2794/WMAT BQ2 Mortimer Balman vs Xiao Li Yu

WMAT BQ2 Mortimer Balman vs Xiao Li Yu
Date of Scene:	13 August 2015
Location:	Papaya Island - Stadium
Synopsis:	Mortimer Balman takes on Xiao Li Yu in the WMAT qualifiers!
Cast of Characters:	Mortimer Balman, 823
Tinyplot:	WMAT 2015

---

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     Another day, another match. Just a few days after her loss to Genghis Rex, Xiao Li Yu had returned to this stadium once again for another match. Frankly, she would have been plenty satisfied with just the first match, but alas. She was a tournament entrant. She couldn't just waltz off because of one little blood specimen.

     ...Well, okay, she COULD, but she wouldn't.

     And so, here she stood, wearing her typical outfit yet again. How did she get it mended so fast? Must be magic of some sort. Anyhow, all that was left now was to wait for her opponent...

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     Likewise fully mended after his defeat at the hands of Duke, Mortimer has come back to the stage of history so that he can try again. This time fighting.. Another human. A very small looking human. That gives him cause to pause briefly as he's walking to his corner of the battle square.. Humans are one of the most unpredictable Fighting-type races. Difficult to tell how hard they can really strike, not like Machops or Hitmon's.

     Still wearing his own usual outfit- pair of pants, boots, and not really much else- he starts doing some warm-up stretches while waiting for the signal for the fight to begin.. Trying to size up Xiao a bit in the meantime. As best he can, at least,.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     "....Oh my. Another needlessly tall individual."

     Xiao commented with a grin, a hand coming to her mouth in feigned surprise. Well, this should be interesting. To say the least of things. "Right then, Mr. Balman, was it?" She reached into her sleeves, producing a set of gauntlets after. "Let's begin. I'm interested in seeing just how strong you are, after the last one."

     Last what? Rex? Well whatever. She immediately took a stance, staring down her opponent. "........" And then in a flash, she broke out into a quick dash, aiming a left hook into his side. A simple attack to start things off.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     "Actually I'm not as tall as-" holy hell she's fast. The technique is not unfamiliar to him, and he expected her to be quick on her feet, but damn she was a fair clip faster than he thought she'd be! Humans and their damned unpredictability. But Mortimer, despite his age and size, is quite fast himself- and rolls well with the punch. Almost enough to dodge it but not quite, the fist still finds his side- though doubtlessly without the force Xiao had intended.

     Having no time to really speak, the old 'morph springs into action with a riposte, spinning on his booted heel so that he can bring his opposite leg up in a wide, rapid swing in the hopes of kicking the much smaller human girl away from him.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     The punch connected, but not quite as much as she'd intended it to. Oh well, next time. She was far more surprised to find that the individual...pokemorph was it called? Well he was faster than he looked. The kick connected before she could mount a defense, sending her skidding a ways back.

     "My, not bad." She said casually, muttering an 'ow' to herself and she rubbed her side.

     Well, no time to worry about that. It was only just beginning. Sizing up Mortimer for a moment, she decided what she was going to do next. Once decided, Xiao dashed off yet again, jumping midway and tucking into a forward flip that ended with her aiming an axe kick atop one of his shoulders. "Hah!"

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     Despite her size she has a heavy advantage of both speed and leverage. Physics is working against ol' Morty, and this becomes swiftly apparent when she brings that foot down hard on his shoulder- which forces him to one knee. Leverage, body says go down. A grimace comes over his face- she very nearly dislocated his shoulder entirely in a single strike. She is, however, still within his reach.

     And Mortimer attempts to demonstrate this by grabbing her by the ankle. As long as she's not too fast to get away from his grasp, he should have enough room and leverage to swing her around like a sack full of potatoes and then launch her at the nearest solid object- namely, one of the /walls/.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     "Heh?"

     Oh boy. That's the second time someone's grabbed her ankle and swung her around. Thankfully, she was prepared this time. Somewhat. "Whoa whoa hey hey!" She cried in a rather comical manner as Mortimer swung her around. "Not agaaaaaain!" And then Xiao was launched straight towards a wall.

     Well, it was other the wall, or the ground. Thankfully he chose the wall! While sailing through the air, the scientist turned her body, and quickly landed against the side of the wall. Even though it was a relatively 'safe' landing, the impact of landing against the wall from a throw like that still rattled her bones a little. "Ergh! Would not want to have made impact head first." That probably would have been an auto KO, even for her.

