[PKMN OPEN] Pokémon Spear [M] [IC]

Songbird · Dec 20, 2021

Chloe woke up in the middle of the night to an unusual chill. She opened her eyes, her field of vision filled with white. The ground immediately around her remained mostly clear and green—the reason she chose the spot in the first place. The trunk of the tree she'd slept against was clean, but the leaves overhead were weighed down; slowly one snapped off its twig, falling along with its contents onto her leg.

It's cold. Cold. But it woke her up. She patted her cheeks a couple times, her body still warm for the moment, then checked her things—or lack thereof. Her bag, her Pokemon, everything was missing. Yet for some reason, it didn't feel wrong. Chloe wondered if she was still sleeping.

"Froslass?" she called, to no avail. She tried Luxio and Milcery next, failing again.

She stood and left the cover of the tree, and was immediately struck by a cold wind the trunk must have been protecting her from. She shuddered, but it was nothing she wasn't used to. She checked the ground, and a step in the snow went her deeper than her heels.

What she saw in the dim lit night was pretty, if nothing else. Freshly fallen snow covered the forest she was in, with very little untouched among the trees and large stones, and not a soul in sight. Her gaze shifted upward, trying to find the moon or stars, but the sky was gray. Dark clouds were unmoving, as though readying for another round.

Chloe started navigating the forest, riddled with trees she couldn't see the end of and stones as tall as her. After a few minutes, the clouds made good on their threat, and snow began falling again, followed shortly after by an indistinct voice in the distance.

The voice continued to echo over the snowscape, asking for help and calling a name she couldn't make out, but not for very long. The wind and snow picked up, coating Chloe's shoulders, and it stopped melting on contact with her head and hands.

She kept weaving through the trees, even as the snow reached above her calves. The trail she left was rapidly covered up, so onward was the only way to go. Soon enough, the gentle snowfall had fully become a blizzard that just about knocked her off her feet more than once.

However, her efforts were rewarded when she found what she guessed was the source of the voice, in spite of no longer seeing more than a few meters ahead.

It was a girl of maybe twelve, curled up tight near the edge of a cave trying to shelter herself from the weather. Long brown hair peeked out from the hood of her thick blue coat, and ice crystals were already settled in the strands. Chloe stepped closer for a better look in the dark—her cheeks were stained with frozen tears, but her slight shivering was reassuring.

It was clear she'd been out for a while. She might have gotten lost—she probably wouldn't admit it. She was looking for something. Or someone was looking for her. She couldn't remember the details. Winter air was deceptively dry, so her voice gave up before anyone could find her regardless.

"Hey!" Chloe yelled, though she figured it was a pointless gesture. She quickly made it to her, finding the cave more than serviceable as a safe area. The wind was no less overbearing, but the snow made it no more than a foot into the cave for the time being.

Receiving no response, Chloe's hand reached out. After a moment's hesitation, she made contact.

The girl melted away into violet particles at her touch, the dream finally falling apart. Chloe jerked back a step, and the snow around her feet began to follow suit. Her hand fell to her side while she looked around; the cave took on the organic features of several large trees grown together. The chilly wind faded in favor of still, humid air, and the scenery gave way to the lush green grass and underbrush of the Glimwood Tangle, though obscured by the lack of light.

Her bag was hung over her shoulder as if it were there the whole time, her Pokemon resting in their balls. Luxio was quick to respond to his trainer's call this time, yawning but ready for whatever she wanted of him.

She turned back to where the girl had been, asking Luxio to light it up for a better look. Chloe couldn't spot anything even then. There was no mischievous snickering, nor anything out of place among her belongings. Instead, she heard only the swish of fur and the clicking of nails on wood from creatures awoken and startled by her disturbing their own rest.

Chloe had heard that there were avid pranksters in the Glimwood Tangle, though it seemed it wasn't just the Pokemon that were keen to play tricks in this forest.

Orx of Twinleaf · Dec 31, 2021

Team:

Rij

Henj

Pelj

Kolj

Tonj

Tim T
Tim had put his time in the Glimwood Tangle to very good use.

The brush was thicker here than in any other place Tim had roughed through since setting out from Wedgehurst. Henj had had to become comfortable with moving about with trees so close together, improving his skittering skills to weave through places his leg span would have otherwise locked him out of. Pelj had managed to hone her spatial awareness, the better to not be turned around while surrounded by brush that often reached over her head. Rij had shown off his rangering experience, able to put down his head and carve paths through the greenery, but he still had his skill set expanded: where in the past he had merely had to navigate such places now he learned to fight in them.

For Tim's part, he felt he had improved even further on his ability to coordinate his mons as a unit. It had been one thing to get them to maneuver as a unit out on the sandy stretches of Route 6 or on the narrower tracts of its cliffs, another entirely to keep the pack together in dense foliage that hovered between gloomy and dark at all hours of the day and night. Fighting had become less of a focus for Tim: such restricted surroundings practicality demanded Tim usually had to yield to one of his mons and in so doing retain a more traditional Trainer's position.

But fighting in general had been less frequent than it had been on Route 6. For one, the density of the Glimwood Tangle made it nigh impossible to track any of the other Gym challengers for a match. How much harder it had been then to scout out hunting targets that could be realistically caught and taken out. There had been a few hunts that had ended mid-chase, the quarry slipping Tim's group either through exploiting the numerous hiding places everywhere or through Tim or one of his mons getting tied up in the flora. And that had all been without considering the strange berserk mons that were tearing around in the Tangle.

Tim had seen such mons here and there at a distance in some of the other places, but here they seemed especially prevalent, though that might have had to do with Tim's being so incredibly off the beaten path in the Tangle—as well as that beaten path being so very narrow relative to the Tangle as a whole. Tim wasn't sure what kinds of things might make a mon go berserk in such a fashion, but if it was some manner of contagion he didn't want his mons to catch it, so he'd always opted for retreat when one showed up. And show up they did in the Tangle. More than one night had been interrupted by such a mon tearing into the clearing, and even a couple hunts had been cut short by having one bumble into the fray.

Tim had briefly considered standing up to one of those berserk mons, but none of the ones Tim had managed to be close to had been a conveniently small-enough species for Tim to not think he'd have his limbs snapped for engaging. They seemed properly mad too, lashing out at whatever was in range whether or not there had been provocation, evidently without so much as a basic instinct to eat if the one Tim had spent a day observing had been any indication. Mad mons weren't unheard of, but it seemed to Tim that Galar had a very serious problem here. He only hoped it had something to do with that business about that chairman some time ago he'd heard of in passing, and not that it was the product of some disease that might creep its way into domestic mons.

Through the fighting and the navigating and the fleeing, Kolj the Relicanth and Tonj the Boldore had managed to find their footing in Tim's crew. For being quite literally a fish out of water, Kolj had really come into her own, learning to follow one of the other mons or even Tim himself to have a path marked for her to follow, becoming a forceful back-up to her chosen partner should she be guided to the fray. She had picked up quickly on telling who was making the most headway, and would Dive over to follow whoever was taking the lead, keeping up surprisingly well on her four foot-like fins. Tonj meanwhile had become very keen on Tim's orders, anchoring any coordinated movement the group made. With his weight carrying him through the foliage and his strange manner of nonvision showing him the ground under the flora, Tonj had not even once been the one that wound up tied up or falling down when the group moved, and had even raised his voice to call everyone back when someone seemed to be wandering off course.

Interspersed with these group maneuvers were of course general training in clearings as well as Tim's daily foraging sessions. In the other places, Pelj would follow Tim when he foraged while his other mons were either balled or left at a clearing to keep them out of the way. Tim had only had to forage for himself before Kolj had come along, and since her addition Tim had changed his approach to the task. As Pelj had become confident enough in herself to more consistently remain apart, she no longer insisted on tailing Tim like a pet, so Tim used his foraging sessions as an opportunity for one-on-one time with one mon while the others remained at a clearing.

Tim very much wanted to build the same rapport with his other mons that he had with Henj. Tim could understand Henj better than he'd ever understood a Pokémon before in his life, and he wanted to have that understanding with the other mons that he ran, trained, fought, and slept with. Tim wanted to connect with Rij to better understand how the Rhyhorn had coped with the circumstances that had brought him together with Tim. Tim wanted to attend Pelj more, to better gauge her thoughts on the world after having lived in a cave all her life. Tim wanted to learn about Kolj, what connection she had to Rij, what she made of Tim and his team. Tim wanted to know Tonj and what he had been through, what more he'd be willing to endure.

Tim wanted to know his mons, so he would rotate which one came with him to forage.

But today Tim went alone.

Because Tim also wanted to know himself.

Tim had lived much of his life as a face in the crowd. He had neither aimed for nor wanted much out of life. In his younger years he had had flights of fancy as children often did, but he had quickly grown out of such things. Into the mines, out of the mines, into a book or show, out of a book or show, into bed, out of bed. And then, one day, Tim had met someone to shake up his world. From nowhere she had appeared and to nowhere Tim had followed her. Just as abruptly as she had arrived, she had left. Forever.

Sometimes Tim wondered at his decision. It had been the kind of strange leap a man might take much later in life to satisfy the urges of a mid-life crisis. But Tim had not been middle-aged nor in crisis. It was the sort of lovestruck behavior to be expected of some character in a fiction. But Tim didn't really think lovestruck was an applicable word for what had drawn him to his late friend. Why had Tim done it? What had it been about his friend that had inspired him to step up like he had?

Tim looked at his hands in the darkness. There was one of those glowing mushrooms not too far away to give some bluish light to the tangled plant life. It was thick forest, dark isolation, a place known to be rife with spirits, a place hosting berserk mons that might indeed be able to break Tim like a toy to leave him bleeding in the brush. It was a fearsome place. But Tim wasn't afraid of it. He was afraid of forgetting.

Tim couldn't remember why he had been so drawn to her.

Tim remembered her face, her voice, her laugh, her spirit. But it was fading. Every day of training, of having to mind five mons, of having to feed himself and make his way in the field, every bit of effort and attention he paid to what he was doing now he lost a little of who she had been then. Some day, Tim might wake up and not remember how she had sounded. Sure, Tim remembered a lot of it presently, but he hadn't dwelt on those memories lately, and he could already feel details of their conversations slipping away.

On some level, Tim knew that he should let himself move on. She was dead. She would always be dead. Nothing would ever change that. As little justice as there was in it, she was dead and Tim was alive. Tim had to live now. But Tim didn't know how to.

He couldn't just go back to falling into routine. But without her, what else could Tim do? Aim to be the Champion? Laughable. Beside the other challengers, Tim was, as he had ever been, a background fixture. Even in Unova there had been people that had managed several Badges without ever amounting to anything in the end. It was an accomplishment to do so certainly, but it wasn't enough to make one realistically a contender for the Championship.

Maybe Tim could go all-in on his stalking, go around and battle the other challengers more openly and frequently. But what would that accomplish? That wouldn't make him any more than an annoyance, especially considering those challengers were leagues above him and always would be. He would become a laughingstock, a punching bag passed around by his peers. While that would be something, he would not subject his mons to such a reputation.

Maybe Tim should just give up entirely. He had already accepted his life had nowhere to go but down after his friend had left. Why fight it? Continue to be a taskmaster for his mons until they inevitably grow beyond the point that they would have anything to gain by his tutelage, and then let himself disappear into the woods forever. It wasn't as if anyone would miss him. His mother had probably already forgotten about him, and if his step-father would mourn he'd get over it in time regardless. Tim had no friends in Unova or else he wouldn't have been so comfortable leaving so abruptly. Tim certainly didn't have friends in Galar.

Would Tim's mons miss him? If he croaked now it would probably cause some distress, but eventually, once they had grown together properly as a unit, trained over Tim's marks, they would leave him behind. Or, if they didn't do so of their own volition, they would hardly be upset by his disappearance. However much Tim may or may not understand them, they weren't his friends. Tim didn't have friends in Galar. Not anymore.

There was a sniffling sound nearby. Tim noticed some small shape was sitting in the brush a small distance away. Tim supposed it had shown up after Tim had sat down himself, and given his general stillness while lost in thought the shape probably hadn't noticed him. Let it be so, then. There was room enough in these woods for more than one person—man or mon—to sit in reflection.

If the unknown company did notice Tim, what did it see? Was a person defined by what others saw in them? Well of course they were to some degree, but to what extent? If the bulk of a person's identity could be said to come from what others perceive in that person, what was Tim's identity? Who did that little shape see?

It saw no one, of course. It saw Tim in the physical sense, but Tim was no one. Tim's mons saw him, saw a source of orders and a ball-carrier, but outside of that how would they describe Tim? Could they describe Tim? What had the other challengers seen when Tim had approached them? A faceless figure without a name. That's who Tim was.

The little shape nearby sniffled again but then gasped, apparently noticing there was a human sitting near it.

Tim felt no threat from it. It obviously wasn't one of the berserk mons or it wouldn't have sat still so long, and it was small enough Tim was sure he could overpower it if it tried anything. "Rough day, little one?" Tim asked it quietly. Tim had been trying to build understanding with his mons after all, and he felt that part of that meant he should try to talk to mons the way he would humans, sort of equate them together with people to help himself connect. Had a small human child come to sniffle in the dark, Tim would have spoken out in the same manner.

The shape stood up straight. Tim could only see the top of its head and had thought it to be a Phantump, but the strange smooth orb topping the mon proved it to be something else. "Slybon nobblo," it said strongly. Tim had supposed it had been sniffling because it was crying—as far as Tim was aware pretty much any species cried under emotional strain, and most of them with eyes would shed tears while doing so—but its voice didn't seem particularly distressed at all. If anything it sounded annoyed by Tim's intrusion.

"I'm having a rough day," Tim chose to say in response, ignoring the possibility of the mon wanting to fight. "Bit of an identity crisis."

The shape lowered itself back down, the green sphere disappearing into the brush. "Bonbon slyb," it said loftily. "Nobblo slos." After a moment though it added "Bonbon slos" reluctantly.

Tim couldn't understand this strange wild animal. He'd never met it before and he wasn't even able to tell what it was at the moment. All the same, its tone was, surprisingly, not entirely arcane to him. There was a language barrier, sure, but Tim felt the same sort of connection to it he felt when he made small talk with fellow alley-dwellers or exchanged platitudes with passers-by on the trail. "I just don't know who I should be," Tim said to it.

"Nosb bonsly slybonbon," the mon said tiredly after a moment. "Nobblo slos, slyb slybonbon!" It sighed in exasperation.

It seemed to at least somewhat understand Tim in return. Or, more likely, it too found some small comfort in talking aloud, even if the conversation partner understood nothing of the words. "I feel like … like I'm a supporting character in a story, you know?" Tim knew he was stretching the realm of concepts a wild animal might be able to follow, but if he couldn't understand it and it still spoke to him he wagered it would still listen even when it couldn't understand him. "But there's no one for me to support anymore. There are these other stories happening around me but I can't be a part of them, and I don't have a story of my own. My team, I feel like I'm more of a set piece than a character in their stories."

"Nosb slos. Nobblo slyb slos … Nobblo, bonsly, slyb slos." The mon paused a bit, as if turning something over in its head. "Nobblo onslyb," it said with finality. "Nobblo nobblo. Bonsly slyb slybonbon. Bonsly … bonsly nobblo. Nobblo bonsly."

Tim saw the green sphere rise up again and then turn and move away, disappearing into the dark. For having been listening for the meaning in the words from the mon, he hadn't been listening to their sounds: he had been unable to gauge exactly what the mon had been from its vocalizations. But, in the end, it didn't matter. It didn't matter what the mon had been. It and Tim had spoken in the dark, in this lonely, scary place, and had found some small comfort in one another's company.

If Tim never saw it again, it wouldn't change what he and it had shared here. Though Tim would never see his friend again, it wouldn't change who he had become thanks to her influence. Whatever Tim chose to do from here on out, it wouldn't change that he had attacked Simon and Ryan and Aeliana, that he had spoken so long with Xan, that he had been there when Simon and Haleigh and Aeliana were shot at by bad men in the mines. Tim would not dwell on the ramifications of those decisions after the fact. It was enough that he had made them, whatever the fallout may turn out to be. It didn't matter who Tim had been in the past or if he had even been anyone at all, what mattered was that Tim was Tim now. Tim would stay Tim moving forward. Whether or not he understood what that meant, whether or not he could articulate who he was, it was enough that he was here, for his mons, for himself, and for her.

Tim stood up and started walking again. Sitting with a wild animal in the dark hadn't provided Tim with any answers to his questions. But, for some reason, it had eased his mind. Tim had felt a kinship with it. It had also been having some inner turmoil regarding its identity. Even if Tim hadn't understood its words, he had understood that much. Rather than wallow together with him though, the mon had gotten up and carried on.

What else was there to do, after all? That little mon had had other things to do, and so did Tim. Just knowing another creature in this senseless world was having the same crisis of identity all alone in a haunted forest was enough to let Tim shake off his funk, at least for the moment. Tim had been beginning to forget, after all, so a reminder was always welcome.

Sure, Tim didn't have any friends in Galar.

But Tim wasn't alone.

PastelPhoenix · Jan 26, 2022

Achille Béringer || 19 || ♂️
Location: Stow-On-Side
A Simple Place

Joiuse - Shadow Sneak, Slash, Autotomize, Metal Sound, Block, Aerial Ace

Proudhon - Tackle, Crunch, Flail, Bite, Brine, Waterfall

Alizé - Absorb, Tackle, Air Cutter, Supersonic, Double Team, Wing Attack

Ignace - Powder Snow, Tackle, Taunt, Bite, Avalanche, Work Up

Aliénor - Rock Tomb, Dragon Tail, Roar, Ancient Power, Charm, Bite

Terrot - Tackle, Growth, Razor Leaf, Tail Whip, Leech Seed, Worry Seed

Normally, Achille's introduction to a city involved visiting restaurants and stores. Popping by a local Contest or art gallery, comparing what he saw to his brother's art. If he was feeling especially lazy he might spend a day or two observing the city from his hotel room. Above all, he stopped by some small local gym and watched a few battles.

He'd neglected it this time, whole-heartedly throwing himself into scouring the small town for any sign of illegitimate business. It took a few days of pacing the streets to realize he was completely out of his element here. He'd never been to Stow-on-Side, why would he think he could find something hidden out of sight here that the locals would miss.

It was foolish to not go to the locals as step one, in retrospect. Trainers talked; they hung out and shared stories and rumors. Despite the size of Stow-on-Side compared to cities like Hammerlocke and Motostoke, this was one of the towns with two active League gyms. This place was crawling with trainers, and they would be the ones talking about missing Pokémon.

He reached into his inner jacket pocket, feeling the wad of bills in a money clip stored inside. Even if they didn't want to talk, 50,000P should be enough to tempt someone into giving up information. Thankfully an amount his father wouldn't question him withdrawing too terribly much.

He reached the spot, eyeing up the warehouse in front of him. Sand piled up the sides of the building, only the front being regularly swept. No tire tracks, no crates, no equipment. Only the sounds of Pokémon battles inside. An old building turned into an amateur club. No doubt a hangout for those banned from the official gyms too.

Joiuse floated forward, edging just into his line of sight. A sense of reassurance washed over him upon seeing the twin swords, casting off the split second of doubt. Was he really afraid of anyone in there? Not anymore.

The first thing Achille noticed upon entering the building was that the electricity was on. Someone was paying the bills, which was a good sign for his chances of not getting mugged today. Anyone with an interest in keeping the lights on most likely had an interest in keeping people coming back.

The front room was more or less empty, save for a fridge tucked behind the former welcome counter and some scattered photos tacked to the wall. The unframed prints looked to be of the club members, with members varying wildly between pictures. A group of five were present for about every photo. The only thing that would even strike him as suspicious here was the large lock on the door behind the counter. The narrow, vertical window on the door revealed what looked like a normal office behind.

Nothing here roused his interest enough to warrant further investigation. He tried the doorway leading further in, where the sound of battling was louder, finding it unlocked. Shrugging to Joiuse, he pulled the door open and held it for the sword Pokémon.

A chill air swept over him as he stepped through the doorway, the interior of the building being surprisingly colder than outside. Fragile shards of ice danced in the wind at the center of the room, fluttering along with the Icy Wind attack circling a small Swinub. The target of the frigid assault was a red-and-tan crab shuffling around the warehouse floor, large flakes of ice already hanging to one claw.

His arrival drew the attention of the crowd. A dozen or so pairs of eyes shot over towards the stranger striding into their retreat. Many of the faces lit up with recognition. Good, he wouldn't have to spend too long introducing himself.

"Evening, gentlemen." Achille strode up to the crowd confidently, joining them on the sidelines. Joiuse split, flanking both sides of the trainer. "I hope I am not interrupting anything private." He kept his arms folded across his chest, avoiding any motion towards the money.

Let's save that as a surprise/

"Private?" A woman near the front scoffed, staring down the newcomer. Achille had seen the woman before; long blonde hair and a Fighting Gym stocking cap with a matching track jacket, she was from the pictures up front. "That depends, are you tryin' to cause trouble?"

"Do I look like I'm here to cause problems?" Achille didn't move or take his eyes off the woman, even as the crowd shifted around the edge of his vision. Joiuse was keeping an eye on the crowd. She'd move or send some kind of mental message if it was more than the crowd shifting. He just had to focus on the woman.

The blonde remained unphased. She just shrugged with her hands in her jacket pocket. "Doors unlocked then, innit? Challengers don't typically cause problems, I guess."

It wasn't exactly the most ringing endorsement, but it diffused the tension in the air. The crowd wasn't going to jump and pretend everything was normal, but a few people did go back to their conversations. The battle even kicked back up; the krabby and swinub raring to start the action up again. The woman Achille was speaking with looked over the group, once then again in a slow sweeping motion. Area surveyed, she strode up to Achille and took a spot next to him, watching over the battle.

The two stood in silence, watching as krabby shot a thin, but powerful stream of water towards the shaggy-haired pig-like Pokémon. The ground type snorted then sprinted away in a surprising show of speed, avoiding the Water Gun. The old-guard of the gym pulled a thin pack of cigarettes from her jacket pocket, retrieving a thin cigarette and a small lighter from the package.

"So, why are you here?" She released the smoke from her first drag then launched into her questioning. "No bullshit."

Achille waved the foul smoke from his face, turning to face the asker. "Mostly I came to get some practice in." Lying about his intentions would only get him kicked out when he came forth with it. He just had to make it sound innocent enough. "I do actually go to private gyms like this."

"Ego boost?" She interrupted with a blunt tone of voice. His host remained motionless, not even turning to look at the Kalosian as she lobbed her accusation against him. The lit end of the cigarette slowly crept down the paper, neglected after the first puff.

"I mean these places don't really seem up to your class." The woman continued, breaking the short silence that overtook the moment, as Achille's mind spun for an answer. "Or skill, considering you're a challenger and all that."

So she knew who he was. "They don't call the parents of class-ditching teens." Might as well match her bluntness. "Even after a particularly rich parent requested they be alerted when their wayward son wanders in." Achille folded his arms and ignored the battle between Swinub and Krabby, focusing his entire attention on his 'host'. "I'm also looking into something. Someone stole a Pokém-"

"That sentence is starting to sound a lot like trouble." She took another drag of her newly rediscovered cig. She exhaled, then finally returned the trainer's gaze. "Look, kid, I don't tolerate that shit here. No thieves, no playground revolutionaries, and no damn gossip hounds. I can deal with the gamblers and people here for an ego trip usually get knocked down a peg." That set her off quickly.

But the quick shut down only piqued Achille's interest. She knew more than she wanted to show. He'll play along for now. "Point taken. I hope you don't mind a money match then." He reached inside his jacket and grabbed a single bill. Let's not show all of the cards yet. He held up the 1,000 bill for the woman to see, who just shrugged at the gesture.

"I don't gamble," she said in rejection, "you'll have to find one of the others." The woman turned away from Achille, something Achille was very quickly learning was a good sign that he wasn't annoying her. Too much. "They might try to act like they don't want to battle, but they'll change their minds quickly once money is involved."

So money will definitely open doors with them. It was hard not to smile after her slip up. Achille suppressed the grin as he considered the possible exploitations of that information.

The Kalosian pocketed the bill again, then returned to his folded armed stance. "I'll let these two finish up before butting in. I don't want to steal the show."

"Too late for that," his host added with a small snort of surprise. "You upstaged everyone the second you walked in. We don't see challengers here."

Achille didn't have a follow up quip for that. Luckily for him, the ongoing duel between Swinub and Krabby was coming to an end. The mud-caked Krabby lunged forward, pulling its frost-covered claw back. Closing the gap with a rapid sideways sprint, the crab jabbed his claw forward. The iron-sharp edges of the claw raked the hairy pig in a Metal Claw attack. Swinub was pushed back, retreating backwards in a frenzied scramble from the Steel attack. With a loud snort, Swinub lied down and surrendered.

"Is that it?" Someone shouted out from the crowd. Swinub looked in the direction of the shout and snorted in an annoyed tone. Yes, they were done.

"That's all she has," the ground-type's trainer confirmed, kneeling next to the defeated pig. The red haired trainer patted the pig's head, getting a few happy oinks in response while his dark-haired opponent set about cleaning up the crab. "She's clever, she knows her limits."

"I think she's just fuckin' lazy, mate. She acts like she's afraid of up close fighting, but is bloody ready to have a go at you if you make the mistake of waking her up." The same voice shot back, getting a laugh from the Swinub trainer. The Swinub didn't seem to mind, yawning and settling down for a nap in the middle of the battlefield. Which prompted another round of laughter.

The trainer of the mud-splattered Krabby looked up from his kneeling position, where he was using a metal water bottle and the crab Pokémon's internal water supply to clean the mud. "Hey, Béringer, what are you doing here anyways?" His tone was more of curiosity than accusation.

"I'm here to practice, what else?" The woman in the cap still hadn't left his side, so he couldn't fish for information yet. He might scare people off going into money matches immediately too. Keep it friendly. "Decided to see what was going on away from the League gyms."

"So, I'm hearing you came to lose off-camera?"

------------------------------------------

A Morpeko hit the floor of the gym, knocked out. This was the fourth victim to Joiuse in a row, and the crowd's cheer was low. Ever since Achille issued the challenge, he'd accepted the first challengers to come his way. The guy with the Krabby was the first up, and had managed a few hits before falling to the Doublade's Shadow Sneak.

Two more trainers lined up to be dispatched before the teen with the Morpeko decided to try his luck. By now the crowd seemed ready to break back into their individual groups, especially with Joiuse still looking hale, hearty, and unscratched. He suspected some of the best were in those first four, and the others were starting to get cold feet.

Now was time to pull out the big guns. Achille reached into his jacket's inner-pocket and revealed the wad of cash to the room.

"Well, I was hoping to spice things up a bit… but I'd just feel bad taking your money." Achille said while smacking the bills across his palm. "So how about this: anyone who can actually beat me gets an award."

Hungry eyes followed the money as they tapped against his hand. Got you all. It wasn't subtle, but it worked. "And that's a full fifty, in case anyone was curious." He added to sink the hook in deeper.

Still, it seems he went a little too hard earlier. Most people just whispered among each other, trying to get the others to go for the money (at least from the conversations Achille could overhear). A few looked like they might step up, trading glances and smirks among each other. The three friends stopped, pointing towards the other side of Achille's "field" with an even larger smirk. A few footsteps told the Kalosian that someone finally took the bait. Across stood the woman with the track jacket, the owner of the building.

"I don't know what kind of stunt you're trying," the woman began, eyeing down the trainer with a blank expression that still somehow communicated a deep annoyance. "But if no one else is going to take that, then I will." She retrieved a Pokéball from her jacket pocket, holding the expanded device by her side. Scuffs and chips covered the basic red-and-white device. It was a somewhat older model too, if he recalled that correctly.

Achille smirked, pulling out another Pokéball of his own. Joiuse looked good to keep fighting, but surely the leader of a successful gym, no matter how amateur, was no pushover? "Nice to see you've decided to join the pro-fun team instead of scowling at me all night." The jest was met with a deeper scowl in return. "Okay, maybe you can have fun while scowling at me."

A chuckle, but the crowd still seemed transfixed on the woman in the plain looking clothes lazily holding the Pokéball ever since she drew her 'weapon'. Whatever, let's get ready. Achille expanded his own Pokéball and nodded towards Joiuse. The Doublade floated back at the silent command, taking a place next to Achille without a word or supernatural projection. The more steelish (in nature) twin remained in the scabbard and fell back into her normal habit of watching the crowd. The more ghastly half took a front row seat next to Achille.

The challenger lifted his Pokéball to signal his readiness; the gym 'leader' returned the gesture. Someone to Achille's right shouted 'three', and more voices followed the rest of the countdown.

Twin flashes of light obscured the stadium at the cry of 'one', fading to reveal Terrot and a familiar looking Mienshao, kneeling on the ground. The graceful pink Pokémon rose to her feet and nodded at the Skiddo from behind the trailing 'sleeves' on the fighting-type's arms while Achille tried to place the trainer's face once again.

"Fuck me, I didn't even notice," Achille shouted as the pieces fell in place. The hair, the jacket, the Pokémon. He just recalled where he'd seen her before. "You're Rebeccah Kanter. Gym challenger six years ago? Endorsed by the Fighting Gym leader?"

