23 - Vs. Bruno
{Somebody was waiting for you.}
Devontae opened the door to the spectator seats above Bruno’s chamber. Vents above the main chamber prevented the seating from becoming part of a convection oven. He descended some stairs to the first row of seats. Looking up, he gasped; an alto voice said, “Have a seat, Devontae.”
Sitting there was a tall and slender woman nearing middle age. Hers was a pale complexion. She wore a yellow tank with an azure shrug, white capris, matching azure flats, and an ornamental belt. Her hair was just past shoulder length, pale blue with thick grey streaks in three places. She bore a satisfied grin as she patted the A13 seat beside her.
He pursed his lips, shrugged, and said, “Uh...okay.”
Taking his newly assigned seat, Devontae stared down at the scene below. Aengus had not arrived yet. Bruno sat in the middle of the room, intently watching something on a small TV. A sigh left Devontae half-heartedly. He shot the woman next to him a sideways glance, then resumed looking forward at the nothing-at-all happening below. A crowd cheering whispered from the tiny television set, quickly followed by a collective groan of disappointment. Devontae shrugged, and set the bucket of popcorn in his lap, absentmindedly munching on a few kernels. Without even looking over, this woman reached over and grabbed some popcorn. Devontae looked down at the hand in his food, then at its owner, then back at the hand, furrowing his brow. Taking a bite, she happily sighed, “Oh, good. I was hoping you got extra butter.”
“What the...what...what??” Devontae sputtered, moving the popcorn out of her reach.
The woman looked him over with an amused grin. She asked, “You do know who I am, right?”
“Um...Karen, the Champion, yes?” Devontae answered hesitantly.
“That’s right.”
Devontae’s eyes darted between arbitrary points around her that pointedly were not any part of Karen as he muttered, “I, uh, thought you had longer hair?”
With a chuckle Karen said, “I did, but it was too much of a pain to keep dealing with every morning.”
A crunching behind them made Devontae turn. There stood Koga, eating some of his popcorn as well. He commented, “I concede the point. It is better with extra butter.”
Devontae sat agape, his head cocked slightly to the left, his left eye partially squinted, and his right wide open. Karen took her index finger under Devontae’s chin, and closed his mouth. She looked up at Koga and said, “Empty bellies never help anything. Sit down. Have a bite.”
“Too old for this kind of junk food,” Koga grumbled as he sat down on the other side of Devontae.
Devontae looked at Koga up close. He blinked, then turned and looked back at Karen, and then to Koga again. Then he stared straight ahead, unblinking, and shrinking at the shoulder. Karen took another handful of the popcorn and ate them a few at a time. Koga sighed through his nose, and grunted, looking down at Bruno. She swallowed the last of that handful, leaned forward to look around Devontae, and asked, “Are you going to be okay?”
Koga did not turn, but frowned as he softly said, “In time.”
“It’s good you’re being honest about this,” answered another man’s voice behind them. Devontae twisted around, and his face faltered. Taking the seats behind them were Will and Surge. Devontae blinked twice, with a lengthy gap between, before just facing forward again. As he sat, Will continued, “You know I’d call you out if you lied.”
“Hey, could you pass the popcorn?” Surge asked with a smile. With a tiny whimper, Devontae forced a tight-lipped grin, despite his eyes going wide, holding the bucket aloft. Surge took it with both hands and swiftly tucked in. After a few chomps, and without swallowing, Surge joyfully commented, “Ooh! Extra butter!”
Will said, “No thanks. Nothing but fat and empty carbs.”
“Delicious fat and empty carbs,” Surge corrected him, chomping on some more.
“If you say so,” Will quipped, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.
Koga grumbled, “So great we spent all that money to have these seats installed when they’re almost never used. I think this is the most we’ve had up here at once.”
Devontae folded his hands in his lap and did not move anything except his eyes. A moment passed, with no sound except Surge eating Devontae’s popcorn, and the occasional noise from Bruno’s TV. A moment later, Surge said, “This isn’t making him feel at ease at all. May as well start before he winds himself up any tighter.”
“Ah hell...,” Devontae uttered under his breath.
“Do you know why we’re all here talking to you right now?” Karen asked bluntly.
