"Laaadiiies aaand geeentlemeeen!"

A voice resounds from the stadium's speakers, loud enough to be heard over the roaring crowd gathered in the stands. A high-profile event advertised two weeks in advance, the stadium was filled with nearly every local who had heard of it, and with significant enough reach to attract people from neighboring cities. Being scheduled on the weekend and the weather being clear were the perfect conditions for the stadium to nearly hit capacity, and this crowd was hungry for one thing and one thing only - battle.

"Weeelcome to the Viridian Stadium! The home of the most talented battlers this side of Kanto!"

A roar erupted from the crowd, with small chants starting up before being drowned out by the cheering. There wasn't a person in Kanto that didn't know of this stadium or its influence on the culture of battling, being where some started their journey and where others made names for themselves. It was these crossroads that made it the go-to place for competitors of all levels to gather and test their skills.

In the middle of the stadium, a pale brown clay covered the entire ground, with the stands starting out around 10 feet elevated off the ground. Chalk outlines denoted the starting positions of the combatants, with several lines near the corners for free-way battles and a Pokeball symbol in the center. The stadium itself was oval-shaped, with doors at both the ends and in the middle of the two longer walls.

From one of the tunnels, a voice from one of the fighters; "You sure you want to do this? Not too late to back out."

A second voice, less masculine than the first, starts with a chuckle. "Don't tell me you're chicken. I've been waiting to see both of them in action for months."

"Heh. I was hoping you'd still be on board. And that's fire chicken to you."

"Of course. But for the record, I could probably take them both on by myself."

"And that's why I'm not letting you get killed in front of the entire region. Not alone, anyway."

"My, haven't we become chivalrous."

The doors unlock and creak open slowly. A column of light bursts through the dark corridor.

"Showtime."

The announcer begins again. "Today we have a special exhibition match from our very own Pokemon Combat College! May I present to you two of our finest students in the art of battling, fighting side by side despite their bitter rivalry! They've put aside their differences for this historic bout! Let's hear it for...Vaaalerie Eeeisenfaaaust and Daaante Rooothschiiild!"

As the doors open wide, the two fighters emerge into the sunlight. The roar of the crowd picks up again as the two make themselves known: Valerie, a tall rough-looking Mawile with an intimidating presence that exudes power and ego, a slight sway to her slow walk, and; Dante, an equally-as-rough Blaziken who has taken it upon himself to run forward, throwing up peace signs to the crowd, and lighting up the fire around his wrists. Valerie rolled her eyes, but she didn't try to stop him, in fact giving a soft smile as she averts her attention to the set of doors on the opposite side of the field. The crowd's cheering died down as the two made their way to their starting positions. As they reached the chalk lines showing their starting positions, the door on the opposite side began to open, the anticipation enough to make even Valerie nearly skip a heartbeat. It was one of the few moments in Valerie's living life, these few seconds where the crowd quiets down and before the announcer speaks again, that she's experienced the closest thing to fear. Stoic as she was, Dante was showing it even less, still grandstanding until the speakers picked up.

"Our fighters in the ring will be facing off against another pair of the college's top talents - this is their first time fighting together in this stadium! What's more, they've only been here a few months, but they've already made a name for themselves around town! Make no mistake, folks, it's bold to make a challenge like this out of season! May I present...Lyyynda Eldooora!"

From the doors on the opposing side of the stadium grounds, a lone figure walks forward. A second Mawile, adorned with a black karategi with a red fire pattern, walks out onto the field, with their partner nowhere in sight. The crowd was quick to cheer, but upon noticing only one fighter making their way to the field, they began to converse amongst themselves, some of worry and confusion. Undeterred, the Mawile, Lynda, has her hands balled into fists, and has an even more serious look on her face than Valerie. The two Deceiver Pokemon were staring each other down, even from a long distance.

"Wha? Where's the second combatant? Their name isn't here, ah..." The announcer seems visibly confused, though he trails off. The Mawile makes her way to the starting line, each step ending with a stomp that shook a few pebbles from the ground around her out of place.

A feminine voice rings out, though it doesn't appear to be from the stadium's speakers. "Oh, there's two of us here alright!"

