The Tale of Seven

[Rikugurl]

The crowd went wild as the Raichu was picked. Seeing that Pikachu was such a popular pokemon, Raichu was well loved as well.

In the middle of the crowd sat a cute looking girl in which a Spinda was on her lap. She seemed more dolled up today than the day before, now having cute barrettes in her hair that could be seen under the hat. Next to her was a woman in a security outfit, still with sunglasses and all.

Ventus wanted to cheer for his brother... but unfortunately, he didn't want to get recognized so he clapped his Spinda's hands instead.


They grew silent as they all brought their attention to the hooded figure and his Umbreon.
Just as they did, the doors to the bleachers opened as a redhead and blonde walked through, finding a place to sit where they could see things well. They found out that they wouldn't be battling for another hour so... now they came to watch.

The figure reached down for his fifth Dusk Ball. Oddly enough, all his Poke balls except for his first one was a Dusk Ball. That meant that he had done all his capturing during the night.... or in dark caves.
The button was pressed, making the ball expand in his hand before he tossed it out.

The ball opened, making a beam of light shoot out and the Pokemon was revealed.
"Sssssssssssssseviper!" The large fang snake Pokemon hissed as his red eyes narrowed down at the small mouse.

[Reno]

Beside Ven, the blue-haired woman lowered her sunglasses some, getting a clear look at the Raichu as the crowd around went wild. She smirked. Though not exactly rare, they could be hard Pokemon to come by and for such little animals, they packed an amazing amount of power.

As the second Pokemon came out for the fight she chuckled. "Well, this is an interesting match-up." Just like a Pidgeotto with a Caterpie.


Roxas and Terra were hurrying after Axel's whose long legs aided him to take the lead. They found a spot to sit luckily, them all turning to the match up. Roxas grinned at his brothers choice, recognizing the Pokemon well. After getting Eevee with the thunderstone, Sora had said it was a 'calling' and wanted to become an electric Pokemon trainer.

He still remembered when his brother had first started out and announced his first officially caught one was a Pichu. Of course he only caught it because the Pichu had left his den after the others had made fun of him for being weak - so Sora had promised to help Pichu become strong. They had been friends ever since and, now as a Raichu, the Pokemon was fierce and determined never to lose.
This Gethin was in for quite a fight.

He winced however when he saw the next choice. "Uh-oh."
"What is it?" Terra asked from beside the other.
"Sora... is terrified of snakes."

"And Gethin has chosen the Fang-snake Pokemon, Seviper! Not only does it have a natural distaste for mice, mongooses and birds, it has an incredibly potent venom! Sora better be careful or this fight will be over before it even starts!" The announce continued.

Sora was pale. "Why a snake why?!" He ran a nervous hand through his hair, cursing under his breath.
"Jolt, Jolteon!" His fox snapped, tugging on his pant leg with her teeth.
The brunette couldn't stop shaking but as he looked down at his Pokemon he swallowed and nodded. "Alright we can do this!" He looked up. "Raichu be careful of its fangs and tail!!"
"Raichu!" The mouse nodded and grit his teeth at the snake. It didn't care if this snake was three times it's size! It wanted to win. It didn't come all the way from Veridian Forest just to be beaten by some long, ugly reptile!

"Begin!" Called the judge.

Sora looked across the way at the trainer who, apparently, was waiting for him to make the first move. His eyes narrowed. "Raichu use agility!"
"Chu!" Raichu said as it got on all four and suddenly just took off at a great speed towards Seviper.

[Rikugurl]

Axel frowned as he overheard Roxas. Scared of snakes? Sora must of had a hard time while he journeyed through forest. He could only shake his head as he looked down at the large snake. When he first saw one in the wild, he thought it was an abnormal Ekans... but he was proven wrong. Unfortunately for him as well, the Seviper wasn't very friendly towards humans either.

He shook off the memory before pulling up his Ninetails to his lap. "I'm sure Sora will beat the odds. Right Ninetails?"
"Tails!"


The hooded man tilted his head a bit as he seemed to of seen Sora pale. Unlike Sora, Gethin spoke no encouraging words to his chosen Pokemon, only stood still, the loyal Umbreon at his side.

"Begin!"

The man continued to stand there, waiting for the brunette to start first. When Sora called out the first attack, Gethin only shifted before bright blue eye-like lights appeared from the shadow cast by his hood.

