At first, Eleyna couldn't discern what had happened. Her hand raised reflexively as the spray of water hit her. The Kingler tumbled through the sand, and in an instant Growlithe was tumbling as well, water spraying from his soaked fur. Eleyna stumbled backward, falling on her butt. She winced and gave a solid shake of her head, wiping water from her surprised features.<br/><br/>She saw two, long bunny ears, and below them a pale blue ovular body which was marked about its waste and below with a silvery sheen that glinted like the surface of the ocean in the sun. A blue orb bobbed at the tip of its otherwise narrow and jagged tail, and as the Pokemon turned, Eleyna saw a pleasant smile on its small face. The shiny Azumarill beamed and waved.<br/><br/>Eleyna leaped to her feet, her pulse quickening. Azumarill... a final evolution, third tier, water-fairy type! And rare! The chances of even seeing an Azumarill in the wild were astronomical! Hell, even seeing its lowest form, Azurill was rare!  For it to have reached this point in its life cycle meant it must be very experienced! There was no doubt! This was it! This was her new Pokemon!<br/><br/>"Tentacruel! Scyther! This is it!" Eleyna shouted,  her hand clasping with determination before her.<br/><br/>Hearing her call, the other Pokemon dashed toward the beach by air and sea! At least, one of them did. Tentacruel couldn't be bothered to dash and so swam at a more casual pace, feeling tired already from the day's training.<br/><br/>"Hey, Jake!" Eleyna shouted at him, grinning. "I hope you caught something good for me because I just won!"<br/><br/>It was a foregone conclusion in her mind. She would catch this Azumarill for sure!<br/><br/>"Growlithe, watch for those water moves!" She yelled to the canine who unsteadily got to his feet, still dripping wet, sand clinging to his fur. He gave a hard shake of his body, sending sand and water flying and his eye narrowed with steely reserve!<br/><br/>Seeing the fire Pokemon crouch down, ready for battle, the Azumarill beamed, excited to battle!<br/><br/>"Get its eyes off the water! turn its back to Scyther as he comes in! AND MOVE YOUR ASS TENTACRUEL!" Eleyna ordered emphatically. "Alright Growlithe! go!"<br/><br/>The fire Pokemon dashed forward, then left. But as moved, a shadow was cast over Azumarill and the Pokemon, surprised, turned to see its source. A great Kingler claw struck downward at it, snapping! Eleyna hadn't even the time to call out as Azumarill was attacked! The claw struck and sand flew! for an instant Eleyna thought the Azumarill had become its victim, but she gasped as she instead saw the Azumarill above the Kingler, having leaped upward with incredible reflex! It landed and its short arms grappled the Kingler, and suddenly the crap Pokemon was in the arm, and slammed into the ground, rolled onto its back then thrashed by the Azumarill! The water-fairy Pokemon grinned like it was playing.<br/><br/>"Geeze... it sure likes to play rough..." Eleyna watched in muted horror at the Azumarill's gleeful savaging.<br/><br/>The Pokemon drew back its stubby leg and gave the Kingler a solid boot, sending it sailing through the air down the beach. Azumarill waved goodbye to it.<br/><br/>The Pokemon jerked suddenly as rows of sharp teeth closed on it and jerked it to the ground, Growlithe having dashed across its flank and attacked with Bite! The Azumarill cried out shrilly in surprise, rolling through the sand as Growlithe pivoted and turned, moving quickly back up the beach. Pushing itself back to its feet, Azumarill turned its back on the water where Scyther rapidly approached. Scuffed and wounded, the water-fairy water the sand from its face and grinned at Growlithe who snorted sand from his nose in response.<br/><br/>Growlithe crouched and Azumarill puffed its chest as it took a breath. Both trainer and Pokemon knew what would follow - a water attack! There was no doubt! Growlithe prepared to evade, his muscles tightening like spring coils. But a glint over Azumarill's shoulder told Growlithe to not evade, but prepare to lunge.<br/><br/>Scyther cut across Azumarill's back, staggering the Pokemon and sending its face downward. The powerful Aqua Jet attack hit the beach, sending a great burst of water and sand into the air. The Pokemon stumbled and saw the Scyther as he turned in the air, preparing for another attack. It gasped, eyes wide to have been attacked by another Pokemon which had come from no where! It mustered up its annoyance, but before it could act, Growlithe bit down and shook his head, dragging the Azumarill to the ground.<br/><br/>"That's the way! Scyther, Fury attack! strike and retreat! Growlithe, evade and keep it focused on you! We'll have this one down in no time!" Eleyna grabbed an empty Pokeball from her hip and gripped it.<br/><br/>Azumarill shook off Growlithe and hopped to its feet. The canine Pokemon jumped back, but before he could make distance from the Azumarill, the water-fairy's tail wrapped suddenly around his neck and jerked him back up against the Pokemon. Growlithe was stunned! He had seen the strike coming, but he hadn't dodged it! He'd been too slow! The aching in his limbs which he had so far ignored became suddenly keen and glaring in his mind.<br/><br/>"Growlithe!" Eleyna yelled, gripping her Pokemon with sudden concern.<br/><br/>Azumarill decided it rather liked having this playmate ensnared and began thrashing the canine, Playing Rough! Grolithe tried to escape, but as sand flew and he tumbled, was thrown and dragged, he couldn't seem to get his feet under him long enough to get traction in the soft terrain.