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As the room brightened, the sandstorm summoned by Seth's Tyranitar died - a good thing for both of the fire types, who had no resistance to the scouring winds. Moloch shot past Pele and rounded on her again, ready and eager for his next command.

"Hmm," mused Nadja, narrowing her eyes in the harsh light. From the looks of things this was going to take a while. Time to speed it up a bit.

"Toxic."

Moloch paused and shuffled back on his paws, massive jaws working with little 'aur' noises. Then with a furious shake of his head he sent a thick glob of slobber flying toward the Volcano Pokemon.

Nadja waited for the rocks and flame to stop raining down. The latter did little to Moloch; in fact, the giant canine whurfed at the falling embers. They were pretty.

Then a large rock hit him on the head, followed by three more in quick succession.

The Arcanine stumbled with a little yip of pain, splaying his paws to stay upright under the onslaught. Even with his natural affinity for fire, he wasn't meant to stand in the heart of the inferno, and his ears slicked back with discomfort.

The redhead waited until the rumbling ceased and her Pokemon was no longer a shimmering mirage in the heat to call out. "Morning Sun."

Moloch's ears perked. She'd just given the best command. He willingly pointed his nose into the bright light that flooded the arena from above and was still for a few moments.. then barked and waved his feathery tail like a pennant, fully rejuvenated.

When the light cleared Moloch was there, blinking away afterimages and looking rather confused by the ineffectual attack. Nadja frowned faintly. What was he doing? As strategies went, this wasn't one. His expression was like a thunder cloud, but sulking..?

Her eyes were on the man across the arena now, calculating and guarded; the Pokemon were blurred images in her peripheral vision.

"Extremespeed," she called, watching for his reaction.

Moloch launched himself at Pele readily, cannoning toward her on huge, tufted paws.

It was a gamble, what she'd done, relying on confidence in her Pokemon's ability to take a hit. Moloch was a large, bulky dog, and under normal circumstances the two attacks would have brought his health into the amber zone. Or should have.

Pele's fist connected with a sensitive spot where joints met in a critical hit, lifting the Arcanine off his paws with a startled yelp. The massive fire type skidded across the arena, now a mess of jagged rocks, broken ground and melting, sandy snow draining into the gutters installed for just such a purpose, and was still.

Nadja smiled a dry, rueful smile. Of course. Red light called the fallen dog back and she lofted her last ball into the air, releasing a huge, bulbous ghost.

"Finish it, Keres. Thunder Punch."

The eerie static that filled the room with the Dusknoir's arrival intensified into visible lightning as she clenched her thick fists and plummeted towards Pele, red eye wide and unblinking.

Keres hovered there a moment awaiting her next opponent. As she faded to red light and was pulled back into her ball, she looked vaguely disappointed.

Nadja minimized the sphere, clipped it back on her belt, and began to pick her way around the jumbled mess of rocks and ice. "You fight well." It was plainly stated, and she was slightly smiling.

Blue eyes followed her as Nadja came closer.

As a teenager he would have taken a loss much harder, but he was mostly past that. Still, it seemed to bother him.

"Not well enough," he stated matter-of-factly. There were clearly flaws in his strategy, perhaps even in the Pokemon he was using. He would have to evaluate this. While it had worked before, it clearly wasn't now, but things did change and he would have to make changes also.

Folding his arms across his chest, Seth's expression changed little as he looked at the woman. "Your strategy is admirable. Perhaps I've gotten too use to thrashing grunts."

In most cases, Seth would come back with some sort of snide remark, but he held back on this for some reason. Instead he paused and looked at Nadja with a lifted brow. In all honesty, it was the best match he'd had in some time also. She was certainly a worthy opponent.

"Hm. That may be worth my time." Was his reply to her offer. A faint smirk finally reappearing on his features. "I will want a rematch eventually." And no, he hadn't forgotten that he now owed her a favor.