"No way!" Axel leaned in closer, seeing the lights. "He can communicate with his Pokemon telepathically just like Gym leader, Sabrina!"

The blue light showed up in Seviper's eyes as well, making his rear his head and suddenly jumped towards the ground as the mouse came after him. With his strong head, he suddenly buried underground and disappeared.
The crowd gasped as they watched to see what happened next... only for something terrible.

The ground rumbled and up came the snake pokemon from below the mouse, making Raichu get flung into the air. His large head had rammed into the poor mouse hard as he continued to fly up, able to catch a branch and coil around it before hissing.

[Reno]

"I hope so..." Roxas whispered unsure, seeing the match between the rodent and snake. It already wasn't looking good...

And it got even worse when Gethin said nothing and his Pokemon disappeared! Shit Sora was in real trouble! He'd have no warning at all. "Shit..."
Terra winced as the attack hit. "Ouch." A ground move... that wasn't promising.


"Ah a beautiful agility attack from Raichu - oh but whats this? Seviper's disappeared without Gethin even saying a word! That's guaranteed to make any trainer sweat!"

Sora blinked as He saw the glow behind the trainer's coat and Seviper disappeared underground, leaving Raichu stunned as it slid to a stop and look around. Wait, what happened? He didn't hear the other say anything! Could he be... like the saffron gym leader?!
"Jolt?!" His buddy called in confusion. Not this again!

As he was still trying to figure out what the hell just happened, he finally figured out just what move the snake was about to use. Dig!! "Raichu hu-!" Sora cried but it was too late as the snake blasted from the ground sending his beloved mouse into the air.

"Raaaai!" The electric type cried in pain as it went sailing and flew down towards the field. The impact would be devastating.
"Raichu catch a branch!" Sora ordered.
Black eyes snapped open and the mouse twisted, using its sharp tail to impale it into the wood of a tree branch. The force changed and the Pokemon swung like a pendulum before it did a somersault its tail coming free as it landed on top of the branch. It glared back at the snake that was now several trees away.

The crowd was roaring. "Amazing!" Said the announcer. "Dig is a powerful and devastating move for Raichu, but it seems that this mouse is still not ready to give in!"

"Oh-ho... I think you're brother's gonna lose." Aqua chuckled.

"Come on Sora I know you can do it!!!! Don't let him psyche you out!!" Roxas cheered one of his hands curling around the X-shaped necklace around his neck. He hoped Sora didn't panic! He already had to deal with his phobia and Raichu not even being on the same food chain as his opponent - but a mind-reader too?! Even if Gethin couldn't read his mind, just the fact that a trainer believed it was possible made it hard to stay focused.

Sora looked at Raichu quietly seeing that he seemed alright then towards Gethin his eyes narrowed. He reached up and mimicked Roxas, curling his hands around his necklace pendant to calm himself. He remembered Sabrina... how she tried to scare and unnerve her opponents by calling out moves without saying a word. Trainers often believed that their minds were being read during the battle as well, so that she always was three steps ahead. He had believed that to...

However he had a small advantage here because he had two brothers his brain waves were incredibly similar too... and that would make it hard for this Gethin to read it, just like Sabrina had hinted at after he lost against her the first time. Yet it hadn't been enough she had picked out the pieces quickly...

He came back with a better, though odd, strategy because of it.

And the best part was, he had had Pikachu at his side at the time... so he would understand it even now! He looked at the two Pokemon still facing off in the trees. It was time to make his opponent surprised. "Raichu be on guard. It's time for our birdsong!" There was silence as the mouse's head tilted then Raichu grinned.
"Rai, Rai!!" It understood and remembered. Perfect!
"Alright, use thundershock!" Seconds after Sora issued three sharp whistles and Raichu took off across the tree branches at a fast speed covering the distance between himself and the snake in moments. Seviper couldn't keep up with this move, finding it hard to spot the small and speedy rodent in the dark shade of the trees.

He could sense the confusion rippling across the stadium. Even maybe some from his mystery opponent. "Double team!" A loud, brilliant whistle.
From the trees close to Seviper a brilliant, sparking rodent burst from the trees, electricity flowing from its body as it smacked into the snake's body and sent it flying from its perch. As it flew, the electric engulfment that had surrounded the mouse disappeared except for its tail in which it spun into the air and gave the snake a powerful swing with it, giving it a smaller second dose of electricity as well as a one way ticket to the ground.

Raichu landed and quickly turned around to face his opponent once more.

