In Lava [Pokémon Watty Awards, 2016 2nd Place Romance]

Chapter Twenty-five

Brendan stared down his opponent with a confident smirk. Fired up wasn't enough to describe the rush he was feeling. It appeared as though his opponent felt the same way.

"Gotta say Birch, I wasn't expecting to go against you right off the bat. I guess beating you will make things easier for me in the long run," Mark opined.

"Don't count your Torchics before they hatch Mark. Save the victory speech for when you've won," Brendan replied curtly.

"Fine then. Have it your way, let's do this," Mark shot back, snapping a ball off his belt and priming it.

"Zangoose, it's time!" Mark hollered, releasing the bipedal bane of a Seviper's existence.

Zangoose brandished his claws and readied himself for battle.

Brendan reached for his belt, having placed one teammate opposite the others. It was Skarmory. He wanted to give her a rest for a while. He plucked Mightyena's ball from his belt and hefted it.

"Mightyena, battle station!" Brendan said fiercely, thrusting his companion's ball onto the field.

The dark canine snarled viciously at Zangoose, causing him to sweat slightly and grit his teeth. Intimidate was such a lovely effect. Mightyena narrowed his eyes and assumed a pouncing position.

"Zangoose, use X-Scissor!" Mark ordered.

"Use Swagger!" Brendan commanded.
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Starting off a bit risky are we? I wonder what you're up to Brendan...

Courtney kept her eyes on the match, contemplating what Brendan could possibly be thinking giving Zangoose a power boost on a move Mightyena is weak to.

Swagger might do more harm than good, especially with Zangoose's speed. Unless-

A grin formed on her features. She knew what was coming now.
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The Swagger took effect, driving up the attack power of Zangoose, making him increasingly more dangerous. The cat ferret lunged for Mightyena who stayed his ground and took a direct hit at the expense of whatever Brendan planned.

"Payback!" Brendan countered.

A violet glow surrounded Mightyena, and with a howl he forced the stored energy outwards at double the force and hammered Zangoose with his skull, sending him bouncing along the ground.

Mightyena breathed heavily after the assault. He was hurt pretty badly but the damage had been done. Zangoose struggled to get up and glared at Mightyena. His eyes glowed bright red as the confusion took hold. Zangoose began ramming his head into the pavement.

"Foul Play!" Brendan ordered, taking Mark by surprise.

Mightyena howled and bolted forward, a dark purple aura surrounding him as he lashed out at Zangoose, connecting with brutal force, a slash across his chest. Zangoose toppled backwards and was out of the fight.

The judge for the match raised his hand. "Zangoose is unable to battle. Mightyena wins the round!"

Mark frowned and returned Zangoose.

"That was lucky, Brendan. But this next one won't be that easy! Donphan, let's roll!"

The Armor Pokémon burst onto the field, stamping his feet before trumpeting that he was in fact ready. The tusked beast dug in and prepared to charge the dark canine.

"Rollout!" Mark shouted out.

"Dig, let's go!" Brendan countered.

Donphan broke into a run before leaping and curling into a ball. He spun across the ground at a high velocity, thundering towards Mightyena as he dove into the pavement. Donphan rolled around and continued racing about, waiting for Mightyena to come up.