Writing Mysteries of the Forgotten Island (Version Zero) (Complete)

[PMJ]

I thought you said you didn't have plans for an overarching plot. :U

I didn't, and still don't.

So yeah, I finally got around to reading this, as school is currently in recess, and man, am I sorely disappointed that I didn't get to it earlier! It's been a while since I've read something that keeps me on the edge. It's late and I'm tired, so have a probably quite random thought dump.

I thought it was odd that you were liking my posts because I thought for sure you didn't have a dog in this fight. I'm glad you found the time to actually reply. EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE NOTES FROM BBNINJAS

The action in Chapter 1's battle stole my sole attention, and it was beautifully well envisioned. I appreciate the new life-and-death level you brought into it too. The battles of the later chapters were not as exciting, in my opinion, although I reckon that's good, since if all the battles are that exciting, that excitement will really just become boring. The use of creative license is my favourite thing about written bbattles, and I enjoy picturing your interpretation and adaptation of the attacks, abilities and forms.

My interpretation of the attacks largely comes from the creative license associated with anime-style battling, though I try to adhere to the anime at least visually in terms of attacks.

I am glad you enjoyed the first battle. It was fun to write. I feel like the main reason it felt so intense is because of who was fighting. Quayle is really the only fighter who would go as far as he did, because of how he was as a character. I didn't really think that the other battles wouldn't be as exciting, but that's a good point. Instead of "oh my god is that Pokemon going to die???" the question I'm going for is "oh my god is that person going to come back???"

If you noticed in the first two battles, the winning trainer only won with their last Pokemon. No one wants to read a blowout and I sure don't want to write one, so trying to create a somewhat close battle even though logic might dictate otherwise. The one thing I regret most about this story is allowing legends. It's screwing with the story. I headcanon them as supremely powerful, stronger than normal Pokemon by an order of magnitude, so having some punk emo loser kid say GO DIALGA really messes with me as a reader and as a writer.

RNG doesn't like it either. Fun fact: All three matches so far have had people using legendary Pokemon, and all three of those trainers lost their fights (they were also in the top of their bracket). Next round is legend-free but round 5 has one more legend user for RNG to boot out of the tourney. We'll see if Scarlet can beat the RNG.

The single-perspective style in Chapter 3 was an interesting change, although I think you can play with it more. I think utilising the strengths of the style, particularly the character's (and thus the audience's) ignorance of the opponent's strategy, and similarly their confirmation bias, to set up battle twists that are more unexpected, would be even more impactful and entertaining. However, in battles that aren't particularly twist-y, such as that in Chapter 3, I'd probably prefer to hear the strategies/thoughts of both battlers, personally.

I see what you mean. We'll see how the next battle goes.

I'm not the type for romance, so Chapter 3's earlier focus on the Windra/Scarlet subplot got me perhaps a little bored. Conversely, I'm finding the satire aimed at such romance very enjoyable, especially over-the-top characters such as Eldin (who is an absolute jerk), and also the Nye x Quayle rumours, and the sexualisation of the Jewels (?). I did chuckle audibly throughout a couple of the later chapters, though regretably I can't remember the exact cause now.

Romance is my jam. I inject it into every story I write. There isn't anything overly sexual about the Jewels other than Esmeralda having giant knockers. What I was trying to get at was how much like family they are. They literally owe Diamant their lives. The Jewels all love Diamant in a familial way, not a sexual one. He's like a father to them, but they don't have any idea of the stigma associated with dressing sexy for your dad. That's part of why none of them have any problem with showing themselves off for him, or why they would go further if he asked them.

On another note, I seem to find recognising all these different names a bit difficult, which honestly isn't abnormal for me, but fortunately I'm making good progress, thanks to your character development. I actually haven't read any of the posted profiles, and I'm actually quite glad, as it's been fun to read this a bit more blindly as to share some of the character's surprises, such as Rose's surprise in Quayle having a Deoxys. I also found that list of ages quite helpful, as a reference point.

An interesting take. I always figured that everyone in the thread would read everyone else's profiles, just to have a better idea of who the other characters were.

I imagine some of the lesser discussed characters, who is basically just Lenny at this point I think, would be harder to pin down because of their lack of screen time. Athena and I had a good discussion about trying to juggle sixteen characters, and I'd like to think that I'm doing a decent enough job of it.

I actually am developing a love-hate opinion of Quayle. I suppose I like messed-up characters. Bonus points for being young, male, having a dark character and having a unique name (is it seriously pronounced like 'quail'? xD). I'd personally like to seem him reach a climatic point in development, where he becomes chillingly cold and dark, before losing his bitterness and returning to how he once was. And dump Candice; she's just a waste of time. I found Windra amusing when she was a fluttery in-love girl during Chapter 2 - it reminds me of my partner-chasing peers whose ventures I find ridiculous; although Chapter 3 was a nice reminder that she still has feelings. I suppose I just thought her to be entirely stupid. Whoops.

Quayle (yes it's pronounced like quail) is one of my favorite characters. TSM and I talked about him in detail and his backstory is basically a fic in and of itself. I think I mentioned this before, but he's the only character out of the main cast that could be construed as villainous, which gives him potential, I think. I have ideas floating around, but I'm not sure how I'm going to implement most of them.

I noticed people were saying Nye is deserving to win the tournament, but honestly, I quite dislike her. She's too arrogant, opinionated and stuck-up for my taste, perhaps because she tends to be also right. That, and she somehow bewitched Quayle into being apologetic. I liked him better when he was cold. Except for when he was killing Gardevoirs. Dx Otherwise, Taikyu is sweet, and this possessing business is quite interesting. I'm enjoying watching how that unfolds. Kyro is great comic relief. It makes me want to see him more.

That was a mistake. Whoever said that meant that Nye deserved to win her match, not the whole shebang. I was confused, too.

I am a little surprised at your assessment of Nye, mainly because that's how I see Alex, but then again I've written like a paragraph on Alex and a short novel on Nye so I can kinda understand it. Alex and Nye both come from money, but living on her own has humbled Nye somewhat. She doesn't think she's inherently better than others, but she is a bit manipulative, especially when it comes to Quayle, who is kind of a...

*shades*

...hot topic for her.

Quayle is only quick to apologize once he realizes that he's in deep doodoo, and that he's on the verge of losing everyone he cares about. Like he said - wakeup call. Although certain recent events may make him reconsider that decision...

I'd like to know what it is I'm doing that makes Kyro seem like comic relief. Maybe it's because he's a kid and not involved with any of the romance subplots. I have not written any of his lines with the intent to make him funny, but if it gives you a giggle then far be it from me to deny you. I don't plan on trying to make him funny, either, but I guess that's okay.

Anyway cool comments bro

 

[bbninjas]

I am glad you enjoyed the first battle. It was fun to write. I feel like the main reason it felt so intense is because of who was fighting. Quayle is really the only fighter who would go as far as he did, because of how he was as a character. I didn't really think that the other battles wouldn't be as exciting, but that's a good point. Instead of "oh my god is that Pokemon going to die???" the question I'm going for is "oh my god is that person going to come back???"

I suppose Quayle's character does add a new height to his battles that other characters just wouldn't reach, although I think you could still manage to pull off similar twists, just by hyping us up so much that we feel each (most?) battles are life-or-death. The battle going down to the wire, and their being no clear winner, certainly added to the entertainment of the first battle further; and I reckon you should be able to do that with most characters. I think Quayle had a few other thing going for him that made his battle more intense: he had been treated with much character development before his battle, and his opponent was another relatively more developed character, and she was one the reader tends to like, whereas for most battles at the moment, it's still early stages. I'd expect that once these characters are more defined, it'll give you more room to really highlight their battles and pull out certain emotions that wouldn't be feasable or as effective earlier.

I've always enjoyed anime battles (well, the good ones), particularly the major league battles. One of my most favourite battles is the league battle between Paul and Ash, which I think really did this well. Drapion's use of Toxic Spikes was a major hinderance to Ash's team, and the battle began to go downhill for him. But in a nice twist, Ash realised he could change up the terrain with Infernape's humble dig, and he started to gain momentum. My favourite element of this battle was the creative use of terrain, which I am hungry for as we don't get that sort of thing in the games. I think Quayle trying to drown Gardevoir, and Necromaza using the Stealth Rock to his advantage, are great start already, but I'd like to see even more.

Curious, are you planning on having a few battles that aren't part of the tournament? There's some characters that have (or may) get knocked out early, yet I would want to see then battle a more, such as Quayle, of course.

Side note; I'm probably sounding a bit "you have to do it this way" and otherwise dictorial, and I just want to clarify that's not my intention. I'm more just saying stuff that I would like to write, but know full well that I couldn't actually pull it off myself. =P

If you noticed in the first two battles, the winning trainer only won with their last Pokemon. No one wants to read a blowout and I sure don't want to write one, so trying to create a somewhat close battle even though logic might dictate otherwise. The one thing I regret most about this story is allowing legends. It's screwing with the story. I headcanon them as supremely powerful, stronger than normal Pokemon by an order of magnitude, so having some punk emo loser kid say GO DIALGA really messes with me as a reader and as a writer.

Perhaps you could find a way around that power thing? Legendary Pokemon are technically stronger than your average monster, but the thing that legendaries don't tend to have is a strong bond between the trainer, and I've always considered strong bond === more power.

Romance is my jam. I inject it into every story I write. There isn't anything overly sexual about the Jewels other than Esmeralda having giant knockers. What I was trying to get at was how much like family they are. They literally owe Diamant their lives. The Jewels all love Diamant in a familial way, not a sexual one. He's like a father to them, but they don't have any idea of the stigma associated with dressing sexy for your dad. That's part of why none of them have any problem with showing themselves off for him, or why they would go further if he asked them.

That wasn't really what I was getting at; more your remarks that the Jewels are there for eye-candy - and the fact that it actually works makes it that much better; and plus dropping some random facts, such as how the crowd just wanted Esmeralda to get wet, is quite amusing.

An interesting take. I always figured that everyone in the thread would read everyone else's profiles, just to have a better idea of who the other characters were.

I imagine some of the lesser discussed characters, who is basically just Lenny at this point I think, would be harder to pin down because of their lack of screen time. Athena and I had a good discussion about trying to juggle sixteen characters, and I'd like to think that I'm doing a decent enough job of it.

I pretty much couldn't be bothered reading them all, so I just jumped right in. Dx'

And yeah, you're right there. I literally have no clue who Lenny is. If I rattled off a list of those I could actually describe, you'd have the Jewels, Diamant, Quayle, Nye, Rose, Scarlet, Windra, Kiara, Eldin, Taikyu and Frisk. I also recall Kyro, although I keep forgetting his name; the other contestant who starts with T (who I would confuse with Taikyu if it wasn't for his significant screen time), and some guy who nevers wears a shirt. I think that's about less than half the cast, and if I was trying to recall the entire cast right now, my brain would probably explode.

I am a little surprised at your assessment of Nye, mainly because that's how I see Alex, but then again I've written like a paragraph on Alex and a short novel on Nye so I can kinda understand it. Alex and Nye both come from money, but living on her own has humbled Nye somewhat. She doesn't think she's inherently better than others, but she is a bit manipulative, especially when it comes to Quayle, who is kind of a...

*shades*

...hot topic for her.

Yeah, well, Alex would be one of those characters I'm indifferent on. I've logged no details on him aside that he's a competitor, after all. Perhaps for Nye, stuck-up is not the best descriptive, although I would she is a proud type, albiet rightfully so. I think my assessment stems from her judgemental attitude towards people's fashion, as often you share her thoughts regarding a person's attire with the reader. Perhaps her character could be better described as proud, judgemental and manipulative, but always in the know (the fact that she's already gossiping chatting with Kiria and Windra shows she's got social talent). Unfortunately for her, I've come to dislike (despise?) that general combination of traits, and so that's where my judgement comes from. Unrelated, Nye sounds quite smart and witty, and I expect that she would be strong in her opinions, perhaps headstrong, which could lead to her being blinded by self-confidence, and potentially to her downfall, if she is not careful.

Quayle is only quick to apologize once he realizes that he's in deep doodoo, and that he's on the verge of losing everyone he cares about. Like he said - wakeup call. Although certain recent events may make him reconsider that decision...

Wait, Quayle cares about people? Indeed, it's interesting to see Quayle get a wakeup call so early in the narrative, and although I'm nearly disappointed that someone talked a bit of sense into him this early, I also now anticipate more what comes next for him.

