Sickle-cell — Roleplayer Guild

The combatants were led to opposite ends of a large arena. Bright lights shined down and cameras trained themselves on the spectacle from many angles. Referees stood by the arena's edge with Pokemon who knew Protect. Medics with bulging supply bags waited on the sidelines. The audience, the commentator's booth, and the other arena could be seen at a distance. But all these details were of little importance compared to the foe directly ahead.

No one could argue that the battlefield was massive; it was much larger than Kaze's expectations by far. For a moment, his gaze wandered as he marveled at the enormity of the arena. But then, he realized he needed to pay attention to the person who would be his opponent. The man who emerged from the other side of the field was one Kaze was unfamiliar with, though one he recalled having seen in the waiting area earlier.

The man's appearance reminded Kaze of himself, if he were to be much older and more intimidating. Shades of blue were the common factor, though. But something about the man unnerved Kaze. It wasn't the cigarette in his mouth, not his stature, but the look in his eyes. Something about his eyes simply seemed . . . strange.

"He's got a sort of pride to him, it seems. Yet, I can't pin down what Avatar he may be."

"Suicune? Glad you're up. Any advice?" Kaze asked his Legend.

"All things considered, I would hazard that he is either Cobalion or Dialga. Neither of which would be a particularly good match-up for us. If Cobalion . . . avoid using anything Ice-based. If he's Dialga, Ice is our best chance. And even then, we'd be pushing our luck. You are, however, quite nimble. Perhaps you could try to use that to your advantage. More than anything, watch his moves and do your best to counter them in any way possible.

"Thanks. I'll do my best." Shedding his jacket, Kaze took a deep breath and gave his Soothe Bell a jingle. It's ok, he thought. Just focus. Suicune said to use my speed . . . so starting things with Tailwind would be best . . . I hope.

After a refreshing cigar break in the training gym, Drystan made his way back to find Deladriss in the main area. Standing next to her was a man wearing an official uniform, maybe mid-thirties, clipboard in hand. Twirling on a heel almost as soon as Drystan had burst through from the crowd of bodies to the outer wall, he walked over.

"Ah, there you are. Your battle is in area one, over there," said the man, pointing over to a field in the distance."

The Avatar nodded. "Appreciated, my good man. Who is my opponent to be?" 

His gaze faltered, briefly, and something crossed his face. Pain? Concern? "It's not for me to say," came the attendant's quiet reply, before he weaved back into the crowd. 

“That was not a good reaction,” Dialga said, evidentally as unnerved by the comments as Drystan. With a good luck from the Scizor, the two made their way over towards the specified battle field, lighting a cigarette along the way. 

Walking up to the arena, the crowd was heavy. Various types of people littered the area, some officials, sponsors, medics, the list goes on. At the other side of the field was a kid, around early teens, waiting eagerly - and with a hint of nerves - for the arrival of the opponent. Moments passed, and no other Avatar arrived. A whisper of power erupted slightly from the kid, opposite, and Drystan felt rather lightheaded as Dialga reacted to it.

“Well, I'll be damned. That's Suicine.”

Pure shock almost caused his host to drop the cigarette from his gaping mouth. “Our opponent is a child?”

“So it would seem. If I recall, you mentioned Suicine on your list of potential allies to look into. Here he is, might be worth a shot.”

“If the rumours are to be believed, he can cure the power plague. However, I was under the impression he was a few inches taller back then.”

Drystan dropped into a calculating mindset, scanning his opponent for any hidden gambit, any unseen gimmick, and found nothing. He's no fighter, what's the deal? he thought to himself. 

“I am unsure, my host,” came the unbidden reply. “Hold back during this encounter, winning can be just as bad for our image.”

Shaking his head, focus fell on Suicine's Avatar. “No, this needs to be quashed before it begins.” Taking a few steps forwards across the space between them, he called out, “Hey, are you the Avatar of Suicine?” Dialga sighed, and wondered why no-one ever believed him.

Kaze's attention was snapped from attempting to strategize back to the man in front of him, and it took a moment for him to realize what had been said. "Yeah," he called back in reply, not sure exactly what to expect from his opponent. "What about yours?" He felt somewhat ashamed that this man could identify him so quickly, and Kaze was left guessing.

“I am here to represent Dialga,” he said, proudly. “Listen, I mean no offense by this, but you do not seem to be a fighter. The last thing I want is to hurt you, however holding back isn't a desirable option for me either. It might be safer for you to call this off, kid.” Taking a drag of the cigarette, smoke billowed out into the space between the Avatars, as Drystan returned to trying to read the motives of his opponent - with stark little success. 

Kaze almost allowed himself to be convinced to throw in the white towel before things had even begun. But he knew he needed to become stronger, and that wasn't going to happen by giving up. "Don't hold back, then," Kaze said. "But I'm not giving up now. I want to get stronger, so I can protect my friends. Even if this battle is in your favor, I have to at least try." He tried to look brave, but he knew it would take a massive stroke of luck to best someone of Dialga's caliber.

