Mr. Hyde

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space Taiga and Isole's combo attack slammed into the Carracosta hard enough to send him across the room, slamming him into the wall. Taiga's arm was trembling from the sheer force of the attack she had performed. As it still was stuck out in front of her, she collapsed to her knees. She was breathing raggedly, but a few laughs managed to slip through the gaps in her teeth. "Fu...fu...we managed to get through the gauntlet huh?" She gave Isole and Scarlet a thumbs up with her arm that was still stuck out, turning her fist upwards and jutting her thumb out. "That was a good showdown if I'd ever seen one." "I admit it. I'm impressed." Taiga looked towards the past king, who clapped slowly. The man then flashed a look in his eye that made Taiga frown. She knew that look all too well. The Tyrantrum threw themselves into the ring with might, slamming on the mat, and sending a wave across their footing that sent Taiga into the air. She managed to get back to her shaky feet, but stumbled back onto her tail fin. She blew the hair that hung in her face with a puff of air, her face not even entertaining the idea of going another round in this stupid arena. "After something like that how could I resist joining in? Come on now, you three, I'm sure you have more gas left in the tank. Your final opponent is me!" With a mighty roar the king stood to their full, eight foot, height. Spreading their arms wide they said. "Let's see what you've got!" "You've gotta be kidding, right?" She looked towards the other too, almost begging. "Right?"

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space "You may be fast...but far too weak." "Wuzzat?!" Taiga grit her teeth as the Carracosta chomped down on Taiga's entire body. She tried to muscle her way out of the situation, but the attack was almost like a vice grip on her entire body. "Yer gonna regret this, shell head!" She spat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Scarlet on her way. She had become victorious over the bird brain, and was now distracting her opponent with meager punches and bites. With the Gijinka distracted, she was released from his spectral jaws. She crashed to the ground, breathing heavily. "He's gonna regret that!" Taiga propped herself back up, and started swinging her arm in a circle. Water began to follow the trail of her arm, whipping and splashing around her. The swirling circle of water grew larger and larger, as her whirling motion began to pick up more speed, collecting more water into the ring. Taiga's feet stepped off rather slowly at first, as if she was off balance, but then picked up with vigor. "Here's the big one!" Taiga roared, launching a punch filled with the momentum of a tidal wave. "Isole! A lil' assistance?!" She pleaded, as her roaring fist drilled through the air. "Chrome dome! Go crazy! I wanna see you rain down some bullet hell!"

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space The ending of the round was pathetic at best, with that all talk lug being taken out by a mere thunderbolt. Scarlet's constant wailing on the Bastiodon was pitiful at best. She crossed her arms as the king spoke again, announcing the final round. "Sheesh. I thought this lame excuse of a test would never end." The next two to enter the ring were another winged, albeit this time, feathered, gijinka and one with a large shell straddling his back. The Arcehops launched himself at Scarlet, taking Taiga's attention away from the other for a split second. After she returned her gaze back towards the Carracosta, she noticed that they seemed to be mumbling something, whilst a strange aura emanated from them. "That can't be good." She grumbled to herself. She wanted to help Scarlet this time around, but she couldn't let that guy do whatever he pleased. "Isole, back up Scarlet this time. The sooner we beat that feathered freak down, the sooner we can take down this guy." She gave the ice-type a thumbs up. "I'll hold 'em off the best I can for now." Taiga dashed towards her target, using the same tactic she had in the very beginning. "The bigger the shell, the harder it is for you to get up!" She roared, as she went for a sliding tackle aimed for Carracosta's ankles. As she slid, a roaring surge of water soon followed her own foot's trail. Carracosta responded by launching himself at her faster than she could react, their entire body covered in a geyser of water. His carapace slammed into her body, sending her flying back against the boundary of the ring. It took a minute for her to recover, but she slung her arms across the ropes to pull herself up. She wiped a bit of spittle from her lips, as all this fighting seemed to be catching up with her. "Fufu. You would've been mincemeat if I fought you in the first round. Just a lucky hit is all." She stumbled back to her feet, and rolled her shoulder. She spat at the ground, before rising on a giant pillar of water. "Playtime's over pal. I'm gonna smoke you right here and now, so I can get out of this whacky place!" She roared, as she hopped off the top of her geyser, grabbing it midway. She used her momentum to spin the water in a wheel, launching it at the Carracosta with a huge toss. They were pushed back, but not nearly as far as Taiga was hoping. She grit her teeth, as the other Gijinka casually lumbered over towards her, with their claws extended. "You gotta be kidding me...you wouldn't even catch a Macargo with that attack, let alone Taiga the Terrible!" She waited for the Gijinka to approach closer, before her teeth glistened with ice. She launched a pair of spectral, icy fangs towards her slow attacker.

