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Cue Intro Music: Fanfare by Twice

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The match started almost immediately, with neither side wanting to waste time. Irene and Moonbyul had fought many times over the years and knew each other’s strategies almost by heart. There would be no psychoanalyzing needed.

“Nidoking, use Brick Break on Bewear!”

“Lopunny, use Ice Punch on Nidoqueen!”

Nidoking barreled toward Mr. Fuzzles, its left paw glowing with kinetic energy. The attack connected, and despite Bewear weighing several hundred pounds the bear Pokémon flew backwards, missing a sizeable chunk of health. Still, the super-effective attack didn’t one shot Mr. Fuzzles thanks to his ability. As it got to its feet, the crowd saw that its thick fur had absorbed a good portion of the move.

Lopunny’s attack connected as well, but unlike Bewear, Solar’s Nidoqueen had no form of protection against the super-effective move. Nidoqueen fell in one hit to everyone’s surprise.

“Nidoqueen is unable to battle. Lopunny wins!”

Moonbyul’s Nidoking swiveled its head at the announcement, roaring in anger as it saw its partner getting recalled. It stamped its feet and zeroed in on Irene’s Lopunny.

Seulgi knew she had to stop the enraged Pokémon before it could retaliate. “Bewear, use Zen Headbutt! Protect Lopunny!”

Her faithful partner lumbered forward and charged at Moonbyul’s Nidoking, intercepting the Drill Pokémon before it could attack Irene’s Lopunny. Psychic power wreathed the bear Pokémon’s head as it crashed headfirst into Nidoking.

It was a decisive hit.

“Nidoking is unable to battle. Bewear wins!”

Seulgi narrowed her eyes. This battle was way too easy. No, Moonbyul and Solar had to have something up their sleeves. There was no way a Champion would allow her Pokémon to be knocked out in a single hit. She looked over at Irene, who had a similar look on her face. The Champion was probably trying to figure out exactly what Moonbyul was planning.

Both Bewear and Lopunny had taken damage but were otherwise healthy. Moonbyul and Solar were at a huge disadvantage by losing their first two Pokémon but why did they look completely unfazed?

The answer turned out to be one very tenacious and powerful dog Pokémon.

“Bewear and Lopunny are unable to battle. Houndoom wins!”

The field had been evened out in the span of a few seconds. Moonbyul’s Houndoom didn’t even appear to be out of breath after taking down both Lopunny and Bewear. The Dark Pokémon howled victoriously, egged on by the crowd. Houndoom was Moonbyul’s signature Pokémon, everyone knew that it would take some serious strategical thinking to down it.

Seulgi had seen the Houndoom in action earlier in the semester at the first dorm competition but that was when Moonbyul was on her side. She was terrified of facing the Champion in battle. She gulped nervously and sent out her Ninetales.

Irene followed suit with her Alolan Ninetales, the regal Ice-Type Pokémon confidently strutting out onto the field despite the fact that it had a type disadvantage against Moonbyul’s Pokémon.

Solar had sent out a Drampa, the draconic serpent hit the battlefield with a friendly smile. Complemented by the thick tufts of fur on its chin that looked like a beard, the Placid Pokémon really lived up to its name. But everyone knew it would be stupid to assume all Drampa were gentle and pacifist.

Moonbyul’s Houndoom yipped a greeting to his partner, and the Drampa uncurled its tail to brush against the smaller dog Pokémon.

Seulgi waited for her Ninetales’ Ability to activate so she could get a power boost but the sun never brightened. She turned to Irene in confusion. “Why isn’t Drought activating?”

Irene pointed to the Drampa. “Solar’s Drampa has Cloud Nine, the Ability nullifies all weather Abilities like Sand Stream and Drought. As long as it’s on the field we won’t see any weather.”

“I think we need to take it out first,” Seulgi said. She had the beginnings of a plan in her head but it required that Drampa be taken out. “Byul probably thinks we’ll go after Houndoom first because of the way it decimated Mr. Fuzzles and Lopunny.”

Irene hummed, considering the situation. “You might be right. I’ve fought against Byul more times than I can count, in single battles she’s remarkably aggressive but now that she’s got a partner she might choose to take this turn to protect Houndoom. She knows that whichever side loses a Pokémon first will likely win. Okay Seul, let’s play this your way.”

Seulgi’s prediction turned out to be correct.

“Houndoom, take a break buddy. Use Protect!” A protective shield shimmered into existence around the Dark-Type Pokémon, protecting it from any damage dealt this turn. Irene was impressed that Seulgi had seen through Moonbyul to accurately predict the Champion’s next move. Arceus forbid her girlfriend ever decided to take on one of the region’s Pokémon leagues, she’d be next to unstoppable.

“Alanis, use Extrasensory on Drampa!”

“Aeolus, use Dazzling Gleam!”

The Drampa’s eyes widened as both attacks headed right for it. Unable to do anything but take the double barrage of attacks head on, the Drampa stood stalwart and tried its best to weather the assault. Alanis’ Extrasensory took a chunk out of its health but it was Aeolus’ super-effective Dazzling Gleam that sealed the deal.

