act i: to break the branch is to strip the . leaf [event #1]

[fernando silph]

what is justice? to do right by the people. are people quarrelsome? yes. their opinions differ. they are subjective. that is correct. what one person values someone may not. that is correct. then, there must exist one act that is just and unjust. perhaps. then justice changes. justice can be anything and it can be nothing. ... what is justice? ------ darkness is not substance. as understood on a fundamental level, darkness is the absence of visible light. it is the inability to see the vast spectrum of colors. it is visual nothingness. it is the night. it is the cover that will cloak fernando's presence as he ventures deeper into fushia city. be it fate, fortune, or an astute observation of the lunar calender, even the moon decides to vacate the night to the spectral wraith. zemina needs you. that isn't the reason fernando marches on through the seamless night. no matter how elegant the penmanship may be --something even he envies-- fernando acts for one person and one person only: himself. it is the only reason he suffers the unnerving blackness of night; and what a night to be had. silence, much like darkness, is not a substance. it is a lack of audible sound. it is the nothingness that encompasses every step fernando takes on the barren ground, left void by the overgrazing of various wild pokemom set free long before the war took place. it is the nothingness that flirts between the drag and lift that slips through the set of wings far above fernando's position. those wings are the only reason he continues on uncontested. those wings symbolize and compasses his first law of conflict: always have a contingency plan. it is through these sets of accountable variables does fernando decide to wage his war. which, in turn, speaks volumes about the man himself. to advance before the leaked date of zemina's invasion while his enemy is blind is by no means a fair play. no, fernando does not play an honest game of war; he plays to win. he wears his colors proudly, much alike the red stripe that curve around his throat. LEAF

[LEAF]

Leaf didn't get to Fuchsia nearly as often as she'd like to. It was out of the way, and so thoroughly encamped in enemy territory, that it was a challenge to get down there. She almost always had to come through after a visit to Cinnabar, and god knew the military island was just as off the beaten path. But, it was always well worth the trip. Fuchsia was a strong city full of strong people. Ace trainers of all sorts, and almost every single one fully devoted to the Boure cause. They were responsive and devoted, and Leaf always felt a strange pride in the city for holding up against the odds it faced. Respect came with that pride, and it was for that reason that she often enjoyed relieving a trainer of guard duty whenever she stopped by. Leaf enjoyed the night, and she rarely slept soundly anyway. It was no skin off her back to tap a tired trainer on the shoulder and tell them they could go to sleep.  It was especially easy with the way the sky normally shone. Stars and moon unobstructed by smog or clouds most nights. And while this usually ensured beauty, it also ensured a thick blackness when the moon was absent on nights like tonight. Nights like these left her more on edge than any other, and she and her pokemon were all alert at Fuchsia's gates. She sat upon a guard tower, Gigi the Gloom set right beside her. Sunshine patrolled the entrance, passing back and forth in front of it, baring her teeth at the wild pokemon that occasionally approached. And still yet sat Nimbus, perhaps the most important of the three. His keen eyes cut through the darkness, and allowed him adequate sight even in this darkness. It was his tentative caw that brought Leaf's binoculars from her chest back up to her eyes. "Gigi it's a bit dark, give us a light," Leaf gave the order with her binoculars still glued to her eyes. Gigi wasted no time, aiming the plant on her head at the sky before letting loose a bright light. Sunny Day illuminated the blackness outside the main gates, and both Leaf and Nimbus took to scanning the newly lit area. fernando silph

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[fernando silph]

filthy amateur. while leaf's decision is by all means the natural one, it is far from correct. with an unhindered set of eyes, it would be a cinch for her to dispatch her pidgeot, a formidable bird of prey, to dispatch the equally blind fernando. instead, she opts for the more human approach. she aims to eliminate her innate fear of darkness under the guise of stripping fernando of his veil. but fernando knows better. the moment his eyes dilate from the change in luminance, he scours the gates with a steadfast observation, undressing every crucial details with an uncanny analysis. but few can fault leaf for such a critical mistake. her method is the human answer to a problem that has plagued man since his creation. for sight is the primary sense man uses to discover the world around him. it is the main means that man can form any semblance of certainty, a comforting notion man uses to repel the antagonistic nagging of uncertainty. the problem lies in the means of her answer, an unfortunate SUNNY DAY from her gloom. for that is light; the light giveths, and the light takeths. in an uneven exchange for his position he gets the confirmation of fuscia's location, her own location, the positions of various pokemon, and a decent look at her roster. the gloom and venasaur are the most obvious, both of them easy to denote by either being the source of the light or quite large, respectively. it is the pidgeot that, for the moment, has a chance of going unnoticed as fernando toys with a loose pokeball in his hand. outside the boure gates stands a lone man idly lobbing a single pokeball up and down. "good evening." your move, chump. LEAF

