Heather Mason (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
foolishwren) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
victory_road2018-10-11 02:19 am
foolishwren) wrote in victory_road2018-10-11 02:19 am
Entry tags:
- annie leonhart (attack on titan),
- barney (barney and friends),
- cecil harvey (final fantasy 4),
- envy (fullmetal alchemist),
- hank anderson (detroit become human),
- harry mason (silent hill),
- heather mason (silent hill),
- henry townshend (silent hill),
- jane crocker (homestuck),
- lust (fullmetal alchemist),
- mabel pines (gravity falls),
- stanford pines (gravity falls),
- thida (splatoon),
- yu narukami (persona 4)
[Video] September 26th - October 3rd
[The past month seems to have both rushed past and been the only month there's ever been, spanning forever, simultaneously.]
[There's been no shortage of updates from Heather over the weeks, mostly in the form of photographs and brief phone conversations-- snapshots of sunsets and sleepy Pokemon around the campfire and far-off lights on the horizon at night. But, she'll be the first to admit it, those updates started drying up a bit as the trek went on. Long video essays about what they'd encountered that day eventually just turned into the occasional photo.]
[Being out there by yourself for so long makes the rest of the world seem in stasis-- or gone. If it weren't so exciting, maybe the easiness with which the wilderness just swallowed you up might have freaked her out a bit.]
[But a little radio silence aside... all journeys have an end-point.]
____
10:26 PM, September 26th
(click to enlarge)
[After first dragging themselves through the Center to heal and clean up (SOAP! HOT WATER!!), then into the village for trainer lodgings (thankfully less than crowded, because those doggos are absolutely going to take up an entire bed all by themselves), then and ONLY then will Heather, once more feeling like a human being, start making phonecalls.]
[Or answering them, if you saw her photos first and decided to call her.]
[She wants to let everybody know she's alive! ... Even if it's a gamble against time for how soon the buzz of excitement will wear off and the need to pass out for ten consecutive hours overtakes her. It may very well happen while she's on the phone, in which case enjoy a ten-hour livestream of the sheets on an Indigo League dorm lodge bed.]
____
2:04 PM, September 28th
[A couple of days have passed since her and Envy's late-night arrival at the top of the Plateau, and the Heather who pops up on the screen looks at least a hundred times more groomed than any of the ones from previous videos since setting off, which seemed to get grubbier and grubbier as the trip went on. She's sitting at a picnic table not too far from the Center, dressed in a brown coat and looking... honestly still quite tired, but certainly livelier than she was the night she got there.]
[She grins, waving a half-eaten, foil-wrapped burrito of some kind that's clearly from whatever food facilities they have up here. There's some other snacks behind her on the table-- she must have sat down to have lunch with her team.]
Hey folks, hi for real this time.
I feel like I haven't gotten on the network and just made a video in like years, even though it's probably only been... I dunno-- what, a week?
Anyway-- surprising probably nobody, it is incredible up here. It's like, bigger than I thought it would be? We're not the only challenging trainers up here either, although the League staff we've talked to say this is kind of the last of the last waves of challengers they usually see before winter happens.
Don't get excited or anything, we haven't won yet... you get to stay for a bit before they expect you to run the gauntlet, so I've just been explorin'... letting my battle team rest up a little and taking some of the others out so they can get a peek at this place.
[She turns the camera to show her companions-- Cujo's still with her (wallowing in the grass, as per the norm), and Wolf the Lucario is seated cross-legged a short distance away with a sandwich in his lap and a juicebox clasped delicately in his golden paws. And, slightly further away, is a grizzled old Midday Lycanroc sitting completely still as his ears are ASSAULTED by a very small Rockruff.]
[Heather zooms in on the Rockruff.]
This little heathen hatched almost as soon as we got here-- been carrying that egg from the scavenger hunt up the whole mountain without a peep and then she comes out and won't let anybody sleep.
She's like two days old and she's already picking fights with all these like, Ace Trainers and their fancy murder-teams.
Which, I mean, she's gonna fit right in, obviously.