A soft smile crossed his lips. “Believe it or not, kid, I've been there before.” Letting the cigarette fall to the floor, Drystan clicked his fingers for dramatic flair and let the Legend's power fly. In mere seconds, the falling object was nothing more than dust in the air, scattering on the ground. It's taking all he has not to turn tail and run, he thought. 

“But he remains steadfast. Admirable.”

 “Agreed,” he said to Dialga, smiling.  “Out of respect for your decision, I will use every ounce of my power in this fight between us, treating you as an equal, rather than some fool.” Adjusting his hat, he stared directly at the opponent opposite. “Take a single piece of advice before we begin. No matter what you may have heard, being scared isn't a bad thing. Fear can be the most useful ally in the world. Use it well.” With that, he about turned and strode back to the outer edge of the arena, to prepare for the upcoming battle. 

Kaze's fear for Dialga's Avatar was quickly turned to respect in those last moments before he returned to his starting position. He didn't look to harm Kaze, but it seemed . . . he rather wanted to befriend him. Though he was still uncertain of his abilities, he felt much more at ease. Nervousness wracked him, but his fear was diminishing. Whether that would remain, he had no clue. But Kaze would give this his all.

Moments later, a deep voice boomed around the arena.

"Live from Underground Arena One, we have our round one, single elimination match. Kaze Elwynn, Avatar of Suicune, will be facing off against Drystan Graye, Avatar of Dialga. Let the battle begin!"

“Same as always?”

Drystan adjusted his hat slightly, focusing on the task at hand. “Pretty much, although with less focus on akiado. We can get more momentum with our own attacks, than using a smaller and weaker opponent's against them. How would you suggest beginning?”

“Oh, my host.” The legend allowed a rolling chuckle to colour the words. “With a bang.”

Stalking towards the middle ground of the arena, Drystan allowed himself a small sigh. “I hate doing this,” he said, nearing his target. Bowing his head and taking a large breath in, he suddenly locked his gaze dead-center on Suicine's Avatar, releasing a torrent of cobalt-blue ethereal flames howling across the room. The air - already clammy from the crowds of people around - exploded with colour and a heat which robbed the very moisture from it, and left it horridly dry. 

The explosion sent Kaze flying through the air, yet as he decended, he managed to get his feet beneath him again. Though there was pain from the landing, he was still upright, and managed to eat the Mago Berry that Clabber had convinced him to buy earlier. The sweet taste was strong, yet immensely refreshing.

With the berry consumed, Kaze felt a new level of energy, and with his power created a breeze which blew in his favor. This was quickly followed by the formation of dark clouds within the great cavern, which soon opened their floodgates. With that, the terrain was set to be in Kaze's favor. So all that remained was to survive. The wind and the rain were an ally to him, but would not be so kind to many opponents. Using them to his advantage, he began to sprint at inhuman speeds around the battlefield in his attempt to disorient his opponent.

Buffeted by the wind, Drystan crossed his arms in front of him, an attempt to block the worst of it from his eyes. The gust caught his hat and sent it hurtling into the far wall, causing the man to grumble slightly.  With the rain hammering down - and his suit slowly getting soaked - Drystan began to run down possibilities for his next move.

The kid was fast, and that ruled out hand-to-hand combat. Drystan wasn't slow by regular standards, but keeping up with pokemon-level speed was going to be borderline impossible. One option was simply to crumble the ground under the opponent's feet and use that superhuman speed to his advantage, or fire off another barrage of Dragon's Breath.

Neither of those appealed, when the final option had so much more flair. Drystan focused, tapping into Dialga's power, first and foremost to return the hat skittering around in the breeze. It appeared firmly in his hands, before being replaced stop his head. Secondly, he allowed the power to build up before projecting an image of sheer horror - one of Dialga's true and terrifying power - to the waiting crowd, and his opponent. For a moment, shadows themselves seemed to distort and grow darker, as a dark purple haze drifted around the man, with dark scarlet eyes holding a deep hunger piercing through. 

Fear churned inside Kaze again as new shadows were cast over the arena, this time from a hazy image of a villainous grin. The image could give nightmares to even the most steadfast of men, and wishing only to be rid of its terrifying glare, Kaze jumped toward the clouds, using the energy given to him by their pounding rains, and welled up a blast of water from inside of himself. The blast had the power of a fire hose, sailing straight for the dark eyes which taunted him.

Slamming squarely into Drystan's stomach, the water lifted him up, carrying him back several feet before - rather unceremoniously - dumping him onto the ground with a solid thud. Slowly rising and wiping the wet hair from his eyes, he turned to stare at Kaze. 