<br/><br/>Scyther, seeing his comrade in duress began to sharpen his turn to come to his aid, but Eleyna called out, "No! Stay on attack pattern!"<br/><br/>The trainer grinned. "Alright... you wanna play rough? We can play rough! Squid-perv!"<br/><br/>Tentacles wrapped around Azmuarill, heaving it off of Growlithe.<br/><br/>"Tenta~CRUEL!" The jellyfish Pokemon lifted Azumarill into the air with gusto and might!<br/><br/>Azumarill squirmed in his grasp then twisted to face its captor. It puffed up its chest and Eleyna smirked. It was going to use Aqua Jet again! But Tanacruel was half water type, he'd just shrug off the --<br/><br/>The Aqua Jet hit tentacle and the Pokemon lurched backwards into the surf, tumbling in a ball of flailing tentacles.<br/><br/>Eleyna gasped, "What?!"<br/><br/>Azumarill landed deftly on the sand and drew in another breath, attacking with another Aqua Jet. But this one was aimed at Scyther who dove to attack with another Fury Cutter strike!<br/><br/>Elyena shouted, "Evade!"<br/><br/>But her call did her Pokemon no good. Scyther tucked his arm and tried to roll as he'd practiced that day, to barrel roll around the attack. But his movements had become sluggish, and his reflexes slow. He was struck by the full force of the Aqua Jet and fell from the sky.<br/><br/>Eleyna, in shock, stared at the field. Growlithe struggled to his feet, but not out of severe injury. Scyther hit the ground and rolled to his feet, but braced himself on his arm. In horror she finally saw it. They were tired, their strength and endurance finally hitting its limits. They could still fight, but everything they did would be hampered, weakened by exhaustion!<br/><br/>Except for Tentacruel of course, who didn't look too worn out at all.<br/><br/>"Not bad... but now its my turn."<br/><br/>Eleyna turned and saw Jake standing beside her. Ivysaur and Eevee dashed foward toward the Azumarill and Eleyna felt her heart stop.<i>No... No no no no no no no no no no no! </i>But if Jake caught the Azmuarill then... then...! Nipples!<br/><br/>Eevee lead with quick attack, her mastery over the move showing in her exceptional form as she struck at the water-fairy type! In horror Eleyna saw Ivysaur strike with leech seed, and then an expertly aimed Razorleaf! She had no choice but to be impressed... and mortified! Jake's Pokemon showed the same fatigue that her own did, but even so, his best Pokemon had an abundance of grass type moves which were direct counters to Azumarill's water type! Even tired, every blow would be twice as strong!<br/><br/>But even so, Eleyna had to hand it to the Azumarill, it was taking the Leech Seed and Razor Leaf like a champ! It looked more affected by Eevee's quick attacks than Ivysaur's grass attacks. But just like Growlithe, Eevee's quickness had been dulled by the unrelenting demands of the day and was caught by Azmuarill and subjected to its Rough Play! But with Eevee caught, its back was turned and Jake took his opportunity!<br/><br/>"Saur! Hit it with everything you've got!"<br/><br/>A barrage of Razor Leaf struck the Azumarill, and vines raked across its back! But it didn't so much as flinch.<br/><br/>A sudden impulse cut through Eleyna's mind like a knife. Having backed away from the battle, she now frowned and grabbed her bag, fumbling to pull out her Pokedex. There was something... something about Azumarill. She remembered something, but she couldn't put her finger on it! She popped open the device and pointed it at the Azumarill.<br/><br/>Her eyes widened as she read the entry.<br/><br/>"Jake!" She shouted, suddenly. "Tell Ivysaur to stop attacking! He's got to sto--"<br/><br/>Azumarill launched at Ivysaur with a tackle. The grass Pokemon hurtled backwards across the beach, skipping and tumbling across the sand. Eleyna gasped at the force of the blow, far beyond anything she could have expected! The simple attack had become astronomically more powerful. The sheen of the Asumarill's underbelly seemed to glow, and about the Pokemon was an aura of seething power.<br/><br/>Eleyna answered the question which now rested in all of the trainer's minds. "Its got Sap-Sipper... its not weak to grass attacks... its powered up by them."<br/><br/>However strong the Azumarill was before, now it was magnitude's greater.<br/><br/>She dashed up beside Jake. "Growlithe, Scyther! We've got to help! Tentacruel use..." Eleyna looked around and slumped. "Where's Tentacruel...?"<br/><br/>The squid Pokemon poked its head up from the grass beyond the beach, having determined to sprawl out away from all the ruckus.<br/><br/>A vein pulsed in Eleyna's forehead. "Would you get back down here?!"<br/><br/>"We're not enough..." Jake said beside her, making the girl look at him, startled. "Its Aqua Jet that hit your Tentacruel... That Azumarill's already way stronger than either of us. Without Ivysaur's type advantage, we won't be able to beat it."<br/><br/>Eleyna stared at Azumarill, feeling a cold chill roll down her spine. The water-fairy cracked its knuckles, beaming with a pleasant, seething intensity. It didn't look like it was ready to be done with them.<br/><br/>"Uh oh..." Eleyna muttered as Growlithe and Scyther dashed before her, putting themselves between the Azumarill and their trainer.<br/><br/>Beside her Eevee, battered and badly bruised growled at Jake's feet, her cheek swollen.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>