Devontae opened his mouth as if he had something to say, stopped, tapped his chin a moment, and said, “Just a guess, really. It’s about what happened a few minutes ago, between Rarity and that ‘Salazzle’ Pokémon?”
“Right again, though that’s not all,” said Karen.
Devontae exhaled hard, long, and low, emptying his lungs as much as humanly possible. He shook his head, took a deep breath, and rationalised to them, “I tried to tell him she was losin’ it. She’s had a shitty day, got her nose busted by some young female throwing a full can of hairspray at her face, then...that.”
“She is not the victim!!” Koga snapped, glaring shurikens at Devontae.
“Look, brah, even you said Salazzle took things too far,” Devontae countered. “What the hell was all that? ‘Attract’ doesn’t have all that other crap attached to it!”
Calmly, Karen clasped Devontae on the shoulder and said, “She followed her orders. The ‘job’ for Salazzle was to mess with Aengus’s head, or Rarity’s. She showed herself as the more vulnerable of the two, making herself an easy mark. And Rarity definitely reacted, much too strongly.”
“The rest leaves questions of legal procedure,” Will said.
“Then where do I fit into this?” Devontae asked with a slight frown.
Surge said, “Your orders are to keep close tabs on the young Mr. Meagher, and the pony. Anything unusual or suspicious, we need to know immediately. If she’s a spy, scout, or vanguard, we must counter the threat.”
Devontae grouched, “Hey, she didn’t come here on her own! Aengus—”
“We know what he claims!” Koga barked. “Many of us don’t buy it!”
“And that is why we need you to monitor both brothers. Padraíg’s hybrid worries me more than Rarity does. If the hybrid indeed got the best of both worlds, none of us here could stop her,” Will said irritably. “Whose side is this hybrid on? Does she consider herself more pony, or Pokémon? More to the point, what happens if, in realising her power, she turns on Padraíg? She’ll make short work of the rest of his team.”
“And that begs the question if Princess Twilight could defeat this hybrid,” said Surge.
Devontae said, “He just arrived at university today, keeping his so-called ‘Trixie’ with him.”
“And he, Professor Elm, and Professor Oak all got straight to work,” said Karen. “My informants tell me Professor Rowan is on his way to New Bark Town, as are both Professors Juniper from Unova. That’s an awful lot of examination for one being to sit through. How many creatures are willing long-term lab rats?”
Sighing and shaking his head, Devontae muttered, “The curious, the ignorant, the desperate, and the well-paid.”
“Yes, precisely. So you understand, then, the unlikelihood of her willingness to stay,” said Surge.
“Yes, but, you said there was more,” Devontae said with uncertainty.
Karen nodded slowly. Will leaned forward and said, “Has it become evident to you that none of us are getting any younger?”
Devontae half-heartedly shrugged. “Grow old or die young. Life isn’t kind in the options it gives.”
Karen said, “While true, that’s neither here nor there. Point is, look at us. Go on, take a moment.” She paused while Devontae did as he was told. “Bruno, Will, and I have spent most of our adult lives here. So did Lance. I think that’s part of why he was so gung-ho to head for the World Elite Four. It might also explain why Lorelei left when she did. While it’s nice to have the title ‘Champion,’ it comes with a poignant boredom. Since Lance departed, I’ve not had a single battle. None. No one has made it to me.”
Devontae’s eyebrows shot up. Koga said, “Aengus’s battle was the thirteenth I’ve had since Karen became Champion. He will be Bruno’s third opponent in that time.”
Devontae exclaimed, “But that was eight months ago!”
“We’re intricately familiar with that fact,” said Will. “At least one challenger has come every week, though it’s usually two or three. The most we saw in a single week? Six. But less than ten percent of them made it past the good colonel, here.”
Surge grinned and said, “Of those I lost to, you were the only type specialist. The only. And that includes the four Ground-type specialists I sent packing.”
Pursing his lips, Devontae nodded slowly. He mused, “Sounds like y’all are building up to offering a spot in the Elite Four, if I tattle on Aengus and Paddy.”
“Perceptive,” said Koga with a nod.
Devontae said, “Have to be, growin’ up in the inner city.”
Karen pointed around, saying, “Everyone here, all of us, including Bruno, have a criminal past.”
Devontae hesitated, then answered, “You do?”
