Loomian Legacy Veils of Shadow

Battling for Balance! Round One!

"Woah..." Thane whispered softly as he looked on at the Silvent City Battle Theatre. It was a large building, the color of the cosmos. Giant blue and purple lights danced off it, brighter than any of the buildings that surrounded it. Thane felt a little intimidated by it. "Hey!" Thane and Embit took their eyes off the Battle Theatre and looked towards the voice. "Huh?" It was a boy, he looked a few years older than Thane. "You plan on challenging the Silvent Battle Theatre?" Thane nodded, and the boy snorted. "Good luck, pal." Without another word, he walked off. Thane and Embit shared a glance, the interaction not inspiring any confidence.

Thane took a deep breath as he approached the purple doors. "We got this." He whispered to himself, and Embit nodded enthusiastically.

The inside of the theatre was packed. Clusters of people were at every line, tired workers attending to them. Everyone wanted to get a seat before the next battle could start. The smell of popcorn, beer, and other snacks invaded Thane and Embit's nostrils. The sound of parents not being able to control their crying children, customers trying to negotiate with the staff, and the impatient groans and murmurs from people in line sounded like nails of chalkboard. What was this place? Thane was lost in a wave of strangers. None of this ever happened back home. Suddenly, Thane felt very homesick, and a feeling of not belonging set in. He was a small-town boy. Who was he to be here, in the big city, battling on a big stage only seen on TV?

Nerves ran up his spine and bit into his brain, his skull rattled. Suddenly, Embit pointed at someone, it was a man dressed in a black suit, with a giant top hat on his head. When Embit looked at him expectantly, Thane swallowed his nerve and walked up to the man. "Excuse me sir, but I'm here to challenge the Battle Theatre."

A few minutes later, Thane and Embit sat in the waiting room. It was brightly lit with spotless white floors, stuffed purple couches, and armchairs. There was a TV playing the current match, it was Naya, the Battle Star, against a young man. It was her Kleptyke, against his Pyder. Despite the type advantage, the young man had made mistakes. The TV screen indicated that he was on his last Loomian, while Naya was still on her first. In this Battle Theatre, the battles were two on two, and Thane knew who he was going to use.

Thane was the only one in the waiting room, so when this match was over, he was up. He was still spiked with nerves, but he had seen too many of Naya's matches to count. He could do this. Once Thane was confident with his plan, he actually had no plan and was just going to wing it, did he finally look up to the TV in time to see Kleptyke deal the finishing blow to Pyder, and his heart boomed, that meant he was next.

The intermission felt like it dragged on for an eternity, but when his name was finally called, he wished for more time. "And now, our final challenger for the morning challenges, please welcome our challenger from Mitis Town, Thane Coelho!" Thane squinted as bright spotlights were flashed in his face and the cheer of the crowd roared in his ears. Suddenly, Thane realized it wasn't just the crowd staring down at him, he was being broadcast live on TV. He felt his forehead run with sweat and a chill of nervousness gripped him. He prayed it wasn't noticeable. Embit, unlike his trainer, soaked up the attention happily. He waved and acted cute for the crowd and the cameras as they walked up to their side of the battlefield.

The announcer took a breath before speaking in a booming voice. "And now, please welcome our lovely Battle Star, Naya!" The crowd erupted into a boom of cheers, far louder than they did for him as Naya walked onto the field. This is it, Thane thought. His nerves began to pound in his skull with every step Naya took toward the battlefield, and even cracks began to show in Embit's cute and confident exterior. Naya looked imposing, with lavender hair, a dress that split down the middle, the left being black, and the right white in color. She wore black and white sunglasses and had a cane with a purple diamond tip, Thane assumed it was for dramatic flare.

"Greetings challenger, my name is Naya, the Battle Star of the Silvent City Battle Theatre." Her voice oozed confidence and a shadow of doubt began to creep up on Thane. She analyzed him. "First time challenging a Battle Theatre?" It was framed like a question, but it was a statement. Thane nodded, not trusting his tongue. Naya's lips curved upward in a slight smile. "Just because you're new to this doesn't mean I'll go easy on you. If you want to win my medal, you'll have to beat me in a fair fight. Now, let me teach you a thing or two about balance."

