[u][b]Estelle[/b][/u]
Britannium City

As you come to watch the battles around the fountain, you find herself in awe. Sure, they aren't the most spectacular of battles, but you can't blame them for not comparing favorably to professionals, and there are so many battles going on at once that it's hard to find a dull moment. You wonder how difficult it would be to conduct multiple battles at once before dismissing the idea. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, you can barely hold your own in a normal battle. Still, there is always double battles...

Ah, well, it seems one of the battles has come to a close, giving you an opportunity to join in. It's just what you need to focus on the things in front of you. "Mind taking me on?"

The lass responds in kind. "If you think you can take me!"
[hider=Estelle vs. Lass Michele]
(https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldexag-1043311913)

"Go, Skitty!"

"Go, Demetori!" You send out your Charmander and watch as it roars adorably. It's like a tiny godzilla and you love it. You couldn't decide on your starter, so you let your fans pick for you. Although you had your doubts on picking the fire lizard, you can certainly see the appeal now. In any case, it's go-time. "Demetori! Fire Fang!"

Demetori is right on it, practically jumping on Skitty and sinking its flame-wreathed fangs into it, pinning it down. Skitty quivers. "Skitty! Get him off of you with Attract!" The Skitty embraces its helpless position, striking a certain cliché pose. You see Demetori blush, but his bite remains firm. "Now, bring it home with Disarming Voice!" Skitty lets out an embarrassing cry, and suddenly you fear for your pokemon's chastity.

"Demetori! Fire Fang!" Thankfully, it seems that disarming voice wasn't very effective, because Demetori has no issues doing a spin while still biting Skitty, twirling it around before throwing it into the air. Without any commands this time, Demetori follows up, jumping into the air, grabing hold of Skitty with fiery jaws yet again, doing a [i]fucking front-flip[/i], then dunking Skitty into the ground.

Dang. That's impressive.

Lass Michele grimaces before returning Skitty and sending out her next pokemon. "Go, Taillow!"

After seeing the incredible dunking that her Skitty just receives, she [i]seems[/i] to think she needs to psych herself up to continue. What better way to get yourself pumped up, though, than to have your pokemon get pumped? "Taillow, focus energy!" Taillow begins to charge up, so to speak, and begins to look much more dangerous.

Well, perhaps you can make use of this momentum to throw them off. "Demetori, use Smokescreen!" Demetori gets to work flooding the vicinity with smoke. Hopefully this isn't meddling with other battles.

Lass Michele is quick to reply. "Taillow! Quick Attack him before you lose sight!" Taillow is indeed very fast, but ultimately not fast enough to pinpoint Demetori through the haze.

"Grab them!" Demetori is good on the follow-through, snatching Taillow out of the air with its fiery fangs. Taillow, restrained, lashes out.

"Peck him off!" Taillow gets in some very good hits, even going so far as to poke Demetori in the eye. Still, Demetori is unwavering, with admirable endurance.

"Finish it! Fire Fang!" Demetori gets to work yet again in comically rough fashion. He begins slamming Taillow against the ground [url=https://youtu.be/-VYhX53jA6A?t=428]like a T-Rex trying to subdue its meal[/url]. Eventually it succumbs, wherein Demetori tosses it aside like a toy it's bored with. Demetori is certainly looking worse for wear, but it stands strong, as if it's ready to continue. You voice your concerns. "Do you want to keep going?" It responds quickly and briefly in the affirmative, not even looking back at you as if the state it's in is no big deal. Well, alright then.

Lass Michele has a determined look on her face now. Maybe she won't be beating you, but she's sure as hell coming for your Charmander. "Go Silcoon!" A Silcoon pops out.

This is... uh... actually pretty good for you? "Demetori! Fire Fang!" He [i]pounces[/i] it, dealing heavy damage immediately.

"Silcoon! Finish him!" Silcoon then does what appears to be a backflip, slamming itself against Demetori, knocking him out. You saw this coming, but it's still surprising for some reason. "Some Silcoon can only sit there and harden, but you can't keep mine out of the fight!"

"Duly noted. Return, Demetori. You did well. Go, Sepher!" You send out your Froakie, who looks as Silcoon apathetically. You understand how it feels. it's just clean-up duty.

"Silcoon! Tackle!" Silcoon, in spite of the huge damage it took from Demetori, seems fit to attack. Well, if it's going to use such a simple attack though...

"Sepher, Lick!" Sepher twitches a bit, but seems to get the idea from last time. Silcoon passes right through him, but is caught as he comes out the other side and given a big nasty lick. You really need to teach Sepher more ghost moves. "Finish it with Water Pulse!" Sepher nods once and then holds Silcoon up and blows out the rings of water. Silcoon is launched out of its hands and falls to the ground, defeated.
[/hider]
After her loss, all she has to say is, "Aw, darn."

You try to comfort her with words of encouragement. You figure it's what you'd like were you in the same position. "It was a good battle. Your Taillow is pretty strong."

Before she can respond though, one of the spectators is quick to step in, taking her place. "If I may cut in~"

Lass Michele doesn't seem to mind and simply nods. "I've been beat. Go ahead." You don't seem to have any say in this, but you suppose going for another battle is par for the course.
[hider=Estelle vs. Student Tenson]
(https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldexag-1043336865)

"Go! Charmander!"

You stare at his Charmander. You turn your head to look at your Froakie, still out of his pokeball. He turns to look at you, as well. "Uh, go, Sepher, I guess?"

"Hmph, making use of your type advantage. How shrewd of you." You can't help but raise an eyebrow. "Still, I shall not shy away from your challenge!"

Whatever you say. "Sepher, Water Pulse." Sepher launches rings of water which quickly devastate his Charmander.

