Ninth Rhapsody [Video] Backdated to 3/13

[melodicnocturne]

"Sabrina!"

No sooner than the feed clicked on did the word echo through the air of the Gym battlefield that presented itself to the viewer. Across the hall stood the familiar figure of none other than Saffron's Psychic mistress herself, then staring back at the source of the call. A lanky male stepped forward into view as the camera panned out slightly to include him. He walked past the unseen holder of the camera and over toward the battlefield only to pause on the sidelines and point directly at Sabrina.

"I'm here to challenge the leader of this gym to a battle! Your team against one of mine."

At that moment the pokémon in question appeared out of the corner of the camera view. The Zoroark stepped forward without a second's hesitation to stand beside his trainer. The next few minutes of footage between Demyx and Sabrina were merely spent settling the terms of the battle. After which, Sabrina took her place on the opposite end of the field from the pair. Demyx maked his way over to his end while Fugue, his Zoroark, followed behind.

"Probably should warn ya, he's no good at holding back when a real fight starts." A sly smirk crawled over the blond's lips as the words were spoken, mirrored precisely by the same grin that showed on his partner's face. The fox reached his place on the battlefield shortly after his trainer and planted himself on all fours. Before the blond could say another word a visible aura of dark power seeped out from Fugue's coat and into the air around him. Power radiated from the Zoroark as he bowed the front of his body down low and barred his fangs. At that moment a furious growl rose up from the pokémon's chest. Demyx, however, didn't flinch at all from the sound or the waves of power now creeping from his partner. The blond chuckled for a few seconds, then pointed his thumb up to his chest.

"Then again, I ain't too good at it myself."

"...An impressive amount of power. This should be interesting." The battle began with a start as Sabrina sent out her Alakazam. From that moment forward everything became a blurring flurry. No one would have been able to argue that Sabrina and her pokémon weren't doing everything possible to defeat Demyx, but the sheer power that Fugue commanded made the battle appear exactly as one-sided as it was.

"Espeon, Quick Attack."

"Counter with Faint Attack!"

"Calm Mind."

"Shadow Claw!"

"Baton Pass! Mr. Mime, go!"

Sabrina was wise, and frequently made use of her other two pokémon to pass status boosting moves between them and improve the odds. However, every time she used that strategy a noticably wider grin grew on Demyx's face.

"Fugue, Taunt."

"Light Screen."

"Leer."

"Reflect."

"One more time, Leer!"

"Meditate."

"Scratch!"

The battle went on like this for a few more turns, and Sabrina continued to use her Espeon and Mr. Mime to juggle status improvements between themselves. Finally, after what seemed like a game of tennis between improvements and small debilitating tactics Sabrina made her advance.

"Mr. Mime, Baton Pass. Alakazam, I choose you!"

"Just a little more, Fugue! Pepper 'em up with Foul Play!"

The blow struck hard against the Alakazam, exactly as Demyx was hoping it would. Alakazam was knocked back slightly by the force of the move; but neither he nor Sabrina were phased. From an observer's perspective it might seem like Demyx wasn't fighting as he should have, but the more strategic-minded might have picked up on where the battle was about to go. More-over, anyone who knew the higher-tier moves a Zoroark possessed might see exactly why Demyx had allowed so many status improving moves to be passed over to Sabrina's strongest pokémon at once while only using a small number of debilitating moves.

"Alakazam, Energy Ball!"

This time it was Fugue's turn to suffer the impact. So many buffs had been passed to Alakazam that the force of the move had a surprisingly powerful effect on Demyx's pokémon and sent him back, claws grinding harshly against the surface of the battlefield with each inch of knockback. Fugue let out a furious roar in anger, his aura only seeming to grow in ferocity in response to the threat of defeat.

"Just a little more, Fugue. Don't let up, we're almost ready. Night Slash!"

"Skill Swap!"

Alakazam quickly used his powers to steal one of Fugue's moves, gaining the power to use a move that could overcome the resistances of the opponent and keep the pressure on Demyx for the time being.

"Torment!"

"Now, use Shadow Ball!"

The two clashed again, and once more Fugue was knocked back by the power of Alakazam's boosted attack. It seemed like Fugue was getting damaged considerably, the attack causing the same fury to build within the fox even as the wear began to show in his stance. But, now was the turning point and Demyx knew it. With a bold and sly grin, Demyx pointed over to Sabrina and called out.

"Sorry, lady, but the game's over now. Fugue, now's the time to give 'em all we got and show no mercy. Showtime, big guy. Punishment!"

Fugue rushed in immediately, nearly a flash, and struck the other pokémon with the powerful attack. The effect was instant as Alakazam went flying backwards and tumbled. In an instant the tables had turned completely. Every time a boosting move was passed around to Alakazam the power of Punishment was improved exponentially, and at the end of the exchange of improvements the move held the power to nearly completely defeat the other pokemon.

"Alakazam! Just a little more, Shadow Ball!"

"Fugue, take 'em down an' show 'em what a Shadow Ball really looks like! No mercy!"

The two attacks passed each other in the air, each striking the target in sync. However, the effects couldn't have been different. Alakazam fell to the ground instantly and Fugue merely flinched, the difference of power once more completely on his side. When Alakazam fell, the battle was essentially over as Fugue relentlessly struck down both Espeon and Mr. Mime swiftly and mercilessly from there in a matter of minutes.

When the battle was over it became obvious that from the get-go Sabrina had never stood a chance. Fugue remained on his fours, victorious and grinning fiercely at the opposing trainer in her defeat.

"...Well done. I have been defeated completely. You have shown great skill and strategy, my Marsh Badge is yours. With it, I grant you HM02 and TM29 for your use. The abilities Fly and Psychic are now yours. Use them well..."

[Video: Later that afternoon.]

[Demyx can be seen again, this time sitting on the roof of the Saffron Department store with Fugue laying on him. With one hand slowly stroking his partner's head and the other holding up not only the Marsh Badge, but the Rainbow Badge of Celadon City, Demyx grins with pride and satisfaction of a well-fought battle.]

That's two down, guys. And with 'em, we've got our wings. All'a Johto and Kanto are ours to see. Ain't that somethin' else?

[Fugue makes a small noise of satisfaction at the motions his partner is making. The fox's tail wags slowly behind him, content to remain there after the long fight.]

You sure showed 'em, Fugue. Sorry we had to take a risk like that, but man did it ever pay off! You're amazing.

[The Zoroark looks up for a moment, a small grin tugging at his lips just before he opens his mouth.]

...Thanks...

[Fugue speaks the word in English, another indication that his continued training in speech had progressed. Demyx merely chuckles a bit and scritches the fox behind his ears.]

No problem, big guy. But I should be sayin' that, too. Thanks a lot.

((Badges get! Mod approved, Demyx made his way from Saffron to Celadon and back to nab both the Rainbow Badge and the Marsh Badge. With them, he now has the ability to use Fly!))