     Well, no more time to contemplate!

     Nodding to herself, Xiao launched herself off the wall, flying back towards the center of the arena and straight towards the pokemorph. As she went, a cold breeze began to build up around her. It grew stronger and stronger, rapidly, until several arrays of ice arrows formed in the air in a circular formation around her. "Blizzara." She muttered, before rearing back with a fist.

     Once in range, she let loose with a single straight punch aimed for the side of Mortimer's jaw. Those ice arrows followed, all directing themselves towards him and firing forward.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     A moment to collect himself. Reassess the situation. Xiao needed at least a moment to cast her spell. Good, let him catch his breath and adjust his shoulder, which hurt like HELL. That's alright, still working, not out of the socket, long as it stays in the socket he can use it. Pain is your friend, tells you what's wrong.

     A moment take a different stance. Less rigid, more flexible. Loose. Don't tense the muscles until they need to be. Sway the torso a bit. He doesn't quite grasp the nature of the spell, until after her fist comes in. Having had time to adjust himself, he's able to predict the fist and catch it before it can strike his jaw- and the ice arrows.. Some of them stick to the old morph's fur, but they don't seem to penetrate, they're not digging in. They're melting too quickly. "Fire-types're strong against Ice-type, young lady. That's my free lesson fer the day!"

     And then, most unceremoniously, he launches her as hard as he can, again. Only this time he's throwing her UP, into the air, and following close on her heels are a series of large puffs of fire he's belching forth from his now wide-open maw.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     Whoops. Grabbed again.

     "Thank for the lesson, Mr. Balma-WHAH!" Up into the air she went. Really, this was getting so old. Was she really that grabbable? Was she really?

     ...Actually, she was, wasn't she? At her height and build it was too easy to pass up.

     Oh well.

     Xiao managed to right herself in mid air, just in time as Mortimer began to spew several fireballs towards her. "Gah!" A pair of black metal anklets fixed around her ankles suddenly took on a faint glow. Following that, it almost seemed like she was flying. With more control that what should have been possible, she swerved left and right, barely avoiding the worst of the blasts, barring some singed clothing on her sides. "I'm not really in the business of being set on fire, so, sorry!"

     Smiling, she clenched a fist, and it began to crackle with electricity. "If ice doesn't work, then how about this?" Cutting power from her anklets, the girl promptly began to descend in the air. As she did so, she thrust her hand forward, aiming to press it against Mortimer's abdomen while using the natural pull of gravity to come crashing back into the arena floor.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     Wait she has Electric-type moves? Of course she does, of course she has electric-type moves. Damn tricksy humanses-"GYYGGGGHH!" His body quivers while the electricity flows through him and the fist knocks all of the air out of his stomach. Fortunately muscles still do what muscles do, all of them reflexively LAUNCH him away from Xiao as they would any other major source of voltage and/or amperage, and send him sprawling across the ground.

     Through the haze of electroshock therapy he manages to force his eyes open and works to scramble to his feet. Awkwardly, because it takes a moment to recover from electroshock. But as he's rising up he's spewing flames again- these ones far more intense, far more /focused/, they stretch out like the hand of an angry elemental being and try to wash over Xiao. The flames have a hint of chemical stink to them, suggesting either Mort's got some dietary issues he needs to address or perhaps he's just been eating raw fuel sources in preparation for the match.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     Once she landed, the flow of electricity simmered down to a low hum and she stood back, waiting to see what her opponent was going to do. They all had tricks up their sleeves. This one seemed to be based around fire. That ruled out using fire and ice apparently. She could try water, but...that took extra effort. That left her with lightning...maybe poison? Poison seemed a bit too extreme for a tournament match though.

     There was one other, but she didn't even consider it for a second. Never consider that. Ever. By the time her little reverie ended, Mortimer was spewing flames again. "Oh!" Well, that was expected, given earlier, but this volley was much more focused. She saw it coming, but it was too fast to just straight out avoid. Instead, she brought her arms up, shielding her face and torso was the blast as it washed over her. Her clothes burned up and her skin as well, was burned in several places. Enough to cause blood to seep through.

     "...Have you been eating right? This fire has a strange scent." Xiao asked casually, despite the pain of the burns she was feeling. It seemed like that was a rhetorical question because without waiting for an answer, lightning began to build up along her body once again. Flaring up suddenly. And then she thrust both arms forward, causing an array of lightning to burst forth, several chains rippling along the ground as it sought out it's target and then converged upon him.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     More electricity. WHY. "GYNNNNN!!" It dances across his frame, sending the most godawful shocks across and throughout the whole of his system. Everything hurts. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE HURTS. Maybe he really is getting too old for this stuff.

