Pokemon Battle- Jace vs. Tyson

[Zorayda]

Jace snarled in sync with his vulpine Pokemon as the Confuse Ray only landed a glancing blow, the fire blocking most of it and Auda's quick reaction helping to rid of some of the flash...

'I should have known better...' Jace thought grimly. Viola landed on the ground, all four paws spread, panting heavily... her ears and tails all drooped with exhaustion, but her eyes kept burning with determination.

-Whatever happens, we made it far, today, Jacey,- she said softly, an edge of hardness in her voice. She knew as well as he did that this battle would be an unlikely one to win... but the next cry from the latias took away their attention, making them look to the Eon... rainbow lights were being pulled in to her as she readied for an attack--one that Jace recognized, one he had seen his dragonair use before...

'Oh no... Viola--!'

The vulpine growled so loudly that it was almost like a roar as the meteors came crashing down, trying to dodge them--but they shook the ground hard with every hit, each blast radius causing a minature earthquake... Viola tried in vain to leap, dodge, roll, anything to get away from the attacks, but her tiredness and the inevibility of getting hit by the powerful draconic attack made her efforts futile.

-Sorry... Jacey...- She called as a meteor struck directly behind her, making her yelp as she was thrown into the air. She tumbled mid-air, not having the time or energy to produce the strong Flamethrower to save herself as she'd done with Ryuu...

'No!'

The battle couldn't be over... he'd come so close, so close to defeating the Dragon Tamer--an accomplishment that he'd considered to be proof to himself that he was ready to take on Raikou, to fight him and capture him in a fair battle, to learn the true meaning of training his Pokemon... but now, he'd failed.

The vulpix came crashing down to the marble floor along with Jace's heart, his dreams... Feeling his Pokemon's pain for her as she let out a bark when she ground and then lie still, eyes closing in a dead faint. She was out. With a strangled cry, he rushed onto the field, not caring about any rules, as Auda's Draco Meteor died down and the flames from Viola's Fire Spin faltered and died. He picked up the little fox and cradled her in his arms, feeling dejected and disappointed. He'd failed not only himself, but his entire team of Pokemon... they'd all worked so hard, and for what?

Jace felt a frustrated tear slip through his hardened facade and he roughly wiped it away, returning Viola to her ball.

Keep it together... be a good sport and shake the Gym Leader's hand, he reminded himself. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Jace turned to face the Dragon Tamer, a forced smile on his face. He felt no resentment towards either the trainer or his legendary Eon--it had been the best battle he'd ever been a part of--but he felt a deep sense of loss somewhere inside.

"Congratulations," Jace said from halfway across the field, making strides to meet Tyson face-to-face. "You were definitely a very, very tough opponent--as were you, Auda," he said, looking at the latias and inclining his head politely. "I appreciate your time."

The shaggy-haired trainer gave Tyson a half-smirk, his green eyes swimming with mirth and disappointment. He stuck out a hand, still smirking ironically.

[Australian Chaos]

Both Tyson and Auda winced as the meteors came crashing down onto the battlefield...the move had no guarantees of hitting, but was devastating if it did. For a brief moment, Tyson watched in wonder as Viola ducked, weaved and rolled desperately, wondering if she might actually escape the Draco Meteor...but then one struck behind her, sending her tumbling away, crashing to the ground and lying still...it was over, the battle was finished.

But despite the victory, Tyson felt little elation, and judging by the look on Auda's face as the Fire Spin died down, finally releasing her, Auda wasn't too thrilled, either. Tyson knew there was always a winner and a loser in every battle, and as Jace rushed out onto the battlefield, the rule against it irrelevnt now that the battle was over, Tyson couldn't help but feel bad that he had denied Jace a thrilling victory.

As Jace cradled his Vulpix, wiping away a tear, Tyson stepped slowly onto the battlefield, showing no elation at his victory. Auda returned to his side, nuzzling him briefly on the shoulder, before floating over to Jace and Viola. Noticing that Jace was about to return the Vulpix to her ball, she quickly channeled her psychic powers, sending a small healing pulse to the Vulpix. "I'm sorry..." she sent telepathically as the Vulpix was returned to her PokeBall, sending the message to Jace as well, before turning and making her way back to Tyson's side. "Did we really have to do that?" she asked softly, her own eyes a little watery from the display of affection Jace showed to his Vulpix.

