Netty stood speechless. She’d expected Nicholas to keep talking tough, so the sudden apology caught her by surprise, and resonated with her. So he did know what it was like to have people make fun of him and his Pokemon. She opened her mouth to reply, to say something similar… But no, she couldn’t. Not in front of all these people. She was the winner, she had to act like it.

[color=7cff30]“Well, does this prove a point about overlooked Pokemon?”[/color] she said instead, gesturing to the victorious Mellona, who squealed and twirled. Netty glanced at the crowd to drive the point home, briefly wondering if she came across as badly as Nicholas had.

It didn’t matter, she decided as she went to get Mellona healed. What mattered was the crowd might now think twice before underestimating someone.

That bout of confidence faded as Netty stepped up to face her next opponent, Troy. [i]Hundreds of battles, if not thousands…[/i] His earlier words replayed through her head as she gripped the Pokeball containing Mellona. Assuming he actually had been telling the truth, she and Mel wouldn’t be in for an easy time.

[color=7cff30]“Let’s see if you’ve got what it takes to back up those claims of yours,”[/color] she said nonetheless, sending Mellona back into the fray.

Troy on the other hand, remains blissfully oblivious. [i]Claims?[/i] Was she referring to the homeroom icebreaker? Could it really be that hard to believe he didn’t like talking about himself? What does that even mean, if she’s saying it here and now? Is she trying to provoke Troy or is she referring to something else? What is there to even prove in a matchup this lopsided? A Shuckle versus a Combee just feels downright unfair. Maybe things would be different if Shuckle was running a more defensive set, but considering the sheer unga bunga that Troy’s been making use of, Shuckle may as well be using one of the most aggressive strategies in the class, if only because he has the defense to get away with it.

Troy couldn’t help but to hate this. This battle, this feeling of arrogance, like his win was already assured. It was a sickening feeling of unavoidable complacency. He wasn’t sure why it felt so disgusting. Aiming to be the very best meant there should be countless easy battles along the way, so surely there’s more to it than just that. It wasn’t fear of failure; his only concern was the opportunities lost through it and that was solved in the previous matches. It wasn’t vicarious either, since Antoinetta had good matches earlier as well. She proclaims her goal is as a pokemon coordinator anyway, losing a battle shouldn’t even be an issue to her, so what exactly is the problem?

Maybe it’s the same feeling you get when you can’t help but think you know better than your parents.

Well, as Troy has told his class, he didn’t like talking about himself. Troy puts it out of his mind and tosses out Shuckle’s pokeball. Shuckle springs forth, chipper as ever, nonchalantly smiling in an infectious way that instantly put him at the focal point of Troy’s attention. It was always easy to forget all else and focus when Shuckle was involved.

[color=yellow]”What say you we make this interesting?”[/color]

At the sight of Troy's Pokemon, Netty's facade of composure faltered. A Shuckle. An irresistibly cute one, yes, but of all the Pokemon to face, it just had to be a Rock type. Netty could practically feel all eyes on what was likely the worst match-up in the tournament.

Mellona, however, seemed up to the challenge, squeaking a cheery greeting as she took her place. Overcoming type disadvantages, Netty reminded herself, was an important part of Pokemon training.

[color=7cff30]"I see you really do appreciate the Bug type,"[/color] she replied, trying to sound unfazed, even though the way Troy said 'interesting' put her on edge. [color=7cff30]"Hmm, interesting in what way? I guarantee Mel's battle style is gonna be show-stopping as it is, but let's hear."[/color]

[color=yellow]”I was just thinking this battle might be better training for you if we treated it as a contest showdown.”[/color] Troy’s knowledge of contests is limited, but conducting the battle this way seemed like it might be somewhat less depressing for both parties. If fighting Antoinetta wasn’t going to feel good, he may as well help her train instead, right?

A contest battle. The suggestion should have made Netty feel better. She and Mel might just have the upper hand now, right? But if he was simply letting them look good, would it mean anything? Shouldn't they shine by their own merit?

[color=7cff30]"Sounds good!"[/color] Netty replied nonetheless. [color=7cff30]"For us, anyway. You may end up regretting it."[/color] For all the tough talk, her voice still shook. Ugh, she had to get a grip. This uncertainty wouldn't inspire Mellona at all. [color=7cff30]"Ok Mel, show off your dance moves with Gust!"[/color]

Mellona twirled in elaborate loops, round and round, her buzzing reaching a crescendo as she sent a mini tornado spiralling towards the Shuckle.

It only now dawns on Troy how unprepared he is for a contest showdown. His moveset and win conditions weren’t exactly flashy, at least compared to his father’s rental pokemon. It may be an unfair comparison, but it nonetheless serves as his standard of normalcy. Regardless, it’s important to be able to improvise. [color=yellow]”You’re no stranger to a little spinning, right Shuckle? Get ready with Defense Curl, then use the tornado to jump-start Rollout.”[/color]

Shuckle does as Troy instructs, curling up into its shell and spinning with the same rotation as the tornado once it hits.

[hr]
[hider=Turn 1]
When it came down to it, the match up was interesting. There was a speedy but somewhat fragile Combee, along with an extremely slow, but defensive Shuckle. When it came down to it, a hit or two could knock out the Combee, but would the Shuckle be able to land his mark on such an agile opponent in the first place? Neither Troy nor Netty had gauged much on the opposing pokemon, and as such, they seemed to be a level playing field. The students leaned forward eagerly in the bleachers, anticipating the outcome.

[color=lightgreen]"How fun, a contest battle! Well we don't have a point system set up on the battle interface, but next time I'll have to keep that in mind,"[/color] Caprea murmured to herself.

As Mellona's Gust swept around the stadium, and the Shuckle curled itself into a ball, there were 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the students at the fierce display that happened next. The Gust attack swirled and charged into the Shuckle, damaging him some. As Shuckle spun into a Rollout by trying to absorb the wind speed, he shot off successfully into the air, but his trajectory was off and missed the speedy Mellona. Rollout was a hard hitting move, yet Gust was proving to be surprisingly useful. Now then, that was just the first round, plenty more to go. How would they adjust their strategies accordingly?[/hider]

[@LuckyBlackCat],[@Ryik]