Surge answered, “Yeah. You too. Nice attempt to deflect, but not enough.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Devontae said quickly, crossing his arms.
Karen snickered. With a small grin she said, “Oh, we know about the burglaries and heists, and how quick you are to point to your nine Not Guilty verdicts. But we also know you got away cleanly from a few. That bank job was something.”
Sweat beaded on Devontae’s forehead. “Still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Had a Flareon use Dig to get under the Goldenrod First Savings Bank’s safe, then with carefully controlled uses of Ember melted away at the safe’s bottom, clear out the drawers overhead, then use Dig again to fill the dirt back in behind you? That was brilliant. Giovanni would’ve loved to have had you back then,” said Surge.
Will cut Devontae off before he could deny anything else, saying, “As I said when I got here, I know when people are lying. You knew perfectly well what we’re talking about. You’d fit in well here.”
Karen said, “Not that this is something you can just decide on the spot. We’ll give you some time to mull it over, but don’t wait long.”
Devontae’s shoulders slumped as he sighed an overwhelmed sigh. He scratched at his goatee, then asked, “When do you want an answer?”
“Before I begin some time off. I’ll be on leave the day after tomorrow,” said Koga.
Surge and Will looked at each other for a moment. Then Surge shrugged, to which Will put his hands out as if he were pushing a large box while looking away. Devontae studied Koga’s face carefully. Koga returned the gaze with a steely expression, unwavering and unblinking. Devontae frowned, but still looked Koga in the eye. Guardedly and slowly, he answered with even syllables, “I’ll have your answer by then.”
{Chomping at the bit, they approach.}
Below, a blast of hot air rushed over Rarity as Aengus opened the door. Rarity took in the view. Diamond-plate steel made up the floor. A considerable drop was on either side of a thin causeway leading to the battlefield. Rarity carefully peered over the edge, but very briefly. Some molten and bubbling red-hot stuff lay below. Rarity hurried and stuck close to Aengus until they reached the battlefield. An anatomy lesson of human musculature sat in the middle of the field, concentrating on a small television.
Looking at the screen, Aengus raised an eyebrow and asked, “They’re still not done??”
The man looked at him and nodded. As Rarity walked up to the technological moving picture box, this man said, “They’ve run through the whole of both bullpens, and iced down and relaxed their starters, who’re back on the mound.”
Aengus patted Rarity on the back and said, “A baseball game between overpaid men, representing Celadon City for one team and Slateport City for the other.”
Rarity was unsure what to make of what she saw. She did not understand this was a game that had gone on for way, way, way too many extra innings, nor that the home team was down by two runs. All she saw was sudden interest on Aengus’s part. Rarity gazed on the symbols and numbers at the bottom of the screen, and then the people seemingly scattered almost at random around a field of dirt and peculiar-looking grass. Out of ideas, she turned to ask the enormous human man sitting cross-legged on the floor.
“Twenty-five, or six to four? What am I looking at here?” Rarity asked earnestly.
The man’s eyes turned in their sockets toward her for a brief second. No answer came. A moment later, Aengus snarked, “Gee, Bruno, the least you could do is give her a response.” Turning to Rarity, he said, “Twenty-fifth inning, which means the score’s been tied at the end of each inning since the ninth. Six runs to four, with Celadon City looking to extend their lead.”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “Sounds dreadfully boring.”
Bruno tucked the TV under a panel in the floor. He stood up with some flexing of his many muscles across his broad and tall frame. With a quick look at both of them, he walked over to his side of the field. Bruno loudly called out, “You are not here for pleasantries, Aengus! Neither is the pony! Her power, show it to me!”
{Stand up to your nemesis, and never back down.}
Aengus took his remark with a dark smile. “If that’s what you want, you’ll need to work for it! Salamence, it’s show time!”
“Pangoro, let’s go!” Bruno yelled back.
An angry panda bear with a bamboo sprout sticking out of its mouth materialized in front of Bruno. It roared and flexed at Salamence. Rarity looked up at Aengus with some alarm. He was glaring, a livid scowl of defiance and revenge with gritted teeth. Bruno stared back with his own hardened expression. Above, Devontae muttered, “Thought the hate was one-sided, since Aengus could never beat him.”
