as the boltund slides, noah's fist tightens. the crabominable mirrors the action. its claw tenses cold. ice reinforces its callous shape and as it scuttles like a soccer goalie to match the boltund's trajectory, noah punches the air.

"just like foosball!" noah shouts. but he doubts the crabominable understands the analogy.

as the boltund skids ever close, the crabominable attempts to bat the dog back from whence it came.

"follow up with an ICE PUNCH!" he commands preemptively— and as the chitinous legs flex, noah watches intently.

but june's remembrance of home helps the pool of his memory stir too. memories of winters in old regions. ones he once called home. briefly, his chest is grasped by a homesickness he thought he had forgotten.

June Fair

"oh that pokemon's pretty cute."

noah is shocked out of his reminiscence. his crabominable soughs as the bunny mars the ice rink with holes.

"uh, guess i did the same sorta thing as you. i sought him out at a dog park... so! you were on the right track, man! i'm not sharing him though."

he babbles on, voice aroused to levels of hoopla. however, noah takes the time to rouse any memory of seeing this pokemon. the typing eludes him. best to take it safe.

"tighten your defenses, widow!" noah says.

the crabominable's chitinous shell gleams with its IRON DEFENSE. as the ice crunches underneath its feet, the crabominable begins to circle the rabbit like a boxer. it is clear that this pokemon takes after its owner.

"fists at the ready!"

the crabominable hits the ground, ice breaking into shards. as a test, the pokemon scrapes the shrapnel up with its claw and flings it at the scorbunny.

June Fair

the thrown ice is immediately incinerated. they fall as small steam meteors that spatter into sad silly puddles. the field is soaked with lukewarm water as the bunny charges forth.

"don't let the bunny come close!" he grabs the air, fist clenched as he barks his command. "BUBBLE BEAM!" noah hopes the pokemon's fiery arsenal is not deceptive, and that the typing is what he believes it to be.

bubbles soar from the crabominable's mouth. like froth over melted frost, a barrage of orbs fly in varying waves toward the blitzkrieging bunny.

"hey! it's good to be selfish sometimes." noah manages to finally sneak in a reply. "self love, right?"

the crabominable readies a fist in case the scorbunny manages to break through.

June Fair

as the last of crabominable's bubbles leave its carapace-jaw, the crustacean's dense arms raise. its natural armours harden as it uses IRON DEFENSE. the scorbunny, agile in its smaller form, can not be escaped.

when the bunny collides with the crab, flames burst across its white fur. steam continues to raise from the field like fleeing spirits. the dogs return from kyle lopez's abode, their snouts pressed up against the gate as they watch.

noah tenses, his fist clenched. fingers dig in to his palm as his voice is flung through the steam, "SUPERPOWER!" the crab is red, but bulky enough to withstand at least one super-effective hit. "we like it up close and personal, don't we?"

the crab retaliates, swinging its bulky claw toward the rabbit should it remain in its range. with its strike, the crabominable attempts to beat the bunny into the soggy ground.

June Fair

June clenched her fist as the Scorbunny made contact with the Crabominable ”Alright! Ace shot, Jet!” But the crab was much tougher than that, it was a pipe dream to think it’d go down after just one successful blow.

Where the miscalculation was had to deal with Noah’s Pokémon attacking back as soon as it was.

”Shit! Get out of the way, Jet! ” The Scorbunny in question panicked and while it tried to get out of the way it fired off an Ember attack but despite the bunny’s efforts it was unfortunately caught by the Crabominable’s attack.

Now Scorbunny’s were built for speed, they were not bulky Pokémon in the slightest, which is why the crab’s attack was so devastating. And enough so that the little bunny would be out of commission, June then quickly returned the Pokémon back into its capsule.

”You’ll get em’ next time champ.” She said to the capsule before putting it away and exchanging it for another.

”Hmm can’t say I’m really surprised it’s come down to this. Hell I’d be disappointed if it didn’t! I hope you’re ready bodyguard because here comes the showstopper!” June boasted before throwing the capsule in her hand into the air.

Once it reached its apex the ball opened, releasing down a beam of light that took the shape of a rather large Pokémon. ”Been a while since I’ve used this big bloke.” She remarked, smiling as she looked upon her Duraludon that had now fully materialized.

”That crab of yours won’t even be able to make a dent in his metal!”

noah faber

the EMBER rolls across the crabominable's body. a noise of pain is masked by the hoarse cry accompanying the slamming of its heavy claw. as the scorbunny faints, noah throws an air high-five at his pokemon.

"good one, buddy!" the crabominable smiles— but perhaps, that is just its default expression.

as the duraludon is summoned, noah and the crabominable feel the pressure surmounting upon them in steel. the dragon, still foreign, is familiar to noah in some degree— but this is the first time he's faced one in battle. such uncertainty finds itself in the wrinkling of his sneaker's leathers.

"galar's got some pretty cool pokemon, huh?" noah's fist curls toward him, the arm flexed as if to erect a barrier against uncertainty. "sorry, but i haven't trained under kyle for nothing!" his arm straightens to his index finger's peak. "BUBBLE BEAM! stand your ground!"

after taking in a thick breath, the fatigued crab complies. as bubbles flurry out from the crabominable's mouth, noah hopes to scout out what the duraludon can do.

June Fair

”Some of the best in the world!” June replied with a smile, looking over to her Duraludon.

Her posture up until this point had been lax and conveyed a sense of energy and enthusiasm but it shifted once her dragon was out and she was eager to see Noah’s next move. Now she stood straight, arms crossed and a firm, confident look grew on her face.

”Well let’s hope your training gives us a challenge then!” Her eyes moved from Noah and his crab to the Duraludon in front of her, the Pokémon awaiting a command from the young lady.

Noah’s Crabominable attacked, another Bubble Beam, the site of the move made her smile wider. ”Let’s show em’ what you're made of! Brick em’.” The Duraludon began to move, picking up its feet and steadying its stance as it then hunkers over, placing its hands on the ground to hold itself up.

The dragon’s maw then opened, silver energy gathers for a split moment before it is unleashed in a bright silver beam of energy. This FLASH CANNON flies straight for the Crabominable going in the same path as the bubble beam.

noah faber

"ah, what the heck!" noah shouts at his crabominable, alarmed by the duraludon's sudden conversion into what seems to be a cannon. "move, widow!"

his crabominable clamps its mouth shut and the bubbles cease. its stubby limbs mobilize. they begin to crawl, attempting to carry the hefty body of the crab.

however, the FLASH CANNON clips the crab. the steel-type beam slams into its side, causing it to falter its in advance. noah swallows a gasp.

with wide eyes, he shouts, "c'mon, buddy! move in with a CLOSE COMBAT!"

weakened, the crabominable pushes itself. it scuttles forth with a limp, swinging its claws preemptively like swollen baseball bats.

June Fair

”Nice shot!” June said praising her Duraludon, giving the dragon an enthusiastic thumbs up. Even though they didn’t completely annihilate the crab Noah’s reaction made up for it, now if only she could have gotten a picture of it.

Honestly, she was surprised that her opponent’s Pokémon was still up and moving. It hadn’t taken a direct hit but even clipped by the attack wasn’t something you can just walk away from all willy nilly, June was impressed.

But clearly it was time to throw in the towel for the Crabominable, the way it was barely moving was just sad.

”Wait for it to get close and then meet our friend with a Breaking Swipe!” The Duraludon shifts from its cannon-like position and stands upright, watching as the Crabominable comes closer.

Once in range, the dragon meets the crab’s fist with its large tail. Time to see which one of them was packing more strength behind their swings.

noah faber