With a flick of her wrist, Naya threw a Capture Disc and sent out her first Loomian, Geklow. Thane looked down at Embit, his obvious choice. Twittle was weak to Geklow's electric-type attacks, and Thane wouldn't put himself through the embarrassment of sending out a disobedient Loomian on a public stage. "Go, Embit!"

Embit didn't have to be told twice, and he eagerly sprinted onto the field. "Battle begin!" The announcer called and the crowd roared, but Thane barely noticed as he waited nervously for something to happen. "Static Shock!" Naya called out suddenly. "J-Jump!" Thane cried out after a moment's hesitation. Embit jumped at the last second, the yellow orb of electricity sailed right under him and made his fur stand on end. "Use Ear Slap and Singe!" While still in the air, Embit opened his mouth and fired three bursts of fire that hit Geklow head-on, traces of smoke came off the Loomian. Then, two large, glowing white ears came down like a whip and slammed Geklow into the ground.

"Yeah!" Thane and Embit cheered as the small Loomian landed on the ground. The worry disappeared from Thane's stomach. He could win this! "Go, Pounce!" Thane ordered with loud confidence. With a cry, Embit took off into a sprint towards Geklow. "Use Stare!" Naya called out. As Embit was running, a blue light washed over him, indicating a stat drop, in this case, his melee defense. "Shine!" Naya called out when Embit got close enough. Suddenly, Embit's eyes burned as he took the full force of Shine. Embit staggered back and tried to blink out the disorienting, dancing stars that now took up the majority of his vision.

"Embit!" Thane called out in worry. "Spare!" Geklow rushed up to Embit before he could recover and delivered two blows to the stomach, sending Embit flying back. "Static Shock!" Geklow pulled his arm back, and hurled a yellow orb of electricity at Embit as he stood up. Once again, Embit fell to his knees as yellow sparks washed over him and he let out a cry as Static Shock landed. "Use Spar!" Geklow didn't give Embit the chance to stand up as it took off running. It jumped up and came down on Embit with a powerful blow that sent him flying through the air and straight into Thane's arms.

Thane stared down at his defeated Loomian, and with no other choice, recalled him back into his disc despite knowing how much Embit hated it. The crowd came to life as one and roared when the announcer announced that Embit had been defeated. Thane felt his face grow hot with embarrassment as he looked up at the scoreboard. He only had one Loomian left, and the crowd, the battle, it all seemed to suffocate him. He never knew if he had stage fright, he had never considered it, but standing on the battlefield, it was a safe bet to assume he did. He had to make his last Loomian count.

Breathlessly he pulled the final disk from his backpack strap and tossed it into the air. In a flash of blue, Twittle appeared with a battle cry. "Static Shock!" Naya ordered. "Dodge it and use Stretch!" A green light bathed Twittle as she twirled around Static Shock. "Rouge Assault!" With a cry, Twittle became bathed in a pinkish-golden light and swooped down quickly. She rammed into Geklow with enough force to send both of them into the air. Twittle tackled Geklow into the air and soared straight up, both slamming into the ceiling with an explosion of smoke and sending dust down onto the field and bleachers.

Thane thought that they had Naya and Geklow up against the wall for sure. "Static Shock!" Thane's eyes widened as yellow sparks flew from the cloud of smoke and Twittle's pained cry rang out. "Twittle!" Thane cried as he saw his Loomian fall towards the floor, stomach exposed in the air and back to the ground. "Spare!" Geklow fell from the cloud of smoke after Twittle, but it was diving down, like a skydiver with a raised fist. Geklow quickly caught up to the falling Loomian, and when it was right on top of her, it struck. Geklow's fist caught Twittle in the stomach and her eyes widened in pain.

The blow launched her immediately into the ground with a crash, and a small cloud of dust kicked up. "Twittle!" Thane exclaimed before going silent and holding his breath. When the dust cleared, the announcer declared Twittle's defeat, and the crowd roared louder than ever. Thane had gone onto the biggest stage he had ever been on, and he had lost.