[Unchained Kairi]

Coolshaymin Maverick Hunter Zero (Trainer privilege)

The setting is Jungle Japes. With the aid of Ciel's Mixed Reality system, virtual reality stages could be manifested and interacted with as if they were real, at least to an extent that suited combat fine anyway. Thick jungle brush and trees were bisected by a river flowing at great speeds, both normally inhabited by any number of predators. Today, however, the only predatory creature waiting in the jungle was a girl of dubious humanity. Unchained Kairi sat on the edge of the dock upon which Cranky Kong's house resided, her bare feet dangling over the edge. She was dressed in her usual attire, a heartless displacer beast cloak, what amounted to a fur poncho, and a bark fiber skirt--all of which she'd made herself over time while learning to get by in places fairly similar to this. It felt like home, but not in a good way. For all she'd lived in the jungle and abided by its laws, she held little actual fondness for the place. One too many times getting bitten by something nasty'll do that to you.

Unlike most doppelgangers, you'd have a pretty hard time recognizing that Unchained Kairi was supposed to be Kairi. Her hair was much longer, and moderately unkempt for that matter. Her eyes, while the same color, had a hard look and feline pupils to them. Her body build was a bit more weathered and gaunt, albeit also slightly more lithe and athletic. Each of her hands sported claws where nails ought to have been, and her feet--exposed as they were--were quite rough and calloused, with smaller claws on her toes as well. You could surmise she never wore shoes. ...Or took care of her poor feat. 9/11, can we get a pedicure, stat?! It was frankly a miracle she wasn't covered in scars. Though, if one knew why that was actually they case, they might not be inclined to speak of it so favorably.

Still, she wasn't actually here to sit around and swing her gnarly feet in the breeze. She was here for a fight; she just didn't have an opponent to fight with yet. As it turned out, Kairi's master 'Marnie' liked to make her slaves fight. Which was... odd, if Unchained Kairi was being honest. She didn't quite see the point in getting your property damaged, but perhaps these 'Pokemon Battles' were fun for her in the same way letting out her anger and going wild was cathartic for Kairi. She's be lying if letting loose and fighting wasn't something she was looking forward to at least a little. ...She wasn't so much looking forward to getting violenced back, but hey! Might as well look on the bright side.

Unchained Kairi looked back to her trainer for a moment with a thoughtful look in her eyes, but said nothing. She'd been very quiet for a while, and intended to remain that way. None of Marnie's other pokemon spoke, so why should she? ...Maybe she should try saying her name repeatedly just to mess with her sometime. Regardless, she awaited their opposing trainer's arrival.

[Coolshaymin]

"This is a sudden change in scenery... Does the Stadium use some kind of simulation technology?" A voice came out of the woods as a girl walked towards the cabin. "Yeah, honestly this seems new. Never fought a battle here with scenery like this before... Looks new," A second voice sounded although this one came into everyone's minds rather than vocally. Shaymin was riding on Platinum's shoulder as she guided her along. Kind of reminded her of the marsh but a bit more pleasant... 

"You come here often?" the noble decided to ask carrying herself with dignity as she glanced towards the Pokemon. "Oh yeah, I won a tournament once. One of the Stadium's Champions," Shaymin declared proudly. "... A Pokemon Champion?" Platinum asked in a little bit of amusement. "Haha. Yeah, oh hey speaking of your opponent is right... there..." Shaymin pointed out before pausing as she took in the girl... Platinum noticed something similar to the hedgehog but something different. Something about that appearance gave her some... rather unfortunate assumptions. She glanced over towards Marnie's direction before back to Kairi. "... Before you ask, yeah, there is no system to distinguish humans from Pokemon here so you can catch a human like any other Pokemon," Shaymin answered before Platinum could ask a question.

"... I'm here to battle. Come out, Empoleon," Platinum said simply after a moment, taking out a Luxury Ball and releasing Empoleon from it. The Pokemon stood in front of him as it looked between Kairi and Platinum for a moment before looking back with a serious expression. "... Careful, humans are tougher in this world than they are where you're from. Can't underestimate her..." Shaymin warned. Uxie floated down from above and rested on Dawn's Hat observing for now. "I got it but I wanted to ask something first...." the girl replied before looking to Kairi. "... You're alright with battling, right?" she asked, wanting to get some feel out of a response if she got one. She notably wasn't looking in Marnie's direction when she asked, just watching Kairi.

