Heh. The bigger they were, the harder they fell. Or something like that. It did feel good to beat something big by being sneaky, at least in Lash’s opinion. Plus, she was being praised by someone who obviously had a lot of experience.

Because obviously, Lash was not going to buy that someone fielding a mega Machamp was not much of a battler. She’d believed that from someone running around with a little Machop, maybe, but that was something that took a lot of work to acquire and train right.

So, yeah, someone who wasn’t a battler would not have that. Hence, her response was a cool and dandy “Suuure,” but she accepted that this lady did not want to talk about this further. Instead, she wanted to get her Pokemon healed. Understandable. Still, Lash filed that one under people she would not mind to meet again.

Anyone complimenting her name genuinely was at least interesting.


Eva Morales
HP: 3/3
Win

A captain, huh? That was a fancy rank. She’d be wary of that person if she’d been out poaching for sure. But here on the pitch? That was more or less just some random person as far as she was concerned. Doubly good because Lash very much planned to only go back to said work after she had gotten her own age back, so if anything, she was the one that could get benefit here.



That being said, this captain came across as a little weird, at least to her. “Captain Nariya. I see. I think I will skip the rest of the title. Aaanyway, if you want to make money, this is probably not the best place to do that. Though there are some interesting prizes here, not going to lie.” Nodding to herself, she then gestured her shiny dusk form Lycanroc forward. “Let’s start this the usual way,” she ordered – causing her Lycanroc to start howling in order to cause sharp rocks to erupt from the ground in random places as she set up Stealth Rock.


Shalin Nariya
HP: 3/3
Z-Move on standby
Using Stealth Rock

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Oh. Was that the fabled moment? When two people’s met and it was love at first sight? No, of course not. This was a battle area! Meeting someone meant fighting them. That was more like it.

Especially when someone just asked nicely, being all bright and sunny. It was not quite Lash’s disposition, but she did not hate it – as long as the other party did not treat her like a child. Then again, she could answer with a smile, too.

“Sure, me and Lyca take on all challengers. Though I did want to grab a bite first, hmn…ah, well, I can go after. Wanna join in on that?” Lash did want to get to know a few people in this stupid new form she had acquired, so she was kind of using this tournament for that sake, too.


Genevieve Cromwell
HP: 3/3
Z-Move on standby

Using one’s instincts, huh? That was an odd way to describe mega-evolving a Pokemon, but Lash wouldn’t judge. She was still debating to try and get a mega stone from the prizes offered here. It was an interesting concept, certainly. Less spontaneous and explosive than a Z-Move, but for one more consistent. Plus, one did not have to strike a silly pose for it. That was always a plus.



Buuut in order to get to that point she had to win a few more matches first. Hence it was probably best to focus, especially when dear Eva used up her own ace there, creating a wide guard to protect itself from the rocks. “Lyca, bypass,” she ordered – and the Lycanroc understood. While the other was busy guarding against those rocks, Lyca would try to Accelerock it from the side at high speeds. It certainly was not too impressed by the even bulkier body-building Pokemon right then, though it was wary of the strength it promised.



“You seem like you are doing this often. How many tournaments of sorts have you been in so far?” No such thing as holding back questions during a battle, really. Lash most certainly was not trying to distract the other there. That would have just been lame.


Eva Morales
HP: 3/3
Z-Move on standby
Using Accelerock

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Maybe it was time for a break soon.



Soon, but not right then. At least that was what she decided. After all, the next round was already up, against some Shalin Nariya. That was a bit of an odd name, but she had gotten used to those. Hoenn had become such a hotpot of people from different regions, if someone turned up tomorrow named Mint Flavour, she would just accept it.



Plus, she had an odd one, too. Kalosian roots, sadly. But that was why she went with her nickname most of the time. Short and snappy, that was always nice. She used that to introduce herself and her shiny dusk forme Lycanroc once the other arrived. “Good afternoon, Miss. I am Lash, this is Lyca. We will be your opponents today. Well, two of them at least.”


Shalin Nariya
HP: 3/3
Z-move unused

Well, the Z-Move had not managed to end this, but apparently all it took was one good headbutt. Not that it was easy, of course. Lyca did sway a bit after getting back onto her feet, evidently a bit dizzy after hitting something so solid. But she ultimately was able to shake her head and keep herself together, while the other was, um, deactivated.

Robots were weird.

Still, she would take the win. “To be fair, battles here often come down to luck. It’s always nicer when there is a proper knockout of sorts. Vital points can feel kind of arbitrary sometimes….” Lash trailed off briefly, but she did catch herself eventually. “But, well, then I better make sure there is a next time, so that you can think of it,” Lash ultimately added, sounding a bit strained but not for a bad reason. If she was putting on an act it was more to save face for herself. “I will just give you my contact information. And, um….thank you for being nice to me like that. It kind of means a lot…in a way…”

Yeah, she was really bad at that.


ana fell
HP: 1/3
Win

Well, little duckies were always better than heads splitting open and all sorts of stuff being splattered over the stone. Hence, it was best to go with that and recall Lyca for the time being. “It does, though I guess Mega evolutions have more staying power,” she responded, mulling things over. She did plan on trying to get a mega stone from the prizes here, after all. Sadly, Lyca could not use it, but she had other options.

