Indigo Leauge - Battle in Fushia!

[Taco]

There was absolutely nowhere to go, and nothing to do. Taco knew this about the situation that he and his pokemon now faced. Somehow, his enemy’s pokemon had survived latest attack, almost definitely through building up a bit of a psychic defense just in time. That last command had really pissed the enemy Jynx off, and had left his arbok virtually defenseless. After her attack, the arbok would be physically drained for a time, and unable to do anything in self-defense against her enemy. Taco’s snake pokemon had reversed her direction, fallen backwards and skidded back down the ice path, gasping for breath.

"Grrrr, ya wanted me to go berserk, eh? Congrat'lations, you did it!!!!" The enemy Jynx shouted angrily at the lady snake, and immediately sent a telekinetic blast her way. The arbok’s half closed eyes suddenly shot open in surprise and shock as the blast sent her against the opposite barrier, crushing her against the transparent force field. Taco’s pokemon cried out in pain, her mouth opened to its full extent, tears streaming down her cheeks. Suddenly the pokemon fell to the ground, the attack apparently spent. For a long while, she stayed there, perfectly still.

“Hey lady?! Are you Okay?!” Taco called to his pokemon. It would not be surprising if this attack had done the pokemon in; it was, after all, a psychic attack. However, one had to remember that this was no ordinary arbok; the snake pokemon first stirred a little, then shot it’s body up into a pose in the shape of the number two, a smug smile on its face.

“Chah bock!” The snake pokemon winked at her master, as if to say “of course I’m alright.” She then added “Chabocka-chobacka-chop!” at which Taco rolled his eyes.

“Well, you be careful! The next attack could do you in, easily!” Taco lectured his pokemon loudly, to which the snake pokemon rolled her eyes and hissed.

[T.G. Oskar]

"Grrrr, not enough strength!!! Musta harness more!!! Hafta beat that....grrrr!!!!" Jynx was blind and deaf enough by rage to ignore the orders her master was issuing to her. Loud enough, Oskar was trying very hard to stop her from damaging the audience. It was unforgivable to him that the audience became victims in his quest for victory. Each and every time, Oskar raised his voice, trying to gain Jynx's attention, but to no avail. He felt that Jynx was trying very hard to shatter the protective barrier, and telekinetically manipulate the shards to become a razor. After various failed attempts, Oskar's voice changed into a stern and wrathful voice, angry because his Pokemon had deliberately ignored his battle style in pursuit of revenge.

"Jynx, listen to me, now!!! It's an order!!! Tyranitar caused a violent sandstorm, and nearly shattered the podium, but he didn't placed the audience in danger!!! Skarmory almost gave up life and limb to defeat his opponent, but he considered the people outside from being unharmed!!! You shatter that barrier, you place that people in danger, and I swear I forfeit!! You listen!?!?!? Do it, and I quit!!!"

Those words easily penetrated Jynx's obliviousness, as her anger subsumed. She knew as much that Oskar really hated placing the audience in danger, despite the risk he and his Pokemon often faced. He was ready for it, his Pokemon too. But the audience was not. She knew how much Oskar liked to give a spectacle, but how stern he was when someone other than him or his Pokemon, or his opponents, were harmed. And...he knew he was willing to forfeit, as he did once long ago...

"A'right, a'right. Ya got me dere. I'll quiet down fo' a while..." Jynx breathed with decreasing inhales, until her respiration quieted down into normal, calm breaths. "...but dat snake's goin' down, I tell ya..." Jynx's eyes glowed with the same eerie glow from before, as both hands fell down. Suddenly, a rash rising movement from her hands, and a wave of psychic energy emerged, lifting stones and debris a few inches from the ground. The force was rising quickly as it emerged Arbok, whom Jynx was observing deeply. She was to lift her opponent from the ground, more than a few feet from the ground. She was going to send her into the sky, and let gravity do the count...

Though her hands and eyes were not leaving Arbok, and her right hand was rotating slowly, signaling to the ground...

[Taco]

After Taco’s little lecture with his pokemon, the Gym Leader noticed the opponent pokemon was reacting rather violently to his arbok’s continued existence. The enemy jynx appeared to be trying to destroy the barrier with its psychic powers, perhaps to send its shards against the lady snake. Both Taco’s and arbok’s eyes darted to where the jynx was presently positioned at the same time. Taco did not know his pokemon’s full reaction, but he heard her make a concerned hiss.

Eventually, TG Oskar got his pokemon under control, and his Jynx instead started to focus on an entirely different attack. Taco could not help but feel some regret in agreeing to this match now that he had hindsight; his opponent’s pokemon were all hardcore. Each one of them had an intense desire to win, seemingly at any and all costs at times. Taco had made reckless choices and said some stupid, selfish remarks, but for the most part, his pokemon had kept him in check-aside from his persian. On the other hand, if TG Oskar’s pokemon were commanded by just about anyone other than him, the results could be disastrous. The man had to be very charismatic, Taco realized, and perhaps the Gym Leader could even learn a thing or two from this wandering trainer.