Focused Strategy Set

Platinum Berlitz HP: 140 Shield HP: 45 Status: Normal	Empoleon HP: 180 Shield HP: 65 Status: Normal	Pachirisu HP: 140 Shield HP: 45 Status: Normal

[Maverick Hunter Zero]

Thankfully for Unchained Kairi, Marnie was seated in the stands and watching patiently for when the match starts, seeing as she was the one who caught Unchained Kairi, she was ultimately responsible for taking care of her.

Marnie looks back at Unchained Kairi and gives her a nod of respect, hoping that the fight is a good one to watch.

[Unchained Kairi]

((For future reference, I will be surrounding thoughts in single brackets, colored like dialogue.))

Unchained Kairi was quick to become aware of movement, her gaze shifting to assess the newcomer. Small, cute, pretty, probably not that tough. Easy prey. They reminded Kairi of herself, in a nostalgic kinda way. (...I hope it's not her I'm fighting. I always feel a little bad when I have to hurt... people.) she thought to herself in exasperation. Seeing Empoleon emerge, she moved to stand up and prepare herself. She had learned enough during her servitude to understand how this worked. It was Empoleon she was supposed to fight, and it would be taboo to go after the girl because she was in a different class. At Platinum's question though, Unchained Kairi was briefly taken aback. (...Why are you asking me that right in front of my master? Am I supposed to say no and get myself in trouble? That won't do me any good...) Unchained Kairi thought to herself in frustration before casting a glance back to Marnie. At her trainer's affirmation, she exhaled sharply adn moved to lunge from the dock out across the river, luxuriously long hair trailing behind her as she crashed down opposite Platinum on the jungle floor in a feral crouching position. She did not respond, but her body language should've made it obvious anyway. She had no intention of talking to any of these people unless forced... Her mouth would probably just get her in trouble anyway.

After just a moment's hesitation, Unchained Kairi charged Empoleon on all fours and attempted to slam into their belly, digging her claws in as she roughly attempted to lift and suplex the pokemon over her shoulder in a display of strength.

[Coolshaymin]

Platinum glanced Marnie's way as she simply just gave a nod of affirmation... It gave her some bad memories of Team Galactic the more she thought about it. At least she did not seem completely devoid of free will. The fact Kairi wouldn't speak up not helping matters. ("What is she thinking-") As the girl was considering that question Uxie's eyes softly glowed and Platinum felt a familiar yet... different sensation as Uxie shared it's thoughts with her... Except these weren't Uxie's thoughts, they were... the girl's? Invasion of mental privacy morality aside she was not about to call attention to it. Not only was the Pokemon just trying to help it would attract more attention than she wanted to draw. Feeling bad about potentially fighting her... Master... She really was not feeling this and it was painful to admit she was in a higher class right now but in a different way... Still, Platinum had to draw a fight. "... Guess I don't have to tell you... Just go for whatever you're thinking," Shaymin says before jumping down and moving to wander and find a good napping spot.

"... Empoleon! I know you can take it so take the attack!" Platinum declared as Empoleon gave a firm sound even as the claws dug in... good thing he is heavily armored for a large penguin. With the suplex completed he gave full trust and confidence in his trainer's decision. He didn't seem hesitant or afraid, not even accepting, he knew she had a plan and he was going to fulfill it. She wouldn't of sent him out against such an agile opponent without one. "Alright, Empoleon, use Hydro Pump now!" Empoleon opened his eyes and opened his mouth towards Kairi before aiming to blast her back with a beam of highly pressurized water that blasted him along the ground. "Now, into the water!" She continued, the Pokemon flipping around and sliding on his belly  and dived swiftly into the river as if daring Kairi to follow him in.

She did not want to use such a high powered attack against Kairi but she was hoping it pushed her closer to her. "... You can trust me, please. Just because she caught you doesn't make you hers. Pokemon should only be loyal because of trust and equal understanding. If you need help, just tell me," Platinum tried to appeal to the jungle girl and hope it did not attract attention. Uxie hung from her head while Empoleon just remained in the river until he was pursued or needed to protect Platinum. As a Water Type he could be under there for hours if he felt like at least.... Shaymin was just napping in some foilage.