The owner finally laughed. "Damn, took you that long to notice, kid? I guess I removed all pictures of myself from the challenge run from the front though. The oldest one was after I had left the gym already."

"I just wasn't expecting a former challenger associated with the Fighting Gym to now be leading a splinter gym in the same town." A great deal of questions flooded Achille's mind. Those all disappeared after another piece of information came to the forefront of his memory. Rebeccah Kanter got pretty far. She wasn't the standout of her gym season, but she was a strong competitor. He almost wished he kept Joiuse in. This was going to be a rough fight.

But if I win, think of how far I'll go in this tournament. Even if she was maybe out of practice, she was a good barometer.

"I can tell you my biography later, so long as I get a cut if you publish it." Rebeccah added, a small smile now adorning her face after being recognized. "Didn't you want to battle?"

"Damn, you're right." Achille clicked his tongue, annoyed at having let himself get distracted in the middle of something important again. "The questions can wait until later."

"Good. Fake-Out."

The slender, pink Pokémon rushed forward, dashing towards the off-guard goat. The stoat-like Fighting-type loosed a shrill cry before stopping just short of Terrot, whipping its arms upwards. The Mienshao's paw never made contact with the goat's jaw, but the sleeve-like heavy fur trailing off its forearm made contact with a loud slap.

"Follow up with a Force Palm," Rebbecah shouted as soon Terrot flinched away from the slap.

Mienshao took a step forward and thrust forward an open palm with a twist of her torso. No motion was wasted with the attack, the palm strike was already ready to go as soon as the Fighting-type rushed forward. This opening salvo was practiced.

The 'attack' stopped short of Terrot yet again, but the force of the sudden thrust generated a shockwave of air pressure pointed in the direction of the Skiddo. The shockwave shoved the goat-Pokémon over, causing the Grass-type to tumble over itself a few times while the trainer braced himself to keep standing. Terrot stumbled back onto his feet as Achille readjusted his jacket.

"Strike back," Achille shouted, his heartbeat kicking up a few BPM. "Razor Leaf!"

The grass-type shook his head, launching a salvo of moon-shaped leaves. "Keep momentum," Achille shouted as soon as the attack cleared the goat's leafy mane, "Tackle!" With a glint in his eye and a huff of approval, Terrot took off after the leaves.

Mienshao dipped into a defensive crouch without command. The pink mink-like Pokémon raised its loose fur above its face, a pre-emptive shield against the leaves, but did not move. The Skiddo advanced closer and closer, the sound of his hooves clicking against the concrete.

"Now." Rebeccah commanded without fanfare. Mienshao leapt forward in a high arc, trusting completely in the trainer's judgment. The majority of the Razor Leaf barrage passed under the Fighting-type, breaking harmlessly on the floor a few feet behind. The unavoidable leaves cut into Mienshao's arms, but the thick fur protected from the worst of the attack.

Most importantly, Mienshao was in the air. On a collision course, if Achille's rough mental physics were correct. A growing disease in his stomach became a full-blown worry when the corners of his opponent's mouth lifted into a small smile.

"Jump Kick." Mienshao dropped her guard, straightening her body into a living javelin. Cut fur from the 'sleeves' trailed behind as the stoat fell foot-first towards Terrot.

A loud smack echoed through the air as the kick connected with Terrot's back. The goat fell to the floor and Mienshao flipped effortlessly off her target. The pink Pokémon dipped back into a defensive stance for a reprisal, but dropped it after a few seconds of Terrot lying on the floor. Motionless, save for his breathing.

The woman across from Achille looked unimpressed as she watched over the Skiddo. "You've beaten Kabu, have you?" She asked with a judgmental stare directed towards the Kalosian. "You're not just a rich kid with pedigreed 'sport' Pokémon, right? Because you're going to get someone hurt trying to play trainer with a Pokémon just because he's fast."

Achille clenched his teeth. Didn't you just tell your Pokémon to leap through a Razor Leaf? Any didn't she target Terrot's back?!

Click-clack. Terrot answered on his own before Achille could let loose the barb forming on his tongue. Pushing himself to his feet, the Skiddo stared Mienshao down. His right hoof tapped a few times, testing the motion of that leg.

"I think that answers for us both," Achille added with a huff and a cross of his arms. "We don't need you to talk down to us like we are children playing with matches. Me and him have chosen to do this already knowing all that stuff. It didn't change our minds then, and it won't now."

Terrot added a capstone to the statement by firing off another volley of Razor Leaves. The two of them were on the same page—fighting the Fighting type head on was a bad idea right now.

The storm of Leaves swept over the surprised stoat, who was too off guard to react. The green goat let another attack loose after seeing the first make contact. There was an idea in the back of Achille's mind, they just had to bait out the right reaction.

The pink Fighting-type emerged from the first attack coated in a small layer of cuts, staring down the approaching salvo. Drawing back her arm, Mienshao readied a Force Palm, unflinching in the face of the coming attack.

With a sudden thrust forward, the shockwave blasted into the rushing Razor Leaf. The force of the shockwave crumbled the sharpened leaves into nothingness. All that remained of the Razor Leaf attack, a slight breeze, passed over Mienshao harmlessly.

Terrot shot another attack, testing Mienshao's new defense. Another Force Palm neutralized the barrage. Mienshao looked like she could do that for hours.

"Don't think you're the first person to have thought of trying to range me out?" Rebeccah said with a bored expression. "I got my recommendation from the Fighting Gym. That's a lot of people's first reaction to seeing a Fighting-type."

"Razor Leaf!" Achille shouted, prompting another flurry of foliage. As soon as the attack cleared Terrot's personal space, he barked another order. "Leech Seed!"

Terrot fired a round of seeds just behind the leaf swarm. At the distance it was traveling, the force of the palm strike would also crack the seeds and release a net of Leech Seed roots.

Mienshao seemed to realize there was no escape from the Leech Seed net if she kept defending like that. The pink fighter crouched again, ready to leap at the first command.

The trainer snapped, the stoat leapt. Achille grinned. There we go.

"Hi-Jump Kick!"

"Worry Seed!"

Mienshao reached the apex of her leap as Terrot braced himself, a bundle of round, white seeds forming in his mane. As gravity began to overtake the Fighting-type, she straightened into a deadly-looking kick. Terrot fired his attack, sending five large seeds towards the coming foe.

Too late to pull back, Mienshao covered her face as she fell through the scattered seeds. One of the attacks was dead on, colliding with the falling fighter's foot and bursting into a mass of roots around her ankle.

Confidence faded from Mienshao's face almost immediately. Now seemingly aware of how fast they were falling, and onto such a small and fast target, Mienshao hesitated in committing to her attack. She shifted her body to accelerate slower and give a softer landing in case she missed.

This slowdown gave enough time for the Skiddo to dart to the side. Completely sure that her attack failed now, Mienshao bailed on the attack. She rolled the opposite direction of Terrot's dodge as she hit the ground, dampening the impact of her collision. Still, Achille winced as he heard the impact. The stoat pulled out of her roll with a fierce look towards Terrot.

"Drain Punch!"

"Leech Seed!"

Both trainers shouted their commands simultaneously, each angling to get the momentum started themselves.

Mienshao leapt forward, taking a running start towards Terrot. Achille caught the Fighting-type rolling her left shoulder right before the charge. It seems the fall did hurt her after all. For his part, the Skiddo readied another batch of the brown Leech Seeds on his mane.

Mienshao closed the gap, clenching her right fist and producing a light glow. A powerful hook collided with the side of Terrot's face, and the glow intensified upon contact. The impact broke several of the seeds, releasing a mess of thin roots that latched onto Mienshao's hand and climbed up her arm. Flinching, the stoat grabbed the roots with her left hand and pulled. The roots had wormed their way into her thick fur already, though, and stuck fast.

Snapping out of his post-punch daze, Terrot spat on the ground and rushed forward. Taking advantage of his foe's Leech Seed related distraction, Terrot used his horns to lift Mienshao into the air and take off into a dead charge. Mienshao's feet waved helplessly in the air as she was carried across the room, unable to find the ground. She resorted to beating upon the Skiddo's back upon seeing that the Skiddo's destination was the far wall. And he did not seem to be slowing.

One half of Joiuse was on the edge of her metaphoric seat with excitement, while the other hid her eye with her hand. Terrot collided with the wall, Mienshao caught between them in a brutal Take Down attack. A mixture of gasps, shocked laughs reminded Achille that there was even an audience here. He'd tuned them out entirely.

Mienshao rose, shakily, to her feet. Terrot stumbled around, stunned from the impact despite his large, pink cushion. This is bad, he's not recovered from the recoil.

Mienshao looked towards the trainer for a recommendation. It was a brief exchange, one that Achille almost missed. A small shake of the head from Rebbecah, a slight tilt of the head from Mienshao, a nod of approval from the trainer. Then Mienshao took a knee, collapsing from a 'delayed' injury.

The hesitation from the crowd turned to a surprised joy. Their leader, too, had been beaten by the challenger. The spectators mobbed the field, a flurry of people trying to get close to the most interesting thing to happen this month. The Kalosian stared at the leader, who's expression remained unreadable as she moved to tend to her partner. Someone shouted for Achille to catch, and he barely managed to catch a potion flying his way. Dammit, talking to her is going to have to wait. This crowd wasn't going to let him go without some acknowledgement on his end. That and he still had a wobbly goat to tend to.

------------------------------------------

"Hey, no, seriously though. Where is the bathroom?" Achille asked the group still clinging around him. He'd told the Proudhon capture story for what felt like the fifth time, and desperately wanted a moment to think. It'd been an hour since he won his last match, and he was still trying to find a good chance to find out just why his last opponent forfeited out of nowhere. The crowd had become his jailors, and his fate was now telling boring and safe stories to keep a rotating cast of listeners entertained. And he was running out fast.

Meeting Nemuro and discovering a long lost Pokémon sanctuary was interesting, but he couldn't prove it without breaking his promise to Nemuro to hide it. The bank story with Clovis would be a good one… but officially credit to that bust went to Clari Whitlocke. Maybe busting a shady Pokémon adoption center with his girlfriend? But that might have technically been illegal…

"I can show you," came a voice from across behind. Achille turned to see the amateur gym leader herself, just the person he was hoping could save him. "It's around back."

"Thanks, if you all would excuse me," Achille addressed his listeners, "I will be right back. Please guide the way." He turned back to Rebeccah before any of the crowd could tag along. Trailing after his already departed guide."

The two navigated the mingling crowd without an exchanged word, making their way towards the back hallway. The prior challenger extinguished her cigarette on the metal wall, between the doors leading to some unknown rooms. About halfway down the hall she stopped and grabbed one of the doors, holding it open and revealing a completely normal men's restroom behind.

With a wordless shrug Achille stepped through. Rebeccah followed right behind, closing the door and locking it behind her.

"Privacy a little too much to ask for around here?" Achille asked.

"Tough shit, there's a stall." The leader pointed out a pair of stalls with a new cigarette she had just pulled from the pack. "I wanted to have a word with you anyways."

Glad I don't have to actually go. Achille folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "Good, I was wanting to talk too. You had Mienshao forfeit after the Take Down, despite her looking like she was ready to keep fighting. Terrot was wide open and defenseless too."

You would have won if you pressed the attack. He didn't have to give her the satisfaction of saying it, but the fact hung in the air.

"Good, you caught that." She answered nonchalantly. "I called it off because I saw everything I needed to. Your opening moves were poor, and you gave up any potential early momentum by not seeing a proper Fake Out coming. You relied way too much on Razor Leaf to keep pressure on my Pokémon, yet gave up too early when you did have Mienshao on lockdown." She continued her lecture, highlighting her points with a jab of her finger. "Seriously, Force Palm takes way more out of Mienshao than Razor Leaf does Skiddo. Even if I would have found a way out of it, it burns some of your foe's energy while they think of a way out."

She ended her rant with a sigh. She tapped the ash from her cigarette in the sink and took another drag, holding her index finger straight up to hush Achille, who was already opening his mouth to defend himself. She still had something to say.

"But, you did shift strategy quickly after that horrific start. Baiting out a Hi Jump Kick so you can for sure land the Worry Seed took some quick thinking. As did recognizing my partner was Reckless. You also knew when to shut up and let your Pokémon take the lead, even if the results were a little unrefined."

"Anyways," the lecturing lady concluded, shifting topic and leaving her 'teacher' voice. "Mate, are you sheltered, just generally bad at bribery, or the boldest asshole I've ever seen?" A grin crossed her face, the look of a cat who had cornered the mouse.

"Oh, you caught that." Achille said as a discomfort rose in his stomach. Embarrassment? Shame? Fear? All of it? Whatever it was, she seemed amused at the situation.

"Fuck yeah I caught that. Hangouts like this attract certain people. People who think that just because we're not affiliated with the League means we don't have rules like the other gyms and clubs do. We kick the troublemakers out, but it also attracts the people they've fucked with. Both types of assholes end up causing issues and disrupting everything."

"Now, you," she continued, locking eyes with Achille and causing a chill to run across him. She raised her hand and then lifted a finger. "You come in here and bury the lede about a stolen Pokémon." Two fingers. "You then swapped to money matches, something not allowed at more 'reputable' gyms, and showed me a small amount of cash. Whatever, we get gamblers here sometimes." Three. "After you sweep the floor with the—let's be real—amateurs, you reveal you have way more money than anyone expected. You've beaten everyone confident enough to challenge you already, but you were just asking about a stolen Pokémon loud enough for everyone to hear earlier." The blonde dropped her hand, tucking it under her other arm. "I can follow the thought process."

No response sprung to Achille's lips. He had been holding his breath through the dressing down; he couldn't even give a good comeback if he wanted. Yeah, his attempts were bad in retrospect. Was he supposed to be good at this? Why did he even think this would go the way he planned?

"I think I know who did it." she looked towards the ceiling, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Two other former members of the Fighting Gym had gotten into some shady stuff lately. They run a trainer store in town. Non-official."

"Hold on," Achille said, slightly raising his voice at the revelation. He stopped leaning on the wall, pointing at his host. "You knew something this whole time? All this talk of keeping away troublemakers and scolding me for looking into this, and you have fucking names and addresses of suspected theives?"

"And send anyone who comes asking to their door?" The blonde spat back, but did not raise her voice in turn. "I have no idea what crimes they're doing. I don't even know for sure, I cut contact with them after they signed up with some company on some sketchy contact and would not stop badgering me to join too."

"Saloperie. So what about the police? Rangers? Doing anything other than letting them continue.

The former challenger moved her free hand to his temple, making small circles under her cap. "Because. They. Have. Something. On. Me. Too." She took a drag of her cigarette, pulling until the flames consumed the last bit of white paper and all that was left was a filter. "You're going to shave several years of my life off with these fucking questions." She flicked the filter at the garbage can in the corner, but missed by a good margin. Her hands are shaking a bit.

"Okay? That clear things up?" She was pissed. She glared at the Kalosian as she reached for another cigarette, but found an empty pack. Crushing the box, she tossed it at the trash can and sank it with a perfect throw. "I was going to wash out in the early rounds of the tournament, back during my League run. I managed a win in the first round, but my second round was against someone with a very wealthy sponsor. They offered me a very generous payout if I threw the match.

"I decided against any further gym runs and that leaving the Fighting Gym was best." She continued, closing her eyes as she recalled the story. "I told a few confidants what happened… and some of them turned out to be scumbags. Who would have guessed I chose shitty friends." The last part was said in a quieter tone as she broke eye contact with Achille. Her eyes wandered over towards the door, watching it for a moment while Achille digested the information.

"Think anyone is listening?" Achille asked, guessing at what was on her mind.

A shrug. "I give it fifty-fifty. Depends on if they noticed how long we've been gone for 'showing you the restroom' or not." She slowly approached the door, careful to not make any loud footsteps on the tile flooring. Smoke spilled out of the room and into the hallway as she poked her head out, taking a peek around both sides before gently closing the door. "Lucky us, we have some privacy still." She shook her head as she leaned against the door, blocking it from the inside. "I should have checked before voices got raised. Thankfully they're loud as shit in that main room."

"Anyways," she continued, "to finish up this sad, sad story. It was a good chunk of cash. I bought this place and squared some away. The end—of both my story and I'm guessing of my 'officially on pause' professional trainer career soon."

The wheels spinning in Achille's head finally slowed. Okay, this is a lot. He still wasn't quite sure if his plan was awful or not, but it seems to have produced results by botching his execution. This luck has to run out at some point. "So… why tell me this if you have that much to lose with it coming out?"

Another pause from the other trainer. She was being more careful with her words after the earlier shouting. "Several reasons, I guess. Trust me, I had no legitimate proof of anything, and rumors fly fast in competitive environments. There was always some unfounded bullshit being spread around, and stealing Pokémon wasn't too far off from some of the accusations."

"I saw a sketchy contract, but it was more sketchy in the terms and stuff. Exclusive image rights for far too long in exchange for money is what stuck out to me, but the entire thing seemed pretty vague as far as what they were actually paying you to do. I'm not exactly a lawyer, but I was taught a few tricks from a mentor in case some sponsor tried to screw me over."

She caught herself going off topic, and cleared her throat. "Anyways, I stopped hanging around them so much after they kept going on about the company. They were assisting in some study by catching a bunch of Pokémon around the town. The rumors started a few months after that, and just cemented me staying away. They stopped coming around here on their own, no conflict needed."

Achille nodded, that checked out enough to him. When was the last time he'd spoken to someone from Kalos who wasn't his family anyways? How many of them would I have really trusted with a secret of that magnitude though? "Makes sense to me."

"Right, so then today, you walk in. And let's be honest, this isn't your kind of place. Even if you go to these hole in the wall clubs and gyms, they're in the city. Aren't they?" Rebeccah pointed at Achille, who remained silent. No need to confirm or deny anything for her.

"I'll take that silence as a yes, you don't go to tiny clubs in hideaways like Stow-On-Side." she added quickly. I see. Pensive silence for me, but not for thee. "And here you are, above this place in both wealth and career, obviously trying to take some investigation into your own hands. Even if I'm ready to dismiss the normal gossip mills, this is too much for even me to ignore. It's starting to become a big deal, and I'm bound to get caught up in it somewhere. At this point I'm either alerting you and sending a private tip to the authorities, or kicking you out and alerting the authorities either way."

"And that ties back to the forfeit, I'm assuming." A headache was beginning to form from sitting in the smoky room. Let's get this all wrapped up, please.

"Correct, I saw everything I needed. Honestly, they weren't anything special in the gym, but I didn't want to send someone coasting by on Pokémon bought by daddy and trained in clean and fair arenas to a sketchy-ass place like that."

The teen smiled. "Thank you for the vote of confidence. Now, where is this place?"

The older woman put out her hand in a stop motion. "Hold on, Mr. Béringer. The final reason I decided to spill the beans to you is that 50,000P sitting in your pocket." For the first time tonight, her grin was particularly genuine. "That is what you brought it for, right?"

"Bordel de merde, you're shameless." Achille let out a deep sigh, covering his face and shaking his head. It's what it was intended for. Just give her the money and she's out of your life. He reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved the money clip, tossing it to the woman a few feet away. "Here. Please just tell me where they are so I can get this Herdier back."

Catching the bills effortlessly, his newfound informant did a quick count of the bills. Much to Achille's annoyance; someone even considering he'd short them when they're already blocking the door. "Shameless, bribable, and with bills for a warehouse." She said in an innocent voice with a smile across her face. "You lucked out, Mr. Béringer." She dropped the voice and returned her attention to her guest. "You're looking for Rodrick and Trevor at Ruby Way Trainer Supply, over on… well… Ruby Way. I hate the name too." Achille must have made a face to provoke the last comment.

"No other employees are going to be there, right?" Running into someone else at the store would be hard to explain.

"Not that I'm aware of. The place has a pretty small clientele."

Well, that's a relief. Achille still had to decide how exactly he was going to approach this, but that was one less thing to fret over. "I'll check it out then. Thanks for the honesty." He checked his phone; shit, they've been speaking for that long? He did not want to spend the rest of the night answering questions. "Is there a way out the back by any chance?"

Rebeccah smirked, turning and pulling the door open for Achille. "To the right. Follow the hallway and there's another right. It locks automatically behind you though, so don't forget anything."

Achille stepped into the hall, feeling fresh air in his lungs in far too long. "Didn't bring anything anyways. It's been… pleasant?" A shrug was the only response he got. Yeah, this was weird. Weird is a monthly occurrence now, I guess.

He responded with his own shrug and started down the hall, past solid wood doors and under blinking, buzzing lights. Sure enough, there was another turn in the hall just ahead, and an old burned out exit sign.

"Hey, one more tip," Rebeccah's raised voice came from down the hall. "There's a payphone that still works two blocks north of the store. If you call and report you're concerned about a fire type being loose, the Fire Department and Police are more likely to show up."

"All this ranting about shady people, and you're the sketchiest one here," Achille shot back, looking over his shoulder. He received a rude gesture as the target of his barb turned her own corner, back towards the main room.

The late afternoon sun stung his eyes upon exiting the building, sending Achille digging around his jacket for his sunglasses. The lack of natural light and excess of smoke in that bathroom did not help. It was a shame the weather was so nice, he had plans to make for this evening.

Terrot forgot how to use Tackle, and instead learned Take Down!

Inventory:

Spoiler:

Foxrally · Feb 22, 2022

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Glimwood Tangle

Simon's legs were burning and his chest was heavy as he continued to run through the forest, hopping over creeping roots and giant mushrooms, headed deeper and deeper into the dark woods. Beside him was Catherine's Electrike, Holo, running alongside him with terror in her eyes as the rumbling and crashing continued behind them.

He hadn't dared to look back, but Simon could hear the Rillaboom's path of destruction as it continued to chase them, its thunderous steps echoing from behind. It let out a horrifying, unnatural roar, which only caused the trainer and Pokemon to speed up their escape.

Out of the corner of his eye, Simon noticed two orange shapes fly down alongside them. As he turned his head for a second, his eyes lit up; "Vivillon! Mothim!"

The two bugs squeaked and flapped their wings, overtaking the pair. Simon would've breathed a sigh of relief if not for the running - he'd been worried all of his team had been knocked out by the Frenzy Plant attack, but at least those two were safe. He just had to hope Catherine was able to take care of the others.

The path he'd taken seemed to naturally lead downwards, and before he knew it, the group had entered a sort of cave-like formation created by the enormous roots above, leading to a massive tree-made cavern. Simon could see several bug-types skitter away in fear at the intruders and the terrifying roars of the Rillaboom. As he continued to run, Vivillon suddenly squeaked out something which made Simon's heart sink.

They were approaching a dead end.

Through the mist, a wall appeared in Simon's vision, flanked by two more thorny barriers. Rillaboom had led them into an inescapable position.

The group slowed down and Simon screeched to a halt as his two bugs flew up and over, putting themselves between him and the Rillaboom. Holo, however, kept sprinting forward until she couldn't anymore, scratching and howling at the formation that was barring their escape.

Simon turned around and pointed at the feral red shadow Pokemon charging at them. "Gust!"

Both bugs began flapping their wings rapidly, whipping up a gust of wind which slowed down the Rillaboom's advance, eventually stopping it completely. The beast growled as it raised its arms to shield its face.

Simon gulped. They were trapped now… the only thing left to do was to fight it. They just had to hold out long enough for the rangers to arrive, though, so there was still hope.

As he looked down at the ground below him, Simon realized it was slowly changing to a grassy field, an effect he'd never seen before. Cautiously moving away, he glanced behind him at the sound of Holo's continued mad attempts to get through the barrier. "A-are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

The electrike continued to scratch at the wall, seemingly oblivious to him. Even with his ability to understand Pokemon, her cries were little more than a child screaming in terror, and Simon realized she would be wholly unable to help in this fight.

As Vivillon and Mothim continued to flap their wings vigorously, the Rillaboom suddenly dropped its arms and let out a thundering, low-pitched roar, louder than any Simon had heard so far. Both bugs were taken off-guard by the sheer force of the noise, weakening the winds for just an instant - but an instant was all the beast needed. Rillaboom charged towards the bugs again and leaped forward with its arms raised, ready to squash everything in its path.

"Mothim, set up Quiver Dance! Vivillon, hold it down with String Shot!" Simon commanded as all three quickly moved out of the way. The Rillaboom's slam sent tremors rolling through the ground, shattering the earth beneath it. Mothim squeaked and his wings shimmered as he spun around in his dodge, scattering glimmers of light throughout the dark cavern. Vivillon flew in the opposite direction and shot out a stringy projectile at the Rillaboom's feet in the hopes of pinning it down.

Simon followed up, "Now, Gust!"

With the two bugs on either side of it, Mothim and Vivillon resumed their Gusts, now buffeting the shadow mon from both sides. Rillaboom roared as it struggled to keep its balance, swinging its fists angrily at both of its attackers; the bugs being just out of reach.

Simon held his breath and backed away slowly. It was working; they just had to buy time and wear it down, and eventually help would get here. "Keep it up! We can't let it m- aah!"

He suddenly cried out as he felt his foot trip on something and fell backwards to the floor. One of the grass blades from the Rillaboom's terrain had grown and tangled around his ankle, and more were beginning to reach out towards him, trying to pull him forward.

Vivillon squeaked and dropped her Gust, dashing to Simon's aid and slashing through the plants. "No, the Rillaboom!" Simon called out in a panic, realizing what it had done.

Now left to fight the beast alone, Mothim let out a strained buzz as he upped his Gust - but all too late, as the Rillaboom, now able to regain its balance, reared both of its hands back and clapped them in his direction, releasing a white shockwave which coursed through the bug's body and sent a cracking noise rumbling throughout the cave. In one powerful hit, Mothim's wings stopped flapping and the Pokemon fell to the ground.

The Rillaboom roared and pounded its chest. Simon could see the red glow in its eyes grow stronger as even more smoke escaped its mouth, and it turned to face him again. Vivillon positioned herself in between the two and hissed defiantly, though Simon could hear the fear in her voice.

The Rillaboom growled and ripped the web off of its foot before charging at the bug, fists glowing with energy. Vivillon turned her wings in and burst them outwards suddenly, releasing a whirlwind which pushed both Simon and the shadow Pokemon further back. She then dove forward again, charging up another Gust, further pushing the Rillaboom away.

"Way to go, girl!" Simon cheered; managing to recall Mothim now that they had some space. The beast had to be getting tired from all of the flying-types attacks getting thrown its way, he thought.

Vivillon's opponent snarled as it attempted to dodge the gusts and swing at her with its fists, but the bug would dodge high and low, weaving in attacks in between. Simon soon realized, however, that with every dodge, the bug's movements were getting sloppier, exhaustion slowly creeping in - but Rillaboom's attacks kept their same vigor. He then realized what was happening.

Every time Vivillon would hit it with a Gust, the grass blades under the Rillaboom's feet would glow slightly, restoring energy to the grass-type. He could see it on his own shoes and Holo's paws; but crucially, not Vivillon.

Before long, the bug let out a strained chirp and failed to dodge a vine from below, knocking her out of balance. Rillaboom then pounced on her, bringing down a darkness-cloaked fist which slammed her to the ground, before following up with a kick, sending her flying back towards Simon.

"Vivillon!" The young trainer called out, managing to catch her just in time. The bug coughed as she struggled to fly back up… before falling back into Simon's arms, unconscious.

Simon heard the Rillaboom growl and pound the ground as more red smoke escaped its body. He slowly retreated back towards the wall, watching in horror as the monstrous Pokemon began its approach towards him and Holo.

"H-holo, please!" he pleaded to the Electrike behind him.

Holo cowered.

The raging Rillaboom lumbered forward towards Simon. The trainer instinctively backed away, but there was nowhere for him to run… so close to home, his journey was about to come to an abrupt end. With a savage roar, the Rillaboom leapt for Simon.

A fireball struck the Rillaboom mid air and exploded in a shower of embers, the force of the surprise attack enough to counter its momentum and throw it back. Half-growling, half-whimpering, Holo stepped forward on shaking legs and placed herself between the rampaging Grass type and Simon. She looked like she was about ready to pass out from fear, but as the Rillaboom returned to her feet, she didn't move.

"Holo!" Simon exclaimed, his heart pounding out of his chest.

The Rillaboom charged again.

With a panicked yelp, the elektrike spat another Flame Burst at the approaching beast. The attack's aim was shaky, barely striking the creature's side before it too exploded, singeing the plant life around it. It was too weak and too poorly aimed to drop the Rillaboom, but it was enough to send it staggering back a few steps and halt its advance.

Holo continued to growl and whimper in equal measure. It was going to take a lot more than that if she was going to get them out of there in one piece.

"You got this, girl!" Simon called out, steeling himself. Despite the whimpering, he could notice a change in the Pokemon's demeanour - she was repeating something to herself, something that was giving her the strength to stand up to this monster.

He struggled to recall Holo's moveset from Catherine's league matches - the poor Pokemon hadn't even tried to attack Scolipede when he'd faced her himself, but he remembered one move she'd used against Nessa.

"Holo, do you still know Thunder Wave?"

Holo barked the affirmative, not once taking her eyes off the Rillaboom as it collected itself. With quaking knees, she summoned up more sizzling electricity across her fur, sparking as she unleashed a ring of lightning that shot forward, striking the Rillaboom just as it started moving forward again.

