The Arcane Tournament

Round Two Turmoil

Gold awoke bright and early and went off to the arena for the next round of battling after breakfast. His team was finalized and the young Champion steeled his nerves as he stepped back onto the battlefield. This would be the final round with standard battlefields so Gold would have to rely on pure battle strategy for the league.

Yellow started him down with a large grin as she sent out her first Pokémon, a hulking mass of blue vines known as Tangrowth. Gold wasted no time sending out his Heracross and the battle began. "Use Megahorn!"

Heracross sped across the battlefield and rammed its glowing horn into Tangrowth's body. The beast was shoved back by the powerful blow but Gold wasn't finished yet. "Brick Break!"

Heracross brought his arms down onto his opponent and Yellow shook her head. "Poison Jab!" Heracross was struck in the chest by Tangrowth's hand and launched away from its opponent. Here we go, Yellow. Let's see what you've got!

Selene's Naganadel faced down Drake's Greninja and the battle began. "Use Dragon Pulse!" Naganadel pointed its stinger at Drake's ace Pokémon and fired a giant purple beam at it.

Drake kept his gaze on Selene as he gave his Pokémon its commands. "Dodge it and use Night Slash!" Greninja jumped over the draconian beam and slammed its arms into Selene's Pokémon.

"X-Scissor! Now!" Naganadel shrugged off the blow and slammed its stinger into Greninja's chest. The Pokémon was sent flying by the powerful blow. "Sludge Bomb!"

The Ultra Beast pointed its stinger into the sky and fired off balls of poisonous sludge where Greninja now was.

Drake still didn't move his body as he directed his Pokémon "Water Shuriken and then use Night Slash again!" Greninja tossed out several water stars that obliterated the incoming attacks and began to descend with its arms held in front of it.

"You're just asking to get hit again! Naganadel use X-Scissor!" The stinger was already pointed upward which made it easy for Selene's Pokémon to meet the water-type head on. The two attacks collided but Greninja pushed through and managed to damage Naganadel.

Greninja landed on the ground and turned around. "Now use Hydro Pump." Greninja fired off a torrent of water in Naganadel's direction.

Selene's Pokémon was still recovering from the previous attack so she had to think fast. "Use Dragon Pulse and counter it! Quickly!" The attack nearly missed, but Naganadel was able to successfully fire off a beam and block Greninja's Hydro Pump.

"Water Shuriken!" Water stars cut through where the moves collided and slammed into Naganadel.

Selene grit her teeth but stayed determined. "Hang in there and use your Dragon Pulse again!" This time, Naganadel was able to take aim and quickly fired the attack into its opponent. Greninja was knocked back and Selene could tell that it was being worn down.

Drake still kept his eyes exclusively on Selene. She wasn't sure what kind of analysis he was trying to do but she couldn't even question it before his next attack command was given. "Night Slash!"

Greninja dashed across the battlefield and struck Naganadel with its arms. The damage was finally too much for Selene's Ultra Beast and it fainted.

The referee gave the call but Selene knew she could win with just a bit more. She called out Incineroar and noticed that Drake's demeanor had shifted slightly. He was a bit confused now.

The two trainers had battled like this once before, when Selene had been taken down to her final Pokémon. Greninja wiped Incineroar out, but this time Selene had a new plan.

Selene grinned and decided to make her move. "Incineroar use Darkest Lariat!" Her starter ran at its opponent while Greninja waited for its next command.