[The camera lingers on the duo long enough for the Lycanroc to turn and give the viewers a long-suffering look before it turns to the table, where a small handful of Hidden Ability candies are laid out. Heather's hand appears in the shot, gesturing to them.]
So, turns out I had a few of these left that I never wound up even using, and I figured hey, might as well dole 'em out, right?
[The camera spins back up to her as she talks, gesturing idly with her free hand.]
I remember hearing something about Rockruff having some kind of special evolution if they have their Hidden Ability, so while obviously Ginger here is nowhere near evolving, I was thinking maybe--
[Something zips behind Heather in a flash-- a blur of red orange. It's gone almost as quickly as it appears, and Heather actually glances back once, twice, and then a third time, her sentence stalling out halfway.]
.... HEY!!
What the HELL!!
[There's a loud, deep bark from Rowf the Lycanroc and a cacophony of equally-loud but much squeakier yapping from the little Rockruff-- as the camera whirls around again, all of the dogs are on their feet (with the exception of Cujo, who is flailing awkwardly upright) and facing the nearby trees, where three lanky figures with long, flickering tails are disappearing into the branches.]
Those monkeys just stole all our shit!!
[For like a split second Wolf is visible bounding after the wild Pokemon and then the video cuts out.]
[Only to come back on again maybe six or seven minutes later, wobbling with Heather's motion as she stumbles to a halt in a very small wooded clearing. Ahead of her, Wolf, Cujo, and Rowf are all standing at the ready, hackles bristling, while the wild bandits, which turn out to be a trio of young-looking but never-the-less tough Infernape, cackle and hoot from the safety of a very large tree.]
Oh you gotta be kidding me.
[One of the Infernapes is already wolfing down whatever was left of Heather's burrito, and another one is curiously tearing off the wrapper of one of the candies.]
Son of a bitch, I saved those things for months! Wolf, get ready to use Aura Sphere.
[The Lucario nods and his palms begin to glow-- but trouble is brewing in the branches.]
[One of the Infernapes snatches the candy away from the other one-- who shrieks and starts trying to yank it back. Completely ignoring the trainer and her Pokemon, a three-way combination slapfight and chase ensues, with branches snapping and leaves ripping. Two of the three candies come tumbling down to earth and Wolf leaps forward to snatch them up.]
[But the final one is still in the hands of the squabbling monkeys... UNTIL.]
[Another lanky arm-- darker, more maroon than red-- reaches down from the leafy boughs above and plucks the final candy from the fray. It's another Infernape! Larger, older, more worn-looking... more sparkly. Looking over the entire scene with pale purple eyes, she lifts a brow expectantly, and the three younger monkeys immediately begin to scream-- pointing at the candy, at each other, and even down at Heather and her Pokemon.]
[The shiny Infernape does nothing, says nothing at first. Her eyes are lidded, entirely unimpressed with the shenanigans.]
[She holds up the candy, looking it over thoughtfully, then looks down at Heather. Right at the camera. Direct eye contact.]
[And then she eats the candy.]
[There is a near deafening burst of sound as literally everybody but Wolf lets out a howl of outrage and/or despair.]
NOOOOOOOOOOO!
[The BGM changes to battle music and the shiny Infernape nearly FLIES out of the tree, feet coming squarely down on Rowf's back and bouncing back off as the Lycanroc is thrown to the ground with a rough yelp. Then the feed cuts again.]
[But... five minutes later...]
____
EV NEWS BROADCAST: 5:00 PM, October 3rd
[For anyone just tuning in... a magnificent set of doors is opening before a seething crowd of news crews and Pokemon League employees alike, with a female newsanchor pushing to get to the front of the crowd without dropping her mic.]
--in there since early this afternoon with her team of, again, Manectric, Rapidash, Hitmonchan, Togekiss, Feraligatr, and Absol and she has only JUST now emerged from the Hall of Fame, accompanied by Dragonmaster Lance! There is confetti flying everywhere as our cameramen get up close the newest Aurora League member, a young woman named Heather Mason, who flew to victory on the wings of her Mega Absol in a tense final battle!
