//------------------------------// // Bug v Bug // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// As the matchup between Rarity and Adagio rages on in the Canterlot Tournament, the winner of this 3v3 is still unpredictable. Although, it seems to be leaning towards Adagio's side. With Flaaffy defeated by poison, Rarity sent out her ace Leavanny to deal with the terrifying Pheromosa Adagio owns. "Leavan..." Leavanny crossed her eyes at her opposing Bug Pokemon. "Phero." Pheromosa simply looked down on Leavanny like she does with every other Pokemon who she sees as beneath her. "With Quiver Dance, Energy Ball isn't going to do a thing..." Rarity growled. "I'll have to rely on X-Scissor for this one." "Not gonna make a move? Then allow me. Poison Jab!" "Pheromosa!" With lightning speed, Pheromosa dashed forward whilst leaving a trail of dust behind. Thanks to Quiver Dance, Pheromosa's speed was once again difficult to keep up with, even with the paralyzing effect. However, Rarity and her Leavanny trained for this. By having Leavanny work on her reaction time, anything that moves faster than her can now be spotted with her trained eye. And the same can be said for Rarity. "Dodge it!" "Lea!" By sidestepping to the side, Leavanny evaded the incoming kick from Pheromosa's poison-clad leg. "Now use X-Scissor!" By getting up close in Pheromosa's face, Leavanny crossed her arms together, forming an X-Shaped that had been struck onto her fellow Bug-Type's face. "Phero!" Pheromosa wailed as the X-Scissor, while not very effective, did end up pushing her back. "Put the pressure on Pheromosa by continuously using X-Scissor!" "We'll see about that! Use Poison Jab! Make sure Leavanny doesn't land a hit in!" With both of those commands, the two Bug-Types were determined to get the 1-UP on each other. It started with Leavanny going in for yet another X-Scissor, however, Pheromosa used her poison-clad feet to block the attack. Leavanny attempted to break through Poison Jab by forcing X-Scissor through, but Pheromosa kept her balance and stayed firm on the ground. The Nurturing Pokemon jumped over Pheromosa, going for an overhead attack which she believed would end up working. But yet again, Pheromosa had a way around that. By lifting her leg upwards. "Phero!" Pheromosa pushed Leavanny off her with an extra force added to her feet, giving the Lissome Pokemon some distance. "Lea!" The Nurturing Pokemon rushed forward, delivering a flurry of X-Scissors by separating her arms, no longer in an X-position. Leavanny swung both of her arms forward as if they were blades, putting the pressure on Pheromosa who continuously kept her leg up as a means of defending herself. Each time Leavanny's blades hit Pheromosa's poison-clad leg, the Lissome Pokemon could feel her supple body shaking with each hit. Even if she put up her leg as her defence, the shockwaves will still travel through her. Realising that it was too dangerous to keep this up, Pheromosa backflipped, kicking some poison droplets towards Leavanny. The Nurturing Pokemon gasped as she used X-Scissor to block the poison droplets. Both Pokemon finally ceased their rapid movements with the poison disappearing and the bug energy fading away. "What a rush!" The announcer was getting giddy. "Who knew seeing two bugs fight would be this exciting?!" "You've been doing well so far! But it ends here! High Jump Kick!" "Mosa!" Rocketing into the air, Pheromosa put her knee out, aiming it towards Leavanny's chest. Rarity didn't actually command Leavanny to avoid it surprisingly. Instead, she allowed Leavanny to be hit by High Jump Kick. Pheromosa's knee smashed into Leavanny's chest, causing the Nurturing Pokemon to wince. "Why isn't she commanding her?!" Sweetie Belle squealed, as she was hyperventilating. "She didn't even react to Pheromosa's movements there." Twilight leaned forward. "What's she planning?" "Direct hit!" Adagio cheered. "What now, pony?" "Right where I want you." Rarity suddenly uttered. "Now, Leavanny! String Shot!" "Van!" Leavanny opened one eye up, initiating Rarity's secret plan. By shooting a stream of sticky thread out of her mouth, Leavanny's string latched onto Pheromosa's knee, sticking like glue. "Mosa?!" "Now! Toss her off!" "Leavanny!" Leavanny used the thread from her mouth to control Pheromosa's movements as if she was a puppet. The Nurturing Pokemon tossed the Lissome Pokemon away from her, causing Pheromosa to wail. "What in the-" Adagio gasped. "Swing her!" "Lea!" Continuing the surprising attack, Leavanny, swung Pheromosa around like a shotput, moving the Ultra Beast within the vicinity of the battlefield at high speeds. "Eep!" The referee ducked as Pheromosa's body almost hit him. Even Adagio and