Right now, however, there were more pressing issues at hand. The Jynx’s attack manifested in the form of a psychic wave, sending small pieces of rock and debris floating a few inches off the ground in its wake across the battlefield at the Gym Leader’s pokemon. Looking to his pokemon, Taco saw that his arbok was alert to the threat, and would take evasive actions.

“Chabock!” The arbok called as shot out of the path of the psychic wave… only to have it follow her movement. The lady snake’s eyes shot open, accompanied by a concentrated snarl, as she realized the danger was not over. Then, a bit of the fire seen earlier in her eyes was rekindled as she glared at her opponent. However, this was not a blind rage; she clearly understood her surroundings, and as she sped away from her enemy’s attack, she shot her trainer an almost pleading look. “Chabocka?!” Taco’s arbok cried to her trainer.

“Keep on moving, for starters!” Taco called back as he watched the events unfold before him. “Once you get close enough.. it’s time to unleash your final attack, sludge bomb! Make sure not to doddle, though!”

“Cha!” The lady snake acknowledged without looking back at her master. She sped to about two thirds of the way across the battlefield, around craters and upheavals, so that her position was directly in front of her enemy. Once there, she opened her mouth wide, and five huge balls of vile content shot forth in an arc that would land them on her opponent’s position. Once this was done, a brief moment later she continued on, barely ahead of the psychic energies threatening her.

[T.G. Oskar]

For a moment, only a brief moment, Oskar was about to lose everything for what he had sought for. For a brief moment, Jynx was about to cause a terrible holocaust in her quest for victory, something he was not going to allow her to happen. He knew Jynx would not risk a victory for such a dangerous act. Jynx knew he was just teasing her, but he was capable of forfeiting if she was to cause a dangerous event to happen. It was this delicate tension between master and Pokemon that allowed Oskar to succeed in training such difficult Pokemon. It was, in fact, the very same reason he learned to appreciate Pokemon: their fierce determination, and their freedom of will. It was in this way he discovered the innate skill to train Pokemon to their maximum levels. But, he needed to prove that to the world, and he would prove it by gaining and collecting badges from all Gym Leaders.

But, his overwhelming desire to win a convincing victory by carefully tying strength, skill and heart won over the blind, berserk rage of Jynx. It seemed that Arbok shared that very same determination, as in the blink of an eye she evaded the telekinetic powers of Jynx. Her speed allowed her to move through obstacles, evading Jynx's two mortal eyes. But, her violent thoughts could not escape the thrid eye of a psychic, and she was capable of sensing the movements and overall direction of her opponent, which she sensed closing evermore. Finally, at the beck of her master, Arbok released spheres of obnoxious mucosity, attempting to poison her. Jynx, however, had heard from her opponent's master the command, and she was already moving her hands to defend from the attack. But, she quickly changed her strategy: what better way to foil her opponent than to use her own attack at her? No, wait...why not foil her into believing a counterattack was on the way, using her own attack, and then launch an attack of her own?

As the spheres neared Jynx, she retaliated with psionics, mostly to manipulate all of the thrown spheres. Forming a star, and rotating all spheres, she formed a ring placed in front of herself. "Dat's a very cute move ya got dere, ma chere? But it is ta no avail. Here, have it back!!!!" Despite the amazing speed that Arbok was achieving, in order to escape from the retaliation, Jynx was awfully quiet. Once she could figure out the pattern of movement, she would launch all spheres at once, at a speed enough to chase and hunt Arbok. Her opponent needed only to stay still or move way too fast to evade the counterattack, and a flinch was enough for Jynx...

...as her breath was, once again, fuming water vapor...

Near her, Oskar was confident in Jynx's choice. He knew that Jynx's main strategy was to incapacitate her opponent before crippling her, and shooting a carefully aimed Ice Beam would spell disaster. In his mind, Oskar was sumed in thought... "Jynx is very clever to use her opponent's attack against her, but she's risking too much. One well-placed Crunch can spell disaster...why he went for Sludge Bomb as his trump card? Perhaps he's scared of the kiss, or he's scared of Jynx's uncanny reaction... The last legs...will my hard training succeed?"

[Taco]

It was no surprise to Taco, or seemingly to his pokemon, that the enemy Jynx would find a way to evade the latest attack against her. Was a bit alarming to see T.G. Oskar’s pokemon manipulate the balls of toxicity and send them against the arbok. “-Aah!” The lady snake shouted, startled by the star shape quickly descending on her, gaining on her with every second.

“Dive!” Taco suddenly shouted to his pokemon. The lady snake complied with a hiss, shooting her head beneath the sphere directly in front of it and bringing herself up on the other side of the formation. What both parties found alarming, then, was that immediately after this attack turned against her, the strange lady pokemon was about to send another ice beam attack the arbok’s way. It was not completely clear whether this attack would hit her or not, given the snake pokemon’s present position. There wasn’t enough time to judge. “Okay, quick, hit her with another hyper beam!” Taco called.

