Crystalline Snowflakes

The sea breeze flew past Noah's obsidian hair as he leaned on the railing of the ship. He held his hat between pinched fingers, peering over the open sea. The "Sea Harpy", as the ship is named, was headed towards a land that Noah had never heard of: Kalos. From his home in Johto's own Azalea Town, the strange continent seemed a bit too far for comfort. He didn't have any siblings, so this would be completely new territory.

The ship had a battle arena, and Noah made sure to stop by frequently for a battle or two. He usually lost, but it didn't bother him much. There would be plenty of battles ahead of him when the boat docked in Coumarine City. His thoughts were interrupted by a small ferret-like creature tugging on the leg of his jeans.

"What is it, Chase?" he asked. Chase was the Sentret he had met on his way to the Poke Mart at age 8. Noah had done his best to avoid any wild encounters, but Chase seemed to like him a lot for some reason. No matter how far he ran away from the Scout Pokémon, it always found a way to come running back to him. After about three attempts, Noah tried his hand at catching the small mammal with his only Poke Ball and succeeded. The Sentret had no protests and went along with it. Noah decided to name him Chase because of how he always ran after him when they were traveling.

Chase simply climbed up Noah's leg and clung to the shoulder of his gray hoodie. Since his other Pokémon, Kira the Mawile, was still resting in her Poke Ball, Chase decided to watch the Winguls go by with his trainer. "Hey, you want to go for a battle? Now's our last chance, we're going to be there soon. Let's get a move on," he said with a small smile. Chase gave a small cry of approval as the pair headed down to the battle arena.

He casually strolled onto the open deck area where several Trainers were in battles. He didn't mind sticking around to see a few, but Chase constantly was looking left and right for someone to battle. Kira was still in her Poke Ball, she'd always been the type to only work hard in battles. She was an enigma, alright. He received her from the Day Care Man for his 14th birthday, but she only hatched on his 15th. Kira was vicious in battles and distant otherwise, and Noah couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. He chose to ignore it and let her do her own thing for the time being.

Suddenly, Noah snapped out of his flashbacks and put his black and purple baseball cap on, approaching a girl on the deck. "Hey, you. I can see you're a Trainer too. Want to battle? We've got a few minutes until we dock," he said with a smirk.

Noah's Team:

Maya was sitting comfortably in one of the many seats that lined the battle area. Many trainers and non trainers alike crowded around the battle rings, cheering on the trainer's who were locked in the jaws of combat. The teenager ooo'd, watching one of the coordinators as the had their Glaceon preform a extravagant ice sculpture in her likeness, the snowy haired teen clapped wildly, cheering as the finely dressed guy finished his performance. Honestly Maya loved watching pokemon contest, almost more that pokemon battles! The bright sparkles that clashing moves create, the creativity that shines through beauty is heart warming.

Maya leaned back onto her chair, petting Duke as he laid across her lap, You know... she made a odd face, Duke is going to get way too big to be on my lab when he evolves. He's going to miss that, defiantly. She chuckled lightly and scratched under his chin idlely. Maddy ran circles around her chair, bouncing in cheer as she finished watching a small Torchic show off what his newbie coordinator trainer taught him. Said little bird blushed lightly at the applause he got from his tiny audience. Maya smiled down at the shy bird as he ran back to his trainer, a blond girl with a blue dress, and looked down at Maddy with a raised eyebrow. " Looks like somebody was making friends." The Totodile nodded wildly, flinging herself onto the empty chair next the Dr trainer. Maya laughed, "Well I hope you enjoyed it! Because now I think it's time we stop watching and get in on this action ourselves right?" Maddy cheered wildly, flailing her paws in every which direction, Maya grinned and tapped Duke. Said male just smirked and jumped of her lap, he hasn't had the pleasure of battling for a day or so, now is a perfect opportunity to stretch some muscles by beating the crap out of his opponents.

Maya shrugged on her bag and stood to her feet, "Come on, let's go find somebody to battle!" The teenager hurried out of the spectator's area, her pokemon follow at her heels. The battles where all taking place on the deck, while the coordinators took a stage on the floor above. Maya slowed down once she reached the Battle deck, looking around for anybody she wants to challenge, [I]I wonder of that Cello guy is here, It'll be awesome to battle him again. [/i ] she thought, holding a fine finger to her chin. Luckily she won't have to wait long for a battle.

"Hey, you. I can see your a Trainer too. Want to battle? We've got a few minutes before we dock." Maya looked over to see a black haired guy walk up to her, a brown pokemon clinging to his shoulder. Maya locked her Icy blue eyes with his, a smile stretching across her pale face. She brushed part of her white bangs to the side, "A battle? Sure! We just happen to be searching for a opponent to fight as well!" Maya skipped lightly to one of the empty battle rings, taking a spot on the far side of the arena. Duke and Maddy stood on either side of her, Duke standing with a calm aura, a smirk playing on his lips and the young Totodile danced like she had ants in her pants.

"I'll gives you the honors of choosing first~♡." She winked, positively giddy at being given a chance to battle, with a time limit too! They had 5 minutes to battle, this was going to be awesome!