For now though, she didn’t have too much time to waste and would instead move on, trying to get some healing in before the next round. It was certainly needed now.


onyx straub
HP 0/3
Lost

“Pfft,” she replied, pouting. Granted, she was also a bit dejected that her Z-Move had not quite worked out the way it should, with the robot breaking out and punching the poor Lycanroc in the face, sending it flying back.



It yelped, but it got up again, evidently still able to fight. This was going to be the decisive exchange though, according to the devices. Which meant there was no point in playing it safe at all. “I should embarrass you by insisting on the Pom Poms to make up for this, pfft. Anyway, Accelerock, let’s bring this to a close one way or another.” Evidently, she shifted to ordering her Lycanroc once again in the middle of that.


Which immediately sprang into action, rushing at the robot head-on, somehow evoking the power of rock as it tried to go for a fast head-butt.


ana fell
HP: 1/3
Z-Move used
Using Accelerock

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Good. At least they were on the same page in that regard. Assuming the other was as young as she looked – yeah, Lash would be one to talk in that regard if she got that wrong – she had a decent enough spirit for battling. Reminded Lash of herself when she was that age.
Well, when she was that age the first time. Ugh, this was utterly annoying.

Still though, it was a positive spin – even though that pain split sadly did not work out too well. It ultimately needed the Pokemon to still be in fighting shape after the hit, after all. Which it evidently was not, after being hit by the Z-Move.

At least the thingy said so. Though Lash could tell that this was kind of one-sided, sadly. Probably due to the others being rather new to all this. “Phew. Well, Pain Split isn’t a bad idea, but I don’t think it works too well with these vital points. Once you are hit decently good three times, it’s over. Hence, you have to play it aggressively I think. Though luck’s also part of the equation, apparently. Some weird stuff is happening here sometimes.”


Cassandra Kubrick
HP: 3/3
Win

“Uh, well, that isn’t really on me though….I think,” she replied, rubbing the back of her head. “I mean, if you bring it to a fight, you got to expect getting hurt, after all.” At least that was how she saw it. Lyca and her knew that too. That’s why they had taken those scissors to the face, after all. They certainly left deep marks in the stone, with damage being done, but those were not the first markings, nor would they be the last. This was her oldest companion, after all.



And hence, her partner in crime. The bug tried to grab said partner, and it reflexively used Double Team, trying to dodge the attack while seeking to goad the enemy into crashing into one of the leftover Stealth Rocks.



The Z-Move had done plenty of damage. Lucan was leaking olive-green blood like a punctured

onyx straub
HP:1/3
Using Double-Team

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That saw her pushing one arm out in front of her and trying to wave it off while looking away. “Y-you are embarrassing me,” she noted, though she did not quite sound very serious in rejecting this. It was an embarrassing way to do something nice. And since people usually did not do nice things for her, Lash really did not know how to handle this.



Lyca, in the meantime, raised a rocky eyebrow at the weird sounds coming from the mechanical pokemon clearly a bit put off by the grinding. For a Pokemon with hearing much better than what humans had, that hit a little harder by itself. Plus, it was just such an unusual sound to begin with.



Fortunately though, Lash managed to catch herself. “But…if you insist! You better take responsibility, then!” Saying that, Lash grasped her wristband briefly, before striking the Rock Z-Pose. That was kind of embarrassing by itself, but not moreso than than what was already happening. “Lyca, go and show her what we can do!”

With the order given, Lyca howled out loudly. With the energy of the Z-crystal, the power of rock was amplified, allowing her to raise Splintering Stoneshards from the ground and sending a veritable barrage of it at the robot.


ana fell

HP: 2/3
Using Z Move Splintering Stoneshards, +50 to roll

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Well, this one would be different. If only because her umbrella was finally seeing some use as a small downpour had begun. It was probably going to clear up again soon though. Today was just that kind overcast, really. It wasn’t all that much of an issue, really.



Only that it was probably going to turn all those Sand Attacks more into little mud-slinging contests. But her Shiny Dusk Forme Lycanroc was ready and on the pitch already. “Hello, Mister. I am Lash, this is Lyca. Probably best if we run this quickly, given the weather.”


Gerald Kaiser
HP: 3/3
Z-Move unused

“Well, I guess this is a good kind of event, then. Lots of quick battles and such. It will keep you on your toes though and if you let up, you probably lose,” Lash pontificated further, already settling into the role of what kids these days called a senpai. She certainly was in many ways, of course. But the other probably would not know about some of them at least.



Hence, she could tell that trying to clear away the dust and rock was an attempt to stabilize the match. Usually a decent course of action. At the same time though…the thingamajinga the organizers had given her indicated that the other’s situation was already very precarious.

Lash briefly debated going easy on this obvious newbie. But that would have been condescending. “Like, when you are behind like this, you don’t have the leisure to work on optimal conditions. Especially not when doing that gives your opponent ample time to set up. I am not going to insult you by not doing what I can to win,” she further added.



Then, she activated her Wristband and struck the Rock-Z pose. In response, energy flowed through Lycanroc which howled even more loudly. Only this time, it did not just set up stealth rock. No, Lash had just ordered her to try and end it with the Splintering Stoneshards that were now summoned up all around, only to then be hurled as projectiles at the poison type.



That would either win her the match, or it would be a great obstacle for this girl to overcome successfully. Either would probably be good in some way.


Cassandra Kubrick
HP: 3/3
Z-Move Gimmick activated in Splintering Stoneshards, +50 pts to the roll

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