moves is foolish when there are so many variables at play.

"Battle routine set!"

Stick to their strengths. Master the fundamentals. Strike with experience!

"EXECUTE!"

Fernando does not plan against Olivia's potential roster. There's no hope of guessing her five Pokemon and then the variety of moves against them. That's why his strategy revolves around his own team. This enables them to know their plan of attack and operate on their own, reciting their move in tandem like any other rehearsal. As long as his plans don't deviate from his initial window of expectancy their team work will flourish. The less room for error the more solid the execution.

All of his Pokemon attack together, synchronized, maximizing their advantage of the first move and minimizing the opponent's opportunity to counter.

LAPRAS sings a PERISH SONG that bleeds across the entire field. There is an eerie tone to her song that extend beyond human understanding. It is not the sound of her melodies that hurt but the mystic energies they bring, cursing the battlefield to FAINT all Pokemon in THREE TURNS. Like a bad omen, the wicked energies seep into every inch of the arena, affecting all Pokemon.

PACHIRISU stands alone and farthest away from Fernando's formation, much like Olivia's Sharpedo. With a devious glint in its eyes, it wags its pink tail to get the enemies to FOLLOW ME. How could any of them resist what seems to be a vulnerable Pokemon. Such a fluffy tail makes it impossible for them to ignore the scrappy little rodent. Only the most keen will recognize the static electricity radiating from both of its tiny feet. The electricity crackles with a silent guffaw, spreading across the arena in an ION DELUGE.

PROBOPASS' MAGNET PULL allows it to alter the GRAVITY of the field. As the pressure increases across the field none of their Pokemon will be able to fly or levitate. This dampens their movements and increase the accuracy of all attacks. Having planned on taking little to no movements, Fernando accepts the universal consequences of act.

"TAUNT the Vespiquen!"

It's the only Pokemon that Fernando isn't too familiar with. He recognizes the species, having yearned for one of his own due to their supposed powers of being able to command other Pokemon, and that's why he picks it up from the liter. He's familiar with both Kanto and Hoenn Pokemon as well as owning a Mamoswine of his own. Whatever they throw out will hardly be a surprise. That's why he singled out the only Pokemon that could put a damper on his plans.

The three magnets that make up PROBOPASS' arsenal all move independently, unable to ascend due to the GRAVITY. Their eyes however keep focus on the Vespiquen, TAUNTING it into attacking.

And finally the strong arm of his team. Both Explouds respond by using their signature move BOOMBURST. Their rampant sonic waves tear through the arena without mercy.

The Pokedex may spout hyperboles such as the Pokemon can cause EARTHQUAKES with their volume, or that they can even be heard from up to six miles away, but the vicious vibration are a testament to the basis of such tales. And when they intermingle with the ION DELUGE the entire field becomes an electrified minefield, bursting from the seams as the very fabric of the air they breath nip and zap at anyone caught in the large crossfire of the attack's all encompassing range.

Fernando boasts power and now is his time to demonstrate it. Offense layered on offense, set to target the entire field and wipe out the bulk of his enemies in one fell swoop.




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