Another Road Repaved - Coordination

Underhanded Tactics

"Allllright! We've moved on to the first battle round of the Wallace Cup! We have the former winner, Dawn, from Twinleaf Town, against Aaron, from Dewford Town!" Lilian narrated from the sidelines, while the two competitors stood on opposite ends of the pool. "Now, sit tight while we see what these two Coordinators have in store! Let's get... busy!"

Dawn went first, twirling to throw her Poké Ball backhanded. "Pachirisu! Spotlight!"

"Chi-pah!" Pachirisu appeared in mid-air. Tumbling forward before landing on one of the floating platforms, striking a cute pose.

"Aron! Let's go!" The other trainer called on his own Pokémon. Upon another glance, Dawn's face fell.

A silver-haired kid with a bowl cut and blue eyes... He looked just like his Pokémon; not to mention having virtually the same name! Was this some kind of joke...?

Dawn shook her head, and regained focus, as the timer rang. "Pachirisu! Sweet Kiss!"

Pachirisu blew a kiss, flicking it towards Aron with her stubby paws. Two pink hearts orbited each other on their path forward.

"Aron! Use Headbutt!"

The tiny Steel-type charged forward, ducking his head before bashing it directly into Sweet Kiss. The two pink hearts were obliterated, and he just kept charging!

"What!?" Dawn exclaimed.

"Now, what's this! Aron put down that Sweet Kiss with sheer brute strength and determination!"

Aron continued to bash his skull into Pachirisu's chin, sending the squealing Elesquirrel flying.

For the successful show of strength, Dawn lost a few of her points.

"Pachirisu! Discharge!" Dawn commanded, pointing forward.

Still airborne, Pachirisu corrected herself and flexed. Multiple paths of jagged blue lightning converged towards their tiny foe.

"Block it, with Rock Tomb!" Aaron shouted.

Several huge slabs of stone orbited around Aron, and flung themselves towards Pachirisu. Her Discharge crashed into each of the tenets of Rock Tomb, blowing them to rubble.

"There's our path forward!" Dawn beamed. "Pachirisu! Charge through them with Spark!"

"Chi~!" Pachirisu landed atop a slab of rock, and ignited her fur with a bright charge. Without further ado, she zipped to the nearest rock, and then another following. With her top-notch speed, she was leaving a zip-zag trail between the many pieces of rubble before they even had the chance to fall.

"Look at Pachirisu go! That's some top-notch speed, and she's giving us a light show in the act; showing us every individual jump!"

Dawn smiled, as she watched Aaron's points take a hit. Pachirisu's speed was perhaps her greatest asset! With the path clear, she encouraged her. "Go!"

"Chiiii!" Pachirisu ricocheted her way towards Aron.

"Use Iron Defense!" Aaron commanded.

The small Steel-type tensed his exoskeleton, reinforcing it with a second layer of metal.

Pachirisu crashed, managing little more than a few beautiful sparks and a sore skull.

"Look at that," Lilian interjected with a shout. "Iron Defense is making Spark look like some sort of fierce ironwork! The sparks dancing off of its coat have truly robbed Dawn of the spotlight!"