[There is INDEED confetti everywhere, and Heather is alternately shielding her eyes with a green-bandanna-wrapped arm and distractedly trying to brush it from her tousled hair as cameras flash and microphones poke in from off-screen. She seems a little disoriented but she can't stop grinning.]
Miss Mason, congratulations on your win! How does it feel?
Haha, uh, it's very-- wow? Sorry I'm not too eloquent, I'm just still, you know, kinda reeling!
Understandable! As the fourth other-worlder and the FIRST EVER female trainer to challenge the Elite Four for a place in the Aurora League, do you have any words of advice or inspiration to other young girls pursuing the dream of becoming a Pokemon Champion?
Oh man-- I guess just, don't worry? Like, it's never too late to find your feet-- things'll happen when you're ready for them and just like, don't get discouraged if nothing seems like it's working right away, or-- or if some jerk tells you that you can't! It's a wild ride so you gotta enjoy it or what's the point! Kick butt, screw the haters, have FUN!
And is there anybody out there you hope is watching? Friends, family?
[Heather lets out a sharp bark of laughter, shaking confetti out of her coat collar.]
YEAH, dude! My dad!!
Your dad?!
MY DAD!!
[Still laughing, Heather points at the screen. She'd seemed a little awkward in front of the cameras at first, but now she's into it.]
Dad, I never thought in a million years you'd be back in time to see this happen-- and I'm so, SO lucky that you are! And everyone else who's ever helped me-- even the ones who aren't here-- I hope you know somehow. Even if that's crazy! This is for you, ALL of you!
Last but not least, Miss Mason, we're OBLIGATED to ask this-- what's your favorite Pokemon?
HAHA oh come on, you're gonna make me CHOOSE?? No way, I can't answer! Get outta here!
[The live feed cuts there and pre-recorded footage starts to run again showing the highlights of each battle and team-member for anyone who hadn't been watching it live, with announcers tensely commentating over the background music...]
(click to enlarge and hover for commentary!)
____
EV NEWS BROADCAST: 10:00 PM, October 3rd
--and five hours later there’s still more excitement today, folks, with our second new Champion of the day on his way out as we speak!
[It’s going to take the janitors ages to clean up the amount of confetti tossed onto the steps today. Ages. Almost as long as it’s going to take Envy to get it all out of his hair later.]
[It may be nighttime as he comes out, but all the flashing cameras still mean that he winds up blinking just as owlishly as Heather had in the light. But he’s still grinning, if a little wearily, and it’s not long before he’s holding himself up to look impressive and victorious for all the cameras. Or at least he thinks that’s what he looks like.]
Congratulations, you’re now the fifth otherworldly Champion and our second today! Tell us how you feel!
[Posing aside, the hours spent in intensive battling are showing in his slightly delayed response, and the fact that the question seems to be sinking in in pieces.]
Oh, well--like I’m a hell of a battler, that’s how! ...And Heather, she won too?
She certainly did! Of course, you would have had no idea until now...so I’m glad to be the first to tell you! You two came here together, didn’t you? It’s such an inspiration when that happens!
Yeah, we hiked up this whole thing together and trained for it for months, I knew we’d both win. She’s just as much of a badass as I am. [Still, he looks relieved at the news.]
Haha, confident I see! Is there anyone out there you’d like to say a few words for?
...Yeah, you know, there is. Lust, you’d better get up here and win quick if you want to stop me bragging anytime soon. [He pauses, as though briefly thinking something over.]
And HEY, ALPHONSE. I got here first.
[The interviewer laughs again, and more press pushes in to ask questions--Envy seems perfectly happy to soak up the attention and talk himself up for as long as they want to question him, but an arm snakes its way through the crowd to grab his. It’s Heather, and she is SAVING him from the paparazzi. … Or saving the paparazzi from him? Maybe BOTH.]
[But you know, she might steal a kiss on the way out and if the cameras happen to catch it... too bad, so sad!]
[And just like before, here comes the highlight reel... cue that battle music!]
(Hover for commentary!)
[Will’s Xatu banks to the side, narrowly avoiding gouts of flame, but doesn’t see it coming when Lucky bunches his long black legs down nearly to the floor in order to spring up much higher than the Houndoom had shown he could so far, jaws wide to catch the bird’s side in a devastating mid-air Crunch.]