Rarity had to take cover. "Mo-Mosa!" Pheromosa felt like she was going to be sick from all this spinning. Even though she moves fast, she can't really handle being forced to move fast without any control of her own body whatsoever. "Look at that! Leavanny's got Pheromosa trapped and moving around endlessly!" The announcer pressed his face on the glass. "String Shot is always a useful move! Go, Rarity!" Pinkie stood up, flailing her hooves around. "Mrrgh..." Aria grumbled along with Sonata. They were hoping that their older sister could somehow come back from this. With Pheromosa being spun around, Leavanny decided to go the extra mile by causing Pheromosa to hit the ground each time she went in a circle. This aggravated Pheromosa which is a Pokemon that absolutely despises anything dirty. And now that dust from the ground is all over her face, it's safe to say that she's finally found a Pokemon where she can pour all her hate on. "Break free using Poison Jab!" Adagio realized that she had to free Pheromosa immediately. "Phero...Mo!" The only logical way to break out of String Shot was to destroy it with poison. So, that's what she did. By using Poison Jab, Pheromosa kicked the thread of string in half, freeing her from Leavanny's grasp. However, due to all that spinning, Pheromosa was now feeling dizzy, unable to properly focus as her legs were all wobbly along with her body still feeling the after-effects of being slammed across the ground repeatedly. "Mosa..." The Lissome Pokemon held her head, finding it hard to concentrate. "Another one of your plans?" Adagio scoffed. "Maybe." Rarity smirked. "I will say that it's yet another way to give us the advantage." "Leavanny!" "I promised that I would defeat you for the sake of my friends and their safety. So you won't get past Leavanny and me!" Rarity said with confidence. "Really now? Rarity, was it? Tell me this then." "Hm?" "Is it just your friends that you're fighting for?" "What do you mean by that?" "If you're fighting for your friends to protect them from any future threat, then everyone else must count, right? "Of course they do. Besides. It's not just them. But my sister too. I don't need a reason to protect those that I love." Rarity gave her answer. It was simple and short. "I see." Adagio nodded. "In that case...Pheromosa! Quiver Dance!" "Phero..." Pheromosa was still dazed and dizzy. Trying to perform Quiver Dance was a bit of a struggle now. But after recovering in a few seconds, her special defence, attack and speed had been boosted. "Let's finish this! Leavanny! X-Scissor!" "Leavan!" Believing that this would be the final blow, Leavanny rushed in with confidence. From the speed she was approaching, everypony leaned in with anticipation. "Hmph. Poison Jab!" Pheromosa quickly raised her leg, switching out of Quiver Dance. Once Leavanny got close, Pheromosa gave a sneak attack by striking her poison-clad foot on Leaanny's stomach. "Van?!" Leavanny gasped, feeling both Pheromosa devastating kick and poison hit her all at once. Not only that, but Pheromosa forced Leavanny away from her with an extra kick. "Ooh! So close! It looked like that would've been the end of it all if it connected!" said the Announcer. "Phew..." Sonata and Aria let out sighs of relief. "Leavanny! Are you alright?!" Rarity gasped. "Vanny..." Leavanny held her chest as she had also been poisoned thanks to that sneaky kick from Pheromosa. "Poison..." Rarity growled. "No use in sticking in now. Return, Leavanny." By deciding to send Leavanny back to her Poke Ball, Rarity had no other choice but to bring out her own Pheromosa for this. "Not good. Rarity's being backed into a corner here." Sweetie Belle whimpered. "What if she doesn't win?!" "No need to worry," Ash reassured. "Just keep watching." "Pikachu..." "It's up to you. Pheromosa!" Rarity sent out her Shiny Pheromosa to combat her fellow Ultra Beast once more. "Mosa!" "Rarity's lost one Pokemon, her Leavanny's poisoned and all she has is just her Pheromosa now. I don't know about this." Pinkie shook her head, unsure if Rarity could win this. "I'm not sure if we can keep up with her Pheromosa due to that previous Quiver Dance..." Rarity was starting to worry. "Not only that...but I have no clue on what her second or third Pokemon might be." "This is bad..." Rainbow Dash spoke whilst watching the match. "So-so-so bad!" "Did Adagio's Pheromosa get stronger over the past few weeks?" Luna uttered. "What's it gonna be, Rarity?" Adagio was finally referring to Rarity with her actual name instead of just calling her Pony. "I'll admit...my strategy's been a bit cluttered at the moment. With Flaaffy fainted and Leavanny poisoned, I'm in a bit of a rough spot at the moment. But I refuse to lose. And Pheromosa feels the same as well." "Pherom!" "But something's odd here. The way you're battling...It's vastly different." "How so?