The number of ways a simple five-man round robin match could play out was enough to make Jackson’s head spin, especially when his mind was preoccupied with tackling each fight at a time.
“Stop thinking about what-ifs,” Briggs said, scowling. “All you can control is whether or not you beat that Kaleo twerp.”
“But even if I do beat him, if Charles —”
“What did I just tell you?” Briggs said. “Are you saying that even if you have no chance in making the top two that you’ll just give up, your tail between your legs?”
Jackson didn’t respond.
Further conversation ended as the match between Appleby and Charles began — a dual fight. For the first few minutes, the match went back and forth relatively evenly. Charles was a better tamer than Jackson had given him credit for coming into the tournament. While he didn’t have the most complex or nuanced approach to taming, his Djinn were both strong. Soon, Appleby’s strategies and tactics gave way to Charles’s Djinn — they simply outclassed the more common Moldune and Glauco.
As the fight turned south for Appleby, Jackson felt the tension knotting inside of him. He wanted his friend to win, but it was starting to look like second place in their pool would come down to Jackson and Charles.
“That’s the thing that bugs me about the lower league,” Briggs growled when Charles finished off Appleby’s Moldune and won the match. “There ought to be some kind of restrictions on the Djinn you can enter in the Bronze. Your friend Appletree is a better tamer than that match showed — he’s just working with what he’s got. Kids like that Charlie guy go out and spend money on a Djinn bred to be a fighter — it’s hard to beat natural advantages in Speed, Strength, and overall power. That’s all the game’s turning into: whoever’s mommy and daddy can pay for the most expensive, genetically enhanced Djinn. And don’t even get me started on the Gold League’s problems.”
The next fight didn’t boost Jackson’s spirits. While it had turned out exactly as predicted — with Akamu demolishing Rando — a part of him had hoped a come-from-behind victory from Rando would have put his whole body at ease.
Jackson said nothing.
What followed was an hour-long break that didn’t do much to ease anyone’s nerves. Interestingly enough, whoever scheduled the fights seemed to have it out for Rando, as he was up next against Charles, directly before what would be the final match of the group — Akamu against Jackson.
Jackson was terrified of what felt like the inevitable — Charles would beat Rando, thereby automatically kicking Jackson out of the running for second place. Somehow his future hung in the balance — in the hands of a tamer who had yet to win a match this tournament.
To distract himself in the next hour, Jackson took a look at the other standings: Moto led her pool with three wins and no losses and Fiona had the same record as Jackson at two wins and one loss. Miguel and Adrian Gallo were in the top two of their group, and Danai Azikiwei and Sabina Schmidt led the fourth. Although things were starting to shape out, it would still be too early tell, with at least one match in each pool remaining. It was amazing how much things were still in the air until the very end.
He tried sitting and clearing his mind through the meditation he learned at camp, but his mind wouldn’t be quiet. When that failed, Jackson paced back and forth in their corner of the locker room, anxiously waiting for Charles and Rando to finish. At this point, Jackson didn’t even care if Charles won and rendered his fight against Akamu pointless. He just wanted to be able to start warming up and get the battle going. The waiting proved to be more nerve-wracking than anything Akamu could have thrown at him.
The outcome of Charles’ and Rando’s fight caused a huge upset in the stadium. While Charles was seemingly the one with the edge going into the fight, he’d made the mistake of relying heavily on his overpowered Siercle to the point where it grew fatigued. Charles was then left with his Plain-Elemental Buffaroam in the middle of the two-on-two match, which resulted in a narrow win by Rando.
Jackson’s mouth hung open as he stared at the new record.
Akamu: 3 wins, 0 losses
Charles: 2 wins, 2 losses
Jackson: 2 wins, 1 loss
Rando: 1 win, 3 losses
Appleby: 1 win, 3 losses
Jackson should have felt relief in that moment. This meant that if he beat Akamu he would solidify his spot in second place and in the Bronze League. The down side? He had to beat Akamu. Beat Akamu or finish in third place.