The crowd was in shock.
"I'm... not even sure whats going on folks!" Cried the announcer. "Sora's yelling out attacks but it appears Raichu isn't listening to him at all! Instead of Thundershock he used Agility again and then I believe a Volt Tackle in place of Double Team!"

Sora just grinned. Oh Raichu was listening alright but only to his whistles... and what his opponent picked up from his mind, if he was reading it, were the both the attacks his mouse Pokemon had had in the past that he was thinking of and the next move, muddled together and had to decipher quickly. He was discovering strategy and memories. And even if he couldn't read his mind, he was still listening to him and was bound to confuse him.

"Whoa..." Roxas breathed in shock. Sora had never told him about this! He knew the second attack well though - volt tackle. It was a devastating move that only Pikachu and its evolutions could learn. Unfortunately, Sora's Raichu always built up too much electricity in the move, and used its tail to expel the excess in some way, usually as a surprising second attack.

[Rikugurl]

The blonde girl winced, her arms around the Spinda tightening to the point that his face turned blue. "S-SPII----"
Who the hell was this!? Sabrina's son!? Pfft, there was no way that uptight bitch would fall for someone. Where the hell did HE get that power? Maybe he was the son to one of those nuts that he stole the Haunter from.

"Ack!" He let the Spinda breath as he saw a hug head inflate in front of him. "Why the hell didn't you say something?"
"Spinda?"
"Stupid..." He shook his head before growling at Aqua. "No he's not! That Raichu of his is fucking smart! No stupid snake is gonna take it down!" "Spinda! Spinda!"


Everyone held their breath as they watched what happened next. There was some confusion in the crowd, along with on the stage.

"Ssssssssssssseviper..." The snake hissed as he glared at the small mouse. That ground attack should of given him the upper had... but the mouse still seemed fine. He wished that he could of just eaten it but he was no longer wild.
His eyes glowed blue once more as his master communicated with him in his mind.
"Brace yourself."[/b]
"Sssssssssssi!"

The large snake was about to jump off the tree, hearing Sora call the next attack. It would be bad if he was hit with lighting on a tree... but when he noticed that Raichu disappeared instead, he cocked his head. "Per?"

The hooded man shifted and seemed to panic as he couldn't spot the rodent in the trees. Then, he saw it. Before he could say anything, the mouse plowed into Seviper, sending him off the branch. "SSSSSSSSSSEV!" The snake flew through the air, ready to hit the ground only to get hit again and slammed into the battle stage below.

Gloved fingers made a fist in anger but the loyal Pokemon by Gethin's side only looked up at him. "Umbreon!"
That was when they saw it, the mouse had been hit with a recoil. This might help.

"WHOA!" Axel cried as he leaned onto the edge of his seat. "That was amazing!" "Nine!" The fox agreed as she looked at the battle intensly. "I never saw a Pokemon be trained to learn whistle sounds, unless it was a bird Pokemon!"

The snake slowly rose, shaking his head before his red eyes glared down at the wobbling Raichu. His eyes glew blue as another attack was announced in his head, making him slither quickly towards the mouse. "SEEEEE!" He rose his tail that was shaped like a spear and it started to glow.
The crowd gasped, not knowing what the next attack would be. There were so many that had to do with the snake where the tail would glow.

The tail shot down right towards the mouse, but the Raichu was quick and dodged it. However... the mouse didn't know the trouble it was in when the tail hit the ground. Seviper coiled around quickly and with that strength, he flung his tail back up, the spear flying up and cut towards the back of the mouse.

"Ah! X-Scissor!" Venita cried.[/color]

[Reno]

"Are you so sure about that?" Aqua taunted back as Seviper still managed to attack again even after that devastating volt tackle. The snake still had the upper-hand because Raichu had been hit with not only a ground attack but recoil, though certainly catching the tree rather then the ground probably helped lessen some of that pain.

"Sol!" Absol called actually sounding a little... worried as he saw the snake get back up. He knew his master was close to the other though, they smelt nearly the same. He felt his masters sweaty hands on his coat, feeling each time the blonde tensed in worry.
"Come on...."

Terra was quiet beside them his eyes watching the battle with increasing interest, Houndoom growling a little. He didn't know how to respond to it, since he had no idea how to predict it.