[LEAF]

Leaf hadn't really expected to see anyone. Nimbus had sounded uncertain when he gave off his warning, and there were a lot of things that could have been misunderstood as a person in the dark. Even with his sharp vision. But sure enough when Gigi's move lit the sky she found someone skulking around in the dark. In stark contrast to what the man already knew of her, Leaf found herself completely blank as to who it was at Fuchsia's gates. All she knew was that it was a stranger who had been sneaking around in the dark of night. Naturally, these made the man less than trustworthy. Her eyes quickly darted to her pokemon in a subtle way, letting them know to be alert. "Good evening," Leaf's tone was anything but hospitable. It had an edge to it that should have let the unknown man know he wasn't by any means welcome. If her tone didn't do enough, the way Sunshine bared her teeth at the gates should have. "I'm going to ask you to stay right there while I come down," The request came with the firmness of an order. Leaf believed herself in control as she began lowering herself from the guard tower, Gigi set alert but calmly on her shoulder. All the while the Sunny Day stayed bright above the gate, flushing everything in light and casting shadows all around. fernando silph

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[fernando silph]

she doesn't have to trust him. and, by all accounts, she's right not to. considering the premise on which she discovered him, suspicious by it's own accord, leaf makes a wise choice in acting on her cynicism. until she turns her back on him. it's a fatal mistake made on the assumption that her pokemon, out and poised to react, would be safeguard enough to allow her descent. a foolish belief but not uncommon. fernando feels the pent up anticipation eat at him as leaf makes her move. every fiber of his being itches at the chance to exploit her ignorant display of uttermost disrespect. alas, he holds, biding until he feels perspiration drip between clammy fingers. only after she occupies her hands and feet with the rungs of the sentry tower's ladder does fernando fail to catch the ball he had so casually juggled. and good night. gravity swallows the pokeball in a downward spiral of ten meters per second. it drops from his waist level, a meter, if at that. it takes only half a second for the ball to land and crack open, another to spill forth a modest neon red light that gives way to the tyranitar inside. by now she should have some conjecture as to the sudden turn of events, he reasons. but it doesn't matter. he knows it's much too late. this is check. his move is swift and decisive. sand spews forth from every pore. each grain works as an individual of a cohesive unit, converging into a swirling maelstrom that becomes a vicious SANDSTREAM that threatens not only to mimic the desert with the SUNNY DAY 's ferocious heat but blot out it's very rays in one fell swoop. by no means do either pokemon have the capacity to alter the entire field, but, within the confines of their area, the weather will be a stern factor in either side's victory. the very appearance of the sandy beast coerces fernando's wings, the chiropetera duo, to nosedive toward the obvious hostiles. it is their wind, each flap of noivern's impressive wing span, that brings the HURRICANE up to par. a concoction of wind and turbulence is what carries the sand into it's present state of ruthlessness, threatening not only to pelt most of leaf's pokemon into battered winds and razor sharp pelts of sand, but to even hurl her straight off the ladder which she clings to. never, amidst the blinding aerial turmoil, does the stealthy INFILTRATOR reveal itself. a creature such as itself, which lacks strength and vitality, must proceed with the utmost caution. it's role lies elsewhere, as a tucked away ace becoming one with the wind, an invisible dot shrouded by night and sand. not that the opposition should notice what with both weather manipulators snatching their well deserved spotlight. LEAF

[LEAF]

