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Nyght walked into the Stadium a little nervous. It felt odd to actually have a pokemon in one of the balls around her waist, as if the added presence could be felt through the pokeball's walls. Shaking her head, Nyght reflected on how in Articuno's name she had gotten here. A trainer, Kayla, had offered to teach her to battle.... Meeka had lent her Ebba so that Nyght could battle. And that was basically it, now she was in the Stadium, having no idea what she was doing and hoping that Kayla was true to her word about nicely teaching.

Nyght shook herself out of her thoughts at the stench of the city-streets. Had she gotten turned around? No, this was the field that had been chosen for them to battle on.... She nodded to herself, trying to remember how battles went. Nyght stepped onto her place in the large stadium, spotting Kayla and her Cranidos. She realized that she should release Ebba now.

Her hands shaking visibly, Nyght detached the occupied pokeball from her belt and, somewhat weakly, through it out, "Umm.. Go Ebba!" It wasn't all that dramatic of an entrance, but Nyght reassured herself that she would get better with practice.

To her relief, the scarfed Stantler appeared out of his ball, though he looked a little disinterested in battling for Nyght. Ebba looked around him at the trash and tilted his head, trotting over to one bag, sniffing it before deciding it was not an appetizing smell. He seemed to be looking for something, which Nyght could only assume was food, but she didn't have anything to entice him with, so she just hoped that he would listen to her... Nyght looked around the stadium, wondering if Meeka would come and watch, and hoping that Nyght wouldn't screw up too bad....

800/800

Kayla's tone reassured Nyght a bit. She didn't seem overly competitive, or determined to destroy Nyght in her first battle, which, silly as they sounded, were Nyght's primary concerns. That at letting Ebba get too badly hurt....

"All right Ebba, let's do this!" Though her voice shook a bit at the end, Nyght's posture was one of determination. The stantler seemed a bit distracted, and if it was food he wanted, perhaps Nyght could use that to her advantage. "Hey Ebba, if you listen to me, I promise to buy you as much jam as Meeka will let me!" And Nyght would keep her promise. She didn't have pokemon to buy products for, so she may as well spoil someone else's.

At the word jam, Ebba looked up and back at Nyght, trotting a short distance, and appearing to at least stand at attention. This was a great improvement to looking through trash, and Nyght had a vague hope that this would go all right after all.

"Okay, it's time to start battling. You can't get distracted by all the trash in the street, so just focus on my voice and staying out of that Cranidos' teeth...." At the mention of Ebba's opponent, the stantler looked towards the other end of the field and his eyes widened. Yeah, a deer pokemon fighting a dinosaur pokemon wasn't the best for the deer.... "Hey, it'll be all right, just focus and use those hooves. Let's start off with Iron Tail!"

Nyght pointed her hand towards the Cranidos and shouted the last two words for effect and to try to get Ebba moving.

Ebba recognized the command easily enough and turned to face the Cranidos. He started into a gallop, his tail lengthening and hardening with a silvery glint to it. As he neared the dinosaur pokemon, he leaped into the air and spun, attempting to get over the Cranidos and spear it's back with the blade-like tail.

((and it's x2 supereffective since it's steel))

800/800

Nyght cheered as Ebba landed a solid hit, "Nice job Ebba, now ready yourself for the counterattack!" Nyght's blood was already pumping, she had had an awesome start to the day. Her mind started racing with which attack to use next on the Cranidos, knowing she had to play to Ebba's strengths. Her mind hit on one, and she kept it on the tip of her tongue to shout to Ebba. Before she could do that, however, the Cranidos attempted to retaliate. Ebba, thankfully, had stayed attentive while the Cranidos got out of the garbage she had fallen into.

As Nyght heard Kayla's direction to her pokemon, Nyght grimaced and shouted quickly, "Ebba, dodge those rocks, don't let them hit you!" Like the deer pokemon really needed such direction, but Nyght was doing everything she could to keep Ebba safe. The stantler snorted and pawed at the ground, his eyes watching the Cranidos. As the street began to shatter and fly, Ebba leaped into the air, dodging the first rock aimed at him. Miraculously, he dodged to the left and missed the next as well, and another one after that. Nyght was amazed at the stantler's agility, and almost proud, though it wasn't her pokemon.

Nyght had to dodge a few stray pebbles herself, though the battle was so far from her that it wasn't too dangerous. As soon as Ebba had cleared all the rocks, Nyght shouted to her, "Earthquake Ebba!" This command caught the stantler with his momentum still, so he was easily able to rear up his hooves. A strange glow lit his front hooves as they rushed towards the already shattered concrete. He slammed into the street and sent shockwaves out, rearing again to continue the effect.

800/800

Nyght's eyes widened as Ebba's attack pummeled the Cranidos to within an inch of fainting. This was amazing. "Nice job Ebba!" In the back of her mind, Nyght felt bad for hurting the pokemon so badly, but she knew she couldn't let that thinking take over. She had to direct Ebba skillfully and keep her from harm. There seemed to be a possibility of returning Ebba to Meeka without a scratch, now that would be amazing. After the seismic waves abated, Ebba reared up and called challengingly at the Cranidos, he seemed to actually be getting into this battling thing. That brought a smile to Nyght's face, and reaffirmed her battling mindset.

