Eevee Therapy for Little Magi, Chapter 43: A Trial at Dawn

Illya looked up the hill, shading her eyes in the dawn light. “Brava Arena?” she asked, looking up the stairs with some trepidation. “I thought Lady Lilligant was going to do something… special.”

“Every trial is special. More seriously, she eventually decided if you came early, you’d get to see her Sun Praise exercises, and then have the battle,” Otoshi responded blandly. “If you’d like, she had some plan involving fighting over the river, and forcing you to use your Froslass to keep you on the water the whole time.”

Illya shook her head. “Morning battle is fine,” she responded, considering what it would take to walk on water with magecraft. Something to modify surface tension?

While her thoughts turned over, she, the warden, and her friends ascended the stairs, Illya breathing slightly heavily as they crested the hill and reached the arena. As the sun rose over the mountains, Illya’s gaze was drawn to the grass-type Lady, the chosen of Arceus raising her arms to salute the sun. She began to dance beneath the dawn, giving praise to the power above and the land around her, grass blooming across the packed earth of the arena.

Flowers bloomed around Lilligant, even as she moved through a series of martial arts kata. Fluid, rising motions demonstrated impressive strength and flexibility, and as she finished her motions, a burst of green light flared from her arms. Lady Lilligant erupted into a Solar Blade, shredding the tall grasses and flowers she’d summoned, letting her spin disperse the grasses into the rising wind.

In a word, it was mesmerizing. The dance was practiced, flowed like the most violent of rapids and yet at the same time, had a tranquility about it that Illya couldn’t exactly place. Perhaps the best thing she could compare it to was the sense of tranquility she got from watching masters of an art perform their, well, art. But it was more than that. A supernatural component perhaps? But honestly, Illya wasn’t worried about the how so much as enjoying the moment. The dance itself was beautiful, and honestly, that was all Illya cared about…

At least beyond the fact that the form of dancing her host had decided to show had a myriad of combat applications she was now analyzing. Pity that she couldn’t enjoy the dance simply for what it was, but her understanding of how battle worked gave her insights that the layman wouldn’t have, so she supposed there was that. It was more beautiful for it, even if there was more work on her end to truly appreciate it.

As Lilligant finished, she turned to bow to her audience. “Well? Challenger, what did you think?”

Illya paused. “I think I learned a little of what you can do. And how much you train.”

“Indeed.” Lilligant turned, walking to the edge of the arena. “When the Heroine came to Hisui, she had little in the way of power. Against Kleavor, she showed perseverance and courage. But here, in her bout against my ancestor, she showed compassion and grace, revealing the skills she brought from the future that has come to be.” She turned back to Illya. “I really like those principles. I seek to emulate them. You do not have to do so to succeed, but they make a powerful person more complete.”

“Compassion is the privilege of the strong in a lot of ways,” Illya hummed, frowning as she looked towards Matilda and nodded. “But it is also something all those who are strong should be able to show to anyone.”

“Yes! Very good.” Lilligant spun to the other end of the arena, bowing low. “Testing you in compassion is difficult, and grace is something you will gain with age. But are you strong enough to make those matter? If you are, come and prove it.”

Illya didn’t speak, instead striding forward to the edge of the arena, rolling a Pokeball into one palm. She let it go, Fubuki appearing as the ball bounced back to her. “One at a time, ma’am?”

“Oh, yes, Kleavor fights three on one. One at a time is fine.” She tittered. “I hope you’re not expecting type advantage to make this easy.”

“No, but it should help.” Fubuki nodded, then winced as Lilligant shone gold. “Work Up… alright.” She whirled her sleeves, summoning a cloud above which began to hail on the arena.

Lilligant tittered, dancing forward at a blinding speed, a Leaf Blade flickering into Fubuki’s torso, sending the ice-type tumbling. “I don’t know, this seems easy.” She stopped as Fubuki righted and sunk into the ground. “Good recovery!”

Looking up at the rising sun, Illya gave a quick call. “Cover the sky, let it snow! We can’t afford to make it easy for her to heal.”

Fubuki emerged from the ground, sleeves waving as she rose above the battlefield, snow beginning to fill the cool morning air. Lilligant seemed to wilt slightly as the sun was obscured by the rapidly forming icy haze. In response, Lilligant shifted, dipping low to the ground as she pushed her feet against it, dust becoming smoke as she focused on the heat the act generated. She leapt, the ad-hoc Blaze Kick whipping into Fubuki’s face.