The attack lacked impact, but the effects of the Thunder Wave were immediately apparent as its charge slowed down dramatically, static arcing over it.

This gave Simon and Holo just enough space to dodge to the side as the ape crashed into the wall behind them. Simon quickly backed off, allowing the Electrike to stand in front of him again.

The Rillaboom, clearly getting tired of this chase, turned around and reared its hands back for another boomburst clap. The sparks of electricity coursing through its body slowed down the movement and Simon could see it struggle against the paralysis. Holo continued to shoot out fireballs as it did so - but eventually, the grass-type's arms came free, and it slammed its hands together, sending forward a massive white shockwave.

Holo was blasted off of her feet and launched through nettles and brush, taking the worst of the attack so that Simon was only thrown to the side. Growling, her fur crackling with electricity, she forced her aching body to move. She climbed back up and steeled herself. Then, with a deep breath, she launched out of the thicket towards the Rillaboom, electricity surging around her in a Spark attack.

The shadow Pokemon almost seemed surprised as it braced for the impact, attempting to block with its arms but succumbing to the paralysis once more.

As Holo charged into the ape's much larger body, Simon could hear her shouting that same sentence again: 'It's okay to be scared.'

Holo charged again with another Spark, dodging a reckless swing from the Rillaboom, and grunted out something else: 'It's what Catherine would do.'

Simon's eyes grew a little wider; was this something Catherine had taught her? He couldn't imagine what it felt like, being separated from her entire team and trainer; the last line of defense against this horrible creature… and she was protecting him.

As the Electrike went in again to attack, the Rillaboom roared, and the sparks of electricity around its muscles exploded outwards, dissipating into thin air. It batted Holo aside with ease as she pounced, sending her crashing to the ground. She quickly got back to her feet and threw herself between it and Simon again.

The Rillaboom charged again. Holo charged too, sparks continuing to course across her fur. Of course, she couldn't overcome the raw power of the Rillaboom. It easily deflected her attack again, smashing her aside. She was barely doing any more damage to the raging Pokemon than it was healing back from its Grassy Terrain.

But she wasn't trying to win. She just had to buy time for Catherine and the others to find them. She got back up, baring her teeth and growling as more and more electricity surged, building up like static. There was so much of it there was a perpetual, shifting light now.

Enraged with the small Pokemon defying its power, the Rillaboom leaped with glowing fists to squash Holo once and for all. The Electrike held her position.

Simon's heart stopped for a second as the beast jumped into the air. "Holo, look out!"

Holo didn't move. She summoned up another Flame Burst and launched the fireball at the incoming Rillaboom. As she did so, the electricity on her body reached its peak. The shifting light of its arcs became a single radiant glow. Holo's form shifted. She grew larger.

The glow around Holo shattered as a surge of electricity raced away from her along the ground, burning the Grassy Terrain away and leaving the ground sparking with electrical energy.

The Flame Burst struck the Rillaboom and it was blasted out of the air by its detonation, the impact far more powerful than it could have expected. It hit the ground and rolled to its feet, but it wasn't faced with a little Electrike anymore. It was facing off the blue-furred, yellow-maned canid form of a Manectric - and lightning was still coursing across her body in defiance.

Joint post of gimmepie and Foxrally

gimmepie · Apr 20, 2022

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Catherine Carlisle

Indra

Stampede

Holo

Vessel

Lancer

Spoiler: Inventory

Glimwood Tangle

Simon slowly opened his eyes and stared in shock at the new pokemon now standing before him. "You've… evolved…"

Holo faced down the Rillaboom as her opponent climbed to its feet, for the first time showing a sign that it had really felt the impact of an attack. It readied itself for its next charge, seething with rage.

The Manectric felt more confident now, but to Simon it was clear that her fear hadn't totally abated. She still shook a little at the knees, even as she growled ferociously at her foe, even though her body now surged with powerful electricity - but that fear was what fueled her bravery.

Holo looked back at Simon. She knew she couldn't do it alone. She needed someone with a view from the outside, someone who could help her direct this newfound power. Catherine wasn't there. She only had Simon. She would protect him whatever the cost. That's what her trainer would do. But could she trust him?

Simon looked the Pokemon in the eyes and nodded with a look of determination and understanding. "I've got your back - we're going to make it out of this, together!"

Holo nodded at Simon and gave him a bark.

He used the brief moment of respite from the Rillaboom to rummage in his back pocket, where his Pokedex was still thankfully intact. He quickly fished out the device and pointed it at Holo, praying to Arceus that it still worked… a second passed, and it beeped; the screen coming alive with a scan of Holo's moves and ability.

"O-okay…" Simon's voice was shaky as he breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes quickly darting over the information.

The Rillaboom charged forwards with a Wood Hammer attack, forcing Holo to jump backwards towards Simon. The grass-type attack slammed into the ground, sending up a spray of dirt and leaving a sizable dent in the ground where Holo had just been. She was more powerful now, but she still couldn't take many of those.

"Okay, Holo! I've got a plan!" Simon called out to the Manectric. He glanced up at the cavern roof above them; the mess of tangled roots and tight-packed dirt crumbling slightly from the force of the wood hammer's impact. The electric terrain had bought them some time… they just needed to make use of it. "You won't handle another hit from this thing - so we've got to make sure it misses as much as possible, then use its own attacks to defeat it!"

Holo barked in the affirmative.

"First, use Flash!" Simon called out. "And strike between each one!"

The sparks on Holo's fur sparked up, then abruptly grew brighter as a flare of bright white light exploded out from her. The Rillaboom staggered back, shielding his eyes as she tried to blind him.

Holo took that opportunity to launch a follow-up attack, unleashing a massively powerful Thunderbolt that blasted the Rillaboom clean off its feet and sent it tumbling back through the electrified dirt.

It wasn't enough to keep the Rillaboom down, of course. As the ape got up and charged again, Holo and Simon both jumped to the side. As Holo leapt, she unleashed another Flash, once more targeting the Rillaboom's vulnerable eyes.

The beast snarled and closed its eyes, its charge going fully off-target as it slammed into the cavern wall with a thud. More crumbling rocks and pieces of dirt fell from the ceiling.

"It's working! Flash again, then flame burst its side!" Simon called out.

Holo let loose with another Flash, darting to the side before spitting a fireball into the Rillaboom's side. As the Rillaboom turned towards her, she hit it with another Flame Burst, then darted nimbly across his path to the opposite side of him.

Blinded even further, the shadow Pokemon snarled in frustration and continued to swing its arms wildly, hitting nothing but air as more and more smoke billowed from its wounds. Finally, with a final enraged roar, it slammed its fists together on the ground. The impact shook throughout the cavern, sending tremors along the walls and into the ceiling.

"There! It's using Frenzy Plant again!" Simon called out as the ground cracked open and large, root-like vines began to grow out of it. "Focus entirely on dodging!"

Holo didn't need to be told twice. She picked up the pace, ducking and weaving around the vicious thorny vines that had exploded up around their battlefield. The frenzy plant vines whipped around, violently slamming into everything around them. Cracks began to appear on the dirt-filled cavern walls, then the roof, as the massive thorns pushed against the low ceiling and writhed uncontrollably. Simon held his breath and ducked as one of the vines came dangerously close to whipping at him.

"Holo! Now, Flame Burst at the ceiling above it!"

Holo skidded to a halt just in front of Simon, then, gathering up as much of her strength as she could, formed the largest Flame Burst she had yet and rocketed it towards the ceiling of the root cavern - right before a thorny vine came crashing into her side, ripping into her and tossing her to the ground.

The fireball exploded against the frail dirt, immediately incinerating the withered roots holding it up. A second later, a loud snap came from above as an avalanche of soil and rocks followed - falling on top of the distracted, exhausted Rillaboom. The beast had no time to even react as the landslide came on top of it, pinning it to the ground, more and more loose dirt continuing to fall from above until its body completely disappeared under the rubble. The vines around them stopped moving.

Both Simon and Holo held their breaths in anticipation.

"I-is it…?"

Another enraged roar came in response, as the light from the Rillaboom's glowing red eyes pierced through the rubble. Before either of them could step back, the buried Pokemon burst out of the soil, sending out a shockwave that knocked both Simon and Holo backwards.

A low rumble echoed through the cavern as even more cracks appeared around the impact area and the ceiling around the cavern began to crumble even more; Simon's eyes darted to the exit. "Shit! The whole cavern is caving in!"

He rushed to Holo's position and hoisted the wounded Manectric onto his back, stumbling forward a little as more dirt flew at them from the Rillaboom freeing itself. The pair made a run for the exit; the dim light from it fading as the root cavern continued to cave in. Wild pokemon curried around them in a panic; Simon heard the Rillaboom's thundering steps break out into a run behind them.

"Just- hang in there…! We're almost out!" he wheezed, avoiding the swarm of Pokemon below.

Just a little more - the exit was closer than ever, his legs were screaming in pain as the ceiling above them continued to crumble, and Rillaboom's steps got nearer…

With barely a second to spare, the pair burst out of the cavern. Simon heard a yap from Holo and whipped his head around in time to see the Rillaboom leap forward - and fall to the ground as the remainder of the cavern crashed on top of it, burying it completely.

Simon kept running. He didn't know for how long, but he continued to run forward as far as his legs could carry him, putting as much distance between them and the cave, before falling to the ground in a heap.

Panting with exhaustion, and still pretty much laying on top of Simon, Holo nuzzled the trainer beneath her affectionately. It was the closest thing she could manage to a thank you. She'd taken a gamble in trusting him, but his strategy had saved them.

"It's the least I could do for saving my life." the trainer responded, leaning up against the nearest tree. "We'd be dead right now if not for you."

Holo was used to talking with Catherine; they understood each other more or less. But there was something different about Simon, it was like he actually understood what she was saying, not just her intent.

She gave a few more tentative barks. Simon cracked a smile. "If you were just doing what Catherine would have… I guess she's not too bad after all."

She nodded and wagged her tail with the little energy she had left.

"C'mon, let's see if we can find the others again."

Simon lifted the Manectric onto his back again and the pair continued through the forest, hoping to somehow find the others. A few moments passed and a rustling sound came from the leaves behind them. Both Simon and Holo tensed up, fearing the worst - but as they looked in the direction of the noise, they saw a small, brown figure poke its head out of the bushes.

"Shedinja!" Simon exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief.

The Pokemon hummed before turning back around, waving to someone behind it.

Catherine shoved her way through the branches, coming to an abrupt halt at the sight of Simon. She had not been expecting to see him staggering around with a Manectric on his back. As quickly as her surprised expression formed though, a look of realisation took its place.

"Holo?!"

All but forgetting Simon's presence, she rushed up to Holo to start checking her injuries, the bugs clinging onto her hair and clothes nearly falling off as she ran.

"What the hell happened?! Where's the Rillaboom?"

"I… I think we managed to lose it…" Simon huffed as he gently laid Holo back on the ground. "Holo saved us."

Catherine continued to survey Holo, beaming with pride at her newly evolved Manectric. "Of course she did, she's incredible."

Holo barked happily, nuzzling into Catherine as her trainer retrieved her Pokeball and returned her within it to recuperate. As she got closer the group of bugs on her person all jumped off and leaped onto Simon, scurrying around him with affectionate chirps and squeaks.

Catherine stood up and looked at Simon, a few moments of awkward silence stretching between them. "...your team did well too. There were some Pokemon that got trapped in a dangerous position because of the Rillaboom. I couldn't have saved them without their help."

"If there's one thing I know about them, it's that you can always trust them to do the right thing." Simon grinned and petted the bugs on his shoulder, earning a proud chirp from the group and a less-enthusiastic grumble from Snom.

"I don't understand you," Catherine said, "You're wrapped up with those shady blacksuits and you have that brainwashed Scolipede… but your team has been raised well. They did the right thing when it mattered. You have to have been raising them right… and that means something. I need to know what's going on with you and those criminals."

Simon tensed up. "It's… I…" he paused for a moment. If he revealed the truth to Catherine, he could be putting her in just as much danger as himself and Raphael were in. She could be hunted at any time, and disposed of as easily as Blackspear had tried to do with him. Was he ready to do that to her?

But again, she already seemed to know enough about them, even more so before him… and if he hoped to ever stand a chance against them, he would need as much help as he could get.

"Blackspear… they're the ones behind everything. The suited people, the red shadow outbreaks, the brainwashed Pokemon, everything. I didn't know I was working for them until it was too late. And when I found out… they tried to take me out. I lost Scolipede as well, and I-"

He glanced at Shedinja floating beside him. "-I could have lost a lot more."

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised that the giant corporation is evil," Catherine replied, "It's not like it's the first time. What are they after?"

"I'm not sure… but I know it's got something to do with the dark grey pokeballs, like the one Scolipede was in. I saw them transform a Pokemon into one of those… red… smoke creatures right in front of me, then try to capture it with one."

Simon looked in the direction of the cave, where they'd left the Rillaboom. "When you ran into me, I was trying to track down the Rillaboom, to hopefully trace it back to wherever the Black Suits were." He chuckled nervously, "I kinda get why that would be a bad look now, given your assumptions..."

"Forget it. Water under the bridge." Catherine shrugged, "I don't have to like your attitude to know you're not made of the same stuff as these Blackspear goons. Like I said, you raised your team right. You're a dick, but you're not evil."

Simon opened his mouth to say something, but instead slumped his shoulders and sighed. This was the closest thing to a compliment he'd get out of Catherine, so he'd take it.

"I know we've had some, uh… disagreements in the past, but… if I do run into Blackspear, I don't think I'll be able to take them on my own, not with two of my teammates already being down."

"Say no more," Catherine said, "I can't just let this be. Besides, if I don't go and babysit you, you'll probably just run in on your own anyway and I'd be a pretty awful person if I was okay with your death being on my hands."

"How are we supposed to find the Suits now, though? With that Rillaboom gone, it was our only lead…"

"Well, rather conveniently, the Rillaboom left a path of destruction in its wake. So if we follow it back, we'll at least end up in roughly the right spot. It should be easy enough to find them from there."

Simon's eyes glanced over the noticeable path of broken trees and trampled foliage that the Pokemon had created, leading further into the forest like a makeshift tunnel.

"We'll need a proper plan going into this too. I don't want us or our Pokemon getting shot because we charge in blindly." Catherine added.

"Let's save that for when we find them - we can't waste any time!" Wearily getting up, Simon grabbed his bag and set off in that direction.

"Fair enough." Catherine headed off after him.

Joint post of gimmepie and Foxrally

Foxrally · Nov 17, 2022

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Catherine Carlisle

Indra

Stampede

Holo

Vessel

Lancer

Spoiler: Inventory

Glimwood Tangle

It hadn't taken Simon and Catherine long to reach the spot they'd initially found the Rillaboom at. After a quick inspection of the half-gnawed tree stump the Pokemon had left behind, the pair followed its path of destruction, hoping to find its source at the other end of it - or rather, the source of the beast's destructive rage.

As they walked quietly, still shaken by the earlier attack, Simon broke the silence.

"Hey, I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for how I acted when we met back then. In Motostoke, I mean."

Catherine didn't bother turning to face Simon, choosing instead to focus on investigating the area. Still, she at least gave him a response. "Apologies are empty words. Rather than wasting your breath on saying sorry, just do better. This here? Doing something about whatever it is Blackspear are doing in this forest? That's a start."

"I know, but- I didn't just hurt you, I hurt your Pokemon as well. And Holo… Holo didn't deserve that."

Simon exhaled, part guilt and part frustration."Blackspear made me feel like they were the only ones able to help, and that I was weak without them. And in the end… they were just using me. I should never have let it get that far."

"People, especially people like that, use others for their own gains. Everyone else are just pawns to be moved about to the most convenient places on the board - even if that means sacrificing them to get into a more advantageous position. I've been saying that from the beginning."

Catherine continued her investigation as she spoke. "In the end, you were so desperate for prestige that you didn't look into what was right in front of you. They took advantage of your willful ignorance and made you dependent - which ironically is a form of weakness. You hurt Holo and the rest of my team and probably plenty of others. I'm not going to absolve you of that just because you can see it with the benefit of hindsight. You can't put all the blame on Blackspear. But we aren't going to ignore the part they played either."

The girl's words were harsh, but true. Simon sighed, "And I'll make sure they don't do the same to anyone else. I don't know how… but they'll pay for it."

As they continued down the path, the floating figure of Shedinja materialized in front of them and let out a low hum.

"There's people up ahead." Simon looked at Catherine. "Black Suits."

"Time to make good on your promise then," Catherine replied. "What are we dealing with?"

Shedinja let out a few more hums and Simon nodded. "It's just two of them, just standing around a vehicle."

He picked up the pace; "They'll go down before they even realize what's happening! Let's go!"

Catherine grabbed Simon at the collar as he passed her, letting it pull taught against his throat with his forward momentum.

"Wait," she hissed. "Didn't I tell you that we don't want to charge in blindly and get killed?"

Catherine let go of Simon before continuing her lecture. "There's two that your Shedinja has seen. That doesn't mean there aren't more in the area. There might be more in the vehicle even."

Simon thought of protesting, but realized she was right. Taking the suits head-on would end up no better than the last time they'd run into them in the mines. "Okay, then. Got any ideas?"

Catherine nodded. "First thing's first, if you want to beat the enemy, you need information. If Shedinja or any of your other bugs can find out more about Blackspear's numbers or what they're up to, that's a start. Second thing is you never fight someone on their turf. Right now, they control this area. We take it away from them. Instead of barrelling into this blindly and getting filled with bullets, we take over the battlefield and hit them from oblique angles where there's minimal risk to us and our teams. We win by making it not worth the suffering to stay in our arena."

Simon couldn't help but crack a smile; this was exactly how Catherine approached all her gym battles, after all. "Alright." He glanced at Shedinja; the Pokemon hummed in response as it disappeared once again.

The pair continued in the same direction, staying hidden among the thick foliage rather than heading down the clear path. A few minutes later, as described, they came upon a large clearing where the trees had been chopped down. In its center was a black helicopter, branded with the white logo of Blackspear.

Two men were leaning on the helicopter, one of them smoking a cigarette, surrounded by small grey cargo boxes. They were talking, but neither of the trainers could hear the conversation.

"I've seen those crates before," Simon whispered. "They're storing Pokemon in there, probably more Dark Balls."

"Sure would be a shame if they had to leave those behind," Catherine replied.

Suddenly, Shedinja appeared between the two of them, nearly startling Simon off his feet. "Stop doing that-"

The bug hummed and looked at Catherine, then in the direction of the men, giving a nod.

"It's just those two outside." Simon translated. "And a third one in the cockpit, probably a pilot."

"I'm thinking we set up a String Shot cord on the sides of some of the boxes they can't see," Catherine said, not taking her eyes off the clearing. "I make it rain, they take shelter in the helicopter and we pull the cords to drag the boxes out of the clearing. Best case scenario is they don't notice some are even gone until it's too late. Worst case, they're stuck in the helicopter getting pummeled by a barrage of attacks from unseen assailants every time they try to exit."

Simon nodded. "Alright, I'll get as close as I can. We'll go on your signal." He crouched low and continued along the edge of the trees, staying behind as much foliage as possible as he approached the boxes. He reached into his pocket and felt around for Larvesta's warm fur, then fished the bug out. He looked at Catherine and flashed a thumbs-up.

Catherine reached into her bag and withdrew three balls. Turning away from the clearing, she released Indra, Vessel and Lancer so the light from their emergence wouldn't be seen by the Blackspear people.

"Spread out a little around the edge of the clearing." she whispered, "Don't get seen and all of you rain dance at once when you see me drop my hand like this."

Catherine demonstrated the motion a couple of times to be sure they got it. "Boxes will get pulled away from the helicopter over there. Stay safe, but don't let the blacksuits get them."

The three Pokemon spread out, Vessel lagging behind a bit as the bug meandered without any sense of urgency. Catherine was worried that they might take too long and the helicopter would leave. The fear was unfounded though, and soon enough the team was all in place. She gave the signal and three different Rain Dances began, clouds abruptly gathering over the clearing as a torrential downpour started in seconds.

One of the men fell silent as the first droplet of rain extinguished his cigarette. He grumbled out something, pointing upwards at the clouds as he tossed it aside. His colleague motioned towards the boxes briefly, to which he responded with a dismissive wave before walking towards the helicopter. After a brief moment of hesitation, the other suited man followed hastily.

With the two suits' backs turned as they climbed into the helicopter, Catherine made sure Simon could see her and gestured to the boxes before backing up into cover again.

Simon nodded and extended his arm out with Larvesta on it. The firebug shot out a thick line of string, latching it to the first crate; Simon then grabbed the rope and pulled. The boxes were a lot heavier than he expected as his shoes scraped against the quickly-muddying dirt, but as he found his footing on a tree, the box inched towards him little by little. He watched the suited men anxiously, praying that they wouldn't notice - and like a charm, Catherine's plan was working. Neither of them seemed to even be facing the clearing, and were instead focused on cleaning their shoes from the dirt.

"Larvesta, fly over to Catherine and do the same!" Simon let out a strained whisper to his Pokemon. The bug nodded and dashed back towards the other trainer, landing on her head before shooting another string-rope at one of the boxes.

Catherine grabbed the sticky rope and pulled, grunting involuntarily as it turned out to be much heavier than anticipated. She was in the best shape of her life and it still burned a little in her arms as she dragged it across the clearing.

"What the hell is in these things?" she said more to herself than anyone else. She turned to the Larvesta, "Give the next one to Lancer, my Croagunk. He's much stronger and it'll be quicker."

She dragged the box the rest of the way as the Bug hurried off towards Lancer. He repeated the same process and the Croagunk wrapped his hands around the rope, pulling the crate forward with a lot more ease than the humans. A little too effectively, in fact - as the box snagged against a rock, Lancer tugged it forward, knocking the crate up and bumping it loudly against the helicopter.

"...shit." both trainers cursed under their breath.

A confused shout came from inside the helicopter as one of the suits looked out, realized one of the crates was missing, and spotted the strings coming from the foliage. The man shouted at his companions and started to climb out of the helicopter, the second one close behind him.

"Hit them!" Catherine yelled, pointing at the open helicopter door. A moment later, Indra was blasting the opening with a torrent of high-pressure bubbles as Vessel started creeping forward from the other direction. Lancer, with no ranged attacks, dashed forwards and grabbed the box he'd been pulling, carrying it back towards the edge of the clearing.

The first grunt yelled out as he was pelted with the empowered projectiles, falling backwards into the mud, as the second one shielded himself with his body. He yelled out something to his colleague and stood back up, pointing directly at Catherine's position - he'd heard her yell out the command.

As soon as the torrent of bubbles let up, the suit ran forward, pulling out a Pokeball from one of his pockets and tossing it forward. As he did so, Catherine noticed the glint of metal in his other hand - a gun.

A light burst from the grunt's Pokeball and coalesced into the large, imposing figure of a Mandibuzz. The bird landed on the ground with wings outstretched, screeching as it spotted Lancer jumping away.

"Grab the crate!" the grunt called out as he glared at Catherine through the trees, quickly approaching her position.

Catherine backed up slowly, raising her hands above her head. She knew she wouldn't be able to outrun the blacksuit. She'd trust Lancer to hold his own against the Mandibuzz. As for dealing with the guy with the gun pointed right at her… well she'd have to put her trust somewhere a bit more tenuous.

"Nice weather we're having," she said as the man approached her. "I don't suppose I can convince you to forget this happened?"

"Shut it, kid. I know a rain dance when I see one." the man snarled. As he got closer, his eyes grew wide with realization. "Wait… you're-"

"Anorith, now!" Simon called out. The dirt below the guard exploded as Anorith suddenly burst out of the ground, clawing upwards and knocking the man's gun out of his hand. He stumbled backwards, spitting insults at the bug as it dove back underground.

Catherine wasn't about to stick around, she hastily backed into the greenery out of the blacksuit's immediate line of sight. On the other side of the clearing, Simon burst out of the foliage and tossed his Joltik forward.

"Spider Web!" The bug spat out a glob of silk at the fallen handgun, pinning it to the ground.

The guard looked around and grit his teeth. "Mandibuzz! Circle back!" he yelled out, stepping away from the trainers. The bird gave up its chase on Lancer and flew back around, now spotting both Simon and Catherine's Pokemon.

"Snom! On me!" Simon shouted as the ice-type emerged from his coat, ready to attack.

As the bugs moved to regroup with their trainer, the Mandibuzz was going on the offensive, targeting the ones who were alone. It launched streams of swirling darkness into the forest around the clearing. One blast of the Dark Pulse struck an area nearby Indra and he retaliated with a Bubblebeam, blasting the Mandibuzz out of the air long enough for Vessel to hit with an Absorb from behind.

The Pokemon screeched and whirled around to face the Parasect. Instinctively, Vessel unleashed a Spore cloud to defend itself from the bird. The Mandibuzz didn't even seem to notice the cloud of golden particles. Vessel didn't seem too concerned about this eventuality, but Catherine was bothered enough for both of them.

Well shit, she thought. "It's got Overcoat, powder moves won't work!"

Mandibuzz crashed down in front of Vessel and raised a glowing beak to attack, but recoiled as a large spike of ice smashed against its head. Snom hissed and jumped onto Vessel's back, facing down the much larger opponent with her fellow bug.

As the battle went on, the other blackspear grunt had gotten up - but rather than go for their assailants, he had rushed towards the last crate, and begun dragging it towards the helicopter.

With the Mandibuzz occupied by Indra, Snom and Vessel for the time being, Catherine was able to catch the second blacksuit attempting to salvage the last of their crates.

"Simon, string his feet! He's taking the last box!" She called across the clearing to where Simon had now reunited with Larvesta.

"Got it!"

The wind picked up as the helicopter turned on and its blades began to spin, blowing grass and mud across the clearing. Simon sprinted towards the man's position and Larvesta shot an attack at the grunt, but it flew wide, blown away by the force of the wind. A second man wearing a pilot's helmet emerged from the helicopter and rushed to join the first in lifting the crate.

"Mandibuzz, Gust!" the attacking grunt yelled out. The dark-type raised its wings and blasted Simon with a strong gust of wind, sending him tumbling away from the helicopter.

Seeing the Mandibuzz focused on Simon, Lancer took his chance and dashed out from the treeline, leaping up on top of the crate between the two men. He kicked the pilot in the chest, knocking him into the mud and causing the other blacksuit to nearly drop the box with the added weight on top of the already heavy object. He turned to deliver a punch to the grunt, but the commotion had drawn the Mandibuzz's attention. It swooped it low and blasted him with a close-range air cutter. Lancer was launched off the box, with the suit being spared the worst thanks to the angle of attack, allowing the pilot to leap back to his feet.

The other Pokemon continued to spray the Mandibuzz with attacks, most of them barely grazing it as they were battered away by the stronger wind. However, as it raised its wings again to block, chunks of the ground around the mandibuzz began to float, large rocks emerging from the dirt. The rocks then collapsed onto the bird, pinning it just long enough for the bubblebeam and icicle spear to hit their mark. As it fell to the ground, a confused Anorith poked his head out of the ground.

The Mandibuzz's trainer cursed and recalled his Pokemon. "Fall back!"

The other grunt scrambled to his feet and they ran back to the helicopter, which was slowly rising into the air. The suits cast a hateful glare at the two trainers before slamming the door shut, and moments later, the helicopter was gone.

Simon sat up and slammed his fist on the ground. "Dammit, we JUST had them!"

"Calm down." Catherine walked across the clearing to Simon, her team joining her. "We won. We took three out of four of their boxes and drove them out of the forest. Whatever they were doing, we ruined it. That was the objective."

For a moment, Catherine's own annoyance peaked through her otherwise calm exterior. That look was quickly replaced by a victorious smirk. She raised her phone up towards Simon, displaying a picture of the helicopter as it rose up - logo visible on the side. "It's nothing conclusive, but I got this too. Between that and the boxes, I'd call this a near-complete victory."

Simon grit his teeth and sighed. "I guess so." He got up and called the rest of his Pokemon back. "We should check what's inside them."

The pair gathered up the crates and nervously stood in front of them, prepared for anything to come out of there. Lancer at the ready, Simon took a deep breath and unlocked the first box.

To their relief, there were no Pokemon inside. Instead, a single row of evenly-spaced Dark Balls sat in ball-shaped indents, marked with names and numbers identical to the one Simon had received from Blackspear. Some of them were missing, notably the one labeled '211: Rillaboom'. Above the balls was a plaque that read 'Failed test subjects - volatile Pokemon inside'.

"Well, we definitely shouldn't let any of them out," Catherine replied, earning nods of agreement from Indra and Lancer. "These are pretty heavy, I don't think I can carry one of these all the way to Ballonlea. Is there anywhere nearby we can turn them in?"

Simon thought about it momentarily, then realized something. "The Rangers! I called in about the Rillaboom, so with any luck, they should be on the way right now - no doubt they'll spot a clearing as big as this from above." He looked at the crates then back at Catherine, and felt a pang of guilt. "Sorry for pulling you into all this again… I know this wasn't your first encounter with them, but having a gun pointed at you is never fun."

"I suppose I'm going to have to get used to it," Catherine replied, "Better me than someone else. Well, better than some."