Everything seemed to slow to a crawl as the pokeball fell. All of the mistakes she'd made in the last few moments came rushing to Leaf one after another. She was stuck on the ladder, unable to properly respond. Gigi was on her shoulder, hindering her ability to jump if she needed to. Meanwhile this man had full range of motion and who knew what kind of set up. And still, despite all this thought, the only thing she could do as the Tyranitar was released was murmur a silent curse. The Sunny Day Gigi had set up did little but provide mood lighting to the Sandstorm that quickly whipped up around the gates. The sand came hard and strong, and both Leaf and her pokemon couldn't help but wince as flecks of sand whipped around with enough force to scrape and cut like shards of glass.  Ready to respond, Leaf grabbed a pokeball from her belt and prepared to shout, only to feel a gust of wind tug at her grip on the ladder. This gust soon became a powerful gale before all but ripping her hand from its place on a rung. The powerful gusts tossed her around in the air for just a moment before leaving her plummeting downward. Reactions quick, Leaf threw the pokeball in her hand to the ground, and after a flash of light found herself and Gigi in the arms of her Primeape, Brute. Now on the ground she could finally start to fight back. Sunshine had been battered by both whirling sand and roaring winds in the front, but still stood strong in wake of the assault. She'd seen rougher fights than this, and wouldn't be felled so easily. "Let's go Sunshine! Pull them down!" The order was vague, but Sunshine processed it well enough. The ground below Tyrannitar began to split, letting loose a surge of Frenzy Plant. Its barbs lashed out, seeking to latch onto both the Tyranitar in question and the obscured outline of Noivern. At the same time Leaf nodded to Nimbus, ordering him into action. The Pidgeot came down from his place off to the side, intending to engage the Noivern with a Quick Attack. fernando silph

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[fernando silph]

there's a fundamental difference between league sanctioned matches and actual combat: real time. each move becomes time sensitive, dictating the flow of battle which determines whether or not a miscalculated action can be the ebb that takes victory out of the picture. and, it is leaf who is left to hopelessly cling onto it, much like the tendrils of flora that splits the ground beneath them. combatants, another aspect of combat, should not be disregarded. they too are imperative to victory. but it is not their numbers that determine their worth; it is their individual talents and capacity to surface at the appropriate time that measures their value. these are the principles that dictate his roster. and, these factors of war allow him to not only adapt to the ever-changing field but to also catch leaf offhanded, left exposed to his might. under the deep consideration of both concepts, it comes as no surprise as to why fernando favors keeping his pokemon free. when left out of sight, any of them can weave into action effortlessly, fabricating a planned surprise. they are the chess pieces that he arranges with preconceived certainty, one which fits his role as the board master. feigning the guise of matching his opponent's moves allow him to put everything into place for his end game checkmate. but the match doesn't stop just because he's setting up. it happens in real time and fernando knows that leaf is bound to retaliate. that's why he has his next pokeball at the ready, freshly plucked the moment tyranitar's ball passes his hand. all he needs is to assess her method of attack, releasing the wobbuffet inside as preemptive insurance. understandably, fernando expects and EARTH POWER due to the immediate tremors which, as far as he knows, lack any real power such as the shock waves normally associated with EARTHQUAKE. but he won't take any chances, ordering a prompt MIRROR COAT. as commanded, the wobbuffet takes on a magenta sheen as the trio embrace for what turns out to be a savage FRENZY PLANT. the larger tyranitar takes shelter behind the wobbuffet, taking a mild lashing in the process but avoiding the ensnaring nature of the attack. instead, the wobbuffet finds itself tangled in the overgrown thorns, being beat back despite it's innate barrier. what goes unseen however are the vines that retract back into the ground, redirected back at their source in order to reek a terrible vengence on their unfortunate master. fernando's noivern isn't as fortunate, left to it's own devices rather than relying on the cover of a living shield. instead, the much more agile pokemon opts for using it's agility to maintain a sense of evasive maneuvers, ignoring the ongoing menace of the plant's whippings thanks to it's innate resistances. after all, it still has a job to do. relative to a bomber plane, the noivern is instructed to maintain offense as long as it deems it possible, which, in layman terms, means sustaining the HURRICANE. which is exactly why leaf sends her missile, the blazing QUICK ATTACK from pidgeot, to shoot it down. fernando has only one answer: the INFILTRATOR from before. only now does crobat break it's stealth, using its position as an intermediate to intercept the only other airborne object that breaks the steady vibrations that make up sandstorm's tempo. rather than rely on sight, especially in such a hazy scene, the crobat relies on echolocation. by reading vibrations of various speeds, the crobat is able to paint a mental image of everything based off the time it takes for a vibration to register. leaf's pidgeot, in it's incredible advance, sticks out as a sore thumb that's about to be amputated by crobat's CROSS POISON. or so the bat aims to do. planning and execution is easy; watching it unfold properly is what differentiates the genius from the lunatic. LEAF