“How are you mustering flame?” Fubuki groaned as she was nearly annihilated by the flaming strike. She sent a Blizzard blasting into Lilligant, frost forming across leaves and legs, snuffing the fire.

Lilligant giggled. “The sun gives me her power, as always. I’m still learning, though.” Her left arms flexed, sloughing off the ice. “So are you. Can you show me what you’ve discovered thus far?”

Illya grimaced. “Fubuki… show them what happens when you wrong a magus, or a fae.”

Fubuki nearly wilted as Lilligant approached. “...yes. Yes I can. Let me show you what I figured out since I garnered magic.” Pink and purple gathered around her hands. “A Curse upon thee– but not of normal get.” She flared her fingers, her lifeforce drained to blast her opponent, collapsing even as Lilligant shuddered, dark energy coalescing around her while pink chains formed, draining her vitality.

“A sacrifice. And you learned from your Mystery Gift friend… well done.” Lilligant spun as Illya returned her ghost. “Is she next, then?”

“No.” Illya produced a second pokeball, flicking her wrist to let out Milotic. “You said you wanted to dance, right? If I sent out Matilda, it might all be over before you got the chance.”

“Ah, I see!” Lilligant tittered. “So you’re going to face me?” She winced as the curse wore away at her. “Well, let’s get to it.”

“Indeed.” Milotic ceased talking, instead blurring forward in a spinning blow, meeting the Leaf Blade with her own Aqua Tail, the watery coating forming ice crystals in the snowy environment.

Lilligant took the first hit, then lashed out with a flurry of blows, each strike of her arms met with an answering one from Milotic. It really did seem almost like a dance as the two blitzed against each other, neither hesitating to batter the other heedless of the damage.

Illya grimaced. Lilligant was waning due to the curse, but it was happening slowly, so slowly. And despite her strong showing, Milotic was definitely coming across worse from their clash. She spoke up as the two disengaged. “Aqua Ring, then use Icy Wind to slow her down,” she instructed.

As Milotic moved through the movements to set herself up, Lilligant moved through a few katas, looking up at the still snow-covered sky, the fae bindings fading. She didn’t bother to speak further, instead moving to close with the now-bolstered Milotic, who blasted her with frost as they closed. When they met in the middle, Lilligant’s strikes were far stronger, but now Milotic had the speed advantage, dodging incoming strikes and responding with attacks which broke the Lady’s guard, at the cost of rapidly draining her stamina. As the moments stretched into a minute, Milotic started to slip.

As Milotic ducked another chop at her head, she was met with a swift kick knocking her off-rhythm. Lilligant closed in, feet joining arms as she tore apart Milotic, each strike shaving off more and more of the eel’s health. With a desperate burst, Milotic blasted ice in Lilligant’s face once again, backing off slightly to heal from her Aqua Ring, Lilligant’s attempt to re-close stymied by her ongoing Curse. Milotic took the moment to blast her with another attack, this time a burst of dragonfire, which unfortunately failed to Paralyze.

“You have an interesting fighting style. But it’s not quite fleshed out yet,” Lilligant observed, leaping into the air and over another Icy Wind, closing to quarters and smashing her opponent with one last kick. “Maybe I could help, once you’re done?” she hummed as Milotic collapsed into coils. “Think about it.”

A crimson beam of light hit Milotic before she could give her response, Illya returning her water-type with haste. Giving the ball a pat before she placed it back on her belt, she snatched the first ball off her belt with a smile. “Alright, Matilda,” the snow-haired girl began, arm rearing back as she prepared to throw out her starter, “;et’s do this!”

She didn’t need to think about the future right now. Liligant’s offer could wait until their battle was over. Right now, she needed to fully focus on defeating the obstacle placed before her.

Matilda entered the ring, looking up to see the snow fade away. She immediately tapped her paws against the ground, the pulse of Misty Terrain covering the arena. “So then. Last call.”

Illya coughed. “Fairy moves, Matilda. We need every edge, not just showing off here.” Her starter nodded resolutely

Lilligant nodded, immediately dropping into a sliding kick which Matilda evaded with a swift leap, responding with a bust of Disarming Voice. Landing and immediately dodging aside, she managed to evade two Poison Jabs and a Bullet Punch in rapid succession, her own barrage of Disarming Voice and Draining Kisses being batted aside with ease, although each block left fresh cuts on her opponent’s arms. 

