024. Video (illustrated)
[This is it. It's the big day. THE big day. The day Heather said she was going to kick Falkner's feathery butt. A little while earlier, Heather had posted a particularly cocky video in which she stated these intentions with deep conviction and a big ol' smirk on her face.]
[So, how's she faring?]
[Well, the camera turned on about halfway through the battle-- why? Maybe she'd just forgotten, or maybe she'd realized it wasn't filming halfway through. Who knows? But either way, it came on just in time to catch a very battered-looking Arty struggling to stand. She had powered through Noctowl and Honchkrow, but now her little legs were wobbling for once, the normally-bloodthirsty Furret was looking like she'd really rather be somewhere else. And this was for good reason, because about two seconds after the camera came on, a blur of tawny down and glossy yellow and red flashed past the screen and the camera shook-- but the sound of impact was unmistakable, as was the high-pitched hum of a Pokemon being summoned back into its Ball.]
[Also unmistakable? Was the sound of Heather's creative cursing, distorted as it was from the 'Gear being waved around.]
Fricking fu-- Cujo, you try! Take him do-- NO, you-- GO.
[The screen swerved down to settle on the happily-panting Growlithe by her side. He stared back up at his trainer adoringly, sloppy pink tongue lolling out of his mouth like a giant fruit rollup. Her commands only made him wiggle with excitement and wag his tail.]
I-- no. Jesus.
[The camera shifted once more as Heather stuck the gear under one arm, pointing off-camera with the other.]
Arty's down! Go! Fight!
[Cujo tilted his head. Ooh! OOH! He knew this one!]
[Panting happily, he sat to attention and lifted a paw.]
.... No. The hell, who even taught you 'Shake'... I thought you just knew how to chase shit...
[... Idea.]
COOJ! GO GET THE BIRDY!
[Insta-attention getter. Cujo's ears stood up straight and within seconds, he was darting into the field, barking up a storm. Somewhere on the other end of the arena, Falkner just shook his head and pressed a hand to his temple. His Pidgeot, meanwhile, focused its golden glare on the Growlithe and, with a few mighty strokes of its wings, went airborne again.]
[The next few minutes of film would be-- slightly difficult to decipher. The battle was high-speed and high-stakes. But the general gist of it was... Cujo was not doing well. And the sound of plastic creaking increased as Heather's grip on the 'Gear did. Her commands had gone from confident shouts to mumbles-- because none of it really seemed to be doing much good. Cujo wasn't being disobedient, he just... wasn't listening and he was getting clobbered for it. None of his attacks seemed to be able to do much against the swift opponent. ... And was that... worry in Heather's voice?]
No-- no, no, dammit, you stupid mutt, look out!!
[A sharp yelp broke the air as the pup was knocked sprawling by a vicious swoop from the bird Pokemon, which was in the process of circling around for another blow, just as Cujo was picking himself up off the ground. Finally, Heather broke her quiet and yelled again, a note of panic in her voice.]
LOOK OUT!! Don't you know how to do ANY attacks that aren't--
FOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
.........
[The camera turns around and there's a brief flash of Heather's face, looking somewhere between... surprised and horrified, before she hits the 'Off' button hastily.]
[ooc: Action for anyone who might have been around to see the battle-- after the video stopped, Heather promptly lost the battle out of sheer loss of focus. Apparently that sudden Fire attack really shook her up.]