[LEAF]

Leaf's hands tensed and relaxed in a constant cycle as the battle unfolded. It had been awhile since she'd experienced such a hectic fight. Combat uncontrolled by the usual checks and balances the rules supplied. She'd been thinking too linearly, and it was beginning to cost her. The Frenzy Plant backfired almost completely. Neither she or Sunshine had really expected the Wobbuffett or its Mirror Coat. The Venusaur tried to side step the cracks in the ground, but the vines came up nonetheless and managed to smack against her side a few times before she stumbled out of their reach. Purple and red began to show on the pokemon's green skin as it bruised and broke. An angry roar was Sunshine's response to the assault, followed by a self-ordered Double-Edge. Impulsive like its master, the hulking Venusaur charged at the Wobbuffet ensnared by its still flailing Frenzy Plant. Meanwhile Nimbus flourished in the air, spreading his wing as it zeroed in the Noivern with its Keen Eyes. He only noticed the purple blur whizzing forward at the last second, and while he tumbled out of its full-attack, the move cut into his underside, drawing red to the surface and earning a shrill cry of pain. Knocked off course, Nimbus tried to re-position himself and fire off a couple Air Slash, one sweep of the wings for both of his airborne rivals. Being buffeted on the ground, Leaf tried to take in the position of her pokemon and their actions, but found the swirling sand more than a slight hindrance. Still, she could see silhouettes, and found it a safe assumption that the largest on the ground was the Tyranitar. "Gigi, Brute, charge them. Pound and season," Gigi and Brute listened and nodded. With the Gloom poised on her shoulder Brute charged forward through the Sandstorm. The way it licked at her face and burned her skin only made her angrier as she prepared to Rage. Once they were in range the two pokemon would split. Gigi planning to release a thick coat of Poison Powder while Brute let off a Cross Chop at the Tyranitar.  fernando silph

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[fernando silph]

why are trained pokemon superior to their wild counterparts? many scholars will claim that humans think on a higher rational level, which in turn allow them to pass on their cognitive ideas toward creatures who, primarily, rely on their instincts rather than reason. while fernando may not outwardly contest such a theory, he doubts the sincerity behind holding such formation as truth. like most people of higher learning, he very well knows that such a steep conclusion requires the inclusion and consideration of several other factors that remain discounted in lieu of recognizing the propositions that would oppose the inherent cognitive biasness of said conclusion. it is leaf's venasaur in all its rash glory that provides itself as an exhibit to cement the previous claim, reacting in such a way that makes it seem feral. still, fernando cannot disregard the likeness to human behavior, the natural desire to exact retribution a la lex talionis. such behavior is both rational and irrational, making it easy to predict and even easier to answer. but what can be expected from a 'normal' pokemon; normal by means of representing and embodying a transparent, comprehensible element of the physical world? they, under general consensus, are the easiest to understand. in essence, pokemon classified under the order of grass tend to involve vegetation, those of flying tend to be able to fly, etc. it is psychic pokemon (among a few other families and genotypes) which remain a mystery, able to seemingly bend the laws of physics. they, through their enigmatic abilities are able to turn fast into slow, increase the force of gravity, and even lift objects via mere thought. it should come as no surprise then when fernando's wobbuffet, a psychic type, can reverse the implied direction of force and established velocity of leaf's venasaur. a simple COUNTER is enough to turn the venasaur's mass and acceleration against it, disciplining the untamed reptile with not only the inherent backlash of attempting such an audacious attack but replying in kind with a redoubled force. all the while the battle in the skies become even less eventful as time goes on. not to say that the pidgeot's attack misses since both AIR SLASHes hit their mark, but without interference, the numbers advantage makes the outcome a forgone conclusion. outside of the constant flirting around, leaf's pidgeot will have to deal with the incoming rings of noivern's DARK PULSE while simultaneously hoping that the terrible shriek of crobat's SUPER SONIC doesn't permeate into a permanent migraine. down below is where the bulk of the action begins to unfold. after being issued their orders, both of leaf's pokemon enter the fray. what comes first is the POISON POWDER which is left rendered near invisible by the obscurity of the sandstorm. it isn't until fernando taste the new found bitterness of the air does he suspect something is amiss, blinking several times as he tries to discern the change. he can only assume the worst, alerting his supports with a loud, "status!" it doesn't take much for either pokemon to register their predicament. the various drills of preemptive training certainly doesn't hurt either, having long ingrained a variety of scenarios to rid them of their dependency on his orders; because fernando is one of the few that don't view pokemon's instincts as an inhibitor, on the contrary it is one of their greatest strengths. through a combination of knowledge, experience, and innate survival instincts, a simple pokemon can become a unruly soldier capable of not only surviving combat but coming out triumphant no matter what the situation. and this situation calls for someone to rid themselves of whatever status condition that may come their way, SLEEP POWDER, POISON POWDER, STUN SPORE be damned. none will pass the white coat of SAFEGUARD that mentally covers all of fernando's nearby pokemon. instead, it'll backfire onto the opponent. the red stripe that had been his kecleon in disguised materializes into a visible spectrum of color, glowing in a sickening MAGIC COAT which renders the POISON POWDER hazardous to leaf's team, primarily the approaching primeape. POISON POWDER alone will not be enough to ward off the primate pokemon.left unhindered, the fighting type finds itself much more agile than its victim, landing a solid CROSS CHOP against the pokemon's green, rocky hide. wounded, the pokemon stutters backwards, trying to put some distance between them while telepathically sprouting rocks around itself to use the STEALTH ROCK as a temporary shield. that leaves the kecleon free to fire off its PSYBEAM at the fighting type without remorse, unworried about the possibility of friendly fire. LEAF

