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[attr="class","bisc"]If anybody asked, Jangle would claim she wasn’t being soft. Just that the sun was in her eyes. That’s why the attack lacked its usual vigor. And, even if that wasn’t it, there was no requirement to beat the snot out of your opponent here. That AR heart still disappeared regardless. When the Dunsparce bounced back, the fire-type couldn’t resist a smile.

The Incinreroar did not immediately follow up on that attack. She allowed the kid’s Pokemon some time to get back on its figurative feet. There’d be zero pleasure in just beating the snake to a pulp. The purple glow caught her a bit off guard. That was a strong attack for a little guy! Her trainer’s voice cracked as the Dunsparce neared. His voice filled with audible anxiety—which was totally on brand for Biscotti. “Uh—JJ!?” She rolled her eyes at another round of commentary from Captain Obvious. Dodging an attack like that at a close distance was next to impossible.

So, just as they collided, she threw forward an energy-sapping Drain Punch.

6c8xUfg2
Lucia Aldrete

☉

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[attr="class","bisc"]The brunette watches in shock as the kaiju-chu hits the ground. The smell of burnt air whiffs through the air around them. Biscotti doesn’t smell it, but the Incineroar does. This is one of the few times CPI proves useful. There’s a hint of confusion as his cat’s nose wrinkles. One of her paws batted idly at the air in an attempt to dissipate the smell.

Scotti, meanwhile, was too stunned to notice any of this. Had they just beat a ranger? By themselves? Big labrador eyes blinked a few times. For a moment, his mind was consumed by images of victory—laurels, medals, and applause. Then, the older guy was in his face with his fist frozen. It took the baker a second to realize time hadn’t stopped and Ollie wasn’t trying to punch him.

“Thanks!” He butted scarred knuckles against the man’s larger ones. “You too!” The teenager winced. “Except for the, you know, losing part.” These words spilled out in an avalanche. One that buried his cheeks in a sea of red. Now, it sounds like you’re rubbing his nose in it. Geeze. Luckily, the doughnut talk gave him a life raft.

Digging in his jacket pocket, he first pulls up a crumpled receipt. “Sure, man! Of course!” Just as he goes to pass it to Ollie, the brunette freezes. In a flurry of movements, he swaps that paper for a glossy little coupon. “This thing is good for one baked good.” And, even if his sister hadn’t given them to him, Biscotti didn’t think she’d mind a visit from the Head Ranger.

Besides, it made him feel way less guilty when he won.

A8SxheSI

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[attr="class","bisc"]The question made the teen flush. “Yeah…” He admits sheepishly. A hand lifts to rub at the back of his head, fingers trailing down old scard. “It happens a lot.” At the question, he hummed. At least being dumb stopped him from having to dumb himself down for kids. “And, uh, it’s something like that. I can’t feel pain. The dripping, sure. But the actual impact?” His shoulders lifted in a defeated shrug.

At the Dunsparce question, the brunette grinned. “I do, well, kind of. Mine’s evolved now.” He didn’t say its name outloud—people already thought he had a stutter without it. A look at Jangle though told him it wasn’t time for show-and-tell. The cat’s tail lashed angrily to the side. Her arms folded across her chest. “I’ll show you after! Promise!”

As the chubby snake charged—tearing the ground up in its wake—the Incineroar tapped a hand on her side. Scotti fumbled for his Tera Orb as the two clashed. Would it activate before she got struck? Save her a few HP on With a snarl, the fire cat responded with a Cross Chop.

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Lucia Aldrete

☉

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[attr="class","bisc"]Biscotti knows this guy! Or, uh, at least what he’s seen in the papers and stuff. And, well, he wasn’t sure it was good or even if he wanted to be facing him like this. It felt like asking a rabid animal to playfight.

Jangle, however, looks determined to get things going. Her fiery eyes glare up at the giant cat. One lip lifts to reveal her canines. All this fancy stuff doesn’t impress her. Though, notably, she does stand a little straighter, almost as if those extra few inches can make a difference. She’s already trying to figure out how to kick this thing in the face.

When he tries to wave, the gesture itself feels awkward. Like it’s disrespectful or something. So, in the end, he ends up sloppily saluting. Was that even the right hand? Shoot. “Sure thing!” Honey eyes travel up the cat’s stretched frame. “That’s a looooong cat you’ve got there.” He tries to grin but it’s awkward. “you know what they say about big things and harding—err—falling.”

His Incineroar steps up to the starting line. Smoke pours from her nostrils.

MATIAS SILPH

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[attr="class","bisc"]The brunette grinned as he turned to his cat. Layers of muscles ran like rivers beneath her thick fur. The claws were ivory knives at the end of her little digits. To people who didn’t know her, that face was rage incarnate. But he knew she purred whenever she ate apple pie and absolutely loved baby Pokemon. Those same arms also clutched at couch cushions during scary movies. “She’s awesome.”

