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Tch, and Kiera was pretty good at making a compliment sound like an insult too. Nolan just wouldn't let it get to him, because when she wasn't being crazy, she was just silly. But what to do about Dosu? Would this even be a fair fight with an Abra on the other team?

"Oh sure, right, rules."
Sighing, Nolan had spaced out for a minute or two. He mumbled an apology, and Snivy had already gotten out Twill's pokeball. She handed it to Nolan and he tossed it to release the tiny dark blue bird again.
"Twill ..."
After the Tiny Bird had formed, that nickname got her attention, although, she didn't know when she became a 'Twill' instead of Taillow.
"This isn't going to be a normal battle. You're against Eevee and Abra, but you'll also be the strongest pokemon on the field. To win this battle, you'll need to help protect Dosu from Eevee, and try to hit Abra without letting Eevee hit Dosu more times than you. Understand?"
Taillow, or maybe Twill, mulled over these conditions for awhile. She hopped side to side in the sand, noticing that Snivy was out of her pokeball, yet neither of the Shinx were anywhere to be seen. Feeling bolder now that she knew she wasn't going to get ganged up on, she shot a critical look at the opposing team and narrowed her eyes. Finally she chirped and spread her wings in an impressive show if she wasn't just a one foot bird.

"And um, first to ten? No going out of boundaries, and they'll be from ... that tree that looks like it's going to fall over, over to that ... that rock. Hold on."
Nolan got up to his feet and ran over to the rock he had spotted. Checking first that it wasn't a Geodude, he pushed it across the sand so it was more visible for everyone. Brushing off the sand he jogged back.
"To there, okay?"

(( Edit: Actually, I think I'll be going to beeeed. I'm barely staying awake here. See you tomorrow to continue? But damn, we covered a lot of ground today. ))



Well, now Nolan was starting to work out the pros and cons about his little team. Magikarp wouldn't be able to hear very well underwater, yet it would be pretty difficult for Eevee to go get him down there without getting wet. While Nolan still didn't know exactly what Kiera's Abra was capable of, he knew enough about the few Abra he had run across back in his hometown. They were wicked fast, and if they actually did stop and fight, the stories were haunting. Suddenly his mouth felt dry, and Nolan no longer thought this was going to be the slow and relaxed battle. Twill already was his fastest pokemon, but could she keep up with an Abra? And Nolan still didn't know what Jupiter was capable either. The Eevee was the wildcard here.

Yet what really caught him by surprise was that Twill was watching from the shore, waiting on Nolan to tell her which move she should make first.
"Um, Twill ..."
It had been awhile since the first battle.
"Let's test Jupiter's speed against yours. Go right for Zeus but watch for an attack from below."
The Taillow made no acknowledgment beyond the fact that she took off with a swift flap of her wings, and Nolan was not exaggerating when he said that Taillow was his fastest. She zipped over the sand, flying low, and straight at Jupiter. Nolan panicked.
"Up! Fly up!"
At the last second, Twill zoomed up to fly over the Eevee's head, and zeroed in on the searching Abra. She hovered for a second, and then dived.

Twill flew through right where Zeus had been a second ago. There was a slight disturbance from the psychic energy that ruffled her quills, yet when she passed only air, she looped around to hang in the sea breeze. Spreading her feathers wide, she floated upwards to gain a better vantage point on the playing field. Nolan spotted the Psychic pokemon right away, but now he had to make the split-second choice - defense or offense? Dosu was a faster swimmer than the Eevee, right?
"Twill, he's over there!"

The bird tucked her wings in, diving through the air right for the Abra at break-neck speeds. Nolan searched for Dosu in the shallow water. The Magikarp was staring at the brown furry Eevee swimming towards him, and almost seemed to be taunting Jupiter with his lazy fin strokes. Yet the water was his element, just as much as the sky was Twill's. When Jupiter was beginning to draw in close, he zipped off towards the same corner that Zeus and Twill were in.