Koga said, “He sent me a note before I got here, saying he would give it his all for Salazzle.”
Devontae nodded, pulling his expression tight with slightly widened eyes. Karen said, “Word of such events passes between us very quickly.”
“Pangoro, use Crunch!” Bruno ordered.
Aengus sneered as he pulled out his pocket watch, ordering, “Fly, Salamence!”
After the spinning lights and the ball breaking open, Salamence took off toward the ceiling. And the Pangoro lunged forward and took a big bite out of the air in front of Aengus, Koga muttered, “Look at her, standing there like nothing just happened.”
“She might not know,” suggested Devontae. “I bet Aengus told her to stay focused and not worry about what all went down, especially since he put her back in her ball so quickly.”
Karen added, “Or she could be a downright ruthless bitch. Heaven knows we have plenty of those in our world. With these ponies’ emotions so surprisingly human-like, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have their own such women, or mares I suppose would be the correct term.”
“She’d have to be pretty stupid to not figure it out on her own,” Koga scoffed.
“Sure seems that’s the way it is too often with the pretty ones: thick as a brick,” Will sighed.
Devontae listed to his left, dropping his left cheek into his left hand, setting his left elbow on the armrest. He muttered to himself, “This must be what it’s like to root for the visiting team.”
“Crunch, again!” Bruno ordered. Salamence turned and dove right onto Pangoro’s head. Pangoro staggered backward, both of its paws over its face. It shook its head, rubbed between its eyes, and then dashed forward leading with its jaws. Biting down on Salamence’s neck, Pangoro could not get a good grip with its mouth. It let go, and wobbled back to its spot before Bruno.
“Use Dragon Claw, Salamence!” Aengus yelled.
Bruno ordered, “Pangoro, use Aerial Ace!”
Rarity looked at Salamence’s mega-evolved form, with its legs tucked inside the carton-like structure, then back at Aengus. She raised an eyebrow, looked back at Salamence, and asked, “With what claws? They’re stuffed so tightly in its...whatever you want to call that thing...that they’re stuck.”
Salamence zipped forward, raking Pangoro with its unbound rear claws. As it fainted, Aengus smirked, “That’s how.”
“Fine, I get it...,” Rarity grumbled.
Bruno threw a ball with a wicked smile, hollering, “Steelix, let’s go!”
Karen smiled and said, “This ought to put a dent in Aengus’s team.”
“So certain?” Devontae asked.
“Bruno’s had an affinity for Onix and Steelix since he was young,” Will said. “That one there may be the mightiest Steelix in the world.”
Rarity looked up in horror as an enormous ironclad snake with a few fin-like projections appeared, roaring specifically at her. It continued glaring a moment longer. Aengus muttered, “Some things never change.”
“Steelix, use Ice Fang!” Bruno yelled.
“Crap...!” Rarity groaned.
“Fire Fang, Salamence!” Aengus answered.
Bruno turned his left wrist over, facing the palm upward. A multicoloured crystal sat on the wristband, which he pressed on with his thumb. The whirling light came, as did the ball around Steelix. Once both were gone, an even more enormous metal snake had come. Its head looked like it belonged on the end of a titan’s shovel, with protruding serrations along its lower mandible. Iron shards circled around its “neck” in small groups, evenly spaced, floating a metre and a half from its body. The fins were now crystalline, and every other segment now had cerulean hollow hexagons on a field of charcoal grey. Salamence did not seem to care, and raced forward, teeth at the ready. Fire erupted upon biting down. Steelix winced some when he took the hit, but showed no further indication of being struck. However, his counterattack nearly engulfed Salamence’s right side, making huge ice shards. He could barely remain airborne after that hit, looking like he could pass out at any moment.
“Again, Salamence!” Aengus yelled in frustration.
Bruno simply patted Steelix’s closest segment and nodded with a grunt. Steelix moved forward, arching itself up in a posture stolen from cobras as Salamence approached, albeit without a “hood” flaring out. He turned his neck to the left as Salamence tried to bite again. The countering frosty bite came right on cue from there, dropping Salamence back into his ball right away.
Rarity suggested, “This absurd-looking mega form bolsters its Defense considerably, yes?”