The play bow draws up the cat’s eyebrow. For a moment, she seems tempted to repeat the gesture. Her trainer opts for some weird half-curtsy thing instead. His injured ankle bulges beneath his jeans as he struggles to keep his balance. Let’s see what you have, Fiery Mercury. When the other person grabbed a Tera Orb, Biscotti’s slipped to his own. But he didn’t have anything that could help with a dragon. Not that he knew what those things were weak to anyway. Those type trees always got him screwed up.

“Fight fire with fire!” The boy called from the sidelines. Though today showed him he needed some long-distance artillery, it wasn’t like he could fix that now. The TM seller he saw looked super shady.

Preparing herself for the recoil, along with the burn of dragon fire, the Incineroar charged toward Tsukiko with a Flare Blitz.

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Makoto Kurumi

☉

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[attr="class","bisc"]The brunette smiled in response. If he did have a kid, he probably wouldn't be here, huh? Probably working two jobs trying to feed a screaming, pooping potato. “Yeah. Super, mega awkward.” Pretty much every conversation with him ended up sandwiched between cringe and offputting. It was a talent, just not a useful one. “Heh.” And, unlike his lack of pain, he couldn’t blame it on CIP.

A grin spread across his face. Food was something he could talk about especially when he made so much of it. “Hopefully, you don’t change your mind!” With all the sweets on display—even at the tournament cart—it was hard to choose just one. His lower-than-average sense of smell was a real lifesaver. It kept him from being as round as a G-Max Pikachu. Though, even as he patted his belly, Scotti was pondering his next doughnut.

“!?” Though he’d noticed the band, Biscotti hadn’t paid it much thought. Which now, well, seemed like a really bad idea.”Whoooa! That’s cool!” Biscotti tried to whistle his admiration, the sound coming out more like a spittoon shot. “JJ! Let him go!” Stunned by the sudden role reversal, the cat hesitated a second. The tail burst free of her hands, only its tip now resting in her palm.

This was enough to send the Discharge rebounding through her body with the force of a lightning bolt. Even as her limbs stiffened, the very ground beneath her feet lit up with sparks. “Uh use—try a—” She fell to her knees. What could he do in a situation like this? “Blast Burn?” The student finished lamely.

Smoke poured from the cat’s nostrils as she tried to coax out her inner inferno.

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ollie morales

☉

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[attr="class","bisc"]The boy grinned as his proposal was accepted. “Nah! I think we’re—” Then, his eyes caught on the hedgehog. “Dude! That thing’s—” Jangle grunted in front of him. Humans always forgot that they could understand them. “You’re adorable.” Hopefully, it didn’t dream of being a beefcake or something. Then again, weirder things had happened. He thought he could be a superhero once.

As the man tugged out his Tera Orb, Biscotti debates on doing the same. His scarred hands trail uncertainly across the navy, sparkling ball. In the end, however, he shakes his head. Let’s save that for later. With a nod to Jangle, the fight begins. “Use—!” His voice falls as the cat dashes forward. Flames lick up her arms as she throws herself at the hedgehog in a Flare Blitz.

Scotti can feel the heat on her arm as she flies forward.

fW1Fea_2

Noel Parker

☉

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[attr="class","bisc"]After a brief stop at home base—and a lab-grown ham and croissant sandwich—Scotti and Jangle were back on the prowl. The bandage on Scotti’s foot added a small limp to his gait, something he hoped wasn’t noticeable. He hoped they could salvage his shoes when this was done. All that blood would be a pain to get out. After a day of mostly getting his butt kicked, Biscotti seemed surprisingly chipper. He didn’t mind being the bottom rung on someone else’s ladder—quite the opposite.

After adjusting his sleeves, he starts searching through the crowd. He pulls his goggles down over his eyes. Now, he sees the hearts gloating around people like in a video game. There’s a little status bar showing who’s already in charge. With a few potentials on display, he turns to his cat. “Whatcha think, JJ?” Not happy about the losses, Jangle looks for the strongest looking, unattached person she can find. Finally, her gaze settles on some dude who looks a lot like a knight.

She points to him. “You sure, pal?” The cat nods. And, well, ladies were (almost) always right. “Let’s do it!” Biscotti takes a minute to pick his way through the crowd. There’s a lot of attack dodging and gentle attempts to squeeze through the crowds. After squeezing himself between two couples, Biscotti emerged in front of his wanted opponent.


“Hey, I’m Scotti!” He’s breathless. But his awkward grin remained. “You up for a battle?”

Q0ULk7SG

Noel Parker

☉

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[attr="class","bisc"]With a few battles behind him, Biscotti felt his confidence growing. Not so much in battling--fat chance—but in his ability to ability to talk to other people. Especially people he marked as pretty. Maybe one day he’d be able to manage two sentences without putting his foot in his mouth.