And just as soon as they had arrived, their first extraterrestrial encounter had left the scene. Although Julius had retained a calm demeanor, the insides of his head were whizzing around with whiplash and a new influx of emotions. Not only had they met a mostly civilized, and intelligent life form, those same very beings introduced them to the fact that there were many more beyond the stars. It was all sorts of confusing news. Was there no Galactic Council that could settle such disputes among races? He was only a pilot, and the heir to his family's company, but dealing with interstellar conflict was a bit out of his league. For now, the first step now was to breath. He let out a major sigh of relief. He had to give it to everyone else for being able to stay so calm in such a situation. He made his way through the masses to try and reach their captain. He laughed at how stoic she truly was, but maybe it was a facade just like he had put up. "Captain." He saluted. After returning to rest, he smiled. "I'm not sure I can take it easy after all of that. I'm gonna need to process this for a couple of days." He then scratched his head, tilting it towards the side, letting out a bit of a whine. "I could barely contain myself when I asked that question earlier. Were you scared too? What's our plan now?"

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space "Now that's real wrestlin'!" Taiga said, pumping her bicep and facing the crowd, fufu'ing as the Rampardos was dragged out of the ring. She rubbed the sore spot on her head, wincing with pain. "Sheesh...that guy was a real hard head. Almost as hard as mine." She then turned back to the ring to see Scarlet flailing about with the other opponent. "That shield is going to be a pain. Why don't we do something about that?" "Gotta save Chrome dome again, huh?" Taiga rubbed her chin. "Well, why don't you just get to freezin that metal. Make it super brittle. Let Scar and I handle the rest." Taiga started off at the Shield bearer with blinding speed. "Scarlet! Give that sucker all you got! I don't wanna hear any excuses!" She reeled back her fist, waiting for Isole to throw her Blizzard. The rest was up to the armored clad red head, now.

Well, here I am! The one and only Hyde playing as the one and only Lich Lord you love! With my late entrance, and lollygagging, I suppose you might have realized that I was indeed the Great Ainz Ooal Gown. (I conquered NCM by the by. Y'all didn't even win my little game :/)

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space Taiga was panting, trying her best not to show it. Instead, she wore her big toothy grin. She watched as the others were being dragged off of the stage. Her confusion had since left. Now she could actually think straight. She'd taken some damage in that last fight though, and it was starting to show. "Good, good!" The king said, draining his goblet and holding it out for a servant to get them more. "You're very impressive! But you're not done yet! I want to see more!" "Oh yeah!? Then why don't you get your ugly mug in the ring. You can see real close that way! Fufufufu..." Taiga's frustration was starting to seethe through her calm wrestling persona. However, two more opponents entered the ring, prompting her to spit at the ground. These two looked like they had some pretty thick skulls on them. They looked tougher than the last, that was for sure. When the second one entered, the first had shot off at Isole with blinding speed, crashing his head into her. "Isole!" Taiga turned around to see her attacker swing around with a mighty tail. "You aren't all that tough, are you?" The other made her head forcefully snap around. She grit her teeth, knowing she had to attack. "I'm gonna save Isole. You deal with the lug!" Taiga ran towards the other opponent, sliding on a trail of water under her feet. She then bent closer to the ground, jutting her heel out in an attempt to sweep the Dragon off of his feet. "Get up Isole! We can take this guy together!" While Taiga had knocked her opponent down, she didn't expect his tail to sweep her up as well. She crashed to the ground alongside him. "Why you!" Taiga's jaws became icicles, as she went to chomp on the appendage causing the two so much trouble. However, the Gijinka had reared his head back, and slammed his forehead into hers. The force was enough to stun her for a second, as she rolled away from the sheer impact. She staggered as she got back to her feet, her head throbbing. "If that leaves a mark...you're double dead you asshole." She chomped on each word. "Isole, a little assistance?" Taiga pleaded, as she clasped her hands together above her head. A giant pillar of water erupted from them like a sword, the top of the geyser sending small droplets of water down to the ground. "Right, right." Isole said, as she got to her feet. The opponent then took a deep breath, before charging Taiga. Isole then sent a swirling blizzard from behind them, as the attack reached all the way to Taiga. It stung a bit, but the freezing winds were enough to turn Taiga's geyser into a tall pillar of ice, frozen to Taiga's wrists. She smiled at her charger, letting of a smug retort. "Let's see how hard that skull really is!" Taiga roared, as she brought down the giant ice-sword down onto the dragon. The tower of ice crashed down on him, sending him straight to the mat. Taiga smiled, but was bewildered when the opponent launched themselves towards Taiga, headfirst. "Apparently it's pretty har-" Taiga was interrupted as the attack crashed right into her abdomen, knocking the wind out of her. Turns out, getting all frosty due to the blizzard had made her a tad lethargic. However, with the hard-head within biting range, Taiga's fangs became encased in ice once more, as she brought her jaws down upon the Rampardos' shoulder.