"Hah, well done, but can you handle this? Charmander! Dragonbreath!" His Charmander quickly shakes off the water and fires blue flames across the battlefield, nailing Sepher.

Student Tenson pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose with one hand, like some kind of anime character. What does he think this is, Digimon? "Haha! How was that!? Do you see how your own Charmander compares to-"

"Water Pulse." He water pulses. Charmander faints. Student Tenson does not utter a single word, or even move a muscle.

Seconds go by.

You almost feel sorry for interrupting him when he snaps out of it, returning his Charmander to its ball while maintaining a strained version of his previous triumphant smile. "Well done. But now, it's time for my Misdreavus!" He sends out a Misdreavus, which you know to be quite strong in spite of their small size. They're quite cute in fact, maybe you should catch one sometime. "Misdreavus, Psywave!"

Right, focus on the battle. You're familiar with the move Psywave because of its peculiarity. Its damage is based on the strength of the opponent, but its also highly inconsistent, and can do significant or insignificant damage depending mostly on how it hits; mostly a matter of luck.

Psywave devastates Sepher, but a plan hatches in your head. A very risky one, but it could potentially pay dividends. You give a loud command to Sepher, to make sure Student Tenson hears. "Alright, Sepher, remember your Protean ability? Normally Water Pulse is stronger, but as a ghost type, your Lick will be better! Use Lick!" Sepher gives you another strange look. He probably knows. Super-effective Lick is actually exactly the same strength as Water Pulse, if those guides you read on the moves are to be believed. That just leaves it to whether Sepher is better at physical or special attacks better, and as a species, Froakies tend to lean more towards special attacks. If Sepher can intuit this, then it should know something's up, and so you meet its gaze, trying to make it understand your plan nonverbally. You're not confident you got through to him in those few short moments, but whether you did or not, Sepher obeys, closing the gap and giving Misdreavus a long lick. Again, you really need to teach Sepher a new ghost-type move.

"Oh yeah? a ghost type now, huh? Misdreavus! Finish it off with Astonish!"

Not so fast. "Now! Smokescreen!" For the second time, you fill the area with smoke and hope you're not messing with other battles in the process. It's not fast enough though, and Misdreavus nails Sepher with Astonish, coming to a stop right in front of it with wide, thousand-yard stares and horrid screams.

Sepher stares at it, unperturbed. Student Tenson lets out an audible "Huh?" Before you give the command for a counter-attack.

"Sepher! Water Pulse!" Sepher Blasts Misdreavus from close range, knocking it to a distance. It seems your plan worked. You figured that they'd avoid using Psywave if there was a better option, especially if it was to just finish someone off.

Student Tenson seems unshaken. "You think you'll beat Misdreavus that easily? Misdreavus! Psywave!" Misdreavus tries to launch its psychic waves at Sepher, but Sepher evades and disappears into the fog. "What? Misdreavus should be faster than your Froakie! What did you do?"

Not that you're a very good trainer either, but this guy should at least pay closer attention. "Take a closer look at your own pokemon." Misdreavus is paralyzed, thanks to Lick. It probably would have been too late to get Smokescreen off otherwise, something your plan really didn't take into account. It was an amateur mistake that could have easily cost you the battle, but it seems you lucked out. You'll have to work on thinking things through, but for the time being, your number one priority is making sure he gets no more chances. "Sepher! Water Pulse!"

Sepher dances around Misdreavus, making full use of the smoke screen as it chips away with Water Pulse. Misdreavus even gets confused in the process, dizzied by the ultrasonic nature of water pulse. Even so, as you've said before, Misdreavus are a strong kind, and it shows when it snaps out of confusion at a crucial moment as Sepher reveals its own location. "Misdreavus! Psywave!" Misdreavus predicts Sepher's movement and hits him through the smoke perfectly, leaving you with only one pokemon left. You run to Sepher, and lift his head up. "You've done so well. I'll have to come up with a better plan next time, hmm?" Sepher gives you a cute, froggy smile and you give him a good few pets before returning him to his pokeball.

One pokemon left, and it's at a type disadvantage, no less. Still, you have confidence. It's heavily weakened and even paralyzed. "You can do this, Go! Xi-on!" You send out your Ponyta, who dazzles the spectators with a mane that stands out even amidst the lingering smoke. No more hiding. "Confusion!"

"Misdreavus! Hide in the smoke!" Misdreavus is about to turn tail and run, but is stopped in place by its paralysis, and helpless to your confusion. Misdreavus is picked up by Xi-on, spun around until it's dizzy, and then tossed into the air. "Come on, Misdreavus! Psywave!" Misdreavus somehow manages to right itself on the way down and lets loose a Psywave. Unfortunately, it is not let loose in the right direction. It flies upwards, hits an overhead tree branch, and sends the branch flying straight towards Misdreavus. It tries to avoid it, but its paralysis kicks in at the worst possible moment and the tree branch collides with it, knocking it out. You return Xi-on to its pokeball as Student Tenson runs over to Misdreavus' rescue. It seems it's alright, at least.
[/hider]
Whew. After a long battle, you manage to pull out a victory. You may have won, but it was your first time fighting such a tough opponent, and to be honest, you think it's time to take a breather. You come to realize you might be in a little over your head when a couple try to step in for a third round double battle. As much as you'd like to take them up on their offer, you're down to one pokemon, so you regretfully decline. You thank Tenson for the battle before retreating to the pokemon center and taking stock on your pokemon's condition.

Xi-on is raring to go.
Sepher is feeling more comfortable with your commands.
Demetori hungers for the blood of his enemies.

Now that your pokemon feel better, you do as well. You were thinking of taking a break, but maybe you should keep going. There's still so much to improve on after all, and progress is coming in spades... You could get used to being a trainer.