Raichu had landed on the ground on all fours, panting softly. "Rai, Rai, Rai." He felt a little wobbly and uncertain on his feet from the damage he took from his own attack - but as the snake rose and shook itself the mouse grit its teeth, trying to get ready for anything.

We can't use that attack again... Sora was watching intensely, his eyes narrowed with worry. He knew Raichu was hurting from the last attack though the mouse had always assured him he could take it - stubborn Pokemon he was - and from here he couldn't see how Gethin was reacting to his strategy.

Apparently rather well, because he saw those eyes glow again and Seviper was attacking again. "Watch out Rai!!!!" He yelled.
"Jolt, Jolt!" His fox chorused as well.
Raichu heard the order and quickly dodged it, being faster than the large snake. His trainer had always tried to focus on speed for all of his Pokemon and it was now he was glad for it.

However suddenly there was a danger. Because Seviper wasn't through.

"I can't watch!" Roxas cried finally and buried his head in his hands, afraid to see Raichu get cut in half!

The brunette's eyes widened knowing he had no time to fake it out he just quickly stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle. It meant danger, protect yourself.

Raichu's eyes narrowed catching the command and his long tail flared up to a brilliant white and curled up and over his back. The lightning bolt caught the spear rather then the body of the mouse, protecting him. "Raiiii!" Unfortunately, Seviper was still double his weight so the blow still jarred his body and made his legs weak so he collapsed to the ground, tails still locked but he was pinned down some of the extra energy of the attack running down his back. "Chu!" The mouse cried in pain struggling under the snake valiantly as he heard it hissing above, but he couldn't slip free!

"Astounding! Seviper came back with an X-scissor attack and Raichu protected itself with iron tail without words even slipping from their trainer's mouths! Folks I've never seen anything like this! But now Raichu is pinned and is unable to get free! This battle might be over!!"

Oh it's over alright. Sora thought and without bothering with the whistles, because he knew Seviper was too close, just called the attack. "Thunder!"

"Raaaai-" Orange electricity sparked at Raichu's cheeks and the Pokemon's black eyes shut. "CHUUUUUUUUUUU!"

[Rikugurl]

"Yea... I know for sure...." Ventus swallowed as he leaned back in his chair, holding Spinda close.


Axel's eyes widened as he saw the snake move, biting his lip. This was looking bad... but he had confidence in his new friend. He looked over at Roxas and smiled, patting him on the back before quickly looking back at the fight. "Come on, Raichu..."


Seviper hissed as his tail was caught on the lighting rod. "SSSSSSSSSSSSSE!!" He hissed as he felt the strength of the tail. He grinned though as he looked down at the mouse who seemed to be stuck. Lunch time... He licked his lips before his large jaw opened, ready to use poison sting on it.

His mouth shot down, his fangs almost skimming over when... and shot of electric crashed down on him.
"VIPERRRRRRRRRRR!!" He hissed as he pulled back... and became even darker that ever. Burnt to a crisp.

The man growled before he grabbed his dusk ball and before the snake could fall to the ground, he was pulled back into the ball.

"SEE!" Ven laughed as he bounced in his chair. "My brother is the best!"

Before the announcer could say much, Gethin chose his next Pokemon.

"Oh boy..." Axel frowned as he saw it form.

A Hariyama.

[Reno]

Sora couldn't help but wince at the snakes resounding cry, unable to stop from feeling guilty for hurting it, even if he didn't like them. They were still Pokemon and from the way Gethin responded so quickly to his falling partner, very close friends too.

Cheers resounded all over. That looked like a win to them!
Aqua laughed at Venita's enthusiasm, shaking her head. "He's only won one out of three."
Roxas peeked between his fingers when everyone around started to applaud. He sighed seeing Raichu still standing and grinned. "ALRIGHT SORA!"
Terra laughed softly, shaking his head. Unbeknowst to him, he was having similar thoughts to a certain TR member... after all the battle was only just beginning and Raichu was already exhausted. It seemed Sora had gotten a tough match-up.

The announcer hardly had time to say a word and the judge had only just raised on flag for Raichu, a resounding beep going off telling them that one of Gethin's three Pokemon had been defeated, when the next one was on stage. It didn't matter if they had said anything at all though, because there were no substitutions in this competition. Once the Pokemon was recalled it was considered finished.

Everyone started to quiet down.
"W-Well," The announcer said, finding it hard to keep up. "After losing Seviper Gethin has chosen the fighting type Hariyama to match up against Raichu. This Pokemon weighs nearly 600 pounds and is the only one who can learn Arm Thrust!"