"I can hang around the crates until the rangers show up, so you don't have to be implicated in any more of it than you already are." Simon sat on one of the boxes, "And if those suited bastards try to come back for them, I'll be ready!"

Catherine thought about that for a minute. She was loath to trust something like this to Simon. But then again, she wasn't sure she wanted to deal with the rangers either. As far as she was aware, nothing had come of the last dark ball she'd left with them. She didn't expect this to be any different really.

It could be a test then. To see if Simon could actually redeem himself a little, and to see if the rangers could be trusted.

"Okay, fine. You can explain what happened. Number?"

Simon blinked, "Wait, you mean, like, phone number?"

"...yes?" Catherine replied, gesturing with her phone as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Huh." Simon gave a surprised nod. Part of him assumed Catherine didn't even have a phone, since her presence online was essentially nonexistent. Getting her number was practically an achievement of its own. "Here you go, add yourself." he passed her his own.

She took the phone and got his number, adding it to her phone. Instead of adding herself back, she instead sent him the picture she had snapped of the helicopter as it left. "There, some extra evidence."

Catherine passed his phone back and turned to leave, stopping for a second in thought. She sighed. "And, I guess, if you're dealing with these assholes again and need some intelligent backup, you can reach me."

Joint post of gimmepie and Foxrally

Foxrally · Nov 17, 2022

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STAGE 16 - BALLONLEA

Spoiler:

After a treacherous trek through the eerie woods, our traveling heroes reach the next step of their league challenge; a beacon of light in this dark forest, the beautiful village of Ballonlea. Home to the fairy-type and psychic-type gyms, run by Bede and Avery respectively, this little town sits at the outskirts of the Glimwood Tangle, and is one of the most notoriously difficult places in Galar to get to - land travel being inconvenient and dangerous due to the ghosts and fairies, and flying taxis having little space to land among the dense treetops.

As a result, the untouched beauty of nature has thrived in Ballonlea, where houses and buildings have been built around the trees rather than replacing them, and wild Pokemon roam freely among its inhabitants. With the arrival of the fall season, the leaves in the forest provide a beautiful rainbow of colour, reds and oranges mixing with the greens and pinks of the fairies. On top of the gym challenge, Ballonlea has also been chosen to be the host of the third Galar Contest League event! Contestants and spectators can expect unique performances in this unique environment, and the guest judge for this show can be described as just that.

With new, mystical opportunities on the horizon, what will fate hold for the graduates of Wedgehurst academy?

WILD POKÉMON AVAILABLE THIS STAGE

Pokemon available in mission 1:

Pokemon available in mission 2:

Pokemon available in mission 3:

Pokemon available in mission 1:

.

GYM LEADERS:

Spoiler: Important Note

Gym Mission:
Before facing either of its gym leaders, trainers must first go through the Ballonlea scavenger hunt! This mission drops challengers into an enclosed part of a Glimwood Tangle, where fairy-type illusions and mist make seeing even a few feet in front of you impossible. The task is simple: find the silver soothe bell hidden somewhere in the area, and bring it back to the entrance. But beware… you're not just racing against time, but against a Pokemon as well! That's right, a greedy little Impidimp will also be released into the forest with you, and it will try its darndest to tail you and steal that bell from right under your nose. Be on the lookout for it, and try not to get lost in the tangle of trees and fog!

Battle!
Located in the heart of the forest and village, the Ballonlea Stadium is quite special: both Misty and Psychic terrains are active at all times, covering the battlefield in a thin layer of mist and aura. Status effects and priority moves are ineffective here, and challengers will be forced to direct offense in order to overcome this challenge. The format is 1 versus 1, and gym leaders each choose two Pokemon out of their three.

[OPEN][GYM] ★1:
Bede serves as the first gym leader of the Ballonlea stadium and is the recent successor to Opal, the fairy-type specialist who dominated the gym for almost 50 years. Bede has been hard at work in legitimizing Ballonlea Stadium and cleaning out the marks left by ex-chairman Rose and Opal, and regaining the people's trust. He is a serious but passionate individual, often expecting the best from his opponents and gym trainers, and is prone to anger if things don't go the way he wants. He isn't afraid to speak his mind, and could be deemed unapproachable - if not for his ability to wow audiences with his beautiful battles.

Bede's battling style is calculated, ruthless yet elegant, and utilizes every part of the fairy-type's natural strengths to eliminate his opponents swiftly and with dazzling beauty. As a former psychic-type specialist, Bede is an expert at psyching out his opponents, using mind games to outsmart challengers and give them a proper test of wit as well as strength. He alternates between Pokemon depending on his opponents' overall Defense or Special Defense - Mawile is a physical fighter, while Hatterene is more special-focused, and his Rapidash excels in both. He is most likely to bring out Hatterene as his ace Pokemon.

Bede's Pokémon:

Dark Pulse | Mystical Fire | Dazzling Gleam
Magic Powder | Psycho Cut | Misty Explosion
Ability: Magic Bounce

Megahorn | Psychic | Dazzling Gleam
Low Kick | Healing Wish | Misty Explosion
Ability: Anticipation

Iron Head | Crunch | Play Rough
Ice Beam | Psychic Fangs | Misty Explosion
Ability: Intimidate

[OPEN][GYM] ★2:
Following intense training at Mustard's famed Isle of Armour dojo, Avery has since gone to represent the psychic-type gym in the major Pokemon league and established himself as a gym leader in Ballonlea stadium. This psychic is known for his impressive telekinetic skills, which he often entertains the crowd with before a match. Avery is a proud and sometimes arrogant man, but is quite lighthearted once you get to know him. He is fond of psychic-type-themed wordplay.

As a psychic-type specialist, Avery is aware that battles are won not just on the battlefield, but in the mind as well - and his strategy reflects that. This gym leader relies heavily on setups and subterfuge to outsmart, and ultimately outpower his opponents. He uses psychic terrain expertly, and his Pokemon's attunement to it will give challengers a run for their money. Avery switches between Swoobat and Alakazam depending on his opponents' reliance on physical or special moves, in order to set up Reflect or Light Screen, and usually falls back on Slowking as his final Pokemon.

Avery's Pokémon:

Sludge Bomb | Eerie Spell | Expanding Force
Power Gem | Foul Play | Surf
Ability: Curious Medicine

Tri Attack | Shadow Ball | Expanding Force
Reflect | Signal Beam | Calm Mind
Ability: Inner Focus

Heart Stamp | Air Slash | Expanding Force
Light Screen | Giga Drain | U-Turn
Ability: Unaware

----------------------------------------

[OPEN][CONTEST] ★3: Various television and movie directors are lined up to participate and help film their next production: The next Contest, set in Ballonlea! What sort of rules and special circumstances await our Coordinators? What will the stage be like this time? Lights… Camera... Action!

Spoiler: Important Note

Guest Judge:

HEARTHOME CITY GYM LEADER - FANTINA

Fantina is an energetic, yet sophisticated Gym Leader and coordinator from Sinnoh. As an expert of Pokemon Contests, she's competed with the best of the best, showcasing her dazzling and mesmerising Ghost-type Pokemon. She often travels to various regions, finding more coordinators and Pokemon to inspire her, and now, as the guest judge in the Ballonlea Contest Hall, she seeks to find Coordinators who will bring out the most of their Pokemon, doing the most amazing and dazzling performances they can do. As she would say, this contest will surely be très fantastique!

Venue:
The stage this time will be like a set of a movie, very similar to the ones from Unova's PokeStar Studios. Various cameras are pointed right directly towards the stage, and there are hordes of seats for a live studio audience.

Objective:
For this performance, all coordinators are tasked with making their own magical shoujo styled performance, in front of a televised production! You can use up to three Pokemon for this! This magical performance can include: a transformation, a special attack, or generally something you can think of to wow the crowd!

IMPORTANT FOR COORDINATORS:
Contests are expected to occur with all participants posting their routines at around the same time, with all other contest centric posts happening at around that time as well. As such it is extremely important that you have your performance ready and prepared when the contest begins. Later in the year (the date will be announced!), the contest will begin with an announcement in the discord and you'll have 24 hours to post your performance. If it's not posted during this time your performance will not be counted! So make sure you have your piece ready!

--------------------------------------------------------

[CATCH CHANCE] Mission 1:
Several locals have been complaining that the air around their house has been much more humid than normal, and is making sleep unbearable. It can only be the work of one Pokemon: Galarian Weezing, known to absorb unclean air and release steam once purified. Shoo away this floating humidifier back into the woods.
Reward: Weezing catch chance + TR Dazzling Gleam

[CATCH CHANCE][MULTI] Mission 2:
A Pokemon research organization from Unova has been studying the relationship between the Glimwood Tangle's local monkey-Pokemon population and the three elemental monkeys, Panpour, Pansear and Pansage. They have concluded their research, and are now looking to rehome these three Pokemon to loving trainers. Plus, there's a little TR incentive.
Reward: Panpour/Pansear/Pansage (pick one) + TR Grass/Water/Fire Pledge (pick two)

[CATCH CHANCE] Mission 3:
Recently a group of wild Smeargles have been found wandering around the town at night, though nobody really knows where they came from or what they are doing. Observers have noted that the Pokemon seem to be wandering around aimlessly, scribbling things on their bodies at times, but it's unclear if they're really dangerous or not…
Reward: Smeargle with Confide + 5 Sketch moves

[CATCH CHANCE] Mission 4:
Henry McFlamesman, an artist from Ballonlea, infamous for setting his paintings (and nearby trees) on fire during his art shows, is obsessed with the idea of captivating the 'burning spirit' of people and Pokemon. After finding his muse from a mysterious trainer a few years ago, he has announced his newest project: Slugma art.
Reward: Slugma catch chance + TR Overheat

Mission 5:
A new television show is now in production: Baking with Jigglypuff! But they are looking for a certain someone, hopefully a cute someone, to fill the role of Jigglypuff's cooking assistant! As one, you are tasked with baking a variety of treats and sweets for the audience watching! Loads of singing and dancing are also in store, so if you're enthusiastic, if you love baking, then please sign up!
Reward: TR Sing

[OPEN] Mission 6:
The relentless and always journeying Karate Master is back, and this time, he's developed a teaching session, helping to tutor new moves for pokemon! Do your pokemon have what it takes to learn his moves?
Reward: Tutor move: Thunder Punch OR Ice Punch OR Fire Punch

Mission 7:
Another anime production is in the works: Sailor Guardian, Gardevoir. This was an anime that had quite the following over a decade ago, but now the anime is being remastered! With the pilot episode coming, the production is looking for able people to voice act as the characters: Gardevoir, Lopunny, Medicham, Milotic, Tsareena, or any other roles seen fit. Will you be part of the show?
Reward: TR Moonblast OR TR Baton Pass

[OPEN] Mission 8:
Project Mew is a special research project in which different Trainers are recruited from around the Pokémon world to find Mew and collect genes of various Pokémon. A helicraft of theirs has been seen around the area, and now, they're looking for new members. Do you have what it takes to be part of the team?
Reward: Project Mew token

Orx of Twinleaf · Nov 18, 2022

Team:

Rij

Henj

Pelj

Kolj

Tonj

Tim T
"Interesting performance back there, Nigel," the Gym Leader, Bede, said easily. "I might almost think you'd done it before."

"Perhaps I have," Tim, Nigel, said through the rag around his mouth, back straight in his Gym uniform.

Indeed, Tim and his crew had done something very similar so many times lately that he'd lost count. The Gym's mission to navigate a glamoured area to claim its hidden prize had been almost trivialized by Tonj's steady guidance, the Boldore's unseeing sight pointing out any untoward traps or turns. Pelj's Smokescreen cover had forced the Gym's harrying Impidimp to get a little too close in its attempt to tail Tim, and once it had been removed from the equation the rest of the scavenger hunt had almost been boring.

Tim didn't care. No one came to these things to cheer Tim—Nigel—and his Rocks on. He wasn't interested in giving them some show to gawp at. Tim had been hunting in the Tangle for days and days after reaching Ballonlea. The town had been too wooded for his taste, so he had remained in the Tangle proper to watch for one of the other challengers to come to the Gym first. Either he had missed them or he had somehow overshot them by a greater margin than he had been expecting though. Now after numerous Fairies and Bugs—and even a rather spirited if out-of-place Bonsly—had been beaten blue in the woods, Tim was out of patience. Let him be the first through this door then, it made little difference anyway.

Bede had been the Leader on duty when Tim had arrived. Tim had no preference between him or the other Leader, Avery. They were both relatively fresh Leaders so Tim had only surface knowledge as to either of their styles. By not waiting to watch another challenger first, Tim was forfeiting knowledge going in. He'd have to play this one by ear.

The place crawled with a curious, glowing mist, as if transparent cotton candy were migrating along the floor. "You've had a lot of close calls, Nigel," Bede said, smirking. "But dumb luck alone does not a good Trainer make. I'll tell you right now: you're not tying me. If it comes to a tie, I'm calling it in my favor." Bede pulled a ball out and held it up, looking down his nose. "Well? You've faced too much to quit now, haven't you? You've got no choice but to win!" He sent his ball sailing forward. "Get 'em, Rapidash!"

Tim sent his own in, keenly aware now that Bede had probably reviewed Tim's own battle recordings while Tim had been running the mission. "A tall mon for a taller order then," Tim shouted back, "that's your cue, Stonjourner!"

Henj slammed down on his big stone legs opposite Bede's Rapidash. The horse held its horn high, a proud smirk on its face matching its Trainer's. Bede wasted no time. "Low Kick!" Rapidash lunged, forelegs cocked.

"Sidestep it, Stomp!" Henj slipped sideways like the smoothest of criminals away from the horse's thrust then scythed his own foot in a downward arc for its back.

"Dodge away!" Rapidash doubled on itself and sprung sideways like an acro cyclist showing off, turning to face Stonjourner.

Rapidash shook out its mane cockily, managing despite its smaller size to peer down its snout at Henj. Henj rolled his arms thoughtfully, stepping back a little. The mons eyed one another warily.

"Let's get some hits landing, time for Gravity!" Before Henj even managed to clap his hands, Rapidash was gone, recalled into its ball. Bede sent his Hatterene in behind Henj as the Gravity went out and the air grew heavy. The mist crawling on the ground seemed to almost stop in place. Hatterene dipped in the air a little bit, its cloak of hair slightly crumpling as the Gravity pulled its altitude a wee bit down.

"I've got you figured out, Nigel," Bede said, a ball in either hand, "and I'm calling you out. I say you've been scraping by on beginner's luck but now it's time for some elite maneuvers!"

"So you say, but you've given me the momentum, let's get a Rock Polish with it!"

Hatterene, still fresh off the deployment into Gravity, couldn't immediately move to engage, so Henj shivered a Rock Polish for free, turning to face his new opponent, glimmering with increased speed.

"Mega Kick!" Henj wound up, the air humming in anticipation.

"Magic Powder!" Hatterene, its expression eerily neutral, raised its tentacle, claw crackling with pink lights.

Hatterene took Henj's kick in its side with a resounding boom, the pink mon tumbling backwards gracelessly. It managed to right itself rather quickly though and swiped its claw out, throwing a pink cloud that enveloped Henj and left him balefully magenta. Henj blinked and rubbed his legs with his hands, bemused. Hatterene straightened back up, having taken the Mega Kick worryingly well, and gave a little taunting smile.

Tim had always prided himself on telling Moves, but some particularly rare Moves still crossed him up despite his best efforts. He couldn't immediately remember what Magic Powder was supposed to do. He seriously doubted it was just a way to embarrass an opponent with such an unflattering color. He couldn't dwell on the matter though: Bede was working at a fast tempo indeed and Tim had to keep up or be run over.

"Chase it down and Stomp it flat!"

Henj darted forward in a magenta streak and swung his big foot in a roundhouse that cut cleanly through empty air, Hatterene returning back to its ball. Bede sent Rapidash in where Henj had been and the Stonjourner quickly twirled about to land a heavy blow on the horse to greet it. Rapidash shook it off and stepped away, getting its bearings back. Yielding in battle this often was an extreme play since every yield effectively gave the opponent a moment of free reign. No mon, no matter how disciplined, could retain a battle's momentum right after deployment. That Bede was yielding so often in the face of Henj, who he had to know was Tim's most effective mon, suggested a certain disrespect, as if he thought Tim was unable to punish it effectively. Tim felt himself frown under his bandanna, and his eyes hardened.

"Mega Kick!" Tim said recklessly, offended.

"Meet it on Megahorn!"

Henj wound up with a humming foot that crackled with power as Rapidash's horn glowed green and grew into a gleaming spike. Rapidash brought its head low and swung upward in a deep buck that caught Henj's foot in a shattering boom of noise. The impact flashed with a crackling explosion that drove Rapidash, eyes pinched shut, into a clumsy rear, forelegs kicking the air. But Henj, eyes wide in shock, stumbled backwards from the blow and slammed onto his back with a thud.

After a moment, Henj kicked himself to his magenta feet as Rapidash shook its mane out, snorting. Henj seemed uncertain and looked at Tim. Tim remembered what Magic Powder did. The magenta wasn't just a coat of paint, it turned Henj into a Psychic, and he had just kicked into a newly-super-effective Move. Henj's bulk had been enough to save him from a clean and demoralizing knockout, but one more of those would take him from magenta into the red.

Fine then. If Bede wanted to pull out advanced tactics like yielding chains, then Tim would just have to match him. It had been a long time since yielding exercises back in the Trainers' school, but Tim wasn't one to forget a skill. The only problem was that Bede knew Tim's mons and would just exploit Rij or Pelj in a different but likely no-less-effective way while Tim was still fighting nearly blind. Tonj wasn't up to this level of combat yet, but maybe Tim would still be able to play his own unknown variable to even the odds after all.

"Give it another Megahorn!"

It was Henj's turn to disappear into a ball while Rapidash's horn grew long again. Tim grabbed a fresh ball with his other hand and made his gamble.

"Let's go, Relicanth!"

Tim sent Kolj onto the side of the field, away from where Rapidash let its horn revert, Megahorn going to waste. Tim could see a plain look of annoyance on Bede's face at seeing a mon he wasn't aware Tim was in possession of. It passed quickly though and then he was smirking again. "A fresh face is it? Greet it to the battle with a Psychic!"

Kolj, surprised to be called upon, was even more surprised to be cast in a purplish veil. Rapidash jerked its head sideways and Kolj rolled and skidded along the misty ground, flashing as Psychic took its toll. The veil lifted and Kolj righted herself, ready to retaliate and growling at Rapidash. The weight in the air was gone and the fog returned to its creeping movements: Gravity had run its course.

"Alright Relicanth, you'll need some Rock Polish to keep up!" Kolj shivered all over as she gleamed with her Move's effect.

"We'd hardly need a barrel to shoot a fish out of water, Rapidash. Dazzling Gleam!" Rapidash lowered its head and a spray of rainbow lights shot out in a cone from its horn like a 12 gauge party popper.

"Brave through with Take Down!" Kolj scurried forward, purring with malevolence as she charged through the technicolor spray to crash Rapidash's head with her own. Rapidash reeled back a few steps, snorting. Kolj barked at it meanly, ready for more.

Kolj had Dive and could have dodged the attack more meaningfully with it, but Tim was suddenly very aware of showing too much too quickly. Sure maybe no one ever watched his—Nigel's—battles to support him, but there was every reason they might watch them to scout his style and his mons' capabilities. He'd been doing the same thing to the Leaders after all. As long as Tim was fighting uphill then he had to be savvy with his performance. He couldn't show off Dive to dodge something as blasé as Dazzling Gleam. What if Bede had something really nasty in the back pocket? Tim felt Rapidash was probably able to learn Horn Drill, for example, and something like that would be a much better threat to use a surprise Dive on.

"Throw it away with Psychic!" Bede said now. His voice wasn't so lofty now: Tim and Kolj had his full attention. Rapidash caught Kolj up in another purple veil, slapped her against the ground once for good measure, and then lobbed her away through the air.

Kolj righted herself enough to land on her fins and was already closing ground again when Tim called for another Take Down. Rapidash disappeared as Kolj leapt through the air. Hatterene appeared on the field along the far side. The camera drones swirled and dove, doing their best to keep up with such a strange back-and-forth.

Hatterene had come in far enough away that Tim didn't want to make Kolj close just yet, even though she easily could have before Hatterene could have done anything. "If you're going to give us the field then we're just gonna boost on you," Tim said to the Leader. "Rock Polish again!"

Kolj grew even faster and began galloping on her fins in Hatterene's direction even without needing told. The Relicanth wasn't the cleverest of Tim's mons—honestly it was mons like her and Rij that probably originated the phrase "dumb as Rocks"—but she had a real passion for combat that bordered on bloodthirst. It wasn't often that she would be backed down under Move fire. If the hunts in the Tangle were anything to go by, she had no qualms about being a living battering ram and would often default to behaving as such without word from Tim to do otherwise. For now Tim allowed it though, as it made it harder for Bede's mons to kite her.

"Give it a Dark Pulse, Hatterene!" Bede said, evidently hoping to Flinch the charging fish and slow the tempo a little. But it had been Bede's yielding that had raised the tempo to start with, and Tim was ready to let it continue to speed forward. Bede had said it himself: Tim's earlier bouts had all come down to the wire. A critical eye may indeed be inclined to chalk those victories up to no more than dumb luck. It was time to put up or shut up. Tim wasn't accustomed to such tempo against other Trainers but he and his mons had practiced quick maneuvers against wild targets now and again. Now was the time to show off that skill.

"Push through with Take Down!" There were no brakes on a rolling boulder. Bede had goaded Tim into letting his Rocks careen downhill. The Leader expected Tim to lose control and roll to his own ruin. It was up to Tim to steer that destructive force into Bede now. That Bede was trying to slow the tempo down now was proof enough to Tim that it was worth pushing the point.

Hatterene sent a pulsating black-purple line of tumbling shapes from its claw. It glanced off Kolj's hard face but unfortunately her head cocked awkwardly, the shining force of her Take Down abruptly disappearing as she stumbled in a Flinch. She stopped in front of Hatterene, shaking her head.

Tim didn't let this respite last more than the briefest of moments. "Aqua Tail now!"

"Dazzling Gleam!"

Kolj slapped Hatterene across the face with a whirling blue tendril from her tail, and Hatterene answered with a shining shotgun blast from its claw. Hatterene had earlier eaten a direct Mega Kick though, and it was clear that should things keep up like this Kolj would win out. Bede noticed it too. "Magic Powder!

Kolj turned magenta under a cloud of sparkling lights and then disappeared into her ball as Tim swapped into Henj, the Stonjourner looking down at the Hatterene. Balling had removed Henj's own discoloration and his forced Psychic Typing with it, though also at the cost of his earlier Rock Polish boons.

Bede wasn't looking to have Hatterene face off in melee range with Henj though. "You sure you can keep up at this pace?" he jeered as he swapped Hatterene for Rapidash again.

"Don't have to," Tim said, panting as Rapidash touched down. "Block it in!"

Bede flinched a little as Henj ran up on Rapidash, arms out to either side, placing himself between the horned horse and the Leader. Really, Tim wasn't sure he could keep up after all. He was breathing hard. For some reason it was taxing him, even though all he seemed to be doing was moving his arms a little more than usual. With Rapidash locked in now though, Bede wouldn't be yielding anymore.

"Psychic!" Bede said.

"Stomp it!" Tim shouted hoarsely.

Henj's foot came into Rapidash's side as the horse tried to line up for its Move, and this time it was Bede's mon that Flinched. Psychic petered out before it could do anything.

Tim might have stopped the yielding chains but he wasn't letting up the tempo yet. "Mega Kick!"

"Parry it on Megahorn!" Bede wasn't smirking anymore.

Henj and Rapidash clashed their Moves as they did before with another shattering boom. Rapidash reared onto its hind legs from the impact again, but this time Henj kept his feet and was ready to follow up.

Even without Rock Polish set up, Henj was plenty fast enough to capitalize on Rapidash's stagger. "Stomp it in the gut!"

While Rapidash was still reared up, Henj dropped into a half-split and spun on one foot to launch his other up into Rapidash's stomach with enough force to fling it backwards. Rapidash landed on its side and struggled to its feet, eyes serious.

"Dazzling Gleam!"

"Stomp again, make it hurt!"

Henj skittered forward through Rapidash's blast of light and cracked the horse in the face with a sideways kick. Henj was taking a beating and wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer, but Rapidash had taken it worse.

Bede crossed his arms, his face reclaiming the smirk it'd had earlier. "Running out of steam, Nigel? Too bad, because we can go another round. Healing Wish!"

Tim reeled. That was not good. "Mega Kick, quick!"

Henj spun up a kick that rippled the air, but without the Gravity to bog it down the Rapidash was just a little too quick. The horse ducked the blow, the mist along the ground rippling out dangerously from the missed strike, and then focused blue light into its horn. Rapidash threw the light straight up like a brilliant flare, and it hung there high in the air as Rapidash sighed and collapsed.

Rapidash was down and out, and Bede recalled it. "Do you have enough left in the tank to finish the job?" Bede asked before sending Hatterene back in. As Hatterene touched down, the blue light above blinked and melted into sparkling rays that washed over the pink mon. Hatterene closed its eyes and straightened up. Hatterene opened its eyes and gave a little smile, eyelids lowered at Henj.

Hatterene had taken a direct Mega Kick earlier as well as some other strikes from Kolj. All that work had just been wholly undone. Henj frowned and rolled his arms.

Tim had to navigate this carefully, he had to slow down now, but it was too late. There were no brakes on runaway boulders. He had to keep momentum, it was the only way to keep from being kited by a rejuvenated Hatterene.

"Stomp it into mush!"

"Dazzling Gleam to answer it!"

Henj came on, swinging his mighty legs. For every hit that landed on Hatterene, two went wide, and for every one that went wide Henj was peppered with sparkling pain. It was a nasty, brutish exchange that Henj would have been hard-pressed to keep up in the best of circumstances, let alone after having fought so hard already. But there was nothing else to be done. Gravity might set up a Mega Kick, but Hatterene had already shown off it could take one of those comfortably and likely wasn't going to let a second come out. It had to be quantity over quality in terms of kicks then. Just a little bit to whittle the pink mon down. It was up to Kolj now.

Henj finally moaned out and fell backwards, well and truly out of the match. Hatterene was a little battered but seemed well enough. It turned its blank gaze towards Tim as he recalled Henj away.

"Alright Relicanth, this is it!"

Kolj took the field opposite Hatterene, barking angrily as ever any fish had barked. Kolj could take a beating too and hit back rather hard. It seemed that, despite Bede's earlier words, this battle would be as close as Tim's other bouts had been.

"Close in with Take Down!"

"Dark Pulse, Hatterene, let's finish this out."

Kolj thankfully didn't Flinch this time as the dark beam bounced off her face. She pounced and planted her hard head into Hatterene's pretty little face. The pink mon seemed to buckle a moment as it dipped in the air, its cloak sagging. It straightened back up and grabbed Kolj's tail with its claw.

"Dazzling Gleam, point blank," Bede ordered.

"Answer with your Aqua Tail!"

Hatterene's grip sparkled and burst with a rainbow blast as it loosed its Move into Kolj's tail. Kolj spun about from the force of it but landed clumsily on her fins before spinning one last time to smack Hatterene with a shimmering blue tendril.

"Dark Pulse!"

"Take Down!"

Hatterene's claw let a black beam across Kolj's body and then the fish pounced for Hatterene's face again. Hatterene dipped more severely in the air this time as Kolj landed hard on her side, too tired now to cleanly land on her fins. Hatterene may have had a second wind but it wasn't built like Henj or Kolj were. Trading hits with them had brought Hatterene back down to critical again.

"Hey Nigel," Bede called out, arms folded smugly. "I told you a tie's in my favor."

"It's not a tie yet," Tim managed to say back, gulping for breath.

"Oh, I think it is." Hatterene was smiling again, looking down at Kolj as its claw trembled, drawing in the mist from the ground in anticipation of Bede's order. "You came close, Nigel. But close doesn't cut it. Misty Explosion!"

That wasn't a Move Tim was familiar with. He didn't know what it did and there was no time to ponder the matter. From context alone though, Tim figured now was a good time to pull his trump card.

"Dive under!"

Bede's composure broke immediately. "What?!"

Hatterene had a swirling mass of glittering destruction in its claw and swung it down at Kolj.

There was a rush of air and a sensation like being smothered by cotton candy. After a moment, Tim realized he could hear again when a camera drone that must have been too close crashed into the ground nearby. There were pink swirls of cloud hanging in the air around the battlefield, drifting lazily as they faded away. Hatterene was on its little hands and legs in the center of the blast zone, showing off how truly disciplined it was to be able to maintain consciousness after what Tim belatedly realized was a kamikaze attack, even though conscious or not it was out of the fight after such a Move. Hatterene's hair lay rippling around it like a crumpled sheet, tentacle limp. Hatterene breathed hard and looked around. Bede was staring openly.

After a few quiet moments, Kolj resurfaced from the ground with a soft splash of noise. Kolj shivered a little and took in the scene. Hatterene's Move had missed.

Tim fell to his knees. He felt spent. He had been roughing it with wild animals for a goodly while now, but he had never felt tired in quite this way before. It felt like his very soul had trickled out the bottoms of his feet.

Kolj came up to him, sniffing curiously. Tim managed to pat her on the head and recall her. He felt almost like he was about to faint.