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "I expected you to act mercilessly against me. Much like how you did with your first opponent and Twilight. And you seemed like you would do the same once we were paired up. Why battle so differently?" "I don't need to tell you why. Besides...I don't even know why myself. But hearing you say that you want to protect your family and friends makes my head all fuzzled up." "Are you perhaps having second thoughts about all of this?" "Second thoughts? You wish I was. I still want to defeat you and your friends but...I don't feel that same drive as before. But either way, I'm still claiming this victory as mine!" Hearing Adagio mention all that made Rarity think of something for a moment. The way she was battling, how she wasn't sounding as cynical or cruel as she normally speaks could mean one thing. Rarity found out that something must've happened before this match. Something that changed Adagio a small bit. Whatever it may have been, it made Adagio almost seem bearable and somewhat respectable to Rarity. Only 7 minutes were remaining in this matchup. And with those 7 minutes, only one pony is coming out of this winner. Both unicorns eyed each other down as their Pheromosa's prepared themselves. "Pheromosa! Triple Kick!" "Use High Jump Kick!" At the same time, the two Lissome Pokemon took off like rockets with one outstretching its leg and the other thrusting its knee forward. Their two attacks collided, once again showing that they're equal in strength at the end of the day. With the shockwaves cancelling both attacks out and forcing the two Ultra Beats back, it felt like this entire battle was about to suddenly ramp up in intensity. "We'll surpass your speed! Pheromosa, darling! Rapid Spin!" "Phero!" Rarity's Pheromosa got into a ballerina stance as she spun her body around at high speeds, kicking up some dust as well. She made her way towards her opposing Ultra Beats whilst also creating a dust devil around her. "Counter with Poison Jab!" Adagio's Pheromosa was a bit hesitant on getting close to her opponent since she despises anything unclean. Which involves a tornado of dust. But she was willing to win this battle anyway. By bolting forward, Pheromosa delivered a side-kick, striking her foot through the tornado of dust. However, due to the dust devil spinning violently thanks to Rapid Spin, some of it had managed to get in the opposing Pheromosa's eyes, breaking her Poison Jab concentration. Not only that, but the Shiny Pheromoa's ballerina kicks had smacked her fellow Ultra Beast in the face, forcing her out of the dust devil. Now Rarity's Pheromosa had gained a speed increase as the dust devil separated away from her. "Let's finish this!" Both Rarity and Adagio yelled. "High Jump Kick!" Triple Kick, once more!" Adagio's Pheromosa was the first to approach while Rarity's merely prepared herself to strike at the right moment. Both Ultra Beasts looked at each other in the eye, knowing that they were both giving it everything they had. This could be their final clash. Both of their legs clashed once more, causing possibly the strongest shockwave that has ever graced this tournament. So strong that it even affected the crowd and most of Canterlot, causing some ponies to fly out of their seats. "You can do it Adagio!" Unable to hold it in much longer, Sonata stood up, cheering for her older sister. She expected confusing looks to glance her way but due to the immense shockwave, everypony didn't even notice. This time, their mighty clash didn't break them up at all. Instead, both Pheromosa's managed to stay where they were. With both their legs fighting for dominance, only one of them could emerge victoriously. "You can do it, Pheromosa!" Rarity cheered her Pokemon on. "Pheromo..." The Shiny Pheromosa had no intentions of letting her trainer down whatsoever. She refuses to lose to the Pokemon that harmed one of her friend's Pokemon. So to let out all she had, Pheromosa used her other leg, initiating the second kick. Once that second kick hit the opposing Pheromosa's face, a massive advantage had been revealed. And the final kick was the big one. With the opposing Pheromosa still feeling the impact of the second kick, her leg had been overpowered by Rarity's Pheromosa who managed to not only kick Adagio's Pheromosa's leg away but also striking her face in the process. With the third and final kick landing, Adagio's Pheromosa had been launched back, almost breaking the sound barrier from the speed she was flying at. She passed by Adagio, causing her huge mane to flow in the wind. Even