Maya smiled widely, she rocked back on her heels and spun herself around once. She stopped in a typical ballerina stance and curtsied. So he's using that pokemon, it looks pretty strong that's for sure. But Duke can handle this. "Duke my beloved, let's show them how we entertain the crowd!" The Shinx snorted, walking up to the field with confident strides. He stared at the normal type, his yellow eyes narrowing into a deadly glare. He growled menacingly, he wasn't going to make this a easy win for either party, oh he will make sure of that.
(Leer)
Maddy clapped from beside Maya, cheering for her elder teammate. Maya put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot to a constant rhythm. "Duke, start off with the usual!" 

Duke's ability Intimate activated!

Noah raised an eyebrow at the girl's comment. "A Coordinator, I presume? Well, that's a bit of a shocker." he said, keeping a smile. Chase had felt the effects of Leer and Intimidate pressing against him, but Noah shook it off. Alright, let's see... If this is a Shinx with Leer, it probably has physical attacks. he thought, sizing up his opponent like he was taught. He'd never been very good at it, but it was his only clue as to what she had in mind."Come on, buddy, you know the drill." he said with a calm, relaxed tone. The Sentret nodded, letting its hand glow with a blinding light.

Alright. Brick Break, a Fighting type move. A very high chance of powerful hits and neutral to Shinx- er, Duke. If I'm lucky, Chase could deal a stronger blow. It's all up to chance right now, but I'll take that... he calculated. He gripped his bag strap with one hand and swept his other towards the battlefield. "Okay, Chase! Now!" he shouted. The Sentret leapt up with a battle cry, ready to strike hard.

Duke narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the opposing pokemon that was his newest challenge to overcome. He twitched as he saw the normal type's paw glow brightly, he knew it was strong attack just from his gut feeling that turned in a violent pattern. Hopefully his Mistress will have a good plan during this battle, he trusts her to direct him in the right direction. 

Maya noticed the same thing that Duke had, knowing she only had a few seconds to think, the snowy teenager planed quickly in her head. He's coming in with a physical attack, I know that much, but what's a good way for Duke to turn this around... I know! She grinned, that was the perfect plan! "Duke! Let's go the other route this time!" She can only trust and believe that Duke is fast enough to pull this off.

Duke nodded sharply, watching the Sentret fall towards him with that intent to hit. The Shinx shifted just as the attack got within two feet of him, the electric type launched himself into the air almost as the normal type hot him. While he was suspended, he spewed a thick, toxic ball of gunk down at the normal type (Toxic). Hopefully it was in the correct time range to get a hit in before the normal type recovered from its miss. But the chance that it could escape was there, not to mention that this species of pokemon was fairly fast.

"Chase, tuck and roll!" Noah shouted. The Sentret saw the incoming Toxic and barely escaped the impact unscathed. Thank god that didn't hit, I don't have any medicine. Not that I would use it, doesn't seem very fair for me to interfere with the battle anyways... he breathed a sigh of relief. "Huh, fast Shinx you've got there. You trained him well, but I don't think that'll work anymore. Foresight!" he stated. The Scout Pokémon closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded.

Yes! Now that Chase can see where Duke could dodge to, I don't think it'll be very lucky with its escapes. he celebrated. "Excellent! Alright, now for- huh?" Noah was interrupted by Chase already charging up an Iron Tail. The trainer hadn't even finished his sentence yet Chase already knew what he was going to say. Heh, great minds think alike, I guess...

Duke snorted disdainfully as he landed a few good feet away from the Sentret, back stepping a few spaces before, crouching into a pouncing position. He frowned at the normal type, but waited for his next order. Maya herself hummed lightly, the normal type was fast, just as she expected earlier. It's a shame the toxic couldn't hit, but she's willing to bet that Duke will get the upper hand soon. Just got to get that set up going. 

She caught what the other trainer said, and smiled brightly, "Oh thank you! I have to say likewise for your Sentret." She motioned at Duke as the normal type launched itself at him again, the Shinx growled and stood his ground against the attack. He bared his fangs, which was now glowing a bright, startling yellow, electricity crackling off in small wisps. (Possible dodge opportunity) He snapped his electrified jaws onto the iorn tail, causing bright sparks rain off of the clash. He grimaced, the force of the iorn tail hitting him hard in his jaw and body, but he stood his ground well. Hopefully the Sentret is going regret using a conductive attack, the shock it's going to feel should be a big encouragement.

The older pokemon grunted, before using his strength to pull the pokemon clenched in his jaws, he swung the pokemon in intent to smash him against the ground, unless by some miracle it breaks free of the Shinx iron grip.

Noah knew exactly what he was doing. He had sent Chase in for a conductive physical attack with the intent of allowing the Shinx to retaliate."Perfect. Now's your chance!" he shouted, Chase picking up the hint. His tail dimmed and returned to its normal state to prevent the Thunder Fang from doing any further serious damage. The Sentret then allowed his hand to glow as it had before, this time with the element of surprise and the advantage of close range on his side.

