The competition is seriously heating up! Here's Storm's next battle in the :pokecombatacademy:'s Summer Exams Combat Tournament, facing  carlito's Lairon, Lorissa.

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“So you really think I got a shot at this?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t you? You’re only half-way to completing the tournament.”
Storm walked down a relatively empty hall, talking to his teammate Blaze on his cell phone. The Jolteon smiled a little at the realization of how far he’d come on the S.E.C.T. competition thus far, “Yeah. It’s a lot different than our usual battles. A lot more technical.”
Blaze added with a sly tone, “I’ve noticed you’re the only male still competing. Gotten any attention from that?”
Storm coughed, “Uh… I never really noticed…” Trying to change the subject, he held up a sheet of paper to read, “I’m up against Lorissa next.”
There was a short pause at the other end, then, “They’re pitting you against her? She’s practically your exact opposite!”
“Yeah, I know. Lairon girl, used to be part of Team Doom. We faced ‘em once, but I didn’t fight her. I do remember winning, though…”
“Well, given what I’ve seen from her in the S.E.C.T., I don’t think she’s gonna be a pushover here. I watched her battle against Illiana; there’s a vigor in her eyes I don’t recall seeing when she was with Doom. She’s looking to prove something.”
Storm smirked, “I don’t blame ‘er. I heard about what happened when she quit her team. She served a beatdown to all of ‘em.”
“Storm, this is like Yin fighting Yang here. Speed and agility verses strength and power… and she’s smarter than she looks. Don’t get overconfident.”
The Jolteon nodded, “Okay. Hey, I gotta get to class. I’ll catch ya later.” He hung up and rounded a corner, then noticed a large shadow following him. He glanced back to find a well-built Lairon female sporting dreadlocks looming over him. “Uh… I guess you’re Lorissa.”
The Lairon nodded, “And you’re my next opponent. I heard how you like to meet up with the ‘mon you’ll be facing next, so I’m here to get this over with.”
Storm’s ears lowered out of intimidation; she was almost twice his size! “Uh… right. I’m Storm—”
“Lorissa.” The Lairon tilted her head, “So, you are a senior, right?”
“I know I’m short, but I made it to grade twelve nonetheless.” Storm considered mentioning Team Doom battling his own Indigo in the past, but then he heard her grumbling under her breath; something about “…still think I’m a joke…” Perhaps mentioning a loss to his team might not be the best ice-breaker. However…
Lorissa turned to leave, “Well I guess I’ll see you at the arena, then.”
“Uh, hang on a sec.”
The Lairon glanced over her shoulder.
Storm nervously rubbed his neck; those eyes of hers weren’t easy to meet, “Well, I just wanted to say I think you’ve improved since you left Doom. I haven’t watched much, but it’s obvious you’re doing something right.”
Lorissa slowly turned with an expression of mixed confusion and agitation, “Huh?”
“I mean you—”
“Is that it? You’re actually trying to compliment your opponents? So, what, you’re gonna show me all your moves, too?”
“I guess you heard about that…”
“Yeah, and it was pretty stupid. Look, I dunno what you’re trying to pull with this, but I’m not here to be part of some after-school cartoon fantasy of yours. You want a friend, go back to your team. You want a challenge, don’t ever talk to me again. I ain’t got time to ‘get to know you.’”
Storm inadvertently took a step back, “Right… uh, nice to meet you… I guess?”
Lorissa sighed and turned to leave, “I dunno how you made it to the grade you’re in…”


Later on in the cafeteria, Storm sat with his other teammate, Stiletto, and told her what happened with Lorissa. “Blaze was right…” he said. “She has changed.”
Stiletto shrugged, “She’s probably tired of all the crap her former team gave her, or all the crap everybody else gave her for being on that team.” The Sandslash took a gulp from her energy drink and added, “Don’t let it get to ya.”
“Well, I need your help with this one. I don’t normally face bruisers and she’s the very definition of one. What do you do when you face ‘em?”
“The same thing you told me when I first joined Indigo; find a weak point and abuse it, then tire ‘em out.”
Storm ran a tired paw through his spiky hair, “I don’t think Steel types have weak points, and I tire pretty easily…”
Stiletto smirked, “Look, she’s big and heavy, right? If you’re fast enough, you can avoid her attacks and frustrate her into slipping up and maybe even exhausting herself. Just make sure you strike hard because I know you don’t have enough stamina to last too long. Keep your distance and be a sniper. You usually do that anyway so why worry?”
The Jolteon nodded and leaned back, “Hmm… I wonder what they’ve got cooked up for the arena this time.”
“I wouldn’t worry about anything you aren’t sure of yet. Just focus on preparing yourself so that you won’t need to compensate. Be simple.”
“Simple? Y’know, Blaze would consider that to be heresy…”
“Pfft, you’re the leader, aren’t you? She’s always so complicated. Why d’you think she usually just let me keep the easy strategies? I mean, that’s how I beat Lorissa last time.” The Sandslash inadvertently rubbed her left shoulder, “She packed quite a punch, though… I hope your reflexes are still good.” She noticed the distant look in her friend’s eyes, “Storm… you’re not thinking of talking to her again, are you? You’ll just tick her off even more.”
Storm’s ears twitched, “Well… I’m not gonna go looking for her, at least…”
Stiletto gave him an annoyed expression, “You’re asking for a punch to the nose, y’know that?”
“I’m not going to harass her. I just think we’re both after the same thing.”
“Recognition? Respect?”
“Yeah… the main reason I signed up for the S.E.C.T. is to get noticed again, for something positive. It’s pretty obvious Lorissa’s trying to escape the stigma of Team Doom.”
“And the only help she truly needs from you is a loss in the upcoming battle. Trust me, she’s not interested in you getting in the way of that. If you want to ‘help’ her, do it after you’ve beaten her. Or after she beats you.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence…”
Stiletto grinned, “I call it ‘motivation.’”