He’d also managed to give Jangle an order or two. And, even if she didn’t listen, it felt nice to at least hold the reins. “How many battles is that, JJ? Six? Seven?” The Incineroar goes to hold up her ‘fingers’ before realizing she doesn’t have enough.


After a brief moment, she goes the Roman route. Both hands display a capital ‘v’. Had it been that many? Dang! “Well, you’d know better than me.” Jangle was the one getting slugged, after all. The big cat snorted and rolled her eyes. She almost always knew better than he did. A beep on their goggles told them the time for the next match had come. Pivoting on his freshly bandaged foot, Biscotti looks for a new partner. But, just like in sports, it looks like he might be getting picked last.


Then he spots Makoto and her silver Ninetales. His labrador eyes widen as he races toward them. “Hey! I’m Scotti!” The boy stutters through an introduction to Jangle. “Your Pokemon's sweet!” Standing behind him, the Incineroar’s aura oozed intimidation.

Makoto Kurumi

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[attr="class","bisc"]The cat’s foot whipped through empty air as the Swampert surged out of the way. With a growl, the feline landed in a crouch. Her tail lashed angrily behind her as she narrowed her eyes. Muscles bunched as the cat prepared to pounce. But, before she could act, a torrent of water was coming her way. Biscotti’s eyes widened. If that attack hit, they’d be in a world of hurt.

Time to act! What should he do? “Use, um, Cross Chop!” With a snarl, the cat did as she was told. Not because he said so, of course. They just happened to have the same idea. With a hint of desperation, she tried to slice through the water with a burst of fighting-type energy. If it clipped the Swampert on its way over, awesome.

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nabi park

☉

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[attr="class","bisc"]The brunette winced as the kid jumped. Way to make friends, Scotti. Good job. He kept his friendly, awkward smile in place as the girl turned around. He was glad he looked pretty harmless right now. If one of those beefy brawlers approached Lucia, he was worried she might run off into the ocean. Instead of an immediate response, he received radio silence. “Uh, you all right?”

Then, she finally spoke. “Again?” He turned to follow the crimson trail. “Yepp. Shoot.” The brunette just shook his head. A quick glance at his new shoes showed the red fabric dotted with maroon spots. Nobody ever told you what a disorder like his did to a wardrobe budget. “I hope they have somebody to clean that up.” Blood was dangerous. And, even if he didn’t have HIV or anything, he didn’t want somebody screaming at him. “I didn’t see a number or anything.” From his jacket, he pulled out a roll of bandages.

A sprits from a tiny bottle of antibiotic spray and his gash was wrapped tightly. After years of dealing with this stuff, he’d mastered the art of dressing wounds. “Thanks for telling me.” Then, she turned her little eyes on him. He felt his heart crack, Aw, man! She’s adorable! Though some part of him wondered if this was all an act—and this was a battling prodigy—he stepped up intending to lose.

“Don’t worry about it! I bet I’m way worse than you are!” Jangle shook her head: speak for yourself that gesture said. It wasn’t her that was a problem. Her trainer tended to freeze in the headlights. “I like your snake! I have one too!” Except his was way bigger and neon pink. As he realized what he said, his cheeks flared red.

Once the Dunsparce touched the ground, the Incineroar launched forward with an Ice Punch. She wasn’t a softie. She didn’t plan to pull her punches just because it was a kid. Except she totally did.

LIwIVZQV
Lucia Aldrete

☉

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[attr="class","bisc"]Even in the alternate universe, this was one question he could answer pretty confidently. “No way It’s just a—uh—phrase.” Which the guy knew since he asked about it. “I’d be fired in a week.” And, even though he’d thought it’d be cool, he didn’t want to pass his crappy genes down. It’d been hard enough for him to survive it. He doubted he’d be able to watch someone else do the same.

The young man lifted scarred hands. First, he held his hands up about a hot dog’s length apart. “They’re like this ling.” Then, he twirled his hands in his best attempt at a braid. “And they’re swirled into like a DNA strand. Sometimes one’s cinnamon. Usually, they’re glazed.” It was like having three doughnuts in one. The different flavors made it way more fun. As to the other question?

“Kingsley's Confections is past the contestant’s tent!” He grinned. “Cannolli’s a whiz.” She was like magic with dough. It felt like she just stared at it and it did whatever she wanted. Kind of irritated by the shouting confectionary conversation, Jangle threw her trainer a glare. Biscotti stiffened like a scolded kid. He murmured something under his breath.

The fire flares high as the two crash into one another. Uh, isn’t that what I wanted? The Incineroar snarls as the Pikachu’s tail slams into her crossed arms. “Hsss!” But instead of breaking the attack, the cat just turns up the heat. As the heat eats at her fur, the recoil begins to spread. Metals melted, right?

h8iwXOVN

ollie morales

☉