[Unchained Kairi]

?!

Unchained Kairi was taken entirely off guard as a powerful jet of water hit her. That wasn't exactly the type of attack she encountered often in the wilderness. It caught her and blew her off Empoleon, sending her sailing across the arena and soaking her rapidly as she was sent rolling across the ground in a heap of hair and fur. As she laid there for a moment, just kind of catching her breath and mentally recovering, Platinum spoke to her, drawing her attention up to the other from the ground. While the hydro pump may have stung in a physical sense, her words caused a phantom pain in her heart. How long had it been since she even had a chance to trust someone? (...How can you ask that of me, when we don't even know each other?) she thought to herself, before quickly shaking that bitterness from her mind. She began picking herself up, looking over her shoulder at Platinum. (That's not how this...) she began to think in frustration. She'd been about to dismiss the idea entirely, but she supposed that wasn't fair. (...I suppose if you don't want me to be hers, there's only one way to enforce your will. If you really want to help, prove it by taking me for yourself!!) she demanded. Believe it or not, but she had no idea her mind was being read. That was just her thinking the things she wanted to say but wouldn't on account of her restraint.

Without further delay, she summoned her keyblade.

She then turned her back on Platinum, seeming to disregard the possibility of her being a combatat entirely, pulled her arm back, and whipped the keyblade through the air like a bizarre boomerang at Empoleon! It then returned with similarly violent speed and she caught it, before quickly whipping it again, deciding to attack from a range with Strike Raid to see if she couldn't lure Empoleon out that way. She knew better than to go swimming if she didn't have to. It would only hinder her ability to fight, as she wasn't prepared to use the magic she needed to level that playing field.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Up within one of the illusionary trees, the tallest of them all was the Jungle Jape themed commentator’s box. Within the parted leaves of a small tree house, lied a sleeping Big Top, though it was not a peaceful sleep. He was left on the countertop, the crest of his hat sunken and somehow, a five o’clock shadow smacked across his face. A snot bubble arose from his lack of nose as he snored a dreadful snore.

At the sound of the Hydro Pump flaring and Dawn’s rather loud commands, the silly hat was snapped awake. His frantic eyes darted every which way as his snot bubble popped. “Huh, what, where am I?” he asked aloud in genuine confusion. The surrounding jungle was new, but the commentator’s box was all the same, exactly as it was left before he fell asleep, only it looked a lot more primitive, as if everything was made out of the same style of wood that people made barrels with. It smelled of Funky Kong’s influence.

The hat flopped around, his squinted bloodshot eyes staring at the calendar on the wall. “Hey, we weren’t supposed to do the rumble in the jungle theme until next week!” His eyes expanded at his sudden realization. “Unless it is next week” he added with stunned regret. His attention quickly snapped to the other corner of the room. “Ballyhoo! You were supposed to wake me after three hours!” he shouted with furious anger at a small mass-marketed Ballyhoo plush. Big Top launched himself upwards, smacking the doll with the rim of his hat. Imagine a hat trying to jump kick.

At the making of contact, the doll squeaked, the voice box within releasing “AH HA HA! Hug me tighter! I’m full of the love my dad never gave me!”

“Ugh, that’s always your excuse” Big Top sighed with a roll of his eyes. He squinted down to the fight below, trying his best to make out what was happening. “Let’s see we got Dawn, which one, I don’t know. There’s, like, a hundred of her running around. Then there’s some beastly girl, and she’s attacking the water. Yeah, if I didn’t know what a bath was, I’d be doing that too.”

[Lady Platinum Berlitz]

"But that's... fine..." Platinum held a hand out for a second before withdrawing it. She wanted to help Kairi a lot right now and she clearly needed it. She almost didn't think that Kairi said none of that out loud. As much as she wanted to refute her opponent there was only one reliable way to gain a Pokemon's trust... Through battle. "I will enforce my will and set you free myself then," Platinum promised. That was a... tall order but she was determined to grant Kairi what she wanted even if she won't admit it out loud.