I'd like to know what it is I'm doing that makes Kyro seem like comic relief. Maybe it's because he's a kid and not involved with any of the romance subplots. I have not written any of his lines with the intent to make him funny, but if it gives you a giggle then far be it from me to deny you. I don't plan on trying to make him funny, either, but I guess that's okay.

I suspect it's got a lot to do with how naive and ignorant he is. There could be some huge nail-biting climax unfolding right next to him, perhaps some revelation, scandel or - heck - the world's doom, and Kyro would be entirely oblivious of it all in his blissful innocence. As you said, he's also a battling progidy who really doesn't realise how good he is, and his ignorance of that naturally sets him up to take on the role of comic relief.

 

[PMJ]

tfw you will do anything to generate activity in your thread during a lull

I suppose Quayle's character does add a new height to his battles that other characters just wouldn't reach, although I think you could still manage to pull off similar twists, just by hyping us up so much that we feel each (most?) battles are life-or-death.

Maybe. Though there's a cash prize on the line, the battles are fairly low stakes, all things considered.

The battle going down to the wire, and their being no clear winner, certainly added to the entertainment of the first battle further; and I reckon you should be able to do that with most characters. I think Quayle had a few other thing going for him that made his battle more intense: he had been treated with much character development before his battle, and his opponent was another relatively more developed character, and she was one the reader tends to like, whereas for most battles at the moment, it's still early stages. I'd expect that once these characters are more defined, it'll give you more room to really highlight their battles and pull out certain emotions that wouldn't be feasable or as effective earlier.

Fair points all. Eldan and Nye are both fairly established, so their battle should be pretty interesting.

I've always enjoyed anime battles (well, the good ones), particularly the major league battles. One of my most favourite battles is the league battle between Paul and Ash, which I think really did this well. Drapion's use of Toxic Spikes was a major hinderance to Ash's team, and the battle began to go downhill for him. But in a nice twist, Ash realised he could change up the terrain with Infernape's humble dig, and he started to gain momentum. My favourite element of this battle was the creative use of terrain, which I am hungry for as we don't get that sort of thing in the games. I think Quayle trying to drown Gardevoir, and Necromaza using the Stealth Rock to his advantage, are great start already, but I'd like to see even more.

I agree. Anime-style battles are so enjoyable because of the ability to utilize the terrain. I always try to incorporate it into every battle in some way. Necrozma bouncing his attack off of Stealth Rock was sort of a nod to quaking's special move I had to veto because the moves he picked were bad. It was the same thing in spirit though, which was the entire point I guess.

are you planning

no, I thought I made this clear

Curious, are you planning on having a few battles that aren't part of the tournament? There's some characters that have (or may) get knocked out early, yet I would want to see then battle a more, such as Quayle, of course.

I don't see why not. I already used it to bring Kyro into the story. No reason why I couldn't use it for S&Gs. I have no plans for side battles at the moment, but if it happens, it happens.

Perhaps you could find a way around that power thing? Legendary Pokemon are technically stronger than your average monster, but the thing that legendaries don't tend to have is a strong bond between the trainer, and I've always considered strong bond === more power.

I don't think you understand my headcanon, so I'll explain. When I say that legendary Pokemon are stronger than normies by an order of magnitude, I meant it. They are so far beyond normal Pokemon in terms of strength, power, and ability that you could pit a dozen high-level Pokemon against them and the dozen would still possibly lose. If I had written chapter 3 based solely on my headcanon, Dialga would have dominated the entire match--the entire tournament--without breaking a sweat. Arbok's Ground attacks would do absolutely nothing, despite hitting for weakness, because Dialga is just that much stronger; Slowpoke would be crushed under Diagla's massive weight as he tried, unsuccessfully, to bend Dialga to his will; and Roar of Time would have melted a hole ten feet wide in the stadium, killing everyone in its path.

A strong bond helps, but against the power of the gods themselves, even the most powerful bond is as dust in the wind. It'd be like if you tried to play one on one vs Michael Jordan, but you have to play with one hand behind your back. That should give you an idea of how strong these Pokemon are.

And yeah, you're right there. I literally have no clue who Lenny is.

You will in chapter four.

If I rattled off a list of those I could actually describe, you'd have the Jewels, Diamant, Quayle, Nye, Rose, Scarlet, Windra, Kiara, Eldin, Taikyu and Frisk. I also recall Kyro, although I keep forgetting his name; the other contestant who starts with T (who I would confuse with Taikyu if it wasn't for his significant screen time), and some guy who nevers wears a shirt. I think that's about less than half the cast, and if I was trying to recall the entire cast right now, my brain would probably explode.

You're thinking of Thresher. Aside from him you're missing Lenny, Alex, Tsomu, Cody, and Jethro. Jethro appeared mainly in chapter one. He's the one that got his ass kicked by Kyro. Cody is the Water trainer who talked to Jethro before and after Jethro's match. Tsomu is impromptu chef. Alex has had about as much screen time as Lenny so it's not a wonder you missed him. Thresher fought Taikyu in round two. He is also the one who never wears a shirt, although Taikyu's "default outfit" is shirtless too.

I like how the easiest characters for you to remember were the ones with romantic interests Frisk x Taikyu OTP

Wait, Quayle cares about people? Indeed, it's interesting to see Quayle get a wakeup call so early in the narrative, and although I'm nearly disappointed that someone talked a bit of sense into him this early, I also now anticipate more what comes next for him.

Still like fifteen chapters to go, buddy :] I may not have a Plan (TM) per se, but I've got ideas.

I suspect it's got a lot to do with how naive and ignorant he is. There could be some huge nail-biting climax unfolding right next to him, perhaps some revelation, scandel or - heck - the world's doom, and Kyro would be entirely oblivious of it all in his blissful innocence. As you said, he's also a battling progidy who really doesn't realise how good he is, and his ignorance of that naturally sets him up to take on the role of comic relief.

I don't think I agree that he would be oblivious to something as obvious as the world ending or some other major catastrophe, but he definitely is naive. It would be hilarious as hell if he ended up winning it all.

 

[bbninjas]

Maybe. Though there's a cash prize on the line, the battles are fairly low stakes, all things considered.

Why would you say that? Not only do they get that cash prize that'll probably help them achieve their life goals, they get the honour of winning such a prestigious tournament. I'd definitely be wanting to win even the preliminary rounds myself.

I don't see why not. I already used it to bring Kyro into the story. No reason why I couldn't use it for S&Gs. I have no plans for side battles at the moment, but if it happens, it happens.

Fingers crossed then!

You know, by having a 'no plan', you do have a plan... to not include 'that'! Aaaand I've now confused myself... >.>

I don't think you understand my headcanon, so I'll explain. When I say that legendary Pokemon are stronger than normies by an order of magnitude, I meant it. They are so far beyond normal Pokemon in terms of strength, power, and ability that you could pit a dozen high-level Pokemon against them and the dozen would still possibly lose. If I had written chapter 3 based solely on my headcanon, Dialga would have dominated the entire match--the entire tournament--without breaking a sweat. Arbok's Ground attacks would do absolutely nothing, despite hitting for weakness, because Dialga is just that much stronger; Slowpoke would be crushed under Diagla's massive weight as he tried, unsuccessfully, to bend Dialga to his will; and Roar of Time would have melted a hole ten feet wide in the stadium, killing everyone in its path.

A strong bond helps, but against the power of the gods themselves, even the most powerful bond is as dust in the wind. It'd be like if you tried to play one on one vs Michael Jordan, but you have to play with one hand behind your back. That should give you an idea of how strong these Pokemon are.

Aaah fair enough. I suppose I take legendary Pokemon under a VG mindset myself, rather than the god-like unbeatable powers expressed in the anime. You could totally have some sort of power restrictor tech thing to keep these gods in check.

You're thinking of Thresher. Aside from him you're missing Lenny, Alex, Tsomu, Cody, and Jethro. Jethro appeared mainly in chapter one. He's the one that got his ass kicked by Kyro. Cody is the Water trainer who talked to Jethro before and after Jethro's match. Tsomu is impromptu chef. Alex has had about as much screen time as Lenny so it's not a wonder you missed him. Thresher fought Taikyu in round two. He is also the one who never wears a shirt, although Taikyu's "default outfit" is shirtless too.

I like how the easiest characters for you to remember were the ones with romantic interests Frisk x Taikyu OTP

What, since I don't care much for romance in general? xD

But hey, character development is still character development, regardless of how it comes about. :x

Still like fifteen chapters to go, buddy :] I may not have a Plan (TM) per se, but I've got ideas.

Yes, the early sense makes me anticipate this next fifteen chapters even more!

I don't think I agree that he would be oblivious to something as obvious as the world ending or some other major catastrophe, but he definitely is naive. It would be hilarious as hell if he ended up winning it all.

Haha, fair enough. That was perhaps a stretch, but I'm sure you get what I mean. I reckon there's a number of the cast where it would be hilarious if they win; Eldin is another.

 

[VinculumStellarum]

Finally got to read Chapter Three! It was a very enjoyable read for the most part, with Windra's backstory leaving me near speechless. It's something I never expected to come out of a story like this, and although it's very, very questionable, I found myself sympathizing with her. She had a reason for doing what she did, and although it's left a permanent mark on her personality, it seemed to boost her in some ways. I wonder what would happen if she ever decided to tell her parents...

Is Windra's desire to find a partner an aftereffect of her past? Longing for the feelings she once had with Damian?

I kinda saw the bit with the biots coming, at least with Safiri and the others. However, I find it a really interesting concept, and I feel like there's a lot of potential with the idea and a potential plot of MotFI. I'm very glad this isn't a movie, because if it were, I'd have been pretty scarred by S1's death.

The battle in this chapter actually left me a little disappointed. On one hand, not every battle should be the same, and I can see that you wanted a bit of diversity, but on the other hand, having Tsomu concede took away all the anticipation and excitement. However, I can see it being due to a nervous Tsomu not knowing what to do, or something of the like.

Oh my god, I didn't think Eldan could get more sexually charged than he already was. He really will stop at nothing to get Nye in his bed. Throughout his segments, I felt ready to punch him and just tell him to politely screw off and leave Nye alone. That being said, their battle in the next chapter will be extremely hype-worthy, as the tension between the two will finally build up and explode. Can't wait to read it!

 

[PMJ]

Is Windra's desire to find a partner an aftereffect of her past? Longing for the feelings she once had with Damian?

I guess. She wants to be accepted without having to hide her past, but she's been burned so many times that it's jaded her, and so she's resigned herself to only getting that acceptance physically since at least that's been consistent for her. She's impulsive and rash, and is the kind of person to do something now and deal with the consequences later...which will come into play more as the story goes on.

I kinda saw the bit with the biots coming, at least with Safiri and the others.

It's written all over Athena's version - it's not exactly a secret to anyone who read the source material (which I'm willing to bet was no one, which was good because it allowed me to keep the "reveal" a secret from everyone except, obviously, Athena). It is important to note that while the premise and character names are similar, my versions of these characters are not the same as Athena's, so I guess that it's not so important for people to read the source material.

But I guess cool for figuring it out. Was it that obvious? D:

However, I find it a really interesting concept, and I feel like there's a lot of potential with the idea and a potential plot of MotFI. I'm very glad this isn't a movie, because if it were, I'd have been pretty scarred by S1's death.

Yeah, there probably is. Unfortunately, Athena's story didn't get that far, so it's up to me to create something wacky and cool. I'm not getting my hopes up.

I imagine you'd have to have liquid nitrogen in your veins in order to be cold enough to roast a person alive. And it's not like they're robots underneath their skin or anything, they are flesh and blood just like anyone else. The difference is that the biots are genetically engineered using super secret science.

The battle in this chapter actually left me a little disappointed. On one hand, not every battle should be the same, and I can see that you wanted a bit of diversity, but on the other hand, having Tsomu concede took away all the anticipation and excitement. However, I can see it being due to a nervous Tsomu not knowing what to do, or something of the like.

No more scoops will happen. You never know what's going to happen, though, so I won't say definitively no more ever.

Oh my god, I didn't think Eldan could get more sexually charged than he already was. He really will stop at nothing to get Nye in his bed. Throughout his segments, I felt ready to punch him and just tell him to politely screw off and leave Nye alone. That being said, their battle in the next chapter will be extremely hype-worthy, as the tension between the two will finally build up and explode. Can't wait to read it!