Lynda leaned over, her head down, before whipping her head, and the maw attached to her head, upwards, stopping with the maw directly overhead, striking a pose with her hands up. Even straight under the sun, the lights had dimmed and a quiet drumroll could be heard from somewhere in the stadium. The maw suddenly rounded out, then opened with an explosion of pink smoke and confetti billowing out above - a figure rising out of the smoke with a spotlight appearing out of nowhere focusing on the figure! They strike a pose - a Kirlia, though the styling of her hair and her outfit's purple coloring would throw off those that didn't notice the species' signature red horn atop her head. "Caria Isole, ready to perform and dazzle!"

The crowd was thrilled, a rising "ohhh!" and clapping ensued as Caria floated down next to Lynda, who had let her maw down and had taken a more casual pose. Dante was a little jealous that the two's combined opening act had the crowd reacting more positively than he did, but he couldn't help but smile knowing he's up against a fellow showboat. Valerie, meanwhile, was full-on giggling, joining in on the clapping and making Dante slackjawed with how emotive she was.

"Good show, what an entrance!" She should have known - Caria, being a magician, would surely have wanted to pull off something like this. The little bit of surprise was enough to dispel whatever stress she was feeling, albeit for a short time before the match started.

"Tch...I mean, yeah. Gotta hand it to her, she knows how to please the crowd." He gave a few claps of his own. "But they're still our opponents, Val."

"Heh, yeah. Don't mean I can't enjoy it."

Caria took a bow as she landed, the spotlight fading away and the normal sunlight returning. She spoke once more, her voice echoing across the stadium once more even though it didn't appear she was able to, with no microphone in her hands and no headpiece beyond her hat she wore over one of her horns. "Before we begin, me and my partner have a prediction to make! And no, you can check the battle screens, this isn't a pre-emptive Future Sight - just a straight-up prediction."

"Oh? How easy will that be to quash, huh...?" Valerie wore a cocky grin.

Caria and Lynda both rose their hands at the same time. They backed up to each other til their shoulders touched; then, when their hands reached the apex above their heads, they brought their hands down, pointing at both Valerie and Dante.

"One attack. That's all we need to take you two out." The audience stayed quiet for a moment, before picking up again with conversations.

"Can they really...? Valerie's so powerful, though!"

"They're in over their heads. That magician looks like she'd fall over if you even smacked her."

"No way. This isn't a magic show, this is a battle! WE WANT FIGHTING!"

"YEAH! FIGHT!"

"...Heh, you hear that, Lynda?" The Kirlia looked over. Lynda's face hadn't changed much since she walked out, but now her mouth was curling into a wicked smile. "They want a fight."

"...yeah. Loud and clear." She put her arm down, then took in some air.

A yell pierced the noise of the crowd. "VALERIIIE! We even the score NOW!" Without any enhancements, the Mawile's commanding voice reached even beyond the high walls of the stadium. A quiet lull followed, with Lynda entering a battle pose. A wind whipped up around the pair.

Not missing a beat, Valerie put up a hand of her own, beckoning. "Come make it happen, short stuff!"

Seeing the Mawile take a fighting pose, Dante took one as well. "Hmph, you ain't hogging all the fun here. They think they're ready for the big leagues, and they're making rookie mistakes like this. Let's nip this in the bud before they even get started."

"Don't be too sure about that, Dante. They know their stuff. It's gonna take more than just preventing that from happening for us to win this." Val took a ready pose herself, her size really showing off the intimidating nature of hers.

Lynda gritted her teeth. Caria, however, giggled. With a flick of her hand, a ball of cool blue air condensed in front of her, ice building up and forming into the shape of a wand. The Kirlia grabbed the wand as it took shape, spinning it before taking a ready pose herself, more elegant than the other three on the field and with a more relaxed face as well. The wind whipping around the two picked up into a proper gust, as if a condensed weather event was created by the pair's presence.

"Well, with all of the fighters here, it's time for this battle to get underway! Combatants, on my mark!"

The cheering picked back up. Chants of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" broke out. Lynda's gi and Caria's hair flapped about in their respective winds. Embers flew behind Lynda, and particles of ice and snow behind Caria.

"Ready...!"

Val's face became stern and serious. Dante's was less so, wearing the same look as the one he takes in all his bouts. Lynda looked as if she was about to burst in anger if her teeth didn't crack from the pressure first. Caria grinned, not appearing disturbed at all.

"FIIIGHT!"

The gale blew.