Aengus’s eyes lit up before a dark grin resumed. He said, “You’re right, but it does nothing help its special defense! Mismagius, you’re up!”
Upon emerging, Mismagius looked up at the colossal Pokémon across from her. She grouched, “And exactly what am I supposed to do against that?”
Aengus yelled, “Mismagius, use Mystical Fire!”
“Oh yeah, there is that, isn’t there?” Mismagius wistfully said to no one.
Bruno commanded, “Steelix, use Crunch!”
Strange flames surrounded and leapt from Mismagius, hitting Steelix all over. As it ended, he shivered, then struck like a cobra he had been mimicking. Mismagius was engulfed by Steelix’s mouth. A second later, the sparks slipped between his teeth on their way back to the ball.
Rarity frowned, and grumbled, “Didn’t work worth a hoot.”
“It’s whittling it down, but I shouldn’t have to throw this many at just the one!” Aengus grouched. “Excadrill, get ‘im!”
Bruno continued his stoic yet hostile stare as Excadrill emerged. Her eyes widened at her opponent, pulling the left corner of her mouth down and away for a moment. She grimaced uneasily at Rarity, then took a deep breath. Bruno yelled, “Steelix, use Earthquake!”
“You too, Excadrill! Earthquake!” Aengus answered.
The floor underneath them twitched, tremored, and undulated as the two Pokémon used the same attack against each other. Loose plates in the floor rattled loudly. Aengus and Bruno struggled to remain standing, while Rarity copied Starlight’s self-levitating trick. Devontae was forced to wait before he could enjoy another handful of his popcorn, quickly placing the bucket’s shoddy paperboard lid. As the ground settled down, Steelix was breathing deeply and hanging his head. Excadrill had fainted.
“Tough old cuss, that one,” said Surge.
Aengus threw another ball, frustration and anger etching his face. He hollered, “Go Rapidash! Take this bastard out!”
Rarity’s shoulders dropped as he came out. Forcing herself to smile, she looked up at him. Rapidash looked back at her, looking hurt. He raised a hoof toward her, but markedly before he could touch, Bruno yelled, “Steelix, another Earthquake!”
“Rapidash, Flare Blitz!” Aengus countered.
Turning back to the battlefield, Rapidash said firmly, “Don’t think for a second she or the move ‘Attract’ could have changed how I feel about you.”
Rarity squawked when she tried to verbally respond, watching him run full speed at Steelix as the fire enveloped him. Tears escaped her again. As he ran over his opponent, Steelix twitched once, and collapsed to the floor enough to make the room shake with a reverberating thoom. Rarity had not looked up in time to see his return. She felt a peck on the end of her nose. Looking up, she saw Rapidash standing majestically with a small smile. She inhaled deeply with a huge smile taking over her face. Before she could return any kind of affection, Aengus waved a hand between them and said, “Hardly the time, you two! Stay focused! I’ll give you two a moment before facing Karen, but we gotta win this first!”
Disappointment saturated Rapidash. Rarity nodded sadly as Bruno threw a ball and yelled, “Machamp, I choose you!”
Aengus frowned as he stared across at the light grey four-armed wrestler Pokémon. He muttered, “His strongest...well, it had to happen eventually. Use Poison Jab!”
“Cross Chop, Machamp!” Bruno answered.
Purple surrounded Rapidash’s horn as he ran at Machamp, poking away as his target seemed none too concerned about attempting to dodge. Before Rapidash could turn to go after his attack, Machamp struck with a knife hand chop from all four hands in unison, both the upper arms hitting at a forty-five degree downward strike, and both lower coming across horizontally. Rapidash grunted as he fell to the floor quickly under the strike, disappearing back into his ball.
Koga chuckled, “Everyone loves a good critical hit.”
“Unless you’re at the receiving end,” Karen added.
Aengus growled while Rarity looked around with a forlorn expression. Surge muttered, “My God, she lays it on thick....”
“Feraligatr!!” Aengus screamed as he threw the last ball on his belt other than Rarity’s empty one. Bruno remained as hardened as before as Feraligatr appeared. He looked back at Aengus, trying to smile as best he could, then looked at Rarity most concerned.
“The fight goes poorly, I see,” Feraligatr sighed. “This one’s already in your hooves.”