You're focusing too much on his introduction, which is my fault because I didn't know Eldan already was a character Jabberwock created. (And despite Jabberwock's permission to take the character in any direction I wanted, I still want to be at least a little bit true to his version.) This is why his behavior has been toned down a bit since the prologue. Reread Eldan's scenes in the interlude and chapter 3. Yeah, he wants to biggity-biggity-bang Nye, but he genuinely does like her. They're both affluent, into fashion and style, and he loves that Nye isn't afraid to fight his advances. Eldan sees it as something like a game of cat and mouse. He loves that Nye (in his eyes) is playing hard to get. He isn't used to being told no, and her constant refusal of him just spurs him to try harder. He's also gone from just being pure sexually motivated to actually flirting with her. Nye is really easy to fluster, and he knows this, so he does it whenever he can.

Nye, on the other hand, is disgusted by his initial behavior. He ruined his chance to make a good first impression, and because of that, she has no qualms with being cold to him. She does not see their interactions as a game, as Eldan does, but she likes giving him hell just the same because he makes it really easy for her to do so. Note her surprise at his disgust at Quayle, and his knowledge of the man who designed her dress; Nye is basically like wow maybe this guy isn't so bad but then he inadvertently derails her train of thought by inviting her to his room. Nye's first thought is that he's just trying to have sex with her so she doesn't bother trying to talk to him about the other stuff.

I can't say any more because it would hint or spoil who won their match, but like I said, this pairing is gold that is ripe for mining.

 

[NinjaPenguin]

I've been following the whole time, but as Alex hasn't come up very much, I don't have a large amount of things to say from his perspective. From the paragraph or so that he's in, he's exactly how I pictured him, so that's good.
The battles have been nicely written, and I don't have much to say besides echoing everyone else. Personally, I liked hearing both people's thoughts on the battles.
When it comes to the characters, you've done things to all of them that make them unique. There are some, like Rose, who have come to fill a supporting role, where they haven't got much going for themselves. I think that those characters deserve some of the same treatment that Windra got in the last chapter.
The biots are much more human than in Athena's story, which I like. I'm hoping Safiri loses her temper at some point in the story, resulting in chaos among Diamant Industries. I'd also like Diamant to be faced into making a choice between ethics and fulfilling the plan, though I'm not exactly sure how that would work.
As for the next battle, I'm certainly rooting for Eldan. I dislike him, but if he wins, I think the plot could become much more interesting.

 

[PMJ]

I've been following the whole time, but as Alex hasn't come up very much, I don't have a large amount of things to say from his perspective. From the paragraph or so that he's in, he's exactly how I pictured him, so that's good.
The battles have been nicely written, and I don't have much to say besides echoing everyone else. Personally, I liked hearing both people's thoughts on the battles.
When it comes to the characters, you've done things to all of them that make them unique. There are some, like Rose, who have come to fill a supporting role, where they haven't got much going for themselves. I think that those characters deserve some of the same treatment that Windra got in the last chapter.
The biots are much more human than in Athena's story, which I like. I'm hoping Safiri loses her temper at some point in the story, resulting in chaos among Diamant Industries. I'd also like Diamant to be faced into making a choice between ethics and fulfilling the plan, though I'm not exactly sure how that would work.
As for the next battle, I'm certainly rooting for Eldan. I dislike him, but if he wins, I think the plot could become much more interesting.

I don't mind echoing. When only like one or two people post, it makes me feel like people are losing interest in the story. At least by letting me know you feel similar to others, I know that y'all're at least still paying attention.

Ideally, I would like to give every character the same treatment I gave to Windra, Jethro, and (to a lesser extent) Scarlet. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen, but know that it's not my intent to leave most characters bare bones.

The plot will become interesting regardless of who wins. Unlike most of this story, I actually planned out how I'd handle things if Nye wins, so I'm covered, at least in that aspect.

 

[Athena]

I finally got the time to read Chapter 3. And I won, too. Yay! \o/ Had a nice time reading through the discussion between BB and PMJ as well.

Three things of note:

1) Man, had I known you would have liked more villainous characters, I totally would have been happy to write up that alley.

2) This

He was tough, but fair

reminded me instantly of this because I'm weird. And City Face is best face.

3)

. It is important to note that while the premise and character names are similar, my versions of these characters are not the same as Athena's, so I guess that it's not so important for people to read the source material.

Diamant in particular is much less evil and much hotter, too.

But, seriously, I really love how you're taking the foundation of the characters/story that I created and building them into you're own thing. It's definitely super cool. Knowing what I know hasn't stopped those parts from being the second best part of the story for me (first best being the battles, obviously).

Anyway, definitely enjoying the story, and glad I've finally had the chance to catch up to things! Definitely looking forward to seeing how things continue from here.

 

[PMJ]

Had a nice time reading through the discussion between BB and PMJ as well.

Me too! He isn't even part of this story and he contributed. What a pal. We could all learn something from bbninjas.

1) Man, had I known you would have liked more villainous characters, I totally would have been happy to write up that alley.

I didn't know either; it's the kind of thing where I didn't know I wanted it until I knew I didn't have it. I don't think any of the characters in your version were outright villainous, so I didn't think of it as something I'd need.

Fortunately, I don't think it's important. This story's plot--such as it is--will always come secondary to pure, unfiltered shipping just writing out dope-ass battles. Maybe down the line it might smooze together into something amazeballs, but if it don't, no big deal, I say.

But yay that it gave you smiles.

 

[Blakers]

Me too! He isn't even part of this story and he contributed. What a pal. We could all learn something from bbninjas.



I didn't know either; it's the kind of thing where I didn't know I wanted it until I knew I didn't have it. I don't think any of the characters in your version were outright villainous, so I didn't think of it as something I'd need.

Fortunately, I don't think it's important. This story's plot--such as it is--will always come secondary to pure, unfiltered shipping just writing out dope-ass battles. Maybe down the line it might smooze together into something amazeballs, but if it don't, no big deal, I say.

But yay that it gave you smiles.

I mean, if you need villainous characters, I guess you could maybe fall back on Team Galactic. I know that's probably not what you would want, but I suppose it's an option if you need it.

But here, have some short speculations.

I feel like there's going to be quite a bit of "pure, unfiltered shipping" in this next chapter. Nye and Eldan have their match and potential date, we might see more of Quayle perhaps trying to get back in contact with Candice (or if not that, apologizing to Rose), and probably someone in the Rose/Windra/Scarlet triangle making a move now that the triangle has been established. As for the "dope-ass battles", I'm excited to see how Nye vs Eldan plays out. Depending on the field, we could see some terrain usage. And calling it right now, it'll come down to Ninetales vs Musharna.

 

[PMJ]

I feel like there's going to be quite a bit of "pure, unfiltered shipping" in this next chapter.

I dunno. Might be. Here are my plans for chapter 4:

- Say _something_ about Lenny and possibly one other character I haven't said much about, to be determined, maybe Alex
- Eldan vs Nye
- Start talking about the consequences of that battle
- somehow end with Frisk in her underwear again because that's what happens every time she has a scene

These plans are subject to change, of course, but the second and third things are set in stone (natch).

Cool speculations though. I wish I could comment on the Ninetales vs Musharna thing. Like if I _really_ wanted to I could make it happen but the battle doesn't always go the way you plan it to. I actually changed the battle in chapter 3 (the result was the same). In the original version, Tsomu left Ribombee out to eat a Gunk Shot and get OHKOed turn one as Ribombee used Stun Spore to paralyze Arbok. I was thinking that Tsomu's plan would be to stall out the Trick Room with paralysis but it would only make Arbok lightning fast. Then I realized that Tsomu would never in a million years let his Ribombee get completely wrecked right away. He wouldn't just keep swinging, he'd switch and keep his precious Pokemon safe.

Here's the storyboard for the first version of the battle. It starts with the same leads and the same first actions (Kiria uses Trick Room and immediately switches to Arbok). You can get a feel of how I write out the battles so I can see how things happen. You'll also note that I kept the bit about the Mud Bomb and getting blinded cause I thought it was cool.

Spoiler

ribombee stun spore, arbok is paralyzed
arbok gunk shot, RIBOMBEE KOED

tsomu sends out dialga
arbok uses mud bomb, blinds dialga
dialga metal burst to pay it back
arbok goes for another mud bomb but is fully paralyzed
dialga uses aura sphere, ARBOK KOed
kiria sends out mimikyu, dialga no longer blinded

mimikyu uses dazzling gleam
dialga uses roar of time, disguise busted
mimikyu uses dazzling gleam, DIALGA KOED

trick room ends

tsomu sends out venusaur
venusaur uses vine whip to restrain mimikyu, picks it up and whams it on the ground
MIMIKYU KOED

kiria switches to slowpoke
venusaur does the same thing, slowpoke uses confusion
venusaur gets confused, drops slowpoke
slowpoke uses zen headbutt, venusaur breaks out of confusion
venusaur uses sunny day
slowpoke uses fire blast, VENUSAUR KOED

Here are some more fun facts while I'm here.

1. If you count the previous models, Kyro and Safiri are about the same age. Esmeralda is still the youngest character, though.
2. With seven regions and sixteen competitors, a decision as to where to host the extra two qualifying tournaments needed to be made. As the home country for the tournament, one was awarded to Kanto; the other was hosted in Kalos, as Diamant's personal pick.
3. Jethro's dialogue was written with Matthew Mercer, the voice of Overwatch's McCree, in mind. You won't be able to unhear it if you try to do it yourself, so voice him at your own peril. No one else has an unofficial voice actor.
4. Both Eldan and Nye won qualifying tournaments in their home regions, a distinction shared with a couple others.
5. Eldan's flags are bright yellow. Alex's are gold.
6. I lied about 25% of the characters having dark skin. I'd originally planned to change Windra, but Skyleaf's notes mentioned she was pale, so OOPS I CAN'T COUNT. The other three darkies are Taikyu, Thresher, and Cody, though they're all different levels of dark. Taikyu is dark as night, and both Thresher and Cody are mixed race, but Thresher's skin is much more vibrant from a lifetime of sun.
7. Match four will be played on the ground field. The lead Pokemon are Beedrill and Ninetales.
8. While most Pokemon have all their moves available to them, Egg Moves are unavailable to just about everyone. Only one competitor has any Egg Moves on his Pokemon, and if you think hard enough, you can probably figure out who it is. (Hint: As of chapter 3, they have not had their tourney match.)
9. All three of Diamant's Jewels have different sexualities. Deciphering which one is which could be difficult, though there have been a couple hints here and there.
10. Room order unless I've completely screwed something up: Frisk Rose Cody Taikyu Eldan Kiria Thresher Kyro Jethro Windra Nye Lenny Scarlet Alex Tsomu Quayle. The Jewels have separate rooms outside of this area.

I am still working on Zelda, but I also need to prepare to move. Yeah, so if it's not one thing, it's another, but I ain't forgot about this story, it's still my new baby and I won't let it die.

 

[PMJ]

Zelda is defeated and I am storyboarding the chapter 4 battle as we speak.

 

[Athena]

Dude, why did you defeat Zelda, she's supposed to be your girlfriend. That's not nice!

 

[PMJ]

Chapter 4 highlights

- hey, remember Lenny?
- how about Alex?
- Eldan and Nye have their match
- it's friggin dope

Whewwwwwwww. The battle between Eldan and Nye is the longest and most intense battle I've written yet, if you can imagine that. Lengthwise, the chapter is just a little longer than chapter 1, but I feel like I need an asterisk there because the battle takes up probably 75% of the chapter. The other bit is a couple scenes with some lesser seen characters. In the interest of not making you guys wait forever to read a 20,000-word chapter (ps everyone read 27772 so you can do just that) and giving me a springboard for chapter five, I'm saving everything I was planning to put after the battle into that chapter. Next up is Frisk vs. Scarlet, which is another battle I've been itching to write. That's not going to be for a while yet, though. In the meantime, enjoy the chapter and leave your sweet, sweet likes and feedback (but especially feedback).

Word count: 12,618

Chapter 4: Red Passion​

The feeling in the crowd was undoubtedly mixed. Tsomu could hear unmistakable boos from people who had been disappointed by his forfeit mixed in with the cheers from those who had been rooting for Kiria. The second Esmeralda announced victory for Kiria, Tsomu had recalled his Pokemon, turned on his heels, and fled, all but running back inside, away from the accusatory eyes of the thousands of people he'd disappointed. He quickly wiped the tears from his eyes, thankful he hadn't added to his embarrassment by bawling like a kid in front of everybody.

It was little consolation, he thought, considering how badly he'd been beaten. He thought his plan was good enough, but Kiria was always one step ahead of him, preventing him from enacting it. He pushed open the door leading back to the dorm area a little too forcefully, causing it to bang loudly into the wall. Ashamed, but thankful no one was around, Tsomu resumed his hasty retreat into his room, already planning on how he could get away with seeing the other competitors and embarrassing himself further. This was not to be, however, as Tsomu spotted someone leaving the cafeteria.