Lorissa’s mind wouldn’t rest as she got dressed after a workout. Dominic’s words continued to echo through her mind, ...don’t get so wrapped up in this you stop being yourself. I see a lotta people at school who get really good then turn into complete pricks. Just don’t want you goin’ that route.
The Lairon let out a frustrated sigh, muttering, “It’s tough not to when I keep getting paired up with twigs…” She vaguely remembered seeing Storm in the past, likely when Team Doom took on his team and lost. Though she didn’t face him, she’d heard about him and wasn’t convinced he was the challenge she wanted; he hardly ever fought her kind.
She gathered her belongings and walked out, passing by some of the training arenas as she left. Something quickly caught her eye, though.
Lorissa glanced out to see Storm in a nearby ring, going through practice katas. The Jolteon’s movements were precise and fluid, but failed to impress her. She had no need for remembering precision movements when her own instincts provided more than enough skill carry her this far.
Storm suddenly blasted lightning at a paper target nearby, turning it into a cloud of ash.
Lorissa paused. That was what she needed to look out for. She’d have to close the distance and keep him from using his speed. She turned and continued out the door.
Storm glanced back, panting from exertion, and noticed the Lairon leaving. He spun and waved, “Oh, hey!”
Lorissa stopped, closing her eyes in annoyance, then turned and sighed, “What do you want?”
Storm trotted up to the arena boundary, “To try and remedy what happened earlier.”
“Why’s it so important to you, anyway?”
Storm grinned, “‘cuz I prefer to know who I’m fighting, rather than just thinking of them as ‘challenger number three.’”
Lorissa shifted her duffel bag, “I thought you just had a sensitive ego.”
“Well, that, too, but… I want to try and show respect before a fight; that’s just how I show it. I hate the idea of making an enemy out of competition.”
Lorissa blinked, “That’s what you’re afraid of?”
Storm leaned on the half-wall dividing the arena bounds from the stands, “Sorta, yeah.”
“Look, I’ve got nothing against you, but a battle is a battle. We’re gonna beat the crap outta each other whether or not we respect one another.”
“Of course; I’m not trying to stop a battle. I just think we get more out of ‘em that way. It’s a personal tradition of mine.”
Lorissa set her duffel bag down and crossed her arms, “I kinda thought that Ninetales friend of yours would get in the way.”
“Heh, she tries, but she’s just worried I’d get taken advantage of.”
“Try being taken advantage of by your own team.”
Storm’s expression faded, “I heard about what happened…”
“They didn’t wanna lose the only competent fighter they had.” Lorissa glanced away for a moment, “I was sick of pulling all the slack for ‘em while the rest of the Academy just laughed at me because of them.” She faced Storm again, “You’ve already got a reputation. Me, I’ve just started building mine. I ain’t looking for enemies, I’m looking for challenges. Something that’ll make everyone forget I associated with those morons.”
“I can promise you’ll get one from me. I know I’m not very intimidating, but Indigo used to be rank six in the Academy. I’m here to bring us back, and this tournament is my rep-builder, too. We both got something to strive for here.”
Lorissa swiped her bag from the floor, “All right… Then show me what you got when our battle begins. I’ll gladly ‘respect’ anyone that can prove himself.”