Pip flew around the sides of the room, zooming through the air. This was his next step to becoming a true hero! He watched as Valerie went in to attack her Classmate with some weak fire, and decided to take advantage of the girl's distraction. He used the netting of a soccer goal to spring forward, his legs jutting out in front of him. He hadn't realized, but his momentum was more than enough to cause major internal organ damage. He had lost control. But at the last second, Pip dug his fingers into the soft turf. The fur off the tip of his fingers singed, as he tried desperately to pull his attack back. It was no use. Pip's hooves crashed into Yuuka's stomach with incredible force. He could hear the multiple fracturing bone's in the girl's frail body, as he traveled a great distance with his foot lodged in her abdomen. The girl's immediate reaction, before she could even blink, was to spit out a good amount of blood. Upon seeing it, Pip's mind began to race. His eyes began to grow red, his retinas looking around sporadically, trying to find something else to look at. When they both crashed into the ground, Pip remained unscathed...however the same couldn't be said for Yuuka. She was spasming on the ground, as Yuri and Val looked at the scene in horror. "I...I didn't mean it..." Pip said shakily. "THIS EXAM IS OVER! A student has been critically injured." The intercoms began to blare, Ms. Hitotsume's voice clearly shaken. The simulation's in each room began to shut down, and a red light began to flash from all sides. "I didn't..." Pip exclaimed, reaching out to his classmate, who recoiled instinctively. Pip turned his head away in embarrassment, only to be met with the pool of blood gathering underneath Yuuka's head. Pip's finger seemed to move on it's own, as he went to dip just his nail into the growing red mass. He must've been dreaming, because the next thing he realized, his finger had been placed in his maw. He licked the tip aggressively, as he began to hyperventilate. "I...just wanted..." As the Emergency Exits opened up in each room, screaming could be heard from one in particular. "ALL STUDENTS ARE TOO EVACUATE THE BUILDING! I REPEAT! ALL STUDENTS ARE TO EVACUATE THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY!" Ms. Hitotsume's voice could be heard getting farther away from the Microphone, as she seemed to head towards the site of danger. "THIS EXAM IS OVER! A student has been critically injured." Misu's leap through the air was interrupted as a myriad of scales were shot at her. She went to block the attacks with her arm that wasn't in use, as it was cut up by the sharp projectiles. She grit her teeth as her fist was straight in Taro's face's direction. However, her fist slipped right past his face, and collided with the snow. The whole room seemed to rumble, as the spot where Misu's fist landed was devoid of any snow. The steam in the air separated the two, as she looked through it at Taro. She seemed disappointed but there was no use. She shrieked a bit when Lily's hand grabbed around her ankle. "S-Sorry!" She heard the girl exclaim behind them. "Tch." Misu spat at the ground. "Wonder who got the bad end of the shit stick." "ALL STUDENTS ARE TOO EVACUATE THE BUILDING! I REPEAT! ALL STUDENTS ARE TO EVACUATE THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY!" Misu's head turned towards the Doors that opened, as red lights began to blare throughout the rooms. Through the sirens, she could hear a bloodcurdling cry. Something definitely wasn't right now. "I don't know about you three, but I'm heading to see what's going on." Misu gave all three of them a thumbs up. "If you wanna wuss out, be my guest. This doesn't seem like something for you all!" "Kibo, help me evacuate the others! I'm sure Pip will be on his way to help!"

It had been decided that they would let the Aliens board their vessel. A strange tactical decision by his Commander, but he was not the right rank to be debating her Strategy. They had no way of gauging these creatures' intents, yet they were allowed to walk straight onto the main deck. Julius felt a lump in his throat, as his eyes made contact with the first extraterrestrials he had ever seen. They looked fairly intimidating, but there was an air of intelligence about them. No doubt they were, seeing as they were capable of space travel as well. Julius scratched his chin, listening intently to their language, as they passed on some sort of disc to the crew. It began to install a software onto the ship, another strange move on the captain's part. What if they had downloaded some interstellar computer virus. He shook the thought, as they proceeded to exchange communications. "Now, let me try that introduction again. We are the Vruul Republic, and I am this warband's leader, High Warlord Thakto. You don't seem to be Bolhe scum, so we're pleased to meet you, mysterious creatures. I don't really know a lot about interstellar affairs, but if you have any questions, ask. But first, identify yourselves." "We are humans, of Sol and the planets surrounding it." Well that pretty much summed things up nicely. He didn't feel as if he had any information to divulge, now it was time to start pressing their guests. "A republic with a High Warlord as a high ranking official? Are you conquerors, or are you diplomats? We humans tend to be quite the diplomats ourselves. If you are the same, I'm sure we'll get along just fine!"