Illya watched the fight, the rapid exchange giving her little time to chip in. Though she did notice… “She’s slowing down, get her with one solid hit and we can turn the tide. Act like Yagi!”

“Not my style, my lady.” Matilda finally stopped, unfurling her bows to their longest reach, and capturing the next strike with a grunt. “But it does work.” She opened her mouth wider, a pinked Hyper Voice knocking Lilligant back several paces. With her stance broken, Matilda fired off a second shot, then a third– then had to abandon her blasts as Lillgant blurred into motion, a Bullet Punch turned into a full-body movement making up the distance once again. Matilda barely managed to pop a Protect, Lilligant’s leaf fist turning on the briefly impenetrable barrier.

“Oww… You really are a little spellcaster.” Lilligant hopped back, shaking out her bruised limb, then wincing as the Curse took a further toll. “Sun’s high again. Let’s make this one count.” She raised her arms, each glowing with the energy of growth and the sun.

Illya’s eyes widened as she recognized the Solar Blades forming in front of her. If they hit… “Matilda, Moonblast and follow-up!”

As the barrier around her dropped, Matilda was already forming a silver-pink orb of energy. She blasted it at Lilligant, who cut through the blast with one arm, then was caught by another Hyper Voice, throwing her off her stride. Staggering to a stop, she fell to her knees, tapping the arena with one arm. “...I…I think that’s enough.”

Matilda heaved a sigh of relief, panting harshly. They’d won.

Illya stepped onto the arena, glancing at her starter. Matilda wasn’t wounded… but she was exhausted. If they hadn’t managed to get off that Curse… She looked back at Lilligant, who was shaking off the blackened bands and rising back to her own feet.

“Thank you for the Trial, Lady Lilligant.”

“Thank you for the battle!” Lilligant chirped, swaying over to the young lady. Her bloom shone, gathering light, and she plucked a bright green slab of stone from the air, handing it to her. “My Meadow Plate. Come back anytime! I won’t have to hold back at all if you added another teammate or two.” She tapped her chin with her other arm as Illya accepted the plate. “I typically get my mate to dance with me if you bring six, though. Or set up a few Victory Dances beforehand.”

“That certainly makes sense,” Illya hummed, a complicated expression playing out across her face at the news that her foe had, in fact, held back. It did, of course, make some degree of sense. Lilligant was a lord. She wasn’t attempting to fight all out against Illya, that would entirely defeat the purpose of the Trial. But it still was a reminder that she had further still to go until she reached her goal, “I think I’ll be back, eventually, for a proper rematch. Once I’ve completed the first leg of my journey.”

“Excellent! You’re very strong for someone who’s been training for… three months? Two?” Lilligant hummed. “But again, larger team, more experience. You have the potential, it just needs some polish!”

“You’re right on those fronts.” Everyone turned as Vulpix trotted into the arena. “Lady Lilligant, I apologize for asking so soon after such a battle, but…”

“You want to test yourself again?” As Vulpix nodded, Liligant looked her over. “I need a few minutes to get healed and salute the sun, but I could handle a bout. Though, I’m not sure you’re at your best. You seem to have lost a bit of grace.”

“There’s a reason that Pokemon go on journeys.” Vulpix hummed, acknowledging her opponent's verbal jab with grace, “While I am certain some Pokemon can get as strong as they could with a trainer without one, I am not one of them. My skills have rusted from disuse, despite my best efforts otherwise.”

“Well observed. Give me a moment.” Lilligant spun around to the eastern side of the arena, raising both arms to frame the sun.

Shirou looked down at Vulpix, then withheld any comment. He could read the resolve in her body, flaring through her aura. And though it wasn’t the resolve he felt, he wasn’t going to stop her from pursuing it. Not like this, at least.

Lilligant lowered her arms, turning back to the arena. “Alright then. I’m ready.” She set her stance. “Shall we dance?”

“We shall,” Vulpix acknowledged, stepping out onto the field with purpose. “Until we’re knocked out? Or until we tap out? I’m game for either, Lady Lilligant.”

“Knock out is fine.” Lilligant shrugged, then immediately launched into an Axe Kick.