Bede was there. "Well," he said, looking off to the side thoughtfully, "that was still a very close match." He shut his eyes for a moment. He opened them and smiled. "But it definitely wasn't a tie, I'll give you that."

Tim coughed a little before he managed to get his voice working again. "How … do you battle like that?"

Bede didn't look particularly winded. Tim supposed a Leader must be able to perform at such a level repeatedly to be able to give multiple challengers a proper go. Tim couldn't fathom how anyone could do that. "For elite Trainers like Gym Leaders, it's second nature," Bede said easily. He held a hand out to Tim. "You'll get used to it."

Tim took Bede's hand and let the Leader help him to his feet. "I don't know about that," he said candidly.

"I'm sure you will. Any elite Trainer would after all." Bede crossed his arms and smirked. Hatterene was standing next to him. Its hair was still limp and it was grounded, but it was still perfectly conscious after both a taxing battle and a kamikaze Move.

Tim was so amazed at the little pink mon's tenacity that he almost didn't catch Bede's apparent praise. "Thank you," Tim managed to squeeze out. "You give me too much credit though."

"Don't be so sure," Bede said, his face serious. "Only the best of the best can take a victory over me, you know." He smirked again and held up a new badge.

"Maybe …" Tim took the badge in his hand. He was getting his breath back now. He still felt exhausted but it was a satisfying exhaustion, like the sort felt after intense exercises. It wasn't a painful sort of soreness. It felt … good. "Maybe you're right."

gimmepie · Nov 23, 2022

Indra (Male, Swift Swim) - Rain Dance, Hypnosis, Bubblebeam, Double Slap, Earth Power, Refresh

Stampede (Male, Poison Point) - Hydro Pump, Smokescreen, Twister, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath, Icy Wind

Holo (Female, Lightning Rod) - Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Electric Terrain, Howl, Flame Burst, Flash

Vessel (Female, Dry Skin) - Fury Cutter, Absorb, Poison Powder, Spore, Rain Dance, Protect

Lancer (Male, Dry Skin) - Rock Climb, Revenge, Sucker Punch, Poison Jab, Rain Dance, Toxic

Inventory:

- ATC
- Expensive PokeGear
- Pokedex
- 800 Poke (On ATC)
- TM Icy Wind
- TM Flash
- Wishing Star
- TM Protect
- TM Rain Dance
- TM Rock Climb
- 1x Heavy Ball

Badges:

CATHERINE CARLISLE
Ballonlea Nights

Catherine stood at the motel window, looking out over Ballonlea. Whatever else she might have to say about the place's inhabitants, she had to admit that they chose a good place to settle. The town was smaller than she had expected and integrated itself smoothly into the forest that surrounded it. Buildings had lights that blended seamlessly with the natural glow of Glimwood Tangle's luminescent fungi, casting the town in a perpetual dusk under the darkness of the forest canopy. It was probably the most beautiful settlement Catherine had set foot in - and she'd visited a fair few places being dragged out on holidays with her family growing up.

A strange side-effect though was that it was hard to tell what time of day it was. Given that her team were passed out asleep throughout the room, she was aware that it had to be quite late at night, but she hadn't looked at the time in a while now.

She glanced at the corner. Lancer had fallen asleep with her phone in his grasp, slipping into unconsciousness while watching… actually she had no idea what her Croagunk had been watching. She'd created a monster with that one. He'd fallen so far down the battle shounen Raboot hole that she'd lost track of what show he was even up to. She smiled to herself a little at that. It was nice they had something other than battling to share, even if they could never truly communicate.

Still, she'd prefer it if he didn't completely run her battery dry. She reached down and gingerly slid the device from his grasp so she could plug it in. Strange to think that the phone had three numbers in it now. For as long as she could remember, the only contacts she'd kept in the thing were her parents - and that was something that had been forced on her more than something she had decided on.

She yawned. It was nearly two in the morning, according to the numbers on the screen. Maybe a lack of sleep was causing her thoughts to drift to strange, introspective places. Or maybe it had just been a strange couple of months. It hadn't been that long since she had made her life-altering declaration before Kabu. Everything had changed then.

Now here she was working alongside Simon of all people. The very same person who had sold his soul for power and traumatized Holo. She had his number in her phone. It wasn't like they were exchanging messages or anything, aside from a brief exchange letting her know the rangers had taken the boxes into their care. Still. it was enough to boggle the mind.

She still wasn't sure what to think of how things had played out with the Bug trainer. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her not to trust him - and she supposed she didn't. At the same time though, she had to acknowledge he was doing right by his team. She had to acknowledge he had done the right thing during their battles in Glimwood Tangle.

So she had taken a gamble on him. She was giving him a chance to keep doing the right thing. She had left the boxes with him. Yes, to test the rangers and see if Blackspear had them under their thumb. That was the main reason, she told herself. But she was testing Simon too. Seeing if he would do the right thing with the boxes and their cargo. Supposing he was telling the truth in his message… well he hadn't passed yet. Her test was a longstanding one. But if he was telling the truth, then he had made a good start.

Strangely, her intuition told her that he was being honest. She had nothing to base that feeling on, but it was there. She believed that he had done everything right this time. It was an uncomfortable feeling. It wasn't like her.

But, she had to believe that the capacity for change existed. The one thing that didn't surprise her was how deeply she wanted that to be true. If it didn't, what was she even fighting for? So, in a weird way, she was kind of rooting for the moron.

Now that was an eerie realisation. It had to be possible though. After all, she had changed. Not in what she valued or believed. If anything, she was even more steadfast in those beliefs. But her perspective had shifted. She had chosen to act on those beliefs. She had found a powerful drive that she didn't know she had possessed.

She looked down at the open box that was lying on her bed, between a sleeping Indra and Vessel. Resting inside was a set of blue shorts, printed with her league number and a cloud in yellow, and a stylised raincoat with the same number on the back in blue. A new uniform for a reborn Catherine.

It was silly really, she felt, but she had been inspired by that small group in the audience for her battle against Bea that had been decked out in rain gear. She had placed the order soon after. It was symbolic: a changed look for a changed competitor. Besides, if she was going to stand at the forefront of a budding movement, she should probably adapt its symbols.

She yawned again. Her thoughts were definitely drifting into unusually sentimental places. She looked back at the TV. It had just wrapped up playing replays of the first battles against Bede and Avery when she had stepped away to take a rest from the screen and process her thoughts. Now it was playing some exhibition match between a gym leader and an elite four member over in Kalos. Apparently it wasn't going well for the elite four. If she was more awake it might have been worth taking some notes - not that she had either Flying or Fire types on her team.

Whatever. She was exhausted and she had done the research she needed to for the coming day. It was time to get to bed. She pushed thoughts of Simon, Kalosian trainers and new uniforms aside. Even with her newfound motivation and her study, she was in for a difficult battle against Bede in the morning. She would need her wits about her and for that she needed to be well-rested.

There would be time for introspection once her fifth badge was secured.

Foxrally · Nov 25, 2022

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Ballonlea

The dim light streaming through the treetops was slowly fading, and the sounds of the forest grew louder and louder as the evening approached, casting the Glimwood Tangle into darkness. Though he would have normally set up camp at this hour, Simon had only picked up the pace. He knew this path like the back of his hand, and home wasn't much further. The events of the last few days had left him in no mood to hang around the forest either.

After the Blackspear incident, he'd turned in the crates, Dark Balls and handgun to the Rangers and explained what happened, only omitting Catherine from his story. Oddly enough, he hadn't been held for questioning - no doubt Blackspear played a role in that. With the Rillaboom defeated, however, he was in no mood to get further involved and continued his journey soon after. Simon had debated calling Catherine to update her on the situation, but ultimately decided he'd save his (likely one-use) Catherine-card for something more important.

His train of thought was broken as the familiar sounds of human activity grew louder in his ears. His heart beat faster as he jogged down the path, the trees getting thinner and the grassy trail giving way to paved stone roads. Blue and purple wisps flickered and hovered before him, and the sickly-sweet smell of Weezings wafted through the air, meaning he was finally in Ballonlea. As he reached the first house, Simon could see the Morelull and Impidimps perched on its roof. An elderly lady sat on the front porch, knitting on a rocking chair. She looked at him, and her expression immediately lit up.

"Oh! Dear me, it's the Pearburgh boy!"

Simon grinned and approached the house. "Evening to you too, Mrs. Yorkshire." She was one of the many neighbours he'd spent the night at as a kid - practically everyone in town's grandmother.

"Come, let me see you up close!" she said, beckoning him over. She pinched his cheeks and scowled, "My god, have the people on the telly even been feeding you? You're barely skin and bones!"

Simon laughed as he pulled his face away. The bugs in his coat all peeked out curiously. "No need to worry about me, I'm fine-"

"Nonsense! And you've got a whole heap of hungry mouths to feed on you too! Come in, I'll make you something."

"No, no, please, I'm okay!" Simon smiled. "I was just on the way home - wouldn't want to keep my Da waiting!"

"You tell that man to feed you then!" the old lady wagged her finger. "Or I'll do it myself!"

"Will do, Miss Yorkshire." Simon winked and ran back out, continuing further down the village.

Several more villagers yelled out as they recognized him, more coming to shake his hand and offer hearty congratulations. Simon met each one with a huge grin on his face, waving back at them excitedly as he tried his best to navigate through the barrage of acquaintances and family friends rushing at him. It wasn't long before a large gaggle of kids had gathered around his ankles, jumping up to touch the bugs on his coat and ask hundreds of questions about them.

"Okay, okay, you'll get every chance to play with my friends later- pfah-" he spat out a tuft of electric fur as Princess crawled up his face to get away from the kids.

After wading through the sea of children, Simon hurried into an alleyway, taking a shortcut home to avoid any more potential crowds. Navigating Ballonlea's narrow streets was second nature to him, and before long, he'd reached his destination.

It was just as he remembered it. The Groggy Grubbin's half-patched-up wooden sign hung above the pub's door, proudly displaying a dizzy bug-type, swaying in the wind on a rusty metal swing. Judging by the commotion inside, the place was already packed - a far cry from how it was when he'd left, Simon chuckled to himself.

He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The smell of home immediately hit him- the scent of cheap drinks, old wood and sweaty patrons, that is - and loud music filled his ears as he stepped in. The table closest to the entrance suddenly stopped their chatter as one of them pointed at Simon and exclaimed something, causing the other to get up excitedly, rousing the rest of the patrons from their conversations as well.

"HE'S HERE, LADS!"

Simon could barely react with a smile before he was pulled forward and hoisted up, finding himself once again surrounded by a mob of excited fans. The bugs in his coat squeaked as he received countless hugs, hair ruffles and slightly-too-rough pats on the back from the crowd, all of them speaking at the same time so that he couldn't respond to either in time.

Suddenly, a large stomp resounded throughout the tavern and behind Simon, parting the crowd in an instant. Simon whirled around and came face-to-face with the figure of a hulking, beast-like Grimmsnarl.

"GRIMMS!" he exclaimed, throwing himself at the Pokemon. The fairy-type growled and hugged him excitedly; Simon felt his bones crack a little as the wind was squeezed out of him. "Glad… to see you… too…" he wheezed.

The Pokemon laughed and dropped Simon onto its back, carrying him over the crowd before dropping him at the bar, where a large middle-aged man stood expectantly, arms crossed.

"Sorry, do I know ye, lad?" the bearded man narrowed his eyes through his glasses.

Simon smirked. "Local celebrity dropping by. Just in for a spot of tourism, you know?"

There was a moment of silence before Simon's father burst out laughing. "Celebrity my arse, ye lil' rascal! Come 'ere!"

Simon jumped over the counter and rushed into his father's arms.

"Still sportin' that same old hat, are ye?" Harris Pearbugh chuckled. "Didnae get it autographed yet or anythin'?"

"The fame hasn't gotten to my head yet." Simon grinned back.

His father let out another boisterous laugh as he grabbed his son's hand and turned to face the crowd. "DRINKS ON THE HOUSE! MY SON HAS RETURNED!"

The pub exploded with cheering and hollering, as several began to chant Simon's name and newfound title.

"BUUUG KING! BUUUG KING!"

Simon felt a tap on his shoulder and he glanced behind him. "Ross!"

Dressed in a tattered chef's apron, the Heracross beside him buzzed out a greeting and gave Simon another hug, before letting out an even more exciting buzz as he noticed all of the Pokemon on his person.

"It's a whole story. I'll tell you later." Simon replied.

While several more patrons approached the bar, eager to hound Simon with more questions, Grimms extended his arm out protectively and glanced at Simon's father.

"Cool off lads, can't you tell he's knackered from the trip?" the man waved them off, and turned back to his son. "Ross, git Simon somethin' from the kitchen, will ye? Go rest upstairs, lad- I'll close up early today. Grimms can help ye unpack n' whatnot."

Simon nodded, only now did he realize how exhausted he was from walking nonstop all day. "Thanks, da." He gave his father another quick hug and sneaked to the back with the two Pokemon, Grimms helpfully offering to carry him again. "No no, I can walk." he laughed nervously.

gimmepie · Nov 26, 2022

Indra (Male, Swift Swim) - Rain Dance, Hypnosis, Bubblebeam, Double Slap, Earth Power, Refresh

Stampede (Male, Poison Point) - Hydro Pump, Smokescreen, Twister, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath, Icy Wind

Holo (Female, Lightning Rod) - Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Electric Terrain, Howl, Flame Burst, Flash

Vessel (Female, Dry Skin) - Fury Cutter, Absorb, Poison Powder, Spore, Rain Dance, Protect

Lancer (Male, Dry Skin) - Rock Climb, Revenge, Sucker Punch, Poison Jab, Rain Dance, Toxic

Inventory:

- ATC
- Expensive PokeGear
- Pokedex
- 800 Poke (On ATC)
- TM Icy Wind
- TM Flash
- Wishing Star
- TM Protect
- TM Rain Dance
- TM Rock Climb
- 1x Heavy Ball

Badges:

CATHERINE CARLISLE
Attrition

Well, she hadn't set any new records this time, but Catherine had gotten through the gym challenge easily enough. The scavenger hunt had been an annoying gym challenge, but the opposing Impidimp hadn't been able to keep up with Indra once the rain started. In the end, it had lost out to superior speed despite having a better lay of the land.

Now Catherine, donning her reinvented uniform, was standing in the middle of the battlefield of the Ballonlea Gym. The familiar roar of the crowd was a deafening noise in the otherwise quiet town. It seemed like there was a lot of hometown respect for Bede, although Catherine did notice a sparse few decked out in rain gear. A smaller number than she'd had back at Stow-on-Side, but that was to be expected for an out-of-the-way location like Ballonlea. The jeers directed her way from those who were less thrilled to see her weren't much of a surprise either.

"I've been looking forward to meeting you," Bede said, running a hand through blonde curls. The gym leader stood opposite Catherine, a confident smirk apparently permanently fixed on his face.

"Is that so?" Catherine asked, not particularly interested in her opponent's opinion of her. Apparently there wasn't a gym where she wouldn't be spared the pre-match banter.

"Of course," Bede replied. "You are, admittedly, quite graceless. However, you certainly aren't boring. You've said a lot of big things recently, and stirred up a lot of discourse. You scraped by with Kabu. You had a better showing with Bea. But I am a tier ahead of them. I can even stand my ground against the champion, who you aim to surpass. I'm eager to see if you can really match my kind of calibre or if you're just talk after all."

"You're the one babbling," Catherine replied. "I'm not here to talk."

Bede's smirk deepened. "True. Then I hope you won't disappoint me."

Without further words for each other, both combatants turned and walked to their own sides of the battlefield, leaving the centre vacant. As they took their positions, shades of pink mist began to swirl across the battlefield. Misty and Psychic Terrains. Normally one would cancel the other out, but they had done something to allow them both to co-exist.

It was an annoyance to say the least. Catherine liked to have control of the battlefield and from the very beginning this gym was structured to prevent that. Catherine wasn't going to let that stop her.

Bede made his selection first, releasing his Pokemon to the field. His choice was tall, witchlike with a pink and blue gradient for its colour scheme. It didn't have visible arms or legs, but a long limb extended from its head. Bede was opening with his ace.

Damn it.

From her research, Catherine had a pretty good idea what that meant. It meant that this battle was going to effectively be a three against two. She made her own selection. For a battle of attrition, the ideal choices would be Lancer and Vessel - just like she had used at Stow-on-Side. The trouble was that both of them were put at a huge disadvantage thanks to the gym's default terrain. Instead, it was Indra who was going to have to hold out as long as possible.

"Indra, we're in this for the long hall." With a flash, her Poliwhirl companion took to the battlefield.

The referee signalled for the battle to begin and Bede wasted no time in going on the offensive. "Psycho Cut!"

His Hatterene swung its limb in an elegant arc, slashing out with a blade of psychic energy that rushed across the battlefield.

"Rain Dance." Catherine commanded.

Indra jumped up and to the side, twisting in mid air to land in a pirouette. The Psycho Cut arced, but still narrowly missed the Poliwhirl. Clouds gathered above and rain descended on the misty battlefield. The arena might not have been entirely Catherine's yet, but that would even the playing field.

"Predictable," Bede commented.

"The point wasn't to be surprising," Catherine replied. "Indra, Bubble Beam!"

Indra unleashed the torrent of bubbles, the blast catching rain and bringing it along with it, it's power increasing under the effects of the weather. At a command from Bede, the opposing Hatterene unleashed a flash of brilliant colours that collided with the attack. The enhanced Bubble Beam broke through the Dazzling Gleam counter, but its strength had been greatly reduced. Across from Indra, the Hatterne barely flinched at being struck.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to do a bit better than that," Bede commented.

Catherine would have liked to put the Hatterne to sleep but, as long as the Misty Terrain was active, that wasn't really an option. She and Indra would just have to persevere. "Earth Power, then Bubble Beam again!"

Indra stomped his foot on the ground, a faint wave of orange energy rushing out and then erupting up as geysers of mud. Bede's Hatterene countered without instruction, unleashing a sweeping Dark Pulse that blasted many of the geysers away before they could strike her.

Dealing with that left her open to the second part of Indra's attack. Moving at a breakneck speed, he emerged from behind one of the pillars in the Hatterene's periphery and launched a second powered-up Bubble Beam. This time, the impact wasn't cushioned and Bede's Pokemon was smashed across the battlefield by a surge of bubbles and water.

"Psycho Cut!" Bede ordered as his Hatterene tumbled messily into an upright position. It lashed out with another blade of psychic energy, but Indra was fast enough to duck and roll under it and back into a standing position.

"Again!" Catherine called and once more Bede's Pokemon was hammered by a forceful Bubble Beam.

The Hatterene was more prepared this time and didn't get knocked over, being pushed skidding back over the slick surface of the battlefield instead. It didn't show much sign of the walloping it had just taken, but that wasn't surprising. Catherine had watched it take some powerful hits the previous day without so much as flinching.

"Mystical Fire!"

The Hatterene unleashed a swirling flame that struck rain and detonated into a billowing cloud of steam, immediately concealing the Hatterene's position.

"Hit it again, it's not that fast!" Catherine instructed. There was no way a Hatterene was going to be fast enough to really make use of a smokescreen tactic.

Indra attacked with a sweeping Bubble Beam, much like his opponent had done with the earlier Dark Pulse. The attack blitzed across the cloud of steam, but there was no indication it had hit anything.

"Dark Pulse," Bede instructed.

The swirling mass of shadowy energy didn't come flying out of the cloud like Catherine had expected. Instead, the Hatterene came hurtling out of the steam low to the ground like a torpedo, propelled by the force of its own attack, the steam swirling around it as it moved.

Indra was caught off guard and knocked sprawling by the unconventional attack. There was nothing he could do about the follow-up Psycho Cut that struck him at close range and catapulted him back across to the opposite side of the arena. He rolled to his feet, but it was plain to see that the attack had done a number on him. He'd taken more damage from that one attack than the Hatterene had from all of his combined strikes.

Catherine had been relying on Indra's faster speed to have him dodge his way through the battle of attrition she had found herself in. She was going to have to be extra careful if Bede could pull tricks like that. She heard the elated cheers of the Ballonlea crowd. They probably thought she was done for. She refused to let them be right.

"Mystical Fire."

"Earth Power," Catherine countered.

The flames rushed out at the same time as the geyser of mud. Flame hit rain and exploded into a steam cloud, but hit mud too, hardening the geysers into rough pillars much as Kabu had done. There would be no clear shot if Bede wanted to turn his Hatterene into a living projectile again.

"Get moving, Indra. Bubble Beam."

Indra did, dashing to the side and unleashing another blast that swept across the battlefield as he ran, smashing through his own pillars and raining mud and shrapnel across the cloud of steam.

The steam cleared, revealing a battered but standing Hatterene.

"Who's getting predictable now?" Catherine asked, her own smirk deepening as Bede's turned into more of a scowl.

"Not bad," he said. "But it isn't enough. Magic Powder and then Psycho Cut."

A glittering powder flittered out from the Hatterene only to suddenly be struck by a wide blade of psychic energy. The crescent flew across the battlefield, forcing Indra to leap over it… only to land in the cloud of pink particles behind it that dyed his blue body a tint of magenta.

Indra attacked with another Bubble Beam, but the attack found no target as Bede recalled his Hatterene.

"Rapidash, clean it up." Bede released his Hatterene's replacement, a tall equine Pokemon with a billowing mane of pink and cyan and a dark spiralling horn.

There it was, part two of three.

"Okay Indra," Catherine said, "This is it. You just need to beat this one."

"Good luck with that," Bede said. "Maybe you should switch out too."

The knowing look on the gym leader's face told Catherine that he was well aware of what she was up to.

"You and I both know I'm not going to do that," Catherine replied. "Afraid you can't outlast me?"

Bede answered by commanding his Rapidash to attack with a Mega Horn. It rushed forward as its horn glowed and extended, flying towards Indra like a spear with legs.

Indra side stepped, but misjudged the Rapidash's reach. His opponent flung its head out and managed to score a glancing blow - one that hit with twice the power it normally would have thanks to Bede's earlier Magic Powder.

"Double Slap!" Catherine called for Indra to retaliate.

He recovered from the attack quickly and went on the offensive, striking out with a volley of stinging slaps faster than the Rapidash could respond thanks to his Swift Swim.

"Psychic!" Bede ordered, his Rapidash quick to oblige as it stumbled back away from Indra.

Indra was overcome with a violet glow and thrown across the arena as though he'd been shotputted by a giant hand. He hit the ground hard, rolling across the arena and skidding to a halt in a crouch.

Bede's Rapidash was on him already, having started its run before Indra had even landed. It struck Indra with another Mega Horn, striking him dead-on this time.

Indra stayed on the ground long enough that Catherine was worried he was out for the count, but Indra wasn't one to want to disappoint. He stood back up on shaking legs and Catherine's heart soared with admiration.

"You sure you're good to go?"

Indra waved her off, still happy for any excuse to use his hands. "Poli!"

"Alright then. Let's wrap this up."

"Mega Horn again." Bede only smiled at them more confidently.

"Bubble Beam, hit its legs!"

The Rapidash rushed forward again, Mega Horn ready only for Indra to drop into a crouch and shoot out a surge of bubbles that took its legs out from under it. It skidded along the wet ground, momentum carrying forward as its attack faded away, coming to a halt at Indra's feet.

Indra reached out and grabbed it by the horn.

"Bubble Beam!"
"Healing Wish!"

Indra blasted the Rapidash at point blank range as its body started to glow with a soothing blue light. Indra lost his grip on his opponent's horn, the force of his attack carrying it back across the battlefield as its body shifted into a globule of light and returned to its Pokeball.

Bede released his Hatterene again, that infuriating cocky expression only etching itself firmer onto his face. Glittering blue lights fell down over the Hatterene as its earlier battle wounds faded away. "Not quick enough. Dark Pulse!"

The Hatterene attacked without hesitation, a helix of black and purple shooting out to strike Indra who was too tired to leap away.

Indra was flung past Catherine, landing behind her. This time, he didn't get up.

Catherine reached for his ball and called him back. "Well done. You held out long enough. You did exactly what you had to do."

She turned back to face Bede. "You're looking awfully smug for someone who's effectively behind 2-1 right now. How about we take you down another peg?"

She tossed her next Pokeball to the field and Holo exploded onto the battlefield, fur crackling.

gimmepie · Nov 29, 2022

Indra (Male, Swift Swim) - Rain Dance, Hypnosis, Bubblebeam, Double Slap, Earth Power, Refresh

Stampede (Male, Poison Point) - Hydro Pump, Smokescreen, Twister, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath, Icy Wind

Holo (Female, Lightning Rod) - Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Electric Terrain, Howl, Flame Burst, Flash

Vessel (Female, Dry Skin) - Fury Cutter, Absorb, Poison Powder, Spore, Rain Dance, Protect

Lancer (Male, Dry Skin) - Rock Climb, Revenge, Sucker Punch, Poison Jab, Rain Dance, Toxic

Inventory:

- ATC
- Expensive PokeGear
- Pokedex
- 800 Poke (On ATC)
- TM Icy Wind
- TM Flash
- Wishing Star
- TM Protect
- TM Rain Dance
- TM Rock Climb
- 1x Heavy Ball

Badges:

CATHERINE CARLISLE
Improvisation

Even as Holo took to the field, the perpetual downpour Indra had set up was coming to a halt, leaving the battlefield soaked but free of the weather.

"Looks like your rain has run out," Bede said.

"That's fine," Catherine replied. "I have other plans."

"Oh? Do show me then."

Catherine couldn't help but smile just a little. "Your funeral. Holo, Electric Terrain!"

Electricity ran across Holo's body and into the ground spreading out over the surface of the battlefield in a sparking shroud of yellow. The Electric Terrain pushed out, forcing the pink mist of the battlefield out to the edges where it swirled in defiance, refusing to dissipate entirely because of whatever strange machinations Bede and Avery had in place for their gym.

Still, the Electric Terrain had overtaken it for the most part. Catherine was satisfied. She had told Simon that rule number one was to control the battlefield and set your own terms for the engagement. The battlefield was hers.

"That isn't going to be enough to help you. You're dealing with the elite now." Bede might have been speaking with confidence, but his expression had shifted. He looked irritated.

Good. Catherine thought.

"Holo, let's put that to the test. Thunderbolt!"

Lightning surged over Holo and then blasted across the battlefield towards Bede's Hatterene.

"Dark Pulse!"

Swirling darkness and crackling electricity met half-way across the battlefield and exploded, scattering dust out like ash from a volcano. Bede might have been feigning some of his confidence, but Catherine had to admit he wasn't boasting emptily. His Hatterene could match Holo's power even with the terrain mostly to her advantage, powering up her electric moves.

"Like I said," Bede remarked. "I can handle it."

"We'll see."

Holo really only had two moves she could make use of against a nearly full sweet for the Hatterene. Thunder Wave and Flash would be deflected by Hatterene's Magic Bounce; she'd seen several challengers who hadn't done their homework fall prey to that. Howl wasn't going to help them outside of a double battle, Holo didn't have any physical moves. She was left with just Thunderbolt and Flame Burst now that Electric Terrain was up. It would have to be enough.

"Psycho Cut!"

"Flame Burst."

The Hatterne lashed out with another psychic blade, throwing it across the arena as Holo retaliated, spitting a fireball from her maw. The blade cut through the Flame Burst, splitting into two smaller projectiles before colliding with Holo and blasting her off her feet.

The Hatterene wasn't safe though. The Flame Burst fragments ended up on either side of it, exploding into a shower of burning embers that it couldn't avoid. It wasn't knocked over, but it was plenty singed and Holo was already getting back to her feet.

Electricity arced between Holo and the Hatterne. Neither moved. Neither trainer spoke either, the time for banter was over. Each partnership sized the other up.

Then the silence broke.

"Holo, Thunderbolt. Keep moving!"

"Dark Pulse!"

Holo took off at a run as she let loose with another Thunderbolt. Lighting and shadow collided once more as Holo and the Hatterene's attacks clashed, exploding into another cloud of particles and dust. Holo's attack was weaker than the first, a side-effect of her movement, but she was already attacking again.

Holo darted and weaved, moving across the battlefield and continuously bombarding the Hatterene with attacks. Over and over again, Dark Pulses and Thunderbolts exploded against each other.

The Hatterene's attacks had the edge in power, but she was much slower than Holo and was forced to constantly adjust her aim to keep up. A Thunderbolt slipped through, striking the Hatterene while Holo was able to nimbly leap out the way of the retaliatory attack.

The same scene played out several times. For every two or three Thunderbolts that the Hatterene was able to cancel out, one was getting through. All the while, Holo was closing the gap between them.

A Dark Pulse smashed into the floor at Holo's feet, a near miss that would likely have catapulted the Manectric back to her starting point had it made contact.

Holo leapt, ducking under another attack and then springing back up to slam her jaws shut around the Hatterene's arm.

"This one is going to hurt," Catherine said. "Thunderbolt!"

Holo didn't even really need to aim, she just blasted out near-indiscriminately with lightning. The Hatterene screeched as she was engulfed by the blinding light of the electricity. She tried to throw Holo off but, as powerful as she was, she lacked the physical strength.

"Magic Powder and then Dark Pulse!" Bede instructed.