Tsomu let out a low grumble as he realized they had stopped in front of his door. There was no other choice; he'd have to talk to them, at least to ask them to kindly get out of the way. Not willing to look whoever it was in the eye, he made a point to look at the ground as he approached the stranger. Sighing heavily, he made his request. "Excuse me."

"You're excused," a gruff voice answered him. "It was a tough break, son. You wanna talk about it?"

Tsomu rolled his eyes, but still did not look up. "Not really, Lenny, no. I just want to be alone."

Lenny nodded knowingly. "Hmm. All right, then." He stepped backwards enough for Tsomu to open his door and enter, but when Tsomu went to close it, Lenny blocked it with his foot. He used Tsomu's brief confusion to push the door open and let himself in; he then closed the door behind him.

Tsomu stumbled backwards, shocked into alertness by Lenny's intrusion. "What the hell? I said I didn't want to talk, Lenny, get out!"

Lenny glared at him. "Make me," he challenged the young man. As he saw Tsomu reaching for his Poke Balls, Lenny reached for his own. "I don't think you want to do that, son. Your Pokemon aren't in any shape to be battling - not that you'd be able to beat any of my Pokemon with what you've got left anyway. I've got some things I think you need to hear, and I'm not leaving until I've said them. So let's sit down and talk like men."

Tsomu could see the look in Lenny's eyes gave no room for argument - plus, he was right. There was no way he could fight his way out of this situation. Reluctantly, he laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Fine, whatever, just say whatever's so important and then leave me alone."

Lenny pulled a chair up to his bedside and sat, smiling. "Attaboy. I'm gonna tell you a story about a kid who was the dumbest kid I ever knew."

Tsomu rolled onto his side, facing away from Lenny. "Ah ah, I don't think so," Lenny scolded, pulling Tsomu back into his original position. "You don't have to listen, but you do have to at least pretend you are. No sleeping. Understand?"

Tsomu made sure Lenny could see him roll his eyes this time, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Great. Now this kid, he was undisciplined, lazy... kind of a little shit. His family had been pressuring him to get a job for years, since he hadn't ever expressed an interest in becoming a trainer. His dad finally delivered an ultimatum: shape up or ship out. His dad had offered him a chance to get into the family business and, with just a little bit less attitude than you're givin' me, he accepted."

Tsomu grit his teeth, willing himself not to smile.

"So the kid apprenticed under his dad, working in the same workshop that had been in his family for generations. He'd gotten his first Pokemon - a Numel, from right outside town - and learned the family trade. The kid didn't have any interest in working, but it was either that or get thrown out of the house. A couple months went by and while the kid got better at his job, he found he was a lot more interested in Pokemon battling. His dad didn't want any part of it, saying that the time to become a trainer had passed, and he needed to complete his training, besides."

Lenny sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Well, the kid didn't like that. He thought that he knew plenty, and he set out to show his old man what for. Late one night, he set out east, traveling to the same route where he'd caught the Numel. Once he was there, and he was convinced no one was around, he instructed his Numel to set the grass on fire." At the sight of Tsomu's eyes widening in disbelief, he smiled. "You see, the kid and his family were part of a long line of fireworkers. They took pride in their ability to safely control fire, and the kid thought that by starting a big fire and then bringing it under his control, he could prove to his dad that he knew his stuff."

"Wasn't it dangerous?" Tsomu asked, his anger somewhat forgotten.

Lenny nodded, sitting up in his chair again. "Bet your ass it was dangerous. Starting a fire out in the open like that without knowing things like the weather, or what Pokemon were in that area, was reckless. As luck would have it, the wind started to pick up just as the kid finished setting his fire, and things quickly got out of control. It didn't take long for the kid to realize that he was in over his head, but he was determined to prove that he could handle it. After all, if he could control a fire this big, surely he would be praised by his dad and everyone in town."

"What did he do?" came the curious reply.

"First, he tried his training. He remembered that dirt could be used to put out a fire, so he had his Numel use Earth Power on the surrounding rocks, then Magnitude to break them into sand. Well, had the kid known better, he would have known that the unstable nature of Magnitude typically makes it impossible to use reliably, but he didn't. The attack was far too strong for what he needed it for, and it ripped a fissure in the ground about five feet wide. It was around that point that he started hearing screams - another thing the kid hadn't taken into account."

Tsomu sat up in his bed, mouth agape. "The wild Pokemon!"

Lenny's face sobered, and he nodded. "Yes. He hadn't thought about all the wild Pokemon resting in the field, whose homes he torched or upended in his attempt to control the fire he'd started. Some of them, those who'd been awakened by the cracking of the earth, had been able to flee. Most weren't so lucky, and were killed in the blaze or the earthquake."

"That's awful," Tsomu muttered. "What happened next?"

"I swallowed my pride and gave up. I hightailed it back to town, screaming bloody murder. Fortunately, my misguided attempts at using the earth had woken up most of the people in the town, and they were already on their way to investigate what the problem was. They were able to get the fire taken care of easily."

Lenny could see the gears turning in Tsomu's head as he made his confession. "So... wait, so the dumb kid was you?"

"Yeah. By far, it was the most boneheaded thing I've ever done in my life. A hundred and twenty-two Pokemon lost their lives that night; my dad made sure I knew exactly what my recklessness caused and made double sure I never forgot it." Lenny rose to his feet and returned his chair to the table. "You understand my point, son?"

"No, not really."

Lenny put a hand on Tsomu's shoulder. "There is no shame in admitting when the situation is beyond your control. If I'd been mature enough to realize I couldn't handle that fire I set, things might have been different. Hell, if I'd been mature enough, period, I wouldn't have set that fire at all."

"It's not the same! You had to have heard them booing me when I quit! Thousands of people came out to see me and I disappointed them all!" Tsomu rose from the bed, pushing his way past Lenny. He turned around to the older man, fresh tears in his eyes. "I let them down, I let my Pokemon down, and I let myself down."

Why are you so worried about the opinions of a bunch of people you'll never meet? You think they give a shit about you improving yourself as a man or as a trainer? Forget what they think of you and instead think of your Pokemon. How do you know you let them down? They trust you to make the right choices in battle. If you decide that things are getting a bit too hot, they will respect your authority as their trainer. You really think that letting your Pokemon get their asses kicked makes you a good trainer?"

"No, but - "

"But nothing," Lenny cut him off. "Yes, you let yourself down. You wanted to win, or at least give Kiria a good battle, but getting your own ass kicked humbles you and teaches you your limits. And hey, if you're gonna get your ass kicked, it might as well be by one of the best trainers in the world, right? No shame in that, son. Not one bit," he finished with a smile.

Tsomu hated to admit it, but Lenny was right. He dried his eyes. "I suppose I should congratulate Kiria on her win."

"Attaboy," Lenny said, slapping Tsomu on the shoulder. "That's a good idea. She'd probably appreciate that. Let's go find her, what do you say?"

A hint of a smile came across his face. "Yeah, sure."

The two guys didn't have far to look; Kiria had been in the cafeteria enjoying lunch. A few people looked up at Tsomu and Lenny when they'd walked in, but only out of curiosity. They resumed eating, leaving Tsomu puzzled. They're just being nice, that's all, he thought as Lenny waved to Kiria. She smiled and waved both of them over; Tsomu hesitated briefly, but Lenny draped an arm around him and bodily moved him towards the table. It reminded him of the way Thresher had manhandled Quayle, but Lenny was much more subtle about it. "Afternoon, Kiria," Lenny said, grinning at her. "Congratulations on your win."

Tsomu could feel Lenny's hand apply just the slightest bit of pressure to his shoulder, and he knew that that was his cue. He caught a glimpse of Kiria's face, but couldn't look her in the eyes. The embarrassment was too great. "Yeah, congrats. You did really well."

"Thanks, Tsomu," Kiria said, smiling warmly, despite him not looking at her. "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you, but for what it's worth, you kept me on my toes the entire time. I had to change my entire strategy on the fly." She paused for a moment, waiting to see if her joke had any effect. Lenny chuckled, but Tsomu didn't. "I was honestly a little worried. Maiko is so frail that I'm sure even a light breeze would knock her out - once her disguise is busted, that is. I hadn't even thought of Trick Room until I saw Bae use Quiver Dance."

Tsomu sighed heavily, paying close attention to the patterns in the tablecloth. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Well... maybe a little," she replied honestly. "I don't want you to think that the battle was as one-sided as you think it was, that's all." She took a bite of her food. "You should eat. Are you hungry?"

Boy, was he ever. Nerves and kitchen duty had prevented him from eating much of anything, and the stress from battling wasn't making things any easier. He nodded, excusing himself from the table.

"He's really messed up about the whole thing, isn't he?" Kiria asked once she was sure Tsomu was out of earshot.

"Yeah. I tried cheering him up. Don't know how well I did."

Kiria raised an eyebrow. "Really? What did you tell him?"

Lenny waved away her question. "Eh, it's not important. Oh, here he comes."

Tsomu, a little happier now that he had a plate of food in front of him, returned to his seat. "Get enough?" Kiria remarked, noticing his plate was struggling to contain all the food he'd placed on it.

It wasn't the laugh Kiria was hoping for, but she took a small victory in the smile that crept across his face. "Heh. Yeah, I eat like a Snorlax, but I burn it off pretty quickly. I can never seem to put on much weight."

Kiria went wide-eyed. "Jealous! If I knew how, I'd give you some of this," she said, squeezing her side. "I've been like this my entire life. Eventually I decided to stop trying to look like those beauties you see in fashion magazines and just accept what the good lord gave me."

"You're beautiful," Tsomu responded immediately, and this time, he did look into Kiria's eyes. He quickly became aware of what he said and diverted his gaze towards his food. "I mean... sorry."

Kiria blinked, slightly tilting her head. "So I'm not beautiful?" she asked, with just a touch of hurt in her voice.

Panic moved its way onto Tsomu's face. "No! I mean, yes! I mean - "

Kiria's expression warmed suddenly. "Relax, I'm just teasing you. But thank you for the compliment!"

"You're welcome," came Tsomu's reply, in a voice that sounded far too weak to his ears. He could feel his face burning from embarrassment, and he had a feeling he was blushing. As if getting destroyed by your opponent wasn't bad enough, she just had to make things worse by teasing him about calling her beautiful. He looked down at his food, suddenly not feeling very hungry, but he dug in and ate wordlessly. Unable to shake Tsomu's somber attitude, Kiria resumed eating, and Lenny took this time to get some food as well. He didn't rejoin Kiria and Tsomu at their table, instead opting to chat with Thresher and Taikyu.

Tsomu didn't look up from his plate as he piled more food into his mouth. He could feel Kiria's eyes boring into him. All he'd have to do is look up and she'd be staring at him, just waiting to drop another stupid pun or something.

Okay, the fly pun was a little funny., he admitted. A ghost of a smile started to creep on his face, but he grit his teeth and tamped down on that thought. The last thing he wanted to do was to give Kiria the satisfaction that her joke had had the desired effect.

Why? What's your deal, anyway?

He paused as he considered this.

She's being nice to you, you idiot. No hard feelings over the battle. Are you really going to be mad at her for this?

Tsomu visibly shook his head as if to evict his thoughts. Was he mad? Maybe not at her. It wasn't her inadequacy that made him lose, after all. She proved she's a better trainer - plain and simple.

She made fun of-

No she didn't, his brain admonished. Get over yourself and take the olive branch she's offering before you do something even more idiotic.

He glanced at Kiria's plate and, noticing it was empty, began to panic. How long had she been sitting there? Was she just staring at him? He didn't dare look her in the eye for fear she actually was staring at him, and then he would feel even more awkward than he already was. He decided to busy himself with eating, but surprised himself when he heard the clank of his fork hit the plate.

"Tsomu, are you okay?" Kiria asked, her voice full of concern. Tsomu flinched as Kiria moved to a chair closer to him and put one of her hands on his shoulder. This was nothing like when Lenny had done it; Kiria's arm was more muscular than Lenny's, but it still felt softer to him. She gently squeezed. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but you look awful."

He didn't doubt that. In the last hour, he'd been dragged, pushed, scolded, and teased, on top of coming off of the worst defeat he'd had in years. "I feel awful," he said finally.

Kiria took her hand from his shoulder and placed the back of her hand on Tsomu's forehead. "Well, you don't have a fever. What are your symptoms?" she asked, in full on mother mode now.

