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"Really? I'd love that!"[break][break]

Her face splits into an eager grin, and some of the residual nerves start to dissipate. The dragon master is far less intimidating in person than she had assumed, and Luka feels rather guilty for her presumptions in the first place. It certainly isn't Freya's fault that powerful women send her into a tizzy.[break][break]

"I'm sure we'd have a lot to t— oh! Look out, Sugar!"[break][break]

The command is clearly understood, but it comes a split second too late. The battle starts without any preamble and her Sylveon, taken by surprise, doesn't leap out of the way in time. The tips of her ribbons are singed and she hisses up at Lyune, tiny fangs glinting in the light.[break][break]

With an irritated mewl she launches a dazzling gleam at her airborne opponent, so bright that Luka has to shield her eyes against it.

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Wave upon wave of paradox pokemon continue to descend upon them. Were there not for Sugar's z-move, Luka has no doubt that she'd be completely overwhelmed. She takes advantage of this sudden stillness to advance past the chrome army, though not before taking a prize of her own. A love ball, sickeningly sweet compared to the carnage around them, is thrown at one of the immobilized iron leaves. And though it meets with some resistance, the ball eventually stills in her hand.[break][break]

This is nothing to celebrate; they have to keep moving. Luka continues to ride on her Spectrier, swapping her Sylveon for a Hatterine that perches sidesaddle behind her. As if taking a cue from Caleb Harcourt, they too sprinkle life dew upon those in their wake, but for some of the people and pokemon left behind, it's already too late.[break][break]

Luka is no longer a stranger to death and destruction, but it still rattles her every time. No matter what happens, it seems she simply doesn't have the stomach for it. It's absolutely heartbreaking to know that they can't save everyone, and bile rises in her throat [break][break]

The chaos is beginning to concentrate around the White Kyurem, so that's where Luka rides. Above, she can see Remiel Calcifet engaged in some kind of conflict, but she's no good to him down on the ground. Instead, her searching gaze finds Eva Morales. It's surprising to see her alone, and worse yet, she looks injured.[break][break]

"Are you okay?" The question is superfluous. Luka is already leaping down from her Spectrier's back, tearing strips of gauze from her knapsack in an attempt to staunch the bleeding from the woman's leg. Parfait, however, is a far better healer; a heal pulse radiates from her, bathing the peacemaker in a balm of healing light.[break][break]

"Here," Luka continues, tying some of the gauze around Eva's leg in a very sloppy bandage, "Let's get you— woah!"[break][break]

Her rescue attempt is quickly thwarted by Elisabeth Fiorelli's arrival. The other woman stares right past her to taunt Eva Morales, and frankly Luka doesn't blame her. Between the two avatars, she's little more than a speck of dirt beneath a heel.[break][break]

But perhaps that's her saving grace. She isn't likely to be perceived as a threat, merely an annoyance. And that's exactly what Luka provides as her Hatterene throws up a protect, temporarily staving off the vines that threaten to ensnare both women.[break][break]

For now, Luka ignores Elisabeth Fiorelli and doesn't try to fight back. It's more important to try and get Eva to safety.[break][break]

"Come on," she urges, as her Spectrier lowers their body closer to the barren earth. "Can you ride?" Rayquaza makes for a better mount, but the dragon is otherwise occupied. "You'll be better off here than on the ground!"
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[break]
- coming in to give Eva Morales a heal![break]
- uses protect against Elisabeth Fiorelli's vines[break]
- tries to help eva onto spectrier[break]

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Oh no! Perhaps she had spoken too soon? Luka chews on her bottom lip as she watches the fight play out, her confidence leaking out like a deflating balloon.[break][break]

"Waah...n-no, no, we can still win! Come on, Sugar! I believe in you!"[break][break]

Her cheering is as peppy as normal, but perhaps a bit more desperate this time. But to her credit, Sugar still tries her best. Even so, it's much harder to dodge a hydro pump when it's shot straight at her. Sugar tries to drop the Froakie again, but it's too late. The oncoming deluge is inevitable![break][break]