A cloud of magenta puffed out, dying Holo's fur. Holo danced back, but even with her speed she couldn't avoid the incoming attack. She was struck by a writhing blast of darkness and launched across the field, hitting the ground hard and skidding back several more feet to land near Catherine's feet.

The bombardment of attacks followed by the close-quarters Thunderbolt had done some serious damage to the Hatterene, but that one combo had more than closed the gap. Both Pokemon had been hit hard, but Holo had been hit harder.

Catherine watched as Holo returned to her feet, growling her defiance at Bede's partner. It hadn't been that long ago that a hit like that might have sent her running with her tail between her legs. She had evolved in more ways than one in Glimwood Tangle. Catherine would have to do her justice.

"Get ready, Holo. We're going to pull out all the stops."

"Maybe if you had done that from the beginning, you wouldn't be on the back foot again," Bede snarked.

Catherine ignored him. The sparks dancing across the battlefield had given her an idea. Maybe Holo had more than two useful moves after all.

"Holo, Thunder Wave."

"That won't work," Bede said dismissively.

Holo attacked anyway, throwing rings of electricity at her foe. The rings reached the Hatterene but immediately bounced back as a surge of lightning, deflected by the Hatterene's Magic Bounce.

The deflected lightning struck Holo, running over her fur and seemingly having no effect.

"I thought you were the sort to do your homework," Bede said. "Status moves won't do anything but get bounced back at you by Magic Bounce. You're just lucky that your Manectric is also immune."

"Do it again, Holo."

Again, Holo attacked with paralysing electricity and again, an invisible force deflected the Thunder Wave and shot it right back at her. The electricity again washed over Holo, making her coat crackle.

A look of realisation appeared on Bede's face and was immediately replaced with displeasure. "Oh, very clever."

"I like to think so."

Holo wasn't immune to Thunder Wave because of her typing, she was a psychic type at present. She was immune because of her ability, Lightning Rod, which absorbed electricity and used it to power Holo up. Ordinarily, she couldn't use her own moves like that. With Magic Bounce in the picture, she could basically be her own battery.

"Thunder Wave!"

"Psycho Cut!"

Holo attacked at the same time as the Hatterene, most of her Thunder Wave rings being slashed out of the air. Holo jumped over the blade of the attack, landing to catch the rings that had survived to be deflected back at her.

Once more, she and the Hatterene faced each other down. One more hit from a Dark Pulse would take Holo out of the picture and it would be game over.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Dark Pulse!"

Both Holo and her opponent threw everything they had into their attacks, producing the biggest and most powerful moves they had displayed yet. Lightning rushed out from Holo, meeting a churning mass of spiralling shadows. The attacks slammed into each other.

Bede's Hatterene was powerful, but Holo had just been supercharged by Lightning Rod and had the advantage of being on Electric Terrain. Her attack blew right through the Dark Pulse, scattering it away and struck home.

The Hatterene was shocked and blasted back across the arena, landing behind Bede and staying down.

A cheer rose up from the crowd, although Catherine was sure she heard boos in the mix. She didn't really care about either.

Holo ran up to her and just about knocked her off her feet in her excitement. Catherine reached down and ran her hands through Holo's fur, getting lightly zapped by the remaining static. She winced, but continued petting the Manectric anyway.

After a moment, Bede approached her, his Hatterene returned to her ball to recuperate.

"I made a mistake," he admitted, "I shouldn't have clued in to Lightning Rod before the first Thunder Wave even hit. Magic Powder gave it away. That was unbecoming of someone at my level."

Catherine didn't respond. Bede was admitting he had been bested, but in taking on the blame he was devaluing their achievements. She wasn't going to dignify that with an answer.

"But," Bede said, "A loss is a loss. You earned the badge."

Fairy Badge obtained!

Foxrally · Dec 6, 2022

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Ballonlea

The smell of butter and syrup was wafting through Simon's house as Ross prepared the fifth pancake batch of the morning, attracting dozens of wild Pokemon to the Pearburghs' windowsill. The kitchen was small but cozy, covered in years' worth of bug string, cooking accidents and faded drawings, with the ever-permeating moss and vines of Ballonlea hanging from the lights and cupboards. Simon and his father were sitting at an ancient-looking wooden table with Grimms on the floor by their side - the burly mon's head nearly touching the ceiling - as the rest of Simon's team laid around enjoying their own breakfasts. Several stacks of empty plates sat beside either of them, more on Simon's side than his dad's, as the trainer continued telling the story of his latest adventures.

"Bahahah! In the middle o' the interview?" Simon's dad slammed the table as he laughed, rattling the plates beside him.

"Mhm!" Struggling to hold his own laughter and clutching a half-empty bottle of syrup, Simon swallowed his bite of pancake before continuing, "They had to call security on him, but Anorith just wasn't letting go! So when they tried to pry him off, he took the guy's 'limited-edition' Arrokuda shirt along- so guess what one of the kids says-" Simon waited with a cheeky grin as he held back the punchline. "That was super effective!"

The table exploded in laughter, Grimms nearly falling off his stool.

Simon wheezed, "...man, they are never inviting me back on that show again."

"So that's what ye've been up ta?" his father wiped a tear away, chuckling. "Goin' around raisin' mad bugs?"

"It's a byproduct of my training style." Simon smirked.

"Well I'll be damned if it doesnae work!"

Simon nodded proudly. "Might not always be the strongest at first glance, but I have faith in each Pokemon on my team - through thick or thin, we stick together, that's how we got here!"

"Look at ye, soundin' like yer old man in his prime." Simon's dad gave his son a hearty smack on the shoulder. "Takes a lot ta care for a team this big."

As they spoke, Ross slipped an additional three plates of pancakes on the table, buzzing contently. "Thanks, Ross." Simon smiled, "You sure you don't want any more for yourself?"

Ross shook his head, saying that he didn't like pancakes anyway, and that Simon had gone through the house's entire stock of pancake mix, so this was the last batch.

"Oh, my bad…" Simon laughed sheepishly. As he poured some syrup on the pancakes, Vivillon and some of the wild Pokemon approached hungrily. "What, are you lot still hungry?" He shooed off the wild morelull reaching for the jam, and smacked Vivillon's hand away from his plate. "Too much sugar's bad for you."

Vivillon hissed back, saying he was in no position to talk about eating too many sweets, and crawled onto his hand to get to the food first.

As the bug and its trainer bickered, Simon's dad nudged his Grimmsnarl with a grin. "Reminds you of someone, aye?"

Grimms snorted and crossed his arms. The older man laughed, "Takes me back to when we ran the Sinnoh circuit for the first time…"

Overhearing the conversation, Simon and Vivillon glanced in their direction. Simon rolled his eyes, "We've heard that one a million times, please-"

His father perked up, "But the lil' ones here haven't!" He turned to face the bugs, which seemed intrigued now. Grimms dragged a hand down his face and Ross let out an exasperated sigh.

"Aye, me and Grimms barely knew each other when we decided to travel across the world together, fresh-faced n' all. The lil' bastar' was actually a stowaway on our ship, in fact, so I had half a mind to report him! Lucky for him though, I didnae have a nickel, pokeball or Pokemon to my name - shoddy sight of a trainer I was, so we struck a deal…"

Simon sighed and picked up his mug. "Never gets tired of that one, does he?" he whispered to Ross, who snickered back.

His dad seemed to hear this comment, and suddenly stopped as he narrowed his eyes at Simon. He looked back at the bugs; "On second thought, I got a better one for you. Let me tell yous about a time when your trainer was but a wee lad, nary the size o' one of you butterflies…"

Simon nearly spat out his drink as the bugs all gathered closer, and Simon's dad began retelling several of Simon's most embarrassing childhood moments; from the time he'd eaten a whole can of shaving cream instead of icing, to when his eyes were swollen shut from a grubbin bite, to when he'd gotten his bum stuck in the dog flap.

Simon huffed and crossed his arms as his Pokemon ate up all the stories, knowing that all of this was perfect fuel for them to tease him with in the future. Eventually, however, his father spoke about something he didn't recognize.

"Ah, but there's one I reckon even Simon himself doesnae remember. And now that you've made it this far…" his dad looked at him. "I'm here to cash in that challenge, lad."

Simon narrowed his eyes. "What challenge?"

"Oh, you know…. What was the thing you said ta me the first time we went to a gym battle?"

Simon paused for a moment, when suddenly his mind sparked with realization. A memory flashed through his mind and he was taken to the very first time he'd stepped into the Stow-on-Side stadium to watch a league battle. A six-year-old Simon was keeping his balance on his dad's shoulders, in awe at the sheer size of the crowds and battlefield in front of them. The might of Dynamax Pokemon and the thrill of watching a battle in real life, it was exhilarating. The fighting-type leader's Sawk had just gotten the advantage on then-challenger Gordie's Carkol, and defeat was looking all but certain for the rock-type.

"He's lost, da! What's he gonna do?" Simon yelled down to his dad, nervously watching the rock-type tumble away.

"Don't count 'em out just yet!" the man replied. The crowd cheered as the Carkol revved itself back awake and a pillar of fire erupted from its back. The Sawk rushed at it again with fists held high, and Simon held his breath.

"You can really tell a trainer's strength when they're under pressure! Because sometimes…" The Carkol held its ground and met the fists head on, dodging at the last second before spraying a Tar Shot at its enemy.

"...that strength can come from the least likely source." The Carkol opened its mouth and spewed out a massive flamethrower attack, engulfing the Sawk. After the fire had dissipated, the charred Pokemon lay on the ground, defeated.

"He did it!!" Simon exclaimed. The crowd erupted as the challenger was declared victorious. Simon's father lowered him to the seat beside him as the boy excitedly recounted his favourite moments. "He must have been soooo smart to use that move!! And his Carkol was super tough, how did he get punched so much but not faint?! And its trainer stayed so cool the entire time!!"

His father laughed, "Well, you hafta put on a brave face when so many folks are watchin' the gym challenge. Trust me, I'd know!"

Simon looked at him starry-eyed. "Whoaaa… I'm gonna join the challenge thing one day too, and also get to put braveness on my face! I'll be even stronger than you and Grimms were!" He made a punching motion and flexed his miniscule arms.

His dad ruffled his hair and smiled. "Is tha' your first official challenge, little man?"

"Yeah!" Simon grinned back. "You just wait!"

"...and so I waited!" Simon's father's voice snapped the boy back to reality as the man finished telling the story to the others. He looked at Simon with a smirk. "I reckon it's been long enough. You cannae walk away from a trainer challenge now - trainer's honour!"

Simon looked at his team for a moment, then back at his father. A grin grew on his face. "Alright then. You're on, old man!"

Fen-Fen · Dec 8, 2022

Haleigh Windsor
18 | Female | From Circhester

Corey (Male, Blaze) - Flame Charge, Double Kick, Headbutt, Agility, Sunny Day

Coraline (Female, Weak Armor) - Hex, Harden, Strength Sap, Spite, Ancient Power

Cornelius (Male, Synchronize) - Disarming Voice, Confusion, Draining Kiss, Hypnosis

Orion (Male, Snow Cloak) - Powder Snow, Tail Whip

Cerise (Female, Adaptability) - Covet, Quick Attack, Baby Doll Eyes, Growl

Reyna (Female, Torrent) - Peck, Bubble Beam, Pound, Growl

Dart (Male, Compound Eyes) - Double Team, Sonic Boom, Quick Attack, Detect, Supersonic, Uproar

Captain (Male, Ice Face) - Weather Ball, Amnesia, Headbutt, Icy Wind, Freeze Dry, Mist

Spoiler: Memories

A Day in the Life

"Bede…or Avery…"

Haleigh chewed on the cap of her pen, her brow furrowed in concentration. As she sat criss-cross on the bed, the rundown of each gym leader's Pokemon and general tactics replayed in her head.

Bede, Fairy type. Not above using underhanded tricks and subterfuge from his time as a Psychic specialist. Very calculating and ruthless as a battler.

Avery, Psychic type. Lots of set-up and misdirection, much like a magician. Flamboyant and flashy, but not to be underestimated.

Coraline would be very useful for either gym leader, especially with Avery. Corey could help deliver the raw power to help blunt the effects of the set-up by getting hits in quick and early, but Reyna could take considerably more hits than he could. Dart could deliver some of that speed as well, and Haleigh could use his type much like she could with Coraline. Cerise —

Haleigh was jolted out of her thoughts by a few images that flashed in her head: clock, nighttime.

She looked around for the source of the telepathy before seeing that Cornelius had joined Haleigh on the bed at some point, mirroring his trainer by sitting in a cross-legged position.

Haleigh took out her phone and looked at the time. "The hell? Half past eight already?"

It was hard to believe she had been studying for four hours straight — sifting through actual paper notes, watching matches, rewatching matches, formulating strategies. This was all on top of the physical side of her training that she had done throughout the day: working out at the gym, sparring with her Pokemon, pairing members of her team up to fight against each other.

She flopped down into the bed, heaving a deep sigh. To say that she was tired would be an understatement, but she'd be damned if there wasn't an intense feeling of satisfaction to it all.

So much had changed in the year or so since Haleigh had set out on her journey. Back when she had graduated from Wedgehurst, naive and bright-eyed, her Pokemon journey was an all-consuming passion, one burning with a flame so bright it could overcome any and every obstacle. It was a way of burying the darkness of the past and forging a path that was all hers, getting stronger and stronger along the way.

As it had turned out, however, it wasn't the straightforward fantasy of beating the gym leaders and rising to the top as she had imagined it would be. The challenge of beating the best trainers Galar had to offer, the several times that she had faced life-threatening peril, the cruelty of the world, the inner turmoil that she shouldered, all of it had chipped away the idealized picture she had painted of what it would mean to be a trainer. It had straight up broken her at many points. And yet, here she was still. Still able to get back up, still fighting, still thriving.

Any further thoughts were interrupted when Haleigh felt her stomach churn and gurgle out of hunger. Ah, right. She had meant to take a break to go get something to eat, but instead got so caught up in her studying she had forgotten.

She stretched out on the bed and let out a yawn as she looked over at Cornelius. "Damn, sorry about that, mate. I lost track of time there, didn't I?"

Cornelius nodded.

"Well, I reckon it's a bit early to head to bed, and I am quite peckish. Probably not the only one either."

Haleigh looked around the room to see all of her other Pokemon lounging around, still knackered out from their intense training regiment. Another set of images flashed in her mind. Forest, food, herself, her team.

"You reckon we should have a picnic?" Haleigh asked.

Cornelius nodded again. The other Pokemon immediately perked up at the mention of a food related word.

"That's a great idea!"

Haleigh got off of the bed and walked over to the chair where she hung her bomber jacket on. She put it on and said to Captain, "Captain, think you could corral the 'troops' to help me carry the stuff we're going to need?"

The Eiscue saluted and gave a brief nod.

"Excellent! Then we'll head out and get this picnic started. I reckon there's tons of great spots not too far from the hotel!"

—----------------------------------------------

The spot that Haleigh had settled on for the picnic was indeed quite the scenic place. Though, then again, just about anywhere in Ballonlea was an absolutely amazing spectacle to behold. The forest enveloped the entire town in perpetual darkness, save for the glowing mushrooms that illuminated it in a warm, fluorescent glow. Some of the trees twisted into free-flowing shapes, forming arches and overhangs that towered above the paths and the humble wooden homes of the town. Various Pokemon could be seen meandering and going about their daily lives, as if the town belonged equally to them as it did the humans.

The specific place that Haleigh had chosen was a small clearing encircled by purple and pink mushrooms, roofed by a thicket of smaller trees that made it feel more private and intimate. Had she not wanted the luxuries of a free breakfast and a hot shower after weeks in Glimwood Tangle, she would have skipped the hotel entirely in favor of camping out here instead.

Haleigh sat in front of the fire, nursing a hot bowl of curry. Her Pokemon were freely roaming the clearing, alternating between interacting with each other and eating. Captain was talking one on one with Cornelius, seeming to relish his role inherited from his flock of Eiscue and retelling some sort of 'war story.' Cornelius seemed to be hanging on to every word.

Coraline and Corey were busy devouring some pastries that Haleigh had bought when she had first rolled into town. She would have worried that it might have spoiled their appetite for actual food, but the two of them seemed to have bottomless pits for stomachs for any kind of food. It was always surprising with Coraline, considering that she was a ghost. Was the spirit of the extinct Corsola perpetually deprived of food in life, so she spent the 'afterlife' making up for it? She wasn't entirely clear how ghost Pokemon worked. Maybe she'd ask Mel about it.

Cerise and Reyna were similarly engrossed in their bowls of curry. Reyna was attacking it with the same ferocity that she would an opponent in battle, while Cerise delicately and deftly ate hers as if it were fine cuisine.

Haleigh had to duck out of the way as the whizzing form of her Yanma just missed crashing into her, nearly causing her to spill her bowl.

"Bloody hell," Haleigh called out, chuckling. "You nearly took my head off with that one! Nice recovery though!" She watched as Orion followed in hot pursuit, a determined glint in his eyes.

It was great that being with Pokemon was her way of life now. It wasn't even just the battling that brought her joy. There were the little moments like this where she could simply enjoy being in the present with them. She felt like she was being herself the more she bonded with them, as if being with them drew the best out of her.

Haleigh reached into her inner jacket pocket, pulled out her badge case, and opened it up. Four badges — Grass, Water, Fire, Ghost — gleamed under the fluorescent lights of the mushrooms. It was hard to believe she was already more than halfway done. Just four more badges, one here in Ballonlea, and she'd be that much closer to becoming champion. She wondered who would be there competing with her at the end of the line if — no, when — she made it there.

A smile made its way on to her pensive expression. There was a lot to be proud of in her progress as a trainer, and nothing showed that more than that fourth badge in her case. It was a reminder of her continued perseverance, through all of the hardships both past and present.

Though Bea was a gym leader that was close to Haleigh's heart as a model to look up to for unyielding strength and will, Haleigh ended up choosing Allister. Having Mel as her best friend, Coraline's desire to fight some of her fellow ghost types, and Simon's battle with him ultimately tipped the scales in favor of battling the ghost gym leader. Naturally, the battle was already going to be more difficult, having made it past Kabu, the point where so many other trainers had been eliminated. On top of that, Allister's deceptively crafty techniques and tanky Pokemon could put a spanner in Haleigh's usual tactics of hitting fast and hitting hard. Spanners being thrown her way had been nothing new, however. She would roll with the punches, get smacked around, and get back up stronger than ever.

The first round was between Coraline and Allister's Cursola. Both Coraline and Haleigh wouldn't have had it any other way; it was both of their chances to show off their skills, to show that even with the double-edged sword of mutual type advantage and Coraline being unevolved, they'd be victorious. The game that Allister had played was all about stalling out and weakening until they could be tossed over the ring with ease. With Coraline, however, she could dish out just as well as the Cursola could when it came to those tactics, and Haleigh had been sure to give the gym leader some tastes of his own medicine.

Though she had a rocky start with getting burned, Coraline had been able to get in a glancing Hex attack for some damage. When it came down to wanting to suck away Coraline's health with Strength Sap, Coraline was able to mirror her opponent with that tactic and wield it more effectively, ironically because of her opponent's superior strength. More attack power on Cursola meant more energy that Coraline could use to heal herself with, while Cursola had much less to work with trying to drain Coraline's energy. Even after having gotten thrown some Spites her way and a shift from the Cursola towards Leech Life rather than Strength Sap, the edge that Coraline had gained with that small advantage was just enough for a slow but sure knockout through an alternating volley of Hexes and Ancient Power.

Even with one Pokemon down and having avoided being knocked out outright with Cursed Body by making the finishing blow an Ancient Power attack, Coraline was still really worn down from fighting the Cursola. Nonetheless, she wanted to push onwards to her next opponent, and Haleigh was willing to give it her all if Coraline was.

Gengar had been even more of a fearsome opponent than the Cursola had been, this time opting to set up with Nasty Plot. This gave Coraline the chance to strike back with a direct Hex attack, but unfortunately, she found herself running low on energy for that move, as well that of Ancient Power. Though she had barely dodged a Hypnosis and got in a Strength Sap, it wasn't enough to get far in the fight as a fake out led to a successful Hypnosis and Dream Eater combo, knocking Coraline out.

Though Haleigh was down one Pokemon, she wasn't going to despair. She had made it too far into the fight — and too far into her journey — to let herself make the mistake of letting doubt and fear consume her again. With only thoughts of triumph in her head, Haleigh put Corey up to finish what Coraline had started.

Without the benefit of super effective damage, Haleigh needed to set up with a Sunny Day to give Corey's attacks. As much as she hated to admit, Catherine had shown her the importance of setting up the battlefield in order to make the most of the power Corey had at his disposal. Unlike Catherine, Allister had no way of preventing the sun from shining, and so after deftly dodging a Shadow Ball, Corey made a devastating Flame Charge that put a very noticeable dent into the Gengar. Still, it was far from done as the Gengar fought back with a Sludge Wave that hit with such devastating force that Corey had nearly tipped right over the edge. Even more devastatingly, he had been poisoned.

Haleigh could tell that the Gengar was going to go for another round of Hypnosis and Dream Eater, trying to knock Corey out the same way that it had Coraline. Being charged up from the Flame Charge, Corey was able to more adeptly dodge the Hypnosis that was sent his way and sent the Gengar towards the edge of the ring with a dizzying array of Embers that it had weaved through. Corey had started to feel the effects of the poison and was starting to get weaker, but managed to summon the energy for one last play. While Haleigh called out to get "charged up" for what Allister thought would be a Flame Charge, Gengar was preparing a Shadow Ball to lob right in Corey's face. However, Corey neglected to actually light himself up in flames, instead having an Electro Ball of his own ready to launch at the Shadow Ball. The collision between the two balls resulted in a shockwave that teetered the Gengar over the edge, giving Haleigh a ring-out.

The rush of winning never got old, and her victory against Allister had been no exception. It had been an exhilarating rush, fueled by the adoration of the crowd and an immense satisfaction in her skills as a trainer. That time, she had decided to share in it with some of her growing fanbase by going out for drinks at a local pub. Though she had gotten carried away and ended up waking up the next day with a hangover, it had still been a great way to share in the fun and celebrate.

Haleigh clasped the badge case shut and exhaled. She looked around her, the food and the warmth of the fire seeming to have mellowed everyone out. Even the most excitable members of her team were lounging around the fire and seeming to bask in its warmth, as well as that of each other's company.

She wouldn't change this for the world. She was glad that she had set out on her own to do this. Despite the fact that her journey had come from such adverse circumstances, she was still proud to be a Pokemon trainer.

Even in the serenity of the moment, there was one nagging feeling in the back of her head that there was something bigger going on around her. Ever since her confrontation with Ian in the Tangle, that sense had only grown. She could have sworn that she was being watched, flickers of shadows that seemed to disappear whenever she turned her head to look at them.

Haleigh shook her head. No, she was just being paranoid. Maybe she was getting a bit too stuck in her head these days. There wasn't anything concrete to go off of anyways. For now, all that could be done was enjoy the comfort she got from being with her team.

gimmepie · Dec 10, 2022

Indra (Male, Swift Swim) - Rain Dance, Hypnosis, Bubblebeam, Double Slap, Earth Power, Refresh

Stampede (Male, Poison Point) - Hydro Pump, Smokescreen, Twister, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath, Icy Wind

Holo (Female, Lightning Rod) - Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Electric Terrain, Howl, Flame Burst, Flash

Vessel (Female, Dry Skin) - Fury Cutter, Absorb, Poison Powder, Spore, Rain Dance, Protect

Lancer (Male, Dry Skin) - Rock Climb, Revenge, Sucker Punch, Poison Jab, Rain Dance, Toxic

Inventory:

- ATC
- Expensive PokeGear
- Pokedex
- 800 Poke (On ATC)
- TM Icy Wind
- TM Flash
- Wishing Star
- TM Protect
- TM Rain Dance
- TM Rock Climb
- 1x Heavy Ball

Badges:

CATHERINE CARLISLE & VALERIE AMITY
Understanding?

Catherine had woken up earlier than she had needed to. She was still tired and she had earned a bit of actual rest after her battle with Bede the previous day and the hours of research before. She was filled with an uncomfortable energy though and that had woken her up before the sun had risen.

Indra walked happily at her side, waving at locals that recognised them… and at those that didn't. He was a comforting presence, but Catherine still couldn't fully relax. She was on her way to meet Valerie, as per the agreement made back in Hammerlocke.

She didn't want to meet Valerie though. She didn't want to involve herself with whatever cult she was operating through her streams. A deal was a deal though. At least the money was supposedly going to a good cause this time. But even if that was the case, was there any guarantee that the charity was actually doing what they claimed? It was a mess, and every step Catherine took towards her destination piled on a little more regret - and she was already regretting agreeing long before she set off.

Ballonlea was small. It didn't take too long, even with her dawdling, for Catherine to reach the out of the way park she was supposed to meet Valerie at. Ignoring her impulse to turn and run the other direction, Catherine took a seat on a bench, Indra hopping up next to her.

"Well," Catherine said. "I'm true to my word at least."

Not too much longer later came a familiar cry: "Heeeeey~! Over hereeee~!" Valerie finally came, her arms happily waving for a greeting. "Cathy! Ahhhh, I was watching your Gym Battle and sweet sassy molassy you were amazing!"

The greeting made Catherine's skin crawl. It was typical Valerie, overly familiar. The sort of thing people did when they were trying to worm themselves into your good graces when there wasn't any basis for it.

It was going to be a long few hours, but Catherine had agreed to this. She had to do it properly to count. A test for Valerie just like she had for Simon. She would at least attempt civility… but it wasn't going to be easy for someone like Valerie.

"It wasn't anything special," Catherine replied. "I just researched his other battles and planned accordingly. It was still too close for comfort. I had to improvise."

"Really? pssh, girl you coulda fooled me, looked like you had it made from the get go," Valerie commented. "Me? I just YOLO it, and my pokebuds give em' hell. Buuut, works for me!" she gave a hearty, innocent chuckle. While Valerie wasn't much for strategy and planning herself, she's still easily impressed by other people's ability to.

She gave Cathy a cheeky, curious eye. "Soooo! So, so, so! Ready to get this started?!"

Catherine looked down at Indra for encouragement, but he was completely oblivious to the situation. Just happy to be around people. Well, his presence there would have to suffice.

"Sure," she said. "Let's get this over with. What should I do?"

"Just stay right there," Valerie directed. She then turned around, to activate her Rotom Phone. Her Rotom, still inside, floated around the area until it came to a stop, floating directly in front of Valerie from face view. "Kay! Fans already know the time from Chatter will be about… now! So, let's do it Tommy! 3… 2…1!"

After her countdown, the Rotom Phone lit up, and before Valerie's eyes, the chat messages started pouring. "What. Is. Up, Valentines! Woooo, it's been a long while hasn't it?! Not since strugglecon, eh?! First of all, super, super big thanks to all you lovely Valentines who have supported me! See?! Told ya we'd beat that prick, didn't I?! It's all cuz' of the poke-friends, and all you supporters!! So! This stream, as mentioned in Chatter is gonna be a super, special awesome mega-super one!! Ahhh, and! You guys are NOT. GONNA. BELIEVE IT."

She then directed her phone to float and point the camera towards herself and Catherine beside her. "We got ourselves a super hot guest! It's Cathy! You guys remember Cathy right?! Hot, fresh off her win gainst' BD?! She's. Right. Here. Kyaaaaa, 911, Call me Xatu with Future Sight cuz' I foresee, and wanna report a future murder! The whole Gym League is gonna get murked by her! Soooo, say hi chat! Ah and here Cathy, why don't you say somethin' too?"

No. She really did not want to say anything. In actuality, Valerie's inane introduction had done nothing but reinforced how little she wanted to be there. It was way too familiar. It talked her up, but it was like Valerie had completely forgotten they were each other's competition. What was she aiming for with that? Was she trying to soften her up? Put her in a position where she had to do the same thing in return? Who the hell was Cathy anyway?

With all those thoughts in mind, there was probably entirely too much dead air before Catherine finally managed to address the invisible audience. "Uh… hi. I already said it earlier but I really didn't do anything special. Just what needed to be done. Losing isn't an option if I intend to become the new champion."

"Nicearoo~!" Valerie cheered. "Confident as well! Always a bonus! Kay, quick looksee what chat has to say… uhhhh… oh! Loving your Pokemon, Catherine! says ApharosDaGOAT7! Let's see what else… GenGentheYanma says, I wanna be a rain gal just like you! Niiiice, you got someone following in your footsteps, Cathy! Oh! Hold up, we have a question! Hm… Chunkyachu asks, how come u use a rain team but always forget ur umbrella? Uhhhh…"

Catherine bent down and scooped Indra up, easier said than done now that he had evolved. He was a lot heavier and more awkwardly-sized than when he'd been a Poliwag. "Say hello to your adoring public, Indra. Apparently you have fans."

Indra waved at the camera, looking more than a little confused since there was nobody actually there. Still, that gave Catherine a little breathing room to try and figure out what to say to that last one.

"We aren't really meant to bring props with us to the battlefield." That person had to be joking, but she had no idea how to reply to them if they were. She glanced at Valerie, who was apparently oblivious to her suffering and continued with the earnest approach. "Besides, who's afraid of a little rain? I can just dry off after the battle anyway."