"Crippling feelings of inadequacy, mostly. Thank you for your concern, Kiria, but I'll be fine. I just don't handle bad losses very well." He smiled mirthlessly, rising from his chair. "Congratulations again on your win," he said, and meant it. He took his dishes to the kitchen to be washed, leaving Kiria alone at her table.

* * * * * * * *

Alex, at a table by himself, watched the scene between Lenny, Tsomu, and Kiria unfold with all the excitement of watching paint dry. He'd watched the battle, of course, but only as a means of gaining information on his opponents. He would never admit it to anyone other than himself, but he'd been surprised to see the legendary Pokemon Dialga brought under human control, and a bit more surprised to see Kiria defeat it so easily.

She was merely lucky, he reasoned. I doubt Tsomu knows the first thing about training Dialga. Had he been able to tap into its true power, Kiria would not have stood a chance. He smiled to himself as he entertained a fantasy of not only Dialga, but Palkia, under his control, effortlessly defeating all of his opponents. Yes, of course he knew of Palkia's existence, and he felt a smug satisfaction at that. He had read about them, and many other legendary Pokemon, extensively as a young boy. His father even owned a feather that was said to have been given to him by the legendary Pokemon Ho-Oh itself.

He glanced over at Cody, who was happily chatting with Jethro and Frisk. Alex didn't know much about his opponent other than things he'd heard secondhand. He knew Cody had an Araquanid, but didn't know if he considered it his ace. It matters not. Each of my Pokemon has attacks that can hit it super effectively. I -

He stopped mid-thought, his eyes having been drawn across the room to Eldan, who had approached Nye as she made her way to the food table for seconds. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but it was clear from the look of irritation on her face that she wasn't having any of it. Alex groaned and rolled his eyes at Windra blocking his path, arms and legs outstretched like a lanky star.

Alex focused his thoughts again on his opponent. Now, what to do about his team? I simply must know what it is I am dealing with... perhaps a bit of reconnaissance is in order. He resumed eating his salad, stealing glances at the competitors, sizing them up. He saw Kyro at the food table, practically salivating. Hmm... yes, he will do nicely. No one will suspect a child. He slinked out of his seat, plate in hand, and quietly approached the blue-haired youth. "Hello. Kyro, was it?"

Kyro turned to Alex and grinned. "Yep! You're Mr. Alex."

Alex couldn't help but smile at that. Mister Alex. He would never get tired of hearing that. "Yes, I am. Would you like to help me with something, Kyro? It is of the utmost importance."

The briefest flash of panic appeared in Kyro's eyes before it was replaced by pure determination. "I don't know what an "upmost importance" is, but I'll do my best! What do you need, Mr. Alex?"

After glancing at Cody's table to make sure he was still distracted, Alex explained. "I need you to find out what Pokemon Cody is using in the tournament, and then report back to me. Do you think you can handle that, Kyro?"

Kyro nodded enthusiastically and, seemingly at the speed of light, dashed over to Cody's table. "Mr. Cody! Mr. Cody!!!!"

Instantly, the color drained from Alex's face. He stood stock still, plate in hand, mortified as Cody waved Kyro over to his table.

"Hey, Kyro," Cody said. "Did you get enough to eat?"

"Nope! I was going to get more, but Mr. Alex asked me to help him with something important first. What Pokemon are you using in the tournament?"

Alex quickly turned away from Kyro and the others, his face reddening with equal parts anger and embarrassment. How could this kid mess up this badly?

He did exactly what you asked him to.

Not like that!

He's a kid, what did you expect?

Alex grumbled to himself, waiting for the laughter to come, but it never did. He felt footsteps approaching from the table, and he couldn't bear to look Kyro in the face. "So, you're interested in my team, Mister Alex?"

Alex perked up. That wasn't Kyro. He turned and saw Cody standing next to him, with an easy smile on his face. "All you had to do was ask. Araquanid, Primarina, Sharpedo," he counted on his fingers. "I don't mind sharing. We're going to learn each other's teams before the battle anyway, yeah? No point in keeping it a secret." He reached for a ladle, scooped some kind of pasta onto his plate. "In fact, I think it stands to make our battle even better since we can formulate better strategies."

Alex found himself nodding despite his embarrassment. After all, that is exactly what he'd planned to do with the information. He just hadn't expected the information to come so easily. Realizing he was looking at Cody rather dumbly, Alex cleared his throat and regained his composure. "Yes, well, thank you," he said, hoping he wasn't looking like a complete idiot.

"No problem. I'm looking forward to our match. It might be bad luck, but I'd be glad to spar with you if you ever wanna get some training in. I haven't really seen you around the training room... well, at all, now that I think of it. Your Pokemon have gotta be itching for some action, yeah?

"My Pokemon are perfectly content the way they are, thank you very much," Alex said, raising his nose at Cody's offer. He turned back to the food table, intent on getting some more salad, but was slightly annoyed to find that it was gone.

"I figured you would say something like that. Offer stands if you ever change your mind. Are you getting more food? Do you want to join us?" Cody gestured at his table. Jethro and Frisk quickly looked busy with their own food, but Kyro just smiled and waved back.

"No thank you," Alex spoke carefully, seething just under the surface. Without another word, he returned his dishes to the kitchen and left the cafeteria.

* * * * * * * *

Later, Nye was in her room, making sure she was set on wearing what she was wearing for the battle. She checked her makeup in the mirror, making sure nothing was out of place, when a knock was heard at the door. Puzzled at who could possibly be calling on her at a time like this, she briskly walked to the door, opened it up, took one look at the man outside it, and promptly shut it in his face before he could say a word.

"At least wait for me to say something lecherous before you do that, huh?" Eldan joked, clearly not dissuaded by her rudeness.

Nye sighed. Okay, I guess that was a little rude of me. She opened the door again, and he grinned that grin she loved to hate. "Shouldn't you be upstairs? I heard them call us up a few minutes ago."

"Yep. You're really gonna wear that?" he said, eyeing her up and down.

"Yes, I am. Is there a problem?" She crossed her arms, smirking. "Is it not red enough for you?"

Eldan ignored her joke. "That shade of blue isn't your color. It's pretty, but your it clashes with your hair. You have great skin, and that shade of blue does nothing for it. Try something in a warmer color, like red or orange. And that," he said, pointing at the long skirt she had on, "is just plain awful. It's a crime to hide those amazing legs of yours."

Nye scoffed. "You know, I would have more respect for you if you were at least honest with your intentions."

Eldan furrowed his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Nye narrowed her eyes at him. "There's nothing wrong with my dress. You just want to stare at my legs and ass. Why don't you just come out and say it instead of pretending you care about me any further than how long it takes you to get me in bed? Which, by the way, is never going to happen, and that's going double after I beat you." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I can already hear you not saying anything to the other girls. It's going to be soooo sweet."

"I don't know why it's so hard for you to believe me - "

"Hot damn! I'm paired with the hottest girl in this joint in round one!" Nye cut him off, doing a poor imitation of Eldan the day they'd met. "Ooh, yeah, baby, let me make that purple-haired freak disappear so you can be with a real man! Oh, wait." She snapped her fingers in Eldan's face several times. "Diiisssaaapppeeaaaarrrr."

"Okay, geez, you made your point," Eldan said, waving Nye's hand out of his face. "I'll just have to prove myself on our date. But from one fashionista to another, change your skirt. You'll thank me."

"Is that all?" she asked, making a point to look bored.

"Just one more thing. I wanted to wish you luck," he said, extending a hand.

Nye raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"In our battle," Eldan clarified.

"Oh." Nye looked at Eldan's hand as if it was infected and oozing pus; clearly this had to be some kind of trick.

Come on, get over yourself, he's just asking for a handshake, she admonished herself.

Ew. No. Absolutely not. Who knows where that hand has been?

Would you just shake his damn hand already?

Nye sighed theatrically, rolled her eyes, and daintily took Eldan's hand in her own. Eldan pumped their hands two or three times, then released. "There. Was that so bad?"

No.

"Yes," Nye said. "Now goodbye. I need to finish getting ready."

"I thought you were wearing that?" Eldan asked, grinning.

"I am. Now go. Good luck. I'll see you up there." She closed the door in his face before he could say anything else. She went into the bathroom and looked herself over again. She looked at herself in the light blue tank top she'd been wearing all day. She fidgeted in place, unable to get over what Eldan had said. "Ughhhhhhhh, damn it," she whined, as she left the bathroom and started searching through her suitcase.

* * * * * * * *

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!" Ruby's velvet voice boomed over the dozens of speakers strewn throughout Indigo Plateau. "It's a great day for Pokemon battles! I'm just as excited as you are to get to the next match, so let's get right to it! Approaching the west platform is a man who is fighting for the glory of Team Flare and beautiful things the world over! Raise those flags and make some noise for your Lumiose City tournament champion, Eldan Faradel!"

Eldan briskly took the stage, waving to the crowd. He approached his platform and raised his arms in the Team Flare salute, anxious to earn a date from the object of his affection. He could make out the shape of Nye on the far side of the stadium, and he grinned.

"And his opponent, on her way to the east platform, is a fiery young woman from Sinnoh who dominated our first qualifying tournament, breezing through her finals match in just under six minutes! Will she make short work of Eldan as well? Keep your applause going for your Hearthome City champion, the speed queen, Nye Wright!"

Nye took a deep breath, put on her practiced smile, and stepped out into the warm summer sun. Speed queen? Jesus, she's making me sound like Quayle. She avoided looking at Eldan for as long as she could, because she knew he'd been looking at her the entire time. It's bad enough he's probably imagining me naked, she thought, but he's never going to let me live this down. She subconsciously tugged at the rose-colored blouse she'd changed into at the last minute. As loathe as she was to admit it, Eldan had been right; she looked better in warm colors.

A breeze blew through the stadium, and it chilled Nye's legs. She grumbled as she was forced to admit that Eldan had been right about that as well; once she'd changed her top, the skirt looked horribly out of place. She'd opted instead for a beige skirt that ended a couple inches above her knees. The way it made her feel was like night and day, but the fact that Eldan had been the one to suggest it to her soured her mood a little. She would have changed back just to spite Eldan, but she was already running late and couldn't spare the time. I would have if someone hadn't wasted all my time talking...

Once she'd arrived at her platform, she looked at Eldan, who nodded approvingly, flashing her a thumbs up and mouthing the words, 'you look great!'

Nye crossed her arms and looked away, feeling her face getting hot. I am not blushing. Hell no, she told herself. Calm down. It's hot out, that's all. Now focus.

She brought her gaze to the stadium wheel, which revealed that the ground field would be the stadium of choice. As the battlefield came into view, Nye started formulating a plan. I'll have to do something about those boulders. They seem too large for Dragonite to lift, but he could easily break them. Gardevoir could easily throw them telekinetically, though. I'll need to be on my guard.

Eldan was beside himself with glee. He hadn't actually expected Nye to take his advice, but boy was he glad she did. He hadn't been entirely truthful when he said that blue looked bad on her. Hell, she could have come out in olive green and she still would have been hot. But in clothes that actually complemented her natural beauty, Nye was stunning, and he took more than a small pleasure in the knowledge that she knew how great she looked, and that he'd been the one to put the idea in her head. Best of all, he knew she knew he knew this, and it took everything in him not to tell her "I told you so."

She even wore her hair up... that's new. God, she's hot. Time to win that date!

Once everything was in place and the trainer shields had been activated, Ruby introduced Esmeralda, who took her place to officially begin the battle. "Trainers, release your Pokemon!"

Nye threw her ball first. She needed to keep a clear head for this battle. Her sanity depended on it. "Beedrill, it's up to you!"

"Ninetales, show 'em what style is!"

The two Pokemon came down in a flash. No sooner had Ninetales materialized did the battlefield become enveloped in a sweltering heat. Eldan grinned. "What do you think, Nye? Automatic sunny weather. Impressive, huh?"

"A little," Nye admitted. She knew about Hidden Abilities - one of her own Pokemon had one, after all - but she didn't know anyone else who knew about them. She reached behind her head and pulled out the barrette that held her hair up, allowing her full blonde tresses to spill down her back. "But you're going to have to do better than that if you want to truly impress me!" She gripped the barrette tight, the jewel at its center glowing brightly. Beedrill glowed along with it, but Eldan didn't seem to be phased. He waited as Beedrill completed his battle evolution, and Nye grinned, pinning the barrette to the side of her hair. "You should have at least tried to stop me. Mega Beedrill will be your undoing."

"Not at all. Knowing you're fighting with all your strength will make defeating you all the sweeter." He glanced to his Pokemon. "Ninetales, Will-O-Wisp, form delta!"