Sora looked at the Pokemon quietly, before down at his own, seeing Raichu had gotten back on all fours but was panting hard. He was exhausted and already had used up a lot of electricity against Seviper. "Raichu-" He started but the mouse Pokemon picked up his tone.

"Rai, Rai!" The stubborn mouse looked back at him determinedly and Sora sighed but nodded.
This always happened between them. The stronger the opponent or more unlikely the odds, the more Raichu wanted to fight and prove himself. Other trainers thought Sora pushed him too hard and asked for too much, but it was in fact Raichu who had always pushed him trying to make his trainer see it didn't matter if he did lose the fight. The fact was he stood his ground and wasn't scared. That was why they made a good team because Sora believed in Raichu's courage.

The brunette smiled, knowing the fight wasn't going to last long but he would guide the other just like always. They were a team and he was behind him 100 percent. "Then do your best!"
"Chu!"

[Rikugurl]

The hooded man looked across from the stage at Sora, his face still welly hidden from anyone's view. He shifted, looking up at his tall Pokemon before nodding.

"Yama!" The Pokemon grunted in a low voice as one leg rose and then slammed into the ground, then doing it again with the other. He put his hands on his legs as he leaned over and glared down at the Raichu that was glaring up at it.

That was when his eyes started to glow blue.
"HAAAAAR!" His arm rose up high... then slammed it down with extreme force, making the whole stage shake in an earthquake. Rocks shot up, hitting Raichu dead on as some trees started to fall around them.

"Shit! What a cheap shot that was!" Ventus growled before tightening his fists around the Spinda. "DA!"

[Reno]

Raichu felt the ground trembling under his feet as the fighting Pokemon got into a stance. The mouse held his ground amazingly, tail swishing behind him.

Sora didn't know what to expect - and a ground attack shouldn't of surprised him but it did. "Raichu!!" He didn't have time to call an attack or even tell Raichu to move up into the trees. The whole area shook, the marsh sloshed and he heard his poor mouse crying in pain.

"And another powerful ground attack from Gethin! He's taking every type advantage he came here folks! And this time there's no escaping for Raichu!"

The yellow-brown mouse went flying and hit the ground, rolling a few times before finally landing on its stomach. The mouse slowly struggled to its feet, covered in dust and dirt and scrapes. Sora's hand was over the mouse's Pokeball ready to recall it any second.

The mouse's cheeks started to spark, waiting for its master's call. There was a whistle, four short bursts.

"Rai... CHAAA!" The Pokemon cried unleashing a second thunder attack to the crowd's surprise, crackling against the trees and scorching the path between the trainers black. After all that, it was still trying to battle.

The orange electricity, however, fizzled out a few short feet from Hariyama. It had run out of power. Raichu panted softly seeing the area dim, before its ears flopped and it fell to the ground, swirls in its eyes. "Chhu...."

Their was a short silence then, "Raichu is unable to battle!" A ding. Sora had lost one as well.

"Though a valiant thunder it seemed to have run a little short and that's it for Raichu! What will Sora choose next?"

The brunette merely smiled, returning the mouse back to its ball in a red light. "You did wonderfully Raichu. You deserve a long rest." He kissed the top of the ball before returning it to his belt.

"Jolt! Jolt jolt!" Jolteon said, his spikes standing up already. He was ready to go!
Sora smiled down at the fox but shook his head. "We'll just run into the same problem Jolt." And Jolteon wasn't as flexible as Raichu so getting up into the trees to escape that devastating earthquake attack would be impossible. But he had a perfect choice.

He looked across the the hooded man but smiled and took off another Pokeball, and just like he had with Raichu he held it close to his heart. "I know you can do it."
He threw it. "Go Staraptor!"

In a sparkling light a bird appeared. "Staaaar!" Trilled the bird, spreading its lovely gray wings, showing off her white and black breast. She flapped until she landed on a nearby branch looked down at her opponent with sharp red eyes. Between her eyes was a red crest making the starling-hawk appear larger.

"And Sora's second Pokemon is a Staraptor! A good choice because this flying Pokemon should be unaffected from Hariyama's devastating ground attacks and it has the type advantage! But these battles are full of surprises and no doubt Gethin has a few tricks up his sleeve!"

