The blue flag's rise

An: two chapters today. Please comment on what you thought about the fight so far in terms of how it was constructed and organised. Anyway, have fun!

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Sometimes you see things, so impossible, so bewitching, that years later, you would tell your children, and watch as their little eyes light up, their little hands tighten, and a fire is ignited within. All beside the smouldering flame on a cold winter's day.

***

[Allllllllright, let's get the third battle of the tournament started, shall we? Harry chose Exeggutor, a grass-psychic type. What would be the best course of action?] James asked with a rehearsed smile.

{Naturally, seeing the first Pokémon gives the opponent a quick second to adjust their choice. Pokémon with type advantages would be the optimal choice, with Pokémon having super effective moves being the second-best option. Harry's actions of actually taking such a risk just goes to show his level of confidence.} Elesa responded.

"You have until the dirt slips between my fingers to take down all three. Go- Scizor!"

Rex reached into his coat and pulled out a Pokeball with bright fluro colours that instantly caught people's attention.

The Pokeball shook gently, showing its approval before being released from his grip, arching beautifully across the air as the rays of sunshine reflected off its exterior before exploding into a million flickering lights. An excited expression flashed across his face for an instant before being restrained to a slight grin.

A cloud of pitch-black smoke instantly mushroomed out, shrouding the new addition in its entirety.

{Interesting, using smokescreen right off the bat, I haven't seen that used before.}

[Really? What's the point--] James questioned.

{Here's why.} Elesa interrupted.

"Use seed bomb!" Harry yelled the second his opponent appeared. Exeggutor shot coconuts hanging from its leaves towards the spreading cloud of smoke.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Like a mortar, the palm tree continued to litter the field with high-impact blasts. Like a concert, the strobing lights from the continuous explosions illuminated a blurry silhouette as it did flips and turns, zooming across the stadium at fast speeds. Its movements becoming unnatural, almost demon-like.

[He said Scizor, but that species of pokemon aren't exactly known for their speed, to dodge in such a fashion, what a freak.]

"SOLAR BEAM!" Harry roared, the leaves on Exeggutor's head beginning to shine increasingly bright, becoming intolerable to the eye and forcing the audience to instead focus on the target, who was still hidden.

BOOM! BZZZ~!

The ground cracked beneath Exeggutor's feet from the attack's sheer power, exploding towards the target, tearing apart the curtain of smoke to reveal a shocking appearance.

SHIIING!!!

A sword unsheathed, ears buzzed, and brain muddled. Eyes widening, reflecting the reaper, clad in red, wielding two scythes.

Scizor raised his lowered head, revealing cold, callous blue eyes hidden beneath.

BOOM! BRRR~!

Ignition, a jet engine strapped to a knife. A bullet launched from the hand.

Victory unchained.

Grass melting, a puddle of ash floating into a storm, a shadow cast upon the hearts of every soul present.

A whisper drifting seamlessly, assimilating itself into the very fabric of reality- judgement, "use fell stinger."

A wind blew, the ash dispersed, and the reaper was no more.

A string of blue flame that tore through space itself was the only inkling, that what had once stood there wasn't simply a figment of their imagination.

Thud!

Like the rumbling of lighting, the verdict comes.

"E-Exeggutor… is unable to battle. Scizor is the winner!"

Blue flag raised; the first point won. The dirt stopped flowing.

"…"

Like a chainsaw through paper, a tree was cut. No reaction, only the audience's bewilderment, marinating in the eerie silence it produced.

[Wha- what just happened?] James asked as he stared at the result below in shock, unable to grasp the sequence of events.

{An unbridgeable gap in strength} was her response. James turned to his co-host inquisitively, {let's look at the replay.}

Everyone tilted their heads to the screens above, where a slow-motion video of what happened began to play.

{First, Scizor has just been exposed due to the wind generated by solar bea-}

[What is that appearance?!] James interjected, rising from his chair in surprise. His words echoing the thoughts of the audience.

[Look at the exterior, those forelimbs, and… what is that on its back?!] He yelled, unable to believe his eyes.

{Sit down; we are not analysing his appearance; that is beside the point.} She scolded.

[Look, as soon as Rex commanded, Scizor instantly went into action. Can we put up a timer- thank you, see! 0.21 seconds between the end of Rex's word and Scizor taking action. And look-look, he seems to begin- wait, he disappeared?} Elesa mumbled, causing the audience to focus further.

A burst of blue appeared from Scizor's back before he vanished. The same string of fire they saw before had once again appeared.

Rex chuckled, 'Scizor going zoom-zoom.'

{It appears… that Scizor was moving so fast that the cameras couldn't capture him.} Her embarrassed tone echoed in the crowd's ears.

{But we can infer what happened, based on the markings on the floor and the active barrier on the roof, it seems that Scizor CUT right through the solar beam, effectively redirecting the two halves in different directions. Not to mention, fell stinger is a bug-type move that is four times effective against grass-psychic types. And the most horrifying thing is the unique trait that Fell stinger has…}

James snapped out of his stupor as his face turned pensive at her words, [right, if I'm not mistaken, it grants the user's physical attack (stat) +3 if it manages to knock out the opponent. Which means… Oh god.] he gasped.

{Correct, Scizor is now 150% stronger than he was a moment ago.}