-
[Xerxes could be a statue of a Luxray as he crouches in the middle of the arena, save for the visible pinpricks of electric sparks fizzling all throughout his black mane--and of course, those eerie eyes that follow every move of the immense Crobat as it circles warily above…until an order from Koga finally breaks the stalemate and sends it diving, fangs dripping with poison, only for every one of those tiny sparks to flare into unbearable brilliance at close range, sending the attack veering off course.]
-
[The unwieldy form of a Tropius moving fast, faster than Bruno’s own Hitmonlee, barely looks real even as it happens. But when the claw hanging from a braided rope around Izumi’s neck finally glows white, her dive towards her opponent picks up enough speed to turn her into a green and brown blur, her wings slashing against Hitmonlee’s side as she passes…a half second after she’d also swung her long neck sideways just enough for an extra insult of a blow.]
-
[When Samus the Lucario skids to a stop after too long spent chasing a solid hit on an Absol well-versed in facing Fighting-types, the floor cameras manage to be in the perfect spot to catch her from the back, framed by the twin columns of Absol’s Razor Wind as they bear down on her. The camera also shows what the Absol can’t see from behind its own attack: the Aura Sphere building between Samus’ paws before she fires it off into the narrowing gap, striking her opponent squarely at last.]
-
[A miniature rainstorm lashes down on the arena, lending an odd glow to the Vaporeon’s skin as she rises fluidly from her forced sleep and leaps forward once more, a wave gushing up from below her feet to crest and roll towards her opponent: Karen’s Spiritomb, already trapped within a whirlpool, the purple mist of its face run through with thick bands of swirling water and now finally swept to pieces in the rush of the oncoming wave.]
-
[The Dragonite may be much faster, but with Chimera braced for impact and his rocky hide grown even tougher with Mega Evolution, the attack barely manages to push the Tyranitar backwards…and with a smoother motion than the massive, spiky beast looked capable of, Chimera twists in place, the Dragonite stumbling forward right into full force of his brightly glowing tail. As it’s sent flying all the way back into its Pokeball and the replacement forced out, both Lance and Envy visibly seem to hold their breaths, waiting...until the white light solidifies into the shape of a startled Charizard that slams into waiting stone points, roaring as the trap takes its heavy toll.]
____
[OOC: Please note the date you're responding to in the subject line of your tag! Feel free to tag more than one with separate threads if you want! For post-E4 victory threads, both Heather and Envy will be responding!]
[There's been no shortage of updates from Heather over the weeks, mostly in the form of photographs and brief phone conversations-- snapshots of sunsets and sleepy Pokemon around the campfire and far-off lights on the horizon at night. But, she'll be the first to admit it, those updates started drying up a bit as the trek went on. Long video essays about what they'd encountered that day eventually just turned into the occasional photo.]
[Being out there by yourself for so long makes the rest of the world seem in stasis-- or gone. If it weren't so exciting, maybe the easiness with which the wilderness just swallowed you up might have freaked her out a bit.]
[But a little radio silence aside... all journeys have an end-point.]
10:26 PM, September 26th
(click to enlarge)
[After first dragging themselves through the Center to heal and clean up (SOAP! HOT WATER!!), then into the village for trainer lodgings (thankfully less than crowded, because those doggos are absolutely going to take up an entire bed all by themselves), then and ONLY then will Heather, once more feeling like a human being, start making phonecalls.]
[Or answering them, if you saw her photos first and decided to call her.]
[She wants to let everybody know she's alive! ... Even if it's a gamble against time for how soon the buzz of excitement will wear off and the need to pass out for ten consecutive hours overtakes her. It may very well happen while she's on the phone, in which case enjoy a ten-hour livestream of the sheets on an Indigo League dorm lodge bed.]
[A couple of days have passed since her and Envy's late-night arrival at the top of the Plateau, and the Heather who pops up on the screen looks at least a hundred times more groomed than any of the ones from previous videos since setting off, which seemed to get grubbier and grubbier as the trip went on. She's sitting at a picnic table not too far from the Center, dressed in a brown coat and looking... honestly still quite tired, but certainly livelier than she was the night she got there.]