     Eyes going wide, teeth clenching so hard that they threaten to shatter, Mortimer- with no small amount of effort- drags himself up to his feet. His fists burst into bright red flames, and he barrels toward the little human woman as fast as his body will allow him to. The burning hands start flying out in a series of rapid punches- they almost seem uncoordinated, desperate. To an extent they are, he wants her to STOP electrocuting him. But he's trying to force her on the defensive, force her into positions where she can only dodge so many of his blows so that at least a few of them will definitively connect. Hopefully connect /hard/.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     Ah yes. Maybe she should just stick to lightning. It seemed to be having the most profound effect so far. Whatever worked, right? Right.

     Except that Mortimer was having NONE of that. Her spell came to an end as the pokemorph barreled in towards her with a flurry of flaming fists. "...Aiyaaa..." She uttered her usual phrase of exasperation before immediately cutting the spell.

     He was too close. She needed to mount a defense. And mount one she did. With fists raised, she tried to move and parry to the best of her ability on such short notice. But several hits did connect. Connect harder than she would have liked. One blow impacted her side, lurching her small frame in that direction. Another in the midsection, forcing her back. "Ugh-!" Each hit that connected felt like it could have melted skin. Thankfully they didn't but it still HURT.

     Faltering just a bit, Xiao grit her teeth and steeled herself. After dodging the next punch aimed towards her head, she dove in with her own fists. The glow of her gauntlets charged with lightning intensifed as she uttered another spell. "Thundaga." With the spell's name spoken, the electricity surged even more and then she let loose with a similar flurry of punches. Aimed upwards due to her smaller stature, but the effect should be the same.

     A counter to get him off of her. A bit of a gambit as well, but that was a risk she had to take. She couldn't just stand there and cast a spell like earlier. Time to be a bit more proactive!

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     The thunder stopped. For a moment at least. He was certain there was more incoming but that didn't matter, he just needed enough time to start expelling copious amounts of smoke. Choking smoke, with that same chemical stink to it. It's coming out of his fiery mane like some kind of industrial fire. Xiao would likely, if she had time to think or realize it, probably know that the smell is /creosote/. Coal-tar creosote fumes, not the wood-tar kind that use to smoke meat. This stuff is toxic in large concentrations but even without that, it's cloying and strangling.

     Unfortunately, lightning tends to flashburn all sorts of chemicals! It also hurts fleshy tissues. But that strike wasn't as bad, it affected the fumes more than it did Mortimer- a tiny respite compared to the previous shocks she'd been giving him.

     Pain clawing at his everything, the flames around Mort's head expand and extend, and the moment Xiao lets her guard drop for a minute the 'morph seems to.. Flip away from her, pulling off a triple somersault, flinging himself away from her. But in that process, the extended flames lash out at her like a whip!

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     Well, she managed to stop his rapid flurry of blows. But the problem now was...that smoke. And there was that smell again! It couldn't have been just happenstance. This was here for a reason. ...Actually, wasn't this....ohhhhh now she got it. She also couldn't help but cough, which distracted her enough to let Mortimer get away.

     Well that wasn't a big issue. Her first priority was getting away from this smoke! Unfortunately, the flames her opponent were controlling lashed out at her, striking her with the velocity of a whipcrack. "Gah!" After feeling the first strike, Xiao crouched low, and then jumped straight into the air. Catching a good breath away from the smoke, the scientist raised an arm back, and spoke.

     "Blizzaga."

     A chunck of ice formed above her palm, growing larger and larger. She willed it to stop at about nine to ten feet in diameter. Much more would be annoying to coordinate. But wait, why ice? Wasn't Mortimer resistant to ice? It all became clear when she uttered her next spell.

     "Firaga."

     Suddenly the huge cluster of ice was enveloped in flame, rapidly melting down till it was nothing but a sloshing orb of water. It wasn't exactly 'Waterga', but she had to improvise! "And now..."

     By that point, she began to descend and with it, she thrust her arm downward, sending the massive sphere of water crashing down upon Mortimer.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     Oh Mortimer could have thanked all of his strange pokemon gods that the electricity was finally stopping. It gave him a little breathing room. Coal-tar creosote fumes he's okay with! Wait why the arena lighting up as though a really big bonfire has been lit and why is it still really cold in the HOLY GODS ABOVE. His eyes go wide as saucers as there's suddenly a pair of colossal balls over his head. And then they're COMBINING. To make a WATER BALL. His elemental weakness! How did she know?!