[LEAF]

It happened fast. Too fast. Sunshine was a tough pokemon. From the time she was but a Bulbasaur she'd put her everything into battles, and came out oftentimes battered but usually on top. But, even through the swirling sand, Leaf could see the fight take its first truly sour turn. The Double-Edge, much like the previous Frenzy Plant, was reversed effortlessly. The recoil from the blow hit Sunshine first, earning its usual wince, but then the shimmer came. The blow knocked the large pokemon back as if she were nothing. Double the weight, double the power, all focused on one point sent the Venusaur toppling backwards. She rose on her hinds legs for just a moment before toppling to the side. Thoroughly bruised and battered she let out a heavy breath and succumbed to the weight of her wounds. Not dead, but certainly not capable of participating in this battle any longer. Gripped by emotion much in the way Sunshine had been, Leaf forgot the swirling wind and cutting sand and surged forward. While Leaf made her impassioned rush to Sunshine's side, Nimbus continued fighting his own battle. While he fought hard in the skies, it was clear his conflict was quickly going in the same way as Sunshine's. Usually perfectly competent, and still holding up bravely, he wasn't good enough to keep up with the two well-trained pokemon battering him back. It seemed only a moment after his Air Slashes landed that the counter attacks began. Moving quick, Nimbus dodged around the Dark Pulse and prepared a spirited Quick Attack, but found himself blindsided by the shrieking call of the Crobat. His mind reeled, and his attack became clumsy. While still focused, he couldn't help but wobble as the Noivern in his sights split into several images before his eyes. Still, he tried his best to aim the attack correctly. Still yet, Brute and Gigi fought their own fight in the front lines. While the Poison Powder rebounded harmlessly off both Safeguard and Mirror Coat, it did little stop Gigi's continued assault. Her immunity to the toxin making it little but more dust in the storm.  So, instead of worrying about it she quickly wets her tongue. Not with spit, but with bile. Aiming for the Kecleon that stopped her initial attack, she spat sizzling Acid in its direction. Brute ducked low and surged after her attack, the wind around her and her position allowed the powder to similarly miss Brute, leaving her unaffected much like Gigi.  A Screech tore through her throat, aim to unsettle the pokemon around her. A show of strength bordering on gloating, it cost her a couple hits, both from the hovering rocks and the Psybeam from the Kecleon. For a moment she doubled over, obviously hurting, but then came up angrier than ever. A vicious Rage was released, arms flailing at all three pokemon around her. Then, a more focused Cross Chop, again focused on the wounded Tyranitar. Towards the end of all this action Leaf reached Sunshine, and after checking for vitals reached for her pokeball alongside two others. A flash of light released Buttons and Whirlie, and they bounced about excited in place in front of Sunshine. With them as cover she then took the first pokeball she'd grabbed. For a moment the battle left her attention as she attempted to recall Sunshine. The ball registered her attempt, but instead of releasing a red recall light simply fizzled. A second attempt left the same result. In the end she had to return the ball to her belt and settle for taking a position between Buttons and Whirlie. At the very least she'd make sure nothing further happened to her pokemon. fernando silph