"Beedrill, get moving! Hold Ninetales in place with Toxic Spikes!"

Ninetales launched an orb of blue fire several feet in the air directly in front of her, then two more balls, one to each side. Beedrill sprayed out a seemingly endless stream of the poisonous hazard, littering the area surrounding Ninetales. Beedrill hovered near one of the platforms. Ninetales could try to leap to one of the platforms to escape, and if she did... he'd be ready.

The blue balls of flame hovered in the air, crackling with energy. Beedrill looked to be sweating a bit, but was otherwise no worse off. Eldan gave his next order. "Let's roast this bug... with style! Inferno time, baby, form delta!"

Ninetales looked in the sky towards the ball of fire it had placed there previously and spewed a steady stream of bluish-purple flame. She then connected each ball in turn with a stream of fire. Nye stared down this giant triangle of fire and was about to give her command when the upper ball exploded, raining fire all over the battlefield.

Nye gasped, panicking. "Beedrill, run!"

Beedrill hadn't even waited for her command, but he was still splashed by the intense fire and badly burned just from the bit that struck him. Nye quickly recalled her Pokemon as the second and third fireballs exploded with a brilliant flash, dousing half the battlefield in fire and burning away the Toxic Spikes that Beedrill had laid.

The crowd's cheering swelled to new heights, their disappointment from the last match all but forgotten now. Nye took a moment to compose herself before she sent out her next Pokemon. That was horrifying. I got him out of there just in time...

Her thoughts were interrupted by Eldan, all smiles after seeing how beautifully his opening salvo worked. "Lady Nyyyyyyyyyyyyye," he called. "Are you impressed yet?"

"Not yet. Your little light show was cute, but if that's the best you've got, this battle is going to be easier than I thought!" She gripped her second Poke Ball tight. "Dragonite, it's up to you!" Nye's Dragonite emerged with a roar, sizing up his opponent. "Rain Dance! Cool this place down!"

"And that's my cue to leave," Eldan said, bringing Ninetales back into her Poke Ball. Immediately, the battlefield felt about thirty degrees cooler as the dark clouds came and began their steady rainfall. "So, you want to play in the rain?" he asked with a mischievous smile, presenting another ball. "Then let's get wet. Milotic, show 'em what style is!"

Milotic let out her songlike cry as she slithered her way to left center field, next to one of the platforms. The rain cascaded off her scales, causing them to shine with an almost ethereal beauty. "Safeguard, form beta!" Eldan commanded. "We need to avoid the - "

"Dragonite, Thunder!" Nye shouted it almost maniacally, surging for the opening that Eldan had seemingly gift wrapped for her.

Eldan chuckled, not expecting the move. "Well, I was going to say 'confusion from a possible Hurricane,' but avoiding paralysis is just as nice! This is going to hurt, sweetie, but you've got this! Now brace yourself!" Milotic nodded and did as she was told, coiling up into a tight pile, surrounded by a light green shield. The Thunder attack came down with a crash, shattering the barrier into nothingness and striking Milotic hard. She cried out in pain, but Eldan continued giving her words of encouragement. "That's my brave girl. You did just as we practiced! How are you feeling?"

Milotic nodded, a look of determination on her face. Out of habit born from practice, Milotic started charging the return attack, and Eldan cackled in delight. "Perfect! Let Dragonite have it!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when Milotic reared back and fired, giving Dragonite no time to dodge. The Mirror Coat beam was monstrously effective, and surely would have knocked him out if not for his Ability. "Recover," Eldan ordered, and Milotic did so, retreating behind a boulder to restore her health.

"Roost! You heal up too, Dragonite!"

As the Pokemon recovered from their injuries, their trainers continued their own personal battle. "Don't tell me this is your best? I was expecting more of a challenge," Eldan taunted.

Nye clenched a fist briefly. "Aren't you celebrating just a little too early?" She glanced at Dragonite, who was now only slightly winded instead of on the verge of unconsciousness, then at Milotic, whose wounds had almost completely vanished. Milotic emerged from her hiding place, once again ready to do battle. Damn, I'm out of time... I need to be more careful. I'm getting caught up in his stupid combination attacks. Well, he can combine all the attacks he wants - it's not going to mean a thing against Dragonite's raw physical strength. "Dragonite, use Outrage!"

Dragonite exploded in a fiery red aura and surged forward at blinding speed, kicking up gravel all around him. Milotic instinctively coiled herself tight in preparation to counterattack. Dragonite slammed into Milotic with a roar of fury, gripping Milotic's neck with one muscled claw and dragging her along the rocky ground until they smashed into the wall. Dragonite then picked Milotic up by the neck, slammed her into one of the nearby boulders, and proceeded to savagely beat her with his other hand. Milotic flailed in his grip, causing some of Dragonite's punches to miss their mark, scarring the stone.

"Emergency defense maneuvers, Milotic! Dragon Tail, get him off you!"

Milotic gave no audible indication she'd heard Eldan's command, but once Eldan saw her tail start glowing green, he breathed a sigh of relief. Dragonite, focusing entirely on Milotic's head, left her tail free to swish and flop on the ground; Milotic summoned all the strength she had left and swung it into Dragonite as hard as she could. Dragonite stumbled backwards, roaring in pain, and fell onto his ass a few feet away from Milotic; no sooner had he hit the ground did he find himself returned, unbidden, to his Poke Ball.

Nye looked from Milotic to Eldan, hoping to see some indication that he was panicking just as much as she had been a few minutes ago, but his glasses did a good job of concealing most of his emotions. They couldn't mask his voice, however, and Nye was slightly ashamed to not hear panic or alarm in his voice, but concern. "Recover! Milotic, are you okay?"

Something in Nye's mind screamed - DON'T LET HER RECOVER - and she snapped to attention. "Musharna, it's up to you!"

Musharna appeared, floating slowly near Milotic, and briefly glowed white. In Nye's mind, she saw Milotic firing a gigantic stream of water from her mouth. "Hydro Pump?" she said to herself, but her microphone picked it up, allowing Eldan to hear it loud and clear.

"Yeah," he said, a cocky smile on his face. "You wanna see it?"

Of course I don't want to see it, I still need to heal Bee-

"Silence means yes! Hydro Pump, Milotic, form alpha!"

"Damn you!" Nye growled. "Musharna, Heal Bell, then get out of there!"

Musharna's body began to glow in a soft blue light as Milotic charged the attack. The attacks completed almost at the same time, the clear, unmistakable ping that sounded from the light extending out from Musharna's body seeming to announce that the Hydro Pump was on its way. As far as escaping the attack, it was wishful thinking; Nye knew in her heart of hearts that there was no way Musharna could avoid it. The attack was huge, its power augmented by the rain that she herself had set up, and it hit Musharna dead on, sending her crashing into one of the boulders. As if used up by the powerful attack, the rain came to a stop and the skies above the area cleared as Musharna fell to the ground, severely damaged, but to both combatants' surprise, Musharna managed to get up, willing to go on despite her injuries.

This is getting to be too much, Nye thought, and for the first time since the battle started, she honestly considered that she might actually lose. She felt her heart plummet into her stomach as she considered the consequences of losing to Eldan. All of her earlier reassurances vanished when she realized that losing was a real possibility, and she was forced to re-think her battle plan. His Milotic is too strong! All my special attacks get countered. Anyone who gets close is batted away, and every time there's a spare moment, she's recovering her health! Indeed, Milotic was doing just that, taking advantage of Nye's inactivity to top off her health. Nye pushed it out of her mind and focused. "Psyshock! Cut through those defenses!"

Musharna summoned a large blob of blue energy in front of it that seemed to harden and solidify as Musharna added more to it. Musharna flung it at Milotic, who braced herself and took the attack willingly. She instinctively tried to Mirror Coat it back, but her eyes widened when she found she couldn't. Panicking, she looked to Eldan for help.

"Psyshock can't be bounced back by Mirror Coat, you know that! Another one's coming, look out! Evade!"

Milotic whipped her head around only to get another Psyshock to the head, causing her to briefly see stars. The attacks were annoying more than anything - Milotic didn't feel like she was currently in any danger of being knocked out - but she still did her best to evade, desperate to find an opening where she could regain her footing and heal; while each individual attack didn't do a ton of damage, they were still doing damage, and Musharna's ability to float meant that Milotic could run, but not hide. She trusted Eldan to come up with a plan as she focused on survival, but if he didn't think of something soon, she was going to fall.

Unfortunately for Milotic, Nye was quick to react. "Excellent job, Musharna! You've got her on the run! It's time to turn this match around. Hypnosis! Stop Milotic in her tracks!"

Musharna telekinetically gripped Milotic, surrounding both of their bodies in blue light; a flash later and Milotic fell limply to the ground, sound asleep. Finally glad to see something going her way, Nye put a hand on her hip, pointing the other towards the battlefield. "Follow it up with Dream Eater! We'll show Eldan that he's not the only one with combinations!"

Musharna's eyes opened wide, glowing a sinister red, and a shadow-like copy of it flew at surprising speeds into Milotic's body. The two Pokemon were connected by a dull red light, and Milotic thrashed helplessly on the ground as her energy was stolen. Eldan gripped his platform tight, unsure of what to do. Milotic was asleep, but while Marvel Scale would reduce the damage from Psyshock, Nye had no reason to order Musharna to use it. Mirror Coat could pay Dream Eater's damage back double, but she obviously couldn't use it while asleep. He could swap Milotic out, but if he needed to send her out again, she'd be helpless until she woke up - if she even survived whatever Nye threw at her. Both Dragonite and Beedrill - Mega Beedrill, he reminded himself - were strong and could definitely take advantage of a sleeping Milotic.

He had to make a decision soon; just like the Psyshock barrage, the Dream Eater attack was steadily sapping Milotic's energy - she'd be knocked out eventually, and Musharna would be completely healed. Milotic wailed in her sleep as Musharna hungrily absorbed her strength, and for the first time since the battle started, Eldan frowned. Nye noticed it and clung to it like a life raft, encouraging Musharna on, and Eldan decided to do the same. Maybe if she she could hear his voice, she'd snap out of it. "Focus on my voice, Milotic! Wake up! You can do this! I believe in you!"

Milotic let out another pained cry as Musharna intensified her attack, the stolen energy giving Musharna enough strength to start making the attacks actually hurt. This was it, Eldan realized. If she didn't wake up now, she was going to faint. "Hang in there! I can feel you trying to wake up, just listen to the sound of my voice and wake up!" He slammed his fists on the platform. "Wake up!"

The red light suddenly vanished. Eldan's eyes widened. If the light was gone, that meant the attack was done. Did that mean...?

Apparently so. Esmeralda held an arm towards Nye. "Milotic is unable to - "

Milotic suddenly cried out, wounded and drained, but still very much alive. The crowd exploded in new cheers, unable to believe what they were just seeing. Milotic slithered back towards Eldan, who recalled her immediately before Musharna could start another assault.

"What's wrong, Eldan?" Nye taunted, full of confidence from her first truly successful attack. "Is the panic setting in yet? Musharna is going to repeat that performance with every Pokemon you send out. There is no shame in submitting to your betters; no one would fault you for conceding the match," she finished with a sweet smile.

Eldan laughed with genuine humor, glad to have his mind taken off the several beatings Milotic had taken. "Are you going to be this confident on our date? I mean, it's really sexy, but I don't want you to be all mopey after I win."

Her stomach lurched at that thought, especially since their conversation could be heard by the crowd, but she didn't let it appear on her face. "There will not be a date, Eldan," she said, more for the crowd's benefit than Eldan's, but she knew the damage was already done. She could already see the tabloid headlines in her head, speculating all manner of wild rumors in order to drive sales. "Unless you feel that you can stop Musharna..." she challenged.

Eldan smirked, but said nothing - another rarity. He'd meant, in part, to unnerve Nye with his words, throw her off her game a bit, but she didn't seem to be affected at all. He was hoping that her turning into a frustrated, flustered mess would also give Milotic a few more blessed moments of rest, but it was clear that Nye was pushing her advantage as much as she could.

He brought another Poke Ball from his belt and went to throw, but reconsidered. Musharna had absorbed a great deal of health from Milotic, but it wasn't anywhere near back to full strength. He thought back to how badly Musharna had been hit by the Hydro Pump. His eyebrows raised as he realized something. And that was just from Milotic! He did some calculations in his head. It should be enough. She just has to dodge Hypnosis and we'll be back in this fight. He returned the ball to his belt, took the third, and put his hopes on it. "Musharna is definitely strong, I'll admit. But, like Milotic, she can't take attack after attack forever. This one will do her in for sure! Go, Ninetales! Show 'em what style is!"