It was almost over in an instant, as Todd watched the battle in front of him. He squeezed Pix tightly, as he seemed to be rather anxious at the fact that his classmates had won. However, he couldn't help but feel a little bit frustrated at how useless he seemed. He just grit his teeth behind his quivering lips, bearing the humiliation. Another rather large digimon had also appeared, this one seeming benevolent. So this was the Master that Zubamon was talking about. While the digimon looked rather impressive, he couldn't help but think the guy looked like an oversized action figure. "Omnimon huh?" Todd looked down at Pix, whose mouth was completely agate. "Is he a big deal?" "Not just Omnimon! Omnimon Alter-S!" She shouted. "He's a really big deal! Like, the biggest! When I grow up, I wanna fight him one on one to prove how strong I am!" Even though Todd wanted to say that the big lug wasn't a big deal, the aura the creature oozed seemed to make him not able to. "Yeah whatever. So we gotta go all the way to California?" He asked. "If you ask me, we should try to find a way to get things back to normal...not try and hide away like rats in a cage!" He barked towards the group. Now was time for him to save face, instead of cowering away like he had in the fight. He threw a fist in the air. "Pix and I are going to totally find a way to fix everything, by ourselves!"

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space "Good thing you clipped their wing." "Since when did you get a sense of humor? Fufufu." Taiga watched as the losers were all dragged away. She gave a thumbs up to Scarlet as well. "Is that all?" "Yeah...seems a bit too easy if you ask me." "If it was that easy everyone would do it! You two, you're up!" Two more Gijinka entered the ring. One looked rather confident in it's abilities, while the other stood there twiddling it's fingers. Roots started to dig into the ground beneath it, as they tried to shoot a confusing ball of light at Taiga. She stretched, as the attack seemed to meander on it's way over to her, making sure to loosen her side and legs up. She'd make short work of that guy in the back. "Hey, Chrome dome, make sure you take care of that dork while I," Taiga bolted off to the side of the ring, trying to circle her way towards the opponent who made themselves a sitting duck, "Take care of this dweeb!" Taiga jumped back after getting a clear shot at the Cradily, making sure her feet landed on the ropes. Her momentum snapped her forward once more, as her fangs projected out, shimmering with frost. "Take this! Taiga the Terrible's Tundra Torpedo!" "I'm here too you know?" Isole could be heard groaning, as she shot of a Thunderbolt to fend off the Cradily's defender. Taiga's bite landed with the both of their help, as the Gijinka's eyes lit up with fear. However, it wasn't enough to knock them out entirely, as the attack from before was now launched at point blank range. Her mind started flashing, and she could barely manage to see ahead of her. However, her nose picked up a vile stench coming her way. She managed to quickly stumble out of the way of the incoming acid, but fell over in the process. She gripped a hold of her head, trying to shake the confusion, but to no avail. "Doll, don't wanna give Slaking nothin'!" She couldn't even try to put any words together in a coherent sentence. She started to run at Cradily once more, but tripped over her own foot and fell flat on her face. She grunted at the force of shark nose smacking into wrestling ring, but gave a thumbs up to the others. "Give up! I play fiddles for breakfast!" She shouted towards the others.

"There's a reason I decided to buff Nidoran's stats rather than lower yours." Icarus slammed into Nidoran with a Quick Attack, sending the small Pokemon backwards. With Icarus near the ground, however, it made it easier for the Nidoran to attack. "Now, Double Kick!" Chad called out. The Poison Pokemon charged in and stood up on his hind legs. The first kick, coming from its front legs, didn't seem to do much but knock Icarus off balance, but the second follow-up struck the Starly on its beak and seemed to cause much more damage than the first. "Lowered attack doesn't matter if I get a critical hit! But might as well play on both sides, Leer!" As the Nidoran let off a ferocious gaze, Icarus couldn't help but flinch a little. "Don't let that guy scare you Icarus!" Oswald cheered. "We just gotta throw him of his game! Shake him with another growl!" The Starly did just that, chirping once more to try and ward off it's opponent. He'd have to risk Icarus getting in close yet again to land any sort of attack, but the small bird had obviously taken quite the kick earlier. He'd just have to do this by the book. "Let's see if he can catch up! Icarus, commence a flurry of Quick Attacks! Full speed pursuit!" Oswald looked to his other teammates for a moment, realizing Kanon had won and Naomi had lost. He had to win this for the team! Oswald smiled, his stomach tied in knots. This was as close a battle as he'd had yet. "You're trying to land critical blows now? I thought luck wasn't a strategy?" He laughed. "Hypocrites get the max sentence!"