“Feraligatr, use Hydro Cannon!” Aengus demanded with fury in his eyes.
“Thunder Punch, Machamp!” Bruno answered.
Feraligatr opened his mouth, from which erupted a tremendous blast of water. Machamp barely got out of the way in time. Bruno, however, was not as lucky. With a cross block in front of his face, he slid a good four metres before stopping. Leftover water slopped against the wall and flowed back, draining over the side of the pit. A hissing sound echoed from below, along with a sudden drop in brightness. Devontae looked down toward the sound, but could not see past the balcony. He muttered under his breath, “So many better ways to mine obsidian than that.”
Karen scoffed, “We crossover only one thing at a time! Get that Minecraft reference out of here!”
Devontae complained, “Hey, it’s my first fic! Cut me some slack!”
“Damn O.C.’s,” Will commented, to much nodding from Koga and Surge.
Machamp ran forward with his dukes up. Feraligatr attempted to bob and weave, finding himself outmatched in the game of footwork and position against Machamp. A few jabs came from Machamp, but were not close enough to Feraligatr’s body to warrant the reactions he gave to the minor punches. Then immediately after a jab came the haymaker to the belly, a feint with the upper left fist followed up by an electrically charged punch from the lower left fist, lifting Feraligatr off the ground. He crash-landed six metres later, disappearing into pink sparks at once.
Smiling, Koga commented, “Everybody loves back-to-back critical hits, too!”
“Still not if you’re at the receiving end,” Karen snickered.
Devontae leaned all the way forward in his seat, an actual instance of someone only sitting on the edge. Wringing his hands, he murmured, “Come on, Rarity; show ‘em what you got....”
Tears welled up in Aengus’s eyes, still looking at where Feraligatr returned to his ball. Scratching them out of his eyeballs, he yelled, “Rarity!”
She exhaled hard, narrowing her eyes as she stepped up before Aengus. Across the way, Machamp beat his fists together with a hungry grin. Bruno’s face remained fixed, though his eyes belied the anger within. Rarity said, “Just me against four? Rainbow Dash would be loving this.”
“Machamp, use Ice Punch!” Bruno called out expectantly.
Aengus snarled, “Rarity, use Moonblast!”
Rarity had already charged her horn. She whispered, “Princess Luna, lend me your strength.”
Outside the windows, the moon seemed brighter. A ray came through the ceiling as if it were transparent, enveloped Rarity, and departed through her horn. Machamp’s eyes widened just before it hit, launching him into the far wall. Bruno shot her a wide-eyed, but angry stare as Machamp broke into a flurry of yellow sparks. Devontae clenched a fist with a grin, saying to himself, “Keep it going, girl.”
Bruno watched Rarity suspiciously. She returned his gaze with a firm poker face, evening out her breathing. He frowned, took another Pokéball and yelled, “Breloom, you can do it!”
Another kangashroom like the one from the SS Sakura coalesced in front of Bruno. Aengus said, “Grass and Fighting...not many with that combo...wait, Flying! Common weakness of Flying! Rarity, use Chatter!”
She looked back at him and asked, “Chatter? About what?”
“Anything!” Aengus answered, darkness overrunning his face.
Bruno said, “Breloom, use Mach Punch!”
The kangashroom zipped forward and punched Rarity in the chest. She yipped, but mostly from surprise by her tone. She growled for a moment, then forced a badly faked smile, and prattled in a faux-chipper voice, “Being a big sister is wanting to both hug and strangle your little sister at the same time! I love Sweetie Belle dearly, but that little filly can be such a ditz! Have you ever met anypony who tried to serve burned orange juice at breakfast? Seriously! My sweet little sister somehow managed to burn the orange juice! She didn’t even have it near a heat source that morning, yet she still served me a glass a char to wash down the char on my plate! Why would you do that!? Surely my sister could see the similarities, and the lack of colour at all, or so I would have thought before she tried to give me ash to eat! What kind of crash diet is that, anyway? Oh, I get it now! The nerve of her, implying I overeat! Never have I ever been called ‘fat’ like that, trying to say I needed to stop eating altogether to lose weight! And I dare say the insult was quite out of place, thank you! My trim and slender figure turns the heads of every stallion in Ponyville! I think she’s just jealous, because—”
“Stop; you got ‘im!” Aengus interrupted. Rarity halted her word torrent to see the kangashroom disappear in a cascade of pink sparks.
