Hmph!

-Phoenix trips and falls flat on his face. Catherine, meanwhile, seems to be unperturbed by the vines-

<Troubling.>

Get up and use...erm, Ice Punch again, Phoenix! Catherine, Frost Breath!

-Catherine summons icy cold air and blows it at the Vileplume-

-Phoenix picks himself up and Ice Punches again-

-Joseph balls his fists-

I haven't! Why?

And again, by the way!

Extremespeed and Sunny Day!

-Ki smiles and with great speed, Swoops under Phoenix's arm to bash him in the gut.-

-Vi is hit by the Frost breath but that to Ki's Lucky Chant, it's doesn't score the critical hit, so vi only take moderate damage and cause the Sun to shine brightly through the glass dome of the auditorium.-

Helen: Simple. You clearly don't realize your extremely close to losing. After all, you've scored one hit so far.

-Helen looks up unperturbed as bits of ice begin to fall-

Helen: Seriously? Hail? You should learn to adjust for unfavorable weather boy. Like this! 

-Ki takes advantage if the slick stage to slide by Pheonix's fist.-

Ki: <Let it snow!
Let it snow!
Let it snow!>

Helen: Grass Knot! Tie them with a bow!

-Both Ki and Vi both conjure long, thick tufts of grass  to grow tying Pheonix's legs and Catherine's arms to the ground. To add insult to injury the ends of the Grass Knots form elegant bows-

-A high pitched and a low pitched hum can be heard above Joseph. If he looks he might see how full Helen's points gauge is compared to his. This might tip him off to Helen meaning of Joseph being "about to loss" and her strategy.-

-After seeing the high five Helen figures out what's coming next.-

Helen: No! Don't let the Froslass get her attack of-

FWOOOOSH!

-In a blast of ice and snow Helen's mon are blown backwards and encased in ice. While Vi is KO'd due to her earlier damage, Ki is frozen with critical health.-

Helen: NO! Heat Wave, Ki! Heat wave!

-Unfortunately for Helen...-

Ki is frozen solid!

On Stage

-As if the Bullet Punch wasn't enough...-

-Ki is KO'd and is recalled by Helen, who has a very nasty expression on her face-

Helen: You inelegant, brutish child! You haven't heard the last of me!

Somewhere in Kalos

???: <Yes he has. You're just a one time NPC.>

Goldenrod, the Auditorium

- A horn sounds as the the screen displays Joseph's picture with "WINNER" under it.-

Emcee: With a victory by KO, Joseph Hudson will advance to the next round!

- Emma claps with a huge smile on her face -

Emma: YAY, WOOOO!

Backstage

-Ren approaches Joseph-

Ren: You did well for a first timer against a veteran coordinator. Though I should add a corollary my previous assertion of "Brute won't always work."; "Enough brute force will always work."

-Ren smiles-

Regardless, you are doing wonderfully. Keep up the pace and don't be afraid to choose different mon for each battle round, as using the same mon over and over can cause your opponents to prepare strategies against you. And just so you know, there is a restore station down the hall. Make sure all your mon are fresh for each battle.

Auditorium

-The next three battles are decided by point elimination. Highlights include: a ninja-style spam of Substitute and Double Team, An effective Cherry Tapping strategy, and a Light Screen/ Reflect/ Barrier combo.-

-As the previous combatants leave the stage, Ren's picture and the picture of a man with long black hair in a ponytail is displayed-

Backstage

-Ren looks at the screen and grins with savage pleasure.-

Ren: Oooooh-ho-ho~ yeah~ ... I've been waiting for this!

Backstage

-Ren turns to Kitsune and Rio-

Ren: I'm assuming you two remember the last we up against this guy?

Rio: <Indeed.>

Kitsune: <Let's put him down HARD!>

Ren: -To Kitsune, holding up her Cherish Ball in a seal capsule- Do you mind?

Kitsune: <For this? No. I want to make an entrance after all>

Ren: -grinning- Excellent. Now, let's show Mr. Holloway how much we've improved.

Kitsune and Rio: <Of course.>

-Ren recalls them and heads on stage-

On Stage

-Ren takes his position opposite of "Mr.Holloway", who was wearing all black.-

Emcee:  Now that both entrants have taken their positions, let the contest battle between Tristan Holloway and Renard Clavis begin!

