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Cetus's stride once again onto Motterosa's stage was hardly quiet. The crowd was crying in glee on both sides and the Galactic grunt couldn't help basking in the attention. T'was quite obvious that the love was not for Cetus and mostly for her Whimsicott, but she couldn't help raising her arms gracefully and coming to a low bow come her stop.

"Congrats on becoming a finalist!" Cetus said in a light, motherly tone mastered with act and skill. "Good luck in this battle!"

Arie flipped off of Cetus's shoulder and gave her opponent a, "Come hither . . . and let me dazzle your bum" glare.

Given the grand opportunity to start off her performance battle, Cetus snatched up the chance in a tight fist and did not prolong the wait any longer. With a stiff hand and the wafting stretch of her dress curling up like a wave, the grunt disguised as a coordinator injected her index finger into the air and cried, "Sunny Day!"

Arie, like her owner, did not wait any longer. Her eyes flickered shut and the Windveiled Pokemon breathed low, absorbing energy into her core. When a warmth has filled to its brim in her bosom, her hooves extended and suddenly, like a firework, a spasm of brightness burst from her body. A harmonic gradient of pumpkin orange to lemon yellow akin to a new summer's morning simmered above, brightening the stage and waking up the dozing.

Arie's HP: [1000/1000]

Arie's once dazzling shine of dawn was shadowed under the pretense of a storm, or to be most exact, the vicious thorns of energy that stem from a horizon's brewing. The Whimsicott's Sunny Day was cast away to a fading sunset as the cackling bursts from the Electroweb would have driven her back by fear had she not been suddenly frozen by it. Yet, that did not stop the cracked fingers from the Joltik's attack from skewing her back fluff and puffing it up with static electricity. The plush cotton sprouted behind her suddenly unfurled and expanded twice in size, making her look like a cloud pulled down from the heavens.

Cetus frowned as she heard a few murmurs and muffled giggles from the audience. Arie was humiliating her! "A-Arie, Energy Ball . . . Gather the web into an Energy Ball!" she shouted.

Shivering as Cetus's command brought movement to her taught limbs, Arie drew her muddy gaze up at the gentle tumbling of web ready to swallow her in its silk bindings, ready to flee, but hastily remembered she had to counterattack. Enclosing her hooves in her center, an evergreen aura began to permeate and burble. Moment by moment, as the web dawned on Arie, so did the Energy Ball, until it was fully conjured into a green orb. Just before the web made contact, the Whimsicott vaulted the attack to the sparking mesh's center, rebuking the attack in full. The Electro-Energy Ball arced through the air like a discolored comet, streaming electrical pulses from its tail as the nature-concentrated nucleus bounded straight for Cactus set off to the side.

Arie's HP: [900/1000]
[2]

Cetus stood dumbfounded, motionless by both bittersweet awe and raging contempt at the ploy of events that lead to a paroxysm of particles and color dancing across Motterosa's stage like a midday firework's display. The Joltik was far too quick for her tongue, which lolled half out of her mouth like a sign unhinged and swinging in the wind. Shutting her mouth before she unnecessarily drooled, Cetus went on the offensive and tried to call up something -- anything -- that would protect her show Pokemon from the explosion, but her attempt can quite too late.

Arie was taken by the explosion's impact, her light body flung across the stage as if she were a cotton spore in midst of a bomb testing. She rolled and tumbled through the air, waving all four of her limbs as she tried to catch her balance aloft. In actuality, it made her look clumsy, and Cetus couldn't help gritting her teeth as she patiently waited for the Windveiled Pokemon to get her bearings and settle herself straight. When Arie finally did (the halt most likely brought a stiff frown to the member of the audience's faces), the debris from the eruption was slowly drifting to the stage like soft petals. Watching the sparks jut and cackle off the silk strands as they fell brought about an idea to the contender's head. Gravity was to be their friend today. Arie floated unflappable above, drifting slowly down from the lack of wind current to keep her aloft.

"Arie, encase yourself in a Light Screen!" Cetus commanded.

Arie blanched, a bit confused, but did as she was told. It took a bit of work, conjuring slabs of light one by one to cover herself, but Arie finally imprisoned herself well in a sheer, yellowy jewel. However, with the added weight, she began to fall, and panic with it.

"Okay, roll and barrel over that Joltik!"

The Whimsicott blinked, than tucked herself tight, and forced her weight onto her cage's side. Like a tumbling curve ball from a professional pitcher, the Light Screen ball darted through the air, glimmering and shimmering. However, to Cetus, it looked more like a gem on the loose, and to Arie, well, let's just say she was far more dizzy than she wanted to be as she flipped over, and over, and over.