Cheers filled the arena as round three of the Summer Exams Combat Tournament was underway. In the combat ring itself was something akin to a miniature jungle. Tall trees shot up from a muddy bog while thick mist wavered all through it. Dozens of monitors had been installed over the stands so the audience could see the action from cameras placed among the foliage.
At one end, Storm loosened up while Blaze gave him some last minute advice, “This environment will hinder the both of you. Her weight will slow her down in the mud, but your own lack thereof will probably cause you to slip and slide around. Try and use the trees to push off, and be careful about using your Dig move; she knows Earthquake. Luckily, that mist can intensify your electricity, so take advantage of that.”
Storm stood and stretched as tall as he could, “Right. It’s gonna be hard for her to see in that mess, too. Electrolocation will help me out in that.” He quietly added, “She wanted a challenge…”

At the other end, Lorissa eyed the environment, pondering how she might use it against Storm. There was plenty of raw material to summon her own Rock moves, though she wondered just how sturdy they’d be with all this moisture. Before long, she heard the preliminary whistle blow.

The two combatants met in the middle as the referee went through the usual speech. Clean fight, no illegal moves, and so on.
Storm and Lorissa shook hands, “Good luck,” then backed away to the starting spots and waited for the battle to begin.
The environment felt incredibly surreal, as most of the audience was shrouded by haze; their cheers had become a haunting echo among the trees.
The whistle blew and Storm disappeared into the mist with a Double Team move.
The Jolteon slipped on mud and grabbed a nearby tree trunk to steady himself. Tiny discharges of electricity sparked from his paws as he tried to sense his surroundings. Strangely, he could find nothing. With a metal body, how could she disappear from his electrolocation all of a sudden? Storm cautiously glanced about; something didn’t feel right. He held out his arms and surged, letting his own electromagnetism carry him a few inches above the ground to levitate. A Magnet Rise would at least offer some degree of protection from the Ground-type attacks he knew were in her repertoire.
A shadow moved behind him. Storm kicked off a tree right before Lorissa nailed it with a powerful punch, toppling it instantly.
The Jolteon slid back and noticed she was completely covered in mud. She’d used Dig to hide! He blasted back with a Thunderbolt and struck her right in the chest, vaporizing some of the mud.
Lorissa was hardly phased and charged forward, fists igniting with Dragon energy.
Storm whirled and kicked up another tree to backflip over her, but the Lairon switched-up and slashed upward with Metal Claw, striking the Jolteon’s back as he went.
“Aaargh!” Storm twisted in midair and tried to land, only to hit something hard and sharp buried in the mud. He yelped in surprise, collapsing onto the ground as pain shot through his feet. Stealth Rock!
Lorissa shoved herself off a tree trunk, shifting it back from her weight, and charged again with Dragon Rush.
Storm quickly lit up a Flash attack and rolled, barely missing the now-blinded Lairon’s attack. The Jolteon levitated back up with Magnet Rise, jammed his claws in another tree trunk and pulled himself into hiding to recover. Storm tried to land on his feet again but the pain was immense; he fell back into the mud. Crap… he thought, I can hardly Double Kick without hurting myself. She just disabled one of the only moves I had she was weak against, and Dig is too risky…
Mud suddenly splattered up under him; Lorissa was using Earthquake to draw him out. Storm kept levitating, knowing full well the light and crackling of electricity would lead her right to him before long. The Jolteon charged up and shot between trees.
A solid stone jutted up nearby, then shattered as Lorissa nailed it, trying to catch her opponent with its debris.
Storm weaved through and fired another Thunderbolt; the lightning crackled among the damp stones but found its target and struck the Lairon’s shoulder. Storm kept moving and let out a Shock Wave, connecting instantly.
Lorissa nearly stumbled back but remained on her feet and summoned the dirt within the mud once again.
Storm jammed his claws into another tree trunk and let his momentum swing his body around to make another attack, but stone block shot up; he collided instantly. More blocks rose out of the bog to trap him on a Rock Tomb.
Lorissa blitzed the tomb, ready to shatter it and Storm within, but a sudden explosion of force blasted it apart and struck the Lairon, halting her instantly. She glanced up in surprise, noticing a trench of mud created from Storm’s Hyper Beam. The Jolteon was gone again. Lorissa got to her feet, body still smoking from the effects of the attack; she knew he was weak now.
Storm planted his back against a tree, panting hard. He didn’t want to use that move so early, but he had few options; the girl was a wall! He glanced out, thinking hard. She didn’t have a resistance to lightning, but that alone wasn’t going to win this. He had to trump her somehow.
Lorissa trudged through the mud in search of her foe, eyes peeled and fists ready at the slightest movement. She noticed her skull rings were vibrating against her head; magnetism. He was close. The Lairon stiffened with an Iron Defense technique, ready for anything.
