Sunward Atop Sunrest Mesa

[Chibi Pika]

Jade knew that her long-range attacking wouldn't go unpunished for long. She'd just finished firing off the last Shadow Ball when Zaffre regained herself, and then all of a sudden the world shifted as a searing wave of psychic energy bombarding her body and mind alike. Her train of thought burned away, the mesa flickered in and out of view. Scattered bits of half-remembered images flitted in and out of her mind's eye from a time long past. Hers? No, not hers, someone else's past, one that felt like it'd evaporate if she looked at it too long.

She saw herself (not herself) standing in a battlefield, pointing a hand forward, a human hand. At her side, a cobalt dragon, pointed wings, so familiar, her partner (not her partner), the same burning psychic light. The rush of remembered adrenaline, the thrill of a hundred battles across a sea of time and space. Battling not to prove herself, but to test others, to see if they deserved the status of victory, that golden symbol recognizing their triumph.

She was... a Gym Leader? No, that wasn't quite right, didn't feel right. Something higher.

"...You still stand. Then, you have me now,"

It took her a few moments to snap back into reality. The endless sunset of the mesa crept back into her vision, along with a delayed numbness filling her limbs, an echo of the psychic barrage. She was here, now, and those battles (not her battles) were a world away. She could hear Leaf calling her name, her name, not the name that'd flashed through her mind for an instant.

"Your name is... Anabel?" Jade said, without knowing why.

Her head was ringing, vision still refusing to focus right, still swimming with psychic distortion. One last attack. She could collapse after that.

Spoiler: Jade Turn 4

Jade (205 STM, 15 TMP, +0 SPD, +6 ACC, 0 SHD, 30 RAD)
- Receive (Call) (+3 TMP, -10 SHD, -10 RAD)
- **Act:** RADIANT Focus (+5 TMP)
- CRITICAL RADIANT Thunderbolt @ Aster (ACTIVATE: effect, Hex Maniac) (-21 STM, -22 TMP, +7 TMP, +18 RAD)
- AGILE Shadow Ball @ Zaffre (-27 STM, +8 TMP)
- Soul's Adversity (-30 STM, +2 TMP)
- CRITICAL Shadow Ball @ Zaffre (-18 STM, -18 TMP, +8 TMP) [+50 BP]
Net change: -96 STM, -7 TMP, +0 SHD, +8 RAD
Net totals: 109 STM (172 after regen), 8 TMP, 0 SHD, 38 RAD
(TAKE COVER)

 

[Jackie Cat]

Turn 4
Player Phase​

Leaf called out to Jade!
Leaf used Bulk Up!
Leaf's Quick Attack dealt 16 damage to Aster!
Leaf's Quick Attack dealt 14 damage to Aster!
Leaf's AGILE Tenacious Soul dealt a CRITICAL 45 damage to Aster! It's super effective!
Leaf's Tenacious Soul dealt a CRITICAL 61 damage to Aster! It's super effective!
Leaf took cover!

Jade received a Call!

"Your name is... Anabel?"

The Meowstic froze, hardly breathing. Something dawned on her face, even as the mesa-top winds beat at her.

"Yes," said Anabel. "Yes. I was... I was a Frontier Brain. And I was a... a detective. At Interpol."

She dropped her sword, closed her eyes, and waited for Jade's final attack.

"Of course. It makes... perfect sense..."

Jade's RADIANT Thunderbolt dealt a CRITICAL 134 damage to Aster! It's super effective!
Jade's AGILE Shadow Ball dealt 36 damage to Anabel! It's super effective!
Jade used Soul's Adversity!
Jade's Shadow Ball dealt a CRITICAL 169 damage to Anabel! It's super effective! KO!!
Jade took 49 damage in recoil! KO!!

The Flygon knight spared a sideways glance at the two cats knocking each other out, then turned back to the unicorn giving her such a relentless bludgeoning.

