Aloin flashed a grin up toward Lisanna as he stepped into the coliseum ring. Lisanna sat atop the highest balcony with her father to watch the competition, looking as beautiful and radiant as the goddess of beauty herself, her hair fluttering in the wind as she grinned back down at Aloin in reassurence. Her father remained as stoic and steely eyed as ever--Aloin had no idea what he thought of him. He could only hope that the man just didn't hate him.

Aloin's opponent walked into the coliseum then, flexing his own muscles as he happily acknowledged the crowd's applause. Aloin frowned as he watched him bow once toward Lisanna's father and look at the girl hungrily. He saw her more as a prize than a person. Rather than trying to win her hand, he wanted to win the perks and riches she came with. Aloin couldn't allow someone so materialistic to win--he just couldn't. He didn't mind if he himself wasn't the one fit to marry the most beautiful woman in all of Orre, but he would be damned if he allowed someone even less fit ahead of him.

"The semifinals begin!" Lisanna's father, Lucius, spoke grandly as he stood up, spreading his arms wide to quiet the cheering crowd. They fell silent as if unplugged. "Aloin, the traveller all the way from Hoenn, and Pallas, a man from our own desert country of Orre, shall fight to be the one to wed my daughter! Only one shall continue from here and challenge the other finalist! Amorous trainers, begin!"

"Breloom," Aloin said shortly, and Breloom glanced back at him calmly. Seeing the resolved expression on his master's face, the mushroom nodded once, tilting the large toadstool atop its head slightly as it braced its legs, clenching its claw-like fists. Pallas' Eelektross slithered forward as its master took the initiative of calling the first move.

"Let's get this over with quick, Eelektross! Zap cannon!"

Eelektross fired a flurry of yellow orbs of pure electricity at Breloom relentlessly, attempting to land one of the hits. Breloom raised its arms in a boxer-like stance and easily hopped from side to side, evading the orbs as he moved forward swiftly. Aloin knew that so long as Eelektross was only firing randomly and hoping for a lucky hit, getting in close wouldn't be a problem.

"Dynamic punch!"

Breloom thrust its fist forward as it shot forward with a single hop, closing the remaining distance instantaneously. Pallas, however, grinned as Eelektross swiftly dodged the attack as it flexibly moved its slender body out of the way, allowing Breloom to pass over it.

"Bind!"

Eelektross' arms wrapped around Breloom's body tightly, forcing Aloin's Pokemon to stand still on the ground and pin its arms to its side.

"And now zap cannon!"

Eelektross fired blast after blast at Breloom point blank and Breloom cried out in pain as the attacks landed each time, sending shocks of electricity through him each time. It pained Aloin to see this, but he knew he had to be patient...

A collective gasp went through the crowd as several people pointed upwards, though Pallas ignored them. He was focused only on the victory coming closer and closer within his gasp. So he could blame no one else but himself as hard shelled seeds rained from above, slamming into Eelektross' body, throwing it off of Breloom as it was covered in bruises from the "seed bomb" attack. Breloom hopped back several paces before falling to one knee, in pain from its wounds.

"Throwing up seed bombs to hit their mark when we're distracted..." Pallas muttered. "That's a shameful blow!"

"You just didn't notice." Aloin ignored Pallas' whining. What difference did it make how the attack was dealt? He should have been paying more attention. "Breloom, can you use dynamic punch?"

Pallas laughed as Breloom struggled to stand and winced once more in pain. "As if he'd be okay! Those attacks left him paralyzed so badly, he can hardly move!"

"Oh, he can move alright." Aloin assured as Breloom suddenly shot up to its feet and shot forward, ramming one fist into Eelektross' face that sent the eelfish Pokemon flying back. "It just took a moment for it to recover enough energy."

"What--how?!" Pallas roared with fury as he saw that his Pokemon was completely knocked out an unable to battle. "There is no way that could have happened! I call foul play! Automatic disqualification for unfair advantage!"

"There was no foul play." Lucius said firmly as he stood up, and the crowd, which had been mumbling about the ending, fell silent once more. "Breloom had not been paralyzed because it was already 'suffering' from another ailment, am I right?"

"Yes." Aloin nodded as he motioned to Breloom. Breloom held up a sphere of pure mauve up for everyone to see. "Breloom was holding a Toxic Orb, which poisoned him. With the ability, Toxic Heal, Breloom recovered health, rather than lose it."

Lucius nodded. "And so I rule the manuever completely legal. Pallas, you have lost. Aloin, I praise you for your talent."

"Thank you, sir." Aloin bowed his head respectfully as Pallas continued to seethe furious, glaring at Aloin.

"Don't think for a moment that you're getting away with this." He warned quietly, so that only Aloin could hear. "No one gets away with cheating me."

"You lost fair and square." Aloin murmured back with an exasperated sigh. "Try to save some face."

"You'll regret this." Pallas promised before turning away haughtily, heading toward the exit to the arena. Aloin and Breloom watch him leave, unsure of what to make of it. Had someone just sworn vengeance against them?

But Aloin couldn't dwell on it. He noticed Lisanna and Lucius whispering to one another and saw the girl's blue eyes flicker toward him a few times, alight with interest. This instantly made him feel better. Maybe he really had a fair shot after all.