“No way...,” breathed Karen. Surge also sat agape.
Devontae fidgeted, both of his hands balled up and both thumbs resting against his chin. He sibilantly murmured, “Don’t let up! Keep the ball rolling!”
Bruno growled as Aengus sneered. Rarity stood poised for battle, with an unfocused aura about her horn. Bruno roared, “Kommo-o! Take out the pony!”
From the black and yellow Pokéball came a thin grey dragon. Many of its scales on its head and back were oversized, looking like round brass plates, or red or gray plates with brass rims. The end of its tail resembled a four-flanged mace, but with rounded striking surfaces. While it stood on its hind legs, its lanky arms were so long they nearly touched the ground. Laughing, Surge cheered, “Oh yeah! Pseudo-legendary time! Meet the big boy from Alola!”
“That won’t be enough,” said Will. “She’s got the type advantage.”
Aengus scratched at his chin with an amused expression. He said, “Is this what I think it is? Is it? Did you really find a Dragon/Fighting-type Pokémon!? Really!? Rarity, Moonblast this poor sod!”
“You got it, Aengus!” Rarity answered, a triumphant smirk slowly showing on her face.
Bruno yelled, “Clanging Scales, Kommo-o!”
Rarity took a deep breath and closed her eyes as the light through the ceiling came to her again. She opened her eyes to fire, finding the centre of Kommo-o’s chest with the beam. The dragon also found its way to the back wall as Machamp did moments before, and, too, returned to its ball in the same sort spark display.
Devontae jumped up, holding both fists over his head with straightened arms, shouting, “Yeeeaahh!!”
Karen stood up and began walking away. She said, “Looks like I finally get a battle. I’m headed to my chamber to make ready.”
“One more, Rarity! One more!” Aengus cheered full of palpable anticipation.
Bruno screamed, “Conkeldurr!! Fight as hard as you can until you faint!”
From the last ball came a large humanoid thing supporting its weight on a pair of broken-off concrete pillars. It appeared to have a red clown nose, small grey beard and hair, and excessively well-defined veins all over its body. Rarity noticed on its hip a small claw, just like the one the Dragalge had.
Bruno ordered, “Ice Punch!”
“Do it, Rarity!” Aengus said triumphantly.
“Indubitably!” Rarity answered as the light passed through the ceiling again. The ray formed, and lanced straight into Conkeldurr. He staggered back, gasping, dropping to a knee, straining, grunting, groaning...pushing himself back upright. He was out of breath, and wobbly, but he turned and gave Bruno a smile. Rarity could have sworn she saw a heart float out of the top of his head.
“Damn!” Devontae scoffed loudly.
Will smiled and said, “That’s the power of a close bond.”
Conkeldurr rushed forward, wrapping a fist in ice. Rarity jumped aside too soon, to which Conkeldurr adjusted his aim. Groaning and blinking rapidly, Rarity staggered back several steps. She shook her head, growled to herself, and stepped back to the line.
Bruno’s eyes lit up as he hollered, “Ah, you’re a Fairy! Conkeldurr, use Poison Jab!”
Aengus gritted his teeth as he barked, “Give him something he can’t dodge! Aura Sphere!”
As Rarity fired up her horn, she saw that claw on Conkeldurr’s belt flash white. He then twitched once, and suddenly was upon her, punching away with fists bathed in purple.
“Uuuhnn...,” she gasped breathlessly.
{They say it's better to be lucky than good.}
Her entire body felt it like was being pinched all over, inside and out, and she wobbled backwards. She tried with all her might to maintain focus, to fire off the attack, but she lost her grip on the magic. She began to topple over.
“Merde...,” she airlessly murmured as her vision greyed, tunneled, and went dark.
...naught and eight against this guy....
Gotta regroup and try again. But there are forces at work now that will complicate matters significantly (and I won't have you guys sit through another round of bouts that were won once already). Time is short...do they even have the chance for Aengus to try again?
Primary classic rock reference, the one that's shown up at least once every chapter, is revealed by Rarity's first line.
Secondary classic rock reference this time is courtesy of Jethro Tull.