“CHAAAAAH-BAK!!” The arbok roared, opening her mouth wide, berthing into the world a powerful golden ball of energy, which gave way to long thick beam of energy. Seeming to realize that this could very well be her last attack of the match, the lady snake seemed to put an extra amount of her energy into this beam as a last ditch effort. She was not about to let some damned rival female move in on her territory and outshine her; she had worked long and hard to get where she was today. The battle, and her pride, hung in the balance…

[T.G. Oskar]

The first phase of Jynx's attack, as she expected, caused a reaction from Arbok. The spheres, knowingly useless against a poisonous creature, had caused it to flinch, giving Jynx the necessary time to focus on aiming the Ice Beam properly into Arbok's body, hoping to freeze her and finish the battle once and for all. Yet, the reaction to the attack was not the one action she wished her to do. Arbok was about to settle this battle with the most dangerous weapon she had in her arsenal: the dreaded Hyper Beam.

Oskar saw in such a move a desperation act, in which the whole of Arbok's power would pour into one single attack. If Arbok failed, or the attack was not spirited enough, Jynx's victory was almost assured: a strong telekinetic attack would probably finish her. But...in Jynx's condition, only one blast of such attack would be sufficient to lose. Evading would probably be useless, much less blocking. Psychic barriers and manipulation of psychokinesis would be useless against a will-powered attack. Thus, Oskar resorted to the last weapon in his arsenal, a weapon which his own opponent was aware of, and that could end the battle instantly...

...his own willpower...

Oskar, however, wanted this to be more than just an act of solemn belief in his abilities as a trainer, and faith in his Pokemon's abilities. He wanted to challenge the Gym Leader's own prowess in training, and directly. He uttered a fierce command to his Jynx, a move that he knew would probably destabilize his opponent, and show him the tenacity and hunger of victory Taco possessed.

"Jynx, I shall utter my final command. Counter the Hyper Beam with your Ice Beam. Do not just counterattack, make your beam collide with hers. It's either hers, or yours, but one will win at the end!!!!!!!"

As soon as he finished his command, his eyes fixed upon Taco, shining with the fierce determination of someone that is giving up his all on this last move. "Taco, listen to me. This attack will not depend on Jynx's power, nor on Arbok's power, nor the desires and will of the Pokemon. This...is a trainer move, and only the best trainer will succeed on this attack. SHOW ME WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!!!!!!!!"

In that instant, perhaps a mirage cleverly used by him, or an optical illusion because of the battle's length, but Oskar's visage projected in all dimensions, as if he was spreading all of his determination towards Jynx. At the same time, Jynx was fixing her eyes towards the focal point of the beam, ready to deploy her attack at unison. She could feel Oskar transmitting his desires to win, and his own personal willpower. She began to accumulate all of her own willpower, ready to focus all of her will into that one blow. With each passing second, Oskar's and Jynx's willpower merged into her focal beam point, making a sphere of pale blue color, blinking violently. Seconds later, at the moment her opponent was just about to deploy her beam attack, she blasted her own: a huge beam of pale blue energy that literally liquefied and froze air in its path, rushing to collide with beam and Pokemon.

"Jynx...I believe in you...I...have faith in you..."

"Don' worry, mah friend. I have faith in ya too, y'know..."

[Taco]

What the hell is this, Dragon Ball Z?!! Taco reacted to the challenge incredulously. He was not a psychic, nor had he ever trained to focus some sort of "chi" energy to face off against another trainer. For a few seconds, Taco just stared blankly, sure that he and his pokemon would fail. Then, however, he looked into his arbok's eyes. Within them burned a fierce fire, a spirit that did not wish to be, and would not easily be consumed. However, it needed his help. He knew that much, and he also knew that he owed it to this pokemon-possibly his best friend in the entire world-to stand behind her, and give it everything he had. I won't fail you, my friend...

Taco...? Suddenly, the Gym Leader heard a voice from inside his voice; a strong, feminine voice. He knew instantly that it belonged to his arbok. Somehow, Taco realized, he had opened some form of telepathic connection between himself and his pokemon. The only possible way he could explain it was by his shear will power... and also through the constant contact with his gengar. Taco had more than one reason to thank his ghost pokemon on that day, it seemed.

Give it all you got, lady. I'm right behind you... With that thought, Taco moved his energy, his willpower, his very spirit to fall behind his arbok, and fed to her all the strength he could muster. He felt his pokemon gladly take in the energy, and feed it to her attack. However, this was not the only thing that the Gym Leader felt; there was truly a oneness, an intimacy between him and his pokemon that he had never felt before. It felt incredible.

Suddenly, the hyper beam and the ice beam met in the middle of the battlefield...

[Aerif]

The beams met with an explosive force, it had been one of those battles that would make some kind of recird book or documentery. Though in the end, that's all it had been, a battle between Pokémon and certainly not that of the trainers will...

With the explosion brought the fainting of both Pokémon whilst the foolish trainers where sent off their podiums.... As the smoke cleared it was evident that neither had won, the crowd where making a fuss and the TV crew weren't very happy with this stalemate. It was Aerif's job to calm them down but they didn't go away excited or pleased or ready to fight their own battles... Quite the opposite...

Taco and Oskar looked rather silly lieing on their backs, but the fushia city badge wasn't going to be crossing Oskar's hands today... As the routes out of Fushia where re-opened Taco and Oskar returned their Pokémon, neither had won but both had lost...