Sora sighed, looking up at the bird. Unfortunately, she didn't know the whistle trick like Raichu and Jolteon, so he couldn't use it with her. But he was hoping her slim size would help her since she could get between the trees easily and Hariyama, being so bulky, could not.

[Rikugurl]

"Bleck..." Ventus leaned back and shook his head. He hated flying type. He and birds never got along very well... especially not when he was growing up. Every time he went to play with the cloysters, those stupid wingulls could come around and peck at him. This happened all through his childhood and remembered that he even came home with peck marks all over his body.

Ever since then, he had a problem with birds... and they had a problem with him. He also believed that they were weak Pokemon for battle... and didn't understand why Sora caught one... but he was interested to see what the hell this little thing could do to this giant.


Axel smiled and he pet his fox. He knew they had differences but she looks so much smaller than him. It almost seemed silly how one could think something so small could take down such a large opponent. So far, this was a great battle. Both had lost a fighter and it would be interesting who would win.


Gethin watched the bird fly up into the tree and shook his head. "Umbreon! Bre!" The black wolf called up to his master but he didn't seem to move an inch.
Instead, his eyes lighted again and the blue flashed in the large Pokemon.

"HARRRRI!" He slapped his hands together before pushing them out to some boulders that were around the edge of the arena. He shut his eyes and growled as they suddenly started to lift and float in the air. "YAMA!" With a strong fling, he sent the boulders towards the bird. The large rocks shot through trees, breaking them instantly.

[Reno]

Aqua glanced at Venita from the corner of her eye and laughed. "You know it's rather ironic you hate birds with a name like Ven." She had half a mind to call out Z, just to annoy the hell of of him. But a loud snapping sound from the battle field caught her attention once more.

Stealing from Gethin would probably be impossible, what with his telekinetic powers. He might even know what they were up to right now... which if that was a fact, then they had a problem. He would need to be terminated.


"This is getting good." Terra commented, watching the match-up. Type advantage or not, Sora had again chosen to favor a Pokemon that was slighter and smaller than his opponent, in this case incredibly so. And birds weren't known to be very strong or effective in battles even against pure ground types since most knew rock moves. They also had another down-side, few of there attacks ever met a match-up in which the did incredible damage to its opponent. Sora better know what he was doing...

Roxas sighed shaking his head but smiling. His brother had already proven how much of a better trainer he was than him... and it had only been one battle so far! It felt so unfair... to see how much Sora had grown compared to him. He wondered... if Ven was here what he would be thinking.

Probably 'why the fuck does he having a flying type?'


Sora's eyes narrowed as he watched Gethin order the next move. Oddly, he couldn't help but wonder what the guy's voice sounded like.

He snapped out of his musings as he felt the ground shaking with power and he saw the rocks being lifted up. Uh-oh, that didn't look promising. By his guess it was a rock-type move...

You are reading my mind, aren't you? He accused silently, knowing he wouldn't get an answer.

He grinned. "Alright if that's how you want to play it! Staraptor start dodging!"

"Staaar!" The bird sang, spreading its wings and with a powerful flap lifted from the branches just as some snapped under her from the force of the rocks.
"Roll!"
The bird drew in her wings and spun in the air, artfully dodging another flown rock and started to fly forward towards Hariyama even as more rocks came, too close together to dodge away. There were yells from the crowd and Sora found it amusing that they had so little trust.
"Cut them in half with steel wing!" The wings started to glow a brilliant white and she charged start on and sliced the rocks in half.

It left Hariyama open and unprotected as she, with wings glowing and sharp as metal, dove towards him at an incredibly fast speed. Like Raichu she was trained for it.

[Rikugurl]

OOC: Sorry for not being on love. You probably hate me. TAT/ My room is being a bigger pain than I thought.

Ven glanced up at the bluette and rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not like I named myself, Aquafina! Just so happens you just came out lame to like water Pokemon and have a matching name for it." He frowned as he also heard a loud noise and looked back at the battle, seeing huge rocks around the stage being picked up by a strong force.

He bit his lip and shook his head. The blonde was confident about the lightning mouse... but the bird.... not so much.


The same feelings were reaching to a redhead on the other side of the stage. Green eyes narrowed as he watched the bird through his glasses. He didn't know what other Pokemon Sora had but he wasn't sure if Staraptor was the best choice. With a small smile though, Axel knew that Sora was very determined and strong willed trainer. If he believed the bird could do it, they would just have to watch and find out.

"Come on, Sora!" He cheered as he waved his arm.