[She grins, waving a half-eaten, foil-wrapped burrito of some kind that's clearly from whatever food facilities they have up here. There's some other snacks behind her on the table-- she must have sat down to have lunch with her team.]
Hey folks, hi for real this time.
I feel like I haven't gotten on the network and just made a video in like years, even though it's probably only been... I dunno-- what, a week?
Anyway-- surprising probably nobody, it is incredible up here. It's like, bigger than I thought it would be? We're not the only challenging trainers up here either, although the League staff we've talked to say this is kind of the last of the last waves of challengers they usually see before winter happens.
Don't get excited or anything, we haven't won yet... you get to stay for a bit before they expect you to run the gauntlet, so I've just been explorin'... letting my battle team rest up a little and taking some of the others out so they can get a peek at this place.
[She turns the camera to show her companions-- Cujo's still with her (wallowing in the grass, as per the norm), and Wolf the Lucario is seated cross-legged a short distance away with a sandwich in his lap and a juicebox clasped delicately in his golden paws. And, slightly further away, is a grizzled old Midday Lycanroc sitting completely still as his ears are ASSAULTED by a very small Rockruff.]
[Heather zooms in on the Rockruff.]
This little heathen hatched almost as soon as we got here-- been carrying that egg from the scavenger hunt up the whole mountain without a peep and then she comes out and won't let anybody sleep.
She's like two days old and she's already picking fights with all these like, Ace Trainers and their fancy murder-teams.
Which, I mean, she's gonna fit right in, obviously.
[The camera lingers on the duo long enough for the Lycanroc to turn and give the viewers a long-suffering look before it turns to the table, where a small handful of Hidden Ability candies are laid out. Heather's hand appears in the shot, gesturing to them.]
So, turns out I had a few of these left that I never wound up even using, and I figured hey, might as well dole 'em out, right?
[The camera spins back up to her as she talks, gesturing idly with her free hand.]
I remember hearing something about Rockruff having some kind of special evolution if they have their Hidden Ability, so while obviously Ginger here is nowhere near evolving, I was thinking maybe--
[Something zips behind Heather in a flash-- a blur of red orange. It's gone almost as quickly as it appears, and Heather actually glances back once, twice, and then a third time, her sentence stalling out halfway.]
.... HEY!!
What the HELL!!
[There's a loud, deep bark from Rowf the Lycanroc and a cacophony of equally-loud but much squeakier yapping from the little Rockruff-- as the camera whirls around again, all of the dogs are on their feet (with the exception of Cujo, who is flailing awkwardly upright) and facing the nearby trees, where three lanky figures with long, flickering tails are disappearing into the branches.]
Those monkeys just stole all our shit!!
[For like a split second Wolf is visible bounding after the wild Pokemon and then the video cuts out.]
[Only to come back on again maybe six or seven minutes later, wobbling with Heather's motion as she stumbles to a halt in a very small wooded clearing. Ahead of her, Wolf, Cujo, and Rowf are all standing at the ready, hackles bristling, while the wild bandits, which turn out to be a trio of young-looking but never-the-less tough Infernape, cackle and hoot from the safety of a very large tree.]
Oh you gotta be kidding me.
[One of the Infernapes is already wolfing down whatever was left of Heather's burrito, and another one is curiously tearing off the wrapper of one of the candies.]
Son of a bitch, I saved those things for months! Wolf, get ready to use Aura Sphere.
[The Lucario nods and his palms begin to glow-- but trouble is brewing in the branches.]
[One of the Infernapes snatches the candy away from the other one-- who shrieks and starts trying to yank it back. Completely ignoring the trainer and her Pokemon, a three-way combination slapfight and chase ensues, with branches snapping and leaves ripping. Two of the three candies come tumbling down to earth and Wolf leaps forward to snatch them up.]
[But the final one is still in the hands of the squabbling monkeys... UNTIL.]