"Sadly," Tyson replied softly, his own emotions a little rattled in the aftermath of the battle. "Both he and Viola would have felt insulted if we didn't give it our all...it's only fair, even if I don't like it." Sighing, Tyson stroked the Eon's long neck to help soothe her, before heading out to meet Jace as he approached, congratulating him and Auda on the battle. Auda gave a weak smile at Jace's words, but left Tyson to do the talking as the challenger offered his hand, managing to be a good sport despite the bitterly disappointing loss.

Seeing the show of sportsmanship, Tyson managed a small smile in response to Jace's smirk. He grasped the offered hand, then went the added step of clapping his free hand to Jace's shoulder, his smile becoming more and more genuine. "Jace, I know taking a loss is never easy, especially one like this...but I truly hope you are proud of yourself today. You and your Pokemon gave it their all, and never backed down, and you should be proud of their efforts. No other Trainer, including several members of the regional Elite Fours, have come anywhere near as close as you have to defeating me. You are the best Trainer I have ever had the honour of battling, Jace...don't let this get you down. Viola, Shiva, Gabriel, Rast, Rowan, Taro...all of them are highly talented Pokemon, and you should be proud of them all. You may have lost this battle...but you have also won a key victory for not just yourself, but all Pokemon Trainers...you backed me into a corner, and when the news of this gets out, you will have proved, to the world, that I am not unbeatable, that I am just as vulnerable as anyone else."

Smiling again, Tyson slowly lead Jace towards the Gym Leader's side of the stadium, still speaking as he did. "Jace...with the talent you have shown me today, you could easily become this region's new Champion. And possibly the same for several other regions, too. You know how to play to your team's strengths, and most importantly, your team can adapt when things go wrong...I've never seen anything quite like what Viola did to counter Ryuu's Sky Drop before."

Having lead Jace to the far end of the Leader's side of the battlefield, Tyson turned back, allowing them both to look across the battlefield from his usual perspective. "Jace, I am glad to have met and battled with you...and I wish I could bend the rules and present you the Badge, I really do...you've already thoroughly earned it, in my eyes. But I can't...but I can give you my sincerest thanks for such a thrilling battle...I have learned of lot of my own shortcomings from it, and please remember, you will always be welcome back here, whether you want to train, have a re-match, or just stop by and say hi, you will always be welcome."

[Zorayda]

"Thanks, Auda..." Jace murmured softly to the latias as she healed Viola a little bit, most likely easing some of her exhaustion and pain. Hopefully the little fox would remember the message. He noted the silent conversation between Auda and Tyson, the latias looking rather sad with her eyes watering.

"Aw, you're gonna make me cry too!" Jace exclaimed at her pitiful gaze. "She'll be just fine, I'll take care of her," he assured the Eon.

Jace listened to Tyson's speech quietly, letting the Gym Leader guide him to the opposite end of the Chaos Gym. He nodded as Tyson spoke, his throat tight with a range of emotions he couldn't express.

"Thanks a lot for that... I'll tell them all you said so," Jace smiled, absently touching his Poke belt. He laughed at Tyson's comment about himself. "Vulnerable?! Heck, we all had to chip away at your iron walls! I mean, Topaz is almost untouchable, it was only pure luck that Gabe had Magical Leaf--Darwing was a solid brick that took forever to wear down, and don't even get me started on Auda," he said, shaking a mocking finger in her direction. "All of your team had their own talents, as well. And you have trained them nearly immaculately," the trainer replied, marveling that Tyson would go as far as compliment everything he'd done as a trainer.

Jace flushed at Tyson's mention of him becoming champion and he quickly waved his hands in front of him.

"Oh, no no no, I'm not ready for that, I don't think... see, I've wanted to catch this specific Pokemon since I was yea big," he said, motioning with his hand. "And I want to be worthy enough to be its trainer. Maybe after that... I don't know, perhaps I'll try for Champion status. You were the last Gym Leader I wanted to fight before catching him..." Jace trailed off. He found that his mood was beginning to get a bit lighter as he spoke with the Dragon Tamer. He was genuinely worth his status, it seemed.

Jace nodded in agreement with the Gym Leader's last part of the speech.

"I sure am glad to have met you, too, Tyson," Jace grinned, his gloomy mood dissipating. "I'll definitely be back for that badge, though... but perhaps a little training before I do that." He patted Viola's ball, a soft look coming into his eyes. "I will see you soon--but for now, it's off to heal my Pokemon!" Jace gave a sort of silly salute before walking away, stopping when he remembered something.

"Oh... and don't worry, Auda, I won't tell anybody about you," he grinned, waving before he left through the giant doors and whistling to himself.