she doesn't play his game.

she stands waiting at the base of the path that leads to the dragon's den, unwavering in her resolve because she knows him. she knows what he's capable of; what he's willing to do to achieve what he wants. years of provoking him has come back to haunt her.

the caged beast is finally fighting back, and his rage is as free as ever.

fusube is in a mode of panic as turmoil spreads through the street like rats hunting for their next meal. their gym leader is nowhere in sight; she makes a conscious decision not to engage him in the city. she's willing to sacrifice the lives of a few to save the lives of many. their battle will rage. their battle will destroy. she won't let fusube fall because of it.

a lone figure soon comes into sight. she stands across from him on a stretch of ground that leads straight into the heart of the den, where the strongest of pokemon reside. she's blocking his only path in.

"you're looking well, victor."

there's not a pokemon in sight. her hands are in her pocket as she eyes him carefully.

"how have you been?"

VICTOR LEE

he doesn't play her game either, which is fine, just disappointing.

she maintains her balance even as the ground furiously shakes beneath her. she's not an amateur, and he isn't one either. they aren't the same people as they once were. those people don't exist anymore. what's left are their shells.

"you know i can't let you do this." 

her tone signifies a shift; the mood in the air changes, tension slicing as she sighed. she shakes her head. she doesn't offer him a chance to turn and leave because he won't take it. he's far too stubborn to be changed. she's tried too many times.

"i'm sorry, victor." 

the ground beneath him cracks open and out from it bursts an excadrill. his claws slashes at both of victor's calves, attempting to DIG into them to restrict his movements.

her trap had long been set. all she needed was a victim.

VICTOR LEE

is he taunting her?

her brows furrow at the sight of a steelix emerging from the ground. her attack's parried, rendered useless as victor rises up into the air. her eyeline shifts upwards, following him as she raises a hood to cover her head.

"ROCK THROW."

that's all she gives her excadrill before pulling up a scarf to cover her face from the viciousness of the sandstorm. shards of rock and sand pierce her skin, leaving their marks but she doesn't flinch. she stands strong even in the face of danger.

her hand finds another pokeball. her cacturne vanishes with the sandstorm, reappearing underneath the steelix to smash his NEEDLE ARM into its base. in the mean time, zu slashes at the ground, breaking up chunks of rock only to send them soaring straight at victor.

there's no need for words anymore. 

VICTOR LEE

he doesn't call out another pokemon. he has both the metaphorical and literal high ground, and he practically gloats in it. his steelix rises into the air, causing the sandstorm to grow in intensity and size. she's shielded only by her coat, which doesn't do much to combat the specks of rocks and dirt that continue to be a pain.

a piece of land beneath her cracks, lifting her upwards along with the MAGNET RISE. her pokemon are at a disadvantage. zu can't reach that high. "shit." she shoots forth a beam of red light to recall her excadrill, swapping him out with something that's airborne. 

"alpha!" 

a gliscor enters the fray with a loud shriek. he rotates in the air, SWORDS DANCEing as he navigates through the thick of the sandstorm. he avoids being hit and when he's close enough, he flaps his wings once before letting momentum carry him the rest of the way.

alpha glides, cutting through the air before swooping upwards. his tail curls under and recoils back up, SKY UPPERCUTting the steelix.

lugh stands on the ground, ready to form SPIKY SHIELDs to protect his counterpart.

VICTOR LEE

ridiculous.

this isn't like any of their previous encounters; no, this is different. not only is he stronger, but he's more determined. he's no longer her toy to play with, and that upsets her.

alpha's attack bounces off an unknown source; she can't see for shit in the dire weather conditions they're in. they can't possibly win a battle they can't see. so, she changes it up.

whistle.

alpha lets out a piercing shriek and as it echoes across the battlefield, dark clouds start to form above. there's not much of a RAIN DANCE, but it'll do. thunder cracks and from it, rain falls. it pours down, turning sand into wet clumps.

she sees it now: the aegislash hidden underneath the steelix. that fucker. she won't allow herself to be the cause of her own downfall.

"poison."

simultaneously, murky purple shoots forth from both her cacturne and gliscor, TOXIC in nature as it looks to poison.

VICTOR LEE

victor dominates the battlefield, demolishing the terrain to shape it into what he wants. she does little to react against it; nothing, actually. she simply watches and reacts.

the weather drastically shifts yet again and it becomes abundantly clear that she's losing. "alpha!" she makes a run for it, avoiding debris that flies towards her. she holds one hand up and latches on to her gliscor when he swoops down.

once high enough, she drops. a flash of white summons her hydreigon; her three heads shrieking as they seek out their foe. "it's victor." they don't avoid the STEALTH ROCKS that float atop the battlefield, but she manages to tank through it.

a sharp DRAGON PULSE booms across the battlefield, rippling towards the noivern. its fast, but the SANDSTORM helps cover the attack as it flies.

alpha's on the hunt. his ACROBATICS allows him to navigate through the rough terrain, and once he thinks he finds a target, he swipes his tail for a powerful NIGHT SLASH.

VICTOR LEE