"Well, did about as good as I could hope." The boy muttered as he returned the Pokemon. "He did a great job." Oswald nodded his head, smiling as he commended his opponent's effort. Looking at the bird Pokemon Oswald had sent out next Chad nodded to himself. "No use sending in Bellsprout against that. Guess it's all up to you for now." He tossed his last ball into the air, revealing a Nidoran, another pokemon he was rather more familiar with. Packs of them roamed near Goldenrod. The Pokemon emerged looking much more confident and serious than the others that had been sent out. It watched Icarus warily with its nose twitching. "Focus Energy, Nidoran, and then go in with a Peck!" The Nidoran started to make it's way towards Starly. He grit his teeth, as he was already on the defensive. "Get out of range, Icarus! Take to the sky for now!" The Starly did just that, taking off the ground with a strong flap of it's wings. Oswald scratched his chin, as Icarus circled overhead waiting for a command. All of Icarus' attacks would get into peck range, and with that focused energy of Nidoran's any attack could sting. "Start off with an audible assault! Growl Ic!" The small bird chirped a mighty chirp that would stagger any Pokemon. "Now, let's go in for a Quick Attack!" The trade off would be Oswald's best shot at beating this Nidoran. It seemed like Chad's ace in the hole.

They had finally shot off into the stars. Julius looked out the windows to see the lights of the empty void speed pass them, his eye barely able to catch them all. It was such a different view than the terraformed sky of Mars, and it made him smile. This was mankind's first step towards unraveling the vastness of space. What those in the past could only dream of and write scripts for, he was experiencing this exact moment. Most of the crew were too busy with menial tasks to take in all of the wonder, but that was too be expected. Most people here had a job to do. He could respect their work ethic. "Captain! Three ships detected coming from the space station! Orders, please!" Julius looked out of the front, seeing a large red planet taking up most of the view. He stroked his chin...not even an hour had gone by since they shoved off, but they were now encountering extraterrestrial life. Of course humans weren't the only sentient being in the universe. To think so would be naive. "Hmmm...Crew members here on the bridge! What do you make of this situation? I want to proceed in a manner you're all comfortable with, so speak up!" "Julius Pfeiffer, reports as ordered, ma'am." He was the first to speak through the masses. He saluted her. "If I may, Captain, I say that we try and communicate with these beings before taking any drastic measures. After all, we don't want our first contact to be hostile...what would the universe think of Humanity then?"

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space Taiga's clothespin was interrupted by a swift blow from the Flying challenger, grazing her face, but she persevered and pushed forward. Eventually, she had made contact with one of her targets, the challenger in a big shell. Taiga grimaced as her arm made contact. She tried to send him flying, but all she managed to do was knock him over. When her opponent erupted out from the shell, they had launched some sort of colorful beam at them. At this range, all Taiga could do was put up a cross arm guard to try and deflect some of the blow. It pushed her some distance away, until she was able to steer clear away from the attack. Taiga brushed her shoulders off, and straightened her vest before smiling. "You ever get your shell cracked open before?" "My shell is the strongest! It will not crack!" They proclaimed, before the shell in question launched a multitude of spikes towards Taiga. Taiga used her bare hands to knock them off their courses, deflecting them with swift movements, before reaching out for one and catching it in her teeth. She gnawed on it for a second, trying to crush it with her jaws, but instead stood there chewing on it for some time. She spat it out right back at the Gijinka, along with a couple of her teeth. "Yeah, it's pretty tough alright...let's see if my teeth can break through!" She pointed to her teeth, which had already started to grow back into place, before starting her runners pose. She bolted towards the Gijinka at pace, and went to throw a punch, but feinted into a leg sweep with a twisted smile. The gijinka had attempted to shoot another beam at her, but it was already too late. They were already kicked off of their feet, now lying on the map. However, before Taiga could start pummeling, the Gijinka retreated back into his large shell. Taiga struggled, but she picked up the shell from off the mat, and started to chomp on it fiercely. After a couple of serious bites, her teeth clad themselves in a dripping dark energy, as she clamped down onto the shell with the full force of her jaws behind it. She could feel the little guy start to squirm inside, as he came out once again to push her with some sort of weird appendage. As it approached her, she went to bite at it too, her teeth still covered in the black energy. As it landed, the opponent winced. He shot a large torrent of water at Taiga, pushed her back and making her let go of his shell. "Too afraid of losing that shell, huh? Fufufu." She laughed, as she was pushed back against the ropes due to the force of the torrent. She managed to slip in between the ropes, and use them to swing herself onto one of the poles. "You might wanna get back inside. There's been a flash ass kickin' warning!" She jumped into the air, diving back towards the Gijinka with both feet jutted out like arrows. Water started to follow suit, as it encompassed her entire body into a sharp torrent of water that headed straight for the Gijinka's nose. Like a Deerling caught in the headlights, the Gijinka stared at the display, as Taiga crashed into them with force. She let her heels grind into his cheek, as the Gijinka's eyes faded to white. He was knocked completely out in that instant, flying out of the ring and being collected by some offside referees. "And that's why you don't mess with Taiga the Tyrant of the Tides! Now who's next!" She said, turning her head sharply towards the winged one. "You look like you could use a beatdown, pickin' on my precious Isole!" Taiga sprinted towards the winged Gijinka with increasing speed. She was definitely faster now, as she slid up to him with a right hook with a trail of water following close behind.

