Last battle of Round 1!
Chapter 7
Never Guarantees in Battle
Silvery stars twinkled softly in the jet-black sky. The golden moon cast its luminous glow on the arena below. A warm, comforting silence from the subdued crowd served, in its own way, to encourage the final battlers of the day as if excited, enthusiastic spectators cheered loudly for them from the sidelines. The silent spectators watched the two combatants, not knowing what to expect.
One stood perfectly still, holding his metallic claws up and crossing them together in a defensive position. Starlight shone onto his gleaming crimson coat, revealing his slender figure, and, just barely, the gossamer wings on his back. His opponent pawed the ground anxiously. The bulldog snapped his huge jaws and pounded his fists together, threatening to crush the opposing mantis. A hint of impatience spread across his face, as if he possessed some burning need for combat.
Awestruck, the spectators looked on as the two stared each other down, wondering who would make the first move – Bill the Scizor, with his cool, yet slightly nervous gaze; or Thor the Granbull, with his reckless, frightful glare. Above, Emperor Ryu’s face twisted into a thoughtful frown. “Hmm… I’ve seen this Granbull in a lot of other tournaments. He’s good. He’s been champ in one of our earliest tournaments a few years ago. He knows Fire Punch. Scizor is quadruply weak to fire. He doesn’t stand a chance,” Emperor Ryu commented wisely.
As things went, the more experienced and incidentally the more aggressive of the two struck first. With amazing speed, Thor lived up to his name, smelting the red mantis with massive, sizzling bolts of lightning that blackened Bill’s delicate wings. Just as the Scizor fell to his knees, twitching in agony, a distant, steely cry drew Thor’s attention to a dim corner. Out of seemingly nowhere, a crackling orange monstrosity lanced forth, catching its victim by surprise… Thor shut his eyes tightly to endure the searing pain; it was not enough that he clamped his jaws closed and clenched his fists. It was intolerable. In furious agony, the Granbull pounced on Bill, and, howling, drove his flaming fist directly into the Scizor’s chest. The impact shattered Thor’s target into pieces, revealing the real Bill some ways behind.
“Good use of Substitute,” whispered Lune.
“Quick thinking,” Shockwave agreed, “but he’s not conserving his energy enough. Hyper Beam right off the start, not to mention how much he put into that Substitute for it to take both the Thunder and Fire Punch… He can win, though.”
“Yeah. Thor’s got the experience, but Bill shows promise.”
“It’ll be interesting to see how this one works out. Watch. It looks like Thor is starting something.”
Thor laughed, but the sound that came out sounded more like a half-roar. “Good work! You tricked me. But don’t expect me to fall for that again.”
At that, Thor began firing rapidly, one after the other, greenish-yellow orbs of electricity that traveled at frightful speeds.
“Wow! Look at the speed of those Zap Cannons!” the Farfetch’d cried. “Zap Cannon is supposed to move relatively slowly, but Thor won’t have it! They don’t call him Thor for nothing!”
“Zap Cannon barrage… Too fast!” Bill gasped, barely escaping the first with a starry, nearly impenetrable barrier, then narrowly avoiding the second by jumping aside.
“He’s losing confidence,” Shockwave stated. “Disappointing.”
“He needs to focus to have a chance,” Lune agreed.
The third of Thor’s electrical assault approached Bill rapidly. If the Scizor didn’t think fast, he would be subject to its wrath… Hoping for the best, he looked towards the sky, and his wings began to whir quickly. Just seconds before impact, Bill lifted off the ground, saving himself from the electrical orb that went skimming past his feet.
“Do you think you can escape through flying, Scizor?”
This time, Bill made no attempt to dodge, but instead, closed his eyes. Within moments, his gleaming red coat shone with a mystical aura - one that would keep him safe. As the highly concentrated energy struck him, he did not feel his muscles lock up like they would have under normal circumstances. He was free of the bonds of paralysis.
“Quick reaction, but I’m not through!” With a startlingly high leap, Thor managed to grab onto Bill’s leg with his right arm, then began to pound the Scizor repeatedly with his flaming red fists.
Gasping, Bill raised a claw and brought it down onto his aggressor’s head, at the same time charging his other with crackling, yellow-green energy…
“He’s seen Zap Cannon so many times, he’s had the opportunity to Mimic it. That’s it!” Shockwave cheered. “This battle is going to get interesting again.”
“Alright, Bill! Beat that veteran!” Lune yelled.
Bill regained his fighting spirit. He flew up higher… “Fall, Thor!” he cried, while slamming the energy orb into the Granbull’s face. Thor maintained a firm grip, but, as his muscles refused to cooperate, he was forced to release his hold and fall to the ground far below…
A sickening crack marked Thor’s landing, and it looked as if he was not going to get up… Painfully slowly, though, the persistent Granbull rolled over his side until he faced the ground, then pushed his body upwards with his arms and legs.
“As expected, the veteran Thor is still going!” the Farfetch’d announced. “And soon, he’ll just use Heal Bell to remove his paralysis. Too bad for Bill the Scizor!”
Bill shook his head. “Oh, no you don’t,” he muttered. “I’ve worked too hard for this. I think I have an idea…” Addressing Thor, he called, “Hey, are you really going to be wussy and Heal Bell? I wouldn’t, but I’m probably braver than you are. You can go ahead and be a coward if you want. I don’t care. My opponent is a scaredy-Granbull! Scaredy scaredy Granbull!” Bill danced tauntingly, working his opponent into a rage.
Thor growled. “On another day, I would be tempted to turn your insults against you. However, you have shown me that even a rookie’s tricks can be dangerous.” He reached into the darkness to retrieve an ephemeral bell, which he rang. The clarity of its music resonated powerfully within those who could hear it. As Thor listened to the clear song, he could feel his stiffness fading away.
Bill had risen high in the air, a safe distance from Thor’s reach. While his opponent pondered how to reach him, the Scizor relaxed, waiting to regain lost stamina.
Seeing no simple way to connect his attacks, the Granbull sought to provoke his opponent. “You! Scizor! Too scared to come down?” Bill ignored him.
Finally, Bill’s raspy breathing evened again, and he decided to continue. “It’s now or never…” Gathering all of his remaining strength, Bill joined his claws together to house a violently sparking orb… It burned orange with its intensity, swelling as long as Bill could continue directing energy into it. At last, he began to lower himself, and Thor saw this as a chance to vent out his fury… But as much as he wanted to punish Bill for the earlier insults, Thor waited for his opponent to close the gap. There was no sense in bringing himself closer to the energy beam’s searing devastation.
The Scizor’s released energy lanced towards Thor, who summoned much of his final reserves to shield himself against it. The plasma dispersed across the invisible barrier just as the exhausted Thor let his shield collapse. Likewise, Bill had fallen on his knees. Despite their frustration at their inconclusive final clash, neither seemed able to stand.
“What an outcome!” the Farfetch’d cried. “The rookie, Bill, has put up a spectacular fight against his veteran opponent. Since both are unable to continue, the battle will end in a draw. This ends Round One. Congratulations to all!”
Lune (Current chapter: Tortured Soul)
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