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[fernando silph]

to clip one's mind is a fate worse than clipping a bird of its wings. leaf's pidgeot is a testament to such a result, reduced to a bumbling fool not unlike a certain gully. appropriately, it is fernando's representatives that now toy with their meal as it aimlessly tries to keep up. again, it propels itself forward in noivern's general direction but falls flat due to the mentally attributed DOUBLE TEAM. this leaves pidgeot confused but wildly unpredictable, becoming a THRASHing hazard which both pokemon decide to dispatch from afar. watching it stumble in an attempt to ram either of them, crobat lets out another high pitch shriek. this time the sound is a HYPNOSIS, a frequency high enough to mess with the victims brain to the extent of rendering them unconscious. to be burnt by regurgitated ACID isn't so bad in comparison. sure, it stings for a moment but its nothing compared to the inflammation inflicted by the SLUDGE BOMB and FLAMETHROWER that the kecleon is most accustomed to. this doesn't take off the severity of the harmful liquid but the COLOR CHANGE that comes with it helps mitigate any pain felt by fernando's kecleon. it is the primeape that his party should be more concerned about. between the noise splitting SCREECH that leaves them dazed, wincing from the terrible pitch, and ongoing RAGE, it's a surprise that fernando's allowed it to go unchecked for so long. it's undoing however lies within trying to split it's divided attention between three pokemon. FLAIL as it may, fernando has ample time to recall his tyranitar while the primeape CROSS CHOPs the STEALTH ROCKs that had only just previously hid the large beast. leaf will not be as fortunate, left to wonder why she cannot recall her venasaur. a combination of her distance from fernando, her pokemon charging in without supervision, and the general blurriness of the battlefield makes it all too easy for fernando to hide the fact that her pokemon have been SHADOW TAG'd by his wobbuffet. until said wobbuffet is removed from the playing field all of her pokemon will be psychically bonded with it, unable to venture outside of a pre-established area. the only except would be her pidgeot, but considering her inability to recall venasaur, it'll be a hard venture to recognize, at least until she realizes the wobbuffet's presence and the afore mentioned knowledge of its ability. but there are more pressing matters for the pallet town wash-up. her primeape has taken the place of her venasaur, serving as the prime target for fernando's focus fire. the persistent PSYBEAM from kecleon is to be expected as well as the maintained COUNTER from wobbuffet. outside of that, fernando brings in his own change of tempo by releasing a magmotar and reuniclus to deal with their new target. under the presumption that crobat will be enough to disengage the disoriented pidgeot, noivern turns its attention back to the battleground. from a superior vantage point, the bat pokemon can easily detect and start up another round of HURRICANE in leaf's general direction. unfortunately for her, the hurricane is not a single target solidarity attack. the elements of wind and sand are bound to condemn anyone in the area, including both her battle able and retired pokemon, with extreme prejudice. LEAF

[LEAF]