Twilight's up next week. Eight little Twixies with her, heading to the castle. What's Presto gonna say? How can she separate the pony from the Pokémon? And what will be the consequences if she succeeds? Be here next week to find out!
Thanks for reading. 
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Aha, so there's the Alolan "friendship" bonus.
And in the end, it was all for NOTHING.
Aegnus and his idiot brother (as I shall refer to him from now on) kidnapped Rarity and Trixie from their world, pushing humans and ponies possibly towards war, and it was all for nothing.
Pity Rarity wasnt carrying a damage item. If Conkledurr had a heart, he was on his last hit point, just waiting for the L1 Rattata to finish him off. ?
Hmm, with all the moves that Rarity knows, does she know any priority move such as Quick Attack? I almost wanted to say shame on Aengus for not noticing the Quick Claw, but then I remembered that trainers don't notice held items until they're activated or seen with abilities such as Frisk.
Got to say, if there's one thing that's been making me question Aengus's competency, it's his complete lack of ability to switch pokemon he knows will lose but which could still be useful in another fight, or to use items to help at times. Nothing forbids use of items in battle, at least a few of them, and there were more than a few situations where switching or using an item was the RIGHT thing to do here. Sweepers are all well and good, but if you have something able to soak up a few turns of damage, you don't just wait for them to faint if you can heal them or heal / revive another one that got taken out by a lucky hit. Especially if you have something able to wreck Bruno as hard as Rarity, she should have come out early on the Machamp after the steelix was gone, and if she fainted, spend a revive while something durable took a hit on that last one, assuming that it wasn't low enough for another to quick attack or something. Of course... that's why he hasn't beaten the elite four yet there, I guess. He's good at training powerhouses, but not that good at strategy outside of the simple rock-paper-scissors of a given single match. Hence why he needed Rarity in the first place.
Oh, and the sudden mine-craft forth wall break. >.> The reference is fine, but them referencing the story breaks immersion again. Better to have it as something in the setting they could just smack Dev over the head about, maybe with him just saying he was trying to lighten the mood. Otherwise very good.
I'm a little suprised that we didn't see All Out Publing
7990371
Had to happen sooner or later, eh?
7990478
Heh. Maybe not all for nothing at all...be patient....
7990617
Or even if Aengus had sent Rarity against Machamp before deploying Feraligatr, then we'd be seeing Karen next.
7990632
Does a priority move override an activated Quick Claw? I didn't think it did, but I don't remember.
7990717
Yeah...he may even use his Move Reminder ability between member of the Elite Four, but without switching out when necessary, he gets himself into dire straits. Of course, if he hadn't gotten so emotionally overworked, he might've known to send Rarity before Feraligatr.
7991885
The Z-Move was certainly available; Kommo-o had the crystal. But Bruno saw the Mach Punch wasn't that effective, and still being unsure of what type Rarity counted as, he was still probing. Hence, calling for Clanging Scales instead of All-Out Pummeling.
And yes, I plot out full parties for both sides, complete with moves and items, before even starting to plan how a battle goes. I don't do the competitive metagame, but I've learned a few things along the way.
Im pretty sure I have something somewhere that has both Detect and Protect. If I PPMax them, then as long as my opponant doesnt have Brick Break ? or that Shadow attack, this particular one can tank a lot of turns of attacks, burrning PP? Then again, thats what a ton of Max Revives, Leppa Berries, and a couple Sacred Ash come in useful?
Metagamers can blow trough my crew so quickly, but I dont do metagame, I like to walk the world with a crew gurenteed to survive.
7992226
(From here.) Meaning it doesn't actually change the priority of the move, so a Quick Attack would beat out a Quick Claw.
7992226
The way I understand it, Quick Claw only lets the holder move first in the same priority levels, so I believe that increased priority moves do override the Quick Claw effect...
Dang, the victory track for this one is now broken. Youtube account associated with it was terminated. Ah well.
I am officially reading this story again, after such a long hiatus of not reading it.
9004396
Welcome back! Good to have you again.
Guess I’ll have to go back through the whole thing and check all the links to tracks...when there’s time. I’m getting ready to go to work right now.
9132293
Huh? A few chaptets ago, you were saying this was brilliant. What’s wrong?