All she can do now is try to combat the jetstream with an attack of her own. She fires off another psyshock as a last ditch attempt to end the battle on a high note, while Luka crosses her fingers and hopes for the best.
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"Ehe...c'mon, Sugar! Let's play ball!"[break][break]

They're doing rather well, relatively speaking. It keeps both Luka and Sugar peppy, and makes the whole fight more fun overall. Even though they're taking things seriously, there's a much more lighthearted vibe. Perhaps it's thanks to Ollie and his cheerfulness?[break][break]

Sugar smiles and barks her understanding as she forms a shadow ball to compete with Tofu's electro ball. Her ribbons unfurl as she tosses the ball up and spikes it towards the oncoming Pikachu, just like a volleyball. Now, all that remains is to see who can hit first!

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Sugar strikes first, but somehow their opponent is even faster! Both Luka and her Sylveon are taken aback as the Smeargle uses dazzling gleam against them, and the resulting light show is so bright it does blind them. Sugar blinks stars out of her eyes, momentarily staggered back by the momentum of her own attack. This isn't how things were supposed to go![break][break]

"Wah...t-that's okay, Sugar! We just have to be more careful!"[break][break]

That's right— there's no use in giving up so soon. Sugar nods and darts off again, though now she takes a little longer to consider her next move.[break][break]

Instead of attacking outright, a misty terrain spills onto the field, obfuscating everything in foggy shades of pink. Sugar tries to use this momentary cover to her advantage, her ribbons spooling out around her to try and grab the Smearagle and hoist him up into the air. It'll be much easier to attack her opponent again, so long as she can catch him!

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"Oh gosh...watch out, Sugar!"[break][break]

Luka's command is unnecessary. Though the Gigantamax pokemon has an advantage in size, it also makes sneak attacks virtually impossible. Sugar can see the max phantasm coming from a mile away, but that doesn't mean she can avoid it entirely. Instead, the best she can do is brace herself.[break][break]

Or is it? An idea strikes the little feline, and she quickly darts off. It's almost funny— in order to take cover, she runs underneath the giant Eevee's legs! From here, she only takes a little recoil from the move as it smashes against the arena.[break][break]

Once the coast is clear, she sprints behind the Eevee and prepares a counterattack. Though dazzling gleam is a little predictable by now, it's still just as effective. Once again, the field glimmers with brilliant aureoles of light— with an opponent so big, there's no way this move can miss!


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It's becoming abundantly clear that Sugar does not excel in close combat. She's better at a distance, and flounders slightly when her opponent gets right up in her face.[break][break]

"Oh no, Sugar!" Luka's banter with Paxton is temporarily abandoned— she's too busy fretting over her Sylveon instead. The fact that Conibear has mega evolved only makes things worse, for now there's two snapping jaws to contend with. Is there any way for them to still pull off a win?[break][break]

Their poor odds are worsened when the Mawile strikes again. Her ice punch knocks Sugar back again, and when she gets up this time it's with a noticeable wince.[break][break]

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Luka has half a mind to recall her Pokemon now, but Sugar has other plans. With a frustrated growl she springs forward again, pulling out all the stops as a springtide storm is unleashed upon the Mawile and her drooling, snapping jaws.

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"I-it's not over yet, Sugar! You can do it!"[break][break]

But when the field becomes visible again, it's clear that the Sylveon is struggling. Her movements are slower, her reactions not quite as sharp as they had been. She works best at a distance— against an opponent that prefers close combat, she's at a clear disadvantage.[break][break]

However, they aren't going to give up yet! Though she's struggling, Sugar still makes a valiant effort to get another hit in. She can't compete with Kama's speed, so she chooses a full frontal assault instead. Her dazzling gleam shines so brightly that it might blind the Scyther and give her the split second needed to strike back.[break][break]

Only it's not fast enough. Kama's attack hits first and Sugar goes flying back, with Luka crying out in alarm.

