Destiny Colosseum

[Namohysip]

"What... how did... but that's not..." Surf broke free of the strands and pointed accusingly at Bahamut. "How is that fair?! How can you heal just like that?!"

"All that damage we dealt to him... I don't think he even feels it anymore!" Turf whimpered. "Surf, what do we do...?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? He can't keep that up forever!"

"But he's not even trying to dodge our attacks. He's just... floating there... menacingly."

Surf checked the clock. They still had half the allotted time left to fight. They were at perfect vitality, but Bahamut had something even higher. IF the timer ran out, Bahamut would win by default...

 

[Ambyssin]

"We don't have to keep doing this." Bahamut pointed an arm at Surf. "I'm not one for fighting. Certainly not for sport." And it... clouded his opinions of Destiny Village a bit. But different world, different rules. "That said, I've seen your techniques. I'm happy to help you work on them." He looked around. "... in private."

More electricity crackled his hands. "But if you intend to continue, I suppose there's nothing I can do other than paralyze the littlest one."

 

[Namohysip]

Turf stiffened, glancing at Surf, who snarled.

"Hmph... Fine. I guess we know when we're beat," she said, though that was mostly because Bahamut wasn't trying to do any attacks. Playing all defensive was... boring! The crowd, however, seemed impressed at how well Bahamut was able to take on those attacks on his own.

"We have a surrender, folks!" Incineroar announced, raising his free arm. "A round of applause for all three participants!"

While not nearly as exciting as what Balm and Cepa had done just prior, it was still a nice treat for the end of the day. A few curious eyes were locked on Bahamut; there was a Flygon near the edge of the stands scribbling down notes, as well as a Luxray and Cinderace on another portion that seemed to be murmuring to one another even as the crowd parted.

"...Hmph." Surf held out a claw. "Well, good fight, I guess," she said.

"Good fight," Thyme repeated, entering the arena to nod at Bahamut. "Sorry for letting them drag you into this, but I was kinda curious myself. Though... Something tells me you're kind of alien to the whole fighting culture here."

 

[Ambyssin]

"I'm afraid so." When Bahamut finished shaking Surf's claw, radiance took hold and his feline form reassembled, much to his chagrin. He really was going to be stuck like this, wasn't he? "Etherium is a very... different world. Let's say, for the sake of simplicity, that if I was battling back home... there'd be an expectation that one side wasn't leaving the fight." His core dimmed. "Such a mindset is... difficult to suppress. So, I've focused my efforts here on healing and defense."

 

[Namohysip]

"That sounds awful," Pepper said, frowning. "I've never had to battle to kill, even after all I've done. It's not in my nature, I guess..." The Feraligatr shifted her weight, pondering on the concept.

"Well, either way, hopefully you'll be a little at ease here," Thyme said. "Y'know, eventually. You've been here for a month or so already, yeah? ...Say, you're getting new to the whole eating thing, right? How about we treat you to some after-battle snacking?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Uh, sure." His tail twitched. "Just... nothing spicy, please. It disagrees with me."

<><><>​

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa moved from the training rooms to the arena entrance, and made to ask about arranging a duel with someone. Ideally the matchup would be fairly even, but really what would be best was going toe to toe with someone she knew. It was always better than sparring with a stranger.

"How do you do?" she asked someone who looked like they might be the fight organiser. "I'm Shinx Brisket of Team Spectrum, and I'd like to fight someone. D'you do walk-on matches?"

 

[Namohysip]

At the front desk was a Granbull who seemed a little nervous. "Oh! Um, a walk-in match, well, err, we should have an opening for... I'm sorry, are you part of Team Spectrum by any chance?"

The very name seemed to be enough for a few passerby Pokemon near the Colosseum entrance to glance toward Brisa.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"That I am," replied Brisa, tail swishing. Had the granbull not heard her say so before, or had one of her teammates already given the posse a troublesome reputation of some kind here?

She kept her gaze from settling on anyone, and tried not to jump to any conclusions.

 

[Namohysip]

"Well... goodness, ah... We did have a recent request to alert someone if there was someone on Team Spectrum looking for a match, but..." She looked at the records in front of her, which was on a holographic screen of some kind. "Yes. We do, and if you want, I can alert you when they arrive."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Thank you kindly," said Brisa, taken aback. "I'll uh, just, wait nearby."

Brisa found a space to wait and resumed her ongoing trawl of missed text messages, anxious to be fully caught up. She hadn't even begun to send out direct messages yet...

All the while, she kept thinking, who was 'they'? And just why did they have an alert on Spectrum members?

 

[Namohysip]

[Tamato > Brisket]: Hey! You're at the Colosseum? That's awesome! Who are you fighting?

It seemed that they were taking a while to arrive. Perhaps they were in some other part of the city. Still, there were a few curious glances and murmurs at Brisa, and there seemed to be more people heading into the Colosseum than out at this point...

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

[Brisket > Tamato]: I am there, yes. I do not know who I am fighting yet. I do know that my opponent or opponents asked to be alerted of any Spectrum members seeking a match. Wish me luck?

 

[Namohysip]

[Tamato > Brisket]: Good luck!

Familiar faces came down the street--a Meganium and Feraligatr, as well as a Croconaw and Totodile on his back. Additionally, Darkrai, Cresselia, and Manaphy trailed behind them, with Manaphy bouncing on Cresselia's back.

Surf in particular seemed eager about something, leaning around Thyme's neck to lock eyes with Brisa.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"How do you do, everyone?" said Brisa, a little awkwardly. The last time she'd seen the legendaries of Team Spice had been in Aegis Cave. She wasn't sure how they'd feel about her. At least she knew Thyme's immediate family liked her well enough.

"D'you know who I'm fightin', Surf?" she asked, offering a smile.

 

[Namohysip]

Pepper suppressed a giggle.

"Us!" Surf said, standing tall on Thyme's back. Turf hastily climbed Surf's body and stood on the tip of her snout and balanced there, standing even taller.

"Yeah!" Turf said. "You have to try to beat us! And it won't be as easy as when we lost to Bahamut, either! We got stronger!"

It was hard to tell if this was a bluff. It hadn't been that long...

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Surely not all seven of ya at once," replied Brisa, ears flattening. "I'm good, but I ain't that good."

 

[Namohysip]

"Nah, not all at once," Turf said. "Just the two of us!"

"Yep. You can't beat us both! But... one on one might be unfair, too." Surf tittered. "Anyway, c'mon! Let them know we're here so we can get a room set up!"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Sounds good t'me," said Brisa, walking along apace with Surf and Turf. "I hope y'don't expect me to go easy on y'all."

Time for a real fight. Fuckin' outstandin'.

 

[Namohysip]

"I hope you don't," Surf said simply, hopping off of Thyme. Turf was airborne, but then landed on top of Surf's snout again. "All Bahamut did was stand around. You better fight back!"

They were already rushing toward the inner Colosseum, where arrangements were already being made for their fight.