Arie's HP: [800/1000]
[3]

Cactus's Signal Beam took way more out of him than he expected. That, coupled with the recent explosion, left him dazed and unable to react to the next attack in time. And Arie's next move really was quite unexpected as she transformed herself into a glittering, runaway sphere. The Joltik was bulldozed into the ground as the ball slammed into him and the pain did not end there. All the static built up in his fur worked against him by making him stick to the Light Screen sphere. As the Whimsicott rolled around, he was repeatedly flattened over and over again until he finally freed himself. Even though his static was what caused the critical hit in the first place, he zapped some more electricity into his hairs to poof himself up and not look like a squashed spider.

Dreidyn was biting her nails at the sidelines. She could only watch as her Cactus get steamrolled by the next attack. And he wasn't safe yet after he dislodged himself from the massacre. Arie continued to roll towards the Joltik, threatening to trample him again, and Dreidyn had to give an order before it was too late.

"Cactus! Phase 2!" The obscure command confused the already dazed Pokemon at first, but then he understand what she was talking about. Springing up as high as his little legs would bring him, he spun an Electroweb over the ball and was relentless when covering it with the sticky, shocking stuff. And he didn't stop when he touched the ground. He leaped again, the Light Screen ball trailing behind him as he left the web connected to his spinneret. He was Bouncing all over the stage like how he did in his routine, only he couldn't jump as high or as fast when carrying a Whimsicott behind him. Still, the sphere jostled wildly and occasionally slammed into the ground with amazing force. If this didn't make Arie any dizzier, he didn't know what will.

Cactus's HP: [400/900]
[Turn 3]

One minute he was jumping around, giving his opponent the ride of her life, and then the next minute a scorching beam of sunlight bursted from the Light Screen sphere. The move disintegrated the webbing that encased the Whimsicott and struck Cactus mid-bounce. For a moment the Joltik was obscured from the audiance's view as he was bathed in white-hot light. Then, as the attack ended, he started plummeting towards the ground. Although the Solarbeam left him dizzy and blinded, instinct took over and he quickly shot a web line towards the rafters in the ceiling. He had no idea where he was going as he swung in an arc and leaped towards what appeared to be a wall, but were really the curtains. Cactus clung to the fabric, steadying his body and mind so that he could do whatever Dreidyn commanded next.

It was clear that the little Joltik was tiring out from all the abuse he was taking and the extravagant moves he was pulling off. Dreidyn saw that he was spending too much time resting on the curtains, but there was nothing she could do about it other than to quickly decide the next move.

"Signal Beam!" No fancy combo this time, as she didn't want to expend the rest of his energy. Cactus glanced up to target the Whimsicott and built up an orb of colors under his mandibles. Tendrils seemed to be writhing under the surface of the sphere, which then without warning extended out in an explosive fashion. Instead of forming a double helix like before, the rainbow beams were flying towards Arie in a disorderly fashion. But there were many rays that surrounded the opponent and their bright colors filled the stage as they struck at her in all directions.

Cactus's HP: [300/900]
[Turn 4]

In a desperate attempt to avoid the attack, Cactus tried to push away or destroy the Light screen with the remaining rays of his Signal Beam. But either Arie's construct was too strong or his efforts were not good enough. The multi-colored lights deflected off the projectile instead of piercing through it, and the Light screen showed no signs of slowing down or shattering. Seeing that his attack was useless, Cactus leaped away at the last second, leaving the missile of light to explode right behind him when it slammed into the curtains. His reaction time was sluggish, however, and he still received the full force of the blast. His tiny body went flying, almost off the stage, but he landed right at the edge and his feet skittered on the hard floor to prevent what would be a premature end to his performance.

Except the last attack left him barely standing. The Joltik, though glaring at Arie and looking as threatening as he can be, was visibly panting and shaking with weakness. Dreidyn needed his last move to count, to make up for the powerful hits that Whimsicott got in. And besides, a spectacular battle such as this needed a dazzling conclusion. Any less would disgrace the effort that both her, her Pokemon, and her opponent put into this display.

What could she do that Cactus was able to do on his last legs though? Dreidyn surveyed the scene and noticed that there were glittering specks of light in the air, remnants of the Light screen. An idea formed in her head, but she could only hope that would work.

"Cactus! Use Flash!" The said Pokemon was confused by her command, and hesitated as he tried to interpret what she meant. It didn't help that her arms waving in the air like a maniac, but then she saw what she meant.

Cactus took a step forward and almost fell down out of exhaustion. He forced his legs to remain strong and steady and took another step towards the Whimsicott. Small bolts of lightning were building up in his fur, sparking faster and faster and around his entire body. The light that he was emitting shone brighter as more electricity was generate, filling the room until nothing else could be seen. This lasted for three full seconds, and then the Flash died down to a pulsing glow around Cactus. But, amazingly enough, the air itself seemed to shimmer, thanks to the dust left over from Arie's Light Screen. They too started to vanish as the light that was fueling their sparkle receded. Only the bits of Light Screen that floated around Cactus remained lit, making him shine more than he ever could with just a Flash attack.

Cactus's HP: [100/900]
[Turn 5]