"You heard her!" Valerie delightfully proclaimed. "Lil' rain won't hurt anybody. Rain or Sun, or even hail, maybe a dust storm, we trainers gotta tough it out and battle! Hmmm… I'll give ya' just one more question before the other stuff… ah! Here's a good one! GogoPowerGengars asks, What will you do if you become a Champion? good question" Valerie turns to Catherine. "The chat knows my plans already, but yeah, what would you do? After all, watching Leon on T.V. all that time, we know being a champ is a biiiiig deal here, y'know?"

"Leon is a champion in name only," Catherine said. "He's never done anything worthwhile with the title. The most important things he's done as champion were let a second Darkest Day happen and then lose. Being champion gives you influence and reach. I'm going to use that to do something worthwhile and make Galar a better place. Things are broken and I'm not going to rest until I've fixed them. Simple as that."

"Whoooa, really? Sounds like you've got some big stuff planned!" Valerie beamed. "But, I like your enthusiasm! And yeah, I do gotta agree - being a champ means takin' on a lot of responsibility and be a influence and leader for Galar, yeah? Well, same here, I wanna make Galar a better place as well! Oh! Speaking of which…" Valerie smiled and beamed towards the Rotom Phone's camera again. "Btw, thanks for your donations from Strugglecon; we got a whooooole bunch! Which is why I posted on Chatter, that I was gonna create this 24 hour stream! And nooow as promised… we're gonna give a certain someone, a super, super, suuuuper surprise!"

Valerie then nudged towards Catherine. "And this amazing gal is gonna accompany me! Don't worry girl, it will be a short while. Ready?"

Catherine wasn't sure what was more ominous, the part where the stream was apparently meant to last twenty-four hours or the part where there was apparently a surprise waiting for her. She shot Valerie the best I don't like surprises look she could muster, before reluctantly agreeing to whatever fate awaited her. "Sure."

"Ooookay! Follow meeee!" Valerie led her stream - and an unwilling Catherine - through the park, right towards the heart of the colorfully lit town. "Okay, V-friendos, we're on our way to her home right now!" Valerie started to explain. "Oh! And to those of you who had just joined us - we are currently on our 24 hour Ballonlea stream! But you're probably wondering, what am I doin'? Where am I goin'? Well, we had a viewer to the stream mail me, and, after reading their story, I had to think… we should do something nice for this person! So! Thanks to everyone's efforts, we're gonna give 'em' a special treat! Oh! Speak of the Impidump… we're here!"

It was a small, curious little housing structure they had arrived at. Without a second thought, and as the stream was still focused on the trainers, Valerie knocked a couple of times on the door.

"We're what?" Was all Catherine had managed to say before Valerie's fist collided with the door in front of her. How had she gotten roped into this? On what planet was it okay to show up randomly at someone's house and put them live on camera?

Nonetheless, it was too late for her to do anything to rescue whoever this poor soul was because she could already hear the familiar sound of someone rushing to answer the door.

"Hello…?" The door slowly opened; the one who answered was a young girl; not quite Valerie or Catherine's ages, but seemingly relatively close. Upon entering, and after a cheerful wave-greeting from Valerie, the girl's eyes widened, and she clasped her mouth in shock. "Wait! Y-you're–"

"Eyyyyy! Yup! That's right! It's me, Val!" Valerie took the girl's hand and shook it. "And you must be… Juniper, right? Great to meet you, hun'!" The girl's shock turns into pure delight upon meeting Valerie. She gave a big smile and an excited squeal.

"B-But what–" Juniper started to say, trying to compose herself. "What! How–I just–aah, it's super cool that you're here! A-And that girl near you… th-that's Catherine?! I just like, saw her on the tele and stuff! Super cool to meet you too!"

"Uh… yeah. You too." This was not the reaction Catherine had been expecting to a couple of people randomly showing up on Juniper's doorstep with a camera floating along behind them. It definitely wasn't the reaction she would have had. Juniper seemed legitimately excited though. It was baffling. She was so stunned she hardly noticed Indra offering his own bubbly greeting at her feet.

"Your mum emailed me. Told me that you're a really big fan," explained Valerie. "And of course, a really big fan of Pokemon, right?"

"Y-Yes!" Juniper replied. "I love watching your streams, and the gym matches in Galar! I love watching you, Catherine, Raphael, Pia… oh, and Simon and Melody too!" Through her eyes did not meet her smile as they grew sullen. "It must be really cool, going on an adventure like that…"

"Shhh! Say no more, girl. Here." Valerie then got something out from her coat pocket - what looked like a letter that had Juniper's name, signed by Valerie's cute, heart-filled style of writing. Confused, Juniper was handed the letter. "Now you'll be able to go to Pokeschool next semester! Ain't that awesome?!"

"Huh?!" Juniper said with a gasp. "B-But I… I mean… this is nice and a surprise and all, but…"

"It's cool. I know. " Valerie softened her usual cheerful demeanor. "You hadn't had a chance to do much, because your mother had gotten herself sick, right? She told me all about it in the e-mail. You're a kind kid - looking after the house, and sacrificing so much for your mother… What happened to your dad?"

Juniper looked down. "I don't know. Mum said he got fed up and left one day, because of mum's weak constitution, and, I guess he got fed up by always watching her. That's why I… didn't want to leave her alone."

"Sorry to hear. And it's great that you're doing that," Valerie said. "But, your mum said that she wants you to live your dreams as well. You loved Pokemon as a kid, like I have, and didn't really get the chance to learn and get out more, right? Well, the Valentines and I decided, we'd save up money for you to go to a full course of Trainer's School! And don't worry about your mum, there's money in there to help cover her medical expenses too."

"I-I don't… know what to say… Juniper shed a tear, trying to compose herself enough to state her words. "I didn't know mum felt that way… but, why do so much for me?"

"Well, I didn't have much of an easy life myself before finding people to give me the love and support I needed… so, I wanna extend that to you. And! And, and and! Wanna hear something good? If I along with Flame and the rest of my Pokepals become champs, I'm gonna get rid of that silly ol' invite only rule for the Pokemon league and let everyone be able to join! So, once you become a full fledged trainer, we'll see if you get strong enough to beat the champ, y'hear?"

"R-right," Juniper nodded. "Thanks, Valerie… I'll be sure to study hard. And… thanks for looking out for my mum as well."

"No problemo!" Valerie then turned towards the chat. "Alrighty chat! Press 1 on the chat if you thought this was a SUCCESS! But we're not done yet; cuz' we've got more future trainers to visit! I'll be taking a 5'er though, but, don't blink! I'll be back before you know it! We've got a 24 hour marathon to go, after all, fufufufu…"

Catherine was surprised to say the least. She had known they were meant to be raising money. She hadn't anticipated they would be giving it away. Frankly, she hadn't expected any of the money Valerie raised would get to where it was meant to go.

On the one hand, it was the sort of thing that was bound to make Valerie look good. It would net her more subscribers, improve her reputation. But something irked her about it in a different way than usual. She had said "we" consistently. Granted, she'd named her little community after herself so maybe that was just another ego boost. She didn't know. Something felt weird about the whole situation. She couldn't shake the image of genuine glee she had seen on Juniper's face from her mind and found herself wishing she hadn't been so dumbfounded she hadn't found anything worthwhile to say. It all felt very strange.

Once the camera was temporarily off, she turned to Valerie. "You could have warned me at least. Although, admittedly I would have tried to stop you from showing up at someone's house and… I guess Juniper would have been missing out on something that made her day then. What was all that about?"

"Hmm?" Valerie had just waved goodbye to the girl as Juniper went back inside her house, as Valerie diverted her attention back to Catherine. "Oh! That was somethin' new I always wanted to do. Didn't do a whoooooole lotta planning, but heeeey, streamers don't plan, they just… do, y'know? Sorry I didn't warn you sooner Cath."

"I don't know if that's a streamer thing or a you thing. You just randomly showed up at someone's house and assumed they'd be friendly about it." Catherine shook her head, she was getting sidetracked, caught up in unimportant details. "But that aside, I meant why? Getting her into the academy, removing the recommendation requirement for the league? What's your game plan? What's your angle?"

"Oooh is that all!" Valerie said with a giggle. "I just wanna give those who didn't get to have that chance to… get that chance! I mean, don't you just love being a trainer, Cathy? I mean, pokemon, am I right?! I had sooo many cool memories I had so far! Like, I looooved watching my small lil' Cyndaquil grow up to be tough and strong enough to take on Kabu's Centaskortch for example, and! And, my Meowth used to like, scratch and hiss at me every day, until she also grew up strong and beat up that twat Johnson's stupid little Vigoroth. AND! I made friends with a Squirtle who was hunted by poachers. He used to crawl up in his shell every chance he got, but then, he tooootally saved me from a burning ship. And that was from a little scared Squirtle!! Ahhh! Sorry girl, I just, gah, I really super love Pokemon, and I want others to get the opportunity to have their fun adventures too, y'know? That's why the V-Day crew is all up in here today, baby!"

Was that really it? Catherine could relate, she supposed. She certainly preferred her team to people. But in her experiences, people didn't do things purely out of the goodness of their heart. They did it for recognition, fame or even just to feel good about themselves. Whether other people actually benefitted or not didn't really matter.

Except, wasn't that exactly what she was making a point of doing? Putting other people first, even at her own expense? Again, she found herself unable to shake the image of Tulip's smile. She bent down to pat Indra's head. "Yeah. I can't imagine my life without Indra and the others."

She wanted to question Valerie more. She had so much to ask, so much she wanted to pick at and pick apart. But as she straightened up, their five minute reprieve was coming to a close.

"Heck yeah! Love Flame and the others, they're the awesome-ness! Oh! Gah, almost got carried away; it's almost time to pick things up… I'm super happy you decided to come with me, btw, hehe. Just a couple more people to meet! I'm sure they'll be happy to see you as well!"

"I don't know about that. I've made a lot of people angry." Nonetheless, Catherine dutifully followed Valerie towards their next destination, all the while trying to forget about the camera floating along behind them.

"Allllrighty! V-Dayers, I hope you didn't miss us too much! Let the good times keep rollin'! Alrighty! The next stop in our adventure is…" The duo, as the stream kept showcasing them, encountered more people – one different than the last, but it was the same meetups from Valerie and Catherine. One was a young lad who wanted to be in the pokemon league challenge too, but despite his best efforts, did not receive a recommendation from anyone. There was also one kid who had a ton of siblings that they were taking care of, so Valerie gave them a push - charity money from the stream so that they all can go; even the sibling children, once they come of age.

Another was starting to be a huge Catherine fan, following her battles ever since Hammerlocke - they just believed that Catherine was the right champion for this region. After all, things needed to be done, and a proper leader needed to be found. Valerie took it well; not everyone was a fan of hers, but she was just glad to give them a push for the future as well. It was a couple of hours later that Valerie knew that there wasn't much more people to meet, since the majority has already been met and delivered with goods.

"Hoooo boy, what was that you were saying?" Valerie cheeked. "I've made a lot of people angry? Pfft, you've got way better people cheering you on."

"Better people?" Catherine responded. "Definitely. But not more people. Which is fine, I'm not in this to have a huge fanbase. I'm doing this to make a difference for those few people, like that kid we just met, who want to see things change for the better."

"Hoho, look at you now, you're getting into it!" Valerie cheered. "Well, not that I'm not glad Cathy, it's just – can I be honest with you? While we were still in school, you didn't really seem… into it? And… tbh, I thought you might have dropped out by now. But then like, when i saw your match at the third Gym, I was like… oh man, she's so good! And you know. Just wanna say? I'm super happy for you!"

"I wasn't," Catherine said, still painfully aware of their audience. "But Kabu was a wake-up call. I'm in a position to change things for the better. If I ignore that, I'm just as bad as anyone else who doesn't work for the greater good. I refuse to be one of those people."

Catherine considered for a moment. "Why happy for me though? I fully intend to take the championship. I'm not about to let you beat me. It's too important that I win."

"Fufufu, I'm no slouch either," Valerie warned. "I mean – yeah – I lost to Pia at Strugglecon, BUT! We have gotten way, way stronger since then! Keep that winning streak up girl, cuz' someday, Demon Queen Val is gonna tear it down, hehe. Oh – Tommy! Ah, V-Day Folks, we're gonna take another break - 5 minutes! See you soon!" The stream's camera had shut off again. Valerie took a deep breath, collecting herself for a relaxing breather. "Sorry, I shoulda took a break sooner, but, I guess it's now out there, ahaha…"

"I would have said much the same anyway," Catherine said. "But it is weird knowing that hundreds of people are listening to every word we say."

It was even weirder having a relatively ordinary conversation with Valerie. She wasn't sure if it was because Valerie was putting on her best face for the camera or what, but she had seen very little to take issue with, all things considered. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. It was a good thing, but it was strange to go into something expecting to be feeling homicidal within ten minutes and to still be there several hours later and mostly just feeling tired and confused.

"Don't sweat it. When we battle in the League finals, there's going to be even more people – thousands – watching us duke it out for the championship, you know? And… er… oops, I guess thinking about it now, it gives me maaaajor case of butterfree's in the stomach, hehe. But! We'll both be fine. All we gotta focus on, iiiis the battle after all. Valerie sat on the nearby bench, kicking her feet up. "Woo. So! Other than all that, what did you think of the stream?"

"I don't know," Catherine admitted. She fell silent for a moment, trying to parse her thoughts while she watched Indra hop up onto the bench next to Valerie. For a moment, she almost envied how easily he trusted and how comfortable he was with people. Ironic really, that she was the one who struggled with humans when her Poliwhirl had no such issues. "I'm still trying to figure it out, understand what it is you're getting from it."

"It's just fun for me. That's really it," Valerie explained. "And, meeting lots of people, doing lots of cool things for the community is amaziiiing." Valerie twiddled her fingers. "But, you know, you don't have to get it. Some things just click and resonate with people more without much reason, I guess."

"I do need to get it though," Catherine said. "Because I'm trying to reconcile the joy these people seem to be getting out of all this with the idea that you're doing it for you. Would you still be doing this if it wasn't fun? Or is the good you're doing secondary? Does it even matter? It has to matter, doesn't it? It's confusing."

"Errr… ummm… that's… 404 error… eep?" Yup, Valerie's brain was officially fried. "I kinda got into streaming via an old friend long ago, it was fun, eventually I got to meet with some fans and connect with them, and eventually I decided to donate to charities… would I do it if it wasn't fun? I mean, sure, for a good cause; as for the fans… I guess it's… if people see you commit and find joy in something… it's infectious? I guess that's why I liked Leon so much, he had that sorta excitable energy, you know?"

Eventually, Valerie shrugged. "I dunno? Er, sorry, I tried answering all I could, miiiight of made things worse? Y/N?"

"Not worse," Catherine said. "I don't know if I can believe you that easily but, if you're telling the truth, that's good. I don't know if you answered all my questions, but it's a start. I still don't understand half of what you're saying, but I'm not sure I ever will. We're on completely different wavelengths."

Still, Catherine wanted to extend the same benefit of the doubt to Valerie that she had to Simon. She had to, really. She couldn't have a different set of rules for different people.

"But all the good you seem to be doing," she continued. "That's something I can get behind, at least. I can't complain about that. I can't say I'd do it the same way as you. The way you put yourself out there and just take everything people say at face value is just asking for someone to take advantage of you and - no offense intended - I'm not sure you'd even notice it was happening. Which is… weirdly kind of a good sign? I think. I don't know."

"Hmm.. I think you're right though," Valerie admitted. "I've been betrayed before, actually. Still kinda coming to terms with it. And, I'm kinda upset at myself for not noticing the signs sooner. I like making new friends, but, maybe I shouldn't have been so gung ho on taking everything at face value. Buuut, I guess that's just one harsh lesson I needed to learn during this adventure. I'm sure there will be more, but, yeah." Valerie stood back up. "Mmm. Anyway, break is almost done for me, aaand… I shouldn't really keep you or your Pokemon. You're free to go!"

That was a relief at least. Catherine had been steeling herself to be expected to stick around for the entire thing. She definitely didn't want to, but she would have if that was the idea.

"Come on Indra," Catherine said. "Let's get going."

Dutifully, the Poliwhirl hopped off the bench, waved his goodbye, and then followed behind his trainer… only to come to a very abrupt halt when she did.

Catherine didn't feel right leaving it at that, just taking off without notice. Although, when she thought about it… it was more than that. Despite herself, she had enjoyed seeing how happy they had been making people. She hadn't really minded Valerie's company either, as loathe as she was to admit it.

What then? She supposed she could stick around, if Valerie didn't mind. But was that what she really wanted? She wasn't so sure anymore. She'd never really allowed herself to enjoy the company of others. It was too hard to trust they weren't up to anything. Valerie was, by her own admission though, too dense to have complex ulterior motives. Not that Catherine could completely trust that either… but she had set tests for the rangers and for Simon. She could do it for Valerie too, see if she was really as stupidly good natured as she appeared.

Not just a test for Valerie though. A test for herself. An experiment. Up until very recently, Catherine wouldn't have considered it. But, if she was willing to accept that people could change and be better. If she was willing to accept that she herself was doing good. It followed that she had to accept that some good already existed in the world. She would test that too.

"Hey, Val?"

"What's up, Catherine?"

Catherine took a deep breath. If she was going to do this, she had to commit to it. She couldn't turn back without giving it a fair chance. She felt uncomfortable just thinking about it, almost ill, but she steeled herself anyway. "What the hell? Want to be friends?"

Indra sat down with an audible flop.

Valerie blinked. Then again. And once more. It was still taking her a while to process it all. Awkward silence. For a good moment.

Then, finally, it was broken by a hug. "Yup."

Friend Count: 24-25
Friend Count: 5-6

Turnip · Dec 10, 2022

Back In The Spooky Forest Terrifying Mushroom Amongus (FAKE)
Featuring Jerry, Xan, Sphinx and Kass

Jerry was scared of ghosts. This place was full of them.

The Psyduck had seemingly moved on a little from shutting down around Ghost-types since the gym battle at Stow-on-side. Whatever support he'd received back there had evidently helped a bit, but some other kind of help would probably be needed. Jerry might see ghosts as beatable enemies now, but they were still outright enemies - and more fearsome ones than usual. Xan had tried raising the issue to Jerry of course, several times, but as much as Jerry was willing to try things, listening to and comprehending stressful subjects had never been the Water-type's strong suit. Less about intention and more about capability. Maybe some kind of therapeutic experience needed to be organised - or perhaps he'd never get over it, who knew? Still, it seemed like it'd be worth trying. The question was just how responsive Jerry would be on that end. Xan hoped that the answer was 'responsive enough'; Sphinx was already prone enough to yapping at shadows, and they didn't need another companion with a tiny fuse to worry about. The psychic could barely find a moment in this place where they didn't feel the need to remain poised to ball the two at a moment's notice. Or perhaps balling the ghost would be a better strategy - eh, safer maybe, but when they thought about it for more than a second, financially unfeasible.

Oh, yeah: this place! Glimwood Tangle. Although nice to look at, it carried a slightly unnerving atmosphere at the best of times - even having found an ostensibly safe hideaway to make camp, Xan found themselves retaining a prudent awareness of the feel of the Pokéballs resting in their hoodie pockets. Trees and their roots, along with ample bushy foliage and the occasional huge fungus provided more than enough cover to be secure by normal standards. And beyond it, a decent amount of relatively uncovered space so as to be watchable. Somehow, in spite of the surrroundings they had found providing evidence to the contrary, the thought that something could burst out from the gloom and ruin the sanctity of the evening's vibe was hard to shake.

As for the vibe itself? A tense calm, punctuated by productivity. Lots of training to be had. The abundance of intruding foliage made this place an ideal spot for stress-testing kinesis with potential distractions. Jerry and Sphinx were passing a ball around in-between, er... some kind of conversation, if it could be called that. The Psyduck seemed to be somewhat distressed by the Vulpix's aggressive yapping, but at the same time the more Sphinx yapped the less time Jerry spent glancing worriedly out of the camp. Xan wasn't going to pretend that they understood the interpersonal dynamics of their companions - much less pretend that they had any shot at mediating them, beyond the obvious heavy-handed last resort of balling someone if they did something criminal. Though they felt a mote of guilt for doing so, they felt it best to leave that to the watchful eye of Kass, who was surely looking out for everyone even as they spun acrobatically through a shower of dried leaves under their own control.

Xan's own training ventures were not quite so impressive, though in terms of relative progress they were just as important. Though not quite like a muscle, the frequency and variety of use their psychokinetic power was getting seemed to be paying off in some manner or another. Autokinesis was something of a different beast within that genre, however; the application of actual force was never the difficult part, the difficulty was in accounting for other, potentially unwanted influences. Though self-inflicted, telekinetic outside forces still flared as concerning in the psychic's nervous system. Progressing with autokinetic ability was mostly about fighting their own body's reflexes and balance system for some kind of synthesis. That is to say... they wanted to be able to push themselves without falling over.

They were starting to get the hang of more balanced autokinetic bursts of travel. The movement was less like a jump, more of an extended, slanted step with bits of it cut out... Speed was the main aim, rather than distance, but neither was necessarily unwanted in general and in theory one sort of facilitated the other... Precise distances were the aim, the capacity for distance was wanted but more than that the capacity to control distance was wanted... The key for speed over short distances was including more support to counter potential whiplash... Okay, yeah, this was working. They could get into a rhythm with this - which, in retrospect, they shouldn't. Best not get too comfortable. What was doable in training doesn't necessarily come too easily in a situation of heightened tension where adrenaline naturally flares up one's reflexes. That is to say, the reflexes that aren't necessarily the helpful ones when it comes to not freaking out. Should require more training - trials in sparring, especially. Still, progress was pleasant, if not a surprise. Science told them that walking and running was essentially just humans learning to stop themselves from face-planting every time they took a step, and they'd managed to learn those two things pretty reliably. Just an extension of that, really. The next step in human evolution, they dared to think before holding back a retch, rolling their eyes at the unnecessarily grandiose way their brain had framed that thought in the moment. The next step in avoiding trips to the hospital, more like. The next step in not being stabbed by a Fearow's beak, more like.

Xan's gaze trailed from the sewn-up hole on the shoulder of their hoodie back to Kass and their twister of leaves. Telepathic waves carried the human's message to its recipient - hey, if you're not busy, throw some leaves at me.

The phone had been requiring Xan's attention for a little while now, so they felt obliged to take a peek at it as they began weaving their way around the leaves intermittently chucked their way. When it came down to it, though, the thought of dealing with the backlog of text messages was a little too uninviting. Instead, they pulled up their email and decided to continue working on that more detailed e-mail for the sake of Ryan's research-assistance-project-whatever. Taking on the Stow-on-side gym with her had been a decidedly good idea in the moment, but in retrospect it provoked a lot of questions from their family (mainly their mum) about an acquaintance that Xan really didn't have the answers to - nor, indeed, the desire to seek out the knowledge to provide those answers. Why they were expected to know who any given person was past their name and occupation was utterly beyond the psychic.

They caught their centre of balance low and stumbled, tumbling over a tree root to slump comfortably. Kass giggled and tapped the human with a leaf as they rose to their feet again. Gotchaa. Wow, Kass wins, wow, wowee.

LinearAxel · Dec 11, 2022

Melody Argent

18 | Female | From Spikemuth

Inventory

Spoiler:

Team

Spoiler:

Phantom

This is it, Melody thinks to herself as she looks into the dressing room's mirror, looping her tie into a knot and tugging it against her neck. Another contest, another performance. While her first two performances had been thought up mere days before the contest, the blueprint for this one had come to her in Motostoke, with additions and addendums being added after Strugglecon, the desert, and Stow-on-Side.

… Which meant, if this bombed, she couldn't blame it on throwing it together at the last minute. It meant that she stepped out, put her heart and soul into something, and failed. A feeling she had been rather skillfully dodging her entire life by walking away from anything and everything she was remotely talented at before she could crash and burn.

A light tug on her tie causes Melody to look down at the chair between her and the mirror, meeting the judgemental gaze of Celeste. "What?"

The trainer's question is answered with a gentle glow from the psychic type's body that causes the last two contest ribbons (which she had worn as bows) to float from her hair. The slightly larger one floats around Melody's hands while the smaller ribbon is practically shoved into the punk's face, causing her to take a deep breath that's quickly followed by the smallest of smiles. She knows what Celeste is trying to say: When she entered her first contest, it was per the request of Haleigh and Rosa. It was something to try for fun, and because Annabelle wanted to give it a shot, and if they didn't do well, well, Melody never set out to be a coordinator anyway. Hell, she half expected to be disqualified because her routine wasn't very contest-y.

Thus, it came as the biggest shock of her life when Ruby called her name as the winner. That ribbon came with it an influx of emotion; everything from excitement to the crushing feeling that she was going to have to do this again now… to the slowly dawning realization that she kind of wanted to do this again. When it came time for the next contest, she decided to play it by the book and make it more like the contests she had watched at home with Gran. It wasn't nearly as fun, and… her Pokemon didn't get to shine nearly as brightly because of her own restraint.

Melody takes the third-place ribbon from the air and gently pins it back into Celeste's hair. "Do or die time," she says before pinning the first-place ribbon on the other side. "We do this our way."

The pair's heart-to-heart is cut short by a soft knocking at the door. "You're third in line, Miss Argent!" Calls a familiar voice.

"Aye, aye, Captain K," she responds as she rises from her chair. Before making her way up those stairs and onto that stage, she's met with an encouraging nudge to her shoulder from her favorite Doom Noodle, a fist bump from her baby rockstar, and an encouraging text from an anonymous number that reads the familiar line: Let the music play! Melody looks from the three Pokemon in her dressing room before gathering three more Pokeballs into her hands. "Let the music play," she repeats.

As the announcer speaks of the next contestant, Melody peers out at the stage. Per her request, placed about the stage were flat, star-shaped markers lined with some kind of glimmering gel. The coordinator takes one last deep breath as the stage lights flicker from their vibrant yellow light to a dimmer red. Red, like the color of her eyes, the color that always bothered her so much because it clashed with the pink that represented Spikemuth. A color she always tried to avoid. The same way she's spent her life avoiding giving anything her all. Kind of ironic how that turned out, huh?

♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

The curtains rise on the red stage as a guitar riff plays. Melody, clad in her black suit, baton in hand, slides out from the side of the stage and tosses Blue's Pokeball into the air.

The Houndour takes shape and immediately ignites the ends of Melody's baton. The pair then take to opposite sides of the stage, Melody tapping the star-shaped markers on her side of the stage with her baton while Blue sparks the markers on her side to life using Incinerate. The gentle tap and the small sparks are all it takes to ignite the gel and create several roaring (albeit controlled) fires. Once the markers are all ignited, Melody, twirling the fiery baton, spins back toward center stage. With an excited "Woo!" she tosses the baton into the air with her left hand. As it flies upward, Piper leaps from the shadows behind her trainer, the ghostly apparitions that she summons when using Trick-Or-Treat follow suit, with three gliding to either side of the stage. As the baton descends-- something falls from the rafters, hitting the stage as Melody catches the baton in her right hand.

In her regular Pikachu cosplay, very pleased with her dramatic stage fall, Annabelle looks about the stage before jumping in surprise when Melody leaps forward, mere inches from the little puppet, and clearly, purposefully towering over her.

Melody steps closer to Annabelle, tapping her baton against the stage until the fires extinguish themselves. As she steps forward, the ghostly fairy attempts to back away. She turns, as if planning to run towards the stage right exit, only to see three of the apparitions as well as Blue standing in front of that exit, her lower body bent down, as if ready to pounce if the puppet attempts to escape. Melody steps between the two so she can steer Annabelle toward the other side of the stage. Now, Melody is stepping forward, and Annabelle is frantically stepping back. Again, she turns and rushes for the stage left exit, but just before she gets to it, Piper glides forward, followed by the second trio of apparitions, to block that exit. On cue, the lights begin to flicker. Each time the lights come back on, they're on just long enough to showcase that Melody and Blue are a step closer to the terrified Annabelle.

When the lights come back on for good. Annabelle is pressed against the curtain on the far left side of the stage while Melody leans over her, her baton held behind her back. This is Annabelle's cue to fall into her shadow, zipping away from the suit-clad ring leader. As she does so, Melody pivots to face the audience whilst Piper's jack-o-lantern face begins to glow, casting a spotlight on the sneaking shadow that was Annabelle. She points at said shadow with her vestigial hair, and the blue-eyed hellhound lunges toward it.