Chapter Thirty-One
Jackson began his warmup in the small fieldhouse adjacent to the locker room they’d been using since the tournament started and the main field was unavailable. He went through the routine with Scrappy and Asena, taking time to also jog a bit himself, mostly to relieve the tension. Once physical warmups were done, Jackson put both Djinn through a series of moves — just basic attacks that didn’t deplete any of their Elemental Power. Last, they worked on telepathic commands, individually and as a duo.
Asena and Scrappy looked crisp and eager for the final showdown. Jackson knew they understood the importance of the fight — they’d figured out over the course of camp that Akamu was someone their tamer didn’t like and seemed just as ready as Jackson to shut Akamu up. He didn’t spend much time trying to pump them up. Both knew the stakes at hand and, Jackson hoped, the necessity to work together if they wanted to stand a chance of winning.
“Looking sharp, kid,” Briggs said, slapping Jackson on the shoulder once he’d returned his Djinn to their rings and jogged back to the edge of the warmup turf. “You’re gonna be fine. Let’s go out there and shut that loud Kaleo mouth up, eh?”
Since it was the final match of Group 1, and given the playoff implications, the crowd was already shouting and cheering when Jackson and Akamu lined up in the tunnel to head out onto the field.
Jackson looked right past Akamu as he walked up but saw the trademark Kaleo sneer out of the corner of his eye when he approached.
“I’ve gotta say, you’ve surprised me,” Akamu said. “I’m still going to enjoy knocking you out of the roster, though. Don’t worry — we’ll make it nice and slow to give the crowd some quality entertainment.”
Jackson said nothing, didn’t even turn to look at Akamu. That didn’t seem to deter his opponent, though.
“You think just because you made it this far that you belong here?” Akamu said.
Jackson didn’t respond.
“You don’t. You’re like most tamers these days. Dabbling in a little bit of everything until you turn sixteen. Then one day you wake up and decide, ‘hey, that’s fun! Why can’t I do that?’”
Jackson clenched his jaw. “And what makes you any different?”
“This is my life,” Akamu said. “I can’t remember a day when there was any other possibility. This is all I’ve ever known and all I’ve ever wanted to know. So there’s no way I’m going to lose to someone who decided on a whim less than a year ago that he thought he had what it takes. Djinn taming means too much to me to let that happen.”
Akamu started talking again but the announcer’s voice cut him off and his coach hissed at him to focus. With one last parting smirk, he jogged down the tunnel.
“See you on the field, loser!”
Jackson felt like he’d been struck with one of Asena’s Fire Barks. His commitment to the sport had just been called into question and it infuriated him. His face boiled and his jaw ached from gritting his teeth together.
“Beat him on the field, beat him on the field.” He repeated the phrase over and over until he regained focus and almost didn’t realize his name was called until Briggs yelled at him to go.
The crowd had sounded loud in the tunnel, but when Jackson emerged, the roar was like a blast of wind from Scrappy’s attack. Everyone shouted and cheered. Jackson felt fizzy with adrenaline. His blood pounded in his ears. This was it. He’d dreamed of this moment hundreds of times. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. Taking his place on the
opposite side of the field from Akamu, he wasn’t sure if he was going to pass out or run into the ring and fight himself.
Video drones buzzed overhead as the announcer set the stage. It was evening now, but the bright lights of the stadium lit up the arena like midday. Jackson felt the crowd’s attention as much as the heat of the lights.
“And now, for our final Group 1 battle: Akamu Kaleo vs. Jackson Hunt! Akamu Kaleo is already guaranteed a spot in the Bronze League, but in this match, Jackson Hunt will be fighting for his own spot! Dreams will be made and broken — ladies and gentlemen…are…you…READY?”
The crowd screamed again and didn’t stop. Jackson could barely hear the ref when he beckoned him and Akamu forward, even though the man shouted at the top of his lungs.
“All right, you both know the drill by now: this will be a two-on-two battle. It will continue until both Djinn on one team have been knocked out. There is no time limit. At any time, you may recall your Djinn to its ring to withdraw. Understood?”