"Ducklett, Wing Attack!" Chad called out. The Water bird took back up to the air and started to fly in Archie's direction. Wings glowing with energy. Oswald went to command Archie to use a Thundershock once more, but the Ducklett was commanded to pull up right before it was in range. And, once it reached its peak, "Now Water Gun!" the Ducklett shot out a jet of water at the sheep Pokemon. "Gotta do as much damage as you can before you go down, keep it up!" With the Ducklett being so high in the air, it would be hard to reach him with an attack without the little bird dodging it. Oswald tried to scramble a plan together, but Archie was already being pelted with water gun. "Archie! Let's start an electric pursuit! Get out of the way with Tackle!" Archie managed to step out of the stream of water, tired but persistent, as he charged towards Chad, only to circle around back towards Oswald. "Give him no where to run! Thundershock three times!" Archie's wool let out three bolts of electricity, all from different angles at Ducklett, only to trip and fall, and be doused with water once again. After tumbling, it was clear Archie couldn't battle anymore. Oswald walked up to Archie, only to pet his fluffy forehead, returning him to his ball. He let out Icarus once more who flapped his wings vigorously. "We still haven't won yet! We're still in hot pursuit of this victory!"

As his thrust sang through the air, Lancer did the most sensible thing and backed away from his attack. Her display of agility and acrobatics was quite impressive. She managed to stand her staff upright, while simultaneously landing on the top of it. He smiled when she landed, stroking his chin with intrigue.  "Wow, going straight for these puppies, huh?" Lancer asked as she fondled her rather impressive specimen of a breast. "I mean, I know they're nice, but the first move is going for a feel? At least take me to dinner first," She teased. As soon as she had finished her flirtations, she did another flip. This time, leaping forward, she grabbed her pole and swung it with incredible force towards Saber's head. He could feel a bead of sweat drip from his forehead, as he went to parry the attack. He braced the underside of his sword with his offhand as well, bracing even more than usual. When the staff met the metal, the reverberations shook him to his core. His legs almost buckled, as the ground where he stood caved into itself. His arms quivered as he held his sword against his assailant's weapon. "A man of faith, such as myself, would never dare attack a woman sexually. I see you as a worthy opponent, mi amor!" He made his strength surge forth, repelling Lancer's staff into the air, while also kicking off the ground and gaining distance. He traced the blade of his sword with his offhand, as the blade began to glow. Slicing only the air, Saber's blade let out a shot of light that traveled quickly to meet Lancer. "That being said, are you free later?"

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space They all agreed, so wait they did. Taiga groaned, as she sat patiently still. Being patient was the hardest thing for a Sharpedo to do, so she innately started tapping a toe. She felt like that if she didn't do at least that, she would die from waiting. "So...nice weather we're having." Taiga looked around her, noticing the lack of weather, only for her head to plop back into her hand. "Yeah. Real nice." However, just a couple of seconds later, the hallway seemed to shift itself. It did so for a while until the entire staircase had turned itself into a straight and narrow hall. At the end of the hall was a large set of stone doors. Taiga walked up to them, not wanting to wait around anymore. She noticed the large silver rings that clung to the doors, opting to pull them outwards to open them. On the other side was quite luminous, as torches lined a strange dining hall. Stranger still was that the hall was inhabited by strange looking Gijinka, some of which she had never layed eyes on before. Taiga waved to them all, giving out a pretty straightforward, dry greeting. "Yo." Among them all, two stood out the most. A large Gijinka with a mighty jaw line, and another who looked at the group with tender eyes. The one she laid eyes on first was the one to speak among all others. "Stand." he commanded, prompting all the others in the room to stand with him. He was definitely the boss here. "I see we have invaders. You have interrupted a wonderful feast you know. But I see you're here on a mission. We were told that those such as you would be coming. If you intend to continue your quest then first you must take on the trial of me, the First King of Adarid." The Gijinka at the table moved to the side and, as the Tyrantrum stomped their foot, the table slid into the floor. Then a large, square, arena moved up. With four pillars at each corner connected by ropes. "Enter the combat arena. Only if you defeat my knights shall you be allowed to continue." Three Gijinka jumped into the arena, looking ready for a brawl. Taiga only grinned, jumping onto one of the pillars of the arena on her tiptoes. She struck her arms out, only to give the audience a bow. "You know...for a second there, I really thought this whole stupid Dragon's test thing was gonna be that easy." She pointed to the man who pronounced himself the First King. "Glad to see that I get to whoop some ass too!" Taiga jumped into the ring, flexing her arm as she did so. "You sure we just can't skip this thing? I'm sure ya'll don't wanna die twice now! Fufufufu!" She looked to all three Gijinka who seemed rather uninterested in backing down. "Shame. Now you gotta tangle with Taiga the Treacherous and Terrible!" She said slyly, running towards the ropes, jumping straight into them. The elasticity shot her forward with twice the speed, as a jet of water started to follow behind both of her arms. She made her way to crash into the one with wings, and the one with tentacles with a powerful Double Waterfall Lariat!