Moonbyul watched her Houndoom’s partner fall in one turn, thoroughly impressed by how they’d managed to see through her strategy. She thought that by protecting Houndoom for a turn she could buy Solar some time to set up their strategy but all that had disappeared in an instant.

“Drampa is unable to battle. Ninetales and Alolan Ninetales win!”

Solar recalled her Drampa as its portrait on the scoreboard went dark, looking at the two girls in front of her with a newfound respect. She hadn’t been expecting both of the Fox Pokémon to attack her partner. One attack Drampa could have probably lived through, but two?

As soon as Drampa left the field its Cloud Nine Ability dissipated. Alanis’ fur began radiating heat once again, drawing the sun out from behind the clouds and covering the battlefield in bright sunlight. Up in the stands, people began pulling out their sunglasses so they could watch the fight without being hindered by the sun. The scoreboard beeped, signifying a change in weather.

Byul couldn’t help the small smile on her face. While Drought would boost the power of Ninetales’ Fire-Type moves it would also boost her Houndoom’s power since it was also a Fire-Type. Weather could be a double-edged sword.

Her confidence didn’t last long however.

A second later, Aeolus’ fur began radiating cold, and the sun disappeared behind cloud cover once more. The audience took off their sunglasses and pulled out umbrellas as the sky opened up and hail began to fall on the battlefield.

The scoreboard beeped, signifying a change in weather again.

Moonbyul swore, she forgot that Irene’s Ninetales also ran a weather Ability. It was odd, she never would have thought those two Abilities could synchronize together. She supposed they still technically didn’t, but since Seulgi’s Ninetales appeared to be slightly faster than Irene’s, the sun Ability had triggered first. She wouldn’t let something as insignificant as a minor hailstorm stop her from winning. Houndoom still had plenty of health remaining.

She decided to target Seulgi’s Ninetales first. Irene’s partner had a type disadvantage against Houndoom and Seulgi’s didn’t, so that made the Fire-Type Ninetales the bigger threat. The two Pokémon engaged each other, snapping at each other’s heels and trying to get the upper hand. Being of similar size, the audience was soon entranced by the skirmish.

Irene tried to intervene when she could, but as soon as Aeolus got close to the two battling Pokémon she was driven back by a growl and a warning shot of flames. Irene soon called her Ninetales back; this was a fight between Seulgi and Moonbyul.

Ninetales and Houndoom traded blows with each other, searching for any exploitable weaknesses. Seulgi seemed to know though that this fight was a losing battle.

She’d scrimmaged against Moonbyul earlier in the week and she knew that the Champion was toying with her. Not out of malice (Moonbyul was too kind for that) but rather so that the audience could get a battle worth watching. Moonbyul’s Houndoom was stronger than Alanis by a wide margin. Fine, if Moonbyul was going to win then she needed to do something that would help Irene when the time came for the last fight.

She called out for her move at the same time Moonbyul did.

“Alanis, use Spite!”

“Houndoom, Sludge Bomb!”

Ninetales went first, a dark tether arcing from his body to Houndoom’s, connecting the two of them. It stood proudly in the face of imminent defeat as Houndoom’s jaws opened wide and it spat a globe of toxic sludge at the Ninetales, spattering his pristine fur with purple goo and causing it to faint.

“Ninetales is unable to battle. Houndoom wins.”

Ninetales’ portrait went dark, and the audience cheered for Moonbyul’s Pokémon, who had felled three of its opponents by itself. Irene looked over at Seulgi, who smiled encouragingly at her girlfriend. She had a tough fight ahead of her but Seulgi had helped out to the best of her abilities.

It was a Champion on Champion fight now and the stands were nearly vibrating with the expectant energy coming from the crowd.

“Guess it comes down to this, huh Joohyun?” Moonbyul smiled easily at her friend. She was confident in her Houndoom’s prowess.

“So it does. But don’t think I’m going to take it easy on you. We have reputations to uphold.” Irene was going through her strategy in her head. It would be a risky plan, but if she knew that Houndoom’s stats like she thought she did she might stand a chance. It wouldn’t be a flashy victory, but it would be a victory.

Aeolus stepped forward, eager to avenge her teammate. Moonbyul made the first move. She wanted to end this quickly and decisively. “Of course. May the best woman win. Houndoom, Sludge Bomb one more time!”

The Houndoom opened its mouth, winding up for another Sludge Bomb, but the attack fizzled in its mouth before reaching completion. The Dark Pokémon tilted its head in confusion, trying twice more to set off a Sludge Bomb but failing.

“Sorry, I thought it would be nice to leave you with a parting present from Alanis and I,” Seulgi said. “When you knocked out my Ninetales, you activated Spite’s effect. If the Pokémon that uses Spite faints before its next turn, the move that knocked it out will get disabled.”

Irene smiled at Seulgi’s forethought. While she was still at a type disadvantage with Fire-Type moves, Seulgi had effectively eliminated one of her type weaknesses with Spite, offering her a bit of protection.

Moonbyul was thrown by the revelation, if only for a split second. Seulgi