-The yellow points gauges appear beneath the pictures of Ren and Tristan as the starting buzzer sounds-

-Tristan Sends sends out a Glalie and a Smeargle amidst tornadoes of Snow and multi colored smoke, respectively, via their seal capsules.-

Tristan: Ready to lose again Clavis?

Ren: No, I don't think I am.

-Ren sends out Kitsune and Rio. Kitsune appearing out of a swirling inferno of red and yellow flames as Rio lands and readies a battle stance as swirls of blue and white energy and twinkling silver sparks-

Stands

Clara: Ugh. Not this guy again.

Eric: Yes... This guy's strategies are exceedingly cheap, even if they are effective.

Clara -disdainfully- Speedy and defensive mon with Horn Drill, Guillotine, Fissure, Sheer Cold, or a combination thereof. The best defenses are overwhelming force and pure luck.

On Stage

-Ren stares at the upstart 20-something year old man in front waiting to see if he’d make the first move. However, Tristan just smirked smugly at Ren.-

Tristan: Afraid are we? I can’t say that I blame you after I trounced you that last time.

Ren: Not scared. Just cautious. I know exactly what your team is capable of, and I don’t plan to let what happened last time happen again. 

Tristan: HA! And here I thought you’d learned something from last time. Face it Clavis, you and your team can’t beat me.

Ren: -narrowing his eyes- We. Will. See.

Tristan: -raising his eyebrows and tilting his head forward, and with a smug expression- Nora, Reflect. Basquiat, Light Screen.

-Nora the Glalie, widens her eyes as they flash, cause a translucent blue protective coating to form around herself and her teammate. Basquiat the Smeargle, twirls his tail, cause a translucent yellow coating to cover himself and his teammate. Both the mon stand ready to move covered with their protective coatings, which swirl with yellows, blues, and greens.-

Tristan:  And now Clavis, let my second victory against you commence!

Ren: Tch. Double screens. Well only only thing to do now…

Very well, here we go! Rio, Brick Break the Smeargle. Kitsune, Flame Burst at the Glalie!

...Hit them with everything we’ve got.

-Rio charges towards the Smeargle, his fist glowing with aura, as Kitsune rears back on her hind legs majestically, charging a ball of unstable flames, which, upon all four of Kitsune’s feet are planted on the ground, rockets towards the Glalie.-

-Ren’s, Kitsune’s, and Rio’s eyes are entirely focused, preparing for a possible counter that could instantly take down Rio or Kitsune while Tristan smugly watches Ren’s futile attempts at trying to seize victory.-

On stage

-With a loud cracking sound, the protective screens shattered. Then, with the sound of a fist impacting, a grunt of pain, the sound of a fireball exploding, and two cries of pain, Tristan's mon are sent skidding across the towards their coordinator, stopping at his feet.-

-Basquiat slowly stands up again as Nora starts to float again-

-Tristan grins.-

Heal Pulse and Protect to Shee-

*thud* *thud*

-Both Tristan and Ren stare at the source of the thuds; Tristan's mon had fainted mid-orders.-

Ren and Tristan: What?

Emcee: And with and unexpected victory by KO...

Ren and Tristan: -looking at each other- What?!

Emcee: ...Renard Clavis will continue to the next round!

Ren and Tristan: -looking at the Emcee- What.

Stands

-Ren's parents are both Surprised, though they're both acting differently.-

Eric: -leaning on the armrest with his forefinger and thumb not really disguising his smile- *chuckle* Bravo.

Clara: -is wide-eyed and gaping a bit- Since when have any of Ren's mon been able to do that without buffs?

Eric: -patting his wife's arm- Clara, our son has been training in Holon and Orre with some very competent associates. Ren's team has apparently just gotten strong. After all, Ren said he had a strategy revolving around training his team for battles; though judging by his reaction, he just as surprised as you.

On Stage

-Tristan recalls his mon and exists towards the stands in a stunned silence.-

-Ren, Kitsune, and Rio head backstage, also in stunned silence-

Backstage

-as soon as Ren and co get about four paces...-

Ren: -to no personmon in particular-What just happened?

Backstage

-Ren is glomped-

Ren: I'm not sure I would call that the best thing ever. How come my mon can one shot that guy's mon when I can't even two shot a Peon's mon? Contests moves are meant to be flashy. Not flashy and destructive.

*sigh*

I think I'm going to seriously reevaluate how my team performs in contest battles...