"Good choice I guess. I hate to waste the boosts but no other option, two can play at that game, return!" The boy returned the paralyzed Pokemon to it's ball, only to choose from another and throw it onto the field. It let loose a Ducklet, a pokemon Oswald wasn't very familiar with. It looked goofy, but he wasn't able to judge a book by it's cover. This battle was a tough one, and it was getting tougher by the minute. "Ducklett, use Water Gun, keep that Starly at a distance!" Taking advantage of Oswald's confusion, a jet of water was able to land it's mark and hit Icarus. This thing was obviously a water and flying type Pokemon, but Archie was beat. He had no choice if he was to get the upper hand in this battle. Oswald returned Icarus to his ball, only to release his Mareep once more. "Now this is what I call a type advantage! Archie, let's use Thundershock for real this time! Let that Ducklett have it!" With a weak, but still fierce, cry, Archie's wool built up electricity once more to let loose at the opponent. "It's all or nothing now!"

Slate had barely made the jump, but it was totally worth it to see how cool the academy actually was. He stared in awe of the architecture built into the side of a mountain, his jaw almost hitting the floor once he saw the giant river that seemed to cut through the entire school, unnoticed. This was where new hunters were learning the trade? A bolt of lightning almost made him jump out of his skin, as he clutched his Iron Katana once more, trying his best not to whimper. "I'm surprised you made that jump at all," the one girl grinned. "You were shaking in your boots just seconds before jumping. Are you sure you want to be a hunter?" "Y-y-yeah! Hunters are cool as hell! There's no way I'm not gonna become one!" "Caution isn't a weakness," Another student commented, this one wielding a large hammer. "Recklessness is going to get you killed a lot faster," Slate could only nod his head in agreement, turning his head over to the girl to stick his tongue at her. "Your attitude, by the way...not cool." He said, flipping his hair. "ENOUGH CHIT CHAT!" The lead Hunter roared. "You thought you were just gonna get off that boat, and have it easy huh?! Keep followin'!" She did a swift heel turn, marching the group of recruits through the winding paths, and swinging bridges. They marched for at least ten minutes, before they reached a large hut with a plume of smoke rising from a hole in the ceiling. "Hope you prawns are hungry, because you've got some eating to do before we get into any of the knitty gritty!" As they entered the hut, the aroma of fine cuisine hit Slate's nostrils like a truck. He had never smelled anything so mouth-watering in his life, yet the smell alone made his taste buds rumble. Golden, fried rice was almost caked to the ceiling, as monstrous cuts of meat were skewered along a tepid grill. Vegetables and various fish could be seen sprawled across a large leaf, steaming after being seared for hours. Fondues and fizzy beverages found themselves at the tail end of the counter. "DIG IN!" The Hunter commanded, prompting Slate to grab a pristine marble slab of stone that would be used for a plate. He grabbed a heaping helping of all the various foods, choosing to avoid the fondue fountain. He preferred to let the food speak for itself, rather than caking it in a thick sauce. As he sat down at a thick wooden table, the hunter interrupted. "Once your bellies are full, we'll announce your hunting partners, and then it's off to training! So eat up, and buddy up!! You never know who you're gonna have to deal with here as your partner!"

"Luck isn't a strategy. Strategy is knowing how to win without needing luck! Growth again!" As Archie ran towards the Bellsprout it once more increased its power. Then waited. The Bellsprout didn't try and get out of the way as Archie's Tackle knocked it into the air. "Now, Vine Whip, right through the Thundershock!" "What?!" Oswald watched in disbelief, as in mid-flight Bellsprout managed to shoot a vine whip directly into the path of Archie's attack, using it's veggie extension as some sort of lightning rod. It didn't even seem to phase the Plant-Type, as his look about him made him seem confident. Oswald wasn't getting anywhere like this, and Archie looked exhausted. He grit his teeth, before making his mind up. "Return, Archie!" He commanded, returning his partner to it's ball, only to swap it with another on his hip. "Let's get some aerial support! Go, Icarus!" The bird Pokemon erupted from his ball with a cry. "Start this off with a vicious Growl! Follow it up with a dive bomb Quick Attack!" The Starly did just that, as it let out the most vicious chirp it could. As it sang through the air, it charged the Bellsprout with speed, planning to give the Bellsprout a rough landing.