The battle was quickly becoming an uphill battle. In the air Nimbus tossed and turned, missing the Noivern in its frantic attack. Panicking, he charged again. And again. But nothing seemed to connect. And then came the Hypnosis. Again sound assaulted Nimbus's mind, but this time it quieted the noise in his head, soothed his headache. In fact, he stopped feeling anything at all as his eyes rolled back. Leaf was left to watch helplessly as he spiraled towards the ground, landing on his wing in a fusion of thump and sickening crack. The amount of action that had passed without moderation suddenly hit Leaf all at once. Her attention snapped onto the main fighting as the wind started to pick up. She was only able to take in the fact that Brute was struggling before being hit by the full force of the Noivern's Hurricane. Previously she'd faced it from afar, but at her closer distance the wind threatened to tear her off her feet. Buttons and Whirlie found themselves similarly rocked by the wind, and soon all three of them were crouched , trying to face the wind head on. The way it whipped the sand up gave it more force, and soon the Sandstorm was no longer just leaving dull cuts and scrapes. The wind lashed at her bod, forming deeper wounds that actively bled, like shards of glass had been dragged across her skin. "Take aim!" Leaf's order barely escaped her lips, the wind both carrying its noise and stealing her breath once they opened. Still, the boys got the idea. Wasting no time, Whirlie let loose a vicious Hydro Pump, a pressurized blast that Leaf could swear left holes in the storm around them. Meanwhile Buttons sucked in a lungful of air before releasing a booming Hyper Voice, a ranged assault of a different kind. The noise shook the sand in the air as it tore forward, towards the Noivern as well in a path parallel to the gushing water's. In the front lines Brute finally succumbed to the pressure of the onslaught around her. Primeape's punches rebounded on her with double force, and while her Cross Chop sliced through thin air the Psybeam landed heavily on her battered form. No Rage could keep her going and without it there was nothing to do but fall to her knees. Out cold like Sunshine. Still, the fight up front was by no means over. Neglected, Gigi prepared her own counter attack. More Acid was loosed on the surrounding opponents, while a Mega Drain was aimed at the newly-released Reuniclus.  As if itself surrendering to the combat, the once bright Sunny Day that had been illuminating the battlefield faded to a dim glow and then vanished completely. fernando silph

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[fernando silph]

it doesn't take much to shove leaf into an endless tumble downhill. fernando's mastery of the field has left her crippled, backed into an absolute pin. with neither a queen or knight to defend her, she resorts to mere bishops, a trio of linear one dimensional tools which lack the bite or versatility needed to turn this battle in her favor. it's no wonder then that this slaughter favors fernando exclusively. victory has a knack in bettering on the butcher in lieu of the sow. why then does leaf continue her advance into fernando's checkered territory? because she is an idiot. a fool who plant her faith into an intangible notion that carries no weight when applied to the real world. companionship, martyrdom, persistence: they hinder her. they're only purpose to to succumb to fernando's utter superiority. for he is a man who does not trust in uncertainty. he is a man of absolutes, one which measures and acts based off definite observations of the physical world. unlike most, fernando knows the secret to the world. luck is nothing but a construct of human delusion. every aspect of the physical world can be quantified, placed as a value, and thusly calculated. every action, every event, every possible thing. it is human ignorance, fear of the realization that they have not yet reached such a level of computing necessary to accurately predict the universe that allows the silly notion of fortune and hope to flourish. FORESIGHT dictates that leaf has no hope. she will not win. at this point they both know it. yet, one still stubbornly fights against her fate, refusing to accept a gracious defeat. she stands tall and proud against the odds, ignorant to the extent of her loss. it is the only possible way fernando can fathom her offense. but who is he to judge? if leaf does not have the dignity to graciously accept defeat then fernando will have to take it in stride. so, when leaf condemns his triumph by advancing her pieces without hesitation, what can he do but accept her donation in one clean scoop? it was once said that there's a fundamental difference between league sanctioned matches and actual combat: real time. each move becomes time sensitive, dictating the flow of the battle which determines whether or not a miscalculated action can be the ebb that takes victory out of the picture. much like leaf's presumptuous attempt at trying to swat fernando's noivern out of the sky. surely a HYDRO PUMP and HYPER VOICE would be enough to fall his AERIAL ACE, but it is not noivern's place to take the attack as a helpless deerling struck by high-beams. no, noivern is the defiant sawsbuck that STOMPs on the hood of the approaching vehicle until it is nothing more than a heap of scrap metal. admittedly, both attacks do put a stop to the HURRICANE but at what cost? a thunderous BOOM BURST takes the former's place, splitting the air which the attacks dare to tread upon. they're left splintered, indirectly convening on their directed target. leaf's pokemon on the othe rhand won't be as lucky. unlike HYPER VOICE, which depends on it's irregular intensity to inflict damage to the victim's tympanum membrane (since not all pokemon have ear drums), BOOM BURST's power relies on the vibration's velocity. it is a homage to SONIC BOOM, which, for the most part, carries the same principle, producing sound at such speed that the sound waves themselves cannot propagate themselves in front of the vibrations, creating a terrible explosion in their wake. the only question is when will those vibrations meet an object? whether it be live flesh or a much more steady ground, the resulting explosions would serve as a suitable conclusion. -- if not for the isolated gloom rendered obsolete when faced by four other pokemon. it was once said that combatants, another aspect of combat, should not be disregarded. it was also said that numbers don't determine a party's strength. it is leaf's gloom that finds itself in that rare occasion where numbers do in fact determine fighting prowess. try as it might, a paltry ACID will do nothing to help her against the combined might of fernando's remaining pokemon. until the world goes dark. perhaps it's nature's attempt at mercy. how unfortunate it is then that gloom decides to squander such good luck by carrying out a negligible MEGA DRAIN which not only does little to revitalize the doomed pokemon, but also establishes a link between itself and reuniclus. it is that link which allows the psychic to locate the pokemon amidst the darkness and outline it with a violet PSYCHIC, effectively lighting it up for the inevitable LAVA PLUME and PSYBEAM. it is only then that fernando, who watches undaunted as his pokemon takes turn pelting the forsaken target, calls for checkmate. BATTLE ROUTINE SET! "do you call yourself a trainer?" EXECUTED. LEAF