[Another lanky arm-- darker, more maroon than red-- reaches down from the leafy boughs above and plucks the final candy from the fray. It's another Infernape! Larger, older, more worn-looking... more sparkly. Looking over the entire scene with pale purple eyes, she lifts a brow expectantly, and the three younger monkeys immediately begin to scream-- pointing at the candy, at each other, and even down at Heather and her Pokemon.]
[The shiny Infernape does nothing, says nothing at first. Her eyes are lidded, entirely unimpressed with the shenanigans.]
[She holds up the candy, looking it over thoughtfully, then looks down at Heather. Right at the camera. Direct eye contact.]
[And then she eats the candy.]
[There is a near deafening burst of sound as literally everybody but Wolf lets out a howl of outrage and/or despair.]
NOOOOOOOOOOO!
[The BGM changes to battle music and the shiny Infernape nearly FLIES out of the tree, feet coming squarely down on Rowf's back and bouncing back off as the Lycanroc is thrown to the ground with a rough yelp. Then the feed cuts again.]
[But... five minutes later...]
[For anyone just tuning in... a magnificent set of doors is opening before a seething crowd of news crews and Pokemon League employees alike, with a female newsanchor pushing to get to the front of the crowd without dropping her mic.]
--in there since early this afternoon with her team of, again, Manectric, Rapidash, Hitmonchan, Togekiss, Feraligatr, and Absol and she has only JUST now emerged from the Hall of Fame, accompanied by Dragonmaster Lance! There is confetti flying everywhere as our cameramen get up close the newest Aurora League member, a young woman named Heather Mason, who flew to victory on the wings of her Mega Absol in a tense final battle!
[There is INDEED confetti everywhere, and Heather is alternately shielding her eyes with a green-bandanna-wrapped arm and distractedly trying to brush it from her tousled hair as cameras flash and microphones poke in from off-screen. She seems a little disoriented but she can't stop grinning.]
Miss Mason, congratulations on your win! How does it feel?
Haha, uh, it's very-- wow? Sorry I'm not too eloquent, I'm just still, you know, kinda reeling!
Understandable! As the fourth other-worlder and the FIRST EVER female trainer to challenge the Elite Four for a place in the Aurora League, do you have any words of advice or inspiration to other young girls pursuing the dream of becoming a Pokemon Champion?
Oh man-- I guess just, don't worry? Like, it's never too late to find your feet-- things'll happen when you're ready for them and just like, don't get discouraged if nothing seems like it's working right away, or-- or if some jerk tells you that you can't! It's a wild ride so you gotta enjoy it or what's the point! Kick butt, screw the haters, have FUN!
And is there anybody out there you hope is watching? Friends, family?
[Heather lets out a sharp bark of laughter, shaking confetti out of her coat collar.]
YEAH, dude! My dad!!
Your dad?!
MY DAD!!
[Still laughing, Heather points at the screen. She'd seemed a little awkward in front of the cameras at first, but now she's into it.]
Dad, I never thought in a million years you'd be back in time to see this happen-- and I'm so, SO lucky that you are! And everyone else who's ever helped me-- even the ones who aren't here-- I hope you know somehow. Even if that's crazy! This is for you, ALL of you!
Last but not least, Miss Mason, we're OBLIGATED to ask this-- what's your favorite Pokemon?
HAHA oh come on, you're gonna make me CHOOSE?? No way, I can't answer! Get outta here!
[The live feed cuts there and pre-recorded footage starts to run again showing the highlights of each battle and team-member for anyone who hadn't been watching it live, with announcers tensely commentating over the background music...]
(click to enlarge and hover for commentary!)
--and five hours later there’s still more excitement today, folks, with our second new Champion of the day on his way out as we speak!
[It’s going to take the janitors ages to clean up the amount of confetti tossed onto the steps today. Ages. Almost as long as it’s going to take Envy to get it all out of his hair later.]
[It may be nighttime as he comes out, but all the flashing cameras still mean that he winds up blinking just as owlishly as Heather had in the light. But he’s still grinning, if a little wearily, and it’s not long before he’s holding himself up to look impressive and victorious for all the cameras. Or at least he thinks that’s what he looks like.]