Jackson and Akamu nodded.
“Good! Now, shake hands and best luck to you both!”
Jackson held out his hand. Akamu looked down at it and frowned before turning and walking away. Jackson stood there, stunned for a moment and then finally let his hand drop. The referee scowled at Akamu and shook his head. A few boos filtered down through the crowd, but Akamu didn’t seem to mind.
Both tamers took their places. Jackson’s heart pounded so fast now that he felt like he’d just been running stadium stairs. The noise from the crowd started to sound muffled and he focused his attention on the projected numbers that had just popped up in the center of the ring.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Beep!
Jackson and Akamu’s shouts mingled as they both released their Djinn. Asena and Scrappy burst forth. Asena’s hackles raised and she crouched into a snarling growl. Scrappy did a little flip in the air and then hovered above Asena. Jackson felt a brief flash of pride. Finally, they looked like a real Djinn team.
Akamu’s Flogadra and Tandile were Fire/Wind combo Elemental and Water-Elemental, respectively, so it was a bit of a mix in terms of Elemental advantages. The Flogadra and Asena almost neutralized each other, though Asena did have the advantage when it came to her Earth-Elemental nature against the Flogadra’s Wind-Elemental nature. Both the Flogadra’s Fire and Wind-Elemental move set were pretty neutral against Scrappy’s Wind. However, in terms of the Tandile and its Water-Elemental nature, it had a disadvantage against Scrappy — though it had quite the advantage against Asena. All in all, this would make for an unpredictable fight, seeing all these Djinn mix it up on the ring.
But how did he stack up stats-wise? Jackson pulled up their charts.
GENERAL OPPONENT STATS
Djinn: Flogadra
Level: 20
Element: Fire/Wind
Species Rarity: Rare
HP (Hit Points): 305/305
EP (Elemental Power): 160/160
Attack: 120
Defense: 92
Speed: 155
Status: Neutral
GENERAL OPPONENT STATS
Djinn: Tandile
Level: 19
Element: Water
Species Rarity: Somewhat Rare
HP (Hit Points): 370/370
EP (Elemental Power): 120/120
Attack: 145
Defense: 140
Speed: 74
Status: Neutral
Jackson quickly pulled up his own Djinn’s stats side by side.
GENERAL STATS AND INFO
Djinn: Lyote
Level: 18
Name: Asena
Element: Fire/Earth
Species Rarity: Rare
HP (Hit Points): 292/292
EP (Elemental Power): 136/136
Attack: 120
Defense: 84
Speed: 89
Accessories: None
Items: None
Status: Neutral
Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>
GENERAL STATS AND INFO
Djinn: Magglecaw
Level: 17
Name: Scrappy
Element: Wind
Species Rarity: Common
HP (Hit Points): 236/236
EP (Elemental Power): 88/88
Attack: 75
Defense: 86
Speed: 149
Accessories: None
Items: None
Status: Neutral
Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>
Jackson didn’t have long to lament over how outmatched he was before he had to direct his attention to the fight itself. Akamu’s Djinn charged Jackson’s Djinn at once and immediately put his team on their heels. The Flogadra let out a haunting cry and spun around until its brilliant golden red feathers turned into a Fire Tornado. The whirling dervish struck both Asena and Scrappy and knocked them back. Luckily neither Wind nor Fire were Elements neither of his Djinn were weak against, otherwise that could have been a damaging blow.
However, the attack distracted Jackson’s Djinn long enough for the Tandile to wade into their midst. The gigantic reptilian Djinn snapped with his long snout and jagged teeth and cracked his thick tail around as the three of them descended into a melee.
Get out, get out!
Scrappy and Asena disengaged at once and withdrew to the far side of the ring to Jackson’s left. The plan was simple: stay away from the big, slow Tandile and its killer Defense and Attack while wearing down the Flogadra. But it was a strategy easier put on paper than executed. Although Scrappy had managed to escape the first exchange with a few minor hits, Asena already had almost a quarter of her health gone, as she had been hit head on.
