Gurk's widened his stance and leaned forward to balance himself. Itzel kept her distance, and with an uppercut launched a Serrated Gale at her opponent. Using his tail, the crocodile spun around and destroyed the project with a Tail Slasher of his own. After a short look at the Challenge Display, Janus saw that Itzel's EV meter was completely empty while Gurk had earned himself a small chunk in his first segment. 

"You'll have to figure out how to close in distance since you deal all of your damage up close," Itzel said, her feet bouncing up and down as she kept herself moving. "Does Siergi have any projectile techniques?"

"One," Gurk said, slowly inching closer by taking small steps. Itzel attacked with another Serrated Gale that Gurk was able to able to sidestep completely. 

"Perfect! Now you can practice dodging these!" She attacked with two more projectiles. The first one was evaded by a swift crouch from the crocodile. The attack soared over his head and flew off into the sky. The second one Gurk was forced to block because of how close he was to Itzel. 

"Why don't you just keep running, Itzel?" Janus shouted out. "What's stopping you from hitting Gurk once and then running away while bombarding him with Serrated Gales from across the park?"

Itzel retreated a short distance. "It depends on where the Challenge takes place," She said. "Most matches will have a boundary.” Itzel then leaned her foot back. “There was a large red glow around where her heel was, followed by her portrait in the challenge display having a flashing red border around it. "If my entire body crosses the perimeter then it's a Ring Out. But if the area is enclosed enough, it's possible for Ring Outs to not play a factor in a Ranked Challenge."

"So you can't just run away and keep blasting Serrated Gales until the timer runs out."

"I can try, but it's not as effective as you might think." Itzel advanced a step, taking her foot away from the edge of the dedicated challenge area. "And it depends on where we're fighting, too. Sometimes it's possible for them to use cover to hide behind, making it harder for me to fight from a safe distance using my projectiles."

Gurk ran towards her, leaping high into the air. He angled his tail towards the ground in Itzel's direction and plummeted at a sharp angle. "Spike!" He shouted as he fell to the ground at a faster speed than which he jumped. Itzel crouched low, keeping her focus on the rapidly descending crocodile. Before Gurk could land on top of her, she propelled herself vertically, twirling in the air legs first as a tornado surrounded her. Gurk was sent to the side, skidding across the grass on his arm. Itzel set herself upright as she descended, landing gracefully on her two feet. 

"How many times do I have to tell you? You can't just keep jumping in on an opponent like that, especially if they have an anti-air attack. And I know Siergi does. That Electro-Zip move. Or whatever it's called. You know he'll just send you back to the ground if you leap at him at the wrong time!"

"My bad," Gurk said as he pushed himself up off the dirt. He gave his head a dog-like shake and patted himself on the mask twice before returning to attack stance. 

"Be smart with your steps. Move forward, but not so fast that you make yourself vulnerable, but also not so slow that you don't gain distance. 

"Right." Instead of a large leap, Gurk advanced towards Itzel with a brisk jog. He kept his arms in front of him, stopping to block a Serrated Gale that bounced off his metal mask. Itzel neared the edge of the perimeter once more, giving her enough time to throw one last projectile that ended up being destroyed with a Tail Slash. Now Gurk had closed enough distance so that Itzel was in his attacking range. 

The crocodile jabbed at Itzel's stomach. Having plenty of time to react, she lowered her arms and negated any potential damage that could have befallen her by blocking. Gurk followed up with another jab but from the opposite hand. Despite it being a two-hit combination, Itzel was able to properly defend herself from that as well. With his partner backed into the edge of the perimeter, Gurk lifted his head high into the air, coming down on Itzel snout first, using the edge of his helmet like a hammer.

The attack caught Itzel by surprise, evident by the way she backed down and rushed to raise her hands over her head. The metal of Gurk's mask crashed into Itzel’s arms. With a sharp grunt, her arms were scattered to her sides and her face scrunched from the blunt force. Janus took another glance at the challenge display; the long gray bar beneath Itzel’s Stamina Meter had completely vanished. When he looked back up, he saw Itzel swaying as if she were dazed.  With her entire front body exposed, Gurk got into position for another attack.

"Slash!"

Gurk's icy tail cut across Itzel's chest, sending her skidding backwards. Even though she remained grounded, the attack sent her far enough that she was out of the designated fighting area. The section of the ring that Itzel crossed turned a bright red. On Janus' projection, the words "Ring Out" appeared in front of the display in bold letters.

"Not bad, Gurk," Itzel said as she brushed her hand against where Gurk's Tail Slash had struck her. "Even though I know about your Headstrong attack, it still broke my guard. Do not use that attack early on, Gurk. Keep it secret until you really need it. If you can land it at the right time, you can completely turn the tide of a match."

"That move of his breaks your defense?" Janus asked as he moved in towards the two combatants. 

"Yeah. A lot of people have moves like that. They're called Advanced Techniques. They're not as flashy as Specials but they serve very specific purposes in certain scenarios. For example, Gurk's Headstrong technique does a lot of damage to someone's guard, but not enough to completely break it one hit. That's why he did the jab combination first. Otherwise, it's a slower attack that can be avoided if just used out of the blue. But if the opponent doesn't know it's coming, it can turn the battle on its side."

"All of these techniques and rules. Its a lot to look out for," Janus said as he scratched his the back of his head.

"Yeah, I can see how it can be pretty confusing for someone who just learned about Rumble Circuit only a couple of days ago." Itzel gave Janus a pat on the shoulder. "But there's a saying that us Rumble Circuit competitors have."

"What is it?"

"The more you lose, the more you learn."

"Sounds like a mantra for life in general."

"Exactly. Rumble Circuit isn't exactly the most newcomer friendly competition, but it can be the most rewarding depending on how you look at it. But hey! If you stick with us, you might be able to get yourself a half-decent ranking."

"I think I'll just stick with taking on Essencima and making a meager living as an Exterminator for now. At least until I can get some more Techniques under my belt."

Itzel wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Don't blame you. With only one Special and a Signature, your options are pretty limited. Not to mention your fighting style could definitely see some improvement. Just… keep an eye on me, okay? Maybe you’ll pick up a thing or two. You’re a fast learner." Itzel locked her fingers together and stretched out her hands as she turned towards Gurk. "You ready for a rematch, big guy?"

"Yeah!" the crocodile replied.