My Name is Marcus: Dark Times

XIII. Infestation - The Final Test

Gygantimax Orbeetle hovered, a colossal flying saucer in the air above the stadium that eclipsed the sun and cast a looming shadow across everything and everyone beneath him. Marnie swallowed hard at the sight, clenching her fist tightly as she stilled the nerves building within her.

This is what it's been all leading up to, she thought to herself. Time to make it happen.

"It all comes down to this", Marcus said, his eyes locked onto the field with critical anticipation.

"Let's go, Marnie!", Hop shouted. "Take that creep down!"

Marnie nodded confidently to herself, her eyes narrowed and focused on the arduous task that lay before her. "Alright, Morpeko", she called, "we're nearin' the end of the line. Time to show this clown what we're made of."

Morpeko turned back and nodded in agreement to her trainer. Hunger Switch kicked in, and Morpeko quickly switched into her notorious Hangry Mode, her pale-yellow skin turning pitch black and her wide eager eyes now burning with a crimson red glare of determination. Whether this transformation was due to her insatiable appetite or brought on through conscious effort and choice in anticipation of the upcoming battle wasn't entirely clear, but Marnie planned to make full use of the opportunity.

"Morpeko looks like she's really raring to go!", Hop noted eagerly.

"Yeah", Marcus agreed with an excited grin - it seemed as if the hype that Morpeko and Marnie were displaying was contagious. "With her speed and her immunity to psychic, Morpeko's got a lot working in her favor, for sure!"

"Bring it home, sis!", Piers cheered loudly, all of Team Yell following his example.

"Commence the assault, Orbeetle", Weston shouted. "Use Max Flutterby!"

Bright glowing-green energy began to surround Orbeetle in the air, spiralling like a whirlwind before breaking off into smaller pieces. Those fragments began to take a butterfly-like shape as they sailed rapidly through the air towards Morpeko.

"Here we go, Morpeko", Marnie called out, "Aura Wheel, let's go!"

Morpeko quickly broke into a full-sprint towards the oncoming attack as dark energy began to rotate around her, spinning faster and faster as she continued to run. The energy attacks from Max Flutterby approached Mopeko at breakneck speed, but the speed she was building from the Aura Wheel coupled with her small frame allowed her to nimbly avoid each and everyone of them as she continued her dauntless charge forward.

"What!?", Weston gasped.

As the tiny Two-Sided Pokemon continued to weave through and around the barrage, she swiftly made her way up a large rock in the ground, using it to vault herself into the air. Still running along her Aura Wheel, she rapidly ascended like a cannonball towards Orbeetle, tearing through the air as she continued to accelerate. Aura Wheel struck the giant bug square between the eyes. Even the colossal Orbeetle couldn't help but wince at the pain, giving tell to the super-effective damage it had just been dealt. Meanwhile, Morpeko bounced safely away, rolling backwards towards the ground as she awaited the next step of her trainer's plan.

"Yes! Direct hit!", Hop cheered gleefully.

"POGs", Marcus shouted to Piers, allowing himself to fully immerse in the energy of the crowd he surrounded himself with. "Piers, we need more POGs!"

Piers nodded before turning to Team Yell. "POGs! We need to hear more POGs!"

"Quick Morpeko", Marnie followed up, "give 'em a good Bullet Seed!"

Morpeko completed one final flip before facing back towards Orbeetle. As she continued to descend to the ground, she slapped her cheeks and unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of Bullet Seeds.