     Adrenaline is a hell of a drug. Even when it feels like you're about to keel over, your fight or flight senses will tell you it's time to be leaving now. And he's feeling a whole lot better! It's a lovely day for a run! Away from the giant water ball! "Nyaaahhh!" It's quite comical to watch him fleeing from what is, essentially, a boulder made out of concentrated water. Like a vulgar and crass Indiana Jones. Every breath comes out as an epithet as he flees from the ball. Only one hope in Hell from getting away. He has to time it just right.. Fall to the ground and let the ball wash over him, let water physics drag most of the mass over him and hope that it doesn't crush and extinguish him at the same time. The ball touches the ground and Mortimer hits the cold arena floor shortly thereafter, the lion's share of the mass rushing over him instead of INTO him, like a wave rolling over itself.

     He would have probably laughed and made a statement of amazement that this had worked, if it weren't for the fact that he was painfully aware that there was nothing stopping from Xiao from doing this again. Rolling over onto his back, he springs back up onto his feet and forces his aching leg muscles to launch himself up at her, his whole body seeming to be wreathed in flame. Arms outstretched he tries to grab her in a big, tight, fiery embrace. Hopefully that will stop the magic.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     On one hand, it was quite hilarious, watching him run around so frantically to avoid the impromptu water spell.

     On the other hand, she did mostly miss, and that was a sorry waste of MP. But hey, she could just totally do it again!

     ...Or not.

     Before she could even begin to start the process over, here came Mortimer, sailing through the air! "Heh? Hey! Wait wait! Time out! I call time ou-whargh!" And there they went. In a nice, tight, fiery embrace. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go! It's too early for this! You should at least take me out a few ti-ow!"

     ...Maybe it wasn't that bad if she had time to crack jokes.

     But no, this was actually pretty bad. If this went on, she'd most definitely lose. Ah, what to do....Her mind ran through the various possibilities. After ruling out several, she zeroed in on one in particular. Her anklets lit up again, keeping her, and Mortimer aloft in the air. And then she closed her eyes, focusing past the pain.

     A familiar tingle of electricity began to build up. Was she casting a spell? But wait, she was being restrained! ...Actually, Xiao hadn't waved a wand or any sort of catalyst once during this battle, did she? Of course, she didn't need them. Whether or not Mortimer would realize, the lightning grew stronger and stronger, inevitably enveloping the both of them in it's light. But only one of them would be harmed by this.

     A flash, and then a pillar of lightning energy surged upwards into the sky, mercilessly shocking the pokemorph, should he still be holding onto her.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     WHY. WHY THE LIGHTNING AGAIN. A decidedly inhuman, deafening roar of pain came out of him as Xiao decided to try and microwave him one last time. Even he wasn't sure if she needed any kind of somatic or verbal components for spells but he wasn't in much position to CARE. Muscles strained, joints locked up stiff, no ability to launch himself away from the agonizing lightning. His eyes shakily turn themselves down toward Xiao.

     There are no words. The heat just keeps increasing at a steady pace. Not quite at exponential rates, but the temperature is climbing and it's not stopping. He is somehow emitting more and more heat energy. It's actually taking quite a lot of focus to make the external temperature match his /internal/ temperature, but he's in far too much pain to actually say anything. Or even think much about anything.

     Just burn it all until it stops.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     Lightning and fire mixed together, both forces fighting to overwhelm the other.

     ...But in the end, fire won out. The temperature became too great to bear and with her vision blurring, Xiao eventually passed right out. No longer conscious, her flight device ceased functioning, and she and Mort veered right back down onto the stadium ground.

     Only one of them got back up.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     The worst part isn't the falling to the ground. Or even the stop. It's the fact that Mortimer realizes he's the one who is conscious. That means he's locked with Xiao. Well, it would be horribly /ungentlemanly/ to lay there on the ground in a passionate death-embrace with her. "C'mon muscles.. C'mon.. Up.." Very slowly he unlocks his arms from around the small human woman and then pushes himself up onto his feet. There is not a single nerve in his body that isn't twitching furiously. "..." It takes him a moment to realize that Xiao is in fact, completely out cold.

     Well. Time to call the medics, or the monks, or whoever the hell handles medical services, into the ring. Once the both of them get patched up he'll have to offer her dinner to make up for all the hugging.