Dosu wriggled in the Abra's grip, surprised by the attack from above, but it was enough to slow him down. Jupiter would tag the fish's orange scales, and now it was 1-0 with Kiera in the lead. Snivy was keeping score and she added a pebble to the circle in the sand with Kiera's name next to it. Nolan was going to need some different tactics. Trying to out-speed the Abra didn't look like it was going to work, yet maybe Eevee's limitations in the water would be the weakness to exploit ...
"Dosu!"
Nolan had to wait until the Magikarp's head poked out of the water.
"You're going to have to help Twill out here! Cover the right side, and Twill, you cover the left side. Dosu, do everything you can to slow that Abra down for Twill!"

Twill rose slowly in the air again, gaining altitude. When it was time-in again, she dived right for Zeus, skimming along the top of the waves with her clawed feet extended to tag the Abra in the shallow water. Dosu flicked his tail and moved to the right of the field, swimming in figure eights.

"Maybe we should only go to five points, Kiera ..."
Nolan was starting to notice the strain on his pokemon already, and it hadn't even gone over a single point in the first round. Twill was a natural born flyer though, yet Nolan could see that her patience was already wearing thin.
"Don't let yourself get pushed onto shore, Dosu. Lets put some pressure on Abra! Dosu, you first, jump! Twill, wait until you see Zeus reappear next and then dive."

Magikarp may not have been able to fight so very well, but everyone could appreciate their legendary jumping abilities. Dosu was no slouch either, and he did a tight circle in the sea water to gain some speed before he leaped out of the water at Zeus. The fish let loose his silly warcry,
"Kaaaaaar!"
Twill was waiting now, circling overhead, ready for the second after the teleport.

Rising to the same height as Zeus, Twill saw the distraction Dosu provided before Nolan even did, and just as Dosu broke the water's surface with his leap, the bird dived from behind to tag Zeus. Except this time, Twill used her Quick Attack, increasing her speed and a white energy enveloped her as she speared through the air towards the Abra. Nolan had no time to react himself, and could only watch when he caught a glimpse of Twill's brash move.

Well, Nolan couldn't really be angry with Twill, since she did take the initiative to score a point for their side. Snivy had put the corresponding pebble in Nolan's circle and it was a tied game. Four more points to go for the win, and that was going to be much more difficult while Zeus and Jupiter were on the defensive. However, that also gave Nolan some much needed time to come up with another tactic, but how was he going to explain it to his pokemon without giving it away? A couple seconds later, Nolan thought he might have the answer.
"Dosu, do you remember that one time when I dropped my favorite toy in the water? Do you remember what you did?"
The Magikarp stared at Nolan and blinked slowly, but he seemed to have comprehended because the fish dived back under the water. Nolan just hoped this plan would be good enough to gain them another point.

Twill knew something was up, but she knew she was being left out for the sake of secrecy. She circled up again into the air and waited for an opportunity to tag the Abra. Dosu didn't make the Tiny Bird wait long. Once he had found a pretty shell to carry in his mouth, Dosu suddenly flopped onto the sandy shore near Jupiter, making a tantalizing target. He was going to wait for Jupiter to come closer, and if she took the bait, he'd flip over and go a little farther out towards the deeper water. But that wasn't all. The Magikarp spit out the shell at Zeus to rile up the Abra.

It was suffice to say that that memory that the Magikarp shared with Nolan proved that their relationship probably had gotten a rocky start.

No, Nolan wasn't really expecting that, yet Dosu wasn't going to be caught with his pants down. Erm, not that Magikarp wore pants. Dosu reversed directions away from the deeper water and the Eevee. And now flopped right at Abra, trying to make Zeus teleport so Twill could pick him off right when he reappeared.
"Get ready to do that Quick Attack again, Twill!"
Or well, if Abra didn't teleport, then Twill would try to use the same distraction that Magikarp provided again to sneak in and hit Zeus.