“Kid's got some grit,” Dialga said, with a chuckle.

“He soaked my goddamn suit. Do you know how much this damn thing cost?” The Avatar sighed. “I bloody hate water types.” Taking another deep breath in, he prepared to lance the sky with a gout of fire. Upon releasing the welling energy, however, he merely coughed and singed the inside of his own throat. 

Dialga's presence pushed lightly against his consciousness. “If you do that, it's rather unlikely Suicine will have an answer. Try something a little less powerful, maybe he'll learn a thing or two.”

The man struggled to breathe for several seconds, not just down to the pain, but at the realisation. His legend had simply snuffed out an attack like it was nothing. “Not sure what you just did,” he spat, “but never do it again.” Gathering a ball of steely-white energy instead - infused with a little of the power from the blast of water - Drystan fired the orb towards his airbourne opponent. 

The counterattack was much quicker than Kaze had anticipated, but he had stopped worrying about trying to strategize and was now focused on survival. And his control over the wind and small, aerodynamic figure were about to play to his advantage.

Kaze pulled his arms in close and angled toward the ground, and with the Tailwind still pushing him, he kicked, rocketing out of the path of the white sphere with only a hair's breadth of distance between himself and the attack.

His landing was hardly graceful, yet he had survived, which was his goal, and there seemed to be enough time for an attack to follow, and the one he chose, Drystan would not see coming. With his mind, he created a violent strike that was about the psychic equivalent of throwing a dart. And that dart was aimed right at his target's bullseye.

Drystan began running towards Kaze a brief moment after his landing. Halfway between starting off and reaching him, however, a horrible, writhing power slapped right into him. Stumbling to the floor, he was able to shrug off the pain for the most part. Dialga, however, could not. The Legend roared in hideous pain, causing his Avatar to burst into a fit of the giggles and he climbed back to his feet. 

“Maybe next time you'll let me attack him properly,” Drystan said to Dialga, comically. 

Starting off again, slowed by a few seconds due to the psychic attack, the man aimed for the one thing no-one would expect in a battle between Avatars. Slamming on the breaks as he reached Kaze, his left hand flew palm-first towards his gut. No powers, no fancy tricks, just pure speed and momentum, something which has served the human race since the dawn of time. 

And Kaze realized his intent too late. By the time the Avatar of the North Wind began his attempt to avoid it, the palm struck him square. The force of the impact resulted in Kaze lying on his back, the wind knocked out of him. The attack was not one from Drystan's powers, but simply an attack like he had been in a street brawl.

Kaze might have cried out had he anything in his lungs to use. But that was the issue. He had none for the moment, and crying would do nothing to help him. He needed time . . . and that would come with distance. Again calling on Suicune's control of the wind, Kaze forcibly filled his lungs, then exhaled, his power amplifying his breath into a small whirlwind which he hoped would give him the time he needed to return to his feet.

Feeling the wind whip up around him, Drystan let himself be taken along, as opposed to fighting against it - which would have been a futile excerise, one can't fight the wind. Rolling as he hit the ground, righting with all the deftness of an acrobat. Quick, clean, and easy. 

“Being an Avatar is a useful thing, sometimes. We can go toe-to-toe with the common folk with ease, but against other Avatars, things are less cut and dry. Relying on powers will get you killed, in real fights, kid. Learn to roll with the punches.”

Bringing his right hand completely across his torso, Drystan focused on the ground beneath Kaze. With a single arc of his hand, the collected power released, and began to warp the concrete - and the earth below. 

Only having just risen to his feet, the shifting ground made it difficult for Kaze to keep his balance. Again, he made an attempt to become airborne, but he found he could not kick off with enough power to get far. And unfortunately, he was returning to the ground just as it decided to release the true power of the attack.

A resounding crack splintered the earth beneath the concerte floor, causing an eruption of raw heat to pour out - directly onto the space Kaze currently occupied. The battle was declared over shortly after that. Drystan approached the fallen Avatar, after it's conclusion.

"We have a winner!" the announcer declared. "Drystan, Avatar of Dialga, will continue to the next round!"

Before the announcer had finished, a small team of medics swarmed both combatants. Drystan seemed to brush off the field nurses at first, and they reluctantly complied. The unconscious form of Kaze received more attention. As soon as the young Avatar was declared stable, one medic took out a syringe and gave him a standard injection of Revive. Kaze opened his eyes to find a few nurses and Drystan standing over him.

“Well, you have potential, kid. You rely strongly on Suicine's help, and you'll find that can be a hindrance as much as a help. No idea how long we have until the second round of the tournament begins, but,” the man said, turning and beginning to walk away. A soft, cobalt glow spread across his entire body, before it flared to an almost blinding level, leaving Drystan standing with his back to Kaze, suit now dry and hat once again present. "If you feel like it, come find me. Maybe you aren't a lost cause quite yet."
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