Annabelle pops out of her shadow when Blue pounces down, the ghostly fairy skittering across the dog's back before attempting to leap upwards to freedom-- only to be caught in Piper's arms. The enchanted pumpkin tosses Annabelle into the air, her apparitions gliding along beneath her and grappling their hands into the air, as if trying to clutch tightly onto the tormented puppet.
Melody opens her arms to catch the falling doll. The music stops for a split second before she tosses Annabelle upward once more, then strikes her baton against one of the dimly-glowing stickers, sparking the baton to light as if she was striking an oversized match.
Annabelle, being hoisted towards Piper once again, twirls in mid-air, using her Fairy Wind to sail herself right over the haunted pumpkin. It works! Until the wind fades, and she finds herself falling down to the grappling arms of Piper's ghosts. She twirls again to evade the wicked spirits, gently touching the ground before having to dart away from a flame hurling towards her, courtesy of Blue's incinerate. Now that the hellhound and soul-catcher have seen their newest minion might actually be capable of escaping, they're going to turn it up a notch.
Annabelle then dances around the stage, dodging Blue's Incinerate and Piper's Bullet Seeds, pivoting from side to side as apparitions swoop down to try and grab her. The stage erupts into chaos, and in the middle of it-- there's Melody; dancing through that chaos, twirling that flaming baton, leaping over roaring flames, stopping her movement to pirouette in place while bullet seeds shoot on either side of her, then tossing her baton back into the air so her hands are free to backflip over to meet Annabelle. Her feet hit the ground and she grabs the flaming baton before smashing it onto the floor in front of the skittering fairy, promptly stopping her in her tracks.
The guitar music stops as the stage lights suddenly shift from the red color to a dim magenta. Both Piper and Blue stop their assaults as the music suddenly changes to an upbeat piano ballad. Melody taps her foot to the beat as her two minions stay perfectly still. Annabelle peers around Melody, looking left, right, up, down, and then towards the audience. There's a stiff pause before the captive puppet decides to seize the opportunity and make one last attempt at escape and rushes towards the audience.

But alas! It was but a trick. As soon as the Mimikyu moves past Melody, Blue jumps forward and catches the puppet's cloth between her teeth. As quickly as the red stage lights flickered out of existence, they blink right back. A spotlight falls onto Melody as she clicks her heels across the stage, twirling her baton from hand to hand as Piper's spirits glide along behind her. "This world is what you need, where the monsters roam and the demons all feed," Melody sings as the spirits sway behind her to the rhythm of the music. She turns on her toes and points her baton towards the puppet, still captured in the hellhound's mouth. "Relax don't you look so wary, it's all only temporary!"
Another spotlight falls onto Piper as she flies over towards the ringleader and her group of spirits, motioning for the apparitions to sing along when Melody leaps back towards them. "We roam and sing along, while the choir joins in sing an abhorrent song~"
While the spirits summoned by Trick-Or-Treat are mute, they do open their mouths in time with the music while energetically swirling around the ringleader. "We bite, it's a little bit scary, the pain's only temporary!" Melody sings as the spotlight moves from her and the shadows to Blue and Annabelle, just as the Mimikyu takes her ghostly claw from inside her disguise and slashes at her captor, causing Blue's mouth to open and granting Annabelle freedom, which she uses to Fairy Wind herself into Melody's arms. As she lands in Melody's grasp, a ghostly, sadistic laugh echoes through the audience and the lights instantly turn off completely.
In the darkness, Melody and Annabelle quickly dart off stage. Annabelle hops out of Melody's arms and fades into the ground, leaving her Pikachu disguise behind to quick-change into the Mimikyuma disguise she had been wearing since Strugglecon. Likewise, Melody quickly pulls a red tailcoat over her shirt and places a red bowler hat on her head. While the quickchange is going on backstage, a pre-recorded, slightly distorted version of Melody's voice plays through the stage. "I'm not what you want,
but I'm exactly what you need,
take a bite and feed,
Your satisfaction guaranteed~"
At the end of the first stanza, a single red stagelight dimly lights the stage. The end of each stanza causes the lights to become brighter and brighter. Meanwhile, Piper, Blue, and the spirits stand on opposite sides of the center stage, as if waiting patiently for something to appear.
The center stage curtain then opens and Melody reappears with the newly disguised Annabelle on her shoulder. As she walks downstage towards the audience, she repeats those lines. Louder. Stronger.
"I'm not what you want,
but I'm exactly what you need,
take a bite and feed,
Your satisfaction guaranteed!"
As she sings, behind her, Blue and Piper move about the stage re-igniting the flames from the beginning. Blue can easily spark the flames by using Incinerate, while Piper sparks the embers by firing Razor Leaves into the flames. Even Annabelle hops down from Melody's shoulder to light the last two markers with her Burning Jealousy.
"I'm your sunshine, whoa!" Melody sings as Annabelle ignites her first marker. "I'm gonna burn down your parade~" She sings as Annabelle's second marker roars to life.
"I'm a shooting star-" She sings as she holds her elbow out so Annabelle can hop back up.
"That wish you wished you never made!"
Big finish time, Melody thrusts her arm upward and Annabelle jumps up as high as she can, spinning higher and higher, lighting up the stage with a combination of Burning Jealousy and Fairy Wind.

"We're the wish you wish you never made!"

The guitar grows quieter as Annabelle glides back down to the ground. That soft piano begins to play once more, growing quieter and quieter as the fires die down, Piper's spirits fading out of sight. Annabelle turns to Melody and extends her ghostly claw, the pair shaking hands before the transformed fairy takes her place atop Melody's shoulder. Joined by their other two companions, as the lights begin to fade for the last time, the group begins to walk back towards the curtain…

♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

After collecting her things from her dressing room and making her way toward the back of the audience to watch the rest of the contest, Melody caught sight of the camera crew that accompanied that interviewer; the one that always wants to ask if gym challengers or coordinators have anything they want their audience to know after their latest display. Normally, Melody's answer is a hard scowl before walking away; however, this time, if they come near her... maybe she'll say something. Just a brief something. Because this wouldn't have gone out there decked out in red, embracing that ghostly part of her-- embracing numerous parts of herself that she tried to push far away from the public eye, were it not for a conversation out in the desert with an old friend. If they ask, she'll give five words.

That one was for Simon.

Foxrally · Dec 13, 2022

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Ballonlea

"This is where we're doing this? Seriously?" Simon laughed as he recognized the place his father had taken him to, one of the many local battle pitches scattered near the town square, covered in mossy cobblestone as the rest of Ballonlea was.

"Aye, what's wrong with it? Used ta always take you here, didn't I?" his dad replied.

Simon smiled; the sight of the battlefield bringing back many memories of mock-battles he'd have with the other kids with wild Pokemon. Despite the late morning hours (though time of day seemed to be perpetually suspended in Ballonlea) the square was bustling with townsfolk going about their day, and a few curious onlookers had already stopped at Simon's appearance.

"And you had to pick the spot in the center of town…?" Simon looked around nervously, his Pokemon darting into his pockets after remembering what happened the previous day.

Simon's father clapped a hand on his son's shoulder and grinned, "Thrashin' you in battle out here ought to knock that cockiness down a peg, eh lad?" He chuckled and made his way to the other side of the other side of the battlefield.

Simon breathed in and steeled himself, trying his best not to look nervous in front of the gathering crowd. For some reason, he was feeling the same anxious jitters he always did before a gym battle, perhaps even more so considering who his opponent was.

With a quick hand motion, the hulking form of Grimms leaped up from beside his father and crashed onto the center of the battlefield. The friendly Grimmsnarl Simon knew was wearing a very different face now. His eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth at Simon, sending a shiver down the boy's spine as he gulped. Both Pokemon and its trainer stood before him with their arms crossed.

"Two Pokemon, single battle." his Dad called out. "Hit me with yer best, boy!"

Simon nodded back and gathered his team in a circle. He knew what Pokemon his father would use, but it certainly wasn't making the decision any easier. Snom stepped up eagerly, hissing out a confident cry at Simon.

"Ah, sorry Snom, I think you…" He glanced up at the Grimmsnarl, "...might not fare too well against a physical guy like Grimms."

The ice-type snorted with indignation and turned away. Simon looked at Vivillon and Mothim, both currently the strongest and fully evolved members on his team. "We'll have to pull out the big guns for this one. Ready, you two?"

Both flying Pokemon nodded with determination. "Alright, let's go!" Simon extended his sleeves for the bugs to crawl back in and got up to face his father, Pokeball in hand. By now a small crowd of people and wild Pokemon had gathered around the edges of the arena, chattering excitedly.

"Mothim, you're up!" Simon called out, pointing forward dramatically. The bug latched off of his shoulder and glided down.

"Looks like we're eatin' butterflies today, Grimms!" his dad teased, cracking his knuckles.

"Go ahead, seniors first." Simon hit back with a smirk, earning several laughs from the crowd. "Or are you too-"

"Grimms, Fake Out!"

Before Simon or Mothim could even react, the Grimmsnarl rushed forward at blinding speed, arms raised. At the last second, however, he stopped, leaving Mothim frozen in shock for a moment - before knocking him back with a flick of his finger.

"Wha- hey, no fair!" Simon scowled, watching his Pokemon reel from the stunning strike.

"Aaah hahah! Gits 'em every time!" Simon's dad cackled. "Now, Spirit Break!"

A toothy grin grew on Grimms' face as pink energy pulsed from his fist and he punched it into the stunned bug, throwing him back towards Simon. The crowd cheered as the battle properly kicked off into full swing.

"Mothim! You alright?" Simon called out, to which the Pokemon squeaked and flew back upright. The pink energy persisted on his body, however, a telltale sign of the weakening effects of Grimms' signature move. "Let's clear that off - use Quiver Dance!"

Mothim's wings gleamed white and sparks flew out of them as the bug flew in a figure eight, leaving shimmering afterimages of itself behind.

Taking advantage of the delay, his father had the time to strengthen his own Pokemon. "Grimms, Bulk up and attack!" The dark-type roared and flexed his tendril-like hair muscles, steam coming off of them, before rushing at Mothim again. The bug barely avoided the hit, flying over Grimms and circling above.

Simon knew the Grimmsnarl's speed would be a problem here. "We've got to slow him down! Electroweb!"

Using the momentum of his dodge, Mothim flipped backwards and flung an electric net at his opponent, tangling the Grimmsnarl's limbs in the web and battering him with several gusts of wind as he retreated.

"How's that for a maneuver?" Simon gloated.

"Keep it together, Grimms! Spirit Break!" his dad called out. The Grimmsnarl snarled and threw his fist forward again, but this time, the pink energy clumsily missed Mothim.

"Gust, again!" Simon called out. Mothim continued to buzz around his opponent, whipping up more blasts of wind as his opponent tried to attack from limited range. With every Spirit break that would connect, three Gusts would hit, and Grimms' aim was getting sloppier with every attack.

Simon crossed his arms. "Getting tired already?"

In response, a glint appeared in his father's eye. "Grimms! Get up close anaw, and Fake 'im Out!"

The boy snorted, "Trying to get us with that one again? Fat chance- hold your ground, Mothim! Gust!"

Both trainer and Pokemon stood confidently as Grimm leaped up to attack again, just like last time… but at the last second, his father spoke up again. "Bite!"

Simon's eyes as well as Grimms' maw opened wide as he clamped down on Mothim, bringing the bug down to the ground with him.

"Wha- you-!"

"Gahahah! I call that one the Double Fake Out!" his father bellowed. The crowd roared with excitement. Simon watched as Mothim flinched out again, breaking concentration on his Quiver Dance and leaving him wide open for another attack. With his opponent still on the ground, Grimms grabbed the bug with one hand. "Leech life!"

Light coursed out of the bite marks in Mothim's body and channeled into the Grimmsnarl's arm, slowly draining the bug of his energy.

"Blast away with Gust!"

The bug tried to fly off, but to no avail as Grimms had tangled his hair around its body like a wrap. Mothim's flailing was getting weaker by the second, and before Simon could call out another command, he saw more pink energy gathering in Grimms' other fist.

"Spirit Break!" his dad commanded.

The punch connected point-blank with Mothim's face, sending a whiplash-like shockwave through the bug's restrained body. Before long, his last bit of energy had been sapped out by Leech Life, and his wings drooped in defeat.

Simon's father cracked his neck. "How's that for a maneuver?"

Simon grit his teeth as he recalled his Pokemon, trying his best to keep cool. He'd barely made a dent in Grimms' defenses, and the longer the battle went on, the more uphill it would get… he had to do this next one perfectly.

Simon glanced at the other Pokemon on his shoulder. "Let's show 'em what we're made of, Vivillon." The bug squeaked and hopped off, landing on the ground in an impressive flourish of sparkles.

"Now we're talkin'! Partner versus partner!" Simon's dad exclaimed. Grimms punched a fist into his hand and grinned menacingly.

"Full steam ahead, Vivillon, Poison Powder!"

The Pokémon rushed towards her opponent, showering him with poisonous scales at point blank range to make sure they would hit. A sickly purple aura immediately surrounded the Grimmsnarl - but the move left little room for dodging.

"Bite!"

"Gust!"

As Grimms leaped up to attack, Vivillon shot sideways with a well-timed blast of wind, avoiding the hit, and followed up with another aimed at the Grimmsnarl's back. This caused him to trip forward, breaking his stance just long enough for Simon to take advantage of it.

"String Shot!" On cue, Vivillon shot out a glob of string at Grimms again, pinning one of his arms to his back, then another at his foot, toppling him over and landing him right in front of Simon.

"Looks like you're in a bind now, mate." he teased, crouching down to meet Grimms at eye-level. "Gust!"

Vivillon followed up with another wind blast, pinning the Grimmsnarl to the floor of the arena as the poison continued to take effect.

Simon's dad spoke up, "Think you're clever, boy? Grimms, Bulk Up!"

Grimms snarled as steam billowed from his muscles, straining against the string wrapped around them. His arms grew in size, and with a roar he snapped the restraints around them.

"Now, Revenge!" The Grimmsnarl's body became coated in a fiery red glow and he shoved Vivillon away with a kick, ending the barrage of gusts.

The bug-type righted herself midair and glanced at Simon, then squeaked something out inquisitively. The trainer nodded back confidently.

Simon's father threw his arm out, his expression much more serious now. "Close the distance on 'em, Spirit Break!"

"Charge at him as well!" Simon retorted, much to the crowd - and his father's - surprise.

Both Pokémon rushed at each other, luminescent energy gathering in their bodies. Grimms' fist met Vivillon's head with a resounding pink shockwave, blowing away both sides of the battlefield… only for Grimms to reel back in pain, staggering to his knees.

Simon grinned. "That was a little taste of Draining Kiss - strange being weak to your own type, innit?"

His father had no retort for that one. "Keep weakening 'em! Spirit Break!"

The Grimmsnarl attempted to hurl more punches forward, but Vivillon danced around them with ease, meeting each one with a Draining Kiss that sapped whatever energy wasn't being taken by the poison. Several more moments passed, before finally, Grimms raised an arm… and dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Sorry, big fella." Simon winced as the ground rumbled with the crash of the Pokemon. He looked at his father, whose expression was hidden in the shadow of his own brimmed hat, arms crossed. Simon wondered if he'd gone a bit too far with the taunting-

"GAHAHAH! THAT'S MY BOY!" the man boomed out suddenly, raising his fist to the air as the crowd cheered on. "I havenae had a battle like this in years!" He recalled Grimms and turned to the crowd to rile them up.

Simon sighed in relief, but didn't let his guard down - they weren't done yet.

Foxrally · Dec 13, 2022

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Ballonlea

Still donning the chef's outfit from earlier, Ross stepped onto the field. He looked at Vivillon, crouched down and took a fighting stance. The air around him seemed to go still as the bug's pupils shone brightly against the floating will-o-wisps, unnerving even Simon himself. Then, with one hand, Ross ripped the apron off. Underneath was a shell covered in cracks, scratches and battle scars, spikes jutting out of his sides, sharpened to a point from years of battling in the wild. His claws, in stark contrast to the rest of his body, were polished and razor-sharp, almost as if he'd maintained them in anticipation of battle like this. The Heracross narrowed his eyes and tucked his arms in.

Sweating nervously, Simon prepared for his father to call out a command. The crowd watched on with bated breath as the two Pokemon stared each other down, their eyes darting between the two trainers. A few moments passed and Simon's father look at him.

"Well, go on, then! You're really gonnae wait for 'im?"

Simon glanced back in confusion for a second, then realized what was happening. He'd failed to notice the white glow coming from Ross' body as the bug had closed its eyes - he'd been using Calm Mind the whole time.

His father laughed, "Your mum was a ranger, lad- Ross can handle you himself!"

"Vivillon, Gust!" Simon called out, hoping to cut off the Heracross before it was too late.

Vivillon reared up to attack, but before she could move Ross' arms flew forward and shot out a vacuum wave, rippling through the air like thunder and shooting through the bug's body, staggering her before she could move. Ross then unfurled his own wings and leapt up, following up with a horn attack before punching her out of the sky. Vivillon hit the ground with a hard thud but managed to stay upright; only narrowly avoiding a devastating slam attack as Ross came crashing down on her position with his horn.

The dust cleared, and Simon gulped as he noticed the crater where the Heracross had slammed down was now cracked and the stones turned to rubble."Keep your distance! Keep using Gust!"

The wind from Vivillon's wings blew through the Heracross but barely seemed to deal any damage; the Calm Mind aura shielding him from most of it. Ross flew forward again, this time with a bubbling purple fist. Vivillon attempted to dodge, but purple streaks of gas followed her, seeping into her skin. Simon recognized it as the noxious glow of Toxic.

His father was quick to laugh, "Wha' happened to 'holding your ground'?"

"Oh, you'll see." Simon muttered. As Ross began to chase after his Pokemon, Vivillon suddenly changed course, "Now, Poison Powder!"

Vivillon twirled as she flipped around and showered the Heracross with glittering purple powder of her own, and purple stains appeared all over his body.

"Good work, girl!" Simon cheered. Despite his earlier confidence, he knew that this was now a battle of attrition… and he was at a disadvantage.

His dad smirked and shook his head. "Ohh, you shouldae have done that." As he spoke, the aura around Ross' body became even brighter, and was now tinted with a red glow, as if it was absorbing the energy from the poison.

Simon's heart dropped as he remembered what ability the species could have. "...shit."

Ross let out a roaring battlecry and pointed one arm at Vivillon like a cannon, then fired out several large hunks of rock at the bug. She was able to dodge a few before one of them hit, knocking her downwards - leaving her open for another devastating horn attack.

Simon watched as his Pokemon was flung across the battlefield, only to be caught again by another rock blast and attacked again with the horn. Vivillon couldn't get away in time for another Gust. "Use Draining Kiss on the next hit!"

As Ross charged again with his horn raised, Vivillon met the attack with her own, mitigating some of the likely-critical damage but still knocking her away. Meanwhile, the Heracross looked stronger than ever, the Calm Mind effect still lingering on his body.

"No use running, lad! Ross'll get to ya sooner or later!" Simon's father shouted at him, though Simon noticed it wasn't in a taunting tone this time… suddenly, his eyes grew with realization. His dad was right.

"Vivillon, get up close again, but focus on his back!" he called out. Though beaten and bruised, the bug buzzed in response and managed to lift off the ground. She dodged several more vacuum waves from her opponent and dipped down, landing square onto Ross' back. "Now string shot yourself to him and don't let go!"

Vivillon spat out a large glob of string between herself and Ross' back then slammed her body into him, ensuring the two were fused together. Ross let out a panicked growl as he tried to get Vivillon off of him, perhaps realizing what was coming next.

"Draining kiss!"

The powerful aura around Ross' body diminished bit by bit as Vivillon began continuously sapping his energy, all while the Heracross clawed frantically to rip her away. Simon held his breath and prayed she would survive the onslaught.

After a few more hits, Ross painstakingly jumped and slammed backwards onto his carapace, managing to rip Vivillon away as the string shot flaked off of him. The flying bug remained on the ground, and Simon's heart dropped for a moment as Ross turned around to deliver the finishing blow. Before he could punch down, however, a massive whirlwind burst from Vivillon's body and blew him away, sending him tumbling back towards Simon's dad.

Both bugs got to their feet and stared each other down, too tired to move, still under the effect of each poison. Neither could reach the other, and all they could do was wait. Simon watched anxiously as Ross shakily took a step forward, noxious steam coming off of his body. The Heracross stared back at Simon for a moment and took his original fighting stance, standing up straight this time. He then calmly sat back down, legs crossed… and collapsed backwards, defeated.

The crowd erupted into applause as Simon was declared the victor. "I knew you could do it!" The boy rushed to his Pokemon and hugged her tightly, as the spectators swarmed the two excitedly. She let out a strained buzz and weakly climbed back onto Simon's shoulder. Ross was already being tended to by Simon's father; the older man gave the Pokemon a pat on the head before recalling him.

He approached the pair, cutting through the crowd until he was face-to-face with Simon. He clapped a hand onto Simon's shoulder and motioned towards the stadium.

"You're ready, lad."

Foxrally · Dec 14, 2022

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Ballonlea Stadium

Simon triumphantly stepped into the Ballonlea stadium, soothe bell in hand, to a roaring crowd of spectators. Unlike most of his gym battles, the arena was filled with hometown fans, many of them sporting Ballonlea stadium shirts, and he'd even noticed a few wearing bucket hats, emblazoned with his logo, 412. The stadium itself was decorated pink, but not for the historical fairy-type leader. Today the floating mists and will-o-wisps on the ground seemed to move in a much more organized pattern, forming little swirls evoking the symbols of Ballonlea's newer gym type; psychic.

The mission prior had been a cakewalk for Simon. As it turned out, the area where they'd placed the soothe bell was one he knew personally, a part of the woods he'd played in regularly as a child. This, combined with the bugs' acute sense of smell, meant he had no issues getting lost or finding the bell - and as of the issue of the Impidimp, Simon had come prepared. Using a hair from Grimms' mane and a cinnamon bun, the trainer had successfully managed to lure the devious Pokemon to him, and earned it trust through simple conversation. After that, it was simply a matter of helping each other out in exchange for more cinnamon buns.

Simon walked through the opening corridor, finding his father and his Pokemon waiting excitedly on the nearest seats. "Hey!!" he exclaimed, rushing over to them.

"Gahahah! Knew you had it in you, lad!" his father bellowed from above. Grimms and Ross were cheering at his side, crying out encouragingly. "Go get 'im!" Simon beamed and nodded back before running to the field.

Now came the battle. To Simon's disappointment, Bede was not the gym leader on duty for the day; he would have enjoyed taking on a fellow local - and getting a shot at beating Catherine's time to defeat him. But he also wouldn't complain about a shot at battling Avery, a fan favourite among the previous minor-league gyms.

The leader in question was standing on the other side of the field, entranced in what looked like some psychic pre-battle ritual. Several Pokeballs were floating around him, mimicking the pattern of the swirling clouds. As Simon approached, the clouds seemed to part slightly, giving the two trainers better visibility of each other.

"If it isn't the hometown hero." Avery spoke up, opening his eyes. "I may be new to Ballonlea, but it's hard to go a day without hearing someone speak your name, Simon Pearburgh."

"What can I say," Simon grinned, "I make an impact on folks."

"A surprising one for a specialist in diminutive Pokemon." Avery responded, pushing up his glasses. "Well I promise you won't be getting any home advantage against me."

"True. You might be the one needing it." Simon taunted and jogged back to the other side of the field.

Both trainers got into position and grabbed their Pokeballs. Avery floated his ball up in the air, releasing his Swoobat. The bat-like Pokemon squeaked as it took flight, blowing away some of the mist around it.

Simon tossed his own ball forward; "Let's go, Princess!" The light coalesced into the tiny form of his Joltik, who gave a brave battlecry of her own.

The announcer's voice rang through the stadium. "It's the bug king of our own, challenger 412, versus our psychic psych-out! The arena is about to burst, ladies and gentlemen - let's see which of these trainers will come out on top!"

The referee's whistle rang and both fighters jumped into action. Simon wasted no time setting himself up. "Use Spider Web!" Princess shot out a large sticky net at the swoobat, ensuring Avery could not switch it out. The web tangled up its wings, but it remained in the air.

"Swoobat, set up a Light Screen, then Air Slash!" Avery called out, as his Pokemon conjured a wall-like barrier of light in front of it. It then raised its wings and flapped them downward in an arc, shooting forward a wave of razor-sharp wind.

Princess nimbly avoided the hits as they cleaved through the mist and rained down on her. Avery chuckled, "You can't run forever, little bug… it'll take more than some pesky web to slow us down!"

As he spoke, Swoobat shot out several more Air Slashes, the final one grazing the joltik lightly. Simon knew that Avery's Pokemon was faster, but he couldn't rely on paralysis this time to slow him down… but he had other ideas. "How about a different kind of web, then?" he retorted, posing dramatically for the camera. Princess responded with a large Electroweb attack, draping it over the flying-type. The light screen diminished its impact, but this time, Swoobat faltered, bogged down by both nets. It responded with another series of Air Slashes and was met with more Electrowebs, finally pulling down to the ground.

"Let's cut through that light screen - Fury Cutter!" Simon followed up. Now fully outspeeding her opponent, Princess leaped up at the Swoobat, pincers glowing.

"Swoobat, Heart Stamp!" Avery countered. A large heart-shaped ring burst from Swoobat's noise and knocked Princess away, making her flinch before she could attack.

Simon wasn't about to give up. "Keep up the pressure!" Princess hopped back to her feet and attacked again, this time managing to climb onto the Swoobat's body. She began slashing away, clinging to the string for balance. Swoobat attempted to blow her away with an air slash, but found its wings now tangled in a mess of electrified restraints, unable to escape due to the effects of Spider Web.

Before long, Simon noticed the faint shimmer of Light Screen had faded away. "Let's finish this, Princess! Electroweb!"

Unable to recall his Pokemon or hit any attacks, all Avery could do was scowl as the joltik electrocuted his Pokemon point-blank, and Swoobat drooped in defeat.

The crowd let out a resounding cheer and chanting rang through the stadium.

"BUUUUG KING! BUUUG KING!"

Avery's floating Pokeballs momentarily faltered as his eyes flashed with annoyance. "Hmph. It'll take more than a few tricks and misdirection to beat us! Go, Slowking!"

Another ball flew forward and Avery's Galarian Slowking hopped onto the field. It swayed along with the mist clouds momentarily before standing up straight and opening its shell's eyes, staring down Simon menacingly.

"Power Gem!" Avery immediately called out. A crystal-like beam burst from Slowking's head towards Princess, carving up the battlefield as it went along.

Unfazed, the bug catcher grinned and flashed a thumbs-up at this Joltik. A glint grew in Princess' eyes and a dark aura grew from her body. "Beat Up!"

The command send a shockwave of excitement through the stadium and some even began instinctively looking upward. The attack wasn't coming from the ceiling this time, however- as Princess narrowly avoided the beam, several streaks of dark energy coursed out of Simon's Pokeballs and materialized into shadowy silhouettes of his own team. Princess let out a commanding squeak and pointed forward, sending each of the shadowy bugs charging at her opponent.

Unable to react in time, the Slowking was assaulted from below by Anorith's silhouette, which was then followed by two hits from Larvesta's and Snom's, then an aerial assault from Vivillon, Mothim and Shedinja, and a final strike from Princess herself.

Seeing the bugs swarm around his Pokemon, Avery countered, "Hit all of them - Expanding force!"

Slowking growled as it spread its body out and unleashed a massive shockwave of psychic energy all around it, boosted greatly by the terrain. The energy vaporized through the nearest shadowy silhouettes, turning them to mist. "Power Gem the Joltik again!"

The beam burst forth from the Slowking's forehead and shot down the remaining bugs, then aimed straight at Princess… before vaporizing her silhouette as well.

"W-what?!" even the psychic staggered. "Where is your…"

Simon winked. "What was that about 'tricks and misdirection'?"

Before he could realize, a very real Anorith suddenly burst out of the ground underneath Slowking, knocking the Pokemon away with a Dig attack.

"Amazing! Not even the cameras caught challenger 412 recalling his Pokemon!" the announcer exclaimed.

Simon had a huge grin on his face; "Sorry, I practiced this one for weeks. Couldn't help myself."

Avery scowled as his Pokemon got to its feet. "Well, it won't work more than once… Slowking, Surf!"

"Aqua jet!"

Anorith shot forward as Slowking let forth a giant wave of water from the ground, sweeping through the arena. The bug-type surfed on the wave's surface and slammed into his opponent, then ducked back underground before the rest of the water crashed down.

"Let's end this, Anorith! Dig!"

"Surf again!"

Just as Anorith emerged from the ground, Avery's Pokemon shot out another wave point-blank, and the two attacks met with explosive power. The result was an elemental shockwave which sent both fighters tumbling back, as dust and steam mixed with the misty terrain to create an opaque cloud around the two trainers. After a moment of silence, a few Rotom-powered fans hovered down onto the field and blew the clouds away, revealing a defeated Slowking and a bruised, but conscious, Anorith.

The referee's whistle blew. "Challenger 412 is the victor!"

Simon posed triumphantly as the stadium erupted once again, cheering his name. He looked at where his father was sitting and waved excitedly. His dad may have shouted something back, he couldn't tell, but Simon was brimming with pride anyway. He jogged to Anorith and lifted the bug up triumphantly; it gurgled out something about being thirsty.

Avery recalled his Pokemon and approached Simon, his expression serious but not as displeased as he'd expected. "You sure do appeal to the crowds, don't you?"

"Heh, thanks…" Simon smiled sheepishly.

"I thought you'd be more focused on pleasing them than battling at your best. But you nonetheless performed well." Avery added. "Statistically, it's only natural that I can be proven wrong once in a while."

He lifted his hat up slightly and floated the gym badge towards Simon, levitating it in front of him. "Continue to make this town proud."

Simon nodded confidently and grabbed the badge, then raised it in the air to the audience. He didn't need any speeches this time - the sound of home was more than enough.

[PKMN OPEN] Pokémon Spear [M] [IC]

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