As Misu charged in with her wide swing, she noticed that Taro had already prepared himself. The boy dodged under her arm, her arm careening over him, as he made a move to let her do all the work in handcuffing herself. Misu felt something tug at her waist, and pull her back, the cuffs almost clacking against her wrists. She was being reeled in by Lily, who was absorbing her arms into herself like some sort of fleshy tape-measurer. With a shiver, Misu was plopped back down into the snow beside the girl. "That was a close one." Lily sighed, placing her hands against her chest. "If I were to lose my partner so early on, I wouldn't stand much of a chance myself." Misu's eyebrow twitched at the girl. "What's with that attitude, huh!? You're tryin' to be a hero, aint'cha?!" Misu's body started to steam once more, melting most of the snow around her. "One day, it'll just be you versus some villains, all by your lonesome. You gonna give up then too?" She saw the girl gulp out of the corner of her eye. "Fight like I wasn't here..." She groaned a bit before scratching the back of her head. "And thanks for that save. This dude's trickier than I thought. Now here's what we're gonna do." Misu began to whisper to the girl, and once she was finished, Lily had nodded. She began to walk up to the two fighters again, this time approaching the other boy. "It's your lucky day Taro...I don't feel like beating the snot out of you just yet. I'm gonna take it out on your partner instead!" Misu ran up to the two boys, only to stop a few yards short, noting Kibo's positioning as she did so. She gathered all her might, and let out a vigorous roar. "CHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A burst of steam erupted from her body, covering the snowy mountain peak in a cloud of vapor. It wouldn't stay hot for very long, but it would obscure their visibility for a brief moment. With a burst of steam power from her calves, Misu jumped into the air at an angle, bringing herself down in Kibo's general vicinity with another steam power surge coursing through her biceps. Meanwhile, Lily began to sprout multiple arms that slinked under the snow, like some sort of root system composed entirely of arms and hands. She made sure to curve them around the foggy cloud, and would grab anything she came into contact with. However, she could tell that the time it would take for her to react would drop considerably, as her nerve endings were being stretched to their absolute limits.

Team Showdown - Skuldafn Temple "I think she might be right there." Isole said dryly. "Maybe she knows how to do this thing." "Taiga!" The voice rung out right beside her. "I thought I lost you when you jumped off the bridge!" Taiga blushed a bit, before going to push Scarlet right off her. Before she could, the Scizor had already let go. "Isole! You made it here too." "Geez...I don't think you were gone that long. No need to worry about me. I'm tough as nails. A fall wouldn't even bruise me! Now help us out why don't ya, you lazy bum!" "Hmm...A puzzle, huh? I'll take it from here." Scarlet moved quickly, dashing and punching tiles across the ground. It took her a good solid bit of time to get the pieces in place, but eventually she managed to get all the tiles in place. She let out a huff as she wiped her brow. "That should do it." "Tch. About time." Taiga grumbled, a hint of jealousy in her face. The tiles of the puzzle started to glow, upon completion, and shifted into a set of stairs. Taiga looked down them, and sighed. "I guess we keep going down, huh?" She said, as she started the descent. Like the hallway before them, the staircase seemed to go on forever. "GAH! This is another damn trick, ain't it!?" Taiga roared, frazzling her hair in frustration, whilst chomping at the air. "Um. Are we actually going anywhere?" Once more, like on the platform before, words started appearing along the wall. "Time waits for no man. Yet man must always wait for time. It will never catch up until you let it." Taiga sat down on the stairs, and thought for a moment. "This might sound dumb...but my gut's tellin' me to wait here."

"Tch, don't you know anything about typing?" Chad chastised him, throwing a snide look in to put the cherry on top. "Bellsprout you can take that, just use another Growth." As Chad said the electric attack hit Bellsprout and, while it was a direct hit, didn't seem to affect the Grass-type much. "Now, Vine Whip again. Sorry dude this is gonna hurt." Oswald prepared to give Archie the order to brace for the attack, but it never came. Bellsprout had succumb to the paralysis that was inflicted on it. "Damn, rotten luck. Shake it off Bellsprout you only need a couple hits off, he can't out damage you!" Oswald rolled his arm a bit and smiled. "All according to plan! Right Archie?" His pokemon baa'd in agreement. Oswald laughed. He knew he had gotten a bit lucky, but he had used Thunder Wave for this chance! "Now, let's seize on this opportunity! Shut this case down with a tackle! And once you knock him away, send him to the slammer with another Thundershock!"