Kricketot almost fell out of her trainer's gigantic mane. Pheromosa hit the walls of the stadium, shaking the seats in the process as a loud thud could be heard from the impact. The announcer rushed over to Adagio's Pheromosa to see the current state that she was in. And from how hard she was hit to how fast she went flying, the outcome was clear as the golden sun in the azure skies. Adagio's Pheromosa had fainted. "Phero...Mosa..." "Adagio's Pheromosa is unable to battle! Rarity's Pheromosa wins!" With a stunning victory over Adagio's Pheromosa, Rarity had dazzled the entire crowd with the amazing clash. And the thunderous roars were a good indication of just how much they enjoyed that battle. Before, Twilight proved that it was possible to take down Adagio's Pheromosa. And Rarity just further sealed that proof. By using her own Pheromosa. "We did it..." Rarity paused for a moment. "I didn't think I'd actually pull it off. Pheromosa! Amazing job!" "Phero?" An excited Pheromosa rushed over to her trainer, giving Rarity a comforting yet heavy hug. "Mosa-Mosa!" "Mrrgh! Okay! Thank you Pheromosa, darling!" Rarity found it hard to breathe with Pheromosa's crushing hugs. "Yes!" Sweetie Belle hopped off her seat, going crazy with excitement. "Way to go, Rarity!" "For a jolly Pokemon that Pheromosa of hers is pretty tough!" Apple Bloom gawked. "Now all Rarity has to do is beat Adagio's other two Pokemon!" Pinkie squeed. "I see..." Adagio walked over to her Pheromosa, holding out the Ultra Ball. "You did well. Now, return, Pheromosa." "Adagio Dazzle. You may bring out your second Pokemon now." The referee said to her. "Kricke-" Kricketot was ready to come out and fight for Adagio for once, even if he had Bide as his only move. "Don't Kricketot." But Adagio stopped him. Just then, Adagio used her wonderful voice to reach the entire crowd since she had something important to say. Just two words. "I forfeit." Words that shocked the referee, Rarity and the crowd. "Huh?!" Rarity shouted in confusion along with the entire crowd. "You...forfeit?!" "That's right." Adagio nodded. "Besides. I don't even have a third Pokemon at all." "Oh...then in that case...Adagio forfeits the match! Thus the victor is Rarity!" An unexpected victory that nopony predicted would end like that. Rarity was stunned, but not as stunned as everypony else. "Aw..." Sonata sighed as Aria comforted her. Ash and Celestia nodded their heads in understanding. They've seen a situation like this before and they know the full intentions behind it. Rarity for a moment had no idea what to think. Her victory came flying in her face. "Forfeit? But why?" "Don't worry about it." Adagio placed the Ultra Ball in her mane. "I know a worthy winner when I see one." And that's all she said to Rarity. After that, Adagio was out of here, returning to the waiting room. But before that, Rarity had a few things to say. "Adagio, wait!" "Hm?" "Thank you for the battle." Rarity thanked her surprisingly, which caught Adagio off guard. "Sure. It was a good battle." Adagio replied. And that really was the end of it. Once returning to the waiting room, the usual doubtful stares turned into pure confusion. If there was one thing Adagio was an expert at, it was making a scene and dazzling the crowd with an array of emotions and reactions. Whether good or bad. Sonata and Aria left their seats, just to go and talk to their older sister. How could they not after that? Once Adagio went out the streets of Canterlot, her two younger sisters had caught up with her. "Adagio!" Sonata called out for her. "Where are you going?!" "It's best you two don't know. I'm heading somewhere a bit private." "But, I thought you were going to go to the top," Aria said. "Yeah, I was planning on doing that. Guess my mind must've changed halfway through." Adagio shrugged. "See you two later." "Are you gonna be alright? Maybe you can come and visit us sometime." Sonata asked. "Maybe. See you two later." Adagio had nothing else to say to them. And to practically everypony else in this entire tournament. As always, Celestia was watching her but she decided not to go after her. It was best to just let her go. "Kricketot?" The Cricket Pokemon popped out of her mane. "I don't know what I'll do next, Kricketot. I've still got that Luster pony to team up with apparently but...now I'm not so sure." Adagio's time in the Canterlot Tournament had come to an end abruptly. By her own decision even. Wherever she heads to next is unknown to her sisters and Celestia. Even she has no clue what will happen in the later future involving Ghetsis, Empress Twilight and Chrysalis. But one thing's for sure, she's slowly changing as the Canterlot Tournament continues. Chapter 255 End.