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"Well experience is what matters most, I think. I mean, that's why we're here in the first place!"[break][break]

It's a bit of a trial by fire, an attempt to see how well Luka and Sugar can utilize the boosts provided by their sygna bond. So far, it's apparent that they need to train a lot harder to get used to battling— Sugar can handle herself rather well, but Luka still has difficulty in directing her effectively. If they're going to survive in Hoenn, their battling style needs to be far more cohesive.[break][break]

But for now, they're happy to practice with a low stakes brawl. Sugar is doing remarkably well against her opponent, but the tough little pup won't go down that easily! The ice punch speeds towards her, and she tries once again to dodge nimbly out of the way. This time, however, she slips up, and the hit lands![break][break]

"Oh no! I-it's okay Sugar, you're still doing great!"[break][break]

Her Sylveon shakes bits of frost from her fur and runs forward again. This time, her ribbons glow and psychic energy arcs towards the Riolu, taking the form of a psyshock.

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A pained cry echoes throughout the arena as venomous fangs meet their mark. Luka gasps in horror, hands clasped in front of her mouth as Sugar struggles and thrashes within the Arbok's coils.[break][break]

She has half a mind to recall her Sylveon now. Her fingers curl against a love ball, but giving up now feels almost humiliating. The woman across the field is already looking down on the both of them...stubbornly, she doesn't want to give her any more ammunition.[break][break]

"I-it's not over yet! You can do it, Sugar! Fight back!"[break][break]

That's about as intimidating as fighting words from her will ever get. But to Luka's credit there's quite a bit of fire behind them, and it seems that Sugar shares her passion. Despite the odds being against her, and the life being very literally drained from her body, the fairy manages to twist herself within the Arbok's grasp and fires off a weak psyshock.[break][break]

It's far from a brutal, game-changing move. But if they're lucky, it might just be enough to get her out of the serpent's grip.

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It's a shame she can't see the blush from here, because that kind of gap-moe is such a weakness. As it is, Aaron manages to maintain his cool facade, and if there wasn't a battle going on perhaps Luka would be swooning a little more.[break][break]

The two attacks clash and at the end of it, both parties are still left standing. In fact, it seems that they'd cancelled each other out. Sugar blinks a little as the light begins to fade, but she quickly springs back into action. This clearly hadn't worked, so they have to try something else![break][break]

Blinding light is replaced by darkness; Sugar creates a shadow ball and launches it into the air. It spins once before she reaches up with her ribbons and spikes it right towards Pikachu, like throwing a volleyball.

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Luckily for both of them, their Pokemon are fairly self-sufficient. If it were up to her, Luka would be torn between wanting to let the handsome guy win and wanting to show off. In the end, it's for the best that she takes on more of a cheerleading role.[break][break]

"Come ooooooonnn, Sugar!" she cheers, hands cupped in front of her mouth. "You can dodge that!"[break][break]

And she can! Just as the ice beam is about to strike Sugar leaps over it, and the ground is frozen over instead. She lands carefully and manages to avoid the frozen ground with graceful, delicate steps, like a dancer.[break][break]

Riding the temporary high from their first successful move, she quickly follows it with a second, purring once before her ribbons glow and a psyshock lights up the field.[break][break]

Beams of purple light speed towards her opponent, arching and twisting in seemingly random- but beautiful- patterns. It seems that Sugar is taking advantage of her early momentum to show off a little!

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i

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The misty terrain comes at a cost: though it had provided Sugar some cover, it also allows the smaller Pikachu to run around in that same fog. "Don't let them catch you!" Luka calls back, though she herself can barely see the blurry shape of her Pokemon running around. "Ehe...it's like tag!"[break][break]

Sugar continues to kick up clouds of fog as she darts about the field, but the constant movement is causing it to clear. Tofu's attacks don't help much either, for another bout of lighting sparks up the field and sets it aglow. It feels like this battle is a real attack on the senses![break][break]

"Ah! Um! T-try, erm..." For a moment Luka flounders, unsure of what to do next. But while she hesitates, Sugar jumps into action. Light meets light as another dazzling gleam flashes around the arena, the two attacks clashing in a deadly mix of electricity and sparkles.

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