Nicole could only hope that Nero would hold out. With the infatuation, she wasn't sure if he would just drop the attack or continue. However, it seemed that he was keeping the attack going at this point in time. Maybe that was a good sign? She wasn't going to get her hopes up that maybe he would win this will battle. A small portion of her was starting to accept the possibility that she would lose this second battle. Heck, she was sure it was going to be over as soon as the hearts had hit Nero, but he was still surprising her with little surprise reactions and attacks. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, she watched what was happening with eyes that showed the very small amount of hope she had left.
In her mind the thought: Come on Nero... Please? Please at least fight a little longer? I know you're still affected by the Attract... But please?
(I get that reference! That scene was one of my favorite.)
"I guess normal was never supposed to be a word for me." - Nicole
"Pour it on, Sparky!" said Z. Sparky let out a roar and the flames coming from her mouth increased in volume. The flames continued to try and push back the flames that Nero was using and it was certain that the loser of this contest would be badly burned when it was all over. Sparky was growing tired, but she did not want to give into the other pokemon so she continued to blast her fire at him with everything she had.
"Just a little more Nero! Please keep up the Flamethrower." Nicole muttered to herself. She was starting to figure that it was because he had started the attack, that he was able to continue it. There was no guarantee that if he stopped the attack that he would be able to attack again. "Please Nero, put your heart into it! Do it for me while you can still hear my voice as opposed to the Attract." She again muttered. Nero, not seeming to know what else to do when the Flamethrower from the opposite side of the room, also began to put power behind his own Flamethrower. It seemed that somehow Nicole's wish was being granted, but for how long? She was going to just continue to hold onto the tiny amount of hope that continued to linger in her heart.
(Still using the coin toss. My last post and this one I asked someone else to flip the coin for me via Skype.)
"I guess normal was never supposed to be a word for me." - Nicole
With a final burst of power, Sparky was able to overpower the battle of flamethrowers and blasted the other pokemon with a massive torrent of flames before rushing at Nero and landing a powerful punch to the kitsune-pokemon with her sky uppercut attack, sending the pokemon flying back from the force of the punch in addition to engulfing the fire type with torrents of fire and sending him flying into the wall.
"Nero is unable to battle," said the Announcer, "This match is a Draw."
"I'm afraid I cannot give you the badge," said Z, "but I can grant you a total of 1000 pokedollars."
Nicole nodded to Z. "That's understandable. Maybe I can try again later for the badge... Thank you for the battle." She said with a small understanding smile. "If you don't mind, I would like to go over and collect Nero." She bowed her head in a nodding motion before making her way over to where Nero was to check him over, hoping she didn't seem rude as she turned her back on her competitor. When she reached Nero, she bit her bottom lip as she watched him try to stand up. Placing her hand on his neck, she gained his attention and smiled at him. "It's alright Nero, you did well. I'm proud of you. Let's get you taken care of huh? And no, you are not walking out in that condition. You're going in your ball." She said stopping the Ninetails from getting up and holding his Pokeball up in front of him causing him to pout as he was pulled in. Turning back to Z, she gave a nodding bow again. "Maybe I'll see you again to challenge you for the badge. First though, it looks like I need to train with my Pokemon a little more."
"I guess normal was never supposed to be a word for me." - Nicole
"It was a great battle," said Z, "perhaps you would be able to have better luck later if you become stronger. It was a close battle, but your lack of type diversity isn't a good thing in a battle against my gym. You'll need to have more than just fire types, or your team will be too easy to counter. I mean this in a helpful way. If you gained pokemon that covered the weaknesses of the others, then you would be able to become a formidable opponent."