"It doesn't matter how well I know you. I shouldn't need a reason to help you," she adds in determination. "And if this is how that has to be then we won't lose!" she adds before hearing the commentary. "... Dawn? Who's Dawn?" she remarked in confusion. Was she being compared to someone...? Did someone here look like here???... She read a book like that once come to think of it-

Empoleon avoided the strike raids as he looked back from the water splashes... She was trying to bait him. After one splash of the Strike Raid  Empoleon would raise his head out of the water and open his beak, suddenly firing a beam of freezing cold energy at Kairi before diving down once more whether it hit or miss. In the next moment he would jump out of the water, his fin glowing with metal power before he would try to surprise slash her with a jump out. Seems Platinum has been testing water ambush tactics training considering he didn't even need telling.

[Unchained Kairi]

...Huh? Unchained Kairi froze up for a moment as it abruptly occured to her her mind was being read. ...Or did she say those things aloud without even realizing it? She was no longer 100% sure and that in and of itself was a bit embarrassing. There was a reason she hadn't said that aloud after all. Mostly because it wasn't entirely dignified in her eyes and she didn't want to get in trouble either. But as it stood, it seemed that she'd have to get comfortable with a bit of humility, because there wasn't much she could do about her mind being read anyway. So they intended to catch and then free her? Just for fun? ...Weird. Dealing with people was stressful. She had to read into what they were thinking and understand them. Another distraction presented itself in the form of the announcer's booth. --What did they just say about her?? She cast a glance over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes, taking particular offense.

A moment later, she caught sight of an ice beam rushing out to meet her. Kairi made an attempt to drop out of the way, but the ice beam hit and frosted her shoulder, forearm, and a small corner of her chest. ...Damnit. This was what she got for not focusing. She made a momentary effort to brush off her furs to reduce how wet they'd be later with her free hand while she was thinking through how to respond before Empoleon emerged from the water to greet her! Unchained Kairi held out her keyblade level with Empoleon and braced the head against her free hand, attempting to block the strike! ...And she did! However, even though Empoleon's attack struck her keyblade, the force was still enough to knock her back and bruise her arms a bit. Ugh. She was going to be sore later. For now though, she powered through it and shoved Empoleon's wing back before freeing one hand to swipe at Empoleon's belly with her claws, attempting to dig into a layer of fat and get a hold of him. She then quickly followed up by freeing her keyblade from Empoleon's wing and casting earthquake! channeling power into it! She then attempted to bring it down upon Empoleon with a shrill battlecry, or the ground--whichever came first. The ensuing earth shattering blow would leave an explosive impression on the ground, with lightning esque cracks in the earth racing out in a shockwave pattern.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Big Top’s groggy, salty eyes remained on the battlefield below, intensely watching the war going on between the two combatants whilst also trying to keep his eyes from falling back to sleep. Within it all, it seemed that there was a one-sided conversation arising from the girl who was admittedly not Dawn, though certainly looked like the young Sinnohian. Could be another case of a person with amnesia, those were certainly a dime a dozen. “Y’know, I feel like I’m missing some context here.”

The Ballyhoo doll propped itself back up. “AH HAH HA! Mine’s not to reason why!” it stated vaguely through its cheap sounding voice box.

“Fair enough, it ain’t my job to figure out whatever soap opera tussle has been brought into the stadium. I’m just here for colourful commentary for our…” just when he was about to address the audience, his eyes peeled around the jungle landscape, trying to see if there were any stadium stands hidden within the brush. “Huh, I guess I’m just doing this for me.”

“The show must go on!”

“I mean, there’s not a lot of show going on… just a couple people staring at-” just before Big Top could finish that sentence, the penguin leapt out of the water, firing a devastating beam of ice at his opponent. “Oh! Looks like the underwater camping game really paid off! Caught her right when she was off guard! Listen, honey, you’re gonna want to keep your eye on the fight, can’t be too distracted by the commentators.” Big Top’s eyes peeled to side, gazing at the Ballyhoo doll. “Err… Commentator.”

[Lady Platinum Berlitz]

... The announcer booth sure was distracting. "... Don't worry about what they're saying. I can tell there's a lot more to you than what they say," Platinum assured trying to gain... some trust as the Empoleon struggled... Dang, there was little way to get her off him this time and that looked strong. The attack slammed the Empoleon into the ground as the ground shattered and the Pokemon flew into the air, bruised rather badly from yet another super effective attack... She might of guessed the type advantage wrong. Either way Empoleon was too slow outside the water... Or, she had an idea forming now. "Empoleon! Drill Peck!" She declared, the bird turning into a drill formation as it propelled itself spiraling into the wild Kairi to drill into her.

