The battle had suddenly begun.

Having had a Primarina of his own, albeit very briefly, Remiel's black Dracovish shuddered lightly at the sight of it. A guttural growl arose from the base of its throat. And, when the aptly delivered Misty Terrain was cast upon the stadium floor, Baal even recoiled a little and flapped his fins.


"Easy now," Remiel uttered, dropping his hand from his hair and pointing forward. A Moonblast was on the way, and there was no time for being queasy. Hoping to catch the Primarina off-guard while it delivered the attack, Remiel sent his Dracovish off with a single word, "Fass!" Before immediately commanding his Ampharos to cover its charge with a ZAP CANNON. "Blast it."

After stepping forward, while the Dracovish roared and charged ahead, Faustus bent his head back as his body crackled with black electricity. Then, when he had quickly finished gathering a mass of black lightning in its maw, the ram unleashed the attack like a cannon-like blast from its mouth. The ball of black lightning flew towards the Primarina as it attempted to smite his abomination. 

"Protect!" The prince of Hammerlocke commanded, prompting the Dracovish to summon  a protective barrier around itself just moments before the Moonblast struck. Bursting out from the misty haze and the pink blast unscathed thanks to its PROTECT, it charged straight for the Primarina. It had more aggravating memories of that one than it did the little tyke nearby, after all.

As much as he would have preferred not to have had this happen, Faustus caught a glimpse of the Brionne prior to firing off his Zap Cannon. This rendered him smitten, causing an intense blush to flourish on the ram's cheeks even as the ball of black lightning was fired off and met its mark. He blinked a little confusedly, unsure why this had such a strong effect on him. When Remiel noticed this, however, he was quick to interject with a command. "Focus, Light Screen. Now." He spoke, receiving a prompt response from his Ampharos as the lightning ball ahead burst.

With a flap of its flippers and an intense glow in its eyes, Faustus summoned a LIGHT SCREEN that would shield himself and the charging Dracovish ahead from special attack damage— damage that Remiel was almost certain the two pokémon on the other side of the field had expertise in. While the Captivate had been a swift and expertly delivered tactic at just the right moment, however, their opponent would likely find themselves wanting with the next course of events that transpired.

The attack on the Primarina, though failing to paralyze it as intended, had served as perfect cover and bought enough time for the Dracovish to lower its head as it came charging in. Though the Encore was surely intended to keep it mindlessly protecting itself, it would fail to meet this intention and, in fact, backfire in a sense. The prehistoric abomination's IRON HEAD gleamed as it followed a direct, and potentially flinch-worthy, course for the Primarina in question.

Remiel, in the meantime, quietly mused from afar as he waited to see whether the attack connected successfully. Their opponent would have his pokémon dancing around to be struck down easily. And, though that was certainly still a possibility, he was proud of Faustus for having bought Baal enough time to punish them for doing so.

Baal's might had proven to be enough to cause the Primarina to flinch. This bode well for their endeavors despite the hiccups, and Remiel made sure to capitalize on this moment. With the Light Screen still shielding his pokémon considerably against the aquatic songstress, the royal was confident a bulky and oversized Dracovish such as his own could endure it better than he would have otherwise. As the strike was summoned, however, he, too, prompted his Ampharos to summon one of its own. "Zap Cannon." And there was no more designation needed beyond that. His pokémon had been trained to spot fumbles and take advantage.

Charging the blast of black electricity quick, from the center of its chest, down the length of its long neck, and out of its mouth like a cannon, the ram hoped to catch the Primarina off-guard. Whether the attack connected or not, however, it would provide suitable cover for Baal to shake the Moonblast off and charge forward for another IRON HEAD at the Primarina. On the surface, it might have seemed as though the Encore had gone beyond him repeating the same attack, but focusing on the same opponent as well. In reality, however, they both knew taking one of the seal's out meant a much easier time taking the other one out after.

Even with the Light Screen active, doing phenomenal work to lessen the impact of their special attacks, Remiel knew a pair of Moonblasts was still a credible threat to the Dragon-type. Baal was bigger than most of its kind, boasting higher endurance and attack that was considered natural. If Stormy hadn't accompanied him on the mission to subdue the Dracovish, Remiel wasn't even sure he'd have managed to capture it at all.

But now its capabilities were being put to the ultimate test. This had so far been one of the toughest gym battles the prince of Hammerlocke had ever faced. Though he supposed that much should have been expected from the former champion of Hoenn. But he wouldn't falter now. And he expected Baal to follow the same example.

"Brace yourself with Iron Head!" He commanded. Feeling the familiar and repulsive glow of the attack overhead, the Dracovish did as it was told (and compelled) to do, focusing a layer of Steel-type energy at its head that would serve as a bulwark with his Light Screen against the Moonblasts coming from above. And, as they rained down upon his charging beast, Remiel ordered Faustus next, too, pointing at Primarina.


Now having gained some momentum and rhythm to the action, the Ampharos was quick to charge up another  ZAP CANNON and fire it, sending it barreling towards the larger of the two seals. Whether it struck its target or not, Baal would emerge from the pink haze of their Moonblasts in a blind rage. Though certainly worse for wear, the beast charged towards the Primarina with its IRON HEAD bowed, just moments after electricity fizzled off. It gave no pause, and it would trample anything in its way. Including the small Brionne that had so heroically saved her prior.

The lingering effect of the Moonblast only presents itself after the pink fog has settled. It manifests as glittering pink lights that drip from the Dracovish's black scales like ephemeral snowflakes. If Remy is right, this has dampened its Special Attack ability.

But the Primarina would leave them with more than just one parting gift. The sheer force of her Sparkling Aria was enough to prompt him to raise an arm and shield himself from the incoming splash, leaving him slightly surprised it had reached that far across the arena. Faustus and Baal would receive the brunt of it, of course, with the latter nearly collapsing backward. The attack had been strong enough to briefly break past his barrier.

In fact, if it hadn't been for his high resistance to water, he would have surely succumbed. 

Yet the big oaf continued to surprise, and seemed determined to finish his encore with the last ounce of strength he had left. Setting its bloodshot eyes upon the small seal, the Dracovish steadied its feet and charged towards it with a roar that shook the very walls. The Ampharos, in the meantime, was commanded to stride to the left by its trainer in order to obtain a clear line of sight towards the Brionne. "Once more! Fire!" He ordered, commanding the blast of another Zap Cannon.

Whether the attack managed to meet its mark or not, and whether the pink fog would negate its potently paralytic properties, Baal would do his best to push past the Icy Wind to reach his small target. It was difficult. Admirable, more than anything, in Remiel's eyes. And it would likely fail. But the beast took its dive anyway, finishing its encore with an Iron Head that attempted to crash into the Brionne. When the giant subsequent splash subsided, however, said beast would not reemerge. Remiel recalled it with its luxury ball.

Though the effects of the Misty Terrain seemed to have let up just enough to paralyze her, the fog that it wrought settled down over the surface of the water just right to obscure her movements afterward. If Remiel had been the sort to overlook such things, this would have been a sharp reminder that they were fighting in an arena suited for their opponent and not themselves. Regardless, he'd already made the mistake of underestimating how difficult this challenge would be. Not again.

So, taking into account the Brionne's greatly reduced capability for movement, Remiel pointed within the radius of water he estimated it likely to be. They were likely to miss a direct hit, but water's conductivity of electricity would do the rest of the work for them, especially considering the force of the attack. "Once more, give it all you got!" He commanded, prompting the yellow ram to swiftly charge a bundle of crackling electricity in its throat before expelling it with great force.