Congratulations, you’re now the fifth otherworldly Champion and our second today! Tell us how you feel!
[Posing aside, the hours spent in intensive battling are showing in his slightly delayed response, and the fact that the question seems to be sinking in in pieces.]
Oh, well--like I’m a hell of a battler, that’s how! ...And Heather, she won too?
She certainly did! Of course, you would have had no idea until now...so I’m glad to be the first to tell you! You two came here together, didn’t you? It’s such an inspiration when that happens!
Yeah, we hiked up this whole thing together and trained for it for months, I knew we’d both win. She’s just as much of a badass as I am. [Still, he looks relieved at the news.]
Haha, confident I see! Is there anyone out there you’d like to say a few words for?
...Yeah, you know, there is. Lust, you’d better get up here and win quick if you want to stop me bragging anytime soon. [He pauses, as though briefly thinking something over.]
And HEY, ALPHONSE. I got here first.
[The interviewer laughs again, and more press pushes in to ask questions--Envy seems perfectly happy to soak up the attention and talk himself up for as long as they want to question him, but an arm snakes its way through the crowd to grab his. It’s Heather, and she is SAVING him from the paparazzi. … Or saving the paparazzi from him? Maybe BOTH.]
[But you know, she might steal a kiss on the way out and if the cameras happen to catch it... too bad, so sad!]
[And just like before, here comes the highlight reel... cue that battle music!]
[Will’s Xatu banks to the side, narrowly avoiding gouts of flame, but doesn’t see it coming when Lucky bunches his long black legs down nearly to the floor in order to spring up much higher than the Houndoom had shown he could so far, jaws wide to catch the bird’s side in a devastating mid-air Crunch.]
[Xerxes could be a statue of a Luxray as he crouches in the middle of the arena, save for the visible pinpricks of electric sparks fizzling all throughout his black mane--and of course, those eerie eyes that follow every move of the immense Crobat as it circles warily above…until an order from Koga finally breaks the stalemate and sends it diving, fangs dripping with poison, only for every one of those tiny sparks to flare into unbearable brilliance at close range, sending the attack veering off course.]
[The unwieldy form of a Tropius moving fast, faster than Bruno’s own Hitmonlee, barely looks real even as it happens. But when the claw hanging from a braided rope around Izumi’s neck finally glows white, her dive towards her opponent picks up enough speed to turn her into a green and brown blur, her wings slashing against Hitmonlee’s side as she passes…a half second after she’d also swung her long neck sideways just enough for an extra insult of a blow.]
[When Samus the Lucario skids to a stop after too long spent chasing a solid hit on an Absol well-versed in facing Fighting-types, the floor cameras manage to be in the perfect spot to catch her from the back, framed by the twin columns of Absol’s Razor Wind as they bear down on her. The camera also shows what the Absol can’t see from behind its own attack: the Aura Sphere building between Samus’ paws before she fires it off into the narrowing gap, striking her opponent squarely at last.]
[A miniature rainstorm lashes down on the arena, lending an odd glow to the Vaporeon’s skin as she rises fluidly from her forced sleep and leaps forward once more, a wave gushing up from below her feet to crest and roll towards her opponent: Karen’s Spiritomb, already trapped within a whirlpool, the purple mist of its face run through with thick bands of swirling water and now finally swept to pieces in the rush of the oncoming wave.]
[The Dragonite may be much faster, but with Chimera braced for impact and his rocky hide grown even tougher with Mega Evolution, the attack barely manages to push the Tyranitar backwards…and with a smoother motion than the massive, spiky beast looked capable of, Chimera twists in place, the Dragonite stumbling forward right into full force of his brightly glowing tail. As it’s sent flying all the way back into its Pokeball and the replacement forced out, both Lance and Envy visibly seem to hold their breaths, waiting...until the white light solidifies into the shape of a startled Charizard that slams into waiting stone points, roaring as the trap takes its heavy toll.]
[OOC: Please note the date you're responding to in the subject line of your tag! Feel free to tag more than one with separate threads if you want! For post-E4 victory threads, both Heather and Envy will be responding!]