"Whatever you did back home, whatever you did to become a knight here, I bet you didn't do it by worrying about whether the 'main character' was someone else. So, c'mon! Show me how bad you want this and gimme everything you got!"

'Aster' forced a feral grin, and nodded.

"Fine!" she barked, in a half-laugh. "I'll make you work for your win. No, I'll do better than that. I'll show you what it takes for me to win!"

Aster breathed in...

 

[Jackie Cat]

Turn 4
Enemy Phase​

The Flygon knight opened her eyes, and seemed to size up Leaf for the first time. She'd believed in her own strength so much she'd taken it for granted – just as she'd taken her destiny for granted before. But past all that bluster was someone who knew how to fight. Aster lifted off the ground, and shivered as she built up strength – strength she'd yet to truly reach for.

Aster Focused...
Aster used Dragon Dance!

She darted forwards, juking and feinting to get Leaf off her balance...

Aster's Quick Attack missed!
Aster's Quick Attack missed!

...and roared with effort as she called on a power she'd always believed was hers by right, somewhere deep in her heart. She shot up with a downblast of air and dust, to rise high, her scales glowing an emerald green...

Zinnia used Dragon Ascent!

...and crashed back to earth like a meteor to impact her opponent.

Zinnia's STRONG Dragon Ascent dealt a CRITICAL 150 damage to Leaf!
Zinnia's defenses fell!
The sandstorm raged! Leaf toughed it out at 1 HP!

The Flygon pushed herself to her feet, her jaw clenched, and looked up to see Leaf still standing.

She began to laugh, too consumed with the triumph of outdoing herself for once, with remembering something buried deep in her soul, with sheer adrenaline pumping in her veins to feel any exhaustion or despair. She took up a defensive stance and beckoned with one outstretched claw to Leaf.

Come on, then. Bring it!

[ ] Objective: Bring it.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Everything went brilliant, emerald green, and then for a second everything went black. Leaf groaned, made to peel herself out of the crater she'd probably been plastered into, wobbled a little with surprise when she it turned out she was still on her feet. Somehow. Well, why not? Not like she woulda missed the end of a battle like this for anything.

Aster(?) was laughing. So was she, she realized. "Hell yeah," she panted. "That's what I'm talking about." That was the stuff a really good battle was supposed to let you understand: the conviction, the burning need to prove she could reach as high as possible, higher than anyone else, for... Leaf wasn't sure exactly what for. Eh, she could ask later. After this was over.

Wow everything hurt, though. (She could push through it anyway.) Had to make this quick, make it count, before she keeled over and got buried in a pile of sand. Radiant lightning flared to life around her as she steadied herself, got her eye in, and bolted.

"My turn now."

Leaf shot across the mesa in a flash, lance leveled right at that confident grin. Heroes and stories she didn't know so much about—didn't matter anyway, all of the Wayfarers had come here to give solving this problem everything they had, and so had they—but never let it be said that she didn't put in the work when she wanted to win.

Spoiler: Leaf, Turn 5

Leaf (164 STM, 20 TMP, +1 SPD, +5 ACC, 0 SHD, 36 RAD)
- Quick Attack @ Aster (-6 STM, +6 TMP)
- Quick Attack @ Aster (-9 STM, +6 TMP)
- CRITICAL Psycho Cut @ Aster (-13 STM, -11 TMP, +6 TMP)
- AGILE CRITICAL Tenacious Soul @ Aster (-45 STM, -11 TMP, +6 TMP)
- CRITICAL Tenacious Soul @ Aster (-30 STM, -11 TMP, +6 TMP)
- CRITICAL Shining Stormlance @ Aster (-40 STM, -11 TMP, +6 TMP, +36 RAD)
- Walk to Sunset Cliffs
Net change: -135 STM, -10 TMP, +0 SHD, +36 RAD
Net totals: 29 STM (29 after regen), 10 TMP, 0 SHD, 72 RAD