Kayla's comment didn't help Nyght's determination though. The Cranidos was proving so brave in the face of such unfavorable conditions. Nyght raised a hand and waved at Kayla, "Thanks, you're a great teacher!" Nyght tried to put enthusiasm behind it, but they both knew that there was always a down side to battling, hurt pokemon. Friends and companions in pain and still fighting for their trainers. The sacrifice they made was enormous, and made Nyght reconsider what she really wanted to do in her life. Could she really put her pokemon through this just for fame. Though it was fame for the pokemon too, and she would take care of them the instant the battle was done... She would have to think about it though, and now was not the time. Nyght brought her thoughts back to the battle at hand quickly, her eyes scanning the stadium for what would happen next.

It was just in time to, because as Ebba returned all four hooves to the ground, the weakened Cranidos started to charge her with an outstretched arm.

"Ebba, dodge that arm and retaliate with Double Kick!" Nyght shouted out to the deer pokemon, and Ebba responded well. As the Cranidos closed in on him, Ebba reared up, narrowly avoiding contact. Using the momentum of his rear, Ebba flipped around, landed on his front feet and propelled his back hooves towards the Cranidos, pumping one and then the other towards the pokemon's fleshy underbelly.

Nyght's breath caught, knowing that this could be the deciding strike. She crossed her fingers behind her back, not wanting Kayla to see that she really was still nervous. "C'mon Ebba, you can do this," Nyght whispered under her breath.

800/800

Ebba bleated loudly as his feet hit nothing but air. The lack of contact threw his balance off terribly. As he tried to land his feet without falling over, he felt the sharp claw on his stomach, crying out in pain. The force kept his feet from connecting and he fell and rolled over the broken concrete, a tangle of legs and hooves. Struggling to his feet, he blurted to Nyght, reassuring her that he was all right, and only limping a little. So much for getting out of this without a scratch.

Nyght decided to go with what had worked before and called out to Ebba, "You all right there Ebba? Why don't you finish this off with another Earthquake!" Any guilt that Nyght had been feeling before vanished as she saw Ebba hurt, this was pokemon battling and she had one job, win. If she went soft than Ebba would end up hurt just as badly as the Cranidos, and she didn't want that. To add effect and further inspire Ebba, Nyght pumped her arm into the air, cheering for the stantler. "Rock this place!"

Ebba's stomach ached, but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with. Once he made it to his feet, he was fine. The stantler got himself reoriented, lowering his antlers towards the Cranidos standing a few feet away. He could see that the Cranidos was weak, and just wanted to finish the battle. When Nyght's order came, he jutted his head up and nodded firmly, then reared high, almost in slow motion, and his hooves began to glow again. As he propelled himself firmly down to the concrete again, the glow grew and finally connected with the black asphalt, seismic waves visible in the already shattered concrete. Ebba raised himself up again and again, wave after wave being propelled all around, and especially at the Cranidos.

Nyght caught her breath in her throat, watching the waves coming nearer and nearer the dinosaur pokemon, visualizing them hit in her mind and hoping that reality would soon match the scene.

650/800

((*huggles* thankies! You are too you silly head!))

Nyght gaped as the shock-waves hit the Cranidos. As the Cranidos fell, all eyes were on her, even Ebba's, as he finished his attack. The deer pokemon stood silently, observing his fallen foe with a serious, yet triumphant air. Then, quietly, he turned and trotted back to his battling partner, tilting his head slightly in obvious question, "Stant?"

This shook Nyght out of her solemn silence, and she couldn't help but smile, "You want your jam don't you, big guy." Nyght's hand reached out to rest on the stantler's pronounced nose, rubbing it absently. "I don't have any with me now, but we'll get to the Pokemart as soon as we get you healed up and find Meeka, how does that sound?"

Ebba considered the human's words for a moment, then bopped her hand with his nose and bleated again, "Stant!"

Nyght smiled truly this time, and unhooked one of the empty pokeballs on her belt. "All right, time to rest for a little bit. Ebba, return." A soft red glow surrounded the Stantler and it seemed almost like he was shrinking for a moment before he dematerialized and returned to the comfort of his pokeball. Nyght sighed, returning the ball to her waist and stepped off the platform, narrowing the space between herself and Kayla.

The girl's compliment was unexpected and Nyght grinned at her, "Thanks! I guess that just shows how great of a teacher you are! Yeah, I thought she would come, but I guess not...." Nyght trailed off.

"Well, lead the way! And, believe me, we're going to have a rematch no matter what, when I have my own pokemon!" The challenge in Nyght's voice was paired with a sense of friendly rivalry, a strange friendship starting to bloom. "But don't worry, Adira's reputation won't be tarnished by me."