My phone vibrated now, too. The center of my display spelled 

Pierce initiated. Spectate? Y/N

I rapidly confirmed, even though there was no way I'd stand by idly.

The opposing trainer stood elevated on one of the rocks, surveying the arena. He used the same default outfit as any newbie in this game. 

The defaults to choose from were based on trainers from both anime and game protagonists from various eras, sorted by their order of appearance somewhat. 

Still, people were lazy to browse through, they just wanted to play the game, so most males ended up being dressed up based on Ash's or Gary's color scheme while most female characters either shared Misty's orange hair, or Jessie's Team Rocket outfit. I've always wondered why anyone would want to play as an antagonist anyway.

For people that wanted personalization, there was a nearly unlimited range of items available, all the hues of the rainbow, decorative items, pets, you name it - everything was possible, provided you had the cash.

On the right hand side stood Norah, her distressed character wearing her signature lilac color scheme.

Pierce rules defined.

Cause: Litwick(rare). Combat Type: 1v1. Items: Disabled. Range: 200m.

Combatants: NoraH (Dragonair) vs. Attis (Onix)

More and more spectators joined AR mode, a lot of generic Ashs, Garys and Mistys materialized within the scene, a few of them had pets as accessories, making me wonder why people would spend money for no actual advantage.

On the far side stood a highly customized spectator, who didn't merely recolor their apparel, but also wore neon colored wristbands and a cylinder hat. Well, to each their own. I was pretty sure the real person behind that girl character didn't have such well-sized hands, either, though I forced myself not to check right away.

Her pet Vivillon fluttered in erratic patterns, but remained close to its owner, leaving a trail of particles in its path - probably an overpriced reference to an ability or something.

A flurry of light beams indicated the start of the battle. The beams soon faded away, and two Pokémon appeared in front of their respective trainers, determined to take them to victory.

Onix seemed fairly happy with the arena choice, smashing its tail menacingly against the rocky boundaries, while Norah's Dragonair curled up on the grass, glancing at their opponent serenely and prepared, twitching its tail-tip ever so slightly. Based on their training status, they roughly had an even chance of winning. Without any definite advantage, it would all boil down to player skill. My favorite type of combat, usually.

I let the fight play back on my phone, and spectated the players in real-life. The default male trainer's player tapped his screen rapidly with one hand, probably intending to demoralize his opponent with a quick attack. At this rate, he'd probably fill his meter every few seconds. His taps per minute were at 600, and rising.

Norah, just like her Pokèmon, lived for careful preparation. She gracefully guided her finger over the screen, sliding left, then right, then left again. Charging up a precise strike would take a while longer, but if she could focus on both the visual cues as well as her charge, she'd be able to dodge most of the incoming damage.

I nodded at Norah, but she had her eyes locked to the screen without noticing me. Attis extended his arm, sending Onix in for a first attack. Not even 4 seconds had passed since the battle commenced. An impressive feat, considering the one-second grace period to help people orient themselves on the screen.

Norah half-stood in excitement, her body in sync with Dragonair's movement, cheering, as she successfully directed the dodge. No damage taken.

I could almost feel the pain as the guy gritted his teeth over the failed attack. He clutched his phone even harder, rapidly striking the screen in his triplet pattern. 700 TPM, then 720. He wasn't messing around. This speed was way above average; I never cracked the 700, even though I certainly got close. His intermittent double swipe confirmed another quick attack.

Norah clutched her hand around her phone. Dragonair had merely taken minor damage, but hadn't even attacked once so far. She relaxed a bit and returned to her calm self, as the dragon escaped the follow-up attack a few seconds later. Norah's character appeared much more collected now, as finally, Dragonair went into the offensive.

With a gleam in its eyes, the dragon Pokémon opened its mouth. Tiny blue sparks converged inside, forming a blazing orb, increasing in size with each added particle. After a second that felt like forever, a thin streak of energy, sent out from the orb, connected with Onix. A controlled explosion followed as the orb burst apart, completely engulfing the rock snake. Dragonair was shot backwards by recoil and smashed into the granite, breaking fragments off the arena bounds that scattered throughout the ground.

On the other side, Onix was glowing in red, seemingly close to melting. The heat from the beam attack had reduced its HP to a minimum, and trashed its defensive stats.

That girl definitely had a lot of experience. She knew the damage her Pokémon would take from the recoil, but made sure it had enough HP to survive another of its opponents quick attacks. 

Even a quick attack would finish off Onix now, while Dragonair could still withstand minor damage.

"Go, Dragonair! Norah, finish him off!" I cheered.

Norah started tapping her screen with two fingers, charging up a quick attack by herself. 350 TPM. It would suffice to out-tap her opponent, who was now clocked in at 500. It seemed that he started getting tired from the constant barrage, so he switched hands, now holding the phone in his right. Attis wasn't tired after all; his taps may have slowed down, but were way more controlled, following a certain pattern. Could it be that he was trying to cause a -

I had to warn her. "Careful, Rock Slide!" my voice boomed throughout the battlefield.

This wasn't good. With the arena damaged that badly, the amount of loose rock was way higher than normal, significantly reducing the required seismic activity to launch this attack. Other than a basic quick attack like Tackle, even a single rock would suffice to take out Dragonair - and there were going to be a lot of them.

Both contestants confirmed their attacks with a double swipe.