Ninetales hit the ground and again, her Drought Ability surrounded the field in intense heat. The air, thick with water vapor, became sticky and humid, and Nye could already feel herself starting to sweat in her light clothing. She couldn't imagine how Eldan must be feeling, in his suit and slacks. She pictured him going on about "sweating with style," complete with finger guns, and she rolled her eyes before catching herself.

Not the time...

Nye commanded Musharna to use Hypnosis again, and this time, Eldan was ready. "Jump behind the rocks! Plan omega!"

Ninetales wordlessly obeyed, leaping behind one of the larger boulders as Musharna enveloped them both in a blue light. There was another flash, and Eldan looked at Ninetales, who was crouched low behind the boulder, out of Nye's sight, charging an attack.

Perfect, Eldan thought, and he feigned a cough to hide the smile that was threatening to spread across his face. If he let slip that Musharna's Hypnosis had failed, he'd lose this chance. Fortunately for him, Nye didn't seem to be paying attention to him, as she commanded her Pokemon to use Dream Eater. Musharna floated towards where she knew Ninetales was hiding, eyes red and hungry. After she approached the boulder, Eldan sprung his trap. "Go!"

Quick as a flash, Ninetales leaped onto the rock and then sprung off it, ending up in the face of a surprised Musharna, and let a gigantic burst of white-hot flame from her mouth, so bright in intensity that the battlefield was briefly obscured. Musharna shrieked in agony as the sun-enhanced Overheat hit its mark, seemingly burning her from the inside out. She fell to the ground screaming, frantically rolling in a shallow puddle of standing water in an attempt to find relief from the flames as Ninetales stood on the nearby boulder, panting, her energy all but drained.

Esmeralda, seeing flashbacks of Rose's Gardevoir, acted immediately. "Musharna is unable to battle! Recall your Pokemon at once!"

Nye didn't need to be told twice. The return beam was out before Esmeralda had finished her sentence, and Musharna was gone.

"Nye, I'm sorry," Eldan immediately apologized. "I didn't-"

Nye silenced him with a hand. "Stop. I'm not mad. Musharna will be fine. That was... that was quite an attack, Eldan. I'm impressed. Truly," she admitted, shaking her head as if she'd been defeated. "I have to apologize, too, but... we'll talk later about that. Right now," she said, pulling out another Poke Ball, "I've got a date to cancel. Dragonite, it's up to you!"

Eldan nodded in acknowledgement. The first blood had finally been drawn, and things were only going to get more intense from here on out. He made his move before Nye could turn this situation into a repeat of the last time her Dragonite and his Ninetales faced off. "Use Will-O-Wisp, form theta!"

Ninetales leaped to the ground, spit out a stream of fire from left to right and then pushed it forward with a breath, sending the wave towards Dragonite. Unfortunately for Eldan, Nye was prepared for this, and was not willing to so easily fall victim to another combination. "Twister! Blow it back!"

Dragonite whipped up a small tornado in front of him, catching the Will-O-Wisp as well as bits of rock and gravel, and sent the entire thing at Ninetales. The fire had no effect, but the winds sang in her ears as the rocks and gravel stung her as she was enveloped in the tornado, forcing her to shield her eyes with a paw. She barely heard Eldan's voice warning her of an incoming attack, and she opened her eyes just in time to see Dragonite uppercut her fiercely with sharp claws that were elongated by a dull greenish white light. Ninetales was sent high into the air, almost to Dragonite's eye level, as Dragonite delivered another slash across her belly, sending her tumbling ungracefully to the ground, yelping in pain.

"Finish her, Dragonite!" came Nye's command in a voice Eldan barely recognized. Her eyes were cold, calculating, and determined, focused solely on winning the battle.

Ninetales limped behind a rock as Dragonite quickly closed the gap, both claws raised, intent on getting revenge for his fallen teammate.

"Emergency defense maneuvers!" Eldan cried, and Ninetales glared at Dragonite, her eyes flashing purple. Dragonite fell forward, crashing into the wall. Ninetales jumped onto the boulder but winced from her wounds. Eldan did a quick count in his head and then recalled Ninetales, letting out a breath. She'd done all she could now anyway; the Overheat had drained her strength and she her physical wounds meant it would be lights out if - no, when - Dragonite broke the Confuse Ray. He could send Milotic out here, maybe bluff an ice attack or two, but Eldan wasn't prepared to let her fight just yet. No, it was time for something fresh. "Gardevoir, show 'em what style is!"

Eldan's Gardevoir materialized, gently alighting on one of the boulders. As soon as she did, both her and Dragonite's bodies briefly glowed white. Gardevoir looked at Eldan, seemingly staring at him.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, hopeful. Gardevoir nodded, facing down her opponent once more. She was older and more developed physically than Rose's Gardevoir - Eldan's Gardevoir was a little taller, and her muscles were a little more defined. Nearly a foot and a half of fabric had been cut from her dress, exposing long, slender legs. "That's great news," Eldan said. "We'll hold onto that as long as we can. Now, Future Sight, form gamma!"

"Snap out of it, Dragonite! Extreme Speed!" Nye commanded her Pokemon. Dragonite's vision was blurred and he couldn't make out much more than shapes on the battlefield. He tried focusing on something that looked like Gardevoir and surged for it once he was sure of himself, but it wasn't real; he swung wildly through the air, crashing into the center platform. Meanwhile, Gardevoir threw her arms out, summoning six blades of crackling red energy, hovering them around Dragonite; with a wave of her hands, all six of them vanished.

"The stage is set. Psyshock, form beta! Push him back!"

Gardevoir summoned two large blobs of energy from each hand and telekinetically battered Dragonite with them, controlling their movements with each hand. When Dragonite would move to block one, Gardevoir would wave a hand and slam him with the other, repeating this until he was back against the far wall. Gardevoir raised her arms, and the two blobs rose with them; Gardevoir brought her hands together, combinining the two blobs into one massive ball of energy. Finally, she brought her hands down and the Psyshock exploded on Dragonite's head, shaking him out of his confusion but leaving him severely damaged. That Future Sight is coming soon. I've only got one chance. I just hope Dragonite trusts me, and Eldan falls for it. "Dragonite!" Nye called. Dragonite looked back at her briefly as Gardevoir casually regarded them from atop the rock where she hadn't moved since appearing. "Use Dragon Rush!"

Dragonite paused only briefly before nodding, picking himself off the ground. Pushing himself off the wall, Dragonite surrounded himself in an electric blue dragon-shaped aura and rushed headlong into battle.

Eldan didn't know what to make of Nye's attack. Had she lost her mind? The attack wouldn't do any damage - she had to have known that. So what was going on?

Nye made sure he didn't have to wait long to find out. "Abort the attack! Use Hyper Beam, max power!"

"What?! Holy shit, Gardevoir, move!" Eldan all but screamed, his air of coolness completely gone. If he hit her from that close...

Dragonite grinned ferally, dissipating the energy surrounding him and physically tackling Gardevoir to the ground, disorienting her. Hovering where she once stood, Dragonite roared and fired a massive energy beam from his mouth. Gardevoir, unable to react in time, took catastrophic amounts of damage, pushed back to the wall, where the beam seared her flesh and clothing. When the attack was finished, Gardevoir fell limply to the ground. Esmeralda was ready to declare victory for Dragonite when Gardevoir slowly rose to her knees, still conscious but virtually unable to stand, simultaneously thanking her lucky stars that Nye's Dragonite had had a Hidden Ability - it was the only reason she was able to survive the devastating attack. Still, the attack hurt her pride; she glared daggers at Dragonite and growled, tiny fangs gleaming in the light, as she clutched her hands together in prayer. A wicked smile came across Gardevoir's face as Dragonite was suddenly slashed by a phantom blade, and then another, and then another. Eventually, all six blades met their mark, and Dragonite collapsed on the rock, rolling lifelessly to the ground.

Eldan raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed by the tactic that Nye employed. Clever girl...

"Dragonite is unable to battle! Gardevoir is the winner!"

The crowd cheered at this new development, but Nye understandably did not. Beedrill was the only Pokemon she had left. She did a quick assessment of Eldan's team. Gardevoir: currently heavily damaged. If not defeated quickly, the Wish would give Gardevoir enough strength to actually fight, and then the match would be all but lost. Ninetales: Also heavily damaged. Physically wounded and bleeding from some deep cuts. If Ninetales was healed by Wish, it would be pretty disastrous, but at least Ninetales wasn't a Psychic-type. Ninetales could use all the fire attacks she wanted, but they wouldn't mean a thing if she couldn't actually hit Beedrill with them. Milotic: the most healthy, but still damaged. Milotic had put in the most work during the battle, so it definitely wouldn't be a bad thing for her to receive the wish.

Eliminating Gardevoir needs to be my first priority. If she gets healed, it's over. I'll at least stand a chance against the other two. "Beedrill, it's up to you!"

It really was.

Fortunately for Nye, Gardevoir was still on her knees, breathing heavily, and at Beedrill's mercy. "End her suffering with Poison Jab!"

"Not so fast, Nye!" Eldan cautioned. "We're not out of this yet! Gardevoir, Psyshock, form gamma!"

Beedrill flew across the field, a massive stinger glowing purple and dripping deadly poison. Gardevoir summoned a large blob of Psyshock in front of her, then threw her arm into it as Beedrill lunged, using her own attack to block Beedrill's with one arm. The psychic energy, ironically, felt like a million needles to Beedrill, and he quickly withdrew his arm, only to try again. Gardevoir effortlessly blocked the attack again, pushing Beedrill off her. Beedrill lunged in a third time, this time ignoring the pain, doing his best to break her shield. He drew his other arm back and threw it forward in an attempt to hit her on her undefended side, but Gardevoir saw it coming and threw her other hand into the shield, creating two smaller but equally effective shields over her hands and wrists. She buffed Beedrill's attack again and smiled a mockingly sweet smile, daring him to try again.

So he did. Beedrill flew around Gardevoir, swinging his arms around wildly, but Gardevoir blocked his attacks every time. Nye grit her teeth as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. The wish was coming at any moment, and if it did, the battle would irreversibly turn to Eldan's favor. Gardevoir needed to be defeated now, but what could she do with Gardevoir blocking all of his attacks? It seemed that Gardevoir knew that she could win if she could only get healed, as she was making no effort to attack, just block and defend. Seemingly realizing this, Beedrill raised both of his arms up in a last ditch effort, and brought them down onto Gardevoir, who blocked them with crossed arms. They struggled against each other, each ignoring the increasing amount of pain from the other's super effective attacks.

The sky opened, and a light shone down from the opening. Gardevoir slowly rose to her feet, feeling her strength start returning to her. "Ha ha!" Eldan pumped a fist in the air. "That's it! It's over, Nye!"

As Gardevoir stood, Beedrill rose with her, and Nye noticed that Gardevoir had unknowingly left another part of her defenseless. She gasped, seeing her opening, and blurted her command before it truly was too late. "Fell Stinger!"

Responding instantly, Beedrill brought his stinger up, tossing Gardevoir into the sky; a blade of dark energy shot forth from Beedrill's stinger, impaling Gardevoir straight through her midsection. Gardevoir choked out a cry, immediately dropping her shields and falling limply on the black blade, making her appear almost angelic in the bright light that was shining on the two of them. The light faded and Beedrill dropped his opponent to the ground, and this time, Gardevoir didn't get up. The harsh sunlight faded, almost in time with Gardevoir's energy.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle! The winner is Beedrill!"

The crowd went crazy, the sea of light blue fighting for supremacy with an ocean of yellow. It was now that Nye noticed that her flags were light blue, and she cursed herself for listening to Eldan... as right as he was. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief that the Wish had been effectively wasted. She felt herself getting anxious; with no way to heal his Pokemon and the massive strength boost from Fell Stinger, Nye realized that she might actually win.

Eldan clapped for his opponent. "Color me surprised, Nye!"

"Are you sure? 'Surprised' isn't a shade of red," she quipped.

Eldan laughed. "True enough. It's not gonna be easy, but I'm not giving up!"

Nye nodded, accepting his words. "Then come at me!" Beedrill raised a stinger, showing that he would fight with all his strength.

"Gladly," Eldan said with a grin, Poke Ball in hand. "Ninetales! Show 'em what style is!"