Gethin shifted more as he watched the rocks crush down branches, causing destruction throughout the whole arena. It was a good thing that he didn't have to pay for everything that got broken to the arena itself. If it was anything else though, he might not be so lucky.

The red eyes of the Umbreon watched the battle from his master's side, the shaking of the Rock Slide making him a bit nervous. He never liked loud noises in the first place... and it wasn't going to change any with his own friends being loud. "Uummmbre..."

The hooded man paid no attention to the fox pokemon by his side as he watched the bird closely behind the shadow of the hood. Blue eyes shown once more as the bird dove straight for Hariyama. Blue eyes shown from the giant as he looked up at the bird as well... and right as Staraptor was about to hit him, a ball of smoke filled the area he was standing.

"What happened!?" Axel cried as he leaned in but knew instantly as the smoke disappeared... and a plush flew through the air. It bounced and squeaked as it hit the ground... but the plush Hariyama just sat there on the ground.

"Wow..." Ven's eyes widened as he saw what happened. "I never saw Substitute used in real life before. How the hell did that thing change so quickly!?"

[Reno]

"Tch, brat." Aqua hissed but ignored him looking back at the battle. She herself was a little surprised to see Staraptor just barreling on through. Birds never struck as her as brave before...

Especially when her competition was well... huge. No pun intended.


Roxas was leaning on the edge of his seat, watching his brother with interest now and less worry. "Get him Sora..." Do something at least!


Across the way, comically, was another fox laying down, his paws holding down his yellow ears as if that would help the enormous sounds any from further hurting his ears.

The sudden smoke explosion was such a surprise Staraptor stopped her dive and her wings faded from their brilliant color. She heard her master's trainer calling her name and she softly cooed back to let him know she was fine. As the smoke cleared though she looked around... then down. "Staaar?!" She trilled. Her wings flapped and she slowly looked around the field as if the large monster of a Pokemon would appear but there was nothing but this... toy.

"Staraptor's steel wing stopped in it's tracks once Hariyama used it's substitute! Smart move, now any damage Staraptor can deal will be taken by the substitute!"

"How?" Houndoom growled in confusion. What was that?! He ate those for breakfast!
Terra's eyes narrowed however. "Sora better be careful." He had a feeling Riku might be aiming to exhaust Staraptor.

Sora blinked leaning over against the railing of his side of the stadium, looking at the plush... before tilting his head and laughing. "Wow that's cute!!"
"Jolt!" "Star!" His two Pokemon berated.

The brunette chuckled some but he'd... never encountered this move before. He knew a little bit about Substitute of course but not enough to be certain. All he knew was the Pokemon who used it lost some health doing so, but in exchange wouldn't be hurt by attacks until the substitute broke. "Be cautious!" His blue eyes narrowed. What was he going to do though? All of Staraptor's attacks got her too close...

Well, as he always said, if he didn't have a choice, then get her as close as possible! "Alright Staraptor, use close combat!"

The bird spread its wings before swooping down and landed on the plush furiously scratching with its talons and pecking at it with its beak and even kicked it around some.

[Rikugurl]

The crowd gasped as they saw the plush, looking cute and easily lovable. The girls giggled and the children grew wide smiles, wanting to race down to pick it up for their own... but those who were smart still remembered that this was a real pokemon and was still dangrous to be around in it's state, not knowing if it would break any moment.

Gethin looked across the stage at Sora as he laughed, not moving a muscle.
"Uuuumm..." The Umbreon growled. Why was the brunette laughing at his friend!? He just did a smart move!
The hand came out again and shushed the black fox. The red eyes looked up at his master but sighed, looking back as he heard some odd squeaks.

And squeaks indeed. All throughout the bit of time as the bird picked, scratched and kicked, the Hariyama would bounce around and squeak every time it hit the ground. The crowd couldn't help but start laughing at the scene, finding it cute and funny. Even Ven started to laugh and shake his head, the Spinda getting a kick out of it too.

Even with laughter all around, the hooded man continued to stay silent.

Axel frowned as he watched closely, seeing the bird start to lose energy as it did everything it could to break the plush. He didn't...

Before he could think, the cloud of smoke appeared once again and there was a huge POP that broke the laughter. Blue eyes lit up and a roar came from the dust. "HAAAAAAAAAAARI!" A fist came out of the dust, glowing purple as it suddenly smashed towards the bird quicker than the eyes could see.