A gold flash sparked above; Lorissa whirled and prepared to meet it head on but Storm streaked past and grabbed her arm with electromagnetism, using momentum to pull her off-balance.
“What the—?”
Lorissa twisted and hit the ground, flat on her back as Storm curved up and landed on her stomach. She reached out to grab his neck but a powerful Thunder move crashed down and nailed her at point-blank.
The Jolteon leaped back up but Lorissa grabbed his leg and swung him back into the mud. Electricity flared up as Storm tried to pull away but he was still magnetized; as slippery as the mud was, there was no escaping her grip as long as he kept discharging!
Lorissa pulled him close and punched hard to his stomach. Storm gagged in pain but managed to throw a Shadow Ball into her face. She inadvertently let go and Storm struggled to get away.
The Lairon roared and slashed out with Metal Claw, carving into Storm’s leg.
Storm fell into the mud again and scrambled to get away, magnetizing again just in time to avoid an Earthquake attack. He Flashed again to throw off her accuracy and darted away, avoiding a Body Slam.
Lorissa stood up and got into a defensive stance as her vision returned, “Is that all? You think a bunch’a cheap moves are gonna win this?”
Storm limped past a tree, running out of options. If this kept going any longer he knew he’d get crushed.
The tree behind him shattered at its base.
“Don’t you dare hide from me!” Lorissa roared. She slammed the ground, missing him in an instant. Storm shoved off another tree and magnetized again, firing a Thunderbolt right into her face.
Lorissa’s skull resonated with pain, fueling her rage. She swung her arm only to find Storm still magnetically attached to her shoulder. She spun and slammed against a tree but not before Storm pushed up to handstand on her head and then fire another Thunderbolt, shoving them both apart.
Lorissa slid back in the mud while Storm sank his claws into a tree trunk and skimmed down.
Both combatants eyed each other for only a moment.
Lorissa saw him move to fire again and Protected herself.
Storm switched up and Double Teamed, then rushed.
Lorissa dropped and tried to take out his legs again but the Jolteon sparked and soared into the air, catching another tree and swinging around to Double Kick neck, knocking her backward while he spun in the air to crash down into the mud, cringing from the horrible pain in his feet.
Lorissa staggered back up, seeing stars but not out yet, “You’re not a cupcake like I thought you’d be… but I’m still here to win.”
Storm grunted as he pulled himself up, “So am I.” He glanced down to notice the mud between them shifting. Lorissa gestured to summon a sandstorm; dirt and water swirled around, covering them both in the fury of nature.
Storm backed away, unable to sense through all the chaos. He saw movement charge through and dove to avoid Lorissa’s Dragon Rush.
Lorissa spun to follow through, but hit nothing in the swirling mud. Something splashed below her and the mud sucked in her legs. She moved to Dig but Storm burst out with his own Dig move, homing in on her metal body to grab her neck and discharge a Thunderbolt.
“Aaaugh!”
Storm choked on dirt but kept his grip, using the muddy water swirling with the separated sand to focus his lightning and strike again.
Lorissa stumbled back but didn’t fall. She glared back at her opponent in silence, eying his slashed leg. She pulled a foot out of the mud and planted it against a tree trunk, then shoved off, charging up for a retaliatory Metal Burst.
Storm gritted his teeth as she rapidly approached and leaned on his other leg, still hurt from the Stealth Rocks
Now or never…
She came close and Storm leaped up, spinning to Double Kick her neck again.
The Jolteon’s cry of pain sang out before the crash of Lorissa’s body hitting the ground.
Storm was sprawled out on his back, leg twitching in shock. He glanced over to see Lorissa laying nearby. He cringed and pushed himself up, fighting the aching to stand back up. He heard a whistle blow above as the referee approached, “The Winner: Tesla Veo!”
Storm ran a mud-covered paw through his hair, smiling in relief, “I did it…” With that he fell back into the arms of the medics.

“I can’t believe I lost…”
Lorissa sat on the bench as the arena workers prepared the ring for the next battle. She subconsciously rubbed her neck, wondering what she could do from here.
Storm limped up and sat next to her, “That was epic! I don’t think I’ve ever been challenged like that before.”
Lorissa sighed, “Well, good for you.”
Storm smirked, “Hey, you played well out there. You had me at a disadvantage most of the time.”
She turned to face him, “But I still lost. My one chance to start again and I lose the competition that was supposed to do that for me.”
“That doesn’t mean you failed. Listen to ‘em out there. No one’s laughing.” Storm massaged his leg, still sore from the battle, “I think you accomplished what you came out here to do. I mean, making it all the way to this bracket proves you’ve got some serious skill. I doubt there are ‘mon out there that can hold a winning streak alone for that long at a school like this.”
Lorissa nodded slightly, “I guess…” A tiny smirk then appeared on her face, “Yeah, I did.”

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Storm, Blaze, and Stiletto © Aelius (me)
Lorissa ©  carlito
Submitted for the  pokecombatacademy