"Gah! Three minutes?! That's not enough time!" Noah realized, checking his Holo Caster. The captain had already announced the ship's current position a few minutes before, but he tuned him out whilst gazing upon the sea. Looking back up at the battlefield, his heart sunk at the sight: Chase lay on the deck unconscious. He was already losing to the girl in the first two minutes.

After seeing the plan she laid down come to pass, hell it even knocked the Sentret out! Maya whooped from her side, bouncing on her toes and throwing her fist in the air while swinging it like she just don't care. Maddy went mad, pretty much, she start bouncing up and down wildly, before it dissolved it a strange victory dance... She shimmied her feet fast, while sticking her neck and head in and out at some interior beat. All while having her paws raised up.

The snowy haired trainer sweat dropped, giving her crazy little Totodile an amused and bemused smile. "Very nice Maddy." Maya looked back at the battle field, seeing Duke standing proudly back at the initial position he was at the start of the battle. He glanced back at his Mistress and smirked, giving her a small nod. "You want to go again?" Duke roared, eyes locking on the trainer on the other side of the field. 

"Hey! That was a good battle! You got another one coming at us?"

Noah's thoughts raced as he took in the scene. He tipped his hat to cover his reaction, refusing to let the girl see his reaction. Chase, his strongest Pokémon, had been taken out by the girl's Shinx as if it were nothing. "...Chase, return." he said softly, raising the Sentret's Poke Ball and allowing the red light to engulf it. Once the light returned, the trainer looked at the ball and nodded. "Alright, you're up, Kira." he said, clutching his other ball and tossing it onto the field.

Kira emerged from the Poke Ball, instantly locking eyes with Duke with that familiar look of disdain and pity. I'm just praying she doesn't go overboard, nevertheless actually listen to me... Noah doubted. Kira only followed his commands if she felt like it, so it was really a roll of the dice with her. "Okay, Kira. Let's get this going with Attract!" he said, his voice having less confidence. To his luck, Kira actually obeyed the order and allowed pink hearts to form. The ray shot straight towards the Shinx with the intent of infatuation on contact. Usually, this was all Kira needed to start beating on the other Pokémon with vicious fury, but Noah decided to shake it off and just pray that she would knock it out at least.

"Charge!" Maya command, a small grimace on her face at the sight of their next opponent. Aw crap, a steel type. I don't really have a plan for these guys, I'll just have to trust Duke to overpower it by sheer force. She bit her lips slightly, don't get her wrong, she wasn't worried about loosing. But she knew a bad match up when she sees one. Not to mention the Attract that pokemon just used, it must be female if its using it on Duke. She's seen attract in action before, it's an annoying status effect to go against and a powerful way to immobilise your opponent.

Duke launched himself at the steel type with a burst of power, gaining enough momentum to force his body into moving in only that one direction. (This is a skill not a pokemon move) As he charged forward, he glared venomously at the Marwile  (Leer) just before he charged into the pink hearts. The effect was almost instant, he immediately got a smitten look in his eyes, he tried to stop before he rammed into her, but couldn't stop the momentum forcing his body to move.

(Ooc: I'll be using a coin to determine if he is immobile or not.)

{OOC: Gotcha.}

As Duke was hit with the Attract, he attempted to stop before running into Kira. At first, Noah was confused, but when Kira dodged the attack and Taunted him with a flirty wink, it was all made clear. What?! She's just... toying with him?! God, not again... he thought, flashing back to the times she's done this before. The method was cold and heartless, but it didn't bother the Mawile. It was incredibly underhanded, but pure genius strategy-wise. Noah decided not to interfere in Kira's plan, she had already taken it to the early stages.

The Mawile clearly had enough of Duke's stare. Dashing towards him, she was a blur to most as her strongest attack, Play Rough, took effect. Maybe she's actually better off in battles without me... No. I'll work with her later, I'm not giving up. he thought. It was disheartening to see Kira act as if he wasn't her trainer, but it got results. Noah tried his best to hide the fact that he hadn't been paying attention much and wasn't doing a very good job.

Duke grunted, getting slammed by the attack. He looked at the female pokemon with a odd, twisted look. He growled in a low, barely noticeable tone and got up onto his paws slowly, almost deliberately taking his time to recover. Maya sweat dropped from her place on the arena, her pretty face looking quite sheepish. "I guess he always was a rough lover." She mumbled to herself, slightly embarssed. She shook her head and got back into the game.

"Come on Duke! You can power through this! Attack her! She edged him on, pumping her fist in the air. Maddy cheered along with Maya, jumping around shouting her cheer. Which was actually something along the lines of, 'Go Duke! Eat meat! Yummy yummy in my tummy! Fall down get up! Nappy time is good!' Yup. 

Regardless of the odd cheer he received from the child, the male heard his Mistress loud and clear. Well mostly, but it was enough to make the Shinx smirk at the steel type and stride up to her calmly with a false sense of security. No matter if she moved, he would get as close as he can before launching himself at the pokemon with the intent to cause any type of pain.

Maya sighed, at least he is doing what he asked. She looked over to the other trainer, but. She tilted her head curiously, it really doesn't look like he is paying attention.