Vulpix somersaulted out of the way, tails waving as she set up a snowstorm. She bounced across the battlefield as Lilligant pursued, chops and strikes harrying her as she blasted back with icy wind and ice beam, the bursts frosting over the leaves of the Lady.

“Ugh, more snowstorms.” Lilligant stopped and ran through a rapid dance. “Not this time! PRAISE THE SUN!” she crowed, as a Sunny Day blew away the clouds and bathed the arena in sunlight.

“Weather wars it be,” Vulpix chirped coolly, tails alight with ice energy as she once more called forth the snow, the utilization of snowscape both fully expected and accounted for by her opponent, who took the opportunity to close the distance. “... Shit.”

Then, without any further fanfare, the small fox was sent flying as a brutal Close Combat connected. Swearing a blue streak as she rose to her feet, Vulpix then grinned as she retaliated with a Blizzard, the flurries of snow surrounding the pair of them brought under her command as they assailed Lilligant. The grass-type Lady dug her feet into the ground, a Blaze Kick taking the edge off the powerful ice-type move even as she once again got back in range.

As Lilligant lashed out with her feet and fists in a blur of motion, she still had the energy to speak. “I was right. You aren’t rolling off my punches as you once did, or using my kicks as springboards. You couldn’t do it all the time, but it was wonderful when you could.” 

“I get too focused, and can’t account for all the variables on a battlefield. A trainer would help me with those a lot,” Vulpix admitted, weaving between the punches and kicks as best she could, tail and paws alight with Ice type energy as she used Triple Axle. Occasionally she would successfully parry or brush aside a strike, leaving her opponent wincing. Yet, though the fox hadn’t quite realized it yet, she was being pushed towards the edge of the arena, “It’s why I’m testing your previous challenger’s brother. I feel like he may be the one for me.”

“Really? His Riolu is fairly close to evolving… maybe I should teach him some tricks?” Lilligant responded as she continued to push forward, guiding Vulpix gently to put her back to the ring’s edge again and again. “Speaking of your focus, we never did mention what I meant by knock out.”

“Unconsciousness- oh.” Vulpix wilted as her rear touched the edge of the arena. “Ah.”

Lilligant winked, then launched a Vacuum Wave and Leaf Storm in rapid succession. Knocked up by the airburst and then juggled over the edge by the spinning leaves, Vulpix tumbled to the ground outside the arena. “...and I’m too used to wild fights these days,”  she admitted reluctantly.

Lilligant nodded, then turned back to the small, watching crowd. “Thank you all! Talk to Otoshi if you want to come train with me, but for now, I’ve got the H&H. Have fun, and enjoy your time in the Mirelands and Adamant Town!” She bowed once, then skipped to the edge of the arena and somersaulted into the highlands.

“Well. That was somewhat embarrassing,” Vulpix huffed, standing tentatively on her feet before she sighed. “Definitely need a trainer again. I would have never lost track of that back when I was properly training.”

Shirou walked over and crouched down. “So… you want to get stronger?” At her nod, he smiled back at her. “So do I. You’ve seen what I get up to– I can barely hold back when I see trouble. If I’m going to jump into things, I owe it to everyone to be able to get out as intact as possible.”

“He means he needs to be strong enough that his headlong attitude won’t get him killed,” Illya drawled. “Fafnir is helping him take care of himself a little. But he does need the help.”

“Well. I did say I was testing you,” Vulpix huffed, looking more than a little amused, “But if you’re going to be so kind as to offer, who am I to decline? If you wouldn’t mind waiting a bit, however, I’d like to actually get a battle in against you before I allow myself to be caught. Tradition, if nothing else.”

Shirou extended a hand. “Perhaps when you’re a little less battered? You did just fight Lady Lilligant.”

“...agreed.” Vulpix winced, then placed her paw in his hand. “We have a deal.”

As the group gathered to depart, Illya took a moment to look over the brown, red, and green mottled landscape below. “Even if I don’t agree with a lot of how your leaders are handling things… I’m glad I get to see the Mirelands so pristine,” she acknowledged.

“I’m glad you think so,” Otoshi agreed. “And time will change things. Or perhaps you’re just in time to bring change?” He chuckled. “Win Lady Ursaluna’s Trial… and there might be some people asking questions.”

“Well,” Illya hummed, smiling faely, “we might just do that, then.”