"Empoleon! Return!" She added, calling back the Pokemon whether or not the attack missed. "Your turn Pachirisu!" She declared, sending out a substitution as the Pokeball flew before the beam launched a white squirrel that promptly attempted to chomp Kairi's arm... or wherever it could reach midflight with a Superfang.

[Unchained Kairi]

...Huh?? Kairi blushed slightly in confusion at the compliment. That ... This girl actually did seem like she was trying to buddy up to her. She might not understand why, but maybe she shouldn't be so cynical. "...I can't help it. They're too handsome." Unchained Kairi dryly jokes in mock distress, referring to the announcers. That was her weird way of returning the favor by attempting to socialize. She then dove out of the way into a roll, pushing herself back up after she finished dodging Empoleon's attack, only to find herself unable to retaliate as he was returned. Hmm... Seemed like the other wanted to challenge her with something else.

...

...?

Was that a squirrel??

Unchained Kairi stared in disbelief for a moment before Pachirisu managed to get onto her and bite into her with his big, huge teeth. "...--Ah. AH!!" Unchained Kairi blurts out in pain only to grab at the rodent pokemon in response. Yoink! Discreetly offended by a squirrel of all things taking a bite out of her, she promptly attempted to establish her dominance by biting it back. Chomp! Hey these things were basically lunch back home. ...Except for when they weren't. The mirage was a cruel god. Probably why it offended her so much. Also she has pronounced sharp teeth instead of normal teeth, so that bite's gonna hurt a bit more than usual.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

As the war between tamer and the untamed continued to wage on, Big Top continued to watch with… mild interest. Which might not seem like much, but Big Top was a fickle hat to impress. All in all, they should feel honoured that he was showing as much care as he was, especially without the real MC Ballyhoo to keep his attention where it should be.

The wild child’s attempted compliment did very little to raise Big Top’s spirits in that regard. His mouth swished to the side and his eyes remained as tired as when the match first began. “Lady, I’m a hat” he replied with disinterest.

From the speaker box of MC Ballyhoo’s decoy toy, the sing songy voice of someone who was decidedly opposite to Ballyhoo normal voice began to serenade with “can you feel the love tonight!? Dah vah dah dah…” it ended with a sort of confused muttering, as if he couldn’t recall the rest of the lyrics.

Big Top gave the plushie a bit of side eye. “And you’re a doll” he added.

“Aren’t I? AH HAH HAH HA!”

Before Big Top could snark some more though, the action drew his eyes back, Platinum’s Pachirisu digging into Kairi’s arm with its buck teeth and Kairi returning the favour! “Wow! Would you look at that, she hates baths and eats squirrels. You better watch out Dawn, her next strategy is going to involve a banjo and some country blues!”

[Lady Platinum Berlitz]

Platinum raised a brow before laughing a bit at the other's joke. She had no idea what they looked like but it was amusing in a way. "Well, I guess that's understandable," she gave a breath of relief that the other was allowed to speak or could speak

The Squirrel was too focused biting in that he didn't dodge the counter chomp but take it decently, mainly with a sharp cry. "Pachirisu! Use Spark!" she declared, the squirrel giving a sharp cry until the command, sparks flaring on it's cheeks before electricity exploded across it's body. "And now, Iron Tail!" she added, Pachirisu's tail solidifying before attempting to harshly smack Kairi's side with it's tail.

"I hope this means I'm reaching you. This is meaningless if it feels like I'm forcing you. If you don't feel comfortable saying it out loud, that's fine... I get it... Way more than what they are saying," she attempted humor... maybe not being very good at it herself. "Let's try again. I'm..." she paused. She could just give the name Lady but... that would feel disingenuine.... A lot of people here shouldn't hear this, especially not one as wild as her... "You may call me Platinum. Have I proven myself yet? Unless you were planning to entertain me with this 'banjo' first. I wouldn't mind," she asked, extending a hand. The name sounded softer than the rest of her words as if she didn't want to say it too loud.