[LEAF]

This was over. There was no way Leaf could keep up, no way she could recover. But it was still only just setting in. It hadn't settled heavily enough on her mind to stop her from pushing onward. She bared her teeth, and set her feet as her demise grew closer and closer. She didn't see herself as an incompetent David, failing to topple the Goliath she faced. She simply needed another stone. That's what she'd been imagining this whole time. The man had proved an awesome adversary from the very start. While she had stumbled and faltered and made mistakes at seemingly every step he'd excelled. Every attack of Leaf's had a counter measure. Every move she made seemed to entrap her deeper and deeper into check. Still, she'd persisted in her mind that she just had to try harder. It had been so long since she'd been so stared in the face by incompetence, so battered down without mercy. So helpless. She allowed herself to get caught up in overconfidence. No. Allowed herself to get caught up in desperation. If she gave up, let him get by, lost this fight; it would be like the past. The image she'd fought to build, the life she'd fought to claim, the reputation she'd built from the ground. She wasn't a champ, but she was elite! She didn't crush her opponents, but she eventually battered them down enough to win. She was David to any Goliath, she was the underdog that came out on top. This idealistic image of herself had blinded her. But this delusion hadn't just began to fade, it had began to shatter. Fracture everywhere. The Boom Burst the Noivern fired left her feeble attempt at stopping it hardly a bump in the road. And then, before she could even think up another move, the ground in front of her exploded. Vibrations burst the ground apart and scattered her and her pokemon. The buzzing in her ear left her deaf to the sound of her ribs cracking and the pop of her shoulder being flung out of socket. Adrenaline hid the pain as she struggled upright. Her boys were down. And she figured the fight was over. Even she had forgotten about her Gloom encamped in enemy territory. A shrill cry served as a merciless reminder. Drawing her attention to the front. She couldn't see anything. It was too dark. For a moment she could only imagine what was happening. Then fire. Then horror. All but paralyzed by the Psychic that assaulted her mind, Gigi had sat frozen in agony. She hadn't seen the other moves coming. The Lava Plume lit her up like a dry field. The screaming was horrible. The pure agony as one assault stacked upon the next. Tears welled in Leaf's eyes. Memories of a babbling Oddish in her mind as she watched the pokemon shriek away the last of its air. It finally dawned on her. She was never David. She hadn't been chipping away at some Goliath with her stones. She'd just been screaming at a wall, expecting it to move. Hope left her like so much air from a balloon. It was no longer a drive to succeed that sent Leaf hurtling forward towards the front line. Something else. Some denial that if she could just return the Gloom and get her to a Pokemon Center fast enough. The illogical thought that maybe if she still had a potion on her. Tears and the darkness made it hard to see. The sorrow and despair slowing her steps made it hard to move. Pain beginning to burst in waves from her shoulder and chest made it hard to breath. She didn't make it very far towards the dim, smoldering corpse of her pokemon before collapsing to her knees. The man's words fall on deaf ears, unable to hear anything but her own breathing and the sobs racking her throbbing chest. fernando silph

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[caedmon]

▶ success: fernando silph.

Sorry, LEAF, you have been defeated. Thank you for participating in our event, but only Fernando will be proceeding. You may continue to post in this thread, if you wish.