Akamu’s Tandile lumbered forward again, but Jackson wasn’t about to be caught this time. He split Scrappy and Asena into two groups. Both Djinn skirted the edge of the ring and managed to get off ranged attacks at the Flogadra while staying out of the Tandile’s range. Asena’s Fire Bark and Scrappy’s Feather Needle whittled away at the flying fire Djinn and kept the Tandile circling.
The exchange continued over the next couple minutes. Jackson could see his tactic frustrated Akamu — he’d started yelling at the Tandile across the ring, although it was just beratement, not commands. Jackson allowed a small grin and encouraged Asena and Scrappy to redouble their ranged attacks while the Tandile chased after them and the Flogadra whirled about, trying to pick which one to go after. This was a conservative strategy, and Jackson only wished he’d be able to utilize Asena’s Earth-Elemental moves against the Flogadra. That would do a number on it for sure, as the Djinn’s Wind-Elemental aspect would be weak against such attacks. Though, this was a game of patience, he reminded himself. And it was working. Whenever the Flogadra turned to face Scrappy in the air, Asena hit it from behind, and when the Flogadra committed to an attack on Asena, Scrappy swooped in with beak and claw before zipping back away. They were able to do this for a good long while, draining the Flogadra’s HP down to around one-fourth.
All at once, Jackson saw his opening. Asena was backed up against the ring by Akamu’s Tandile. Scrappy and the Flogadra were in the thick of a fight, going at it so hard that they’d descended in the air to just a few feet off the ground. A crazy, wild idea came to Jackson. It wasn’t part of the plan, but it felt right.
Asena, Wild Sprint over the Tandile!
Asena didn’t hesitate at the insane command. She gathered herself in a couple of leaps, and then jumped right over the snapping teeth of the Tandile. She landed on his back long enough to spring upward into the air.
A moment later, Asena collided with Scrappy and the Flogadra. The Flogadra hit the ground. This was Jackson’s moment!
Asena, Earth Hunt!
Immediately, the earth under Asena’s feet began to rumble and a line shot out towards the fallen Flogadra. The ground exploded underneath the Fire and Wind-Elemental, shooting it up in
the air and slamming it into the forcefield surrounding the ring.
That was it.
Jackson glanced at the display and saw the Flogadra’s remaining HP drain away. Akamu yelled in frustration and the Flogadra disappeared in a flash of orange light. One down.
And then the Tandile struck.
The enormous water Djinn’s tail hit Asena hard in the side and sent her flying across the ring. She struck the side of the forcefield hard and slid down to the ground. Jackson’s watch vibrated like crazy and he expected a knock out.
The Tandile raced forward on its short, stubby legs for the finishing blow. As it drew closer, its mouth parted. The Tandile had one ranged attack, a slow gathering Water Jet that, when it struck Asena, would wipe her out without question. Dazed, she wouldn’t be able to get away in time.
Scrappy! You’ve got to shield her!
Although the attack was powerful, Scrappy’s Elemental advantage over the Tandile was the only chance Jackson had. Scrappy fluttered in the air, torn between attacking Tandile and rushing to Asena’s aid. Two weeks ago, the Magglecaw would’ve never given up the attack to rescue Asena. The Tandile’s mouth gaped wider, and Jackson could see the swirling muddy water gathering itself. Asena struggled to rise and collapsed again. It would be too long before she snapped out of the daze.
Please, we’re in this together!
The Tandile threw its head down and released the torrent of brown water. Scrappy streaked from the sky, beelining toward Asena. Jackson cringed.
It all happened at once. Scrappy intercepted the Water Jet at the last possible second, the blast sending him careening through the air and across the ring to land in a sodden mess. A ricochet of water hit Asena, but she still managed to stand. The Tandile charged forward, a low, guttural rumble sounding from its chest.
Djinn Tamer - The Complete Bronze League Trilogy Page 51