Ninetales emerged for the third time, worn from rough battles, and it showed. Her breathing was labored and she didn't look nearly as confident as she had at the start of the fight. The harsh sunlight came back just as quickly as it had left, and Nye considered this. Before, she wasn't looking forward to fighting in the intense sun, because it would power Ninetales' attacks up to huge levels; but now, buffed as Beedrill was, and actually seeing how wounded Ninetales was, the sun brought a smile to her face, as it would hinder Milotic's water attacks.

First things first, she reminded herself. Ninetales may have been on her last legs, but she wasn't going to just roll over and die, as convenient as that would be.

"Beedrill, let's not waste any time. Poison Jab!" she commanded.

"Fire Spin, form beta! Plan omega!"

Ninetales breathed out a stream of fire and then expertly directed it around herself, forming a huge pillar of flame that gave Beedrill pause. Nye couldn't understand why Ninetales would waste time trying to hide - it's not like the flames would heal her, and -

Wait.

Plan omega?

Nye thought back to what had happened the last time Eldan called for "plan omega" and her eyes went wide. "Beedrill, look out! To the sky, quickly!" Beedrill flew straight up just as Ninetales leaped out from within the flames and fired the massive energy blast, blasting a few of the large boulders into rubble and completely enveloping the spot Beedrill had occupied mere moments before. Nye sighed in relief - that had been far too close. Knowing Ninetales would be weakened now, she pressed the attack. "Poison Jab!"

Beedrill somersaulted in midair and lunged downward towards Ninetales, both his stingers dripping with venom. After Gardevoir's tricks, he wasn't taking any chances with Ninetales. Eldan watched Beedrill approach, and waited until the last possible moment to deliver his command. "Jump back!"

Ninetales leaped backwards just as Beedrill swung a mighty stinger; the stinger instead connected with the boulder, passing through it as if it were butter. Beedrill scrambled to get his bearings and continued his pursuit of Ninetales, swinging wildly, shattering the rocks as Ninetales leaped around, evading his attacks easily. Ninetales leaped off the center platform and winced in pain as she landed; that moment of hesitation was the opening Beedrill needed. He brought a venomous stinger down hard, right in the middle of Ninetales's back. She dropped to the ground instantly, put out of commission by the buffed attack.

"Ninetales is unable to battle!" Esmeralda announced. "Beedrill is the winner!"

The crowd voiced its approval with this defeat; it was now Nye's supercharged Beedrill against Eldan's seemingly immortal Milotic. Would Milotic's impressive defenses stand up to Beedrill's augmented strength, or would his newfound power be enough to bring Nye victory? Whatever the answer, the crowd was more than ready to find out.

"I'm not going to lose to you, Nye. I hope you know that," Eldan said, grasping Milotic's Poke Ball in hand. "My Pokemon have worked hard for me and gone above and beyond so that I might be able to show you that I'm not the simple-minded ruffian you think I am. The thought of it gives me strength, and that in turn gives my Pokemon strength."

"I will admit you have given me a better battle than I was expecting," Nye conceded. "But I'm afraid it's over. Milotic is fearsomely bulky, but even she can't stand up to Beedrill the way he is now."

Eldan chuckled. "Are you listening to yourself? This entire battle you've been telling me to give up. It's because even your subconscious knows that you're going to lose, and that scares you more than anything."

"The only that scares me is the thought of you harassing these poor girls any further, you narcissistic, color blind, arrogant excuse for a man!" Nye could feel herself shaking, fury slowly bubbling to the surface. The crowd started quieting at this point, a mixture of confusion, interest, and anger at the sudden drama. Had Nye been paying attention to this, she would have stopped, but Eldan's frequent attempts at getting under her skin finally got to her, and she wouldn't stop until she'd let him have it, fifty thousand pairs of watching, judging eyes be damned. "You act like such a goddamn saint in front of the crowd, but I know the real you, the one whose first thought upon meeting me was getting me in bed! Even Quayle, for all his faults, realized the error of his ways and proved to me he was willing to change, to try and be a better man that his fiancee could be proud of. But you," she seethed, her raw rage tempered to cold hatred, "You don't seem to understand what it means to be a man. A real man treats a woman with respect. He doesn't gloat about how incredible he thinks he is or make unwanted passes at every girl who catches his eye. And yet you have the audacity to stand before me now and claim that this is somehow the "real" you? That... that all of it was an act? I refuse to believe it. Now finish this battle! Find out how scared I am, if you dare!"

Eldan stared at Nye, wide-eyed. So that was it, he realized. He made a mental note to talk to her after they'd finished the battle.

Just do it on your date!

Eldan's grin was back full force at the thought of that. "As you wish," he said, sending Milotic out for the last time.

"Poison Jab!" Nye commanded the instant Milotic materialized on the field.

"Coil, form beta!" came Eldan's counter command. As Beedrill rushed forward, Milotic curled into a tight pile on the ground, her face low, her tail raised high and glowing green. Beedrill lunged with a stinger, but Milotic batted him back with her tail. He tried again but was again unable to get close enough, her tail lashing out any time he got close. A particularly nasty hit sent Beedrill tumbling to the ground several feet away, skidding along the rocks. Eldan went to give a command, but suddenly stopped, eyes scanning the battlefield. "Hydro Pump, form alpha!" he finally ordered.

Milotic obeyed without question, rearing back like a cobra as she started charging the powerful attack. Nye saw an opportunity to claim victory and lunged for it. "X-Scissor! Take the Hydro Pump head on if you have to, but don't let Milotic escape!"

Beedrill zoomed across the field, in Milotic's face before she was even halfway finished charging the attack... which was exactly what Eldan had been hoping for. "Abort the attack! Twister, form beta!"

Milotic stopped charging and summoned a tornado, the same as Dragonite had, catching Beedrill off guard. Large chunks of stone were picked up by the tornado, bashing Beedrill as they viciously swirled around the cyclone. Milotic blew a stream of burning hot water into the cyclone, adding to Beedrill's increasing injuries. With a final swipe of her tail, she blew the makeshift tsunami into the far wall, leaving Beedrill to be further pummeled by the rocks and water as she relaxed and started to restore her health again.

Low on energy, but furious at having been tricked, Beedrill used all of his remaining power to madly rush Milotic, flying at impossibly high speeds. Milotic took it upon herself to launch another Twister, but it was too late. Beedrill sliced through Milotic with one arm, then looped around and slashed through her with the other. Milotic cried out in pain as the attack reopened wounds she'd been in the process of healing, the damage far greater than normal. She leaned against the center platform, feeling her energy fading fast. She was about to succumb when she saw Beedrill slumped over on the ground a few feet away. The constant attacks had taken their toll on him, and his last attack used up the strength he had left, leaving him also on the verge of fainting.

If she could just summon the energy for one more attack, she could bring victory to her master. Ignoring the pain wracking her body, Milotic reared back and started charging a Hydro Pump. Eldan, realizing what she was planning, granted Nye's wishes, and panicked. "Milotic, stop! You don't have the energy! Stop right now, that's an order!" Milotic shut her eyes tight and ignored him, pouring her very soul into this last attack. Satisfied with the attack's strength, she leaned back, ready to fire... and seized up as her mind went blank. The attack died in her mouth and the last wisps of her energy faded as she looked down and saw Beedrill face down in front of her, one long stinger barely piercing her between her beautiful scales. She choked out a gasp as the poison entered her system, and she fell to the ground with a thud, decisively, and finally, defeated.

Satisfied, Beedrill extracted his arm from his opponent and used them to prop himself up onto the center platform. That was enough for Esmeralda, who was moments away from declaring a draw. "Milotic is unable to battle! Beedrill is the winner, which means Nye Wright advances to the quarterfinals!"

Seconds after Esmeralda announced the end of the battle, Beedrill fell over and joined his opponent in blessed unconsciousness. Both trainers recalled their Pokemon as the crowd cheered its approval for the intense battle that played out before them. Eldan went to center field, extending a hand to Nye. She considered turning her nose at him and leaving, and almost did before her conscience got the better of her.

What are you doing? You won.

You're damn right I won. He's not allowed to be a pervert anymore.

Okay, but you still need to shake his hand. People are watching.

He doesn't deserve to touch me.

Why can't you just admit you were wrong about him?

Shut up.

Fine. But if you're going to pretend you've got the moral high ground here, the least you can do is play nice for the cameras and shake his hand.

Accepting this was true enough, Nye held her head high and met Eldan in center field. "Fantastic battle, Nye," Eldan said, hand still extended. Nye had to strain herself to hear him; without microphones, being heard over the general noise of the crowd was tough.

"I win," she declared. "No dates, nothing sexual, no harassing any of the girls for the rest of the touranment."

Eldan nodded solemnly. "Yep." A sly smile came across his lips. "I was thinking about hitting up Thresher anyway, seeing if he'd be interested in - "

"No!" Nye slapped him on the shoulder, her face a look of pure shock. "No, damn it, that does not mean you get to - "

"Kidding! Nye, gosh, I'm kidding!" Nye considered this, then hit him again, crossing her arms. "Oh come on, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. You're so cute when you get all flustered like that." The look on her face told him that he was treading on thin ice, so he behaved himself. "A promise is a promise. I won't ask you or any of the other girls - "

"Or guys," Nye added.

"Or guys," he deadpanned, "For a date or anything even remotely sexual for the duration of the tournament. I swear it on my honor as a member of Team Flare." He offered his hand to her again. "But before we shake and lock it in for real, I want to ask you out one last time. I was serious about getting to know you. If you ever feel like giving me a chance - another chance," he amended, cringing slightly, "I'd be glad to teach you a few completely platonic, non-sexual things about me." He grinned and waggled his eyebrows anyway, causing Nye to roll her eyes.

She considered his promise, and whether or not she believed he would keep it. Him swearing on his honor as a member of Team Flare didn't mean anything to her, but he seemed to take it seriously, so she reluctantly accepted it. Plus, she realized, she couldn't really stop him if he did decide to break his promise, just as there would be nothing he could do to stop her if he'd won their date. Would she have backed out of her own promise? She couldn't say for sure. The least she could do was simply watch him and see if he was worth taking seriously.

"I have to apologize," she finally said. "I assumed you would treat your Pokemon poorly, based on your words and actions towards me. I'll admit that I was wrong about that aspect of you, and... and maybe other parts as well. Consider it a test," she said before Eldan could interrupt her. "If you can show me you're serious about your promise... I'll consider it. But not until I'm satisfied, and no asking me when that is. Do you accept?"

"Gladly," he said. "My hand is getting tired. Will you please shake my hand now?" he pleaded.

Nye gave a small laugh, taking Eldan's hand into her own. They shook, waved to the crowd and each other, and made their way back to the building.

 

[GrandPanacea]

So, like I said in that PM, I love the fact that the match was won by Beedrill goin' boop with a Poison Jab (Poison Boop? Poison Poke?)

Also, you did what I thought was impossible. You made me actually not hate Eldan. Like I said before, I did not like Eldan. Not at all. This was because of his creepy advances on girls, especially Nye. The way you wrote him interacting with his Pokémon, as well as how he changed his tune there at the end, made me almost kinda like him. Don't get me wrong; I probably wouldn't try and befriend him, but knowing what I do now, I probably wouldn't outright deny him a seat? Point is, good character development there.

 

[Athena]

So, like I said in that PM, I love the fact that the match was won by Beedrill goin' boop with a Poison Jab (Poison Boop? Poison Poke?)

Definitely Poison Boop. I'll have to make sure Kiria teaches that one to Eleanora.

But seriously, a very great chapter! As usual, the battle segments really shined. Despite the battle being so long and heated (ololol) the entire thing was a joy to read and really kept you on your toes.

 

[NotJim]

I didn't expect you to steer Lenny into that direction, but it actually makes perfect sense considering how old he is relative to the rest of the crew.

 

[PMJ]

tfw you will do anything to generate activity in your thread during a lull

http://vocaroo.com/i/s086KjRb4qfX

So, like I said in that PM, I love the fact that the match was won by Beedrill goin' boop with a Poison Jab (Poison Boop? Poison Poke?)

Also, you did what I thought was impossible. You made me actually not hate Eldan. Like I said before, I did not like Eldan. Not at all. This was because of his creepy advances on girls, especially Nye. The way you wrote him interacting with his Pokémon, as well as how he changed his tune there at the end, made me almost kinda like him. Don't get me wrong; I probably wouldn't try and befriend him, but knowing what I do now, I probably wouldn't outright deny him a seat? Point is, good character development there.

I didn't expect you to steer Lenny into that direction, but it actually makes perfect sense considering how old he is relative to the rest of the crew.

 

[NotJim]

re: the above, I actually had him more in mind as someone who was more willing to let the teens/young adults find their own way and have far more of a hands-off approach to things.

(she'll be 'right)